darlene Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 I loved Robbie Coltrane as an actor long before he became Hagrid. He's a very talented, committed actor. I adore English mysteries and always loved him as "Fitz," the criminal psychologist who solved cases but had a dysfunctional marriage with his screen wife (played by Carolyn McCormick, formerly a psychologist on Law and Order). Robert Pastorelli was good in the role, but I think Robbie Coltrane defined it. Incidentally, he wasn't born with the surname Coltrane. he chose it because he loved John Coltrane's music so much! He's very learned, cultured and musical. --Darlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggsherby Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Tony,I can't beleive you haven't figured it out...I'm the real Harry in her life. This is her way of crying out my name in the middle of the night without you catching on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Im with Cartmill, the "magic" in Harry Potter is a loosely veiled santan-ism intended to entice kids into darkness and the fantasy world that can be conjured up through the use of drugs. Childrens books?, hardly. I remember when childrens books didnt contain dark sub themes and adult material. Thats why so many adults are reading them. Re-exploring the inner child? More like more escapism of the darkest kind. Harry Potter is full of ominous messages. Play it backwards and you will hear Harry saying" Nancy Drew is a phony" over and over. The goal to is to undermine the wonderful childrens literature of the past that was pure and fun.Beware, this cult of Harry Potter is a brainwashing of the darkest kind. Sure down a few prozacs, a glass of wine, and open that Harry Potter book. Yes you will be in a fantasy world all your end. The question is, "will you ever get back?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 And I thought I tended to over analyze! Jeesh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBabi7 Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 LOL, I played it backwards, and that's not what Harry says. It's "Nancy Drew, you're full of bologna.""Yes, you will be in a fantasy world all your END????" What the heck does that mean???? Could that be a subliminal message for anyone reading his post???Are Rickman, Cartmill and raspberrywine the new "sinister" dark forces??? You know what they say about things coming in three's. Tune in next week for further adventures of these three. Soon to be released in book form and appearing at your nearest bookstore.I don't know about you Anne, but I'm grabbin my prozac and bottle of Captains and pickin this one up pronto to read before Book Seven is released by Rowling. It may enlighten us on more hidden meanings. Have these three read all the Rowling books? Have they read anything else by her. Perhaps there are more messages we've missed. And I've been so careful to send her those little pink pads for "Messages, while you were out", so she could keep me updated. Did the owls perhaps go astray? What sinister forces could be at work here?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted January 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 It's not over-analizing for me. I just think it's a writing cop-out when you use random time and travel portholes and stupid spells to get out of danger, and/or to keep the plot going. "Let's go down this path, and at any time, we can create a secret passage, or create a tool out of thin air, or time warp to another place if we get in trouble..." That's about 75-80% of these movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 But they don't always get out of danger. Several students have died.So you don't like the tools they used. People think "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" is 'silly' because it's not reality. Nothing wrong with fantasy - as long as you realize that's what it is, and nothing more.SugarBabi - pick up the Outlander series by Diana Galbadon. It would push Tony over the edge: romance, time travel, historical events portrayed accurately..oh my! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hardy Boys books I bet were better.Iola Morton ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 I'll just watch the "Back to the Future" trilogy again if I want to see a time travel plot that makes sense.And I'll take Biff Tannen over Lord Valdermont as a villain any day of the week!"Harry Potter Butt-heads! Why don't you all make like a tree...and get out of here." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Harry Potter is a fun little series. It's not great literature, but it was a refreshing change from most of the dribble out there. Some of the character names are an interesting combination of sounds (nothing beats Scandanavian children stories for that, imo), and it "works" for adults as well (granted, to a lesser degree). It's entertainment. It's reading. It gets children away from the TV (and it's far better than the typical TV fare). Wizards in Hogwart's; Witches in Hamlet. Children will learn how to distinguish between reality and fiction. I truly doubt children think they can solve their problems by waving a wand - it's more likely they would try something they saw on a family sitcom on TV. Hopefully at that point the parents would step in and give them a healthy dose of reality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBabi7 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Try reading some of the supplemental books written about the Potter series. Two of which are, "The Hidden Myths in Harry Potter" by David Colbert and "The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter", also by Colbert. Colbert incidentally is not a Potter or Rowling fan. The reference materials Rowling used are steeped in history and cultural charm. Citing medieval lore and North American Indian history. Even if you don't like the series, Tony, there was a LOT of work and research put into them. Using chocolate for instance to ward off dementors bad feelings. Nonsense, no. Chocolate releases endorphins which help the body to feel better, proven medical fact.Wave a wand to cure everything, no. Neville's parents had their minds destroyed by Voldemort. Cured? Uh uh. But it does portray Neville as ashamed of his now mentally handicapped parents. How often in real life have we seen people ashamed of or wanting not to even be in the same room with handicapped people.Dumbledore, "particularly famous for defeating the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945." This was the same year that Britain and it's allies defeated Hitler and other enemies of democracy in the Second World War. Puting the wizard into the mix, makes kids interested. Not many five and six year olds know about WWII or even give a flyin fig, but someday, the wizard and that year may trigger a memory to make them curious to learn more.Durmstang. Sturm,Drang and Wagner in particular were artists who were favorites of the Nazi government in Germany just before and during WWII. Nonsensical names not based in fact, I don't think so.Fluffy. Another name for the famous beast from Greek mythology, Cerberus.Draco Malfoy. Latin for dragon and snake. Both of which describe his slimy personna well.Argus Filch. Gets his name from the Argus of Greek mythology, "a watchman with a thousand eyes on his body."Want more, I can go on.....Sorry James, told ya to stop me if I got serious and responsible again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubbiefanMike Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 I always tease my nieces and nephews and ask them "If Harry Potter is such a great Wizard why cant he cast a spell for good eye sight and lose the glassess." Why is there classes on learning to be a witch or warlock... wasnt Merlin self taught?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 James, I'm with you. I loved Hardy Boys, Dana Girls and Nancy Drew books. Once a mystery buff, always a mystery buff. I was a bit dismayed to find out that "my favorite childhood author, Carolyn Keene" didn't exist, but that the books were composites of several different male authors!Now I wonder about Franklin W. Dixon... --DPS The "unmasking" of Carolyn Keene never dampened my ten-year old sense of romance and adventure--I still got goosebumps reading "The Mystery at the Ski Jump." What was the romantic code word exchange? -- "Lake--Dunston."? Even Harry Potter couldn't equal that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew kicked butt.Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBabi7 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 CF Mike,According to magical law, you are not suppose to use magic to benefit yourself. Healing his eyesight would benefit him (probably why Hermione was the one who always repaired his broken glasses. Only dark wizards use magic to benefit themselves, and look how they eventually fare.Merlin, another fictional character, was actually an alchemist by trade. Some of his cures were so unusual and surprising that people thought him to be a wizard (a maker of magic). He learned to be an alchemist by studying. Therefore, it would only seem locigal (hear that Mr Spock) that the fledgling witches and wizards have to study to hone their craft. After all, they live in and come from the muggle world.Any questions, class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBabi7 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Locigal: I believe I meant to spell "logical", darn those confusion spells anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Harry Potter is a plot to overthrow rationality. Its story lines and characters are no more interesting than " Green Acres." We shouldnt allow the brains of our youth to be tainted by such subversive rubbish. Its a bunch of new age bologna being advanced under the guise of a childrens story. My guess is everyone who loves Lord of Rings loves Harry Potter. My guess is that everyone who sits at home doing the I Ching while reading ayurvedic home furnishing magazines is going to think Harry Potter is the cats meow. But be careful, that cat belongs to a witch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 That's a sweeping generalization.Of all the potential worrisome influences that the world throws at children, HP is not one of them (if taken in a healthy dose). Books and other forms of entertainment are not babysitters. Problem is that parents too often think they are - and then wonder why their children are in a far different place 10 years down the road. Don't think HP has merit? Let the child read the book, and then have the child read a favorite of yours. Sit down and discuss them. Who loses here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Seems to me that the PARENTS need to provide a preface to their children giving them insight to the difference between fiction and reality. Then also reinforce core values. After all, if parents never tell their children who Santa Claus really was (Saint Nicholas) and that he is in fact deceased, then the children will believe whatever else is presented to them. I was not brought up (thank God) by parents that tried to feed me a bunch of crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBabi7 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 raspberrywine,Wow, for a minute there I thought you didn't like the Potter series. But glad to see it's brought you out of your shell.Crookshanks says "Hi". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 yes ofcourse "if taken in a healthy dose." The question is what dose of dark magical fantasy aimed at brainwashing is healthy!? " Who loses here?" Why Dr. Suess ofcourse and Mickey Mouse and the Hardy Boys. And any reasonable forms of childhood entertainment, full of the imaginative process yet lacking in adult themes and psuedo-spirtual gobbledygook. Ive heard that the next Potter book is going to be even darker and the outcomes perhaps unsettling. Better get the kleenex ready for all the crying children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Are they mutually exclusive? Can't a child read all the basic children literature (Dr. Seuss, Hardy Boys, etc.) as well as HP? And what about the "deep magic" in the Narnia series?HP is a perfectly suitable addition to a child's library. I would definitely make sure that other books were read before HP - and that's where we must be in agreement.If the latter HP books are darker and more troubling (I haven't read that far) then absolutely they may not be suitable for some children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Well, the choice is clear on all this material, including many video games displaying the same themes and darkness. Would a person prefer that their son grows up to be President of the High School debate team and valedictorian, or would they prefer that,at the age of 18, hes down in the basement playing Dungeons and Dragons, sniffing glue, wetting his pants, and holding conversations with his little plastic knight figurines? Would you like your daughter to be a violin-playing equestrian who belongs to the pom pom squad (with a full scholarship to the University of Chicago), or would you prefer that she ends up living with her loser boyfriend in a crackhouse , who never works but spends all his time diligently working on his first Sword and Sorcery novel?Dont take my word for it, here is what the eminent researcher E.M. Blogwell had to say about these materials and childhood development:" Its clear that after awhile dis-realty becomes reality for such a child. Soon exorbitant demands are made upon the parent. Requests such as building a moat around the family home,or insisting that all family members wear medieval armor at the dinner table are common. After awhile, the child begins to think he possesses special powers and will attempt to fly like a bird, or conjure up the ghosts of relatives long deceased. Couseling is ordinarily recommended by age 12, with institutionalization by the middle teenage years."So there you have it. Sure Harry Potter is only harmless fun, but years from now a person may be looking back and cursing the day that those twisted little books and movies of his ever crossed the doorstep. Do you really want your son to spend the rest of his life working as a court jester at some medieval festival in Iowa?, your daughter to be under the illusion that shes really the Princess of Atlantis? Nah, I'll stick with Dr. Suess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Raspberrywine,Thanks for that very insightful post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggiesjc Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 "Would you like your daughter to be a violin-playing equestrian..." I guess Darlene and I are covered! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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