clueless ramblings: January 2006

time wasters

well i've had a half hour while the kids are playing and gone to the silly ol' tests mentioned on sword of gryffindor ( http://www.swordofgryffindor.com/ ).
quite fun really.

so apparantly i would have

*WAND - 10 1/4", Yew, Veela
You scored 68 wisdom, 22 bravery, 10 emotional, and 11 martyrdom!
A yew wand signifies a wizard of great wisdom and intellect and is very useful in transfigurations. The veela hair as a wand core means that you are slightly unpredictable but very powerful.

think i must be bit of a wuss. unpredictable (no surprise there really i suppose, but i though my emotion would rate higher!!!!!)

* You scored higher than 84% on spells

*The Harry Potter Obsessed Test
You scored 72% knowledge and 52% obsession!

You are neither obsessed nor oblivious about the magical world, but your knowledge is obviously higher than average. You have a healthy interest in all things Potter, but it's nothing to worry about. Your keen intellect and natural curiosity make you a force to be reckoned with.
You can't be expected to pay attention in Binns' class every lesson when you have Quidditch matches and girls on your mind! Just be forewarned - Hermione won't always be able to finish your essays for you. She has enough going through that frizzy head of hers!

fun way to waste some time.

now back to the laundry..............................

neville

poor ol' neville.
i'm really feeling for him atm.
in the DOM (during OotP) he was hit by the crucio curse by bellatrix.
so that is the same curse, by the same person who did that curse on his parents.

i wonder how it affected him to have such an unpleasant understanding of what drove them to madness.......

wanna give him a big ol' hug!

jo

another HP ? re voldemort REVISTED

see, nothing new under the sun. no unique thoughts here! i just came accross this editorial at mugglenet.

here is an excerpt http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-peter04.shtml

Most importantly, what are the implications of a returned Riddle? The most obvious, of course, is there could be the potential for two Dark Lords running around or Tom speeding the resurrection of Voldemort and the two teaming up. Nevertheless, what benefit would this give to the resurrected Dark Lord?

i still have my question if this 'other' voldemort would have the ability to change it's mind (or even repent!!!!) or decide 'other' than the original with the core piece of soul. and if they would share memory.

i will go see the discussion that ensued at cos i think.

jo

sadness

i'll send this out into cyberspace. it may help. it's difficult to deal with here IRL, when all the family is so busy being upbeat and cheerful....

so my sister has had another "episode" of the ms. several really bad restless nights of insomnia, followed by collapsing on the floor in the middle of the night on her way to the loo. such a miserable image. her lying in the dark. how she must HATE needing someone to help her up. she is the helper. not the 'helpee'......
i miss her bubble and her spark. it's been robbed forever it seems.

the old magic

well this week i have read 'the lion, the witch and the wardrobe' to dd and re read 'order of the phoenix'. the references to the 'old magic' in both of them (or 'deep magic') have hit home.

my thoughts were running along the lines of a previous discussion with the muggle matters blokes about how god acts always in accordance with *who* he is. it not being a matter of him deciding to do something, more that his actions are always consistent with his nature, his being.
so i am thinking that the 'old' and 'deep' magic are actually references to the very nature of god's person.

i remember hearing someone preach once, that the resurrection was god finding a loophole in his own laws. it always vaguely offended me, but i wasn't sure why.
now i think i have put my finger on it.... the concept of god looking for a 'way out' is so wrong somehow.

i think more that the possibility and opportunity for a sacrificial death in someone else's stead was always inherent in the law, that the greater love is a part of the very fabric of god's character. it wasn't a loophole, but the actual purpose of the law.

or.... i have it all upside down and back to front (for a change -*not*)
jo

fantastic beasts

'FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM'
picked up a copy the other day and got to have a little read today.
it's good for a some giggles. i'm enjoying it immensely.

another HP ? re voldemort

i am wondering whether voldemort has any knowledge of what happens with the horcruxes.

i have read that he will not know if a horcrux has been destroyed. ie. the locket. the diary.

my question.... does he know of what happened in the COS? does he have a memory or knowledge of the conversations he had with harry as the young tom riddle from the diary? does he know that he used ginny weasley? will he be able to make that connection if/when he learns of their affection for each other?

mmmm.....

cool article at mugglenet

Horcruxes and More in Slavic Mythology
An original editorial by Annabel Lee

http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-leeann01.shtml

off topic on some muggle matters!

my husband loves to point out that tangents are my friends! staying 'on topic' definately doesn't come naturally to me.
so i am happy to give space here for some of those tangents that may have come up discussing some other muggle type matters!

in particular the history of different streams of the latin rites catholic churches.

if time and/or inclination allow i would love to continue that conversation here......

one source of anxiety out of the way - the MS link

had my eye test yesterday. so even though i'll be needing those specs it was good to know that everything else was normal.

something else apart from the initials i share with jkrowling.
happily my mother is still with us, as she has a slow moving form of MS.
the anxiety over the eye test is that it was after an abnormal finding in a similar eye test that my sister took the tests and discovered she also has contracted this insidious disease. her form is also relatively slow moving.

so it looks like i am not to join the ranks in my family of ms sufferers. my mother, her sisters and brother all have it, and now my sister. i have no other signs of it, so it was extremely unlikely that the test would show anything, but i still had a couple of sleepless nights.

i doubly appreciate the profile and resources that jkrowling offers to the search for a cure since it is so closely linked to my family. i wish that similar resources were available to the non mainstream research though, as it looks like all they are looking to atm is use of the drug betaferon.
what about the documented connections to diet and vaccination? what about the possibility of it being a combination of these things (not just 'a cause' but a cocktail of factors) along with the poisons like sulphates and other things commonly used in household and bodily cleaners?

aaahhh well. that would indeed be wishing for the moon..............

homeschool curriculum decisions

if i write it all here i'll be able to find it!

term 1 - (australian school year is in line with the calendar year - longer summer break over christmas)

the story of the world
book 1 by susa wise bauer
read alouds each day followed by timeline and whatever else we feel like doing from the activity book

math-u-see
finish 'beta'.

keep going through the 'little house' books
journal during read alouds
timeline events
explore tangents that gr hits on

basic australian geography and weather unit studies
tied together where applicable.
take part in the weather study from the uk - recording and journaling max and min temps, humidity, barometric pressure and rainfall.

start to bring together her nockomammal recordings - burn cd? do fictional 'nature book' notebook.

whatever else takes our fancy.

can't decide whether to jump on the bandwagon and 'do' some narnia now while there is all the material online following the movie, instead of next year.
the movie would definately be too scary for her just yet, but maybe after she's famliar with the books we will watch it at home.

haven't heard back re our dispensation yet..... better get it or i guess we'll go unregistered.....

HP question

reading GOF last night and was wondering:
why does 'false moody' put so much effort into helping harry master the imperius curse, and having discovered his capabilities (one possibility), why does he not let voldemort know of this?