GhostTapes
@ghosttapes.bsky.social
I've found this really tricky for my own kids with Harry Potter. I have *strong opinions* about not funding JKR, but when all of my daughters friends are obsessed with it and all she wants is to join in with the conversation it felt difficult to ban her because of my own views.
September 21, 2026 at 8:31 AM
I've found this really tricky for my own kids with Harry Potter. I have *strong opinions* about not funding JKR, but when all of my daughters friends are obsessed with it and all she wants is to join in with the conversation it felt difficult to ban her because of my own views.
There's also the "this is basically just your hobby isn't it, I'm not going to pay you to do something you enjoy" mentality.
Yes it might be better more fun than (for example) working retail, but no, there are other things I would choose to be doing if it was my own free time!
Yes it might be better more fun than (for example) working retail, but no, there are other things I would choose to be doing if it was my own free time!
September 19, 2026 at 10:43 AM
There's also the "this is basically just your hobby isn't it, I'm not going to pay you to do something you enjoy" mentality.
Yes it might be better more fun than (for example) working retail, but no, there are other things I would choose to be doing if it was my own free time!
Yes it might be better more fun than (for example) working retail, but no, there are other things I would choose to be doing if it was my own free time!
The first plane crashed at 1.46pm UK time, so clearly Eve is admitting that her school had prior knowledge of what was about to happen
September 12, 2026 at 11:06 AM
The first plane crashed at 1.46pm UK time, so clearly Eve is admitting that her school had prior knowledge of what was about to happen
And that's why I follow you!
September 12, 2026 at 8:18 AM
And that's why I follow you!
Fougassi is excellent!
September 12, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Fougassi is excellent!
Why even have an outside world at all? Seahaven could be the entire world and then they wouldn't have to bother with all the effort they go to to keep Truman from wanting to leave.
September 5, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Why even have an outside world at all? Seahaven could be the entire world and then they wouldn't have to bother with all the effort they go to to keep Truman from wanting to leave.
I bet those same people call the Netherlands 'Holland' and think that is good enough!
August 24, 2026 at 1:29 PM
I bet those same people call the Netherlands 'Holland' and think that is good enough!
As a teacher "schools should start teaching X" is always fun, as my reaction is always either A. "actually, we already do" or B. "ok, and which current lesson would you like that to replace?"
August 22, 2026 at 10:19 AM
As a teacher "schools should start teaching X" is always fun, as my reaction is always either A. "actually, we already do" or B. "ok, and which current lesson would you like that to replace?"
I've been thinking about this a lot. Obviously bigotry wasn't 'solved' 20 years ago, but there was a sense that the general direction of movement regarding societal and institutional prejudice was positive. I don't think that is true now.
(Queue accusations of naivety and examples of 00s bigotry!)
(Queue accusations of naivety and examples of 00s bigotry!)
August 22, 2026 at 9:39 AM
I've been thinking about this a lot. Obviously bigotry wasn't 'solved' 20 years ago, but there was a sense that the general direction of movement regarding societal and institutional prejudice was positive. I don't think that is true now.
(Queue accusations of naivety and examples of 00s bigotry!)
(Queue accusations of naivety and examples of 00s bigotry!)
That's a really interesting point. I was 11 when the first one came out and enjoyed it, but I was 21 when the last one did, so had very much moved on by then. If I wanted to read it I imagine I may have felt the need to justify it to myself as more adult than it is!
August 22, 2026 at 9:28 AM
That's a really interesting point. I was 11 when the first one came out and enjoyed it, but I was 21 when the last one did, so had very much moved on by then. If I wanted to read it I imagine I may have felt the need to justify it to myself as more adult than it is!
This is my experience as well, from reading the odd chapter to her. The first few were well paced and I could completely understand why it was a phenomenon with kids. 4 could have done with pruning but had a serviceable plot and structure. She's currently on 5 and is finding it a slog.
August 22, 2026 at 9:22 AM
This is my experience as well, from reading the odd chapter to her. The first few were well paced and I could completely understand why it was a phenomenon with kids. 4 could have done with pruning but had a serviceable plot and structure. She's currently on 5 and is finding it a slog.
Ah ok. As I say, I didn't read any of the later books as a child, but my daughter is reading them now. We're now on the books that are longer, but this mostly seems like they just need a much stricter editor more than it being any evidence that they are more difficult!
August 22, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Ah ok. As I say, I didn't read any of the later books as a child, but my daughter is reading them now. We're now on the books that are longer, but this mostly seems like they just need a much stricter editor more than it being any evidence that they are more difficult!
Is the problem in the various definitions in this thread that HP changes as the series progresses? Admittedly, I only read the first two books, but I've been told that to some extent the books (and certainly the films) age with the reader? They start off very kids book and finish YA?
August 22, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Is the problem in the various definitions in this thread that HP changes as the series progresses? Admittedly, I only read the first two books, but I've been told that to some extent the books (and certainly the films) age with the reader? They start off very kids book and finish YA?
I drew that Spill! Vote Daft Punk.
August 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
I drew that Spill! Vote Daft Punk.
...Wandering around the hills above Aberystwyth the romantic appeal of distant hills had to be accompanied with precise measurements of heights and distances. If his specific demands weren't met he would lose interest and withdraw."
August 10, 2026 at 9:03 PM
...Wandering around the hills above Aberystwyth the romantic appeal of distant hills had to be accompanied with precise measurements of heights and distances. If his specific demands weren't met he would lose interest and withdraw."
Read the following paragraph about Victorian climber Siegfried Herford and thought it sounded familiar: "He was volcanically energetic with a fierce and very specific intelligence for mathematics. He was obsessed with numbers...
August 10, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Read the following paragraph about Victorian climber Siegfried Herford and thought it sounded familiar: "He was volcanically energetic with a fierce and very specific intelligence for mathematics. He was obsessed with numbers...
But they are useless, because the dictionary definition means both twice a month and every two months. So if I say I am releasing something bi-monthly you would then have to check which I mean, making it a useless word
July 31, 2026 at 9:20 PM
But they are useless, because the dictionary definition means both twice a month and every two months. So if I say I am releasing something bi-monthly you would then have to check which I mean, making it a useless word
I agree it should mean every 2 months, but the dictionary definition is either!
July 31, 2026 at 1:50 PM
I agree it should mean every 2 months, but the dictionary definition is either!
That's certainly an odd one, but it does only have one meaning
July 31, 2026 at 12:59 PM
That's certainly an odd one, but it does only have one meaning
That the word 'bi-monthly' means both twice a month and also once every two months. The word is functionally useless if it means two completely different things!
July 31, 2026 at 11:33 AM
That the word 'bi-monthly' means both twice a month and also once every two months. The word is functionally useless if it means two completely different things!
God I have this with 'bi-monthly'. A word that means both twice a month and also once every two months is functionally useless!
July 31, 2026 at 11:27 AM
God I have this with 'bi-monthly'. A word that means both twice a month and also once every two months is functionally useless!
SHU is Sheffield Hallam University, so in this case I think he is probably telling the truth
July 23, 2026 at 6:49 PM
SHU is Sheffield Hallam University, so in this case I think he is probably telling the truth
A £10 Casio from Argos I assume
July 10, 2026 at 8:41 AM
A £10 Casio from Argos I assume