Literary Criticisms- Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

I have decided- this next series will be devoted entirely to literary reviews, criticisms and my uptake on all things bookish.
As an intro, here's a list of what I've been reading: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- J K Rowling
The Princes of Ireland- Edward Rutherfurd
Blink- Malcolm Gladwell
Onwards to HP Part 6- went to B & N yesterday and decided to read it all in one sitting- interspersed as it was with about 2 hours of accumulated chatter from the daughter and assorted demands for movies, hot dogs and a brief conversation with a self publishing author, I took about 5 hours to read it. Not a personal best but then what can you do?
The book is well crafted and much more from the heart thanThe Order of the Phoenix which could easily have done with judicious editing...this one though sits well on Rowlings shoulders. Less onerous, more complex and very humorous- the gags were little jewels, set amidst a fog of words. Thus endeth my pathetic attempt at literature....
Dumbledore is fleshed out beautifully, as is Lord Voldemort- the Pensieve is a remarkable instrument and well named-I believe it's not what you write but how you write it...I do have issues with all those reviews where they have panned Rowlings for subverting and leading good Christians astray- it's fantasy- stop taking everything so seriously just because the author makes money off it. Go write your own Jenkins and LaHaye oriented novels if it bugs you so much. See if you get Left Behind... :)
Anyway, the Dumbledore sequence of retrieving one of the Horcruxes was spectacular. The imagery, the suspense and the emotion were perfect.
I think kids would like this one far more than the previous book- 800 odd pages of adolescent angst is a bit much for anyone...this book has first loves,snogging, passages of putrid prose and still manages to tell the tale of a coming of age story.
I like the way she weaves mythology, fantasy and modern day politics in this book- all soliloquys aside- and there are 3 in this one,it fits well.
All in all, full marks to Rowlings for managing to write a beautiful book amidst all the hype and expectations.
Shall now settle down for Goblet of Fire in the screen version- judging by the 3 previous films in the series, this one should pull out all the stops

New York in the summer

What an absolute wonder of a city! Sun drenched canyons, glimmering buildings, silhouetted spires...this city comes alive in the summer....wherever you turn, you see the joy of finally welcoming heat after the long dreary winter.
Sundays at the park- a cliche but like all of them, its true!
Joggers with 6 pack abs, those with beer guts, old mamas in sweaty vests- hotties both male n female on rollerblades and bikes...couples smooching, fighting, grandparents with kids in the fountains, desi hot dog vendors who tell you about how they are bringing up their kids( when u r a fellow brownie, they talk - rather loquaciously!), meandering lines of people waiting ever so patiently for that free ticket to Shakespeare in the Park, bearded oldies strumming a guitar and singing tunelessly at John Lennon's grave, kids dipping their feet in the green murky algae of the Great Pond, ducks drunkenly wobbling on mounds of rock- pre-Cambrian I believe...it's a smorgasbord of images and visuals.
If Times Square is the neon lit center of the universe, then Central Park is it's sylvan twin.
The entire city is like that- who needs LSD or PCP when just a stroll down the block gives you an infinite collage of visual and aural imagery? They say India can be cultural overload- so is it here- no wonder us brownies love this city so much.

Long time, no see

It's been awhile since I posted...had a lot to say but somehow the words dried up just as I'd begin to write....Dunno how long the block will last or how i can get this blasted underline off!
Hey! I did it!!!!
Anyhoo, life in NYC moves on- it's been fun vegging out at Central Park with a book, a kid and lots of sunshine...the fallout is that I do the single mom routine and hence conversations not peppered with questions from the daughter are glaring in their absence.
Dotage, she is upon me..and I find that I'm writing the way I speak- with dots aplenty and pauses in train of thought.
Batman Begins- good good movie- and eye candy of the Baleful sort is good for the single persons soul. Am waiting to see War of the Worlds but dunno if the toothsome aging hunk is worth the price.
Did the 43 things.com thing- go see the site and you'll know what I mean. For all things cool in the realm of blogging, I go to RandomFractals- somehow, my bro finds the time to keep abreast of all things cyberian.
I used to think I was the inveterate surfer- that guy has me beat. So it's a pretty nifty one stop shop for the sublime and the mundane- to think he has an exacting day job as well!
My mom won a Best Teacher of NYC award- amazing woman that one...
Life at this point is all about trying to network so I can bring home the bacon- the skill specific world of IT consultancy and trying to get a foothold therein is more yapping and less typing.
That dear reader is where I stop- the words are dry again and this post aint winning any awards for felicity....Later dudes.