Basically, the idea of the American Dream means that working class Americans often vote against their economic interests, because they want policies that will help them “when” they’re better off, and so they paradoxically end up reducing social mobility. This is probably tied to the fact that (partly since class in America is almost purely economic?) almost everyone thinks of themselves as middle class.

False hope — through religion, through promises of wealth (or marrying a prince?) — is the opium of the people.

The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
Workers of the world, unite!

• OK, the director and screenwriter clearly ship Harry and Hermione. Harry/Ginny is played right down — where’s the “birthday present” scene? OK, maybe ratings for that. But they talk to each other for about five seconds, and it isn’t Ron who interrupts them either. And there’s tonnes of gratuitious Harry/Hermione sexual tension that just shouldn’t be there.
• There’s a scene where Hermione memory charms her parents. That gets about a line in the book. The film does it brilliantly. I thought we were in for more of an insight into Ron and Hermione, but Ron’s one-dimensional as ever and it turns out we’re only meant to like Hermione so we ship her and Harry.
• Hedwig’s death is crap. She randomly swoops straight into the path of an Avada Kevada that wasn’t even obviously headed for Harry.
• Where did the invisibility cloak go?
• The film does far better than the book with Voldemort = fascism. Also, say what you like about fascism, but the architecture’s great.
• Splinching is leaving behind body parts, not a few gashes in Ron’s arm.
• Are Ron and Hermione official in the book? Because there’s barely a hint of that in the film. They hug as they’re changing back into themselves from Harry, and that’s it. Further evidence that this film should be regarded as a Harry/Hermione ship fic.
• I shudder to think of the Rule 34 of multiple Harrys.
• Where did the wedding go? We seem to cut straight to the reception, leaving the final moment of happiness and optimism that the wedding provides. There was room for thirty seconds of wedding in there.
• Could they not have at least tried to paper over the massive plot-induced stupidity from the books that they always wear the locket instead of putting it in Hermione’s bag or something?
• The effects are generally a bit OTT, but the scene where Ron confronts his fears to destroy the locket has them turned up to eleven when they need to be on about two. Swirling clouds with random lights, hordes of spiders, booming voices, phantasmal naked Harry and Hermione (with strategically placed clouds) making out (see what I mean about shipping?). As I read the books, that stuff is in Ron’s head. The effects turn it from Ron’s redemption into just another dramatic effects sequence. (They really don’t like Ron, do they?)
• “Blackthorn, ten inches.” “Engorgio!“. Hey, maybe that’s why Hermione is so pissed off at Ron…. Anyway, lots of wand-based innuendo.
• Hey, that’s supposed to be Griphook. You could, you know, remind us though, instead of expecting us to remember him from the first film. I’m not even sure he looks the same.
• That’s Shell Cottage, where Bill and Fleur live. No need to tell us that to explain why they’ve just Apparated right next to a house, when they’ve been in the middle of nowhere all the rest of the time.
• “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.” Where did that go? Instead, the film ends with some slightly homoerotic shots of Voldemort taking the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb then *ahem* shooting his magical lightning juice into the air (see above).
• The film’s pretty short — slightly over two hours, and it didn’t feel like they’d cut very much from the book. I think they could probably have cut a few more gratuitous sweeping countryside shots and squeezed it all into one long film. Actually, though, to be fair, I’ve got a feeling Part 2 will be faster, and I think fitting everything into one film would be a push. (Youth of today, no appetite for six-hour films.)

Overall impression: Fairly good, and less annoying that any of the rest I’ve seen (that doesn’t include Half-Blood Prince).

Time flies when you’re having fun — it certainly seems true to me. I’m not sure about the converse, but see the above comment about interminable angsty nights. I’d say I’ve been generally pretty happy (barring the odd bout of angst (I’m writing “angst” a lot tonight)) since I got my act together with coursework early in Year 11 (not sure that was the cause, but it feels like a turning point), and I’m now going “was that really two years ago”? Looking back, I realise I’ve done a lot and changed a lot since then, but it’s still a shock that I’ve just applied for university, my friends a year above me are there already and relaying tales, my friends in my year are driving to school, turning 18…. Time’s flown. I’ve tried to make the most of it, and I think generally I haven’t done a bad job, except for this summer, where apart from a week’s camping in the Lakes I did almost exactly nothing, from a long list of things I wanted to do but never actually turned into a list (wherin lies my problem, I think), but there’s so much more I wish I’d done and was doing. I’ve got into the probably unhealthy habit of staying up late into the night at my computer, I suppose so I’m living a little more life. I spend quite a lot of time doing various not-particularly-productive bits and pieces, and sometimes I feel I’d like to cut down on that, but I generally feel like I need that downtime.

As I mentioned before, I’ve just applied to university. I’ve been back at school over a month, and it feels like I’ve hardly had chance to breathe. I really don’t have all that much time left at school, then the long summer holiday, then I’ll be at university. What scares me is this rush towards adulthood and middle age. Given the rate the last two years have gone, a four-year degree won’t feel that long, and then I’m looking for a job or a PhD studentship. Heck, the last 17 and a bit years haven’t felt like all that long. That long again (and it’ll feel shorter) and I’m practically middle-aged. OK, I’m just scaring myself now. But I really do feel like there’s so much to do and so little time. I’m starting to rethink my long-held belief that eighty or ninety years will be more than long enough for me. Heck, what I could really do with is a clone with a shared mind (also xkcd 105).

In the meantime though, I think the practical solution is to keep up with work and try to have a bit of fun productive stuff — reading list and stuff, maybe NaNoWriMo — during term, and have busy holidays. I need to plan next summer far more than this one was, because it’ll be longer, I ought to do far more, and even my trip to the Lakes was a bit last-minutey and probably not quite what I’d have gone for if I’d have planned in time. I’m thinking of cycling in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and/or Germany (Paris to Berlin is probably waaaaaay overambitious but would be awesome), maybe working for a month or so, having an epic crunch of my reading list, I’ll need to prepare for university… see what I mean about needing two of me?

This was mostly written last night (relative to posting time). I wasn’t angsty by the end, but I wasn’t tired either :(

tl;dr: I’m getting old.

1. Keep a diary
I tried to do this last year, and I kept it for four or five months in total. I’d like to try again, and I’d like to try to keep it up for the whole year.

2. Blog more
Yeah. I tried to do this last year as well. Hopefully I’ll do a little better this year. I’m going to aim for a minimum one/month, but I’d like to try and do more.

3. Read some books
OK, so I already do quite a lot of this. But there are quite a few books I’d like to read, but need a bit of motivation to get started on, and I’d quite like to read some books I otherwise wouldn’t. I’ll post a partial list here, and I’ll keep an updated list as well, because I’m bound to think of others later.

• On Liberty, JS Mill;
• Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes;
• Paradise Lost, John Milton (at least try it);
• Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger;
• Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (for teh lulz);

I’d also appreciate suggestions. If you comment below or otherwise contact me with a suggestion, and I can reasonably get hold of the book, I’ll make it a resolution to at least give every one a go.

There are fewer than last year, but hopefully I stand a better chance of keeping them. Hopefully.

Addendum, later that evening: As a corrolary to 2 and 3, I will try to review at least some of the more interesting books I am reading.

1. Keep a diary in my Moleskine
Moleskines are beautiful. I probably won’t live up to that with my scribblings, but they’ll be valuable to me in years to come. I look back on the half-dozen diary entries I have left from previous years and regret not having written more.