Does anyone else think that J.K. Rowlings is a whiney hypocrite?

Seriously. I don't know if any of you have been following this story but J.K. Rowlings is suing a fan for creating a Harry Potter Lexicon. She claims that "this book constitutes the wholesale theft of 17 years of [her] hard work. Ha! That claim is, quite simply, ludicrous.

First of all, in order for that claim to be true, Harry Potter would have to actually be her original idea. Yeah right. Have any of you read the Worst Witch? If not let me sum it up for you. It is about a little girl named Mildred who goes to Mrs. Cackle's Academy for Witches where she is disliked by the potions teacher and a blond bully. Mildred also has to practice flying her broomstick for an important school event but somehow her broomstick gets bewitched. Sound familiar? For more similarities between the Worst Witch and Harry Potter go here. And the sad truth is The Worst Witch is just one example of where J.K. Rowlings stole her ideas. Ever heard of a 1984 book titled The Legend of Rah and the Muggles which coincidentally enough has a main character named Larry Potter? Hmmmm. (As an interesting side note, before making the Harry Potter movies, Warners Brothers made sure to buy the rights to the Worst Witch.)

Secondly, an encyclopedia is not plagiarism. Come on. This guy is not claiming that J.K. Rowlings ideas are his: he is just organizing them for people who have already presumably bought and read all seven of her books. Rowlings goes on to claim that this lexicon would hurt sales of the Harry Potter Encyclopedia she was planning to write. Yeah right. Don't you think that people would still buy her version as the official version?

Don't get me wrong, I really did and do enjoy the Harry Potter books. I just think that it is ironic that an author who stole ideas from other authors without any sort of citation is suing a fan for openly and lovingly (aka giving Rowlings all the credit) organizing the Harry Potter world into a lexicon.

Oh, I just found an article written by Orson Scott Card that said what I was trying to say, only much MUCH better. You can check it out here.

Introducing Grandma

I am from a different generation, somedays I feel like it is really the break-away generation. I admire my Grandmother Frieda. In a patriarchal society, she was always treated as an equal partner to my Grandfather. Her faith in Christ may have wavered, but she never let go. She never worked outside the home. My Grandfather beleived in education and his children, both born in the Depression went to College. All of his eight grandchildren went to college - he gave us that chance equally - men and women. My Mother also went to college, but when she had her first child, she became a true farmer's wife. Long after her children moved away, she went back to college to re-earn her Nursing degree and return to the workforce. I, on the other hand, seemed to have it made. I was the first granddaughter to graduate from College. As a sophomore, our Basketball Program received the first Title 9 scholarships. I thought I was a part of earning them even though I played volleyball. No - I was just the break-away generation, receiving the reward of someone else's work. I went to work right out of College - hired by Basin Electric as the first woman in their Public Relations Division. I thought I was an incredible person with good creditials. Later I found out I was hired under the Affirmative Action Program. Again - I was just the break-away generation reaping the rewards from someone else's hard work. I have always worked outside the home, but as my husband began his military career, I found that I was mostly an anomoly. Slowly more families of my age needed more than one income to live. I was chastised more than once by a senior officer's spouse that I did not present myself well; it looked like my husband could not take care of his family. These same people would point to lower ranks and make the "snob" comments. For once I felt empowered - I had gone to college, I had a husband who gave me moral support, we had long term goals that required financing and these other people were not paying our bills!

A strong woman comes to terms with herself by realizing that she had help getting there. I work in an industry that is dominated by men. I am, and have always been, the only female division chief. But I got there by someone beleiving in me 10 years ago and mentoring me. I have been told by many women that they admire what I do, how I treat people and how strong I am as a leader. I admire strong women and will continue to learn from them. But I also know that I had great teachers - they teach us to challenge our beliefs, the way we see ourselves and make us questions our motives. That is how we become strong women who question, listen and make our decisions.

I only hope that my daughters can feel that they too are strong women of conviction!

Don't Laugh at the Devil?

So i just started to reread C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters (i started it last time i was at Emily's). Anyway, he starts the book off with a couple of qoutes...

The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yielf to texts of csripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.

Luther

The devil...the prowde spirite...cannot endure to be mocked.

Thomas Moore

So i have two questions; first, what is their foundation for this presumption; and second, let's assume it could be true, why would it be true? Well, and i guess a third question, how would you go about doing it? A "mock the devil" party just doesn't seem like a good idea.

The Secret Life of Bees

I just finished reading this amazing book called The Secret Life of Bees. It touched me deeply as it explored a girl searching for remnants of her mother's life in Civil Rights Amendment-era South Carolina.

After I finished the book, my brain kept thinking... Lily Owens fell in love with a black boy, an absolutely terrible thing to do in that time period. And I started to wonder what the difference between interracial relationships pre-Civil Rights and homosexual relationships now? Both have been/are villified. The only real difference I can see is that one can naturally produce children and the other cannot. Should this be a basis for discrimination? There are many, many heterosexual couples who also cannot naturally produce children. Should they be villified as well?

I know this is a hot-button issue, especially in the LDS community. What is your opinion?

Introducing Myself

Unattended Children

Here's the question: Have you ever left your child unattended in a vehicle for any length of time?

I have. I've left kids in the car while I run inside to pick up/drop off Anya. I've left them (with Anya/PJ "supervising") while I ran into the post office or into a friend's home. I never leave the vehicle unlocked. I take the keys with me. I'm not gone longer than 5 minutes. Could something happen in those 5 minutes? I'm sure something could. I guess I "play the odds." I don't think this makes me a bad parent. And I don't think I should go to jail, like this mom.

What are your thoughts?

Introducing Taylor

hmmm, or maybe I should use some tricksy screen name so that nobody will know who to blame for all my strong opinions???? Anyway, on to the introduction!

Introducing myself is always a little strange for me. Mostly because the way I see myself and the way I really am are not the same thing and I am never sure which way to go when giving an introduction. So perhaps I should begin by saying that I pride myself on being an intellectual (it is important to note that "priding oneself" and actually being are two different things). And that I consider myself to be an objectivist Mormon (if you know anything about either, you will understand how being both gives rise to a lot of internal conflict). I also am a behavior analyst (phooey on mentalism!) and the Stay-at-Home Parent of a mostly delightful 7 month old daughter.

My interest are rather broad: ranging from rock climbing to reading to rocketry (check out my alliteration!). I also am addicted to Wil Wheaton's Celebrity Blog (Wesley Crusher from Star Trek) which proves my eternal geekiness. I scrapbook and journal just enough to feel like I am documenting my daughters life and I am OBSESSED with making sticker charts to monitor my goal progress.