Friday, September 17, 2010

Harry Potter, The Defense Against Dark Arts and the Seven Unwanted Vices

For those who have been following the "Harry Potter" series (books/movie) religiously, would be well versed with the fact that Harry and friends had a subject called "Defense Against Dark Arts" all along their education. Also the fact that the job of the "Defense Against Dark Arts" teacher was jinxed , and hence no Professor remained in the position for more than one year. This meant that each year we had a new Professor for the position and consequentially the scope of introduction of a new charachter each year/book.

I realised a small observation regarding the people who took up the post each year. Apparently each of the seven people, were charachteristically different from each other, and exhibit some charachteristic unwanted vices (unwanted in the sense that we wouldnt want it in ourselves) .

  • Quirrell, in the first year, is some-one who is cowardly and spine-less
  • Lockhart, in the second year, is some-one who is boastfull and fraudulent.
  • Lupin, in the third year, is some-one who is miserable.
  • Moody, in the fourth year, is some-one who is cranky, Vichitr and actually deceitfull(no more spoilers)
  • Umbridge, in the fifth year, is some-one who is corrupt and un-just.
  • Snape, in the sixth year, is some-one who is vengeful and un-courteous.
  • Slughorn, in the seventh year, is some-one who is lazy and nepotistic.
Just an observation, although some vices apply to others also.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Quote Unquote - III

  • The 20s are designed for failure, so fail all your can. Because in 30s there is no room for making mistakes -- Dustin Hoffman
  • Animals do smart things with their pea-sized brains, and humans do animal things with their smart-sized brain -- Gaurav Patil
  • Jumping off of a 200-foot cliff is a lot of fun for 199 feet, That final 12 inches is a bitch -- Sam Davidson
  • Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into -- Henry Beecher
  • Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you do not need an appointment -- Catherine Aitken
  • There is always room at the top, but there is no lift -- Jaswant Singh
  • Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness -- Mark Twain
  • I believe that parents also want their kids to chase their dreams, but they know from their own life experiences how hard it is know which dream to chase. -- Amit Singh
  • The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments. -- Adam Smith
  • The road to positivity is strewn with the abandoned vehicles of the faint-hearted. -- Anand Jadhav