Fumarama

I just rewatched the episode of Gilmore Girls in which Rory graduates from Chilton. As valedictorian she gets to make a speech. The speech starts out with a stupid preamble about how they thought this day would never come in (complete with a laugh track for that line). Then she launches into how she lives in two worlds, the world of books and the world of her family and friends, and then she begins to thank her grandparents and mother and all the people who care about her and tears up in front of the whole crowd (this is cut with scenes of Lorelai and Sookie and Jackson and Luke crying).

Worst graduation speech ever. Ok, I am exaggerating but it was a bad speech and this is why. It is a pretty huge day for all the students and their parents. This ceremony is equally special and important to everyone and it should feel that way to everyone equally. Giving a speech at such an event is a public service. You are adding to that moment for each person. A great speech either reflects what everyone is feeling or inspires people. But it should be about the audience. Unless the speaker is using a universal "I" that reflects what students are thinking (I will miss this school dearly...), oneself is a bad topic. Rory has the honor to speak to her classmates on one of the biggest days of their lives, why in the world does she think that she herself the best topic for the speech?

I spent part of my morning watching clips online from Nicole Ritchie's GMA interview. (like this one on Gawker). She is great. Not only does she look amazing but she is really poised and not dumb. So I thought "good. Now she can go back to whatever she was doing." But then...um...I realized. Is it possible that Nicole Ritchie is only famous for being Paris Hilton's BFF? Her fame is just derivative fame of Paris Hilton's fame for nothing?

Maybe Nicole will be really cool and decide to leave the spotlight and raise her kid and go to charity events and do whatever people who are rich enough not to have to work for a living do. Is that too much to hope for her?

The book after the point they get captured by snatchers and brought to the Malfoy's Manor was great. And the first hundred pages until and including the ministary break in that was pretty good too. But there is that whole section in the middle that I actually found really hard to get through.

The book turned into a certain kind of book that I can't handle, usually the imprisonment book. I read Bernard's Malamud's Fixer in high school and I got through it but barely. I could not handle the page after page of description of a person's constant fear and misery. I get too emotionally involved and then too upsetl. I felt the same way through the prison parts of Waiting for the Barbarians. (Both those books were read for school). And now Harry Potter Book 7 can be added to the list. In other books, Rowling would intersperse among the fear of you know who scenes with quidditch or classes or something like that. Here, all there was for like 300 pages was Harry and Hermoine and Ron being scared. There was no break from it and it was really hard to feel something other than just terrible for them.

But the pay-off was incredible. Once they got to Hogwarts and found out that all their old friends had taken up the fight, I started to cry. It was really touching. I agree with the critics who say that Snape should have been in the novel more. I also wish there has been more with Ron and Hermoine and Harry and Ginny. Because apparently I really wanted to be reading a romance novel, Rowling would have Ron/Hermoine seens and Rowling would write something like "and Harry averted his eyes" and I would be like "No Harry. Don't avert I want to know what happens next."

I liked the idea of the epilogue but I wish there were more details. I mean I wanted to know what happened to all the characters, what their jobs were, who was minister of magic, etc.