create a ya cover!

Second cover added because the first one (below) was too risque for the gallery.

Here are the rules to make your own:

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 – Post it to your site along with this text.

And here’s a gallery of other people’s debut YA covers. Have fun!

all because there was a boy… who lived

So pretty much by the time I posted that last post, I had decided to cut my hair. Pro / con lists really do work, it seems. Rory Gilmore was on to something. And if I hadn’t decided yet, Juli’s comment pushed me over the edge, HAIRCUT HERE I COME!

But today’s post isn’t going to be about my hair.

Or Gossip Girl.

Or the fact that my roommate finally comes back today and I can stop eating ramen three meals a day.

This post is about a boy who one day discovered that he was a wizard.

Every time HP season comes about (that is, when a new movie comes out, or a book is released, or it’s July 31st and I’m celebrating Harry / Jo Rowling’s birthday with pumpkin pasties and a bad British accent), it’s like all the douchebags of the world come out of the woodwork. Almost everyone who’s facebook status was about the HP midnight screening had at least one commenter making a douchey comment like “wow, still watching children’s movies, dork?” or some shit like that. Of course, I never get any of those because… please… they’d have a black eye by now, but it’s still annoying to me that it’s what, 10 years later and people are STILL being made fun of for loving Harry?

Disgusting.

And you people who look down on midnight screenings. You’ve clearly never been to one. It’s kind of like this article I read about how “today’s women are faceless because they choose to put photos of their children on their facebook profiles instead of photos of themselves.” The article went on to make comments about “where has feminism gone?” blah blah blah, and one of the comments read: “Cute article. But it’s apparent that you’ve never been a mother.” Going to a midnight screening is like that.

Wow. That’s got to be the worst metaphor in the history of time. Hold on, let me explain myself:

Going to a midnight screening is not about seeing the movie before everyone else. I mean, it’s about that a little. But mostly it’s about those hours when you are waiting outside in line. And those 30 minutes when you are in the theater waiting for it to start. And when the whole theater counts down to midnight (or in my case, 12:40… damn Union Square).

You can feel the Harry Potter fandom when you are in those theaters at midnight. It’s like the difference between being AT the football stadium, and watching at home. Everyone breaks out into applause when that giant WB comes into focus, and we all get teary when Hedwig’s theme starts playing. Everyone remembers reading Half Blood Prince for the first time. It is so unlike any other experience I’ve had. It’s amazing. It’s not just watching a movie in the middle of the night. It’s so much more than that. There are so few things that people get unironically excited about. One of them is the boy wizard. I love it.

And it’s even better when the movie’s actually amazing. Oh sweet lord Draco Malfoy.

in a weird mood today

I’m in a weird mood today.

So instead of trying to explain an unexplainable mood… I’m going to ask you all a question.

SHOULD I CUT MY HAIR? OR NOT?

That is what my hair looks like right now.

This is what my hair looked like last summer. Yeah, my hair grows really fast. And we’re not doing that cut again because the top was so short it was almost scene. I do not want a mullet, thank you.

LONG HAIR PROS:

1. Cheaper, as I don’t have to do anything.
2. All of it can go back in a ponytail easily, so no need for bobby pins or clips.
3. I can just let it air dry on the walk to work and it looks fine, meaning more time for sleep.
4. It reminds me of my hula days, which is a good thing.
5. I have a whole princess / victorian age / lotr style love of long hair.

LONG HAIR CONS:

1. The ends are really looking (more than) a bit ragged.
2. It makes me look like I’m younger than I am.
3. Long hair + “Summer” + Hawaii = Such a stereotype…
4. I sometimes feel really old fashioned.
5. Every time I see someone with a cute haircut I get SO ENVIOUS IT’S INSANE.

SHORT HAIR PROS:

1. Look more styled and like I care what I look like.
2. Hair will be healthier.
3. Possibly look older?
4. Trendier, more with it. Less Luna Lovegood, more normal person.
5. My hair grows really quickly, so I can always grow it out again.

SHORT HAIR CONS:

1. Will take time to blow dry in the morning, and when I inevitably wash and wear it, it’ll look like crap.
2. Will cost money.
3. Will take time and effort to find a stylist.
4. Every time I see someone with long hair, watch Gossip Girl, watch a meekakitty video, or see this picture of Maggy Rogow, I will wish I hadn’t cut it:

I LOVE MAGGY (and especially her hair).

Ughhhhh… Basically when I have short hair I want long hair and when I have long hair I want short hair. It’s a vicious cycle. Okay, it’s not really even a cycle. It’s just me being fickle.

And if I cut it, HOW should I cut it?

1. Jayma Mays

2. Lauren Conrad

3. Sarah Chalke (I know this picture is awkward but I like her hair.)

4. Taylor Momsen (The irony of using a Taylor Momsen hair photo is not lost on me, as we all know her current hair looks like something the cat dragged in.)

5. Kristin Cavallari (I have a full-on love affair with her hair during Laguna Beach. Seriously. I brought her photo in to my hairdresser once and it turned out not like hers, but maybe I can try again?)

It’s so sad how much of my mental energy is being devoted to my hair as of late. HELP ME.

youtube ad fail

She’s 16. Come on, youtube. You think I’m NOT GOING TO KNOW THAT?