Mirror Mirror

When I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I was already in love with Sirius Black, the moody, brooding young man (Harry’s parents were only 20 when they had Harry, so by book number 5 Sirius would have only been 35. That’s not too old!), who had a bad reputation and a heart. So I was basically devastated when his cousin Bellatrix kills him. So much could have prevented his death – I think Harry and I both kept thinking, “If only…”

If only Harry had learned how to keep Voldemort out of his thoughts, he wouldn’t have thought Sirius was in trouble. If only Sirius hadn’t disobeyed his order to stay hidden, he wouldn’t have gone to the ministry to save his godson. If only Kreacher hadn’t been racist and spiteful, he would have told Harry that Sirius was safe. If only Harry remembered that he had the two-way mirror, he could have spoken to Sirius and known he was safe….

I think the two-way mirror frustrated me the most. Why did J. K. Rowling give Harry this awesome magical tool, a “tech magic” as Sheltown would call it, if Harry was just going to forget about it? All the other tools that are given tend to imply something important, like the sneak-o-scope warning the boys that Scabbers was actually Peter Pettigrew, an intruder. Even non-magical tools come in handy, like the flute that Hagrid gives Harry in book one, which lulls three-headed fluffy to sleep. Why couldn’t the mirrors save Sirius’ life?!

Reading Shelton’s article actually helped me come to terms with this (not that I’m still in mourning, I swear!) She argues that Rowling seems more gung-ho on technology than fantastical author-predecessors like Lewis and Tolkien. Why shouldn’t she be? She uses technology in a way that really connects to the millennial generation, because she keeps it current, relevant, and fun. The wizards are much like us, in the way that gadgets. Instead of using sparks notes to finish homework faster, Harry and Ron use magic quills…

However, Rowling makes a big point that technology is an artificial, weird concept in general. It may make life fun and easier in day-to-day business, but it ultimately doesn’t have the power to shape who someone is, how they morally live, and how they are going to die. Harry’s world like our own is pretty complicated. It’s not good vs. bad all the time; it’s not dualistic in the technological sense either that the more apt one becomes at magic the better the person they are, or the more they deserve to live. A silly mirror, much like a walkie-talkie in our own world, isn’t enough of a force to save Sirius’ life.

And death, ultimately, “is the next great adventure,” as Dumbledore puts it. Sirius lived his life the way he wanted to, risking his own many times, at first to feel what life really feels like, and then more so in order to save the ones he loved. He took death into consideration like Ciaccio says Rowling wants her characters to, and didn’t hide when it came time to die.

*This sounds awkwardly emotional. I promise I'm over it!

**also, I’d like to note that there’s a big distinction between the handsome Sirius of my imagination, and the not-so-much Sirius of the movies. The illustration is some fan’s version of Sirius back in his own Hogwarts days.

A Chilly Day for Chili

Today Was Middlebury’s 3^rd annual Chili Festival. For those of you number loving folks:

10^th:  top winter activity in Vermont

50: vendors from here to Montpelier selling chili

80: different types of Chili

Obviously and luckily I didn’t get to try everything, even on an empty stomach, or I’d be writing this from a hospital bed with an IV stuck up one arm. But boy I tried a lot.

Some of my favorites were: the Swift House Inn’s venison chili – great meat. Inception Studios vegetarian saffron chili – subtle and satisfying. Middlebury Bagel’s “kitchen sink” chili – best chili flavor but so hard to describe, with a soft piece of cornbread plopped on top. But what was probably my most favorite was Costello’s Market’s red wine and chocolate Chili. Delightful, surprising harmony, with a smooth aftertaste.

I made the executive decision that chili by itself is a no-no. Please be creative, have a bowl of sour cream to dollop, a sprinkling of queso fresco or parmesan, and hand me one of those warm corn-bread cupcakes, please.  (And thank you Woodchuck cider, for the free chapstick).

But I promise this wasn’t all about the food. The Middlebury Mamajamas were singing on the bridge around 2pm when I got there, sounding pretty snazzy. Props to the one kid on the side eating chili while singing.

With

Main Street

so lively, I suddenly understood what it feels like to be Rory Gilmore at a Star’s Hollow festival, with Taylor Doose directing traffic and Kirk selling pumpkin popsicles to kids in a pilgrim costume...

Some pretty interesting townsies turned up. One girl in a chili costume. A group of punks, including, I’m pretty sure, Bucky, the kid who kept stealing laptops from campus last year. Fire-twirlers. Lots of folks in Mardi Gras beads, which turned into a flash mob, breaking out some dance moves to Billie Jean. And two guys near the Two Brother’s Tavern tent with pigs on leashes. Which only begs the question: were they sampling the pork chili?

Go West, Young Alien

The politics of Roswell seemed to derive from the old-fashioned idea of what “America” really is. The America that taught a young boy how to be a man by saddling up, going west, and claiming his own land. Yes, I am talking about Cowboys.

Maybe this is a stretch, but tonight I made a lot of connections between the good ol’ Western film – which incidentally is probably one of our countries greatest contributions to history at this point – and the contemporary TV series Roswell.

First of all, the show is set in New Mexico, the desert, with cactus and tex-mex lunches. The two Sheriffs represents the law. They come barging in after two men shoot a gun off in the café (read: two hooligans in a gunfight at the saloon) and try to bring order. But like some Westerns show, the “good” guy isn’t always so good. Sometimes the “bad” guy is the one who understands real justice.

Here the “bad” guys, who are really the good guys, (read: cowboy hero) are the aliens, because they come from outer space (read: out of town) and need to pretend to be normal in order to remain undetected. The law isn’t trustworthy, because they want to dig up the aliens, simply because they are different. And in a town like this, where girls date jerks with shiny sunglasses and wear shiny eye shadow and get shiny alien scars, difference is a threat. The law even does things unlawful, like asking Liz Parker to lift her shirt up to see her midriff. The sheriffs befriend the bountyhunter-esq alien fanatics, furthering their bad character.

To top it all off, like every good Western, there arises an impossible love: Girl likes Boy who is Alien, so it will never work out, and he may end up leaving her as he rides off into the sunset on his horse, or UFO. Oh, and there is a curfew.

Although I felt like the show was too speedy and too slow at the same time, and the music really hurt my ears, and the mystery was tiring to watch since as the viewer I already understood half of it and didn’t have to do any work, I can see some interesting politics behind the idea of the show:

Westerns represent the best and the worst of stereotypes. Character, having true grit, makes a man, and being weak hearted, cruel, or dishonest makes an evil, cowardly villain. As a teen TV show, we can see these personas projected onto teenagers, who are all pretty good. They push authority because they support diversity, and want to make a better world.

Chocolate, revisited

I thought there wasn’t any more kick ass way to read Chocolat than inside a chocolate shop with my mocha. Wrong-o.

While checking out Joanne Harris’s website* (I really am a dork) I came across a cookbook of hers, that just so happens to have a recipe for “Vianne’s Hot Chocolate.” (Vianne is the main character in the novel). It involves chili pepper to give it a special zing, just like the ancient Mayans priests would drink it. I’m really not sure if the chili also enhances the aphrodisiac quality, like the film implies, but after drinking mine… well, you’ll have to see for your self.

Here’s the kick ass recipe with my modifications. I recommend drinking this with friends while watching the movie, on a cold day like I did.

Vianne's Spiced Hot Chocolate (Serves 2)

Place the milk in a saucepan; add the vanilla bean (for more flavor press out the seeds with the back of a knife blade before dropping both seeds and pod into milk. A beautiful French cook taught me this trick), cinnamon stick, and chile, and gently bring it to a shivering simmer for 1 minute. Grate the chocolate and whisk it in until it melts. If you must, then add brown sugar, but do try without it. Take off the heat and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes, then remove the vanilla, cinnamon, and chile (obviously not if it’s powder). Return to the heat and bring gently back to a simmer. Serve in mugs topped with whipped cream, chocolate curls, or a dash of cognac or Amaretto.

*http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/v3site/books/frenchkitchen/index.html

v       1 2/3 cups milk

v       1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise

v       1/2 cinnamon stick

v       1 hot red chile, halved and seeded (or 1/8 tsp chili powder. Add more if desired after tasting).

v       3 1/2 ounces bittersweet (70 percent) chocolate (I used Dove, but I’m a big supporter of Lindt. The point is, the quality really matters).

v       Brown sugar to taste (optional)

v       (I added an eetsy pinch of sea salt)

v       Whipped cream, chocolate curls, cognac, or Amaretto, to serve

Harry Inspires Students

Oh boy oh boy. Oh wizard. I started checking out some of these Harry Potter websites mentioned in our readings – The Daily Prophet, Fiction Alley (which led me to James Goodridge’s illustrations) – and I was sucked in for hours. Kind of like when Harry dips into the Pensieve and joined another world of memories, only time did not stop for me.

But the point is these articles are right. For anyone decent literate and into charming fantasy, Harry Potter has the power to draw you in, even after the books are complete and the movies are just about finished. I’ve never thought of myself as a fan fiction girl, but the snippets in the Writing Harry’s World article were still interesting, despite my cringing at the awkward bits, just because I am a member of this beloved world. The Harry Potter world exists in original print, films, vids, blogs, fanfic, fanart, amusement parks etc, because first and foremost it exists in our heart.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brought the series to a whole new level in terms of relating to the millennial generation as students instead of just youngsters. The dancing lessons mirrored some of my more awkward gym experiences, the Yule ball represents a first dance, school spirit and pride becomes prominent when Durmstrang and  Beauxbatons show up for the Triwizard Tournament, rock music and fashion crop up, girls start becoming labeled as pretty or popular…

It doesn’t make me want to go back to middle school or high school again, but I do feel a bit of nostalgia for those younger days when I sat around the cafeteria at school making up funny abstract stories about what was going on in the books that we were reading. A good friend of mine actually became a contributing writer for The Daily Prophet at one point, and she saw J.K. Rowling twice at children’s conferences. I’m really impressed that the series has encouraged children to write more on their own. I’ll always be a purist, preferring the original books only, (although I have to say the 7^th Potter film went way beyond my expectations and I’m planning on seeing it at the Free Friday Films on campus soon), but I’m glad that the Boy Who Lived still lives on.

There is a girl walking around Middlebury with a short purple bob.

It's awesome. I'm just saying.

These shoes are exactly what you think they are

This is from The Sartorialist. (I don't know blog rules on copyright. Should probably look them up).

Yes. You are not mistaken.

Bean Boot – heels.

I'd love to see someone here in Middlebury walking around in these instead of the regular old half-calf style that the majority of the campus seems to own. In the snow. Now that would be sick ass kick ass.