I'm Sick

like missed class yesterday, went to the doctor, hacking like a smoker, super-congested, z-pack for 5 days, having trouble hearing, headachey, gross sick. i don't recommend it. in fact, i recommend avoiding it if possible. it's MIZ-ER-A-BULL. yelch.

i found out today that a miracle is occurring: my mother is reading harry potter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is unbelievable. she freaked when i read the first one last christmas or summer or whenever it was.... but now she's reading them, i guess to see what she thinks. her biggest issue with them so far has been the lying i think. but we'll see what her verdict is after she finishes the last 3 (she's on book 4 right now).

speaking of book 7 (sorta), i loved it. L-O-V-E-D - the wish i was a songwriter so i could write a song about how much i loved it kind. it was beautiful. the overall plot, the coherence and continuity of the story, the love and selflessness, the personal growth, the sacrifice, the appreciation of the gravity of hard things, the war between good and evil, the complexity of the human soul, the responsibility of each individual for his or her choices, the importance of standing strong against evil even when there's no reasonable hope of victory, the power of friendship, the strength that is garnered from accountability and togetherness, the fact that there are plenty of things worse than death... this was good stuff, folks. i'm not saying we should pass it out to every 9-12 year old kid, or that it doesn't have its issues, because it does. i'm all into being careful about what your kids read - and KNOWING what they read is kinda an important part of that, as is knowing your kid. but i do think that rowling has offered here a lot of truth and meaningful value - a heck of a lot more than you would find in the vast majority of tv shows, movies, and books in general, let alone produced for that age range.

one great thing about the psychology of the harry potter books is that it's not fairytale-like. no one is idealized in the series - no one is perfectly admirable or worthy of utter emulation. it works the same way with people - heck, it works the same way with theologians!!!

the big debate for the characters in the deathly hallows is one of taking sides: will they side with good or evil? there is no middle ground - there is no sitting on the sidelines and watching - you have to pick. if you don't, you're as good as evil (don't think about that too hard because it's a horrible sentence). funny how we don't treat our SIN, which is waging war against us from within our own BODIES, this way........