Bit of Ivory

Thought all of you would enjoy the handout I made up for our group presentation in my Tolkien class.

Introduction: We Love Harry Potter

A general overview of the group???s introduction to Harry Potter, feelings and impressions of the books and the films.

We are pleased and proud to have a distinguished panel to discuss the Harry Potter books and movies with you. Thanks to a special dispensation from the Department of Magic, USA, and the Ministry of Magic, UK (due in large part to the exertions of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts), the following eminent personages will be present in your classroom:

Hermione Jane Granger, current student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; cleverest witch of her age

Professor Remus John Lupin, former Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; mentor and friend to Harry Potter

Harry James Potter, current student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the Boy Who Lived

Joanne Kathleen Rowling, author; biographer of Harry Potter and liaison with the Muggle world (Umm, this would be me)

Professor Sybill Patricia Trelawney, current Professor of Divination, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; teacher and sometime-Seer

Ronald Bilius Weasley, current student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; loyal friend to Harry Potter

NOTE: Please do not be confused by a lack of a proper British accent in our guests, or their resemblance to members of your class. As a concession to the International Statute of Secrecy, all panel members have taken a modified polyjuice potion to allow them to blend more easily into the student body.

J.K. Rowling

Remarks on the portrayal of fear in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both the book and the film

Professor R.J. Lupin

Explanation of the boggart and its function in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hermione Granger

Remarks on her own reaction to fear and its treatment in the film

Ronald Weasley

Comments on the portrayal of his own character in the films, especially in regards to bravery

Professor Sybil Trelawney

Comments on fear and death and the burden of the Inner Eye

Harry Potter

Details his journey through fear and anger

We do the presentation a week from today. At the end, we’re telling them that the sherbet lemons we gave them (yes, I still have a TON left) have been laced with a forgetfulness draughtt, and they will remember the presentation only as a very good presentation by their classmates, thus ensuring the secrecy of the existence of the wizarding world.

Since I took my Literature of the Great War class two years ago, I’ve posted WWI poems on Armistice Day. This is no exception.

Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstruous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Aftermath
Siegfried Sassoon

Have you forgotten yet?…
For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days,
Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways:
And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow
Like clouds in the lit heaven of life; and you’re a man reprieved to go,
Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare.
But the past is just the same???and War’s a bloody game…
Have you forgotten yet?…
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz???
The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets?
Do you remember the rats; and the stench
Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench???
And dawn coming, dirty-white, and chill with a hopeless rain?
Do you ever stop and ask, ‘Is it all going to happen again?’

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack???
And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men?
Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back
With dying eyes and lolling heads???those ashen-grey
Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay?

Have you forgotten yet?…
Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you’ll never forget.

I’ve thought about doing this for a while, and I decided to finally act on it.

Every Sunday from now on, I will be posting a scripture and a related thought (which could be anything from a quote from the prophets to a song lyric). This is mostly for me– I’ve felt kind of detached spiritually for a while. I’m sure it’s because I’ve been really busy. Well, I’m trying to change all that. So, I’m going to pick a concept or an idea each week, and spend that week thinking about it,reading scriptures and commentary on it, and trying my best to integrate it into my life.

I’m not going to create a special filter for this– I thought about it, but I decided I want it to be public. So if any of you don’t want to read my theological musings, as always, this icon will be the clue for you to skip the post.

And now, this week’s scripture and thought:

2nd Nephi 26:25

Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life.”

–Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ: Gifts and Expectations,” Tambuli, May 1977, p. 20

So busy, in fact, that I haven’t had a chance to write about it until now.

Friday was fun. Wore my Penelope Clearwater costume to school, complete with cloak, and felt rather silly as, like, NO ONE else dressed up. Okay, so I saw two or three other costumes. But considering that this is a campus of 30,000+ people, that statistic is infintensimal. Be that as it may, I did get a good reaction (aside from the strange looks) on the costume. Lots of people were extremely impressed by it. I had one girl who I’m quite friendly with in my 18th century lit class look at me, narrow her eyes, and say “Penelope Clearwater?” which, of course, made my mouth drop open in suprise (and no, I did not want to snog her :P). She said that she looked at me, looked that the colors, saw the prefect badge, and went, “Okay, who do we know in Ravenclaw?” I was much amused, as I think she’s the first person on campus to realize that no, I’m NOT in Gryffindor, and therefore I am NOT Hermione.

After class, I proceeded on to work, where I amused all my coworkers. I don’t think they believed me before when I told them I had a complete Hogwarts Uniform. I got my picture taken by a lady who was dressed as Napoleon (I was cursing another of my coworkers in the pic), met the other HP-themed character (she came as Dr. Parkinson, Muggle Studies teacher. Cute, eh?), and then removed most of the layers of my costume, considering that it must have been about 87 degrees in my office.

After work I came home and readied the house for and my Halloween Bash. It ended up being rather smaller than we would have liked (that’ll teach US to procrastinate asking people to come, eh, K8?), but it was still way fun. My sisters, and came in their amazing Galadriel and Eowyn costumes, and brought their friend Sarah who looked ravishing in her Arwen costume. I took pics which I will upload shortly– tomorrow, probably. came as a “worn-out math teacher on her holiday weekend,” and her two adorable kids came, and although Lilac didn’t dress up, her son and daughter were adorable as Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, respectfully, and my brother and his girlfriend made a brief (uncostumed) appearance. All in all, an enjoyable evening, although I had enough food left over to sink a battleship. It’s okay, though. I dumped most of it on my family.

I ended up working for 5 hours Saturday morning, then came home, did a bit of homework, and ended up falling asleep while reading Joseph Andrews (quite the enjoyable book, actually, I was just exhausted). I’d just woken up when my sister called to inform me that they’d just made a trip to the pet store, and would I like to come home and meet our new parakeet? Of course I would!

Guys, this little bird is adorable. It’s a violet blue color, and the bottom and tips of its wings are pure white. It’s still quite young– about 4 months, the pet store said– so we can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but it’s really cute. I’m sure it will be happy and friendly after it gets over its sudden transplanting– it usually takes about 3 days before they start to feel at home. Last time I saw it, it was sitting completely still in the same place it had been for the last several hours, its eyes wide and trembling a bit. We are going to train it to whistle and come out and fly around and play with us, just like our poor little Wedgewood who died at the end of July. It’s so nice to have a cute little birdie in the corner of our family room again!

As for a name, we originally wanted to call it Kolipoki, but after a bit of thinking we decided against it. As of now, its name is Tonks. Whether or not that too will change is yet to be determined, but I hope it doesn’t.

I wonder if we can teach it to waterski. . .

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This is nothing new, actually; it’s been raining pretty much continually for the last week. Great for our drought-ravaged state, bad for things like my windshield wipers, which have been pretty much worn out, and my mood, which goes down when I can’t see the sun. Not too far, though, as I’m feeling pretty non-stressed at the moment. That won’t last, I’m sure, as I’ll be getting a pretty big assignment in Intro to Grad Studies tonight, and other big assignments are on the horizon. Not the least of which is a big paper I’m doing in my Tolkien and Film class on characterization in the HP movies.

Speaking of which, could some of you more web-savvy people help me out a bit? I’d like to do an online survey, similar to an LJ poll but on my own server, and I don’t know how to do it. It’s mostly just radio buttons and text boxes, nothing incredibly fancy, but still above my line of expertise. Can anyone help?

I registered this morning for next semester. I’m taking Literature and Religious Values, which seems to be survey course of sorts, albiet with a certain focus, Studies in British Victorian Literature, and Studies in British Contemporary Literature. Both are periods I haven’t studied before, so that should be good. The best part is, though, that my classes are only on MWF, which means I a) won’t have to drive down to Provo every single day, and b) can work 8 hours on Tuesday and Thursday, and Friday afternoons, which will give me a 20-hour workweek again. Thus saving money from gas and working more, which means my budget won’t be so tight. Hopefully, as a result of all this, my stress level will go down, too. The only problem is that in order to acheive this schedule, I had to postpone taking a critical theory class which is required for graduation, and which (according to the current schedule), is only available in Spring term. Which means paying another $600 in tuition and working around a class when I should be working full time and saving money for next year. *sigh* Hopefully they’ll change their minds and offer it during Fall or Winter of next year– and since the actual course offerings this semester bear only a passing resemblance to the supposed offerings which appear in our packet, I have high hopes that this will be the case. Registration for Fall semester comes early enough in Winter that I’ll be able to tell if I can postpone taking the class until next fall or not. If not, it looks like spring school for me.

We’re also supposed to be turning in our preliminary Course of Study, based on these supposed offerings. If all goes according to plan, I’ll have most of my required classes out of the way by my third semsester, leaving my defense semester pretty much open for thesis hours. In fact, I’ll have all 4 of my courses for my emphasis done by the end of *this* year, if my advisor accepts the undergraduate class I’m taking right now and the Tolkien class (which I think is understood, considering I had to get permission to take it in the first place–they wouldn’t give me permission to use it for 590 credit if that credit couldn’t count toward my course of study, now, would they?). That just leaves 9 hours of electives and the theory class, then 6 thesis hours. Hopefully, I’ll be teaching English 115 next year, so one of those electives will be the teaching rhetoric and comp. class required for student instructors. I’m also looking at a class on the mystery novel, which is being offered next fall, and the previously mentioned Lit. and Religious Values which I’ll be taking next semester will fulfill the other 3 hours.

I’m required to turn in a prospectus by October 15 of my second year or else I lose my tuition benefit (which I most emphatically do NOT want to do), but I’d like to get it in by the end of this semester, so I can work on it over the summer. I just have to narrow my rather ephemeral “I want to do it either Tolkien or Rowling” to a specific subject on which I can do research. I’ve already got Dr. Walker on board as my thesis chair, but I’ll need to pick two readers. Hmm. Might have to ask Dr. Walker which of the faculty is inclined to fantasy literature. That way I can also take 3 thesis hours next fall.

So, this is the way my graduate studies should fall out:

Fall 2004

English 452– Critical Theory (prerequisite, 3 credit hours)
English 600– Introduction to Graduate Studies (required, 2 c.h.)
English 590R– Tolkien and Friends in Text and Film (emphasis, 3 c.h.)
English 373– British Literature from 1660-1789 (emphasis, 3 c.h.)

Total: 11 credit hours

Winter 2005

English 605– Literature and Religious Values (elective, 3 c.h.)
English 675– Studies in British Victorian Literature (emphasis, 3 c.h.)
English 680– Studies in British Contemporary Literature (emphasis, 3 c.h.)

Total: 9 c.h.

Spring 2005 (hopefully not, but this is currently planned)

English 630– Theoretical Discourse (required, 3 c.h.)

Total: 3 c.h.

Fall 2005

English 610– Rhetoric and Composition (elective, required for student instructors, 3 c.h.)
English 510R– Studies in the Mystery Novel (elective, 3 c.h.)
English 699R– Masters Thesis (required, 3 c.h.)

Total: 9 c.h.

Winter 2006

English 374– Studies in British Romanticism (elective, ’cause it’s extra, but can also work for emphasis if 373 credit is not accepted, 3 c.h.)
English 699R– Masters Thesis (required, 3 c.h.)

Total: 6 c.h. (which is considered full-time, since I plan to be a student instructor)

If I can take 630 in Fall instead of Spring, I can cut the thesis hours and just do them all my final semester. Which would actually make more sense in some ways, since that’ll be my semester of defense.

Whew! Doesn’t look so hard when it’s all planned out like that, does it?

Now, must run home because I forgot my graduate handbook for my class tonight. Grr.

Super scary midterm today. Dr. Muhlestein gave us a list of 6 essay questions. We prepared all of them, complete with textual quotes and evidence. One page of notes, front and back, allowed, as well as the readings themselves. We got into the writing center’s computer lab today, he told us to write on question 3, and then chose between 2 and 6 for the other one. 50 minutes to write 2 essays. Oh, and there weren’t enough computers to go around, so he asked those of us with laptops to bring them. So I spent 50 minutes sitting on the floor with Ginny on my lap. At least I was familiar with the computer, and got to use WordPerfect.

Anyway, it’s the hardest midterm I’ve ever had. The test itself wasn’t too terribly hard, but the preparation–I’ve been studying all weekend. Ignored other homework. Damned Marx, Williams, Gramsci, Althusser, Machery, Eagleton, Greenblatt, and all the rest to hell several times. I was up till 4:30 this morning. My alarm rang at 7:30. Yup, I’m running on 3 hours sleep. Gah. See why I’m surprised I’m still conscious?

Well, I won’t be for long. ‘Night, folks.

So, went with Kate, Kristin, and Krista to meet Tamora Pierce at the King’s English Bookstore tonight. Some things I learned:

• As Kate said, yes, Tamora Pierce does look like Dolores Umbridge.
• No, Tamora Pierce is not all weird and wonky, although she tried her darndest to make us believe she was in her first few minutes. She went all Trelawney on us, overly-dramatically extolling the virtues of books. And then she laughed at us for believing her. She’s actually very nice and down to earth.
• She is also, apparently, a rotten liar, which is why she told the truth when asked questions–not because she is a nice person, which she most emphatically told us that she is NOT.
• Waiting in line can be fun when you’ve got the 3 K’s mentioned above to keep you company.
• Tamora Pierce was willing to sign up to 3 books each, in direct violation of the publishers limit of only one. Whoot!
• The King’s English bookstore is a lovely little place– stacked high with books, divided into teeny tiny rooms, specializing in children’s books and mysteries. A nice, independent bookstore. Even though it’s far from my house, I should go there more often. As great as B&N is, nothing beats a small independent bookstore for atmosphere.
• The Dee’s on 7th East and 21st south is very good. And their chocolate peanut butter pie is no exception.
• Krista likes split-pea soup. Bleargh.
• K8 is, apparently, 4 years old, judging by her attempts to fling ice from her spoon into my empty hot chocolate mug. In a good way, though.
• K8 also likes to pee. She voluntarily told us this while at Dee’s. No, I am not making this up.
• The suckers at Dee’s don’t cost $20. They are free. It is also possible to steal two of them without the waitress noticing, as is evidenced by Krista coming home with two extras, which K8 slipped into her hand.
• Kristin is much better at coming up with pirate ship names than Kate. I mean, Floating Death, K8?
• K8 thinks my last name would be a good hobbit name, and while I agree, I also think it would be a good witch name.
• Krista caught on that K8 wanted a “Tastes great! Less filling!” kind of debate with the above mentioned agrument; I, however, was slow and did not pick up on her subtle hint.
• Driving down the freeway while singing along with The Scarlet Pimpernel at the top of your lungs can be very cathartic.

And lastly,

Sometimes it pays to misread the syllabus and finish reading Gulliver’s Travels when you didn’t have to, because then you can take a break off doing homework and relax with friends. And this is a good thing.

Night, folks!

(P.S.: Like my new icon? I made it because I’m getting very tired of the political sniping. Can’t wait till this election is over.)

Tennessee democrat compares Bush supporters to Special Olympics athletes.

I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative– anyone who is not outraged by this is morally bankrupt.

feel bad for not updating very often, but I feel like all I do is go to school, work, do homework, sleep, and worry. Especially worry, since I can do that while I do everything else.The few things that are going on are happening to other people, not to me.

And besides, all I can think of is depressing. No one wants to hear about my worries and insecurites.

So I won’t talk about them.

Umm. Saw Napoleon Dynamite last night, although I missed the first 20 minutes or so because of my a class. Most definitely the strangest movie I have ever seen in my entire life. I laughed a lot, though, so I guess I enjoyed it.

My friend is getting remarried on Friday. She got her temple clearance, so she’ll be able to be sealed in the temple. And I get to go. I have to skip a class, but I’m not going to miss this.

That’s all I can think of. Am so boring