ALAN JACOBS, THE "PENNY DREADFUL" AND THE NEED FOR A MORAL COMPASS

I'm certainly not the first to point out the truly lovely essay by Alan Jacobs on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

For me, however, the most interesting part of his piece comes before he even mentions Harry.

I've blogged here in a preliminary way (and spoken in various places in a more defined way) about what Lee and I call the "Spiritual Needs of the Audience" (in fact, I'm even speaking about it again in a couple of weeks).

The logline of this concept is that as creators, we should turn our focus from what we want to express and start thinking about what the audience needs that our stories can provide.

One of the spiritual needs we focus on is the Need for a Moral Compass. In this day and age, when moral choices are hedged in every way, when real life people who should be role models not only have feet of clay but are solid clay up to their navels, when so few seem willing or able to say "This is right and this is wrong," it's no wonder that so much of the audience out there seems confused and lost. And when you're lost, the greatest gift someone can give you is a compass.

That's what stories can do.

Jacobs touches on this early in his essay when he quotes from G.K. Chesterton on the "penny dreadful," the cheap boy's adventure books sold at that time (presumably for a penny).

The vast mass of humanity, with their vast mass of idle books and idle words, have never doubted and never will doubt that courage is splendid, that fidelity is noble, that distressed ladies should be rescued, and vanquished enemies spared … . The average man or boy writes daily in these great gaudy diaries of his soul, which we call Penny Dreadfuls, a plainer and better gospel than any of those iridescent ethical paradoxes that the fashionable change as often as their bonnets.

Isn't that a great quote? What I love about it is the idea that it's the "low" literature -- the pulp paperbacks, the comic books, the movies that pile up box office but not awards -- that may have the best opportunity to provide that moral compass.

Do they always? Of course not. But with so many striving to "express themselves," to be auteurs, to "tell the story I want to tell," without ever thinking about their audience and the effect of their work on that audience (and yes, this is oh so true in the Christian world, too), it's nice to hear such a voice speaking up for those who dwell creatively in the world of the modern-day equivalent of the "penny dreadful."

Oh, and the rest of Jacobs's article is pretty fantastic, too. But you probably already knew that.

PLANNING THE HARRY POTTER PARTY

First, let me just say that "Harry Potter party" is surprisingly hard to say. Try it. Out loud. Five times. Fast.

See what I mean?

Okay, moving on. I've talked to enough people over the last few weeks who seem to really want to just talk about the books, especially Deathly Hallows. So I thought we'd throw a party to do just that. Talk, maybe come up with some (non-cheesy) games, talk some more. And since it's a party, of course, eat.

We're doing the same thing we do for our Oscar party. We're asking people to bring food reminiscent of the books. And since I always have to fill in the gaps at these events, I thought I'd ask you folks to chip in with ideas.

What would you bring to such a party? Be creative!

(And by the way, if any faithful readers of this blog are in L.A. in mid-September and want to come, all we ask -- or actually demand -- is that you have read all 7 books. If you want to come, e-mail me off list and I'll send you an invite.)

Meanwhile, let me have your party food ideas!

A DELICIOUS IRONY

My apologies for the dearth of blogging. The lazy, hazy days of summer appear to have slammed to a stop around here, despite the weather outside.

USC's fall term starts in, oh, two days, and I am teaching two classes I have never taught before. And it's back-to-school at any moment for both kids, with Cory at a new school (resulting in new student events, new parent events, yada yada). And I have a production rewrite to do, a ton of script consulting piling up, meetings to prepare for, pitches to develop. Oh, and I still have to go buy those cedar chips (not mothballs!) to save the rest of the wool in my closet.

All this is good. I am grateful. But I find myself looking longingly at poor Harry sitting over on the antique magazine rack where I stack some of my "to-do" stuff, wishing I could sit down and work my way through all those notes I made on Choice and Temptation, on Redemption and Remorse... And I glance at the post-it note where I scribble things to blog about, and realize I haven't even posted my thoughts on The Simpsons Movie which I saw, oh, two weeks ago...

My apologies. Life will balance out. It always does.

In the meantime, while the following ironic juxtaposition has been noted elsewhere (here, for instance, and here), I couldn't help but share it with you all as well, as we watch the Christian camp of "Harry Haters" go through what one hopes will be their last throes.

James Dobson published recently his outspoken objections to Harry Potter as a whole. One questions, of course, whether he has so much as opened any of the books, but whatever.

But then, in his monthly newsletter this month, he focuses on the need for sacrificial heroes in our culture.

Ah, the irony.

P.S. A little bonus treat for any of you who struggled through The Canterbury Tales in college, and especially for those of you who enjoyed it. With the link courtesy of Jeffrey Overstreet's Looking Closer blog, it turns out that Geoffrey Chaucer Hath A Blog. Enjoy!

HOW TO STOP THE PESTS

At our old house, it was ants. We lived on the side of a hill under which there was an underground running stream and, clearly, the largest ant colony this side of Brazil.

We also had mosquito eaters large enough to cause nightmares in any thinking person.

We've seen nary an ant where we're living now. And not one single mosquito eater. But apparently we have moths.

Now, I've hardly seen any moths. Less than at our old place, in fact. But they're here.

Thanks to my daughter's Christmas gift subscription to In Style magazine, over which she pores every month as if studying for the SATs, I know that wide leg pants are back, and that grey is the new black.

So as I get ready for a string of meetings, my mind slipped to the back of my closet and remembered those lovely Armani wide-legged grey pants I bought oh so many years ago. Almost old enough to be vintage.

I pulled them out, tried them on. They fit quite nicely, thank you. But what's that odd spot down on the leg?

Turned out it wasn't a spot. It was a hole. A hole with a tiny little bug attached. Which I can only assume, given the 100% wool nature of the pants, was a hungry little moth larva.

I'm debating right now over how visible the holes (yes, more than one when I looked closely) are. And I'm dreading going back into the back of the closet to check all my lovely, not-quite-yet-back-in-style-but-too-expensive-to-throw-out wool suit jackets. And Lee's closet is next.

Obviously I will race to the store today to get mothballs. But does anyone have any other surefire moth-beater ideas? Please let me know!

By the way, we also are seeing increasing numbers of silverfish -- way more than ever before. Maybe our weird weather. Anyone got any ideas on stopping them, too?
Thanks...

TV THOUGHTS: HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2

Talk about "Must-See TV." We've been anticipating HSM2 in our house, oh, since it was first announced. Or maybe even before that, maybe since we saw HSM1 and mused, "I wonder if there'll be a sequel."

It's actually been sort of funny to watch the "cool" factor around HSM rise and fall. When #1 turned into this monster unexpected success on the Disney Channel, at first we were all excited. Then we suddenly got "too cool" for it. Only the "little kids" watch HSM, I was informed. (How "little" do you have to be to watch a show about high school kids, I wondered? Suddenly 10-years-old is too old?)

But time has come and gone since then, and hype has come and stayed, and suddenly the on-screen countdowns began to HSM2, and all of a sudden we weren't too cool after all. So Friday night (and again on Saturday night, and we would have watched on Sunday night if we hadn't had plans), we cozied up around the TV for High School Musical 2.

And you know, it was actually pretty good.

It's so tempting with a sequel like this to basically do the exact same plot as the first movie (High school jock Troy finds his inner singing geek and the girl of his dreams, Gabriella, in the process totally ruining the school show for self-acclaimed diva Sharpay). But they actually managed to do a bit more, even go a bit deeper with HSM2.

There is, of course, a show that ends up starring Troy and Gabriella, to the repeated embarrassment of Sharpay. But this time around the story mixed in issues of social class -- Troy faces the temptation of sucking up to Sharpay's family to get that all-important college scholarship, in the process spurning his old friends. The conflicting dilemmas and choices Troy faced rang quite authentic.

And in a surprising subplot, Sharpay's "poodle" of a brother loses (most of) the gay subtext of HSM1 and turned into a decent guy who chooses to stand with his school chums rather than his haughty sister. Again, it felt (mostly) true and is a great storyline for school kids who are dealing with precisely these sorts of issues. Another nice surprise was that they took the plot away from the high school, setting it instead in the country club where the kids have summer jobs -- a smart choice.

The show is as G-rated as it's possible for a high school story to be. Really, it's high school in a fantasy universe. The girls all wear one-piece swimsuits (tankinis if they're daring), Troy and Gabriella barely get to kiss (they didn't kiss at all in HSM1), everyone glows with work ethic and good language, and any bad attitudes are cheered away by other kids. Its sheer retroness is ultimately a large part of its appeal.

The songs are mostly dispensible, the one notable exception being Zac Efron's big "crisis moment" solo, "Bet On It." True, my daughter is now able to sing about half the score already, but she's been concentrating hard. I haven't had a single song stick in my head after repeated viewings, so that doesn't say much for the music.

Performances were quite good (Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella remains the weak spot -- she can't dance, and she just beams sweetness and cuteness without a lot of real acting going on -- I keep feeling Troy deserves someone better). Casting directors should keep their eyes on Zac Efron (who also held his own in Hairspray) and Ashley Tisdale in particular. Kudos to Kenny Ortega for pulling his ensemble together so smootly (and for some sharp choreography). Lighting was good, camera work was good.

Ultimately, for a show this highly-anticipated, the quality of the work may not matter to the "box office." But given that my kids (and millions of others) will be watching it over and over (and over and over...), I'm glad the production values were high, glad the story choices were smart.

One has to ask if we're seeing a mini-resurgence of the musical, given the success of Chicago, HSM1, Hairspray, etc. Maybe. One notable element in these shows' success appears to be the importance of dance. I actually love it that these shows are making it cool for (straight) guys to know how to dance, and look forward to being jealous if I ever get to chaperone a high school dance...

But the real question is, of course, whether HSM2 will stay "cool" by the time school starts. Yes, every kid will have watched, but will they admit it, or will they (now in the exalted halls of 5th grade) be "too old" for it. Given the sheer joy evinced by the 5-year-old who unwrapped a HSM1 t-shirt at a party this weekend ("I love this show!" she squealed), I can see those sophisticated 5th graders turning up their noses (even as they watch the repeats in secret.. over and over and over...).

The true test will come next summer when High School Musical 3 opens -- in theatres this time, not on cable. Will people be willing to admit they love this series? Will they pay cold hard cash for a ticket when they're used to watching for free (over and over and over...) on the Disney Channel?

I'd say you can bet on it.

REGINA ON DEATHLY HALLOWS

Much as I love the intellectual puzzle of the set-up and payoff structure of Harry Potter, for me the real power of the books, the reason they're worth reading over and over lies in the emotional heart of the story. (Otherwise I'd spend all this time looking at the set-up/payoff structure of the Back to the Future movies.)

Nowhere have I seen that power expressed as strongly as in an e-mail Regina Doman shared with me. Those of you who have followed this blog for a while know that Regina, longtime reader and commenter here, most tragically lost her 4-year-old son just over a year ago. She has graciously allowed me to post it here.

I'd heard before that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are a reflection on death, and that the author had suffered the loss of her own mother suddenly while working on the writing, an event which influenced the books' subject and death. But I guess I wasn't expecting to find the last book healing to me, having lost my son.

As you know, I lost my son Joshua last year on July 8th, a few weeks before his fifth birthday on July 26th. So coming up on the one year anniversary, I was partially glad that Deathly Hallows was being released on a day poised almost exactly between those two dates. I thought it would be a nice distraction.

I bought the book at a midnight book sale hosted by our local bookstore, and it was well past one in the morning when I got home. I thought I would go right to bed, as soon as I looked at one page...

Several hours later I was still on the couch, reading and weeping and reading, experiencing that peace that comes from being in the grip of a master storyteller.

I cried when Hedwig died. I cried when Moody died. I cried when Fred comes into the living room and halts in shock at the sight of his bleeding twin. Roughly about every three chapters, I put down my head and sobbed.

And it was cathartic for me to cry. It's hard to feel loss at times, especially
when you are bracing yourself for an anniversary: sometimes you just feel numb inside. But grieving for these other, imaginary characters whom I loved just helped assuage the grief: it helped me feel again.

Dobby's unexpected and noble death was the one that moved me the most: as well as Harry's digging the grave, without magic, feeling his disordered and distracting cravings for control of the Hallows burn away with his grief. I understand how death can rebalance your focus: how it can make you recognize what's truly important, what your true mission is. I loved how true and how real that entire scene was, particularly how Harry is, for the first time, able to shut is mind to what Voldemort is thinking and feeling. There was so much in this book that rang true from a spiritual point of view.

Harry's walk to his death in the company of his parents and Lupin was another moving moment. The vulnerability of Harry was so real for me. But by far the best scene was King's Cross. It was just enough of a foretaste of heaven to comfort me: it reminded me in many ways of C.S. Lewis's Great Divorce. The solace of that scene was the *purpose* of it all. It's hard to see the reasons for things. But at King's Cross (as JKR said, wonderful name) Harry begins to get an inkling of how things might begin to make sense. That scene, more than anything else, confirms to
me that Rowling is indeed a true Christian. With suffering and death, it is only in the presence of the King's Cross that there is any consolation or hope of redemption at all.

I am so grateful to Rowling for finishing the series in a way that satisfies the demands of plot as well as the desires of the readers. But in an odd way, I am also so grateful that she gave me the chance to grieve for my son. And to point us in the direction of the only hope for sorrowing hearts. What a great story. What a great read. I feel privileged to live at this moment in history when such a book is released.

I couldn't say that this book had a special allegorical meaning for me: I can't say I "saw" my son in any of the characters. But then again, I can't see Rowling's mother in any of them either. But the sense of loss and the hope of redemption definitely imbues the entire series and particularly this last book. I don't know that I can quite explain it, but that's what I took away with me from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"Of course it is all in your head. But why on earth should that mean it isn't real?" - Dumbledore

TV THOUGHTS: SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

I tuned in to a couple of episodes of SYTYCD last summer, didn't really like what I saw, and flipped away.

This summer, with the paucity of things to watch, and with my kids asking to watch at least the audition shows, we tuned in from the beginning of the season.

What a nice surprise I got! I didn't watch every episode -- far from it -- but I really loved this show, and it became one of Lee's few "appointment" shows for the summer.

The show is basically American Idol for dancers (produced by one of the same companies, in fact), but with a totally different air to it. Yes, we saw a few very odd people during the auditions, but the goal didn't seem to be to make fun of them. The judges were encouraging, positive; they gave extremely helpful comments, praised highly, and were intensely appreciative of what the dancers could do.

I enjoyed seeing so many different kinds of dance on one show -- from hip-hop to ballroom, from Broadway to modern. It was fun to see dancers from one genre have to cross genres -- the girl breakdancer, for instance, who had never danced in heels before but had to do a waltz. And one of the best reality show hosts on TV in Cat Deeley (who made that airhead on On The Lot look like the bubblebrain she was).

As with Dancing With the Stars (which one of the judges praised on the air, by the way, even though it's a different network and different production company -- a sign of the appreciative tone we saw throughout), it's just nice to see beauty on TV, to see the human body do things we didn't think human bodies were able to do. A lovely respite every week.

My fave didn't win (Danny, who I thought was amazing), but it sort of didn't matter. By the end of the show's run, we just so appreciated all of the dancers, how they had stretched and grown.

I'm posting this too late for you to check the show out... I guess that's because it sort of snuck up on me, so that I didn't realize I was treating it as "must-see" TV until it was just about over.

But keep it in mind for next summer...

WRAPPING UP THE PREDICTIONS

Really because I have a great need for closure, more than anything else, I want to finish going through my pre-Deathly Hallows predictions. I've already covered the ones I made here on this blog, but I also made a lot of predictions (some weak, some strong) in my book, and I want to go through those. So here we go. (I won't double-list ones that I already covered in my previous post, such as the use of Parseltongue, etc.)

These may seem in random order, but they're basically in the order they appear in my book (I just flipped through it and scribbled stuff down)... It's a long list. (Sorry -- I guess it was a long book!)... Hope it makes sense.

WHAT I GOT WRONG

Inferi. I thought we'd see a battle against an army of Inferi. Nope.

Harry goes into the Pensieve to access his own memories to learn what happened at Godric's Hollow

Harry asks Petunia about Lily.

Hermione solves the R.A.B. riddle. Harry got there first.

Harry asks Dobby about the Malfoys. He never got a chance, and didn't need to.

Fawkes aligns with Harry or Snape

Owls (perhaps Hedwig) are used to find Voldemort's location

Fleur in action. I thought we'd see some veela butt-kicking on Fleur's part.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I thought we might see the punching telescope, a fake Dark Mark, or the shield hats.

Fred and George do something glorious. I had in mind something like the Portable Swamp moment (vastly underplayed in the movie, IMHO).

The Weasley's clock. I thought we'd see Harry's and Fleur's names on it.

Harry on a broomstick. We did see the Dark Magic interference with flying that I thought we'd see, in "The Seven Potters," but Harry was stuck in that sidecar.

Dragon's blood. I guess we'll never know the 12 uses.

The Sorting Hat. Yes, it appeared, but I thought it might be used to read minds, not to deliver the Sword of Gryffindor (a much better use!).

Percy Weasley. I predicted he would betray his family and die. So glad I was wrong.

Hagrid says too much and puts someone in danger. Maybe I was misled by the movies stressing this fault of Hagrid's more than the books do.

Scrimgeour continues his adversarial relationship to Harry. I'm putting this as "got it wrong" because of Scrimgeour dying protecting Harry, which I never would have foreseen. Good for you, Rufus.

Harry recovers the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book.

Snape's Occlumency is breached by Voldemort. Ha! Glad to be wrong about this one! I guess the Dark Lord doesn't always know!

Someone casts a Killing Curse while Imperiused. Nope. We saved all the complexity for wandlore.

Draco casts a Killing Curse.


WHAT I GOT RIGHT

Voldemort goes back to Hogwarts to take over.

"Mind-to-mind action" between Voldemort and Harry. I thought we'd see some form of Legilimency or Harry reading Voldemort's mind, and we got more than I expected!

Harry and Voldemort's wands. I predicted Harry and Voldemort would not fight each other using their own wands, but certainly couldn't foresee the amount of wand swapping we'd see (and wandlore we'd learn!).

Harry approaches Voldemort calling him "Tom Riddle."

Lots of dementors. They've been breeding, after all.

Voldemort was willing to spare Lily at Snape's request.

The Gleam of Triumph. I predicted it meant that Voldemort taking in Lily's blood meant ultimate victory.

Lily's eyes. I predicted they would come up again -- and they did, subtly, with Snape's final "Look - at - me."

The Dursleys are attacked as soon as Lily's protection disappears.

Harry marries Ginny. (Yay!)

Ron marries Hermione.

Harry learns about Dumbledore through Aberforth. Not the only source of knowledge, as it turns out, but a crucial one.

Harry feels pity for Draco. Does saving his life from Fiendfyre count?

Harry feels pity for Voldemort. I'm listing this as a "got it right" because of Harry's urging Voldemort to try for some remorse -- incidentally, I loved how the theme of remorse wove all through DH.

Harry forgives Snape. To understand all is to forgive all... I think naming his son after Snape indicates a certain level of forgiveness.

Harry asks Kreacher for information on Regulus and the locket.

The House-Elves fight on the side of the Order of the Phoenix.

The Goblins won't rebel against Voldemort. The Goblins, it turns out, are basically on the side of the Goblins.

Voldemort has giants in his army.

Goblins in DH highlight the theme of prejudice. Yes, thanks to Griphook's conversations with Harry.

Extendable Ears. I thought these were too handy not to use again.

Decoy Detonators. Again, I thought these would be handy. That Hermione knows how to pack an evening bag.

Something is hidden in the chamber under the Malfoy drawing room. I didn't think it would be Ollivander, though!

The Pensieve. I predicted we'd see it again.

Dumbledore's portrait. I predicted Harry would seek advice from it, but didn't think it would be quite so late in the story -- really a report, more than advice.

The Sneakoscope. Again, I'm going to let Hermione pack for me next trip I take.

The Two-Way Mirror.

Sirius's Motorcycle.

Slughorn is not a Death Eater and chooses to fight for good. I was so glad to see him in the final battle! Finally!

Slughorn is the head of Slytherin House.

McGonagall is not the new headmistress. I frankly never understood why people assumed this.

Neville proves himself a true Gryffindor. Yes!

Harry seeks Mundungus to find out what happened to the Locket.

Mundungus is unreliable and betrays Harry or the Order somehow. Does Disapparating out of a battle count?

Snape proves himself Dumbledore's man. Through and through.

Harry won't see Snape for most of DH. I felt the Harry-Snape confrontation had to wait for the end, or DH would turn into Snape's book.

Snape switched to the side of good out of his love for Lily.

Stoppered Death. The most complete account of Cathy Liesner's "Stoppered Death" theory was assembled quite beautifully by Felicity here. The second I heard it, I knew this theory was right. It was just too elegant not to be.

Dumbledore's death was pre-arranged with Snape.

Bill and Fleur's wedding would be attacked. I mean, if you were Voldemort, wouldn't you?

Voldemort can't tell when his Horcruxes are destroyed.

The Locket. I predicted it was the one the trio had seen when cleaning 12, Grimmauld Place, that Kreacher had preserved it safe in his hidey-hole, and that Mundungus stole it.

Harry returns to Hogwarts for the final battle.

Hogwarts is in danger. Having the Carrows in charge of discipline would seem to qualify.

All 4 Hogwarts houses unite to fight their foes. Well, not many Slytherins were there, but as Phineas Nigellus points out, they did their part.

Grimmauld Place is less secure once Dumbledore dies. Still not completely sure I understand all the rules of Secret-Keeping, though.

The Death Eaters want to get into Grimmauld Place.

Weak characters are manipulated by Imperio. I didn't foresee that Harry would cast it, though.

Harry will cast Crucio, but not on Snape.

We will learn how Harry beat the Avada Kedavra as an infant. And by the way, since I haven't seen anyone else mention it, wasn't it lovely that Harry didn't end up killing Voldemort, that he ended up dying by a rebounded curse, just as at Godric's Hollow? (Darn, I should have seen that coming, it was so well set-up!)

.....Okay, that was a long list, but now I can consider the prediction issue closed! (By the way, does anyone know how to access the answers for the huge prediction quiz the Leaky Cauldron did? I'd sort of like to know how I did there...)

Let me know your thoughts!

THE END OF THE STORY

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows didn't end for me late at night on July 21, when I finished reading it.

It ended yesterday, when I finished reading it out loud to my family.

We had to wait a week to start, as my son was off at camp. And we lost all of last week, because we were all at camp, and had no time to concentrate on the book. So, given those gaps, it was an 11-day read for us.

I have read all the HP books to my family, and it has been a joy. I even got to read some of them twice, because my daughter wasn't old enough for them the first time around.

I read too fast, so slowing down to the speed of the spoken word was exactly right for me. It allowed me to relive the books, to see the settings and hear the language.

It has been marvelous to watch my children respond to the books. To see Cory, unaware that he's even doing it, lift his wand hand when Harry lifts his wand. To see both children mouthing cool lines to themselves as I read them. To watch their little unconscious gestures, their eyes looking at me but their minds, their imaginations seeing Harry's world.

Sabrina in particular, being my very emotionally-attuned child, was a treat to watch this time around. The pure shock on her face when Hedwig was killed! The unabashed delight at Potterwatch! The absolute glee when Hermione kissed Ron! The sobs that she tried to hide as Harry walked to his death. The joy as Neville killed the snake. The squeal of shock and excitement when Molly yelled at Bellatrix.

Both kids were literally bouncing in their seats as we pushed through the finale in the Great Hall, they were so excited. And the epilogue... well, I came to love the epilogue in this read-through, because my kids loved it so much. I guess I hadn't realized how funny it was till I heard them laughing.

Will I keep blogging about Harry Potter? Of course I will. These books are too much a part of me to close the door that completely. (And the obsessive-compulsive part of me really wants to make that master list of all set-ups and payoffs -- I deeply suspect there are dialogue set-ups to the epilogue just waiting to be found.)

But a chapter has ended.

A few hours after we finished reading, Sabrina came up to me, a bit distressed, and said, "Mommy, I'm sad... No more Harry Potter!"

And all I could do was agree...

100,000 AND COUNTING

Sometime in the last couple of days when I have been up here at camp and away from internet access as we know it, my blog counter clicked over past 100,000.

Wow! 100,000 (and more now) of you have bothered to visit here, have posted comments, have e-mailed me, have prayed for me, have met others through this blog. It boggles the mind.

I have never been one of these people who tries to boost their blog count by adding dozens of links (you can see on the sidebar, my links are quite sparse still), or by doing any of the things one can do to "get out there" and juice the count. It just hasn't mattered to me to be bigger, grander, more.

I listened to a pastor once explain how "virtual" community isn't real. We don't have "real" relationships, these people cannot possibly be "real" friends. But I don't believe him. I have met people I treasure through this blog, made relationships that are at least as real as my relationship with, say, the "real" person a few pews away at church whose name I don't quite remember. To that pastor, I would simply reply, "Of course they're all on the internet, but why on earth should that mean that they are not real?"

So thank you to all of you for dropping by, for reading, for commenting, for being part of my life. I am grateful to you.

See you at 200,000!

PLANNING FOR TOMORROW... OR NOT...

Back in his bedroom, Harry fiddled aimlessly with his rucksack, then poked a couple of owl nuts through the bars of Hedwig's cage. They fell with dull thuds to the bottom, where she ignored them.

"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told her. "And then you'll be able to fly again."

But Hedwig never did get to fly again.

"Good luck, everyone," shoulted Moody. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow..."

But Moody never made it to the Burrow.

"When I get married," said Fred, tugging at the collar of his own robes, "I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over."

But Fred will never get married.

...I'm up at Family Camp for the week, so that's why I haven't been online or posting much. But I found myself thinking about these moments in Deathly Hallows.

One of my son's friends, let's call him Matt, was relaxing on our first day here, throwing a football around on the big grassy area at the heart of the camp. And his foot got caught in a hole, and he fell -- and everyone heard the snap as he hit the ground.

Matt went into shock, was taken to the hospital, and is still there, with three bad breaks to his leg, above and below the knee, on his second cast already, and waiting to see if they will have to operate to put pins in.

This is not what he expected when he came to camp. He expected a week of hanging with his friends, of learning about God, of swimming, and singing, and praying, and eating, and playing games, and showing off his awesome dance moves.

Jesus tell us, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

And the book of Proverbs tells us, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth."

We don't know what's coming. We think we do, and we plan, and we expect. But we simply don't know. And if we live in world without God, that can be a very scary thought.

When we realize how everything can change in an instant -- those few times that we do realize it, we can get flashes of understanding as to how precious our lives, and those we love, really are.

Why had he never appreciated what a miracle he was, brain and nerve and bounding heart? It would all be gone... or at least, he would be gone from it...

....Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second.

Harry gets one of those moments -- big time! -- at the end of Deathly Hallows -- one of those moments, like at the end of "Our Town," that lets him see how very precious life is.

Matt certainly didn't realize how precious it could be to toss a football around until he lost the ability to do it. Somehow thinking about him in his hospital room... and thinking about Harry walking to his death... helps me feel a little less like grouching because my bowling score wasn't what I thought it should be last night, or because I don't like the pizza they served for lunch, or even because one of my daughter's supposed best friends is exhibiting Mean Girl behavior toward her and is being encouraged to do so by her mom.....

"Life's too short." It's more than a saying.

With my computer battery about to conk out, I'm heading back to Family Camp now, and will check in in a couple of days... meanwhile wishing you the ability to appreciate the joys of your life as you live it.

CHECK OUT THE MEANING OF STORIES

I have been running around like the proverbial headless chicken, getting ready to go to our church's annual Family Camp this weekend. But instead of saying good-bye to y'all for a week, I am this week doing something I have never done before: I am taking my computer with me. (The camp has virtually no cell phone service, but surprisingly has pretty good wi-fi.)

Will this be a mistake? Will I be tempted to play computer games when I should be relaxing with friends? Will I try to work when I should be, well, relaxing with friends? Don't know yet... But I will at least blog a little -- I want to finish up my list of predictions, and have been meditating on a couple of other HP posts.

In the meantime, I loved this essay by Beth over at Endless Books about the relationship between an author and her work. Lovely! Click on over...

Back with more v. soon. Gotta go get that pre-camp laundry started...

MOVIE THOUGHTS: HAIRSPRAY

(What?! A non-Harry Potter post? Can it be?!)

Exuberant. Bouncy. Happy. Fun.

These are the words that fly around the theatre when you're watching Hairspray. I went in to the movie knowing virtually nothing about it, having never seen the original John Waters' movie or the Broadway show, and the only song from the show I was familiar was "Can't Stop the Beat," the closing number. So I was most unencumbered.

I may have walked in a blank slate, but I walked out (or more likely, danced out) rather happy. Because that's what Hairspray ultimately is: two hours of peppy ebulliance and just plain fun.

The obvious comparisons are to those other well-known musicals set in high school: High School Musical (with Zac Efron in both -- squeal! -- as soon as my 10-year-old daughter moves on from being obsessed with Hannah Montana, he's definitely next). And of course Grease (with John Travolta in both, though in black leather and slicked back hair in Grease and in drag, a fat suit, and a bouffant in Hairspray).

But Hairspray easily outshines them both. It outshines HSM because, well, it's actually about something.

And Hairspray is really the "anti-Grease." The message of Grease is "You must change who you are, and who you should be, to get a guy." But the message of Hairspray is "Accept who you are, and accept everyone else for who they are, too, even if it costs you something to do it." For all its surface apparent charm, I've never been that fond of Grease for that reason (as well as the embarrassing and vulgar sexual humor), so I'm thrilled to have a new musical out there to take its place.

Hairspray is lovingly staged and filmed. Every element falls perfectly into place -- the choreography, the editing, the singing, the performances, the production design, the wardrobe, and of course, the hair. Beautifully directed by Adam Shankman, it's unapologetic in tone, and spares us the overly hyped angst of Dreamgirls. In fact, when you realize that the two movies are dancing around the same issue (racial prejudice), I'd say that Hairspray comes out on top here as well.

Kudos to Shankman and his casting director especially for pulling together a remarkable and often unexpected cast. Michelle Pfeiffer gets to sing for the first time since (I believe) Fabulous Baker Boys, and she chews up the screen every time she's one it. Queen Latifah is, as usual, charismatic and strong. Zac Efron is a doll (squeal!), James Marsden makes you forget X-Men ever existed, Amanda Bynes shines in her small role, Christopher Walken can actually dance (who knew?! -- but can't sing), and Nikki Blonsky brings an unabashed joy and a big voice to the lead role of Tracy.

And then there's John Travolta. In drag. Which was interested to explain to our kids, by the way. I actually wasn't that crazy about him for the first half of the movie, and kept wondering if it was him or the role (would I have bought any other man hamming it up as Edna?). The guy-plays-Edna thing felt like a drag-queen stunt to me (which is of course what it really was in the original movie) until Edna finally got out of the house. By the time he has his big love song with Walken (sweet, not embarrassing), I realized I believed him as Edna, and he was terrific in the finale.

The finale itself is terrific all round, everything the closing number of a musical should be. And just as you think it should be ending, it starts up again, and you find yourself sitting there, just glad that you get to see more of it. Lovely.

The opening to the movie too is very well done, in the light of all the overanalysis expended in Hollywood on whether the audience will still accept movie musicals. I've heard a fair amount of discussion on how you have to give the audience an excuse for all that singing going on -- the singing has to happen onstage (Dreamgirls), or it has to happen in someone's imagination Chicago. Because, you know, people can't actually sing in a musical.

But that's what they do in Hairspray. No excuses, no waffling around. We see Tracy Turnblad for the first time and she opens her mouth and starts to sing "Good Morning Baltimore" and we're in a musical and it's as simple as that. Maybe that's as simple as it should be.

Hairspray is a hit, and it deserves to be. Go give yourself two hours of exuberant fun. And it's okay to dance on the way out of the theatre.

THE "STRUGGLE TO BELIEVE"

DJP asked in comments on my previous post what I think about the presence of Christianity in Harry Potter. I think it's a fascinating enough question to answer it here rather than in the comments.

But I'm not going to give a full answer, just a few thoughts that I hope will be both helpful and provocative...

The privacy of religion.. It's hard for us as Americans sometimes to understand that other cultures see things in a different way. In America, religion is (increasingly) a public matter and people very often define themselves by their religion (or lack of it, as with the very vocal public atheists currently on the booklists).

But J.K. Rowling is not American. She is British, and for many years has been living in Scotland. My father was Scottish (from Glasgow), and believe me, he culturally viewed religion as an intensely private matter, not for public discussion. To quiz someone about their religion would have been, for him, one of the rudest things one could do.

It seemed to me, when Meredith Viera raised the question about the "religious undertone" of the books, that JKR seemed uncomfortable answering it (of course, we don't have the unedited interview, so some of this could be an artifact of the editing). Whether she was uncomfortable because she didn't want to get drawn into one of those odd American brouhahas about religion, the kind that simply doesn't happen in Britain (certainly with the level of animosity!), or whether the question simply verged on areas that she really considers private... well, who knows.

But, given her background and especially given the sheer nastiness of religious folks toward her over the years, I don't think we can blame her for hedging her answer.

The "Struggle"

"Oh Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."

The struggle to believe, the choice to believe (a concept repeated often in Deathly Hallows) isn't experienced by those who don't believe. As Christians, we believe things that really don't make sense in the light of the "normal" world. We believe things that only make sense in the light of a supernatural world, a world that our current society pretty much denies. Which of course makes the struggle even more intense at times.

Anything I could say about the struggle to believe would be tawdry and petty compared to the powerful essay Travis Prinzi posted this week by his friend Michael Spencer entitled I Have My Doubts.

JKR makes herself very vulnerable, I think, in admitting her "struggles to believe." I hope that at some point, she will indeed sit down to discuss in great detail the "religious undertone" of her books, that she will discuss the various quotes she has made in the past regarding her Christianity. And I hope that Christians (particularly certain Americans!) will allow her a safe space in which to do so.

The Symbolism and the Story

Clearly Harry Potter is packed with traditional Christian symbols. John Granger has become to the go-to guy for unpacking these, and I deeply appreciate what he brings to the party in that way.

But for me, the heart of the Christianity in HP is not in the symbolism, but in the story. Deathly Hallows, in particular, is indeed a retelling of the Great Story (as C.S. Lewis would say), of the myth that is true (as J.R.R. Tolkien would say). The story of substitutionary love, the story of one who goes willingly to his death that others might live. I'm sure master's theses will be written at some point on thus subject, and I'm not going to attempt one here.

Deathly Hallows is also my story -- the story of one struggling to know who to trust and how far it's safe to trust. The story of trying to discern what I'm supposed to do, what I'm meant to do, out of what sometimes seems a baffling array of conflicting clues, as I struggle to believe that there is a purpose, there is a plan, there is a pattern.

How much of this was intentional on J.K. Rowling's part? How much of the names, the symbols, and the story itself, with its deep reverberations of the gospel?

Probably not quite as much as appears in the final book. She was telling a story after all, not preaching a sermon, not writing a tract. G.K. Chesterton said it: "The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do not say."

In some ways, Deathly Hallows then approaches poetry, because I think it says far more than (and reaches far deeper) than perhaps the author officially intended.

An example: I remember reading a lovely interview with Paul Simon, one of my writing heroes. He was talking about his song "The Obvious Child," which contains the line "The cross is in the ballpark." He said that originally he had an image in his mind when he wrote that line, an image of a huge religious rally in a stadium -- "The cross is in the ballpark." And later, he looked at that line and realized what he had really said: that the cross, the burdens we have to carry, are "in the ballpark," they're doable, they're manageable. He had said more than he originally meant to say -- but the layers of meaning were of course the ultimate reason he wrote the line.

I think that's what's happened in Deathly Hallows. There is so much to unpack on a spiritual level, I am sure JKR said more than she thought she was saying... but that's not to say she didn't mean it. Because poetical words say what they do not mean.

...And I have now said more than I intended to say on this subject. Tell me what you think...