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Locked on 08/24/2005 10:01:42 PM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
New Thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1470204/posts |
Posted on 07/12/2005 8:11:36 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
are their any crocheters here at the Hobbit Hole?
Dunno, but a lot of us are crotchety, especially on Mondays.
I used to crochet a very little bit. Never got good at it or did anything complicated. Just a few stuffed animals that were...not altogether perfect. To say the least.
It's a nice, fairly inexpensive hobby, though! Something to get back into at some point.
Bumping the Hole back to my posts...
When I read a lot of the argument for and against Harry Potter, LoTR, etc that end up in arguments about the occult, I find myself torn...
On the one hand, we could argue that there is good to be learned from them in that there is virtue and strength, and good and evil, and that the good guys win, etc.... Certainly we all believe that there's worth in the study of the well-drawn characters of these books.
But the other part of me thinks when talking to someone who wants to talk about the occultish and unChristian ethos of these books, we shouldn't get into that argument because it's a trap. The thing to defend here, is the worth or value in FICTION. The right to write and read stories that are totally made up. These stories are fiction and we would be foolish to try to learn anything from them.
These are imaginary stories and tales where nothing has to be true, nothing has to be possible in this world, and the limitations of religion and science don't apply in these worlds. The fun in the fantasy, if you will, is imagining what might happen in a world unlimited by what we know in our own.
Of course, thinking people can compare and contrast life in those worlds with our own. We can find things in common or things to like about them, we might even find inspiration in them. But the inspiration only works if the ideas we take from the story work in our world. Some do, like loyalty or honesty, some dont... like magic. But then we get into the trap again. I'd prefer to defend fiction's right to not be real.
Time for a new tagline. ;-)
Matthew got an invitation to a swimming party. Usually the invite is for "both" boys, this is the first time I can think of that only Matthew was invited.
I'm happy for Matthew, but Joshua is just crushed. I told him we'd go do something special during the party.
In their defense, I can see why it might not be a good idea to have a smaller boy at a swimming party with a bunch of possibly rowdy older kids.
Hey, gives you some one on one time, in any case. I know I always loved being able to do something with just me and Mom once in awhile when I was little, even if it was just running in for a carton of milk!
Oh absolutely. The mom that invited him even said she felt bad about it but I think she made the right decision.
I don't think I'd even feel bad about it if I were in her shoes! But you know homeschoolers...they include everyone whenever possible. Well, in this case it's just really not possible.
And I think it's good for the 9-10 year old boys to get together too, for some "peer time"...
Lol- was going to alert you to the shouting funkleage on the wedding thread. But I see you found it...
Mmmm!
Fried liver and onions!
On my 21st birthday, things were looking rather bleak for me.
They got better within two years, worsened somewhat about six years ago, but not as far down as they had been.
Trusting the Lord is occasionally challenging :)
I think what I'm defending is that Harry Potter, as fiction, has worth. I don't think all fiction has equal worth; I've read a few books that I couldn't finish, or I thought were worthless. Like maybe "Da Vinci Code". And there are some where the elements I find objectionable in the story overpower whatever worth the book had.
Saying "all fiction has worth" is a nice-feeling sort of thing to say but it's no more true than "all television shows have worth" or "all houses have worth". Nice, but sometimes the roaches mean it's better to pull it down and start again.
Oh some fiction is definately better than others. Some is quality and depth of the work, some is taste. My point is to not hang your argument on the values of the characters, because you can't control them, another author does. That author may have different ideas than you on what will and should happen later. If Rawlings turns Harry south in the next book, what happens to your arguments about Harry? In other words, if you are arguing Harry's ethics, you're hanging your hat on the idea that Rawlings values what you value.
At least Tolkien's work is done. We can pretty much argue the work as a closed ecosystem. ;~D
The key is the thinking - critical thinking. Now we know you didn't pick that up from public school. ;) Must have been that good upbringing of yours. Parents who raise kids to have a strong faith and a keen mind have nothing to fear from the likes of Harry Potter.
If Harry suddenly start murdering his friends for fun, then the book becomes, in my opinion, worthless. Nothing in the world is intrinsically valuable, except maybe a baby.
Hanging my hat on Rowling's abilities and sense is precisely what I'm doing. I'm not going to waste my time defending lousy books. If the article was about Philip Pullman's execrable children's series, I'd be on the other side, arguing that they have no worth for young people.
That's my impression. I've tried asking it and none of the antis will answer me that (or tell me where the horde of zombie wiccan Potter fans are).
Thanks for complimenting my parents - I think they did a brilliant job. Hope I'm as good. Hope I get the chance to find out.
HEY! Don't make me remind you that the 'fear Harry Potter" types are without a doubt all home schoolers.... think about it. How else could they protect their minds?
They aren't... most of the ones I hear about are trying to keep it out of their kids' school library.
Now, we do have more than our fair share but it's not exclusive to homeschooling.
It is indeed. It sure is.
I was in a downward spiral when I was 21. Wouldn't wanna relive that time of my life for nothing.
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