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By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard

Never mind that fourth-grader A.J. Porrazzo was looking a little pale Tuesday. It was only white face paint, and it helped complete her portrayal of Harry Potter's adversary, Draco Malfoy.

If you're lost by now, one might ask how you enjoyed your long stay on another planet. Potter, as any 9-year-old knows, is the wizardly hero in the stunningly successful book series of the same name, and Malfoy is his antagonist.

As for Porrazzo, she's one of the many kids in the Eugene-Springfield area who has found a happy convergence between the books she loves and the need to have something to do during the summer months.

Porrazzo is among the 200-plus kids who, on Friday, will finish nine weeks with the summer program of the Boys and Girls Club of Emerald Valley. The program means education and recreation for an ethnically diverse group of mostly low-income children, many of whom are adopted or live with foster families, club officials said.

The summer program isn't new, but adding Potter is. In light of the popularity of the two movies, program director Corey Briggs said, the club decided to base its education offerings on elements from author J.K. Rowling's books.

For Porrazzo, a 9-year-old at Eugene's Harris Elementary, that translated into seamless fun, with nary a hint that education was involved.

During the scavenger hunt, for example, Porrazzo - dressed in a snazzy blue cloak that Malfoy himself would certainly appreciate - walked a play field and read clues meant to guide her to certain items. Once she'd found the items, she wrote them down.

"Everything they're doing here, they're learning," education director Howard Kopp said. "You have them learning, and they don't know they're learning. That's the key."

Tuesday's event - "The Harry Potter Festival" - was Kopp's brainchild. He was able to sell the kids on nine weeks of Harry Potter-based reading, trivia and math skills, he said, on the promise that it would culminate with the festival.

"Typically, for low-income kids, reading and math skills fall off by 20 percent over the summer," said Kopp, who cut a striking figure in his black sorcerer's cap and cloak. "What you try to do with a program like this is maintain those skills over the summer."

And nothing hooks kids to education like Harry Potter. Kopp noted, for example, that the club's "Harry Potter" reading club met for no less than an hour daily during the summer program.

Porrazzo doesn't struggle to put her finger on the Potter appeal. Although the young wizard places fourth on her list of interests (behind pets, soccer and piano), she said she enjoys the Potter books "because of the exciting events and the dangerous stuff that happens."

It's also clear that, as Kopp said, Potter can cast a spell so strong that some kids in the program don't realize that education is the true magic being worked.

Zack Childers, a bespectacled 13-year-old at Kennedy Middle School, said that, thanks to the summer program and Harry Potter, he's learning the answers to all kinds of questions.

And does it feel like work?

"It feels like I'm having fun," Childers said, grinning broadly.

Was this written by Rita Skeeter?

By Lisa Guerriero / lguerrie@cnc.com
Wednesday, July 2, 2003

http://www.townonline.com/saugus/images/july/sand_07022003.jpg

What weighs 25 tons, lives at the beach and looks like Gryffindor, Harry Potter's stomping grounds in the best-selling series?

It's a sandcastle created by Adams Avenue resident Sean Fitzpatrick, an aspiring alternative artist who took his talents to the 3rd annual Master Sand Sculpting Contest at Hampton Beach, N.H.

Fitzpatrick, a relative beginner to the hobby, heard about the contest and sent in photographs of his work to contest organizer Greg Grady.

"He called a few weeks later and said my work was promising," Fitzpatrick said. "He suggested that I start from the actual 'pound up' in order to learn the whole process."

Pounding up begins with 250 tons of clay-rich sand shipped in from a local quarry and segregated into piles. Next, sculptors form a base to build on and arrange wooden boxes and tubing to help form the creation. A high tower of sand is stacked on top, waiting to be painstakingly carved into shape.

In June, the week-long event began with several days of non-competitive sculpting for amateurs. The novice artists were asked to collaborate on sculptures with a Harry Potter theme.

Using masonry tools and other carving items, Fitzpatrick gave life to Gryffindor, Harry's dorm at the Hogwitch magic school. The castle emerged from the sand heap with winding stairways, towering turrets and the image of a lion, the animal that represents the dorm. Few passers-by would guess that Fitzpatrick isn't familiar with the JK Rowley series.

"None of my children have ever read the books or seen the movie, even though they are all avid readers," Fitzpatrick said. "I must admit I was a bit nervous when I found out the day we started the group sculpture theme was Harry Potter. The organizers provided a video we could watch and we were also given a great deal of artistic freedom."

Fitzpatrick hopes to parlay the experience into a sandy future, competing alongside the masters he observed later in the week. Hailing from as far away as Ohio, Texas, Canada and the Netherlands, many of the artists compete internationally. The Hampton Beach contest offered over $10,000 in cash prizes, so there are high stakes for competitors.

"Part of participating in the event was being able to compete in future years," Fitzpatrick said. "It starts out as a hobby but it turns into sort of an art form. Once you get involved with talking to the master sculptors and people are travelling for the contests, it takes on whole lifestyle."

The opportunity prompted Fitzpatrick and his wife Tracey to round up their three children and head to Hampton Beach for the weekend. The couple's two teenage daughters and preteen son were reluctant about the idea - until they arrived.

"We all went up there and stayed over a couple days," Fitzpatrick said. "The kids did some carving too, they worked on small windows and things like that. They didn't want to go up there, but by end of the week they didn't want to leave. We made some friends up there. It's a big community."

An auto technician by trade, Fitzpatrick has charmed neighbors for the last six years with snow-sculptures of gorillas, mermaids and angels. When his creative drive outlasted the winter, Fitzpatrick looked to the beach. Last year he entered an amateur competition at York Beach, Maine, and won first place in one contest for a sculpture of SpongeBob SquarePants and fourth place for a school of dolphins.

Fitzpatrick is now constructing a "small" ten-ton sandbox in his backyard for practicing. In addition to competing, he hopes to work as a commissioned sculptor, exhibiting in malls and other locations.

"[My wife] thinks I'm nuts, but she supports me," Fitzpatrick said with a laugh. "I'm out there killing myself pounding 125 tons and it didn't bother me."

by Eryk Boston
Special to LP News


There is a pure joy in seeing libertarian principles expressed by unexpected sources in a world teeming with those who love power. This is especially true when the expression is focused on the next generation. Thus, I am almost rapturous about book five in the Harry Potter series, The Order of the Phoenix.

The first blessing of the Harry Potter series is that it is an example of a gifted writer making an obscene fortune by creating a product people love. It has recently been confirmed that J. K. Rowling is now wealthier than the World's Greatest Welfare Mother, the Queen of England. That alone is enough to warm my capitalist heart.

But far more important is that the first printing of The Order of the Phoenix will be 8.5 million copies. Subsequent printings could number in the tens of millions. Millions of young kids, and many not-so-young kids, read these books repeatedly and absorb every detail. And this is one of the most anti-government books I've read since Atlas Shrugged.

I'm not the first person to point out that the Harry Potter books have a libertarian flavor. The wizarding world in the series has a private banking system and no apparent zoning laws. Wizards have the right to carry a wand -- more dangerous than any firearm -- at all times for the express purpose of self-defense. The schools are largely independent (until this book). Dumbeldore, the most powerful wizard alive, actively avoids a position in government. Independent action is celebrated. Notably absent is any mention of a system of taxation.

There is a formal government, but its purpose has been primarily to hide the wizarding world from muggles (i.e. you) and to control abuse of magic that could harm others. Until now, the high-ranking government ministers in the tales have generally been either pompous jerks or bumbling fools. With the exception of the time when the Minister of Magic knowingly put an innocent man in prison as a public-relations stunt, the authorities have almost been comic relief.

In this book, they cross the line into being dangerously corrupt. They deliberately conceal a mortal threat to the world. They engage in campaigns of character assassination against political enemies. By the end, the Minister's personal assistant resorts to the use of torture to retain power and reveals that she sent assassins to take out Harry Potter. The book is meticulous in detailing the wrong they do, the malice in their intent, and the harm they cause.

While Lord Voldemort is the great evil of the series, Dolores Umbridge, the aforementioned government assistant, is the true villain of the book. She becomes the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor and institutes a government-approved curriculum -- ostensibly intended to teach defense, but in reality designed to create helpless and dependent students. Her first class and her appalling "We raise our hands!" teaching method is enough to cause flashbacks in any victim of government schools. She becomes a case study in power lust as she seizes control through the assumption of titles, rituals of obedience, censorship, personal enforcers, and the issuance of new decrees whenever her intentions are thwarted.

But the joy of the story is how the students and professors respond to this tyranny. The very title of the book refers to a private organization meant to fight Lord Voldemort, despite the cowardice of the state.

I won't include any spoilers, but I can say that kids who read the book will get a fine lesson in civil disobedience, passive resistance, occasional active resistance, and the price of seeking power by state fiat. Faced with classes designed to rob them of an education, the students organize to educate themselves in clear violation of the new decrees. State interference with the press is bypassed by utilizing an alternative method. The official effort to silence a news story results in the entire school reading it in one day.

And that is the key to Umbridge's downfall. As a fan of natural consequences, I found great delight in seeing her plans collapse under their own weight as soon as she got exactly what she wanted. This book will do much to instill in a generation of children an aversion to illegitimate state authority and an acceptance of righteous resistance.

As a bonus, decades of government school's efforts to make Americans illiterate could be destroyed overnight as millions of kids line up to buy an 870-page tome. Add all five books together, and they are longer than War and Peace by a wide margin. Plus, there are two more to come. While the books are widely enjoyed by children, neither the plot nor the vocabulary of the books can be said to be childish.

If you haven't already, read the books. Just get the first book and start reading. You'll soon have read all five, and find yourself happily spellbound in Harry's world -- waiting eagerly for book six.


http://www.lp.org/lpnews/pict/0309/harrypotter_big.jpg
Harry Potter, from The Order of the Phoenix: "This is one of the most anti-government books I've read since Atlas Shrugged."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39428000/jpg/_39428623_rowlingap_203index.jpg JK Rowling: The Nobel Prize For Jo campaign was launched in July

A campaign to get JK Rowling considered for a Nobel prize has failed to work its magic on Harry Potter fans.
Not a single person sent a letter to the Nobel Committee suggesting her for the 2004 literature award despite an internet crusade asking them to do so.

Although more than 100 people e-mailed, the Nobel Prize For Jo site asked fans to send letters by post to Sweden.

The campaign was started by US author and artist James Downey to demonstrate the power of the internet.

His site said: "I bet if we sent them a few hundred thousand letters, they'd pay attention.

'Global task'

"E-mails probably wouldn't hurt, but letters will make the real difference," it added, giving the address in Sweden on its front page.

"Uniting millions of people around the globe to attempt this ostensibly impossible task is a new kind of performance art," he wrote.

Mr Downey was also behind a project to get people around the world to point lasers at the moon in an attempt to make it change colour in 2001.

Even if the public had responded to his Harry Potter campaign, official rules mean fans cannot nominate an author for the prize.

They have to be nominated by literary professors, past winners and members of literature academies.

By LAURA ANDERSON
21aug03

FORGET the Hogwarts Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter is off to university.

In January, for two spellbinding days, people from all round the world will converge on Adelaide to discuss everybody's favourite schoolboy – Harry Potter.

The Flinders University Harry Potter Conference – the first of its kind to be held in Australia – has already had to change venues due to overwhelming demand.

"There has been just so much interest we had to get a lot more seats," Amanda Muller, an English PhD student at Flinders University said yesterday.

Co-organising the conference with PhD students Brooke Thomas and Joanna Coward, Ms Muller said they felt there was a lack of "academic appreciation" of the Potter phenomenon.

"People think it's a children's book and they don't take it seriously. But how many adults read Harry Potter?" Ms Muller said.

"It doesn't get as much credit as it should and even though it's a household name people don't seem to be taking it seriously.

"There is so much media coverage but no real serious academic discussion about the phenomenon."

The fifth book in the J.K. Rowling series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, released on June 21, still dominates the best-seller lists at Dymocks, Angus & Robertson and Borders.

Ms Thomas admitted she was thrilled the university was leading the way nationally with Australia's first Potter conference.

"It really surprised me that nobody has done this already," she said.

She admits to being a devout Harry Potter fan who has read every book in the series.

"I was a bit sceptical at the start but a friend of mine was loving them and on her recommendation I gave them a go," she said.

"I can see their appeal – the books don't talk down to children and Rowling certainly doesn't shy away from challenging words."

Ms Muller said papers presented at the conference will range from mythical and popular culture references, beliefs and superstitions, religion to censorship and the books' educational value.

For full details on the Harry Potter conference – which will run from January 16-17 – contact 8201 2555.

Referring to the 'Nobel' post

has anyone got a lot of $ to Bribe the Professor?

The August issue of People has a few numbers on what Dan, Emma and Rupert are making by appearing in the movies:

Daniel Radcliffe is said to have received $3.2 million for 'Azkaban', up from the $320,000 combined for the first two films. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reportedly were paid $125,000 per movie. All three are currently negotiating to appear in the fourth movie.

(DANG>>>>>>> CAN I PLAY A "SMALL" PART IN THE REMAINING MOVIES??? I WONT ASK FOR MUCH!! JUST A SMALL PORTION!)

By Jenny McCartney
(Filed: 17/08/2003)


The news that sales of Dr Atkins's diet book last week outstripped those of the latest Harry Potter has sent shock-waves through the nation: for what greater measure of Atkins's rampaging success could there be than to topple the mighty J K Rowling from the summit of our bestseller lists?

Unfortunately, poor Dr Atkins wasn't there to savour his moment of glory: he died earlier this year, aged 72, after a nasty slip on an icy pavement during the short walk to his New York office. He would surely have been proud to have it reported, however, that although Robert Atkins is indubitably dead, at least he died thin.

The Atkins high-fat weight-loss regime has been around for 30 years, but it is only now that Atkins-mania has truly swept the wobbling West. Never before has a diet wielded such heavy economic clout. Inspired by Atkins's rail-thin celebrity devotees, innumerable British shoppers are spurning bread, potatoes and blacklisted fruits, and instead stacking their trolleys high with meat and eggs.

Butchers, so recently downcast by the effects of BSE and creeping vegetarianism, are exultant, while bakers slip mournfully towards the breadline. Atkins Nutritionals Incorporated, a burgeoning global industry, will soon launch its own range of low-carb ice-creams and chocolate bars in Britain.

The battle between Harry Potter and the late Dr Atkins is one of charming escapism against rampant self-obsession, and it seems that the latter has won. There is, however, one way for J K Rowling to reclaim her rightful position at the top of the bestseller charts: she must launch the Harry Potter Diet Book, a collection of magical recipes to make unwanted flab vanish.

The Dursleys, the unpleasant family with whom Harry lodges, have a tendency to fat. Harry himself is thin, partly because the measly Dursleys deny him adequate rations, but also presumably because of the healthful dietary regime at Hogwarts school. The Hogwarts menu, rather like Atkins, is strikingly high in meat: Roast Chicken, Roast Beef, Lamb Chops, Fried Sausages and Pork Chops make frequent appearances.

Like Atkins, it is also rather light on fruit, but there the similarity ends, because the Potter diet is a much more liberal regime: it allows, for example, for the intake of multifarious carbohydrates and sweets: pies, cakes, puddings, trifles, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, of the jelly variety.

Some of you might be wondering by now if it would really be possible to lose weight on the Harry Potter diet. I can assure you that the pounds will simply melt off, so long as you stick to just a few simple restrictions. During the first five days of the Harry Potter diet, you can eat absolutely anything you like, but it must be either Bott's Beans or Chocolate Frogs, washed down with lemonade. There is no problem about the specific flavour of the jelly-bean: that is a choice left entirely up to you.

By the end of the five days, you may be experiencing severe appetite loss. Feel no alarm: this is entirely to be expected. A chemical process known as nausea has set in, whereby the lobe in the brain connected to desire becomes flooded at the oft-repeated sight of a Bott's jelly-bean, triggering an entirely natural sense of repulsion. This is very much what would have happened to Stone Age man when he went on a hunting trip for days on end, with only jelly-beans closely packed into his worn leather food pouch.

It is now that you can cautiously introduce Steak-and-Kidney Pie and Fried Sausages, in 300 g portions. By the end of the first fortnight subsisting on only jelly-beans, frogs, pie and sausages, you will have lost at least three pounds. After this, you are permitted to include Cauldron Cakes, but only one every other morning.

It occurs to me, however, that I am absolutely crazy to be handing out these Potter diet tips for free, even though they have worked splendidly for me. A book along such lines could only further enrich J K Rowling who, delightful though she is, is already sitting on a multi-million-pound fortune.

The real problem with both the Atkins diet and the Harry Potter diet, successful as they both may be in the short term, is that neither has been rigorously tested over the course of an entire lifetime. It is true to say that Dr Atkins followed his own diet for 30 years, but he then undermined the experiment by dying at the relatively early age of 72 in an accident unrelated to food.

I propose, instead, a book based on the diet of my grandfather, who celebrates his 97th birthday on holiday in Canada this week, and has always been fashionably slim. His regime allows for handsome quantities of Guinness and whiskey, porridge, potatoes, buttered cake, lamb chops and stews heavily seasoned with HP sauce. It is supplemented by periods of physical work in the garden. I swear, this one could blow Atkins right out of the water: it even allows for the occasional nuclear fat-carbs combo of fried bread, cruelly denied by every other diet in history. Publishers, are you listening?

http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/uploads/magic_001.jpg Vicki Marson in her magical fundraising Harry Potter garden in Lichfield


By Heather Slater
Aug 23, 2003, 13:49:00

A charitable grandmother is bringing all the magic of Hogwarts School to Lichfield with her Harry Potter-themed garden.
Vicki Marson, who lives in Christchurch Lane, created the garden to help raise funds for breast cancer care at Burton Queen's Hospital.

The magical garden, which has taken nine months to cultivate, features witch and wizard-shaped willows and a willow spider.

There is also an atmospheric castle ruin, gothic arches, stone owls and floating candles.

Dobby the house elf appears as a water feature and there is a large pentagram in the middle of the garden.

Vicki said: "I wanted a fantasy garden because I love history and Camelot. Then my granddaughter said I could do Harry Potter and it went from there.

"I have three grandchildren and they all love the garden.

"It took nine months and there is still a lot to be done with it, we are putting spooky lighting in soon."

The garden - complete with ghostly lighting - will be open to local children on Halloween to raise cash for the Burton Breast Fund.

Lichfield and Burntwood Tory MP Michael Fabricant, who has met Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe, visited the wizard garden yesterday and praised Vicki for her charitable efforts.

It's Harry Potter time. Make pencil box to store decorated wands, brooms for aspiring wizards

J.K. Rowling, author of the wildly popular ``Harry Potter'' series of books, has created her own magic in this fast-paced, cyber-space age by bringing literature back into children's lives. At a time when most people doubted it was possible, Pottermania has re-introduced the joy of reading to a whole new generation of children.

Even more surprising, Potter's exploits, most of which take place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, have broad appeal for boys and girls alike. Many literary critics, mindful that adults have also embraced the boy-wizard, proclaim the novels to be literary classics.

In the last year, children around the world had two doses of their favorite wizard-in-training in the form of the motion picture, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a depiction of Rowling's second book of the series, and her fifth novel published, titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Still, kids can't seem to get enough of Potter and his pals, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and wait impatiently for Rowling to publish the next installment of the promised seven-book series.

You can create a little magic of your own to take back to school with you this year in the form of a magical pencil box designed to look like a wizardry book Harry and Ron might use in class.

I found this craft on the Web at www.kidsdomain.com/craft under ``back to school'' crafts and modified the directions for our use. You can also find directions at this site to make magic brooms and wands to put in your box that are actually pencils in disguise.

Supplies you will need.

• Cardboard pencil box (found at craft stores) or box similar to a cigar box.

• White card stock or poster board.

• Construction paper.

• Black marker.

• Gold dimensional paint.

• Tacky glue.

• Ruler.

• Black pen.

Color the edge of the box lid with the black magic marker.

Measure around the three sides of the box. Cut a piece of white card stock or poster board to fit.

Using the ruler, draw lines the length of the paper, spaced slightly apart, to look like ``pages'' of your book.

Glue the paper to the three sides of the box, leaving the back or the ``spine'' of the book uncovered.

Measure the construction paper to fit the lid, spine and the back or bottom of the box. Cut it out and glue to the box.

Create a title for your book and write it on the top of the box with gold dimensional paint.

Fill the book with wands and broomsticks (decorated pencils).

COMMENTARY: 'Americanizing' Harry Potter does disservice to children post #1 quote:

By Kimberly Noles

Daily O'Collegian (Oklahoma State U.)
08/20/2003


(U-WIRE) STILLWATER, Okla. -- In today's global world, embracing diversity shouldn't only be a catch phrase but a closely guarded way of life. Many American children are not exposed to other cultures and are lagging behind other countries in acceptance of different cultures and people. Painful, but true.
American publishers have missed the mark in helping educate said children. Editors have Americanized the "Harry Potter" series altogether by changing words and phrases from the British vocabulary to fit into the uses in America.

One example is that in England a jumper is a sweater whereas in America it is a young girl's dress. The editors did leave words like prat and git, but their meanings are easily discerned using surrounding context. "Bloody" anything seems to be used often enough in movies to be almost commonplace now.

In the American-edited version of "Chamber of Secrets," Hermione discusses one of Hogwarts' ghosts with Harry and Ron and tells them how difficult it is to "try and have a pee" while Myrtle is haunting the girls' bathroom. In the British version, Hermione discusses the difficulty of trying to have a "go in the loo." Which sounds better to the reader?

In addition to words and phrases, there is the subject of spelling.

Most adults know that other countries spell words differently, but children don't. Seeing the words like colour, favourite and honour spelled differently opens the lines of communication for discussion about other cultures and why they do things differently. These words aren't misspelled -- some words are spelled differently in other places.

American children are not simply uneducated as others often view them. On the contrary, it seems that they have been left in the dark about other cultures and haven't been shown that people in other parts of the world speak differently and use different phrasing to say the same thing.

What an amazing tool "Harry Potter" could have been outside of the classroom. Children flocked to these books as never before. All those pages being turned as a child read by flashlight under the covers. Not only were they transplanted into a new world, but they could have learned something as well. Millions of children and some adults as well could have learned a new phrase or realized we can say the same thing in a different way. If a child didn't understand, they could have asked a parent or teacher to explain or, (gasp!) used a dictionary or the Internet to look it up.

Subsequent volumes have had less editing of these differences, but the fact remains that a huge disservice was done to American children. When will American children get up to speed with other countries' children? Perhaps when these children are allowed to learn from sources other than the classroom. Isn't it time children stopped being spoon-fed and allowed to chew on something tougher?

-- Jim Brachman

Do the immensely popular Harry Potter books by the brilliant J. K. Rowling (and the outstanding motion pictures they have thus far engendered) tell us something about American culture, even though Ms. Rowling is a Brit? Indeed.

In fact, they tell us a tremendous amount about how our media work and how said media (and the rest of us) look at colleges and universities (much of the Potter stories take place within the confines of an imaginary university, Hogwarts).

The stunning Harry Potter series has unsavory and even evil college professors and administrators that are all but missing from other novels and films; I seriously doubt the concept merely popped into author J. K. Rowling’s head, rather, she saw and heard a few things during her student and her teaching days.

The point is that there is more reference to bad teachers in the Rowling masterwork than anywhere else.

Anyone paying the slightest attention to the media knows that, with rare exception, there is simply no mention of an incompetent, let alone defective teacher or college professor.

If there is, it will be ever so limited -- we won’t be reading about it in newspapers or magazines, there will be no 60 Minutes or 20/20 segment, nor will there be a motion picture based on the subject.

Here in America, we recently completed the latest round in an ongoing discussion of affirmative action – the process in with race, religion, creed and/or ethnic background may be considered in the admissions processes at colleges and universities.

It’s a debate that has gone on throughout my adult life.

Earlier this year the United States Supreme Court, in my humble opinion, ruled correctly. Regarding the University of Michigan, the court found that the university’s policy toward undergraduate admissions – in which it considered race on what might be called a wholesale basis -- is unconstitutional; it ordered the university to immediately cease.

The same United States Supreme Court ruled, however, that the same University of Michigan’s law school, which considers race in a broad sense among many other factors, acted properly and within the law.

And now, the case is closed. True to form, the media obsessed on the issue, reduced it to the simplest terms imaginable, then moved on.

Eventually the subject will reappear, but nothing will change -- the media will do what it specializes in – obsessing on one element of a story while ignoring all others – in this case, other elements of college life.

One of the great things about the Rowling work is that students at Hogwarts must continually be on the lookout for professors who favor one student over another, favor one side over another, or are just plain no good, period.

That’s not to say there’s no such thing as a bad student. Guess what, there is such a thing.

Nonetheless, that other side – the college professor or administrator with an agenda – is absent from the media – and it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking liberal media or conservative media – the subject simply doesn’t arise.

I think it’s safe to assume that I’m not the only former Berkeley student who heard professors announce in class, “Oh, just in case you’re interested, I’m a communist.”

I can’t be the only one who saw a professor give a failing grade to a student back from serving during the Vietnam War and left permanently on crutches for merely voicing his support of America’s involvement in the conflict.

Nonetheless, I’ve yet to see a professor like them in movies or television, fiction or non.

What about the notion that those who can, do and those who can’t, teach? Blunt and undoubtedly unfair in some ways; hopelessly true in others.

What to do about it? Should those who failed in other careers teach our children, or is it safe to assume that everyone fails at something? When’s the debate? Where are the experts from FOX and CNN?

Colleges and universities love to trot out, for the alumni publications (and aren’t you sick and tired of the endless sob-stories and demands for contributions?) what are often a mere handful of success stories. What about the thousands who don’t make it, at least not in their respective fields?

Do professors have it rigged so that when all but the smallest percentage of their students fail they can blame a brutal job market, and when that tiny percentage succeeds they can take full credit?

What about tenure? Is it really necessary? And why isn’t the tenure linked, at least in part, to the success or failure of a professor’s students?

Shouldn’t we be discussing this? Apparently not.

Exactly who are the people who teach our students? Are they truly as brilliant as they seem to think they are?

I can’t recall ever having heard someone say, “You know, I just read Professor Dunderhead’s PhD dissertation. I laughed, I cried, it became part of me.”

If a college or university has a good reputation or is difficult to get into, does it mean that all of its departments are equally excellent?

What exactly does it mean?

I once had a professor who was constantly drunk in public. Allow me to be accurate. He usually couldn’t get to any public area because he was so wobbly; he was usually holed up in his office.

He was always drunk by noon at the absolute latest and was so drunk it became close to impossible to speak with him because he tended to not remember conversations very well – and there was the nagging matter of the smell.

That fact didn’t stop him from obtaining Berkeley’s “highest honor” – which, evidently, is reserved for extreme leftists who can’t control their drinking; one gets the distinct impression the University of California simply ignored his job performance.

According to his obituary, he “reached out” to minority students.

I don’t think so.

My recollection is that he did his part to make sure there wasn’t a single minority professor on the faculty.

There was another professor, a good man, who was so senile he literally couldn’t remember where the classroom was, and one of us would have to invariably find and fetch him.

I had a professor at USC who told me (and others) he had made “millions of dollars" from his novels and screenplays.

Three days after I went to work for him, his automobile was repossessed.

And yet, the only thing anyone wants to talk about is affirmative action.

What happens after affirmative action? It’s as if no one wants to know.

What about the issues of big college versus small college? Famous college versus lesser-known college?

We should be discussing whether or not it makes a difference and if so, how.

We aren’t.

No one’s interested, or at least, no one in the media.

What about the fact that, with the exceptions of law and medicine, the vast majority of students end up doing something entirely different from the fields they specialized in while attending universities?

Isn’t it true most of us “fall into” jobs and isn’t it often because of things we’ve done entirely outside of and completely unrelated to college life?

Whether or not Ms. Rowling takes on the subject and makes Harry Potter face the demons of higher education in a manner mere mortals must, isn’t it time someone explored the notion that there are elements of formal education bordering on fraud?

The eerie similarities between Harry Potter's politics and ours.

By Ashley Glacel
Web Exclusive: 8.22.03

Millions of children (and many adults, too) are just now finishing their 870-page adventure through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and they may have learned more than just magic. Released in late June, the fifth book in British author J. K. Rowling's series had an initial print run of 8.5 million in the United States alone -- and many stores still sold out of the book. True to Harry's prior successes, the U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc, had to order additional books. Good thing, as Harry Potter might just be the kind of brain food needed to grow a new generation of little liberals.

In epic tales, good and evil divide the characters and their motives. In the political world, the opposing forces can be described as those who work for the good of all and those who work for the good of those like themselves. At the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore, the headmaster at Harry's school, implores the students to choose "what is right" rather than "what is easy." In many ways, the principles of liberal America fall in line not only with this teaching but also with other lessons found in the Harry Potter series.

Although some reviewers have inexplicably branded the books "monoculturalistic" and even "sexist," Rowling has admitted to being "left wing" personally and hoped that "every reader will bring his own agenda to the book." Rowling has an enormous audience -- and probably more U.S. supporters than any one of the current Democratic presidential hopefuls. With 9.3 million copies of the book making their way into Americans' hands, it's worth asking: Does Harry Potter have liberal leanings?

To begin, until the Ministry of Magic -- the magic folks' administration -- takes over Harry's school, Hogwarts, Harry and his friends are never scolded by the headmaster for their insatiable curiosity. Questioning authority and pursuing the truth are seen as positive, even patriotic. Dumbledore trusts his students to grapple with the truth. Rowling has said that this attitude is a reflection of her similar conviction, adding, "Telling the truth has repercussions. People aren't used to the truth, particularly from fixtures of authority."

Hogwarts is not only a haven for the curious but a bastion of diversity, too. Unlike the novel's more narrow-minded wizards, Dumbledore believes "it matters not what someone is born but what they grow to be." He teaches that one should not be judged based on his or her family, breeding or race. Whether born of Muggles (humans with no magical powers), related to Giants (a large breed feared to be violent) or bitten by Werewolves (rendering a wizard vicious and dangerous under the full moon), each is allowed to enroll and prove him or herself at Hogwarts, free from prejudice.

The values of international cooperation and understanding, liberation of the oppressed, gender equality and interracial relationships are also evident in the series. Harry's book-smart friend Hermione puts forth much effort to free Hogwarts' House Elves, an overworked and unpaid species. Hogwarts' most popular sport, Quidditch, features coed teams, rendering Title IX unnecessary in the wizarding world. And, with the various combinations of Hogwarts' Muggle and magic parents, many students, like Harry, are the product of mixed marriages. Dumbledore navigates the challenges of this multicultural terrain with an accepting attitude conveyed in a speech to his students in which he states, "Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."

While the good guys lead by example, one may also see a connection between the actions of the other team and those of our current administration. Could the president and his colleagues have been an inspiration to Rowling as she wrote her fifth book? Descriptions of the corrupted politicians at the Ministry of Magic and the Death Eaters (who are loyal to the Dark Lord Voldemort) clearly resemble some of our current American leaders.

Dumbledore tells Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge that the latter is "blinded by the love of the office [he] hold[s]!" The power-hungry and image-conscious Fudge is jealous of those who are better fit to lead and uses his power to undermine their reputations. Attempting to maintain an illusion of control, he ignores problems and denies that they exist. As soldiers continue to die in Iraq four months after the war's official end, one similar authority flickers to mind.

Fudge resembles right-wing politicians again as he legislates to benefit those who hold the purse strings. Lucius Malfoy is a dangerous member of the magic community with bad principles and a lot of money. When he moves, the gold coins clink in his robes, reminding those around him of his power to buy and sell at will. Those who make the rules often compensate Malfoy for his generosity to the Ministry of Magic -- much like Bush's move to cut taxes and roll back environmental protections.

Politicians are known for doublespeak, but rarely are they so blatant as to try to collaborate with countries or cultures they have previously denounced. For instance, Draco Malfoy, enemy of Harry and son of a Death Eater (the aforementioned Lucius), shows open hostility toward Hagrid, a teacher at Hogwarts who is half-Giant, working every angle possible to get Hagrid fired. In one of his attempts, Draco feeds damaging comments about Hagrid's Giantism to a newspaper reporter. Later, when Harry attends a meeting of the Death Eaters (against his will), he hears their plans to ally with the Giants, using their brute force to evil ends. This two-faced attitude is reminiscent of the one the Bush administration has taken toward much of the Middle East. In May 2002, Bush sent an extremely conservative delegation to a United Nations special session. The delegation formed an alliance with Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and Sudan in an effort to deny access to sex education, contraception, STD-prevention and abortion all over the world. This alliance was more than a little ironic considering that, according to The Nation, it was "in the midst of Bush's 'with us or without us' declaration of war on Islamic fundamentalists."

Yet another similarity between the Harry Potter series and the current administration is the encouragement of citizens to spy on their neighbors. As the Ministry of Magic controls more and more of the goings-on at Hogwarts, students' actions are increasingly scrutinized. The curriculum is controlled, as is any sort of gathering or meeting involving more than three students. Professor Umbridge, the evil enforcer of these restrictions, sounds eerily like John Ashcroft as she encourages the students to turn one another in for spreading non-Ministry-sanctioned information.

Harry Potter fans, much like liberal America, will likely have to wait years to discover the answers to their lingering questions: Will Voldemort prove victorious? Will Bush pay a price for his manipulation of our government and military? Will Harry be as popular in the summer of 2004, when a third movie is released? Will Bush be popular then, too? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you haven't yet, cozy up with Harry Potter's latest for a little paranormal progressivism.

Ashley Glacel is a Prospect intern and is studying for her Master's degree in Feminism, Journalism & Policy at New School University.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...439612551&itm=6

The exciting tales of Harry Potter, the young wizard-in-training, have taken the world by storm, and fans just can't get enough of the magical world of Hogwarts and beyond. If you buy one of the Harry Potter books, we guarantee you'll want the next...and the next...and the next -- so why not have them all, right at your fingertips? With the Harry Potter Hardcover Box Set (Books 1-5), Barnes & Noble.com offers simple one-stop shopping for your Harry Potter library! As easy as the wave of a magic wand, you can get all five Harry Potter books delivered to your doorstep at once.
The Harry Potter Hardcover Box Set (Books 1-5) includes hardcover editions of the first five books -- snugly packed in a sturdy cardboard box that's decorated with artwork from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- and a stunning leather bookmark.

So buy the set, and not even a pesky Locomotor Mortis spell cast by the evil Lord Voldemor...(oooops, sorry -- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) can get in the way of your enjoying all of the mystery, adventure, intrigue, and, of course, magic that Muggles around the world can't seem to get enough of. Hold on tight -- it's going to be a wild ride!

By: Ahmed Fadl Shablool

Reading the famous series Harry Potter by British author J. K. Rowling, one cannot but notice the Eastern influence in her celebrated work.

Rowling, in the first episode of the Harry Potter series uses the idea of the Philosopher's Stone which, according to myth, possesses magical powers. It can transfer metal into gold, and produce an elixir that makes a man immortal.

J. K. Rowling's first episode revolves around this idea. She used Harry Potter, the talented child whose parents were killed by the evil sorcerer and who joined Hogworth School of Sorcery, as a brilliant tool to confront the symbols of black magic and defeat the villains.

Harry Potter was born to sorcerer parents, but good ones as other sorcerers witnessed, a virtue their only child inherited. With that heritage, Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione, were eager to thwart the villains' plans to put their hands on the Philosopher's Stone.

Here, we do not want to talk about the continuing impact of the Harry Potter series, and its tremendous popularity among a wide spectrum of readers bridging many generations, or the way the series has proliferated throughout the world whether in English or through translations, nor of the fame and money achieved by the author. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that Rowling managed to take the reader on a trip though human emotions, especially in the world of sorcerers and witches that added an extra dimension of suspense and obscurity that readers enjoy. But let us discuss the idea of the Philosopher's Stone.

According to the Concise Arabic Encyclopedia, Alexandria was the home of the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Immortality that transform base metals into precious ones, namely gold, and brings back youth. This old art originated in Egypt, others say in China, in the third or fifth century BC. It is associated with astrology and magic. It was called old chemistry, or alchemy, and reached the Arabs in the eighth century to stay with them until the 12th century. It was then transferred to Europe through the translation of the works of famous Arab chemists like Khaled bin Yazid, Jaber bin Hayan, ThouNoon AL-Masri, Al-Tughraei, Zakariya Al-Razi, and others. Symbolism characterized this science-art throughout the Middle Ages, and it was shrouded in secrecy.

Jaber bin Hayan was the first Arab scientist to practice chemistry. He lived in Baghdad and Kufa at the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth centuries. His work, which exceeded 80 books, was translated into Latin, and considered to be the most important treatise on chemistry at the time. He wrote about metals, their oxides and compounds, nitric, sulfuric, vinegaric acids and alkaline, and chemical processes such as filtering and purification through crystallization, and distillation which were influential in developing chemistry and introduced the ideas of experimentation and the use of laboratories. Jaber bin Hayan recommended in his books that ‘researchers’ should be precise and follow strict rules in their experiments and be patient during their conduct. He believed in the theory of transferring base metals into gold and that mercury and sulfur are the two base elements in nature.

Parts of his work was translated from Latin into English in 1678. Holmirad edited these translations and wrote a new introduction to them published in 1928. Later, Paul Kraus published his letters.

It might be surprising to know that Prince Khalid bin Yazid bin Muawiya bin Abi Sufian abandoned the caliph's throne to engage in the learning of chemistry, also known as the science of the artisans. The Concise Arabic Encyclopedia says that “Khalid bin Yazid bin Muawiya al-Amawi (d. 704), the wise-man of Quraish and its scientist, practiced chemistry, medicine and astrology, mastered them, and wrote many treatises in these fields. He received homage as caliph after the death of his father, which he accepted, but left it after three months to go back to his studies. It is reported that he was the first to produce Arabic translations from other languages, and ordered the invitation of Greek philosophers who lived in Egypt, to translate books from Greek and Coptic into Arabic, which they did in medicine astrology and chemistry.

He was a poet. It is interesting to note that Khalid had a poem on chemistry. Al-Jahidh, in his book Al-Bayan wa A-Tabieen, says “Khalid bin Yazid bin Muawiya was a debater and poet, with universal knowledge, wise opinions, and prolific writings. He was the first to order the translation of the books of astrology, medicine and chemistry.”

Ibn AL-Nadim, the author of Fahrast, the Index, says “Ibn Ishaq, who was occupied by reporting the old contribution of the chemist artisans, said that Khalid bin Yazid bin Muawiya, was a debater, a poet, a man of opinion, he was the first to commission books on medicine, astrology and chemistry to be translated, and was generous. It is said that when asked ‘why do you spend all your time practicing chemistry?' he answered ‘I wanted to enrich my colleagues and brothers’.”

The rulers of Islam were fond of chemistry, up to the extent that some sacrificed their lives in the quest of more knowledge in this field. Yahya bin Tamim Al-Muiz bin Badis was hugely interested in chemistry, named ‘the science of Jabir’. This cost him his life as three of his younger brothers, who had been in exile since childhood, came back and said that they were experts in chemistry. He asked them to reveal their secrets, and they asked for a closed meeting. He met them with his minister and a trusted servant. The three brothers brought lead to convert to gold, and started working. They chose the right moment and killed the minister and the servant with their daggers, wounding the ruler and reminding him of their exile while he enjoyed the throne alone. Yahya suffered from his wounds, and later died.

Were these stories present in Rowling’s mind, or in her sub-conscience, when she wrote Harry Potter?

Did Eastern heritage, ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Gilgamesh, Qarun, Harot and Marot, Kalila wa Dumna and the One Thousand and One Nights make up the invisible background to Rowling’s stories?

In the first part of the series, the author, through Hermione, states that there are many reports of the Philosopher's Stone across different historical era, but the only genuine and existing stone is the one of ‘Nicolas Flamel’, the great chemist, and lover of opera “who celebrated his 165th birthday last year”, and who lived a happy and quiet life with his wife Perenell (658 years) in Devon.

Therefore, Flamel was the main beneficiary, and probably the last, of the existence of the Philosopher's Stone that Khalid bin Yazid wanted his colleagues and brothers to benefit from. The Stone, has reached Flamel, through the novel of Rowling, and it is important to keep it safe and shrouded in mystery and puzzles.

“Did you see the dog guarding the Philosopher's Stone. I think that Flamel discovered that someone is trying to steel it and asked Dumbledore (the headteacher of Hogworth School of Sorcery) to move it from Gringotts (wizards’ bank) and keep it safe”, said Hermione.

“A stone that transforms metal into gold? And stops people from dying? No doubt that Snap wants to get it! Anybody wants to have it!” said Harry.

“This is why we couldn’t find it in the new books because it is 665 years old” said Ron.

This is how the Philosopher's Stone's existence came to life in Rowling’s novel, emanating from the imaginations of the Arab scientists of old, especially those who practiced alchemy and who spoke about their art in terms shrouded in mystery, symbols and magic. Rowling did an excellent job in using these ideas, fascinating children and adults alike with her broad imagination and her impressive knowledge of the Middle Ages and antiquity, especially Egyptian, Arabic and Islamic history, or the history of the East in general, although she never mentioned it in the first part of the series. In fact she did not need to. The melting of sources and references in the structure of the novel is an indication of the professionalism of the author.

We can also say that the author benefited greatly from the stories of Moses and his encounter with the Egyptian magicians who converted their wands into snakes and serpents as stated in the Holy Quran. It is difficult to judge whether Rowling read the Holy Quran, however similar stories exist in the Old and New Testaments. But we may see that the usage and training to use the magic wands are a manifestation of Eastern influence through Eastern myths and the three major religions.

Al-Mawrid Electronic Encyclopedia defines wizardry as “the art which enables its performer to do certain acts beyond usual human ability, using supernatural powers, or using hidden powers in nature. Wizardry was known to humanity since the beginning of time, and was used by some to control others or nature, to heal from diseases, and to exorcise evil spirits. Up to this moment, African tribes perform dancing parties to exorcise spirits, wearing strange-looking cloths and masks that scare people, in an effort to scare ghosts away and force them to leave someone’s body. Wizardry mixes strongly with religion to the extent that it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other in the case of these societies. Wizardry, or magic, also means the art of tricking an audience in things that are supposed to take place through tricks, especially hand tricks.”

Wizardry was mentioned in Holy Quran 23 times, a wizard 12 times, wizards 8 times, plus many words that are derived from magic and wizardry. Surah Al-Namil (Ants), Ayah [27.13] of the Holy Quran states: “So when Our clear signs came to them, they said: This is clear enchantment.” Surah Taha, Ayah [20.69] states: “And cast down what is in your right hand; it shall devour what they have wrought; they have wrought only the plan of a magician, and the magician shall not be successful wheresoever he may come from.”

Magic is close to wizardry, and the art that the ancient Egyptians excelled in. Al-Mawrid Encyclopedia states that “magic is an art of deceiving an audience through the ability of a magician to perform anything that is impossible. The work of magic is not limited to simple tricks such as making handkerchiefs disappear or card tricks. But it demonstrates the ability of a magician to set himself free of chains, or saw off the heads of beautiful women and then bring them back to life. The magician uses his ability to perform fast tricks, and to some extent manipulates the psychology of the audience, and also uses hidden tools that help him to do his tricks. Magic goes back to ancient Egyptian times. The Church fought magicians in Medieval times on the pretext of being agents to Satan."

We notice that Rowling uses magic wands extensively in the Harry Potter series, and those wands are graded in their abilities, shapes and colors and also the kind of wood that they are made of. One of these wands is the ‘Nimbus 2000’ wand given by Mrs. M. McGonagall to Harry Potter when he shows brilliant advancing in his training and when she made sure that he had inherited the talent of his parents.

The magic wand is mentioned many times in the story of Moses with the Egyptian magicians. Surah Aaraf (The Elevated Places), Ayah [7.107] of the Holy Quran states ”So he threw his rod, then lo! it was a clear serpent.” Surah Taha, Ayah [20.66] states “He said: Nay! cast down. then lo! their cords and their rods-- it was imaged to him on account of their magic as if they were running.”Also, Surah AL-Shuraa (The Poets), Ayah [26.44] states “So they cast down their cords and their rods and said: By Pharaoh’s power, we shall most surely be victorious.” And Surah Al-Namil, Ayah [27.10] states “And cast down your staff. So when he saw it in motion as if it were a serpent, he turned back retreating and did not return: O Musa! fear not; surely the apostles shall not fear in My presence.”

There is no doubt that there is strong connection between wizardry and magic wands that change into snakes and serpents. Rowling realized the importance of the presence of serpents, owls, frogs, mice, spiders, blood and other things in her creation of the mythical world of Harry Potter.

Despite the fact that Nicolas Flamel succeeded in using the Philosopher's Stone to extend his life and his wife’s to 665 years, we see that Master Dumbledore destroys the stone, thinking that it is better for everyone, especially after the terrible struggle that took place between wizards to own the stone. That struggle that resulted previously in the death of Harry Potter’s parents, and caused the scar in Harry Potter’s face that become his mark. It is a struggle between good and evil, the good and the wicked in the wizard world.

To conclude, we may ask: did the Arab and Muslim alchemists and scientists fail to find the Philosopher's Stone that transforms metal into gold, and produces the Elixir of Immortality? Or did they managed to discover it, but thought that it might be the cause of a struggle between the wizards and lay people, or the good and the wicked among the wizards themselves? A situation which might transform life into hell instead of making it long, happy and prosperous as the philosophers and poets had dreamt? This was also the conclusion Rowling opted for in the first part of the Harry Potter series: to destroy the Philosopher's Stone at the hands of Dumbledore after agreeing with Nicolas Flamel about this course of action.


Ahmed Fadl Shablool

Alexandria, Egypt

Every year, Dolly magazine in Australia has an online poll where readers can vote for the 100 hottest people. 50 girls and 50 boys are chosen, and Tom Felton made number six on this year's Top 50. In front of him were: Paul Walker, Orlando Bloom, Eminem, Milo Ventimiglia, and Tom Welling.

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Footage from the third movie was shown at the Australian International Movie Convention. Here's a brief summary from MovieHole:

Shown in the format of a trailer, but a very long one. Lots of clips on show, including a much older-looking Daniel Radcliffe talking to camera. Still no shots of Gambon as Dumbledore though.

MuggleNet is looking for around 20 writers interested in helping with a new project. Each of the writers must be willing to commit several hours a week to the continuing improvement of the project, have a firm grasp of English grammar, a willingness to receive a small amount of technical training, the ability to work well with others on the same project and preferably the ability to write in contrasting styles of writing. If you are interested in working on this project and fit the criteria above, please send an application here containing the following items:
- Descriptions of places, rooms, locations, creatures and objects from the HP World (If you include more than one, please try to vary the style of the writing.)
- A brief description of yourself including writing background, age, gender, location (timezones are important), e-mail address and why you believe you should have this job.
- Please note that all writing examples should be at least four sentences in length; one liners will not suffice.


If interested, go to Mugglenet

Today's Family Circus comic featured a delightful play on J.K. Rowling and her lengthy writing.

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http://www.iharrypotter.net/archive...al.shtml#000513

Thanks to Chris who pointed this out to our Rumors Editors...The UK Patent Office records reflect two "New Applications" for Harry Potter related trademarks.

"Harry Potter and the Mudblood Revolt" and "Harry Potter and the Quest of the Centaur" are two trademarks that were applied for on July 24, 2003 by "Seabottom Productions Limited."

These are most likely NOT TITLES for the next two Harry Potter books, but it is interesting nevertheless to note that these titles have been applied for as trademarks in the United Kingdom. These are different from the previous titles that were registered by Warner Bros. and widely rumored to be future names of books (later reported false).

Thanks again to Chris, and remember, you heard it here at iHP first!

Darren Davidson
Special to The Province

NELSON -- Efforts by a community forest project near here to place itself on the world's eco-certified lumber map have gone to pot -- or rather, it's gone to Potter.

The Harrop-Procter Community Forest (HPCF), which is halfway through a five-year pilot project aimed at creating a profitable, environmentally friendly logging and lumber-sale operation, recently received a magical public relations opportunity courtesy of the world's most famous teenaged wizard -- Harry Potter.

In a marketing move prompted by the Canadian publisher of the latest Potter saga, the community forest group has produced 500 broomsticks from its 11,000-hectare, selectively logged forest.

Vancouver-based Raincoast Books is using the brooms to promote author J. K Rowlings' fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

"It was an unusual request," laughs HPCF woodlands manager Ken Foot. "Usually we get requests for flooring and decking and siding. This call came as 'Can you make us 500 broomsticks?'

"I said 'what?!'"

Potter fans will recognize the importance of the broomsticks from the story's game of Quidditch, in which characters sweep through the air on magical brooms while trying to evade opponents and capture the coveted Golden Snitch.

The broom project was also an entirely rural West Kootenay effort. Crawford Bay's North Woven Broom produced the brushy end of the promotional items.

Raincoast's offer was a perfect fit for the local eco-forest project. Raincoast publicity manager Tessa Vanderkop says her company is the only one of 55 publishers world-wide to print its entire run -- now up to 1.2 million copies -- on recycled paper, saving the equivalent of more than 30,000 trees.

Adds Foot: "We're happy to be a part of any organization that promotes better forestry. Organizations that think along these lines are aligned with us."

The public relations order was also timely. Last May, the Harrop-Procter project became the first community forest in B.C. to be internationally recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), based in Bonn, Germany.

"The FSC certification means that our forestry operations are eco-certified," says HPCF forest manager Heather Pinnell.

"The FSC designation tells the rest of the world what we already know -- that we're harvesting timber and producing wood products in the best way possible way in order to protect land and water values in our community forest."

Forestry decisions in the Harrop-Procter operation are made by locals and take into account water, wildlife and recreational values. Loggers there fell roughly 100 truck-loads of Douglas fir, red cedar, western larch and lodgepole pine a year.

Foot says the Harry Potter project came along because of Harrop-Procter receiving its FSC. "These are the sort of market contacts we were hoping would come our way once we achieved certification."

"The markets for FSC-certified products are growing very rapidly," adds Cam Brewer, founder of the Canadian Eco-Lumber Co-Op whose lumberyard and showroom are in Richmond.

The Co-Op, where Lower Mainland consumers can find FSC-certified wood products from the Harrop-Procter Community Forest, celebrated its grand opening last month.

"The demand for certified products both in Canada and around the world is far greater than supply," said Brewer.

He also noted that a number of "high-profile announcements" made by furniture and lumber giants, such as IKEA, Home Depot and U.S. hardware chain Lowes, who say they'll give preference to FSC certified wood as soon as HPCF can source it.

The announcements have motivated other industrial users to take notice of FSC wood, says Brewer, who adds that consumer reports show that lumber buyers are in support of the environmentally friendly wood products, as long as they cost the same as standard lumber grades.

"But most of the public probably still don't know what the FSC is," Brewer admits, "and probably don't even know that option exists. There's a lot more educational work that has to be done."

The Harrop-Procter project is one of 10 community-forest pilots in B.C. It has another 2 1/2 years to prove to the Ministry of Forests that it can remain profitable and in step with the rest of the forest industry.

If it's successful, the ministry will either extend the project or grant a long-term harvesting tenure.

08/26/2003 15:35
Sometimes people rank the little magician among totalitarian sects

It seems that following foreign countries and Central Russia, the Russian city of Irkutsk is now also enveloped with the social phenomenon called "parents vs. Harry Potter" which is one of manifestations typical of the generation gap. There are some groups of people in Irkutsk who have stopped complaining about the expensiveness of books and films about Harry Potter, of toys somehow connected with the little magician. Some have even claimed that the popular book hero created by JK Rowling's whimsical fantasy may be dangerous.

The hail of protests against the little magician has come from where Harry Potter arrived himself, from abroad. Ministers of religion were the first to "discern" danger in the book. Right on the peak of the story's popularity clergymen pronounced an anathema against the popular fairy tale. The basic claim of the church resembled popular sentences passed on people by the Medieval Inquisition: clergymen say that the books by JK Rowling popularize witchcraft, black magic, devilry and paganism; they say the books lead young minds astray to an evil way.

Priest Alexander from the Church of Ksenia of St.Petersburg in the city of Irkutsk says it is his personal opinion and at the same time he confirms the negative attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to the films about Harry Potter. "Why do you think the number of drug addicts, criminals and alcoholics has so considerably increased among children and teenagers? This fact is mostly explained with the lack of spirituality and much cruelty we see on TV."

Then the priest was told that the situation in Russia has been evident for several years already, while the books by JK Rowling appeared just some time ago. But the priest still insisted that books of the Harry Potter type just aggravate the negative situation.

To tell the truth, there are many Russian fairy tales with witches, house-spirits, wood-goblins and werewolves. What about these fairy tales? After a second of consideration priest Alexander admitted that the church treated such fairy tales negatively as well as they are in fact remnants of paganism in people's minds; it is no good to support and develop these remnants. "It is now very important to bring up youth properly. Remember that the church cannot prohibit anything it can only recommend."

The best experience is your own one. When first rumors about negative attitude of parents to Harry Potter appeared, I myself was seized with panic as I have an 8-year-old child whose psyche was seriously undermined with the previously popular mania of Pokemons (indeed, the strange creatures were really extremely popular among children some time ago).

It took me some time before I risked asking my son openly if he knew who Harry Potter was. The child looked over me thoughtfully and answered: "I don't know yet, but some guys at school have already read about him."

To have a clear picture of the situation I decided to take an absolute control over it. However, the film about Harry Potter hasn't produced any vivid impression upon the child. One of the books about the little magician has been staying on the bookshelf for a week already; the son says he has read ten pages of it which in fact may be not true (I think he has read just about 8 pages). So, I say that my child hasn't turned into a zombie with the stories about Harry Potter. I hoped at least that the popular books will urge my son to read more.

The community is the best and the most active part of the electorate. The local public community of Irkutsk is rather numerous: if the people are involved in works at the Irkutsk hydroelectric power plant it may rotate the rotors of the plant by hand and supply the city with a great volume of electric power all year round.

When some representatives of the local public community said he was seriously anxious about the Potter-mania among children (the man read about the damage of this sort of literature in a local magazine), his statement nearly provoked a prohibition for purchase of the books about Harry Potter to local libraries of Irkutsk.

However, the Irkutsk regional Mark Sergeyev library disapproves of the efforts taken by the radical public community. Scientific Secretary of the library Tatyana Maksoyeva says officials of the library read the review on the books about Harry Potter saying that the book is nearly the same as a Satanism guidebook; however librarians disagree with the harsh statements of the review. "It is an ordinary children tale; it is not a satanic book. Children like it as well as stories by Astrid Lindgren or Kipling. We didn't have an intention to give up purchase of the books about Harry Potter; now we are looking for purchase of the fifth story by JK Rowling."

It is very interesting that student Olga Ignatyeva from the Irkutsk University wrote a term paper on Harry Potter some time ago. The theme was suggested by her foreign literature tutor Irina Bukharova. Olga became so interested with the Potter-mania that the student preferred the subject for her degree research when she graduated from the University the past spring.

According to information provided by the network of bookstores in Irkutsk, about 5,000 copies of each of the four stories about Harry Potter have been sold in the city (the total number is a bit less than 20,000 copies). Orders are already coming for the fifth book about Harry Potter, but they will be accepted only at the beginning of the next year when the Russian-language version of the book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" comes out.

When Olga Ignatyeva was in the forth year of her studies at the University, her tutor Irina Bukharova gave her a book, the first one that appeared in Moscow about Harry Potter, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The book wasn't yet popular in the city of Irkutsk. Olga liked the book and decided to study it in her term paper. Together with her tutor Olga considered Harry Potter from a cultural point of view. Later the student finished her degree research which was a thorough study of Harry Potter. The hero of the popular books was considered from a social and artistic aspect there.

The term paper was written in 2000 when the new magician wasn't yet popular among children and teenagers. That is why the term paper of the student was mostly a research of the book's story and the reasons of its popularity. Olga says: "Unfortunately, we failed to reach a well-defined conclusion that is why we continued the issue in my degree research. Some people say the book became popular thanks to wonderful promotion and advertising. But I say that if the book was untalented, no promotion and advertising would help make it really popular. This is typical of adults that we can read a book just because it is popular; the situation is quite different with children: they will readily reject this large volume of information if it is dull. In fact, the book is really very popular among children and teenagers, especially in Europe and America where children usually read rather unwillingly."

Olga says that the book is a wonderful combination of a personage, subject and genre; this is a fairy tale in the form of a novel supplied with elements of fantasy and detective. At that, the novel includes four novel types where the English classical Gothic style prevails.

Olga says that when she wrote her degree research she had to find out the public opinion on the subject. She questioned about 50 pupils at the age of 12-15. As it turned out from the poll, schoolchildren who read the book and then watched the movie liked reading the book most of all.

Contrary to the popular opinion that negative personages are the favorite ones in children books, it turned out that in this case children like the positive character Harry Potter for his personal traits.

The main phenomenon of the books about Harry Potter is that not only children but also their parents read these books and discuss them afterwards. That is why it is impossible to find out the age qualification of the books by JK Rowling. "There are no parents who prohibit their children reading the books by JK Rowling. They say: "It is good that children read at least something; and the book is also very nice, we also read it."

Why is it so that the attitude of the church to books about Harry Potter is so negative? In fact this is not quite right. There are some priests abroad who speak in support of Harry Potter. Some of the clergymen say the books by JK Rowling are some analogue of the Bible; some even compare Harry Potter with little Jesus Christ: "He is as good as little Jesus." One of clergyman even served a mass in a suit imitating that of Harry Potter. When the film-making was in the process, many parishioners strongly objected to shooting in the Gloucester Cathedral as they couldn't agree that a film about sorcerers can be made in the cathedral. However the priest said that shooting of the film in the cathedral will attach particular spirituality to the screen version of the book about Harry Potter.

Bert Kork


Read the original in Russian: http://districts.pravda.ru/district...161_potter.html (Translated by: Maria Gousseva)

(AGI) - Milan, Italy, Aug. 26 - The Italian translation of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the latest of the series created by Joanne Kathleen Rowlings, will hit the bookshelves in the bookstores on October 31: according to Finanza e Mercati on Thursday publishing house Salani will start to distribute the booking forms for the most popular literary phenomena in the history of publishing. It is the fifth book of the saga, which, in Italy alone, sold 3.5 million copies. Our country is the main market for Rowlings' books, after Britain. A record run for Salani for the fifth book: more than a million copies, more than any other of the chain's books. (AGI)

A survey conducted by a British think tank has arrived at some controversial findings concerning the British monarchy.

The Fabian Society asked over 2,500 people whether they wanted to keep the monarchy in its current form, modify the role of the royals in British society, or dispense with it altogether. A majority of respondents, 55 percent, stated that they would prefer to keep the monarchy but name J.K. Rowling the new monarch.

"We are somewhat surprised by these findings, as we didn't inquire about possible alternatives to Queen Elisabeth," said Fabian Society General Secretary Michael Jacobs. "Ms. Rowling's name was spontaneously proffered by the respondents."

J.K. Rowling is the best-selling author of the "Harry Potter" books and is one of the richest people in the United Kingdom; her estimated fortune has recently surpassed the Queen's by some 30 million pounds. Although she has adapted to her sudden rise to fame and wealth reasonably well, Rowling has no apparent experience as a monarch.

"We do not feel that this poll, or the individual you name as a potential replacement, merit a response," said Buckingham Palace spokesmen in a press conference. "Furthermore we are confident that the upcoming release of Her Majesty's new book, 'Harry Windsor and the Order of the Garter,' will demonstrate that Her Majesty is qualified for her position on every front."

Independent analysts are mixed regarding the prospects of a Rowling monarchy.

"There does exist some precedence for the replacement of a royal household," said Oxford University Professor of Political Science Gareth Dunston. "However there are some concerns that the Scottish Liberal Democrats would seek to take advantage of such a change, as Ms. Rowling is from Edinborough and could potentially be sympathetic to the Scottish separatist movement."

Rowling's camp claims not to be considering such a move.

"Now, if the monarchy were to be offered to Jo, hypothetically speaking, I think we should see some changes in Parliament," said Rowling's representative Neil Blair. "The current dichotomy between the House of Lords and House of Commons would be dispensed with in favor of a more equitable and precise division based on individual merits and political stances. There would be many merits to a four-house system."

Dunston expressed caution about this notion too. "I seem to recall Ms. Rowling's house system includes one where all the ambitious and amoral people end up. Not too hard to see where our MPs would find themselves sorted, now is it."

09:30 - 27 August 2003

Visitors to a camp site may have thought they had taken a wrong turn and walked straight into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

On the fire there was a rather tasty magic potion bubbling away in the cauldron.

There was a tuck shop named Honeydukes and wand-making classes for the more advanced spell-casters.

A group of witches were even having a game of a Quidditch in the field.

But it wasn't the set of the latest Harry Potter movie, but a group of eleven girl guides staying at the Guideacres camp site at Raywell, near Cottingham.

The 2nd Hedon Guides had decided to hold a Harry Potter-themed camping trip.

The girls were split into three of the four school houses in the J K Rowling novels: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

And the guides said they were all having a "magic" time.

Cooking an enchanting dinner were Lucy Bloy and Sarah Myers.

Sarah, 13, a guide of three years, was spending her second camp with the Hedon troop.

She said: ""We've had a surprise game named after Harry Potter's owl Hedwig, where we had to follow string around the woods.

"There were loads of obstacles to get across. I got very wet but it was good fun."

Lucy, 11, just loves being in the guides. She was busy tackling all the activities planned by the staff.

She said: "We had to do easy, medium and hard challenges to gain points for our team.

"One of the hardest tasks we had to do was semaphore."

Lucy had to figure out the coded messages sent by her fellow team members.

She added: "We made capes and masks too. I'm really enjoying all the magic."

Guide leader Victoria Earle also had a mysterious role to play - being headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore for the weekend.

"When we go away we always have a theme," said Victoria.

"Last year it revolved round the Commonwealth Games.

"But this time it was the magical choice of Harry Potter and Hogwarts.

"The guides are all potty for Harry; they're always reading J K Rowling books.

"So we came up with all the fanciful names. We had a forgetfulness and hair-raising potion, dreamless sleep, as well as poly juice, which features in the book."

Thankfully, the magic potions turned out to be among the many mouth-watering items on the magic menu.

Guides tucked into treats, such as spaghetti bolognaise, jacket potatoes and a full English breakfast.

Victoria added: "It was a really successful camp and everybody enjoyed themselves."

cparker@hulldailymail.co.uk

Busted and Girls Aloud will do battle for the Best Newcomer crown at this year's Disney Channel Kids Awards.

Also competing for the award are Blazin Squad, Lisa Maffia, Abs and Triple 8.

Meanwhile American pop divas Christina Aguilera, Kelly Rowland and Avril Lavigne are up against British favourites Kym Marsh and Ms Dynamite for Best Female.

Justin Timberlake continues to dominate pop with his nomination for Best Male but faces stiff competition from Gareth Gates, David Sneddon, Craig David, Nelly and Daniel Bedingfield.

Nominations for Best DVD include Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Star Wars: Episode 2 Attack of the Clones and Spiderman.

The awards take place on Saturday, September 20, at the Royal Albert Hall and will be broadcast on the Disney Channel the following day.

People can vote for their favourites via Disney stores or online at www.disney.co.uk/kidsawards.

All the tickets for the awards ceremony will be given away through a national prize draw, entered by those who vote.


Story filed: 12:01 Wednesday 27th August 2003

From the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggreator

Does he have a girlfriend? This question was asked to Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe again and again. And his answer was again and again: "For that I am still too young!" As Bravo visited "Harry Potter 3" briefly after he turned 14, Daniel surprised us at the set with a new answer to this question: "It is a private matter!", it's still a secret. Is it because of the rumors? That Dan and Emma Watson (in the films as Hermione Granger) were a couple? Emma admits openly: "I have fallen in love - with someone, who works here!" We therefore think it could be Daniel...

For the new "Harry Potter" film, Daniel gives clearer answers. "The Prisoner of Askaban" is the darkest of the series the so far. Dan: "One knows from the book that the Dementors are violent. I saw none however, as they are all developed on the computer." Emma adds: "I saw a few designs of the Dementors - the purest horror. Under its black hood one does not recognize at times their face. I am glad that those are really not here." In the end Daniel reveals more: "I will fly also in the fourth film on the 'Nimbus 2000' - and Emma participates again also!" The two will thus get to know each other even better...

08/28/03


Yes, it sometimes takes a little extra trouble to spread some good will around.

But it's worth it. It's always worth it.

MAGIC! Jenny S. in Gladstone:

"Today (a recent Saturday) my daughter Erin and I went to Haggen on Hilltop in Oregon City to get her a birthday cake. While we were in line checking out, Erin noticed the fifth Harry Potter book for sale.

"She pointed it out to me, and I told her maybe another time. She's been wanting it for a while and, being a single-income household, she and I both knew I couldn't afford to get it.

"We completed the checkout and started to the parking lot. Now here's the Back Fence moment.

"The gentleman who was next in line came running out of the store saying we had left something behind. He then handed Erin the Harry Potter book that he had behind his back and went back into the store.

"We had just enough time to say 'thank you.' So, Mr. Back Fencer in the red and blue tie-dye shirt: Erin and I want to thank you very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

"You made a 13-year-old extremely happy, her birthday memorable and a mom very grateful. May blessings come to you tenfold."

By JUNE LEMEN


I received “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” for my birthday.

I was looking forward to reading it after the three-year wait since “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” but I made myself put it on the shelf for a couple of weeks until I had the time to savor it. Things here were hectic as usual, and I knew once I started to read the book, I would not want to put it down.

So I resolutely put it on the shelf and waited until I had a block of time in which to read it.

That required some self-discipline on my part but not much. What was harder by far was trying to avoid hearing the entire plot of the book before I even opened it.

I don’t know whether this is part of the “dumbing down” phenomena, but why is it so necessary to give everyone so much information about films and books before they come out?

If the classic film “The Bad Seed” came out today, the surprise ending would not be a surprise after the first person saw it. Or if the ending was actually kept secret, so much of the rest of the film would be shown in the previews that it would give the entire film away.

I can hardly watch film previews any more. For one thing, they are way too long. Instead of 30 seconds of tantalizing images, some witty dialogue and a joke, they are a two-minute summary of the entire movie, complete with all the best parts.

Previews of action flicks (not on my list of favorites, anyway) are particularly tedious. Car chase, car chase, car chase, then Will Smith says something funny and that’s it. Why bother to see the movie?

With “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” I had to be super vigilant. It seemed as if every single newspaper, periodical, online magazine and television program had information about the book in it, and I had to avoid reading the headlines, because they would sometimes give away the plot.

I did manage to read the book before anyone told me about it. I read it during the big heat wave in July. After Lucy went to bed, I would take a cold shower, park myself in front of a fan and read until I fell asleep. It took me three or four nights to finish, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

And after all my whining about the media surrounding the publication of this book, I did thoroughly enjoy one piece about it: the review in Entertainment Weekly by Stephen King.

It surprised me that I enjoyed the review so much, because I am not a fan of King’s books – partially because I am not fond of reading horror but also because I am not fond of his style of writing.

I gave up on reading “Carrie”; after about the 18th sentence describing mucus, I’d had enough. If I am going to read horror, I prefer a different style (my favorite horror writer of all time is Shirley Jackson, who I think is one of the most undervalued writers of this century). I do enjoy King’s short stories, though, because I think he when he writes in a short form, he truly reveals his mastery of language and form.

In the review, he criticized J.K. Rowling’s use of adverbs and adjectives, which made me laugh. But he did address one thing in the review I thought was wonderful: all the flak people are giving Rowling about the “darkness” of the story.

King said he agreed with his mother about children’s books, essentially that you should let them read anything they want and can understand, but if it gives them nightmares, take it away.

I agree. One of the books I loved most as a child was a book called “Meet the Austins” by Madeleine L’Engle. That book begins with a death, which was quite unusual at the time it was published. When I read it, I was not disturbed by the death: I was comforted by the idea that even if your parents died, there would be other people available to love and take care of you.

Kids today know the world is a scary place. If reading “Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix” helps them understand that doing the right thing is neither easy nor simple, I say more power to Rowling.

May your wand never fail you!

June Lemen is a free-lance writer from Nashua. Write to her c/o The Telegraph, PO Box 1008, Nashua, NH 03061.

By Barry Cunningham and Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Published: August 27 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: August 27 2003 5:00

Barry Cunningham still laughs about that moment in 1997, when he told a single mother with a knack for fantasy storytelling to find herself a day job, because writing child-ren's books did not pay.

He could not have known then that his decision to publish a book about a boy wizard would start an international publishing phenomenon, or that within six years the first-time child-ren's book writer in question would be richer than the Queen of England.

The "find a day job" blunder has become part of the legend of Harry Potter, as has Mr Cunningham's role in picking up the book on behalf of Bloomsbury, its publisher in the UK, after other, longer-established companies had turned it down.

But the cheerful 51-year-old's story does not end with the career-making move of signing J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter's creator. In fact, the former marketing director left Bloomsbury weeks before the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first instal ment of the boy wizard's adventures.

Today, he is running his own boutique children's book publisher - The Chicken House - and, once again, being credited with turning little-known storytellers into big-time bestsellers.

"Everyone says it must have been like leaving The Beatles," Mr Cunningham says, referring to his move from Bloomsbury.

"I wanted to change my life. I got married again, and lived half the week in Somerset and half in London . . . and I just felt that with all the travelling, my life, and my life in the country, would become more strained," he says.

When Mr Cunningham made his exit from the fast-paced London publishing scene, he had been a part of it for years.

His career began in the late 1970s at Penguin Books, where he worked side by side with Roald Dahl (who, he notes, "didn't particularly like children"), and Spike Milligan.

There, Mr Cunningham says, he learnt the importance of promoting authors directly to children.

"Children's authors have enormous respect for their market - and I understood that they were thinking about children, whereas adult writers are not thinking about the outside world [when they write]; their process is internal," he says.

After being appointed marketing director for Penguin Books he was headhunted by Random House, where he became director of sales and marketing for its British operations.

But the long-lunch lifestyle took its toll and Mr Cunningham eventually left Random House to do free-lance work, before being approached by Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury's chief executive, with the idea of creating a children's list for the company.

"I said to Nigel, 'I can do this for you. I know what children want.' I had never edited a book or commissioned one. Much to his credit, he said OK," Mr Cunningham says.

It was not long before Christopher Little, J.K. Rowling's agent, got in touch with a new find.

"It was exactly what I was looking for," Mr Cunningham says.

"I did not see any direct financial benefits [from signing J.K. Rowling] but it has given me a huge reputation - and the intangible thing is the confidence it gave me in my own judgment."

Word of mouth about his eye for talent even prompted executives at Scholastic, the largest publisher of child-ren's books in the world, to approach Mr Cunningham in 2001 after reading in a trade publication that the man who discovered Harry was looking for a distributor for his new publishing company.

"We thought greatly of his talent and we knew his taste. We felt he had a sense for looking for new voices [combined with] a commercial sense," says Barbara Marcus, the president of Scholastic children's books and distribution.

"I think [the partnership] is good for him, because we are taking his books to the US. And he is a true contributor to our revenue and profit, though it is just beginning," she adds.

The success of Cornelia Funke, one of Mr Cunningham's latest discoveries, has reaped the greatest rewards for Scholastic.

The German children's author, already a success in her home market, was published for the first time in English by The Chicken House after an 11-year-old (German-speaking) niece of one of Mr Cunningham's editors wrote a letter addressed to "Mr Potter", asking why the books were not available in English.

"It's odd to say a 50-year-old man knows what a 13-year-old wants to read, but I do," says Mr Cunningham.

The Thief Lord sold nearly 250,000 hardback copies in the US, Scholastic says, and Ms Funke is being hailed by many in the industry as "the next JK".

Scholastic's commitment to distribute in the US every new fiction title Mr Cunningham publishes gives The Chicken House the force of a worldwide publisher without constraining Mr Cunningham to the sometimes risk-averse culture of big corporations.

"I do work on my own terms. It's important that I don't become part of a corporate synergy," he says. "I do six new fiction titles a year - I want them all to be a masterpiece. In big companies, you can't be sure they're all a masterpiece."

Still, competing with the bigger publishing houses can be difficult. Mr Cunningham says there are publishers with deeper pockets who have attempted to poach some of his biggest talents - despite unwritten rules in the publishing industry that say such behaviour is un- acceptable.

"So far, for a variety of reasons, they have stayed with me. What I can offer is that thing that publishers used to offer. I'm their first reader; they can call me . . .I want them to be successful as much as they do. And if one book doesn't work, I'm not going to drop them," he says.

Mr Cunningham says the extra attention to detail, from editing to marketing, means his small operation is turning out a better product in a market where standards are slipping.

"I think books are dramatically less well edited. There is a higher percentage of mistakes, there are flabby plots - someone should be saying, 'this shouldn't be like this'," he says.

Another success of Mr Cunningham's was a decidedly more personal one: his decision to give up drinking 15 years ago.

"One part of my recovery was an important realisation that I could be all the things I was - an extravert, a pursuer of new ideas and a risk- taker - without recourse to artificial substances," he says.

"If you force yourself to take a look at yourself and your talents and say, 'these are what I'm going to go with', it is a wonderful thing."

Fletcher Christensen
August 26, 2003


"The New World Order is coming! Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones! Stand by for insights so startling that you will never look at news the same way again."

Welcome to The Cutting Edge (www.cuttingedge.org), where you can get up-to-the-minute coverage of the antichrist's rise to power.

David Bay, director of Cutting Edge Ministries, knows that the end times are upon us and wants to make sure that you know it, too. Bay weighs in on everything from "The Matrix" (a pilot program for the religion of the Beast) to the SARS virus ("the Biblical plague of seal #4").

Bay seems to take particular issue with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. In one fascinating exposé, he reveals how the frequent use of color, any color, demonstrates that, "Rowling is following pure Satanism in creating the Harry Potter books." The reasoning is a bit circuitous, but I'll try to summarize it.

The zodiac and the ancient Celtic calendar both associate colors with each month. These colors may be used to facilitate witchcraft. So when Rowling writes about a character having maroon robes, since maroon is sort of like purple, it demonstrates the character's connection to the Druidic month of Huath.

Orange snails, similarly, are associated with Sagittarius. Other colors used in the zodiac and Celtic calendar include blue, red, green black, and white. According to Sanrio's "Hello 2003" calendar, which uses a similar color scheme, Gilderoy Lockhart should be associated with the month of July, sailing, and blueberries.

Today's lesson is intellectual hygiene: never trust someone else to do your thinking for you.

Let me provide another example. I assert that the more ice cream you eat, the more likely you are to drown.

Studies show that as ice cream sales rise, drowning deaths increase proportionately. Check the facts if you don't believe me. Now stop for a moment and consider why this is true.

Kudos to anyone who noticed the problem. Ice cream sales and drowning deaths are both strongly related to the time of year. When it's hot outside, people cool off by eating ice cream and swimming. (Bonus points to anyone who realized that my original assertion is still true, just very misleading.)

Coming back to Bay, The Cutting Edge provides an excellent example of the need for intellectual hygiene.

Amid all his rambling about the occult, Bay occasionally hits on a gem of truth. In one article, he discusses the strong similarities between Gulf War syndrome and