These aren’t ALL Potter-related, but some are…so here’s the MORE tag to spare you any spoilers, gang.
- I wonder how long I’ll have to “more tag” any Potter posts? Anyone have any suggestions? Right now I’m going with “Until my husband finishes the book.”
- I’ve got 19 emails in my inbox this morning discussing the fact that the last Potter book is “dark” and “not for children”. Uh, excuse me. I think it’s VERY MUCH for children. It’s a primer in learning how to handle death, written by a woman who lost her mother relatively young. Death happens. Fortunately for many of us, we are not faced with it until we are older. But, really, the knowledge of and the acceptance of death is crucial to leading a complete life. These books may be some of the best tools in a parent’s aresenal. Of course, every parent should decide for their own kid. But, really, to say these books are not “for” children is to miss the key point, I think.
- No, I’m not watching the debates. Why? Because it’s early days and from what I’ve seen, nobody’s saying anything. It’s like the district-wide Spelling Bee. Words spelled correctly now don’t matter all that much, and if you get something badly wrong you’re out of the running anyway, so why pay attention? I’ll wait until the Election Bee goes National, thank you very much.
- You know what I need right now? A good solid hour or two of Arrested Development episodes.
- Boy dogs are very different in style and temperment from girl dogs. Very different.
Just Another Pretty Farce 
Okay, so here’s a random question to add to your random thoughts:
Mycropht — is that in honor of Sherlock Holmes’ brother Mycroft?
Absolutely.
Who wouldn’t love the guy who is both fatter AND smarter than Sherlock?
You are now my hero.
I’ve got 19 emails in my inbox this morning discussing the fact that the last Potter book is “dark” and “not for children.”
Not for *young* children, no. None of the books are. I’d be very surprised if Baby Fishmouth gets to start delving into them before she’s 9 or 10, even if she is the Smartest Kid Evah™. I very much agree with you that the HP books are useful in generating discussions with kids on how the dead are always with us in spirit and how we can use the gifts they give us to make our way in the world. But it will take a lot of parental (and auntie-al) guidance on our parts to ensure that she, and the rest of the kid readers, aren’t overcome by the darker aspects–the grief, the violence, the sometimes overwhelming feeling that evil wins entirely more often than it should–and lose their bright outlook on the world. (I don’t want Baby Fishmouth to be as naive as her mom, for example, but certainly I don’t want her to be as cynical as I am. A median will do nicely.)
That said, I wonder if she’s going to inherit my tendency not to give a got-dang about all the people getting killed in TV/movies/books and instead freak out completely over the animals. I can see her getting grounded off watching “Animal Planet” the way I used to get grounded off “Lassie.”
Great comments. I can’t believe how paranoid people can get when it comes to spoilers on anything. If you really don’t want to be reading any spoilers about a book or a movie before you read/watch it, then don’t go hunting around for a ton of information on it! I myself haven’t read the book yet, so I’m not going to hunt for information on it (I actually came across this blog randomly!)
I love how the post jumps all over the place, its kind of how I think also, sometimes its really hard to stay focused on one topic.
Although there are suspicions that it was Sherlock who was the father of Nero Wolfe (done during the period when Sherlock was hiding from Moriarity), I always suspected Mycroft was a more likely possibility. It’s the fatter and smarter genes winning out. I’m all for that. And I had my suspicions about mycropht. 😉
I think I’ve convinced my godsons that I’ll haunt them after I die, like Nearly Headless Nick does. We’ll see how long that lasts, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it (despite my faith).
And it’s not just dogs. 🙂