Well, I finally got The Book, and read The Book, and danged if pretty much all my predictions (except for the biggest) were flat-out wrong. I blame JKR for being evil and inconsistent. Waaah. (No, I won’t say what my predictions were — you’ll have to go back to my post last week to see them — so fear not that you’ll be reverse-spoilered if you keep reading this particular post.)
There’s been an incredible amount of angst and wailing among the established Potter fandom, especially amongst those who had favorite characters who they felt got a raw deal. It seems a bit odd to talk about fictional characters getting a raw deal when actual people are starving in Darfur and being shot to death in Iraq, but nonetheless the feelings are there.
So anyway, to keep those who haven’t yet read the book from being spoiled, I will just point out to those that have already read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows some links that are indicative of major fannish reaction. The links will be given letter designations: A B C D; you can say that “I think whoever wrote the piece at Link A is full of crap” but please try not to go into detail unless you know how to make the magic white font. (To make the magic white font: [font color=white]text to be rendered invisible until highlighted[/font color], except use the “<” and “>” keys instead of the “[" and "]” keys to bracket your commands.)
For the rest of you: Tell me what’s shakin’ where you are. Are you enjoying life this fine Saturday morning?
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zed
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Zed!
sigh
EPU’d from downstairs —-
I am enjoying one of life’s very simple pleasures this morning. My son is highly allergic to strawberries and I almost never keep them in the house. But he’s with my parents for a few weeks and so I have two beautiful and tasty strawberries cut up in my cereal right now. And enjoying a quiet breakfast with some of my firepup friends online. :)
I’ll see the 3 Zeds and raise a caw caw.
PW — I loved HP 7. Knew from all I’d seen that there would be deaths, but there always are. I thought it was an excellent read.
i enjoyed book 7 an awful lot more than 6. 6 seemed to plod along and nothing really happened until the last 100 pages or so. one thing i disliked about 7, though, was how rowling developed the habit of ending chapters on some sort of surprise or climax; something she hadn’t really done in earlier books and it gave the book kind of a clichéd quality to it. definitely not the world’s best writing, but a decent story nonetheless. left me wanting more.
for those interested: a link to an msnbc interview where rowling expands upon the fate of the main characters. SPOILERS for those not finished w/ the book
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
I enjoyed the book – even had a couple of speculations proved right, as to who RAB was and what happened to the locket.
What’s fun is seeing how thoroughly Rowling snookered us. When Harry’s aunt Petunia revealed she knew about Dementors because she’d heard her sister and “that boy” talking about them, well I’m everybody thought “that boy” was Harry’s father. Nice one.
For anyone who thought the epilogue left too many unanswered questions, Rowling is finally free to talk about the whole series. Here’s a link to an interview she gave that does clear a few things up.
Oh wait a minute – I see the chap above me already posted it.
In Florida, Lou Pearlman is in prison and seems to owe people about 400 million dollars. Former manager of Backstreet Boys and N’Sync and about 20 other businesses. He was arrested in Bali and then transfered back to Orlando, Florida where he awaits trial.
xaxnar @ 9
The thing is, JKR is leaving lots of room precisely so that the fanfiction writers (the spiritual heirs to the Sherlock Holmes ‘pastiche’ tradition) can continue on.
In fact, at least one fanfic writer has found a way around one particular demise (warning: spoilers for Book Seven, of course).
I loved Book 7 as well. #6 had a lot of setup in it, but this one really wrapped the series up.
TexB @ 5
Yummy!
I’ve never read a Harry Potter book, but I did e-mail my father-in-law in Zimbabwe this morning trying to explain to him the difference between dwarves, elves and hobbits. (Apparently he just read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time).
I’ve spent a good chunk of the morning trying to find a contractor with experience working on historic homes — to no avail sadly.
Now I’m about to put on some work boots and start on the myriad project I have on my plate today.
Nemo @ 12
I really liked Book Six because it gave Harry a bit of a break after the unrelieved horror that was Book Five. Of course, there was that little thing at the end, but hey.
Phoenix Woman @ 11
I like that one.
PW,
Every Potter thread has to have some magic in it — thanks for the “white font” spell!
Haven’t read the book yet, but it’s sitting on top of all the boxes. It’s not going to get packed, but will go in the car. It will either be some good late night reading after a long day on the road, or a treat to be savored at the end of the move.
Or both.
I did check, though, to see if the book had all its pages.
Sufilizard @ 14
Dwarves are the short folk that don’t have fur on their feet. Elves are taller and prettier. There!
yeah, that was the essence of what I told him, although I went into slightly more detail.
Alberto Gonzales and the DOJ – Spolier Alert – I predict Al has weeks, if not days…
TexB @ 16
So did I. The best thing about it: It doesn’t really contradict what happens in the book. (It depicts a period that in the timeline of the book is where the focus is on Harry, so we don’t see what Harry’s friends are doing for quite some time.)
I wanted to ask about home owners insurance, over most of the East Coast and Gulf Coast policies are being canceled, even if you have not had a claim in 20 years. Mold coverage was dropped. Earthquake coverage has been dropped in many parts of the country. And the cost keeps going up.
Sufilizard @ 14
I remember my first time . . . ;)
I’m trying to figure out when to spring The Hobbit on my almost-six year old.
OT depression buster. From my mother, who is always sending me stuff she finds to be inspirational or funny – I loved this one:
Old People are Great This will warm your heart. Just when you have lost faith in human kindness.
Someone who teaches at a middle school in Safety Harbor,Florida, forwarded the following letter. The letter was sent to the principal’s office after the school had sponsored a luncheon for the elderly. An old lady received a new radio at the lunch as a door prize and was writing to say thank you.
Dear Safety Harbor Middle School:
God bless you for the beautiful radio I won at your recent senior citizens luncheon. I am 84 years old and live at the Safety Harbor Assisted Home for the Aged. All of my family has passed away.
I am all alone now and it’s nice to know that someone is thinking of me. God bless you for your kindness to an old forgotten lady. My roommate is 95 and has always had her own radio, but before I received one, she would never let me listen to hers, even when she was napping.The other day her radio fell off the nightstand and broke into a lot of pieces. It was awful and she was in tears. She asked if she could listen to mine, and I told her to kiss my ass.
Thank you for that opportunity.
Sincerely,
Edna
Sandman @ 10
Pearlman epitomizes everything that’s wrong with the money-driven greed culture. No amount too small for him to crave…he’d steal $400-$500 from little ol’ ladies [kinda like those Enron boys crowing about ripping off little ol’ ladies in California.].
He’d steal from himself if he could figure out how.
Though shalt not covet….
Freddy’s already in trouble:
On Tuesday, Tom Collamore, a top adviser to Mr. Thompson, stepped aside. At the same time, Mr. Thompson’s political operation announced that it was bringing in Randy Enwright, a veteran Republican strategist with ties to the Bush family, and former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, to take over the prospective campaign. The next day, the organization’s research director quit, and other staff members walked out.
Peterr @ 17
Peterr,
Are you traveling with family? If you are capable of doing so, read while not driving. Or if you are sharing driving chores, share the reading chores as well by having a built in “audio book” without tape or CD.
Just a suggestion. I know some folks don’t feel that they can read while in a car. I understand this as a life-long sufferer from motion sickness (I conquer’d cars to the point that I CAN read in them now.)
OT, seems the young republicans (that’s so hard to understand, young and republican both?) have a petition up to encourage the candidates to go to the YouTube debate. Via TPM-
http://savethedebate.com/
” …Potter advocates, disingenuously, pooh-pooh any linkage of Harry-mania to increasing popularity of Wicca and other forms of paganism. Rowling herself has stated: “I truly am bemused that anyone who has read the books could think that I am a proponent of the occult in any serious way. I don’t believe in witchcraft in the sense that they’re talking about at all.”
However, Rowling is the the product of a post-Christian, postmodern culture that believes magic, demonology, Wicca, and seances to be completely harmless, and it’s quite possible she is sincerely unaware of the inherent dangers of her writing. However, in a 2000 Guardian Weekend Magazine interview, Rowling did acknowledge that Wiccans “are constantly thanking me.”
…Fantasy it is. But from a Christian perspective, children immersing themselves in Harry Potter are being desensitized to the dangers of spiritual practices explicitly condemned and forbidden by Holy Scripture…”
LOL!!
Bwaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!
Sufilizard @ 14
Two contributions:
Go here:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopa…..2007/07/27
skip down to the last segment to
Two: I have historic house & contractor in Hudson Valley. That helpful?
Sandman @ 22
Ask away, Mr. S. the insurance guy is right around the wall reading the morning paper….
Peterr @ 23
I started my 9-year-old on the Narnia series, but he’s seen a couple of the LOTR movies. I may give him The Hobbit soon. I find Tolkein much more interesting than C.S. Lewis. There’s so much more depth in Tolkein’s writing.
Hmmm, six years old and ready for the Hobbit? Nah, I don’t think so. Maybe at the age of ten, but not at six, I don’t think.
As for HP7 – it’s a riproaring yarn. OK, it is not perfect. And there does seem to be this fascination with who the hero of the thing really WAS – though I can’t imagine a story series where the name in the title was NOT the hero. Though perhaps we have a bunch of heroes wandering around this. That’s the position I take. People who have been struggling before become heroes here; people who have never seemed to be heroes have their moment here. I think the story is about change..the ability to make the decision to change and to actually DO it. And from that viewpoint, you have a bunch of people who make the heroic decision to change and actually do it. the character who has not changed, will not change and never will change, of course, is what’shisname…and that is why he is NOT the hero of this series. My 20 year old son, who has read the books from the beginning and shared them with me so that we could talk about them, delved into this issue bigtime because this is a topic that speaks to him on a very personal level.
HuffPo headline this morning:
“US Prepares $20 Billion Arms Deal With Saudis”
That stuff is eventually gonna be used against American soldiers.
Sufilizard @ 14
Have you checked historic home preservation societies or even teh Smithsonian re preservation of historic homes. There is a publication to that effect (sorry my references are in transit) that would likely contain information or adverts for contractors. Fine Homebuilding is also a good resource for restoration projects.
eCAHNomics @ 30
Well I’m in Northern Indiana, so I’m not sure that will help, but thanks anyway.
dakine01 @ 27
No can do. I’m driving the truck, Mrs Peterr is driving the car, and the little one will likely ride in the back seat with her. Of course, if the truck doesn’t have a passenger seat air bag, he’ll no doubt be badgering us both to ride with me for at least one day.
BobbyG @ 34
Didn’t Bush send a message yesterday or the day before warning the Saudis to stop messing in Iraq?
BobbyG @ 34
Only if Saudis give it to someone else. They don’t know how to use it or maintain it. Saudi military couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag if their lives depended on it. The arms sales are all about supporting U.S. arms mfgrs.
Arnie @ 35
I’ve contacted my county historical society and they gave me a number at which I left a still unreturned voice mail. I’ve looked at some national sources, but my location in rural, northern Indiana means I’m not geographically convenient to most contractors and since I’m not made of money, I can’t afford to import people from out of the region.
I’ve even tried to tap into one of my area’s good resources for this kind of work, the Amish, but so far they are even reluctant to tackle this job.
BobbyG @ 29
The TheoCon view of Harry Potter is truly a sight to behold. I’ve got a brother-in-law who refuses to let his kids anywhere near JKR’s books. All that sticking up for your friends, fighting evil, holding to your promises, remembering the sacrifices made by others, putting the welfare of others before your own . . .
Yeah, dangerous stuff there. Sheesh!
Sufilizard @ 36
I got mine by word of mouth. Have been using him since 1989. Check with local historical societies. Also, I have ridden my bicycle into the driveway of almost every privately owned historic house in my area, knocked on the door & asked to see the house. Been turned down only once. It’s agreat way to get to know other people in your situation & pass tips & recommendations.
This is a very clear timeline of the Gonzo scandal from Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/28/72254/3793
I can’t read this. I blurred my eyes the minute I saw the subject. Desperately trying to avoid any spoilers. Sorry PW.
eCAHNomics @ 39
Yeah, but what if the House of Saud falls to Islamic fundies? No one saw the fall of the Shah coming.
As far as inability to use advance weaponry, we now have ample evidence of the capability of our adversaries in Iraq and Afghanistan, who bedevil us with the crudest weapons this side of rocks and spears.
I’m loving life this morning.
I had planned to hit the garden early, before the heat gets well into the 90’s, but, alas, the mister turned on C-SPAN and I got hooked into a replay of the UTube debates.
Am feeling encouraged by the really deep bench of candidates we have.
Kucinich, Edwards, Biden, Richardson, all great.
Prairie Sunshine @ 31
Why is the cost going up, if the coverage is going down?
Peterr @ 37
Rental truck? With three of you, it’s probably not worth the effort and it is difficult but you can get a car trailer. That’s what I’ve had my last two moves. My friend who helped me with them has a limited ability to back trucks with a tow trailer and I have none, so we had to make sure we could always move forward when stopping for gas or at a motel. We did have the cat riding in the cab with us. He could crawl under the seat or ride next to me as his mood struck him. Human little ones are a different situation however that I have no experiences with.
Have not read it and will not be reading it.
Iglesias and Bud Cummins on Gonzales
Worth the time to watch and listen
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/
Things have certainly changed with respect to children’s reading habits. When I was a kid my favorite books were bio’s and history. And that was not unusual.
Peterr @ 41
When I lived in Knoxville, every year some asshole fundie group would make a big frigging’ stink trying to get schools to not do anything related to Halloween.
Y’see, the fundie Christian faith, far from fortifying you to withstand the travails of this life, is actually an enervating discipline which renders your utterly weak and vulnerable, especially to other ideas.
Pathetic.
For a rather different story with magic, my sister just finished reading a book I gave her: “The Sharing Knife” by Lois McMasters Bujold. (She’s currently working on HP7 and has probably finished it by now.) She really enjoyed both.
Anyway, the Bujold book is also a fantasy, though set at an adult level. Originally published as two books, the combined volume tells the story of Fawn Bluefield – a farmer girl who runs away from home after she gets ‘in trouble’ – and Dag Redwing, a Lakewalker patroller who meets her while called out to deal with a chronic magical threat to the whole wide green world. (Think of something like Voldemort on steroids popping up at random over and over again.)
Bujold is experimenting with the conventions of the genre and has fun. I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the next volume.
Fawn and Dag come from two very different cultures with a lot of friction between them; yet they need each other. Crossing that divide puts Fawn & Dag both in trouble with their respective groups. By the end of the story, it’s clear that the two of them are going to have to deal with a much larger problem – but it’s not a question of fate or destiny; it’s the result of personal growth on the part of both of them.
Bujold models the physical world of the story on the midwest around the Great Lakes where she grew up, and the people as well. The level of technology is low; the world is recovering from a huge magical disaster centuries before. Dag’s people are still trying to clean up after a vast mistake by their ancestors that caused that collapse.
It’s definitely a novel for adults – for one thing there’s lots of sex – but I think anyone who enjoyed the Harry Potter series will enjoy this. There’s some moments of sheer terror, some real comedy, and some good insights on relationships. And if you like animals, well Dag’s horse is a character in his own right.
I’d also recommend Bujold’s Chalion series as well.
Hobbit/Trilogy mentioned above – -
My 10 y/o son worked his way thru the Hobbit last year. It was slow slogging but he did it with many questions. He is now burning thru the trilogy and totally loving it.
Is it just me or is finding reading material for 9-12 y/o boys difficult? Suggestions appreciated.
Peterr @ 41
it’s kind of funny, moses was a warlock, he parted water, turned his came into a snake, brought forth pestulance and death
Christ was a warlock, rising from the dead, walking on water
pretty amusing these people are giving these novels any kind of play
eCAHNomics, I spent tons of time in the New Paltz area. I used to ride my horse on the trails around on Mohonk and picked blueberries, as well as camping on the other side on a friend’s land for years. I loved it there.
Les Kinsolving (resident WH press corpse whack-co “reporter”) supposedly quitting. Talk about having a divided mind: I cringed every time Les came up with his “two” questions……..yet maybe he’s the only one of the lot with any cojones.
http://cliffschecter.blogspot……-over.html
Wouldn’t ya just love to know the *real* story behind the story?
And how in the name of Dog did this guy ever get nominated for a Pulitzer?
Sufilizard @ 14
I was a contractor/carpenter who specialized in historic homes in Denver — do you have any specific questions?
LS @ 55
Wouldn’t disagree one iota. Development pressures have really hit in last several years, so it is changing, but I’m hoping the housing downturn cools things off for awhile, as land planning for open space is finally getting underway. Mohonk is the nearest place to heaven on earth that I know.
eCAHNomics @ 39
DING!
And also providing a way for Saudi Royals to collect more bribes from arms dealers.
Waccamaw @ 56
Les is a whack-job to be sure. But I met him in DC 2 years ago, and he’s a sweet fellow with a big heart. I was surprised.
Ding Ding Ding
Just spent some quality time with my power washer trying to get ivy remnants off my metal gutters.
Anybody have any suggestions?
We just had the house done and the gutters look terrible. I hope I don’t have to go up and scrape them before painting them!
Anyway it is sunny and humid a good day read a book under the tree.
Has anybody else been getting really wicked thunder storms with bad lightning?
I don’t remember it ever being this bad! We actually made the weather channel a week or 2 ago.
Went to our local Borders and there was a whole table of #7 Harry Potter books discounted.
How’s this economy going?
eCAHNomics @ 39
i think it’s a case of “let’s you and him fight!” i.e. a sucker punch for Iran:
we give the Saudi’s hardware.
we get out of Iraq.
Saudis start really helping Iraqi sunnis.
Iran starts really helping Iraqi shiia.
Fuckwad uses Iranian action as justification to nuke them.
Ahgoo @ 53
In no position to make suggestions but the thought of another young human wandering the world of hobbits brings an extra wide *g* to my face.
BobbyG @ 45
i think it’s called “asymmetrical warfare”.
No f’ing way the Saudis would get involved militarily. Too f’ing perilous for royals. The Saudi role is to provide funding, small arms, and ship their discontents off to blow themselves up in another country.
Mr. Sandman @ 47, back atcha from Mr. Sunshine:
insurance is a commodity, just like milk, and insurance companies are in business to make a profit which many haven’t in specific states because of enormous disasters like Katrina and Florida hurricanes.
However, insurance has been making money nationwide..and that’s a compelling argument for why insurance should be regulated on a federal level, not a state by state one. Some of the most egregious failures in this regard have historically been southern states.
Trent Lott felt there should be no regulation at all [that ol’ market forces meme]. Until it was his own front porch. Then he wanted no exclusions, none whatsoever.
Just one more example of why deregulation or nonregulation opens the door to abuse and even corruption. Common sense federal regulation is a good thing for the consumer in virtually every enterprise…energy, airlines, and, yep, insurance.
Ahgoo @ 53
No it’s not just you. He might be a good age for Wizard of Earthsea – first book in a trilogy-that-grew by Ursula LeGuin. I read it to my son when he was maybe nine or ten and it was a great pleasure for both of us. There is also a very good series by Phillip Pullman called His Dark Materials that should appeal to boys as well. The first volume is called The Golden Compass. You might enjoy it too – I certainly did.
.
Correct: the CIA did not see the fall of the Shah coming. I was not following this stuff back then, but I’ll bet plenty of people saw it. And I would guess you could tell if the Saudis are ripe for a tumble. As near as I can tell, they ship off their malcontents to blow themselves up in another country, and infantalize the rest of the population.
Sufilizard @ 40
Most of the resources I have are on “how to do” a project. If there is a highschool, or techschool that provides OJT for their students, yours might be a good co-operative veture, the students getting skill practice, and yourself, a completed project and all parties are ahead.
Same goes for small contractors as well. Then too, it depends on the “enormity” of the task to be done.
OT – I posted a lot of links for FDLers to get up to speed on Pat Tillman at the bottom of TRex’s Late Late night about soldiers.
There is much to be learned from the ESPN’s four part series and the update.
fahrender @ 63
The majority of the insurgents from other countries in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia, the majority of the 9/11 terroist were from Saudia Arabia.
In Ron Susskind’s book “The Price of Loyalty” Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neil reports that it was after he was looking into shutting down banking and other economic avenues of Saudis who were “allegedly” donating funds to terroist organizations…O’Neil was let go by the Bush administration. “The Price of Loyalty” is a great book
eCAHNomics @ 66
If we get out of Iraq (which I really want but don’t expect) the Saudis will provide considerable support to the Iraqi sunnis. Iran will provide considerable support to the Iraqi shiia. Allah is in the details ……
Just anounced on CNN….Darth Cheney is back home and resuning his normal schedule…….
Look out America and the world!
Yep, contractors not returning calls; sounds all too familiar.
My advice is slowly, but slowly. History can only be lost, and doing any job fast maximizes that possibility. This suggestion is also a long shot, but if you can find a contractor who may not know historic structure restoration, but who is careful, and you supervise closely, that might work. The problem is that most contractors do “stick” construction, which means just banging things together.
Lots of books on the various subjects, but sorting them all out is work too.
Sorry to be OT, but I just read that Nike received 165,000 emails through the Amercan Humane Society’s website.
I doubt if many of them were to order jersey #7. :o)
Hey, Malkin! Welcome to the power of the ‘net. :o)
BTW; what’s YOUR jersey number? :o)
perris @ 54
Truly, the Fundy Fear that one (or seven) HP books could shake their faith in the Bible to to dust is a sign that maybe their faith is not all it’s cracked up to be, or is a bit misplaced.
If they could take off the stained-glass glasses, they’d see that the Bible is filled with stories of sex, violence, betrayal, redemption, politics, international intrigue, storytelling teachers, fantastic creatures, down-to-earth people, mystical and unexplainable occurences, greed, charity, and more. Singing, dancing, and music abound, in good times and bad. That’s a large part of why I like it. It’s surely a lot better than the finger-wagging holier-than-thou theological treatises that the Fundies hold so dear. (Those make good doorstops, however.)
LS @ 43
Thank you for that, LS. Good stuff.
And the longer the U.S. stays in Iraq,the more realistic this scenario becomes afterwards.
Still, my hypothesis about the Saudis and Iranians is that they don’t want a hot war against each other-a variation on the mutually-assured-destruction theory. I think they’ll be content with proxy wars for a long time to come.
I’ve yet to read any of the Harry Potter series and doubt I will. I have enough non fiction to keep me busy for the rest of the summer.
Ahgoo @ 53
Gary Paulson. Survival after a plane crash in Canada. Boys love it. Be sure he reads them in order.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/
Fern @ 68
I have never really groked the Potter Books, but I LOVE Philip Pullman’s books. And I know a fair number of 9-10 year old boys who do as well. Pullman is a great way to pave the way to Hobbits and TLOTRs.
The majority of the insurgents from other countries in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia, the majority of the 9/11 terroist were from Saudia Arabia.
In Ron Susskind’s book “The Price of Loyalty” Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neil reports that it was after he was looking into shutting down banking and other economic avenues of Saudis who were “allegedly” donating funds to terroist organizations…O’Neil was let go by the Bush administration. “The Price of Loyalty” is a great book.
Kathleen:
In 2002 one of the Saudi high mucky mucks gave dire warnings about what would happen if we went into Iraq. i think it was the foreign minister. he could see this coming and tried to get fuckwad to back off. i believe it’s just a matter of time before the KSA falls. the royal family and it’s coterie are too self-indulgent and corrupt to last much longer.
Thanks Fern for the kid reading suggestions! Ursula LeGuin – had forgotten all about those. I loved them. I will check out the Pullman books too. Road trip to the used bookstore – yippee.
No Potter-reading here either. Not my genre. But feel a twinge of envy. Would love a 700 page book that kept me enthralled.
Ahgoo @ 53
Dating myself with some of these and they may no longer even be available but:
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley and all the subsequent books in the series. The firs has shipwreck, adventure and horse racing.
The Kid From Thompkinsville by John R Tunis. I believe this is the first in a wildly out of date juvenile sports series from the ’40s and ’50s.
Heinlein had a lot of Sci-fi for the early adolescents.
Anne MacCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern (including the Harper Hall trilogy) can be fun and may be good for that age as well.
Here I go again; non-pottery…:o)
The DellNewsPage just put up a substantial piece (By David Bauder) about the liberal pressure being brought to bear on FoxNews’ advertisers.
The article was fair and balanced.
(Tanbark grins one of Larue’s evil grins…:o))
Oh yeah Loo Hoo – the Gary Paulson books were big here. We all read and enjoyed them. Amazing stories.
If you want to lose all respect for Richard Clarke (yes, the Richard Clarke who is the only one to apologize to the 9/11 victim relatives), read his fiction (and I do mean fiction) book about this. It’s called The Scorpion’s Gate, and the good guys win when the Saudi royals are overthrown. Ha ha ha.
Another reason to lose respect for Clarke: he’s good friends with Judith Miller.
eCAHNomics @ 79
the proxy war is already in progress. what happens when one side begins to win? when a proxy war is on your border things get hot really fast. meanwhile, methinks the Turks aren’t going to just sit around and twiddle their thumbs ……
Peterr @ 77
I gather from various reports that many Fundies do not read the bible at all … they just believe what they are told the bible says.
Franco @ 74
Damn! I was so hoping that his pacemaker/fibrilator was a horcrux and that Harry would have to kill it before killing Lord V. Then I figured out that the Dick was really Lord V and that Harry seemed to have gotten him in the book. But now, he’s having his bleedin’ pacemaker/fibrilator battery replaced so he must still be alive. Sigh. By the way, does the new batter mean that the Dick’s fibs will be stronger and longer lasting? Damn! I hate it when that happens.
Ha!
fahrender
Proxy wars can last forever. After 1967, I don’t think ME Arabs have much stomach for hot war. WRT Turks, they were sabre rattling in advance of election.
solai @ 85
Try Vickram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy”. oops, it’s 1488 pages softcover, holds longest novel record as well.
fdl reader @ 91
well, maybe they read the cliff notes, and the “Left Behind” series …..
eCAHNomics @ 89
Friends with Judy Miller…Did not know this about Clarke. Any friend of Judy “I was fucking right” Miller makes me wonder about that persons integrity.
Arnie @ 35
Contact the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And contact your state’s historic preservation office [SHPO].
Wow this is great. I have quite the list of books to started.
Thank you all so much.
eCAHNomics @ 94
nor the Iranians after the Iran/Iraq war. we’ll see.
i still like my “sucker punch theory”, though.
eCahn; 140,000 troops parked on their border with the Kurdish north is pretty good sabre rattling.
(Actually, it’s more like a handle-crank on the benchvise holding george bush and the GOP’s balls. :o) )
Lotsa volunteers to do the “turn” duty.
kathleen @ 97
On the day Clarke did his book signing for Scorpion in NYC, he was interviewed on the radio right before, where his Miller-friendship came out. It was around summer 05, so all of Miller’s travesties were well public. I went to the signing, and there she was in person. Told Clarke I thought she shouldn’t have been invited (she was not in hearing distance), causing the Borders’ host to blanche and say that everyone was welcome, thus allowing Clarke to escape without replying to my comment.
fahrender @ 83
There are a lot of backstories to all of this, but here is one. Saudi Arabia is the home to a very restive Shia population who live in the eastern provinces–that is where ALL the Saudi oil is pumped. The Shia have been horribly persecuted for over 50 years, often presecuted as “apostates” and prevented from many jobs and avenues of education. Similar situation in Iraq–persecuted Shias under Saddam.
Here is another irony. Syria is secular dictatorship, and the Assad’s themselves are members of a little-known Islamic sect known as the Alawites (sic). They have been arresting Saudi fanatics in droves who are trying to go through Syria to get to Iraq. If you follow the Saudi press (arab.news is a place to start) you will see that this has become a bit of a cause celebre in KSA, where the population is largely sympathetic to the Saudis who have been arrested and held in Syria. The last thing the Syrian’s want is Islamic militants running amok in Damascus or Aleppo or Latakia.
So, Syrian’s arrest Islamic militants trying to get to Iraq, and we won’t even talk to them. Said islamic militants come from KSA, and we sell the Saudis as many arms as they can squeeze into the country. Something is rotten in Washington.
The Speakers list at Yearly Kos is incredible
Jane Hamsher, George McGovern, John Mearsheimer, Juan Cole, John Dean, Arianna Huffington. Yowser…only three days to take in all of the genius will be frustrating.
http://yearlykosconvention.org/speakers
dakine01 @ 86
In a more historical line, the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Lewis is reputedly engrossing reading for young readers. See here.
WH @ 103
We have the prize for understatement of the year.
Yours is nice short version of the insanity of what is laughingly-referred-to-as U.S. foreign policy under W.
fdl reader @ 91
Fundies = Read, do I not smell an oxymoron in the breeze
The author of link “A” has problem with moral relativism. I have a problem with moral absolutism — however appealing it may seem, it is the source of more evil and inhumane actions than moral ambivalence.
Classic tales such as J.R.R. Tolkien “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” set the standard for children’s fiction. With their unrelenting drive toward “the moral of the story,” they form a golden thread in the West’s cultural fabric. And yet, like the society in which we live, storytelling itself has, in recent decades, undergone a radical transformation – sliding toward moral ambivalence with alarming speed.
I loved the Tolkien trilogy, and love the movies — but within the images of dwarfs and men and elves and wizards and orcs, the morality contains the threads of proto-fascism.
The “Return of the King” was especially disturbing, with the moral superiority of Aragon, because of his royal birthright. The wanton slaughter of the “other” in the trilogy is also disturbing; it carries over into real life, when Americans kill ragheads and Al Qaeda kills infidels.
The problem with the “good” waging war against “evil” is that anyone who sees themselves as “good” can absolve themselves of anything. No matter what they do, it is good and right because they are good and right.
This is the problem with American Exceptionalism — we, as a nation, have lofty ideals — but that doesn’t excuse or justify our bad behavior.
To return to the Aragon example — both Hitler and Churchill saw themselves in the role. Hitler, as the leader of Aryan Germanic Nobility fighting the Slavic (Orcish) Communists; Churchill, leading the battle against the Nazi (Orcish) Huns.
In the same way, George W Bush sees himself leading the battle against the Islamofascist hordes, that want to destroy our innate American Exceptionalism and pollute our precious bodily fluids.
However appealing the Tolkien stories may be, I prefer the moral relativism of the real world.
Will ykos be on cspan?
eCAHNomics @ 102
Ouch. When Richard Clarke testified, and apologized I was moved. This is a person who has held critical positions deep in the belly of the beast in several administrations both Republican and Demorats. I believe Clarke has the safety and protection of the states as his number one priority.
I would bet that he must have re-examined his friendship with Miller. Maybe Judy came to Clarkes book signing to undermine his credibility. How could she think that it would do anything but this. What a good friend. Miller is beyond redemption, drowning in the Iraqi people and American soldiers blood. She is too arrogant to even realize or to care.
Kids books:
Anything by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, particularly The Velvet Room, and the Egypt Game, and The Headless Cupid.
Reading level approx. 5th grade.
She came to my elementary school when I was in 5th grade (MANY moons ago) and now my kids read her books and enjoy them still!
Franco @ 74
Great news, it was no fun being in charge this morning while Dick was having an oil change and tune-up…glad he’s back in charge and now it’s time for another nap.
From Times Select on Potter:
Amazon? The online retailer sent out e-mail messages in early July, recommending that people preorder the book, offering it for $17.99, a saving of 49 percent, with a $5 gift certificate and free shipping thrown in. Some 2.2 million customers took that deal. Borders, meanwhile, was selling the book for $20.99. The Wal-Mart price was $17.87. Costco: $18.19. And across the pond, the Asda supermarket chain was selling “Deathly Hallows” for £4.99, basically, 10 bucks. Asda is owned by Wal-Mart.
Those are some serious savings. Harry Potter fans had to be happy about the great deal they were getting for a product they would have bought at just about any price. But didn’t those enormous discounts also mean that retailers were actually losing money on the greatest publishing event in history — especially as Scholastic was widely rumored to be selling to retailers at 46 percent below its suggested retail price? (Scholastic won’t comment.) And if that were indeed the case, what did that say about the state of the book business?
As a novelist, I was horrified that after my daughter always having her nose in a book, my son wouldn’t read a thing! I finally got him hooked on “Star Wars” novels. Maybe it’s not classic literature, but it got him into the habit.
Peterr @ 41
The New Testament says that “God is love.” (1 John 4:16, for those keeping score at home.) Yet in the evangelical worldview, wars that kill hundreds of thousands of people are A-OK, but books that have fictional witches and wizards are evil.
No, I can’t figure it out either.
the other day when i was out of town, driving, i heard an interview with the guy who does the harry potter audio books…was on diane rehm, wednesday…..he was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! was a very interesting man, one of the most entertaining interviews i’ve ever heard…….in one book he does, i think, 130 voices! he would keep a tape recorder handy to refresh his memory on all of the voices for the book……..said who some of the voices are based on……..
i can’t wait to listen to them…….
kathleen @ 110
Just wiki’d Clarke. You can read some of the controversy surrounding him there. Nothing that I take too seriously. Now he seems to be the Chairman of Good Harbor Consulting, the name of which turns me off-sounds like it might be the opposite to my suspicious brain. But, scanning their website, I don’t know anything about anybody who’s there, so can’t update my judgement on him.
http://www.goodharbor.net/team/index.html
dakine01 @ 86
In a more historical line, the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Lewis is reputedly engrossing reading for young readers.
njprogressive @ 98
Thanks NJProg. that was the organization I was having a
senile“Senior” moment about.Sufilizard @ 40
Call “This Old House” if you can wait until you fit into their shooting schedule. They look for house 6 months to a year in advance (or at least theat used to be how they did it)
If you call the Boston PBS station (WGBH) they can probaly hook you up with a #, There’s probably a website by now.
A house once I owned almost made the cut.
Is it just me or is finding reading material for 9-12 y/o boys difficult? Suggestions appreciated.
-”There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom”
-”The Indian in the Cupboard”
-”The Outsiders”???(I think)
3 favorites in my house when my sons were that age. And of course, “Lord of the Rings” eventually.
The H-P series audio books are very good. Jim Dale does all of the characters. They are great for long distance travel since they are usually >20 hours in length. I bought the first H-P audio book several years ago at a 24 hour Wal-Mart in the middle of Kansas at 2 AM. It was the longest audio book available and there isn’t much on the radio at 2 AM in Kansas that won’t rot your brain.
My 14 yo great niece recommended the Golden Compass (His Dark Materials trilogy) by Phillip Pullman. A one sentence summary of the thesis of the three books is: ‘Organized Religion is the worst evil perpetrated on Human Beings”. The movie, “The Golden Compass” is being released in December. I am very surprised that the fundie base hasn’t tried to boycott the books and the movie.
Wingnut mindfuckery:
*We don’t know and won’t count how many Iraqis have been killed by the Iraq war and the US occupation.
*However we cannot leave because the death toll among Iraqis will be astronimical.
-GSD
wonderin’ when whitehouse.gov is going to post Friday’s press briefing, in which Mr. Snow did his best to clarify the “non-conflicting” testimonies — using, of course, transcripts — of Gonzales and the FBI director.
How ’bout we just look past the lyin’ and focus on the incompetence: This memo? This memo with my signature from my office? This memo expanding to include the Office of Vice President for those available to know everylittledetail going on in the Justice Dpt? That memo?
Gosh, don’t have a clue about it.
Other Pat @ 123
Classic Sheldon Whitehouse moment.
Kathleen @ 110
After 9/11 Clarke was very concerned about an enemy trying to take down the internet. I wonder if the Bush administration’s efforts to discredit him went so far as to ignore his warnings in this area. It would be typical of this Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight, just like they ignored everything that Clinton warned them about.
Cornelia Funke books are pretty popular with my students, male and female. Boys also like the Redwall series. Several of my 6th graders got into the David Eddings Belgariad series this year. This site has a lot of short books for reluctant readers. The Scott Westerfeld Midnighters series were VERY popular with my class this year as well.
BigMitch @ 125
I am told my my army major efriend that a simple device bought from Radio Shack can disrupt the GPS systems used to guide U.S. smart bombs.
N=1, are you around? Has anything helpful turned up, either here or at your email account?
eCAHNomics @ 127
That’s scary. But the internet has no central backbone. It is like the interstate highway system, in that regard. So taking it down would not be easy. My bet is that someone is working on it, and Richard Clarke had reasons for being concerned.
Being concerned is not the hallmark of this administration. (How’s that for mellow under-statement?)
If folks missed Rep Sheila Jackson Lee on Chris Matthews the other evening it is worth taking time to listen and watch her summary of the Gonzales and Muellers testimony. What an incredibly brilliant, articulate, graceful and diplomatic representative. Does not get any better than this.
Fired U.S. Attorneys
go to Gonzales potential perjury problem to watch Rep Lee
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/
“Let’s clear it all up” “The Rule of law has to be the most prominent and most important concern for U.S. members of congress and the President of the U.S. Appoint a Special Prosecutor”
Perhaps I’m not a true, die-hard Potter fan, but I couldn’t find anything to criticize about the book. Of those who died, only one truly surprised me and made me think, “What?!! Why would she kill [person]?!”
The walk into the woods… that got me a bit teary. For that small bit, he was once again the small, scared 11-year-old we’d first met.
Ahgoo @ 53: When my boys were that age, they loved scaring themselves silly. The Goosebumps and Fear Street series’ by RL Stein were favorites, along withScary Stories and More Scary Stories.
Diane @ 62: We had some horrendous storms last night, about midnight-ish. 3/4″ hail followed by rain pouring so fast we couldn’t see to drive. Lots of trees down and some scattered power outages this morning.
BigMitch @ 125
I truely believe Clarke has honorable intentions to protect the American people,and I also think that he has the integrity to question all the means we use to protect our national interest (oil). I also heard him trying to warn this administration about the possibility of attacks on communication systems.
Clarke would be an interesting guest here at FireDoglake
BigMitch
I already awarded the prize to Wood Hollow @ 106.
Just back from watching Moyers on Earmarks; so lucky for folks like Steve Ellis out there getting lost in all the paper. Just let me say again: Don Young is a jerk.
Even more book suggestions listed – thank you thank you thank you.
I love this lake.
Sufilizard @ 32
Peterr, I am coming to this way late, but I think I read The Neverending Story to my son when he was five or six, and it was perfect timing.
behindthefall @ 128
Just checking in – not so far. Lots of ideas if I had more time or money or a place to stay, but I appreciate the waves and shout outs. At this point, I really have to get off the computer and start tossing things out and packing up for storage. I have to be out Monday evening. Not much time left.
Again, N=1, are you around?
Richard Clarke as a guest on the Diane Rehm show
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/07/01/23.php#12607
Amy Goodman discussing Tim Russerts interview with Clarke
“Meet the Press” last Sunday, NBC’s Tim Russert questioned former counter-terrorism chief, Richard Clarke, about the Cole.
TIM RUSSERT: President Clinton did not bomb the Al Qaeda camps that you wanted, destroy them, did not respond after the Cole was attacked, 17 sailors killed?
RICHARD CLARKE: Right.
TIM RUSSERT: And yet, you are saying he was more aggressive than President Bush?
RICHARD CLARKE: Well, he did something, and President Bush did nothing, prior to September 11th. So, yeah, but let’s talk about the Cole. The Cole was attacked in October of 2000. President Bush was running for office. He never mentioned it. Vice President Gore was running for office. He never mentioned it. The media hardly touched it. What were they focused on? They were focused on the election, and they were focused on the Middle East peace process. I thought it was a mistake, and the very fact that I quote Mike Sheehan in the book as saying that, I think it’s indicative of how he felt and how I felt. If I didn’t think it was a mistake, that wouldn’t be in the book. The facts have come out. The facts have come out before the 9-11 commission that the FBI and the CIA refused to say who did it in October of 2000. And the President was, therefore, faced with the problem: “Can I go ahead and bomb somebody in retaliation for the attack on the Cole, when my CIA director and my FBI director won’t say who did it?”
Now, this is the same President who, when he bombed Afghanistan, when he bombed Al Qaeda camps because George Tenet and I and Sandy Berger recommended that he do it in order to get Bin Laden and the leadership team where we thought they were going to be meeting. The reaction he faced to that was the so-called “Wag the Dog” phenomenon. No one in the media, Tim, no one in the media, no one in the Congress said, “Oh, that’s a great thing that you are retaliating for the attack on the United States.” They said, “This is all about Monica Lewinsky,” and “This is all about your political problems.” So now, the same President who had the experience last time he fired cruise missiles at Bin Laden, wants to fire cruise missiles at Bin Laden, but he’s got a CIA director and an FBI director who won’t say, “Bin Laden did it, Mr. President.” I would still have done it. I recommended doing it. Do I think it was mistake that we didn’t do it? Yes. But let’s understand the context.
N=1 @ 136
Check gmail.
C-SPAN 1
Construction of US embassy in Iraq. Slave labor, etc.
N=1: still there? confirm your address:
univrslhealth AT gmail DOT com
Before you break from the computer, be sure that we know how to contact you and have info from you that will help us help — there are still 48 hours to go!
More from Richard Clarke on the Bush administrations missed opportunities to deal with threats before 9/11
http://www.npr.org/templates/s…..Id=3931123
N=1 @ 136
good luck with packing one box at a time.
TexBetsy – you have mail. ;~)
Workers were kidnapped by 1st Kuwaiti on an airplane – when they protested going to Baghdad, guns were pulled on them. This is an outrage.
Kathleen @ 143
I have many of those plastic storage containers with lids, so I’m hoping that it goes pretty fast. Thanks for the encouragement!
Clients of First Kuwaiti:
http://www.firstkuwaiti.com/clients/index.php
Punaisette (13.5 yrs.) was flying to France on the day that the Harry Potter book came out. Airport bookstore had cases of it, but it was too heavy to schlep around. She has since succumbed to the siren call, getting the British version in London.
Ahgoo @ 134
Don Young is a jerk? You are talking about “The Congressman for all Alaska.” I’ve posted this before here, but I flatter myself to think it’s worth the read.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 50
Not really. I actually researched girls series going back to ca. Civil War era for a paper. It’s a lot of fun. This site actually contains some girls’ series texts last time I checked. So does project gutenberg. Elsie Dinsmore, thumbs down. Little Prudy, thumbs up. Girls’ series followed the because of the popularity of “boys’ series” genre, ex. Little Women. So,the Harry Potter series actually belongs to an old publishing genre.
And now I revert back to my hopefully, non-pedantic self.
Let’s see we have witnessed record breaking oil profits during a time of war under the Bush administration, now they are making sure that defense contractors bleed as much money during the Bush administration as possible.
Sales to Saudi Arabia
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0727.html
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0727.html
punaise @ 148
I was visiting England as a teen at the time the British version of Tolkien’s Silmarillion came out. As a result I was the envy of many of my friends as the American edition didn’t appear until a while later. (months? a year, maybe?)
Ughh. Bud Cummins is really repug still, according to that MSNBC tweety interview. Iglesias is great though (even though he’s still repug.)
Peterr @ 152
I never made it through the Silmarillion.
In this case the timing is the same, but perhaps there is some cachet in the differing vocabulary.
latest from Micheal “creative destruction” Ledeen at National Review. Ledeen is one blood sucking warmonger. He belongs some where he can not continue to hurt people in the hundreds of thousands.
http://article.nationalreview……c3MmQ2OGI=
mui @ 153
Just a reminder that Iglesias is the lawyer from A Few Good Men.
Blue America is up and running. Howie has a fantastic guest today — Jim Himes, who is running against a big WINO, Chris Shays, in Connecticut. Please drop in to the thread and give Jim a big FDL welcome!
eCAHNomics @ 156
Oh come on, I know that. I just can’t help but wonder why such a smart guy is, you know, republikan. I saw an another interview with Tweety I believe, where Iglesias said he felt he was persona non grata in the party.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 157
Ech! Chris Shays. It almost seems mandatory.
Ahgoo @ 53
My son(13) loved the Series of Unfortunate Events Books(though they are for the younger end of the 9-12 yr old range) and The Artemis Fowl books.
The cult of this book is … weirdly pervasive …
I was having dinner last week in the capital of the French speaking world with a Nordic friend who had bought The Book in an airport bookstore in a Mediterranean country that does not use the Roman alphabet … our (22 y/o, maybe Belgian ? French speaking Dutch ? Joycean follower ? hard to tell …) very charming waitress made a cash offer for The Book to my friend, who politely refused … she made several repeat offers, one of which seemed to be of an extremely alluring non-monetary kind, but no sale … I guess I will have to read one of the series.
I brought my daughter Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass from a trip through Heathrow, then picked up each English-market release of the rest of the series, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, as they came out. It was so much fun to be met at the airport by my daughter and produce the book as I walked through the gate. I, of course, read them each on the plane…
But I have always had to wait for her to be done to read the Harry Potter books. I’m about a quarter of the way through #7, so I’m not reading much of this thread. Ha.
It’s been interesting listening to her, now almost 19, and her friends, as the Potter series has evolved. When the first book came out they were at the age when they would have received their Hogwarts letters, and now they are off to college and the adult world. They feel like they’ve been growing up with Harry and Ron and Hermione.
Maliki wants Petraeus gone per Kos diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/28/113850/678
LS @ 163
I read that some in the military are calling him General Betrayus.
RKimble @ 161
he turned down an advance for the next book?
Punaise — texTeen, also 13, is in Paris right now visiting my sister.
TexB @ 166
I’m headed that way next week (destination Brittany).
punaise @ 167
He’ll be near Normandy then, a small town called St Malo.
eCAHNomics @ 164
I take that as a positive sign.
LS @ 169
You are right. And isn’t it a sad day when we can view it as an uptick that the military thinks their generals are betraying them.
mui @ 150
FYI only… ;0)
Harry Potter has limited effect on reading habits
Of all the magical powers wielded by Harry Potter, perhaps none has cast a stronger spell than his supposed ability to transform the reading habits of young people. In what has become near mythology about the wildly popular series by J. K. Rowling, many parents, teachers, librarians and booksellers have credited it with inspiring a generation of kids to read for pleasure in a world dominated by instant messaging and music downloads.
And so it has, for many children. But in keeping with the intricately plotted novels themselves, the truth about Harry Potter and reading is not quite so straightforward a success story. Indeed, as the series draws to a much-lamented close, U.S. statistics show that the percentage of youngsters who read for fun continues to drop significantly as children get older, at almost exactly the same rate as before Harry Potter came along.
http://www.iht.com/articles/20…..potter.php
eCAHNomics @ 164
General Betrayus? That would be Colin Powell. He could of thrown huge wrench into the machinery building up to the Iraq war and he betrayed his pledge to the Vietnam era military and betrayed today’s military. He is a war criminal and should not be allowed to rehabilitate his reputation.
dmac @ 116
He was the featured guest on this morning’s “Wait, Wait…” on NPR. He did the “Not my job” segment. Fascinating.
msmolly @ 173
That would be Jim Dale. The Audio H-Ps are terrific.great for long distance drives since they are usually >20 hours long and don’t require a lot of concentration to be enjoyed.
Book 7 was a large disappointment.
The first 300 pages were good, as she resolved many of the surface issues from the revelations from the resolution of book 6. However JK seemed lost from that point on (post-Wedding).
Random events push the plot forward which otherwise seems to wander aimlessly. The world becomes less and less believable as every CGI movie creature gets a cameo, regardless of whether they are needed or not.
The final conflict, just a jumble of quick flashes, seems to have been written as a guide to the visual spectacle we can expect from the movie version, even down to the false emotional manipulations central to so much of modern campy cinema. Much of the book seems to be a transcription of a future movie, rather than a novel per se.
Overall the series can be viewed in two parts: Books 1-4 which maintained a consistent fun tone and could each be read as stand alone from each other, and Books 5-7 which really gets to to the meat of what should be the series.
Book 4 sets the reader up for the remainder, bringing out more adult consequences, jealousies and conflicts between characters, appropriate developments in a world set around a 15 year old Harry Potter. The Rita Skeeter character starts to show a world where the press manipulates the public and the threat of fascism is returning.
Book 5 takes this forward to a point and then backs down. Profound issues could have been presented and examined with regard to the nature of worldly power, the nature of childhood, the nature of the delusions we live as Western peoples during times of negative revolutionary change. Given current world and domestic events since 2000 the series could have dove tailed nicely as an exploration of very modern issues. But by book 6 we get sucked into a very mechanistic solution to a specific fictional construct. (One whose elements have not been very well thought out.) And from that point on the series is lost.
When you have the dramatic financial successes that JK has experienced it must be hard to keep the same artistic perspective with you which you began your endeavor. Great things were in store for Harry Potter, and we all wanted to believe that. Unfortunately after several years those great things find themselves bound in the saccharine confines of the conventions modern American mass media. Harry Potter did die, his story failed to live up to it great promise and we are all more poor for it.
We wish JK well enjoying the rewards that her labor has generated for her. At least she tried. But we can’t help wonder if the notion of the author who tried and lost her way, remains as compelling as the ideas the author initially presented to us about the boy who lived.
fahrender @ 96
And they hate you when you quote the inconvenient bits to them.
Fern @ 176
TOO RIGHT!
Good Kos diary re: FISA, etc.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/28/125940/916
Am arriving here very late, but want to correct a teensy error.
The Horatio Hornblower series (which I’ve never read, but remember fondly my parents speaking of with great affection) was NOT written by C.S. Lewis.
The author was C.S. Forester. (an easy mistake to make!)
C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia series (which I grew up reading and loved dearly many, many years before the fundies latched hold of the books and almost — but not quite — spoiled them for me by association).
Another late arriver.
Anyway, I have one question about The Deathly Hallows. It’s not really spoilerish, since it’s about a minor charcter introduced in the last book, so I’ll skip the white space:
Who the hell raised Teddy?
To all the Harry Potter fans who will be feeling let down and emotionally drained, I have one thing to say to you:
It’s called FANFICTION! :-) Write UR Own. Take a look at that Fanfiction site: there’s over 300,000 Harry Potter stories already! And that’s with Book 7 just released last week. Expect 300,000 more of people writing their own “Year 8″ series….
Okay. Just a bit of a tiff. I am sick and tired of people bitching about Neville pulling the sword out of the Sorting Hat. The sword was never in the blipping Sorting Hat in the second book! The Sorting Hat is an ancient and powerful artifact according to Dumbledore and it brings forth what is called. And, as Dumbledore said, only a true Gryffindor could pull out the sword.
Get it? Neville, who at the end of the first book, won the competition for Gryffindor by bravely standing up to his friends (a very Gryffindor trait, that: doing what is right), slew Nagini by pulling out a sword that could only be summoned by a true Gryffindor.
The whole last two chapters are rife with allusions to the first book (meeting Voldemort in the forest; Hagrid carrying Harry “home” afte rhe was hit with avada kedavra”, etc.) That people cannot get over Neville pulling out the sword makes me wonder about their reading comprehension skills.
Tanbark @ 87
Heh heh heh . . .
Followup:
The Pub Pretzel Candy Dates (sans diapers) are hesitant to do a YuoTube debate it’s being said. VERY RELUCTANT!!! They is.
But the Thuggery Constituency general pubic is urging them on to play.
I can’t wait for THAT one!!
Popcorn, with top shelf congac methinks, THAT night!!!
*evilgrin*
“BRING IT ON!!!”
I think its safe to confess now that everyone has moved on. I haven’t read a word of any Harry Potter book. I’ve seen two of the movies and enjoyed them. I haven’t seen any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy because I read the books, starting with The Hobbit of course, when they came out and I love them so much I don’t want the movies to ruin that. I’m so illpotterate. I’ll see the movie though… when its on dvd.
Tanbark and Larue… you know the ‘pubs may be too stiff for that and I shudder to think of the youtube questions they choose for their show. Can 27%ers even make youtubes? They always let the dems go first at anything, then repeat what was said, then act like they invented something. They’d be better off playing a round of Twister while imitating Linda Blair …. with billo as the moderator. Gaaaack!
I’m going to miss the series. Perfect, no, but immensely enjoyable.
I am left wanting more…
-Ag