Tuesday, July 07, 2009
What Have You Been Doing Lately?
by Ken Houghton
And, sure enough, Jason Isaacs was, indeed, one of the stars of Capital City (yet another show sadly missing from DVD release).
And I discover he also has another recurring role, this one in film.
But you knew that, didn't you?
So I'm watching the remake of The End of the Affair, and I recognize the priest.
And, sure enough, Jason Isaacs was, indeed, one of the stars of Capital City (yet another show sadly missing from DVD release).
And I discover he also has another recurring role, this one in film.
But you knew that, didn't you?
Labels: Harry Potter, just life, movies
Saturday, October 20, 2007
"Sing if You're Glad to Be Gay"
by Ken Houghton
(And, yes, I do plan to entitle posts after Tom Robinson lyrics and songs for a while, his current Radio 6 job notwithstanding.)
Via the comments to this post at Making Light, a transcript from Ms. Rowling's Carnegie Hall appearance last night.
(And, yes, I do plan to entitle posts after Tom Robinson lyrics and songs for a while, his current Radio 6 job notwithstanding.)
Labels: Harry Potter, literature, sf
Friday, July 27, 2007
Greg Mankiw Jumps the Shark
by Ken Houghton
I await Brad DeLong's reaction. Now, back to the Battle of Hogwarts.
UPDATE: Lawrance G. Lux joins the previous barrage of Brooks-destruction, suggesting studies that could be done. Is that the "cutting-edge economic research" of Mankiw's imagination? If so, some sources would have been appropriate.
UPDATE II: DeLong delivers.
More in sorrow than in anger, I note that Greg Mankiw has read David Brooks's column of a few days ago. His conclusion:
While not quite as magical as the story of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the Brooks piece is well worth reading. It is far more informed by cutting-edge economic research than most things you find on the op-ed pages.
I await Brad DeLong's reaction. Now, back to the Battle of Hogwarts.
UPDATE: Lawrance G. Lux joins the previous barrage of Brooks-destruction, suggesting studies that could be done. Is that the "cutting-edge economic research" of Mankiw's imagination? If so, some sources would have been appropriate.
UPDATE II: DeLong delivers.
Labels: Brad DeLong, Economics, Harry Potter
Sunday, July 22, 2007
For Jeremy, and those like him
by Ken Houghton
Clearly, she has either read Deathly Hallows, or this thread is unmoderated. Either way, those of you who have read the book—I get it tomorrow night—can go there and dish with impunity.
When Goblet of Fire came out, Shira read it on Saturday. That Sunday, we went to David Hartwell's birthday party, where Teresa told me in no uncertain terms that she would "kill me" if I told her who died in it.
Clearly, she has either read Deathly Hallows, or this thread is unmoderated. Either way, those of you who have read the book—I get it tomorrow night—can go there and dish with impunity.
Labels: Harry Potter
Friday, July 20, 2007
My Last Jeremy-Safe Post (but DO NOT CLICK THE LINK BEFORE READING)
by Ken Houghton
All in all, this looks like an "I'm smarter than the author" review that presents no evidence of same.
*And most especially if you later note:
There's not much Lewis-defense room left.
**It also includes descriptions of events in Book Seven, so it is not quoted here, nor are antecedents cited. As will become apparent momentarily, they are not difficult to list.
Avoiding the spoilers of Laura Miller's Salon review of That Book (WARNING: Link is to SPOILER page):
- Your mileage may vary, but is Rowling really a poorer prose stylist than C. S. Lewis? Especially if you are willing to make the argument that "[Rowling's auctorial] voice, tone and imagination are rooted in social comedy and observation, not in the metaphysical and transcendent...."* (which is what Byatt couldn't Get Over, as Michael Berube noted [PDF]).
- "people expect something epic, momentous, archetypal. So it's no surprise that the closer Rowling gets to that confrontation, the more heavily she relies on borrowings from writers with a natural gift for that sort of thing: Tolkien, Lewis, even Philip Pullman." I might yield (or at least can understand) the first two, but Philip Pullman? The man who admits—nay, declares—that His Dark Materials is based on Milton. You know, the Milton taught in the British school system? An author—along with the Shakespeare or Spenser or Hooker or Apuleius or countless others—to whose work Rowling likely was exposed directly, and therefore would hardly require secondary sourcing. (JRRT is, of course, a Secondary Source.)
- The rest of the paragraph cited above lists archetypes, but makes them appear as if JRRT or Lewis invented them. Only in Laura Miller's mind is that so.**
- After three paragraphs of that, "None of this is meant as a detraction -- the writers Rowling borrows from in turn gleaned parts of their fiction from even older works." No, really? You mean works that you, Laura Miller, read but ones that Joanne Katherine Rowling assuredly has never heard of?
- "That 'shiver of awe' Byatt wrote about happens when you feel the boundaries between the inner and outer worlds dissolve, if only for a moment. Given that this isn't the register that Rowling usually works in, it's impressive how well she pulls it off when she has to.
Yes, folks, the above is the last sentence of that "not-a-detraction" paragraph.
All in all, this looks like an "I'm smarter than the author" review that presents no evidence of same.
*And most especially if you later note:
You could even say that Lewis and Tolkien didn't write novels at all (they called their fiction "fairy tales" or "romance," citing much earlier literary forms).
There's not much Lewis-defense room left.
**It also includes descriptions of events in Book Seven, so it is not quoted here, nor are antecedents cited. As will become apparent momentarily, they are not difficult to list.
Labels: Harry Potter, literature
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Jeremy Can Safely Click the Link
by Ken Houghton
It appears that Russell Arben Fox came close, judging by this non-spoiler:
Kakutani tells us nothing that Russell Arben Fox didn't limn out almost nine months ago (and realise almost a year before that), save confirming that There Is An Epilogue. Except that she managed to cadge a copy from a NYC bookseller, which I suppose is better than reading it on the Internet Tubes.
Via The Borjas Blog, Michiko Kakutani "reviews" HPatDH.
It appears that Russell Arben Fox came close, judging by this non-spoiler:
at least a half-dozen characters we have come to know die in these pages, and many others are wounded or tortured.
Kakutani tells us nothing that Russell Arben Fox didn't limn out almost nine months ago (and realise almost a year before that), save confirming that There Is An Epilogue. Except that she managed to cadge a copy from a NYC bookseller, which I suppose is better than reading it on the Internet Tubes.
Labels: fiction, Harry Potter
Monday, July 09, 2007
Five (well, Four) Ways to End the New York Times
by Ken Houghton
As I said, the graphic is worth checking out. But if this is the NYT's attempt to appeal to a contemporary audience, Rupert Murdoch is buying the wrong newspaper.
It's not just that this is unimaginative (though the graphic worthwhile). It's that it is the best the NYT could do. I'll summarize the pieces, so you don't have to read them:
- The Boy Who Died: An attempt to turn HP into a bad episode of Lost, by one of the people who writes bad episodes of Lost and isn't happy to get called out for it.
- When Harry Met Davey: A trivialization by the author of The Princess Diaries. Is that sentence redundant?
- Made in Hogwarts: If you have to read one, this is the one. Likely gets one thing spot-on (Harry being the final Horcrux), and a decent imitation of the atmosphere. Falls apart at the end. This is the best of the lot, and if Mannion or Russell Arben Fox had written it, they would laughed out of the blogsphere. And not in a comic way.
- Hermione Tells All: The worst of the lot. Bloody near libelous, and unworthy of even Ann Althouse at her most Jessica-has-tits moments. Memo to the NYT: If you're determined to hire bitter, nasty people to be your free lancers, you should hire ones with a sense of wit.
As I said, the graphic is worth checking out. But if this is the NYT's attempt to appeal to a contemporary audience, Rupert Murdoch is buying the wrong newspaper.
Labels: Harry Potter, Journamalism, Mannion
Thursday, March 15, 2007
HP 7: The First Three Chapters
by Ken Houghton
Chapter 1:
Comedies end in weddings; tragedies end in death. As this volume is not a comedy, and Ms. Rowling wants to leave no doubt of that, the book opens not with the promised Bill/Fleur nuptials, but rather a scene reminiscent of the last book, in which Draco, Lucius, and Nausicaa Malfoy, along with Severus Snape, recapitulate the climax of HBP, the death of Albus Dumbledore.
And neither Malfoy parent is pleased. This was to be Draco’s crowning achievement, the signal that he was a worthy inheritor of his father’s position as Voldemort's right-hand man. Draco’s powers had been specifically developed over the previous summer so that even Harry’s invisibility cloak could not prevent his perception. While there had been rumors throughout the school year that Draco had engaged in some problematic actions (crying in the bathroom where Moaning Myrtle had seen him, for instance), theMalfoys had always been certain Draco would, when faced with his ultimate duty, be able to perform. And now Severus was suggesting it had not been so.
There could be little doubt the description was accurate; there had, after all, been other witnesses to the death of Albus Dumbledore, witnesses who corroborated that it had not, in the end, been that Draco had come through.
And so it was that Draco learned that his mother Nausicaa was the true power behind the Malfoy family, that it was she who ensured their chosen position within the Death Eaters. It was a lesson he would not soon forget. And one he swore (to himself, at least) that Harry Potter would learn as well.
Chapter 2
The Weasley household’s wedding preparations are in full swing. In part because of the success of Fred and George’s business, the family would be traveling in style to the marriage of Bill Weasley to Fleur Delacour. Hermione would travel with them, as would—a pleasant surprise that—Hermione’s parents, who had decided that the site of the wedding would be an excellent place for this summer’s holiday. (That they would also be able to spend some time getting to know the Weasley family, with whom they expected to have close relations in the future, was no small part of their calculation.) Indeed, the only slight damper on the preparations was the absence of Harry Potter, who was living at the Dursleys for the summer.
It wasn’t that he wanted to be there, but he was mindful that Aunt Petunia, his only living blood relative, provided him the protection that even 12Grimauld Place in London could not, especially with Dumbledore dead. (Indeed, with Snape apparently returned to the other side, 12 Grimauld Place could in no way be considered a safe house for anyone, let alone Harry, which Lupin had noted to him with no small degree of regret.)
So Harry was spending the first part of the summer with the Dursleys, dreading to go out of the house—his encounter with the Dementors and Dudley two years previous weighed heavily on his every move—communicating daily by owl with Hermione and Lupin (who were doing the heavy research) while trying to figure out how best to convince Headmaster McGonagall to allow him to use the Pensieve to find the reliquaries he would need to destroy.
Chapter 3
The wedding celebration of Bill and Fleur begins with Hermione and Ron running into Victor Krum, looking splendid. He tells them he has been hired to teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts and Hermione immediately begins to discuss procedures that leave Ron jealous, and noting wryly that Victor’s English appears to have improved much from the “Hermio-ninny” days.
A summer away has returned Ginny to herself, and she is focusing on her new school year, and most especially her OWLs, as well as the upcoming Quidditch season, with the need to find Gryffindor a new Seeker. Always practical, and not one to let grass grow under her feet, Ginny is now dating Neville Longbottom.
All seems settled as the ceremony begins. An attack by Death Eaters, which leads to the death of Molly Weasley, changes the mood of the celebrants and the course of the book.
Ginny and Harry discuss his next steps. She offers Harry all of the details she can about her possession by Tom Riddle, including the sensations and memories from the diary of what the other reliquaries might be. Ginny avows a suspicion that the Diary was not the first relic, and notes that it might be fruitful for Harry’s search if he were to return to Hogwarts.
Harry notes that he can’t very well search for the reliquaries and maintain the full schedule of a seventh-year Hogwarts student; as he does this within the hearing of Headmaster McGonagall and the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, who proposes a solution: Harry shall return to Hogwarts on a reduced class schedule, with additional duties as the Special Assistant to the new teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry agrees to this on the condition that StanShunpike be freed, without knowing who that teacher will be.
Channeling an act of this blog's patroness in her most recent movie, and fulfilling a promise made at Mannion's place several weeks ago, we now present for your amusement, a summary of the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (BOOK SIX SPOILERS FOLLOW):
Chapter 1:
Comedies end in weddings; tragedies end in death. As this volume is not a comedy, and Ms. Rowling wants to leave no doubt of that, the book opens not with the promised Bill/Fleur nuptials, but rather a scene reminiscent of the last book, in which Draco, Lucius, and Nausicaa Malfoy, along with Severus Snape, recapitulate the climax of HBP, the death of Albus Dumbledore.
And neither Malfoy parent is pleased. This was to be Draco’s crowning achievement, the signal that he was a worthy inheritor of his father’s position as Voldemort's right-hand man. Draco’s powers had been specifically developed over the previous summer so that even Harry’s invisibility cloak could not prevent his perception. While there had been rumors throughout the school year that Draco had engaged in some problematic actions (crying in the bathroom where Moaning Myrtle had seen him, for instance), theMalfoys had always been certain Draco would, when faced with his ultimate duty, be able to perform. And now Severus was suggesting it had not been so.
There could be little doubt the description was accurate; there had, after all, been other witnesses to the death of Albus Dumbledore, witnesses who corroborated that it had not, in the end, been that Draco had come through.
And so it was that Draco learned that his mother Nausicaa was the true power behind the Malfoy family, that it was she who ensured their chosen position within the Death Eaters. It was a lesson he would not soon forget. And one he swore (to himself, at least) that Harry Potter would learn as well.
Chapter 2
The Weasley household’s wedding preparations are in full swing. In part because of the success of Fred and George’s business, the family would be traveling in style to the marriage of Bill Weasley to Fleur Delacour. Hermione would travel with them, as would—a pleasant surprise that—Hermione’s parents, who had decided that the site of the wedding would be an excellent place for this summer’s holiday. (That they would also be able to spend some time getting to know the Weasley family, with whom they expected to have close relations in the future, was no small part of their calculation.) Indeed, the only slight damper on the preparations was the absence of Harry Potter, who was living at the Dursleys for the summer.
It wasn’t that he wanted to be there, but he was mindful that Aunt Petunia, his only living blood relative, provided him the protection that even 12Grimauld Place in London could not, especially with Dumbledore dead. (Indeed, with Snape apparently returned to the other side, 12 Grimauld Place could in no way be considered a safe house for anyone, let alone Harry, which Lupin had noted to him with no small degree of regret.)
So Harry was spending the first part of the summer with the Dursleys, dreading to go out of the house—his encounter with the Dementors and Dudley two years previous weighed heavily on his every move—communicating daily by owl with Hermione and Lupin (who were doing the heavy research) while trying to figure out how best to convince Headmaster McGonagall to allow him to use the Pensieve to find the reliquaries he would need to destroy.
Chapter 3
The wedding celebration of Bill and Fleur begins with Hermione and Ron running into Victor Krum, looking splendid. He tells them he has been hired to teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts and Hermione immediately begins to discuss procedures that leave Ron jealous, and noting wryly that Victor’s English appears to have improved much from the “Hermio-ninny” days.
A summer away has returned Ginny to herself, and she is focusing on her new school year, and most especially her OWLs, as well as the upcoming Quidditch season, with the need to find Gryffindor a new Seeker. Always practical, and not one to let grass grow under her feet, Ginny is now dating Neville Longbottom.
All seems settled as the ceremony begins. An attack by Death Eaters, which leads to the death of Molly Weasley, changes the mood of the celebrants and the course of the book.
Ginny and Harry discuss his next steps. She offers Harry all of the details she can about her possession by Tom Riddle, including the sensations and memories from the diary of what the other reliquaries might be. Ginny avows a suspicion that the Diary was not the first relic, and notes that it might be fruitful for Harry’s search if he were to return to Hogwarts.
Harry notes that he can’t very well search for the reliquaries and maintain the full schedule of a seventh-year Hogwarts student; as he does this within the hearing of Headmaster McGonagall and the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, who proposes a solution: Harry shall return to Hogwarts on a reduced class schedule, with additional duties as the Special Assistant to the new teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry agrees to this on the condition that StanShunpike be freed, without knowing who that teacher will be.
Labels: Anne Hathaway, Harry Potter, Mannion
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Before Reading My Flu-Finally-Fading Posts Below
by Ken Houghton
(Yes, this is a placeholder because I want to do variation on two of those posts; but the first is a primer to netiquette, and I only skipped the Lenny Briscoe post because I am and will be speechless, being able only to refer everyone to Madeleine's post on Jerry Orbach's death at her own blog before she basically moved to Eat Our Brains and Deep Genre.
Check out some of the brilliance of Lance Mannion.
(Yes, this is a placeholder because I want to do variation on two of those posts; but the first is a primer to netiquette, and I only skipped the Lenny Briscoe post because I am and will be speechless, being able only to refer everyone to Madeleine's post on Jerry Orbach's death at her own blog before she basically moved to Eat Our Brains and Deep Genre.
Labels: Harry Potter, Mannion, Oscars
