Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
3... 2... 1... happy new book!
Last night was a wonderful night for literacy. Hardcore Harry Potter enthusiasts of all ages donned their Hogwarts uniforms or pledged allegiance to the forces of evil to toast the release of the final tome of JK Rowling's fantastical saga. They came in capes, in scarved, in thick oval framed glasses, they wore makeup, they dyed their hair, they gave themselves Harry's lightning bolt scar. Harvard Square and Coolidge Corner were both carpeted with die-hard readers who all pre-ordered the 739-page mammoth that would end the battle between good and evil.
It's been 12 years since the release of the first book and I can't for the life of me remember why reading a single series excited so much popularity. Perhaps it was the accessibility of the novel's fantastical world and the simplicity with which a wizard's world revealed its inner workings to children and adults. The books started off rather skimpy and only grew in size and complexity, but the fact that some books stretched beyond 800 pages never hindered those little readers who have perhaps only been able to string together words for a few short years. I watched the line as they roared at midnight; tiny toothless tots excitedly clutched the hands of their parents while teenagers and much older enthusiasts cheered from various disguises holding onto their magic wands.
The phenomenon will continue with 3 more movies still to embody the last 3 works by Rowling. I have yet to read the 6th book (even though I already know its tragic finish) before I round out my own experience with Potter in his final moments released to the public last night. A classic story of the struggle between good and evil in a whimsical world has brought overwhelming richer-than-the-queen success to an author who struggled as a welfare mom before the Potter project; JK Rowling has cast a spell on readers around the world by capturing their imagination and enlivening their eyes to devour words and their fingers to fervidly flip pages.
It's been 12 years since the release of the first book and I can't for the life of me remember why reading a single series excited so much popularity. Perhaps it was the accessibility of the novel's fantastical world and the simplicity with which a wizard's world revealed its inner workings to children and adults. The books started off rather skimpy and only grew in size and complexity, but the fact that some books stretched beyond 800 pages never hindered those little readers who have perhaps only been able to string together words for a few short years. I watched the line as they roared at midnight; tiny toothless tots excitedly clutched the hands of their parents while teenagers and much older enthusiasts cheered from various disguises holding onto their magic wands.
The phenomenon will continue with 3 more movies still to embody the last 3 works by Rowling. I have yet to read the 6th book (even though I already know its tragic finish) before I round out my own experience with Potter in his final moments released to the public last night. A classic story of the struggle between good and evil in a whimsical world has brought overwhelming richer-than-the-queen success to an author who struggled as a welfare mom before the Potter project; JK Rowling has cast a spell on readers around the world by capturing their imagination and enlivening their eyes to devour words and their fingers to fervidly flip pages.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Thirty-one and a half hours, there and back again
You turn on the faucet and the sea pours out, salty. I awoke Saturday morning not in Boston but in Jacksonville, Florida. I took a trip down here to see a painting by Giorgio de Chirico which I have deemed worthy of consideration for my thesis. I couldn't believe I was in Florida, looking out at palm trees and lush greenery from the breakfast table. The novelty of air travel will never wear off (probably even less so now that security measures make each trip a new adventure).
Florida, a land where you wander from weighty humid air to chillingly cold A/C. A peninsula where it will be perfectly beautiful in the morning and then, by 1pm, when you are sitting down to lunch, wet from your car-restaurant 10 second run, it seems like night. And of course by 6pm you'll be able to go to the beach. Not getting anywhere without a car, you are seat-belted to the palm tree-lined highway in search of your next adventure.
Florida, a land where you wander from weighty humid air to chillingly cold A/C. A peninsula where it will be perfectly beautiful in the morning and then, by 1pm, when you are sitting down to lunch, wet from your car-restaurant 10 second run, it seems like night. And of course by 6pm you'll be able to go to the beach. Not getting anywhere without a car, you are seat-belted to the palm tree-lined highway in search of your next adventure.
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