Wizardry

I worked only 3.5 days New year's week due to doctor stuff, and not at all this week due to cataract surgery, so I've worked only 3.5 days since December 23rd. Seventeen days ago. Have I accomplished anything during this vacation? Does getting vastly improved vision count? Other than that: I've done a little work on a couple of stories, got one story up on Zoetrope, chanted more than usual, did a little research.

This may be boring you, but it's reminding me that I have to make better use of my time. Am I a writer, or a guy who says he's a writer and scribbles down just enough to have evidence?

New Year's resolution?

So I haven't actually read much -- I hope the bus company stayed solvent without my contribution -- but, having experienced the wizardry of modern medicine, I reminded that about a year and a half ago I jammed all 7 Harry Potter books into my brain. Maybe that's when the cataracts developed.

Suffice it to say that I read them all in a very short time, consecutively, and couldn't imagine having to wait a year or more between books (as most people did). I teared up at Dobby's fate. I kept changing my mind about Snape, and found the conclusion entirely satisfying.

Yeah, I got hooked, early and hard. You don't need me to tell you that the Harry Potter books are very, very good. So, I'll tell you the two things that were bad.

I only mention these because they weren't necessary -- just gratuitous screw-ups.

One: the big teen angst in Book 1 is the rivalry between houses, and Harry's house wins because Dumbledore just keep giving it points until it does. Why not just have them win? Or, why not just have Dubledore announce that he wants Griffindor to win and have done with it? Because, obviously, that's exactly what he wants.

Next big flaw is at the end of Book 7. Ginny's mom jumps into the fray at the most dangerous moment and says "Not my daughter!' In real life, she would have been blasted while she was talking. Very dramatic, but stupid.

Geez, am I nitpicking or what???

I'm currently reading Steve Martin's Shopgirl. When I get around to reviewing that one, I'll try to find two good things to highlight.