News items of note

There has been some encouraging and discouraging news out here in Battling the Current land. The good news is that the blog is apparently back on the leading edge of the pop culture curve. Yes, not only was the Transformers discussion started a day before the link appeared on ESPN’s Page 2 but Family Guy made a You Can’t Do That on Television reference tonight, several months after we spent days discussing the show here. See, this isn’t just meaningless drivel filling up cyberspace. This is actually pointed pop culture analysis that is being stolen by other people online. Someone find my lawyer.

In much more challenging news, I’d like to thank the governor of the great state of Missouri for passing a law that will make it much tougher for me to, uh, “research my novel.” When people complain about my characters and my illogical plot points I’ll know exactly who to blame. Also, I’d like to thank all the people who have now made it illegal for me to buy Sudafed. Actually, I just have to go to the pharmacist and sign paperwork for it. As someone who basically lives on the stuff for nine months of the year, this is really annoying. I know that it is to cut down on the meth trade but man, it’s great to be made to feel like a criminal just because you have a head cold.

For those wondering, yes I did pick up the new Harry Potter book. I have someone in South Bend to thank for getting me hooked on the series. Plus, it is one of the few books in my library that people see and go, “I’ve read that.” I’ve just gotten started in it and, well, nothing is happening yet. I don’t know if J.K. Rowling is just using the first hundred pages as set up as we reintroduce all the characters and plot points since it’s been two years since I read the last one. She really does need an editor. It’s an unbelievably creative story and filled with great incidental details but she has this need to place all of the incidental details into the story. That’s a problem. One of the things that I’ve at least been told about being a writer is that you create this wonderful backstory for a character and the only person who knows about it is the writer. You can’t write the character without knowing details about what high school was like for them but if you put those details in the book the story seems to lose its way. That’s happened in the last few Potter books. Still, I’m for any series that gets kids reading.

Of course, that did not stop one of the local pastors in town from getting time on the news to talk about how the book was bad because it encouraged kids to get involved in the supernatural and paganism and witchcraft. (Yes, this rant again.) First of all, I do wonder if anyone who complains about books like these ever bothers to read them. I’d be hard pressed to find anything socially damaging about Harry Potter. I mean, who wants to have their kids read stories about friendship and loyalty. Plus, I really do want kids to read and this is a way to get them in the bookstore. But here is my biggest problem. Growing up I read this great story about four kids who went into this magical closet and entered into this magical land where they were met by a centaur. There was this evil witch who ruled over the land and was challenged, with the help of the four children, by Aslan the lion. This story is filled with magical spells and supernatural events. It is also an allegory on Christianity by one of the great thinkers of our time. I’m talking about The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I wonder if the pastor would like to see that book banned as well.

The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt “The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt”
2) Liz Phair “whitechocolatespaceegg”
3) Various Artists “Down to the Promised Land”
4) Sting “The Dream of the Blue Turtles”
5) Wilco “A.M.”