BREAKING: The Wizarding World reaches America

This. is. huge.

JK Rowling, whose Wizarding World was based in England and all of its attendees spoke in british accents, has addressed its beta-English speakers. As in... America.

For her latest installment, the so-called prequel "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," NEWT Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is based in NYC where they use a different word for non-magical folk. Instead of a muggle, in the boroughs and beyond we call a person void of magical powers a "no-maj."

In reading this, I almost slapped myself in the face and said "DUH" this is something that sounds so incredibly American and apparent. Quite literally, a person with "no magic." Thanks JK, for making us ever so much less eloquent but even more endearing. I dig it. 

Celebrities were best before we knew them

As somewhat of a social media afficionada, it may come across slightly hypocrytical to be posting yet again about what's wrong with so much sharing. As a writer, I am ready and willing to defend my stand.

When the term "web" was just what our repulsive little 8-legged friends spun, people gave eachother their numbers, made phone calls to house phones and went on dates to movie theatres. On screen were these untouchable deities, creating magic on a screen. They were actual "stars" - comparable to the confusing gasseous flickers in the night sky that were so far out of reach but still so fascinating. This was why they were alluring.

Yes, most of them had terrible philandrous habits. Yes more often than not they died young of overdose or suicide. But to the masses, they were impeccable beings.

The truth in the inspiration behind this ramble is that, being so connected to my own social media, I am constantly reading and being forced to digest personal things about celebrities that I like, and in some cases revere. Gwen Stefani is in the hot-seat for canoodling with Blake Shelton after both of their divorces; Justin Bieber was seen smoking cigarettes at a party and this is speculatively connected to his past misdeameanors. What is really standing out for me is Quentin Tarantino's recent voice about police brutality, that he says is being spun to demonise him. 

As an avid fan of Tarantino movies, there was nothing I was looking forward to more this Christmas than the release of The Hateful Eight. Now, because he chose to come down from his throne and join a march against police, people are upset about his stance and wondering why he would make such waves so close to the release of his 8th movie. Instead of just wanting to see the man's work which I respect so much, it is almost making a "political" statement to support the man behind it. 

Law enforcement agencies have since called for a boycott of his movie next month as a way to fight back against his comment that "he has to call the murderers murderers."

Tarantino spoke to the LA Times to set the record straight, saying he did not say nor imply that all cops are murderers, and that he will not be intimidated by the threat of  boycotts. But what about those of us who don't want to get in the middle and just want to respect him for the director he is rather than his social and political stances? Can I be a fan of his work and his dynasty without having to also adopt his beliefs?

The hard part about this separation is that, because of how publicised celebrity moves are, the separation is a very thin, very fine line. Instead of being able to discuss "Tarantino" as a filmmaker, his name is currently in conversation as an activist. There seems to be a thinning out of the fictional worlds we see created and the ones we live in. Generally speaking, it seems now that when we sign up to stand by someone who we respect for their trade, it comes with a binding contract that we must also stand by their beliefs.

There's a limit to the magic made now because the creators walk among us. There used to be a rule for dinner parties: don't talk about religion or politics. Unfortunately, now it is all blending. The category of filmmaking as entertainment, at least in the case of Tarantino, just got squeezed into the conversation of politics.

Should Tarantino, like any other artist, be able to hold and support his own beliefs? Absolutely. Should I  have to take a stance with or against him in order to enjoy his work? I hope not. 

Captain's Log Week One: Solitude

It has officially been one week that I have been out of work.

For as long as I remember, I have had part time jobs, throughout the summer and during school and college. After college, I was hired a recruitment agency for a temporary position, killed it, and was hired full time.

I say that I killed it only because that's how I have always been: I came hot out of the gates with a burning desire to reach the end before I have a look around and realize what I might be tearing up on the course before the finish line.

This job was a dream. I was arriving every day in the wondrous Grand Central Station, swiping into my office building and being shot up to the 22nd floor where the music was always playing, people were always friendly, and there was a keg waiting for us on Friday afternoons, yes, in the middle of the office.

SO WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH THAT?

A lot. I was so enchanted by my co-workers and the friendships I had developed with them that I forgot: I'm a writer. I'm a creator. I'm an explorer. I'm spending the bulk of my waking hours doing a job that I feel no immediate attachment to, just so I could be part of the crew that I had learned to love so much and pay my student loans. I felt devoted to my supervisors, and a true duty to my friends to be there - but this isn't college, this isn't summer camp, this is adulthood. "My Career"- the very thing that I apparently paid tens of thousands of dollars to my university for.

So I left my easy-enough, money-providing, free-drinks job so I could find what I want to do.

First stop: unemployment.

I continued to wake up, each day of the week, around 7 o'clock.

I read two full novels, watched the entire first season of True Detective, half of Orange Is The New Black: Season 1, ran 5 miles, went up about two shades of sun-bathed tan, enrolled to an online course for Teaching English as a Second Language, filed for unemployment, and cried.

It's hard going from part of the normal grain to sitting all alone, staring out your front door with a cup of coffee for an hour. It's FOMO to the max. But ultimately, it's a sacrifice.

MORAL to all those who are unhappy: I haven't figured out yet what I want to do or what I should be doing. But the first step was tough: I knew what it was I was doing every day was not it.

Also a bonus: Most every single one of my friends who I left at the office, including some that I thought were poor at keeping in touch, have kept touch.

Week one recap:
Still have friends
Lots of alone time
Lots of sun-bathing
A lot less stress
A lot to still search for...