another great review of hp7

Here's another cogent take on the last Potter book, and the whole series. I feel especially drawn to this assessment of the books, as they deal with the value of children's stories, their bedrock morality and their endurance as great works. Whatever snot-nosed critics say about the pedestrian, bourgeois masses and their preferred entertainments, these stories (and movies, comic books, and songs) resonate at a deeply visceral level. People know they are True. They aren't true in the normal sense of the word--hence the term fiction--but they are True in the gut-level, Romans 1 sense.

Because they are True, they are powerful and dangerous. Truth implies that there are some things that are just wrong, that there is Someone who is in charge, who may have something to say about how we're running our lives. People who insist on denying this deep reality will do anything to disparage and belittle these stories as wishful thinking, pie-in-the-sky, simplistic, childish. By doing so, they believe that it will break the power of the stories (and the Someone in charge) and allow them to create their own reality. Grow up, they say; life's not as simple as all that, no one is waiting in the wings to rescue you, you're an accident of biology, love is just chemistry. You are limiting yourself with your supposed ideas of right and wrong, love conquering death.

It is so telling that Jesus said we must be like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. They believe in dragons and evil, heroes and princesses, and know that it's not a True story if the bad guy wins and the hero walks away from his destiny. They have complete faith that they are loved, and their hero will go to any lengths to bring them Home.

The problem is that we confuse our lives, mid-narrative, with Truth. We grow up and see that sometimes we aren't rescued, there are disappointments, death pursues us and despair haunts us. The biggest mistake we make is to say that because my life has not followed fairy-tale life, there is nothing out there beyond my self, no Home and no Hero. We forget that the greatest eucatastrophe--a joy beyond hope--has already happened, that Christ has already snatched victory from the jaws of death. Tolkein discussed it in his essay, On Fairy Stories, and he knew more than any other author what it was like to be dismissed by critics (his fellow Oxford peers), and adored by the masses. Because he knew The Story by heart, he could make "sub-creations" that have not only stood the test of time, but echo The Story faithfully even in a fantasy world.

J.K. Rowling has accomplished a similar feat, with similar results: critics are shocked at how we could swallow one more story about heroes conquering death, while fans are busy re-reading each book, savoring our rekindled childhood hope, the reassuring voice of Truth.

August melancholy

I've been kindof down for a week or so. There are a lot of factors that may play a part, the biggest one being a bout of intestinal nastiness that served to kickstart my first-ever weight-loss regimen (walk daily, eat less--well it's easy to eat less when you're afraid of the food exiting the building at top speed). It has also thrown other things out of order, which I can conveniently blame for my crabby attitude, though I am likely just tired from staying up till 2 AM watching commentary on a Freaks and Geeks DVD.

Yes, that's another reason. A stupid TV show gets you depressed? Well, if that show happens to be one of the best ones ever made, which only aired 18 episodes before boneheaded TV execs cancelled it, yes. The characters and writing/acting are so rich, so painfully real and funny, and the storylines are so memorable that it was easy to feel a part of their world. I was really pulling for the main female character, Lindsey Wier, and was a little disappointed with what she chose to do in the series finale. But it fit her character, so the integrity of the show wasn't brought down.

I've also been in Hibernate-and-Twitch mode since we got back from California. For those unfamiliar with the term, when I have too much interaction with lots of people for an extended period of time (read: any interaction with more than 2 people for 6 hours), I need to flee, sit in a dark, silent room, and twitch for at least as long as I was overstimulated. The twitching is more figurative than real, but I like to think of it as leaching the people-toxins out of my system and allowing my brain to return to simmer. The need for H-and-T has become more pronounced of late, only because I really haven't had the extended, days-long hibernation that is the only cure for an exciting, action-packed summer.

My son, who enjoys providing a play-by-play for every playdoh creation, line in a drawing, and new arrangement of toys, does not understand my love of tranquility. He plays so well by himself, but "by himself" always means the verbal ticker-tape is running: chatter, dialogue, questions, requests to find some godforsakenly-small best friend toy, and Dada-esque songs lasting ten minutes about sharks, trees, chickenheads, Jonahandawhale, and everything and anything he's ever learned about. They're hilarious songs. I just can't appreciate them fully when my brain feels like a packed subway train. Poor kid. It really is time for school to start.

Yes, school starting. I used to have incredible amounts of dread in August, when I was a full-time teacher. Every August was a condemning finger pointed straight at me, accusing me of pissing away summer months, for which I had so many grand, unrealized plans. Not only had I squandered two months of freedom, it said, but also I was behind in organizing my classroom and rewriting my curriculum, and other completely unnecessary perfectionist goals.

Fast-forward to today, then, and that familiar finger is jabbing my face. Far from squandering my summer, I did the opposite this year, but the list of things undone seems even longer somehow. Granted, we are in the process of replacing all our windows and doors, I'm selling a huge painting I did years ago, and purging excess books from our library to make room for more organized toys in boxes. All of which require moving furniture, dusting (! you have no idea), and taking down curtains and blinds. It would be daunting even if I had pissed away my summer, but as it is, the upheaval is a bit much.

Two excellent things have come from the madness. The obvious one is that we now have beautiful windows that open and keep the house noticeably cooler. I even have kitchen windows that aren't painted shut, a true novelty. The other is while shopping for cardboard boxes for D to reorganize his game systems and electronics, I passed a display of school supplies. I picked up a box of Crayola crayons, opened it, and inhaled deeply. It was like jumping into a time machine, back to a time when August held only promise for me.

video?

I'm going to try and post this YouTube video I just uploaded. It's of the polar bears fighting in S.D., and it's the first (and likely last) video I'll upload I think. It was really easy!

and even more pics from s.d.

sunset on the pier, and surfers below the pier.


t and D at the top of the vert ramp, watching the post-competition interviews.


d boardsliding near the hotel or event. not sure which."can you believe I get to do this?" check out the guy catching air behind him.
d and his hero, Chris Cole (sp? sorry). The guy did a 360 double kickflip down a set of stairs. Doing one kickflip is an accomplishment . this was insane.the last day of our trip. can you sense the pooped-ness? we're all like, "ehhhhhhhn. purty ocean. yawn."

pictures from san diego

"children's cove"-- a place they built for kids to play at the ocean, but has been taken over by seal mommies and pups. hmmm, hard to decide which should take precedence.

below: proof that snoopy enjoyed california as much as A.
beautiful, huge koi.
h20 lilies and a koi tail.
about 1/4 mile away from the koi, an entire cactus garden overlooking the canyon. otherworldly. and of course, A had to touch one and regretted it immediately.
the most gorgeous golden koi I have ever seen. about 2 feet long too.
the kelp forest at the aquarium.
a huge, 100 foot tree. a bit taller and I would have expected Galadriel to come swooping down to meet me.

scroll down my blog here for other stuff I posted. it's a bit of a mess.

another great article

check out this article on the new renaissance happening now.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3956405.html

a little art quote

from "Painting for Pleasure" by R.O. Dunlop. I found a photocopy from one of my painting classes today as I cleaned out several years' worth of papers in my file cabinet. I just had to share it:

"Meanness never pays in art. You may have to be wasteful, to mix more than you eventually need, to discard sketches, to try again and again. But it is the generous spirit that will prove the best in the end. It is as though art were linked with giving and not with getting, that the spirit must be moved to express itself lavishly, in order to do good work in art."

I've always been afraid to use lots of whatever material I am working with, always afraid of running out, so this was such a timely thing to find. I think I might be stifling a bit of creativity by needing to control so much--not getting started on something just because I might not have enough, or wanting to hoard tons of materials for some unknown day that I will use them all in a huge piece. Worth thinking about.

more from san diego

well we're back home. I am pooped, but happy to be back. A started to get a bit naughty by the end of our trip, due to the fact that he is 3, missed his daddy, likes sleeping in his own bed and pooping in his own bathroom, and was sick to death of me. I was pretty tired as well, so it is good to be back to our routine of staying out of the sun, preferably in the basement watching movies.

Very grateful thanks go to our hostess, Grandma B, for chauffering, tour-guiding, chef-ing and letting a tired momma sleep in for a bit!

The apartment was 2 blocks from the ocean, which was nigh on impossible to get a bad view of, so I took a lot of sunset pictures. Who can blame me? There were also a great many seals that live there, which are I think my favorite aquatic animal besides koi. They're like dachsunds with flippers, you know?

The last day, D and T came back from the xgames and spent the day with us, shopping mostly. The mall we went to was just like the ones at home, only there was no ceiling. They don't have to enclose the place or put in heaters or ac. Unreal. Yes, the more places I visit, the more like a hole Baltimore seems. But maybe I'm just saying that because it was 102 degrees today...
view from the aquarium to the sea. ah.

hp7 reviews and san diego!

a very happy a with some kelp, at the beach at sunset
mk and A at the koi pond in the Japanese Friendship garden. Koi are my favorites!
polar bears fighting!!!!!!! I got video of it as well. amazing.

"Look mom, look! a crocodile's lookin at me!
a is fascinated and disgusted watching a man cut up bait fish for fishing. we touched the fish (a mackerel) before it met its untimely end.

SARKS!! A's main interest in coming to San Diego.

Check out this review in Christianity Today, of the last Harry Potter book. It's excellent., as was the book. I was floored by so many incredible christian themes as I read, as yet another book proves that the best narratives are like The Narrative of Christ's sacrifice out of love. Also check out Albert Hsu's thoughts on his blog about the books and the phenomenon. I want to write more about it later, but this will suffice for now!

At the moment, I am in San Diego, staying at a friend's house with A while D works at the XGames in LA again. He is completely stoked, after meeting 2 of his favorite old-school skaters (Natas Kopas (sp?) and another guy who skated for perolta). They have a special "Legends" part of the xgames this year, with old guys who were big in the 80's and 90's (meaning, they are 40 years old at the most, and still have enough intact bones in their bodies to do tricks). I'm not sure what part D is working--big air men's sk8boarding at noon tomorrow--, but look for him near cameramen, especially a blond one running the jumbotron camera. That's our friend T, whose mom has been so generous to allow us to stay at her apartment.

Meanwhile, A and I finally have a "normal" schedule, due to jet lag and very active days here. We wake up at 7:30, have breakfast and are driven by our indefatigable hostess to our day's venue. We've gone to an aquarium, the beach (not so bad when there is no humidity, it's 75 degrees, and you can actually see your own feet through the water), the San Diego Zoo, and to Balboa Park today. The Park has gardens, 15 museums, the zoo, and amazing architecture. I'll write more when we get back, but let's just say that I know now why the real estate prices are so high here. I wouldn't want to move if I lived here. Of course, coming from Baltimore, every other place in the US is like a little paradise.