Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:25 PM

So, I've seen headlines that the popularity of Harry Potter hasn't had much effect on children's reading habits -- and presumably not much trickle-down benefit for publishers, though I'll confess I haven't actually read those articles in detail (seemed like too much of a downer).

And I can't help but think of last night's book extravaganza as a massive missed opportunity.

Sure, every bookstore and library has a display of other YA fantasy novels -- "If you like Harry Potter, try..."

But it could've been so much more.

Sometimes -- at bookstores or conventions -- I've picked up free advance copies of a book's first chapter (as I described last year with respect to Naomi Novik's Temeraire).

These first-chapter giveaways can be incredibly effective hooks -- giving the readers just enough story to leave them wanting more.

Of course, it's too late now, but if I were a publisher, I would print up a freebie pamphlet with the first chapters from multiple YA fantasy novels in our inventory. The opening chapters of Tammy Pierce's latest, followed by the opening chapters of... oh, I can't think of authors/titles at the moment. The important thing is to provide a variety of samples to suit different tastes.

Then print up a ton of them, get them to booksellers before the Harry Potter ship party, and see if you can't convince retailers to just put them in the bags as an extra freebie with the Harry Potter release.

[If it seems too expensive for one publisher, maybe a collaboration among several, each bearing their share of the costs based on the percentage of content.]

Some people may start reading them after they finished HP, if they're still hungry for more. In families where multiple people are sharing one book, it may be a stopgap measure while waiting their turn. Had publishers pulled it off, people could've been reading these while waiting in line to pick up their copies of Potter -- on their way to the register...

The point is, these samples will be lying around in people's homes, where potential buyers/readers are more likely to run across them some time when they're bored -- rather than just in a bookstore or library display, which people only see when they go into the bookstore or library.

Does that make sense?

I don't know if the publishing world will see another phenomenon that compares to Harry Potter, but if they do, I hope they keep this in mind.

I think most of Harvard Square benefitted from the Harry Potter crowds last night -- even establishments which have nothing to do with books, but just happened to be in the neighborhood. It seems a shame that more publishers couldn't capitalize on the madness in a similar manner...

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:58 PM

And, so, after my mad speedreading rush of this morning, I've pretty much spent the rest of the day flumphed out on the bed, trying to catch up on the last several days of LiveJournal and playing around with Google Desktop.

Part of me wants to reread the book for the nuance, but I'm trying to hold out until my copy of the UK edition arrives in the mail (whenever that may be).

I should probably eat something at some point today, but I really don't feel like moving...

How are you?

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:45 PM

Draco & the Malfoys in Harvard Yard: © Brian Snyder, Reuters

Remember what I said about the crowds? Look at the Reuters photo to the right:

Boston Herald:

Some 20,000 attended the supernatural bash [in Harvard Square...]

"This is really a celebration of literacy and kids," said Denise Jillson, director of the the Harvard Business Association. "It was important for us to celebrate the reading element, of children of all ages, globally, devouring a book."

Universal Hub has further observations (and photos).

Oh, and of the pre-book spoilers I accidentally saw, one was true and the other false.

LJ users, if you locked down your journal against strangers to prevent advanced spoilers, please don't forget to unlock it after you've finished the book. I've already been blocked from commenting on two people's spoiler reviews.

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:00 PM

Don't worry, I won't say anything about the content of the book beyond the personal observations that (1) I only just finished it, so I'm still digesting, and (2) I feel satisfied.

Instead, I want to talk briefly about last night.

I don't think I've ever seen Harvard Square more packed.

And, just as a rising tide raises all boats, it seems as though the whole square was benefitting from what the Harvard Square Business Association billed as The Best Harry Potter Party EVER!

Toscanini's sold special ice cream flavors:

Restaurants and bars had huge lines, stores were crowded, the streets were so full that cops closed just blocked off vehicular traffic to let the pedestrians have their sway.

And, yes, there was a concert and some places were throwing parties and games, but what soared my heart was that at the center of it all, all these people had gathered on account of a book!

Think about that. None of the incentives would've held the least bit of interest to somebody who wasn't already interested in the book itself.

Speaking of the concerts, based on what I heard, I preferred the music and lyrics of Draco and the Malfoys to Harry and the Potters. [I suspect that being first has its privileges, including lower expectations.]

But I didn't stay for the whole set by any of the bands. Much of the evening, I just wandered to people-watch.

Lots of folks were dressed in costumes. At first, it seemed exclusively an affectation of women and children, but as the evening progressed, I did see more and more men in costumes. Not as many as women or kids, but a substantial number.

Some quite creative costumes, too. Sure, lots of wizards in robes and Harry's and Dracos... but I also spotted an entire Malfoy family, Rita Skeeter, two Dolores Umbridges, several Fat Lady portraits, a Golden Snitch, and one person dressed as the lake itself -- a flowing blue outfit, with a plush-squid hat and a ship necklace.

Of course, this wasn't the usual crowd.

By 11:30 or so, the throngs had mostly dispersed to crowd or line up around the bookstores. And by one am, when we finally got our books and headed for our car, many parts of the Square seemed deserted...

...except that in any available pool of light, one could spot people -- alone or in clumps -- every one crouched over and reading intently.

I do wonder how many copies of the book were sold last night in Harvard Square alone.

Anybody have the numbers?

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:58 AM

About five minutes ago...

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:35 AM

I thought last week was Friday the 13th!

Two troubling stories in this morning's news:

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.
     ...
[A]dministration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege.
     ...
Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration's stance "astonishing."
"That's a breathtakingly broad view of the president's role in this system of separation of powers," Rozell said. "What this statement is saying is the president's claim of executive privilege trumps all."
     ...
Rozell, the George Mason professor and authority on executive privilege, said the administration's stance "is almost Nixonian in its scope and breadth of interpreting its power. Congress has no recourse at all, in the president's view. . . . It's allowing the executive to define the scope and limits of its own powers."

Also, from an AP story:

President Bush unveiled a new executive order that allows the administration to block bank accounts and any other financial assets that might be found in this country belonging to people, companies or groups that the United States deems are working to threaten stability in Iraq.

The main area of concern in this executive order appears to be the lack of any judicial review before asset seizure, and the vagueness of Clause B:

any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,

(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:

(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or

(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;

More on this from MahaBarb and Sara Robinson.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman apparently sent an open letter to Senator Clinton, warning her that:

"Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda"

What did the executive order say about "undermining efforts"?

Some former Reagan officials have expressed concern over the possibility of false flag operations.

Jay Leno reportedly said: "Bush's poll numbers are so low, the only thing he's still above is the law." (comment in Making Light)

Scary, but seems increasingly true...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:40 PM

As long as I'm distracting myself from more serious matters, an interesting aside in a discussion on Gender and Fan Studies hosted by Henry Jenkins:

One of the recurring slams against fan-fiction is fanfic's lack of originality. The usual slur claims that because fanfic is derivative of existing work, that makes it somehow significantly easier.

In the past, I've counterargued that:

Writing in an existing universe (whether creating fanfic or historical fiction) isn't easier, it just uses a different set of skills. What the author saves in worldbuilding and character creation is compensated by the amount of research necessary for accuracy

With that in mind, I really like this comment by Catherine Tosenberger:

I think the use of other people's characters, etc. can be a source of artistic strength, and enables writers to engage in particular artistic moves, and create artistic effects, that are difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish in "original" fiction. For example, recursive/archontic/fanfictional lit lends itself to feats of compression that would be impossible in a non-recursive text: a line in a Harry Potter story as seemingly innocuous as "Ginny was keeping a diary again," conveys, to a clued-in reader, an entire *world* of ominousness that would take a writer of original fiction a much longer time to set up. I quoted Sheenagh Pugh, earlier, who talks about the possibility for "shorthand, allusion, and irony" in fanfictional texts; it's not like original fiction doesn't make use of those, but you can use them *differently* when you know your audience knows the text you're responding to. It's the most extreme form of intertextuality -- all literature refers to other literature, nothing exists in a vacuum -- and fully exploits all the possibilities afforded by a knowledgeable audience.

Speaking of which, I ought to be writing...

Just over 25 hours to go!

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:05 PM

So, from a Google result list, I found an interesting article and clicked the link for Similar pages

And instead, Google brought me to this apology (click to enlarge):

What the he!! triggered that?

For Pete's sake, I was using a query string generated by Google itself...

PS: Adding insult to injury, after I answered their CAPTCHA, the result list Google provided wasn't actually terribly relevant.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:50 PM

Robert Brustein's The English Channel to Debut in September

Robert Brustein's new play, The English Channel, will debut at the C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University in Boston, September 6-15. The production will be directed by Wesley Savick. After its Boston run, it will transfer to the Vineyard Playhouse on Martha's Vineyard.

The play is set in 1593 when the plague has closed the Elizabethan playhouses and William Shakespeare is taking refuge in the Mermaid Tavern, writing sonnets. The playwright is tangled up in sexual, artistic, and political intrigue with other young Elizabethan men and women - poet and rival Christopher Marlowe, Emilia Lanier, the mysterious Dark Lady, and Shakespeare's patron, the Earl of Southampton.

The cast includes Sean Dugan as Christopher Marlowe, Gabriel Field as William Shakepeare, Merritt Janson as Emilia Lanier, and Alex Pollock as Southhampton. The production will feature set design by Richard Chambers, costume design by Seth Bodie, and lighting design by John Malinowski.

Brustein is joining Suffolk's faculty as Distinguished Scholar in Residence. He is the founding director of both the Yale Repertory and American Repertory Theatres, where he supervised over 200 productions. His plays include Nobody Dies on Friday, Demons, and adaptations of such classic works as Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Wild Duck, and The Master Builder.

The September 6 performance will be preceded at 4pm by a panel discussion on Shakespeare between Brustein and Harvard Professor Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will in the World and the adviser for the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare In Love.

I'll have to add that to the calendar... and to my Marlowe in Modern Fiction list.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:25 AM

An amusing detail buried within a description of the Florentine court circa 1615 from Artemesia:

Among the equipages parked willy-nilly in the courtyard, strange animals wandered about -- cats and little poodles clad in mink coats, which the ladies would later take on their knees to use as muffs.

Hee!

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:35 PM

My twenty-year high school reunion is this weekend.

I won't be there.

Instead, I plan on attending one of the massive Harry Potter galas for Friday night, and expend to spend Saturday morning immersed in the final book in the series.

And that's not just because I exhausted my annual vacation allotment on a trip to Europe.

I'd rather hang out in a crowd of a thousand strangers who happen to be Potter fans -- I'd rather be reading -- than spend the weekend partying with my former classmates.

Now, there are a handful of people I'd really like to catch up with, and a few more about whose whereabouts I'm curious. But, on the whole, I don't have that much interest in keeping up with my graduating class.

Aside from a certain congruity of geography and age twenty years ago, I don't think I have that much in common with most of my classmates. I could probably find more grounds to build a relationship with the random Harry Potter fans before and after me in line than with most of my graduating class.

So, that's why I'm not attending my 20-year reunion this weekend. Any questions?

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:10 PM

As the naysayers are gathering steam for one final blast against adults who dare to enjoy the Harry Potter series, Michael Bérubé on "Harry Potter and the Power of Narrative" (PDF)

In a previous iteration of the "Threat or Menace" discussions, I discovered this quote by C.S. Lewis:

“Critics who treat "adult" as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adults themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence....When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

And another by Orson Scott Card:

“So when you hear someone sneer at the Harry Potter books, either they haven't read them, and are therefore too ignorant to be listened to, or they haven't understood them, and are therefore not clever enough to take part in serious adult conversations.”

Meanwhile, MTV News (video) on "Wizard Rock"

I'm trying to figure out what separates "Wizard Rock" from more traditional filk.

I think one major difference is that these are honest-to-goodness rock bands, while most filkers seem to be single individuals with keyboards or guitars and more folk-inspired.

But I'm not heavily into either genre, so that's just my impression.

Anybody else care to take a stab at explaining?

[Both links courtesy of Peg Kerr]

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:08 PM

via

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:01 PM

Went to the Brattle last night and watched Ball of Fire, the first in their Barbara Stanwyck Repertory Series.

Tremendously funny.

I want to get ahold of the script, because between the slang and fast-paced delivery, I'm sure I missed some of the lines.

I definitely intend to catch more of these, particularly the early comedies*. Here's the full list:

1. Jul 24: Ladies of Leisure & Ten Cents a Dance
2. Jul 31: Sorry, Wrong Number
3. Aug 7: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers & The File on Thelma Jordon
4. Aug 14: The Lady Eve & The Mad Miss Manton
5. Aug 21: All I Desire & There's Always Tomorrow
6. Aug 28: Walk on the Wild Side & The Night Walker

 In other movie news:

Forgot to mention I saw a poster at the Reading IMAX for a forthcoming film hitting the really big screen:

Beowulf, with screenplay by Neil Gaiman -- opening in IMAX 3D on November 16th.

Also, the Brattle just announced a special preview screening of Neil Gaiman's Stardust next Thursday -- two weeks before the official opening.

[I'll confess some reluctance about blogging this, because if too many of you get tickets, I might not be able to get in. So if you do plan on going, remember who told you and save me a seat!]

And in case you're wondering about the Mafioso poster above, the movie is playing this weekend at the Brattle.

But when I saw the poster on display, this inset detail caught my eyes:

“What is the meaning of this kiss?”

I'm sure you know where my mind went...

I probably don't even need to say the word.

Finally, the Brattle is raffling off the chance to program your own double-bill.

Even if you don't enter, coming up with pairings can be fun.

• Throne of Blood and either Scotland, Pa or Joe MacBeth?

• Widescreen geekery in Real Genius and Buckaroo Banzai

• The Princess Bride and The Muppet Movie -- allowing the audience to talk back and singalong!

• Errol Flynn's Robin Hood and The Court Jester for the swordplay...
     Or maybe pair the Errol Flynn with the 1991 Patrick Bergen/Uma Thurman version.

Right now, I'm leaning towards The Frisco Kid, a favorite since childhood that I've never actually seen on the big-screen.

Reasonable pairings I've come up with include:

• Blazing Saddles (two Gene Wilder Westerns)
• Shanghai Noon (to continue the foreign-fish-out-of-water motif)
• The Hebrew Hammer (for unconventional Jewish icons)

This isn't the first time the Brattle has held such a raffle.
The last time I blogged about this (in 2005) I came up with The Tall Guy and Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost.

What double-features would you want to program for the big screen?

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:02 AM

First, a short video (the soundtrack is what really makes it work):

And then, how about some more quiz results?

The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak:

Your Score: Linear A

Not much to say, really. You're Linear A, the first alphabet ever written by the proto-Greeks - at least, as far as survives. Unfortunately, you made a bad career move and ended up being used by accountants and fish mongers, rather than to record epics. However, you did manage all your SEC filings on time.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:33 AM

Your Score: Longcat

62 % Affection, 42 % Excitability , 48 % Hunger

Protector of truth.

Slayer of darkness.

Loooooong.

Longcat may seem like just a regular lengthy cat, but he is, in fact, looong. For proof, observe the longpic.

It is prophesized that Longcat and his archnemesis Tacgnol will battle for supremacy on Caturday. The outcome will change the face of the world, and indeed the very fabric of lolcatdom, forever.

Be grateful that the test has chosen you, and only you, to have this title.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:11 PM

Although at first I thought some of the spoiler-avoidance seemed overblown, I'm now wondering if this might be a good time to take a break from some of the social-networking sites until after I've read the book...

In a spot of good timing, a fandom ficathon was in need of some pinch hitters, and I offered my services.

I think I can write a thousand words minimum based on that request...

And that should keep me plenty busy the next few evenings.

PS: As several commenters pointed out regarding my previous entry, appending ?show=PY to your friends page URL will display only people and syndicated feeds, but not communities.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:30 PM

I just refreshed my LiveJournal friends page, and there -- at the top of the screen -- somebody posted to a community multiple photos of book pages and a massive sentence which presumably is a spoiler for Harry Potter Book Seven.

I quickly closed the window, but not before that spoiler burned itself into my brain.

Dammit!

Why do people do that?

Now, I've heard a couple rumors of people who have gotten ahold of early copies of the book, which they're scanning and will make available online.

And I can understand the appeal of wanting to start reading the story as soon as possible.

But what kind of immature, spiteful person wants to purposely go around ruining the ending for people in this manner?

FWIW, I've also heard warnings that some clown with spoilery information in their profile/entries is going around friending people, so they'll be spoiled when they check out the journal to determine whether to friend that person back. And trolls are apparently leaving spoilery comments in people's LJs -- leading some people to recommend changing default comment settings and turning off icons and images if you want to remain spoiler-free.

More info @ Peg Kerr's

Remember, LiveJournal users -- appending ?show=P to the link for your friends page will show you only people and not communities.

Keep in mind that if you're reading this on LiveJournal, it's considered a syndicated feed and requires ?show=Y. [Unfortunately, concatenating the two -- ?show=P&show=Y doesn't appear to work. Further details from the LJ FAQ]

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:15 PM

Regarding Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

1) I wonder how the movie's depiction of Kingsley Shacklebolt will affect fannish portrayals.

Books Five and Six describe Shacklebolt as follows:

• a bald black wizard ... he had a deep, slow voice and wore a single gold hoop in his ear
• And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt.' He indicated the tall black wizard, who bowed.
• 'No one's going to die,' said Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep, calming voice.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt swooped around him, bald pate and earring gleaming slightly in the moonlight...
• Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice was audible even over the surrounding chatter.

It's also mentioned that he's an auror, more senior than Tonks, and in charge of the official hunt for Sirius.

Fanon portrayals have generally characterized him based on a Samuel L. Jackson archetype, making him a tough-talking bad-ass cop, often clad in leather jackets.

But in the film, George Harris played him with a more openly African ethnicity, wearing a dashiki and speaking with a slight accent.

Equally valid given the available evidence, but I'm curious how fanon portrayals will (and won't) adapt.

2) One other intriguing film editing choice, that may be significant for the seventh book.

I'll ROT13 these, just in case:

Speculation on Book Seven based on the existing books (1-6):

Punenpgref fcrag n terng qrny bs gvzr va Obbx Svir pyrnavat hc Tevzznhyq Cynpr.

Va Obbx Fvk, WXE vagebqhprq gur pbaprcg bs ubepehk nf cybg pbhcba, naq znqr n ovt qrny bire arrqvat gb svaq Fylgureva'f ybpxrg.

Fb, anghenyyl, jura gur ybpxrg ghearq hc zvffvat, snaf yvg hcba gur oevrs zragvba nzbat Tevzznhyq Cynpr bs "n urnil ybpxrg gung abar bs gurz pbhyq bcra" (Obbx Svir, Puncgre Fvk), naq Zhaqhathf Syrgpure univat fgbyra naq fbyq bss vgrzf fgbyra sebz gur ubhfr (Obbx Fvk, Puncgre Gjryir)

Crbcyr anghenyyl nffhzrq gung guvf jnf Fylgureva'f ybpxrg, naq gur zlfgrevbhf E.N.O. (Obbx Fvk, Puncgre Gjragl-rvtug) jnf Erthyhf Oynpx.

Spoilers from the movie (5):

Gur zbivr qvq abg fcraq nal gvzr pyrnavat hc Tevzznhyq Cynpr, naq qvqa'g zragvba Erthyhf Oynpx be Qhat.

Ba gur bgure unaq, gurl znqr pregnva gb vagebqhpr Xernpure, naq fubjrq uvz va frireny fprarf -- rira gubhtu gurl erzbirq ebyr va gur cybg. (Obbx Svir, Puncgre Guvegl-gjb)

Gung cbvagf gbjneqf bar bs gur nygreangr ulcbgurfrf sbe gur ybpngvba bs gur ybpxrg: nzbat gur ubneq bs fnyintr Xernpure unq orra npphzhyngvat bire gur pbhefr bs Obbx Svir (r.t. Puncgre Gjragl-guerr).

In fact, after writing the above, I found this recent news story which confirms my suspicions about the significance of those choices in the film.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:00 PM

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has announced his first media appearance since the conclusion of the Libby case.

He will take part in the Not My Job segment of this week's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on NPR.

For anybody who will be in Chicago, they'll be taping it before a live audience at 6:30pm July 19th at Pritzker Pavillion in Chicago, in Millennium Park!

The rest of us will have to wait until the show's regular weekend airtime.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:59 PM

Today's Globe includes an op-ed by a 17-year-old titled Growing up with Harry.

In it, Matt Aucoin writes:

Literary scholar Harold Bloom has argued that the Harry Potter phenomenon represented "another confirmation" of the modern "dumbing-down" of culture. It's beyond argument that this dumbing-down exists and is present in every form of art today.

I'm not sure I'd agree with that premise -- even beyond my innate impulse to disagree with anything Harold Bloom asserts.

First of all, tastes and styles have changed.

Furthermore (as Ian pointed out when I read him this passage), we're judging historic artforms based solely on what has survived.

So, selection bias and shifting standards may make it appear that today's entertainment is dumber than what was available to our ancestors, but I don't believe that's so.

But I didn't intend to blog about Aucoin's article to bury it -- because I actually agree with his main point:

Of course Rowling is no Shakespeare; nor need she be. She has created a cast of characters who, through the passionate and earnest devotion of millions of fans, have become almost human. And if Bloom thinks that there is something shallow in this devotion, then I think that he is missing the point of literature for children. Bloom extolled Lewis Carroll's "Alice" books and Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows." I read those books at about age 10, and I remember being conscious that they were written by adults for children.

The Harry Potter series, in spite of (or perhaps due to) its lack of literary pretensions, might as well have just materialized, fully formed, in my hungry mind. I never felt Rowling's presence towering over the stories she wove. I think that by the time Harry arrived at Hogwarts in the first book, her tale had transcended her capacity to tell it and became something organic, living independently in the mind of everyone who cares about it.

And that, I think, is a big part of the reason why Harry Potter inspires so much fanfic.

With the impending release of the final installment, I've seen a lot of speculation and concern over what the conclusion of the story would do to Harry Potter fandom