What’s crackin’, dear reader.  Yrs. truly is crazy busy with multifarious projects, looming deadlines, and a puppy that absolutely refuses to let me concentrate on anything other than her.  So let’s get to today’s business.

On this day in 1997, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was unleashed upon the UK by Bloomsbury, kicking off a cultural juggernaut that redefined modern storytelling.  Despite rejections from multiple publishers who thought the 90,000-word manuscript was too long for a children’s book, Bloomsbury’s Barry Cunningham took a chance after his eight-year-old daughter raved about it.  The book’s blend of wit, magic, and moral depth – pitting an orphaned underdog against cosmic evil – captured imaginations worldwide, selling over 120 million copies and spawning a franchise that’s still a benchmark for badass literary impact.  This book was a phenomenon, a literary bunker-buster that blew the walls out of traditional publishing and set the world ablaze with wizarding wonder.

The first time I heard about this book, I was sitting in my apartment in San Francisco one evening, reading some news, and I saw an item about a bunch of midwestern moms all up in arms because their kids were going ga-ga over a book that “promoted witchcraft.”  I didn’t think much of it, but about an hour later, I walked over the Green Apple Books on Clement Street and saw this massive display for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and did a double-take since this was the book I’d just read about.  Normally, I pay exactly zero attention to children’s books, but this time I stopped, cracked open one of the hardbacks, and read a few pages.  It was great!  What I instantly liked about it was that it was very obviously appropriate for and directed at children, but it wasn’t insultingly watered down, so I actually wanted to read the rest of the book.  And I obviously wasn’t alone.

So let’s talk about the staying power of this beast.  What started out as a single volume has morphed into a sprawling empire – films, theme parks, video games, and a fanbase that rivals most religions.  The prose, sharp and unapologetic, pulls you in, while the world-building – gritty yet enchanting – feels like a middle finger to the sanitized dreck that typically dominates kids’ shelves.  It’s a testament to the raw, unfiltered genius of a tale that dared to mix humor with heartbreak, proving that good writing can punch you in the liver and leave you begging for more.

But fast forward to the present, and the creator of this literary titan finds herself in the crosshairs of a cultural firing squad.  J.K. Rowling’s recent acknowledgment of biological reality – that men cannot become women – has sparked a dim-witted yet ferocious attempt to cancel her, a move as absurd as trying to banish Voldemort  with a strongly worded letter.  The backlash, fueled by a vocal minority wielding social media like wands of righteous fury, seeks to erase her legacy over a stance grounded in elementary science and common-ass sense.  Yet, this controversy only underscores the book’s original spirit: a refusal to bow to dogma.  Rowling’s defiance mirrors Harry’s own battles against oppressive forces, turning her into a lightning rod for free thought in an age where cowardly conformity is king.  The irony?  A story about standing up to tyranny is now being used to silence its creator.  The storm of stupidity is finally breaking, and her resoluteness will only burnish her legend further.  Regardless, one thing is clear: the magic of Harry Potter endures, cancellation attempts be damned.

N.P.: “Paint It Black” – Deadsy