1. Things that Come in Fours

[HPFan_is_back]

I'd say...
maisntream- slytherin, because it's popular and it WANTS to be popular, right, so to speak? And underground could be gryff then....

[gabi]

I think I agree with you about mainstream... so gangsta rap would be Gryff? I mean, they are getting shot at and living in the ghetto (supposedly). That would take some bravery.

Oh! More musical fours: the four types of punk: hardcore, emocore, softcore, and ska.

Softcore is obviously Slytherin, and emocore most likely Ravenclaw. Ska I could see as Gryffindor...

The four bands leading the "rock revolution": The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines, and The Hives.

The Vines are Slyths, definately. I could see the White Stripes or the Strokes being Ravenclaw, and the Hives are most likely Hufflepuff.

[HPFan_is_back]

Yeah, but I can't see hardcore as hufflepuff...

I think... The White Stripes Ravenclaw, the vines slytherin, the strokes gryffindor, the hives hufflepuff... Yeah. Nice.

[bitemesparky]

Hm..I don't know if anyone else haa thought about any of these but here's some things that come in fours:

1)Mario(Gryffindor), Luigi(Hufflepuff), Peach(Ravenclaw), and Toadstool(Slytherin. lol.)

2)Buffy(Slytherin), Xander(Gryffindor), Willow(Hufflepuff), and Giles(Ravenclaw)

3)powder(Gryffindor), lipstick(Ravenclaw), blush(Hufflepuff), and mascara(Slytherin)

4)guitar(Hufflepuff), drums(Gryffindor), keyboard(Slytherin), and vocals(Ravenclaw)

5)Independence Day, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day
6)Mtv, Mtv2, Vh1, and BET
7)Country, rock, pop, and hip-hop
8)Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, and *mind goes blank* Indian?
9)Cheerleader, Football Team, Basketball Team, and Dance Team
10) Me, myself, I, and my imaginary friend.

[En]

Okay Rain... so... how did you decide on some of those? Like guitar / drums / etc?

I was thinking about the four major periods of USA history. The settlement period has both the good and bad sides of Gryffindor -- meaning, the people who settled here were very brave, but there was a rashness and a conceit in taking the land from the Native Americans. Then, around and for a while after the time of the Revolution, philosophies about how to run the new land and about laws for the land abounded, which made it definitely a Ravenclaw time... especially leading up to the Civil War, which was a war of economic and social ideology.

From about 1865-1914, the nation was going through the peak of the Industrial Revolution, which required a lot of Hufflepufflian hard work and stamina as people flocked to work in factories or to lay railroads. The war and then the Great Depression brought this period to its peak, especially as unemployment forced much of the nation to develop strong work ethics and to work at whatever they could whenever they could.

In the 1930's, however, as the economy recovered from the evil trinity of war, drought and an economic scare, a culture of extravagance developed. The people who had suffered, partied. Romance novels became a boom industry, as did alcohol and cars. The stock market soared again. A show of wealth was the popular style, and art reflected a carefree, egocentric, self-exploring and self-conscious culture. Yet the culture was literally shaking itself apart as people overspent, went into debt, threw off their moral standards and didn't replace them with anything. Our isolationist foreign policy, which we considered to be our well-deserved rest after WWI, the rest of the world considered selfish as the Third Reich and Japan trampled on Eastern Europe and China.

Then we entered WWII, and everything changed again. Rebelling against their wasteful parents, the Great Generation dealt with harsh rationing. Men went to war and women got jobs on the swing shift. Church attendance soared as people looked for encouragement and a sense of right. Art, including early television, reflected a resurgence of interest in courage (Wild West shows) and family values (Leave it to Beaver). It was a Gryffindor time, right up until the folk scene opened up under the heavy shadow of the Viet Nam conflict.

Folk musicians and college students, feminists and civil rights activists, war protesters and hippies instituted a cultural revolution based on ideas. Make love, not war. Equal opportunity for women and Blacks. An end to Jim Crow laws. Poetry on behalf of peace. Songs about the stories of people, the beliefs of people, the hopes of people. Colourful new art, and an attempt by a large section of the culture's youth to live on art alone (by selling hemp bracelets and tie-dyed t-shirts and playing music). Some of the ideas were right, and some didn't work. But it was a great time for people with ideas.

After Viet Nam, however, with nothing to protest and many inequalities eradicated, and as the free-love culture fell under the fear of AIDS and the hippies discovered middle age troubles like what to do with your kids and whether you can retire at 65, two accidents of history brought about a total culture shift: the popularisation of the PC and a real-estate boom. Showing the worst sides of Hufflepuff -- blind loyalty to the god Money, thinking in ruts of rehashed Leave It to Beaverism, suspicion of cultural outsiders like Iran, Cuba and the Soviet Union -- the USA plodded through the mid to late seventies, eighties and early nineties.

[En]

And in the nineties, two more technological freaks -- the Internet and CD's -- combined forces with a skyrocketing stock market and telecom success to create another period of wealth, self-consciousness -- and personal isolation. Also, notice how the political issues of the nineties were whether a woman could abort a baby and whether gay couples could marry, both of which concern whether the state could regulate an individual's life choices, or tax cuts, an issue of money and power. Churches fell apart again under a wash of agnosticism as people looked for their own answers instead of trusting G'd's or other people's. Corporate perks reached an all-time high, as did embezzlement and fraud. Big corporations merged until the Feds reluctantly cut in. Individuals strove for personal freedom by being rich enough to retire young.

And yet, the culture is again shaking itself apart. We are about to wage war against someone who might be a threat, without the support of other nations. We feel isolated, lonely, directionless. We turn to shrinks and lawyers to solve our personal problems. We don't say hi to strangers and we aren't members of clubs, churches or communities unless those groups give us something -- personal satisfaction, money or other benefits. And whenever someone feels threatened by responsibility to a community, he or she just drops out. Quits the group. Files bankruptcy. Gets a divorce.

It's time for us to change tack. It's time for a return to trust in others, at least our families (biological or chosen), and in an ethical system that emphasizes doing what we believe is right. It is time for us to find a direction and take it, to set aside personal fears or ambitions and start looking for a way to join with others and become liberated by our courage to have and act upon convictions.

There are risks. We may enter a time of heavy governmental control and political conservatism, false hopes based on government policies or social programs that are all wind and no substance, or pop heroes who look strong and interesting but are in fact shallow or dishonest, but we have to risk it. Even if the religious right will try to force backward steps in civil liberties, even if people fail to back their convictions with reasons, even if we have to struggle to regain our place in the UN and in the esteem of the world, we have to risk it.

The economy has failed. Young people feel disconnected and apathetic. Our votes don't count. Our words get lost in the corporate roar. The wealthy few take advantage of the burgeoning masses of unemployed and underpaid. Churches are empty. Unions are silent. War protests fall on deaf ears, or are blatantly censored.

It's time for a change, if we have the courage to make it happen.

[Rowlf]

I'm interested in your take on our (American) reaction to the "Red Menace" and the effect of the fall of our nemesis, the USSR. Peace was kept in America for fifty years because of mutual deterrents, but we don't have that now. Also how would you compare and contrast the 30's and the 90's?

[bitemesparky]

En said:

Okay Rain... so... how did you decide on some of those? Like guitar / drums / etc?

Uh...I forgot. I think I chose Ravenclaw for vocals because birds tend to squawk alot. Gryffindor for drums because they make alot of noise. Hufflepuff for guitar because...uh...

Slytherin for keyboard because we are coordinated? I really don't know.

I think I should switch Hufflepuff and Slytherin and make Slytherin guitars because we are popular. lol. And Hufflepuffs the keyboard because they are the oddball.(j/k. lol.) You know because in a band the first things that come to (my) mind (atleast) are guitar, drums, and vocals at first and then the keyboard last...

No offense intended.

[fico the fur]

*slaps olive-advocate hat on*

Okay, but what is the classic band at this point? I think of it as guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. In which case:

guitar--Slytherin, bass--Hufflepuff, drums--Gryffindor, vocals--Ravenclaw.

Vocals are the words, the "expressive" bit, the part that really conveys a meaning in a song. The bass is the backbone, and it tends to be overlooked, but everyone notices its absence. It compliments everything else while retaining its own individuality. The drums "lead" everyone else; everyone follows the beat in order to know where they are in the song. They're the most noticable; they tend to be loudest. The guitar is the place most people lust after. I mean, come on, isn't the band leader usually a guitar player? Slytherins want that position of power, and it's most easily attained through the guitar.

Thoughts/arguements?

[laci]

interesting concept, looking back at different bands power is placed in different parts and most time leads to conflict, take Pink Floyd, the bassist wrote and sang most of the songs but had a major ego problem, so he left. he could be considered slytherin, the guitarist, David Gilmour, was Gryffindor, who sttod up to slytherin, the rest i don't know, i mean drummer could be Hufflepuff cause they usually get along with everybody, and the keyboard guy ravenclaw because thats what left...

hey here is something that come in four; the chambers in the heart, Left Atria and Ventricle and Right Atria and ventricle! aren't I clever muhaha

[En]

Err... ok, back to Rowlf for a minute, good point... are you driving at the possibility that an "Arab scare" is about to start? Or just talking about the idea that when the red period succeeds in putting a peace system in place, the other national forces (industry, art, leisure) can kick in? I'm not sure where you're going with this.

The 30's and the 90's are culturally similar, especially in terms of an avid interest in personal wealth and in what older generations perceive as a "dearth of morals." The isolationism of the 90's was not nearly as total, though, because we did keep trying to stick our fingers in the former Yugoslavian dike, which was a dubious enterprise. In terms of the end of this green cycle, they are also similar because the demonizing of Communism as "anti-American" then, and the demonizing of the Arab world as anti-American now, will probably lead us into another 50-70 years' worth of pointless attempts to impose our ideology on other nations at the cost of our children's lives. But, I sermonize.

***

Back to the Pevensies for a minute. I just reread a couple of Narnia books, and I think the key to sorting Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy is in the gifts three of them got from Father Christmas. Peter got a sword and a shield with a red lion rampant on. This isn't just funny image coincidence -- Peter is a natural leader, wonders about the consequences of his decisions, and knows when to appeal to higher authority (the Professor, Aslan, etc.) for help.

Susan got a bow and arrows, and a horn. This one is a bit more obscure, but if you buy Lumie's assessment that the Elves of Tolkien are Ravenclaws, and you take into consideration that Lewis knew Tolkien, you could then look at the fact that Susan likes books and radio and dancing and so forth and call her a Ravenclaw. Edmund wasn't there because he was busy trading his siblings for his favourite junk food. That's the dark side of Slytherin if I ever heard it. Lucy, dear honest Lucy who insisted that Narnia existed and remained faithful to Aslan always, got a bottle of (wouldn't you know it) healing potion. And isn't that an awfully Huffy thing to get when other people are getting implements of war?

***

Gen... hmm. Agreed on the Hufflepuff, but I rather think the drums are the Ravenclaws. Isn't it the stories we know that tell us how to interpret something beautiful, and how to live in patterns that complement other people? Sure, the vocals sing the words, but who among the dancers is listening to the words? The drums provide structure to the beauty, interpretation to its silences and sounds, and the memorable beat that people keep walking to even after they have left the room. (Can't tell I woke up blue today, can you?)

***

Laci, hi. Er... I guess I have never thought the chambers of my heart to have much in the way of character traits, but I could be convinced. Wanna give it a go?

[fico the fur]

I don't know... Maybe I'm just weird, but I listen to the words a lot more than the beat. Yet the beat is what sticks with me. Which is why I get Raven-vibes from the lyrics and Gryff-vibes from the drums. Because I focus on Raven stuff most of the time, but it's hard to keep with me. And I hardly ever focus on Gryff-stuff, but it's more memorable.

And because there are parts of the song where the lyrics aren't there. How often are the Gryffs out of the action?

[Calantha]

Okay, so since I for the very first time really really read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (minus third grade many years back), I can finally comment on the sorting of the four kids!
*feels somewhat dorky*
Okay, well, while I was reading it, I started to think about it...
Edmund, slytherin, no doubt,
I've got to go with Susan as Ravenclaw, she seemed to take in all the facts and was incredibly logical, and she recieved the bow...and that seems like it would be very Ravenclaw-y...did a mythical god who was smart have a bow and arrow? And then I guess the issue up for debate is Lucy...
Who, I think is sort of not belonging to any house.

Peter I could see in Gryffindor because he is a natural leader and he was given the tools to fight, and he stood up for Lucy while when Edmund was a jerk, no?

But then Lucy could very easily, I think fit into Gryffindor, when they were going to battle, she said that she thought she could fight, but was told the battle wasn't the place for girls, she also was so ademate about the wardrobe, and she showed a lot of courage throughout the book, and when she was healing Edmund, she sort of got snappy with Aslan and then helped the other people.

But, she has Hufflepuff tendencies because of the healing, and her caring attitude for others...

I would consider her Gryffindor with Hufflepuff tendencies...or Hufflepuff with Gryffindor tendencies.

[En]

*nods* That's solid, Cal. I'm going to go with Lu as Huff, still, Huff with Gryff tendencies.

Now here's a challenge for ya: Read Prince Caspian and sort Edmund, Lucy, Eustace and Caspian I think it would be interesting to speculate about whether and how Edmund and Lucy changed, or whether Eustace did during the book, for that matter. *has just started The Magician's Nephew and is well into a theory of house changes among kids who have been to Narnia *

[Will]

After a lot of back reading, I decided to join in on the fun. I don't believe anyone has done the bodies of water yet. I'll give it a shot.

waters: ocean=Gryffindor, lake (includes ponds, etc.)=Hufflepuff, river (includes streams, etc.)=Slytherin, and rain=Ravenclaw. Now, what do the rest of you think?