I (Heart) Alan Rickman

A friend posted this on facebook, and I had to pass it along.  This quote is so touching, it made me want to cry.  (Don't worry, I refrained.)  Alan Rickman is just plain spectacular. 

J.K. Rowling and the Stroke of Death

I was browsing the Entertainment Weekly website when I came across two (related) intriguing articles about J.K. Rowling.  EW got the dish on a conversation between the Harry Potter author and Daniel Radcliffe that appears on the Blu-ray of The Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  Rowling apparently doesn't hold back as she shares her shifting mortality plans for certain characters.

Most shocking to me was the revelation that during a dark time in her life she briefly considered doing Ron in, if you catch my drift.  I've pledged allegiance to Team Ron, so I probably would have chucked whatever volume contained his untimely death across the room in a fit of rage.  I would have cried for days -- no exaggeration there, as Dumbledore's demise kept me on the verge of tears for a full week.  Would I have forgiven Rowling had she ruthlessly murdered Ron?  I simply don't know.  Perhaps writing her an angry letter expressing my displeasure would have guided me through the grieving process.

Other interesting tidbits from the EW peek of the dvd clip: Lupin was originally meant to live through the series and Hagrid's survival was largely dependent on the scene depicted at the top of this post.   

Would a character's death have affected how you felt about the series as a whole?  I, no joke, had a Do-Not-Kill List (Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny) and would have had a difficult time overlooking the authorial slaughter of any of those four.  Are there characters (like Harry, perhaps?) you maintain should have bitten the proverbial dust?

Button, oh Button!

I carry around what many would term a grandma bag, mostly because I insist on carrying certain items with me at all times.  A book, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, and my camera are must-haves without which I rarely leave home.  While there are lots of chic, over-sized bags out there, I can't pull myself away from the bookstore long enough to shell out for one.  Over the past year in England I accrued a small collection of literary buttons from various museums that spice it up a bit.  It's wonderful to have these little reminders of past travels that pay homage to some of my favourite books and authors.  I think I need to start a proper collection.

 It's abundantly clear where I picked this one up.

It was the first little button I purchased.

'Hail to thee blithe spirit'

Courtesy of the Keats Shelley House in Rome

This 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' button 

from the RSC in Stratford was a gift from Ana

Thank you, I will take that as a compliment!

Finally, the world's coolest address

from the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, London

P.S. The title of this post is an allusion to the Potter Puppet Pals video, Snape's Diary.  When Snape tragically loses a button on his cloak, he conjures the following 'Ode to a Button' (that's not the title, but this one just came to me):

Button, oh button! Oh, where hath thou fled?

Did thee tarry too long amongst fabric and thread?

Did thee roll off my bosom and cease to exist?

How I wish I could follow thee into the mist.

There are many, many recitations of this Ode at my house. 

Snape, Snape, Severus Snape

Every self-respecting Harry Potter fan is fully aware that Professor Severus Snape is a paragon of awesomeness.  The fact that I am constantly finding hilarious bits of media that reinforce just how beloved this creation of J.K. Rowling is merely confirms my opinion.  I decided to share a few Snape bits and pieces in the off chance that you are unfamiliar with them.

Have you seen Snape's Diary from Potter Puppet Pals?

It is full of doom and gloom and is possibly the funniest thing I've seen all year.  I keep quoting lines from this cyber-gem with friends and family.  A favourite of mine: 'I asked her to dance.  She asked me to die.'

If you haven't already seen the Snape version of 'I'm Too Sexy' I highly suggest you do yourself a favour and watch it now.

Finally, I've got a little something for those of you who tweet: the Twitter feed of Professor Snape.  An anonymous someone posts laugh-out-loud blurbs as Snape.  Examples include 'Neville would have done it in four books' and 'Things people should not do: Talk to Lupin during his "time of the month."'  They always have me in stitches.

Do you know of others that I'm missing?  Please, do share!

P.S.  This isn't technically Snape related, but actor Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame does an impression of Alan Rickman that is pretty spot on.  I'm providing not just one but two Youtube links featuring his impersonation in action.