for merlin

wanting to acknowledge what has happened i guess.
i am praying for you as you and your family struggle to make sense of it all and to recalibrate your bearings on the world in this next phase.

going on from what i said in my response on the other thread (bi partate etc) - i guess it doesn't get any realer than this. i am also reminded of the conversation we had a while ago about 'dying well'. i hope that the relationship and knowing you shared with your dad was fully experienced when it was refined down to that moment.

warm hugs.

jo

trying again

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/mrsramjet/georgiaspics019.jpg

thoughts on grace

enjoying some reading i found following a trail from travis at sword of gryffindor

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/jesussalvation

excertp
At the same time, I do not want a “salvation is a transaction” or “salvation is a mathmatical calculation” approach. ...............
I believe that anyone who has clearly seen the glory of the Biblical Gospel has avoided “mathmatical” descriptions as insufficient. Discussions of God “choosing a number of the elect” do not interest me because my own encounter with Jesus NEVER EVER leads me in that direction. The “math” of the Gospels is the math of God leaving the 99 and going after the one. It is a hundred fruit from one seed. It is a mass of humanity that no man could count. It is feeding all of the five thousand and all of the four thousand. It is not “the blood of Jesus covers this many” or any other limiting, quantitative description of the grace of God.

and then here

http://www.internetmonk.com/articles/G/grace.html

happy 5th birthday

let's see if i can post a pic here....

for my beatiful boy who turned 5 yesterday.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/mrsramjet/georgiaspics019.jpg[/IMG]

awww sweet!

Oh, the comfort--
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person--
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out,
just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping,
and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

-- from "A Life for a Life", Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (1826-1887)

AB-ers

if any of you lovely ladies take a peak here, feel free to say hi.
should i leave the link at AB? *bites fingernails*

jo

excerpts from healing themes

since that post is so hard to read in one lump like that i thought i'd isolate some tidbits. it would sadden me to think of them being lost in the mass.

"A lot of how I see the series turning out is because it seems to me that this isn't a 'Lord of the Rings' style epic of warrior heroes; it feels a lot closer to 'The Secret Garden' or 'Little White Horse'or even 'Great Expectations'-- a darker, more elaborate version of thechild healer story. "


JKR says she didn't set out to write achildren's story-- I think she set out to write a story that requiredchildren, as symbols of renewal and the possibilty of starting again.


One thing nearly all of Rowling's favorite books have in common ............ is that they're dramas of recognition, or re-cognition-- the central event is the protagonist going back over events that she saw one way, with one set of assumptions, and re-thinking everything because of new knowledge about the past and about people'smotivations.

that is the clincher for me. that rings SO true. HBP was all about that. going over a lot of ground in more depth that had been covered in previous books and seeing more significance in them.

i think re-seeing the past is going to uncover the horcruxes and give all the clues that dumbledore has left with harry. all the things he ALREADY knows.

jo

healing themes on hpfgu

going to share here a post (with permission from the author - thanks sydney) from the harry potter for grownups list.

it is set up by a quote from a previous post on snape's situation - being stuck basically in the past, unable for whatever reasons (bitterness etc) to move on towards a redemption and resolution.


Sydney:Oh, man, this goes right to the heart of the themes of the series,doesn't it? So many of the adult characters are stuck in thissituation that they can't move on from. Like Sirius couldn't leavehis mother's house. Snape can't break away from these repressed darkfeelings of hatred-- represented by being a spy on the Dark forces. Lupin looks like the first one to actually start something new-- hewas in this space where he was holding himself apart from otherpeople, because he's afraid he'll hurt them. And Hogwarts has thisunresolved issue going back, like, a thousand years, of an angrybreakup, fragmentation, something that was broken and hasn't beenfixed. And how did this unresolved stuff come out? Overflowingblocked pipes full of snakes, that's how. Rowling doesn't have a bigbook with "Freud" on the spine for nothing!A lot of how I see the series turning out is because it seems to methat this isn't a "Lord of the Rings" style epic of warrior heroes; it feels a lot closer to "The Secret Garden" or "Little White Horse"or even "Great Expectations"-- a darker, more elaborate version of thechild healer story. I just finished "I Capture the Castle", anotherbook JKR's cited as a big influence, and it's the same sort of thing--at the heart of the story is a blocked writer, who needs his childrento break through these badly healed scars, get the blood flowing, andrecover in an organic way. JKR says she didn't set out to write achildren's story-- I think she set out to write a story that requiredchildren, as symbols of renewal and the possibilty of starting again. I read an interview once with the great animation director Miyazake,who was asked what the difference was between children's movies andadult movies. He said that in an adult movie, you have to make do andstruggle on with all your crippling mistakes; but a children's moviealways has this feeling that everything can start fresh and clean again.One thing nearly all of Rowling's favorite books have in common--"Little White Horse" and "Pride and Prejudice" and "I Capture theCastle", is that they're dramas of recognition, or re-cognition-- thecentral event is the protagonist going back over events that she sawone way, with one set of assumptions, and re-thinking everythingbecause of new knowledge about the past and about people'smotivations. This has the same sort of thematic movement as a healingstory, because it's all about opening up festering wounds and lettingout all the toxins, as it were, to the air, so they can heal properly.People seem to be speculating about big battles and the Horcrux-huntbeing an Indina-Jones-type-thing and everything sort of going along anaction-adventure, destroy the baddies thing. I don't think it's goingthere at all. I think book VII will be packed full of backstory, ofmisunderstandings cleared up, of things that were broken being puttogether. I don't think the Locket is going to be the first Horcruxthat's going to turn out to have been already taken care of in someway. What's needed isn't destruction, it's recognition, or un-burial. I mean, not there won't be a lot of derring-do and such, but with atwist. I wish there was another thing coming up where we could putquestions to JKR, because I'm longing to ask her if she has put inTarot stuff other than the Tower and the Hanged Man. Because shortlyafter the Tower appears in the deck, the Judgement card shows up-- acard showing people joyfully rising from graves. I'm certain at leastone character we thought was dead will be alive; whether it's Regulusor Emmeline Vance or even Dumbledore (though I doubt it will be him). I dunno... I don't really have enough coherence to put together anactual post on this. Random thoughts--I LOVE Magpie's idea of Draco paying back Snape's life debt by savingHarry. It's so appropriate to the genre, that the children have tostep forward, because the adults are just plain stuck. Snape is thepast; Draco is the future. I think there's something important to the Sectumsempra healing spellsounding like a song-- Phoenix song? I wonder did Snape learn it fromFawkes? Dumbledore tells Harry in CoS that only true loyalty couldhave called Fawkes to him-- is this how he's so certain of Snape'sloyalities? I'm just sort of riffing on suicidal!Snape, because itwould be so like him to express this extraordinary remorse Dumbledorespoke of by trying to destroy himself, rather than by healing. "Sectumsempra" means to "cut forever", it seems very appropriateChristina symbolism that the Phoenix can heal even that which seemscut forever. "Sectumsempra"-- wow, that spell is just Snape in anutshell- the idea that things can just be cut off and that takes careof them. Sorry to stay on Snape, but, I mean, he does seem to appear at theheart of the thematic stuff! There has to be some connection here tothat damn DADA job. The job is cursed by Voldemort, the embodiment ofDark magic, that is, hatred and fear. Snape seems to be pursuingthis-- I dunno, Snape thematically is so tied in to the ideas ofrepressing bad feelings and lashing out against them, rather thanembracing and healing them-- spying and Occlumency and non-Verbalspells. This whole thing bugs me, I can't quite figure out whatmeaning it's meant to have. But the disagreement between Snape andDumbledore on that job seems to go right to the heart of the symbolicstuff.On Snape's crimes and redemption generally: I think whatever Snapedid as a DE will likely remain offscreen, like what the centaurs didto Umbridge, where people's imaginings can be as lurid as they like. Personally I have a hard time picturing Dumbledore twinkling atsomeone who'd tortured helpless people to death, and offering himvulture hats because he takes himself too seriously. But then, somepeople think Dumbledore's a lot more of a psycho than I think he is! Anyways, I'm pretty sure the question with Snape isn't one ofredemption, in the sense of what side he's on; I think that's alreadyhappened. All the symbols Rowling puts around him seem a lot moretied into the idea of recognition, of bringing out the hidden. Ireally see Harry's role here as one of being able to say, even ifSnape doesn't change a hair, "I trust Severus Snape completely",because he'll have attained this Dumbledore-level integration with hisdark side. Just my feeling. Anyways, random long disconnected post.. -- Sydney, feeling both expansive and incoherent at the same time, nota great combination.

bi partate, tri partate, immortal,, eternal..... huh?

continuing for merlin.......

http://www.mugglematters.com/2006/01/same-side-of-two-coins-complimentary.html

reading chaim potok

how do you do this without your heart breaking huh? :P

have finished the short stories and moved on to 'old men at midnight'.

i don't think i cope very well with short stories. each one ends and i feel like i've slammed up against a wall i didn't see coming......

variations on a theme - geldof

on the archives for 'enough rope' i found the interview last year with geldof, which i will provide for your entertainment and education as well!

should i put a language warning or does that go without saying?? lol

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1343226.htm

(there's a link to the footage too)

if you can make it through the 'shagging' part of the conversation to the later sections it's well worth it imo.

jo

bono and enough rope

i was severely peeved to discover i had missed out on watching bono being interviewed by denton on 'enough rope' last week, but thanks to the joys of the internet found this transcript.

great interview.
andrew denton (possibly unknown outside of australia) is a seriously good interviewer. too bright and witty for his own nerdy good. i'm a great admirer!

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1591037.htm

ANDREW DENTON: As a man of faith, when you look at Africa, what's your concept of a working God?
BONO: Look on the God thing I have to be really careful because I'm not a very good advertisement and so I don't want to sit there and say, "I'm a man of faith," Yes, I am, I just can't. I recently read in one of St Paul's letters where it describes all of the fruits of the spirit, and I had none of them.
ANDREW DENTON: You fulfil a Christian ideal.
BONO: No, I don't think so. All the commandments I've broken and the ones I haven't I've probably wanted to. But that said, I do have a faith and it is challenged on a daily basis by what I see in Africa. Yes, and yet more than that I have a sense that really people are the problem. We're the problem, really. God gets a lot of bad press. The tsunami was very eloquent in a way, the response. There's a natural disaster, this awful misnomer, Mother Nature, it's just dreadful. But in Africa you have an avoidable catastrophe of tsunami proportions every week. So we have the technology, we have the resources, we have the resources if we have the will.So I've gone through my shouting at God, I've gone through my angry phase but I finally end up looking at my own indolence and fighting with it, an indifference. Because I have it, too. And I feel that I'm not alone in this. I feel there's a generation of people. I kind of realised this isn't something we can really blame God for. This is about us, really. So that's where I am on it.

most likely says a lot about me that i am always so moved by people's honesty about their struggles in living their faith, but i found this transperancy inspiring and invigorating as well as endearing.
and the spotlight on our own culpability in these issues was a lesson i am trying to live.

jo

another quizzy thing

had to post this. knock me over with a feather. thought i'd be 'hermione' for sure. must be something wrong with this test!

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=2338

You scored as Albus Dumbledore.
Strong and powerful you admirably defend your world and your charges against those who would seek to harm them. However sometimes you can fail to do what you must because you care too much to cause suffering.
var img_str1="";img_str1="";
var result_str1="";
Albus Dumbledore
90%
Remus Lupin
80%
Ron Weasley
75%
Hermione Granger
60%
Harry Potter
60%
Severus Snape
55%
Sirius Black
55%
Draco Malfoy
45%
Ginny Weasley
40%
Lord Voldemort
10%

what's in a name?

well, in potterverse, rather a lot i think!

my dad and step mum were over yesterday. grandad got into a very involved conversation with ds(4) about the colours and decoration on a shield he was making out of cardboard. grandad warned him to put the band across it the correct way so as not to have a something 'sinistra'.

so is the astronomy professor a snitch of some sort? they (is it a she?) are only mentioned in passing from time to time, but the astronomy tower is quite significant....

help!

how do i delete a post? the stupid flower things posted twice and now the whole page is funny.

aaaagghhhh

flowers

http://quizilla.com/users/FaerieFriend/quizzes/Which%20Flower%20are%20You?

let's see if i can post this blurb properly....



You are an Iris:
You are logical, analytical, dignified, and wise.
You are studious by nature and may prefer
books to people. You tend to be a serious
person but are capable of making others laugh
with your dry sense of humor. Friends always
benefit from your advice.
Symbolism: Over the centuries the iris has come to
symbolize faith, wisdom, hope, and promise in
love.

Which Flower are You?
brought to you by

flowers

http://quizilla.com/users/FaerieFriend/quizzes/Which%20Flower%20are%20You%3F

let's see if i can post this blurb properly....



You are an Iris:
You are logical, analytical, dignified, and wise.
You are studious by nature and may prefer
books to people. You tend to be a serious
person but are capable of making others laugh
with your dry sense of humor. Friends always
benefit from your advice.
Symbolism: Over the centuries the iris has come to
symbolize faith, wisdom, hope, and promise in
love.

Which Flower are You?
brought to you by

the limitations of type

here is my post from muggle matters.
http://www.mugglematters.com/2006/02/fluids-and-fluidity-potions-and.html
felt it may have been getting a little off topic so, if you wanted to comment, or continue the conversation, please do so here.....

this is where acadamia frustrates me a little. thouroughly knowing the forms and having a rigourous approach is something i admire and aspire to (though doubt i'll ever have the time/discipline to achieve that!)but it seems that people lose the ability to just receive from something. so it has to fit into this or that box to have merit. i know that sometimes things not fitting can be because they are sloppily done. but sometimes it is a good thing, and can be because they may transcend those boxes, or even be something new altogether!
this has been my experience with music (particularly in the classical world, there are - as you can imagine - some real stylistic snobs out there. i have my own share of cultural snobbism. i'm not immune! but i think i see it *shrug*). there are certain types of music that you enjoy the more you understand, and that can be quite cerebral. i love that. but it's not the be all and end all.

any thoughts?
happy to have my mind changed at any time!

jo

cluck cluck

.. goes the red hen.

ok. i'm reading this site. and yes it's interesting.

thought i'd check out the essay on hermione...

http://www.redhen-publications.com/Deconstructing.html

a few thoughts:

As for the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake: fish fuzz. She came onto the field determined to excel in order to be SEEN to excel. And by this time she knows damn well that in the wizarding world knowledge is quite literally power. And there is a war in progress! And she belongs to one of the targetted groups. She intends to have the best stocked arsenal in Britain. Knowledge for its own sake, my arse.
but this misses the point that someone who is knowledge oriented (ie. the 5 on the enneagram) would use this search for more info *as* their way of insulating them from danger. so their search for knowledge for it's own sake can also be used for other ulterior motives. this doesn't take away from it being a primary function of the personality.

Not exactly my deffinition of maturity. The kid is is not mature. She is articulate.
SPOT ON!



Ron was upset that Harry had somehow managed to get his name into the Goblet without him. Harry had gone and done it by himself, and then was shutting him out even more by not even having the decency to tell him about it. There was some jealousy present, sure. But he wasn't just jealous. Ron is used to being outshone, he doesn't mind it too much so long as you include him. But now he's been shut out, and rejected as well, and it hurts.

So he whips himself up into a temper because a 14-year-old boy just can't publicly burst into tears because his best friend has gone off and left him behind like he doesn't even matter!

really good observation.

bbl.

jo