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Harry Potter and the Decline of the West (Spengler)
Asia Times ^ | Jul 20, 2005 | By Spengler

Posted on 07/18/2005 9:57:30 PM PDT by Eurotwit

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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

That she did.


241 posted on 07/19/2005 1:11:15 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: steve-b
IMO, that was a sort of "patch job" on the Trek universe to explain why its society wasn't utterly alien as a result of practically unlimited material wealth created by replicators.

And it never made any economic sense, as they used it to buy things like "self-sealing stembolts", which also therefore presumably could not be made by a replicator, otherwise you wouldn't need to buy them with gold-pressed latinum. The Ferengi were capitalists as conceived by writers who didn't understand capitalism -- if they were real capitalists, they'd have advertising crawls on their ship-to-ship communications, sponsor logos on their starships, and "this message brought to you by..." splash screen at every hail.

242 posted on 07/19/2005 1:11:18 PM PDT by RogueIsland
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To: retrokitten; Junior; Tax-chick; nopardons
re: Bewitched/Sabrina the Teen Witch

OK, now we're getting somewhere! Combining the Potterosophy mythos with Bewitched and Sabrina the Teen Witch would be a hoot! Particularly if Samantha's Uncle Arthur and Dr. Bombay were in the script.


243 posted on 07/19/2005 1:11:35 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: steve-b

Exactly.


244 posted on 07/19/2005 1:13:32 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: nopardons
I found E.R. Burroughs at 10 and adored the Tarzan series. Read ALL of them back then. I wonder if I would not like those books, should I reread them now.

I "discovered" ERB even earlier. My mother used to read from the Tarzan books every night. When I was old enough to begin learning to read, she and I would read together. Eventually, she had me read to her. I went through the Tarzan, Pellucider (sp?), and Mars series... I just bought "A Princess of Mars" and hope to begin reading it again soon. I hope that I won't be disappointed: But then, I wasn't the least bit disappointed when I re-read the Heinlein books a few years ago.

Mark

245 posted on 07/19/2005 1:14:10 PM PDT by MarkL (It was a shocking cock-up. The mice were furious!)
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To: buwaya

No religion? Why then, do they celebrate Christmas? Why do they talk of God? Why all the talk about "tearing the soul?"


246 posted on 07/19/2005 1:15:10 PM PDT by Bryher1
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

Also, remember, there may be a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry somewhere in the U.S. I'm thinking somewhere near Salem, Mass.


247 posted on 07/19/2005 1:16:21 PM PDT by Junior (Just because the voices in your head tell you to do things doesn't mean you have to listen to them)
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To: stinkerpot65

"Star Trek is pure Marxism."

Nonsense! When you have replicators what do you need money for?


248 posted on 07/19/2005 1:16:43 PM PDT by Scarlet Pimpernel
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
Never even heard of "SABRINA THE TENN WITCH", but I absolutely LOVED BETWITCHED, which was the T.V. version of the movie, "I MARRIED A WITCH", which had been taken from the book of the same name, written by Thorne-Smith, who wrote many very good romance/comedy/fantasy books.
249 posted on 07/19/2005 1:18:12 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: Junior

Like the ones in New Haven, Washington, D.C., and Hollyweird? Or...uh...New Orleans?


250 posted on 07/19/2005 1:19:24 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: dsc
People have been comparing HP to classic fairy tales, but where that falls down is that classic fairy tales always have a lesson for life in them, something that is both true and potentially useful in this life.

Oh, I don't know. HP has lessons on loyalty (such as Neville in the first book), and perserverance in the face of overwhelming evil.

251 posted on 07/19/2005 1:19:46 PM PDT by Junior (Just because the voices in your head tell you to do things doesn't mean you have to listen to them)
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

I was always liked Witchy-Poo from the Banana Splits.


252 posted on 07/19/2005 1:20:08 PM PDT by retrokitten (www.retrosrants.blogspot.com)
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To: MarkL
Your mother used the same method, to get you interested in reading, as I did with my now adult daughter. And it works!:-)

Oh, I've reread, as an adult,some books that I loved as a kid and still loved them. Others, I found a terrible disappointment. I wish you well with your new Burroughs book.

253 posted on 07/19/2005 1:21:33 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: nopardons

The Veronica Lake film is a riot! Too bad though - her tragic decline, that is.


254 posted on 07/19/2005 1:21:58 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
Those New Orleans witches are something different altogether. They're likely to not only turn you into a frog, but to fricasse your legs shortly thereafter.

I guarrantee.

255 posted on 07/19/2005 1:23:49 PM PDT by Junior (Just because the voices in your head tell you to do things doesn't mean you have to listen to them)
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To: stinkerpot65
You would still have property in the form of land, spaceships, etc.. Who controls property? Ah, the "Federation".

Picard's statement "We have eliminated the need for money, we seek to better ourselves", and the idea of global government is marxism.

Star Trek is Marxist utopia.

First off, the "federation" does not control those sort of things. It's a confederation of planets. Each planet is independantly governed. They aren't forced to be members, but they can join if they want.

As far as property, in the form of land, given in the ST universe, there's practically an unlimited number of inhabitable planets, and the ability to get there via warp drive, the concept is more along the lines of the old homestead acts. Sort of like one of `ol Lazarus Long's rule, about leaving a planet once the government gets to a certain point of development. If you don't agree with the politics of the planet, then get your own, and do it the way you like!

Will that lead to marxism? Not really. At least not in the same sense as we see marxism. The main difference is that in the real world, with marxism, you force people to produce for others, while denying the individual the fruits of their labors. In the ST universe, nobody actually has to produce. They have everything they need provided without actually having to work. The comment by Picard, about seeking to better themselves would be more about avoiding boredom than anything else.

Sure, it's utopian, but then it's fiction. They aren't constrained to reality.

Mark

256 posted on 07/19/2005 1:25:42 PM PDT by MarkL (It was a shocking cock-up. The mice were furious!)
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To: Junior
What was the Mickey Rourke film about the guy who makes a pact...and it's set mainly in New Orleans/Louisiana? Angel Heart, I think.
257 posted on 07/19/2005 1:27:02 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: redgolum
"It is also interesting that no one is trying to defend Potter beyond "It is a kids book!".

What more defense does it need? Whay more defense does Peter Pan or Snow White need? They both contain magic. What's the big deal with HP?

It's a kids book indeed and kids are reading and are understanding that it's fiction. Training then to understand fiction will help the with the New York Times and CBS later in life.

258 posted on 07/19/2005 1:29:19 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopeckne is walking around free)
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

Creepy flick. Louis Cipher ...


259 posted on 07/19/2005 1:30:25 PM PDT by Junior (Just because the voices in your head tell you to do things doesn't mean you have to listen to them)
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To: dsc
Oh goody...fairy tales.

Fairy tales are the direct descendants of ancient Greek and Roman mythology. They were ORIGINALLY stories for adults and often filled with sex; or at the least, sexual overtones. Horrible violence as well, which has only lately been sanitized/Disneyed out.

And in fairy tales, there are good and bad witches and faries and imps and all sorts of other types of "magical" creatures. None of whom have decimated "WESTERN CULTURE" !

You really should read Bruno Bettleheim's books about the wonderful good that fairy tales does FOR children, as well as some of the Opies' books about the origins of and original tales themselves.

Tell me, what exactly does the magical powers either given to, or used to help the girls, in such fairy tales as Cinderella, THE PINK, THE TOCKABBIES, and such, does to teach children how to strive for themselves? :-)

260 posted on 07/19/2005 1:33:48 PM PDT by nopardons
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