The Oriental Perspective

The opinion piece in the Japan Times gives another view of the HP phenomenon: Harry Potter and the perfect storm.

"Potteriad", eh? Who coined that, we wonder.

Google gives one link, but not for the same context, since it's used to name a work within a piece of HP fanfic. Google's news search lists the Japan Times article plus one from the Village Voice dated June 24th, making that an earlier appearance (yup, that's the review that includes the line "Rowling hasn't yet written an ungraceful sentence" with which we'd profoundly disagree: we've always felt that her writing style was one of things that didn't work). But that's only online sources.

We like it as a term: it's neater, when referring to the series of novels, than anything else. But, unintentionally I guess, it's faintly comical. Whilst the Iliad and the Aeniad have a certain gravitas, generally since the appearance of The Dunciad, the -iad suffix reeks of mock-heriosm and surely can only be used ironically. It seems not, however.

Fake Vikings

From The Denver Post (via the Guardian's theInformer): Utah town's Viking yarn spins some anger.

The notion of a Viking Mardi Gras "without the booze or the raunch" strikes us as impossible. They'll be banning battle axes next. Or is that a joke, too?

It must be a clearing the inbox kind of day chez the ravens

Two very interesting pieces in Japan Times today. The first, a jaded review of mankind's progress into space by a former member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presents in the Kalashnikov one of those almost clichéed examples of clunky, outmoded Russian technology beating the snazzy state-of-the-art Yankee offerings. Almost clichéed until one progresses to the other article: U.N. strives to control real weapons of mass destruction. The real weapons are, of course, the small arms used in the on-going regional conflicts and terrorist/freedom fighters' campaigns that plague much of the world.

There's a chilling statement partway through this piece: "Half of the weapons in the world are said to be traded legally, but many of the legally exported weapons find their way into the black market." This rather implies that half the weapons in the world are traded illegally and of the half that are traded legally many end up on the black market. Presumably, therefore, most of the weapins in the world are traded illegally.

There's no mention either of landmines that continue to take their toll wherever military forces fail to clean up after themsleves.

It's enough to make us want to ship off planet, except, in a world where "overpriced tourism" looks like the only way, we don't have the dosh.