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Harry Potter

2007-08-29T22:10:09Z

Ericka:

[[Image:67486ruy.jpg|right|thumb|British edition of '''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'''.]]
'''Harry Potter''' is the [[protagonist]] in a series of seven popular fantasy novels by [[J.K. Rowling]]. Although the books are generally directed to children and teenagers, they have widespread appeal. The plot focuses on Harry's adolescence and fight against the [[antagonist]] wizard Lord Voldemort. The books combine elements of whimsy reminiscent of [[Alice in Wonderland]], the strange adult immaturity of [[Through the Looking Glass]], and the implacable good vs. evil fight of [[Lord of the Rings]].

When Harry was a mere baby, he was orphaned, and he never found out that his parents were [[wizard (fiction)|wizard]]s until his 11th birthday (it came as a giant surprise). [[Hagrid]] took him to [[Diagon Alley]] for robes, books and wand; then on to [[Hogwarts]], a boarding school for wizards and witches. He had many adventures there learning [[magic]] and using it to fight the forces of the [[Voldemort|wizard]] who killed his [[parent]]s when he was an [[infant]]. Along the way, Harry learns about life and [[death]] and grapples with questions of [[morality]] and [[friendship]]. There are seven books in total to the series.

The books have been fabulously successful, selling 300 million copies, and [[Forbes]] estimates that they have made Rowling the first billion-dollar [[author]] in history.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/maserati/billionaires2004/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html J. K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire].</ref> To date, five of them have been made into movies, the sixth to begin filming September 2007.

The Harry Potter series of [[book]]s are sizable volumes. The 870 pages of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' even though printed in large type, contain 255,000 words—about twice as long as ''A Tale of Two Cities.'' The "Lexile" measure of reading level puts the series between 880L and 950L,<ref>For comparison: Charlotte's Web 680L, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 890L, Moby Dick 1200L</ref> comparable to sixth-grade texts<ref>[http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=fa&tabindex=4&tabid=22 The Lexile framework for reading].</ref>

== Christian Themes in Harry Potter ==

This section contains information and spoilers that should not be read by someone who wants to be "surprised" by the end of the series in '''''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'''''. Therefore, the spoiler text is whited-out. Please highlight to reveal it.

Despite some criticism from mainline Christians who oppose Harry Potter for allegedly endorsing witchcraft, the series includes some demonstrably Christian themes. Specifically, Harry's death and rebirth at the end of Book VII ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") is reminiscent of the rebirth of Christ: just as the savior of humanity was reborn, so Harry Potter, as the fictional savior of the magical world, is reborn. Further, this rebirth carries a special, significant guardianship trait: as Christ died to forgive the sins of humanity, resulting in salvation for all mankind, so Harry's death grants a protective magic to himself and to his friends, not unlike the "Deep Magic" written of in [[C.S. Lewis|Lewis']] [[Chronicles of Narnia]]. Harry Potter, then, teaches the nobility of sacrifice, and the underlying importance of love, two deeply Christian themes.

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==Series titles==
*[[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]] (original title as published in England and all other English speaking countries other than U.S.A: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
*[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Book]]
[[Category:Fantasy]]

Zombie

2007-08-29T22:05:43Z

Ericka:

The fictional creatures known as '''Zombies''' are the reanimated [[corpse]]s of dead persons.

==History==

The phrase originates with the [[Voodoo]] religion of the [[Caribbean]], where it is alleged, due to the historically high mortalities among living [[slavery|slave]] labourers, zombies were procured to work on plantations. In fact these zombies may actually have been living [[abduction|abductees]]; an extract of toxins from the [[puffer fish]] is believed to have been used in their preparation, rendering them tractable, speechless and impervious to sensations such as pain and fatigue.

==In Popular Culture==

Zombies commonly feature in a popular sub-genre of [[horror film]]s, such as ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]''. Cinematic zombies are frequently portrayed as mindless, lurching, animated cadavers animated only by an unquenchable lust for blood and human [[brain]]s, and can typically be put down permanently only by means of [[decapitation]] or a [[gun]]shot to the head. Moreover, they are usually able to spread their condition by a mere bite, causing anyone so injured to turn into a zombie in a matter of hours. These so-called "rules" were established by the highly successful "Dead" series by George A. Romero.
Zombies are also common antagonists in [[fantasy]] [[role-playing game]]s, often being reanimated by [[necromancy|necromantic]] [[magic]]ians, where they are also usually classified as [[undead]] beings, and thus certain people, such as clerics, are able to utterly annihilate them with pure faith alone.

*Famous movies involving zombies:
Night of the Living Dead 
Dawn of the Dead 
Day of the Dead 
Land of the Dead 
Shaun of the Dead

*Famous videogames involving Zombies:
Resident Evil series (various platforms) 
Dead Rising (Xbox360) 
House of the Dead (Arcade) 

Famous books involving Zombies
World War Z

==Other uses==

In computer terminology, a '''Zombie''' is a computer which has been infected by malware, usually without the owner suspecting anything, and made to perform as a server for spam or other malicious content, thus isolating the original bad actor from a trace by law enforcement. A large percentage of junk email and [[phishing]] attempts are transmitted by zombie networks.

[[category:mythology]]
[[category:computers]]

Suicide

2007-08-29T22:03:10Z

Ericka:

'''Suicide''' is the act of killing of oneself. This is a [[sin]] in the [[Christian]] religion (and a mortal sin in [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] tradition), as well as a very grave sin within [[Islam]]. However, in other societies suicide can be considered to be a duty, honor, or necessity. Among the Inuit tribes some elderly individuals who believe that they have become a burden on their families may paddle into the Arctic Ocean to end their lives. Similarly, various Polynesian tribes will do the same.{{fact}} The theme of suicide can be seen in literature from many cultures. Some of the best known examples are found in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

==Scope of the Problem==

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the world, claiming over one million lives globally in 1999. The suicide rate in the U.S. in 1999 was 10.7 per 100,000; the homicide rate that same year was only 6.2 per 100,000. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth 15–24 years old. White males over 85 have the highest rate of suicide, about 65 per 100,000. Suicide rates are also elevated in some ethnic groups. For example, suicide is about 1.5 times more prevalent than average among Native Americans. While whites continue to have higher suicide rates than blacks, the gap seems to be narrowing in young males. Suicides in males outnumber those in females in almost all nations, including the United States. While males are more likely to complete suicide, females are more likely to attempt suicide.<ref>Institute of Medicine. (2002). Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. Page 33. National Academies Press, Washington.</ref>
Men are more often then not to kill themselves using a gun. A woman is more likely to kill herself using pills.

==Suicide in the Military==

The U.S. Army reported 99 suicides in 2006, with almost half of those being soldiers/officers under 25. According to Colonel Elspeth Ritchie, psychiatry consultant to Army Surgeon General Major General Gale Pollock, the primary motivation for these suicides was "failed intimate relationships, failed marriages."<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/16/AR2007081600266.html?sub=AR</ref>
This represents the highest level of suicide in the Army in 26 years.

{{stub}}

==References==
<references/>

==See also==

*[[kamikaze]]
*[[suicide bomber]]

[[category:culture]]