The mind is not a book to be opened at will and examined at leisure.
- Severus Snape, OOTP.

lørdag den 29. oktober 2011

Pottermore - A unique online Harry Potter experience from J.K. Rowling


Pottermore will soon be open and therefore I thought I would write a little about it. I was one of a million people to get a Beta profile. I stayed up for 24 hours to get the second clue.
Pottermore is a website from J.K. Rowling to all of the Potterheads in the world. It is a website where you 'play' yourself through the books. So far only The Philosophers' Stone/The Sorceress' Stone has been released and Chamber of Secrets is expected to be released sometime next year.
On Pottermore you get the chance to be a Hogwarts student. You get your Hogwarts acceptance letter from Hagrid, who takes you shopping in Diagon Ally. In Diagon Ally you buy your school things and just like Harry you get to buy your own wand in the end.
The process of getting a wand is really exciting. You have to take a sort of test, which varies from user to user, so no one can tell you what to answer to get the wand you want. After taking the test you get to see your wand. You have to answer these questions truthfully to have a wand that will work.
This is one f the most exciting thing about Pottermore. It sounds boring, but it's not! One of the other exciting things Pottermore gives you is never before seen or known information about certain places, object and characters from J.K. Rowling herself. And of course the sorting!
The sorting is like the wand a test. Again this changes, so no one can give you the answer on how to become a Gryffindor. Sorry. These tests are not obvious like the tests you can take on several websites, so you can't figure out how to become a Gryffindor either.
When you get your potion book and cauldron you can start making potions. The only thing you need is to stop by Diagon Ally to get your ingredients first. Trust med when I say.. Potions is not easy. You have a time limit and if you aren't done before time runs out your cauldron will melt. If you do it wrong your cauldron will melt or the potion will begin to smoke.. When you've gotten your wand, which you get after buying books and more, you can practice spells and duel friends. At the moment dueling is down, but will hopefully be up in time for you guys to join us.
I've heard people say that they find Pottermore boring.. And it will be if you are expecting new information about every character, every object etc. and if you are expecting games in every new scene.
I think Pottermore is quite fun. Of course it is run through quite quickly if you want to.. But the new information is amazing and it is really fun to make potions and gain house points. The sorting was for me one of the best things. I was sorted into Slytherin, as I had hoped, so no tears there.
Now as a beta user we have been going through main points in chapters, just as you will, and we have commented on the information. We have given our feedback and Pottermore will probably change somethings. A good start would be the long brewing time for the potions..
If you are a Potterhead I will strongly recommend you to get a profile in here! Read the book as you go through the chapters because it will make the book so much better. The backgrounds are absolutely beautiful and you will love to zoom in and out to see the amazing details.
This is what I will reveal about Pottermore.. The rest is for you t figure out when Pottermore opens. As for when it opens.. No one knows.. But if you want to know then keep an eye open and go to Pottermores website or go to their blog, Pottermoreinsider

lørdag den 8. oktober 2011

Online Friends Are Not To Be Undervalued

First of all: I am so terribly sorry for not posting anything for nearly four months! I've been a little busy and I've had little to no inspiration to write.
Second of all: I'll try to update more. I can't promise anything but I will promise to try.

Online friends are not to be undervalued.
-Tom Felton.

My closest friends are people I've met online. They are the people I tell my secrets, talk about my everyday problems with and they are the people I laugh the most with. Unfortunately I don't see them as often as I would like, but when I see them I have the most incredible time. 
I've never been one of those social people. I've never really been outgoing, but as I got older I think I got more.. awkward socially. Which probably was one of the reasons I really didn't have any friends as a child and most of my teenage life. At the age of ten I found a chat filled with Potterheads. People just like me. People who wanted a place to go to escape the day and it's problems. This is where I found my friends. I met most of them later on and became friends with them outside the computer too. I think I remember each meeting - which says a lot, since I don't remember well.
Talking to these people was so different from talking to people you met in real life. Most of them didn't judge you and those who did would never talk to you anyways. It was a little like a double life if you want.. I was a socially awkward girl who was judged and hated by most of the school from 8 till 2, but as soon as I came home and logged onto the chat I was a totally different girl. I was the evil, sarcastic Slytherin girl whenever the play began and private chat.. That was just me not being judged by anyone.
I remember hating one of my now best mates- let's call her Nancy. I used to bitch about her to my mum all the time. It wasn't because I didn't like the real her.. I just hated her character in the play. And trust me.. She hated me just as much. Later on Nancy and I decided on a truce, and now we can't stand to leave each other by the end of our visits. Another of my best mates was one of the very first people I talked to in there.. She was also the first one I ever met outside the chatroom. She'll always be my friend because I know she'll always be there for me and I'll be there for her, not matter what happens. It's just the same with Nancy. 
These people has helped through rough times and they've made me laugh when I most needed it. They've helped me form who I am today and I am proud to say that they are my friends. They may be the ones I take out my stress on, and they may find me scary under great stress and while studying for exams.. But no matter how mean and sarcastic I am towards them they stay by my side.. Their friendships are those which has lasted the longest and the ones I couldn't live without.
My online friends means everything to me! And even today, 10 years later, I still make friends online. I've got a friend on the other side of the earth! We started emailing over the summer holidays and even though the emails only come once or twice a month I still consider her my friend. Of course I haven't met her. But she's my friend all the same - even if she doesn't thinks of me as a friend.
As Tom Felton says. They are not to be undervalued. They can make a great difference.