Play For Pay: Harry Potter & The Hypocrisy of the Church

An article in today's Columbus Dispatch by Meredith Heagney trumpets,

                             Faith leaders forgive Harry Potter  


"It wasn't so long ago that an orphan boy with a lightning-bolt scar was considered a danger to America's children, at least by some Muggles. Conservative Christians blasted the Harry Potter books and movies as promoting witchcraft and black magic.


"But years have passed, and Harry has grown up to become a mainstay in pop culture. Ahead of next Friday's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the eighth and final movie in the series, religious critics are largely absent."


As glad as I am to see that the faithful have finally come to their senses, signalling what we all hope is the end of religious persecution of a group of fictional characters, I have to wonder why. 


It seems to me that the reason is obvious; the religious institutions that were here-to-fore persecuting the author and her books have finally figured out how to play them in a different light.

Indeed;


"In fact, many voices of faith are trumpeting the morals and values of the series, which they say can teach timeless truths about love, courage and sacrifice."


They still do not like the witchcraft and wizardry, which is the magic that makes the Harry Potter series what it is... a compelling coming-of-age tale of good-versus-evil set in a fantasy world.


Meanwhile, back-at-the-ranch, these same religious leaders continues to demonise other fantasy writers for committing the same sins that author J.K Rowling supposedly committed.


The real meaning of all this I'll leave to you, the reader to decide, but I know where I'd place my bets.




 You can read the the entire Columbus Dispatch article here. 

The First Amendment Cuts Both Ways

The First Amendment Cuts Both Ways

An article by author Lynn Flewelling on a recent supreme court decision that's all over the news.

12 reasons to ignore the naysayers: Do NaNoWriMo

If you want to write a novel in 30 days, don't let anyone stop you. Not even Salon's Laura Miller.

From the LA Times: 12 reasons to ignore the naysayers: Do NaNoWriMo

It's NaNoWriMo Time

It was a dark and stormy night. 


Well, not really... Actually, it was a cold moonlit night. The tree's had dropped their leaves and dumped thousands of acorns underfoot, causing every step to sound like a thousand people eating crunch bars in unison.


While we're off doing the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), we invite you to read The UNLOCKED Project Never-Ending Story, and contribute... if you dare!

Won't They Ever Learn?

ABFFE Earns Injunction in Alaska (From Publishers Weekly)

Booksellers, librarians and other media groups won an injunction on Thursday in Federal District Court in Alaska to Senate Bill 222, which made anyone who operates a Web site that features content deemed "harmful to minors" criminally liable.

The plaintiffs--among them Fireside Books, the Alaska Library Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the AAP, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund--claimed the bill infringed on citizens' First Amendment rights and would also result in potential prosecution for librarians and retailers based on what they lent and sold online and in their stores.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Michael Bamberger of SNR Denton, said the statute was "overbroad" and his clients were happy the courts recognized it posed a "clear violation of the First Amendment rights of all citizens, in Alaska and throughout the country."

SB 222, as the bill is called, was signed by Governor Parnell in May; the details of the case, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, et al. v Sullivan, and Alaska, can be found at www.akclu.org.