This photo of my cat, Mardukas, is featured as the “Pet Photo of the Week” in Seattle Pacific University’s faculty/staff newsletter this week.
And the fact of the matter is, quite simply, that he is the most handsome cat on the planet.
He looks like a black cat, but he isn’t — he has white fur that is tipped with black. I named him after Jonathan Mardukas, a white-collar criminal played by Charles Grodin in the film Midnight Run.
Does he enjoy chorizo with eggs?
Yes… and he’s TERRIFED of flying.
Jeffery,
I can see where you are coming from about the rule breaking thing. Especially in the films. I do think it is handled a little bit more seriously in the stories themselves, where the consequences of bending the rules aren’t always uniformly good. (Especially in the story of the upcoming film.)
But as to the “primary lesson” of Harry Potter…I think in the books at least it’s about the real nature of good and evil. For me, part of the genius of the stories is the way these serious things are explored from the POV of kids and adolescents who sometimes get everything figured out quite wrong. For example, in the last book Malfoy suddenly becomes a lot more dimensional and we’re led to feel sorry for him after Harry comes across him weeping in the girl’s bathroom.
Always enjoy the blog BTW!
Mike,
Yeah, I was exaggerating about that being “primary.” Sorry about that. It’s just a recurring event in the Potter films that has annoyed me from the beginning.
Wow, I haven’t read the last book. I hope Harry helps Malfoy find the men’s room. I can imagine that it would be traumatic for a boy of Malfoy’s age to find himself in the wrong restroom. 😉
I think it would especially be traumatic for “Little Lord” Malfoy! He’s actually hiding in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom where no one usually goes.
I agree with you about the films and rule breaking. It’s not the greatest thing for kids to emulate, that’s for sure. In the books I think there is more of a sense of real physical danger (and sense of terror) associated with rule breaking that doesn’t translate to the screen.
We get a little bit of it in the 2nd file when Herminone’s Polyjuice potion backfires and turns her into a sort of giant mouse.
One of the scenes in the books that makes me cringe the most is when Fred and George are testing one of their new joke shop products — nosebleed nougat — on some first year students. Hermione (who often expresses more of the author’s viewpoint) takes them to task on it.
On another note, I’ll have to check out the new Maria McKee! Thanks for the heads up!
I’m hoping for a chance to hear that Maria McKee album tomorrow. Thom’s rave is encouraging on some levels, but, at the same time, his description of the record makes it sound rather similar to High Dive– an album that I didn’t care for, and I don’t think you did, either.
I’m cautiously optimistic. Maria McKee always does a great job of achieving the sound she’s after, but that sound isn’t always the one *I* want to hear…
Jeffrey,
NO one cares what I think. Why do you insist on telling people I like or “rave” about things?
Um… Thom, is that you?
If that’s you, then I’m wondering: Isn’t 4.5 stars out of 5 a “rave”? If not, please correct me, and I’ll use a more appropriate word. (“Thom Jurek is impressed”? “Thom Jurek doesn’t hate it”?)
And secondly… you’re one of the best music critics out there. Of course people care what you think. I know I do.