Skip to main content

September 1, 2015

Today's the day -



James Sirius Potter went to Hogwarts today.

Couple of observations:

I've written before about Harry Potter and what a fun series it's been. I've read each of the books several times and still thoroughly enjoy them. I do that with books, by the way - read them several times... The thing I find appealing about the books is that they're, well, appealing. The characters are well-developed and engaging, the situations they find themselves in are entertaining - with just enough peril to keep it interesting, without being overly terrifying or troubling (because you know they're magic and will OF COURSE find their way out...), and the descriptions of the various scenes are warm, inviting, and well-written (even if they're intended to be cold, dank, and forbidding). Because that's part of the charm - you GO SOMEWHERE in these books. It's intended to be a fantasy, a world that is not real, but somehow still feels tied to the "real world"... To paraphrase Dumbledore - just because something only ever happened in our collective heads, doesn't make it any less real.

I am also aware of some of the problems people have with the series. The plot holes, the amazing deus ex machina (well, what do you expect?!? These folks can do MAGIC!), and the excessive use of flashbacks in the later books to fill in some of the missing story (which was excessive enough to require a plot device intended to soften the blow(s), which was kind of a fun thing, anyway... I sometimes can relate to Dumbledore having too many thoughts...) But I think that those things are (A) somewhat to be expected and (B) relatively unimportant to the overall experience of the books. I think sometimes people become overly critical of the minutia of an experience without allowing themselves the freedom or capacity to just simply enjoy something. I guess it's true that a more educated consumer is a better consumer, and I'm generally in favor of education. But I almost feel like in this case - and in so many other similar cases - it's become kind of a thing to analyze and criticize things, pointing out every flaw and thus (perhaps) looking intelligent or well-informed. And I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I think there's a child-like innocence associated with the ability to just enjoy things for being fun and entertaining... The ability to like flying a kite, the ability to enjoy the way that fresh bread smells, the ability to walk through the warm, green grass with bare feet... I haven't lost my ability to enjoy that kind of thing yet. I hope I never do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord!

The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ and bring souls to Him. Who can deny this who have read the book and pondered it's sacred import? My life has been blessed and I have come to know Christ through reading this holy book. I know that Christ lives and loves us. I know He is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that through His merits alone we are saved from an eternity of misery and woe. I know that He died for us. I know He lives for us, advocating our cause before the throne of the Almighty. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the Master, the Son of God, the great Jehovah. Blessed and praised be His Holy Name forever and ever! To Him be all glory, honor, and majesty to an eternal day! It is the atonement of Christ - His suffering and subsequent victory - that makes all of this possible. His grace is sufficient for all after all we can do. And make no mistake - we must do all in our power. But through Him and by Him we can and will overcome. I love H
2 comments
Read more

2020 - A retrospective

 There will no doubt be many retrospectives written about the year that was 2020. It was a tough year for most, a good year for many, and generally speaking a very interesting year. Which reminds me of the the old curse - may you live in interesting times. Because, you see - interesting does not always mean good. It does not mean better. It does not mean happy. It just means interesting. So to highlight just how interesting things were, I offer the following post about things that went on. Or didn’t went on. It’s not intended to be chronological, necessarily, or even accurate. It’s just some of my observations.... Let’s start with the pandemic. Pandemic is a word that was previously the realm of science fiction and/or horror writers (The Stand comes to mind). Late 2019 a disease was identified in Wuhan, China, which is a place I’d never heard of before. Apparently coming from some kind of exotic meat market, this strain of Coronavirus was something that the world hadn’t seen before. Ma
Post a Comment
Read more

Is this thing still on?

 Does anyone even blog anymore? I remember when it first got started and everyone was having a blog. I like writing, and I do a lot of it in my professional life, but not everything makes it onto this blog, which is where a lot of my personal thoughts come out. I put more into Facebook lately, too, because it's a little easier. But there's something to be said for this long-form writing exercise, and I think I will continue here periodically. You don't mind, do you? Well, in my last post I wrote about how difficult things were for me at the time. That changed in July when I finally got a job working for the State of Utah. I was the program manager for the moderate income housing database program, and that meant I worked from home a lot but also went in to Salt Lake when needed, mostly on the train. It was a good experience, for the most part, and I'm grateful for the things I learned even in the short time I was there.  In October I started working for Weber County in t
Post a Comment
Read more