Radcliffe, Fry Donate Glasses to Holocaust Memorial Event
Friday, January 4th, 2008
Actor Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and UK Harry Potter audio book narrator Stephen Fry have donated their glasses to a project being held as part of Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. This is North Scotland reports that they donated their eye wear for an exhibit that reflects this striking photo of discarded glasses taken from the victims of the concentration camps in World War II. Upon making his donation Dan wrote “Please find enclosed my first pair of glasses which I wore at school at six. I wish you every success with the exhibition.”
These glasses are part of the Respectacles Project and will be on display in Liverpool, England January 21 to 26, with the glasses later being donated to the Vision Aid Overseas charity. Also in Liverpool, England there will be a special Holocaust memorial event held at the Philharmonic January 27, which will be lead by actor Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy).
Research Finds Harry Potter Descended from Wizards
Friday, December 21st, 2007
As if any more evidence was needed, researchers from Oxford University who have been studying aspects of wizarding genes, found that evidence points to Harry Potter descending from a magical bloodline. The Telegraph has a fun look this evening at ‘an analysis of wizardry’ study on the genetics of wizards from the Harry Potter novels. Their aim is to study wizard lineage in hopes to “address the heritability of magic.” They have found, and have published in the British Medical Journal, that magical ability could indeed be passed down from generation to generation. Basing its research on elements of the story contained in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” in addition to the first six books in the series, such as information on various family lineages including the Blacks, Gaunts, and Weasleys, the study goes into great detail on the topic. Dr. Knight, a Senior Researcher from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, says of this project:
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows provides a lot of valuable information about magical families that strongly suggests a role for genetic factors.
“For example, magic exists in at least seven generations of the Black family and at least three generations in others. We also see twins – the Patil and Weasley twins – with the same magical abilities.”
The article details their findings, which, in part, contradict a previous study of wizard genes which ‘claimed magical abilities depend on a recessive version of a gene: all wizards and witches thus have two copies of the wizard “W” gene, distinguishing it from the ordinary M, or Muggle, version.’ Todays new Oxford-based study, however, builds upon the formers findings and says (with mildly spoilerific details in tow):
Rather than being all down to one gene, they believe enchanted skills can vary across a spectrum of strength, depending on the combined influence of a dominant gene for magic, which is turned on or off depending on epigenetic effects, and modified by the influence of a number of genes, along with the environment.
There appear to be three magical skills that are conferred by specific genes. “One of these is the capability to speak to snakes (parseltongue), known to be only a feature of those who are direct descendants of Slytherin.
Another is to be a seer; Sybill Trelawney, although not perfect, has this ability, and her great-great-grandmother was also extremely gifted in this respect.
Lastly, being a metamorphmagus (the ability to change one’s physical appearance) is an ability that Nymphadora Tonks passed on to her son,” says the BMJ paper.
While this hypothesis may only be based on the fictional world of author J. K. Rowling’s creation, the researchers still wait for a full analysis of a wizard’s genetic code in the future, and conclude: “magic shows strong evidence of heritability.”
According to an article in USA Today, Quidditch is the latest sport being played in colleges across the US - the first intercollegiate match was held earlier this month. One student from Middlebury College, VT said:
“Quidditch is one of the most creative things that came out of the books. We were able to create that here, follow all the rules, except the ability to fly. It just caught on.”
In order to make the game work, the snitch is replaced by a young man, who runs around the pitch at “lightning speed” and, although the players obviously lack the ability to fly, brooms are still carried around for show. This modified version of the sport has been described as a cross between rugby, dodge ball and soccer.
This week, through Oct. 6, is Banned Books Week, a celebration of freedom to read in the face of censorship, supported by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and many libraries and organizations worldwide. Harry Potter is the most challenged set of books in the 21st century, and though it has taken a brief rest from the limelight in the 2006 Top 10 list (probably because there was no Potter book released that year), it remains one of the most vocally opposed series of books in history. This standing builds on august precedent set by books like Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” Roald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach,” and J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.”To show your support for Banned Books Week, read a banned book, display an image of support, and tell people why it’s important to support the right to read whatever you like. You can get images from the ALApress kit here, and find suggestions from the ALA on how to celebrate this event here.
Actor Says Educators who Praise Children for Reading Harry Potter are “Idiots”
Thursday, September 27th, 2007
In a recent interview, a character actor from Scotland who portrays the popular Inspector Rebus has launched an odd attack of sorts on those in the education field who favor children reading the Harry Potter novels. The Scotsman reports that actor Ken Stott (who also appeared in “The Girl in the Cafe” directed by David Yates) said the following during an interview with Radio Times:
“If we’re going to make a fuss about children reading books, do it with Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials books, not JK Rowling.
“I can’t believe idiot educationalists are praising children for turning up at school and reading Harry Potter.”
In a small bit of irony, the Rebus series are based on works by author Ian Rankin, a longtime friend and neighbor of J.K. Rowling in Edinburgh, Scotland. Mr. Stott continued on in his interview about his future, noting “I’ll remain a grumpy old man.”
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