From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  1 00:59:07 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:59:07 -0000
Subject: Just wanted to share this
In-Reply-To: <1F7649045C164E7389D5CF449CE7491A@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gm2s4r+7orl@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Lee Storm \(God Is The Healing 
Force" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:
> And, another question: Which St. Theresa? There are two, one of whom 
is called "The Little Flower," and one who is Theresa of Avilla, I 
think.  And if Mother Theresa is canonized, then there will be three.  
I'm not RC, but I was when I was young.

Tonks:
Theresa is the little flower, the French one. And Teresa (without the 
h) is the Italian one, from Avila. The second is also one of only 2  
women who are given the title "Doctor of the Church". Teresa worked  
closely with St. John of the Cross, also a Doctor of the Church. Their 
speciality was Mystical Theology, which is a special interest of mine 
as well.

Tonks_op
An Episcopalian




From zgirnius at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  1 15:15:17 2009
From: zgirnius at yahoo.com (Zara)
Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:15:17 -0000
Subject: Thomas Sniegoski Fallen series
In-Reply-To: <gm0f6s+89c7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm4ea5+vfei@eGroups.com>

 
> Alla:
> 
> Both, but I will settle on just reading it first. I want to know the 
> ending BADLY :)
> 
> Good idea to check if they can order, DUH Alla. I did not find it on 
> the shelf and gave up.

Zara:
This is called an "inter-library loan". In these degenerate days, some 
libraries (such as mine) charge a fee on this service, but it is pretty 
reasonable. I think I paid 50 cents last time I got a book this way.





From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Feb  1 18:42:57 2009
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 1 Feb 2009 18:42:57 -0000
Subject: Weekly Chat, 2/1/2009, 1:00 pm 
Message-ID: <1233513777.11.97498.m36@yahoogroups.com>

Reminder from: HPFGU-OTChatter Yahoo! Group
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/cal

Weekly Chat
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1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
(This event repeats every week.)
Location: http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Notes:
Just a reminder, Sunday chat starts in about one hour.

To get to the HPfGU room follow this link:
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From catlady at wicca.net  Sun Feb  1 19:32:45 2009
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:32:45 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <glnpen+jr8l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm4tct+t4t9@eGroups.com>

Steve bboyminn wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38724>:

<< Still, I do find poems that I like and wish I had more
resources for good poetry. But poetry is like modern music,
I can't afford to buy tons of crap just to find a few
scraps of grace. >>

There are poetry archives on-line. One is at
<http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/59>. Another is at
<http://www.bartleby.com/verse/>.




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  1 22:24:23 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:24:23 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm4tct+t4t9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm57eo+i1hn@eGroups.com>

> Steve bboyminn wrote in
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38724>:
> 
> << Still, I do find poems that I like and wish I had more resources
for good poetry. But poetry is like modern music, I can't afford to
buy tons of crap just to find a few scraps of grace. >>
> 
> There are poetry archives on-line. One is at
> <http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/59>. Another is at
> <http://www.bartleby.com/verse/>.
>
Carol responds:

Very true, but where should a person start if he wants to learn to
like poetry as an adult? He needs to know the names of at least some
major poets and have at least a general idea of what he likes, which
is why I suggested Whitman and Wilfred Owen for war poetry. 

Someone else, with an ear for beauty and irony, might like Shelley.
You can't go wrong with Shakespeare's sonnets, though some are
admittedly better than others. I'd recommend Keats's "Ode to a
Nightingale" to anybody. I once read it as a substitute teacher to a
class of rowdy fifteen-year-olds and, to my astonishment, saw them
held spellbound by the beauty and imagery. I forget whether I also
told them how young Keats was and that he was dying of tuberculosis
when he wrote it.

Anyway, here's a list of the more readable post-Shakespearean English
poets and their approximate era:

John Donne and Andrew Marvell ("Metaphysical" poets of the seventeenth
century); Robert Herrick ("Cavalier" poet of the same era)

Alexander Pope (eighteenth century--a little of any eighteenth-century
poet goes a long way because of the invariable heroic couplets
(end-stopped iambic pentameter couplets: AA, BB, CC, etc.)

The "old" Romantics, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
with their opposing styles, one finding poetry in Nature and the
everyday and the other in the supernatural or exotic, late eighteenth
and early nineteenth century.

The young Romantics, George Gordon, Lord Byron; Percy Bysshe Shelley;
and John Keats, with their experimental verse forms and, again,
contrasting philosophies. Byron often wrote narrative poems with (not
to be obvious or anything) Byronic heroes; Shelley was philosophical
and sometimes political, like Wordsworth and Coleridge interested in
the shaping power of the Imagination; Keats, who believed in truth and
beauty and liked to lose himself in whatever he was observing,
becoming, so he said, a sparrow as it pecks about the gravel (early
nineteenth century).

The Victorians, Tennyson, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Matthew Arnold. Their poems, especially Arnold's, showed the influence
of Romanticism but lacked the Wordsworthian faith in Nature. ("Nature
red in tooth and claw," as Tennyson put it.) Robert Browning is best
known for his somewhat ironic dramatic monologues, his wife for her
love poems to her husband, "Sonnets from the Portuguese." I won't get
into the Pre-Raphaelites or Swinburne.

If you like a grim perspective, try the late Victorian Thomas Hardy,
also known for grim, pessimistic novels like "Jude the Obscure." I
mentioned wilfred Owne; there's also Rupert Brooke, whose optimistic
view of war probably results from never having experienced it firsthand.

Once you get further into the twentieth century, the major poets are
Americans like Eliot and Pound whose poetry is more complex. I
wouldn't recommend starting there. 

Before anyone jumps on me, I realize that I've greatly oversimplified
every poet and period on this list. I'm just trying to give an idea of
what's out there. Please feel free to expand on what I've written or
add new names, particularly Americans. (Other than Whitman, I haven't
recommended any.)

Does anyone else have favorite poets or poems that they recommend to
someone who's trying to overcome a prejudice against poetry because of
the joyless way it was taught to them? I promise not to tell you the
meter or rhyme scheme of the poem unless you ask!

Carol, who recommends browsing through the poetry section of a
bookstore on a rainy Saturday morning to find what moves or intrigues you





From bboyminn at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  2 07:15:46 2009
From: bboyminn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:15:46 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm57eo+i1hn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm66j2+u5j8@eGroups.com>

---  "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Steve bboyminn wrote in
> > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38724>:
> > 
> > << Still, I do find poems that I like and wish I had more 
> > resources for good poetry. But poetry is like modern music,
> > I can't afford to buy tons of crap just to find a few scraps
> > of grace. >>
> > 
> > There are poetry archives on-line. One is at
> > <http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/59>. Another is at
> > <http://www.bartleby.com/verse/>.
> >
> Carol responds:
> 
> Very true, but where should a person start if he wants to 
> learn to like poetry as an adult? He needs to know the names
> of at least some major poets and have at least a general idea
> of what he likes, which is why I suggested Whitman and Wilfred
> Owen for war poetry. 
> 
> ... I'd recommend Keats's "Ode to a  Nightingale" to anybody.
> I once read it as a substitute teacher to a class of rowdy 
> fifteen-year-olds and, to my astonishment, saw them held 
> spellbound by the beauty and imagery. ...
> 
> ...

Excellent, thanks to all for the responses. It is nice to find
a lot of public domain poetry on-line, but it is difficult to
lay down in bed before I sleep and read on-line. Still the
price is right, so I'm not complaining. 

I find two passages from "Henry V" very moving. The first is
the Act 3:Scene 1 - "Once more unto the breach, dear friends,
once more; or close up the wall with our English dead. ...."

Also, from the same play, the "St. Crispan's Day' speech -

In part - 

"...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition; ..." 

You can find YouTube videos with Kenneth Branagh (Prof.
Lockhart in HP) reading both speeches; very moving.

Carol, if you read to "Ode to a Nightingale" to 15 year
olds and they listened, that must mean you are very good
at reading poetry. 

And that brings me to my previous point. If you can't hear
the poetry in natural language, then, likely, you can't hear
it at all. That is, if it is read in short disconnected 
phrases in a ridged staccato rhythm, then no one is going
to get it, because it is not going to make sense.

Consider this line from "Ode to a Nightingale" as it is
written in verse -

"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, ..."

Read as I was taught by my many English teacher to read it,
it is two disconnected phrases -

"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains"

And 

"My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, ..."

If you stick rigidly to the rhythm, metre, and stanzas,
it is very disjointed. What does "My sense, as though of
hemlock I had drunk.." mean?

But if restructure, it has a more natural flow -

""My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense, as though
of hemlock I had drunk, ..."

I think that is the key to good oral poetry, being able to 
break away from the rigidness of form, and breaking into the
more natural and real flow of spoken language. 

Taking it a step above natural language, is to really 
understand what is being said, and being able to convey the 
mood of the verse to those listening. To have a dramatic
inflection that really conveys the message accurately. This
is the difference between hearing verse read, and hearing it
performed. Both of which are far better than having
poetry simply recited. 

So, even when I read to myself, I try to force the verse into 
an natural flow of language, something that is very difficult
thanks to my small town English teachers. Which is why, when
I read, it is better to hear it in my head in John Lithgow's
voice. Again, no idea why my imagination choose Johm Lithgow. 

For anyone interested in reading "The Drummer Boy's Burial", 
it is in the Google Library in scanned format. The printing
isn't very clear, but it is readable. This is a very simple
poem that is a very simple story of "The Drummer Boy's Burial",
but there is something about it that never fails to touch me.

http://books.google.com/books?id=VOdqExsG27sC&pg=RA1-PA528&lpg=RA1-PA528&dq=Poetry+%22The+Drummer+Boy's+Burial%22&source=web&ots=NCuhpoI4oH&sig=uF8H0B2U5rCt7r0KHC_Vlr002s8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PRA1-PA528,M1

It starts in the middle of the column on the right, continues
on the same page on the column on the left, the concludes on
the column on the left on the next page. 

Another good poem is "Old Matthew" by W. Wordsworth. It is
about a young boy and an old man who are friends. The poem 
start under a tree from which a spring flows. 

"We talked with open heart, and tongue affectionate and true,
a pair of friends, though I was young, and Matthew seventy-two."

And I find this line touching -

"'And, Matthew, for thy children dead I'll be a son to thee!'
At this he grasped my hand and said, 'Alas! That can not be.'" 

And, "We Are Seven" by William Wordsworth.

As a last and final note, Dan Radcliffe was asked what his 
most favorite word and least favorite words were. "Verdurous",
meaning lush and green, was his favorite, and he acknowledge
that it came from Keats "Ode to a Nightingale" -

"Already with thee! tender is the night, 
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown 
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways."


So, my underlying point, and this probably just applies to my
small town upbringing, is that my teachers relied more on
form than function, and years of despising poetry were the
result. 

Hey...I'm just saying.

Steve/bluewizard





From willsonkmom at msn.com  Mon Feb  2 13:14:19 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:14:19 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm4tct+t4t9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm6rjb+7mrf@eGroups.com>

 "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" wrote:
 
> There are poetry archives on-line. One is at
> <http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/59>. Another is at
> <http://www.bartleby.com/verse/>.

Potioncat:
See if you local library has an e-audio account that members can use. 
Ours is connected to Overdrive and another service. You actually 
download a book onto an MP3 player or computer for free. At the end of 
the borrowing period the devise self-destructs. Wait, replacing all 
those MP3 players would cost more than buying the books. Hold on while 
I read the fine print.

At the end of borrowing period, the material is autmatically erased. 
Well, that's a relief!







From n2fgc at arrl.net  Mon Feb  2 15:20:32 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 10:20:32 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm6rjb+7mrf@eGroups.com>
References: <gm4tct+t4t9@eGroups.com> <gm6rjb+7mrf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <059CD0BC928D4AFBBB339FDBD203C286@musiclee>

| Potioncat:
| See if you local library has an e-audio account that members can use. 
| Ours is connected to Overdrive and another service. You actually 
| download a book onto an MP3 player or computer for free. At 
| the end of 
| the borrowing period the devise self-destructs. Wait, replacing all 
| those MP3 players would cost more than buying the books. Hold 
| on while 
| I read the fine print.
| 
| At the end of borrowing period, the material is automatically erased. 

[Lee]:
Yes, NJ has one and I've used it a fare bit.  The files are ".WMA" Overdrive
files; they run in Windows Media Player, and the Overdrive format is very
interesting as it has it's own manager plug-in which shows you the page
you're on, chapter, etc., allowing you to skip back and forth quickly.

The Overdrive books are licensed to the libraries in limited quantity, so if
you order a title for download, it's like placing a hold at your local
library.  In other words, if all the library's licenses for that book are in
use by those who have downloaded it, you'll need to wait until someone's
expires so you can get it.  The Overdrive manager keeps track of how long
you've had the book and will expire it at the end of the borrowing time.  Be
aware that some books will say that you are allowed to burn a copy for
yourself; there's a Nero plug-in which will allow you to burn one copy.

Hope this helps in Steve's quest for poetry.  Smile,

Lee :-)




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  2 23:16:54 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:16:54 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm66j2+u5j8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm7ut7+8nc0@eGroups.com>

Steve (bboyminn) wrote:
> Excellent, thanks to all for the responses. It is nice to find a lot
of public domain poetry on-line, but it is difficult to lay down in
bed before I sleep and read on-line. Still the price is right, so I'm
not complaining. 

Carol responds:

There's nothing like a book, after all, to take to bed with you! A
small volume of Keats would do nicely (and since he only made it to
age twenty-five, his complete poems amount to only about 395
pages--less than that if you skip his attempts at drama.

Steve: 
> I find two passages from "Henry V" very moving. The first is
> the Act 3:Scene 1 - "Once more unto the breach, dear friends,
> once more; or close up the wall with our English dead. ...."
> 
> Also, from the same play, the "St. Crispan's Day' speech -
<snip> 
> You can find YouTube videos with Kenneth Branagh (Prof. Lockhart in
HP) reading both speeches; very moving.

Carol responds:
Or better still, rent the whole film from Blockbuster and see Branagh
wooing Emma Thompson as a French princess who didn't speak any
English. The play isn't historically accurate, but it's not as far off
the mark as Richard III. BTW, Branagh and Thompson appear together in
another Shakespeare play, a comedy called "Much Ado about Nothing"
(which also has an oddly cast Keanu Reeves). And Branagh also recites
Shakespeare, IIRC, in "Shackleton."

Steve: 
> Carol, if you read to "Ode to a Nightingale" to 15 year olds and
they listened, that must mean you are very good at reading poetry. 

Carol:
Thanks. I think it had something to do with being much younger then (I
was 29 but looked closer to 25) and being able to develop a rapport
with them that would be impossible now, when all they would see is an
"old lady." But, yes, I knew how to read it in a way that would hold
their attention--then.

Steve: 
> And that brings me to my previous point. If you can't hear the
poetry in natural language, then, likely, you can't hear it at all.
That is, if it is read in short disconnected phrases in a ridged
staccato rhythm, then no one is going to get it, because it is not
going to make sense.

Carol responds:
Yes and no. It depends on the poem. If it has end-stopped lines,
you're meant to hear the rhythm and the sound effects (as in "the
Raven"). 

Steve: 
> Consider this line from "Ode to a Nightingale" as it is written in
verse -
> 
> "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
> My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, ..."
> 
> Read as I was taught by my many English teacher to read it,
> it is two disconnected phrases -
> 
> "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains"

Carol:
my HEART aches AND a DROWS y NUMB ness FILLS my SENSE--well, not that
obvious! ;-)
> 
> And 
> 
> "My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, ..."
> 
> If you stick rigidly to the rhythm, metre, and stanzas, it is very
disjointed. What does "My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk.." mean?
> 
> But if restructure, it has a more natural flow -
> 
> ""My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense, as though
> of hemlock I had drunk, ..."
> 
> I think that is the key to good oral poetry, being able to break
away from the rigidness of form, and breaking into the more natural
and real flow of spoken language. 

Carol responds:

Well, yes. In the case of "Ode to a Nightingale," which is written in
iambic pentameter (the most natural meter for English) with enjambed
lines (the sentence doesn't end where the line does in most cases),
you're right. You want the natural rhythm of the words themselves,
with natural emphasis, which approximates iambic pentameter, with
pauses at the caesuras (conveniently indicated by commas), so it
sounds almost but not quite like prose. The mind will sense the sound
effects, especially if the poem is read out loud, without their being
overemphasized. And, of course, the word order is different from that
of prose. And I don't think we'd speak in prose of numbness *paining*
our senses. It's an oxymoron. And yet the two lines function perfectly
in the poem. It sounds much more effective than "My heart aches and I
feel a drowsy numbness that hurts my sense(s) as if I'd drunk
hemlock," the same idea expressed in prose.

Steve: 
> Taking it a step above natural language, is to really understand
what is being said, and being able to convey the mood of the verse to
those listening. To have a dramatic inflection that really conveys the
message accurately. This is the difference between hearing verse read,
and hearing it performed. <snip>

Carol responds:
Exactly. The reader needs to be familiar with the poem--its meaning,
its imagery, its symbolism, its sound effects--to read it effectively
(which is probably why I probably did a better job with that
particular poem than I might have done with something by, say, T. S.
Eliot. It also helps, of course, to love the poem.

Steve:
> Another good poem is "Old Matthew" by W. Wordsworth. It is about a
young boy and an old man who are friends. The poem start under a tree
from which a spring flows. 
<snip>
> And, "We Are Seven" by William Wordsworth.

Carol:
Yes. The ironic contrast between the narrator's perspective and the
child's in "We Are Seven" is highly effective. I'm glad to see that
you like the Romantics. We owe a great debt to Wordsworth, who argued
that everyday subjects were suitable topics for poems. He also
rejected what he called "poetic diction" and argued that poems could
or should be written in "natural language." (Not all his
contemporaries or successors agreed with him, of course!)

Steve: 
> As a last and final note, Dan Radcliffe was asked what his most
favorite word and least favorite words were. "Verdurous", meaning lush
and green, was his favorite, and he acknowledge that it came from
Keats "Ode to a Nightingale" -
> 
> "Already with thee! tender is the night, 
> And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
> Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;
> But here there is no light,
> Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown 
> Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways."

> So, my underlying point, and this probably just applies to my small
town upbringing, is that my teachers relied more on form than
function, and years of despising poetry were the result. 

Carol responds:
I like that story and couldn't bring myself to snip the verse. "Haply"
you're cured of the damage that your teachers did now, at least I hope
so. Keats, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare! Who can argue with those choices?

Carol, now wondering what Dan Radcliffe's least favorite word was and why




From bboyminn at yahoo.com  Tue Feb  3 01:15:53 2009
From: bboyminn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:15:53 -0000
Subject: Eighth Grade Education - POETRY
In-Reply-To: <gm7ut7+8nc0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gm85s9+28rt@eGroups.com>

---  "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> ...
> 
> Carol, now wondering what Dan Radcliffe's least favorite word
> was and why?
>

His least favorite word is 'Mediocre'.

Both words are from his "Inside the Actor's Studio" interviews,
which, unless I'm mistake, are available on-line somewhere.
Try YouTube.

Steve/bluewizard




From donnawonna at att.net  Tue Feb  3 11:51:34 2009
From: donnawonna at att.net (Donna)
Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 06:51:34 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time)
Subject: Thomas Sniegoski Fallen series
References: <gm4ea5+vfei@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <49882FC6.000001.03536@D8DXG9G1>

Donna:
Who's the author?



> Alla:
> 
> Both, but I will settle on just reading it first. I want to know the 
> ending BADLY :)
> 
> Good idea to check if they can order, DUH Alla. I did not find it on 
> the shelf and gave up.

Zara:
This is called an "inter-library loan". In these degenerate days, some 
libraries (such as mine) charge a fee on this service, but it is pretty 
reasonable. I think I paid 50 cents last time I got a book this way.


 
 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Tue Feb  3 15:07:15 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:07:15 -0000
Subject: Thomas Sniegoski Fallen series
In-Reply-To: <49882FC6.000001.03536@D8DXG9G1>
Message-ID: <gm9mj3+10gfo@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Donna" <donnawonna at ...> wrote:
>
> Donna:
> Who's the author?
> 


Alla:

Thomas Sniegoski. Thank you guys, somebody was so kind as to find a 
book for me. SQUEEEEE.




From YasminOaks at aol.com  Fri Feb  6 01:56:22 2009
From: YasminOaks at aol.com (YasminOaks at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:56:22 -0500
Subject: Fwd: Group of pure white deer
In-Reply-To: <378451.60404.qm@web83906.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
References: <378451.60404.qm@web83906.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <8CB56153EB902B4-11F8-FBD@WEBMAIL-MC15.sysops.aol.com>

White deer-- I thought you guys might enjoy this.

Hugs,
Cathy


-----Original Message-----
From: Renee <chocolatemuse at sbcglobal.net>
To: undisclosed recipients: ;
Sent: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 8:17 pm
Subject: Fw: Group of pure white deer













In WI!?? Click up there near the top of the story where is says "rare group of white deer", they're beautiful!!

http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/39123457.html#



~ Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it ~












[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From willsonkmom at msn.com  Fri Feb  6 13:17:23 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:17:23 -0000
Subject: Fees Waived for Hero Pilot
Message-ID: <gmhd93+jchs@eGroups.com>

I just thought this was a cool story--and who better to share it with 
than fellow readers.

FCPLEASE 02.06.09The Fairfax County Public LibraryEvents, Activities & 
Services E-Letter------------------------------------------------------ 

FEES WAIVED FOR HERO PILOTPilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III became 
a hero on Jan. 15 when helanded his commercial jetliner safely on the 
Hudson River and allpassengers and crew were able to exit the craft 
safely. Now we learnthis hero pilot is one of us: a library devotee. 
Sullenberger calledFresno State Library recently to ask for an 
extension and waiver ofoverdue fees because his library book, checked 
out from his locallibrary, had been left behind in the cargo hold of 
the plane. Libraryofficials at Fresno State waived all fees and 
dedicated the replacementbook to him.


Potioncat




From kenadams705 at btinternet.com  Fri Feb  6 14:41:35 2009
From: kenadams705 at btinternet.com (KEN ADAMS)
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:41:35 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Fees Waived for Hero Pilot
References: <gmhd93+jchs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <692051.53282.qm@web87008.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

Perfectly appropriate response. Well done.




________________________________
From: potioncat <willsonkmom at msn.com>
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, 6 February, 2009 1:17:23 PM
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Fees Waived for Hero Pilot


I just thought this was a cool story--and who better to share it with 
than fellow readers.

FCPLEASE 02.06.09The Fairfax County Public LibraryEvents, Activities & 
Services E-Letter---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----- 

FEES WAIVED FOR HERO PILOTPilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III became 
a hero on Jan. 15 when helanded his commercial jetliner safely on the 
Hudson River and allpassengers and crew were able to exit the craft 
safely. Now we learnthis hero pilot is one of us: a library devotee. 
Sullenberger calledFresno State Library recently to ask for an 
extension and waiver ofoverdue fees because his library book, checked 
out from his locallibrary, had been left behind in the cargo hold of 
the plane. Libraryofficials at Fresno State waived all fees and 
dedicated the replacementbook to him.

Potioncat




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From n2fgc at arrl.net  Fri Feb  6 15:02:21 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 10:02:21 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Fees Waived for Hero Pilot
In-Reply-To: <gmhd93+jchs@eGroups.com>
References: <gmhd93+jchs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <39AB8B7E17D8411FB95ABB4172194E1F@musiclee>

[Potioncat]:
| I just thought this was a cool story--and who better to share it with 
| than fellow readers.
| 
| FEES WAIVED FOR HERO PILOT
| Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III became a
| hero on Jan. 15 when he landed his commercial jetliner safely on the
| Hudson River and all passengers and crew were able to exit the craft 
| safely. Now we learn this hero pilot is one of us: a library devotee. 
| Sullenberger called Fresno State Library recently to ask for an 
| extension and waiver of overdue fees because his library book,
| checked out from his local library, had been left behind in the cargo |
hold of the plane. Library officials at Fresno State waived all fees
| and dedicated the replacement book to him.

[Lee]:
Took me a minute to read this; interesting how some of the words got run
together...can't figure how that happened.  So I took the liberty of
separating them and making the text more readable.

Well, first, if I had just crashed in a plane, a library book would probably
be the very last thing I would think of and would probably even forget.
Guess that's a true mark of how Sully's mind works...he's not only a calm,
cool cucumber but a definite book lover.

As for the library, we can see here that they have far better sense in them
than does that cable company that kept billing a customer and demanding
return of the cable boxes even though the customer's house had been washed
away and demolished by floods and was entombing the cable boxes under a pile
of debris making them only accessible by bulldozer.

Yay for the Library!  And it would be interesting to know what the book was.
I think it was mentioned on the news, but I forgot. <Sigh>

Smile,

Lee :-)




From kempermentor at yahoo.com  Fri Feb  6 21:15:17 2009
From: kempermentor at yahoo.com (kempermentor)
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:15:17 -0000
Subject: Fees Waived for Hero Pilot
In-Reply-To: <39AB8B7E17D8411FB95ABB4172194E1F@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmi995+ng21@eGroups.com>


> [Lee]:
> Yay for the Library!  And it would be interesting to know what the
book was. I think it was mentioned on the news, but I forgot. <Sigh>

Kemper now:
I don't remember the name, but the subject was ethics.

Kemper




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Sat Feb  7 04:24:00 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:24:00 -0000
Subject: Fwd: Group of pure white deer
In-Reply-To: <8CB56153EB902B4-11F8-FBD@WEBMAIL-MC15.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <gmj2d0+aebj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, YasminOaks at ... wrote:
>
> White deer-- I thought you guys might enjoy this.
> In WI!?? Click up there near the top of the story where is says "rare 
group of white deer", they're beautiful!!
> 
> http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/39123457.html#


Tonks:

I have never seen that many at one time. But I did see one at a 
wildlife park in Northern Michigan a few years ago. They are albino. 

Tonks_op




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 00:47:44 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:47:44 -0000
Subject: Forbidden Forest question
Message-ID: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com>

I was wondering on the Movie list what happened to the other
Hippogriffs the five that didn't make it into the PoA film and any
others that Hagrid might have been looking after (or intending to use
in COMC classes that were never taught). Zanooda suggested that Hagrid
gave them names but didn't make them into pets because they weren't
involved in special circumstances as Buckbeak was after the Draco
Malfoy incident. That makes sense to me and would also explain why
none of them showed up with the Wizard-oriented, half-tamed Buckbeak
at the Battle of Hogwarts.

That led me to wonder what creatures are still left in the Forbidden
Forest, not counting a flying Ford Anglia and possibly a flying
motorcycle wandering wild in the forest. Grawp is tamed and no longer
there; the unicorn-blood-drinking creature that was really
Quirrell!mort is gone. The Acromantulas, at least the adults, seem to
have been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and if I were the new
headmaster, I'd make sure that the whole colony and its burrow were
destroyed. (Ordinary spiders, though, you just have to live with.) The
Werewolves, I think, were just a legend. I can't imagine feral people
who turn into werewolves on a full moon night living undetected in the
Hogwarts forest. That leaves Unicorns, Centaurs, and Thestrals.

Possibly the little twig people whose name I can't remember live in
wandwood trees in the Forbidden Forest. Might Hagrid have gotten some
of the other creatures that the students studied or tried to study in
COMC there? No the Blast-Ended Skrewts, obviously, since Hagrid bred
them (from what, I don't know) and probably not the Salamanders (the
mythical variety that live in fire, not the actual amphibians). Frogs
and newts, those mundane but still magical creatures, probably live in
the lake, along with the Merpeople and Grindylows (and maybe
Flobberworms)?

Carol, who doesn't have time to look up all the creatures in Fantastic
Beasts to see which ones are native to England or Scotland and is just
wondering whether it's reasonably safe to wander in the forest
post-Voldemort and where Hagrid found his creatures




From n2fgc at arrl.net  Sun Feb  8 02:30:08 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force))
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:30:08 -0500
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
Message-ID: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee>

Okay, I probably should have put this on the main list, but I thought I'd
toss it here.

Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry got the fuse
wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for Christmas?  Can we call this a
Flint or a conjure?

Just a thought after re-reading OOTP for--uh--the 10th time???

Smile,

Lee :-)

Do not walk behind me,    | Lee Storm
I may not care to lead;   | N2FGC
Do not walk before me,    | n2fgc at arrl.net (or)
I may not care to follow; | n2fgc at optonline.net
Walk beside me, and be my friend.





From n2fgc at arrl.net  Sun Feb  8 06:11:07 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 01:11:07 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com>
References: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <693E3EC7FAF14E03B8EA94C35925A7E3@musiclee>

[Carol]:
| I was wondering on the Movie list what happened to the other
| Hippogriffs the five that didn't make it into the PoA film and any
| others that Hagrid might have been looking after (or intending to use
| in COMC classes that were never taught). Zanooda suggested that Hagrid
| gave them names but didn't make them into pets because they weren't
| involved in special circumstances as Buckbeak was after the Draco
| Malfoy incident. That makes sense to me and would also explain why
| none of them showed up with the Wizard-oriented, half-tamed Buckbeak
| at the Battle of Hogwarts.

[Lee]:
Hmm--I'd like to think they know how to hide themselves, knowing the forest
and all of it's hidden places.  I think they probably all know Hagrid since
he's a frequent visitor and, perhaps, he alone knows their names because
he's named them.

[Carol]:
| That led me to wonder what creatures are still left in the Forbidden
| Forest, not counting a flying Ford Anglia and possibly a flying
| motorcycle wandering wild in the forest. Grawp is tamed and no longer
| there; the unicorn-blood-drinking creature that was really
| Quirrell!mort is gone. The Acromantulas, at least the adults, seem to
| have been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and if I were the new
| headmaster, I'd make sure that the whole colony and its burrow were
| destroyed. (Ordinary spiders, though, you just have to live with.) 

[Lee]:
Well, I think the dome was destroyed completely since that was sort of the
place Voldemort was waiting for Harry.  However, even though they are
unfriendly and all that, I hope some survived...you know, that preservation
of a species thing.  After all, who likes rattlesnakes?  But we wouldn't
want them all destroyed because, whether we like it or not, they are God's
creatures and serve a purpose.

[Carol]:
| The
| Werewolves, I think, were just a legend. I can't imagine feral people
| who turn into werewolves on a full moon night living undetected in the
| Hogwarts forest.

[Lee]:
Well, you'd have to ask Lupin about that...or Greyback.  Besides, we don't
know how far the forest goes, do we?  It's just called "The Forbidden
Forest," not the Hogwarts Forest.

[Carol]:
| That leaves Unicorns, Centaurs, and Thestrals.
| 
| Possibly the little twig people whose name I can't remember live in
| wandwood trees in the Forbidden Forest. Might Hagrid have gotten some
| of the other creatures that the students studied or tried to study in
| COMC there? No the Blast-Ended Skrewts, obviously, since Hagrid bred
| them (from what, I don't know) and probably not the Salamanders (the
| mythical variety that live in fire, not the actual amphibians). Frogs
| and newts, those mundane but still magical creatures, probably live in
| the lake, along with the Merpeople and Grindylows (and maybe
| Flobberworms)?

[Lee]:
Bowtruckles are definitely in the forest; Harry encountered them after
meeting Grawp.  Flobberworms probably are easy to find; Fantastic Beasts
says they live in dam ditches.  So, if there are streams and stuff, they'll
be there.  Nifflers might be found in deep burrows if you know what to look
for.  And, as you say, unicorns and thestrals and centaurs are in the
forest.

Another thing you can add to your puzzle is where Lupin got his creatures
for his DADA classes.  I doubt he got them all from the forest.  Could there
be a resource for renting creatures for lessons?

[Carol]:
| Carol, who doesn't have time to look up all the creatures in Fantastic
| Beasts to see which ones are native to England or Scotland and is just
| wondering whether it's reasonably safe to wander in the forest
| post-Voldemort and where Hagrid found his creatures

[Lee]:
Well, scanning my copy of FB, looks like Bowtruckles, Crups, Pixies and
Porlocks are native to England.  Skrewts are crosses between manticores and
firecrabs.  As far as safety, well, is any forest truly safe?  Let's
see...bear attacks, cougars, etc. ...

Peace,

Lee :-)

Do not walk behind me,    | Lee Storm
I may not care to lead;   | N2FGC
Do not walk before me,    | n2fgc at arrl.net (or)
I may not care to follow; | n2fgc at optonline.net
Walk beside me, and be my friend.




From bboyminn at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 08:51:16 2009
From: bboyminn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:51:16 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com>

---  "Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:
>
> Okay, I probably should have put this on the main list, but 
> I thought I'd toss it here.
> 
> Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
> got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
> Christmas?  
>
> Can we call this a Flint or a conjure?
> 
> Just a thought after re-reading OOTP for--uh--the 10th time???
> 
> Smile,
> 
> Lee :-)

He picked them up over the summer. 

But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 

And, by the way, exactly what is 'fuse wire' and how does it
differ from ordinary wire? 

I really missed the hospital scene in the movie. There was so
much wonderful humor in it. 

Steve/bluewizard




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 13:41:31 2009
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (Annemehr)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:41:31 -0000
Subject: Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <693E3EC7FAF14E03B8EA94C35925A7E3@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmmneb+2rtl@eGroups.com>

 
> [Carol]:
> | <snip> The Acromantulas, at least the adults, seem to
> | have been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and if I were the new
> | headmaster, I'd make sure that the whole colony and its burrow 
were
> | destroyed. (Ordinary spiders, though, you just have to live 
with.) 
> 
> [Lee]:
> Well, I think the dome was destroyed completely since that was sort 
of the
> place Voldemort was waiting for Harry.  However, even though they 
are
> unfriendly and all that, I hope some survived...you know, that 
preservation
> of a species thing.  After all, who likes rattlesnakes?  But we 
wouldn't
> want them all destroyed because, whether we like it or not, they 
are God's
> creatures and serve a purpose.
> 

Annemehr:

I'm not worried about preservation of the species per se.  
Acromantulas are not native to Scotland, and presumably there are 
plenty more where they come from.  Still, I can't imagine that 
*every* one was killed in the battle of Hogwarts, even if the dome 
was destroyed.  It seems like quite a few of the little juveniles 
ought to have been able to scuttle away under tree roots and into the 
brush.

I like to think so, anyway.

I actually do like rattlesnakes.  They are cool.  True, I don't want 
a pet one, but I appreciate their existence.

Even mosquitos and wasps, I would not wish to eradicate.  Even they 
seem to go about their little lives with whatever purpose such little 
selves can have.

We have to get down to the particularly nasty viruses and lethal 
bacteria before I just have to trust in God's plans in the matter. ;)

Annemehr






From bumbledor at ma.rr.com  Sun Feb  8 15:12:58 2009
From: bumbledor at ma.rr.com (bumbledor)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 10:12:58 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
References: <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002c01c989ff$b9f22610$6401a8c0@hogwarts>


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve" <bboyminn at yahoo.com>

> ---  "Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:
>>
>> Okay, I probably should have put this on the main list, but
>> I thought I'd toss it here.
>>
>> Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
>> got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for
>> Christmas?
>>
>> Can we call this a Flint or a conjure?
>>
>> Lee :-)
>
> He picked them up over the summer.
>
> But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
> money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
> picked up the whole works for $10 to $15.
>
> And, by the way, exactly what is 'fuse wire' and how does it
> differ from ordinary wire?
>
> Steve/bluewizard
>

Steve, Fuse wire comes in 2 types.. the type with a built in fuse that 
blows, thus opening the circuit and thus not allowing the current to flow. 
The other type is designed to melt at low temperature, to do the same thing, 
causing an open to occur in the circuit, so that power does not flow.




From n2fgc at arrl.net  Sun Feb  8 15:56:37 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 10:56:37 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com>
References: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee> <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee>

[I wrote]:
| > Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
| > got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
| > Christmas?  
| >
| > Can we call this a Flint or a conjure?
| > 
| > Just a thought after re-reading OOTP for--uh--the 10th time???
| > 
[Steve B. responded]:
| He picked them up over the summer. 
| 
| But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
| money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
| picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 

[Lee]:
That's why I asked the question, Steve.  Knowing that the Dursleys don't
give him any money, I wondered how he could have gotten the items.  Did he
(A) find money in the street and save it up to buy the stuff, (b) find the
stuff in the trash, (c) theft it from Uncle Vernon's shed, etc.?  I mention
the shed as OOTP says that Harry was threatened with being locked in it if
he got home after Dudley.

[Steve b]:
| I really missed the hospital scene in the movie. There was so
| much wonderful humor in it.

[Lee]:
I missed that, too, and wish that the movie ending had been more like the
book.  It was nice, but I would have loved to see Malfoy and his thuggies
reduced to slug-like objects. :-)

Cheers,
Lee (Who's in the real nitpick stage of re-reading.) :-)




From drdara at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 18:11:20 2009
From: drdara at yahoo.com (danielle dassero)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 10:11:20 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee>
References: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee> <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com> <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee>
Message-ID: <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>





[I wrote]:
| > Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
| > got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
| > Christmas? 
| >
| > Can we call this a Flint or a conjure?
| > 
| > Just a thought after re-reading OOTP for--uh--the 10th time???
| > 
[Steve B. responded]:
| He picked them up over the summer. 
| 
| But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
| money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
| picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 

[Lee]:
That's why I asked the question, Steve. Knowing that the Dursleys don't
give him any money, I wondered how he could have gotten the items. Did he
(A) find money in the street and save it up to buy the stuff, (b) find the
stuff in the trash, (c) theft it from Uncle Vernon's shed, etc.? I mention
the shed as OOTP says that Harry was threatened with being locked in it if
he got home after Dudley.




Danielle:
I think that at some point in time Harry exchanged some of his wizarding gold for muggle money. Either that or he gave wizarding money to Hermione who owled her parents and asked them to pick up the stuff. 




      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Feb  8 18:40:24 2009
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 8 Feb 2009 18:40:24 -0000
Subject: Weekly Chat, 2/8/2009, 1:00 pm 
Message-ID: <1234118424.9.54736.m55@yahoogroups.com>

Reminder from: HPFGU-OTChatter Yahoo! Group
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/cal

Weekly Chat
Sunday February 8, 2009
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
(This event repeats every week.)
Location: http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Notes:
Just a reminder, Sunday chat starts in about one hour.

To get to the HPfGU room follow this link:
http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Create a user name for yourself, whatever you want
to be called.

Enter the password: hpfguchat

Click "Join Chat" on the lower right.

Chat start times:
11 am Pacific US
12 noon Mountain US
1 pm Central US
2 pm Eastern US
7 pm UK




All Rights Reserved
 Copyright  2009 
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From heidi8 at gmail.com  Sun Feb  8 19:31:41 2009
From: heidi8 at gmail.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 14:31:41 -0500
Subject: Azkatraz Programming Deadline: It's tomorrow!
Message-ID: <5913e6f80902081131x2795bf31v4cfe54458e1c0d9d@mail.gmail.com>

Where the mist rolls across San Francisco Bay, from the Golden Gate to
Alcatraz, HP Education Fanon, Inc.'s 2009 conference - AZKATRAZ -
shakes things up with discussions, panels, insight, debates,
fan-creativity, wizard rock, and more! The programming focus of
Azkatraz explores the themes of justice and the choice between what is
right and what is easy, bringing the backdrop of Alcatraz / Azkaban to
the forefront of the real issues of social justice, gender equality,
tolerance, and due process, as they are reflected in the Harry Potter
books and the larger contexts of fandom and the world around us. We
seek proposals for papers, panels, roundtable discussions, and
workshops that relate to these themes, as well as proposals pertaining
to other areas of interest to the Harry Potter fan community.

    * GLBT issues
    * Gender roles, gaps and issues; heteronormativity and traditions in HP
    * Slash as an instrument of spreading tolerance
    * Justice and vengeance in the wizarding world
    * Marginalized cultures and people
    * Ministry for Magic's incompetence and willful blindness; The
Death Eaters' Regime
    * Parallels between Rowling's Wizarding World and historical practices
    * Shipping, character studies, fanfiction and other fandom-related topics
    * The business of HP ? the films, merchandizing, and the series'
larger impact on media and culture
    * Copyright and fair use issues in fandom: fanfiction, fanart,
vidding, and publishing
    * Fanfiction to original fiction: making the jump from fandom to
published author.

We also welcome submissions outside these areas as well.

Presentation formats include, but are not limited to:

    * LECTURES - Lecture-style presentations on a chosen topic
typically involve one person lecturing and teaching in front of a
large audience, with Q & A time incorporated.
    * DISCUSSION PANELS - A discussion panel typically consists of a
few people presenting a topic and discussing and/or critically
analyzing it, preferably with a moderator to enforce structure and
order. The discussion panel should allow time for questions/comments
from the audience, or incorporate other means of audience
participation.
    * ROUNDTABLES - A roundtable chat is comprised of a group of
people having a structured discussion on a chosen topic, hosted by a
moderator.
    * WORKSHOPS - A workshop is a session that focuses on training and
teaching participants about a specific subject or skill. This format
generally consists of a small group of people instructing a large
group of participants.


Check out the Call for Papers, and submit your programming proposal,
at http://www.hp2009.org/?q=node/6 or email questions to info @
hp2009.org (without the spaces).

More information about Azkatraz - set to take place in San Francisco
from July 17 - 21, 2009 at the Parc55 Hotel - is available at
http://www.hp2009.org .


- Heidi
Team Azkatraz



From n2fgc at arrl.net  Sun Feb  8 19:32:53 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 14:32:53 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
References: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee> <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com> <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee> <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <06E6FBA1A6014A2B809CE4B641A483C1@musiclee>

| Danielle:
| I think that at some point in time Harry exchanged some of 
| his wizarding gold for muggle money. Either that or he gave 
| wizarding money to Hermione who owled her parents and asked 
| them to pick up the stuff. 

[Lee]:
Okay, that sounds like a good call.  Guess it would have been interesting to
see that elaborated on.

Smiles,

Lee :-)




From donnawonna at att.net  Sun Feb  8 21:04:24 2009
From: donnawonna at att.net (Donna)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 16:04:24 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
References: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee> <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com> <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee> <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> <06E6FBA1A6014A2B809CE4B641A483C1@musiclee>
Message-ID: <498F48D8.000046.03456@D8DXG9G1>

Donna:
Why couldn't Harry have just gone to Gringott's and exchanged some of his
wizarding money for muggle money?  I'm sure Gringott's has muggle money from
exchanging it for wizard money for the parents of muggle born wizards and
witches.  Then, on a break slipped across the dividing line behind the Leaky
Cauldron to make his purchase.

| Danielle:
| I think that at some point in time Harry exchanged some of 
| his wizarding gold for muggle money. Either that or he gave 
| wizarding money to Hermione who owled her parents and asked 
| them to pick up the stuff. 

[Lee]:
Okay, that sounds like a good call. Guess it would have been interesting to
see that elaborated on.

Smiles,

Lee :-)



 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 21:10:32 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:10:32 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmnho8+al1v@eGroups.com>

> [Lee]:
> That's why I asked the question, Steve.  Knowing that the Dursleys
don't give him any money, I wondered how he could have gotten the
items.  Did he (A) find money in the street and save it up to buy the
stuff, (b) find the stuff in the trash, (c) theft it from Uncle
Vernon's shed, etc.?  <snip>

Carol responds:
I imagine that he just exchanged some gold at Gringotts for Muggle
money (as Mr. Weasley must have done in GoF to pay for their camping
spot). IIRC, Harry also got a fifty-pence one Christmas before the
gifts were reduced to tissues and toothpicks, or whatever. Maybe he
had a bit of pocket change left over from previous Christmases, but
the Gringotts idea seems more probable.

> [Steve b]:
> | I really missed the hospital scene in the movie. There was so much
wonderful humor in it.

Carol:
And the pathos of the scene with Neville's mother and the gum
wrappers. It would have made so much more sense to include that scene
than to imply that the Longbottoms had merely been Crucio'd, as the
OoP film does. (The GoF film may mention insanity, but OoP merely
gives them an unspecified fate worse than death followed by Neville's
statement that they had been Crucio'd by Bellatrix Lestrange, which
must really confuse the people who understood that Barty Crouch Jr.
was the guilty party. That they both (together with the Lestrange
brothers, who are omitted from both films) Crucio'd the Longbottoms
into insanity probably escapes moviegoers who haven't read the books.

Carol, understanding the need to condense the plot of the films but
thinking that it ought, at least, to remain consistent




From bboyminn at yahoo.com  Sun Feb  8 23:26:20 2009
From: bboyminn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:26:20 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmnpms+6uan@eGroups.com>

---  "Lee Storm \(God Is The Healing Force" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:
>
> [I wrote]:
> | > Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
> | > got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
> | > Christmas?  
> | >
> | > ...
> | > 
> [Steve B. responded]:
> | He picked them up over the summer. 
> | 
> | But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
> | money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
> | picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 
> 
> [Lee]:
> That's why I asked the question, Steve. ...

Sorry, I though you meant physically, as in, how did he find a
store and how did he get to the store? 

I don't know what Surrey is like, but the area they used in 
the movies looks borderline rural. Still, as Harry walks 
around there seem to be a lot of streets, so maybe there is
a small business district within walking distance. 

As for the money, I can only imagine, as others have suggested,
he converted some wizard's money to muggle money at Gringott's,
or exchanged wizard's money for muggle money from Hermione or
one of the adult wizards he knows. 

Since Mr. Weasley is in the hospital over Christmas break, it
is possible that Harry wandered from Grimmauld Place and 
bought the gift in a nearby neighborhood. 

Being in the city, I don't imagine it is that hard to find
local shops in every neighborhood. 

Interesting question.

Steve/bluewizard




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Sun Feb  8 23:27:47 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:27:47 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <06E6FBA1A6014A2B809CE4B641A483C1@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmnppj+92c0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Lee Storm \(God Is The Healing Force" 
<n2fgc at ...> wrote:
>
> | Danielle:
> | I think that at some point in time Harry exchanged some of 
> | his wizarding gold for muggle money. Either that or he gave 
> | wizarding money to Hermione who owled her parents and asked 
> | them to pick up the stuff. 
> 
> [Lee]:
> Okay, that sounds like a good call.  Guess it would have been interesting to
> see that elaborated on.
> 
> Smiles,
> 
> Lee :-)

Geoff:
Yes, but it wasn't really that vital to the story line until the 
nitpickers of OTC leapt on it with whoops of joy.
:-)






From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Sun Feb  8 23:34:09 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:34:09 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmnpms+6uan@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmnq5h+uil6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:
>
> ---  "Lee Storm \(God Is The Healing Force" <n2fgc@> wrote:
> >
> > [I wrote]:
> > | > Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
> > | > got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
> > | > Christmas?  
> > | >
> > | > ...
> > | > 
> > [Steve B. responded]:
> > | He picked them up over the summer. 
> > | 
> > | But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
> > | money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
> > | picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 
> > 
> > [Lee]:
> > That's why I asked the question, Steve. ...
> 
> Sorry, I though you meant physically, as in, how did he find a
> store and how did he get to the store? 
> 
> I don't know what Surrey is like, but the area they used in 
> the movies looks borderline rural. Still, as Harry walks 
> around there seem to be a lot of streets, so maybe there is
> a small business district within walking distance. 

Geoff:
Surrey is a county and is several hundred square miles in area. 
There are many large towns and also many villages. Little Whinging 
sounds like a small town - the Dursleys' house seems to be on a 
small estate and probably has a small shopping area close by 
which may contain a specialist hardware store or a small 
supermarket with a tools counter.




From zanooda2 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 01:32:14 2009
From: zanooda2 at yahoo.com (zanooda2)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:32:14 -0000
Subject: Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <693E3EC7FAF14E03B8EA94C35925A7E3@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmo12u+11jg@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Lee Storm \(God Is The
Healing Force" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:


> Another thing you can add to your puzzle is where Lupin got 
> his creatures for his DADA classes. I doubt he got them all 
> from the forest. Could there be a resource for renting 
> creatures for lessons?


zanooda:

Well, that Grindylow was definitely delivered from somewhere: "I've
just taken delivery of a Grindylow for our next lesson" :-). Sounds
like a rental to me :-). 




From predigirl1 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 05:16:30 2009
From: predigirl1 at yahoo.com (Alex Hogan)
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 21:16:30 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: WayOT: "Repo! The Genetic Opera"
In-Reply-To: <gm1i6s+trst@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <459098.80987.qm@web63706.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

I wish they would play it here, in Odessa, Texas just once! But since we are about ten years behind the rest of the civilized world, I doubt it!? I would LOVE to see it as a midnight movie!!!? But I'm spreading the word as much as possible! If it gets enough word of mouth, things might change!
?
Alex Hogan

--- On Sat, 1/31/09, Annemehr <annemehr at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Annemehr <annemehr at yahoo.com>
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: WayOT: "Repo! The Genetic Opera"
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, January 31, 2009, 7:03 AM






--- In HPFGU-OTChatter@ yahoogroups. com, "Alex Hogan" <predigirl1@ ...> 
wrote:
>
> Have you SEEN this?? It is the most amazing movie ever! I have loved 
it 
> since September, when I found it on an Anthony Stewart Head(Giles 
> from "Buffy")site. Since then I have become a HUGE fan! People were 
> actually doing street performances in the larger cities before it 
even 
> opened (thanks, You Tube!), just to spread word of mouth. There were 
> people dressed up as the characters and they had the songs memorized 
at 
> the premiers. I tell everyone with even a slightly intelligent face 
> about the movie. This generation's RHPS without so much humor. But it 
> has it's moments. It's an opera! What did you expect? A happy ending?
> 
> Alex Hogan
>

No, I haven't seen it myself, but my sixteen year old daughter is a 
huge fan of Repo *and* Rocky Horror. But Repo isn't playing 
continuously around here, like RHPS used to, so she's only seen it once.

They did a second run of Repo just recently, but it was midweek, during 
everyone's midterms, so they couldn't go.

Annemehr

 














      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From kenadams705 at btinternet.com  Mon Feb  9 10:12:25 2009
From: kenadams705 at btinternet.com (KEN ADAMS)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:12:25 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: JKR and her Great Grandfather
In-Reply-To: <459098.80987.qm@web63706.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <878839.95615.qm@web87004.mail.ird.yahoo.com>



-

?HPGU'ers might find this link of interest. It describes how JKR's Great Grandfather Msr Louis Valont also won the Legion d"honneur for valour during the battle of Verdun, and other details.:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4548877/JK-Rowlings-great-grandfather-was-a-French-First-World-War-hero.html 
KEN

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 18:36:56 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:36:56 -0000
Subject: Dancing with the stars
Message-ID: <gmpt48+7il3@eGroups.com>

Who would like to see Daniel Radcliff???  I want Alan Rickman!!!  Who 
do we ask?

Tonks_op




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 18:57:05 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:57:05 -0000
Subject: Book - The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel
Message-ID: <gmpua1+sfrb@eGroups.com>

Has anyone read this?? Tell me about it. Thanks. Someone told me about 
the title and that was all. I see it at Amazon. Apparently it is 
fiction. How much of a real secret can it be?

Tonks_op




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 19:10:06 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:10:06 -0000
Subject: Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmpv2e+5m0q@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> That led me to wonder what creatures are still left in the Forbidden
> Forest, not counting a flying Ford Anglia and possibly a flying
> motorcycle wandering wild in the forest. 
SNIP
> Werewolves, I think, were just a legend. I can't imagine feral people 
who turn into werewolves on a full moon night living undetected in the 
Hogwarts forest. That leaves Unicorns, Centaurs, and Thestrals.

Tonks:

Excuse me Carol... werewolves are not "just a legend". Although with 
the advent of new and better potions they may be able to keep it under 
better control than in earlier days.

Tonks_op
who just can't believe that Carol would say that!! legend??? lol.




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 19:24:41 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:24:41 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee>
Message-ID: <gmpvtp+go0t@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Lee Storm (God Is The Healing 
Force)" <n2fgc at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry got the 
fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for Christmas?  Can we call 
this a Flint or a conjure?

Tonks:

Maybe a bit of regifting? The fuse wire could be old stuff someone thew 
out. Screwdrivers...  sort of like a coat hanger. After all isn't that 
what he got for his birthday once, a coat hanger? I can see him getting 
a screwdriver, just putting it away and later while cleaning his room, 
thought of Mr. Weasley.  Or like someone else said, exchanging Wizard 
money for Muggle money at the bank. No big deal.

Tonks_op




From n2fgc at arrl.net  Mon Feb  9 19:30:07 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 14:30:07 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <gmpv2e+5m0q@eGroups.com>
References: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com> <gmpv2e+5m0q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <BEC65008ACBD425E9E2A929EAF78A1F3@musiclee>

| <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
| >
| > That led me to wonder what creatures are still left in the Forbidden
| > Forest, not counting a flying Ford Anglia and possibly a flying
| > motorcycle wandering wild in the forest. 
| SNIP
| > Werewolves, I think, were just a legend. I can't imagine 
| feral people 
| who turn into werewolves on a full moon night living 
| undetected in the 
| Hogwarts forest. That leaves Unicorns, Centaurs, and Thestrals.
| 
| Tonks:
| 
| Excuse me Carol... werewolves are not "just a legend". Although with 
| the advent of new and better potions they may be able to keep 
| it under 
| better control than in earlier days.


[Lee]:
And, I had forgotten to state in my original reply to Carol's questions that
the motorcycle is now in Mr. Weasley's shed needing a ton of repair since it
crashed in Ted & Andromeda Tonks's pond.  Remember he showed it to Harry
just before the wedding.

Smile,

Lee :-)

Do not walk behind me,    | Lee Storm
I may not care to lead;   | N2FGC
Do not walk before me,    | n2fgc at arrl.net (or)
I may not care to follow; | n2fgc at optonline.net
Walk beside me, and be my friend.




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 19:36:41 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:36:41 -0000
Subject: Forbidden Forest question
In-Reply-To: <gmpv2e+5m0q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmq0k9+ap73@eGroups.com>

Carol earlier:
> > That led me to wonder what creatures are still left in the
Forbidden Forest 
> SNIP
> > Werewolves, I think, were just a legend. I can't imagine feral
people who turn into werewolves on a full moon night living undetected
in the Hogwarts forest. <snip>
> 
> Tonks:
> 
> Excuse me Carol... werewolves are not "just a legend". Although with
the advent of new and better potions they may be able to keep it under
better control than in earlier days.

Carol responds:

Sorry to be unclear. I didn't mean that werewolves themselves were
just a legend. Obviously, Lupin and Greyback and the unnamed
werewolves that Lupin lives among are real within the confines of the
HP world. I meant that the idea of werewolves living in the Forbidden
Forest was apparently a legend. 

Remember Tom Riddle's remark about "werewolf cubs"? That's not the way
it works, as far as we know. Baby werewolves, if they exist, would be
human most of the time, just as Lupin is. I'm just saying that the
idea of a colony of werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest appears
to be a legend. No one reports the howling of a whole pack of them on
full-moon nights. The only werewolf we ever hear howling is Lupin. And
wouldn't he have been joined on his juvenile excursions on full-moon
nights by other werewolves if they were in the forest, too? 

Carol, who has not forgotten that Snape made Lupin's wolfbane potion
and made it perfectly or that Lupin endangered HRH by forgetting to
drink that potion




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 20:15:55 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:15:55 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <002c01c989ff$b9f22610$6401a8c0@hogwarts>
Message-ID: <gmq2tr+qtos@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "bumbledor" <bumbledor at ...> 
wrote:
Steve asked:
> > And, by the way, exactly what is 'fuse wire' and how does it
> > differ from ordinary wire?



> Steve, Fuse wire comes in 2 types.. the type with a built in fuse 
that blows, thus opening the circuit and thus not allowing the 
current to flow. 
> The other type is designed to melt at low temperature, to do the 
same thing, causing an open to occur in the circuit, so that power 
does not flow.
>

Tonks here:
The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. What 
is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?

Tonks_op




From d2dmiles at yahoo.de  Mon Feb  9 20:28:29 2009
From: d2dmiles at yahoo.de (Miles)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 21:28:29 +0100
Subject: Rupert Grint in Berlin - two clips
References: <gmla3g+pef6@eGroups.com> <gmpv2e+5m0q@eGroups.com> <BEC65008ACBD425E9E2A929EAF78A1F3@musiclee>
Message-ID: <3165FC9BF6C54635A2043EC3D7EF5736@miles>

Hello to all Rupert fans ;),

Rupert Grint is one of the stars of this year's "Berlinale", the major 
German film festival. He presents a small independent production: Cherry 
Bomb, about two teenage boys who fancy the same girl and try to outrival 
each other.

I found to movie clips on a German newsmagazine site. The first one is a 
report about Rupert on the red carpet. The commentary is in German, but you 
can hear some interviews with fans from Chile, UK, and the USA.
The second is in English with parts of an interview with Kimberley Nixon 
(playing the girl in the film) and Rupert.

If you ask me, Rupert looks very much like the young Boris Becker in this 
film. Which is not a compliment, if you ask me ;).

www.spiegel.de/video/video-50599.html
(or http://tinyurl.com/bm6jo2)

www.spiegel.de/video/video-50619.html
(or http://tinyurl.com/awf9e4)

Enjoy :)
Miles 





From md at exit-reality.com  Mon Feb  9 20:41:57 2009
From: md at exit-reality.com (Cabal)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 15:41:57 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
References: <6A863DF5D9ED4DAC90AEC2051A17D24E@musiclee> <gmm6e4+k2ih@eGroups.com> <B3A307B9C74F47FD89A14BC6568EF149@musiclee> <700253.77953.qm@web65406.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <000001c98af6$e0536740$a0fa35c0$@com>

I always presumed they must have a muggle-money exchange at Gringots, also
Harry's money is gold, silver and bronze -- easily tradable for cash.

md

-----Original Message-----
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of danielle dassero
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 1:11 PM
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr.
Weasley





[I wrote]:
| > Could someone tell me if there's any resolution to how Harry
| > got the fuse wire and screwdrivers for Mr. Weasley for 
| > Christmas? 
| >
| > Can we call this a Flint or a conjure?
| > 
| > Just a thought after re-reading OOTP for--uh--the 10th time???
| > 
[Steve B. responded]:
| He picked them up over the summer. 
| 
| But the next question we should ask is, where did he get the
| money? Not that it would cost that much. Probably could have
| picked up the whole works for $10 to $15. 

[Lee]:
That's why I asked the question, Steve. Knowing that the Dursleys don't
give him any money, I wondered how he could have gotten the items. Did he
(A) find money in the street and save it up to buy the stuff, (b) find the
stuff in the trash, (c) theft it from Uncle Vernon's shed, etc.? I mention
the shed as OOTP says that Harry was threatened with being locked in it if
he got home after Dudley.




Danielle:
I think that at some point in time Harry exchanged some of his wizarding
gold for muggle money. Either that or he gave wizarding money to Hermione
who owled her parents and asked them to pick up the stuff. 




      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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From swartell at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 21:47:34 2009
From: swartell at yahoo.com (Sue Wartell)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 13:47:34 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Book - The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel
References: <gmpua1+sfrb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <446438.3144.qm@web53201.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

Tonks_op asked:

Has anyone read this?? Tell me about it. Thanks. Someone told me about 
the title and that was all. I see it at Amazon. Apparently it is 
fiction. How much of a real secret can it be?


Sue:
I've been listening to the first 2 books in the series (there are planned to be 6).  It's been enjoyable - lots of action, some interesting characters, ...  It's definitely a kid's book, but I've never let that stop me from enjoying a story before. ;-)

It centers around 15 year old twins from contemporary San Francisco, and their interactions with a bunch of Immortals (including Nicholas and Perennelle Flamel), Elders (including Hecate) and assorted monsters and beings from a wide range of mythololgies from around the world.  I'm finding it fun, though I would not describe it as great literature.  - good escapism, maybe.

Borrow them from the library to get a taste.  I really like the reader on the audio books I've gotten out of my local library.


      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Mon Feb  9 23:14:53 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:14:53 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmq2tr+qtos@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmqddd+aecp@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op at ...> wrote:
 
Tonks:
> The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. What 
> is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?
> 
> Tonks_op

Geoff:
Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
(With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud)






From annemehr at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 00:04:20 2009
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (Annemehr)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:04:20 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmqddd+aecp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmqga4+p6mq@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op@> wrote:
>  
> Tonks:
> > The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. 
What 
> > is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?
> > 
> > Tonks_op
> 
> Geoff:
> Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
> (With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud)
>

Annemehr:
I'd like one, but I'm out of vodka.





From pam_rosen at yahoo.com  Mon Feb  9 23:14:54 2009
From: pam_rosen at yahoo.com (Pamela Rosen)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 15:14:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Book - The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel
References: <gmpua1+sfrb@eGroups.com> <446438.3144.qm@web53201.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <345267.61811.qm@web30801.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Subject: Book - The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel

Tonks_op asked:

Has anyone read this?? Tell me about it. Thanks. Someone told me about the title and that was all. I see it at Amazon. Apparently it is fiction. How much of a real secret can it be?

Sue:
I've been listening to the first 2 books in the series (there are planned to be 6).  It's been enjoyable - lots of action, some interesting characters, ...  It's definitely a kid's book, but I've never let that stop me from enjoying a story before. ;-)

It centers around 15 year old twins from contemporary San Francisco, and their interactions with a bunch of Immortals (including Nicholas and Perennelle Flamel), Elders (including Hecate) and assorted monsters and beings from a wide range of mythololgies from around the world.  I'm finding it fun, though I would not describe it as great literature.  - good escapism, maybe.


Pam:

Borrow them from the library to get a taste.  I really like the reader on the audio books I've gotten out of my local library.

I started this book and then passed it on to my 10 year old son--too juvenile for my tastes. My son took up the mantle on this book and fell in love with it. He gave such an impassioned oral book report to his fifth grade class that the class demanded that the teacher read it to the whole class instead of the book she was planning. So there's something there, for the right audience.  Personally I was more ready to believe in Hecate and Golums than I was at the author's assertations that it was extremely hot on a summer day in San Francisco!

Pam



From swartell at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 04:16:28 2009
From: swartell at yahoo.com (Sue Wartell)
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 20:16:28 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re:  Book - The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel
References: <gmpua1+sfrb@eGroups.com> <446438.3144.qm@web53201.mail.re2.yahoo.com> <345267.61811.qm@web30801.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <650696.16520.qm@web53204.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

Pam:
Personally I was more ready to believe in Hecate and Golums than I was
at the author's assertations that it was extremely hot on a summer day
in San Francisco!

Sue:
Wandering even further off topic - that didn't bother me, as the very first time I ever went  to San Francisco, it was April and the temperature was in the mid-80's.  I'd prepared for typical S.F. weather, and was broiling by the time I got to my hotel.  All things are relative, and none more so than descriptions of temperatures!  

Recently, here in central Ohio, 32 degrees F has felt rather warm, coming out of a stretch of very atypically cold weather (highs in the teens or 20s for days on end, which is NOT what we're accustomed to).  We're to get over 60 tomorrow, and I'm expecting to see shorts and tank tops out and about.


      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 05:53:16 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:53:16 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmqddd+aecp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmr4oc+rsn0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op@> wrote:
>  
> Tonks:
> > The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. 
What 
> > is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?
> > 
> > Tonks_op
> 
> Geoff:
> Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
> (With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud)

Tonks:
lol. I knew you (or someone) was going to say that. I was thinking 
about the wire and what it does. Why fuse wire? Energy?? 

Tonks_op





From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Tue Feb 10 07:37:52 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:37:52 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmqga4+p6mq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmrasg+95ki@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Annemehr" <annemehr at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
> <gbannister10@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op@> wrote:
> >  
> > Tonks:
> > > The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. 
> What 
> > > is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?
> > > 
> > > Tonks_op
> > 
> > Geoff:
> > Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
> > (With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud)
> >
> 
> Annemehr:
> I'd like one, but I'm out of vodka.

Geoff:
I sincerely hope that Harry wasn't offering THAT sort of screwdriver 
to Arthur. Since I'm not much into alcohol (mine is usually no more 
than a half of cider or a half of lager and lime) that interpretation 
hadn't occurred to me....
:-)






From doddiemoemoe at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 07:38:20 2009
From: doddiemoemoe at yahoo.com (doddiemoemoe)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:38:20 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <002c01c989ff$b9f22610$6401a8c0@hogwarts>
Message-ID: <gmratc+652d@eGroups.com>

I always enjoyed my imaginings about that fuse wire/screwdriver gift..

  My most memorable...is Vernon planning some "manly repairing 
project" with Dudley that ended up in a disaster, the result of which 
was proper repairmen were called leaving the fusewire and screwdrivers 
long forgotten.. Harry probably picked them up as he chuckled over the 
entire memory(he may have even sabotaged said affair) and thought 
Arthur would appreciate these "muggle artifacts"..


DD





From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Tue Feb 10 07:40:25 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:40:25 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmr4oc+rsn0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmrb19+4cl7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
> <gbannister10@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op@> wrote:
> >  
> > Tonks:
> > > The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this. 
> What 
> > > is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say?
> > > 
> > > Tonks_op
> > 
> > Geoff:
> > Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
> > (With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud)
> 
> Tonks:
> lol. I knew you (or someone) was going to say that. I was thinking 
> about the wire and what it does. Why fuse wire? Energy?? 

Geoff:
Well, in the days before miniature circuit-breakers were the norm, 
every sensible household had a collection of various thicknesses of 
fuse wire stowed in a drawer somewhere to be searched for when a 
fuse blew.






From willsonkmom at msn.com  Tue Feb 10 13:20:50 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:20:50 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmrb19+4cl7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmruvi+qdqv@eGroups.com>


> Geoff:
> Well, in the days before miniature circuit-breakers were the norm, 
> every sensible household had a collection of various thicknesses of 
> fuse wire stowed in a drawer somewhere to be searched for when a 
> fuse blew.


Potioncat:
I recall having a drawer full of wire, fuses, nuts, bolts, picture 
hangers and assorted stuff. We called it the junk drawer. It was full 
of stuff you might need sometime. Generally, when you need it you can't 
find it so you go buy more. I can imagine that either Petunia grabbed a 
handful of stuff from the drawer to send to Harry as his gift, or he 
took it himself with the idea of giving it to Mr. Weasley. 





From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 16:45:54 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:45:54 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmruvi+qdqv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmsb02+v519@eGroups.com>

Potioncat:
> I recall having a drawer full of wire, fuses, nuts, bolts, picture 
hangers and assorted stuff. We called it the junk drawer. It was full
of stuff you might need sometime. Generally, when you need it you
can't  find it so you go buy more. I can imagine that either Petunia
grabbed a  handful of stuff from the drawer to send to Harry as his
gift, or he took it himself with the idea of giving it to Mr. Weasley.
>
Carol responds:

I *still* have a junk drawer, with a screwdriver, needlenose pliers,
scissors, twist ties, picture hangers, old film cans full of pennies
or quarters, plastic forks and spoons still in cellophane, batteries
of various sizes, stray pieces of wire, screws, nails, and anything
else smallish and utilitarian that I might someday need. (No fuse
wire, though. My appartment has circuit breakers.)

As for Harry's taking stuff from the junk drawer to give to Mr.
Dursley, I suppose that's possible, but I think it's more likely that
he exchanged a bit of gold for Muggle money in Diagon Alley when he
bought his books and later popped into a hardware store on one of his
walks away from the Dursley house. He couldn't have spent all his time
in the play park, especially if the weather happened to be bad. It's
just one of those little details that JKR didn't really think about,
so we can account for it in whatever way seems plausible to us. (At
least it's not an inconsistency like some other details.)

Carol, wondering how Potioncat lives without her junk drawer ;-)




From zanooda2 at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 10 21:41:34 2009
From: zanooda2 at yahoo.com (zanooda2)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:41:34 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmsb02+v519@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmssae+o41g@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:

> I think it's more likely that he exchanged a bit of gold for 
> Muggle money in Diagon Alley when he bought his books and later 
> popped into a hardware store on one of his walks away from the 
> Dursley house. 


Yeah, I think he took this habit of exchanging some gold for pounds
after PoA, when he got stuck on a Muggle street in the middle of the
night without any Muggle money. Of course, he couldn't have a lot of
money (to buy clothes and other things) at the Dursleys, because they
would have noticed, but just a little, for emergencies - why not? Or
to by himself an ice-cream while wandering the streets :-).


zanooda, who thinks it must be annoying to have money in the bank and
not being able to use it in the summer.




From willsonkmom at msn.com  Wed Feb 11 03:07:56 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:07:56 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmsb02+v519@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmtfec+mbo4@eGroups.com>


> 
> Carol, wondering how Potioncat lives without her junk drawer ;-)
>
Potioncat:


I have a basement now.



But it's not full of the same junk that my Dad used to have. He had 
wires and nails and nuts and bolts....not sure what it is we have. More 
like nails and screws and wires that go to speicific electronics--and 
no others--- which we may or may not still own, and may or may not 
still work.




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 11 03:17:17 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:17:17 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmtfec+mbo4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmtfvt+25fk@eGroups.com>

> > Carol, wondering how Potioncat lives without her junk drawer ;-)
> >
> Potioncat:
> 
> 
> I have a basement now.

Carol:
Ah! that explains it. 

Potioncat: 
> But it's not full of the same junk that my Dad used to have. He had
 wires and nails and nuts and bolts....not sure what it is we have.
More like nails and screws and wires that go to speicific
electronics--and no others--- which we may or may not still own, and
may or may not still work.
>
Carol responds:
Which goes to show that junk, like air, expands to fill the space
available.

Carol, whose closet full of old computer monitors and dead VCRs must
aspire to be a basement when it grows up




From n2fgc at arrl.net  Wed Feb 11 03:30:39 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:30:39 -0500
Subject: Basements & Junk Drawers (was Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley)
In-Reply-To: <gmtfec+mbo4@eGroups.com>
References: <gmsb02+v519@eGroups.com> <gmtfec+mbo4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1F67E7F9C975429BB06E36396BE10FA0@musiclee>

[Carol]:
| > Carol, wondering how Potioncat lives without her junk drawer ;-)
| >
[Potioncat]:
| I have a basement now.
| 
| But it's not full of the same junk that my Dad used to have. He had 
| wires and nails and nuts and bolts....not sure what it is we 
| have. More 
| like nails and screws and wires that go to speicific electronics--and 
| no others--- which we may or may not still own, and may or may not 


[Lee]:
Ah--yes...we have junk drawers and the basement and garage....and it's all
full!  I know the basement (or "cellar" as Art calls it) is filled with
tools, old tubes in working and some in pristine condition, wire of many
types from speaker to thin copper, old computer stuff, and only heaven knows
what else.

The junk drawer(s) have tools, pens, twist-ties, rubber bands, screws,
nails, battery chargers for various pieces of equipment, flash lights,
batteries and other oddments.

God bless basements and drawers, huh? :-)

Smile,

Leehead :-)




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 11 05:57:42 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:57:42 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmrb19+4cl7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmtpcm+s136@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at ...> wrote:
> Geoff:
> Well, in the days before miniature circuit-breakers were the norm, 
> every sensible household had a collection of various thicknesses 
of 
> fuse wire stowed in a drawer somewhere to be searched for when a 
> fuse blew.


Tonks:

OK, I think we are about the same age, but you are in England. I 
remember fuses. You took the old one out and screwed in a new one. 
IF I remember right, you could tell when the old one was blown 
because a little metal thingy in it was melted and pulled apart. I 
don't remember any need for wire. What sort of fuse box did the 
English have? Wire sounds kind of scary to me. Something that only 
electricians would use. How would one use wire?????

Tonks_op





From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Wed Feb 11 14:22:17 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:22:17 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
Message-ID: <gmumup+g8bu@eGroups.com>

Hello, fellow Potterheads.

As a few of you know, I will be--finally!--taking the trip I've 
dreamt of most of my life (probably at least since I discovered 
Agatha Christie's little village paths in her Miss Marple stories, 
anyway) and heading to England in April, with my family in tow.

We've got our itinerary pretty much set and are planning to see a 
couple of HP-related sites, namely Leadenhall Market and Gloucester 
Cathedral.  Have any of you also visited these places?  If you have, 
would you share any thoughts you might have about them?  Any tips or 
suggestions?

For the uninitiated or unaware (are there any such amongst 
HPfGUers?), here are some links to help you place these from the 
movies.

Gloucester Cathedral, especially the cloisters:
http://tinyurl.com/auglmh
http://tinyurl.com/b3xzkw

Leadenhall Market:
http://tinyurl.com/ak2enf

Thanks!
Siriusly Snapey Susan






From n2fgc at arrl.net  Wed Feb 11 18:58:12 2009
From: n2fgc at arrl.net (Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:58:12 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmtpcm+s136@eGroups.com>
References: <gmrb19+4cl7@eGroups.com> <gmtpcm+s136@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <63C47D7A01314CB6B36958329A05FE2E@musiclee>

[Tonks On Fuses]:
| IF I remember right, you could tell when the old one was blown 
| because a little metal thingy in it was melted and pulled apart. I 
| don't remember any need for wire. What sort of fuse box did the 
| English have? Wire sounds kind of scary to me. Something that only 
| electricians would use. How would one use wire?????

[Lee]:
I used to use it to bridge fuses temporarily until I could get a new one.
That with electrical tape was very useful for many things including my
stereo fuses.

Cheers,

Lee, The Mad Scientist :-)




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 11 20:25:13 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:25:13 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gmumup+g8bu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmvc79+98hp@eGroups.com>

SSS wrote:
> As a few of you know, I will be--finally!--taking the trip I've 
dreamt of most of my life (probably at least since I discovered 
Agatha Christie's little village paths in her Miss Marple stories, 
anyway) and heading to England in April, with my family in tow.
> 
> We've got our itinerary pretty much set and are planning to see a 
couple of HP-related sites, namely Leadenhall Market and Gloucester 
Cathedral.  Have any of you also visited these places?  If you have,
would you share any thoughts you might have about them?  Any tips or 
suggestions? <snip>

>
Carol responds:

Congratulations and enjoy your trip!

Based on my own experiences with Westminster Cathedral, I'd recommend
visiting Gloucester on a Saturday or weekday. Otherwise, you'll find
religious services in progress and access to parts of the cathedral
blocked off. 

Oh, and if you tour the Tower of London, don't believe anything the
guide says about Richard III and the supposed murder of his nephews.
It's all from the highly improbable version of events given by Sir
Thomas More (who admits himself that he's heard many other versions
and doesn't know which, if any, is true).

I went to London in the summer of 1995, the notoriously hot and dry
summer that JKR depicts in OoP. (Being from Tucson, I was quite
comfortable.) I brought my umbrella and used it only once. If you're
traveling in February or March, your experience will probably be
rather different!

Oh. The London Underground is really easy to get around on. I managed
alone, and I'd never been on a subway in my life. The lines are all
color coded, so you just find the line that takes you where you want
to go. Here's a map (Dumbledore's scar in living color!):

http://www.afn.org/~alplatt/tube.html

The bus system, in contrast, is a nightmare (IMO) because London is
emphatically not laid out on a grid.

http://www.mylondonmap.com/

Carol, who would love to return to England, this time for a year and
with lots of money




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Wed Feb 11 20:33:56 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:33:56 -0000
Subject: Fuse wire (was Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley)
In-Reply-To: <gmtpcm+s136@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmvcnk+saf7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
> <gbannister10@> wrote:
> > Geoff:
> > Well, in the days before miniature circuit-breakers were the norm, 
> > every sensible household had a collection of various thicknesses 
> of 
> > fuse wire stowed in a drawer somewhere to be searched for when a 
> > fuse blew.
 
> Tonks:
 
> OK, I think we are about the same age, but you are in England. I 
> remember fuses. You took the old one out and screwed in a new one. 
> IF I remember right, you could tell when the old one was blown 
> because a little metal thingy in it was melted and pulled apart. I 
> don't remember any need for wire. What sort of fuse box did the 
> English have? Wire sounds kind of scary to me. Something that only 
> electricians would use. How would one use wire?????

Geoff:
I mentioned miniature circuit-breakers but the previous 
step forward was the use of cartridge fuses which are still 
frequently fitted in plugs and are the little cylindrical thingies 
which are about an inch or so in length and about 1/4 inch in 
diameter. These made life a lot easier.

Fuse wire belongs to the old fuse box era. The UK system 
was as follows. A fuse box was usually a metal box mounted 
somewhere on a wall with a series of sockets in it. A fuse was 
basically a porcelain block about 2 inches long and perhaps 
1/2 square in section. There were two metal prongs about an 
inch long 1/2 inch wide and maybe 1/8 inch thick protruding 
near each end. These were pushed into the sockets to complete 
the circuit and a piece of the relevant strength fuse wire was 
fixed across the connections. If there was a short-circuit or 
an overload, the wire melted and broke and had to be replaced.

Or course there were a couple of corollaries to Murphy's Law 
which accompanied fusebox technology. The first was that 
they were so positioned that, when access was needed, piles 
of household equipment had to be moved or you had to possess 
two foot long thin fingers and they were also placed so that you
would invariably hit your head while trying to reach them.

The second was that a lighting fuse would always blow on a 
November evening and you had to remember where you kept 
the torches for such an emergency and then blunder through 
the house, barking your shins and falling over the cat while 
seeking the said torch.







From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 11 21:46:23 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:46:23 -0000
Subject: Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley
In-Reply-To: <gmtpcm+s136@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmvgvf+ropb@eGroups.com>

Tonks wrote:
> 
> OK, I think we are about the same age, but you are in England. I 
remember fuses. You took the old one out and screwed in a new one. IF
I remember right, you could tell when the old one was blown because a
little metal thingy in it was melted and pulled apart. <snip>

Carol responds:

Something like this, right?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/425978902_4c23391b88.jpg?v=0

That's the kind I remember, too. No wire involved. You just unscrewed
the blown fuse and replaced it with a new one. Not quite as easy as
flipping a tripped circuit breaker, but not difficult.

I wonder if JKR meant an automotive fuse. I found this photo article
by an American trying to change a fuse in a (British-made) Jaguar. It
looks like a nightmare:

http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/refusebox/index.htm

Didn't TVs also have fuses in the old days? Can't remember any wire
being involved, though.

Carol, who has never been good at electronic or electrical stuff but
can change a light bulb




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Wed Feb 11 23:15:58 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:15:58 -0000
Subject: Fuse wire (was Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley)
In-Reply-To: <gmvgvf+ropb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmvm7e+3vf6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> Tonks wrote:
> > 
> > OK, I think we are about the same age, but you are in England. I 
> remember fuses. You took the old one out and screwed in a new one. IF
> I remember right, you could tell when the old one was blown because a
> little metal thingy in it was melted and pulled apart. <snip>

Geoff:
In my last post (38814), the fuse I would call a cartridge fuse is like 
the first picture on the following page:

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/fuses.htm

while the older type I described are shown at:

http://www.diynot.com/pages/el/el009.php

under the heading "Fuse Wire". Rather confusingly, these are also 
referred to as cartridge units although I've never heard them called 
that myself.




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Wed Feb 11 23:25:01 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:25:01 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gmvc79+98hp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gmvmod+ihe8@eGroups.com>

SSS wrote:
> > As a few of you know, I will be--finally!--taking the trip I've 
> > dreamt of most of my life (probably at least since I discovered 
> > Agatha Christie's little village paths in her Miss Marple 
> > stories, anyway) and heading to England in April, with my family 
> > in tow.
> > 
> > We've got our itinerary pretty much set and are planning to see a 
> > couple of HP-related sites, namely Leadenhall Market and 
> > Gloucester Cathedral.  Have any of you also visited these 
> > places?  If you have, would you share any thoughts you might have 
> > about them?  Any tips or suggestions? <snip>
 
Carol responds:
> 
> Congratulations and enjoy your trip!

SSSusan:
Thank you!  So long as everyone stays healthy ::knock, knock:: I'm 
sure we will.


Carol:
> Based on my own experiences with Westminster Cathedral, I'd 
> recommend visiting Gloucester on a Saturday or weekday. Otherwise, 
> you'll find religious services in progress and access to parts of 
> the cathedral blocked off. 

SSSusan:
Actually, heh, I'm a bit of a detail freak, so I've already checked 
times the Cathedral is open and, specifically, when tours of the 
tower there are available.  And, weird as it may seem, since we're 
Episcopalians, we're actually hoping we might be able to be there for 
a service (Evensong most likely). :)
 


Carol:
> Oh, and if you tour the Tower of London, don't believe anything the
> guide says about Richard III and the supposed murder of his nephews.
> It's all from the highly improbable version of events given by Sir
> Thomas More (who admits himself that he's heard many other versions
> and doesn't know which, if any, is true).

SSSusan:
LOL.  Don't believe 'em, huh?  Thanks for that!  I'll be extra 
attentive now, to hear what anyone says about it!  (Oh, and we are 
going to the Tower -- first day, first thing, already have our 
ticket.)  


Carol:
> I went to London in the summer of 1995, the notoriously hot and dry
> summer that JKR depicts in OoP. (Being from Tucson, I was quite
> comfortable.) I brought my umbrella and used it only once. If you're
> traveling in February or March, your experience will probably be
> rather different!

SSSusan:
We'll be in the London area & somewhat North at the start of the 
trip, then an overnight trip to Paris, then to the SW of England for 
several days (nod to Mr. Bannister!).  This will be early April, so 
we shall see about the weather!


Carol: 
> Oh. The London Underground is really easy to get around on. I 
> managed alone, and I'd never been on a subway in my life. The lines 
> are all color coded, so you just find the line that takes you where 
> you want to go. Here's a map (Dumbledore's scar in living color!):
> 
> http://www.afn.org/~alplatt/tube.html

SSSusan:
Hee, I've got underground maps at the ready, but I hadn't thought to 
re-label "Dumbledore's Knee."  ;)  I'm thrilled to get more 
confirmation that it's an easy system to use!


Carol: 
> The bus system, in contrast, is a nightmare (IMO) because London is
> emphatically not laid out on a grid.

SSSusan:
Not planning much/any bus travel at all; more just a quick hop-on, 
hop-off of one of the double deckers so my kiddos can say they've 
experienced that tradition.

 
> Carol, who would love to return to England, this time for a year and
> with lots of money

SSSusan:
Yeah, lots of money would be grand.  Knowing we won't have that, 
we're hoping for "just enough!" 

Thanks for the input, Carol.  Anybody else been to Leadenhall or 
Gloucester or have additional advice? :)

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Thu Feb 12 03:19:23 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:19:23 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gmvmod+ihe8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn04fr+jmdu@eGroups.com>

> SSSusan (snipped):
> As a few of you know, I will be--finally!--taking the trip I've 
> dreamt of most of my life and heading to England in April, with 
> my family in tow.

> Carol:
> Based on my own experiences with Westminster Cathedral, 
> I'd recommend visiting Gloucester on a Saturday or weekday.

Goddlefrood:

Westminster Cathedral is a gem, tucked away as it is off the 
main drag. The Abbey is in plain view, before anyone asks ;-)

Most Cathedrals welcome visitors, even during services and 
in fact they are well worthwhile visiting during a service 
to put them in actual context. Gloucester Cathedral, iirc, 
and I haven't been there for more than 30 years, is one of 
few (Lincoln, Exeter, Chester are others) that has retained 
the entirity of its original structures. That is the Cathedral 
itself and surrounding buildings, such as the priory and 
cloisters. You may even get to my old stomping ground of 
Bristol, which was formerly in Gloucestershire before getting 
too big for itself.

> Carol:
> Oh, and if you tour the Tower of London, don't believe 
> anything the guide says about Richard III and the supposed 
> murder of his nephews.

> SSSusan:
> LOL.  Don't believe 'em, huh?  Thanks for that! I'll be extra 
> attentive now, to hear what anyone says about it!

Goddlefrood:

Be careful of the rooks too, they bite.

> Carol: 
> The bus system, in contrast, is a nightmare (IMO) because 
> London is emphatically not laid out on a grid.

Goddlefrood:

Being a little older than many cities ... however, I disagree. 
Having lived in London for some years I always found the buses 
quite good and they're much cheaper than the tube (get a day 
pass anyway, you can use them on tubes, buses and trains). The 
bus routes follow the main roads, and even though I never was 
a tourist in the metropolis, I could recommend the upper deck 
of the double deckers for a good view of the city while you 
ride on them. Easy routes: Euston - Victoria, any bus from 
Trafalgar Square going up Regent Street and any bus along The 
Strand, I would advise a visitor to ride on. You see nothing 
Underground.

Oh, but avoid taxis, they have become an absolute rip off and 
should only be used if all else fails.

> SSSusan:
> Anybody else been to Leadenhall or Gloucester or have additional 
> advice? :)

Goddlefrood:

Try going to Castle Combe or Wookey Hole (not home to Chewbacca). 
No doubt a certain Mr. Banister can assist. Both are proximate 
to Somerset. Bath too, for its Georgian architecture and Roman 
remains. Aqua Sulis anyone?

Pip pip




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Thu Feb 12 19:41:23 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:41:23 -0000
Subject: Transport in London
In-Reply-To: <gmvmod+ihe8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn1u13+41et@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" <susiequsie23 at ...> 
wrote:

Carol: 
> > The bus system, in contrast, is a nightmare (IMO) because London is
> > emphatically not laid out on a grid.
> 
> SSSusan:
> Not planning much/any bus travel at all; more just a quick hop-on, 
> hop-off of one of the double deckers so my kiddos can say they've 
> experienced that tradition.

Geoff:
Carol, there are very few cities or large towns in the UK which have 
any sort of grid layout (thank heavens!)

The New Town in Edinburgh comes to mind and there are parts of 
London in the area where I always imagine Grimmauld Place to be 
which were built for the gentry in Victorian times which do have a 
sort of grid plan. But generally, British towns and cities "just growed".

The bus system is quite reasonable. there are good maps available 
and many bus stops have area maps on display plus strip amps of 
the more important routes.

Susan, if you are planning to get on a double decker just for the ride, 
try to get one of the Heritage services (routes 9 and 15). BTW, the 15 
goes to Tower Hill near the Tower of London. These still use the famous 
Routemaster buses which have open platforms at the rear and were 
in regular service from  1956 to 2005. If you have a look at my 
website (www.geoffbannister.com) and go into the transport section 
and follow the links for London, you'll find pictures of them.




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Thu Feb 12 19:50:30 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:50:30 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn04fr+jmdu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn1ui6+9isf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Goddlefrood" <gav_fiji at ...> wrote:

Goddlefrood:
 
> Try going to Castle Combe or Wookey Hole (not home to Chewbacca). 
> No doubt a certain Mr. Banister can assist. Both are proximate 
> to Somerset. Bath too, for its Georgian architecture and Roman 
> remains. Aqua Sulis anyone?

Geoff:
I'm not into caves.. but my wife speaks highly of Cheddar Caves in the 
Mendips in North Somerset. Wookey Hole has now returned to Somerset 
since the powers-that-be have finished playing silly devils with the 
administrative boundaries - at least for the time being :-(. I've not visited 
Castle Combe either but that is probably because it's an awkward journey 
from my bit of Somerset to its location which is in Wiltshire.

Being irritatingly pedantic, it's Aquae Sulis isn't it?

Going back to cathedrals, Susan, I know you're going into Exeter as part 
of your West Country peregrinations. There is a nice cathedral there if 
you have a little time. I'm not an Anglican but I visited it many years ago 
and it had a beautiful Lady Chapel at that time.






From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Thu Feb 12 20:09:23 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:09:23 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn04fr+jmdu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn1vlj+rf0i@eGroups.com>

Goddlefrood:
> Westminster Cathedral is a gem, tucked away as it is off the 
> main drag. The Abbey is in plain view, before anyone asks ;-)

SSSusan:
You're the second person to suggest that to me in the last couple of 
weeks.  We aren't going to have a whole lot of time in London itself, 
but I will run this option past the fam. 


Gavin:
> Most Cathedrals welcome visitors, even during services and 
> in fact they are well worthwhile visiting during a service 
> to put them in actual context. Gloucester Cathedral, iirc, 
> and I haven't been there for more than 30 years, is one of 
> few (Lincoln, Exeter, Chester are others) that has retained 
> the entirity of its original structures. That is the Cathedral 
> itself and surrounding buildings, such as the priory and 
> cloisters. You may even get to my old stomping ground of 
> Bristol, which was formerly in Gloucestershire before getting 
> too big for itself.

SSSusan:
Hee.  Must've been that reference to Bristol by Hagrid early in 
PS/SS, eh? ;)

Anyway, it's the cloisters area of Gloucester Cathedral that I'm 
especially interested in, partly for the HP connection and partly 
just because it's lovely.  That and the tower there.  (We're planning 
on a couple of steep-and-tight-stairs-which-reward-with-certificates-
afterwards climbs, the other being Monument in London.  You know, the 
kind of thing 10- and 12-year-old kids get a kick out of.)  


> Goddlefrood:
> 
> Be careful of the rooks too, they bite.

SSSusan:
Seriously? :)

 
Goddlefrood:
> Having lived in London for some years I always found the buses 
> quite good and they're much cheaper than the tube (get a day 
> pass anyway, you can use them on tubes, buses and trains). The 
> bus routes follow the main roads, and even though I never was 
> a tourist in the metropolis, I could recommend the upper deck 
> of the double deckers for a good view of the city while you 
> ride on them. 

SSSusan:
Good, that's what I'd hoped to hear.


SSSusan:
> > Anybody else been to Leadenhall or Gloucester or have additional 
> > advice? :)
 
Goddlefrood:
> Try going to Castle Combe or Wookey Hole (not home to Chewbacca). 
> No doubt a certain Mr. Banister can assist. Both are proximate 
> to Somerset. Bath too, for its Georgian architecture and Roman 
> remains. Aqua Sulis anyone?

SSSusan:
Sometimes I just sit and look at maps of England and read all the 
names of towns and villages and just chuckle.  So delightful.  Wookey 
Hole.  LOL.

Thanks, Gav.

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Thu Feb 12 20:50:31 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:50:31 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn1ui6+9isf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn222n+dvhs@eGroups.com>

Goddlefrood:
> > Try going to Castle Combe or Wookey Hole (not home to Chewbacca). 
> > No doubt a certain Mr. Banister can assist. Both are proximate 
> > to Somerset. Bath too, for its Georgian architecture and Roman 
> > remains. Aqua Sulis anyone?
 
Geoff:
> I'm not into caves.. but my wife speaks highly of Cheddar Caves in 
> the Mendips in North Somerset. Wookey Hole has now returned to 
> Somerset since the powers-that-be have finished playing silly 
> devils with the administrative boundaries - at least for the time 
> being :-(. 

SSSusan:
Oh dear.  Does this mean that the lovely-sounding Wookey Hole... 
er... really IS a hole? aka, a cave?  I'm so not into caves 
either.  ::shudder::  Let's scratch that one, shall we? 


Geoff:
> Going back to cathedrals, Susan, I know you're going into Exeter as 
> part of your West Country peregrinations. There is a nice cathedral 
> there if you have a little time. I'm not an Anglican but I visited 
> it many years ago and it had a beautiful Lady Chapel at that time.

SSSusan:
This reminds me that I forgot to reply to one of Goddlefrood's 
suggestions:  Bath.  At this point, that's the big undecided:  do we 
head slightly south to Exeter to see that Cathedral or take a side 
excursion to Bath to see the cool crescents and Roman baths or 
dispense with both and return to London for more exploration there?  
Ah, decisions!


Geoff:
> Susan, if you are planning to get on a double decker just for the 
> ride, try to get one of the Heritage services (routes 9 and 15). 
> BTW, the 15 goes to Tower Hill near the Tower of London. These 
> still use the famous Routemaster buses which have open platforms at 
> the rear and were in regular service from 1956 to 2005. If you have 
> a look at my website (www.geoffbannister.com) and go into the 
> transport section and follow the links for London, you'll find 
> pictures of them.

SSSusan:
Thank you!  I like being equipped with specific route numbers.  

And for any of you out there who haven't yet done so, I can 
unequivocally recommend visiting Geoff's website.  I've perused his 
photos in the "Aspects of Exmoor" segment many, many times!

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Thu Feb 12 20:57:23 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:57:23 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn04fr+jmdu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn22fj+n8sh@eGroups.com>

Carol earlier: 
> > The bus system, in contrast, is a nightmare (IMO) because London
is emphatically not laid out on a grid.
> 
> Goddlefrood:
> 
> Being a little older than many cities ... however, I disagree. 
Having lived in London for some years I always found the buses quite
good and they're much cheaper than the tube (get a day pass anyway,
you can use them on tubes, buses and trains). The bus routes follow
the main roads, and even though I never was a tourist in the
metropolis, I could recommend the upper deck of the double deckers for
a good view of the city while you 
> ride on them. Easy routes: Euston - Victoria, any bus from 
> Trafalgar Square going up Regent Street and any bus along The 
> Strand, I would advise a visitor to ride on. You see nothing 
> Underground.
> 
> Oh, but avoid taxis, they have become an absolute rip off and 
> should only be used if all else fails.
> 
Carol responds:

I recommend the day pass, too. Then, again, it seems to me that I
bought weekly passes that were even better. I know that I rode both
trains and buses from London to Oxford (both were called, for reasons
that escape me, the Oxford Tube.)

In any case, I still rcommend the tube rather than the bus system for
getting around (easier for Americans like me who are used to cities
laid out on grids--unlike Londoners who have the advantage of knowing
their way around), though a short stint on a red double-decker bus
(top deck) is just part of the experience of being in London (along
with red phone booths and London bobbies, at least when I was there).

Oddly, on my last day in London, I had a good experience with a tazi
driver. The shuttle that I thought would pick me up wouldn't come
directly to the hostel where I'd been staying, so I had to haul my
extensive luggage (which kept flopping over) to a hotel about half a
mile away. By the time I got there, I had missed the shuttle. I was
getting desperate, so I explained my situation to a taxi driver and
asked him to take me to Heathrow. He told me that the trip would take
too long and I'd miss my plane, so he said he would take me to
Victoria Station and I could take a train from there to the airport. I
was deeply grateful and tried to tip him when we got to Victoria
Station, but unlike American cab drivers, he refused the tip.

Bless him, whoever he is. I hope he's well and happy.

Carol, who also enjoyed being addressed as "luv" by the bus drivers on
the Oxford Tube ("mind your step!")





From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Thu Feb 12 20:59:01 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:59:01 -0000
Subject: Fuse wire (was Question About Harry's Gift To Mr. Weasley)
In-Reply-To: <gmvm7e+3vf6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn22im+5t6c@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at ...> wrote:
> http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/fuses.htm
> 

Tonks:

Reading the reference to fuse wire being held in place by two screws 
and Harry gave Arthur the wire and the screwdrivers, make me sure that 
there is a hidden message here. ;-)  What could it mean??

Tonks_op
an auror never rest...  and some thing that Mad-Eye was .. well... Mad.




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Thu Feb 12 21:46:08 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:46:08 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn22fj+n8sh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn25b0+6ahc@eGroups.com>

Goddlefrood:
> >(get a day pass anyway, you can use them on tubes, buses and 
> > trains). 
 
Carol responds:
> I recommend the day pass, too. Then, again, it seems to me that I
> bought weekly passes that were even better. I know that I rode both
> trains and buses from London to Oxford (both were called, for 
> reasons that escape me, the Oxford Tube.)

SSSusan:
I think from what I've read, and since we'll be needing to go in & 
out to zone 3 a few times, it might even make sense to use Oyster 
cards.  But definitely passes of some kind!


Carol:
> In any case, I still rcommend the tube rather than the bus system 
> for getting around (easier for Americans like me who are used to 
> cities laid out on grids--unlike Londoners who have the advantage 
> of knowing their way around), though a short stint on a red double-
> decker bus (top deck) is just part of the experience of being in 
> London (along with red phone booths and London bobbies, at least 
> when I was there).

SSSusan:
Hee.  What about us Americans who live in small enough cities that we 
have no public transport available?  I figure I'm at an equal loss, 
regardless of these options... although I have a fondness for the 
quickness of an underground and a bit of an aversion (from total lack 
of experience, I imagine) to buses -- other than the red double-
deckers.


Carol: 
> Oddly, on my last day in London, I had a good experience with a tazi
> driver. The shuttle that I thought would pick me up wouldn't come
> directly to the hostel where I'd been staying, so I had to haul my
> extensive luggage (which kept flopping over) to a hotel about half a
> mile away. By the time I got there, I had missed the shuttle. I was
> getting desperate, so I explained my situation to a taxi driver and
> asked him to take me to Heathrow. He told me that the trip would 
> take too long and I'd miss my plane, so he said he would take me to
> Victoria Station and I could take a train from there to the 
> airport. I was deeply grateful and tried to tip him when we got to 
> Victoria Station, but unlike American cab drivers, he refused the 
> tip.
> 
> Bless him, whoever he is. I hope he's well and happy.

SSSusan:
That's an awesome story. :)  

I confess that this whole issue of NOT tipping in certain places 
(pubs, for one, and I take taxis, too?) is very hard to trust for 
Americans, even when we read it in 4 or 5 different travel guides.  I 
think it's just so ingrained in us to tip, and I am so fearful of 
finding out the guides were wrong and I've just insulted someone by 
not tipping!

Siriusly Snapey Susan






From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 13 01:49:27 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:49:27 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn25b0+6ahc@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2jj7+rti5@eGroups.com>

> SSSusan:
> I confess that this whole issue of NOT tipping in certain places 
> (pubs, for one, and I take taxis, too?) is very hard to trust for 
> Americans, even when we read it in 4 or 5 different travel guides.

Goddlefrood:

A useful thing to remember then: tipping is appreciated everywhere 
but not expected anywehere. There are many who would refuse a tip 
in the UK, although it wouldn't be offensive. Tipping in pubs *is* 
done by saying 'and one for yourself'. This would usually lead to 
50p or a pound being taken and put in a jar. When I worked as a 
barman twenty years ago we'd take 20p if someone said the above.
However, when I first worked as a barman I used to actually get 
a drink out of it until, (i) I got more wasted than any of the 
customers (naturally without showing any effects ;-)) and (ii) 
my landlord told me not to.





From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 13 01:33:09 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:33:09 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn222n+dvhs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2ikl+b814@eGroups.com>

> SSSusan:
> Oh dear.  Does this mean that the lovely-sounding Wookey Hole... 
> er... really IS a hole? aka, a cave?  I'm so not into caves 
> either.  ::shudder::  Let's scratch that one, shall we? 

Goddlefrood:

At least check out the website:

www.wookey.co.uk/

There's a witch shaped stalagmite there :-)

> SSSusan:
> This reminds me that I forgot to reply to one of Goddlefrood's 
> suggestions:  Bath.  At this point, that's the big undecided:  
> do we head slightly south to Exeter to see that Cathedral or 
> take a side excursion to Bath to see the cool crescents and 
> Roman baths or dispense with both and return to London for 
> more exploration there? Ah, decisions!

Goddlefrood:

Bath is on the way back to London and well worth a visit. It 
escaped the blitz during the war, unlike poor Exeter :-(





From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Thu Feb 12 23:11:52 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:11:52 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn25b0+6ahc@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2abo+82mj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" <susiequsie23 at ...> 
wrote:
 
SSSusan:
> That's an awesome story. :)  
> 
> I confess that this whole issue of NOT tipping in certain places 
> (pubs, for one, and I take taxis, too?) is very hard to trust for 
> Americans, even when we read it in 4 or 5 different travel guides.  I 
> think it's just so ingrained in us to tip, and I am so fearful of 
> finding out the guides were wrong and I've just insulted someone by 
> not tipping!

Geoff:
Speaking as a Brit, I hardly ever tip at all. Very occasionally in a 
restaurant but it has to have been a very good meal...

In general, i've never had trouble not tipping. You might just get 
someone who, hearing a Transatlantic accent thinks they're 
onto a soft touch.

BTW, when you're in central London, watch the prices - especially 
edibles like ice-creams; they can often be ripoffs.

Going back to your comments re Exeter and Bath. Bath is very close 
to Bristol, which has a good Zoo and I know one of your plans for 
Exeter was the Zoo.




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Fri Feb 13 02:43:13 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:43:13 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn2jj7+rti5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2mo1+ij1j@eGroups.com>

SSSusan:
> > I confess that this whole issue of NOT tipping in certain places 
> > (pubs, for one, and I take taxis, too?) is very hard to trust for 
> > Americans, even when we read it in 4 or 5 different travel guides.
 
Goddlefrood:
> A useful thing to remember then: tipping is appreciated everywhere 
> but not expected anywehere. There are many who would refuse a tip 
> in the UK, although it wouldn't be offensive. Tipping in pubs *is* 
> done by saying 'and one for yourself'. This would usually lead to 
> 50p or a pound being taken and put in a jar. 

SSSusan:
Thank you so much, Monsieur 'frood.  That's a very helpful way of 
putting it and greatly eases my mind.


Goddlefrood:
> When I worked as a barman twenty years ago we'd take 20p if someone 
> said the above. However, when I first worked as a barman I used to 
> actually get a drink out of it until, (i) I got more wasted than 
> any of the customers (naturally without showing any effects ;-)) 
> and (ii) my landlord told me not to.

SSSusan:
Heh.  You & I could probably not be more different in builds, so 
you'll probably laugh at this, but I used to tend bar/waitress in a 
bar myself, an equal some 20 years ago, and customers did likewise 
for me.  It's actually rather stunning, now that I think back on it, 
at what I was able to consume and still be standing and delivering 
drinks.  One's tolerance adjusts quite rapidly, though, and I know 
that now I'd be much more content with the 20p or 50p than with 
another 'Russian Quaalude' or 'Flaming Jelly Bean.'  ;)

Alright, alright, I might still accept a margarita.  But just one. 

Siriusly Snapey Susan








From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Fri Feb 13 03:06:41 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:06:41 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn2abo+82mj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2o41+o1lb@eGroups.com>

SSSusan:
> > I confess that this whole issue of NOT tipping in certain places 
> > (pubs, for one, and I take taxis, too?) is very hard to trust for 
> > Americans, even when we read it in 4 or 5 different travel 
> > guides.  I think it's just so ingrained in us to tip, and I am so 
> > fearful of finding out the guides were wrong and I've just 
> > insulted someone by not tipping!
 
Geoff:
> Speaking as a Brit, I hardly ever tip at all. Very occasionally in 
> a restaurant but it has to have been a very good meal...
> 
> In general, i've never had trouble not tipping. You might just get 
> someone who, hearing a Transatlantic accent thinks they're 
> onto a soft touch.
> 
> BTW, when you're in central London, watch the prices - especially 
> edibles like ice-creams; they can often be ripoffs.

SSSusan:
As with Goddlefrood, I thank you for your input.  It is helpful, 
indeed!



SSSusan:
> Oh dear. Does this mean that the lovely-sounding Wookey Hole...
> er... really IS a hole? aka, a cave? I'm so not into caves
> either. ::shudder:: Let's scratch that one, shall we?

Goddlefrood:
> At least check out the website:
> 
> www.wookey.co.uk/
>
> There's a witch shaped stalagmite there :-)

SSSusan:
Oh!  My!  LOL, it is... er... a bit *commercial,* is it not? ;)


> SSSusan:
> This reminds me that I forgot to reply to one of Goddlefrood's
> suggestions: Bath. At this point, that's the big undecided:
> do we head slightly south to Exeter to see that Cathedral or
> take a side excursion to Bath to see the cool crescents and
> Roman baths or dispense with both and return to London for
> more exploration there? Ah, decisions!

Goddlefrood:
> Bath is on the way back to London and well worth a visit. It
> escaped the blitz during the war, unlike poor Exeter :-(

Geoff:
> Going back to your comments re Exeter and Bath. Bath is very close 
> to Bristol, which has a good Zoo and I know one of your plans for 
> Exeter was the Zoo.

SSSusan:
Actually, the zoo I'd discovered online was the Exmoor Zoo, so truth 
be told, I think maybe there isn't any real reason to head to Exeter 
at all beyond the cathedral.  Bath may be the better destination.

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 13 03:31:20 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:31:20 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn2o41+o1lb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn2pi8+3l96@eGroups.com>

> Goddlefrood:
> www.wookey.co.uk/
> There's a witch shaped stalagmite there :-)
 
> SSSusan:
> Oh!  My!  LOL, it is... er... a bit *commercial,* is it not? ;)

Goddlefrood:

Looking at the site it is now. When I last went, probably over 
thirty years ago it wasn't. Whatever's your thing, though ...





From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 13 03:55:41 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:55:41 -0000
Subject: HP Conventions for 2009 - where - when??
Message-ID: <gn2qvt+vfcg@eGroups.com>

Other that Azkatraz, I don't know what is happening this year. Does 
anyone know? I think there is one in Canada and England, but I can't 
find a website. Anyone that knows of a website for any worldwide, 
please post here. Thanks.

Tonks_op




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 13 04:29:52 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:29:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Conventions for 2009 - where - when??
In-Reply-To: <gn2qvt+vfcg@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <333010.82282.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

Tonks_op:

> Other that Azkatraz, I don't know what is happening this
> year. Does 
> anyone know? I think there is one in Canada and England,
> but I can't 
> find a website. Anyone that knows of a website for any
> worldwide, 
> please post here. Thanks.
> 

Sheryll:

There's LeakyCon in May in Boston. http://www.leakycon.com/ Despite being in May there's no information up on their website about scheduled programming or the like. 

While not a Harry Potter conference, there's another event that might be of interest to fans. Sirens is a conference focused on women in literature. That's being held this fall (Oct 1-4) in Vail, Colorado, organised by the same folks who gave us Terminus and Phoenix Rising. That's where I'll be headed, as the timing and/or distance doesn't work for anything else for me this year. http://www.sirensconference.org/

There's also a Twilight/Harry Potter event happening in April called AccioCon. Absolutely no relation the lovely Accio events that took place in the UK. http://www.acciocon.com/  I could find nothing on their website to indicate who is planning this event or any indication of non-profit status. There also appears to be minimal formal programming and lots of fangirl type activities. 

I think anyone's best bets for events this year appear to be Azkatraz and, for a non-HP event, Sirens. 

Sheryll


      __________________________________________________________________
Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/



From jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com  Fri Feb 13 22:01:29 2009
From: jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com (Jeanine Banthorpe)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:01:29 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
Message-ID: <93792.53863.qm@web86411.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

Exeter also has a beautiful example of Roman walling, much of it still extant, which you can follow along a circular route.?In addition the trip underground into the medieval passages once used for conducting fresh water into the city are very interesting.?Northenhay Gardens and Rougemont Gardens interconnect just off the High Street. They incorporate the oldest public open space in England, initially laid out in 1612, and extensively re-landscaped in the 18th century. The gardens contain the remains of 12th century Rougemont Castle Gatehouse, a fine section of Roman wall, and England's only remaining length of Saxon town wall.an

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Fri Feb 13 23:09:02 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:09:02 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <93792.53863.qm@web86411.mail.ird.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gn4uie+s80a@eGroups.com>

Jeanine Banthorpe wrote:
> Exeter also has a beautiful example of Roman walling, much of it 
> still extant, which you can follow along a circular route.?In 
> addition the trip underground into the medieval passages once used 
> for conducting fresh water into the city are very interesting.?
> Northenhay Gardens and Rougemont Gardens interconnect 
> just off the High Street. They incorporate the oldest public open 
> space in England, initially laid out in 1612, and extensively re-
> landscaped in the 18th century. The gardens contain the remains of 
> 12th century Rougemont Castle Gatehouse, a fine section of Roman 
> wall, and England's only remaining length of Saxon town wall.


SSSusan:
You're the second person to write today (one off-list) about the 
glories of Exeter!  This is exactly what I was hoping for -- 
suggestions why one might want to make a visit or take a pass.  The 
gardens and Roman wall sound lovely, and my other correspondent (hi, 
Mary Ann!) mentioned a nice river-walk and the lovely cathedral, as 
well.

Thank you.  This one's now back in the running for a day excursion.

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From wildirishrose at fiber.net  Sat Feb 14 06:09:34 2009
From: wildirishrose at fiber.net (wildirishrose01us)
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:09:34 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn22fj+n8sh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn5n6u+mor1@eGroups.com>

> Carol responds:
> 
> I recommend the day pass, too. Then, again, it seems to me that I
> bought weekly passes that were even better. I know that I rode both
> trains and buses from London to Oxford (both were called, for 
reasons
> that escape me, the Oxford Tube.)
> 
> In any case, I still rcommend the tube rather than the bus system 
for
> getting around (easier for Americans like me who are used to cities
> laid out on grids--unlike Londoners who have the advantage of 
knowing
> their way around), though a short stint on a red double-decker bus
> (top deck) is just part of the experience of being in London (along
> with red phone booths and London bobbies, at least when I was 
there).
> 
> Oddly, on my last day in London, I had a good experience with a tazi
> driver. The shuttle that I thought would pick me up wouldn't come
> directly to the hostel where I'd been staying, so I had to haul my
> extensive luggage (which kept flopping over) to a hotel about half a
> mile away. By the time I got there, I had missed the shuttle. I was
> getting desperate, so I explained my situation to a taxi driver and
> asked him to take me to Heathrow. He told me that the trip would 
take
> too long and I'd miss my plane, so he said he would take me to
> Victoria Station and I could take a train from there to the 
airport. I
> was deeply grateful and tried to tip him when we got to Victoria
> Station, but unlike American cab drivers, he refused the tip.
> 
> Bless him, whoever he is. I hope he's well and happy.
> 
> Carol, who also enjoyed being addressed as "luv" by the bus drivers 
on
> the Oxford Tube ("mind your step!")

How about platform 9 3/4?  I'm sure a lot of people visit there.

I know a man that happened to be on the famous platform waiting for 
his ride when he saw a little girl run straight for the barrier.  You 
guessed it.  The parents weren't quick enough to stop her and she 
crashed right into it.  He thinks she was crying more for the fact 
that she didn't get through the barrier then the fact she was hurt.

I wonder how many times it has really happened to children?

Marianne




From macloudt at yahoo.co.uk  Sat Feb 14 13:32:04 2009
From: macloudt at yahoo.co.uk (Mary Ann)
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:32:04 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn2o41+o1lb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gn6h4k+58og@eGroups.com>

> Geoff:
> > Speaking as a Brit, I hardly ever tip at all. Very occasionally 
in 
> > a restaurant but it has to have been a very good meal...
> > 
> > In general, i've never had trouble not tipping. You might just 
get 
> > someone who, hearing a Transatlantic accent thinks they're 
> > onto a soft touch.

Mary Ann:

I've lived in the UK for a total of 12 years now and the Canadian in 
me still tips.  I still have a strong Canadian accent despite doing a 
good Wurzels imitation (9 years in Weston-super-Mare will do that to 
a girl) but most people know I'm local.  While I still tip I don't 
tip as heavily as is custom in North America.  If I'm in a taxi and 
the fare is ?9.30, for example, I'll give the driver ?10 and tell 
him/her to keep the change.  It's unexpected for them and puts a 
smile on their faces, which makes it worth while for me.

Bath is a gorgeous city and worth a visit for anyone coming over to 
the west of England.  My personal favourites are the costume museum, 
the Roman baths and the Cathedral.  I hear that the road links are 
good but I've always gone their by rail, as most of Bath's 
attractions are within a 15-minute walk of the station. 

The city I call home, Exeter, is also historically amazing, but I've 
already convinced SSSusan to spend a day here so I won't ramble on 
about it unless someone asks. :)

Mary Ann, thrilled that she's going to meet SSSusan in person, and 
thinking that she and Geoff should meet up, too, as they don't live 
too far away from each other.  Hint!




From valehoo at yahoo.it  Sat Feb 14 23:05:49 2009
From: valehoo at yahoo.it (Valeria)
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:05:49 +0100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP sites (visiting)
References: <gmumup+g8bu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <44C6729D757C48A0AF912FBC8B5BBDC0@hmac>

Hi Susan,

great idea! I've made the same tour that you are plannning,  you can see 
some pictures on my website here http://www.brave.it/fotopagina2008.htm
The Cloister of Gloucester Cathedral simply takes your breath away but 
please, don't forget Lacock Abbey with the beautiful Prof. Snape's potion 
classroom: it's near Castle Combe, the lovely village who someone has 
already suggested.
Have a nice tour!

Valeria







----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cubfanbudwoman" <susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net>
To: <HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:22 PM
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP sites (visiting)


> Hello, fellow Potterheads.
>
> As a few of you know, I will be--finally!--taking the trip I've
> dreamt of most of my life (probably at least since I discovered
> Agatha Christie's little village paths in her Miss Marple stories,
> anyway) and heading to England in April, with my family in tow.
>
> We've got our itinerary pretty much set and are planning to see a
> couple of HP-related sites, namely Leadenhall Market and Gloucester
> Cathedral.  Have any of you also visited these places?  If you have,
> would you share any thoughts you might have about them?  Any tips or
> suggestions?
>
> For the uninitiated or unaware (are there any such amongst
> HPfGUers?), here are some links to help you place these from the
> movies.
>
> Gloucester Cathedral, especially the cloisters:
> http://tinyurl.com/auglmh
> http://tinyurl.com/b3xzkw
>
> Leadenhall Market:
> http://tinyurl.com/ak2enf
>
> Thanks!
> Siriusly Snapey Susan
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________
>
> The main list rules also apply here, so make sure you read them!
> http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/hbfile.html#2
>
> Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from 
> posts to which you're replying!
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> 





From jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com  Sun Feb 15 13:42:53 2009
From: jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com (Jeanine Banthorpe)
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:42:53 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
Message-ID: <466596.33455.qm@web86402.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

Hi yes the river walk is lovely. You can go all the way to Turf Lock ( a lovely pub) and even all the way to Dawlishand the coast?but that's a day out all by itself. Why not see if you can hire a bike at Exeter Quayside? Then you could cycle to Turf Lock and back, leaving you time for other things too.
Exeter has so much - the beautiful Guildhall, 'The House That Moved' on Edmund Street and the charming Exeter Phoenix Theatre in Bradnich Place,Gandy Street, where you can relax in a lovely cafe bar - indoors and out - and look at the current displays int he galleries.
Exeter is definitely worth a visit.
Jeanine

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Feb 15 18:40:26 2009
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 15 Feb 2009 18:40:26 -0000
Subject: Weekly Chat, 2/15/2009, 1:00 pm 
Message-ID: <1234723226.11.66830.m55@yahoogroups.com>

Reminder from: HPFGU-OTChatter Yahoo! Group
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/cal

Weekly Chat
Sunday February 15, 2009
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
(This event repeats every week.)
Location: http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Notes:
Just a reminder, Sunday chat starts in about one hour.

To get to the HPfGU room follow this link:
http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Create a user name for yourself, whatever you want
to be called.

Enter the password: hpfguchat

Click "Join Chat" on the lower right.

Chat start times:
11 am Pacific US
12 noon Mountain US
1 pm Central US
2 pm Eastern US
7 pm UK




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From catlady at wicca.net  Mon Feb 16 00:32:22 2009
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:32:22 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gn04fr+jmdu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnac6m+gosf@eGroups.com>

Goddlefrood wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38818>:

> Be careful of the rooks too, they bite.

I thought the Tower of London had ravens rather than rooks. Last I
heard, the poor things were caged indoors to prevent them from
catching avian flu.




From catlady at wicca.net  Mon Feb 16 01:04:04 2009
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:04:04 -0000
Subject: Harry's gift to Arthur
Message-ID: <gnae24+lia5@eGroups.com>

Tonks_op wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38792>:

<< The real question is what is the deeper meaning of all of this.
What is the symbolic meaning??? What is Rowling trying to say? >>

Geoff replied in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38796>:

<< Sometimes a screwdriver is just a screwdriver.
(With acknowledgments to Sigmund Freud) >>

To which, Annemehr replied in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38797>:

<< I'd like one, but I'm out of vodka. >>

Like, a wizard is only a wizard, but a screwdriver is a drink? 

I can imagine that as the caption or word balloon to a cartoon of two
middle-aged witches commiserating at a bar.

But Freud's cigar was a phallic symbol only because of its shape,
while a screwdriver is not only longer than it is wide, but also has
'screw' in its name. Instead of going there, we can mention that
Arthur 'has a screw loose' when he considers eklektricity and aeroplanes.

And Tonks_op replied in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38800>:

<< I was thinking about the wire and what it does. Why fuse wire?
Energy?? >>

Do people still speak of someone 'blowing a fuse'? I think that phrase
meant losing one's temper. If I have to seek coded symbolism, I could
say that Harry expects Arthur to lose his temper and is giving him the
junk to repair his brain afterwards? 

"Short circuit" is also a slang phrase, but I think it follows the
Humpty Dumpty principle (i.e. it means whatever the person saying it
wants it to mean). Sometimes it's even a good thing, when it means
circumventing the slow and laborious bureaucratic process. When it's a
good thing, Harry wouldn't want Arthur to 'fix' it.





From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 16 01:46:41 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:46:41 -0000
Subject: HP sites (visiting)
In-Reply-To: <gnac6m+gosf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnagi1+be7u@eGroups.com>

> Catlady:
> I thought the Tower of London had ravens rather than rooks. 

Goddlefrood:

Vicious black birds all the same ;-)





From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 17 19:45:11 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:45:11 -0000
Subject: Torrents
Message-ID: <gnf447+brnm@eGroups.com>

Can someone explain to me what a torrent site is and whether it's
legal (and free) to download episodes of a TV series from one?

Thanks.

Carol, who obviously needs to become more Internet savvy!




From md at exit-reality.com  Tue Feb 17 20:23:06 2009
From: md at exit-reality.com (Cabal)
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:23:06 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnf447+brnm@eGroups.com>
References: <gnf447+brnm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003d01c9913d$8b6e6430$a24b2c90$@com>

A torrent is an efficient form of file-sharing. The torrent is a file that
is broken down into smaller files allowing sharers to download a single
large files from many up-loaders. This is efficient because it allows
multiple sources to provide the same file unlike other share methods like
Kahza and Napster that rely on downloading an entire file from one person.

While standard copyright laws apply, there is no major movement to stop
torrent use. If a file is not public domain, then it's not legal to
download. Unlike older P2P methods, there's no real way to track torrents
because the torrent sites do not save the data of what IP downloaded what.

So, it's all a do at your own risk thing.

To download torrents you need a torrent client program www.bittorent.com has
an excellent one. You install that and got to a site like isohunt.com or
thepiratebay.org and search for torrents, when you download the bit torrent
program will start and ask you where to save download it. I highly recommend
doing virus scans before opening files and looking at user comments before
downloading.

md

-----Original Message-----
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Carol
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 2:45 PM
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Torrents

Can someone explain to me what a torrent site is and whether it's
legal (and free) to download episodes of a TV series from one?

Thanks.

Carol, who obviously needs to become more Internet savvy!



------------------------------------

________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________

The main list rules also apply here, so make sure you read them!
http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/hbfile.html#2

Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from
posts to which you're replying!
Yahoo! Groups Links






From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Tue Feb 17 20:30:49 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:30:49 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnf447+brnm@eGroups.com>
References: <gnf447+brnm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902171230v53916865j6eb63e78cd47aaef@mail.gmail.com>

Carol:
> Can someone explain to me what a torrent site is and whether it's
> legal (and free) to download episodes of a TV series from one?

Torrent (short for BitTorrent) is a file distribution method more than
anything else.  You can find aggregators like isohunt.com for torrent
files (for which you'll need a torrent client - try utorrent).  The
basic gist is that you download a small [torrent] file that tells your
[torrent] client where to find the file and what peers are
distributing it.

Torrents are technically legal (in so far as file sharing is also
technically legal).  The grey zone is, of course, the illegal content
being distributed (software, movies, etc) - legal content like Linux
ISO are free and clear and often distributed via bittorrent.  TV shows
(being copyrighted content and all) are illegal for download (and the
networks are generally fighting back by supplying content on their own
websites or via sites like Hulu and Fancast).  This does not, however,
mean you won't find your favourite TV shows on torrent sites.  :)

I rarely download TV shows anymore (rare content like David the Gnome
episodes is pretty much exclusively bittorrent territory these days -
now if only I could find the old Rupert bear TV shows).  It used to be
that missing an episode of something meant never seeing again until
the season is over, but now, what with Hulu supplying HD content and
all, it's so much easier just to watch TV shows on Hulu if my DVR
decides to be stupid (like when it only recorded 1 minute of Dollhouse
last Friday).

~Ali



From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Wed Feb 18 01:41:32 2009
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (=?iso-8859-1?q?Christian_Stub=F8?=)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:41:32 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
Message-ID: <gnfp0c+35o3@eGroups.com>

In his blog, artist M. S. Corley has posted his own proposals for 
covers for the Harry Potter books. His intent was to make covers that 
are in the style of Penguin Books.

http://mscorley.blogspot.com/2009/02/harry-potter-redesign.html

Best regards
Christian Stub?
Sorry if you get this several times - Yahoo!Groups is not cooperating 
at the moment




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 18 02:07:27 2009
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (Annemehr)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:07:27 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
In-Reply-To: <gnfp0c+35o3@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnfqgv+9bi6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Christian Stub? 
<pengolodh_sc at ...> wrote:
>
> In his blog, artist M. S. Corley has posted his own proposals for 
> covers for the Harry Potter books. His intent was to make covers that 
> are in the style of Penguin Books.
> 
> http://mscorley.blogspot.com/2009/02/harry-potter-redesign.html
> 
> Best regards
> Christian Stub?
> Sorry if you get this several times - Yahoo!Groups is not cooperating 
> at the moment
>

I really like these!  Although cover 7 is a bit creepy. :P

(He also put the Goblet of Fire into the middle of the Maze instead of 
the Triwizard Cup, but as long as you don't insist on taking it too 
literally, it works very well.)

Annemehr





From willsonkmom at msn.com  Wed Feb 18 13:21:39 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:21:39 -0000
Subject: Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
Message-ID: <gnh213+f7bp@eGroups.com>

Potioncat here:
Alla posted this on the main list, and I wasn't clever enough to 
remember her subject line, or the number of the post. But, here it is:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812694554/ref=cm_rdp_product

Alla:

I do not know if I mentioned it here yet, but as I am sure many of
you did, I have read quite a few books about Harry Potter. For the
most part I remain completely unimpressed with the quality of the
scholarship. I mean, I have two or three books which I think of as
pretty good quality, the rest are in my opinion either stretching a
point big time to try and apply concepts to the world of Harry Potter
or usually describe something very obvious.

So, this book to me is for the most part stretching point big time,
but I figured I will try to finish it anyway.

One of the sixteen essays in this book is called "Space, time and
magic" by Michael Silberstein. He argues some pretty obvious points
in it such as that Magical world of potterverse is a part of our
world and we can figure it out by seeing that Platform 9 ?, MoM and
Gringott are located in London, etc. Well, duh.

But then he also talks about magical travel means and the way he
talks about apparating made me want to ask you guys a question.

He is supposes that apparating is not like teleporting instantly, but
moving through the space.

He uses the wording from this GoF quote to show that Harry is moving
through space and not just instantly appears in another one:

"It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind
his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. His feet
left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of
him, their shoulders banging into his; they were all speeding forward
in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger was stuck to the
boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then - His
feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell
over; the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud. -
ch. 6"

And he talks about Molly mentioning splinting during Apparating, we
of course now have HBP to confirm that, this book was out before HBP.

So now I am finally coming to my question. This guy also talks about
apparating as creating sort of wormholes tunnels through time and
space, if we imagine space as some sort of elastic rubber. He says
that Theory of relativity does not prevent the possibility of those
tunnels in real life?

I mean, I know very little about theory of relativity besides general
definition, so can somebody with more scientific mind explain to me
how the Apparating is not in contradiction with it?

Thanks
Alla



Potioncat:
My response over there was "It's all hooey" and that a similar 
documentary had aired about the science of Star Trek.  First, I meant 
the book was hooey, not Alla's post or question. 

But, by the same token...it's someone saying "Wouldn't it be neat if 
we could.....(go to the moon) (carry phones around with us)...(time 
travel)....." that makes other people say, "Yes, and let's see how to 
do it."

I remember when Star Trek the first series was new. Doors did not 
open automatically for you, computers didn't talk to you, and there 
wasn't a small flip devise that allowed you to talk to other people 
or perform research on the spot.

As for wormholes...no thanks, sounds too much like rabbit holes, and 
you know what happens when you go down the rabbit hole.








From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 18 17:00:49 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:00:49 -0000
Subject: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902171230v53916865j6eb63e78cd47aaef@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnhes1+e2vi@eGroups.com>

Carol:
> > Can someone explain to me what a torrent site is and whether it's
> > legal (and free) to download episodes of a TV series from one?

Ali responded: 
> Torrent (short for BitTorrent) is a file distribution method more
than anything else.  <snip>
> 
> Torrents are technically legal (in so far as file sharing is also
technically legal).  The grey zone is, of course, the illegal content
being distributed (software, movies, etc) - legal content like Linux
ISO are free and clear and often distributed via bittorrent.  TV shows
(being copyrighted content and all) are illegal for download (and the
networks are generally fighting back by supplying content on their own
websites or via sites like Hulu and Fancast).  This does not,
however,> mean you won't find your favourite TV shows on torrent
sites.  :)
<snip>

Carol again:
Thanks, Ali and Cabal. Both of you are talking over my head in
explaining how torrents work. My main concern is viruses (I went to
one site and a porn image kept popping up despite my pop-up blocker.
Ungood!) and copyright violation.

The particular TV show I want to watch is "Wonderland" with Ted Levine
and Michelle Forbes, cuttently being shown on DirecTV, which I don't
have. It's not being shown on cable. (Two episodes were shown on ABC
in 2000 but then the miniseries was cancelled for reasons I won't go
into here. All eight episodes have been shown in Sweden, Switzerland,
and other European countries, but not in the U.S.) I did download
(perhaps stupidly) all the episodes, but they have German subtitles
and the video quality is poor (dark and grainy). I'd like to view
better-quality U.S. versions safely and legally. (Hulu doesn't have
the show; I checked.) Guess I'm out of luck.

Carol, who would welcome any suggestions other than switching to
DirecTV, which is out of the question at the moment




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 18 17:05:24 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:05:24 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
In-Reply-To: <gnfqgv+9bi6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnhf4k+qnvj@eGroups.com>

Christian Stub? wrote:
> >
> > In his blog, artist M. S. Corley has posted his own proposals for
> covers for the Harry Potter books. His intent was to make covers
that are in the style of Penguin Books. <snip>

Annemehr responded:
> I really like these!  Although cover 7 is a bit creepy. :P
> 
> (He also put the Goblet of Fire into the middle of the Maze instead of 
> the Triwizard Cup, but as long as you don't insist on taking it too
 literally, it works very well.)

>
Carol adds:
Good catch! What's with the raised hands for HBP? I understand all the
others.

Carol, who prefers more realistic, less stylized art




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 18 17:47:14 2009
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (Annemehr)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:47:14 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
In-Reply-To: <gnhf4k+qnvj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnhhj2+outm@eGroups.com>


> Carol adds:
> What's with the raised hands for HBP? I understand all the
> others.
> 
> Carol, who prefers more realistic, less stylized art
>

I believe they're the hands of inferi, coming up through the water, 
represented by the green waves at the top.  Those same green waves may 
also stand for potions in general, and the green goo in particular, all 
at the same time.

Annemehr,
who likes at least some art of all kinds, but finds very few abstract 
pieces to relate to





From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 18 19:17:33 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:17:33 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
In-Reply-To: <gnhhj2+outm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnhmsd+1jgv@eGroups.com>

Carol earlier:
> > What's with the raised hands for HBP? I understand all the others.

Annemehr:
> I believe they're the hands of inferi, coming up through the water,
 represented by the green waves at the top. <snip>

Carol responds:
I'll bet you're right. (Also Aleta, who made the same suggestion
offlist.) The hands and arms look somewhat distorted and the waves are
above them as if they're coming up through the water as you said.
Also, now that I look mor closely, the squarish gray thing at the top
is almost certainly the prow of a boat.

Carol, who vastly prefers the American cover art even though Harry is
left-handed and DD's right hand is uninjured




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Wed Feb 18 19:34:56 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:34:56 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
In-Reply-To: <gnh213+f7bp@eGroups.com>
References: <gnh213+f7bp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902181134h43585935g1d34bb8fa7e4f5b8@mail.gmail.com>

Potioncat:
> My response over there was "It's all hooey" and that a similar
> documentary had aired about the science of Star Trek. First, I meant
> the book was hooey, not Alla's post or question.
<<SNIP>>
> As for wormholes...no thanks, sounds too much like rabbit holes, and
> you know what happens when you go down the rabbit hole.

Ali:
Oh I don't know.  It's not all ridiculous.  They've proven that
teleportation (the instantaneous movement of matter from one space to
another) isn't impossible, and it is generally accepted amongst
quantum physicists that general relativity does allow for the
possibility of travel through wormholes (though space is imagined more
as maleable fabric whereupon a wormhole connects two non-immediate
points).  I like the idea of it all.  :)

To Alla's point, the description of apparating in the HP book does
support Michael Silberstein's point that travel is done through a
wormhole rather than teleportation.  (Not that anyone really knows
what either might feel like, of course.)  The basic gist of "wormhole
travel" is that you're bending the fabric of space-time - imagine the
US laid out on a piece of fabric and instead of having to drive from
New York to California, you can just fold the piece of fabric and New
York and California are now next to each other instead of far away -
magic!  (But then, isn't all science magic until we know how it
works?)  However, while general relatively doesn't preclude the notion
that we can travel through wormholes, it also falls into the realm of
science that [sort of] doesn't acknowledge statistical impossibilities
- that is, the chances of a wind blowing through a junkyard and
putting together a Boeing 747 is statistically impossible but still
technically possible.  It's all sorts of weird, and I'm sure my
explanation is all sorts of muddied, but 'tis the best I can do for
now.

For a better [general] explanation of general relatively and all
things quantum physics, check out "Alice in Quantumland."  Brian
Greene and Michio Kaku also have excellent books if you want further
reading.

~Ali



From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Wed Feb 18 21:38:32 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:38:32 -0000
Subject: Different style of HP book covers
In-Reply-To: <gnhf4k+qnvj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnhv4o+3mjp@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> Christian Stub? wrote:
> > >
> > > In his blog, artist M. S. Corley has posted his own proposals for
> > covers for the Harry Potter books. His intent was to make covers
> that are in the style of Penguin Books. <snip>
> 
> Annemehr responded:
> > I really like these!  Although cover 7 is a bit creepy. :P
> > 
> > (He also put the Goblet of Fire into the middle of the Maze instead of 
> > the Triwizard Cup, but as long as you don't insist on taking it too
>  literally, it works very well.)
> 
> >
> Carol adds:
> Good catch! What's with the raised hands for HBP? I understand all the
> others.

Geoff:
Having all the books in the Bloomsbury de luxe editions, I 
wouldn't buy any other copies. To me, these are not quite HP. Don't ask me to explain, but 
they don't quite clock.

In answer to Carol's question above, i would say "Inferi?"






From s_ings at yahoo.com  Thu Feb 19 12:12:50 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:12:50 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Many belated birthdays!
Message-ID: <129883.13968.qm@web63406.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

*stumbles wearily, feet dragging, housecoat tie trailing, tissue box in hand, into the party room and starts a very slow redecoration project involving balloons, multi-coloured streamers and silver confetti suspended above the dance floor*

What? I cant' decorate in my pyjamas? Says who? 

*consults Elfly handbook and comes up empty*

No, nothing there says I have to get dressed to throw a party. Isn't it enough I got off the sickbed to come and catch up? <vbg>

Okay, I've missed a fair number of birthdays while I've been sick. My sincere apologies to those whose celebrations have been delayed until now. Please feel free to grab the first drinks and the comfiest (is that word?) of chairs while I finish up here.

Birthday honourees for the past week include Geoff (10th), Brandon (14th), Riet, Dan, Miss Norbert von Ridgeback (all the 15th) and Betty aka SilverStag (16th). Belated birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to Geoff: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk, Brandon: bak42 at comcast.net, Riet: Riet.Strijker at gmail.com, Dan: severussnape at shaw.ca, Miss Norbert: wim.fok at consunet.nl, and Betty: mongwen at gmail.com

I hope you all have wonderful days filled with magic and delight, celebrated in more timely fashion than is happening here. :)

Okay, folks, nibblies are on the table, the music is cued up, and cakes are like up in descending order of height just waiting to be cut. Oh, and of course the bar is open! Dig in and get the celebrations started!

Happy Birthday, Geoff!
Happy Birthday, Brandon!
Happy Birthday, Riet!
Happy Birthday, Dan!
Happy Birthday, Miss Norbert von Ridgeback!
Happy Birthday, Betty/SilverStag!

Sheryll the (still sick) Birthday Elf


      __________________________________________________________________
Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! 

http://www.flickr.com/gift/



From jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com  Thu Feb 19 12:18:35 2009
From: jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com (Jeanine Banthorpe)
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:18:35 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
Message-ID: <479915.44785.qm@web86405.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

?Is?the?inference of Fred Hoyle's?reference to the Boeing 747 and the junkyard really a statistical impossibility - or just very very improbable? (says she with a light-hearted sideways look at the Infinite Impossibility Drive fitted to the Heart of Gold.)
?
The reference to Arthur C Clarke's 'Third Law' Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic is a useful point - thank?you for including it.?It fits neatly with Potioncat's comment that
?
>But, by the same token...it's someone saying "Wouldn't it be neat if 
>we could.....(go to the moon) (carry phones around with us)...(time 
>travel)..... " that makes other people say, "Yes, and let's see how to 
>do it."


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com  Thu Feb 19 12:23:10 2009
From: jeanine.banthorpe at btinternet.com (Jeanine Banthorpe)
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:23:10 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
Message-ID: <841927.66620.qm@web86402.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

p.s. couldn't agree more with Ali that Brian Greene is a good place to start with explanations of various aspects of quantum physics. He is that rare thing - an expert in his field who can cross over into popular science and engage the interest of non-specialists. I would also recommend Marcus Chown.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From predigirl1 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 20 03:55:19 2009
From: predigirl1 at yahoo.com (Alex Hogan)
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:55:19 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnhes1+e2vi@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <341458.37565.qm@web63707.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

Just go with HULU! I have been able to find and watch some of my favorite (and OLD)shows there. I'll have to go look for one I just found recently, " The Legend of the Seeker".
?
Alex Hogan

--- On Wed, 2/18/09, Carol <justcarol67 at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Carol <justcarol67 at yahoo.com>
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 11:00 AM






Carol:
> > Can someone explain to me what a torrent site is and whether it's
> > legal (and free) to download episodes of a TV series from one?

Ali responded: 
> Torrent (short for BitTorrent) is a file distribution method more
than anything else. <snip>
> 
> Torrents are technically legal (in so far as file sharing is also
technically legal). The grey zone is, of course, the illegal content
being distributed (software, movies, etc) - legal content like Linux
ISO are free and clear and often distributed via bittorrent. TV shows
(being copyrighted content and all) are illegal for download (and the
networks are generally fighting back by supplying content on their own
websites or via sites like Hulu and Fancast). This does not,
however,> mean you won't find your favourite TV shows on torrent
sites. :)
<snip>

Carol again:
Thanks, Ali and Cabal. Both of you are talking over my head in
explaining how torrents work. My main concern is viruses (I went to
one site and a porn image kept popping up despite my pop-up blocker.
Ungood!) and copyright violation.

The particular TV show I want to watch is "Wonderland" with Ted Levine
and Michelle Forbes, cuttently being shown on DirecTV, which I don't
have. It's not being shown on cable. (Two episodes were shown on ABC
in 2000 but then the miniseries was cancelled for reasons I won't go
into here. All eight episodes have been shown in Sweden, Switzerland,
and other European countries, but not in the U.S.) I did download
(perhaps stupidly) all the episodes, but they have German subtitles
and the video quality is poor (dark and grainy). I'd like to view
better-quality U.S. versions safely and legally. (Hulu doesn't have
the show; I checked.) Guess I'm out of luck.

Carol, who would welcome any suggestions other than switching to
DirecTV, which is out of the question at the moment

















      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Fri Feb 20 04:06:06 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:06:06 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <341458.37565.qm@web63707.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
References: <gnhes1+e2vi@eGroups.com>
	 <341458.37565.qm@web63707.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902192006r718b6b12ua15bbd998a2dd7a9@mail.gmail.com>

Alex Hogan:
> Just go with HULU! I have been able to find and watch some of my favorite
> (and OLD)shows there. I'll have to go look for one I just found recently, "
> The Legend of the Seeker".

Ali:
Legend of the Seeker is definitely on there (and in HD).  I watched
the whole thing this weekend.  :)  Pretty decent show but doesn't
inspire me to read the books, oddly enough, though I do know the
author to be a good writer.  Oh well.

~Ali, who just got Dresden Files (Season 1) in the mail and is super
excited for the weekend



From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 20 19:22:04 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:22:04 -0000
Subject: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <341458.37565.qm@web63707.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gnmvss+s07u@eGroups.com>

Alex Hogan wrote:
>
> Just go with HULU! I have been able to find and watch some of my
favorite (and OLD)shows there. I'll have to go look for one I just
found recently, " The Legend of the Seeker".
>  
> Alex Hogan

Carol responds:
Thanks, but, as I think I said somewhere in this thread, "Wonderland"
is on DirecTV, not cable, and possibly for that reason is not
available on Hulu. If it were, I wouldn't have asked the question
about torrents. I do use Hulu for "Monk" episodes that I miss.

Carol, vaguely hoping that "Wonderland" (not to be confused with a
2003 movie of the same name) will come out on DVD




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Fri Feb 20 19:35:51 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:35:51 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnmvss+s07u@eGroups.com>
References: <341458.37565.qm@web63707.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
	 <gnmvss+s07u@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902201135j2076e0b8tfbe39f1f0059436@mail.gmail.com>

Carol:
> Thanks, but, as I think I said somewhere in this thread, "Wonderland"
> is on DirecTV, not cable, and possibly for that reason is not
> available on Hulu. If it were, I wouldn't have asked the question
> about torrents. I do use Hulu for "Monk" episodes that I miss.

Propriety content does make things harder.  :(

Anyway, I looked on Fancast.  Wonderland is showing up, but there are
no episodes.  However, it does look like you can download the files if
you want to venture to using torrents:
http://isohunt.com/torrents/?iht=-1&ihq=wonderland

~Ali



From catlady at wicca.net  Sat Feb 21 19:16:22 2009
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:16:22 -0000
Subject: Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
In-Reply-To: <gnh213+f7bp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnpju6+h08n@eGroups.com>

Potioncat wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38849>:

<< Alla posted this on the main list, and I wasn't clever enough to
remember her subject line, or the number of the post. But, here it is:
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812694554/ref=cm_rdp_product> >>

Speaking of book cover art, I like the cover with the picture of the
snowy owl.





From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Sat Feb 21 22:35:40 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:35:40 -0000
Subject: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902201135j2076e0b8tfbe39f1f0059436@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnpvjs+kpbo@eGroups.com>

Ali wrote:
> Anyway, I looked on Fancast.  Wonderland is showing up, but there
are no episodes.  However, it does look like you can download the
files if you want to venture to using torrents:
> http://isohunt.com/torrents/?iht=-1&ihq=wonderland

Hi, Ali. At least five of the eight episodes are available on torrent
(or whatever the correct expression is). I'm sure that the other two
will be available soon. But what I want to know is, *should* I
"venture to [use] torrents"? Is it safe? I don't want a virus to
attack my computer, and I don't want to get into trouble for Internet
piracy. and what about the torrent software itself? Is it free, legal,
and safe?

Thanks,
Carol, who highly recommends "Wonderland" for those who can watch it
legally on DirecTV





From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Sat Feb 21 23:43:11 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:43:11 -0000
Subject: Dresden files series WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902192006r718b6b12ua15bbd998a2dd7a9@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnq3if+1gl3@eGroups.com>

> ~Ali, who just got Dresden Files (Season 1) in the mail and is super
> excited for the weekend
>


Alla:

Hi Ali, so how do you like it so far? Season one is the only one that 
exists, I believe, it was cancelled after first season. I am a huge fan 
of the books, but still find series very charming and the lead actor 
very well cast.




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Feb 22 18:40:32 2009
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 22 Feb 2009 18:40:32 -0000
Subject: Weekly Chat, 2/22/2009, 1:00 pm 
Message-ID: <1235328032.23.19165.m49@yahoogroups.com>

Reminder from: HPFGU-OTChatter Yahoo! Group
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/cal

Weekly Chat
Sunday February 22, 2009
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
(This event repeats every week.)
Location: http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Notes:
Just a reminder, Sunday chat starts in about one hour.

To get to the HPfGU room follow this link:
http://www.chatzy.com/792755223574

Create a user name for yourself, whatever you want
to be called.

Enter the password: hpfguchat

Click "Join Chat" on the lower right.

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From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Sun Feb 22 19:28:39 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:28:39 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Dresden files series WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnq3if+1gl3@eGroups.com>
References: <b6e131bf0902192006r718b6b12ua15bbd998a2dd7a9@mail.gmail.com>
	 <gnq3if+1gl3@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902221128v4efe3952j933ae46c9e0c7065@mail.gmail.com>

Alla:
> Hi Ali, so how do you like it so far? Season one is the only one that
> exists, I believe, it was cancelled after first season. I am a huge fan
> of the books, but still find series very charming and the lead actor
> very well cast.

I finished the entire season last night.  It has the same detective
noir type of feel that I liked in Moonlight (which was also cancelled
after one season and which I saw two weeks ago - gotta love Netflix).
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys that sort of
genre (Moonlight [vampire and not wizard, LA vs. Chicago] was slicker
but Dresden Files was somewhat grittier].

Also, the actors who played Dresden and Bob were very good.  It makes
sense all things considering, but "Bob's" Brit accent was so so good.
And "Dresden's" American accent was so good he had me totally fooled
until I saw the behind the scenes bit.  I'd love it if the detective
noir genre came back into style; the CSI/forensics-style shows can
only hold me so long.  :(

Alla, I'm guessing you'd recommend the Dresden books then?  I'm about
to order the first 2 or 3 off Amazon because the TV series got me
hooked.  After all, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my first loves
in life, and I've been on a supernatural kick as of late (Moonlight,
Dark Knight, Twilight series, etc.)

~Ali, who wonders whatever happened to the popularity of Nancy Drew
and the Hardy Boys



From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Sun Feb 22 20:01:20 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:01:20 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnpvjs+kpbo@eGroups.com>
References: <b6e131bf0902201135j2076e0b8tfbe39f1f0059436@mail.gmail.com>
	 <gnpvjs+kpbo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902221201q7614a48ei242540e18e3e1f6a@mail.gmail.com>

Carol:
> Hi, Ali. At least five of the eight episodes are available on torrent
> (or whatever the correct expression is). I'm sure that the other two
> will be available soon. But what I want to know is, *should* I
> "venture to [use] torrents"? Is it safe? I don't want a virus to
> attack my computer, and I don't want to get into trouble for Internet
> piracy. and what about the torrent software itself? Is it free, legal,
> and safe?

Ali:
As far as safe, as long as your anti-virus software is up-to-date,
you're taking no more of a risk than downloading any other files off
the great "interwebz."

Now, as a disclaimer, I haven't had a [US] business law class in about
3 years, so I'm sure I'm behind/not accurate/outright wrong in some
areas.  However, that being said ... you are technically breaking the
law by downloading any copyrighted materials, this includes TV shows.
However, whether you'll get in trouble is a whole different matter.
Torrents, by the very nature, make it harder to track individual users
- the fallacy is in thinking that you're totally safe; you can be
tracked (but you can always be tracked; side-effect of the modern
world, I'm afraid).  Torrents, unto themselves, are also legal (unlike
something like Napster, there are a ton of free-and-legal materials
being distributed across the torrent-highways) - this means that
you're safe in the sense that in order for someone to find you, Carol,
a judge must issue a warrant to the torrent site and a warrant to the
ISP in order to allow the party in question to have enough info to
know who you are.  Granted, either or both the ISP and torrent site
can do this willingly, but let's just say that the likelihood of that
aren't so high for various internal politics/PR reasons.

Wonderland also falls into that grey-ish area whereupon there are no
DVDs, no way to watch short of DirectTV (for now), etc.  This isn't
legally grey so much as whether a judge will force the matter to go to
court - proving lost of profit is damned hard when there is no
possible profit gained (as far as whoever owns the copyright anyway -
DirectTV can make a case for it but they don't own the copyright so
it's unlikely they'd want to go to court to begin with).

The short answer:  if you're truly paranoid, this isn't for you.  If
you're only ever planning on downloading Wonderland as your walk on
the "dark side," go for it.  I won't say that you're not going to get
caught, but I would say that the odds are stacked against that.
(Incidentally, I use torrents a lot and have never had my computer
infected nor had anyone knock on my door.)


> Carol, who highly recommends "Wonderland" for those who can watch it
> legally on DirecTV

Ali:
I keep thinking about switching ... but the "high-speed" internet
keeps me with Comcast.  :(  I hate Comcast, say she who works in a
city basically owned by the company - I work near the shiny new
Comcast Building with it's pretty HD video wall ... and want to throw
a stone at this glass building every time I see it.  I'm a sad and
bitter person ...

~Ali, who wonders if anyone saw Dollhouse (and wonders if anyone can
connect how her brain went from "sad and bitter" to Dollhouse)



From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Sun Feb 22 22:52:30 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:52:30 -0000
Subject: Dresden files series WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902221128v4efe3952j933ae46c9e0c7065@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnskve+qa8j@eGroups.com>

Ali:
> Also, the actors who played Dresden and Bob were very good.  It 
makes
> sense all things considering, but "Bob's" Brit accent was so so 
good.
> And "Dresden's" American accent was so good he had me totally fooled
> until I saw the behind the scenes bit.  I'd love it if the detective
> noir genre came back into style; the CSI/forensics-style shows can
> only hold me so long.  :(

Alla:

Actors were great! I do wonder if I could spoil you as to how Bob is 
portrayed in the books.

Ali: 
> Alla, I'm guessing you'd recommend the Dresden books then?  I'm 
about
> to order the first 2 or 3 off Amazon because the TV series got me
> hooked.  After all, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my first 
loves
> in life, and I've been on a supernatural kick as of late (Moonlight,
> Dark Knight, Twilight series, etc.)
> 
> ~Ali, who wonders whatever happened to the popularity of Nancy Drew
> and the Hardy Boys


Alla:

I would recommend Dresden files, all ten of them without any 
hesitation whatsoever. I am just begging and pleading with you to not 
give up after first book, because it drags in places, sort of. But 
then IMO it only gets better, writing improves significantly, world 
getting more and more layered and apparently author does have a plan 
with adding new players to the game between good and evil. Character 
who is introduced in third book for example gets a major significance 
from book 6 and on, all that kind of stuff.

So, yes, totally totally recommend everything including a prequel 
that he did this year, comic style. NOT "backup", but Welcome to the 
jungle. Mind you, you do not have to read prequel first, it is just 
one of his cases done before the first book starts, but it is 
amusing, it is written by Butcher and graphics are just cool IMO.

Oh I can talk about these books for a long time. 





From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Sun Feb 22 23:38:58 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:38:58 -0000
Subject: Dresden files series <SPOILERS!!> WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnskve+qa8j@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnsnmi+c5sg@eGroups.com>

>> Alla:
> 
> I would recommend Dresden files, all ten of them without any 
> hesitation whatsoever. I am just begging and pleading with you to 
not 
> give up after first book, because it drags in places, sort of. But 
> then IMO it only gets better, writing improves significantly, world 
> getting more and more layered and apparently author does have a 
plan 
> with adding new players to the game between good and evil. 
Character 
> who is introduced in third book for example gets a major 
significance 
> from book 6 and on, all that kind of stuff.
> 
> So, yes, totally totally recommend everything including a prequel 
> that he did this year, comic style. NOT "backup", but Welcome to 
the 
> jungle. Mind you, you do not have to read prequel first, it is just 
> one of his cases done before the first book starts, but it is 
> amusing, it is written by Butcher and graphics are just cool IMO.
> 
> Oh I can talk about these books for a long time.
>


Alla:

I forgot to add that book 11 comes out on April 7 and I CANNOT WAIT.

I mean, judged on the summary and two initial chapters that Butcher 
posted on his website, one can assume that regardless of the outcome 
of the book, Harry IS finally getting grumpy Morgan on his side and 
few books later it may help him a lot.

But I have noooo clue who is the traitor in the senior counsel.




From drdara at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 02:21:11 2009
From: drdara at yahoo.com (danielle dassero)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:21:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Dresden files series <SPOILERS!!> WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <gnsnmi+c5sg@eGroups.com>
References: <gnsnmi+c5sg@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <43946.49713.qm@web65413.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>





I totally love this series, its fantastic (bookwise). The tv series was ok, although did love the actors who played Bob and Harry. They were pretty good. I am soooooooooo jonesing for book 11. I joined SFBC.com and was able to get the 1st?9 books in 4 volumes. 1 volume had the 1st 3 books and the other 3 volumes had 2 books in each one. Got them for a pretty good deal. I also like Jim Butcher's other series, The Alera Codex, those are awesome too.

Danielle




      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From kempermentor at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 03:36:09 2009
From: kempermentor at yahoo.com (kempermentor)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:36:09 -0000
Subject: comcast  was Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902221201q7614a48ei242540e18e3e1f6a@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnt5j9+eeeo@eGroups.com>

> Ali:
> I keep thinking about switching ... but the "high-speed" internet
> keeps me with Comcast.  :(  I hate Comcast, say she who works in a
> city basically owned by the company - I work near the shiny new
> Comcast Building with it's pretty HD video wall ... and want to throw
> a stone at this glass building every time I see it.  I'm a sad and
> bitter person ...

Kemper now:
No you're not.  Comcast is the devil.
...doooo iiit...

Kemper




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Mon Feb 23 03:39:06 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:39:06 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Dresden files series <SPOILERS!!> WAS: Re: 
	Torrents
In-Reply-To: <43946.49713.qm@web65413.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
References: <gnsnmi+c5sg@eGroups.com>
	 <43946.49713.qm@web65413.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902221939o49f93874mb9fc8111274636fb@mail.gmail.com>

Danielle:
> I totally love this series, its fantastic (bookwise). The tv series was ok,
> although did love the actors who played Bob and Harry. They were pretty
> good. I am soooooooooo jonesing for book 11. I joined SFBC.com and was able
> to get the 1st 9 books in 4 volumes. 1 volume had the 1st 3 books and the
> other 3 volumes had 2 books in each one. Got them for a pretty good deal. I
> also like Jim Butcher's other series, The Alera Codex, those are awesome
> too.

Thank you soooooo much for the tip about SFBC.  I spent the last few
hours being angry at how I'm essentially forced to buy the hardcover
Dresden books if I want my book shelf to look nice (I'd prefer mass
market paperbacks due to size but some of the Dresden books only came
as trade paperbacks and others only came as mass market ... ARG!!!).
Getting the SFBC versions solves my problems (and hey, buying a few
books within the next two years is a commitment I can really live
with).

And yes, I am that crazy that I need my series to all have the same
size.  This is the girl who waited 1.5 yrs to read the latest Young
Wizards book because the thought of buying it in hardcover and messing
up her bookshelf wasn't an option (or heck, even a thought).

Danielle, what's Alera Codex like?

~Ali



From s_ings at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 14:56:59 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:56:59 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
Message-ID: <911476.73103.qm@web63406.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

*surveys the streamers and balloons, gives a nod to the attractive displays of potion bottles and wonders what's missing*

Oh, I know!

*dashes over to the bar and set an additional table, topping it with a cauldron filled with a mysterious, smoking beverage*

Hic. Ooops. :)

Have no fear, folks, it's safe to drink!

Today's birthday honouree is Siriusly Snapey Susan. Birthday owls and directions to Alan Rickman's house can be sent care of this list or, if you don't want the directions falling into the wrong hands, directly to: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net

Nibblies and drinks are ready to go, the comfy chairs are pulled in front of a back of TV's running Alan Rickman films. Do we need more? <vbg>

SSSusan, I hope your day is magical and brings everything you wished for. If Alan Rickman arrives on your doorstep, you *are* expected to share. :)

Happy Birthday, SSSusan!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf, who will raise a glass for SSusan when we (Amanda and I) hold the 5th annual Alan Rickman Film Extravaganza in Texas at the beginning of next month <bg>


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From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 15:28:56 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:28:56 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <911476.73103.qm@web63406.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gnufbo+tsn4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Sheryll Townsend <s_ings at ...> 
wrote:
<SNIP>
>> Today's birthday honouree is Siriusly Snapey Susan. Birthday owls 
and directions to Alan Rickman's house can be sent care of this list 
or, if you don't want the directions falling into the wrong hands, 
directly to: susiequsie23 at ...
> 
> Nibblies and drinks are ready to go, the comfy chairs are pulled in 
front of a back of TV's running Alan Rickman films. Do we need more? 
<vbg>
> 
> SSSusan, I hope your day is magical and brings everything you 
wished for. If Alan Rickman arrives on your doorstep, you *are* 
expected to share. :)
> 
> Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
> 
> Sheryll the Birthday Elf, who will raise a glass for SSusan when we 
(Amanda and I) hold the 5th annual Alan Rickman Film Extravaganza in 
Texas at the beginning of next month <bg>
> 


Alla:

Susan, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you and I add my wishes for the day to be 
magical and fun and everything you wish for to come true.




From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 15:35:02 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:35:02 -0000
Subject: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902221201q7614a48ei242540e18e3e1f6a@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <gnufn6+uudm@eGroups.com>

> Ali:
> As far as safe, as long as your anti-virus software is up-to-date,
> you're taking no more of a risk than downloading any other files off
> the great "interwebz."
<snip>
 
> Wonderland also falls into that grey-ish area whereupon there are no
DVDs, no way to watch short of DirectTV (for now), etc.  This isn't
legally grey so much as whether a judge will force the matter to go to
court - proving lost of profit is damned hard when there is no
possible profit gained (as far as whoever owns the copyright anyway -
DirectTV can make a case for it but they don't own the copyright so
it's unlikely they'd want to go to court to begin with).
> 
> The short answer:  if you're truly paranoid, this isn't for you.  If
you're only ever planning on downloading Wonderland as your walk on
the "dark side," go for it.  I won't say that you're not going to get
caught, but I would say that the odds are stacked against that.
(Incidentally, I use torrents a lot and have never had my computer
infected nor had anyone knock on my door.) <snip>

Carol responds:
Thanks, Ali. Since I've already downloaded the episodes (with German
subtitles) from a German or Swiss site without having heard of
torrents or knowing whether it was legal or not, I don't really need
to take any further risk myself. (Most of those episodes are no longer
available.) I was mainly concerned about recommending it to other
people on my Ted Levine list. I think I'll play it safe and say
nothing. The list members know that it's on DirecTV. I did mention the
German-subtitled episodes, so they could have done what I did if they
so chose.

I don't know. I hate moral/ethical dilemmas! Just put the darn show on
cable TV where it belongs!

BTW, if anyone associates Ted Levine with Buffalo Bill/Jame Gumb in
"Silence of the Lambs," I liked him before I saw that film and still
like him in spite of it. Brilliant acting, but if I hadn't seen him
first as Starbuck in the 1998 version of "Moby dick" and Alan Shepard
in "From the Earth to the Moon," I'd probably never have become a fan.
If you still don't know who he is, he plays Captain Stottlemeyer on
"Monk." I like "Wonderland" because it showcases his versatility in
ways that few other films do.

Carol, who thinks that "Wonderland" itself suffices as a walk on the
dark side since it's about psychiatrists and mental patients, some of
whom have committed violent crimes






From justcarol67 at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 15:56:51 2009
From: justcarol67 at yahoo.com (Carol)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:56:51 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <911476.73103.qm@web63406.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gnuh03+mpc7@eGroups.com>

Sheryll Townsend wrote:
<snip> 
> *dashes over to the bar and set an additional table, topping it with
a cauldron filled with a mysterious, smoking beverage*
<snip>
> 
> Today's birthday honouree is Siriusly Snapey Susan. Birthday owls
and directions to Alan Rickman's house can be sent care of this list
or, if you don't want the directions falling into the wrong hands,
directly to: susiequsie23 at ...
<snip>
> SSSusan, I hope your day is magical and brings everything you wished
for. If Alan Rickman arrives on your doorstep, you *are* expected to
share. :)
> 
> Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
<snip>

Carol responds:

Happy birthday, SSS! Don't drink too much of the "mysterious, smoking
beverage" (especially if the steam rises in characteristic spirals and
you start smelling--er, whatever scent you associate with Alan
Rickman. If he's in Snape robes, be sure to send us a picture!

Seriously, I wish you all the best and I hope to see more of you on
the main list.

Carol, who could use a good anti-cold potion right now




From macloudt at yahoo.co.uk  Mon Feb 23 21:22:17 2009
From: macloudt at yahoo.co.uk (Mary Ann Jennings)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:22:17 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
Message-ID: <389805.13236.qm@web25806.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>


Happy, happy birthday, SSSusan!  And if you do happen to find Alan Rickman...I know where you live.  Roughly, anyway.

Mary Ann, very much looking forward to meeting SSSusan in April.  Squeeee!



From willsonkmom at msn.com  Mon Feb 23 21:23:11 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:23:11 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <gnuh03+mpc7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnv43v+qth8@eGroups.com>

 
> Carol responds:
> 
> Happy birthday, SSS! Don't drink too much of the "mysterious, smoking
> beverage" (especially if the steam rises in characteristic spirals and
> you start smelling--er, whatever scent you associate with Alan
> Rickman. If he's in Snape robes, be sure to send us a picture!


Potioncat:
Happy birthday SSSusan! I've heard "The Preacher", an early Rickman 
movie, is on DVD now. Have you seen it? Another site is raising money 
in honor of Rickman's Feb birthday for DADA.

No, wait, that's RADA.

Hope you have a happy!

Potioncat




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Mon Feb 23 21:42:22 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:42:22 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <gnv43v+qth8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <371780.18527.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

> > Carol responds:
> > 
> > Happy birthday, SSS! Don't drink too much of the
> "mysterious, smoking
> > beverage" (especially if the steam rises in
> characteristic spirals and
> > you start smelling--er, whatever scent you associate
> with Alan
> > Rickman. If he's in Snape robes, be sure to send
> us a picture!
> 
Sheryll:

Aw, c'mon. Would I really serve up something that might be even a wee bit dangerous? Damn, you really are onto me, aren't you? Heck, I figured that I could at least serve up something a wee bit hallucinatory so that SSSusan would perhaps be fooled into thinking she got Alan Rickman for her birthday. :D
> 
> Potioncat:
> Happy birthday SSSusan! I've heard "The
> Preacher", an early Rickman 
> movie, is on DVD now. Have you seen it? Another site is
> raising money 
> in honor of Rickman's Feb birthday for DADA.
> 
> No, wait, that's RADA.
> 
Sheryll;

Okay, I've never heard of "The Preacher". The only early thing I can think of that's remotely close to that is "The Barchester Chronicles", but that's been on DVD for a while. Details, please!!

Sheryll


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From willsonkmom at msn.com  Mon Feb 23 22:15:42 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:15:42 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <371780.18527.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gnv76e+ahgp@eGroups.com>

 
> Sheryll;
> 
> Okay, I've never heard of "The Preacher". The only early thing I can 
think of that's remotely close to that is "The Barchester Chronicles", 
but that's been on DVD for a while. Details, please!!
> 

Potioncat:
I cut and pasted some information, forgot to save it, and it wouldn't 
paste. So this is going to be choppy.

I think "The Preacher" is a segment from a miniseries 
called "Revolutionary Witness" which is distributed by The Phoenix 
Learning Group. I'm hoping it will show up at Netflix, but the title I 
see there doesn't look like it.

I found the information at a Rickman site called 'News Information and 
Schedules.' Here's the link to that site. Scroll down about 3 entries 
and you'll see the information with a link to the Phoenix Group.

http://alan-rickman.hypermart.net/news.html




From drdara at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 24 00:11:36 2009
From: drdara at yahoo.com (danielle dassero)
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:11:36 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Dresden files series <SPOILERS!!> WAS: Re:  Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902221939o49f93874mb9fc8111274636fb@mail.gmail.com>
References: <gnsnmi+c5sg@eGroups.com>  <43946.49713.qm@web65413.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> <b6e131bf0902221939o49f93874mb9fc8111274636fb@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <725772.78844.qm@web65401.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>





Thank you soooooo much for the tip about SFBC. I spent the last few
hours being angry at how I'm essentially forced to buy the hardcover
Dresden books if I want my book shelf to look nice (I'd prefer mass
market paperbacks due to size but some of the Dresden books only came
as trade paperbacks and others only came as mass market ... ARG!!!).
Getting the SFBC versions solves my problems (and hey, buying a few
books within the next two years is a commitment I can really live
with).

And yes, I am that crazy that I need my series to all have the same
size. This is the girl who waited 1.5 yrs to read the latest Young
Wizards book because the thought of buying it in hardcover and messing
up her bookshelf wasn't an option (or heck, even a thought).

Danielle, what's Alera Codex like?

~Ali


Alexa Codex is fantasy, think a society close to Rome in the early days, like when maybe Cesar was king, but with magic.? There are freemen, slaves and the upper class. Starts off with a freeman boy who think he has no magic (magic is known as furycrafting, the ability to control the wind, earth, water, etcccc). And as most stories goes boy becomes hero despite lack of magic. http://www.jim-butcher.com/?here's the authors website has more info. It also has more info on the dresden files too.

Danielle 




      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From gav_fiji at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 24 02:17:34 2009
From: gav_fiji at yahoo.com (Goddlefrood)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:17:34 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <gnv43v+qth8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnvlbu+ssii@eGroups.com>

> Potioncat:
> Happy birthday SSSusan! I've heard "The Preacher", an early 
> Rickman movie, is on DVD now. 

Goddlefrood:

Happy birthday from me too. Hope you're not having too many 
m--------s.

Information on 'The Preacher' is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098200/




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Tue Feb 24 02:28:49 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:28:49 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <371780.18527.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <gnvm11+ns6f@eGroups.com>

Carol responds:
> > Happy birthday, SSS! Don't drink too much of the "mysterious, 
> > smoking beverage" (especially if the steam rises in 
> > characteristic spirals and you start smelling--er, whatever scent 
> > you associate with Alan Rickman. If he's in Snape robes, be sure 
> > to send us a picture!
 
Sheryll:
> Aw, c'mon. Would I really serve up something that might be even a 
> wee bit dangerous? Damn, you really are onto me, aren't you? Heck, 
> I figured that I could at least serve up something a wee bit 
> hallucinatory so that SSSusan would perhaps be fooled into thinking 
> she got Alan Rickman for her birthday. :D

SSSusan:
Awww, Sheryll, Alla, Carol, Mary Ann & Potioncat, you all are so 
sweet!  Thanks for the good wishes!  And gee, a party with my very 
own dangerous, mysterious, smoking beverage *and* Alan Rickman in the 
flesh?  Wow!!  Wouldn't that be something.  

Sigh. So I guess the margarita I had this evening will have to 
suffice, along with a little surfing of AR on IMDb. ;)


Potioncat:
> > Happy birthday SSSusan! I've heard "The Preacher", an early 
> > Rickman movie, is on DVD now. Have you seen it? Another site is
> > raising money in honor of Rickman's Feb birthday for DADA.
> > 
> > No, wait, that's RADA.

Sheryll:
> Okay, I've never heard of "The Preacher". The only early thing I 
> can think of that's remotely close to that is "The Barchester 
> Chronicles", but that's been on DVD for a while. Details, please!!

SSSusan:
Sheryll, can you believe it's possible?  An AR performance that 
*neither* you nor I had heard of?  I wouldn't have believed it... but 
I see that 'cat is correct.

I own Barchester Chronicles -- and every other AR film/TV performance 
(such as Fallen Angels) that I could get my hands on -- but I wasn't 
familiar with Revolutionary Witness.  $60 is a bit steep, but maybe 
if I save my pennies, by Christmas I can get a copy. :)  Along with 
Bottle Shock, which I haven't yet ordered, and Nobel Son, which I 
missed in the theater and am going to have to get on DVD.

Sheryll, one of these years I *am* going to get there when you & 
Amanda have your Rickmanfest.  And I'll drag Jen over from Austin for 
at least part of it. ;)  

Thanks, everybody!

Siriusly Snapey Susan, who *almost* shares a birthdate (if not a 
birth year) with Mr. A.S.P. Rickman








From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Tue Feb 24 03:01:52 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:01:52 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <gnvlbu+ssii@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gnvnv0+i853@eGroups.com>

Goddlefrood:
> Happy birthday from me too. Hope you're not having too many 
> m--------s.

SSSusan:
Well, look at that!  Just the right number of blanks for the drink I 
did have. ;)

Speaking of, I earlier said...
> Sigh. So I guess the margarita I had this evening will have to
> suffice, along with a little surfing of AR on IMDb. ;)

And guess what I realized while doing that surfing?  When we're there 
in April, shopping away at Soccer Scene on Carnaby Street, we'll be 
just a matter of blocks from Alan's agent (76 Oxford Street, for 
those who are curious).  

I wonder what the odds would be, should we happen to take a stroll in 
that direction.... ;)

SSSusan, 
excited to meet Mary Ann and Geoff and wishing there were time for a 
stop in Cambridge, too 





From OctobersChild48 at aol.com  Tue Feb 24 06:37:46 2009
From: OctobersChild48 at aol.com (OctobersChild48 at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:37:46 EST
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Dresden files series WAS: Re: Torrents
Message-ID: <c86.4883db02.36d4efba@aol.com>

     
 


Ali: 
> Alla, I'm guessing you'd recommend the Dresden  books then? I'm 
about
> to order the first 2 or 3 off Amazon  because the TV series got me
> hooked. After all, Nancy Drew and  the Hardy Boys were my first 
loves
> in life, and I've been on  a supernatural kick as of late (Moonlight,
> Dark Knight, Twilight  series, etc.)
> 
> ~Ali, who wonders whatever happened to  the popularity of Nancy Drew
> and the Hardy  Boys
Sandy:
  Alla has already answered but I will throw in a backup  to her. Yes, by all 
means, give this series a try. I love it too. Like  Danielle I got the first 
nine volumes in four books and have the 10th as a  stand alone. I have already 
pre-ordered volume 11 from my book club which  is where I got all the others.
 
Speaking of book clubs, I would like to recommend the one I  belong to. It 
used to be Zooba but they have renamed it BOMC2. It's an  online club only. You 
go to the site and sign up and then make your  reading list. Every month they 
send you the top book on your reading list.  The cost is $9.95 per book and 
there is no shipping charges. I have  belonged to this club for over a year and 
a half and I love it. You can  buy any book at any time rather than wait for 
it to come up on your list.  I never have less than 40 books on my reading list 
and have 52 on it right  now and am always buying books in between mailings.
 
Ah, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys - love them and have all of  the original 
volumes. They still publish new ones but you and I would not  be interested in 
them. Trixie Belden is another favorite.
 
I just bought the first book in the Twilight series. I have  all four of them 
on my reading list at BOMC2, but they just released the  first one in 
paperback and have it where I work, so I bought it. I will  still get it from BOMC2 
because just like you, Ali, my series books have  to match on the bookshelf. No 
mix of hardbound and  paperbacks.
 
Speaking of that (books matching), when is Deathly Hallows  going to be 
released in paperback? I was late to the Harry Potter series  and bought the first 
five in paperback. I bought Half-Blood Prince in  hardbound when it was 
released, but replaced it with the paperback when it  came out in that format. I'm 
waiting to do the same with Deathly Hallows  so all of my books match.
 
Sandy
 
P.S.  Alla, I have read your reviews for the Dresden  Files at Amazon. I 
always want to do that but can never figure out what to  write. I wasn't very good 
at book reports when I was in  school.
 






**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy 
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Tue Feb 24 20:44:11 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:44:11 -0000
Subject: Dresden files series SPOILERS  WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <c86.4883db02.36d4efba@aol.com>
Message-ID: <go1m6r+ugf3@eGroups.com>

Sandy:
<HUGE SNIP of the whole post>

> P.S.  Alla, I have read your reviews for the Dresden  Files at 
Amazon. I 
> always want to do that but can never figure out what to  write. I 
wasn't very good 
> at book reports when I was in  school.

Alla:

Sandy, thanks for the book club recommendation, will definitely check 
it out, however I think you have me confused with another Alla. :-)

I believe I reviewed couple of Dresden files on Good reads and I know 
I wrote something on my lj, but I am pretty sure I never reviewed 
them on Amazon :-)

So, care to speculate who is the traitor in the Senior counsel? I 
mean, I would love it to be Merlin himself, but I know it will be too 
simple - not only bastard, but a traitor too, lol.

I just do not want it to be Joe or Marta, and I think Morgan be 
safely eliminated now LOL.




From tonks_op at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 25 04:31:23 2009
From: tonks_op at yahoo.com (Tonks)
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:31:23 -0000
Subject: Space Time and Magic (from Main List)
In-Reply-To: <gnpju6+h08n@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go2hir+g4l9@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" 
<catlady at ...> wrote:
>
> Potioncat wrote in
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/38849>:
> 
> << Alla posted this on the main list, and I wasn't clever enough to
> remember her subject line, or the number of the post. But, here it is:
> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812694554/ref=cm_rdp_product> >>
> 
> Speaking of book cover art, I like the cover with the picture of the
> snowy owl.
>

Tonks:

I think that apparation does seem more like wormhole travel. But what 
about the travel that is done by Shamen and by real people like St. 
Padre Pio during WWII. It is called Bi-location. Does anyone know about 
this and theories about how it happens. We know that these things have 
actually happened, but how??? I am not a scientist and would like to 
hear what those of you who know this stuff have to say. Thanks.

Tonks_op




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 25 16:08:43 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:08:43 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Happy Birthday, SSSusan!
In-Reply-To: <gnvm11+ns6f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <587313.89258.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>


>> SSSusan:
> Sheryll, can you believe it's possible?  An AR
> performance that 
> *neither* you nor I had heard of?  I wouldn't have
> believed it... but 
> I see that 'cat is correct.
> 
> I own Barchester Chronicles -- and every other AR film/TV
> performance 
> (such as Fallen Angels) that I could get my hands on -- but
> I wasn't 
> familiar with Revolutionary Witness.  $60 is a bit steep,
> but maybe 
> if I save my pennies, by Christmas I can get a copy. :) 
> Along with 
> Bottle Shock, which I haven't yet ordered, and Nobel
> Son, which I 
> missed in the theater and am going to have to get on DVD.
> 
> Sheryll, one of these years I *am* going to get there when
> you & 
> Amanda have your Rickmanfest.  And I'll drag Jen over
> from Austin for 
> at least part of it. ;)  
> 
> Thanks, everybody!
> 
> Siriusly Snapey Susan, who *almost* shares a birthdate (if
> not a 
> birth year) with Mr. A.S.P. Rickman
> 
Sheryll:

Well, you're one up on my, as I don't own Fallen Angels. Haven't got my copy of Bottle Shock yet, but that will come once we start selling off our rental copies at work. I think Nobel Son is coming on DVD fairly soon - March 10 according to both tribute.ca and Amazon! Can't wait to see that one. Oh, maybe Amanda and I can rent it the day before I leave and make that the last movie of our little AR filmfest. :D

Yeah, Revolutionary Witness is a wee bit pricey for my budget, as well. *sigh* Maybe someday. :)

Sheryll


      __________________________________________________________________
Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/



From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 25 16:17:21 2009
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:17:21 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Happy Birthday x 2!
Message-ID: <984161.94845.qm@web63407.mail.re1.yahoo.com>


*putters about, streamers trailing and a large bunch of multi-coloured balloons almost lifting the elf off the floor*

Hey, who said decorating was an easy job? You try managing all these balloons! <vbg>

Nibblies are on their way, the drinks are already set out. Due to concerns about the content of the last batch of drinks, nothing is smoking this time. :)

Yesterday's birthday honouree was Marlo and today's is Finwitch. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to Marlo at: dzny72 at yahoo.com and to Finwitch at: finwitch at yahoo.com

I hope both of you have(had) magical days that filled you with happiness and joy!

The cakes are on the side table, the comfy chairs are ready and, for those inclined to dance, the floor is waiting and the music just needs a bit more volume.

Happy Birthday, Marlo!
Happy Birthday, Finwitch!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf


      __________________________________________________________________
Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/



From zanooda2 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 00:01:11 2009
From: zanooda2 at yahoo.com (zanooda2)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:01:11 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
Message-ID: <go7ag7+3qhn@eGroups.com>

Guys, please tell me what the word "fresh" means in a sentence like
that: "'Where are we?' he asked, peering around at a fresh mass of
trees ...". It's right after Harry and Hermione Apparated to the
Forest of Dean (ch.19, "The Silver Doe", p.364 Am.ed.). Does it mean
something like "new", "another", or is it some characteristic of the
trees, like "green" (in winter??) or whatever else. I would appreciate
any advice :-).


zanooda




From Hockeygrrrl17 at aol.com  Fri Feb 27 04:39:37 2009
From: Hockeygrrrl17 at aol.com (Hockeygrrrl17 at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:39:37 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902192006r718b6b12ua15bbd998a2dd7a9@mail.gmail.com>
References: <b6e131bf0902192006r718b6b12ua15bbd998a2dd7a9@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <8CB66AC8784FEA1-1500-5FC@FWM-M18.sysops.aol.com>

I have read the Sword of Truth series and let me tell you ... The 
Legend of The Seeker is a decent series but does not do the books 
justice ... trust me and give them a try. I have a question for you 
all. I usually don't read my emails because I am a math teacher and the 
money crisis in California takes up a lot of my time and energy trying 
to find interesting ways to teach my kids math with what little I have. 
One thing I have noticed that really annoys me and I see my students 
doing this too is comparing Harry Potter to Twilight. I have read both 
series ( Harry Potter so many times I can practically quote the books 
word for word) , but in my mind there is no comparison. Forgive the 
terms I use ( I got my degree in Mathematics and not English) , but 
Harry Potter is so well written where Twilight is not. The whole Harry 
Potter series is centered around the demented relationship between 
Harry and Voldemort , and each book in the series has it's very 
interesting sub plot that strenghtens the Harry-Voldemort scenario 
where the Twilight series lacks the intensity and emotion that Harry 
Potter has in abundance. I also think that the transitions between the 
books in Twilight are poor and Breaking Dawn was a huge disappointment 
... especially the ending. I think the whole relationship between Bella 
and Edward is boring , annoying and unrealistic. I know there is no 
such thing as magic=2
0, but the way JKR wrote Harry Potter really makes a 
hidden magical community seem plausible. The way she wrote the series 
is exactly how I fantasized about magic as a kid. I would much rather 
be a witch on my way to a magical education at Hogarts than an average 
girl in a relationship with an immortal adonis. Anyone agree with me?

Kristin


-----Original Message-----
From: P. Alexis Nguyen <alexisnguyen at gmail.com>
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 8:06 pm
Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Torrents



Alex Hogan:

> Just go with HULU! I have been able to find and watch some of my 
favorite

> (and OLD)shows there. I'll have to go look for one I just found 
recently, "

> The Legend of the Seeker".



Ali:

Legend of the Seeker is definitely on there (and in HD).  I watched

the whole thing this weekend.  :)  Pretty decent show but doesn't

inspire me to read the books, oddly enough, though I do know the

author to be a good writer.  Oh well.



~Ali, who just got Dresden Files (Season 1) in the mail and is super

excited for the weekend







    


















From kempermentor at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 05:50:44 2009
From: kempermentor at yahoo.com (kempermentor)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:50:44 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <go7ag7+3qhn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go7uvk+9to7@eGroups.com>

> zanooda:
> Guys, please tell me what the word "fresh" means in a sentence like
> that: "'Where are we?' he asked, peering around at a fresh mass of
> trees ...". It's right after Harry and Hermione Apparated to the
> Forest of Dean (ch.19, "The Silver Doe", p.364 Am.ed.). Does it mean
> something like "new", "another", or is it some characteristic of the
> trees, like "green" (in winter??) or whatever else. I would appreciate
> any advice :-).

Kemper now:
If they have just apparated from another mass of trees to this 'fresh'
mass, then I would say 'new' though 'another' is probably more
accurate yet more dull to the ear... I hope that makes sense. 

Kemper




From jnoyl at aim.com  Fri Feb 27 07:03:24 2009
From: jnoyl at aim.com (JLyon)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:03:24 -0700
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
Message-ID: <3D58D8C7-2B1D-4967-9BDC-EB9A1D7559B8@aim.com>

Fresh, in this case, means newly appeared. The scene before them is  
fresh since it wasn't there a moment ago. Also, being a forest, one  
can have the fresh smell of trees and vegetation. 



From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Fri Feb 27 07:39:56 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:39:56 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <go7ag7+3qhn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go85cc+5520@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "zanooda2" <zanooda2 at ...> wrote:
>
> Guys, please tell me what the word "fresh" means in a sentence like
> that: "'Where are we?' he asked, peering around at a fresh mass of
> trees ...". It's right after Harry and Hermione Apparated to the
> Forest of Dean (ch.19, "The Silver Doe", p.364 Am.ed.). Does it mean
> something like "new", "another", or is it some characteristic of the
> trees, like "green" (in winter??) or whatever else. I would appreciate
> any advice :-).
> 
> 
> zanooda

Geoff:
I would read it as "new" or "different". For example: "He picked up a fresh 
file from the pile on the desk" or even"We had a fresh teacher for DADA 
today".
;-)







From heidi8 at gmail.com  Fri Feb 27 12:21:00 2009
From: heidi8 at gmail.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:21:00 -0500
Subject: Azkatraz Ticket Prices Going Up + Claymation Workshop
Message-ID: <5913e6f80902270421i7a0d51e4ibe2aab9191719e06@mail.gmail.com>

We're only a few days away from a $20 increase in the price of a full
registration for Azkatraz. As of March 1, through May 31, the price goes up
to $165. So get your tickets now, and save the $20 to spend on something fun
in San Francisco.

We have decided to delay the increase in the cost of tickets to Wrock Around
the Rock <http://www.hp2009.org/?q=node/48>; tickets will still cost $90 for
the soda bar and $115 for the full bar until midnight Pacific time on March
15, 2009, then rise to $100 for the soda bar and $125 for the full bar.


We are thrilled to annouce that the Creativity Is Magic Claymation
Workshops<http://community.livejournal.com/?q=node/40>at ZEUM on
Monday, July 20 will be hosted by none other than Ryan, creator
of the claymation fanfilm version of Deathly Hallows.

Groups of 4-5 will each design their own clay characters and then produce a
short animated film using multimedia tools. Groups will be set up ahead of
time and can use the HPEF Forums in late June and July to work together and
develop a story concept; on Monday, July 20, each group will spend nearly
two hours sculpting clay characters and filming a stop motion animation
movie. And each participant will leave Azkatraz with a clay figure or two,
and a claymation movie on DVD or flash drive.

We're going to have two sessions of 30 people each - one for registrants 16
years and up, from 9 til 11 in the morning, and one from 1:30 until 3:30 in
the afternoon for kids ages 8 to 16.

You can sign up when you register, or by modifying your registration
here<https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=f819871c-99ce-45a7-9c71-28234ff6a033>at
https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=f819871c-99ce-45a7-9c71-28234ff6a033;
the fee is $35 per person. Check Ryan's film out via
http://community.livejournal.com/kickin_azkatraz/18975.html#cutid1


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 14:57:38 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:57:38 -0000
Subject: Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <8CB66AC8784FEA1-1500-5FC@FWM-M18.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <go8v12+inqv@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Hockeygrrrl17 at ... wrote:
<SNIP>
>> One thing I have noticed that really annoys me and I see my 
students 
> doing this too is comparing Harry Potter to Twilight. I have read 
both 
> series ( Harry Potter so many times I can practically quote the 
books 
> word for word) , but in my mind there is no comparison. Forgive the 
> terms I use ( I got my degree in Mathematics and not English) , but 
> Harry Potter is so well written where Twilight is not. The whole 
Harry 
> Potter series is centered around the demented relationship between 
> Harry and Voldemort , and each book in the series has it's very 
> interesting sub plot that strenghtens the Harry-Voldemort scenario 
> where the Twilight series lacks the intensity and emotion that 
Harry 
> Potter has in abundance. I also think that the transitions between 
the 
> books in Twilight are poor and Breaking Dawn was a huge 
disappointment 
> ... especially the ending. I think the whole relationship between 
Bella 
> and Edward is boring , annoying and unrealistic. I know there is no 
> such thing as magic=2
> 0, but the way JKR wrote Harry Potter really makes a 
> hidden magical community seem plausible. The way she wrote the 
series 
> is exactly how I fantasized about magic as a kid. I would much 
rather 
> be a witch on my way to a magical education at Hogarts than an 
average 
> girl in a relationship with an immortal adonis. Anyone agree with 
me?
> 
> Kristin
>


Alla:

Oh LOL, Harry Potter v Twilight. Why do we need to compare them in 
the first place?

Ok, if we have to, I will say what I think again. I heard about 
Twilight books here for the first time, I am pretty sure, about how 
much better they were than Harry Potter.

I think that for all her mistakes and imperfections JKR's writing is 
significantly better than Meyer's. 

To me Twilight books are just romance, nothing more than that and 
well, even though I read a plenty of romance genre, I do it to give a 
rest to my brain and no, I do not think Meyer's books make your 
imagination work nearly as much as Harry Potter books are.

Having said it, for romance I liked the first book just fine, no I do 
not think it is good literature, but I think it was an entertaining 
story. I mean at the end of the first book I started hating main 
character and was really hesitant to read second and third. So I went 
ahead and read plot summaries, me is wierd, me likes spoilers :-)

Hm, from the plot summaries alone I run away from second and third 
books screaming :)

If I had read them, I would imagined I would have wanted dear Bella 
dead, and pronto. Why couldn't werevolves eat her if vampires love 
her so much? :)

But I am stupid, I had to read fourth book, I wanted to know how 
phenomena ends. Oh dear, yes I really really REALLY hated that one.

I watched the movie, I liked the movie better than the first book 
even, because I liked how they a little bit downplayed what I 
consider to be Bella's selfishness, obsessiveness and extreme Mary 
Sueshness. Did I mention that I consider her to be an ultimate Mary 
Sue?

I found Meyer's attempts to give her flaws to be well, rather 
laughable. She is clumsy? Oh PLEASE. And she IS beatiful and 
everybody else sees it and she is the most desirable in school. 
Right, she is full of flaws that one.

Having said it, to each their own indeed. Several of my best buddies 
here love these books, couple of my friends in RL, who are all 
extremely intelligent women love them too. They must have seen in the 
books something I do not see.

I remember reading the fourth book when it came out and wanting to 
rant about it for a week.

JMO,

Alla




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Fri Feb 27 16:09:10 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:09:10 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go8v12+inqv@eGroups.com>
References: <8CB66AC8784FEA1-1500-5FC@FWM-M18.sysops.aol.com>
	 <go8v12+inqv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902270809y1951faabi345bd6687abf2849@mail.gmail.com>

Kristin:
> I have read the Sword of Truth series and let me tell you ... The
> Legend of The Seeker is a decent series but does not do the books
> justice ... trust me and give them a try.

Ali:
I'll be honest in that I wasn't ever going to give these books a try.
I don't so much enjoy reading stuff like this (hence my comment that I
wouldn't be reading despite knowing Goodkind to be a good writer).
Straight fantasy epic isn't something that has appealed since I was a
kind and read Journey to the West and all that stuff.  Something about
a TV show and how it's broken up into manageable portions (not how I
read) makes fantasy work for me.  It's probably why I still think Lord
of the Rings is the greatest epic I'll never read.


Kristin:
> One thing I have noticed that really annoys me and I see my students
> doing this too is comparing Harry Potter to Twilight. I have read both
> series ( Harry Potter so many times I can practically quote the books
> word for word) , but in my mind there is no comparison. Forgive the
> terms I use ( I got my degree in Mathematics and not English) , but
> Harry Potter is so well written where Twilight is not.

Ali:
That's a matter of opinion, don't you think?

Is JKR a better writer?  Well, I think the later HP books are very
well-written, but I enjoyed the rougher first few much, much more - in
my opinion, as her writing got better, JKR seemed less in touch with
her story, resulting in my connecting less with it.  Meyers (of the
Twilight series) has a nice flare and balance to her writing that I
think JKR doesn't have - it's that balance between earnest writing and
well-composed writing.

I haven't re-read any of the HP books since I finished book 7.  Do I
regret reading the books?  No.  Think I could live without them?  I
know it's sacrilegious around here, but yes.  I've re-read the Young
Wizards series more times than I can count, and even though I've
stalled at the 2nd book Twilight (that's Breaking Dawn, I think), I
enjoyed the first book immensely and will probably finish the books
this weekend.  Better writing technically?  Meh.  JKR probably does
edge out some of my usual suspects.  But would she make the list of my
usual reads?  Not by a long shot.  There's something about the later
writings of hers that I think is a bit overwrought, a bit too
unwilling to self-edit.  But I will be honest in that many of my often
re-read books aren't about good writing (though none of it is bad) so
much as good characters - it's about connecting with me in a way where
I know what's in the character's head and thus accept the rules of
their world.

Some of my best writing have all been for creative writing classes,
where I know I'll be critiqued and pulled apart and graded.  If you
judge on mere technical merits, it's a great starting point, but is it
where I'd judge writing that I would personally prefer to read.  Not
by a long shot.


Kristin:
> I know there is no such thing as magic, but the way JKR wrote Harry
> Potter really makes a hidden magical community seem plausible.
> The way she wrote the series
> is exactly how I fantasized about magic as a kid. I would much rather
> be a witch on my way to a magical education at Hogarts than an average
> girl in a relationship with an immortal adonis. Anyone agree with me?

Ali:
It's about perspective.  Harry lives in an immersive world with very
little to connect him to the young minds who read the books - you
sound like you teach at an American school, so you should understand
the slight disconnect (in comparison, that is) *your* students would
feel about a kid who goes away to a magical boarding school for most
of the year, whereas Bella and Edward live in the real world - they go
to high school and the prom and play baseball.  I'd rather be the
average girl; at least I have some idea of what I'm heading into
there.  (Besides, the immortal Adonis plays into another cliche most
girls that age can identify with on some level - dating the
bad/popular/unattainable boy and taking a walk on the wild side,
having someone like that be obsessed about you.)

In any case, though, you mentioned something very telling.  HP is how
*you* fantasized about magic as a kid.  It would naturally appeal to
you.  Twilight, however, appeals to a different crowd, a crowd that
grew up with sexy vampires who saves the world and gets the girl - I
call it the Anne Rice phenomena.  :)  It isn't about age so much as
reading choices and what was popular, and while I never read Anne
Rice, I did grow up with the idea of the cool vampire and that was my
introduction to fantasy and magic.

How was magic for me growing up?  Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
Court and Dracula.  HP was a reading fluke, for me - both Twilight and
Young Wizards are more my speed.  :)

~Ali, who did not meant to write a dissertation but is bored at work

PS  Immersive isn't a real word?!?



From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 16:30:38 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:30:38 -0000
Subject: Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902270809y1951faabi345bd6687abf2849@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <go94fe+d6mq@eGroups.com>

Ali:
<HUGE SNIP>
(Besides, the immortal Adonis plays into another cliche most
girls that age can identify with on some level - dating the
bad/popular/unattainable boy and taking a walk on the wild side,
having someone like that be obsessed about you.)
<SNIP>

Alla:

Yes and in my opinion this is the main reason why these books are so 
popular. It IS a sweeping generalization and I do not presume to read 
anybody's minds, but that's how I see it. Not that there is something 
bad with it and as I said, I liked first book up till few pages in 
the end fine enough.

Ali:
In any case, though, you mentioned something very telling. HP is how
*you* fantasized about magic as a kid. It would naturally appeal to
you. Twilight, however, appeals to a different crowd, a crowd that
grew up with sexy vampires who saves the world and gets the girl - I
call it the Anne Rice phenomena. :)

Alla:

I can't wait what you will think about my favorite vampire from 
Dresden files Ali.

But since you mentioned them, I mean Meyer's vampires are really 
really not vampires, no? I mean Cullens, what features do they have 
that one can recognize them as vampires? To me the main appeal of 
vampires had always been you know, taming the monster within, these 
are 
 "vegetarians" that sparkle, lol.

I mean, I know writer has to make creatures of folklore their own, 
but to me they still should be recognizable as having some connection 
with folklore, like JKR did with werewolves for example. I think what 
Meyer did is a mockery of vampires. IMO of course.

Ali:
How was magic for me growing up? Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
Court and Dracula. HP was a reading fluke, for me - both Twilight and
Young Wizards are more my speed. :)

Alla:

Would you mind telling me more about Young wizards series? Thanks





From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 16:35:14 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:35:14 -0000
Subject: Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go94fe+d6mq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go94o2+s329@eGroups.com>

> Ali:
> How was magic for me growing up? Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
> Court and Dracula. HP was a reading fluke, for me - both Twilight and
> Young Wizards are more my speed. :)
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Would you mind telling me more about Young wizards series? Thanks
>


Alla:

Sorry, never mind. I forgot that I read the first four and these are by 
Duane.




From alexisnguyen at gmail.com  Fri Feb 27 17:15:41 2009
From: alexisnguyen at gmail.com (P. Alexis Nguyen)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:15:41 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go94fe+d6mq@eGroups.com>
References: <b6e131bf0902270809y1951faabi345bd6687abf2849@mail.gmail.com>
	 <go94fe+d6mq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <b6e131bf0902270915v1cf73218je03986daaf9ca0f3@mail.gmail.com>

Alla:
> I can't wait what you will think about my favorite vampire from
> Dresden files Ali.

Ali:
I'm placing book orders over lunch.  I'll let you know!  :)



Alla:
> But since you mentioned them, I mean Meyer's vampires are really
> really not vampires, no? I mean Cullens, what features do they have
> that one can recognize them as vampires? To me the main appeal of
> vampires had always been you know, taming the monster within, these
> are ? "vegetarians" that sparkle, lol.

Ali:
Ah yes.  Glitter boy. :)

How does one define vampire?  It's an interesting question, really.
Are they the fallen?  The evil undead?  What's the common thread
between all the "vampire" folklore of the world?  As far as I can
tell, blood.  There's no agreement on whether vampires can transform
into another creature, whether they can tolerate direct sunlight/holy
water/crosses/whatever, whether they can read minds/fly/whatever, or
even whether they are created or born or what.  The only commonality
is that vampires need blood to live, and human blood is best.

The creation of glitter boy definitely verges on the "not quite
vampire" thing, but hey, can't say that Meyers didn't make things her
own.



Alla:
> I mean, I know writer has to make creatures of folklore their own,
> but to me they still should be recognizable as having some connection
> with folklore, like JKR did with werewolves for example. I think what
> Meyer did is a mockery of vampires. IMO of course.

Ali:
Mockery?  You'd be more lax if you sat in on the "vampires,
werewolves, and zombies" (which I liked to call "zombies and other
stuff") panel at NYC Comic-Con this year.  The single guy there who
wrote about vampires didn't know the mythology at all, didn't seem to
care, and I do believe his vampires were thus due to a virus from
outer space or something.  It wasn't terribly exciting, trust me, and
I promised to be more tolerant of anyone who at least acknowledges the
vampire mythos in their books (which Meyers does, even if she doesn't
quite go with it).

Really, though, I'm generally just more accepting when I can latch
onto what I consider the definitive trait of the myth.  Vampires drink
blood, werewolves are people who transform into wolves or wolf-like
creatures (whether by will, forced by moonlight, or whatever), etc.
As long as the single defining characteristic is there, I'm not too
stuck on it (but again, glitter boy did push it).  It's more important
to me that the author has first conveyed that he has some of the
knowledge of the mythos that he's twisting into the image of his
choosing.

I'm much pickier about "real" people and the solving mysteries.  :)

~Ali



From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 19:15:40 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:15:40 -0000
Subject: Twilight (SPOILERS) v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <b6e131bf0902270915v1cf73218je03986daaf9ca0f3@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <go9e4s+e7qj@eGroups.com>

> Alla:
> > But since you mentioned them, I mean Meyer's vampires are really
> > really not vampires, no? I mean Cullens, what features do they 
have
> > that one can recognize them as vampires? To me the main appeal of
> > vampires had always been you know, taming the monster within, 
these
> > are 
 "vegetarians" that sparkle, lol.
> 
> Ali:
> Ah yes.  Glitter boy. :)
> 
> How does one define vampire?  It's an interesting question, really.
> Are they the fallen?  The evil undead?  What's the common thread
> between all the "vampire" folklore of the world?  As far as I can
> tell, blood.  There's no agreement on whether vampires can transform
> into another creature, whether they can tolerate direct 
sunlight/holy
> water/crosses/whatever, whether they can read minds/fly/whatever, or
> even whether they are created or born or what.  The only commonality
> is that vampires need blood to live, and human blood is best.
> 
> The creation of glitter boy definitely verges on the "not quite
> vampire" thing, but hey, can't say that Meyers didn't make things 
her
> own.


Alla:

Oh, I don't know. To me the fact that vampires do not have souls is 
also significant and yes, I know about Angel and Spike, but still 
their situations were exceptions, not the rule, no?

And yes I agree that writers may not agree about a lot of things, but 
to me the thing in common is that vampires are always monsters and 
even the ones whom we know as good guys always struggle with taming 
the monster within.

I have not noticed much erm... struggle in Cullens. I mean, was the 
fact that they hunt animals supposed to count as such? But then, at 
least in the book I read I have not noticed them really WANTING to 
drink human blood. Yes, Bella's smell excited Edward, but did he want 
her blood? I do not remember, I could be wrong.

And of course we have Bella's attitude and that is why while I liked 
the first book at the end I wanted to strangle her.

It just felt so wierd to me that the twit wanted to become a monster, 
instead of say wanting her boyfriend to become human, you know?

But of course in Meyer's verse it is not wierd at all, because 
vampires are so much better than humans and they ALL have souls 
(Cullens) and I understand, but I cannot call them vampires, I do not 
think.

 
> 
> 
> Alla:
> > I mean, I know writer has to make creatures of folklore their own,
> > but to me they still should be recognizable as having some 
connection
> > with folklore, like JKR did with werewolves for example. I think 
what
> > Meyer did is a mockery of vampires. IMO of course.
> 
> Ali:
> Mockery?  You'd be more lax if you sat in on the "vampires,
> werewolves, and zombies" (which I liked to call "zombies and other
> stuff") panel at NYC Comic-Con this year.  The single guy there who
> wrote about vampires didn't know the mythology at all, didn't seem 
to
> care, and I do believe his vampires were thus due to a virus from
> outer space or something.  It wasn't terribly exciting, trust me, 
and
> I promised to be more tolerant of anyone who at least acknowledges 
the
> vampire mythos in their books (which Meyers does, even if she 
doesn't
> quite go with it).
<SNIP>

Alla:

LOL. Yes, that sounds pretty bad, however we differ as to how well 
Meyer acknowledged the mythology even if she definitely acknowledged 
more than this guy, it seems.

JMO,

Alla




From zanooda2 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 21:14:10 2009
From: zanooda2 at yahoo.com (zanooda2)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:14:10 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <go7uvk+9to7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9l32+s7a4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "kempermentor"
<kempermentor at ...> wrote:

> If they have just apparated from another mass of trees to this 'fresh'
> mass, then I would say 'new' though 'another' is probably more
> accurate yet more dull to the ear... 


zanooda:

Well, they didn't Apparate from another forest, but from some kind of
hillside. They actually moved to the Forest of Dean because they
wanted a spot more sheltered from the wind. OTOH, I suppose there were
at least *some* trees on that hillside :-). Anyway, thank you very
much, and to everyone who answered, I appreciate it :-).




From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Fri Feb 27 21:45:27 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:45:27 -0000
Subject: Twilight (SPOILERS) v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go9e4s+e7qj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9mtn+k12n@eGroups.com>

Alla:
> > > But since you mentioned them, I mean Meyer's vampires are really
> > > really not vampires, no? I mean Cullens, what features do they 
> > > have that one can recognize them as vampires? To me the main 
> > > appeal of vampires had always been you know, taming the monster 
> > > within, these are 
 "vegetarians" that sparkle, lol.

Ali:
> > The creation of glitter boy definitely verges on the "not quite
> > vampire" thing, but hey, can't say that Meyers didn't make things 
> > her own.

Alla:
> And yes I agree that writers may not agree about a lot of things, 
> but to me the thing in common is that vampires are always monsters 
> and even the ones whom we know as good guys always struggle with 
> taming the monster within.
> 
> I have not noticed much erm... struggle in Cullens. I mean, was the 
> fact that they hunt animals supposed to count as such? But then, at 
> least in the book I read I have not noticed them really WANTING to 
> drink human blood. Yes, Bella's smell excited Edward, but did he 
> want her blood? I do not remember, I could be wrong.

SSSusan:
Well, truthfully, I think this is where having given a pass to books 
2 & 3 might make a difference in how you view this issue.  I do think 
it was made clear in the books that at least some of the Cullens -- 
most particularly Jasper -- had a big-time struggle.

I mean, you're right that we don't see a whole lot of it.  If Meyer 
had decided to show us the story of each of the Cullen kids as they 
first joined the clan, then we might have seen more of that.  
Understandably, I think, she did not provide those backstories, and 
by the time we meet the Cullens, most of them have had a good long 
period of time to get their cravings in check.

FWIW, I do think the movie did a decent job of showing Edward 
struggling against his blood lust when Bella was attacked by James.


Alla:
> It just felt so wierd to me that the twit wanted to become a 
> monster, instead of say wanting her boyfriend to become human, you 
> know?

SSSusan:
Except, this wasn't a possibility in the world she created -- Edward 
becoming human.  I can see Bella's interest in joining their world.  
The Cullens were "civilized," of course, so I'm sure that made the 
possibility all the more attractive... as did the romantic notion 
of "forever."

Also, just one general comment on the topic of JKR vs. SM in writing 
ability.  I am TOTALLY in the camp that JKR is a much better writer.  
Meyer did a decent enough job, but I have almost NO desire to pick 
the books back up, which isn't the case at all for me with HP.  
Besides, JKR's use of HUMOR far surpasses Meyer's, imho.

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From kempermentor at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 22:38:30 2009
From: kempermentor at yahoo.com (kempermentor)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:38:30 -0000
Subject: Twilight (SPOILERS) v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go9mtn+k12n@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9q16+om10@eGroups.com>

> SSSusan:
> FWIW, I do think the movie did a decent job of showing Edward 
> struggling against his blood lust when Bella was attacked by James.

Kemper now:
I have not read the books, but the wife is hoping I start so we can
talk about it.  Gotta love a fangirl!
She told me of a scene where Bella gets a paper cut at the vampire
house and everybody goes ape dooky.  I asked why the vampires didn't
lose it at a high school where there would be more than a few girls
menstruating in every class.  She said "yeah... it's not well thought
out, but it's fun!"   Vampires are my first love in unreal fiction,
and I fear to read a watered down version.  The wife said I should
start with the first 200+ pages of Midnight Sun which is from Edward's
perspective.  (It was the book that was leaked online, but you can
find a pdf at SM's website; she took back the night.)  I liked what
she's told me about that which is very little, just Edward's first
response to her walking into class.  Has anyone read this?  I would
like other opinions.  She tried to get me to read that Diary book
awhile back (not Anne Frank, the not quite funnier one).  I couldn't
get past the first couple of chapters.

My wife likes the Twilight series because she liked the horrible
girl-books growing up.  An example of one is twin girls in high
school.  One good, one bad.  The bad one sneaks out in the middle of
the night to meet and make out with the bad guy.  And the guy tries to
go for a little under the shirt action, and the
bad-but-apparently-not-naughty twin runs back home crying that he
would do such a thing.
wtf.  What kind of message that send?!?  The wife knows they sucked
now, but she liked them growing up.  

I wonder if my wife's reaction is similar to others who've read and
liked the books.  And if so, perhaps it is cultural (America
born/reared)... or did these types of series/stories pop up in other
English speaking cultures?  Did/do they exist in non-English speaking
cultures? 

Kemper





From jkoney65 at yahoo.com  Fri Feb 27 22:58:17 2009
From: jkoney65 at yahoo.com (jkoney65)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:58:17 -0000
Subject: Twilight (SPOILERS) v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go9q16+om10@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9r69+h9vb@eGroups.com>

jkoney:
Kemper don't do it.

A friend's wife told me she had a good series of books to read and 
they were about vampires. I agreed because I like fantasy, sci-fi, 
etc.

It took me all day to read 200 pages of the book. You end up in the 
mind of an insecure teenage girl. 

It's interesting in the way a car wreck is as you pass it by.

I know the book(s) are popular, but to me the writing was almost as 
bad as the plot. I would not recommend it to any guy.

This is not vampires as in Dracula but more of a vampire lite.

jkoney, who hopes he didn't offend anyone, but whose new version of 
hell not only has him getting up early to go jogging, but also 
reading this book at the same time. ;-)


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "kempermentor" 
<kempermentor at ...> wrote:
>
> > SSSusan:
> > FWIW, I do think the movie did a decent job of showing Edward 
> > struggling against his blood lust when Bella was attacked by 
James.
> 
> Kemper now:
> I have not read the books, but the wife is hoping I start so we can
> talk about it.  Gotta love a fangirl!
> She told me of a scene where Bella gets a paper cut at the vampire
> house and everybody goes ape dooky.  I asked why the vampires didn't
> lose it at a high school where there would be more than a few girls
> menstruating in every class.  She said "yeah... it's not well 
thought
> out, but it's fun!"   Vampires are my first love in unreal fiction,
> and I fear to read a watered down version.  The wife said I should
> start with the first 200+ pages of Midnight Sun which is from 
Edward's
> perspective.  (It was the book that was leaked online, but you can
> find a pdf at SM's website; she took back the night.)  I liked what
> she's told me about that which is very little, just Edward's first
> response to her walking into class.  Has anyone read this?  I would
> like other opinions.  She tried to get me to read that Diary book
> awhile back (not Anne Frank, the not quite funnier one).  I couldn't
> get past the first couple of chapters.
> 
> My wife likes the Twilight series because she liked the horrible
> girl-books growing up.  An example of one is twin girls in high
> school.  One good, one bad.  The bad one sneaks out in the middle of
> the night to meet and make out with the bad guy.  And the guy tries 
to
> go for a little under the shirt action, and the
> bad-but-apparently-not-naughty twin runs back home crying that he
> would do such a thing.
> wtf.  What kind of message that send?!?  The wife knows they sucked
> now, but she liked them growing up.  
> 
> I wonder if my wife's reaction is similar to others who've read and
> liked the books.  And if so, perhaps it is cultural (America
> born/reared)... or did these types of series/stories pop up in other
> English speaking cultures?  Did/do they exist in non-English 
speaking
> cultures? 
> 
> Kemper
>





From susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net  Fri Feb 27 23:23:58 2009
From: susiequsie23 at sbcglobal.net (cubfanbudwoman)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:23:58 -0000
Subject: Twilight (SPOILERS) v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents
In-Reply-To: <go9q16+om10@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9sme+d8h3@eGroups.com>

SSSusan:
> > FWIW, I do think the movie did a decent job of showing Edward 
> > struggling against his blood lust when Bella was attacked by 
> > James.
 
Kemper now:
> I have not read the books, but the wife is hoping I start so we can
> talk about it.  Gotta love a fangirl!
> She told me of a scene where Bella gets a paper cut at the vampire
> house and everybody goes ape dooky.

SSSusan:
"Ape dooky"?  I knew there was a reason I love you, Kemper! ;)


Kemper:
> I asked why the vampires didn't lose it at a high school where 
> there would be more than a few girls menstruating in every class.  

SSSusan:
YES!!  I asked the same thing of my daughter & a couple of my friends 
who've read the books.  Now, we know JKR has trouble with her maths 
and has had an occasional inconsistency problem <w> across her seven-
book series, but this is a great example of something that's so 
freaking obvious but isn't addressed in the books by Meyer.  

And yet...

Kemper:
> She said "yeah... it's not well thought out, but it's fun!"   

SSSusan:
This is just it.  For some, the series it TORTURE -- they hate the 
obsessive love, they see real unhealthiness in the Bella-Edward 
relationship -- but for others, it's pure escapism and can really tap 
into that "Ah, romance!!" side of us.  Parts of it are damn good 
adventure, too.


Kemper:
> Vampires are my first love in unreal fiction, and I fear to read a 
> watered down version.  The wife said I should start with the first 
> 200+ pages of Midnight Sun which is from Edward's perspective.  (

SSSusan:
I've gone to the site to see her remarks about this, but I have only 
read the first couple of pages of it.  I have to wonder about reading 
that first, given that SM herself has reservations about its 
unpolished state.  Still, if the wife said you should start there, 
she oughta know.


Kemper:
> My wife likes the Twilight series because she liked the horrible
> girl-books growing up.  An example of one is twin girls in high
> school.  One good, one bad.  The bad one sneaks out in the middle of
> the night to meet and make out with the bad guy.  And the guy tries 
> to go for a little under the shirt action, and the bad-but-
> apparently-not-naughty twin runs back home crying that he would do 
> such a thing. wtf.  What kind of message that send?!?  The wife 
> knows they sucked now, but she liked them growing up.  

SSSusan:
See, this is the most legitimate criticism I've heard of the Twilight 
books -- that whole "WTF?!? What kind of message are they sending?" 
thing.  I guess, just be forewarned if you do read them, that this 
may bug the crap out of you.

Siriusly Snapey Susan





From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Fri Feb 27 23:33:23 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:33:23 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <go9l32+s7a4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <go9t83+9o48@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "zanooda2" <zanooda2 at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "kempermentor"
> <kempermentor@> wrote:
> 
> > If they have just apparated from another mass of trees to this 'fresh'
> > mass, then I would say 'new' though 'another' is probably more
> > accurate yet more dull to the ear... 
> 
> 
> zanooda:
> 
> Well, they didn't Apparate from another forest, but from some kind of
> hillside. They actually moved to the Forest of Dean because they
> wanted a spot more sheltered from the wind. OTOH, I suppose there were
> at least *some* trees on that hillside :-). Anyway, thank you very
> much, and to everyone who answered, I appreciate it :-).

Geoff:
You  need to remember that this "Forest" uses the word in the alternative 
sense of a royal hunting ground and is not a densely wooded area but has 
quite a lot of open country as well. So they presumably knew which parts 
of the area they needed to Apparate to if they were seeking shelter.

The same is true of the New Forest in the southern coastal county of 
Hampshire and Exmoor Forest, close to my home which has very little in 
the way of wooded areas at all which is a little confusing, nicht war?






From dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com  Sat Feb 28 16:59:08 2009
From: dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com (dumbledore11214)
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:59:08 -0000
Subject: Twilight (HUGE SPOILERS - do not read if did not read book 4) v Harry Potter
In-Reply-To: <go9sme+d8h3@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gobqgs+lrp1@eGroups.com>

SSSusan:
Well, truthfully, I think this is where having given a pass to books
2 & 3 might make a difference in how you view this issue. I do think
it was made clear in the books that at least some of the Cullens --
most particularly Jasper -- had a big-time struggle.

I mean, you're right that we don't see a whole lot of it. If Meyer
had decided to show us the story of each of the Cullen kids as they
first joined the clan, then we might have seen more of that.
Understandably, I think, she did not provide those backstories, and
by the time we meet the Cullens, most of them have had a good long
period of time to get their cravings in check.


Alla:

Maybe I will end up ordering books 2 and 3 in the library, goodness 
knows these are books I can wait for lol, however, read along, maybe 
it will become clearer why I am so hesitant to do so and this issue 
is pretty much an aside, not the most important one why I dislike 
them.

SSSusan:
FWIW, I do think the movie did a decent job of showing Edward
struggling against his blood lust when Bella was attacked by James.


Alla:

LOL, seriously, if you would not tell me, I would have never guessed 
that this is what it was. I am being absolutely serious here ? I 
remember this moment well and I remember that my reaction was that he 
is struggling with his rage, with his desire to kill James pronto, 
never had it entered my mind that he is struggling with blood lust, 
but you could be right of course.

Do not get me wrong, I think movie did a VERY good job. I will be 
forever thankful for downplaying Bella's obsessive ness, AND for 
actually trying to make some sort of plot happening. For trying to 
bring bad vampires in early, etc,etc.

Alla:
> It just felt so wierd to me that the twit wanted to become a
> monster, instead of say wanting her boyfriend to become human, you
> know?

SSSusan:
Except, this wasn't a possibility in the world she created -- Edward
becoming human. I can see Bella's interest in joining their world.
The Cullens were "civilized," of course, so I'm sure that made the
possibility all the more attractive... as did the romantic notion
of "forever."

Alla:

Yes, I know that this is not a possibility, that was sort of my 
point, heh.

SSSusan:
This is just it. For some, the series it TORTURE -- they hate the
obsessive love, they see real unhealthiness in the Bella-Edward
relationship -- but for others, it's pure escapism and can really tap
into that "Ah, romance!!" side of us. Parts of it are damn good
adventure, too.

Alla:

Hm, I hope you do not mind if I will ask couple more questions. Oh 
and yes, totally ? Ah romance is as good reason as any to enjoy the 
book.

And really again, I enjoyed romance in book 1 up till very end. But 
the question I want to ask is about good adventure. Um, which part is 
a good adventure, could you tell me please?

No, actually let me rephrase, where is an adventure, period? Besides 
of course falling in love with vampire thing, because see part of my 
dislike of the books is that, well, as far as I am concerned nothing 
really happens in them.

Okay, I read book 1, right? So what is happening there besides Bella 
falling in love with Edward and vice versa? Where is the plot?

I do like romance, but I guess I prefer my romance to be served with 
something else ? be it mystery, adventure or whatever. It is of 
course purely subjective opinion of the plot, nothing about merits of 
the book as literary creation. In fact, the fact that she made me 
enjoy the book where nothing happens, and still wrote a tale I wanted 
to keep turning pages, well tells me that she CAN write something.

See below though about people hating obsessive love and unhealthiness 
of their relationship.


Kemper:
> My wife likes the Twilight series because she liked the horrible
> girl-books growing up. An example of one is twin girls in high
> school. One good, one bad. The bad one sneaks out in the middle of
> the night to meet and make out with the bad guy. And the guy tries
> to go for a little under the shirt action, and the bad-but-
> apparently-not-naughty twin runs back home crying that he would do
> such a thing. wtf. What kind of message that send?!? The wife
> knows they sucked now, but she liked them growing up.

SSSusan:
See, this is the most legitimate criticism I've heard of the Twilight
books -- that whole "WTF?!? What kind of message are they sending?"
thing. I guess, just be forewarned if you do read them, that this
may bug the crap out of you.

Alla:

See I have very little understanding and patience for the criticism 
of the writer ? what kind of message the writer sends, always did. I 
am not disputing  anybody's right to offer such criticism, but I 
usually (for the most part) turn a deaf ear to the criticism of such 
variety.

I mean if one is saying I do not LIKE what I think author is trying 
to say in the story, it is one thing to me, believe me I did not LIKE 
a lot of things in there, but when the criticism is that author sends 
bad message, I always want to say that I do not read fiction for 
messages, I will go read a newspaper, or I can always listen to the 
speeches of the politicians ? plenty of messages there.

I guess I just do not think that the messages that author sends 
necessary have something to do with the merits of the story, you know?

Horrible story can send good messages and vice versa IMO. For 
example, I did not watch Sopranos except couple of episodes, so I 
maybe wrong, but I have not noticed that the authors condemn the life 
of organized crime much, but from what I understand it was very well 
done and entertaining show, not my cup of tea, but well done.

However, I certainly watched some other similar shows (there was a 
famous series called Brigada on Russian TV) several years ago for 
example, which literally talked about how great those guys are who 
are killers and do other bad things, and how bad law enforcement is. 
If you ask me the message is horrific, but the show was still very 
good IMO. 

So,  when for example people are saying that story is bad because it 
encourages young girls to get married early and have babies, I always 
want to say to these people that if your teenage daughter will want 
to model her life after the fictional heroine who is in love with 
vampire, I think you have a bigger problem that you may realize.

What I am trying to say is that I am looking the same way at any 
other supposedly harmful messages that story sends. It is fiction, as 
far as I am concerned  teenagers should be able to differentiate 
between fiction and real life.

So, believe me I have no criticism of the story from the angle of 
supposed bad messages it sends. However, HOWEVER, I find the main 
heroine completely, completely, completely unlikable because of what 
she does and yes, that is probably the main reason why I could not 
stomach book 2 and 3 and I do not know if I will be able to.

I mean,  I guess it is related to sending message thing, but I still 
do not think that it is the same thing. Because I am saying that I do 
not LIKE Bella being so hung up on Edward and having nothing else in 
her life to occupy herself with, I am saying that I do not LIKE her 
(from what I understand) wanting to die when he supposedly leaves 
her. It is not a message, it is just I would not want to know Bella 
and be her friend, you know? And then yes, it becomes a pretty 
painful thing to be in her head.

And do not get me started on her ? I love Edward, but would not ever 
left poor Jacob go in book 4. I do not know if I can stomach the 
whole thing in book 3, I really don't. I found it pretty disgusting. 
And yes, I know, that was her daughter screaming for Jacob. Ewwwww, 
just ewwwww if you ask me. Jacob choosing a newborn for a future mate 
alone would be enough for me to hate the book 4 for this twist alone, 
you know?

Okay, it got very long, sorry, I just wanted to make it clearer why I 
feel that way.





From willsonkmom at msn.com  Sat Feb 28 20:13:20 2009
From: willsonkmom at msn.com (potioncat)
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:13:20 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <go9t83+9o48@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <goc5t0+op74@eGroups.com>

 
> Geoff:
> You  need to remember that this "Forest" uses the word in the 
alternative 
> sense of a royal hunting ground and is not a densely wooded area but 
has 
> quite a lot of open country as well. 

Potioncat:
Tell us more. What does Forest of Dean conjure in the mind of a Brit? 
Is it a place of legends? Does it have a particular reputation or fame? 
Is it really not a deep forest?

I read a book not long ago that took place in and near the Forest of 
Dean. Mention was made of abandoned mines, and of pools of water formed 
from old quarries. No one showed up to place or remove an old sword, 
though, and there were no deer, silvery or otherwise. 




From gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk  Sat Feb 28 22:29:34 2009
From: gbannister10 at tiscali.co.uk (Geoff Bannister)
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:29:34 -0000
Subject: "Fresh" Forest of Dean.
In-Reply-To: <goc5t0+op74@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <gocdse+feii@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at ...> wrote:
>
>  
> > Geoff:
> > You  need to remember that this "Forest" uses the word in the 
> alternative 
> > sense of a royal hunting ground and is not a densely wooded area but 
> has 
> > quite a lot of open country as well. 
> 
> Potioncat:
> Tell us more. What does Forest of Dean conjure in the mind of a Brit? 
> Is it a place of legends? Does it have a particular reputation or fame? 
> Is it really not a deep forest?
> 
> I read a book not long ago that took place in and near the Forest of 
> Dean. Mention was made of abandoned mines, and of pools of water formed 
> from old quarries. No one showed up to place or remove an old sword, 
> though, and there were no deer, silvery or otherwise.

Geoff:
As I said, it is one of the old "Forests" so named because they were royal 
hunting areas which are often more heathland and open grassland than 
woodland, especially land which can support deer.

The ones which spring most readily to mind for me are the New Forest, 
which lies just north-west of Southampton, famous because William II 
the second Norman king was killed by an arrow when hunting here; this 
is commemorated by the Rufus Stone, Sherwood Forest, in the East 
Midlands near Nottingham, noted for Robin Hood; Ashdown Forest in 
Sussex north of Brighton and famed for Winnie-the-Pooh. Exmoor 
Forest, a few miles west of where I live. The Forest of Bowland on the 
borders of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The Forest of Dean is a quite sparsely populated area, unusually for 
English areas lying on the West (Welsh) side of the River Severn between 
Gloucester on to the east and the Welsh toen of Monmouth on its west. 
It has seen mining and quarrying in the past and includes beauty 
spots like Symonds Yat within its bounds. Then there are Royal Forests 
on the edge of London such as Epping and Waltham in the North-east. 
But, if you investigate, you will find that tere was a list as long as your 
arm of places so designated.

If you want to go further, try looking up "Royal Forest" in Wikipedia....