Harry Potter

Last week I joined millions of others in reading the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I read it within 24 hours with time out for sleep, fixing dinner and doing the weekly laundry. I usually read the Harry Potter books at a fairly fast clip as they are so good, they are hard to put down. Whatever shortcomings J.K.Rowling may have in some things, she is a consumate story teller.

I approached book seven with just a little sense of trepidation. There had been so many questions about Harry's fate. One chapter had me quite worried, but the faith I had in Rowling was justified and she provided an elegant solution to Harry's being the 7th Horcruxe. She also answered the major questions and put the pieces together. My only complaint is that the epilogue takes place 19 years later. What happened in those 19 years? Maybe Harry got his wish and had a quiet happy life with no troubles. As he said, he'd already seen enough problems in his short 17 year life. Even so, it opens the door to more stories if Rowling ever decides to do them, though her latest interview says she's got no plans to go back to Harry's world.

I've tried to understand why I have been so enthralled with a so called children's book. Still, I've enjoyed quite a few other young adult or children's books before. I do like the way Rowling brings attitudes of caring and respect and ethical conduct into the stories without sounding like she's on a soapbox. I'm impressed with how she shows the love of thier children that the adults have, even to having the Malfoy's turn from Voldemort for Draco's sake.

All in all, the Harry Potter series has been a great edition to literature. I'm sad that there may be no more books, but look forward to the 2 movies yet to come. I have enjoyed being there as Harry, Ron, Herminone, and all the rest of the Hogwart's students grew up into full grown witches and wizards. Hopefully, J.K.Rowlings' next projects will be as exciting.

Growing Up is Over-rated

Today, my Aunt, who is in her 70s was told by her older sister,(80s) that we hadn't grown up yet because we were excited about the new Harry Potter film and book. I'm in my 60s, so I figure that if I'm not grown up yet, it's not likely to happen at all. Somehow, that does'nt seem so bad to me. After all, if growing up means losing the ability to use my imagination and get excited about new things, then I want no part of it. Obviously, we need to grow up enough to take responsibility for our actions, enough to function in a complicated world, but I believe we need to keep the heart and imagination of a child. We need to keep the ability to view things with the eyes of a child,to keep the beautiful wonder that can be our world and lives if only we're able to view it like a young child. We can't allow ourselves to buy into the cynicism that so many people have, thinking that it's just part of growing up. Let me be able to look at my world and find the wonder of a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a perfect flower, a beautiful baby. Life without wonder and thinking of "what if?" would be grim indeed!

Nothing Special, Just Rambling

It's been nearly a week since I've logged on to my blog. Between work and chores, etc. I've been a little lax. I've been reading a couple of new books. I,m reading the latest Darkover book. So far, it's pretty good, even though Marion Zimmer Bradley has passed on, the author she worked with and planned the futre of the series is doing well. I'm also still polding along through "The Secret" It's an okay book, it's just that the principles are not new to me. I had hoped there would be a little more about the "how" of applying the ideas. I'm half way through the book and the author finally mentions the importance of gratitude. I would expect it to be almost chapter one, after an explanation of the principles. You'd think that if I know the principles of the Law of Attraction that I'd be rich right? Obviously, I'm missing something. Probably too much negative thinking, or lack of faith or something.

Speaking of new books---what a tremendous amount of hype for the new Harry Potter book! Of course I will buy it. Usually by now I would have pre-ordered it, but as I am living on a cash basis, I'll wait . I'm planning on seeing the movie tomorrow. I kind of hate to see the series end in a way. I've really enjoyed it. I think J K Rowling understands the Law of Attraction, I understand she is a billionaire, plus she's given a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people.

Be Kind, Especially To Yourself

In the course of my lifetime, I've discovered that we are our own worst critics and judges. Now that isn't earth shaking news to anyone out there I'm sure. Still, when we're in the throws of beating ourselves up, we tend to forget to be kind. We wouldn't tell our best friend that they were being stupid and self destuctive, at least not in the uncomplimentary terms we use on ourselves. I'm not sure why we forget to offer ourselves the basic kindnesses that we would offer a total stranger, but that often seems to be the case. I know that I once obsessed for almost an entire week over a mistake I had made. Now I did learn from that mistake, but I didn't need to obsess for a week, I learned my lesson almost immediately. The rest of the time, I think I was intent on reliving the past enough that I could change it which is totally impossible!!

I guess what I'm saying is that we aren't perfect and we allow strangers the right to be imperfect, but not ourselves. The Bible tells us not to judge one another, but we still insist on judging ourselves. Let's be kind to one another, especially ourselves.

I just recieved an email newsletter that I subscribe to called Images of One. It contained some alarming information regarding something that many of us consume on a daily basis, thinking that it is a fairly safe product. The article was about the additive aspartame that is used in nearly all of the diet sodas, drink mixes and other products sold as light or diet foods. I remember that saccharin was removed from diet drinks for being a carcinogen. This article claims that aspartame is also a carcinogen. Aspartine is, scientifically speaking, a member of a group of chemicals called excitotoxins. This group of chemicals stimulate the neurons in the nervous system and makes it fire excessively. When used excessively, it can exhaust the system. Aspartine is made up of a methyl ester, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. In the body, the methyl ester is comverted to formaldehyde, you know, like what's used to embalm bodies. When the aspartic acid and phenylalanine are split, you get a neurotoxin. Phenylalanine itself carries some damage that includes depletion of serotonin, mood swings and the lowering of the siezure threshold. Pretty scary huh? For more info, you might want to go to http://www/ImagesOfOne.com

The Fourth of July

Another 4th of July has passed. We had a fairly quiet day, just a barbeque for my Aunts, my Daughter and me. I had to get my Daughter home by 3 PM, so we didn't worry too much about fireworks, except for the effects on the dog. She held up pretty good, but was plainly unhappy with the noise. We didn't get up quite early enough to walk down to the park to see the end of the parade, though we did see some of the entrants going down our street afterward. We were also out for a walk when the Air Force jets flew over, folowed by their flying "gas tank". The jets were flying over all the smaller towns and their celebrations, so the refueling plane was probably more convenient and more cost effective than going back to base for a fill up.

It was quite hot, but we frequently have hot Fourths. It will be even hotter the next 3 days, which are expected to go to 100 degrees and higher. The whole West seems to be sweltering. Still, the Midwest is busy being flooded and having oil slicks in thier rivers, probably worse for disrupting families and causing property damage. The west is having some disruptions and property damage in the form of wild fires, which are likely to get worse rather than better as the summer progresses.

It's funny how we all seem to so look forward to the summer months and frequently, before the summer is over, we're looking forward to the relief of Fall. Maybe we should try to look for the best whatever the season, just live each day the best we can and hopefully find the good in our lives.