GMG Classical Music Forum

Unadorned answers, thank you.

-- Though I guess there need to be replies, or the thread sinks  8)

Yea, and not ashamed!

Can't go unadorned, though, books genius all-round, movies: III great, I and II fun, IV boring, musical scores I and III fantastic.

And what is your reply, mijn vriend Karl? :)

I'm not sure how to vote. I haven't read any of the books but I have seen the films. Mrs. Rock, like Greta, is an unapologetic fan; she's continually urged me to read them...she claims I'm missing most of the humor among other things. Maybe I will someday but my stack of unread books is already daunting.

Sarge

My wife, son, and I (daughter too young) love the whole thing Karl....books considerably more than the movies. :)

Books and movies I am afraid, though I see the dvd 's in my own moviehouse.

Neither the books nor the movies. I don't "get" them.

Snape harries Potter.
Voldemort harries Potter.
I don't.


(I just read the books, and am looking forward to reading the last of them soon)

Quote from: Mark G. Simon on July 10, 2007, 07:37:33 AM
Snape harries Potter.

But . . . he may be a friend anyway, right?

I have not read the books, but I was forced to see the first three movies. They were all very very bad IMO. And each time I am promised that we will not go and see the next one.
Now that this one is out, the vibes around the house started to favor a viewing: ("This one is probably bad too, but the effects look cool", "Perhaps we can just go and check it out, to compliment popcorn if nothing else", etc)  ;D

Quote from: orbital on July 10, 2007, 09:17:01 AM
I have not read the books, but I was forced to see the first three movies. They were all very very bad IMO. And each time I am promised that we will not go and see the next one.
Now that this one is out, the vibes around the house started to favor a viewing: ("This one is probably bad too, but the effects look cool", "Perhaps we can just go and check it out, to compliment popcorn if nothing else", etc)  ;D

Freshly made theater popcorn is a good reason to see any number of bad films. Go, orbital!

Sarge

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 10, 2007, 09:21:02 AM
Freshly made theater popcorn is a good reason to see any number of bad films. Go, orbital!

Sarge

;D
Once the Gates of the Popcorn are open, there is no telling where it will lead to  >:D Next stop... DieHardville ?  :o

The books are fun but I couldn't care less for the movies or the hype surrounding the series.

The books are really fun to read, real page-turners.

The movies IMO are a disaster. They're reasonably well-made, but they can't get around one simple fact: children being heroic can work brilliantly on paper, but is always absolutely terrible on the big screen.

Someone convince me HP novels aren't children's fairy tales!

Hey, I have no quarrel with children's fairy-tales . . . .

I'm another who finds the films fun when they appear on TV (wouldn't want to spend money on them) but wouldn't waste time on the books.

Quote from: Bonehelm on July 10, 2007, 01:45:44 PM
Someone convince me HP novels aren't children's fairy tales!

I'll ask Mrs. Rock if she'll volunteer. We had a HP discussion during dinner. She said the first book was indeed a children's book but it quickly developed into a series suitable, maybe more suitable for adults. I haven't read any of the books entirely but I did pick up the fourth once and read the first chapter...very dark, very terrifying. A children's fairy tale? I don't think so.

Sarge

Quote from: Bonehelm on July 10, 2007, 01:45:44 PM
Someone convince me HP novels aren't children's fairy tales!

I don't think that they really have a great deal in common with fairy tales in general - they're much more elaborate, and the fantastical element is 'normalised' a great deal more in HP.

Yes, I am really looking forward to the next book, by the way. I find them very well written (reading a chapter as a reward right now every time I finish a paragraph of my essay on Lutosławski), and very accurate as both portrayals of teenage life and works of satire. Plus the plot is great fun.

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 10, 2007, 09:21:02 AM
Freshly made theater popcorn is a good reason to see any number of bad films. Go, orbital!

Sarge

Whoa, whoa. Popcorn has been the only redeeming part of several movie experiences that I've had.

In fact, fresh popcorn - cooked in a stirrer kettle, with industrial-grade coconut popping oil, doused with Flavacol - makes everything better. I made popcorn for a summer as part of a complicated and non-linear volunteering experience, so the various intricacies of popcorn manufacture are burned into my brain and forearms. It mostly comes down to oil-to-kernel ratios, time in the kettle, and Flavacol usage. (Unsurprisingly, moderation in the first and third, with a subjective judgment on the second.) There is still some experimentation to find the perfect balance. Salty enough to be delicious, but not so salty that it burns.

So, how 'bout those Harry Potter books?

Quote from: PSmith08 on July 10, 2007, 07:35:06 PM
Whoa, whoa. Popcorn has been the only redeeming part of several movie experiences that I've had.

In fact, fresh popcorn - cooked in a stirrer kettle, with industrial-grade coconut popping oil, doused with Flavacol - makes everything better. I made popcorn for a summer as part of a complicated and non-linear volunteering experience, so the various intricacies of popcorn manufacture are burned into my brain and forearms. It mostly comes down to oil-to-kernel ratios, time in the kettle, and Flavacol usage. (Unsurprisingly, moderation in the first and third, with a subjective judgment on the second.) There is still some experimentation to find the perfect balance. Salty enough to be delicious, but not so salty that it burns.

So, how 'bout those Harry Potter books?

Wow...not only are you well-versed and articulate on issues musical, you're a master popcorner. My hat's off to you, sir.

Sarge

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 11, 2007, 07:24:49 AM
Wow...not only are you well-versed and articulate on issues musical, you're a master popcorner. My hat's off to you, sir.

Sarge

Thanks indeed, but - compared with some of the people who had been at the "popcorn game" for years - I was a rank amateur. Still, spend a summer doing very little else but making popcorn in a small, incredibly hot outdoor concessions stand, and you learn some things. Mostly how much hot popping oil burns.  ;)

I don't Potter - would likely do so if I was much younger.

I had a first go at the Harry Potter books a few years ago, when my daughter's were around 6 and 8.  I enjoyed the book immensely, but my kids found it too scary and refused continue to the second book.  Interestingly, it wasn't so much the suspense and danger that bothered them.  It was that Harry kept breaking school rules and they were afraid he would get caught.

I was quite disappointed, as I wanted to keep on with the series.  There was no reason I coudn't read them on my own, of course, but there was alway more "important" reading to be done.

Anyway, my girls are now 9 and 11, and they decided to brave the books again.  This time, they couldn't get enough of them, and we went thru all six books in a row.  One thing that seems to explain the popularity of the books is, as Sarge mentioned, the themes have become darker and more mature as it goes along.  In effect, the books have grown up along with its audience.

Apparently, bookies in the UK were taking bets on whether Harry gets offed in the final installment, but the betting was so heavily in favour of him being killed that they stopped taking bets.  Now the betting is only on who actually does him in.

BTW, a question for other parents: When do you stop reading to your kids at night, if you ever do?  Personally, I hope we never have to stop. It's one of the high points of the day. (We're doing Don Quixote now.)

Love the books, will buy the seventh.
Only saw one movie (#1) before giving up on them.

I haven't read the books, but I've seen a couple of the movies which were well done for what they are, but not really my thing :)

My wife's read the first book and loved it and wants to read more of them!

Quote from: Solitary Wanderer on July 11, 2007, 02:15:13 PM
I haven't read the books, but I've seen a couple of the movies which were well done for what they are, but not really my thing :)

My wife's read the first book and loved it and wants to read more of them!

Tell her they only get better....and darker.

I would say the books are much better than the movies. The movies are, after all, just made to attract kids and people who doesn't know anything about the series. Hardcore fans would find the movies stupid, just like I did when I first saw the Da Vinci Code movie.

Quote from: PSmith08 on July 10, 2007, 07:35:06 PM
In fact, fresh popcorn - cooked in a stirrer kettle, with industrial-grade coconut popping oil, doused with Flavacol - makes everything better.

When I was in high school, I worked part-time at a drive-in theater and popped enough popcorn to fill the Grand Canyon. The coconut oil is the key to that irresistible, artery-clogging flavor. When the temperature dropped below 60 degrees F., the oil in the drums turned solid and you had to plop it into the kettle with a giant spoon!

Quote from: Szykniej on July 11, 2007, 05:11:08 PM
When I was in high school, I worked part-time at a drive-in theater and popped enough popcorn to fill the Grand Canyon. The coconut oil is the key to that irresistible, artery-clogging flavor. When the temperature dropped below 60 degrees F., the oil in the drums turned solid and you had to plop it into the kettle with a giant spoon!

Ah, a fellow traveler.  ;D

Congealing is the sign of healthy food products. Don't get me started, though, on the cheese sauce they use for nachos. The horrible scraping from the can, the mixing with water, and the heating. This is allegedly cheese. I haven't had the stomach for such nachos since. I really can't even see the stuff.

Popcorn, though, has provided many a meal when I was too cheap or too lazy to get "real" food. Filling and delicious.

Quote from: brianrein on July 11, 2007, 02:05:52 PM
Love the books, will buy the seventh.
Only saw one movie (#1) before giving up on them.

Try the third. The other three aren't great, but the third was excellent.

Quote from: Bonehelm on July 11, 2007, 04:58:35 PM
I would say the books are much better than the movies. The movies are, after all, just made to attract kids and people who doesn't know anything about the series. Hardcore fans would find the movies stupid, just like I did when I first saw the Da Vinci Code movie.

Well, the book was trash as well...

Quote from: Bonehelm on July 10, 2007, 01:45:44 PM
Someone convince me HP novels aren't children's fairy tales!

I have no quarrel with Rowling who turned up on TV last week for a rare interview in  drop-dead gorgeous heels, a black dress that allowed her tits to hang out, provacatively(rumour is rife that she has spent part of her billions on makeovers and the like). No quarrel, at all.

It is all these silly adults who think they are being really coooooooool  reading the 'adult' versions of the 'novels.'

I would never waste time reading the stuff, time is short and there is so much good literature out there, now, and I have never watched any of the films all the way through and tend to get bored with the relentless CGI. However, they provide unending employment for Brit thesps, which can be no bad thing (the latest has Helena Bonham-Carter who looks as if she could be really dirty, if you know what I mean ;)).

But, hey, if you love this fantasy stuff...why not go out and enjoy it :)

Went to watch the movie last night...despite not watching the all in the series-so that makes it a little confusing.
Was quite impressed.  It did not leave me cold and bored like Pirates or some other recent rubbish.

What suprised me was how much older the cast look compared to the last one i saw.

I would watch it again....but i wouldn't race back to the cinema to see it again.

Transformers tonight-heard that is good.

Hmmm.

Although we'd had some good times at Hogwarts, deep down we weren't wild about Harry, and the freedom of finally confessing this secret to each other made us feel like co-conspirators. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301730.html?hpid=opinionsbox1)

Quote"Gushing with enthusiasm and admiration, Beahm's compendium of Harry Potter trivia and essays should tide over fans waiting for book [seven] to come out.  Beahm pitches the prose just right; . . . sophisticated enough to interest adults and lively enough to keep younger fans engaged." Publishers Weekly, the trade journal for the book industry

I like that "book [seven]" . . . let us guess that Beahm updated a publication which had anticipated yet an earlier tome in the series.

Be safe out there!

Harry Potter spoilers spread over Internet (http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/07/18/books.potter.spoilers.ap/index.html)

Quote from: karlhenning on July 18, 2007, 09:03:30 AM
Be safe out there!

Harry Potter spoilers spread over Internet (http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/07/18/books.potter.spoilers.ap/index.html)

Harry Potter does not die...FACT  ;D

I know this for true  ;)

Longshanks: friend or foe?

Yes, I am a Harry Potter geek. At least, around the release of each book, I become one temporarily. I have just finished rereading the first six books... This was the first time I read the first book in nine years, in fact. I did not realize how much the movies diverged from the books until I reread them. In fact, sometimes I found myself thinking "It'll be interesting to see how they portray this in the movies", only to remember that the the movie for the book was already out.

Hrm. I tell you this, I am not going to let this book be spoiled for me. I was eating breakfast in a restaraunt the day the sixth book came out, and someone thought it would be a good idea to shout so that everyone could hear, "Hey, everyone, guess what happens on page 596 of the new Harry Potter book?" and then proceeded to read the passage out loud so that everyone could hear.

So you're staying at home with the door locked until you've finished reading it, right?  8)

Quote from: karlhenning on July 18, 2007, 10:02:13 AM
So you're staying at home with the door locked until you've finished reading it, right?  8)

That, and I'm going to drive to the bookstore to pick it up with a blindfold on and earplugs in. That'll make sure they don't get the chance to spoil it for me, one way or another...

Well, so how many had finished reading it before Sunday dawned?  8)

Did not even had time to buy it, let alone read! :)

Hmmm.

Harry Potter and the ruthless retail giants (http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk?storyID=7835)

Quote from: karlhenning on July 23, 2007, 05:12:50 AM
Well, so how many had finished reading it before Sunday dawned?  8)

I had mine finished by 8AM Saturday...  ;)

Just finished here today. :) Really intense in places, and some beautifully written chapters. She did a great, great job, amazing how complex  the plot is, the scope of the world she created.

There's actually a lot of social commentary in Harry Potter, for a children's book, it deals with some heady stuff, direct references to the Holocaust and the Nazi regime and a 9-11 ring to the closing battle.

Great ending and close to the series, if a little cheesy, should make a really neat movie.

It was only a couple years ago that someone explained to me that Harry Potter is NOT the name of the author.

My wife started reading them so I have seen the movies on DVD since.

I have read the book twice now. I finished it at 10:00 AM the day it was released the first time, then took it at a much more leisurely pace, finishing it two days later.

I have heard a lot of criticism of the Epilogue, and I am torn. Without giving away any plot details, I'll say that on one hand, I think it was well-written and not so cheesy as some would say, however, I do wish it would give more detail about what each of the characters would go on to do with their lives - for instance, only one main character's profession is revealed, that I can remember. I suppose, though, that is more a problem with my expectations than with what she wrote.

As for the rest of the book, I think it was well-written and it certainly ended in a way that I think will please the most people possible (not everyone, granted). I know there were people who were really hoping that Harry would/would not die (Not saying which, just in case), and that everything would fit into their own ideas of how literature should work, but I think in the basics it's just about as good as it will get. It's got a good amount of tragedy, but it still gives the idea that things are probably going to work out in spite of that tragedy. The plot and character development is obviously well planned and thought-out, to top it off. It seems to be a culmination, rather than just an ending.

Quote from: DetUudslukkelige on July 25, 2007, 06:53:25 PM
I do wish it would give more detail about what each of the characters would go on to do with their lives - for instance, only one main character's profession is revealed, that I can remember.

She has intimated in an interview that an encyclopedia filling in such details may be forthcoming, at some indefinite date in the future.

She needs a break now, but why throw away a future opportunity to bank millions more?

Never felt any urge to read the Potter stories.

However, my eldest sister (62 now) took up English again (evening school) some years ago,and reads the Potter books as some kind of fun exercise.

Quote from: karlhenning on July 26, 2007, 10:46:09 AM
She needs a break now, but why throw away a future opportunity to bank millions more?

Well, after a few billion one stops counting millions.  ;)

I read the novel in one day, loved it! :)

For those that have read it, you might enjoy this tv-without-pity style recap (i.e. plenty of snark), I thought it was funny. ;D

http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html (http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html)

Quote from: karlhenning on July 16, 2007, 10:47:17 AM
Hmmm.

Although we'd had some good times at Hogwarts, deep down we weren't wild about Harry, and the freedom of finally confessing this secret to each other made us feel like co-conspirators. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301730.html?hpid=opinionsbox1)

That author somehow equates the popularity of Harry Potter with everything wrong with declining interest in reading novels.  Rowling didn't do that, the tv did it, and that's not news, it's very old.

And then he points at the collapse of diversity of books at newspaper stands and what not-- that was amazon changing the business model and driving smaller chains out of business.

QuoteAnd what about the dozens of other brilliant fantasy authors who could take them places that little Harry never dreamed of?

Most sf/f/horror authors that are top of their league are #1 Times bestsellers.

Karl, this article is so retarded.  This silly critic is just having a temper tantrum because Harry Potter is popular, and he doesn't like HP.  I can't believe this is the Washington Post. 

Quote from: karlhenning on July 23, 2007, 06:47:51 AM
Hmmm.

Harry Potter and the ruthless retail giants (http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk?storyID=7835)

That does suck.  This has actually been going on for a long time-- the 40% discount the big chains offer on bestsellers that drive small stores out of business.  If it makes you feel better, I checked my copy out of the library. ;D

Quote from: DetUudslukkelige on July 25, 2007, 06:53:25 PM
I have heard a lot of criticism of the Epilogue, and I am torn. Without giving away any plot details, I'll say that on one hand, I think it was well-written and not so cheesy as some would say, however, I do wish it would give more detail about what each of the characters would go on to do with their lives - for instance, only one main character's profession is revealed, that I can remember. I suppose, though, that is more a problem with my expectations than with what she wrote.

I agree, the denouement of such an epic series should be as important as the climax.  The epilogue was a great let down in that regard.  You need to explore the consequences of what happened, Rowling failed to do that.  The novel should have been a hundred pages longer to really bring closure to the story.  She had time to do it, she finished that novel years ago.  And if you check out certain dates in the book, it seems that she wrote at least part of it years ago.

Quote from: DavidW on July 29, 2007, 06:30:56 PM
. . . I checked my copy out of the library. ;D

Excellent, David!  8)

I went to the bookstore and just out of curiosity took a copy and read the last page.  >:D I am in the know  :o

Quote from: DavidW on July 29, 2007, 03:00:12 PM
For those that have read it, you might enjoy this tv-without-pity style recap (i.e. plenty of snark), I thought it was funny. ;D

http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html (http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html)

Oh, this is rattlin' great good fun!

Quote from: DavidW on July 29, 2007, 03:00:12 PM
I read the novel in one day, loved it! :)

For those that have read it, you might enjoy this tv-without-pity style recap (i.e. plenty of snark), I thought it was funny. ;D

http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html (http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/2007/07/potterdammerung-mega-spoilers.html)

Ahahaha! This is fantastic! It was hard not to laugh out loud when I read it - I had to curb that because I was reading at work, and I work in a library. Thanks for linking!

I also checked the book from the city library. In fact I was 1st on the list (they knew I would get back into circulation quicker).

I started reading the books before the 6th book was released. I checked the 1st 5 books out and read them in about 10 days. The 1st book was on the level of "young adult", but the books have gotten increasingly more complex and darker in the thematic material. They are not "kids" books.

I am appaulled that someone here in this would rather watch the movie than read a book. These books are by no means childlike or childish in nature. They deal with magic as a subculture in our world that has been hidden, by choice, by the users of magic. The books are not "fantasy" . As a huge Sci-Fi reader I would class them as Sci-Fi/ Fantasy.

All in all I enjoyed the books. I also read several different styles from cop stories (John Sanford) to Sci-Fi (Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Niven, Foster) to mysteries.

BTW I'm 55 years young. Enjoyment of a book has little to do with age. Karl, I think you would like them. 

Just for the record, "butterbeer" sounds utterly disgusting to me.

Quote from: karlhenning on August 02, 2007, 08:13:59 AM
Just for the record, "butterbeer" sounds utterly disgusting to me.

Really? I think it sounds tasty. Like butterscotch.

Two fattening, but wonderful things, Beer and butter. Surly magicians would make it taste good.

Would the magicians have to be surly?

(http://nathanr.ca/wp-content/uploads/snape-not-amused.jpg)

Haha I think that will have to be my next avatar. ;D

Sort of looks like 71 dB when someone tells him Beethoven is greater than Elgar  ;D ;D ;D :D 8)