From puduhepa98 at aol.com Tue May 14 04:07:29 2013 From: puduhepa98 at aol.com (nikkalmati) Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 04:07:29 -0000 Subject: Chapter Discussion: Twenty, Goblet of Fire: The First Task In-Reply-To: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192362 > 1. Every Champion was warned about the Dragons by their Elders, and Harry took > care of Cedric. Did you think that cheating make the task less interesting/exciting or not? Why? Nikkalmati It was a chance for Harry to show his sense of fair play and to establish a bond between Harry and Cedric. I don't think it took away any of the excitement because we knew all the champions were aware of the task and we could watch how each one handeled the anticipation. Nikkalmati > > 2. When I was rereading this chapter I was reminded about how Fleur looked so > much less confident and prepared than other Champions. Granted I have not reread > the other Tasks for a while, but I seem to remember that she was always the > least competent and prepared competitor. Do you think it was because she was a > young woman or not? Nikkalmati I am not sure she looked less compitent. I don't think she was the best prepared, but she was in the mix, so to speak. Nikkalmati > > 3. What did you think about Harry's reaction to Ron's apology? > Nikkalmati It seemed very like a boy of Harry's age. He would not want a scene. He also wanted to make it easy for Ron to make up without being embarassed. Nikkalmati > 4. I thought this chapter had some of the funniest lines in the book. Which were > your favorites? > >> Nikkalmati Well, I did like it when he gave Rita Skeeter a word - "Good bye" Nikkalmati From oriondruid at gmail.com Fri May 31 14:59:06 2013 From: oriondruid at gmail.com (John) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 14:59:06 -0000 Subject: New member intro. Hi all! :o) Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192363 Hi everyone, I just joined this group. I'm called John and I am an adult Harry Potter fan and also a fan fiction writer within and other genres such as The Hunger Games, which is another of my obsessions. I am perhaps one of the older people to be interested in these books as I will be sixty in a couple of months time, but it is nice to be able to communicate with other adults are also interested in JKR's amazing creation, hence my interest in joining this group. I am also in direct contact via PM on a major fan fiction site with some other older HP fan writers several of whom are superb at what they do, but have found that there are also a great many other far younger writers who also pen excellent stories, some of whom I also correspond with from time to time. I'm a bit odd in that whilst I love to read mostly very 'canon' true to the original text amateur stories when I write I can get some very non canon ideas and indeed sometimes indulge in flights of fancy that are a bit 'bonkers'. :o) Most of my HP based tales however are set in my own post war 'version' of the Wizarding World, as I see it developing between the final battle and the Epilogue, which is a chunk of time large enough and vaguely defined enough to give a writer 'imagination room'. It has been a while since I indulged my taste for message boards, and those I previously regularly posted on were of a different nature (see my email name for a clue). I stopped visiting these as I became unhappy about the factionalism, egoism and 'internal politics' that began to occur far too often and have been 'keeping my own counsel' and staying out of the online Druidic and Pagan scene for a while now. However here this kind of thing is, I hope, very unlikely to occur, so I thought that having an interest in the subject matter I'd sign up and say hello. By the way, just for info I'm a Brit, so half the 'spelling errors' I may make aren't really, they're just UK English so don't be surprised to see words ending in ise instead of ize and things such as colour rather than color appearing in my ramblings. ;o) I refuse to bow to the tyranny of US English spell checker software and stubbornly 'stick to my guns', leaving all the red underlined words exactly as they were intended! :o) Many Blessings All. John, (Oriondruid). From oriondruid at gmail.com Fri May 31 17:00:59 2013 From: oriondruid at gmail.com (John) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 17:00:59 -0000 Subject: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192364 > Geoff: > > > Shouldn't be since they were written in UK English originally.. > > > > > > > > > Glad to hear from another UK resident; whereabouts are you? > > AJM: > > I live in Yelverton, Devon - about 10 miles from Plymouth. I'm > > actually quite surprised there aren't more UK fans on the list, > > especially as the books were written in the UK. > > Geoff: > I suspect it's because the fanfic group probably caught on more > rapidly over there in the US. > > We're not a million miles apart - I'm in Minehead; I've been on the > group raising (hopefully) interesting questions and thoughts about > all matters Potter since 2003. Hi All. I'm another Brit, who has just joined this group. Glad to see I'm not the only bloke from our 'quaint little island' here.;o) Hi to Geoff and Andy. I'm currently resident in SE London, but hoping to escape into civilisation again soon, as I was previously a Canterbury resident and hoping to become one again. I too have both versions of the audiobooks and I know which I certainly prefer, the one in the original language. I'm a fan of the amazing 'polymath' Stephen Fry anyway, so perhaps a bit biased I'll admit. Being an admirer of many American authors and as a fanfiction.net member I'm fully used to the Americanisms often present in US fan fiction set in the British Wizarding World. Nevertheless I was very disappointed that the books and resultant audiobooks had been so 'mucked about with' by Scholastic, something which as far as I know didn't happen in either Canadian or Australian versions. I feel that the 'alterations' whilst perhaps making comprehension of meanings easier for young American readers is actually a bit condescending. It almost amounts to saying 'You're not intelligent enough to work this out sweety'. :o( C'mon, kids these days are so savvy about things and if they are confused by a UK English words or phrases, like say jumper or car park they are perfectly capable of looking it up online, and by so doing will actually learn something useful about life and language in the UK. As to adding actual American 'substitutions', such as switching sidewalk for pavement that is just absurd! Why not simply relocate the whole story to New England, modify the plotline, characterisation and dialogue accordingly and get it over with? ;o) If I write a story set in the US, and I have, then I take as much care as I can to use appropriate wording as far as is possible within my knowledge of the language and culture, for instance I would not use tap instead of faucet, I would not use till instead of register or car park instead of parking lot, etc. etc. I see this as common courtesy to the country and people I am writing about and also plain common sense. Apparently Scholastic do not agree. :o( By the way, as I said in my intro post when I joined earlier today, I will continue to use UK English expressions and spelling when posting here, despite what all the little red lines beneath my 'misspellings' try and force me to do. :o) I trust that everyone here, be they American, Brit or from wherever is quite capable of working out my meaning from the context and if not then try asking your kids, they might just surprise you with their grasp of 'Britspeak'. :o) Many Blessings All. John,(Oriondruid) From k12listmomma at comcast.net Fri May 31 17:49:14 2013 From: k12listmomma at comcast.net (Shelley) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 11:49:14 -0600 Subject: [HPforGrownups] Re: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <51A8E29A.5010309@comcast.net> No: HPFGUIDX 192365 On 5/31/2013 11:00 AM, John wrote: > > > > >> Geoff: >>>> Shouldn't be since they were written in UK English originally.. >>>> >>>> >>>> Glad to hear from another UK resident; whereabouts are you? >> AJM: >>> I live in Yelverton, Devon - about 10 miles from Plymouth. I'm >>> actually quite surprised there aren't more UK fans on the list, >>> especially as the books were written in the UK. >> Geoff: >> I suspect it's because the fanfic group probably caught on more >> rapidly over there in the US. >> >> We're not a million miles apart - I'm in Minehead; I've been on the >> group raising (hopefully) interesting questions and thoughts about >> all matters Potter since 2003. > > Hi All. > > I'm another Brit, who has just joined this group. Glad to see I'm not the only bloke from our 'quaint little island' here.;o) > > ... > Being an admirer of many American authors and as a fanfiction.net member I'm fully used to the Americanisms often present in US fan fiction set in the British Wizarding World. Nevertheless I was very disappointed that the books and resultant audiobooks had been so 'mucked about with' by Scholastic, something which as far as I know didn't happen in either Canadian or Australian versions. > > I feel that the 'alterations' whilst perhaps making comprehension of meanings easier for young American readers is actually a bit condescending. It almost amounts to saying 'You're not intelligent enough to work this out sweety'. :o( Many of us here in America agree with you- it would have been nice to read a British novel in Brit-speak, rather than have it Americanized. It would have felt more authentic to have Harry put on his trainers. But I suspect the move was one of politics- changing the words makes them "not the same exact book", meaning that both sides of the pond would gain additional sales from people wanting both versions, however slight the differences might have been. Shelley From geoffbannister123 at btinternet.com Fri May 31 20:52:26 2013 From: geoffbannister123 at btinternet.com (Geoff) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 20:52:26 -0000 Subject: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192366 --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "John" wrote: Hi All. > > I'm another Brit, who has just joined this group. Glad to see I'm not the only bloke from our 'quaint little island' here.;o) > > Hi to Geoff and Andy. I'm currently resident in SE London, but hoping to escape into civilisation again soon, as I was previously a Canterbury resident and hoping to become one again. Geoff: Just watch the civilised bit! :-) I may now be in Somerset but I spent 45 years in London - SW18/SW19 (Wandsworth and Wimbledon), so your SE might not be so far away. My eldest son was a Christian schools worker in Dulwich for several years before escaping to Toronto which gives me an excuse to see their marvellous tram system. Whereabouts are you in SE L? > By the way, as I said in my intro post when I joined earlier today, I will continue to use UK English expressions and spelling when posting here, despite what all the little red lines beneath my 'misspellings' try and force me to do. :o) I trust that everyone here, be they American, Brit or from wherever is quite capable of working out my meaning from the context and if not then try asking your kids, they might just surprise you with their grasp of 'Britspeak'. :o) Geoff: Don't apologise to this lot about UK English. I've banged away using it for ten years on this group now and it might be nice not to have to explain to someone for the umpteenth time about Spotted Dick and that bathrooms are where you go to wash thoroughly etc. etc. Don't worry about age. you're still young (by my standards). Don't take my comments about group members too seriously; they're really quite nice when sedated. From oriondruid at gmail.com Fri May 31 23:05:30 2013 From: oriondruid at gmail.com (John) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 23:05:30 -0000 Subject: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192367 > Geoff: > Just watch the civilised bit! :-) I may now be in Somerset but I spent 45 years in > London - SW18/SW19 (Wandsworth and Wimbledon), so your SE might not be > so far away. > > My eldest son was a Christian schools worker in Dulwich for several years > before escaping to Toronto which gives me an excuse to see their marvellous > tram system. Whereabouts are you in SE L? > > > > > By the way, as I said in my intro post when I joined earlier today, I will continue to use UK English expressions and spelling when posting here, despite what all the little red lines beneath my 'misspellings' try and force me to do. :o) I trust that everyone here, be they American, Brit or from wherever is quite capable of working out my meaning from the context and if not then try asking your kids, they might just surprise you with their grasp of 'Britspeak'. :o) > > Geoff: > Don't apologise to this lot about UK English. I've banged away using it for ten > years on this group now and it might be nice not to have to explain to someone > for the umpteenth time about Spotted Dick and that bathrooms are where you > go to wash thoroughly etc. etc. > > Don't worry about age. you're still young (by my standards). > > Don't take my comments about group members too seriously; they're really > quite nice when sedated. Hi Geoff, nice 'speaking' to you. I'm currently on the fringes of London and Kent in Abbey Wood, which believe it or not is still classed as Greenwich Borough! I'm not far from the Clockwork Orange concrete nightmares of good old Thamesmead in the Marsh,(they filmed several scenes in the film there). I'm pleased to say though that they are currently demolishing some of that horrible sixties architectural brutalism as I write. I'm amazed at this as I was sure those buildings were ugly enough eyesores to have been granted 'listed' protection status and been preserved by our insane politicians. :o) In fact you seem to have picked up that I am no lover of London in general as a place of residence. ;o) It's a nice enough place to visit, sure, but I have had enough of living here. In common with many major cities it is too expensive, too noisy, too polluted and too crowded. Several years back due to family illness I was forced to move back here from Canterbury, a place much more to my liking. I am now trying to find employment and a place to live in that area again, so I can get the hell out of here! :o) What part of Somerset are you in? I know some of the West Country fairly well, mostly around Glastonbury/Wells/The Levels and a few other places there in cider country. Glad to hear the folks on here don't bite, even if I am the user of a 'foreign tongue'. It'll be nice hearing from some of them too. Anyway, as to the core subject of this group, I will hopefully soon be able to dive into some of the discussion threads, once I've read a few and am 'up to speed'. Best be off for now as my posts and PM's all too often can tend to become novels, if I don't limit myself. :o) Many Blessings. John, (Oriondruid). From oriondruid at gmail.com Fri May 31 23:10:44 2013 From: oriondruid at gmail.com (John) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 23:10:44 -0000 Subject: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: <51A8E29A.5010309@comcast.net> Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192368 > Shelley: > Many of us here in America agree with you- it would have been nice > to read a British novel in Brit-speak, rather than have it > Americanized. It would have felt more authentic to have Harry put > on his trainers. > > But I suspect the move was one of politics- changing the words makes > them "not the same exact book", meaning that both sides of the pond > would gain additional sales from people wanting both versions, > however slight the differences might have been. Hi Shelley, nice to 'meet' you. So you think the root of all evil raised it's ugly head again and the money men got their way, it was not simply Scholastic insulting the intelligence of Americans and their children, but also another money making ploy? I'm shocked to the very core that you could suggest such a thing! ;o) :o) John From oriondruid at gmail.com Fri May 31 23:26:48 2013 From: oriondruid at gmail.com (John) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 23:26:48 -0000 Subject: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. In-Reply-To: <1340205105.48498.YahooMailNeo@web121301.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192369 --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, June Ewing wrote: > > Geoff: > > I think what Corey meant was: "has anyone on this list listened to > > the Stephen Fry **readings** of the Potter books? He has been > > regularly called on to do the UK audio books. Isn't it Jim Dale who > > does the US equivalents? > > June: > Yes Geoff, it was Jim Dale who read the American version. I am in > Canada and have listened to both versions and they were very well > read by both. We get the British version of the books here but the > American version of the audio books, but when I head that Stephen > Fry read the British version, I had to get it because I think he is > just a brilliant actor. > Not just a brilliant actor June, and hi from this 'newbie' by the way. Stephen Fry is a good actor, both in dramatic and comedy roles but he is more than just that. He has made some excellent documentaries, writes extensively on many subjects and for many years has hosted the brilliant and intelligent BBC comedy panel quiz show called QI. Amongst other things he also reads the British audiobook versions of Jo's Harry Potter stories brilliantly. He is a national treasure to many of us Brits, a funny man with a huge intellect. Unlike him I'm not even gay but I almost fancy him! :o) Many Blessings. John, (Oriondruid) From ddankanyin at cox.net Fri May 31 23:43:54 2013 From: ddankanyin at cox.net (dorothy dankanyin) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 19:43:54 -0400 Subject: [HPforGrownups] Re: The Stephen Fry versions of the Potter books. References: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 192370 All you Brits out there, I love all your expressions. I watch BBCAmerica tv, and certainly British movies, so please "talk" to us however you'd like. I love it. Dorothy From: Geoff Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 4:52 PM --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "John" wrote: > By the way, as I said in my intro post when I joined earlier today, I will continue to use UK English expressions and spelling when posting here, despite what all the little red lines beneath my 'misspellings' try and force me to do. :o) I trust that everyone here, be they American, Brit or from wherever is quite capable of working out my meaning from the context and if not then try asking your kids, they might just surprise you with their grasp of 'Britspeak'. :o) Geoff: Don't apologise to this lot about UK English. I've banged away using it for ten years on this group now and it might be nice not to have to explain to someone for the umpteenth time about Spotted Dick and that bathrooms are where you go to wash thoroughly etc. etc. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]