Happy Birthday - Cookie Jar - Clique-ish - Kindred - Simon's Sig - Awful Sibling -

[Rita Winston]

Happy Birthday to Professor Jo Crabtree Phlash. I'm afraid it will be
Happy Day After Birthday by the time you see it.
......(My spelling checker seems to think that you are related to
Crabbe. Sorry.)

Amanda wrote:

> I want a Bertie Botts cookie jar.(snip) Everyone
> wants too much money for this, cute as it is. I 
> want to pay about $30 for it,

http://www.sylvanlaneshoppe.com/order_harrypotter_mugs.htm
Bertie Botts candy jar $19.95 and I didn't look up the s&h 

Lady Nymphae wrote:

> this list already has something of a reputation
> in the fandom and it's not all good; cliquish and
> insular are some of the terms 

I don't entirely understand why people say that. I do realise that
whenever a group of people have gotten to know each other a bit, call
each other by nicknames (or by real names even tho' the posts are signed
with nicknames), and mention past things they did together or personal
things things that they discussed off-list (personal: "Did you ever find
that t-shirt you wanted?"), then they ARE a clique. 

But new people come along and start talking and we answer them, and
offer them a LIST of nicknames (Chatters List), point them to message
numbers where the past thing was discussed, and in a month they can be
full members of the clique, so how are we considered clique-ish? Is
'insular' because many of us rejected such 'new ideas' as that article
about Harry having an Oedipus Complex?

> there are others here who are afraid to post, (snip)
> at least I am no longer alone in feeling that way.

I don't understand why people feel that way. I'm a shy person but I'm
not afraid to post. I cry from hurt feelings if anyone ever says
anything mean to me, but I never Expect that my posts will lead to
someone saying something mean to me.

Ebony wrote:

> We *have* the regional clubs, and I think that 
> a year from now, all of them will have met. 

I don't know of a Southern California club and I don't know if I would
attend it: I am shy enough about meeting people in person that I never
met Cassie in person even tho' she and I established via e-mail that she
lived (before moving to NYC) within walking distance of me.

> What I envision is an annual conference, sponsored 
> each year by a different HP4GU regional club.  The 
> Londoners can go first (since that'll give me an excuse
> to go back!), then the next year the New Yorkers, etc.
> We could have a full list of conference activities... 
> half scholarly for the academics, half fan-based for
> the rest of us... imagine the fun we'd have.  

I thought the regional clubs were like a dozen people each, some
smaller. A convention like that is a hell of a lot of work to organize.
Probably too much for a mere dozen people. Negotiating hotel contracts
requires specialized skills and knowledge. Organizing academic
activities requires entirely different skills and knowledge.

I know a married couple who used to throw DoItYourselfCon (Con is short
for convention, like BARB mentioned Worldcon which is World Science
Fiction Convention) by renting an entire motel for a weekend, mailing
invitations to most of their friends, and taking it on faith that the
musicians would bring their guitars and play for anyone who'd stand
still for it, the authors would bring their works-in-progress and talk
about them endlessly, the SCAers would bring their swords and put on a
fighting demo without even being asked....  but the world wasn't so
paranoid about liability insurance in those days.

> I'd love to do Yule Owls this year...

Suggestion: in order to have mercy on the poor souls who work for
Yog-Xipcode (the Post Awful), let's not do it at Midwinter Holiday when
they are already overburdened. Could we do it for a Potterish holiday,
perhaps Halloween or Harry's Birthday? What else is a Potterish holiday?
If a thousand people sign up for Holiday Owls ($340.00 in within-USA
postage alone), does the co-ordinator divide up the list to send only 50
addresses to each participant?

Simon wrote:

> "Some people seem to need reminding that wearing a swimsuit in the
> vicinity of a man in shorts does not constitute a marriage
> ceremony, not even in Mauritius" - J. Rowling
> I got it from the Talking Heads bit of the News Review section of
> The Sunday Times. It was also in some other parts of the UK media 
> over the weekend. 

Did some tabloid photograph her vacationing in Mauritius (when she
should be writing OoP!) with a caption saying she had eloped and this
was a honeymoon picture?

Raechel Elizabeth wrote:

> My older sister is coming to my HP themed birthday
> party on Sunday.  The problem with that is my sister 
> is against all things Harry Potter.  She has this whole 
> black magic view and I know I am going to have to field 
> accusations and double-edged questions.  

I think it would have been better not to invite her to a party that will
do that to her. As you have already invited her, my best guess is to
WARN HER RIGHT AWAY that she might not feel comfortable there because it
is a Harry Potter themed party. The best outcome would be if she said:
"Oh, that's okay" and meant it. Probably the worst would be if she
immediately pitched into you with anti-Harry rhetoric until the two of
you had a fight and you said: "In that case, don't come to the party."
Then the fight would be over with and not ruin the party.

------------------------------------------------------------------
R ighteous
A ttractive
V aluable
E nlighted
N atural
C lassic
L aureate
A dept
W ise
------------------------------------------------------------------

          /\ /\                                          ___  ___
           + +     Mews and views                       ( @ \/ @ ) 
         >> = <<         from Rita Prince Winston        \ @  @ / 
                                                          \ () /  
                     ("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._             \  / 
                     `6_ 6  )   `-.  (     ).`-.__.`)       \/ 
                     (_Y_.)'  ._   )  `._ `. ``-..-'
                    _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,'
                   ((('   (((-(((''  ((((