They Ribbit No More
1) WB Mascot Bites The Dust
"Michigan J. Frog, the icon of the WB since the network was launched, has croaked. The immediate cause of death was given as complications from a shift in corporate strategy.
The WB suits probably didn't mean to announce the passing on The Tour but they stumbled into it when someone asked about new art work for promotion of the fall TV season that did not include The Frog. Garth Ancier, chairman of the WB, then admitted Michigan had died at the age of 50. (The singing and dancing Michigan first appeared in a Warner Bros. cartoon short in 1955.)
Ancier then went on to explain that The Frog no longer fit the new image of the WB, although -- throughout his talk with reporters -- he couldn't quite explain what that image was. Private services for The Frog will be held at some future date."
Sigh. Who's next? The Budweiser frog?
2) HBP Shocker: Another Well-Loved Character Breathes His Last
Finally got around to finishing Book 6 and the ending left me speechless. I even cried!
Tragedy strikes Hogwarts once again as Albus Dumbledore gets killed. Of all people to off, why'd it have to be him? Although I kinda had an inkling that he was next to go (the cover with the Dark Mark hovering over both Harry and Dumbledore was a tip-off), Snape's hand in his death - performing the Avada Kedavra on him was shocking! I sincerely hope Harry develops "silent magic" for the next book. His inability to do so left him unable to help his mentor during their last encounter with Snape. I mean, how many "Aguamentus", "Petrificus Totalus" and "Sectumsempra" spells does he need to cast before realizing it would be so much better if his opponents aren't able to second-guess his moves? Love also enters the picture for Harry and his best friends (Chamber of Secrets foreshadowed the eventual pairings). We also get to learn so much more about how Voldemort i.e. Tom Marvolo Riddle came to be when Harry and Dumbledore make the most of the pensieve. Rowling gives us a dose of her humor, too, like in the scene where all nine hands in the Weasleys' clock perenially pointed at each members' being in "mortal peril" - precious!
Some points to ponder:
a. I can't help but go back to the scene where Hagrid mentions Snape and Dumbledore arguing - the one where he tells the latter that he doesn't want to do something anymore and Dumbledore replies with, "You said you'd do it so you're doing it." I have a feeling it just might be the glue that pieces everything together in the end. Could Dumbledore's death have been pre-planned since AD seemed like the type who'd sacrifice even his life if it would be for the good of all?
b. Why did AD have unfailing faith in Snape that it appeared almost ridiculous? Rowling might just surprise us when Severus Snape redeems himself in the very last book of the series...
c. Who the heck could R.A.B. be? Could it be Sirius' brother, Regulus Black? Bear in mind that J.K. does not just mention characters in passing. There is always a purpose. One way or another, those characters will play a pivotal role some time in the future.
d. If it is Regulus Black, could one or more of the Horcruxes be in the Black manor which Harry has just inherited? Could Kreacher be the key to finding them?
e. Why has Mad Eye Moody been inconspicuous? He was not patrolling the Hogwarts grounds as he was wont to do the entire time. For that matter, where was the entire D.A. when they were needed the most?
f. Is this really the penultimate book of the series or is Rowling considering adding on to the saga of Harry Potter? Could there really be a Ron Weasly Adventures in the works? Harharhar!!!!
So many questions. Enough fodder for one's imagination to take flight.
This is what makes J.K. Rowling brilliant. She manages to give you just enough to leave you wanting for more. Oh boy, it is going to be such a long wait for Book 7. Meanwhile, let me leave you with the last lines from HBP...
"Harry looked at him, startled; the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist seemed incredible and yet wonderful.
'Yeah, we shouldn't miss that," he said finally.
His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione."
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