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July 31, 2007
On Arcade Fire
Books & Culture really, really likes Arcade Fire:
... Arcade Fire had me at Hello. The music felt somehow medieval and fresh and urgent all at once, with strings and electric guitar, marching band, minstrel/gypsy/ troubadour fare coming out of a tavern full of clear-eyed, optimistic, coed worker priests. It felt wise and young and in unself-conscious continuity with some long forgotten, undeniably authoritative, ancient broadcast, a dusty, old, strong-as-an-oak culture.
Posted by maphet at 08:17 AM | Comments (2)
July 25, 2007
Levels of Etiquette
- Talking loudly in an otherwise quiet place where people are trying to work (i.e., a coffee shop)
- Talking loudly on a cell phone in an otherwise quiet place where people are trying to work
- Talking loudly on a cell phone using speaker mode in an otherwise quiet place where people are trying to work
Extra bonus points for using lots of business cliches, such as "we really need to think outside the box"
Not that I'm complaining or anything
Posted by maphet at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2007
About The Book
Spoilers ahead. If you haven't finished Deathly Hallows, well, what are you doing reading this? Go read the book. Now. Goodbye.
In brief, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was good to finally get explanations for most of the mysteries. And the battle scene at Hogwarts, in particular, was fantastic.
But my favorite chapter is most likely the last one. The setting at the train station, with all of the heroes now sending their own kids to school was a fitting end to the series. Harry & co. finally grew up, new life (through children) has come, some sort of normality has returned, and Harry now has his own family.
I am also pleased to see I was correct about Snape. I was a bit off on Dumbledore, but the resurrection theme did finally come through.
Overall opinion of the series: I liked Alan Jacob's verdict (borrowing from Chesterton): "the greatest penny dreadfuls ever written." The Potter series is not "great fiction." Compared to something like Tolkien's universe, Hogwarts falls a bit short. Potter's constant tantrums and brooding get tiring at times, for example, and the plot contrivances do stretch believability.
But Potter is still great fun to read. Rowling deals with themes everyone has to struggle with at some point or another - a desire to belong, coping with your own mortality, trying to determine what is right, finding meaning and purpose, etc. And she does it in a creative and, in the end, fun way, using entertaining and sympathetic characters (I'm still sad Remus and Tonks had to die).
Lastly, I haven't seen anything else like this, but the point where Potter gives himself up to be killed by Voldemort was strangely reminiscent of Aslan's giving himself up in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Dark forest, evil baddie circled by minions, silent and un-protesting, but knowing victim, and so on.
Posted by maphet at 05:07 PM | Comments (1)
July 20, 2007
Speaking of being an adult
For the record, I think Snape turns out to be good.
I re-read Half-Blood Prince earlier this week to refresh my memory before reading Deathly Hallows. In many ways, Rowlings portrays Snape ambiguously. You could make the case, I think, that Dumbledore saw his death coming and even had a hand in it. And, otherwise, Snape does not actually hurt any of the "good guys" - he keeps passing on an opportunity to hurt Potter and goes so far as to make sure Potter does not use any of the deadly curses. Lastly, Dumbledore seems to have a solid reason for trusting Snape, but it is never given. So perhaps that reason will come out in book 7.
Speaking of Dumbledore, I am curious to see if Rowling expounds any more on his death. His burial hinted at a possible resurrection motif - a motif encouraged by the constant presence of a phoenix. Further, while death is a constant theme, if not the theme, of Potter, Dumbledore has been one of the few characters who seems to have a handle on the whole mortality thing.
Or, like hundreds of critics, I could be over-reading this. I'll find out tomorrow (provided the USPS does its job).
Posted by maphet at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
Trying to stay cool
Between work and vacation, blogging has been nill lately. But, I don't think this blog is dead just yet.
Since I'm in this situation myself, one theme that has been of interest to me lately is that of the current crop of twenty- and thirty-somethings trying to define what adulthood means. One the one hand, for example, are the New Victorians. On the other hand are the grups/yipsters/yindies/whatever.
(Both articles are fascinating; this post is really just an excuse to link to them.)
Part of me sympathizes with the grups/yipsters/yindies - I was even, coincidentally, listening to Arcade Fire while reading the articles. And spending the rest of my life working in middle-management in a cubicle does sound like a level of hell. Perhaps that is merely because I have seen Office Space 10 too many times. Or, perhaps the grups really are on to something - you should work to make your life a little more meaningful by infusing it with "passion", beauty, art, and some excitement.
At the same time, I think the New Victorians have a slightly better end of the deal. One of the key things the "grups" article brings out is the blending of childhood and adulthood:
This is an obituary for the generation gap. It is a story about 40-year-old men and women who look, talk, act, and dress like people who are 22 years old. It’s not about a fad but about a phenomenon that looks to be permanent. It’s about the hedge-fund guy in Park Slope with the chunky square glasses, brown rock T-shirt, slight paunch, expensive jeans, Puma sneakers, and shoulder-slung messenger bag, with two kids squirming over his lap like itchy chimps at the Tea Lounge on Sunday morning. It’s about the mom in the low-slung Sevens and ankle boots and vaguely Berlin-art-scene blouse with the $800 stroller and the TV-screen-size Olsen-twins sunglasses perched on her head walking through Bryant Park listening to Death Cab for Cutie on her Nano.
There are a couple of ways, it seems, to bridge the generation gap. One is to make adults like children. The other, and what the New Victorians seem to be kind of pointing to, is to make children into adults.
I think this is because, in the end, one of the fundamental aspects of being an adult, and especially of being a parent, is self-sacrifice. Giving up the $450 jeans and the snowboarding vacation in order to pay for diapers, for example. Being willing to be slightly uncool in order to make sure your family is adequately provided for. Working at a job that is, at times, dull and rewarding in order to stay out of debt. And so on.
Still, I don't plan on giving up the Decemberists any time soon.
Posted by maphet at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)