Starkid SPACE TOUR With Guest Star Charlene Kaye

The SPACE tour was really an amazing experience… I mean, I literally stood less than ten metres away from people who before this I had only seen through my computer screen. And that never necessarily gave me the view I wanted. But you probably don’t even know who Starkid is, do you?

Starkid, or Team Starkid, is a group of young preformers from the University of Michigan. Their claim to fame is their parody musical, “A Very Potter Musical”, its sequel, “A Very Potter Sequel” and their two original musicals, “Me and My Dick” and “Starship”. (All of Starkid’s musicals can be found on Youtube, under the name StarkidPotter). They created with them a subculture to the Harry Potter culture and a lot of inside jokes. The Potter Musicals feature Darren Criss (of Glee fame) as Harry Potter, Joey Richter as Ron Weasley, Bonnie Grueson as Hermione Granger, Dylan Saunders as Dumbledore, Jaime-Lyn Beatty as Ginny Weasley and Rita Skeeter, Brian Holden as Remus Lupin, Lauren Lopez as Draco Malfoy, Joe Walker as Umbridge and Voldemort and a slew of other people. Their videos have passed 100 million views on Youtube, and have recently announced their intent to “A Very Potter Threequel”, with Darren Criss in it when his schedule between “How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Glee” allow it. This, however, doesn’t mean the Starkids haven’t been busy. Putting on “Starship” of which Darren isn’t in, but he wrote a lot of music for, made them busy as it put Joe Walker in as Commander Up, Dylan Saunders as Pincer and Tootsie Noodles, Jaime Lyn Beatty as Neato Mosquito, Brian Holden as Junior, Lauren Lopez as Taz and Bugette, Meredith Stepien as Mega Girl, and Joey Richter in the starring role of Bug. Their original music as well as humor makes them well remembered and has gained them a grand following.

Fast forward to Early Fall 2011, where they announce that 7 members of Team Starkid will be touring for all of November. In Canada, with only two locations, the tickets sold out fast, even with the two extra shows being added. These concerts were to be held in London and Toronto. Thanksgiving weekend for us, the tickets went on sale, and some like Toronto, sold out in seconds, others like the London one, lucky for me, sold out within the hour. It took me 3 tries to get my tickets, in my hotel room in Ottawa. Three tickets, and 123 dollars later, I knew I would be able to go see Starkid. Finally! I had eagerly watched their LeakyCon footage and I was almost as excited as I was when I went to the Wizard Rock Concert in Grade 9. I was ready to meet a bunch of likeminded Harry Potter fans. I was happy to be able to go and scream until I couldn’t hear myself (If you find any of the footage on Youtube, you can hear me sing, extremely badly, because it was scream-singing more than anything else). I knew all the songs, and I knew that while we might me standing in line for hours, we were still going to see them, hear them preform, maybe even touch them. It never occurred to me that I was going with three people who were all shorter than me, and it may not have seats.

            We ended up arriving in London at about 5:30. By then, there were already about 100 people in line… Or so it seemed. We had a little bit of a worry when we couldn’t find the venue, which was tucked away in a very sketchy area, but we banded together with about 7 other people and eventually found the line. We got to know our line-mates too! That’s one of the things that I love most of all about Harry Potter concerts. You go, with a couple friends and you end up making a bunch of friends along the way, that was the way it was at the wrock concert, when I joined a Harry Potter Roleplaying game and at the Starkid concert. Two of our new friends lived in London, which was especially nice for them! They were both 13, and were just as excited as we were! The other three we met had traveled by train from Ottawa, where they went to Nepean, and knew my uncle…

            The concert itself, while hard to see, was amazing. Half of it was because there were about three hundred people around you jumping up and down for joy. The screaming and the sheer exhilaration were the best thing there, utterly surrounding you. The Starkid's shiny outfits! And just so much fun! After so many songs, but not nearly enough at the same time, sweating, not able to stop smiling and just can't believe my luck, it was over. And we rushed to buy merchandise! I got a purple shirt and a program. Expensive, maybe, but so awesome! By the time we got home from London, it was midnight, I had no voice and I could not have been happier.

 Charlene Kaye, and the London 7pm Show (OURS!)

Joey Richter on stage.

 < - STARKID!

 Fans are insane and will even get pictures taken with the buses.

 Some new friends from Ottawa we met!

 An epic beginning to an amazing show!

 Look! They're in front of me! Not on a screen!

 Great Day!

WELCOME TO OCTOBER!!!

Which means I should start thinking about Halloween costumes...

Actually, it means that I have so much homework and a project which my partener has yet to show up for so we can film a commercial. And I'm getting kinda irratated.

But anyway, there's more interesting things than the life of a sixteen year old girl in grade 11, taking way too many hard courses, and grade 12 classical civs, plus taking a grade 7 piano exam and on probation for dance.

In other words, I don't have much time so when I do have time I'd like people not to waste it... Erggg!

ANYWAY...
So Lily, still up for doing the 10th Doctor while I do the 11th?
Because I want to wear a suit to school one day, and not be stared at too much. Also, bowties are cool!
Yes, i watched the finale last night, there were funny bits, but it wasn't as good as last years, I think. We'll see what I think after I've watched it seven or eight times.

I also realized that I have all of series 6 on our PVR and almost all of series 1, and then bits of the other series. That's pretty nice to be able to have them there whenever I want them, without having to buy the season and what not. And we still have 700-something hours left to record. Plus we have other things on the PVR too, so it has good storage.

I love my PVR.

And, now I'm going to go, not because the person who was supposed to come 2 hours ago has arrived, but because I don't have anything interesting to say...

Sorry guys!

Song stuck in my head: It's not technically a song, it's a parody that was written called "Going to Certamen" and it's to the tune of "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. It's pretty good! :)
Book I'm reading: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, previously Emily the Strange: the Dark Days, and Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes.

OH! Yeah, I`m in Pottermore. Yes, it means I`m cooler than anyone. No I will not say my house.

BYE!!! BETHANY

Well, it's certainly been awhile...

I feel like this happens a lot, we started off this blog wanting to blog everyother day, except Sundays and it just doesn't work... At all. So half the posts on here are sorry we didn't do what we were supposed to. Don't hate us!
But anyways... It's been a while. Stuff has happened. More than 6 months have passed... And I'm saying sorry, again.
I will try to blog more but I've decided to do my grade 7 piano exam in January, plus I have school... And dance... No promises. No garentees. But I shall try! :)

-Bethany

Computer Class

Guess what??? I'm in my computers class right now. We're doing nothing (as per usual) so I decided to do a post because I have nothing better to do.

So it's been a while since I haven't posted in a while. There's not really anything new in my life so I guess I'll have to find something interesting to talk about. Oh, I guess I'm kinda, a little obsessed with Zelda manga. For anyone who doesn't know, Zelda is THE BEST video game in the world. There are I think close to or over 10 different video games. Essentially the premise is relativly the same. The hero dude Link has to defeat some dark, evil power to save everybody (mainly princess Zelda (love interest in most games)). I make them sound boring but they're not, THE MOST AWESOME GAME IN THE WORLD!!! Go here if you want to see the games.

I can't think of much else; I'm going to see Beastly today but other than that, ya....

Lils

Books: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Mockingjay, Across the Universe, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (manga)
Song: We R Lightning Scars, DUMBLEDORE
Quote: "Bolded, underlined, and in red and yellow... GRYFFINDOR!" ~ Bethany

I'm on a Time Limit so Let's GO!!!

I'm on a time limit so let's GO!!!

What I'm talking about this week:
a) Holocaust + WWII + Speakers
b) French???
c) Gloating

A) + B)
So, being in Grade 10 this year, I get to learn History. And the kind and generous beings that my parents are decided to enroll me in French Immersion ten years ago, and I, being the amazing person that I am, decided not to let 8 hard years of work go to waste and am currently working on my Extended French Certificate. So, this year I'm taking three courses in French, including History. And what we're working on now is World War II. That's the premise.

So basically, I am learning about the Holocaust, and Nazi's and whatever right now. Now, I'd say that I've not been sheltered from the truth and the horrors of the Holocaust. My first book about it, that I picked I might add, was Hanna's Suitcase when I was eight years old. Since then I've read a bunch of others including the Journey Through the Night series, a couple books by Corrie ten Boom, and recently, The Book Thief. I also read the Dear Canada for WWII, and about the liberation of Holland by Canadian Soldiers, etc. Three of my grandparents survived the occupation of the Netherlands, and my other grandfather wasn't old enough to fight, and was here in Canada. Although, now, I only have two grandparents who survived it, I do know about it.

One of my favorite stories that I know, comes from my mom. I like the story because it shows that not every Nazi wanted Jews dead, and also because it showed how ordinary people became extraordinary. And it goes something like this:

'My great-grandmother, my Oma was a very strong person. My great-grandfather, Opa, had fought against the Nazi invasion and as such was wanted as a Prisoner of War. But my Opa also was a very loving person, and while my Oma might have been able to just hide Opa and his two brothers from the Nazis, without Opa she wouldn't have helped so many Jewish people. At the time of this story, they had the three brothers under the window of their store, Jewish adults hiding in the cellar, Jewish children whose hair was being bleached to blend in with her five children and three Nazi soldiers in the house. On the last day the Nazis were staying with them, when the car came to pick the soldiers up she walked the three men outside and the commander turned to her and started screaming. He was screaming about how the food at her house was horrible, the beds were filled with diseases, and the cellars filled with mice. At that moment, just before my Oma started crying because she couldn't think of what she had done to make him think this, one of the Jewish girls ran by and the commander leaned in and said quietly to her "You need to dye their hair again." '

This man risked his life, so instead of reporting her, and causing everyone in that house to the concentration camps, he saved them.

The suffering in the camps was horrible, but I find that sometimes the ordinary people who saved millions of lives, their stories are lost in the horror of the others.

Recently, I met a man named Andy Reiti (I hope that's how it's spelled) who survived the Holocaust. He is the same age as my Nana, who was 2 when the war ended, and he told us his and his mother's story. It was one of those stories that makes you remember what you really do have.

My favorite part was when he talked about what happened after the holocaust. Because how do you walk away from the millions of deaths of people. His father and paternal grandparents all died at Auschwitz. And because I, after not as bad a horror as that, but with problems find myself asking "What do I do now? There aren't crises anymore so what do you do?" And he went back like everything was normal.

We just recently finished watching a movie called Schindler's List in History. It was spoken in French with English subtitles. I strongly urge anyone 18 and older and perhaps younger if you can get your parents to agree. It's quite graphic, but very incredible. But, here's where the second thing comes in, today when we finished it, my teacher was talking to us about the movie (in french, obviously) she asked us whether or not we thought that standing by was the same thing as actually killing someone, instead of helping them. And that's a difficult question that I don't think very many people my age think about that sort of thing. Someone said that the people who didn't help were obviously scared for their families. I basically boiled down the question to: Is one person's life more important that another's? And that's a difficult question, too. It's one that some philosophers have trouble with in their mother language. So how are we, 15 and 16 year olds supposed to respond to that in what is either our second or third language.

So, maybe because I know, and I am very proud of both my Nana and my Grandpa, whose families hid Jews during the war. Or maybe because I know that my other grandma, who I've never met, due to her death when my dad was 13, that her family didn't hide Jews, but rather supplies and other things. But, one person's life isn't more important than another, and while, yes it is horrible what happened and that we should never forget, and never think that this wasn't real, but there are heroes all around us, unsung heroes, who saved millions of lives and because they can't mention every single one of them, we have to speak up.

C)
Lily! You haven't edited yet! SO MY STUFF IS STILL THERE! HAH!

Also, what do you think about an Essay about Harry Potter. I'm thinking: 'Why James and Not Him' about Snape and Lily. Thoughts?

Song: Wizard Rock by The Boyz Who Lived, and Maybe by Lauren Fairweather.
Book: Still Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Quote: I will be, after a delicious Red Vine! ~Ron, AVPS

Bethany OUT!

Oma is the dutch word for Grandma
Opa is the dutch word for Grandpa


Time: Over by 24 minutes.... oops!

FIRST SLEEPOVER AT BETHANY'S NEW HOUSE!!! (YAY!!!)

Lily-Bethany Conversations.

FIRST SLEEPOVER AT BETHANY'S NEW HOUSE!!! (YAY!!!) *sigh*

Bethany: ...
Lily: dot dot dot.
Bethany: ...
Lily: *laughs*
Bethany: *blank face*
Lily: *being creepy.. again*
Bethany: Don't we have something important to tell them?
Lily: This is quite amusing actually.
Bethany: I'M SUFFERING FROM FANFICTION OBSESSION. It's been 5 days since I've read Fanfiction. Sos...
Lily: I WON! (actually was Bethany saying that for Lily since she isn't talking AT ALL... *Pointed look*)
Lily: You need the other parenteses.
Bethany: Nope.
Lily: Yes, you do Bethany.
Bethany: I refuse.
Lily: You also need to put a capital B.
Bethany: There. Happy?
Lily: NO! I am not happy! I will NEVER BE HAPPY! I want to read, I want to read Zelda Manga.
Bethany : SO, Lily won this contest, which she isn't telling you about, and so we will post it here.

***CAUTION!!! CONTROVERSIAL VIEWS AHEAD***
I believe that God sends you people for a reason: so that you can learn from them and teach them something in return. This is one of the things that my new blossoming relationship with God has taught me. The best thing I have learned in the past year is to trust in God. I liked a boy for my entire grade eight year. He was a jerk. I don’t know what I could have possibly seen in him. When I came to my new high school this past September, I was kind of miserable because I was losing this one guy. At my new school, I met another boy. This boy was intelligent, compassionate and most of all quirky, like me. Eventually, he asked me out and we became boyfriend and girlfriend. Since then, he has been nothing but the sweetest boyfriend I could ever ask for. He is so fantastic and such a good influence, but the best thing he taught me is to listen to what God is telling you and to trust him. He made me so happy that, being the Christian that I am, I realised I had so much to be thankful for. My wonderful family and friends, all the things I’m so blessed to have…the list goes on! This strengthened my relationship with God. Suddenly, I was paying more attention in church and seeking to be more active in my faith. If I had just listened to God and trusted him to guide me, I would have let go of that jerk I used to like and moved on. I would have saved myself so much unnecessary sorrow. God gave me my amazing boyfriend and the only way I can think to thank him is by being more faithful and trusting in him. I was clinging by my fingernails to a cliff; afraid to let go; to fall into the black void below me. I now know if I had just let go, my God would have delivered me to the light. Even if my relationship with my boyfriend doesn’t last, it has at least taught me something very important: even when things seem to be spiralling downwards, trust God. He knows what’s best. -- Lily

Bethany: So, she won the grades 9 to 12 area and she wins a book prize. Look out for more videos coming soon!
Lily, your infos:
Lily: Book: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkein, Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Song: Lumos Flies, by ALL CAPS
Quote: Redvines! -Harry Potter, AVPS
Bethany: Book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Song: Dear Harry by the Parselmouths
Quote: I want Hermione Granger!...And a Rocketship!!! -Draco Malfoy, AVPM

Goodbyez and look for more videos coming soon!

Wizard Rock, New Attempts and March Break

In the hopes that I actually post on this blog more often, I've decided that for the rest of February and ALL of march, I'm going to post about once a week. And I hopefully won't be swamped by homework and other stuff, so I can do that.

In other news, I'M GOING TO THE GRAND CANYON FOR MY SWEET SIXTEENTH!!! Yes, you can be jealous, because I am going to see my Second of the Seven Wonders of the World. Because, honestly, Niagra Falls doesn't count any more, unless I'm going down in a barrel, which I will NEVER, EVER do....

So, I have a essay that's worth 25% of 30% of my final mark in History so I have to be getting back to that, but I hope that you're all well.

What are you doing over March Break?

Song Stuck in my Head: Who is Blaise Zabini? by the Parselmouths, and Wizard Rock by the Boyz Who Lived.
Book: Pride and Predjeduce by Jane Austen.
Quote: "The Socerer's Stone is where it all began, the Chamber was the Secret and you let us in, the Prisoner of Azkaban turned out to be and okay guy. In the Goblet of Fire he was way too young, the Order of the Pheonix was really long, the Half-Blood Prince gave some really really good advice. The Deathly Hallows were scary times, a lot of people died..." -Wizard Rock, The Boyz Who Lived.

It's Been A While

Wow, it's been a long time. I haven't blogged in like forever!!!

I have so much I want to say!!! Like for example: EXAMS ARE DONE!!! (hallelujah chorus in background) !!! A new semester has started at my school and my new core subjects are science, english and geography, so there will be a lot more homework. Anyhow, I'm still excited for science because we get to set stuff on fire in chemistry and we will finally have an entire unit on astronomy (YES!!!) so I will get to show off all my knowledge of the cosmos!!! I'm also excited for english cause then I can display my writing skills and hopefully improve them too. Geography, one word: boring!!! Oh, well at least I like the teacher, he's fun. I also have one new course instead of art (sigh =( ), computers, adn I am finally learning how to type (just for the record, I'm not typing properly right now, using my thumb, index, middle and pinky fingers is faster).

Another thing, is you guys should watch our homemade House Song (by Ministry of Magic) music video here, because IT IS AWESOME!!! EVERYONE IN THAT VIDEO PWNS!!! (mostly me though....jokes, jokes, but really it is awesome. I think we should win.)

Also, now that Betho's mom is my reading mentor for school, I may be seeing Bethany more often than I already do!!! Yay!!! Which now has me thinking, Behto we need to make another video blog, now that you have your own channel and all (which I don't recall you telling me about....).

Well I can't think of anything else so see y'all!!!
Lils

Songs: On the Other Side - Ministry of Magic, Lumos Flies - All Caps
Books: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - J.J.R. Tolkien, Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (finished today), Across the Universe - Beth Revis (hopefully starting today, it sounds really good)
Quote: Up the spiral staircase only to find, a empty perch within an empty room. A sealed up Snitch, a book of nusery rhymes, the end of all our conversations. Close my eyes, maybe I am only dreaming. Try to lie, to myself you are only sleeping. Close my eyes, I close my eyes... And so the phoenix cries, and so the phoenix flies. I gotta always keep in mind, another great adventure waits on the other side. I'll see you on the other side. ~ On the Other Side, Ministry of Magic

An Apparently Really Obscure Harry Potter Quiz

So, I, Bethany, being myself, got really annoyed at a few Harry Potter Quizes for being too easy so I made one myself. Basically, just sos you know, I hope to update this blog at least once a week now, but there will be other things that I thought of that will probably be included. Also, have you seen our newest blog? It's a story. You should check it out => here. Anyway, try out this quiz. The answers will be there eventually. Or just put them in a comment and I'll get back to you. Also, don't feel bad if you need to reread the Harry Potter books once you're done, or if you need them to do the quiz. Anyways, here it is:

1.       September 1, 2017 is significant for what reason?

a)      It was Teddy Lupin’s first year at Hogwarts.

b)      It was Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley’s first year at Hogwarts.

c)       It was Harry, Hermione and Ron’s first year at Hogwarts.

d)      It was Albus Potter and Rose Weasley’s first year at Hogwarts.

2.       In the Sorcerer/Philosopher’s Stone, after Fluffy, what is the difference between the book and the movie?

a)      If you relax the plant lets you through in the book.

b)      Hermione makes a fire in the book rather than a mini sun in the movie.

c)       It’s Venomous Tentaculas in the movie, but Devil’s Snare in the book.

d)      There is no plant in the task after Fluffy.

3.       Blaise Zambini went into which house?

a)      Gryffindor

b)      Ravenclaw

c)       Slytherin

d)      Hufflepuff

4.       The first Hufflepuff petrified by the monster at Hogwarts was:

a)      Hannah Abbott

b)      Justin Finch-Fletchley

c)       Zacharius Smith

d)      Susan Bones

5.       What were the titles of the books assigned in Care of Magical Creatures?

a)      The Monster Book of Monsters, Year with the Yeti

b)      Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Voyages with a Vampire

c)       Year with the Yeti, Voyages with a Vampire

d)      Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Monster Book of Monsters

6.       Buckbeak was renamed to

a)      Gideon

b)      Whitherwings

c)       Treadertalon

d)      He wasn’t

7.       The one thing all of the Lockhart books have in common is:

a)      They were not actually written by Lockhart

b)      The titles are all alliterations

c)       They’re all false

d)      They were on the class list for 1992

8.       Which of these isn’t on Hogwarts grounds?

a)      The Whomping Willow

b)      The Black Lake

c)       The Forbidden Forest

d)      The Shrieking Shack

9.       Which of these creates weren’t on Hogwarts grounds during Harry’s years at Hogwarts?

a)      Banshee

b)      Vampires

c)       Werewolves

d)      Giants

10.   Who are we unsure of what house they’re in?

a)      Ernie MacMillan

b)      Sally-Anne Perks

c)       Daphne Greengrass

d)      Lily Evans

11.   What animal can James Potter transform into?

a)      Dog

b)      Lion

c)       Doe

d)      Stag

12.   Which month was Lily Evans born in?

a)      January

b)      February

c)       March

d)      December

13.   When was Draco Malfoy born?

a)      June 5, 1980

b)      March 1, 1980

c)       July 30, 1980

d)      September 17, 1979

14.   In total JK Rowling wrote how many Harry Potter books?

a)      10

b)      9

c)       7

d)      8

15.   The “Final Battle” took place on what day?

a)      June 7^th, 1998

b)      September 1^st, 2019

c)       May 2^nd, 2008

d)      May 2^nd, 1998

16.   ‘Don’t call me Nyphadora’ Tonks has what ability

a)      Metamorphmagus

b)      Auror

c)       Metamorphmagas

d)      Shape shifting

Bonus: Name all of the Weasley’s starting with Molly and Arthur, and name all children and grandchildren. One point per person named.

Song Stuck in my head: Prerequisites, The Parselmouths, Time Turner, Ministry of Magic
Book I'm Reading: Looking for Alaska, John Green, Pride and Predjudice, Jane Austen
Quote: "Favorite Amy Mann song on three, one, two three. REDVINES" "REDVINES"
           "Favorite type of vines other than green vines." "Redvines!"
           "Favorite way to say red wines in a german accent." "Redvines"
           "Oh my god! Where have you been all my life."
           "In a cupboard under the stairs."
           "Spock-five."