tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post8717706055479421425..comments2023-09-22T02:24:42.144-07:00Comments on a light inside: Harry Potter Book Club: Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 15Jenna St.Hilairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16528611770211261141noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-66015315881698909332015-04-16T16:14:32.846-07:002015-04-16T16:14:32.846-07:00Love your thoughts!!! and my post is up!
And Hi ...Love your thoughts!!! and my post is up! <br /><br />And Hi Laura!!!!! You should totally come to Michigan this Christmas! ;)Mashahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943998810222103926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-60863406285755979922015-04-13T21:06:46.899-07:002015-04-13T21:06:46.899-07:00Yay for thorough and thoughtful discussion! :D
Tw...Yay for thorough and thoughtful discussion! :D<br /><br />Twilight was written very innocently, and its imperfections derived more from that naivete, I think, than from cynicism. Badly written cynicism is no fun, and badly written sex is just funny, so I've never been particularly drawn to Fifty Shades. ;)<br /><br />Love your thoughts on the HP chapter! I hadn't really thought through how Rowling distinguishes Divination from other forms of magic in relationship to what they're based on. I'm 100% with you in that Trelawney and the subject generally are useless, with the exception of Firenze, who manages to communicate both a confidence in signs and a sensible agnosticism about the ability of mortals to read them. But it's been awhile since I read book 5 ... You're also right that the real prophecies are typically self-fulfilling to some extent, at least; if I wanted to canvass that extensively, it would require SPOILERS, but that thought will probably come in useful during book 6.<br /><br />Fascinating thought about a nonmagical slap being extra insulting. Someone at The Hog's Head once calculated how much territory an active Muggle could cover before a wand-waving wizard could shout "Petrificus Totalus!" and it turned out to be quite significant; I would think that the Wizarding World's snooty tendency to look down on the nonmagical might well play into taking umbrage at the use of cold physical force, especially if it proved now and again, in the occasional shady incident, to be more effective.Jenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-67186655825277276122015-04-11T14:28:30.650-07:002015-04-11T14:28:30.650-07:00**hugs back**
Oh, I forgot to say -- I would love...**hugs back**<br /><br />Oh, I forgot to say -- I would love to read some HP University stories!Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-53866024046642952522015-04-11T14:25:04.619-07:002015-04-11T14:25:04.619-07:00It's always kind of interesting to me that Div...It's always kind of interesting to me that Divination is a real subject in HP-world and prophecies are treated as important by wizards, but unlike other forms of magic (which are totally real and can change erasers into cats and make dishes clean themselves etc.), 99% of all Divination practice shown in HP is more or less exactly the same as it would be in a Muggle context, a mix of BS and guessing. The transfigurations et al. aren't anything like Muggle magic tricks, but Mme. Trelawney's tea readings are indistinguishable from a Muggle fortuneteller's except when they are a little less perceptive than a working Muggle fortuneteller would need to be in order to stay in business. <br /><br />Even the "real" prophecies are ambiguous and self-fulfilling -- probably no less ambiguous than they would be if they were lucky shots by a Muggle psychic. All the other magic is pretty straightforwardly functional even when it's prone to malfunction or requires a frustrating degree of precision to work -- but I actually don't know whether JKR meant to come down on the side of Divination being a "real" wizarding gift or not. If it is, I feel bad for anyone at Hogwarts who has it, because Mme. T. does not seem like a competent or perceptive teacher. <br /><br />Then again, a lot of the education at Hogwarts is of a fairly negligent sink-or-swim character. But it's not clear how someone with an actual Divination gift would get any help training it in Mme. Trelawney's class. <br /><br />Re: corporal punishment -- I think HP's atmosphere of constant low-level physical danger and easy magical repair of the body makes it more of a slapstick-friendly environment than a regular school would be. Slapping someone is mild compared to some of the pranks these kids play on each other. I wonder if a direct slap with the hand, with no magic -- a Muggle punch -- is considered extra insulting in some Wizarding cultures. I could see the Malfoy-Black connection getting their backs up because Granger was too coarse and impudent to use magic like a gentleman. <br /><br />I cannot recommend <i>50 Shades of Grey</i>. I know you like <i>Twilight</i> many times better than I do, but <i>50 Shades</i> has none of the virtues of <i>Twilight</i>. It''s more cynically written and much more boring. Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-84376060147792814082015-04-11T12:11:16.472-07:002015-04-11T12:11:16.472-07:00Thanks so much, Anna!Thanks so much, Anna!Jenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-65574998315686336172015-04-11T12:10:59.680-07:002015-04-11T12:10:59.680-07:00Laura! I have missed you a LOT. Hugs!! Can't w...Laura! I have missed you a LOT. Hugs!! Can't wait to talk more Potter with you. :DJenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-32435033802118027542015-04-11T10:13:56.529-07:002015-04-11T10:13:56.529-07:00Welcome back to the blogosphere! :-)Welcome back to the blogosphere! :-)Anna Mussmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631139113615066986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-55697036325288697392015-04-11T00:57:49.735-07:002015-04-11T00:57:49.735-07:00Oh my goodness, you're back! :D I hope your me...Oh my goodness, you're back! :D I hope your metamorphosis is mostly a good one. I need to be going to bed now, but I'll be back tomorrow for Harry Potter! YAY JENNA HI WELCOME BACK TO MY FIELD OF VISIONLauranoreply@blogger.com