[HPforGrownUps] Potterisms 1.03

[Stephanie Becvar]

No: HPFGUIDX 7139

I didnt know if any of you had read these, but i thought they were 
funny....and also, JK Rowling lost to Bush by 23 votes in the Time for Kids 
poll, "Person of the Year"


Potterisms list - Version 1.03 - please send me any you hear about

1.00
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At a recent Siemens development meeting, one project was called "one for the 
Dementors," a reference to the guards of a prison for errant wizards, 
because of the frightening costs involved.

And at computer software giants Microsoft, employees who don't have the 
vision to go for daring new concepts are labelled "Muggles", or non-wizards, 
the Daily Record says.
Office creeps are getting the nickname Draco Malfoy, after Harry Potter's 
arch-rival.

In France ATMs are now being called Las Gringotts

1.01
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Whenever someone does something really stupid, I've been known to say "Oh 
gawd, someone Avada Kedavra me now."  - Tempesta

1.02
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I've heard a mean teacher referred to as " a real Snape" - Jess

Amy Lyn Gerbrandt, a 29-year-old graduate student in comparative literature 
at the University of California at Davis, was recently at a conference in 
Helsinki, where a professor was explaining that scholars should avoid 
letting modern ideas of right and wrong cloud their judgement of historical 
events. A friend leaned over during the
lecture and wrote "pensieve" in Ms. Gerbrandt's notebook.

Some adults have found that they had better use Potterisms with caution. 
After lunch at Denver's Hops Brewery one Sunday, Mary Susan Powers stood to 
lift her one-year-old daughter out of her highchair, and nearly knocked over 
a glass of iced tea. Her husband, Steve Burton, called her "so much a 
Neville Longbottom," after Harry Potter's klutzy
friend. "She snapped back, "When you know Neville's story, you'll feel 
sorry. So back off."

The next day, Mr. Burton finished book four on his lunch break at the 
janitorial company he owns. He read that Neville's awkwardness stems from 
the tragic fate his parents met in their heroic efforts against the Dark 
Arts. He felt guilty and apologized to his wife.

Potterisms also can backfire if delivered to the wrong crowd. Wendy Frank, 
who works for a New York construction company, was late for a meeting in 
mid-town Manhattan because she couldn't find one dead-end street. "it's just 
like platform 9 3/4," she explained to blank looks from the executives she 
was visiting.

The Potter books have given parents new tools for scolding their kids. "What 
do you think this is, a Quidditch match?" yelled New Yorker David Rosenthal 
at his seven-year-old son, who was tearing around the family's Brooklyn 
brownstone.

Barbara Marcus, a senior executive at Scholastic Corp, wasn't having any 
luck getting her six-year-old daughter to return a pen that wasn't hers. 
"Expelliarmus," came a cry behind the bedroom door as Ms. Marcus' husband, 
Michael Pollack, entered the fray. By invoking the Potter spell that makes 
people drop what they're holding, Mr. Pollack persuaded their daughter to 
give up the pen.

Another Potter spell helps Kris Chadderton, a 21-year-old music major at 
Swarthmore College, "any time I'm under pressure," she says. Before her 
piano recitals, she paces the halls and mutters a special spell that wards 
off dementors: "Expecto patronum, expecto patronum."

Harry Potter works like a charm for Amy Cohen, helping the 42-year-old New 
Yorker find dates. In July, she posted a personal ad on several web sites 
and at a Manhattan coffee shop. She described herself - then added - "I 
idolize Harry Potter."

Replies flooded in and she is now exchanging e-mail with five men who litter 
their messages with Potterisms. One suggested a Quidditch match for their 
first date. "It's funny what it's doing for my social life," Ms. Cohen says. 
"They're good people, Harry Potter people."

1.03
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We went to the Toronto Zoo last summer and every time the kids whined or 
knocked on cages we said "Don't be a Dudley". -  Jane

My mother went to a train station about a year ago, and the platform she was 
looking for (platform 10 IIRC) was being worked on, and therefore hidden by 
scaffolding and plastic sheets.

Passing platform 9, she went straight to platform 11. She suggested to a man 
who looked equally confused that they walk through the ticket barrier.  
Fortunately, the man was also a HP fan.

Stephanie



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