conuly

"Trolls don't have a word for machismo in much the same way that puddles don't have a word for water."

Do you think that's a variant of the "Eskimos have 20 zillion words for snow" line? (BTW - they don't by any sensible view of the word (no more than we do, certainly), and it wouldn't matter if they did.)

My father was quite honestly terrified of this ever happening, though he joked.

Of course, unlike my father, Pterry ate'nt dead yet.

( Some spoilers, not many )

So, earlier today, I had to run for the boat. And I ran slow, slow, s l o w l y to the boat, and it hurt after a few steps, and I hated it. Later, I went outside to buy some ice cream, and I started running, and it was fastfastfastFAST, and I ran a block and a half like that, and the ground was just flying away beneath my feet, and it was good, I *had* to run. Not to get there in time, but because my body said "run", and I ran.

But when I have to run for external circumstances, it's like wading through thick honey.

I've asked this before, and I'll keep asking it: Why? Why is it that when I run to catch something, I end up out of breath? Why do I notice how awkwardly I run, arms flailing around at my sides? But when I run to run, even though nothing *changes*, my breath is fine, my jaw doesn't hurt, and my arms are just *there*, like they are when I walk?

Here's a better question. Why is it that when I'm reading, or I'm watching something (and this is why I prefer to watch things when I can pause them, by the way), and I get up to walk or run so I can think, people get upset? I'm not making *them* get up, am I? But it's always "what are you doing?" and "where are you going?" and (occasionally), "why are you doing that?" and nobody seems to listen to "nothing, nowhere, because I want to". This is my own family, and they keep asking the same questions, like the answers will suddenly change. Oh, I'm running off down the block, yes dressed like this, because I want to rescue those poor kitties from the burning building. I'll call if I'm late. Oh, I decided to practice for the marathon, so I'll be running like this for a while, until I've covered 26 miles going from the kitchen to the living room and back. Oh, didn't you know "walk back and forth in your house often" is the eleventh commandment in the Bible? I've decided to start observing that one, in lieu of the other ten.

*shrugs*

Oh, and Ana can now answer the following questions correctly:

"What is your name?"
"How old are you?"
"What is the capital of Canada?"

However, she now thinks that Ottawa is the correct answer for any question involving the word "capital". Poor dear.

This is even worse than frantic comparisons of anything and everything to Harry Potter. (Here's a clue. Even though The Young Wizards series includes magic, it's really nothing like Harry Potter. It's possible to like both series. It's also possible to like one, but not the other, and the fact that they're completely different should make that obvious.)

The article is apparently here.

I can only imagine that the writer of that article never read a book in his (her?) life. Certainly not Diane Duane, or DWJ, or even Pratchett, who has included Morris Dancing in his books.... (Oh, the shame.)

When it comes to that, JKR's books aren't even that original. They aren't subverting anything, anymore than all those fractured fairy tales are, because it's been done. Doesn't mean they aren't worth reading, but... they're hardly subverting the genre here. School of magic? I can name at least five authors who got there first, without even pausing for breath. Magic and realism combined? Three, but I got interrupted to look for tape. Multiracial, multicultural, sexual? Oh dear god, do you want me to count? Magical worlds that aren't any better than the original? Well, gee, that's only about half of them.

Sci-fi tends to have the same problem. People think that because they didn't like Star Trek, they know everything about every sci-fi book ever written. I'm not even that well-read, and I know a lot of sci-fi is nothing like Star Trek, and that's nothing new. JKR hasn't read much fantasy, so she assumes what she's done is unique, when the fact is it's not. It's still a fun read, and it's still good to analyse it to death, and it's not like there's ever anything new under the sun, but... if there were, Harry Potter wouldn't be it.

And now I'm repeating myself. Sorrysorry.

And another article.
And Gaiman's take on it.
And Pterry's reply to the storm surrounding his letter.

Oh dear. It's been fandomwanked. Must run hide.

Ahem, sorry: Fandomwank