Friday, June 12, 2015

25 Spellbinding Gifts All Gryffindors Need In Their Lives

Because you KNOW your letter’s on it’s way.

Gryffindor House Crest Beer Mug

Gryffindor House Crest Beer Mug

For personalised butterbeer drinking.

$15.50 at Etsy.

etsy.com

Gryffindor Monthly Planner

Gryffindor Monthly Planner

This planner comes with a 100% "No Horcrux" guarantee.

$11 at Etsy.

etsy.com

Gryffindor Bracelet

Gryffindor Bracelet

$8.50 at Hot Topic.

hottopic.com

Gryffindor Crest Flask

Gryffindor Crest Flask

AKA emergency Polyjuice Potion holder.

$39.99 at Etsy.

etsy.com


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12 Important Pieces Of Love Advice From Meg Cabot

We asked Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries series and other romance novels, for some love advice. Luckily, she delivered.

David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

If you have a crush, do you make the first move or wait for them to do it?

If you have a crush, do you make the first move or wait for them to do it?

"I recommend making the first move because that's always worked out for me. Don't do anything too overwhelming. Just be cool and ask them if they want to do something. Be specific about what it is you want to do with them instead of just asking if they want to hang out sometime. Be specific, and if they like you they'll say yes."

David Bertozzi / Krystie Yandoli / BuzzFeed

What's a good first date activity?

What's a good first date activity?

"I always like to go to see a movie or go to a concert because it's pretty chill. You don't have to talk too much, but you can talk before or after the event. I usually try to stay away from eating food unless the other person suggests it."

David Bertozzi / Krystie Yandoli / BuzzFeed

What's your first date philosophy?

What's your first date philosophy?

"There are so many things you shouldn't do on a first date. Overall, you really want to just go with the flow. If things are going well, then just go with it and see what happens."

David Bertozzi / Krystie Yandoli / BuzzFeed


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John Green Responded On Tumblr To Accusations Of Sexual Abuse

The Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars author had a response to online hate directed at him on Tumblr.

AP Richard Drew

You want me to defend myself against the implication that I sexually abuse children?

Okay. I do not sexually abuse children.

Throwing that kind of accusation around is sick and libelous and most importantly damages the discourse around the actual sexual abuse of children. When you use accusations of pedophilia as a way of insulting people whose work you don't like, you trivialize abuse.

I'm tired of seeing the language of social justice–important language doing important work–misused as a way to dehumanize others and treat them hatefully.

So we all seek (and seek to share) the jolt that accompanies outrage and anger. As studies have shown, the complicated dopamine rush that comes with righteous indignation is very powerful, and I'm indulging it simply by responding to the outrageous accusation that my work is somehow evidence of sexual abuse.

Via fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com


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Where In Middle Earth Should You Live?

One land to rule them all.

Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and many other titles, stopped by BuzzFeed to chat about her two new additions to the series. Here’s what she had to say.

David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

After publishing over 50 books that sit on the bookshelves of both teens and adults and shaping the adolescence of countless teenage girls with her famous Princess Diaries series, Meg Cabot is far from finished creating her legacy. Fifteen years after the original Princess Diaries book was published, the author is back with two new novels to include in the best-selling series: Royal Wedding and From The Notebooks of a Middle School Princess.

In Royal Wedding, readers get to learn about Princess Mia Thermopolis as a full-fledged adult who now lives in New York City, planning a future with her longtime boyfriend, Michael. Adding to the expected chaos that her lifestyle brings, Mia discovers she has a younger sister named Olivia. Both Royal Wedding and From The Notebooks of a Middle School Princess tell the story — from juxtaposed perspectives — of two sisters who are just trying to do what Mia's always tried to do: figure everything out.

BuzzFeed had the chance to catch up with Cabot and talk about her new novels, weddings, and the double standards that women face. Here's what she had to say:

It's been six years since you published your last Princess Diaries book and 15 years since the whole series started. What made you want to write Royal Wedding?

Meg Cabot: My first book was published in 1998, and I've had multiple books come out every year since then, so I took last year off as a sabbatical because I was really tired. I had a lot of time to think about what I was doing with my life and I decided, I'm just going to do what I want, because why not? But then after taking some time off I decided that I missed writing the Princess Diaries books — also, the 15th anniversary was coming up — so I decided to write another one. They're really fun and it's been 15 years so I figured, why not do an anniversary edition? The first book in The Mediator series [a collection of six novels about a teen girl ghost hunter who falls in love with the ghost who lives in her bedroom] also came out in 2002, so I'm also going to publish an anniversary edition of that book, which doesn't come out until February. Those two novels, as well as From The Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, ended up being the books I wrote when I was on my sabbatical, even though I technically wasn't supposed to be working. But it was my sabbatical and that's what I wanted to do. I know it's totally geeky that on your sabbatical you would want to write, but that's what I did, because that's what I love to do.

How long did it take you to write Royal Wedding?

MC: I probably started writing it in October 2013. Since it's a diary, a lot of the material and story is essentially my own writing. I used to keep a blog where I wrote down a lot of my own thoughts, but I stopped doing that as much now that social media is such a big deal and I'm always on Twitter and Facebook. So instead, I've just started putting my own thoughts into Princess Mia's diary.

Did you put a lot of yourself into the book?

MC: Yes, I have to say there's a lot of me in Princess Mia. She can't drive either, by the way — technically she doesn't have to because she goes around in limos and town cars, but neither of us can drive and we share a lot of similarities, including our thoughts and ideas about the world.

Why did you see Mia at this point in her life, as a 26-year-old?

MC: Chronologically, it's what seemed to make the most sense. A lot of the readers who started reading the books in 2000 when it first came out are now about 25 years old, which is close to Mia's age. I hear from a lot of those readers about what they're doing with their lives; a lot of them are getting married, not necessarily all of them but a lot of them, and most of them are also starting careers. That's also what's going on in Mia's life; she now has her career after opening a community youth center in New York City and is engaged to get married. It's interesting to hear about different readers' struggles — a lot of them have graduated from college and are seeing what the real world is like. I thought that'd be interesting, too, to describe from Mia's point of view. And now they've discovered that people's cognitive functions aren't fully working until they're 26, which means you're basically still an adolescent until then. So don't make any really big decisions before 26.

In Royal Wedding, Mia ends up getting married as a 26-year-old. How did your own ideas about marriage and feminism shape the story?

MC: At some points in the story, Mia is hesitant to get married and asks herself, "Do I really want to focus on my career? Do I really want to settle down? Am I keeping my independence?" Those are things that I think that everybody goes through and considers before making a huge decision like getting married, but she also loves Michael a lot and there are compelling reasons for her to get married. As a royal, she's constantly being photographed by the paparazzi coming out of his apartment and is being called a slut. It's slut-shaming, which is something that I think happens to a lot of celebrities, particularly royals, and Mia knew that would stop happening if they were officially married.

David J. Bertozzi / Charlotte Gomez / BuzzFeed


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16 Snapchats Only Hipsters Would Send

“I downloaded Snapchat before it was cool.”

Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Creative Commons / Flickr: tortugaone

Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Creative Commons / Flickr: amandaluna


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16 Snapchats From "Pride And Prejudice"

This could be us, but you playing.

Sarah Galo / BuzzFeed / Focus Features

Sarah Galo / BuzzFeed / Focus Features

Sarah Galo / BuzzFeed / Focus Features

Sarah Galo / BuzzFeed / Focus Features


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