Friday, September 10, 2004
Expecto Politicum!
My wife and I just concluded the Harry Potter series this morning on CD. Order of The Phoenix ends better and with more humor than The Chamber of Secrets, so I’m not disappointed as I was with that one. The only problem is she spends so many pages setting the stage for the ending that, dramatic as that ending is, you get the impression you’ve just paid a lot to see the biggest fireworks display ever, yet it took less than a half hour. It’s kind of like saving up for two weeks to have enough money for a parachute jump lasting ten minutes.
I suppose if I was given to wonder why conservative Christians were no longer opposing the series, I have my answer in the last two books. The media is as propagandist and petty towards the heroes as possible while ignoring the real danger of the villains. In Order of The Phoenix, the government has its head as far in the sand as Madeline Albright did over the North Korea and Al Qaeda. The overall Neville Chamberlain effect is very pronounced in both.
Cornelius Fudge in The Ministry of Magic is pure Clinton in his denial that the Dark Lord Voldemort is back, much as Clinton was with the rise of Osama and Kim Jung Il during the Nineties. He also spends his whole time attacking domestic opponents while all hell is about to break loose under his nose.
In these last two books, also note the French look shallow and silly, with none to few sympathizers with the dark side. I'm not sure if I can tack this up to further proof she is on our side, or the simple fact that she's British and the French always look rediculous from their prospective. Frankly, after reading the beginning chapters of Suprised By Joy by C. S. Lewis, I half wonder if part of the reason the British have a history of being so harsh and strict with children and by extension sailors and so on is in a fanatical effort to never, ever become like the French. The British child is beaten, chastized, publically humiliated, grows up, then takes one look at his French counterpart and decides it was all worth it.
The only thing that would have made the Harry Potter series more metaphorical would be if a bunch of witches were dancing in a sunwise circle singing “Give Peace a Chance” and claiming Dumbeldore was worse than Voldemort. For that you have to go to Seattle rather than Hogwarts.
The role of Dudley Dursley will be played by Michael Moore. Beatrix LeStrange by Teresa Heinz Kerry, Voldemort by George Soros, and so on.
With the recent word that 60 Minutes either faked memos condemning Bush just before the election or received fake memos and didn’t validate them very well, and standing behind it despite all the evidence, Rita Skeeter may be more real than one would think. Perhaps we should give out a Rita Skeeter award every month for the most malignant journalist or film maker. Every year would be too difficult, or not difficult enough.
In Harry Potter's world, things get straightened out with the politicians and the press, and attention focused on the real enemy. I find that harder to believe than flying broomsticks, personally.
Mars on My Porch
Each evening as I get home from work I pry my vision to see if a medium size box is on my front porch or a tag telling me to pick up said box is on my doorknob. I ordered a Mars globe two weeks ago from California and I’m still waiting for it to arrive. It will ultimately go behind the glass trophy on the glass bookshelf next to my desk at home. With the reddish backdrop, it will be possible to read the white on glass inscriptions on the Kepler Prize. Now with a white wall behind it, it’s barely visible.
Job Prospects
My contract back at the bank closes September 30 if not extended, so I’m job hunting. I’ve got two prospects at the moment, though one wouldn’t start until November 1. That one pays well. The other is pretty light in comparison. Both are consulting gigs of roughly six months. I do hate the lack of job security with being a consultant, but lately full time hasn’t been that much more secure. The light job they expect to go full time and it would be with a large company with a chance to move up with stability. We’ll see what bird ends up in my hand in the end.
I hope I’m past the idea of worrying about how God will provide or where he’ll place me, and often I feel that way. Perhaps I’m lazy in that trusting God in this circumstance is far easier and less work than worrying about my next and previous interview, fretting endlessly about mistakes that cost me something, and so on. Yes, there were mistakes in the last job search. But truth told, it’s better that they were made than not. I made more money in a better place than had I not screwed up. “God protects fools, drunks, and the United States”, Mark Twain said. I’m neither a drunk nor a nation unto myself, but being foolish seems to happen at least once each job search.
We also get to see what having so much Mars stuff on the resume does to an interview. It would be silly to ignore winning that award or presenting the papers, but at the same time, I’m sure it looks extremely odd. I keep reading the one paragraph summaries of “What is The Mars Society?” for that occasion, so I don’t come across as spacy in the negative sense of the word. We’ll see. Interviews should prove more interesting now, that is certain.
And Speaking of Patronus...
The link below is to the Hidden Harry Potter Patronus Generator. Mine is a Siamese cat if I enter my first and last name, or a Bengal tiger if my middle name is added. This is cute since I tend to identify with cats and have three. My wife always comes up otter. She’s very much the teddy bear, but in this case, she has the same Patronus as Harmonie Granger of the Harry Potter series – not bad, I suppose.
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/1282/?PHPSESSID=85b886d830354ff122dc46c4a2a3ea28
There is also a link for Your Harry Pottery Name – mine is Dean, my wife’s is Harmonie. She’s going to be thrilled, I think. Maybe.
Update: She's amused.
Here is the full list. Note – language warning.
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/
My wife and I just concluded the Harry Potter series this morning on CD. Order of The Phoenix ends better and with more humor than The Chamber of Secrets, so I’m not disappointed as I was with that one. The only problem is she spends so many pages setting the stage for the ending that, dramatic as that ending is, you get the impression you’ve just paid a lot to see the biggest fireworks display ever, yet it took less than a half hour. It’s kind of like saving up for two weeks to have enough money for a parachute jump lasting ten minutes.
I suppose if I was given to wonder why conservative Christians were no longer opposing the series, I have my answer in the last two books. The media is as propagandist and petty towards the heroes as possible while ignoring the real danger of the villains. In Order of The Phoenix, the government has its head as far in the sand as Madeline Albright did over the North Korea and Al Qaeda. The overall Neville Chamberlain effect is very pronounced in both.
Cornelius Fudge in The Ministry of Magic is pure Clinton in his denial that the Dark Lord Voldemort is back, much as Clinton was with the rise of Osama and Kim Jung Il during the Nineties. He also spends his whole time attacking domestic opponents while all hell is about to break loose under his nose.
In these last two books, also note the French look shallow and silly, with none to few sympathizers with the dark side. I'm not sure if I can tack this up to further proof she is on our side, or the simple fact that she's British and the French always look rediculous from their prospective. Frankly, after reading the beginning chapters of Suprised By Joy by C. S. Lewis, I half wonder if part of the reason the British have a history of being so harsh and strict with children and by extension sailors and so on is in a fanatical effort to never, ever become like the French. The British child is beaten, chastized, publically humiliated, grows up, then takes one look at his French counterpart and decides it was all worth it.
The only thing that would have made the Harry Potter series more metaphorical would be if a bunch of witches were dancing in a sunwise circle singing “Give Peace a Chance” and claiming Dumbeldore was worse than Voldemort. For that you have to go to Seattle rather than Hogwarts.
The role of Dudley Dursley will be played by Michael Moore. Beatrix LeStrange by Teresa Heinz Kerry, Voldemort by George Soros, and so on.
With the recent word that 60 Minutes either faked memos condemning Bush just before the election or received fake memos and didn’t validate them very well, and standing behind it despite all the evidence, Rita Skeeter may be more real than one would think. Perhaps we should give out a Rita Skeeter award every month for the most malignant journalist or film maker. Every year would be too difficult, or not difficult enough.
In Harry Potter's world, things get straightened out with the politicians and the press, and attention focused on the real enemy. I find that harder to believe than flying broomsticks, personally.
Mars on My Porch
Each evening as I get home from work I pry my vision to see if a medium size box is on my front porch or a tag telling me to pick up said box is on my doorknob. I ordered a Mars globe two weeks ago from California and I’m still waiting for it to arrive. It will ultimately go behind the glass trophy on the glass bookshelf next to my desk at home. With the reddish backdrop, it will be possible to read the white on glass inscriptions on the Kepler Prize. Now with a white wall behind it, it’s barely visible.
Job Prospects
My contract back at the bank closes September 30 if not extended, so I’m job hunting. I’ve got two prospects at the moment, though one wouldn’t start until November 1. That one pays well. The other is pretty light in comparison. Both are consulting gigs of roughly six months. I do hate the lack of job security with being a consultant, but lately full time hasn’t been that much more secure. The light job they expect to go full time and it would be with a large company with a chance to move up with stability. We’ll see what bird ends up in my hand in the end.
I hope I’m past the idea of worrying about how God will provide or where he’ll place me, and often I feel that way. Perhaps I’m lazy in that trusting God in this circumstance is far easier and less work than worrying about my next and previous interview, fretting endlessly about mistakes that cost me something, and so on. Yes, there were mistakes in the last job search. But truth told, it’s better that they were made than not. I made more money in a better place than had I not screwed up. “God protects fools, drunks, and the United States”, Mark Twain said. I’m neither a drunk nor a nation unto myself, but being foolish seems to happen at least once each job search.
We also get to see what having so much Mars stuff on the resume does to an interview. It would be silly to ignore winning that award or presenting the papers, but at the same time, I’m sure it looks extremely odd. I keep reading the one paragraph summaries of “What is The Mars Society?” for that occasion, so I don’t come across as spacy in the negative sense of the word. We’ll see. Interviews should prove more interesting now, that is certain.
And Speaking of Patronus...
The link below is to the Hidden Harry Potter Patronus Generator. Mine is a Siamese cat if I enter my first and last name, or a Bengal tiger if my middle name is added. This is cute since I tend to identify with cats and have three. My wife always comes up otter. She’s very much the teddy bear, but in this case, she has the same Patronus as Harmonie Granger of the Harry Potter series – not bad, I suppose.
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/1282/?PHPSESSID=85b886d830354ff122dc46c4a2a3ea28
There is also a link for Your Harry Pottery Name – mine is Dean, my wife’s is Harmonie. She’s going to be thrilled, I think. Maybe.
Update: She's amused.
Here is the full list. Note – language warning.
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/
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