Accio programme..

[carolynwhite2]

--- In HPFGU-Catalogue at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" <timregan at m...> 
wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Oh dear, this isn't my week for feeling loved by the HP-fandom. 

Carolyn:
Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. See Feedback.


I then come here to find that the conference I'm on the organising
> committee for is attracting much criticism: "what are other people's
> reactions? you can probably guess mine", "can't see anything there
> that'd tempt me". 

Well, not much criticism, the comments were from just two people, the 
usual awkward squad. Take comfort, most people seemed to like it.


My main reason for
> attending is the late night discussions with people over a beer. 
These
> will be fans I've read and respected on-line and I'm really really
> excited to meet some of them in the flesh. 


Yes, you've made that point to me off-list. I would really like to 
meet a lot of the people too, but we disagree in that we have very 
different expectations of the content. I want to be fascinated by 
what I have come to listen to, not have to ignore most of it, 
otherwise it is a pretty expensive beer.


 Surely British
> and other European fans deserve a conference of our own. There is a
> tension between treating it as a fan get together or as a more 
academic
> discussion of the books and the cultural phenomenon, but I hope 
we've
> got the balance right. 


Yes, I agree that we do, it is very important to get a European 
perspective, and I am quite upset about the balance of the content. I 
don't think you have got it right, I'd even go as far as saying I 
thought there was a definite agenda going on, but I realise you had 
to work with what was submitted.

I suggest you take a read through the Ottawa papers to see what you 
are going to get. There is one good paper, two passable and the rest 
complete rubbish, including one (IMO) completely unreadable (and I 
have had a lot of practice in reading academic tosh).


> 
> I really thought this was the kind of group that would relish an
> opportunity like Accio.
> 

I certainly relish the idea of the concept, and you will remember how 
enthusiastically I have responded to discussions about it since we 
first discussed it last summer.

I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to it when I first 
heard Pippin's paper had been accepted at Christmas. Now, I am 
extremely fed up. But, nothing new there.

If it's any help, I expect you are the only person who could make 
computer-supported linguistic text analysis funny and interesting. I 
would come and listen to it if there were more papers at the whole 
event that made the trip worthwhile for me.


Carolyn