| Why no Harry Potter, eh? |
[May. 27th, 2012|11:01 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  frustrated | ] |
So I looked at ONTD's "Ten of the most Epidemically Overrated Books," and was incensed to find that books like On the Road and The Great Gatsby made the list but the Harry Potter series didn't (though at least the Twilight series did). I mean really, Harry Potter is the epitome of an overrated book series, given that there are people seriously making the point that it's so deep and meaningful and needs to be read in AP English classes. Never mind that it's a children's book series!
Well, these were the people who said that a bunch of authors besides Rowling disliked the idea of fanfiction without bothering to consider WHY they might feel that way (specifically, that Rowling is the only one who's all that fandom savvy because she's modern in a way that the others aren't). Maybe they just think Rowling is their darling author too, and you can't say anything bad about her. |
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| Thoughts on Pottermore So Far |
[May. 17th, 2012|11:33 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
Sooo, I have a Pottermore account (I'm WatchHawthorn3475, if anybody wants to chat with me). I've only really been able to play it now that I've gotten back from school, since for whatever reason the settings aren't fully enabled on my school's computers (not even the laptops). So the first chapter I got to explore in full was Chapter 3. No matter.
First thing's first: my thoughts may seem a bit messy and disjointed. Hopefully you can still bear with me, since the website basically follows the plot of the books.
( Read my thoughts )
And... that's all I've got for right now. I have to admit, the interactivity of the site in general is nice, and that's probably the only reason I'm even bothering with it. Now I just wonder what'll happen once the plot actually starts.
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| JK Rowling and Introversion |
[May. 9th, 2012|10:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
So here’s something that just occurred to me as I was pondering stuff. I’ve recently gotten interested in a book called Quiet, which is designed to be empowering for introverted people, especially in the US where they’re often marginalized. And one of the things it mentioned is that Rowling is an introvert. So how do you guys think that’s influenced her writing (if it even did at all)? It sometimes seems like she doesn’t think very highly of introverted people in general, since Snape (for example) is an introvert generally regarded with disdain, while Harry always hangs out with his friends and Ron has a large family, which we’re supposed to think of as charming (to say nothing of how the Marauders’ friendship is portrayed). Not to mention, Gryffindors are portrayed as being virtuous because they’re bold, charismatic, and hang together in packs, rather than because of any virtues that a more introverted person might have (Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the most introverted houses, are treated as little more than window dressing). On the other hand, it seems like many supposedly sympathetic characters also have traits in common with negative introvert stereotypes. For example, Hermione is a neurotic bookish know-it-all whom nobody likes, Harry treats his friends as people he can use and summarily ignores or pushes away anyone he fails to accept as equally special, and Ron argues and fights with his family constantly and wishes to be better than all of them. And then, of course, there’s Dumbledore, who thinks himself too good to fraternize with anyone other than Harry and the like, it seems. Meanwhile, Voldemort had many acquaintances over the years, but never cared for them, and we're supposed to think of this as ultimate moral degeneracy. So what are your thoughts on this? Anyone care to comment?
Incidentally, I'm not trying to offend anyone here. I'm an introverted person myself, which is why I got interested in the book in the first place. |
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| Pottermore- |
[Apr. 14th, 2012|11:45 pm] |
Okay - I confess; I joined Pottermore, out of sheer curiosity. I want to know if, by any strange chance, I will sort to Slytherin, and also what sort of wand I get. Still, some things struck me at once (I've spent about 20 minutes exploring the first chapter):
When describing Number 4, Privet Drive, Rowling said that she chose the number four because she disliked that number, finding it hard and unforgiving. I believe those were the exact words! Do you suppose that feeling is limited to the number four, or might it extend to other numbers?
On a more serious note, she based the look and floorplan of the house on that of a house she lived in herself - and got wierded out because, without discussing it with her, the filmmakers got the floorplan exactly right.
And - this is fascinating! - she had to argue with the publishers, who wanted to convert all the British measurements into metric ones. She also said that Wizards can do complex calculations magically. Can they, really? Then why did we never see them doing this?
Oh, dear. Maths.
But I'm very glad that she talked the publishers into keeping the old fashioned measurements. Can you imagine a metric Wizarding World? I can't. |
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| Merope's Plight and Dumbledore's Analyses Revisited |
[Apr. 7th, 2012|05:38 pm] |
So I was originally going to save this for my abridged series, but since I’m afraid I’ll forget if I leave it for that long, here it is now.
( also, stats :O )
Note: most of this information is based on statistics that the CIA world factbook published in 2008, so I don’t know how reliable it is now. But it seemed to work well enough for my purposes. |
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| Magical Magic Creature Spotlight: Kappa |
[Mar. 30th, 2012|09:08 pm] |
Alright, this creature is the shizznit for anyone out there who knows or cares anything about Japanese culture.
( the Kappa )
Those scales? All done by hand, all in MS Paint. You're welcome! |
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