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Thoughts for later: Sex in our culture
Aug. 21st, 2014 09:15 amFantastic Breasts and Where to Find Them by Brenna Twohy.
Slam poetry that starts off about Harry Potter fanfic erotica, slides into talking about mainstream porn and rape culture.
Fantastic Breasts and Where to Find Them by Brenna Twohy.
Slam poetry that starts off about Harry Potter fanfic erotica, slides into talking about mainstream porn and rape culture.
This was hanging outside the seminar room in the English department Friday.
You can't tell from my crummy camera-phone's quality, but it is signed Dolores Umbridge.
You can't tell from my crummy camera-phone's quality, but it is signed Dolores Umbridge.
I just got back from seeing the last Harry Potter a bit ago, and to my surprise it was probably the most intensely emotional cinematic experience I've ever had--and I'm partially regretful I didn't go to the Thursday midnight show for this reason because I can only imagine the energy there would have been even more pumped up. I mean, I have never been to a film before where EVERYONE was crying before. You could hear it, the people around you sniffling and squeaking and whimpering and all of those noises. The high school/young college guys behind me (I'm not sure how old they were, but definitely something in the 17-19 range) who had been acting "too cool" prior to the beginning of the film lost it the most. One of them actually dropped his popcorn and you could hear the carton of it hit the floor and the popcorn scatter, that was how discombobulated he was. I held on until the resurrection stone scene, and then when Harry asked Sirius if it was going to hurt, I lost it and I cried for a while. I calmed down just in time and then when Neville made his speech I lost it all. over. again.
So. Yeah. Intense.
ANYWAY. My copy of A Dance of Dragons just arrived in the mail in addition to 84 Charing Cross from Netflix. I am torn between which first.
So. Yeah. Intense.
ANYWAY. My copy of A Dance of Dragons just arrived in the mail in addition to 84 Charing Cross from Netflix. I am torn between which first.
Harry Potter and the WB
Jul. 15th, 2009 11:05 pmSo I enjoyed the newest film quite a lot--possibly the most since #3. It was a helluva lot better than the source text too, I might add. Lots of attention has been given to the latent/rising sexuality of the film--it is after all one of its improvements. One of the things that bugged me about the novels was having all these sixteen and seventeen year olds basically acting having the emotional/sensual awareness of eight year olds. I don't know why girls make me feel funny! Um, yeah, I'd consider buying that from a homeschooler in the rural midwest, but otherwise--nuh uh. But here the subtext is largely the text, and if the book had been like that I would have enjoyed it more. It also helps a lot that the film was written and directly much like the better offerings of the WB in the days of yore, which covers teen angst and emotion pretty damn well.
More Harry Potter (Sorta)!
Aug. 1st, 2008 04:47 pmOh look, Amazon is finally releasing The Tales of Beedle the Bard this December.
But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.
Hogwarts has an Archives? Shiny!
For my fellow librarians, I present these useful charms from Magical Library Science:
Biblio!: Who needs library pages when you have magic?
Catalogus!: Take care of that new inventory right away!
Procesio!: Creates a Finding Guide!
Reshelvicus!: Sends the books flying back to their shelves!
And finally, need to get rid of that pesky patron you just can’t please? Expecto Patronum! of course!
*sigh* /wishful thinking
But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.
Hogwarts has an Archives? Shiny!
For my fellow librarians, I present these useful charms from Magical Library Science:
Biblio!: Who needs library pages when you have magic?
Catalogus!: Take care of that new inventory right away!
Procesio!: Creates a Finding Guide!
Reshelvicus!: Sends the books flying back to their shelves!
And finally, need to get rid of that pesky patron you just can’t please? Expecto Patronum! of course!
*sigh* /wishful thinking
Let's Talk About Literature
Dec. 15th, 2007 05:48 pmThe WSJ *coff* weighs in on the Golden Compass controversy:
So is the ferment about "His Dark Materials" just Harry Potter vs. Fundamentalists redux, a clash that generates heat but no light? Probably not.
First of all, "His Dark Materials," unlike the Harry Potter series, is real literature and, as such, deserves serious attention. Mr. Pullman, a graduate of Oxford University with a degree in English, knows his stuff. The books are loaded with allusions to Greek mythology and philosophy, Milton, Blake and the Bible, with images ranging from the obvious (the Garden of Eden) to the obscure (the bene elim, or angelic Watchers mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4). These allusions, unlike the throwaway Latinisms of Hogwarts' spells, drive the plot, characters and themes of Mr. Pullman's series. Indeed, a child who investigates them would begin to gain the rudiments of a classical education.
I think this is an interesting argument, if only for the dismissive snobbery inherent in the system: if it refers to other great works, clearly it is also a great work. But it ignores (pointedly, I should think), all the references of the HP series.
Because, seriously, if you didn't pick them up, particularly in Book 7, then you *really* don't have a case in talking about classical rudiments, I'm just sayin'.
But then:
Mr. Pullman insists, as Dan Brown did regarding his novel "The Da Vinci Code," that he is only telling a story. Yet surely he, like his character Lyra, knows that a story is one of the most important things there is. In a climactic scene in the third book, Lyra comes to grief when she spins a fantastic tale to a mythological creature called a harpy who is guarding the underworld. " 'Liar! Liar! Liar!' " it screams, "so that Lyra and liar were one and the same thing." When Lyra tells the harpy another story, a true one, it responds quite differently. Why? "Because it was true," says the harpy. "Because it was nourishing. Because it was feeding us."
Dan Brown? They brought in Dan frigging Brown?!
Pardon me while I have an aneurism.
Okay, back to the issue at hand. I know looking for logic and sense in the WSJ is begging for its own particular brand of madness, but I find the whole article to be deeply peculiar. To the point that I have sat here quite a while typing in circles and have just come to the conclusion that I give up.
So I ask you all: What constitutes literature in this day and age?
So is the ferment about "His Dark Materials" just Harry Potter vs. Fundamentalists redux, a clash that generates heat but no light? Probably not.
First of all, "His Dark Materials," unlike the Harry Potter series, is real literature and, as such, deserves serious attention. Mr. Pullman, a graduate of Oxford University with a degree in English, knows his stuff. The books are loaded with allusions to Greek mythology and philosophy, Milton, Blake and the Bible, with images ranging from the obvious (the Garden of Eden) to the obscure (the bene elim, or angelic Watchers mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4). These allusions, unlike the throwaway Latinisms of Hogwarts' spells, drive the plot, characters and themes of Mr. Pullman's series. Indeed, a child who investigates them would begin to gain the rudiments of a classical education.
I think this is an interesting argument, if only for the dismissive snobbery inherent in the system: if it refers to other great works, clearly it is also a great work. But it ignores (pointedly, I should think), all the references of the HP series.
Because, seriously, if you didn't pick them up, particularly in Book 7, then you *really* don't have a case in talking about classical rudiments, I'm just sayin'.
But then:
Mr. Pullman insists, as Dan Brown did regarding his novel "The Da Vinci Code," that he is only telling a story. Yet surely he, like his character Lyra, knows that a story is one of the most important things there is. In a climactic scene in the third book, Lyra comes to grief when she spins a fantastic tale to a mythological creature called a harpy who is guarding the underworld. " 'Liar! Liar! Liar!' " it screams, "so that Lyra and liar were one and the same thing." When Lyra tells the harpy another story, a true one, it responds quite differently. Why? "Because it was true," says the harpy. "Because it was nourishing. Because it was feeding us."
Dan Brown? They brought in Dan frigging Brown?!
Pardon me while I have an aneurism.
Okay, back to the issue at hand. I know looking for logic and sense in the WSJ is begging for its own particular brand of madness, but I find the whole article to be deeply peculiar. To the point that I have sat here quite a while typing in circles and have just come to the conclusion that I give up.
So I ask you all: What constitutes literature in this day and age?
Harry Potter and the Gay Mentor
Oct. 22nd, 2007 10:51 pmI wish I could say I knew it. I do love the revelation though. (I also loved one of my former student worker's theory that Dumbledore was really a Ron-who-got-lost-in-time-and-that-was-why-he-always-wanted-socks theory.) Thanks to Neil Gaiman, here is a great link to some discussion on the matter.
~~
Also, on Heroes, I *really really* want Kristen Bell's daddy to be Enrico Colantoni again. *Really really!*
~~
Also, on Heroes, I *really really* want Kristen Bell's daddy to be Enrico Colantoni again. *Really really!*
