Friday, July 20, 2007

Hello, Deathly Hallows

I can't call this entry "Goodbye, Harry," since it's more like "Hello, Last Book." But it's the beginning of the end. I won't say goodbye to Harry, Hogwarts, the wizarding world and all the other memorable characters J.K. Rowling has created until I've reached the last page. And I can't even put it off. There are too many people out there who will trumpet the news of how the series ends. Some way too soon. There have already been possible spoilers, even the whole text, supposedly, laboriously photoed and uploaded to the web.

But eventually people will feel free to talk about the book, assuming (correctly) that everyone who cares will get and read the book as quickly as possible. Since there's no escaping the end, I may as well read on. At my own pace though; not too fast, not too slow.

As I'm sitting here typing, the parties are about to get underway at bookstores. I'll be heading out in about an hour. I don't want to get there too early, since I'm too old to join in the games and trivia. I'll give myself time to shop around a bit. They start lining people up at 11:30.

Since I was in the area earlier today, I picked up my "place in line" bracelet. They go by colors. I'm silver -- the second group which will assemble. But I don't know how many constitute a group.

They're also having a couple of prizes: the chance to be first in line and a chance to win a poster of Deathly Hallows book cover, signed by the artist. I'd rather have the latter; I'll get the book soon enough being there at midnight.

This is probably the last time I'll head out at this time of night to get my copy of a book as close past midnight as I can. There's one other series I would do this for: The Destroyer. But a book series has to be phenomenal for the demand to be so great that book stores stay open for a midnight release. And The Destroyer, as good as it is, will never appeal to such a large cross section of people.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Big Brother Hits Our Taste Buds

They're on the march again. The PC police. The "we know what's best for you" brigade. The "government must legislate for your own good" crowd.

First it was the anti-smoking laws which grew from mandatory non-smoking sections in restaurants to outright banning of smoking. Then new laws extended the no smoking areas to in and around schools and finally in all public buildings.

Then some states decided fireworks should not be sold to private citizens. They were too dangerous, they reasoned. Some people were blowing their hands off or burning themselves and others.

Then some state Supreme Courts decreed it was okay for the local government to snatch private property "for the good of the majority."

But now, they've finally gone too far. Though New York is a liberal state, residents of NYC are a diverse, opinionated freedom-loving group. NYC is filled with gourmets (or maybe gourmands would be more precise?).

The link is from Power Line, since the full Wall Street Journal article is subscribers only.

It seems the enlightened beaurocracy of NYC has passed a law banning artificial trans fats in restaurants and other food venues. What's the outcome? Isn't the alternative more healthy? I can hear you asking.

Yes, but at what price? According to the WSJ article, one restaurant owner remarks:

"The French fries look like they've been standing on a steam table for an hour when they have not," says Mr. Gounaris, who ditched his partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening for a trans-fat-free soybean shortening five months ago in preparation for the ban, which took effect Sunday. Fried chicken doesn't get as crispy in the new oil, Mr. Gounaris complains, and the fries are pale and limp....

Non-crispy fried chicken. Pale and limp fries.

Don't laugh. It could be your city/state next, if this abomination is allowed to go unchallenged. The health food Nazis are dancing with joy and waiting for the public to show its apathy and resignation to what it feels is the inevitable encroachment of the Nanny state. They're waiting for NYC citizens to give up without a fight. Then, they will begin to work on other city and state governments.

It'll never pass in the South. They fry everything, they own guns and they don't take kindly to Yankees pushing their ways on them.

But I can see the people in my blue, blue state rolling over and taking it. My only hope is that NH holds strong, though with so many MA residents moving up there for the beneficial tax breaks, the pussification of NH may not be long coming.

Perhaps if detractors equated the sheep like acceptance of the limp fries with a permanent flaccidity in a certain organ?