The latest Harry Potter movie has arrived and with it has come an onslaught of excited teens. It was hard to miss all the students dressed as if they were attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and anyone who has checked Facebook in the past week has undoubtedly noticed that they can’t scroll down their news feed without noticing a Harry Potter related post. Walking through the halls on Thursday and Friday, one was likely to encounter at least one discussion concerning Potter. I know over a dozen teens who attended the midnight showing, and I would guess, due to the amount of tickets already sold out, that by Monday a significant percentage of GBN will have attended the phenomenon. Even kids who never read the books plan to go see the movie.
I find myself amazed by the world that J.K. Rowling has created. Her book has brought in more money and attention than any other novel I can remember. But, what is most impressive is the uniqueness and depth of the world she has created. Books can very easily over take me and I am often caught up in the worlds they describe to me. However, Harry Potter was unlike any other book before. The world had never seen such an in-depth and plausible, world of wizardry. J,K Rowling took great care to make sure that every aspect of the world in her books could be in our world. For a while I even thought that there was a wizarding world that muggle me just didn’t know about because it was so well hidden. Granted I was about 7 or 8 at the time, but I doubt I was the only one. The books are that realistic, and the puzzle of how they fit into our world is not missing a single piece.
In the creation of such revolutionary works, Rowling has reached heights that will likely not be reached again for a long period of time. However, I would bet that the generations that follow hours will know Harry just as well as we do.
To view the trailer for the new movie go to this site:
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows/mainsite/index.html
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Pass on the Legacy
“The sun will come out tomorrow,” sings 11 year old Shannon Tavarez in a YouTube video posted July 9, 2010. If only those words had held truth for her. The sun is now rising for Shannon in heaven while her friends, family, and the thousands she touched mourn in the wake of her passing.
Shannon, who played Nala in the Broadway musical “The Lion King,” died Monday November 1, after a heroic battle with acute myeloid leukemia (aml). Throughout her life Shannon’s dream had been to be on Broadway, a dream that was replaced by the goal of simply surviving. Shannon will never get to rise to her full potential.
Though her life was short her legacy will truly live on through those who will now get to live because of her. Shannon’s campaign to find a bone marrow donor inspired thousands of people to register as donors. Unfortunately, due to Shannon’s ethnicity, Dominican and African American, her bone marrow match was never found.
This is the tragic reality for 83% of African Americans searching for a bone marrow match and for 6 out of any 10 people who are in need of a transplant. Sadly the registry is nowhere near as large as is needed and ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented with only 3% being multiple race donors, 8% African American donors, 9% Hispanic donors, and 7% Asian donors.
I realize that most people who may read this post are not yet 18, and cannot yet register to be a donor. However, I urge anyone who reads this to please talk to everyone you know who is old enough to register. Registering is quick and painless. A simple cheek swab and its over. If more people were registered Shannon and many others may still be here today. Somebody’s life may depend on you.
"If you save one life it's as if you have saved the world”
-Talmud
To find out how to register visit these sites:
http://www.dkmsamericas.org/home
http://oneforjasmina.com/#/become_a_donor
To find out more about Shannon and others like her visit these websites:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101102/ap_en_ot/us_obit_tavarez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sxrAZvd01A&feature=related
http://matchshannon.com/
http://oneforjasmina.com/#/jasminas_story
Shannon, who played Nala in the Broadway musical “The Lion King,” died Monday November 1, after a heroic battle with acute myeloid leukemia (aml). Throughout her life Shannon’s dream had been to be on Broadway, a dream that was replaced by the goal of simply surviving. Shannon will never get to rise to her full potential.
Though her life was short her legacy will truly live on through those who will now get to live because of her. Shannon’s campaign to find a bone marrow donor inspired thousands of people to register as donors. Unfortunately, due to Shannon’s ethnicity, Dominican and African American, her bone marrow match was never found.
This is the tragic reality for 83% of African Americans searching for a bone marrow match and for 6 out of any 10 people who are in need of a transplant. Sadly the registry is nowhere near as large as is needed and ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented with only 3% being multiple race donors, 8% African American donors, 9% Hispanic donors, and 7% Asian donors.
I realize that most people who may read this post are not yet 18, and cannot yet register to be a donor. However, I urge anyone who reads this to please talk to everyone you know who is old enough to register. Registering is quick and painless. A simple cheek swab and its over. If more people were registered Shannon and many others may still be here today. Somebody’s life may depend on you.
"If you save one life it's as if you have saved the world”
-Talmud
To find out how to register visit these sites:
http://www.dkmsamericas.org/home
http://oneforjasmina.com/#/become_a_donor
To find out more about Shannon and others like her visit these websites:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101102/ap_en_ot/us_obit_tavarez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sxrAZvd01A&feature=related
http://matchshannon.com/
http://oneforjasmina.com/#/jasminas_story
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