Mozart’s Zauberflote: Alchemical Text?

February 7, 2008 by 15 Comments

Thank you, JAB, for the great work you’ve done here as HogPro Web Master! I have finished the revisions and four new chapters for what was Looking for God in Harry Potter and what will be How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania — and I have you to thank for keeping the conversation going here so I could meet my deadlines. I have to think no one missed me given the quality of your posts and commentary! I certainly enjoyed checking in here during my bancha tea breaks.

I have to return my interlibrary loan copy of M. F. M. van den Berk’s The Magic Flute: An Alchemical Allegory this afternoon so my first post here will be a short review. Let me start with the downside. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Literary Alchemy

Order of the Phoenix: The Woes of Mrs. Weasley and Luna Lovegood (Chapters 9&10)[JAB]

February 6, 2008 by 1 Comment

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapters 9-10

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” Write your answers to the discussion points in the com boxes below.

1._____ Harry, Ron, and Mr. Weasley meet Lucius Malfoy in the Department of Mysteries after Harry’s Wizengamut trial. In their first meeting since the Voldemort re-birthing, Harry tells the Death Eater he is good at escaping.

2._____ Harry dumps a bag of galleons into the Fountain of Magical Brethren – and notices that the statues are anything but life-like (except for the house-elf).

3._____ Everyone is delighted that Harry “got off” except Sirius Black who seems a little moody after Harry’s return to Grimmauld Place. Harry wonders if he wasn’t hoping that he’d have someone to keep him company at Headquarters. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Chapter Quiz

Order of the Phoenix: The Ministry of Magic and The Hearing (Chapters 7&8)[JAB]

February 5, 2008 by 1 Comment

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapters 7-8

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” Write your answers to the discussion points in the com boxes below.

1._____Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Padfoot take the Underground to the Ministry of Magic, which they enter through a telephone booth after dialing 6-4-2-4-2.

2._____ Harry promises to put ten Galleons into the Fountain of Magical Brethren, if he is not expelled from Hogwarts. The Statue features a witch, a wizard, a goblin, a centaur, and a house-elf. The last three seem to be adoring the first two. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Chapter Quiz

J.K. Rowling, Margaret Thatcher both “Great Britons” So Says Morgan Stanley [JAB]

February 2, 2008 by 13 Comments

Thanks to our friends at HPANA.com we discover that J.K. Rowling has pulled double honors in winning both the Overall and Arts catagories of the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards for 2007.

According to the article in Telegraph.co.uk, Ms. Rowling qualified for double honors because:

A publishing phenomenon, JK Rowling has changed reading habits and patterns worldwide. The success of the Harry Potter books – the final novel in the series sold 11 million copies in its first 24 hours – has united a generation of children and parents in a genuine love of reading.

The judges felt Miss Rowling had transformed the world’s view of Britain and that her books are “brilliantly British”. That she also managed to top the best-seller list in France with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the first English-language author to do so, is a further testament to her global appeal.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

Order of the Phoenix: The Order of the Phoenix and The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black (Chapters 5&6)

January 30, 2008 by 1 Comment

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapters 5-6

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” Write your answers to the discussion points in the com boxes below.

1._____ Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley children come to dinner as the Order of the Phoenix meeting in the kitchen breaks up. Tonks, Fred, and George help Molly cook and serve dinner, but the twins get an earful for too much magic…

2._____ Mundungus apologizes to Harry for skipping out on his guard duty. The thief isn’t very popular with Mrs. Weasley because he seems, in her opinion, to “have missed a few crucial lessons” in learning about right and wrong.

3._____ Sirius asks Harry why he hasn’t asked any questions about Voldemort and the room freezes. Molly and Sirius have a row about Dumbledore’s instructions that they not tell Harry “more than he needs to know.” Lupin sides with Padfoot. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Chapter Quiz