Alagaesian

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And then the age of Harry Potter has gone.  The last book that created such a frenzy was when Charles Dickens published his series in the 1800s (according to CNN).  Would it take another 150 years to create such frenzy as Harry Potter.  If anything, at least the series has created more readers amongst the new generation that perhaps some of them will future JK Rowlings.

I got the last book only on Monday night after a weekend up in the mountains.  Started reading the book in the train station waiting for my bus ride and finished reading the book last night… er morning? at 4 am.

My take on the book?  Something’s up from start to finish and it felt like everything’s still up for grabs even in the last 50 pages of the 600+ page book.  My only negative take on the book was that the deaths of the characters went by too fast, same way I thought when Sirius died.  But overall – the book was fascinating.

So what’s next?  2 more movie installments coming in the next 2 or 3 years.  The age is not yet over after all…

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Spent the weekend up the cottage again in Geilo.  Cycling and hiking were the agenda for Saturday and Sunday.  We were able to do both, plus scratched a car as well while cycling. 

Everyone’s bound to do some property damage sooner or later…

Saturday morning we were woken up by a herd of sheep eating the grass around the cottage.  And thanks for the poop on the driveway!

We rented our bikes from the local hotel at rather cheap prices… and we were quite happy for the runaway price… until we scratched a car.  The owners are gonna send the bill to us.  Crossing my fingers that this won’t be too costly.

Sunday we went for a hike and reached a peak at 1200 meters above sea level.  We didn’t really hike a long way up as we started at about 900 meters or something where the cottage was.

The fifth and best installment so far premiered tonight.  Tickets were sold out days before and we bought our tickets almost a month ago.  As we approached the movie house we already see witches and wizards… Otherwise, it might have been our eyes making tricks on us after some beer – which we just have to sneak into our Friday schedule after a brief respite from days of rain. 

The audience cheered before and after the movie.  It is definitely the best installment so far as it dealt with wider range of emotions and action, not to mention special fx.  Plus HP is in the age where everything becomes more interesting – been there, done that…

It was just unbelievable when the girls seated behind us started crying, not simply tears of sadness, but actual sobs towards the end of the movie.  True everyone knows about some death and HP’s personal battles but funny that it was enough to make people cry to sobbing states.

Apparently the movie was really good for them. 

The seventh and last book will be published next Friday.  I will be out traveling to the mountains but will surely try to find a bookstore somewhere…

Technorati Tags: harry, potter, and, the, order, of, the, phoenix

Things to do on 07.07.07:

1.  Enjoy a LiveEarth concert.  The concert to raise awareness on climate change can be watched in venues around the 7 continents – yes that includes Antarctica.  Do you know that you actually consume more energy leaving the mobile phone plug in the socket than when you are actually charging it?  Not sure why, but if I’m wrong – don’t sue me.  I made the rounds at my flat and took out all plugs not being used. 

2.  Watch the presentation of the new 7 Wonders of the World.  The concert in Lisbon is the culmination of the months long voting for sites deserving of such status.  The old 7 Wonders were… old and most of them are no longer standing (not also very worldly as they’re somewhat focused in the Med region).  The pyramids get an automatic place being the only one left standing from the old 7 Wonders.  So - 1 old and 7 new wonders then.   

3.  Get married.  While walking around town today, I saw 2 wedding cars parked along the church, 2 cars parked near the parlor, 3 cars parked by the local court house.  Heard Eva Longoria from Desperate Housewives is also getting married today.

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4.  Enjoy walking around town in perfect summer weather conditions – which is exactly what I did with a good friend today.  Had brunch outdoors, enjoy an ice cream and watch the bands play in the square. 

And it would be excellent if we get to maintain these kind of weather conditions so please do your part in fighting climate change.  Doesn’t need to be drastic…  Check out http://twitter.com/liveearth070707.

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I flew to Molde for the weekend – a town of 20,000 inhabitants. It is called the Town of Roses because of its rose gardens. Apart from the roses, the town enjoys a scenic backdrop of the fjords.

About two or three hours away is the Geiranger Fjord – with a town population of 200 but increases to 500 during summer season due to the number of cruise ships visiting. It is included in the World Heritage List since 2005 due to its natural beauty.

Spent the whole afternoon and the better part of the evening cruising along the fjords back to Molde. It was a relaxing time especially sitting on deck and just watching the mountains and waterfalls pass by – which is the reason I now have a bit of a sunburn on my face.

Molde itself was very picturesque with a couple of nice beaches and small islands in the middle of the fjord. Would’ve been great to go there from time to time… but the airfares are actually more expensive than going to London!

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