Voldemort Gay?

“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.” — Stephen King

At 10pm of a Friday night of July 15, 2011 we have witnessed the final adventure of the Harry Potter film series entitled ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’. There was so much anticipation for this epic finale in my circle of friends thus, to celebrate this unprecedented event prior to the release we scheduled to have a marathon from the first film, The Sorcerer’s Stone to the 7^th installment, The Deathly Hallows Part 1. To end everything with class, we indulged ourselves and booked at Gold Class Cinema — the ultimate in luxury movie viewing with a private lounge and plush electronic recliner seats comparable to First Class airline chairs. We had to cough up 4 movie tickets for the price of 1 to better view how the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war for a battle between the good and evil and Harry’s climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.

I must admit I’m not a ‘raving’ fan of this saga. I stopped reading after Goblet of Fire (4^th book), In our marathon I fell asleep half of the 1^st movie, tweeting/facebooking on the 2^nd movie, skipped 3,4,5,6 and watched only the last part of 7, the part where Dobby got killed. ..sniffed… sniffed… I still can’t get over that drama. So I guess you can say in a wizarding world of gauging my fan level you can categorized me as a ‘mud blood’. Purebloods are those fanatics who avidly finished the marathon from 1 to 7 (you know who you are…hmmm Sugar!), Read the books twice, thrice, following  @jk_rowling, @Emwatson, @Tomfelton on twitter and a subscriber of the mugglenet.

The gayness of Voldemort

Ronnel is a part of the circle of friends who always have a question/opinion on every movie we watched his every ideas/interrogation presented most of the time made sense whenever he questioned the loop holes in every movie. In passing we mentioned that Dumbledore is gay according to the author and here’s the snippet of that statement:

“In front of a full house of hardcore Potter fans at Carnegie Hall in New York, Rowling, sitting on the stage on red velvet and carved wood throne, read from her seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” then took questions. One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. “Dumbledore is gay, actually,” replied Rowling as the audience erupted in surprise. She added that, in her mind, Dumbledore had an unrequited love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort’s predecessor who appears in the seventh book. After several minutes of prolonged shouting and clapping from astonished fans, Rowling added. “I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy.”  

Having heard of it for the first time Ronnel was in rant… No, he didn’t have a problem that Dumbledore is gay, he was more insistent that Voldemort was gay for the following reasons:

1. His fixation on Harry and always calling out his name in a bedroom voice… Ha..aaa.rrr..yyy…y.y
2. His selection of  Horcruxes, that dark magical objects that hold a piece of his soul are questionable to his masculinity i.e.:
1. The Diary –  he cannot grasped the idea of a boy (Tom Riddle) having a  diary
2. Jewelleries – really? The ring, the locket and this is a real giveaway… a tiara…gay much? (Imagine him wearing all of these in front of the mirror of Erised… hmmmm)
3. Nigini – A liking for snakes symbolism for fondness of something else
3. Constantly surrounded by male death eaters and shows disgust over a female stalker i.e. Bellatrix Lestrange
4. He is fabulous in black mixed with a hint of green on the dark mark –only a few guys can carry that with so much glamour.
5. Last but not the least, how he hold that elder wand, while Hermione holding it in a firm grip (like holding on to her dear life.) Voldemort hold it with so much finesse… like a fairy…

Personally I thought he was just ‘Emo’ at least the style is sooo 2011 as opposed to Snape who looked like a band member of The Cure from the New Wave era of the early 80’s. Also, I was waiting for Voldemort to develop into full feature of that handsome actor Ralph Fiennes who portrayed him, but it never happened. Partly I say this is also the reason why he got defeated by HP – Poor Voldemort his nose never developed, he can’t hardly breathe through that slit…duh!  Piggy banks has wider slit than his nose…

Anyways, enough making fun of the characters in the movie,  JK Rowling never made any comments about the question: Is Voldemort gay? But I like this explanation better in wiki.answer

Asexual. He has never shown any romantic or sexual interest in anybody and he is incapable of love.

Considering that Voldemort never cared for anyone but himself, it is doubtful he ever formed an attachment to anyone sufficient to define his preferences. He was only in love with himself and obsessed not with sex, but with power. He certainly would not have been above using someone else’s proclivities and preferences against them, but he would have considered anything as trivial as sex to be beneath him.

Voldemort is also incapable of love as he was conceived under the effects of a love potion.

Snape Surprise

Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape, J.K. Rowling told him some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know (years ahead of the last book’s publication) that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape’s protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because “he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who’s living proof of Lily’s preference for another man, came from.” According to Rickman, the directors prior to the publication of the last book were not privy to the information of Snape’s true character either, and he had to ask them to differ to him the portrayal of Snape, whether or not they understood why. – Source: IMDb

Alan Rickman’s Harry Potter Thank-you Letter to J.K. Rowling Rickman took out a full-page ad in Empire to say his very sweet good-bye.

Almost Ten years of Harry Potter — 9 years, 7 months of and 29 days of waiting between the first movie up to the last and some of us cannot probably imagine life without waiting. It was such a bitter sweet ending… sweet, for the characters as they lived happily ever after and bitter, for us viewers because now it all ends.

Interesting facts from IMDb:

1. At the end of the film, Harry has two sons, one of whom he addressed as “Albus Severus Potter.” The older one, never addressed by name, has the initials “J.S.P.” on his luggage. This stands for James Sirius Potter.
2. The filmmakers persuaded Tom Felton to convince his girlfriend, Jade Olivia, to play Draco Malfoy’s wife, Astoria Greengrass, in the film’s epilogue.
3. In every shot in which Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange appear together, she always moves so that she stands on his right, traditionally the position of the most loyal and trusted follower.
4. In the story, Voldemort has created several Horcruxes in an attempt to cheat death. Appropriately, his name is French for “Flight of Death” or it can also mean “Stealer/Cheater of death”.
5. Kate Winslet was first considered for and reportedly offered the role of Helena Ravenclaw. The role was rejected by her agent before she was able to consider it, believing that Winslet would not want to “follow suit with every other actor in Britain by being a part of Harry Potter”. The role subsequently went to Kelly Macdonald.
6. M. Night Shyamalan was interested in directing this installment.
7. Filming the torture scene where Bellatrix is torturing Hermione at the Malfoy’s Manor at the climax proved to be very intense for the actors involved (Most of the scene was cut to avoid an R rating in the USA and a 15 rating in the UK). So intense and brutal as it was that Helena Bonham Carter approached Emma Watson right afterward to make sure they were still on good terms.

Surprise!!!

“It may be little, it may be big, but surprises happen when you least expect it. Take what life gives you. Delight it and enjoy it.”— L. R. Haake

According to Wikipedia the traditional etymology of the month April  is from the Latin aperire, “to open,” in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to “open,”   April’s birthstone is diamond, which symbolizes innocence and also the hardest substance on the planet. Its birth flower is daisy and sweet pea.

Here’s what I know about the month of April – The first day of the month is April fool’s day, when everyone gets to be a joker for at least part of the day. Also, it’s Tax season, the observance of Holy week and Easter Sunday (depending on the year).  William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and he died on the same day, in 1616. The Titanic sank after striking an iceberg on April 15, 1912 on the same date Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the smartest men in history, was born on 1452. Last but not the least, it’s the birthday month of Ramil (April 8), Cris (April 1/9), Sugar (April 22), and Badet (April 23)

It’s the year of surprises. It started with Lemon’s birthday March 11. We just thought of throwing him one just to make his day and to make the day exciting for all of us. For this kind of trick, the venue was essential – he always bugged us to go to Timbre Substation every Friday for our usual end of the work week activity but the queue is always long and we always end up in Chijmes and other bars.

I got mine March 19, 2011. Coming home, it was dark but the air-con was on – that was a giveaway but it was too late, the reverberating word ‘surprise’ followed. Friends were there, the living room was spanking clean, balloons and wall decors were all over the place… priceless! I cannot believe my mother was on it and my sisters as well…Yeap, just like in the movies. Two surprises in a lifetime must be good karma for me.  The first one was a top notch –It was a McDonald’s birthday surprise party- adult playing the parlour games and I had burglar for a mascot. This is off my bucket list definitely! –Thanks Friends!

Revenge is sweet and not fattening– come April there are 4 people going to celebrate their birthdays. For the mama’s and the papa’s who made love on September the result is an April offspring and  yes, got 4. We decided to give the surprise in one go, pick one date and plan the blow. As mentioned earlier ‘venue was essential’, we decided a condo amenity where no one from the group resides so we asked help from a colleague outside our group to book us the barbecue pit and lucky us, they have theatre room as well. When it was all confirmed we arranged ‘the lure’ for all of them. We decided that the timing should be on separate hour so as not to ruin the…tadah….SURPRISE!!!

Chivalry was never dead for Cris Sison. He was the go to guy for our laptop and computer issues, very ‘techy’ dude. Apart from that he’s very helpful and ever willing to give assistance but we were appalled when he didn’t take the bait when 2 of our guy friends invited him for a ‘supposed’ photo shoot. The brain child of this brouhaha had to step up to move him. We had to create a drama – a damsel in distress thingy that is need of a hero – I told him I need his help because a friend is not paying up and I need a guy friend to come with me to  their condo  just in case the husband intervene. He gladly conformed and fell from our trap…Gotcha!

separated at birth

I can’t help watching Glee and not be reminded of Ramil Oliveros. He is Cris Colfer looked like– refer to photo attached somewhat turned into ‘bitch stole my look’ segment of Fashion Police on E!  But in this case it became ‘bitch stole my face’. His Favourite quotes “it’s better to hate me for being REAL me, than liking me for being someone i PRETEND to be” An artist by occupation, he is a landscape designer. He can cook, he can sing and he showers a lot 2 or 3 times a day. Our accomplice never had a hard time inviting him he was game for a photo shoot. Come afternoon, He was pissed as it was raining. We can still hear him complaining for dragging his ass into the rain just as we went out from behind the barbecue pit for the surprise… Gotcha! Check out his stuff http://ramiloliveros.blogspot.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramileonard…

Bernadette Secillano the CPA who worked hard and played even harder. Badet is a very cool and collected gal. She is very fun to be with and loved to be out partying. Our accomplice and her flatmate was really stressed dragging her to the venue  at one point he just wanted to give up and just spill the beans just  to make her come. Her flatmates actually joined forces so as not to ruin the surprise and after few hours more of waiting and tagging she arrived half way of the movie.

Sharmila Castrojas or Sugar as we casually called her likes all things Korean especially those Kpop bands and music. She’s an energizer bunny, she arranged her own after party. She can still go clubbing even after dinner or movie. She was the only celebrants with visitor and it was her boss. We never had a problem with her, our accomplice was her sister who asked her to accompany her to a gathering and she was good to go. Problem was she has a spa and facial appointment that day so she arrived at the few scenes of the movie and the boss’ comments ‘Sharmila’s late even in her own party’.

Pull and Bear

“I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” – Screen Idol and fashion Icon, Marlene Dietrich

Pull and Bear is a Spanish chain of fashion stores introduced in 1991 by Inditex Group. It first operated in Portugal in 1992, and then the next countries to open up branches were Greece and Malta. Pull and Bear introduced the “XDYE” line in 1998, a more sporty and hi-tech line of clothes linked to the icons of 21st-century youth culture. Pull and Bear has stores present in 27 countries.Inditex is one of the worlds largest fashion distributors, with eight sales formats -Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe – boasting 4.430 stores in 73 countries.

Friday the 13th of November 2009 the announcement of winners for the Hottest Pull and Bear Looks Competition, Singapore Edition were held at the Butter Factory bar at One Fullerton. It was only last September that this clothing line launches the contest. The mechanics was to snap a photo of you wearing at least one garment from their Fall Winter Collection. We were shopping at the store when we came across the ad and if you can see us right at that moment you will also saw a light bulb flickered in our heads.

It’s not enough that you have the pulchritude or the resources to buy the clothes, you have to have the right connections and by that, I mean friends who are into photography. So we set a date for a photo shoot and called in the ally and the result ….photo finish! We entered in their 2 categories – The Aviator look and The Dark Princess and NAILED IT …. SWEET!

Photo by: Artekfusion

Fashion/Style Quotes:

“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” – Gore Vidal

“Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” – Orson Welles

“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things” – Jean Cocteau

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” – Coco Chanel

“The most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves. But for those who haven’t had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there.” Yves Saint Laurent

“Above all, remember that the most important thing you can take anywhere is not a Gucci bag or French-cut jeans; it’s an open mind” – Gail Rubin Bereny 

“The only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in.” – Paris Hilton

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” -Yves Saint Laurent

“Women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women.” – Elsa Schiaparelli

“A designer is only as good as the star who wears her clothes.” – Edith Head

“Only great minds can afford a simple style.” -Stendal

“The difference between style and fashion is quality.” -Giorgio Armani

“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not.” – Oscar Wilde

Helpful Links:

http://www.pullbear.com/

http://www.pullbear.com/thesingaporecompetition/vote/vote.html

http://www.plussixfive.com/2009/10/10/pull-and-bear-the-hottest-looks-competition-update/

Ever after…

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible -When Harry Met Sally

June 27, 2009 (my sister’s wedding) – Ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together they   become a new creature.

We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. After all there is something about a wedding-gown prettier than in any other gown in the world

Here’s my wedding toast…

“We have shared so much of our lives with each other. You’re not just my sister you’re always my friend I am so honored to be sharing this day with you. Starting today, you will begin to share a life with your husband, but remember that I will always be here for you and always ready to stand up by your side. Here’s to love and laughter and happily ever after!”

Literal Versions

I love the 80’s. The fun, friends and music everything was great! The world seems so young and so is everybody. It’s worth getting up early on a Saturday just to watch cartoons. I know the profound meaning of ‘WAX ON, WAX OFF’ and pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

I was watching E! And saw this literal version of the 80’s video. When songs just sang was happening in the music video

http://www.truveo.com/total-eclipse-of-the-heart-literal-video-version/id/4117286843

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=60733

To bitch or not to bitch

I was reading Dave’s blog few days back that gave me an idea for this blog. His blog entitled Strong Personality vs. Plain Ol’ Asshole (Where do you draw the line?) made me realized that I too was seeking the same answer – To bitch or not to bitch? According to Wikipedia, the term “bitch” comes from the 1150 word bicche, which was developed from the Old English word bicce. It also may have been derived from the Old Icelandic work bikkja for “female dog.” The phrase “son of a bitch” dates back to its use in Of Arthur & Merlin c. 1330.Since the 1980s, the term “bitch” has become increasingly accepted and less offensive. Prior to the term’s general acceptance, euphemistic terms were often substituted, such as “gun” in the phrase “son of a gun” as opposed to “son of a bitch”, or “s.o.b.” for the same phrase. More generally the term has also acquired the meaning of something unpleasant or irksome, as in the expression “Life’s a Bitch”.The phrase “my bitch”, connote ownership of a woman. The term “bitch slap” is a slang word in the original sense, a powerful, full-swing slap in the face with the front of the hand.

The terms “biatch”, “beyotch” or similar expression is a slang substitute for bitch. The term has become widely used in mainstream media to avoid censorship. In driving, the phrase “riding bitch” can refer to sitting in the middle of a bench seat when one is sandwiched between the driver and another passenger—an uncomfortable position when space in the car is scarce, especially where the drive tunnel limits legroom. Also refers to riding on the small seat behind the driver of a motorcycle.

The term “flip a bitch” is used primarily in America where it means to make a u-turn (legal or illegal).”Bitching” as a verb, “to bitch” means to complain. Usually used to express frustration in the complainer’s complaints. Allegedly, it was originally used to refer to as the stereotypical wife’s constant complaints about petty things.

I used to be pretty much a push-over. Too naive and always trying to be liked. When I was in primary school I got this award. Most Tolerant Student Award. I felt a pang in my face while receiving that award as my teacher explained the reason she picked me to have it was due to my extreme coolness. She reiterates that I don’t get mad easily and I can always take a joke. Behind those positive words are the growing feelings of negativity. My mind screamed ‘tolerant is the new whimp, byotch!’  So from then on I decided to be more twisted i.e. to possess a stronger personality. After that, I became more confident and assertive.

A decade ago, a close  friend of mine called my attention about my growing a-hole personality. She stressed about my being insentitive biatch to my friends and to others. Always wanting it my way, my ideas are far more better, This is the better bar  not that one! I will tell it to your face, I dont care if it hurts !  But the words- “Just because it’s all good for you doesnt mean it’s all good for them, let them decide!” finally set in.

So where to draw a line between being strong and just being a bitch? Where one must end and the other should begin?  Sure, the lion is king of the jungle but drop him into Antarctica and he’s just a penguin’s bitch. There will come a time in your life that your bitchness will call for liberation. When your every nerves are pushed to the it’s limits and every ounce of your body want to shout at someone and say all the words that will hurt them back. Its the time when it’s easier to go blah! blah!blah! rather than keep your mouth shut and walk away.You can’t stop something that’s inside of you. Sometimes being strong, righteous, bitch, arrogant, twisted, good or evil was never a CHOICE it’s WHO WE ARE. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

For those who are bitching too much – “Maybe you don’t like your job, maybe you didn’t get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there’s no escape, there’s no excuse, so just suck up and be nice.”
-Ani DiFranco

For those who are just too nice -Find your inner bitch,  go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass. “Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done” – Madonna

 

…The poem below was taken from my closest friend’s friendster profile – Melissa, You are the bitch I’ve always wanted to be c”,)

When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a bitch.

When I stand up for those I love, they call me a bitch.

When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts or do things my own way, they call me a bitch.

Being a bitch means I won’t compromise what’s in my heart.

It means I live my life MY way. It means I won’t allow anyone to step on me.

When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak against it, I’m defined as a bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone’s maid, or when I act a little selfish.

It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won’t become anyone else’s idea of what they think I “should be”.

I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.

I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!

So try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, and try to squash every ounce of beauty hold within me. You won’t succeed!!!

And if that’s make me a bitch, so be it. I embrace the title and am proud to BEAR IT!

 Best . . . Individual . . . The . . . Company’s . . . Hired!!!

 

Notes:  David’s Holmes blog –http://lonewolf77.xanga.com/