The triumvirate loses!

Further to the announcement of super moderators on Super Cheats, Shiny Zapdos' protest to Darkboarder_77's promotion to the position has gone the other way around — after Aeshma and I were forced to stem the flow of hatred between them, which has been apparent all through their stay on the forums, she, Jamarie, and Bad Wolf are demoted and banned.

This isn't the first time that we've had to ban moderators. Some people such as Bam2 and LPD, who abused their power, were perfect examples of what not to do in the line of duty. As I said before, moderation isn't easy, and using it as a social prop definitely isn't the way to go, considering using the Staff Forum to post a topic called 'Anybody here?' and then laughing in the face of Annabel's expulsion. In fact, people on the forum may remember Shiny Zapdos' avatar reading: 'Dear Santa, May I have Annabel's spleen for Christmas?'. Jamarie seconds this in her MSN Space: 'Annie's spleen for a Christmas ornament'.

Basically the flaming and hatred began when the community was torn in two in the wake of the demotion of Annabel and his ban. Annabel was blamed across the board for his contribution to the unrest in the Staff Forum, and as soon as he was banned we had Dr Advice (his being Mr King of Games had been disproved) protesting and several other moderators (Shiny Zapdos being the most prominent among them, of course) rejoicing. I even had to close the thread announcing the decision to ban him when it escalated into a party. But now that the triumvirate is gone, I am prepared to say that Darkboarder_77 will sift well into the ranks and the forum will be bright and sunny again.

The love affair is also kaput.

Personal fan clubs

This is something celebrities like Billie Joe Armstrong have in common. This is what some animé characters and shippings claim. This is also what people on the forums are staking out for members. On PKMN.NET Christmas Code Lyoko and Spirit of the Shadows have formed one each, the former glorifying Jeroen. They're fan clubs.

Fan clubs are an upgrade of cliques. As you've noticed in my lecture about forum teams on Cross Stinging Reality, cliques are the outlet for people that want to belong to a group in which their ideas or trends are accepted. Fan clubs are special because they are set for the popularity of a single person, regardless of their party. People in these cliques will buy a CD if they in common like the artist, and some will receive recognition by a corporation, such as was the case of the Power Rangers Fan Club and the Pokémon Trading Card Game League.

The reason why I'm placing this in CSR Hall of Shame and not giving the original clique lecture here is simple: Cliques are a psychological thing, a substitute young people use for identity, and you'll see them everywhere among underclassmen. They focus solely on the characteristics people share as far as long-term goals, method of study, religion, favourite hobby, and others of the sort. Fan clubs are a perversion of cliques; they take the popularity of a person and amplify it. They serve the same purpose as coalitions and such to get a politician elected. When something harsh comes up, the fan club disbands and the object fades away, just as scandals can damage a politician's candidacy.

The worst kind of fan clubs are those created by the object itself. Every day we see the cliques formed by a person that is used to buttress their beliefs. If someone is a Pokémon enthusiatst, there will be a person that comes along to use a group of followers to resonate his or her discomfiture. These objects later turn into demagogues who lead people in radical movements. We remember Elijah Muhammad founding the Nation of Islam to stir up the black's contempt for the whites in the United States — Malcolm X was one of his tools.

So I see these things as not only a waste of energy, but also a penchant for catastrophe. There will always be cliques, but when a clique starts to support the cause of a single person, that person will respond and one thing will lead to another.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

We'll lead off this new section of Cross Stinging Reality with a reprint of the topic in the main blog. The original can be found here.

Do not read this entry unless you have seen the movie. Just skip over to the next entry.

Today I went to the Tropicana casino to see this movie at their IMAX theatre. I had read the book over a year ago, but I distinctly remembered what was in the book and was ready to look for events in the movie that might correspond with the book. Unfortunately, the movie only barely followed through on the book.

How? Firstly, Barty Crouch junior was never in the Riddle House consorting with Voldemort; just Wormtail was there. Then Harry woke up from the dream in the Burrow, whereas the book says that he woke up at number four, Privet Drive, and immediately set to writing a letter to Sirius about the situation (which he did on the bus instead). The only coverage of the Quidditch World Cup was the introduction of the players (which, I must admit, is wizardry of computer graphics itself), and Crouch sent the Dark Mark in the forest according to the book but the movie put it among the ruin of the tents; also, there was no coverage of the Muggles being tortured. Malfoy was transferred into a ferret in the courtyard instead of the corridor as in the book, and in the book Malfoy was escorted by Moody afterward, but to Snape, and in the movie Harry is led directly to Moody's office and given hints about the first task — which in the book were to come after the dragons, yet the movie showed the dragons after Harry was given the tip! When Harry prepares for the first task, Hermione hugs him in the movie and gets caught by Skeeter — but the book alleges that Colin Creevey told Skeeter about Hermione and Skeeter furnished the rest of the story herself. And Harry was given the gillyweed by Dobby in the book, whereas in the movie Neville offhandedly (yes, it was that daft) gave it to him.

Then we go after the second task. In the book, Rita Skeeter was to write about Hermione 'dumping' Harry in Witch Weekly and Sirius was to speak to our trio afterward — but no sign of it in the movie! And in the movie Harry sees Crouch senior dead, but in the book he never does! And the second time Harry had the dream, it wasn't a repeat of the first one; it was when Wormtail was punished for his blunder. Then in the Pensieve, Harry witnesses three trials: one of Karkaroff, one of Bagman, and one of Crouch junior — but only in the book. In the movie, Karkaroff is hoisted up in a cage and not on a chair, and he gives away Crouch, effectively eliminating Bagman's inquiry and condensing the other two. Then the third task: Harry was supposed to send sparks for Krum after attacking him, not when Fleur was enveloped by the hedges. And even at that, the book said nothing about moving hedges — and the skrewt that blocked the way to the Cup was replaced by a large gust!

And after Voldemort rises again and Harry returns, the interrogation of Barty Crouch junior ends with Barty being sent to Azkaban in the movie — but a dementor sucks away his soul in the book, leaving Harry with no support for his story. And at the end Harry doesn't give any gold to the Weasleys, and they'll need it when they open their shop in book six.

And to top it off, Dobby, Winky, and Ludo Bagman, who have significant roles in the book, appear in the movie zero times apiece.

I'm sorry for ranting, but this was not what I expected of the movie. I realise that the book was 734 pages long and rather unwieldy to make into a movie, but the amount of material that the creators had to shave away is ridiculous. Had they put in at least ten of the discrepancies I've mentioned, the movie would be a lot better.