J.K. Rowling Thinks Being Gay is Edgy... And Why That is So Far from OK

Before I start, yes, this is an incredibly old story. Like... Ancient Sumerian old... and if anyone has already heard the arguments I'm about to make, I apologize for the redundancy. When J.K. Rowling held a press conference in 2007, a few months after the the Harry Potter series had ended, just to announce that the wise and powerful mentor-figure Albus Dumbledore was gay, I had no idea what to think. I thought it was cool at first, especially since Dumbledore, whose past romances were never revealed in any of the books, didn't fit the stereotypical "gay" mold that society often associates with a homosexual man. He didn't wear pink, or prance around in that way most people assume gay people do, he didn't even wear shirt's with the top two buttons undone to expose his hairy man chest. He was just him. I didn't think much of the whole thing since then, but my overall opinion was that it was a good thing. After a long conversation with a friend of mine this morning, I'm taking back that opinion.

Before I go on I should mention that I have only seen the movie iterations of the story, and while I wouldn't call myself a super fan, I loved them and their stories. Also, I can get passionate about pretty much anything, so don't think that my opinions aren't coming from the heart.

My first problem with the announcement was that it was an announcement. This makes me suspect it was something she decided on out of the blue, then thought "Oh! I should make a big fuss about it, too!" Lady had seven books to at least hint at his sexuality, so if it was something that was important in crafting the character, I have a hard time believing she wouldn't have taken the opportunity. Even his with his apparent asexuality, she still could have made it clear that, at a time, he was in love, possibly through one of his more personal conversations with Harry (Instead she just told a bunch of people that he had a hubby once.) Maybe Voldemort could have killed him, or turned him. It would have added so much to Dumbledore as a character (Not that he was lacking in depth.)

My second issue was that it needed to be announced at all. There were so many tools Rowling could have used to hint at Dumbledore's romantic endeavors without ever stating them. He could have seen his beau through the mirror that shows your desires (Honestly... not a Potterhead by any means) Another character could have said something cryptic, or many characters could have made several cryptic remarks that, once the series ended, the Potterheads of the internet could have pieced together to realize Dumbledore's preference on their own.

Of course, a lot of this is assuming she had the idea in her head from the start, which I don't believe at all. I've seen people say that his dress style is evidence of Dumbledore's sexuality (He wears loud patterns and colors,) but that's very stereotypical and kind of ignorant. I honestly think this was a half-assed attempt by Rowling to appeal to her gay fans, as well as introduce an element to Dumbledore that is, sadly, considered "edgy" in the entertainment industry. Coming from someone who has pursued everything form the valley girl to the biceps-heavy Adonis, I think she failed on both ends. Next time, maybe Rowling should have her heart behind it.

Two New Songs Added to Youtube!

Many may wonder Why this blog is called Hip Hop Comic Blog. The answers to your questions lie in this link to my Youtube! Watch, share, enjoy!

"Game Of The Year" (Beat Used: Diamonds by Kanye West)

"Fight Fire with Fira" (Beat Used: Renegade by Jay-Z and Eminem)

There's a slew of even more coolness on my Youtube, and comments are encouraged, even if they're less than complimentary. Check it out!

Five Fictional Characters Who , Quite Literally, Were Too Cool For School

5.

Gohan - Dragon Ball Z

Though he eventually matured into a very well read adult, Gohan's formative years were spent avoiding study in favor of some good old-fashioned laser beam martial arts. This didn't sit well with his mother, the short tempered Chi-Chi, whose greatest wish was that her son grow up to be a scholar (Which is a bit ambitious to begin with... High School Algebra teacher may have been a more reachable goal.)   In a logical world, you couldn't help but feel for the woman. Defending the planet with laser beam martial arts, which is essentially  superheroing without the costume (Though he did that too), is by definition an incredibly dangerous hobby. It didn't help things that his father, a jobless exercise addict who presumedly supported the family on his tournament prize money, had died twice before his boy had even married. Thankfully, Gohan managed to grow to adulthood without a single mortuary experience under his belt. The same cannot be said, however, about his closest childhood friend.


4.

Finn - Adventure Time

When we are first introduced to the land of Ooo, the magical planet built over the ashes of our own Earth, no mention is made of any Oooian Public Education System. This makes the idea of Finn the Human, a 12-year-old adventurer and last of his race, seem peachy keene. What else is a kid supposed to do on a planet with no school? (And with no parents to speak of, he doesn't have the burden of any Chi-Chi like obstacles.) When the story picks up, however, we learn that one of Finn's friends, Princess Bubblegum, has an advanced scientific education. In that same episode, we also learn that schools, much like our own, do exist in Ooo, though they are assumedly not mandatory, as Finn doesn't understand a lick of the fancy talk these scholars throw at him. After about five minutes, Finn gives up on conventional education, preferring to study his Biology by smashing open the craniums of some baddies as opposed to through a book. Luckily, adventuring seems to be a viable, no degree required profession in Ooo, one that is far more glamorous, if not just as messy as a career at McDonald's.


3.

Red- Pokemon

A whole year before Ash Ketchum was dodging truancy, Red of Pallet Town set out on an adventure with nothing more than a Poliwhirl (pictured above) and a bag of futuristic animal traps called Poke Balls... And only about a 5th Grade understanding of the Liberal Arts. Seeing as Red managed to be far more successful than Ash in far less time, I've always had a theory that, when no one is around, Ash spends his time crying and verbally abusing his Pikachu, shouting things about how he'll never be as good a trainer and that Pikachu should just suck it up and evolve already. Maybe if Ash didn't release all his good Pokemon after a couple good battles, he and Red would be on more equal terms.

2.

Sora- Kingdom Hearts Series

Nowadays, the lead hero of the Final Fantasy/Disney crossover game is all grown up, but he's been hacking baddies for a while. Though he and his friends are never given ages, Sora first appeared looking undeniably pre-teen (Anywhere between 10 and 13) and therefore in need of some proper schooling. His earliest home we know of was Destiny Island, which had no educational system to speak of, but instead sported a beautiful beach where Sora and his friends could laze around all day, wasting their formative years and eating some sort of aphrodisiac love fruit. We also know that he only arrived here shortly before his first adventure, so God knows how long he's been living this truant lifestyle. The only book this kid is ever seen with is The 100 Acre Wood, and even then he doesn't even read the thing, he just sort of jumps inside to dick around with Whinnie the Pooh and his friends. That's worse than a book on tape!

1.

Goku- Dragon Ball/ Dragon Ball Z

It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This lifetime offender, who was even born on a planet where the only education was how to conquer planets, spent his whole lives (both of em) without even looking at a book. I'll give him some credit, as he didn't even know the concept of school until he was ten, but there's no excuse for not hopping on the education bandwagon once the tools were presented to him. At least his son eventually got with the program, where as this guy's only Astronomy lesson was traveling to other planets and astral planes. Sheesh!

Knack: Why the Cute, Simple Platformer is Still Relevant (To Me)

E3 was this week, and after seeing everything that Sony's new Playstation 4 system has to offer, there is a noticeable army of reasons, a large, threatening army in fact, to choose it over Microsoft's Xbox One when both systems are released this Winter. The one that swayed me personally is, incidentally, one that has gotten little hype from the blogs and gaming sites. Knack, SCE Japan's action-oriented platformer that looks to be aimed at the E10 to T market, looks to be a throwback (and boy do I feel old saying this) to the Jak and Daxter/Ratchet and Clank-style games that helped Playstation's second incarnation become so popular. While Knack has garnered some interest, mostly for being the only launch title of it's kind in a sea of military shooters, some more Victorian than others, I'm curious to see how it stacks up in what has become a very mature market.

As I said, I have a personal interest in Knack, or rather the young teen platformer genre as a whole. There's a tradition in my house, now about a decade old, that whenever a promising-looking platformer is released, my dad and I jump on the chance to buy it, then spend the next three months putting our heads together to beat it's various puzzles, bosses, and whatever else it wants to throw our way. One of us being a lawyer, and the other an overenthusiastic science fiction fan, there's very few projects that pique a mutual interest, this particular genre, though, is probably the biggest. It's a bonding thing, much in the same way that some dads help their sons build model ships, and with my dad having maybe a third a strand of gamer gene in his DNA, very few games make him say "When's the release date?"

My dad's barely touched the Xbox 360. I'd never deny that both Xbox systems have seen some amazing platformers, or games with platforming elements, but most had such complicated controls that, while a seasoned gamer like me could pick it up within a half hour, someone like my dad, who has only  played a handful of games in his life, would struggle with the logic the average gamer takes for granted. Assasin's Creed is a good example. He tried it as soon as I brought it home, but between the complicated combat system (which I've heard they improved) and the confusing (even to me) parkour controls, he dumped it after twenty minutes. That being said, Assasin's Creed is a fantastic game. Xbox makes fantastic games; Just nothing for my dad. I do mean my dad too, and while that may be the narrowest demographic short of one half of Composite Superman, it has cost Microsoft a customer, at least for now.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I can't wait for Holiday 2013.