Hogwarts Professor

Tin Man, Harry Potter, and One Argument in favor of Publishing the Whole Back Story
ByJohn December 1, 2007
20 Comments

There are few times I wish I owned a teevee set. In fact, I cannot think of a single time I have regretted putting up the teevee expelling charms around my house soon after I was married. I do own a VHS and DVD player that won’t pick-up signals on which I enjoy watching videos with my family (Count of Monte Cristo last night, an amazing adaptation/abridgment) but the the thought of a teevee “on” in my house, addict-in-recovery that I am, makes me shudder.

This morning, though, Amazon.com sent me an email telling me I needed to check out a teevee show called Tin Man on the SciFi cable channel. I checked it out via the hyperlink they provided. I didn’t rush out to buy a working television, but I did say to myself, “I really hope they release this on DVD.” I’d certainly go to see this if it were in the movie theatres. I’ve read more Wizard of Oz books to my children than I want to admit and this Tin Man program looks like the kind of thoughtful adaptation for postmoderns I’d enjoy. [I was the one in the alley behind the theatre who lost his popcorn and lunch after seeing The Wiz.] The Cain figure alone played by Neal McDonough would be worth the price of admission.

And why do I bring this up on a Harry Potter weBlog? I’m glad you asked.

The discussion here at HogPro has come down pretty heavily against learning more back-story from Ms. Rowling than she decided to include between the covers of her seven stage epic. Read More “Tin Man, Harry Potter, and One Argument in favor of Publishing the Whole Back Story”
Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapters 10 & 11, ‘The Marauder’s Map’ & ‘The Firebolt’
ByJohn December 1, 2007
7 Comments

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 10 & 11

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” I will post T/F Answers tomorrow with responses to discussion point posts and my own thoughts. If you disagree with my answers tomorrow, please do send me an explanation about where I went wrong. Click on the Category “Chapter Quiz” in the right column for previous quizzes and discussion points.

1. _____ Chapter Ten, The Marauder’s Map, begins with Harry in the Hospital Wing, lamenting the Quidditch loss to Hufflepuff and the demise of his Nimbus 2000 broom.

2. _____ Dumbledore explains to Harry that dementors “drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them” and that “if it can,.the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soul-less and evil.” Read More “Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapters 10 & 11, ‘The Marauder’s Map’ & ‘The Firebolt’”
The Best Books of 2007! (New York Times)
ByJohn November 30, 2007
4 Comments

But the Entertainer of the Year didn’t make the cut.

Huh. Wonder why?
Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapters 8 & 9, ‘Flight of the Fat Lady’ & ‘Grim Defeat’
ByJohn November 30, 2007
2 Comments

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 8 & 9

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” I will post T/F Answers tomorrow with responses to discussion point posts and my own thoughts if there aren’t any of yours to which I can respond! If you disagree with my answers tomorrow, please do send me an explanation about where I went wrong. Click on the Category “Chapter Quiz” in the right column for previous quizzes and discussion points.

1. _____ Chapter Eight, Flight of the Fat Lady, begins with a description of how everyone hates Defense Against the Dark Arts classes except the Slytherins. Read More “Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapters 8 & 9, ‘Flight of the Fat Lady’ & ‘Grim Defeat’”
Sword of Gryffindor: On Entertainment, Shared Texts, and Postmodern Literature
ByJohn November 29, 2007
8 Comments

I love reading the interpretations of Ms. Rowling’s books and Potter mania as a cultural phenomenon that are posted at Travis Prinzi’s Sword of Gryffindor website. I always learn something new about postmodernism, for example, and thinking about thinking, even when I disagree with Travis or one of his stable of writers. Their latest essay, ‘Sharing Our Entertainer: Rowling, Shared Books, and Pop Culture,’ is another winner. Dave, the author, closes with a Dante-esque suggestion that we need a guide to get us through the dark forest Ms. Rowling has chosen to leave us in about the specific meanings of her books. I nominate Travis Prinzi’s troop as the guides I’d follow, if only for sentences like this: Read More “Sword of Gryffindor: On Entertainment, Shared Texts, and Postmodern Literature”