O'Reilly Frets Over Outing of Wizard

(NEWSER) - Never had an inspiring, funny, or even downright godawful teacher? Luckily, Hollywood has them in spades. Babble presents the 40 best fictional teachers:

• Ms. Norbury, Mean Girls: She taught “the female student body to lay off the sexist insults.”
• Economics teacher, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Ben Stein gave “an anthem to class-cutters everywhere with his monotone role call: ‘Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?’”
• Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter: It's no wonder “the greatest wizard in the world” was a great teacher, too.

Nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance uses books as inspiration

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter’s battle against injustice in the wizarding world has prompted fans to take the fight to the Muggle universe, the Los Angeles Times reports. Inspired by moral teachings of Albus Dumbledore, Harry’s mentor, the nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance has registered voters, collected some 13,000 books to donate to community centers, and raised $15,000 for displaced persons in Darfur and Burma. More»

(NEWSER) - No fancy divining necessary: Anyone with decent gaydar can see that new Harry Potter movie is awash in homoeroticism, Natasha Vargas-Cooper writes on Gawker. Hogwarts is seething with hormones in the Half-Blood Prince, she notes, but with the idea of "loose lady wizards" a no-no, most of the flirtation and innuendo stays between the boys. "In the tradition of British boarding schools, things got a little gay." More»

Fight the monsters, she urges

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter birth mom JK Rowling yesterday urged Harvard graduates at their commencement to use their imaginations on more than wizards and muggles to envision—and create—a better world. She recalled the rewarding time she spent when she was younger working for prisoners of totalitarian regimes for Amnesty International. "Those who choose not to empathize" with people suffering "enable real monsters," she said. More»

'Pathetic' closeted wizard does nothing for equality, writer argues

(NEWSER) - The outed Dumbledore is loveless and pathetic, says Time’s John Cloud. He sees no progress for gay equality in JK Rowling's revelation, but rather a role model as problematic as Larry Craig. Shouldn’t the writer be happy with the news about Harry Potter’s heroic mentor? “Yes, except: Why couldn't he tell us himself?” More»