Tonight

[tarotgal]

Ahhh... got a little work done... not as much as I'd have liked, as usual. But oh well. I moved my base of operations to the living room computer instead of this bedroom one (which is online) because cat keeps sitting in this chair whenever I come up with brilliant ideas to code. LOL! So now he's got his own computer chair with arms and padded back and reclining features and I've got a $15 dining room chair from Ikea. Is my baby pampered or what?(I say as I kneel on the floor to type)

Went to Walmart tonight to get sugar to keep myself awake- can barely focus on comp screen. GAH! Soooooo much work left to do! It was a fun trip. Had my moon roof open. Yay! And I got exactly $11.11 back in change- what are the odds?!!!!!!! (Actually, I can tell you the odds, but you probably don't care to know the exact amount and I'm just trying to make a point)
On the way to Walmart, just a block from my house, I nearly ran over a fox. It ran RIGHT in front of my car, though I stopped about 2 feet from it (GOOD breaks!) Boyfriend was scared I would hit it, but he didn't see what it was. It was a FOX! I've NEVER seen a real fox in the wild- and I don't have any idea what it was doing around where I live! I was SOOO excited! Looong tail with a little white splotch at the end. And VERY pretty brownish-red fur (as showcased in my headlights). I'm thrilled! I've never seen a fox in the wild before, let alone 20 yards from my home!!! In the wild I've seen birds, eagles, hawks, vultures, chipmunks, squirrels, swans, geese, ducks, cranes, snakes, peacocks, turtles, turkeys, quail, skunks, opossums, deer, raccoons, bears, groundhogs, antelope, and probably more that I'm too tired to remember but never before a fox! So exciting! And incredible!!! So cool... SO bloody cool!! I'm so glad I made that trip to Walmart! More importantly, I'm so glad I didn't hit the little thing!

Random topic, but I read a nice fanfic that had Ginny Weasley as a fox (vixen) for her animagus form. Harry was a stag... which I don't really agree with... and Hermione and Ron were both hawks. Anyway, everytime I think of foxes, I think of Ginny. LOL!

Now I'm off to shower and worry more about my thesis. I really have to work my ass off tomorrow. Kinda sad. I always liked my ass. Twill be sad to part with.

Oohhhh! I did go out and take a photo of a church this afternoon! That's my big accomplishment for the day. LOL! Only took me two trips, too, LOL! You know those big signs outside of some Churches that have quotes or bible passages or notices about events? This one had Dumbledore's quote from HP2 about how it is our choices that define us in life, not our actions. Boyfriend wanted me to take the picture but then forgot about it. So this will be a happy surprise when I give him the camera to get the pics loaded. I'll post it if it turned out all right. I just think it's nice- as much as I DETEST organized religion- in the face of all the anti-Christian insults about HP that a church would go right out and quote it. Good for them for having some sense :-) And good for HP for being able to provide a little moral guidence and wisdom as well :-)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I am so glad to hear that you saw an HP quote up on a church board! You should send it to the top of the Baptist Church organization - and others too I am sure - I don't mean to pick on Baptists - it's just that one of my coworkers came to me very upset shortly after OotP came out, b/c her daughters had gone to this teen night at the local Baptist church and came home crying, saying that the whole night was dedicated to expounding on the evilness of HP and how any parent that would let their children read it was obviously going straight to hell. This lady knew I was a big fan and wanted to know how I dealt with this stuff. As a result I am going through the books now and writing down all kinds of passages that teach good things, Christian value kinds of things even, that can be learned by reading HP. That passage you saw quoted on the board is one of the first that came to my mind -and of course, there are many more dealing with loyalty, the value of perseverance, personal effort, loving others, giving of yourself for others, respecting parents and others - I want to get a good collection and then when someone tells me that HP is a series devoted to evil, I can say "Yes, and here are the truly evil things my kids have learned in these books". Then I will simply say "So pardon me if I don't find HP very evil - I KNOW better!"

[tarotgal]

I agree completely about that. I've sat through a lot of debates, mostly from people who haven't read the books. Those who have mention how many times Harry breaks the rules or how the students and Harry cheat on assignments and things. Yes, of course they aren't angels... but that's because they're normal kids and the point is to know where to draw the line. When it comes down to it, they understand the difference between good and evil. I think the Christian church has a hard time with gray. You're either without sin completely, or you're going to hell (and apparently Harry is, because he's cheated, etc.) Well, I personally don't go along with that idea of everything is either sinless or sinfull. Which is why I am no longer a Christian. Harry's in the gray area, yes. But that doesn't mean you can't learn from him and the others in the books. Sure they do magic, but again, they learn how to use it for good, even if they aren't all good 100% of the time.
I remember watching the first movie with my mother when I was home a year or so ago- it was on HBO. It was at least our second or third watching. And at that scene with Dumbledore at the end where he talked about how his mother's love saved him, my mother turns to me and says quite sarcastically "Oh, now I see why the Church doesn't like Harry Potter. Teaching about the goodness of love? Oh boy, what a terrible thing to teach children!"

I know a number of people who refuse to read the books because it's against their religion, and I've met a number of parents who refuse to let their children read it. Well, I'm certainly not going to force it on anyone... but if the problem is that the books go against Christian beliefs... then I dread to see what they are teaching in churches now adays. Personally, I think everyone needs to make an educated decision about the books... not one based completely on something other people have told them to think.