Potter mania: What next after this?

  

After more than one decade, to be precise 14 years from the first publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 to the final silver screen installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 on July 15 2011, Potter mania has at last come to an end. It was a whirlwind of a phenomenon never before seen in both the publishing industry and box office collection. Which leaves the question - What next after this?

This question I am quite sure has been playing in many minds of fans of the Harry Potter saga, including yours truly. I, however, is more of a fan to the books than the movies, as I personally feel that those movies could only complement the books that have been painstakingly written by J.K. Rowling.

The dramatisation of the the Harry Potter saga was done excellently but there are still intimate details and nuances in the story that weren't shown in the movies, my guess would be due to budget and time constraints. The time constraint I'm referring to is that the story of each book would need to be told within a three-hour time frame at the maximum with the exception of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was divided into two parts.  

However, fans of Harry Potter need not fret as J.K. Rowling has created Pottermore.com, web site dedicated to the seven books she has written. I hope she would also include books that she has written in aid of Comic Relief - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages as well as the Tales of Beedle the Bard in which was written in the aid of Children's High Level Group and was co-founded by Rowling. These three books were very much part of the Harry Potter saga that I'm sure many fans like yours truly have splurge a small fortune on them, apart from those seven books. 

       

  

I hope that Pottermore.com will be a web site that will do justice to the Harry Potter phenomenon. In fact, just like any other fan of the Harry Potter saga, I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the end of this mega successful phenomenon. No more anticipation on new Harry Potter movie releases in the future. Although I am not a big fan of the movies, I would still watch them again to enhance the experience of reliving the story. My first choice would still be the books first, then only the movies.

Not to mention I would definitely take a peek into Pottermore.com to find out if it will be worth experiencing the Harry Potter saga from a different perspective; this time from the the cyberspace point of view. I think Rowling would do just as exceptionally well with with this web site; to appreciate the dedication and support from the Harry Potter fans who have been following Harry's story right from the beginning until the very end.   

Black Swan - The ballet movie to watch of this decade

I have always love ballet movies. This year would be great to have another ballet movie added to my collection. It is exactly TEN years since Center Stage was shown in Malaysian cinemas. Mao's Last Dancer wasn't shown even here, so I had to "import" the DVD from Down Under. Thus, when I got the wind that Black Swan will be shown here, I got extra EXCITED!

And for a good reason too, as Black Swan is not your regular run-of-the-mill ballet movie. I think Darren Aronofsky has done justice to make it into a ballet movie with a twist. It is a psycho-sexual thriller. What thrills me is that Aronofsky has chosen Swan Lake to be the ballet featured in this movie, with Benjamin Millepied, principal dancer of the New York City Ballet choreographing the dance scenes for the movie. Millepied's wife is also the lead actress in this movie, i.e. the ever-so-gorgeous Natalie Portman.

Swan Lake is a ballet that has intrigued me for many years as a ballet student, and even now when I'm no longer directly involved in ballet. It is because I am intrigued with the character of Black Swan, which casts an air of mystery where the plot of the ballet is concerned. The Black Swan's costume is another reason why I'm so spellbound by this ballet. For those people who are obsessed about ballet like me, they would be able to understand what I'm raving about.

And Black Swan has done exactly what makes the ballet Swan Lake so darn intriguing - exploring the unexplored realms of the ballet on the silver screen. Watch this space for my review of Black Swan coming soon!

For the Love of Reading

I love reading A LOT! I don't remember when was the very first time I was smitten by the reading bug, I think I was about four or five years old. I could recall picking up newspapers and magazines lying around the house and browsing through the pretty pictures, however, reading them came much later. During this time, my parents were struggling hard to make ends meet. Buying story books was a luxury then. I had to be contented reading mostly newspapers and magazines Dad bought on a daily and weekly basis.

I only managed to get Dad to buy me story books when I was about ten. Back then, books by Enid Blyton, Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon were a rage among my friends and me. We often exchange these story books with each other and also borrowed them from the school and public libraries. I would even read during meal times! Mom often got exasperated with me because I was reading like there was no tomorrow. As I was approaching my teens, I moved on to reading more "serious" stuff, Reader's Digest was one of the first "serious" reads I'd picked up. I was about 12 at that time.

I credit Reader's Digest for helping me improve my command of English Language by leaps and bounds. My command of English wasn't good at all when I was in primary school despite the fact I'd started reading at a very young age. Starting to read Reader's Digest for the first time meant I'd to carry Little Oxford Dictionary to accompany the magazine where ever I was.... at school, tuition classes, practically anywhere and everywhere! The persistent effort paid off. I was able to comprehend adult reads within two years after I'd picked up my first copy of Reader's Digest.

I even started reading adult romance novels at the age of 15. Those romance novels were very explicit, however, I wasn't influenced by them at all. I just read these romance novels for the fun of it because I love reading. I didn't restrict myself to reading a particular genré, I allowed myself to explore as many genrés as possible, so that I'm able to widen my general knowledge. I'd read anything and everything that captures my interest.... books, newspapers, magazines and even product labels! Over time, I realised that reading actually helped me to become the very open-minded person I am today.

Now, I read mostly fictions, non-fictions, biographies/autobiographies, comics and newspapers. Some of my all time favourite reads include:

1.  Steve and Me by Terri Irwin
2. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
3. Marley and Me by John Grogan
4. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
5. Gifts of Time by Fred J. Eipstein M.D. and Elaine Fantle Shimberg
6. Golden Mountain Chronicles by Laurence Yep
7. Ballerina by Edward Stewart
8. Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
9. Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott 
10. Fox Trot by Bill Amend

These reads may not necessarily be in the bestseller's list but they are nevertheless, great reads. I can read them over and over without getting bored. I guess the authors have a very unique and individualistic style to reach out to their readers, that's why I'm fascinated by their books. However, I still do keep an eye out for any good reads being published in the market.

I can go on and on about my love for reading but one has to experience it for himself or herself to discover the love and joys of reading. I would say that the knowledge gained from reading is invaluable and beyond any description I can put in this blog. People who can relate what I have written here would most likely agree to what I have expressed about my love for reading. And a big 'thank you' goes to Dad and Mom for allowing me to discover the love and joys for reading, despite of them struggling very hard to provide me with the best possible opportunity to access some of the most excellent reads I could ever imagine and find...

A Life Committed to Ballet

I was a ballet student for ten years. I took classes for eight and a half years in Malaysia and another one and a half years in Australia. I learnt my first plié at the age of 12. Going by the ballet standards I was a late starter. I felt very awkward in the beginning, but as time passed by I became good at it despite of the fact I am a special needs student.

I LOVE ballet A LOT! In fact I can go on and on and on about it forever.... I think it's quite safe to say my love for ballet is close to compulsion. It suits my personality well, being the quiet, and shy person I am. Ballet provided me with the opportunity to be able to express myself better. It functioned as an emotional outlet for me and did wonders to calm me down when I was experiencing a particularly lousy time.

I was trained on Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), UK ballet syllabus. However, I was unable to take its examination, as no teacher wanted to take me through the process. I was quite sure RAD would be able to cater to my special needs. This setback made me work so much harder than most students in my class, as they were younger than me and needed less effort to achieve what was required of them. What I had achieved was a surprise to many people. Despite my physical challenges, I have managed to find ways to cope in learning demanding dance steps and combinations. Not only that, I seemed to have an encyclopaedic capacity to remember the terms I have learned throughout the ten years as a ballet student.

This bode very well for me when I attended ballet performances when I was a university student in Perth, Australia. I was able to understand and appreciate better the abstract and beauty aspects of the ballet performances I had attended in Perth. Watching these performances motivated me to strive harder for excellence not only in my ballet classes, but also my academic pursuits and many other things in life which require a lot of effort and hard work.

Some of the habits of being a ballet student for ten years have spilled over to my daily routine, which many people might find them strange and quirky; from the way I carry out my daily routines to the way I behave, especially when I walk and stand. People who knew me all too well have understood and accepted me as who I am. I would say that ballet has inculcated mostly good habits in which complement my personality and character.

I would not have been who and where I am today if not for ballet. Ballet has taught me many positive values; some of which I held as part of my life's principles. It also helped me to be a more resilient person to overcame many challenges I face in life. Two of these challenges were to obtain my Master degree in English Language during the time I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and to learn to cope living with hydrcephalus for the rest of my life. The discipline I'd obtained as a ballet student showed me that I could use the unique strength of human spirit to overcome the tough challenges I face throughout my life.

Thus, this saying will apply to me very well, "You can take the dancer out of a dance but not the dance out of a dancer". I believe the quirky habits from being a ballet student would remain in me for the rest of my life. This would be one aspect of my personality I would not trade for anything in the world.

Paloma Herrera, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre