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Post by Becky H on Jun 8, 2003 17:27:22 GMT -5
Becky, are you a Harry Potter fan? I am too! I'm getting the the fifth one when it comes out, but can't read it until after the semester ends (it is too long for me to just try to squeeze it in). I have been looking forward to it coming out so much. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and BtVS are my three favourite types of stories and I have only recently realised what they all have in common (apart from the fantasy aspect, of course): they are all about one person who is chosen to fight evil with the help of their friends (some powerful, some not). Friendship, loyalty and responsibility are always great themes and I can then work out why I love Jane Austen's Emma (the wild-card of the mix of my favourite stories). PS On one of the Harry Potter web-sites that I visited a long time ago, there was speculation that Snape might be a vampire. What do you reckon? Snape a vampire? I think some explanation might be required regarding how he could be seen in the foe-glass and how come he is outside during the day and why he is protecting Harry, but other than that . . . (or alright the hypothesis is just lame!) I love Harry Potter - I chanced upon the first book even before it became a phenomenon and persuaded my book group (all adult women, by the way) to read it. My husband finally succumbed to my persuasion and read it and now is a fan as well. When Halley was younger, we read the first book to her and then, as she was able, she read the second, third and yes, even The Goblet of Fire on her own and then demanded her own copies. A friend of ours who lives in Glasgow also sent her the British versions. We have already had to negotiate a reading schedule for the fifth book: I get it first because I"m the fastest reader (my readings for school be damned!), then my husband gets it after she's gone to bed and Halley gets it during the day until they finish. And when it comes out in paperback, Halley will get her own copy. Do you suppose you like Emma because she, too, is trying her best to set things aright in her friends' lives (misguided as her initial perceptions might be)?
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Post by Kerrie on Jun 8, 2003 17:28:20 GMT -5
I can't believe you people are drinking beer, champagne and ginger beer. Where are the Long Necks? I can vouch for their effectiveness, especially when skulled. Needless to say I am drinking coffee. My alcoholic father assures me that only alcoholics drink spirits or wine or drink before 11 am. He is only drinks beer, in large quantities, after that time so he's fine! .
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Post by RAKSHA on Jun 8, 2003 17:32:48 GMT -5
I'm not sure where I stand on this one, but asking vampires to behave according to human rules just because the rules are human seems as silly as it does futile. Do we, as humans, behave as cows would like us to, when cows are part of our food chain? I question whether the morality we require of vampires offers any reason for them to comply. Even as they kill us, don't we kill them just as readily? Where does that place us in their morality? We can't even eat them. Well, cows are animals. We eat animals; and we kill them if they harm humans and they can't be confined. I don't think it's wrong to insist that vampires either find their sustenance via blood bank or butcher shop, or face severe consequences if they insist on killing humans.
Gail
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Post by Becky H on Jun 8, 2003 17:34:54 GMT -5
I can't believe you people are drinking beer, champagne and ginger beer. Where are the Long Necks? I can vouch for their effectiveness, especially when skulled. Needless to say I am drinking coffee. My alcoholic father assures me that only alcoholics drink spirits or wine or drink before 11 am. He is only drinks beer, in large quantities, after that time so he's fine! . Just tell everyone you're currently living in a different time zone. Or at least turn it into Irish Coffee. I'm still thinking about your Snape as vampire question. I wonder if it's just because of how Alan Rickman is costumed and behaves. Also, he certainly seems to have thrown in his lot with the white hats at the end of Goblet of Fire but that could just have been situational pragmatism. There is that pesky question of attending Quidditch matches without combusting...
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Post by Nickim on Jun 8, 2003 17:35:47 GMT -5
Oh, gods; these pizza photos are making me SO hungry. I LOVE pizza! I could eat three small pizzas or two big ones all by myself. Pizza is one of the major food groups as far as I'm concerned...But I'm on the Atkins diet, so no pizza for me, sob-sob-howl.
Gail Me too, Gail, I had steak for dinner, but I'm going to cheat and have a grande margarita.
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Post by RAKSHA on Jun 8, 2003 17:38:59 GMT -5
I'm still thinking about your Snape as vampire question. I wonder if it's just because of how Alan Rickman is costumed and behaves. Also, he certainly seems to have thrown in his lot with the white hats at the end of Goblet of Fire but that could just have been situational pragmatism. There is that pesky question of attending Quidditch matches without combusting... I LOVE Rickman's portrayal of Snape! Especially enjoyed Snape's duel with Gilderoy (ebulliently played by Kenneth Branagh, who looked like he was really having a great time). Gail
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Post by Becky H on Jun 8, 2003 17:41:48 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that, Laura. I don't think it's up yet on slayage.com and you have to register with the NY Times to get to their articles, anyway. I agree that hindsight lets you appreciate the whole of a work (which doesn't mean I'm not sad that there won't be more Buffy to appreciate - but at least the show never jumped the shark IMHO). I just wish they hadn't mentioned Freaks and Geeks: it makes me miss Amanda (F&G Mathlete Millie) all over again.
If we're talking about shows which ended too soon and which we're going to miss, did anyone else watch My So-Called Life? That show reminds me of BtVS in terms of its writing, level of characterization and especially in how adults and adolescents were all completely believable people: I could remember what it felt like to be Angela even as I understood Patty (shades of empathizing with Joyce and Buffy at the exact same moment).
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Post by Kerrie on Jun 8, 2003 17:41:52 GMT -5
Do you suppose you like Emma because she, too, is trying her best to set things aright in her friends' lives (misguided as her initial perceptions might be)? I'm not sure that I understand. Do you mean that Buffy, Frodo and Harry, by fighting evil, are also trying to set things right in their friends lives? Or do you mean that they generally try to set things right in their friend's lives (eg Frodo bequeathing his home to Sam)? On a related topic, do you also try to check the overlap in 'BtVS', 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' to predict what will happen next? For instance, the role of the 'insignificant' friend is a big theme for all three. 'BtVS' and 'Lord of the Rings' are finished so using the information from these stories can we predict what will happen to Ron, thematically, in "Harry Potter". To me it is obvious he will be tempted by either personal loss or money/power to the dark side, but on the basis of the other two series I would guess that he resists because of ethics and loyalty (self-identity, perhaps is caught up in fighting evil with his friend even if he is not super in the conventional sense). What do you think? Or do prefer some other type of analysis? If so please share.
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Post by raenstorm on Jun 8, 2003 17:42:32 GMT -5
Seeing Gail's signature reminded me... I was at the grocery store today pondering getting some Pillsbury cookie dough to make cookies. Am the only one who can't look at cookie dough anymore without thinking about Buffy?
I caught myself thinking "oh look, there's some Buffy dough" and then glancing around to make sure no one overheard my thoughts.
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Post by Mary on Jun 8, 2003 17:46:19 GMT -5
Becky, are you a Harry Potter fan? I am too! I'm getting the the fifth one when it comes out, but can't read it until after the semester ends (it is too long for me to just try to squeeze it in). I have been looking forward to it coming out so much. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and BtVS are my three favourite types of stories and I have only recently realised what they all have in common (apart from the fantasy aspect, of course): they are all about one person who is chosen to fight evil with the help of their friends (some powerful, some not). Friendship, loyalty and responsibility are always great themes and I can then work out why I love Jane Austen's Emma (the wild-card of the mix of my favourite stories). PS On one of the Harry Potter web-sites that I visited a long time ago, there was speculation that Snape might be a vampire. What do you reckon? Snape a vampire? (or alright the hypothesis is just lame!) I'm also a fan of these three. I hadn't really equated HP with the one small person and their friends before, though I had connected Buffy & LOTR. Not sure why - perhaps my brain just hadn't gotten around to it yet? Long ago I mentioned on the Scoop Me Board (I think), that I thought JM would have been perfect - just perfect - to play Sirius Black. No such luck though. Mary
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Post by Becky H on Jun 8, 2003 17:50:12 GMT -5
I'm not sure that I understand. Do you mean that Buffy, Frodo and Harry, by fighting evil, are also trying to set things right in their friends lives? Or do you mean that they generally try to set things right in their friend's lives (eg Frodo bequeathing his home to Sam)? On a related topic, do you also try to check the overlap in 'BtVS', 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' to predict what will happen next? For instance, the role of the 'insignificant' friend is a big theme for all three. 'BtVS' and 'Lord of the Rings' are finished so using the information from these stories can we predict what will happen to Ron, thematically, in "Harry Potter". To me it is obvious he will be tempted by either personal loss or money/power to the dark side, but on the basis of the other two series I would guess that he resists because of ethics and loyalty (self-identity, perhaps is caught up in fighting evil with his friend even if he is not super in the conventional sense). What do you think? Or do prefer some other type of analysis? If so please share. I see the parallels between Emma and the rest in that they all are trying to better the worlds they live in and by extension, their friends lives. If you accept that Emma's social milieu and small corner of England (what Austen called her little piece of ivory) are as important to her as Middle Earth or Sunnydale or Hogwarts, then the analogy works. I admit it's not life and death except in the sense that making a successful marriage really did dictate the kind of life you could lead in Emma's society. And I think you are right on about the temptation of Ron. I've read (possibly falsely but what the hey) that he becomes a prefect in this book. Do you suppose the power will rush to his head? We've seen him react badly to doses of celebrity in the past. I'd put my money on him to eventually shine because, as we've often seen, it's the Sams and Xanders who may ultimately make the difference.
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Post by Betsy on Jun 8, 2003 17:50:55 GMT -5
I made a little something. The gate has been officially opened . . .
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Post by Mary on Jun 8, 2003 17:53:22 GMT -5
On a related topic, do you also try to check the overlap in 'BtVS', 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' to predict what will happen next? For instance, the role of the 'insignificant' friend is a big theme for all three. 'BtVS' and 'Lord of the Rings' are finished so using the information from these stories can we predict what will happen to Ron, thematically, in "Harry Potter". To me it is obvious he will be tempted by either personal loss or money/power to the dark side, but on the basis of the other two series I would guess that he resists because of ethics and loyalty (self-identity, perhaps is caught up in fighting evil with his friend even if he is not super in the conventional sense). What do you think? Or do prefer some other type of analysis? If so please share. Commenting as I go along, because I have limited online time tonight... I've been just a shade concerned that Ron is developing some jealousy of Harry (his fame, yes, but also his money - that he has it, not that he flaunts it), and that this might be instumental in Ron making some bad decisions that lead to (spooky music) the dark side. For a while. I'm confident if this happens, he'll revert. It's been quite a while since I read GoF, but it seems to me that that jealousy was beginning, and even, perhaps, some rather more sinister foreshadowing of such events. Can't remember specifics, but the feeling was strong at the time. Mary
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Post by RustyGoode on Jun 8, 2003 17:53:54 GMT -5
Is all the pizza gone? I was at the movies and saw the Italian Job which has Seth Green in it. Good movie, especially the car chase. It also made me crave Venice, which next to New Orleans and Prague, is a perfect venue for Vampires. And it has pizza and a piazza! (sp?)
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Post by Nickim on Jun 8, 2003 17:55:10 GMT -5
If we're talking about shows which ended too soon and which we're going to miss, did anyone else watch My So-Called Life? That show reminds me of BtVS in terms of its writing, level of characterization and especially in how adults and adolescents were all completely believable people: I could remember what it felt like to be Angela even as I understood Patty (shades of empathizing with Joyce and Buffy at the exact same moment). I watched "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So-Called Life", their fate--quick cancellation--makes me glad Buffy wasn't on one of the major networks, it probably wouldn't have lasted very long.
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