What on earth is the problem that fundies have with Harry Potter? Some woman is marching through Georgia, book burning, right now, and she is following a well blazed path of religious hatred towards JK Rowling. They have always been good at book burning, fundies of all religions. They have this burning desire to control what the rest of us can read and see and hear.

I understand that - dangerous things, words, when your whole sense of being depends on certainty that only one set of words ever written by humans is true. But why in god's name target Harry Potter?

This is one of the two great burning issues of the day (the other being global warming) and I have devoted a lot of thought (oh, ok, a little thought) to wondering what is going on. I think of the fundies as a kind of strange tribe speaking a totally unknown language and with incomprehensible society and culture and mythology, and every so often I take a peak and try to work out what on earth these strange people are up to now. [The fundies of course are peaking at me on HuffPost, probably feeling the same way, so that's fair.]

The only idea I have come up with, watching them dance around the burning piled up copies of the goblet of fire or the order of the phoenix, is that they don't want comparisons made. Only a certain four writers are allowed to write about magic tricks being performed, and they lived a long time ago. Children reading about Harry's exploits, might suddenly have an uneasy feeling that all writing about magic is made up, and then the fundamentals of fundamentalism would collapse. There must be no comparison with Harry Potter, and certainly no comparison with other religions - in the past and present, people who dared to change religion have been tortured, burnt, hung, shot, beheaded. There are no other options.

The west in general, and the US in particular have long felt the same way about other political and economic systems of course. And every time socialism emerges from yet another failed vicious capitalist state, it is quickly stamped on and destroyed. The treatment of Chavez is just the latest example of this. People must not be allowed to see alternatives to global unregulated capitalism in action. Otherwise, good heavens, they might start questioning their own religion, sorry, economic system.

Poor Harry, he is carrying the burden of a lot of fears out there.

[complete citation from: The Huffington Post - What would Harry do? - David Horton] 

[click image for full version]

[via Katie and Clare]

Go to Wikipedia, enter in your birthdate (sans year), post three events, two births and one death...

3 events

• 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland, due to a defaulted dowry payment.
• 1724 - The premiere of Giulio Cesare, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, takes place in London.
• 1991 - A gigantic statue of Albania's long-time dictator, Enver Hoxha, is brought down in the Albanian capital, Tirana, by mobs of angry protesters.

2 births

• 1924 - Gloria Vanderbilt, American clothing designer and entrepreneur
• 1927 - Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2005)

1 death

• 1154 - Saint Wulfric of Haselbury Plucknett

feeling horrible - stuffed nose - coldsore on bottom lip - watery eyes - probably high temperature

Barbecue (from: Ruth Whitlock)

ingredients:

• 1 5-6 lb. Boston butt (pork) or beef rumproast
• 2 medium onions
• 4 or 5 cloves
• 1 18-oz. bottle barbecue-sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce

Cover roast with water in a large Dutch oven. Add onions and cloves; cover and cook over medium heat 3 hours or until meat is tender. Drain meat and shred with a fork. Combine shredded meat and barbecue sauce and hot sauce in Dutch oven, cover, and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on buns, if desired.

Chili Recipe (from: Ruth Whitlock / Sharon Bell)

ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 large onion
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 large can tomatoe sauce
• chili seasoning

Brown the ground beef and onion; drain; add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer for an hour or more. Serve with grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese.

Optional:

• top with sour cream, cilantro, salsa

My sister gave me a blender for my birthday (it is a placeholder-gift, the real one is yet to be bought), and ever since I have been making smoothies all through the day.

My housemates enjoy my blending-skills as well, because I have not yet discovered how to make a smoothie for just one person.

So far, I've been making simple smoothies.

My most common ingredients?

• banana
• apple
• orange
• kiwi
• strawberry
• mango
  

and for extra liquid

• milk
• plain yoghurt
• apple juice
• orange juice

I have not used any 'recipes' yet, but that can always change.

Do you have some favorite fruits that I should try?

I've been meaning to check on any extra 'fiber' I could add, to make a smoothie suitable for breakfast. Any ideas on that?