Snape's Patronus

So Snape's patronus is a Silver Doe, mate to James Potter's stag. One has to wonder how he feels when he realizes what Harry's patronus is and what is must mean about James. It makes his snide comment to Tonks even more ironic, though perhaps his sneer is as much for himself as for her.

Clearly Severus has never been able to get over his infatuation for Lily, the young neighborhood girl with whom he was able to share his delight in magic and impress with his superior knowledge. To be fair to Snape, it does seem that pretty much all the young lads were a little in love with Lily, so it wasn't just a selfish pleasure on his part. She was bright, vivacious, saucy, spunky, friendly, kind, young, and healthy. Like her son, she would probably have made a pleasant ingredient for a polyjuice potion. What more does youth want of youth?

Lily has what Severus does not: loving parents. She even has a sibling, though that does not necessarily seem to be something worthy of envy in this case... Still, young Severus is desperately alone and embattled in his emotionally and physically abusive household. Lily is the neighborhood ray of sunlight in his otherwise dark world. That he should cling to her even beyond her death is both sad and understandable. That he should be willing to sacrifice what is left of his life to protect her son, even one spawned of his most hated rival and enemy, says as much about the wretchedness of his life as it does about his valor and love for her.

The fact that Snape has a female patronus invites yet another line of thinking, though I do not wish to tread down any unworthy path here. Instead of going down the demeaning stereotypical interpretation of weakness at sight of his feminine patronus as Voldemort surely would have, I think, rather, that it is reflective of the ferocity of his protectiveness of Harry, deep down, despite all outward appearances to the contrary. There is, after all, no creature fiercer in nature than a mother protecting her young, as witnessed in Molly Weasley's duel with Bellatrix LeStrange. That same ferocity is evident in Snape's defense of Harry in spite of the youth's antagonism and the suspicions of the Dark Lord's minions.

One might leap to argue with the characterization of fierce here, but let me explain. Being an effective double agent requires a very special personality, one capable of duplicity at the deepest levels. This comes at a great price, however, for such a person can never fully, clearly, believably reveal self to others, any more than a chameleon can resist nature's demand to change in each new environment. Despite this, Snape remains true to his very death, only giving in to his desire to gaze into his love's eyes in the face of her son as he is breathing his last and giving up his oh so closely guarded secrets and memories.

Perhaps those malevolent looks Harry endures for six long years are as much Snape's desperate efforts to conceal his desire for Harry's lost mother as a reflection of his feelings for the father of whom the rest of Harry so irksomely reminds him...

Thus, the Silver Doe, and no apologies needed, except perhaps for the snip at Tonks, whose similarly evoked patronus is so much more macho... ;->

HP Immersion

Has it only been 2 1/2 weeks since I dipped my head into the Harry Potter pensieve and found myself sucked into its universe once again? The total audio immersion has been a fantasy escape much needed and desired, though the periodic skips and skids of the cd recordings provided far too much unwanted intrusion from this mundane world to which I perforce now return, if ever so briefly.

I am, after all, only here to take another breath prior to resubmerging myself, this time into the video interpretation of the texts. I suspect this will only take 2-3 days, however, after which I will feel obliged to reread all the texts, having thoroughly confused myself as to which events belong to which medium.

This morning I reminisced delightedly on the reminder that the Ravenclaw dormitory requires not a password, but an astute response to a query that requires divergent thinking, or at least thinking. Hermione really would have found great pleasure in that house, though clearly she would have missed out on much fun and many physical adventures in exchange.

Okay, going back in. When I resurface, I shall probably ruminate further.

Media Muscle Flexing

Is there any doubt as to which national presidential candidate is currently favored by the mainstream media? Not a day goes by without some sort of positive article being published, usually on the front page. This seems to be true on both paper and electronic pages, by the way.

I don't have a firm opinion regarding any particular candidate at present, though I have found myself leaning first one way, then another, as the campaign has wound its way up and down the length and breadth of this geographically vast nation of ours. What I do have a firm opinion about, however, is that I do not care to be railroaded by blatant shouting. I confess my hackles are going up as a sense of claustrophobia from perceived herding continues to assail me. Perhaps I should stop reading so much, though if I do that, how will I ever make up my already too malleable mind?

I suppose if I start scouring a greater variety of news sources, I'll start getting more varied perspectives. Perhaps greater confusion will ultimately lead me to some sense of clarity. At present, viewing the candidates puts me in mind of selecting produce: with so many similarities, how does one determine what is truly under the skin without peeling something open?

Fleeing Flights

First Aloha Airlines goes belly up, then ATA swiftly follows, both citing rising fuel costs as part of the problem. Now the FAA's crackdown on safety inspections is causing American Airlines to cancel flights en masse. What's a commuter to do?

On the mainland, there are still trains, buses, and automobiles as alternative means of transportation, but here in the islands there is an increasing concern (at least in this locale) about the distinct possibility of being stranded on an undeserted island in the middle of the Pacific. What does that mean?

Like Gilligan's famous enclave, there are positives and negatives galore to this scenario. The weather is warm, the people are friendly... sort of... and the food is some of the best in the world, at least for this palate. On the other hand, my cats are "over there."

As this airline war of attrition continues and fuel prices mock would-be travelers, highlighting the failure of the outgoing administration to adequately address an issue that has been identified for most of my life, alternatives seem to be fast fading. Time has become a critical factor.

Where is Mighty Mouse when you need him to save the day? Or Underdog, for that matter? Auwe!

New Bond Film Raises Old Issue

Yes, Daniel Craig has breathed fresh life into one of my favorite franchises that had gone seriously stale. For this I am grateful. The casting of Craig, however, may have been one of the few things the producers have done right in far too long.

The link above leads to an article about a mayor of a small rural town in Chile who drove onto one of the sets for the upcoming Bond film. The very first thing that struck me was the number and quality of the qualifications laid on this man before the article even got underway:

Yes, he is a mayor. That should suffice. Why is it necessary to indicate that the town is small? Why should it matter that it is rural? Does this reflect on the film? No, it belittles the man. To what end?

The title of the article titillates, the adjectives add fuel to the intended fire, and what should be the heart of the matter is buried so far down the article that many readers will, in all likelihood, never get there.

So what is the point? Yes, I seem to have buried it as well... The point is that this public official was making a political protest over the all too common practice of using one country's scenic locales to depict those of another country. The problem here is that this particular piece of land has been the bone of contention between two neighboring countries for over a century. How is it that the filmmakers failed to know this? Did they knowingly proceed? Somehow that seems worse, the willful fanning of controversial political flames.

A second point, more than merely secondary, is that the increased police presence in the town because of filming is reminiscent of one of the bloodiest and most brutal dictatorships in recent Chilean history. Again, the filmmakers seem callously, arrogantly oblivious of the society in which they are working as guests.

How is it that foreign filmmakers carry such clout that a man of such stature as a local mayor should be treated as a common criminal by police officers acting merely as hired security? In the United States, they would be off duty, moonlighting, without the authority necessary to arrest intruders. They would simply be present to deter or detain, as need be. True, Chile is not the U.S., and even in this country no one is above the law, but since when is protecting a film set license to oppress others, as this mayor has described? Of course, since when does a public official feel the need to make a spectacle of himself in order to make a point? Oh wait... I can answer that one...