From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 12 05:52:03 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 05:52:03 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Neil Ward ***Nicknames/IDs: Flying Ford Anglia, vado (on LiveJournal) ***Age: 42 ***Family: Two all-singing all-dancing parents, two younger brothers (both married, one with two daughters and a cat, the other with a dog animagus-cum-daemon). I'm single, live alone with no humans or animals, just the voices. ***Home at the top of a hill, Lewisham, London ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 13th May, Wellingborough, England ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BSc Biological Sciences (mainly toxicology/pharmacology). Worked as biochemist for National Poisons Unit for six years before moving to work for evil alcohol industry. Now Director of the alcohol industry information service, so evil as well. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Homosexual transformer, vegetarian (but will eat aeroplane cabin crew when pushed), mostly irreligious, quietly socialist, INFJ (occasional P), double Taurean Ox with own plough. Promising talent for dancing cut short by school bullying. ***First contact with Harry Potter: 14th May 2000 ? reading paperback of PS, given to me for my birthday the day before. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Bookswise, still have a soft spot for PS, but PoA is the best to date. Harry, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Arthur, Weasley twins, Snape, Wood, Trelawney, Crookshanks, Filch (okay everybody), the school song, The Sorting Hat, Flying Ford, Portkeys, books, Diagon Alley, Potions, deaths. Not keen on House Elves. Love the snitch Amanda and Sheryll made me and the Ford Anglia mug that Babynick found in a garden centre. No particular ship or fic allegiances. Thought the two films so far were mediocre, and hate child actors, but would still kill to attend premiere of PoA. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Mild moving to Moderate. Until recently, I was a moderator of HP for Grownups, but that's the only part of the fandom I've been involved with. Have copies of the British books in paperback, hard back, deluxe hardback and CD (US version), and PS in French (not that I could read it), plus the schoolbooks. Have seen first two films a few times each and have both on DVD. Have EA computer games of first two books. Have a small collection of bits and bobs, including one Quidditch sweatshirt, HP keyrings, pens, trinkets, beer glass. ***Other interests/activities: Indie music (used to run a club night and still DJ now and then), sporadic interest in the paranormal, art, tiddling around on the internet, comedy in any arena (especially old movie stuff), science (yeah, really specific), television (addict for some things). ***Current/recent reading: "Hitchhiker's Guide " (current), "Origin" ? Stephen Baxter (a bit tedious), "I Capture the Castle" ? Dodie Smith (lovely), "The Merlin Conspiracy" ? Diana Wynne Jones (genius), "Mortal Engines" ? Philip Reeve (promising) ***Current/recent listening: Interpol's album "Turn On The Bright Lights", also just bought new Radiohead album. Otherwise, listen mostly to indie, some electronica and pop, with a bit of acoustic stuff. ***Current/recent viewing: Big Brother 4 (TV), Elizabeth I (Maritime Museum), Dr Who reruns on UK Gold, Star Trek reruns on Sky, old Laurel & Hardy videos. Staring at a stack of DVDs bought but not yet watched. Need to go to cinema v soon. Neil From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 13 02:38:42 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 21:38:42 -0500 Subject: INTRO PROFILE References: Message-ID: <043d01c33154$e8172270$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi all -- Whoo, hoo...........8 more days to go!!!!!!!! THE OLD CROWD - INTRO ***Name: Penny Linsenmayer ***Nicknames/IDs: plinsenmayer (booooooooring) ***Age: 37 ***Family: Husband Bryce of 10 years as of this October; two-year old daughter Elizabeth (who may be news to some of you old-timers that we haven't seen in quite some time) and two very, very spoiled and unruly dachshunds, Hansel & Gretel. In-laws who live close enough to babysit when it suits them; parents who are hoping to move closer so they can babysit which is more than agreeable. ***Home Houston, Texas ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 4 November, Andrews, Texas (small oil town in outer reaches of West Texas) ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Useless B.A. in History and English (Texas Tech University); Law degree from The University of Texas, a degree far more practical than the aforementioned useless B.A. but far more boring and unsatisfying. Practiced corporate & securities law for about 9 years (IPOs, mergers, etc.). Talked husband into "retiring" to have kids and pursue writing career. Now chase toddler around and cart said toddler to 18 million activities per week and do very little writing really. Very, very little writing when one considers the time squandered on the Harry Potter fandom. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Heterosexual; won't eat any non-starchy vegetables unless mushed into spicy Indian food; love Mexican, Indian and Thai foods best of all (spicy is my thing obviously); Lutheran; liberal Democrat (and currently APPALLED that husband's firm expects cash contribution to Dubya's next campaign!). ***First contact with Harry Potter: January 2000 ----- picked up SS as an after-holiday "pick-me-up" light reading. Devoured all 3 books within a week. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Books: PoA and GoF are almost neck & neck, with a slight nudge to PoA. Characters: Harry, Hermione, Harry & Hermione together; Sirius, Percy, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin. Ships: do you have to ask? H/H 4eva and all that.......... Fics: Er......anything H/H and written by a competent adult writer. Also enjoy Carole's series of course. :--) Merchandise/Films: Okay, I love the movies. I don't love what Columbus has done in every respect, but I just love Daniel Radcliffe. I think he's been super in the role, and I'm unbelievably anxious to see whether Cuaron can bring out even more in him and the others. I think Kloves and/or Columbus has seriously mishandled Ron, and I don't even *like* Ron. But, overall, I really, really love the movies. I own a fair collection of merchandise as well, though it's mainly t-shirts and movie-related things as I cannot stand the WB art in general. I do have a fair few WB bookends though. Oh, and our Christmas tree may soon collapse under the weight of the HP-related ornaments on it. ***Extent of Potter obsession: I don't know about you all, but I'd say Neil qualifies as more than "Mild to Moderate." I'd label myself Obsessed, but not Obsessed to the Exclusion of All Other Normal Life. I have time constraints, so while I've dibbled & dabbled in various areas of the fandom, the only consistent areas of involvement have been HPfGU (moderator until 2 mths ago) and Nimbus - 2003. My fanfic days pretty much ended with the birth of my daughter since I really don't even have time to read the fanfic authors I love, let alone think about writing any. Though with Nimbus wrapping up in another couple of months and no longer modding HPfGU, I do hope to delve back into the FF world more and more as we ......er......enter another period of waiting for Rowling to write another book. ***Other interests/activities: Researching/writing about Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am an amateur/semi-professional genealogist. I recently took up scrapbooking and have put considerable capital outlay into getting going on this, much to my husband's dismay. I try to read quite frequently too. I don't watch much TV, as my other hobbies are more relaxing to me, and let's face it: with a 2-year old, I have very little spare time. I do enjoy watching movies with the hubby on Fri & Sat evenings though. ***Current/recent reading: "The Secret Life of Bees" - Sue Monk Kidd (just finished...absolutely terrific); "The Faith" -- Brian Moynihan (promising); PoA (re-reading). Other books on my nightstand that will get read *after* OoP has 3 reads: "John Adams" (been on my nightstand for many months now......not as engrossing as McCullough's other works); "Secret History of the IRA" (dry........dry, dry, dry); Charles Dickens biography by Jane Smiley (great; no idea why I haven't finished it yet). ***Current/recent listening: Jim Dale ....."GoF" ***Current/recent viewing: Bought Bryce the latest James Bond DVD, so I expect we'll watch it this weekend. [long silence and scratching head] "I need to get out more." Penny -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 13 16:23:23 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 17:23:23 +0100 Subject: INTRO PROFILE Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Catherine Coleman ***Nicknames/IDs: catoman (which I hate but it's just too late to change now) and catlily (LJ) ***Age: 31 ***Family: A husband (Mickey), who is 25 years my senior, and I therefore have 2 step children (both in their mid-late 30s), and 2 step-grandchildren, who call me Granny Catherine, when they want to wind me up (ie, whenever they don't want something). Husband also comes with a very large family, including a MIL who comes to stay too often for my sanity. I have a very eccentric, manic-depressive, beekeeping, Amish looking father who lives in Greece with my long suffering mother - which puts them just far enough away, thank you very much. Oh and a brother who only calls me when he needs something. Typical. ***Home About to change - am swapping a lovely heathside house in Blackheath, London, for an old farmhouse in Norfolk. Scary. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 22 April, Bedford UK (although moved shortly afterwards to Lincolnshire, until I escaped in 1990) ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA Hons in English Literature/History. More recently law school which Mickey saw as an investment - I'm part of his retirement fund. I'm thinking of doing an LLM (Masters in Law) in the autumn, but fear my brain is too rusty to cope. Work - everything and anything. Worked through college - was a mean scooper of ice cream, used to mystery shop for the Post Office, managed a newsagents, traffic surveys, potato picking. Then "real" work - medical/history of medicine research for a couple of years (including rewriting chapters on sexual deviancy which was fun). I know far too much about far too many weird and wonderful diseases to make me sleep well at night - and my almost hypochondria probably has something to do with that. Technical writing for people who had ESL, temping all over the city, then, worked in HR for Citibank, for a while, which is where I met Mickey. Since I finished law school, I had an abortive attempt at studying tax, and have settled happily into the lifestyle of a housewife. Which is all about to change. Ugh. Hmm, role in life? A fine balancing act between doing what I want to do and pretending to do what Mickey wants me to do. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Not much. Atheist, carnivore, INTP (which my husband never believes - he thinks I'm an extrovert - but I'm shy!), fairly typically Taurean, hate the fact that I'm a Rat, although Tabouli made me feel better by telling me that I was a Water Rat (I love the Wind in the Willows). ***First contact with Harry Potter: Just before PoA was released. When was that, summer 1999? Bought the other two for the grandkids, and got sucked in. Does anyone else remember their excitement when it dawned upon them that they were reading something *seriously* good? ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Books: Copying Penny - PoA is my favourite, but GoF comes close because it's longer (!), and because of the plot development. I'm hoping that OoP will be the best yet, and I'm looking forward to learning all about Lily. Characters: Harry, Hermione, Harry, Sirius, Harry, Snape, Lupin, Harry, Mr Weasley... but not Ron. Definitely not Ron. Let me add another - Lines: Changes all the time, after hearing Stephen Fry read this on numerous occasions it's now Dobby defending Harry: "Winky must not talk like that to Harry Potter!" said Dobby angrily. "Harry Potter is brave and noble and Harry Potter is not nosy!" Cracks me up every time. Ships: H/H of course, but don't like the way things are going. Shippers - remember, whatever happens in OoP, there's still two books to go including an *epilogue*! Fics: The only one I've read properly (and used to beta for), is Ebony's, which I'm not ashamed to say has made me cry on more than one occasion. Merchandise/Films: Bleurgh, to the movies. They have their good points - ie, some of the sets, etc, but *why* is Columbus' daughter in practically every scene, and *why* do they keep changing superior dialogue? And *why*.... OK, I have to stop here, before I'm banished to the movie list. I have too much merchandise - a desk clock of Harry at Platform 9 and three quarters, the Sorting Hat bookends, a plush Hedwig ( I took the tacky collar off), most of the games, too many copies of the books - recent additions have been a sorting hat, and a chocolate owl, which is too darn cute to eat (until my hormones next start raging, anyway). ***Extent of Potter obsession: Again - agreeing with Penny - I can't quite get to grips with Neil being "mild to moderate". I'd probably come out as moderate to extreme. Yes, I am obsessed, and certainly, when I was also an HPFGU moderator, I spent far too much time on this for my husband's liking. And I guess after next week I'll be going into posting overdrive again (will be typing on the PC when they carry it out of the house, no doubt). I'm not obsessed to the point of it impinging too much on RL - not anymore anyway. But, the thought of only having one week to go before we get our hands on OoP fills me with much more enthusiasm than, say, moving house, so perhaps I have got things slightly out of proportion.... ***Other interests/activities: Obsessive book collector. I panic if I don't have something to read with me at all times. Cook book junky - love food, and am coming to terms with shortly having to do most cooking on an Aga. Ugh. Pretty obsessive about Buffy too, and am a real B/S shipper. I am also currently enthusiastic about gardening, which is a Good Thing, because there's going to be plenty to do once we move. I am sending Mickey on a brick laying course, so he can make me a wall out of reclaimed bricks (I've always had a thing about walled gardens). Oh, and driving my relatively newly acquired mini, which is called Pig. ***Current/recent reading: About to start Orynx and Crake (Margaret Atwood). Have next to my bed right now - Yann Martel's "Self" (loved Life of Pi), Elizabeth Kay's "the Divide" which looks promising, Kathleen Tessaro's "Elegance" which looks quirky, and "A History of Reading", Steven Roger Fischer. Have also recently read "I Capture the Castle" ? Dodie Smith (which I agree was lovely - want to see the film), "The Merlin Conspiracy" ? Diana Wynne Jones, "Boys and Girls Forever - Reflections on Children's Classics" - Alison Lurie, which was interesting, but the HP chapter was infuriatingly inaccurate. Refers to "Patrick" Pullman and says that Hagrid is a cockney. Please. . I've read loads of children's literature as well in the past few weeks - Celia Rees, Tim Bowler, Melvin Burgess, who is seriously warped .... ***Current/recent listening: Fixated on The Marriage of Figaro, to the extent that I follow the libretto on CD Rom. Can't get the OMWF soundtrack out of my head (still!), and just bought the latest Dandy Warhols album. Bought the Girls Aloud cd (Pop Idol the Rivals band), and pretended it was for the grandkids when a friend took me to task over it. ***Current/recent viewing: Big Brother 4 (TV), How Clean is Your House (makes me feel smug, but still totally related to the little girl last night who said she read instead of doing the cleaning), The Dinner Party Inspectors (deliciously bitchy), still waiting to see the final 3 episodes of Buffy, and will be watching the final episode of this series of Friends tonight - it's been back on form, I think. There just too many films I need to go and see, but I'm watching lots of DVDs instead. They help me cope with the ironing. Will that do for now? Catherine From selah_1977 at selah_1977.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 13 17:21:05 2003 From: selah_1977 at selah_1977.yahoo.invalid (Ebony) Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 17:21:05 -0000 Subject: THE OLD CROWD - INTRO Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Ebony Elizabeth Thomas ***Nicknames/IDs: AngieJ (fanfiction), angiej (livejournal), selah_1977 (Yahoo) ***Age: 25 ***Family: Mother living, father-who-raised-me deceased. Two younger sisters, one of whom is engaged and 41 1/2 weeks pregnant--Jalen Christopher Larry Johnson will be here anytime before Monday, when they will induce labor. Also close to maternal grandmother and her kids, and last October met my birth father's older kids, who are all in their late 40s to mid 50s. So I've also got three older half-sisters and a half-brother, who are very distressed over my birth father as he has Parkinson's disease. So now I'm dealing with the prospect of losing a parent all over again. Am single. Perpetually, hopelessly single in the pitiable Helen Fielding *Bridget Jones* sense of the word, not the diva-like Carrie Bushnell *Sex in the City* sense. ***Home Fifth floor of a newish university-owned apartment building, Midtown Detroit, Michigan, USA. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: August 11, 1977--Hutzel Hospital in Detroit. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: B.A., English Education, Florida A&M University (1999), magna cum laude. M.A., English Literature, Wayne State University (2003), summa cum laude. Thesis: "Girls on the Edge: Transatlantic Translations in Austen, Alcott, and Montgomery." Admitted to Ph.D. program as a Victorian specialist at Wayne State; will apply to the Ph.D. Joint Program in English and Education to study children's and young adult literature at The University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor in November 2003. Detroit Public Schools teacher for going on five years this autumn. Taught grades 5-8 year-round for two years--language arts, mathematics, social studies, study skills, and drama. Have taught grades 9-12 for the past two years--eleventh grade AP English Language and Comp, ninth and tenth grade English, and creative writing. Also teach remedial English on Saturdays and during the summer. Also a certified SAT and ACT proctor... must proctor SAT tomorrow morning. Was recently hired by the WSU college of education to teach children's literature as an adjunct starting this September, am contemplating turning position down, as was recently hired as a resident advisor and manager in my building and as a result will have free rent, cable, and telephone. (Knowing me, I won't. I'll just half-kill myself from stress trying to juggle everything.) At any given time, I'm working at least 2-3 different jobs. :-D Is it any wonder why none of the guys I've dated have morphed into "boyfriend" or more? ***Other things we might want to know about you: Inconsistent in political leanings. Was right of center five years ago, now left of center and growing more socialist by the day. In my other life, was active in the "Right to Life" movement and am a trained anti-abortion counselor. (Did not bomb clinics or parade around with graphic pictures even then.) Personally pretty conservative and traditional. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Sometime in January 2000--one of my students left a copy of CoS in the classroom. I was curious. That was all she wrote, folks. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOK--PoA. Everyone's perennial favorite. CHARACTERS--Harry, Hermione, Hagrid, Dumbledore and Sirius. Also rather like Percy and McGonagall. SHIPS--Harry/Hermione to the core, forever and always, of course. It's my OTP, and there's no changing that. In fanon, I like redeemed!Draco/feisty!Ginny, but I've got more sense than to hold any hope for it canonwise. After that, I'll take just about any ship, although I expect to see Fred/Angelina and Percy/Penelope. FICS--Lori Summers' *Harry Potter and the Paradigm of Uncertainty*. I have issues with her sequels, but PoU will always be special for me. After her, I love about a hundred other authors (including Penny and Carole!), so I'll refrain. FANARTISTS--Starling's an old favorite of mine, but recently I've fallen for the drawings of Shley and Gwendy and others. A lot of the newer folks in fandom have brought a lot of talent with them. MERCH--I love my Harry and Hermione bookends, my snowglobe, and especially the Harry mug that my now-pregnant sister and her fiance bought for my last birthday. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Bordering on the verge of a substance-abuse problem, quite honestly. After Nimbus, I plan to cut way back from everything. I will not work on the 2004 conference. The only HP stuff I plan to do post-August are to finish up my current fanfiction and to maintain my new H/H site, PumpkinPie.org. I *have* to get my RL back in order. ***Other interests/activities: Am getting active in the new civil rights movement. Helping the students at my school launch a newsmagazine. In the research and development phases of planning a small business (coffeehouse/newsstand/boutique) with my two sisters, mother, and cousin for a potential August 2005 opening. Am considering graduate candidacy for a particular social and service sorority for African- American women. Also planning to begin a rewrite of my original series, so that I can try for publication again. ***Current/recent reading: *The Nanny Diaries*, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. *The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks*, Randall Robinson. *What's So Great About America?*, Dinesh D'Souza. ***Current/recent listening: My current faves that are played on the radio are R. Kelly's "Ignition" and Lil' Kim's "The Jump Off". Sometimes a current rap or R&B song will catch my attention while I'm in the car. Most of my listening, though, is classic soul from the 60s and 70s. I recently downloaded Earth, Wind and Fire's "Serpentine Fire" (because that's the tentative name of the family-owned store we're working on) and Mavis Staples' "Let's Do It Again". My absolute favorite radio show in the universe is 102.7 FM's all day Saturday mix. Those guys know everything about soul and R&B from the past 60 or so years... and they dig up stuff I've only ever heard on LPs... and then they tell you all the insider trivia surrounding it. It's *great*--almost like an audio soul version of VH-1's Pop Up Video. And listening to that stuff reminds me of when my dad was alive and singing. I'm also a classical and standards junkie. My other favorite station is CBC's Radio One, 89.9 FM out of Windsor, Ontario. It's the only classical station we have here. My favorite composers are Dvorak, Chopin, Bach, and Vivaldi. My favorite instruments to hear are the flute (I was a flautist from age 10-22), the piano, the solo violin, and the double reeds (I'm also a bassoonist). They, like 102.7, are into educating their listeners, so they also do daily afternoon operas, where they explain the composition, history, and then give a synopsis of what's going on. They and NPR (which broadcasts out of my building) also play standards, which I just *love*. ***Current/recent viewing: I don't watch TV much, except for in the dead of winter, when everyone in Michigan hibernates out of necessity. I don't have time and the #1 bill I'm liable to let go or cancel service for is the cable one. (Because of the radio station in my building, I can't get regular TV reception.) When I do watch it, it's usually in the winter as I've said, and something stupid like Joe Millionaire. Fox, HBO/Cinemax, MSNBC and CNN are generally the stations I watch the most when I do turn on the boob tube, followed by the Food Network and BBC-America. Although my mom and sister are trying to get me hooked on HGTV. Okay, great. Done with this, have a lunch meeting, and then it'll be time to check on the sis again... --Eb From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 13 23:48:35 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (harpdreamer) Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 23:48:35 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD INTRO ***Name: Parker Brown-Nesbit ***Nicknames/IDs: harpdreamer (yahoo) ***Age: 46 ***Family: Husband Doug, a dog, Hollyn, a cat, Asha. Three kids, one grandchild. My older son (actually all the kids are stepchildren) will be married on Monday, which is our wedding anniversary. My mother lives in my hometown, 12 hours away, which is far enough, thankyouverymuch. Love her, but she still treats me like a child, which (obviously) I'm not. Doug's parents are still alive, hale and hearty at 89 & 88. ***Home Summerville, South Carolina. We moved into the house in March. Am *still* unpacking boxes. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 13 May, Middlesboro Kentucky. I moved to Murray (all the way across the state) when I was adopted at 7 months old. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BS in Library Science/English, MA Ed. Secondary Education, Teaching Emphasis in English. Never used professionally. I student taught, and while I enjoyed the kids, I hated the red-tape and demands that said I must teach what they decreed and the way they decreed. I'm still teaching, although it's very informal. I'm one of the weavers at Middleton Place, a historic rice plantation. My job is to educate people about the life and work of the enslaved Africans and African- Americans who made places like Middleton Place possible. (It's fun and also quite a challenge!) Doug has called me the best thing that ever happened to him, so I think my role as wife/confidante/psycologist is working very well. I'm also mum to the aforementioned dog & cat. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Summer 1999 (I think). I'd heard all the fuss, wondered what it was all about, checked out Chamber of Secrets (Philosopher's Stone was checked out), read it in one night and was hooked. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Books: Like a lot of you, PoA (Sirius and Remus!), then GoF. Characters: Harry, Remus, Sirius, Snape, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Arthur & Molly, Let me add another - Lines: Snape's introduction to the first years. Especially hearing Alan Rickman say it. Ships: H/H of course, but don't like the way things are going. It's not canonical (yet ::crosses fingers::) but I'm also a Remus/Sirius shipper. Fics: I read mostly slash, but Penny & Carole's 'A Sirius Affair' is one of my favourites. Anna Milton's series and both of Yael's series are some of the het I've read & enjoyed. Oh, also *anything* Al writes. Including his grocery lists Merchandise/Films: Second Catherine's 'bleaurgh' for the films, even though I've watched them & own them (I'll admit it--mostly for the sets and Daniel Radcliffe). My question--besides the ones Catherine asked--is *why* is Steve Kloves the writer & why does he see fit to change perfectly good lines? Merchandise: Several of the Dept 56 boxes, two copies each of the books (one in American, one in the proper English). the Hedwig, Hagrid & Snitch stuffed toys, several notebooks, which I use to write my fic in. Also some gel pens & trading cards & a couple of games. I'm not as fond of the HP merchandise as I am the LoTR stuff. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Moderately obsessed. Used to be a whole lot more. ***Other interests/activities: Like Catherine, I'm an obsessive book collector & reader. I suffer withdrawal symptoms if I can't visit a bookstore every week. I'm also rabidly obsessed with Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion and a series called Nightrunner. I'm also a musician, so listening to CDs is a big joy in my life. Weaving, spinning, and walking my dog pretty much round out my day. ***Current/recent reading: The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, Terry Pratchett, 'Where Queen Elizabeth Slept and What Dickens Ate' (it's a dictionary of British words in use from the 16th Century to present). ***Current/recent listening: Best of Silly Wizard, Karan Casey, LoTR soundtrack (FotR & TTT), and a compilation of music found in Sing Out! magazine. ***Current/recent viewing: My Saturday night Britcoms--Waiting for God, Are You Being Served, & As Time Goes By (I wish they'd quit repeating the old ones & give us the new!). We also watch The Red Green Show. Haven't watched much commercial TV since the season finale of The West Wing. Parker From heidit at ... Sat Jun 14 15:48:02 2003 From: heidit at ... (Heidi Tandy) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 11:48:02 -0400 Subject: : waves Message-ID: Haven't had a chance to look around much but... With an invite from Neil and a group name like this, I'm sure this'll be a fascinating place! Heidala From foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 17:14:30 2003 From: foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid (pippin_999) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 17:14:30 -0000 Subject: INTRO Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Rosemary Watson ***Nicknames/IDs: Pippin (Yahoo and filks), Amanita Lestrange (fanfiction) ***Age: 50 ***Family: Father deceased, Mother very ill with congestive heart failure and age-related dementia (she knows who I am, but not where she is.) She is in assisted living in Chicago. Two brothers, one sister, six nieces, one nephew. Huge extended family. We don't meet--we converge. Am married. 27 years. Two sons age 22 and 16. One dog, of dubious ancestry, probably chow and golden retriever and ??? Has a thick coat, curly tail, floppy ears and independent but loving disposition. ***Home house in rural Los Angeles County surrounded by lots of dirt and ecologically unsound lawn. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: August 17, 1952--Chicago Lying-In Hospital ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago,1975 Still like to paint, but don't like the art scene. Have worked as graphic editor of a medical journal, computer programmer, real estate manager. Currently supervising financial affairs for mom. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Lapsed Liberal politics, INTP according to online test, Jewish, omnivore, has husband who is as thoroughly into airplanes as I am into HP. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Sometime in Spring, 2000. I decided to see what all the fuss was about. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOK--PoA, CoS, GoF, PS/SS in that order CHARACTERS--Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Ever-so-Evil!Lupin SHIPS--Ron/Hermione, Snape/Filch, Snape/Lily (did I mention that I am inconsistent?) FICS--proudly Ebony's beta--haven't had time to read much else lately. I may get back into it when there's new canon to digest. I have difficulty turning off my inner beta so that I can write the stuff, but sometimes manage to force myself when nobody else seems to have written the story I've imagined. MERCHANDISE--one all purpose witch hat and gown, Gryffindor banner, Harry light string, Lego castle GENERAL ENTHUSING--The movies are much better than I expected though nowhere near the books. I am looking forward to PoA. And Nimbus. And Phoenix (in reverse order) ***Extent of Potter obsession: dreadful, but nobody's complaining. Of course they could all be co-dependents. ;) Currently List Elf and Ombudself at HPfGU, poster and defender of the Evil!Lupin theory, incurable filker ***Other interests/activities: Relgious and Ritual VP and former president of my synagogue, at due diligence stage of investing in small business with some of my friends, playing piano and harpsichord, Tolkien, Pratchett, historical mysteries, trying to keep ahead of weeds around my house (losing this battle), avoiding housework, riding shotgun with teenage driver, chauffering same,crossword puzzles. ***Current/recent reading: *The Dream of Scipio*, Iain Pears (wonderful!), *The Wee Free Men*, Terry Pratchett (almost as good as my favorite *Lords and Ladies*) ***Current/recent listening: *Scott Joplin Piano Rags* Joshua Rifkin, The Lord of the Rings unabridged CD ***Current/recent viewing: JAG, HGTV, Mystery! Have been sulking since my cable company dropped TCM. Have to go buy Nero Wolfe set for DH. --Pippin From macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 18:30:02 2003 From: macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid (Mary Ann) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 18:30:02 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Mary Ann Jennings ***Nicknames/IDs: macloudt on all email and LiveJournal. Cloudt is my maiden name and it drove me nuts as no one ever spelled or pronounced it properly (the D is silent; a misspelling dating to the mid-1800s). But it's darned handy when it comes to handle names because it's so unusual. ***Age: 34 for another 2 months ***Family: All over the place. My dad (76) lives in Oakville, outside Toronto, which is just about far enough. I love him dearly, but he drives me nuts. He's a very staunch Catholic and very conservative (e.g. "The gays" can be cured through prayer) so we don't exactly see eye-to- eye. Mom died of cancer in Feb 2000, and I miss her loads. 3 older brothers; the oldest is married with 4 kids and also lives in Oakville, the middle one is single and lives in Amsterdam, and the youngest is single and lives in London, Ontario, 200km from Toronto. Met Stu through penpalling and were married in July 1995. 3 kids: Elizabeth, 6, Gareth, 5, and David, almost 3. Also 3 cats and a lovely Shetland Sheepdog named Hamish, who's cute but useless. ***Home A cluttered, messy, stained semi-detached house in a pretty dreary seaside town named Weston-super-Mare, 20 miles south of Bristol, southwest England. The locals can't believe that I moved from Toronto to be here. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: August 13 in Pointe Claire, Quebec. Mom was almost 42 and scared the daylights out of her GP. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Honours Bachelor of Arts with a double major in sociology and anthropology from York University, Toronto. Fun but useless degree. Currently a domestic goddess (hate the term housewife) but spend lots of time outside the house. I volunteer in my kids' school and with the Guides and Scouts, and anything else I can be suckered into. Come September I'll be looking for part-time work. Role in life? Apart from motherhood, not a clue. I know I want to further my education but I don't know what I want to study. I plan to take computer courses at the local college for a start, and I'll take it from there. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Raised Catholic but am Free Christian at best. Definate Pinko leanings. Current events junkie since the year dot but don't take life too seriously. Love a good laugh with mates. Member of Amnesty International since I was a legal adult and cannot abide hunting with dogs. Support RSPCA, NSPCC (though the way I yell at my kids some days I expect to be reported by the neighbours any time now) and the like. My local friends think I'm highly radical, which I find amusing. Training to be a Rainbow leader and have taken up Beavers as well. Help out a lot in my kids' school, which I love, but I'm too chicken to do teacher training. ***First contact with Harry Potter: June 2001, on a bus trip to Cadbury's Chocolate World with the Brownies and Guides. My friend who's the Rainbow leader recommended the books to me but I hadn't read them yet. Since the trip was 2 hours one way Lin asked me to borrow Stephen Fry's reading of PS from the local library. Since it was on my library card I could listen to it when we got back and I fell head over heels in love with it. Promptly bought the 4-set of hardcovers and haven't looked back. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOKS: PS, I suppose, though I really enjoy PoA as well. I found GoF a little hard-going at first but enjoy it more every time I read it. CHARACTERS: Am I the only person who actually likes Ron? I suppose it's have-too- many-older-brothers syndrome, but I sympathise with Ron and can see why he has a slightly crummy outlook on life. Not that he wouldn't benefit from a boot up the backside, mind. I also very much like McGonagall and adore Mad-Eye. SHIPS: I'm not anti-ship but have no leanings either. How's that for accommodating? FICS: Once upon a time I had time to read fics, especially Barb's and Ebony's. I haven't been near FictionAlley for months, sadly. OBJETS D'ART: Lego. Lots of it, though Hogwarts is in pieces in a box in Gareth's room right now. The Hogwarts Express lives on my piano. I also have a small Hedwig statue, a Hogwarts umbrella (which Stu refuses to use even when it's pouring down), a money box, and other little bits and pieces. I'd own more if I had anywhere to put the stuff. ***Extent of Potter obsession: I think it's Moderate, though most people I know outside the Fandom think I'm nuts. My membership to adult HP groups is the main corker. I watched both movies and own them, though I don't think they're fabulous, and if I see Susan Bones in one more scene I'll throw up. Beth thinks the movies are very scary and will only watch them on a bright, sunny day while sitting on my lap, but Gareth adores them. Mind you, he can't for the life of him follow the plot, though he likes to tell me that "the big snake is naughty". For the rest I own my bits and bobs and reread the current 4 books several times a year. ***Other interests/activities: Reading (hundreds of books in the house), music, playing the piano (badly) when I get the chance, volunteering, needlework, surfing the 'net, meeting up with friends, going out with Stu for a Childless Night (doesn't happen often enough) and generally enjoying life. Anything but housework, really. ***Current/recent reading: Just finished The Name of the Rose for about the 20th time, Charlotte's Web (with Beth), Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, The Dark is Rising (wow!), Bully for Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould, an author I greatly admire and was introduced to by my anthro prof. ***Current/recent listening: Depends entirely on my mood. I grew up with classical music and still love it. Other days I listen to Motown, classic Rock, Celtic, Rockabilly, or whatever tickles my fancy. You can tell a lot about my mood by what music I'm listening to. ***Current/recent viewing: I rarely go to the movies and don't watch too much telly. I love fly- on-the-wall stuff like How Clean Is Your House and the enviromental health show (the name escapes me). Also love satire such as Have I Got News For You and cop/murder shows such as Frost and CSI. The basic rule of thumb is that it has to be on after the kids go to bed or there's no point turning it on. Stu works evenings so I have the little darlings to myself most evenings, which is why I give in and let them watch the !*&^! CBeebies Bedtime Hour every evening. I defy anyone to watch the Teletubbies, Fimbles, and Storymakers in large quantities and not reach for a Bud. Shall I shut up now? ;) Mary Ann :) From heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 18:48:08 2003 From: heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid (heiditandy) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 18:48:08 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > ***Name: Heidi Howard Tandy > ***Nicknames/IDs: HeidiTandy on YM Heidi8 on LiveJournal HeidiandAaron on AIM (but rarely there) > ***Age: > 32 > > ***Family: Two parents who live two miles away One younger sister, who's married and lives in LA One husband and two sons - almost 4 years old and two weeks old. Here's me with the boys: http://www.thetandys.com/june/harry_visiting.jpg > > ***Home Miami Beach, Florida > > ***Birthday, Place of Birth: January 15, 1971, Miami, Florida > > ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Undergrad from PENN (92) and law degree from American (95) Am officially a lawyer but on maternity leave right now. > > ***Other things we might want to know about you: Bibliomaniac, plans to take Harry to Books & Books at 10pm on Friday, thinks that Rufus Sewell from A KNight's Tale & Cold Comfort Farm would've made perfect Sirius Black, but am willing to give Gary Oldman a chance > > ***First contact with Harry Potter: November, 1998 - the same week that I became pregnant with Harry, I read an article about Sorcerer's Stone, and bought the book - have been devotee ever since! > ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets > d'Art, general enthusing): SHIP: Draco/Hermione - theirloveissopotentiallyplotconsuming! Fics: Cassie's series (after 2.5 years beta reading it, it had better be) and fics by everyone on this list who writes fanfic > > ***Extent of Potter obsession: It's more compulsion than obsession. I collect chocolate frog cards because I like the way the frogs taste :P and I have multiple copies of the books. Am admin for FA and editor for Leaky Cauldron, so fandom takes up a good part of my day. When I'm not on maternity leave, that is. Now, it only takes up perhaps an hour or so of my day. But I have the blackberry so... > > ***Other interests/activities: Books in general, insane magazine habit, and right now, spending lots of time with ickle Jon-bebe > ***Current/recent reading: Nothing in bound-book format. Saving my eyes for next weekend. Catching up on magazines, too. > > ***Current/recent listening: A lot of classical music, as Jon doesn't seem to like my indie-80s- tastes very much. Ah well, he'll learn. > > ***Current/recent viewing: I have seen Sorcerer's Stone 7 times inthe past two weeks (in part and/or in whole) as it's been on cable a lot, and I'm sitting around a lot nursing Jon, especially in the middle of the night. I think this is more times than I've seen it in the past 18 months! Heidi From jflanagan1 at jamesf991.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 19:16:32 2003 From: jflanagan1 at jamesf991.yahoo.invalid (Jim Flanagan) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 19:16:32 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Jim Flanagan ***Nicknames/IDs: jamesf991 ***Age: 53 ***Family: My wife, Beth, works way too much overtime, but she's trying to retire in less than 2 years. We have a passle of grandkids (Beth's actually) in a little town about 45 minutes south. My mom, 78, lives in Dallas Texas. Our 14 yo poodle, Billy, may be on his way out because of a pinched nerve in his spine. I'm sitting at home with him as I write this. :( ***Home Cary, North Carolina (near Raleigh) ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 6/12/50; Austin, TX ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: PhD in electroanalytical chemistry; currently working in environmental quality assurance as an EPA contractor. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Unitarian-Universalist since age 15. Went to same high school as Penny Linsenmeyer (Permian HS in Odessa TX). MOJO! Myers-Briggs - INTP, but sometimes ENTP, except when I'm being an INFP or an ENFP. Beth is a strong INTJ, which can lead to interesting fireworks when her J and my P have a disagreement... ***First contact with Harry Potter: My wife read the books first, but I wasn't interested in reading any "children's books" (especially because I was dealing with an addiction to Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the time). Then I had to install a ceramic tile floor in our sun room, and she brought POA on tapes (Jim Dale) for me to listen to while I was working. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): ART -- Don't care much for objects d'Art sold in stores. I enjoy seeing the cover art from different countries and editions. Some of the HP fanart posted on the Web is quite good. BOOK-- Virtual tie between PoA and GoF. PoA seems more nuanced and complex, but GoF has Voldemort in all his glory! CHARACTERS-- I'm in love with Hermione. I also think that Draco has potential, but I don't see any indication that JKR is going to do much with his character. One of the reasons that I read fanfic is to see other character possibilities that JKR doesn't have time to explore. SHIPS-- Hermione/Harry. I know that it wouldn't work out because of Harry's destiny, etc., etc., but I can't help feeling that Hermione is wasted on Ron, which is where JKR seems to be going... FICS-- One of my favorites is "His Majesty's Secret Service" by Gwendolyn Grace: www.schnoogle.com /authorLinks/Gwendolyn_Grace/His_Majestys_Secret_Service/ I was a beta reader for Yael's "Krum do I Love", which has some very inventive ideas: http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Yael/Krum_Do_I_Love/ The only fanfic that I've ever written and posted was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Carnival": http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=30479 MERCHANDISE-- Yech. See above under "objects d'art." GENERAL ENTHUSING-- Taking the grandkids to the bookstore for the OOP party. Live Owls!!! ***Extent of Potter obsession: Let's see -- I've read all the books numerous times in both English and French, and have listened to the tapes over and over (English only). I was a moderator for HPfGU for a while, but couldn't develop much enthuasiasm for "elfing" the new people, and fell by the wayside. I'm still the owner/moderator of HPfGU-graphics. ***Other interests/activities: JRR Tolkein - I did a recent two-part presentation on the Cosmology of JRR Tolkein for our UU Sunday Morning discussion group. I sing in the church choir (bass baritone), and dabble in computer music. ***Current/recent reading: "Our Human Future" by Francis Fukuyama *everything* by JRR Tolkein ***Current/recent listening: Chanticleer ***Current/recent viewing: Six Feet Under; Dr. Who reruns; Incubus (1965, in Esperanto) From gypsycaine at gypsycaine.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 20:30:14 2003 From: gypsycaine at gypsycaine.yahoo.invalid (Denise) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 20:30:14 -0000 Subject: INTRO In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Denise (Dee) ***Nicknames/IDs: Gypsycaine (Yahoo, MSN, ICQ)//DeeUS2002106703 (AIM) ***Age: 35, but young at heart ***Family: Single, mother to Ian (now 6, attending first grade in the fall and on his way to being a HUGE HP fan as well). Received Computer Science BS degree beginning of May, heading to classes June 23-> for MCE Licensure and MAED (Education) for 4th grades to 7th graders. Using school internet so replies tend to be slower until I get the 'Net back at home. ***Home North Eastern Ohio> ***Birthday, Place of Birth: Haven't moved, August 29th as MANY of the old-crowd will recall when GOF came out! ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Bachelors of Science, Walsh University and continuing as a Graduate Student there. No employment yet (one reason for returning!) ***Other things we might want to know about you: Thinks... Pagan/Wiccan, UU'er, middle of the road liberal type. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Two monthes before GOF came out. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOK--PoA, GoF, PS/SS, CoS in that order CHARACTERS--Hermione, Snape, Remus and Sirius (not sure who's higher on the list!) Harry, Dumbledore, Ron SHIPS--(SHUDDERS! G**d I hate ships!) MERCHANDISE--One small treasure box, one lone book end and one Barbie Doll (All Hermione). One Hogwarts purple pendant thingie, one badge for Gore and Harry, one Muggles pin, one ornament of Harry vs Snitch, and of course the books, tapes, dvds, etc...Ian has Nimbus, GG Sword, Gryff. Cloak, Sorting hat, Hermione's Wand (snatched the last two from me, the scoundrel!), Harry Action Figure, Legos and assorted food-filled HP stuff. We plan to purchase the Wizard Chess set for 14.99 from ToysRUs next. ***Other interests/activities: The White Wolf Camarilla, and the SCA. Then there's more, but I'll cut this email short! ***Current/recent reading: Alexander Key, Escape to Witch Mountain and Tolkien ***Current/recent listening: Evita, Star Wars (5 movie soundtracks) Loreena McK's Parallel Dreams ***Current/recent viewing: PBS is the only station I get! :) Dee From mecki987 at mecki987.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 20:32:59 2003 From: mecki987 at mecki987.yahoo.invalid (Mecki) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 20:32:59 -0000 Subject: Intro- Profile Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Sabine Meckelburg ***Nicknames/IDs: Mecki987 (Yahoo), Sabine_Mecki (other groups) ***Age: 39 ***Family: My parents live in Hamburg, about 45 km (what's that in miles?) away from me. Fortunately, Berlin, my in-laws home, is 400 km away. So I don't get to see them that often. Am married. For 11 years now, and I have two children Maike (9 1/2) and Marten (4). Maike was a premature baby and as a result of the long time with oxygen-deficits, she is slightly mentally and physically disabled. But she makes great progress and I'm very proud of her. ***Home house in a tiny town near Neumuenster, Northern Germany (Schleswig- Holstein is the state) If you look on the map, it's north of Hamburg. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: June 3rd, Duisburg, Germany ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: I don't quite know what to call my education in British or American schools, so I'll just describe, okay? I finished my Abitur- which means I went to school for 13 years. Then I went to a kind of medical- school and became a Radiological Assistant ( at least that is what we call it here- I'm the person who tells you to stand still and hold your breath and then takes the X-ray) After my girls where born much too early and ill (Maikes twin- sister died after one day) I had to stop working and put all my efforts in supporting my daughter, and then, her little brother. I'm a full-time Mum now and don't miss my job at all. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Politics? I think you could call it liberal, although it probably means something slightly different down here. My religion is Christian, not catholic but what we call Evangelisch, I suppose you'd call it Lutheran or something. ***First contact with Harry Potter: When the big hype about Book 4 began. I read 1 - 3 in German and couldn't wait for the translation. After GoF I bought all the other books in English and read them in 2 days. Then I found HP for Grownups and got hooked. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOKS: GoF, PS, CoS and PoA in that order. I have the books , including the school-books in both English and German. I read them in both languages, but prefer English. OTOH, when I'm very tired, my English gets dreadful. ***Extent of Potter obsession: dreadful, but nobody's complaining. Of course they could all be co-dependents. ;) I'd say mild obsession at the moment, but it'll probably be a lot stronger same time next week My kids don't leave me so much time as I want to have. ***Other interests/activities: Apart from my family, I spend alot of time in an internet grief- group, where I found a place for my little baby, which she doesn't seem to have in real life anymore. ***Current/recent reading: I just reread the hitchhiker- trilogy from Douglas Adams and the books from Diana Gabaldon. Both in German, but with really good translators, for a change. ***Current/recent listening: GOF- what else? ***Current/recent viewing: no time for the movies, my kids don't stay with a sitter Important: As I have said already, I'm German. English is not my native language. I think I can cope most of the time, but sometimes I believe I need a new dictionary to understand every undertone of what is being said. So, when I get something completely wrong, just lead my to the right path gently, okay? And please excuse big spelling or grammar catastrophes. I do my best, but I only use the computer after a long, tiresome day, so..... From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 21:26:39 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 14:26:39 -0700 Subject: Intro: Or All About My Narssasitic Self References: Message-ID: <00b401c332bb$a5308740$f2321c40@...> THE OLD CROWD - INTRO ***Name: Saitaina A. Moricia ***Nicknames/IDs: Saity, Saitaina, Hey You Over There ID's: DragonBloodRaven or VoldemortTom (AIM), Saitaina, Slytherinschoolgirl, or TomRiddlesBaby (Yahoo) ***Age: 22 ***Family: Human Family: Mother, lives close by, estranged father, half sister and step mother, estranged adopted older sister ***Home Apartment in Roseburg, Oregon, though might be changing if I ever figure out how to save and not spend. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: January 18, Hemet, California ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Quit school in 10th grade, got GED, had phlebotomy training (some old friends might remember this hell), living off the goverment (disabled) and working on my second (and third) novels consecutively (and editing the first) ***Other things we might want to know about you: Democrat, VERY liberal, bisexual, wiccan, volunteer, opinionated and narssasitic ***First contact with Harry Potter: 6 months after GoF, after protesting loudly "Why would I be intrested in CHILDREN'S books?" (says the woman who still has a collection of "The Baby Sitter's Club" ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOKS: CoS Characters: (in order) Tom "Voldemort" Riddle, Percy Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Dobby, Justin FF, the rest Ships: Any actually, but if pressed: Voldemort/Peter, Lucius/Voldemort, Draco/Harry, Seamus/Dean, Neville/Percy, Seamus/Anyone, Harry/Anyone Fics: Mine, Draco Trilogy, most slash, very few het. I read almost anything. Merchandise: Everything. I buy anything marked "Harry Potter" from toothbrushes (I have two) to giant throw's that I use for tapestries. I even bought a day bed (twin bed that can double as a couch) JUST for my Harry Potter sheets. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Don't ask, though considering I have a pinkie in a lot of HP pies that should say something. ***Other interests/activities: Buffy the Vampire slayer, Angel, Anita Blake Fandoms, role-playing, writing, acting, directing, ***Current/recent reading: Nancy Drew. My local bookstore is having a HUGE sale on them so I've got 12 I just bought that I haven't read yet. ***Current/recent listening: A commercial...don't listen to anything but telly. ***Current/recent viewing: TV: Right Now: Unwrapped on Food Network, Movies: Waiting for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Pirates of the Caribbean. DVD: Disney Movies to replace my VHS, trying to find out if Lord of the Rings: TT has been released yet. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 21:44:44 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 21:44:44 -0000 Subject: INTRO POST Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Barbara Lamond Purdom ***Nicknames/IDs: Barb, blpurdom (on YM), psychic_serpent ***Age: 39 ***Family: Youngest of five, 10 nieces/nephews, 4 great-nieces/nephews, father died two years ago April, mother 78 and perfecting her passive- aggressive tendencies more every day (my sister's words--she lives with her now); husband Chris is computer programmer for e-commerce company where he's considered 'old' at 39, and despite having been hired for his years of experience and wisdom feels incompetant almost every day because he was laid off last year after 16 years with a company and basically had to start over again after that. Father-in-law is science-fiction writer Tom Purdom, MIL Sara had brain surgery 18 mos ago and is no longer really herself, but we all love her and do our best to make sure she doesn't feel out of the loop. She's a dear. Son Ben, 10 1/2, will be in sixth grade this Sept. and daughter Rachel, 8 1/2 (the halves are important ) will be in fourth. We tried homeschooling Ben this year; middling results. Are trying him at a new school in Sept. Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. (Mostly that he doesn't get beat up for being a know-it-all.) Two cats, Bainbridge and Delancey, are 19 and 11 1/2 and we are constantly panicked that one or the other of them is going to die (Bainbridge has seizures and Delancey sleeps so deeply it's hard to tell she's breathing sometimes.) ***Home Philadelphia, PA ***Birthday, Place of Birth: April 5, 1964; Philadelphia, PA (I really get around ) ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Four years at Temple Univ (also in Philly) studying Classics/Anthropology and how to change a major every two semesters. Job experience as waitress, manager in housewares store, admin assistant, computer programmer, dance/drama counselor at day camp, medical editor and freelance chamber singer. Nothing for which I am technically qualified, in other words. After being stay- at-home mom from ages 29-34, started back to school to study architecture, starting first with math and then actually progressing to studio courses. Have straight-A average so far but moving slowly since I can only go part-time, due to raising my kids. Will probably get degree 1 year before qualifying for Social Security. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Thanks to having received some lovely feedback on my HP fanfiction, I'm testing the waters of original fiction again (one completed novel, actual rejection from Morrow, another novel 2/3 done but abandoned for 10 years). I have a werewolf trilogy mapped out and have started writing the first novel in the series, "Animal Control," which will hopefully be completed in about a year. Then I'll try shopping it around to agents, with my father-in-law's help. (He knows the ropes.) ***First contact with Harry Potter: Bought Ben the books for Christmas 2000. Started reading them aloud to him around New Year and became hooked myself; read all four books within a week. Took a lot longer to read them to him aloud. By the time Rachel heard me reading the Gilderoy Lockhart parts of CoS to him, she became convinced she wanted to read them too, and now she's read all of the books TEN times. I credit the HP books with the fact that her reading level is tenth-grade, although she's going into fourth. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): ART -- Am proud owner of a huge banner from the Scottish premier of the first film, courtesy of Chris Dickson, who conspired with my husband to send it to me for Christmas 2001. We have three different versions of the posters from the first film; my son has the best one hanging in his room (where Dan is staring down at you a little and a bunch of the other characters are around him). BOOK-- GoF. Until I read OotP, probably. In some ways, though, I'm appreciating PS more and more (have UK copies of first four and have ordered UK copy of OotP) as I see loads more foreshadowing on every reading. CHARACTERS-- Love Harry and Ron, want to know the whole Snape backstory, hating all Malfoys intensely and wishing poor Arthur could get a break at the Ministry. Unashamed Percy-apologist. Waiting for Hermione to get less annoying, for Ginny to be more fleshed-out and for Neville's greatness to emerge. Also wanting to know more about the MWPP days, and dying for Wormtail to be captured so Sirius can be cleared. SHIPS-- Very nearly anything that doesn't seem to be absolutely impossible in canon. But even those (DM/HG, SS/HG, DM/HP) I'll read in fanfiction if the fic is well-written enough. Sadly, that means I don't actually read these ships much in fanfiction; other people must think they're done a lot better than I generally do. Anna's "Roman Holiday" is both DM/HG and SS/HG and I don't have to have a gun to my head to read it, it's so fabulous. FICS-- Started off reading Lori's Paradigm of Uncertainty on a lark and was quickly sucked into the fanfic world. Sadly, haven't had time to read updates of hers recently, nor Cassie's, Ebony's, Rhyssen's, Carole's or Anna's. I also like Irina's Trilogy, but am woefully behind on that as well. Most recent thing I read by someone else was Cas's "All Debts Must be Paid," which is an interesting Sirius-on-the-run fic that I'm 2/3 done. Last thing I read before that was probably Al's last Snitch! chapter. I also beta-read "The Orpheus Imperative" for Al, but it's not clear to me whether he's abandoned it. In addition to RL (including original fiction writing), I'm usually busy writing my own fics, the Psychic Serpent Trilogy (http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb ), plus MWPP-era prequel. I had hoped to finish the third part of the trilogy (The Triangle Prophecy) by next Saturday, but came to my senses and decided that it wasn't necessary to rush things. I've already got a post-OotP fic planned for when I'm done the Psychic Serpent fics, and I'll find out how much of the plot outline needs to be changed next week! (I'll also be writing an original fiction version of it.) A friend and beta-reader, Nick, wants to do a post-Hogwarts Psychic Serpent fic ("Vanished!") on which I'm the advisor and sort-of collaborator/beta reader. The post-OotP fic I'm planning is actually the first time I've considered writing Adult!Harry, so I'm kind of excited about that. MERCHANDISE-- Much of it makes me either smirk or grimace. My daughter actually has cherry-scented Harry Potter liquid soap. Erk. GENERAL ENTHUSING-- Taking kids to bookstore for midnight party! Woohoo! ***Extent of Potter obsession: You need to ask? (See FICS, above.) ***Other interests/activities: 1) Architecture. Husband is getting mighty tired of every building we enter or pass being critiqued, but we both agree that we HATE the new Wharton building on the Penn Campus. (Could double for Azkaban. Very cheery.) 2)Faith-based gay rights activism. Recently spoke at press conference concerning the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policies against gay scouts. Had a load of fun in local pride parade last Sunday with other members of our church. Hoping that the huge slash fanbase online will mean a next generation that is far more gay- friendly than in the past. ***Current/recent reading: Rereading the HP books in preparation for Saturday (halfway through PoA); "The Most Beautiful House in the World" by Witold Rybczynski. Read anything he has written, even if you think you're not interested in architectural criticism. Lovely. ***Current/recent listening: Brandenburg Concertos; Bach music for unaccompanied cello played by Yo Yo Ma; Jacqueline Du Pre's Dvorak cello concerto; whatever leaks out of my son's earphones when he's listening to his favorite CD (Avril Levigne). ***Current/recent viewing: Recently rented first season of Six Feet Under and fell in love with it. Need to buy fourth season of Buffy on DVD. Adored "Finding Nemo" and just took the kids to AMAZING documentary about birds called "Winged Migration." See it if you can. Don't know how they filmed this gorgeous piece short of strapping a camera to the back of a goose. That's all I got now. --Barb From anglinsbees at anglinsbees.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 23:08:30 2003 From: anglinsbees at anglinsbees.yahoo.invalid (Ellen & John Anglin) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 23:08:30 -0000 Subject: Intro Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Ellen Anglin ***Nicknames/IDs: Yahoo; anglinsbees, selkielass, mathurinmason Livejournal; anglinsbees, Olivia_hornby, Edouard and others ***Age: 37 today. Yay me. ***Family: Husband; John. Three Cats; Binky, Baby and Gremlin. Two Cockatiels; Tenko and Romeo, 12 hives of Honeybees. Parents and inlaws alive and kicking. ***Home Mt. Clemens Michigan. Not far from Detroit. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: June 14, Grosse Point Michigan ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BS in Clothing and textiles from Michigan State University. I work at Kmart International Headquarters where I am a Textile Technologist in the Quality Assurance Laboratory. I shrink, fade, abrade, rip dissolve and burn just about anything made of fabric that Kmart sells. Among my favorite things to destroy test are the Martha Stewart home fashion products. ***Other things we might want to know about you: I am a member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms, a medieval reenactment group dedicated to recreating the better parts of 6th to 16th century Europe. In the SCA I am known as Mistress Elen Greenhand and I am known for Spinning, weaving and other textile related endeavors. I am a hobbyist beekeeper, do Yoga, and hope to have my hand stand down by the end of this year. ***First contact with Harry Potter: April 2000 ? Was traveling to Utah. Finished SS before we got there, bought both COS and POA in Murray Utah, and had finished both before we got back to Detroit. Joined Hp for Grownups not long after, and haven't stopped since. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): You really don't want a full list of my collection. My more interesting items include; Numerous first and foriegn editions of the second third and fourth books. An olivanders wand box, A screen used Hogworts Letter used in the flying envelopes scene, One of the Wands used by a student in the "Wingardium Leviosa" scene, 23 pages of the COS opening storyboard. A Claw from the animatronic Hedwig, Pictures of the troll being built in Jim Hensons Muppet workshop. Lots of promotional goodies and flyers, a Christmas card from Jason Isaacs. Too much other 'stuff' to list. I've got it bad. I like Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Appreciate fics that give the other houses a fair shake. I'll read any pairing, so long as it's well written and tells a good story. I was the first person to run the Mad!Winky theory up the flagpole over at HpforGrownups (Nobody saluted)and I can hardly wait to see how crazy she is in OOTP. Yes, I read house elf fics, but no, House elf smut is not my cuppa tea. Dobby/anybody still squicks me a bit. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Excessively severe. I own way too much potter stuff. Scares me a bit sometimes. Have nearly worn out my Books on tape. Spend way too much time playing Olive/ Olivia Hornby and Edouard Lestrange over at Lightningwars RPG http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lightningwar I also play Mathurin Mason, Sirus black, Mad!Winky, Justin Avery, Claude Avery, Nicodemus Macanir and Chopper the Parrot over at Naginis Kiss RPG I have a number of Filk songs archived over at Caius Marcus's HPfilk site. I got interested in fanfic by reading Paradigm of Uncertainty and Draco Dormiens and quickly spiraled out into reading all sorts of unusual stuff. Got sucked into reading slash by "Irresistable Poison" and still follow Midnight Blues "Mirror of Maybe" with baited breath. Like but am not current on the "Paradise" series, "Slytherin Rising", and others. Have been cutting down recently, but still... ***Other interests/activities: SCA, Yoga, Beekeeping, Sewing, Costuming. ***Current/recent reading: I'm currently rereading/ Listening to the Potter books on tape in preparation for the release. Before that I was reading books on the spiritual roots of Tantric yoga. ***Current/recent listening: Radio; National Public Radio. Music; Cats, Little Shop of Horrors, Adam Ant, Trio, Bare Naked Ladies, 80's retro mix. ***Current/recent viewing: Movies; "Spirited away", "Y Tu Mama tambien", "Harold and Maude", T.V. Nickelodeon cartoons Ellen From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 23:31:46 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 23:31:46 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Jenny Levy ***Nicknames/IDs: jenny from ravenclaw ***Age: 33 ***Family: one 28 year old sister (same mom and dad) one much younger, 11 year old sister (same dad only) three step-sisters ***Home one block north of Central Park, Harlem, New York City, NY ***Birthday, Place of Birth: April 6, 1970 in Manhattan ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA from Vassar College and MA from NYU. Currently a teacher of English in a small alternative public high school in the Bronx for kids who couldn't succeed anywhere else. I'm seriously thinking about going back to school for a second MA in social work - but to continue working with the same population I do now. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Jewish but living with a Puerto Rican man and the best cat in the world. Vegetarian but with a serious weakness for Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream. I often fantasize about running away to the Caribbean to live on the beach and never come back. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Saw the display at the Barnes & Noble on 86th Street in the spring of 2000 and couldn't resist. I didn't know about the hype - honest! ***Favourite Potter things: Everything except for Lockhart and Hagrid. Don't read fanfic at all or buy stuff but I do have a sick thing for Bertie Bott's - mostly by encouraging innocent victims to eat them while I watch and then laugh uncontrollably when the innocent victim gets a sardine or vomit flavored one. Hey, I had to suffer, too! ***Extent of Potter obsession: Have read the books more times than I can count; GoF is nearly falling apart now (but PoA is definitely my favorite). All of my students know about my serious feelings for Harry and have even included Harry in their essays to gain points with me. :-) Not so much into the movies but I'm so excited for OoP, I don't expect to sleep on Thursday or Friday... or maybe Saturday night either. Finding HPFGU was one of the best things that happened to me in the last few years and while I am no longer a list elf or poltergeist, I still actively post to the main and OT lists. ***Other interests/activities: I read a lot. Big Buffy fan. When I can focus, I love to write short stories and love ghost stories in particular. ***Current/recent reading: Just read _Angels_ by Marion Keyes. Recently read _The Secret Life of Bees_ by Sue Monk Kidd and _The Girl With a Pearl Earring_ by Tracy Chevalier. They were all very good. ***Current/recent listening: I listen to a lot of classic rock (Steely Dan, Rolling Stones, Beatles), big early 80s fan (just ask Heidi!) and love 70s music too. Top favorites include Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. ***Current/recent viewing: Saw _Matrix Reloaded_. Nothing new or good on tv right now (I've seen every Buffy episode far too many times at this point). Love to watch "Great Hotels" on the Travel Channel, where Samantha Brown gets to stay at all the best hotels in the US - what a fantastic job! --Jenny (jenny from ravenclaw), who is so pleased that she was invited here! ******************************** From karob_7 at karinlyr.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 23:33:27 2003 From: karob_7 at karinlyr.yahoo.invalid (karin) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 23:33:27 -0000 Subject: Intro In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Karin Roberson ***Nicknames/IDs: karin, karinly, karinlyr, karina, or karob_7... ***Age: 30 ***Family: IN MY HOUSE: 3 cats (Raven, Loki, Pandora). ELSEWHERE: brother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, dad, mom, stepdad, stepsister, and lots of aunts, uncles, cousins. ***Home: Clinton, Mississippi ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 4th April, Mississippi ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA - Art, MA - Intercultural Studies/Missions. Currently working as a financial assistant in a financial planning firm. ***Other things we might want to know about you: INFP with a tendency towards lurking. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Around March of 2000. I think. First contact with the fandom - joined HP4GU not long before the release of GoF. ***Favourite Potter things: BOOK: PoA CHARACTERS: Harry, Lupin, Snape, Neville, Trelawney SHIPS: None, really. FICS: Dreamwalk Blue by Viola, Origins by IvyBlossom, Knowledge is its Own Reward by ~v~Jinx~v~ and rabbit. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Previously excessive, now only moderately so. I've written a few fics (several still unfinished). Dabbled in fanart. Technically still a moderator for The Enchanted Paintbrush, though currently AWOL. ***Other interests/activities: Painting, writing, playing the guitar & piano, web design. ***Current/recent reading: Smoke & Mirrors (Neil Gaiman), Lost in a Good Book (Jasper Fforde), Passage (Connie Willis) ***Current/recent listening: Rockin' the Suburbs (Ben Folds), Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970 - 2002, Dizzy Up the Girl (Goo Goo Dolls) ***Current/recent viewing: Finding Nemo, Down with Love, The Importance of Being Earnest, Ocean's Eleven, Princess Mononoke From catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 14 23:59:57 2003 From: catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 23:59:57 -0000 Subject: Hi, Everyone! Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD -- INTRO ***Name: Rita Prince Winston ***Nicknames/IDs: catlady_de_los_angeles (Yahoo) Catlady (Fiction Alley) catlady at ... (e-mail) ***Age, Birthday, Place of Birth: 45 November 7, 1957 Los Angeles California ***Home Venice, California -- I live in a two-bedroom apartment half-a-mile from the beach. It's in a beautiful low-rise complex with a big lawn with a couple of old trees. Currently there are some wild ducks and ducklings from the canals eating the grass from the lawn. My landlady is an angel-darling. ***Family: I don't have any children, intentionally. Both my parents are dead, which is something along the lines of "good riddance" I have one brother, two years younger, who works at Stanford University in Palo Alto, but in the last ten years, the only contact we bother to have is to e-mail Happy Birthday to each other. My domestic partner is named Tim Merrigan (I call him Timcat). I pretend to support us and he pretends to keep house. There are currently four cats in the household: Cinnamon, Elway, Taliesin, and Pixy. I reminisce of the late Nan, Obi, Sasha, and Fancy from my adult life, Cindy and Pippin from my youth, and Foggy, Wally, Winthrop, Linda, Smokey, and T'Challa from my childhood. My best friends are Lee and Barry Gold, who live nearby (two miles inland, in a *single-family detached house*). ***Education/Job I dropped out of Bryn Mawr College -- if I had stayed, I would have flunked out. Then I got an Associate (two year) degree in Data Processing from Santa Monica College. Then I got a job as a COBOL programmer. Which I still am, currently at LACMTA (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority). ***Other things we might want to know about you: I lived in New York City May 1980 to October 1984. I met Tim at LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society) and used to go to cons and write in apas. Would it come as a great surprise that I dote on cats? And am a Wiccan? altho' not very observant. And heterosexual? You-uns have probably already noticed that I'm an unreconstructed liberal. (The rules against discussing politics on HPfGU are wise.) But maybe not that I'm INXJ, and really *very* shy in person. And *very* fat. ***Current/recent reading: Current events (which is VERY depressing). Magazines about archaeology and science. HPfGU main list and OT no time for anything else altho' I used to read fanfic by Lori, Cassie Claire, Ebony, Heidi, and Barb -- all wonderful. ***First contact with Harry Potter: 1999. Lee lent me the first three books (of which I had previously heard on NPR, but not paid attention). I instantly was addicted, staying up all night to read them all. I talked about the Potterverse until all my friends were bored out of their minds (they think the Potter books are very nice, but not as excellent as many others). I had just been invited to an e-group for a totally other interest, so I got the very original idea of checking whether there was an e-group to discuss HP ... and here I am! ***Extent of Potter obsession: Less than Extreme: I don't collect multiple copies of the books or buy a lot of the merchandise and I didn't make (nor even buy) a movie Hogwarts uniform ... but I *do* write a Snape/Draco/Pansy fanfic ... ***Favourite Potter things: I'm a Ravenclaw. PoA is my favorite book. Remus/Sirius is my favorite ship, which doesn't keep me from enjoying Remus/OC and Sirius/Lily fics. I am unable to get emotional about shipping the Trio, but do insist that McGonagall/Hooch is obviously canon truth. Remus is my favorite beloved, Sirius second, fanon-Draco third, Severus fourth... I have the big blue mug with the Hogwarts shield on it, probably my favorite merchandise (why did they stop making it?). I also have the (US) set of four House Mugs ... I like the House shields with whole animals on patterned backgrounds MUCH better than the House shields with torn-off pieces of animals on the original calendar ... but I like the "boats to Hogwarts" picture on the original calendar (all those lights on the dark lake, and the fancy castle on the cliff, look so magical that I can ignore how ugly they made Ron) so much that I got that mug, too. I have the Christmas stocking that says "Harry Potter" on it with an idealized picture of the Sorting Hat and some stars and glitter. It was a present, but I love it. I hung it on the wall of my cubicle along with my Christmas stocking with a cat on it. That Christmas, other friends gave me a Dept 57 box, a figurine, a look-into-tube, and a box of HP-themed butter cookies. Except for the butter cookies and the pretty box they came in, I put those things in the linen closet. Oh, I also have a denim tote bag with the Hogwarts shield on it, currently hanging on a doorknob holding yarn to crochet an afghan. I bought the DVD of the first movie right away and haven't watched it yet, so I didn't bother to buy the DVD of the second movie. From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 00:14:36 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 00:14:36 -0000 Subject: One last thing - SHIPs Message-ID: I didn't mention this before, but I might as well out myself now, as I'm probably the only one... I am NOT a Harry/Hermione SHIPper. No way, no how. Nothing would make me happier than to see H/G happen. There - let me have it, now! --Jenny ***************************************************** From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 00:25:56 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 17:25:56 -0700 Subject: [the_old_crowd] One last thing - SHIPs References: Message-ID: <008c01c332d4$b114ece0$05381c40@...> Jenny wrote: Go Jenny!! Of course I'm a "Whatever happens" shipper who honestly doesn't care, I secretly LOVE H/G. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 00:43:00 2003 From: catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 00:43:00 -0000 Subject: replies are the best part of mlists: conversation! Message-ID: Parker: << Oh, also *anything* Al writes. Including his grocery lists >> Oh, gods, yes! Pippin: << one all purpose witch hat and gown >> I don't consider mine to be HP stuff. Mary Ann: << Am I the only person who actually likes Ron? >> No! I like Ron and don't understand why so many people hate him. This is a sign of how good a writer JKR is, that she makes me see it from Harry's viewpoint and Ron's viewpoint, even tho' in real life Ron and I would not get along at all well: He like sport, hates school, says mean things about ugly girls; I love school, hate sport, and hate people who say mean things about me. But Ron the character is a good kid and I want him to be happy: I wish JKR would give him some of that glory he craves. Jim Flanagan: <> *hugs* << FICS-- One of my favorites is "His Majesty's Secret Service" by Gwendolyn Grace >> Oh, I loved that, too! Mecki: << 45 km (what's that in miles?) >> The approximation is that a km is 0.6 mi, so around 27=30. Barb: << Two cats, Bainbridge and Delancey, are 19 and 11 1/2 and we are constantly panicked that one or the other of them is going to die (Bainbridge has seizures and Delancey sleeps so deeply it's hard to tell she's breathing sometimes.) >> Oh, dear. I know the feeling. Jenny from Ravenclaw: << Nothing would make me happier than to see H/G happen. >> Harry/Ginny is okay but I prefer Hermione/Ginny. I am *not* just a slasher, I also like Harry/Cho and Hermione/Viktor! From starling823 at starling823.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 02:46:33 2003 From: starling823 at starling823.yahoo.invalid (Sternel) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 02:46:33 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE Message-ID: I am *so* excited that I am considered "Old Crowd." Many thanks for the compliment. ***Name: Abigail Tilden ***Nicknames/IDs: Abbie or Abs to people in RL, formerly starling online (but after I got into HP fandom and people started asking me about 'my' drawings, I figured I'd better change that... I cannot draw. Nope, nada, zip.) Now go by Sternel, which is Austrian for 'little star,' both here and on LifeJournal. on AIM: starling823 . ***Age: 22. ***Family: Parents, two sisters, a brother, and a dog. Parents are your standard surburban love-em-but-wish-they'd-relax variety, who kindly allowed me to return home following college, where I now attempt to not strangle siblings. They are, in order of apparance, Sister the First, who is 20 and in college (currently home for the summer and trying to steal the bathroom out from under my nose), Brother, 17, just finishing up his junior year in high school, and Sister the Second, also 17, also finishing junior year, and fraternal twin to Brother. Dog is Mr. Peabody, a miniature Schnauzer, with a very bad temper and an aversion our mailman. However, the annoying deliveries of multiple supermarket circulars has stopped completely. My grandfather lives nearby, and owns a Christmas tree nursery. The farm has been in our family for over 200 years, and it is one of my favorite places on earth. We even have a small cemetary there, although it's no longer used. ***Home Huntington, Long Island, New York, otherwise known as the center of Surburbia. My town is pretty much the border between the urban areas and the more rural parts -- or what passes for what's left of rural around here. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: August 23, 1980. Am young one. I was born in Huntington Hospital, roughly five miles from where I live now. Save four years in college, one of those semesters spent abroad in Austria, and various school trips up and down the East Coast or to Germany, I have lived here my entire life. I love the area, but I'd prefer to raise my children elsewhere -- it's getting too crowded. Too many people, not enough trees. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: I studied German at Binghamton University, but I'm (crazily) considering returning to school for history, because I'm finding German, while fun to speak, rather unmarketable. And I like history. Eventually, I'd like to get a library science degree, and find a nice public library in New England and run their children's section, where I can read HP to small children til the end of my days. =) Currently, I work at Touro Law College, as the daytime library circulation clerk. I have no plans to attend law school, but I'm enjoying my 'insider's view' of what it's like, and I will never be in need of good (and cheap!) legal help. =) ***Other things we might want to know about you: I am obsessed with Alan Rickman, and would happily marry him and bear his children. I am attempting to be adult and only envy his companion, not wish that she suddenly vanished into thin air. Am fairly moderate politically. Was raised Presbyterian but now find my beliefs are Pagan, which my family is not aware of, more for their sanity than mine. Tend to be rather traditional, but I enjoy rabblerousing at times. =) ***First contact with Harry Potter: College-boyfriend-at-the-time got the books for Christmas (in 1999) and when we returned to school, brought them over to my dorm room and said "Here, honey, you'll love these!" Ended up dumping the guy. Kept the books. Was excellent bargain. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Book: PoA. No question. Ships: I have a lovely little raft, and I paddle around and visit everyone else's ships as I feel like it. Frequently return to H/SS, which fascinates me in many ways, and R/Hr, for reasons I could never fully explain. Have fine appreciation of H/H thanks to Lori and Ebony regardless. Fics: Anything by Lori and Eb, (even though I've already named them), Barb, Carole, and Sushi. Also enjoy fic-hunting. objet d'Art: the Tilden family motto: Never pay full price. Consequently, I possess calendars, purchased on Jan. 2 for $1 each, and a figurine of Hagrid and Harry in a Gringott's cart, presented as a gift. Other than that -- ::shrug:: oh. a Snitch keychain. Clothing: lovely Pride of Portree hoodie that my darling Ursamajor made for me to wear for the Release, and several frighteningly hued tee shirts from Sears, all slightly too small. Hoping to learn to knit so I can get scarves. I love Bertie Botts, but I think the chocolate frogs are a waste of money. ***Extent of Potter obsession: At work, I am responsible for filing print jobs. I was one day filing a printed receipt and my eye was drawn by a large banner stating "We ship internationally!" All I could think was "They 'ship Hermione/Viktor?!?" I know. Bad, isn't it? =) ***Other interests/activities: Needlepointing, reading (esp. sf/f, hist. fiction, and young adult fiction), and bumming around NYC ***Current/recent reading: I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith, mainly because I saw several people on LJ mention it. Just finished The Lovely Bones, and am currently reading Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides. Upcoming: the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and the pile of Diana Wynne Jones books that will be begging for attention once OoP has been read (and re-read) ***Current/recent listening: My favorite radio station runs from 80s to 'today's bets hits,' whatever that means. CDs, lately: Sense and Sensibility soundtrack, Billy Joel, Songs From the Attic, and Tick, tick...Boom!, a Broadway musical composed by the late, great Jonathan Larson, who created Rent. I highly recommend it to you all. ***Current/recent viewing: Dogma, and Last of the Mohicans on DVD, X2 in theatres. (I avoid movie theatres in general -- I hate sticky floors!) TV-wise, I am addicted to Will and Grace and ER. I also try to catch Gilmore Girls when I can. Other than that, not much of a TV person. ::waves to everyone:: Am delighted to be here, and am looking forward to the discussions! Abbie, who apologizes for the length but was having too much fun filling this out. From bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 02:45:16 2003 From: bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid (Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner) Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 22:45:16 -0400 Subject: INTRO References: Message-ID: <00d601c332e8$27fe8920$6500a8c0@bohners> THE OLD CROWD - INTRO ***Name: Rebecca J. (Anderson) Bohner ***Nicknames/IDs: R.J. Anderson (fics, blog, and original writing), synaesthete7 (AIM, Yahoo!, LJ) ***Age: 33 ***Family: Two wonderful parents living five minutes' drive away. Three older brothers, all married and some with kids, scattered around the province. Generous, family-oriented, non-meddling in-laws living on a farm 30 min. away. Lots of nieces and nephews on that side. Happily married for five years, to a man three years my junior (though he doesn't look it -- or act it). Two sons, aged 3 and 1. ***Home Split-level semi-detached brick house, ten years old and in excellent shape but still undergoing frequent improvements (my husband enjoys renovating). Located in a small, lovely town in southern Ontario. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: March 23, 1970 -- Mengo Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, Africa. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: One year of university, which I thoroughly enjoyed but quit nevertheless, because you don't need a B.A. to write books and writing was really all I wanted to do anyway. One year of Bible school in New Jersey with the Friends of Israel. Worked ten years as a secretary but never really liked it; got into typesetting and graphic design by accident and loved it to bits. Now a homeworker, looking after my kids and doing occasional freelance graphic work when time permits. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Chronically apolitical. INTX (just barely on the J side). I'm a evangelical Christian, but I don't believe in badgering people who aren't interested in talking about it, nor do I believe in trying to force people who aren't Christians to act as though they were, so no worries. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Right after PoA came out, I read CoS and PS/SS in that order. It wasn't until PoA that I really got hooked, though. At the time, the first two books seemed rather sameish to me and not especially original or compelling. But PoA blew me away, and the rest is history. I devoured GoF in one sitting while nursing a newborn, holding the book up with one hand even though I had a severe RSI in both wrists -- now that's dedication. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOKS--PoA, GoF, CoS, PS/SS in that order CHARACTERS--Snape, Lupin, Ron, Mad-Eye Moody, Fred and George, Harry, Ginny SHIPS--will read anything if it's good, but prefer R/H and H/G to H/H. Dislike Draco on the whole, but have a decided weakness for good D/G fics. OC ships welcomed, provided the OC is Worthy. FICS--Too many to list, recs on my blog (http://rjanderson.blogspot.com). Currently mesmerized by Liz Barr's "Girl Most Likely" (featuring the most convincing adult Harry I've ever read). ***Extent of Potter obsession: Eight finished fanfics in the "Darkness and Light" universe and three more in the works, including an HP/Alias crossover I am deluded enough to think is actually semi-plausible. Seriously considering getting up at midnight to pick up OotP, even though there is no possibility whatsoever of catching up on sleep the next morning and my husband thinks I can't possibly mean it. ***Other interests/activities: See my LJ interests list (http://www.livejournal.com/users/synaesthete7). ***Current/recent reading: Re-reading HP canon and the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett more or less simultaneously (which makes for some interesting parallels). Otherwise, lots of Franklin the Turtle and Curious George. ***Current/recent listening: Al Stewart's "Famous Last Words". The Best of Ed Harcourt. a-ha's "Lifelines". ***Current/recent viewing: Episode 3 of The Amazing Race. Episode Four of the online DOCTOR WHO episode "Shada". Lots of Clay Aiken videos, for the umptieth time (my three-year-old is addicted). Good to see you all again! -- R.J. Anderson http://rjanderson.blogspot.com http://synaesthete7.livejournal.com From lupinesque at lupinesque.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 03:01:43 2003 From: lupinesque at lupinesque.yahoo.invalid (Amy Z) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 03:01:43 -0000 Subject: Hail and farewell Message-ID: Hi, all! Wow, I can't believe I number among the ancients . . . though my right knee *has* been feeling mighty rusty in this damp weather. Thanks for the compliment of the invitation. But after giving it some thought and sharing my reservations with Neil, I've decided to give it a miss. It will be difficult enough to keep up with HPfGU in the post-OoP rush, much less a second group. I could just post here instead, but I'm really not comfortable effectively saying "I'm going to go share my thoughts about OoP somewhere else" not only to 7300 members, but to people who didn't make the cut (which clearly isn't determined chronologically) and are (a) some of my closest friends on the list and (b) some of the people I most want to discuss the book with. I'm sure some of you are feeling like HPfGU isn't the list they knew and loved anymore. I can understand that, and if you prefer to go off and talk in a private room, do. The idea of an onlist book discussion is to have fun and to talk about the books in the way you enjoy, and with the people you want to talk to. But for myself . . . well, my experience at a recent NYC meet-up was instructive for me. At first I thought, look, what I really want is to meet Neil (his visit was the occasion for our getting together) and see some of my best friends from HPfGU, and geez, do I have to meet up with these people whose names I don't even know too? But I really enjoyed talking not only to the people I'd been longing to meet, or those I had met before, but also the people I didn't know from Adam's off ox. The same happens on the list all the time. People who were once mere newbies with odd handles are now the people whose posts I most look forward to. I haven't been active on the main list for a long time, so I'm sure there are lots of interesting newbies (some of whom stopped being newbies a year ago) whose take on things I have yet to hear. And now I have the chance to hear what they have to say about OoP . . . yeah, that's where I want to be. I hope some of you will be there too, as I've been looking forward to hearing *your* views on OoP for two and a half years. All the best, Amy From estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 03:13:51 2003 From: estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid (Randy) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 03:13:51 -0000 Subject: Fallen off the wagon OT Message-ID: Hi there, I guess I have fallen off the wagon as they used to say about alcoholics who stopped drinking but then start again. I had not read any Harry Potter books or message posts since the beginning of 2001, but when news of Book 5 came out.... I started reading aloud to Brian (oldest son age 9) from Book 4 again. He is now reading the rest of the book to himself. He realized that he could do it all by himself. My first contact with HP was around March 2000, when my wife started reading Socerer's Stone aloud to my son. She got me to start reading aloud to him in April 2000. I started wanting to know what was going to happen next, so I had to read the book in secret after he went to bed. By the end of April, I had read the three existing books at the time. I was caught up in the excitement of July 2000 and was active in the message list for the summer of 2000. I tried to write a funny story called Harry Potter and the Bucket of Mud, but my work got in the way. It was somewhat political (based on US election 2000) and was deleted from Fan Fiction.net. Probably by some Republicans. I wrote a couple of silly songs about HP fandom and have written several silly songs about other subjects including "OverFortyVille" sung to the tune of Margarittaville which was posted on a Jimmy Buffet song parody list. If you are much younger than forty, the song makes no sense. If not, it makes too much sense. My claim to fame for HP was the song called: "I am the very Model of an Adult Harry Potter Fan" sung to the Gilbert & Sullivan tune Most of my posts tend to wander from serious discussion to silly inane drivel. I would obviously have cost my house dozens of points each semester due to inappropriate talking during class. I am a mechanical engineer who works with electronics. I have 3 boys and a middleclass lifestyle that would bore most intellectuals. I think Arthur Weasley and I have some things in common. I like to solve mysteries. I have a nack for figuring out the end of movies somewhere in the middle. My oldest brother does this also and says things out loud that spoil it for everyone else. I usually keep things to myself. I do believe that House Elves are the key to this entire series of books, and I am willing to chat about my theory with anyone who is interested. I am most interested in HP books because the endings are very difficult to figure out and so many hints are included in previous books. This is what makes reading fun! I grew up reading Ray Bradbury books. I still have a fondness for him. The twist at the end of his short stories appeals to me. My wife writes Romance stories. I have not read them, but I believe all of her stories are semi-autobiographical and I'm the only guy she has time for. So I must be something special. HA HA. The wine must be talking now. Anyway.... I look forward to the postings on this list. I got out of the HP message groups when I could not keep up with all of the posts. I hope to stay involved this summer while you discuss book 5. IS it OOP or OOPS there goes another one.... I have been to France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria but never to England. I hope to visit someday, and would very much like to meet some of those folks who live across the pond. I have some friends in England who used to be coworkers and enjoyed discussions with them about England. My ancestors came to America from England in the 1600's from a town near the White Cliffs of Dover. One day I shall visit there and drink lots of British ale. I hope I have not been too boring here. I will keep most of my posts much shorter than this one. I will now disapparate. POOOF! From caliburncy at caliburncy.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 03:16:30 2003 From: caliburncy at caliburncy.yahoo.invalid (caliburncy) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 03:16:30 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi, everyone! It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces here. I must admit, I feel a teensy bit undeserving of being here, since I've never really considered myself part of "The Old Crowd" per se, having joined HPfGU only in summer of 2001 (whereas there are some others who have been around since the dawn of the group in 1999) . . . but even so, I'm honored. I doubt I'll have much time to post here, since I am buried under all sorts of college assignments at the moment, but I just wanted to say hello. Take care, -Luke From macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 08:49:14 2003 From: macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid (Mary Ann) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 08:49:14 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Luke wrote: > It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces here. I must admit, I > feel a teensy bit undeserving of being here, since I've never really > considered myself part of "The Old Crowd" per se, having joined HPfGU > only in summer of 2001 (whereas there are some others who have been > around since the dawn of the group in 1999) . . . but even so, I'm > honored. I'll second that, actually. In my Intro post I forgot to add how pleased I was to receive an invite to this group seeing as I don't consider myself to be part of the "old" group. I joined HPfGU in the fall of 2001 and rarely contributed, except on OTC, where I never shut up. Mary Ann, looking forward to getting to know you all From cj.estes at siriusgeologist.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 15:00:49 2003 From: cj.estes at siriusgeologist.yahoo.invalid (CJ Estes) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 08:00:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030615150049.91707.qmail@...> Can I just say how ecstatic I was to hear you all hadstarted up this group! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Haven't had the time until now to do a real intro. Randy did his last night after I fell asleep on the couch (too much wine). OKay onward....bouncing... THE OLD CROWD INTRO ***Name: Carole Estes ***Nicknames/IDs: siriusgeologist (on yahooY!M!) siriologist (on livejournal) ***Age: 41 ***Family: DH (dear hubby)- Randy (see his ramble a few messages ago). 3 boy-children (9, 6, and 4). A mom in PA, a Dad (local) and a sister who isn't speaking to me. Assorted neices and nephews who are speaking to me, and a whole slew of in-laws who actually like us. ***Home In Lakeland, Florida. 45 miles from Disney World. It's really a little gem of a community. Big enough to have shopping and restaurants and conveniences, but not big enough to have long commutes, traffic, or other inconveniences. It's a great place to raise families, which is why we moved back here after a brief stint in Massachusetts. (We lived here for 5 years before most of you met me). ***Birthday, Place of Birth: January 6, 1962 in Rahway, New Jersey, but only spent 6 months there. Was raised where my mom was raised, went to the same elementary school as she did and had her as a sixth grade teacher. Oh, too much info...ok...all that happened in Chester County Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BS in Geological Oceanography from Florida Inst. of Tech. MS in Geology from Univ. of South Florida. Am currently a consulting hydrogeologist. Most of my work is for municipalities that need more water or need to get rid of their treated effluent. I also do regular contamination assessment (fuel spills from underground storage tanks, etc) in between hydro assignments. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Errrrrrr, do you really want to know? MOst of you know about my fanfic epic with Penny (A Sirius Affair)and the sequel I'm nearly done with (A Sirius Change) but am toying with the idea of actually writing something other than fanfic after I'm done. Will keep you posted. ***First contact with Harry Potter: January, 2000. During one of our Massachusetts move my oldest son's 1st grade teacher gave him "HP and the SS" and "The Hobbitt" as a leaving gift. I read it to see if it was appropriate for him. I then absconded with his copy and bought the other two in quick succession. Read them all to me and him and went looking for a discussion group. (Has it really been more than 3 years???) ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): BOOKS: PoA is the best so far. I can read that one more often than the rest, followed by GoF, SS and CoS OBJECTS: I'm not a collectables type of gal. Had a Hogwarts mug that the emblem wore off of, buit I still use the mug although I just bought a Nimbus Mug. CHARACTERS: Sirius, Sirius, and did I mention Sirius? SHIPS: Harry/Hermione, Draco/Ginny, Sirius/Believable Original Character, I could even see Harry/Ginny (don't beat me Penny) depending on how she's written in future books. FANFIC: PoU was my intro into the world of fanfic, and I still keep up with HWTF, but I haven't had time, since going back to work nearly full time, to start or keep up with anything else. I help MOD the PoU list, so if nothing else I keep up with those stories through the discussion there. NIMBUS: Am logistical coordinator for Nimbus. (I deal with the inanimate things). ***Extent of Potter obsession: I'd say mild to moderate, but friends and family on the outside think I'm nuts. ***Other interests/activities: Diana Gabaldon yahoo!group. Stained glass, but haven't done any since kids. Running kids here and there. Dabbling at writing. ***Current/recent reading: Current: "Into the Wilderness" by Sarah Donati. Recent: "Cereleon Sins" by Laurell K. Hamilton (but was very very dispointed in it, was an Anita Blake fan before that, but am reconsidering.) Looking forward to "To the Nines" by Janet Evanovitch, due out in July just about Nimbus time. ***Current/recent listening: Santana's "Shaman" is playing on my walkman while I treadmill at lunch. I keep going back to the soundtrack for "The Wild Thornberry's Movie" It is a really good compilation of fun, world beat type music including Sting, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Hugh Maskela, and the Pretenders. I highly recommend it even if you didn't see the movie. ***Current/recent viewing: West Wing, and er are about the only TV I watch. Loved "Finding Nemo" actually saw "The Matrix" so now I need to see the second one, but probably will see it on DVD. I guess that about covers it and my time is up, gotta go do Father's Day stuff for Randy. Am so excited about this group. I feel like I have a home again :) Carole ===== Are you coming to Nimbus - 2003? A symposium for afficionados, enthusiasts, scholars, and students of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. July 17-20, 2003, in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney's Swan & Dolphin Hotel. For information about this event: http://www.hp2003.org __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 15:26:10 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 10:26:10 -0500 Subject: There goes the neighborhood! INTRO PROFILE References: <20030615150049.91707.qmail@...> Message-ID: <002201c33352$74262e60$a304a6d8@...> (smiles sweetly) I'm here! Listen, my time is severely limited for the next couple days...I'm packing husband and children off to sunny California to sponge off his brother and sister and see Mickey and all that. Not incidentally getting the house to myself for the critical weekend upcoming. But I'm doing clothes and packing and getting car "activity bags" together and stuff. Because of this, I have simply lifted the intro/bio I just posted over on FAQ (Cindy wanting everyone to reintroduce themselves). It's a different format, got different questions, but it's pretty thorough and it's *done,* and I can post it now instead of waiting until I have time to type something else. Seriously, thank you so much for thinking of me!! And I also am *delighted* to be invited here!!! If you give me enought time, I might say something intelligent instead of just going on my good looks, too. ~Amandageist (Snape is not a vampire) >Real name: Amanda Lewanski >Also known as: Amandageist Amandar, Queen of the Universe VoldeMom, Evil OverMom Bar >Age/Sex: almost 38/not too much since I got a full-time job and have small children, too >Birthplace/Livingplace: San Antonio/just south of San Antonio. My escape plans have thus far failed. >Family Life: Oxymoron on the face of it. Married 12 1/2 years, to the same man, and I'm sure I can recall his name if you give me a minute....but it's true love, this is a man I gave a HP watch with a little gold snitch that ticks around the seconds, and he *wears* it. Have produced three children with said man (probably because I wasn't working full time). Daughter, 8 as of June 7; son, 6; spare son, to be 4 in about two weeks. Cat that we keep in the garage because his, um, control isn't what it used to be. Details upon request but I wouldn't encourage it. >Personality: On occasion. >Words friends have used to describe you: Hm. Just lately, an (I thought) fairly close co-worker said I'm aggressive, pushy, demanding, and insulting. Nobody ever tells you what you *want* to hear. Oh, I use good examples when I explain things. And I make my life sound like Erma Bombeck. These last two I take as compliments, even though my life *is* like Erma Bombeck and I'm just passing it on. John has said that I am wise; Michelle has said that I am a good friend; and Sheryll is coming back for a second visit even though my children are involved. Will that do? >Words you have used to describe you: Overweight. Former trophy wife. I have no idea what to say here, I don't think about me much of the time. >Things you do when not staring at the computer: Heh. Get up at 4:30, shower/put on part of face; wake up children around 5:15-5:30; feed children; while they're eating, put away dishes from dishwasher or fold laundry or run a new load or make husband's lunch (and theirs, during school) and select their clothes from the neat stacks of clean clothes that never get carried upstairs, we live out of the laundry room; chase them upstairs and get them bathroomed and teeth brushed and dressed and finish putting on face (the stuff that smears when kids mess with you so I put on last--lipstick, mascara); (usually) draw scar on Michael's face with blonde eyebrow pencil (perfect for the task, by the way); iron clothes if needed; on Tuesdays, collect garbage and change litterbox and put in trunk to set by street; get dressed, stuff kids in car, try to be on road by 7:15 (school days, Kasia's bus comes at 6:35, she must be dressed and ready by then; Tomek's comes at 7; Michael and I leave by 7:15, but it's summer so I have more leeway). Stop at gas station on way to get Dr. Pepper and something to eat to keep myself awake in the car, since I readily fall asleep driving and must guard against this. Eating is the only--I do mean the only--thing I've never fallen asleep doing. I pick stuff that is complicated and must be fooled with. Usually this is breakfast, I don't have time to eat with the kids. Drop Michael (and now Kasia) at Renna's house about 8:15; drop Tomek at Children's World a little later (yeah, like I can afford to put more than one of my kids in a paid daycare, so I put the one who needs most to be around "normal" kids). Drive to work, get there around 9:00. Revel in the adult environment. Edit things, talk in complete sentences, take only self to the bathroom. Leave work around 6 or 7; possibly hit the store on the way home and get bread, milk, or any of the zillion things I forgot because I never remember to put it on the list, or forgot the list entirely. Get home around 7:30, usually in time to eat with kids (although sons never eat dinner, they just don't, no idea why); every other night is Bath Night; stick them all in the tub at once to save time, probably warping daughter, too bad. Bedtime is supposed to be 7:30 since they get up so early but it's usually more like 9:00. Go downstairs and do laundry or clean up some; stay upstairs and pay bills or clean up some; husband will usually do the dishes; if husband is not playing computer game, download email and read some, respond to a few, delete vast majority unread because by then it's about 10:30 or 11 and I have to get up in five or six hours. On the weekends, it gets busy; that's when I do the stuff I have no time to do during the week. > Comfort foods: Hm. I like the yogurt that comes with the little chocolate balls in the thing on top, and you stir it in. Except I don't take that to work anymore since I called my husband on the cellphone and went on and on about something being wrong with the car because it was making a funny noise, and found out that it was the little balls rattling in the little top compartment of the yogurt package. Have yet to live that down. Chocolate is good. Maple butter (imported, intoxicating). Sometimes ice cream. These days very often don't eat much; no idea why I'm still overweight, probably my stay-awake stuff in the morning. >Education/Work: Yes/Yes (sorry) B.A., English (Technical Writing emphasis, which does *not* appear on my degree because it's not a concentration, just an emphasis, so I parked my rear in the dean's office until they gave me a letter on letterhead saying I'd put that extra year in and completed the emphasis). Took eleven years and a husband willing to pay for me to finish (see "former trophy wife" above; I used to be worth it). After hiatus having children and somehow missing the raging market for freelance editors in rural south Texas, found employment *in my field* as a technical editor for a consulting firm this last December. Love the job but it came about four years too soon. >Language skills English. Virtuoso. >Technical know-how: TechnoSquib. Am not, alas, the person who coined this term, but they coined it in a post to me, and I popularized it. >Favourite HP book: PoA. >Favourite HP character(s): Do I really need to answer this? >Favourite HP line Too many to select a winner. (new addition: "Excuse me," Snape said icily, "but I believe I am the potions master at this school." I just *love* the delivery; was upset that I didn't get to see Rickman do "icily.") >Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?: Watching. Loving. Enjoying the overlap of my enthusiasms via the casting of Alan Rickman as Snape. Visual imagery of movie does not get confused in my odd mind with the verbal imagery of the books. >Into HP fanfiction? Not at all. Won't read it until book 7 is done; I want my vision of the characters to be solely JKR's until she's finished. I will not be able to keep different written characterizations separate, as I can the visuals of the movie. >Books you'd recommend to just about anyone: Guy Gavriel Kay, anything, but favor the Fionavar Tapestry. Anything by Martha Wells. Chris Stasheff, Charles deLint, and William Least HeatMoon (nonfiction). >Favorite TV shows? Like I have time for TV. >Favorite movies: Mmmm. The Ghost and the Darkness, for making things I can see sleeping in the zoo more frightening than Jurassic Park dinosaurs. Alan Rickman, anything. James Mason, anything. Peter O'Toole--Creator, My Favorite Year, The Ruling Class >One thing about your life you'd change if you could - you may not say "lose weight." Okay, I'd be taller. Having my mother alive would be changing *her* life; having my husband sound like James Mason would be changing *his.* Damn. Oh, probably not having to worry about money 24/7. I'd hate to waste a big chance like this on "not leaving my purse in the shopping cart last Tuesday so that it wouldn't get stolen." >One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance copy of Book 7: Having gone to New York to see Alan Rickman. For those of you who know the song "I Hope You Dance"....for once, I *danced,* and I think doing so has changed me in good ways. I don't usually do things like that. >Philosophy for an easy life: Why even think about something that doesn't exist? Nobody has an easy life; if I had all the money in the world, I'd find something else to worry me. Caveat emptor? Carpe diem? Laugh a lot? People who can sum up their philosophy in one cute little line shouldn't be out unaccompanied. >How you found HPfGU: Some variety of web search; I didn't use Google then. I had one, count 'em, one friend who'd read HP, and she is not the kind you can theorize themes with. She *is* the one I "cast" the movie with, and we were 2/3 right with our main choices. Plus I had a baby and was at home all day and needed adult conversation. Almost three years ago now. >Active at other HP sites: Only affiliates, and Snapefans (which, by the way, as a month older than Chatter, was the first spinoff of HP. It doesn't remember it is, anymore). I check the Cauldron for news. >Your most rock solid OoP prediction: Snape will die. >Members of the fandom you have personally met: Sheryll Penny Kelley (who has babysat my children, too) John Joywitch Jim Ferer Joy W. Cindy Debbie (Neil on the phone, he got a *few* words in betwixt me and Sheryll) Possibly forgetting someone. I have a terrible memory for names. >Add a question of your choosing and answer it: If one wish could be granted you, would you choose a benefit for yourself or for someone else? After severe waffling (see "worrying about money 24/7" above) I'd probably pick someone else and have my son Tomek able to speak normally and fluently. ~Amanda From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 17:12:32 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 10:12:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Intro Message-ID: <20030615171232.26999.qmail@...> THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: JoAnna (Walsvik) Wahlund ***Nicknames/IDs: pt4ever, Wanner47 (AIM), j_wahlund at ... (MSN) ***Age: 22 ***Family: My mom and stepdad live in Dickinson, ND; my dad is moving to our town (Fargo, ND) in a few weeks; my sister lives here in Fargo as well, my brother & sister-in-law live in AZ, and I have as stepbrother & stepsister, a stepsister-in-law and two stepneices in Fargo too. Lots of assorted grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins too. ***Home We recently moved to Fargo, ND from Minneapolis, MN. When I first started posting to HPfGU, I was attending school in Laramie, WY. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: November 3, 1980 in Grand Forks, ND. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities on May 18 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Technical Communication. I'm currently job-hunting, looking for work as an admin. asst. or receptionist, or something along those lines. Work in the writing/editing field would be ideal, but in this job market (and in this town), those types of jobs are slim to none. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Some of you may remember a guy who went by the handle of "Jarnor23" on HPfGU; he and I originally met on the board, and married 14 months later! Our first date was at a party for GoF, and he proposed at a Harry Potter display at the Minneapolis Dayton's. We were married on September 1, 2001 and our dance had a Harry Potter theme! (We have the *cutest* wedding pic of the two of us in HP glasses.) For the long version of our meeting/engagement as well as wedding pics, to go: http://www.geocities.com/jwalsvik/ We're both recently converted Catholics (were raised Lutheran) but first and foremost Christians. We're also liberal and can't wait for the day that "Dubya" is out of office. :) No kids yet, but we have a spoiled-rotten kitty named B'Elanna. Collin (aka Jarnor23) is going to North Dakota State U in the fall to get his B.S. in Computer Science. ***First contact with Harry Potter: My aunt Sheri, who's a sixth grade teacher, kept telling me that I *had* to read Sorcerer's Stone. I finally got around to it during Xmas break of my freshman year of college - my mom, who's an elementary school librarian, loaned me the library's copy of SS and I LOVED it. I bought CoS and PoA and was hooked. ***Favourite Potter things: That's a tough one. I LOVE Hermione - she reminds me of myself sometimes. :-) ***Extent of Potter obsession: It's pretty big - we have tons of HP stuff around the house. Since everyone knew the story of how we met and such, we got a lot of HP merchandise as wedding gifts. I have the books practically memorized and I ROCK at Harry Potter Trivia. (No one wants to play with me anymore because I always win.) As for Potter merchandise, we have: all four books (we used to have two sets but we donated one to my mom's library), SS in Spanish & Japanese, PoA in French, two coffee mugs, a blanket, a snowglobe, two different sets of bookends, a stuffed Fluffy, a Fluffy doorstop, the HP Trivia Game, HP Quidditch card game, HP Uno, 2003 HP CoS calendar, and a whole slew of Christmas ornaments. We have both movies on DVD and the soundtrack to SS. We probably have more, but as we just moved I haven't unpacked everything yet so I can't verify what we have. ***Other interests/activities: I read a lot. (I also read fast - I read GoF in four hours.) I love Star Trek and Whose Line Is It Anyway? (preferably British version - Clive Anderson rocks! - but since I don't get cable I usually watch the American version, but I like that one too). I like to write stories, primarily Star Trek fanfic. ***Current/recent reading: Been too busy unpacking to read lately, though I'm in the middle of both "Dave Barry in Japan" and "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." ***Current/recent listening: Soundtracks to musicals, primarily. ***Current/recent viewing: I just saw "Down with Love" - extremely cheesy, a bit implausible, but a fun movie nonetheless. That's it for me - and I must also chime in that I am so honored to be invited to join! After my marriage I was so busy I stopped keeping up the HPfGU, but now that OoP is coming out, I look forward to discussing the book with y'all! ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 17:19:48 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 17:19:48 -0000 Subject: Intro In-Reply-To: <20030615171232.26999.qmail@...> Message-ID: JoAnna said: << Some of you may remember a guy who went by the handle of "Jarnor23" on HPfGU; he and I originally met on the board, and married 14 months later! >> My goodness: there was an HPfGU wedding and we didn't even know about it. Extremely belated congratulations! Neil From anglinsbees at anglinsbees.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 18:52:08 2003 From: anglinsbees at anglinsbees.yahoo.invalid (Ellen & John Anglin) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 18:52:08 -0000 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP Message-ID: Wow. I am so awed by the company here! So many people whose writngs I adore! I will roll my tongue back in my mouth long enough to toss out a question and answer it myself. I hope I'm not jumping the gun here. What do you really hope we will find out in OOTP? I want more about house Elves, especially house elves gone bad. Winky deserves to kick some DE butt! I long for more Lestrange. I want to know who they are, what they did (Besides torture Longbottoms)and why a couple has such immense loyalty to Lord Voldemort. I want to know if my theory that they are descendants of Wendelin The Weird holds any water at all. (Alright, blame the fact that I play their parents over at Lightningwars RPG on this one,) I want to know why Voldie is after Harry. After all the theories I have sampled, I want the definative answer. I want to know more about ghosts- especially about Myrtle. More about Olive Hornby would be a nice bonus! So how about you all? What treasures do you hope to find in book 5? Ellen the Pottering Beekeeper Yahoo and AOL IM; anglinsbees Livejournal; anglinsbees From selah_1977 at selah_1977.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 19:45:49 2003 From: selah_1977 at selah_1977.yahoo.invalid (Ebony Elizabeth Thomas) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030615194549.80266.qmail@...> Ellen & John Anglin wrote: So how about you all? What treasures do you hope to find in book 5? Well, I think this is going to come as quite the shock to most of you, who know how vigorously I ship the kids... :P What I most want is more Marauders-lore. I am endlessly fascinated by the lives of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. And the thing is this. Fanon just *hasn't* cut it for me. I really haven't gotten satisfied with the speculation, essays, and fanfics done about them *pre*-1981. So I'm thrilled that this is our Nimbus theme. I'd love to learn more about Lily Potter, Arabella Figg (*if* she is in that cohort) and others. The chapters I read most in GoF during the second half of 2000 were ironically *not* anything Yule Ball-related (I didn't even start virulently debating ship until December of that year, IIRC). They were "Padfoot Returns" and "The Pensieve". I find the immediate past history of JKR's universe fascinating, and really wish she'd reconsider her "seven-books only" mantra. I'd love for her to write one about MWPP. I know we'll learn more about Snape, but I'm not fussed. But I would like to see where the house-elf and giant plotlines go, as I'm interested in the themes of racial purity. I think that Lucius Malfoy has the potential to become more dangerous than Voldemort. I also want to see more of the wizarding world. That was one of the pluses of GoF, when we learned that gee, there is magic outside of Britain! I hope this is the book where Harry visits a new place. I hope that the death or deaths won't be too terribly frustrating. And I don't mind Harry-ships as much as Hermione-ones, so I am very glad that all the Ron/Hermione we'll get will be secondhand. Thank heaven for small mercies. Okay, that's all for now! --Ebony, off to do some cleaning [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From michelleapostolides at michelleapostolides.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 19:54:22 2003 From: michelleapostolides at michelleapostolides.yahoo.invalid (michelleapostolides) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 19:54:22 -0000 Subject: OT : Hi everyone Message-ID: hey !! I'm so glad to be in a group where I can dicuss OOTP with everyone I've shared the wait for this book with. Wohoo !! Michelle From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 21:43:37 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 22:43:37 +0100 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ellen said: << What do you really hope we will find out in OOTP? >> I'm not sure I would *pray* to see these things in OoP, but I would like: - some background on Filch and Mrs Figg and also Crookshanks - more on Harry's parents (not too unlikely methinks) - to know the secret of The Sorting Hat - to discover Snape's mission (duh!) - to find out what the Order of the Phoenix is (double duh!) Also, suggest... - more Trelawney/McGonagall sniping - something completely weird and unexpected in connection with the Dursleys - more on Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff - Dumbledore's motives questioned - Arthur to get Lucius locked up - one of the twins to "go bad" (Weasleys not Patils... hey, on second thoughts let's go with 'Parvati, the Evil One') - Professor Sinistra to get a line (of words, I mean) - less of Hagrid and the Elves (probably not going to get that wish) - reading dialects is a pain: perhaps Hagrid could attend elocution lessons? Ellen again: << I long for more Lestrange. I want to know who they are, what they did (Besides torture Longbottoms)and why a couple has such immense loyalty to Lord Voldemort. >> I second that one. It would be interesting to have more scenes outside Harry's POV, even if it's from a third person perspective. It's probably the only way we'll ever get to know more about some of the minor characters. Predictions: I think Lupin will be the one to die, in the service of the Order of the Phoenix. I predict that Harry will injure one of the other students or that he will discover another new talent, such as telepathy or remote viewing. Neil From potterlovingash at potterlovingash.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 15 21:38:55 2003 From: potterlovingash at potterlovingash.yahoo.invalid (Ashley) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 21:38:55 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE Message-ID: Oh the great joy that was receiving an invite here and once again feeling safe in the embrace of my first HP fandomers. THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Ashley ***Nicknames/IDs: potterlovingash (Yahoo), pot_pal_ashley (on LiveJournal) ***Age: 21 ***Family: Single but *in love* (ssh). Divorced parents whom I both love dearly and see in equal portions, two younger brothers who drive me nuts. ***Home Well, since I spend most of my time at school (summer included) we'll call it Morningside Heights, Manhattan, NYC. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: Oct. 9, 1981. Albuquerque, New Mexico (born and raised until I went off to college) ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Will be entering my senior year at Barnard College of Columbia University. Working towards my BA in English Literature with a concentration in Film Studies. Up until my past semester in England, I was a pre-med... I am dropping the ambition for now, will return to it with post-bac work. Current hope for a job in film development with a company here in Manhattan... we'll see what happens next spring. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Wow, how very non-interesting I feel...I eat everything, tend to be hopelessly in love with fellow Columbia male scholars, and I enjoy playing my cello and the piano when I have the time. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Picked up PS/SS to read on the plane to NYC as I entered college, became addicted and spent orientation hidden in lounges devouring the other three. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Bookswise, I have to go with PoA, though I still like to reread the end bits of GoF. Slight leanings to the H/H ship, otherwise would like to remain a Swiss, I have a soft spot for the FF of my close friends (Ebony, Cassie Claire, Lori Summers, Penny&Carole, and Barb) and I have never read anything beyond these classics. ***Extent of Potter obsession: I have actually toned down significantly this year in outward appearance. My Potter time has overlaped my college experience...dorm walls in the past have had every inch covered in Potter-related things, from Starling's art to magazine articles, to pictures taken at the Premiere parties of the films. HP4GU meets still bring fond memories of great people and good fun. ***Other interests/activities: Sucked into the Lord of the Rings phenomenon, both the books and the films. I am uber-involved on campus, ranging from being an Admissions Student Officer, head of the Student Gov tripartite for student life, playing the snare in CUMB (the band), acting in the Shakespeare troupe, and playing my cello. ***Current/recent reading: "His Dark Materials" series - Philip Pullman; "Catch-22" - Joseph Heller; "Coraline" -Neil Gaiman ***Current/recent listening: Radiohead's new album, the Matrix Reloaded score (the second disk with only instrumental music), and repetitive need to hear Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. ***Current/recent viewing: No television, though have taken an interest in old films. Yesterday included viewings of "The Manchurian Candidate" and "12 Angry Men" ~Ashley From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 00:24:08 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 17:24:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Intro In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030616002408.77923.qmail@...> Huh. I could have sworn that I posted a msg about our wedding a few weeks before the event took place - but then again, I was so frazzled that it could have been my imagination. :D And yes, my parents were a bit freaked that I'd met a man on the Internet - but once they met him, it was all good. And his family loved (and still loves) me - and did I mention we played HP Trivia the night we got engaged, too? 'Cause we did. (And yes, I won, but barely.) Anyway, just so there's a POINT to this post - I second pretty much everything everyone else has said about what they want to see in HP - I would like to find out more about other teachers, and maybe Neville Longbottom too. He strikes me as a Peter Pettigrew type that *might* be swayed or blackmailed against HP & Co., but then again he did stand up to them in Sorcerer's Stone. I'd also like to find out more about the Weasley family, esp. Bill & Charlie - loved them in GoF. Neil Ward wrote: JoAnna said: << Some of you may remember a guy who went by the handle of "Jarnor23" on HPfGU; he and I originally met on the board, and married 14 months later! >> My goodness: there was an HPfGU wedding and we didn't even know about it. Extremely belated congratulations! Neil Yahoo! Groups Sponsor To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: the_old_crowd-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 00:41:29 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 19:41:29 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Things I pray to see in OOTP References: Message-ID: <000701c333a0$29f03d60$f205a6d8@...> Ellen (Hi, Ellen!) asked: > What do you really hope we will find out in OOTP? Do I really need to say this? I want more about Snape. His character is so frickin' *complex* and there is not *One* *Single* *Thing* that he has done or said that we could put down cleanly to one motive. More, the various motives were often 180 degrees apart. I want to know some of the "Past with a capital P," I want to know if he even *knew* Lily, much less anything closer, and I want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is fully human. I want to see the changing (hopefully, maturation) of the relationship (interaction?) between Harry and Snape, so tantalizingly presaged in that last exchange of glances. I want to know if I am correct about the Dark Mark, among its other functions, binding the DEs to Voldemort unto death. I want to know if the twins really bought Ron dress robes. I want to know if my house-elf theories are correct: that they are bound to a place as much as to a family; and that Winky is just as atypical for the breed as Dobby. I want to know if Jan's theory that the goblins will be key in Voldemort's plans (and downfall) is on target. I want to know that JKR is far too good an author to let a whisper of unregistered animagi or Polyjuice potion or Veritaserum or Priori Incantatem creep into the next book, at the least. I want to know if Remus Lupin will bite anyone; if so, whom; and what the repercussions are. The "Assassin!Snape" theory so creepily fills the bill on several levels, I am looking forward to seeing if any of it is correct. For those of you who unfamiliar with this, it says that (a) Snape's task *was* to go back to Voldemort (b) Voldemort will require some proof of his loyalty, and ask him to kill someone. My personal variant: target is Dumbledore. (c) tie-in to Jan's "Love as a Spell Component" theory: Dumbledore's willing death will be the final thing required to complete a kick-ass protection spell against Voldemort: --Dumbledore has exhibited no fear of death --he worked on alchemy [very potion-like] with Flamel --his own potions master is apparently close to him --Lily's sacrifice *must* have had something special about it, as others must have died for loved ones and not had the effect her sacrifice did, so possibly her willing death completed a powerful spell (unrelated corollary: I'd like to find out more about this sacrifice that protected Harry) --Flamel also went to a willing death for the greater good (d) Dumbledore will die, whether or not Snape does it (e) Harry will believe Snape did it, building in the requisite viewpoint misunderstanding (f) *Snape* may believe he did it (I can see Dumbledore setting something up, where Snape kills him accidentally or unintentionally), and it will cause him untold angst (g) Voldemort will also believe Snape did it, and take him back (h) Harry will, however, work against Snape (see item e. above) (i) Understanding will only come on all required levels *just* before all hell is ready to break loose, barely rescuing the situation (j) This understanding will require Snape and Harry to communicate I *love* this theory. It's mostly mine; it's a variant of an original that had Snape killing Karkaroff to prove himself to Voldemort, but the rest of us wanted to know what the test would be in asking Snape to kill someone he doesn't really care for and that Voldemort probably wants to off himself? No, the real test would be someone Snape loves. Okay, enough rambling. I want to see if any of that is going to occur. Especially Jan's "love as a spell component" theory. He was also the one who pointed out that alchemy must involve potions work, and suggested that one basis of Snape's respect for Dumbledore was professional. Off to bathe children now. ~Amandageist (Jan is my husband, forgot to mention that) From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 00:46:34 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 00:46:34 -0000 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: Message-ID: *I would like to see Hagrid be less of a moron. *I would like to find out more about Lily (who wouldn't?) *I would like to see more Lupin *I would like to see the Ministry of Magic up close and personal *I'd love to see romance blooming - but not Harry and Cho *I'd also really like to see Dudley turn against his parents but since I doubt that, I'd get a kick out of Harry doing some magic on him That's all I can think of for now. --Jenny ********************************************************* From voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 00:49:31 2003 From: voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid (Jeralyn) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 00:49:31 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy! Hi, bunch! What a wonderful idea this was. How nice to see you all again! THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Jeralyn Shattuck ***Nicknames/IDs: Generally, some form of Voicelady just about everywhere ***Age: 38 ***Family: My husband is Bart, who is an actor on the verge... ***Home Santa Monica, California by way of Brooklyn New York. We've been here for a little over a month. We decided to move after I was a little un-nerved by being caught in the midst of the 9/11 tragedy. Also, it's the center of the film world, which is good for Bart! ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 10/20/1964 West Chester, PA ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: I have a BFA in Theatre/Communications, but I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Oh yeah, I do funny voices. Myers-Briggs - ENFJ - at least, that's the way it turned out the last time I took it. ***First contact with Harry Potter: I saw that the first 2 books were on the NYT Best Seller list, and picked up all 3 to see what the big deal was all about. I joined the yahoo club 2 days later. Yes, I was one of the first few. MERCHANDISE-- Yes, I'm a discerning collector. I don't have everything, but only what I consider the "good" stuff - the books I will keep, and I hope to ebay the rest after the 7th book is released. ***Extent of Potter obsession: see above. I watch each film at least once every 2 weeks. I've lost count of the number of times I've read the books. I was a moderator for HPfGU for a while, but became overwhelmed by the size of the community. I think I have the honor(?) of being the first to de-admin myself. ***Other interests/activities: I'm big into fitness: I run, swim, bicycle, rollerblade. And as I mentioned earlier, I do voices. ***Current/recent reading: "Summerland" by Michael Chabon - He references Harry Potter in the book. ***Current/recent listening: The Flaming Lips/Bare Naked Ladies/Norah Jones/ Rod Stewart ***Current/recent viewing: "A Might Wind" (I recommend all of Guest's films.) I'm very glad to be back. Thank you for the invite. From kelleythompson at kelleyscorpio.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 01:20:47 2003 From: kelleythompson at kelleyscorpio.yahoo.invalid (Kelley) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 01:20:47 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile Message-ID: Hi, everyone! Great to see you all here! And I'm already behind... THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Kelley Thompson ***Nicknames/IDs: kelleyscorpio ***Age: 34 ***Family: Mother, with whom I'm living (father deceased June '01), 3 1/2 years younger sister, married with two sons (my darling nephews -- Zach, 3, and Alex, 17 mos.), and a 9 years younger brother, unmarried, but living with his girlfriend. As for me, single, with not even a pet right now, aside from the family of stray cats that have taken up residence in our shrubs. ***Home San Antonio, Texas. Go, Spurs, Go! '03 World Champs, it's going to happen, our beloved Dave's last year... ***Birthday, Place of Birth: October 31, 1968, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; I'm an adoptee also, having lived in SA ever since being brought here by my parents within a couple weeks of my birth. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA in Psychology, which has done me a fat lot of good. Worked as a trainer, mainly, in grocery stores through high school and college, then as a merchandiser for seven years. Most recently have been involved in at-home child care, but my real occupation is job- hunting. Sigh. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Straight (but not narrow; tired joke, I know), Catholic-raised (spiritual but questioning), omnivore, liberal. INTP (The Conceiver), a Rational (NT) according to Keirsey; an Earth Monkey; Scorpio (the "Inner" real me, according to a natal chart) with Leo ascendant (how others see me) and moon in Pisces (emotions, moods, feelings, romance). I learned most of these things since becoming involved in this fandom; fancy that... ***First contact with Harry Potter: The nearest I can pinpoint it is Oct - Nov '99. Just after SS came out in paperback in the US; I'd been aware of all the media attention the books were getting, happened to see the SS paperback when out shopping, and wanted to see what it was all about. Started reading that night and couldn't put it down ... I was hooked. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): PoA is still my favorite, followed closely by GoF. Love all the characters (love to hate Rita Skeeter and was annoyed by Dobby who's since grown on me), but after the Trio, Lupin, Sirius, Snape, and Hagrid are my faves. Still an R/H-er (for canon), haven't read a tremendous amount of fic (I decided to "save" it for the day when there is no more new canon; I'm a delayed-gratification type, who's quite strong-willed about *some* things), but I quite enjoyed Cassie's DD (and the pairings therein) and really like Remus/Sirius fics. Favorite lines -- still tend to prefer the humorous ones: "midget in glasses being born", "Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," etc. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Hm, moderate, I suppose. Have the books in both hardcover and paperback in US versions, paperback in UK, with an intent to purchase the full set of UK deluxe editions, plus the schoolbooks. Have the first version of HP Trivial Pursuit, a Snitch keychain, and the coffee mug with the crest, which is used daily and looks it; have videos of the first movies (thanks to Sheryll for CoS!!). I'm not tremendously big on the merchandise, though I would love to have the CDs (not sure which version) and would love a Gryffindor Quidditch shirt with "Weasley, Beater" on the back. ***Other interests/activities: *Wide* range of musical interest (listening, not performing), though not big on country/western or hip-hop (do like various songs in those genres, though). Lots of songs DLed and in desperate need of a CD burner. I also have an interest in the paranormal (never knew that about you, Neil), art, history, languages, science, films, televsion. Still in the Eddie Izzard fan groups, though haven't been keeping up much lately; I miss my "Covered In Bees" friends, and am anxiously awaiting Circle. Was thinking of selling a kidney to get to NYC for "A Day in The Death of Joe Egg", but will have to settle for a tape. Still in the Sports Night fan groups, though haven't kept up there, either; still reading "Can't Believe It's Not Sports Night" and "Sports Night on CSC" fics and watching my series DVDs ad nauseum. Hope my friend Paul McLaughlin excels in his new career as television writer (last I heard, he'd written an ep for "Casualty", though this was some time ago) ... ***Current/recent reading: Just finished Galadriel's "Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter" -- okay; a lot I disagree with, though she pointed out a number of things I hadn't really paid much mind to. Am now reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the *first* time, believe it or not, and enjoying it greatly. Have a never-ending list of future reads though, which include Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, Watase Yu, Douglas Adams, Diana Gabaldon, Orson Scott Card, Susan Cooper, Anne McCaffrey, Lemony Snicket ... ad infinitum. This list makes me wonder exactly what have I been reading all these years. Also have a 'thing' for reference books, dictionaries, etc. Side comment: I grew up on Bradbury, too; Randy, I think you're the only other Bradbury fan I've ever met! Still have a great fondness for his stuff, as well, and reread much of it every now and then (same thing with Vonnegut)... ***Current/recent listening: Don't listen to much on a regular basis, but when I do, it usually tends to be something I've DLed. Varies from Loreena McKennitt, Sarah McLachlan, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Moby, Coldplay, Fatboy Slim, The Doors, the Beatles, The White Stripes, Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, Sinatra, Diana Krall, Nat King Cole, MM Bosstones, REM, Sting, Cracker, Depeche Mode, The Proclaimers, The Verve, and on and on; this is probably not even 5% of it all. Ebony, I love Earth, Wind and Fire, too, one of my old faves (current favorite from them is "September") and love standards, as well... ***Current/recent viewing: Movies -- wide and varied also; mainly, anything well-done with a good story. Can recite embarrassing amounts of dialogue from a number of films, but lately most of those films are Disney or Pixar. Could list titles of favourite films until my fingers fell off. Can't remember the last film I saw in a theater, due to lack of funds. Recently saw "Raise the Red Lantern" on IFC; *quite* good. Television: FX (this is what led to my becoming a Buffy fan; shame on me, Catherine, I'm a dilettante, though I did watch the last two seasons in their orginal airings). HBO -- movies, Six Feet Under. (Really miss having Showtime for QAF, but that's the only reason I miss Showtime.) Discovery, A&E, History -- European history, biblical, biographical, early man, ocean life, human sexuality, FBI Files, City Confidential, etc. BBCAmerica (though not as much lately; I'm not very into Changing Rooms and other DIY-type programs. I do like Extreme Homes on HGTV, though. I really miss Red Dwarf, Dr. Who, and Men Behaving Badly. Still get to watch Jonathan Creek when I catch it, though.) No commercial tv, aside from the last of Buffy, and Friends, sporadically; I did see Joe Millionaire, but ... eh. Not a fan of "Reality" shows, soap operas, or Jerry Springer-type stuff. --Kelley, long-winded with a tendency for list-making... From bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 01:15:21 2003 From: bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid (Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 21:15:21 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Things I pray to see in OOTP References: <000701c333a0$29f03d60$f205a6d8@...> Message-ID: <008901c333a4$c4feec80$6500a8c0@bohners> Amandageist wrote: > I want more about Snape. Hear, hear! > (a) Snape's task *was* to go back to Voldemort > (b) Voldemort will require some proof of his loyalty, and ask him to kill > someone. My personal variant: target is Dumbledore. *jaw drops* Oh. My. Word. I never thought of that. I mean, I've been convinced Dumbledore was going to die soon, and I've also been fairly convinced that Snape will return to Voldemort's camp as a spy somehow, but combining the two ideas is... chillingly plausible. I'm scared now. I think I'm even more scared than I was over the thought that Snape might die in this book and spend the next two books as a ghost. Because I was just being fatalistic and a bit silly, but I really think that you might really be on to something here. -- R.J. Anderson http://rjanderson.blogspot.com http://synaesthete7.livejournal.com From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 01:52:45 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 20:52:45 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Things I pray to see in OOTP References: Message-ID: <000b01c333a9$fc8e9c40$546463d1@...> Jenny from Ravenclaw seriously owes me. I opened her email and read > *I would like to see Hagrid be less of a moron. and immediately let out this great involuntary shout of laughter, which somehow pulled a muscle Down There and hurt a lot, causing me to double up and sort of whimper-laugh because even if it hurt, it was *still* funny. It also caused 2/3 of my recently safely bedded down children to come running back in here to see what was funny. Argh. ~Amanda, off to stuff children back into bed, and absolutely delighted beyond words to see people like *Voicelady* manifesting! From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 02:30:56 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 21:30:56 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Things I pray to see in OOTP References: Message-ID: <026701c333af$5163bc50$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi -- Well, I'll have to think more about this question, but for now, I'll toss out a few things that come to mind. These are not in any particular order, and I'll borrow Jenny's format (I too let out a hoot of laughter over "I'd like to see Hagrid be less of a moron," Jenny!). * I definitely want to find out more about Lily (and James and all the Marauders) * I want to find out the entire back-story to the Prank played by Sirius on Snape * I want Lupin back again * I want to see alot more of Sirius * I want to know if Neville is memory-charmed or not (and I'd like to see Neville coming into his own some too) * I want to know why Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Parvarti are in Gryffindor * I want more Quidditch again! * Even if Draco isn't necessarily on the path toward redemption or even a more major character, I'd like to see the Slytherins in general be more than just a bunch of DEs in Training * I want to know if Harry is the Heir of Gryffindor * I want to see Molly Weasley fuss over her own children more than over Harry * I want Percy to be proven to be NOT Ever-so-Evil * I want to see alot more Bill Weasley! * I want to know how many students there *are* at Hogwarts! :--) * I'd like to see Ginny speak more than 5 lines and/or be referenced more than 5 times * I'd love to see romance blooming, but not between Ron and Hermione [I'm forever indebted to Mojo Jim for the oh-so-apt remark that Hermione is *wasted* on Ron. I *love* that; I absolutely *love* it!] * As a corollary to the above, I want to see Hermione making it more clear who the object of her affections is. That's it for now. Small list, really. Penny [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 02:35:09 2003 From: ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid (Kaitlin) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 02:35:09 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hey folks, great to see some familiar names around here. Looking forward to discussing Order of the Phoenix with you all. Thanks for the invite Neil! Aloha, Kaitlin THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Kaitlin Walsh ***Nicknames/IDs: ReinaKata02 on Yahoo, also known as Katita, Soccer Mom, or El Verdadero Desastre ***Age: 23 ***Family: Mom, Dad, 2 brothers and 2 sisters (all younger), plus a dog. Lots of mayhem and lots of fun. ***Home: Out in the boondocks in Windsor, CT, USA ***Birthday, Place of Birth: March 26, Hartford, CT. I've lived in the Hartford area my entire life. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA degrees (yes, two of them) in International Languages and Cultures (Spanish emphasis) and Communication (advertising) from the University of Hartford. Currently working on my MA in Communication and teaching Intro to Communication at Hartford. After that, I plan on applying for the MSt program in European Literature at Oxford. No clue what I want to do with my life--maybe teach, but I'm not sure. (Which is really interesting since I have always said, "I would rather be a waitress than a teacher.") ***Other things we might want to know about you: Obsessive about Cervantes, home decorating shows (especially BBC ones), advertising, shopping for flip-flops and purses, Target and other discount stores and all things Latino. I speak Spanish, Italian and German--have read the first three HP books in Spanish, would like to collect translations in all three languages. Aries, but I follow Taurus. Master's Thesis in progress: "An Analysis of Informational and Cultural Content in Hispanic and Anglo Magazine Advertisements." ***First contact with Harry Potter: I think it was early 2000, when Rosie O'Donnell was obsessing about the books. I have been hooked since. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): I think I would have to go with PoA or GoF for favorite volumes. CoS is my favorite of the two films--I have both DVDs. I like the translations because they're usually very badly done. I also like knicknacks with the Hogwarts School logo and explaining to people what it is (and what the slogan "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titilandus" means!). Madly in love with the guy who plays Oliver Wood in the films. ***Extent of Potter obsession: It goes in waves from moderate to obsessive, depending on which films and merchandise are coming out. I have a bunch of Potter paraphenalia, mostly office supplies, and would like to get a Gryffindor Quiddich jersey if they exist (I know someone wrote that before me, but I want one too!). ***Other interests/activities: Latin music--and not just the pop stuff you hear on generic American radio. I am a moderator for the Alejandro Sanz club "International Fan Club Amiga Mia," and I got to fulfill my longtime dream of meeting him last summer :) I am a craft addict, and can often be found buying weird stuff like flowered paper and decoupage kits so I can decorate a birdhouse or something later on. Part of this stems from my love of home decorating shows, like "Trading Spaces" and "Changing Rooms." I always see little crafts on those shows that I want to replicate. I can be found reading anything from Golden Age Spanish literature to textbooks on intercultural communication, depending on what kind of mood I'm in. Hmmm...what else...I like web design and am always in the middle of a project. I like traveling, shopping, and doing things people don't expect of me: one summer I tried out for the Weakest Link, last year I traveled to NYC with 10 girls I had never met before. If I think of anything else, you will definitely find out about it! ***Current/recent reading: Just finished "The Dirty Girls Social Club" and "Shopaholic Ties the Knot" (from the Shopaholic series). About to start rereading "Fuenteovejuna" and "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha," as well as books for my thesis... ***Current/recent listening: Ricky Martin's newest album, "Almas del Silencio." Also in the CD player on a regular basis: "Un Dia Normal" by Juanes, "Dejame Entrar" by Carlos Vives, "MTV Unplugged" by Alejandro Sanz, anything by Manu Chao, Bacilos, "Back in the US" by Paul McCartney, and "Disney's Greatest" just to name a few things. ***Current/recent viewing: Haven't seen anything in the theater in a while. Recently rented "2 Weeks Notice" on DVD, and it was cute. I also saw "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" recently, which was really good, and "Amelie" a while back which was excellent. Looking forward to seeing "Finding Nemo" and "Legally Blonde 2" in the theaters soon. At this very second, I'm watching "Jack" on Telemundo. On television, the only things I will stop to watch are Trading Spaces, Changing Rooms, the Cosby Show, and David Letterman. Otherwise, I am a channel surfer and will stop whenever it looks interesting. From kippesp at kippesp.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 07:16:04 2003 From: kippesp at kippesp.yahoo.invalid (kippesp) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 07:16:04 -0000 Subject: INTRO PROFILE In-Reply-To: Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Paul Kippes ***Nicknames/IDs: Originally used smitster1 ***Age: 31 ***Family: Youngest in a family of 3 sons. Never married. I do have a dog that I tried to name Mr. Smith. But using that name in training proved difficult and so went with Smitty. (See movie 'The Awful Truth' for a Hollywood version of my wire fox terrier.) ***Home Dallas, TX. But I've really only lived here 3 year. Two on the front end and 1 on the back end. Can't say I know just how long I can remain. Have lived in Wichita. And also my favorite, St. Louis. If only I would have known that at the time!! ***Birthday, Place of Birth: October 31st, Dallas, TX ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Undergrad in Electrical Engineering & Computer Engineering. Masters in Business. Eventually will have a masters in computer science. Love school and learning. At the moment, I'm not in an ideal career situation. I do software programming but am highly under utilized (I hope). Nevertheless, this is what I've found after 3 degrees. But it beats unemployment, which I've been through. ***Other things we might want to know about you: - I assist Heidi with FictionAlley.org where I do server things and programming stuff. - During my jobless stint I found substitute teaching computer science & business in high school to be quite a lot of fun. - Spend far too much time tinkering with computers - Never feel like I know enough about what I think I'm suppose to know - I'm really quite bad at spelling ***First contact with Harry Potter: My mom mentioned the SS in a list of recommended books. Wasn't interested. Then I heard the August 6, 1999 NPR story on the drive to work. Read the first chapter of SS in the bookstore (probably that week) and the rest is history. ***Favourite Potter things: The feeling of excitement during first HP readings (I remember tearing through the first Quidditch match at an un Godly rate.) ***Extent of Potter obsession: Have read the books multiple times and listened to them each as least twice (usually while washing dishes or driving). Purchased a really cool Hallmark puzzle. And I have the Hallmark bookends. Member of HPFGU and participated until was overwhelmed Masters degree and HPFGU message volume around September 2000. I'll be wearing an FA.org shirt on Friday evening. I've seen both films, of course. ***Other interests/activities: I get far too many magazines--I think its 17 per month--and I'm a horribly slow reader. Enjoy business books and computer books--obviously I'm not very focused. Once a pretty mean runner, but then messed my knee up after a marathon. Have been attempting to get back into that. Enjoy rollerblading but haven't found a local spot for that. Love cold weather. ***Current/recent reading: A couple of database books and a project management book. Just finised POA again and will read GOF before Friday/Saturday. ***Current/recent listening: NPR freak. ***Current/recent viewing: Saw Matrix Reloaded and am very upset that I did. Finding Nemo was superb as are all Pixar films. Am very happy that the TV season time-sponge is over. But during that period I was glued to Smallville and Buffy. Also watch Enterprise as a sort of tip-of- the-hat to Star Trek. And my evil mom has gotten me interested in some hour-long crime show. Paul From foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 13:31:17 2003 From: foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid (pippin_999) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 13:31:17 -0000 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Assassin!Snape...but the target will be Sirius. That's much more angsty for Harry than target!Dumbledore. If there's anybody in the WW that can take care of himself, it's AD; why should Harry worry about him? Sirius will escape by the skin of his teeth, and Harry will think that Snape really did try to kill him...ah, but it was Evil!Lupin, though we readers aren't meant to know that, unless we are quite clever (or hopelessly deluded, as the case may be.) I think the Dementors will ask for Sirius as proof that Voldemort can meet their needs better than the Ministry can. You know, I wonder if Dementors get addicted to their victims? What if those happy thoughts they live on make them high? That would explain why they're so relentless. We'll find out more about Lily. I started wondering last night if young Firenze the Centaur had known the Marauders and ended up theorizing a Lily/Firenze ship. Doomed love, very sad. Sniff! No, I don't pray for that...just thought it was interesting. I think we'll see a different side of Harry, maybe even an unattractive one, just the way we saw an unattractive Ron in Book 4. I think this will even the score between Ron and Harry a little. Pippin who thinks Ron is underappreciated From ftah3 at oneyedmoorsey.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 13:52:30 2003 From: ftah3 at oneyedmoorsey.yahoo.invalid (oneyedmoorsey) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 13:52:30 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile In-Reply-To: Message-ID: INTRO ***Name: Mahoney (yes, it's my handle, not my name) ***Nicknames/IDs: oneyedmoorsey, ftah3 ***Age: 29 ***Family: parents, sister, inlaws, husband, son, cats ***Home: near St. Louis, MO, USA ***Birthday, Place of Birth: birthday is Sept. 26. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA in literature; I make money by training HR/Payroll people on various boring computer systems ***Other things we might want to know about you: I lurk ***First contact with Harry Potter: I don't remember ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): I love the books, I'm perfectly happy in advance with whatever Rowling intends to do with the characters, I love the movies, I think Dan Radcliffe is adorable, I do not ship at all though I'm not bothered by others' expressions of shippiness, and I love my son's Aragog toy that snaps it's legs together when you push a button on its back. His Ron toy is the usual victim. Poor Ron. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Not terribly obsessive, though I'm sure I'll enthuse happily about book 5 and movie 3 ***Other interests/activities: books, movies, long walks in woods, playing with 4 year old son, cooking, etc ad nauseum ***Current/recent reading: I had thought of trying to read all of the relevent books before The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comes out, but pfff. Instead have been reading a great deal of poetry. Have been off novels for a while actually. That may change next weekend. ***Current/recent listening: Maroon 5 (Songs About Jane), Barenaked Ladies (greatest hits), matchbox twenty (Yourself or Someone Like You), Dave Matthews Band (Busted Stuff), Goo Goo Dolls (Dizzy Up the Girl), Evanescence (Fallen). Which is 6 times the amount of music I usually listen to. ***Current/recent viewing: X2 blew me away. Recently watched Die Another Day & Tadpole on DVD, both vv good From gypsycaine at gypsycaine.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 14:52:09 2003 From: gypsycaine at gypsycaine.yahoo.invalid (Denise R) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 07:52:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] One last thing - SHIPs In-Reply-To: <008c01c332d4$b114ece0$05381c40@...> Message-ID: <20030616145209.52171.qmail@...> Goes and hides in a corner. This isn't meant to be mean, but there's something about discussing 'ships' that always drove me to the delete key! I enjoyed the nice Fanfic (good grief, what was that called? It had Ron dying off and Malfoy as a good guy at the end...) but otherwise, I avoid them like the plague! Waiting patiently for Friday/Saturday for "OFFICIAL ship notification!" grins. Dee From simon.hp at owlfriend_of_hedwig.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 15:06:34 2003 From: simon.hp at owlfriend_of_hedwig.yahoo.invalid (Simon) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 16:06:34 +0100 Subject: Intro In-Reply-To: <1055751715.814.14416.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: Answers might be a little short in places. Am recovering from a weekend away and need some more sleep. THE OLD CROWD - INTRO ***Name: Simon ***Nicknames/IDs: Simon, sjbranford ***Age: 24 ***Family: Parents and brother. See the former too often and the later not enough. Am single myself. ***Home Here or there. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: May 31st, Coventry, UK. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Have a Masters in Mathematics. Now taking a Masters in Science (specifically Network Centred Computing). ***Other things we might want to know about you: I have the keys to FictionAlley, while Heidi is off playing with her boys. ***First contact with Harry Potter: While revising for one of the lots of my finals (my first degree helpfully had two lots of finals). Decided I would use them as a revision break. Since then Harry Potter has provided a work break for over three years. ***Favourite Potter things: I have an owl. Some t00bs have adopted an owl for me. I am just waiting for the details to arrive, so that I can go visit :) ***Extent of Potter obsession: Me? Obsessed? ***Other interests/activities: Orienteering, when my knee is up to it, and connected activities. ***Current/recent reading: That large pile behind me. Some computer books (MySQL, php and LaTeX are the current ones). Rather more fiction books (far too many to list). ***Current/recent listening: Radio 1 is often on in the background. Got The White Stripes album on Saturday. ***Current/recent viewing: Do not actually have a TV, so have to go to parents to watch anything. Currently I am having Spooks recorded for me :D Simon From ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 15:45:51 2003 From: ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid (Kaitlin) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 15:45:51 -0000 Subject: Not For Kids Only: Article in today's Hartford Courant Message-ID: Hi everyone! This article apppeared in the Life section of today's Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT). Some of you are mentioned here, as well as the HPfGU group and some of the fanfic sites. Enjoy! ~Kaitlin -------------------- Not For Kids Only -------------------- Adults, Too, Are Big Fans, But Some Display Bizarre Interest In The Boy Wizard Story By JOHN JURGENSEN June 16, 2003 As vivid as it may seem to some readers, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry does not exist. But for hardcore Harry Potter fans, Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin Hotel could be the next best thing. It's real, and taking reservations for Nimbus 2003, the first symposium dedicated to adult devotees of the popular boy wizard. There's not much to interest kids at the July 17-20 gathering in Orlando, Fla. Besides, they're not invited. Dedicated teens can only come with a chaperone. But more than 500 voting-age fans are expected to make the pilgrimage. Doffing robes and toting wands, they'll come together in lectures ("Harry Potter and the Epic Question"), panel discussions ("Can Wisdom Come >From Wizardry?") and, come nightfall, the "wizarding nightclub." The mission is to deepen their relationship with a fantasy series that's been marketed primarily to children. But the real draw for many attendees will be to get a first glimpse at the kindred spirits they've sought out in Internet discussion groups like "Harry Potter for Grownups." Not that this community has ever had to closet itself. From the moment "muggle" and "quidditch" entered the vocabulary, everybody knew there was something about Harry. The four books in the series have sold 80 million copies in the United States alone. But as the days dwindle before the June 21 release of the next installment, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," adults are emerging as some of the most dedicated fans. Their devotion has inspired everything from academic dissertations to erotic fiction. "In my opinion, these are not children's books. With the third book we left that realm. This is not Dick and Jane we're talking about here," says Lee Hillman, one of the symposium's organizers. A British survey found that, in 1999, 71 percent of Harry Potter books were bought for 8- to 14-year-olds. By 2001, this share had diminished to 36 percent. Sure, many adult readers are just keeping up with their kids. Others enjoy the books on their own, apart from organized cliques. "To me, these books are my special friends. I don't need to go online to talk about them," says Linda Deignan, an employee at the Bookworm in West Hartford who was born in 1947. She's anxious to dig into the new book after work next Saturday. "I probably won't sleep until Monday." But there's a higher order of fans out there. Folks like Hillman, also known by her Web handle, Gwendolyn Grace. She's 31, lives in Rochester, N.Y., has a master's degree in business and belongs to a group that re-enacts life in the Middle Ages. She's also "excessively fond of the original Star Wars" and "Star Trek." In short, "I'm a geek." Hillman is part of a huge sector of the Harry Potter fandom that writes fiction rooted in author J.K. Rowling's universe. For her meditation on Remus Lupin, a Hogwarts professor and werewolf, Hillman wrote her own version of the Ministry of Magic's regulations on lycanthropy, complete with input from her lawyer friends. Posted, consumed and discussed on sites like fictionalley.org, fan fiction lets readers live with the characters they love, running with plot lines and investigating mysteries while they bide their time until the next book. "Rowling has given us this map that's torn off at the edges. I like to push those corners out and see what's underneath," Hillman says. By far, the highest-octane fuel for fan fiction comes from the relationships between Rowling's characters, who are about to hit puberty in the upcoming books. The most burning question, of course, is who will court the character Hermione Granger? Will it be Harry? His best friend Ron Weasley? "There's a lot of tension within the fandom, lots of rivalries and competitiveness between the shippers," as fans who obsess over certain relationships are called, says Penny Linsenmayer, a former moderator for "Harry Potter for Grownups." Other writers aren't satisfied with schoolyard speculation. Instead they pair characters off in erotic relationships, devoting thousands of words at a time to fantasized matches. One variant, so called "slash" fiction, abounds on the Web. Usually written by young women, slash writers couple male characters in gay trysts. "It's a fringe element. Most people haven't heard about it and that keeps us out of trouble," said one 28-year-old slash writer from Toronto, who uses the name Ivy Blossom. Her imagined couple of choice is Harry and his nemesis, Draco Malfoy. To get around the fact that they're sexualizing child characters, writers often place them in a post-Hogwarts setting. They're 18. They've graduated. They shack up in flats. "There's a huge stigma around it in the fandom and the people who are worried about that are careful about aging up their characters," Blossom says. For fans who want to insert themselves in the action, there are a host of online venues where they can act out their own Harry Potter plot lines. "There's tons of role play. Not all of it is sexual, but a lot of it is. To be honest, some of it really freaks me out," Blossom says. The Harry Potter story can support all these interpretations because its narrative and characters are so rich, fans say. More evidence of that is the inroads Harry has made into academia. At Kansas State University, Philip Nel teaches a children's literature course on Harry Potter and its influences. During registration, the class filled up in 24 hours. He's also written a book aimed at adult readers, "J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide." It explores the literary references Rowling makes, including Shakespeare, Greek mythology and mathematics. "There's a prejudice there that says if a book's meant for children it can't be worthy as literature for adults. One of the goals of my book is to disprove that." Rowling, no doubt, feels the pressure of writing for such a diverse audience. But as four books out of an intended seven have already proved, the fantasy world of Harry Potter is foolproof. The fans are locked in. Despite its literary credentials, the tale of a boy waking up to his magical potentials grabs readers in a fundamental way, especially those who may have grown out of the stage when such transformations seemed possible. "That's a fantasy for many adults who feel that they may be better than their common job or common life," Nel says. "There's something about Harry learning that he is perhaps the greatest wizard of his age," Hillman says. "Who among us does not want to discover that we are great?" Copyright 2003, Hartford Courant From foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 16:36:51 2003 From: foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid (pippin_999) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 16:36:51 -0000 Subject: Doffing ? was Re: Not For Kids Only: Article in today's Hartford Courant In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Kaitlin" wrote: > Hi everyone! This article apppeared in the Life section of today's Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT). But more than 500 voting-age fans are expected to make the pilgrimage. Doffing robes and toting wands, they'll come together in lectures ("Harry Potter and the Epic Question"), panel discussions ("Can Wisdom Come From Wizardry?") and, come nightfall, the "wizarding nightclub."<< Well, really! But I am amused by the thought of us being so obsessed that it's news when we take our wizard robes *off*. Pippin fully clothed, thank you very much From heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 16:36:59 2003 From: heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid (Heidi Tandy) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 12:36:59 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Doffing ? was Re: Not For Kids Only: Article in today's Hartford Courant Message-ID: Yeah! Gwen said clothing was required! ;) -----Original Message----- From: "pippin_999" Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 16:36:51 To:the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com Subject: [the_old_crowd] Doffing ? was Re: Not For Kids Only: Article in today's Hartford Courant Real-To: "pippin_999" --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Kaitlin" wrote: > Hi everyone! This article apppeared in the Life section of today's Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT). But more than 500 voting-age fans are expected to make the pilgrimage. Doffing robes and toting wands, they'll come together in lectures ("Harry Potter and the Epic Question"), panel discussions ("Can Wisdom Come From Wizardry?") and, come nightfall, the "wizarding nightclub."<< Well, really! But I am amused by the thought of us being so obsessed that it's news when we take our wizard robes *off*. Pippin fully clothed, thank you very much To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: the_old_crowd-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 16:54:31 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 17:54:31 +0100 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP Message-ID: Lots and lots, but here's a select few (and bear in mind I have managed to stay completely spoiler free apart from a really annoying quote about Quidditch. Ugh). Firstly, I don't know whether anyone else noticed this, but towards the end of GoF there was this weird scene when Dumbledore *gleamed triumphantly* - quite inappropriately, I thought. I'd quite like to know what that was all about. I want to know All About the Old Crowd. Particularly, I'd like to know if Arabella Figg *was* a friend of Lily's and has been using Ageing Potion all this time. I'd also like to see more of Mundungus Fletcher. I totally agree with Ebony about wanting more back story - but I don't want too much, because I want JKR to start writing prequels after Book 7. If she has Sirius' complete life worked out, then surely she has the rest done as well. I'm really happy that this book is going to have much more about Lily in it - and have been wondering whether Harry will put two and two together and go and have some cosy chats with Arabella Figg about his mother. Speaking of Lily, I would love to be able to see Amanda gloat when her Snape loved Lily theory is proven. But, I still think he's a vampire. I'd like to know what Professor Trelawney's First Prediction was - and hope that it is something to do with the importance of the Potters to Voldemort (please no heir of Gryffindor stuff). I want more of Sirius and more of Lupin (ESE Lupin would be interesting) - I'd like Sirius to be able to spend the whole book well fed and with decent robes. Although that's not that likely if he's going to stay with the penurious Lupin. I'd like to be proved right about Ginny not being a whiny, immature cry-baby who is as much use to the plot as Buckbeak (who was it who said that originally?). So more time to Ginny. I'd like to see more of the inner working of the Ministry, and hope that Percy is being cut a break (not Ron). Now, Penny, Ebony - don't jump on me, but I would quite like to see a bit of R/H. Why? Well, because it will *obviously* all go wrong leaving the way clear for Harry in later books - so we would have lost the battle, but not the war. And it might mean that Harry spends a little more time with some of the other Gryffindors - and I want to find out more about Neville (convinced about the memory charm) et al. I'd like Harry not to take no for an answer when people refuse to answer his questions. I don't want Hagrid to die. I'm intrigued by the shift in atmosphere between Snape and Harry at the leaving feast in GoF. How is that going to develop? Are they going to be forced to work together? I think that's enough for now, Catherine From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 17:50:23 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 12:50:23 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Re: Things I pray to see in OOTP References: Message-ID: <045601c3342f$c3fb9d20$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi all -- Gosh, it's great to see so many old faces around here! I too didn't know about the HPfGU wedding ----- congrats to you both, JoAnna. How cool! One other thing I thought of that I'd like to see in OoP: more of the Grangers! I want to know about Hermione's family. Is she an only child? Could we see her house, Jo? Please?! Oh, and on my intro: I forgot to note that I too am a completely obsessed book collector. I could never buy another book as long as I live and probably still be reading new material into my old age. Drives Bryce mad, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one to buy far more books than I can ever read. :--) Catherine said: <<>>>>>>>>>> Oh, absolutely! It ain't over till the Fat Lady sings, after all. No, I won't be traumatized if my ship doesn't sail in OoP. I doubt it will, nor do I really want it to, as it would be too soon. But, I *do* think that Hermione is utterly wasted on Ron, and so I'll be hoping for a speedy breakup on that one if it comes to pass. Penny [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 18:52:45 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 18:52:45 -0000 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: <045601c3342f$c3fb9d20$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Message-ID: Penny wrote: It ain't over till the Fat Lady sings, after all. Me: What? She sings? Is that before or after getting tipsy with her friend Violet? (Another one of JKR's flower names.) Which just makes me think of the last episode of St. Elsewhere, in which a substantial (aren't I PC? :D) opera singer, wearing a Viking helmet, no less, breaks into song. Of course, if anyone remembers the very end of that episode, it was hotly debated on both the main and OTC HPFGU lists whether the HP series could end in a similar way, and most folks seem to be absolutely horrified by the idea, so maybe the LAST thing we want is a Fat Lady singing! --Barb, who thinks that, until Hermione does a bit of growing up, SHE is wasted on RON From Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 19:31:12 2003 From: Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid (Ali) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 19:31:12 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile Message-ID: ***Name: Ali Hewison ***Nicknames/IDs: Also called Al or Alison. Yahoo ID is Alhewison ***Age: 34 ***Family: married 11 years in September and have 2 daughters aged 5 and 3 and 2 cats who were my babies, but are now just cats. Also have 2 parents who now live in Sussex, 1 sister who lives in London and a brother (and sister-in-law + 2 kids who live in Brussels). (Plus my outlaws and 2 brother-in-laws and sister-in-law- laws (and another niece and nephew). ***Home Reading, England. Reading is one of the archetypal most boring places to live in the UK. It is no surprise that the filming for 4 Privet Drive took place only a few miles away. I am very happy here, so I don't know quite what that says about me. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 21st August, Walthamstow, London. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: LLB Law (Bachelor of Law) from Manchester University. ACIB: which is a way of saying I had passed the professional banking exams. I have spent some of the past 2 years studying for a Postgraduate diploma in HR. I'm currently part-qualified, but my performance in the exams last month means I'm unlikely to go any further. After University, I went travelling, and to fund my travels I needed an overdraft. The easiest way of getting an overdraft (I thought) was to get a job in a bank. After 10 years of being a mediocre, junior manager, I left with an enormous grin on my face. I can't bear sales, don't think people should be encouraged to borrow money. I was stupid enough to say so. I'm still really interested in HR, but as I really don't want to work full time, don't think I'll be able to get "in". I'm now looking at teaching, not because it's not full time, but because I will at least have the holidays with my kids. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Myers-Briggs type: ENFP. I long to be able to talk and feel confident with everyone, but I don't. Put me in the wrong place, and I'll be quieter than a church mouse. I'm really an extrovert in an introvert's shell. My punctuation is atrocious. I think the Romans were right in not having any. I'm a foul-weather Christian, non-meat eater(i.e. hypocrite who eats fish) and salmon pink politically. ***First contact with Harry Potter: June 1998. I read an article about this *children's* book that had been spread by word-of-mouth alone and had captivated many hearts. I thought I'd read it and keep it for my daughter (then aged 8 months!). My sister said she'd buy PS for my birthday, but she took so long over it, that CS had been published and was out in paperback. I got the first 2 together and was totally enthralled. I've taken far longer to get into Fandom than anyone else here, but at work we had no access to the internet, and I was resisting a computer at home as I thought I'd lose my hubby to it (instead of him losing me to it!). ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Book: PoA. Character: Harry. I also love Lupin and Sirius. I really resent Pippin's ESE!Lupin theory as I haven't been able to shake it off, and sooooo don't want it to happen. If I ship anything, it's Snape loving Lily (unrequited). I want Harry to live happily ever after, and my favourite companion for that is Hermione (so far). The Films: Ermm yes. They annoy me. Every word change, bad scene, bad acting has me fuming, but in some kind of way they're still part of the magic for me. I do love Daniel Radcliffe as well. In defence of my love for the films, I have human interest in them: a friend of mine used to work for the same firm as Emma Watson's mother, giving me gossip last year, and the son of another friend has been an extra in PoA ? I already know of one change in the film. My brother was offered a place at the school Daniel Radcliffe now attends. I think it's inevitable that when you know (of) someone in a film/ the papers etc you take more of an interest in it. Well, that's my excuse. I'm positive that PoA will be better than the last two. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Compared to a lot of you, moderate, although most of my friends think I've cracked. Collectables: 2 copies of all the books except PoA, bookends, a calendar, the tapes (Stephen Fry version), Mugs, glasses, a pencil tin, and a file. Friends bought me most of these. I've bought my daughters a few clothes though. ***Other interests/activities: Kids occupy most of my time, but gardening, cooking, dreaming of getting fit, talking. ***Current/recent reading: The Jupiter Myth: Lyndsey Davis, John Lennon, a biography: Ray Coleman, a Tale of Two Cities: Dickens, The Pickwick Papers: Dickens (I've failed to get into that). ***Current/recent listening: The Radio, REM: Automatic for the People, Les Miserables (the musical), GoF, the Beatles ***Current/recent viewing: Not much at the moment. "Have I got News for You" Ali From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 20:11:08 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 20:11:08 -0000 Subject: Things I pray to see in OOTP In-Reply-To: <000b01c333a9$fc8e9c40$546463d1@...> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" wrote: > Jenny from Ravenclaw seriously owes me. > > I opened her email and read > > > *I would like to see Hagrid be less of a moron. > > and immediately let out this great involuntary shout of laughter, which somehow pulled a muscle Down There and hurt a lot, causing me to double up and sort of whimper-laugh because even if it hurt, it was *still* funny.> Anything for you, Queen Amanda. --Jenny ******************************************************* From macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 20:12:22 2003 From: macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid (Mary Ann) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 20:12:22 -0000 Subject: Royal Mail prepares itself Message-ID: I had a good giggle over this article in The Independent newspaper earlier today: "The eagerly awaited new Harry Potter novel is so large and heavy that the Royal Mail is preparing to lay on extra vans to deliver it at the weekend. As each copy...weighs a hefty 1kg, postal workers would struggle to carry more than a few of them. "For safety reasons, postmen are allowed to carry a maximum of 16kg of post." [Pure and utter bollocks. Stu's an ex-postman and he and his coworkers were sent out with bags that weren't weighed but were definately heavier than 16kg.] "To avoid any tantrums next Saturday from young Potter fans, Royal Mail officials are putting extra delivery vans on stand-by." Young Potter fans? Methinks the older fans are much more dangerous and have better aim. ;) The article also states that, since the book is too large to fit in most letter boxes, people must stay home and wait for the delivery. Two of Stu's brothers are still postmen and another brother is a Night Sorter, so it'll be interesting to hear what they have to say about it. I promise to filter out the really bad bits. Mary Ann (holding out hope for a New and Improved Ron in OoP) From jflanagan1 at jamesf991.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 16 21:59:25 2003 From: jflanagan1 at jamesf991.yahoo.invalid (Jim Flanagan) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 21:59:25 -0000 Subject: JKR: a C+ author? Message-ID: I was leafing through a magazine at the local Barnes & Noble recently, and stumbled across an interview with one of the academic literati, who stated that JKR was a "C+" author (which invites the question: "so how come you ain't richer than the Queen of England like she is?"). This comment was in the context of PoA's having been in contention for the 2000 Whitbread Award, which was ultimately awarded to Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. I'm currently re-re-re-reading PoA, and this comment caused me to pay some attention to mechanics and style. I think that the commentator may, to some extent, have a point. JKR's prose is clearly at the 9- 12 year level, and it is consequently quite linear in structure; there are a lot of dry, expository passages that would certainly be graded down in any Creative Writing 101 course. However, I feel it is wrongheaded to require that Harry Potter be "great literature" in a narrow mechanistic/stylistic sense. HP's prime virtues are the imaginative universe that JKR has created along with the reality and complexity of her characters. Many of the key characters -- Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Lupin, Snape, Hagrid, and even the Dursleys -- are painted in various shades of grey. She invites the reader to think about how they became the way they are. The depth of her characterizations certainly equals or exceeds that of most current popular fiction, adult or juvenile. Above all, Harry Potter is really just old fashioned *storytelling*, which is naturally linear and straightforward. When the essence of a story is really good, the the mechanics are of secondary importance and it doesn't matter whether it is told in a children's book or an epic poem in 10th century alliterative verse. So there. Nyaa nyaa nyaa. -Jim. From macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 12:04:59 2003 From: macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid (Mary Ann) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 12:04:59 -0000 Subject: JKR Interview Message-ID: For those of you with access to the BBC, there a showing of a Jeremy Paxman interview with JKR on BBC2 this Thursday at 19:30 GMT. I have a meeting that evening (aaargh!) so I'll get Stu to video it On Pain Of Death Or Worse. Mary Ann (off to her kids' school to help with road safety training, and who must remind herself that she must not teach certain little brats to walk in front of moving busses, however tempting it may be) From heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 12:04:42 2003 From: heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid (Heidi Tandy) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 08:04:42 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] JKR Interview Message-ID: We expect to have a transcript up within 6 hours or so, on tlc. -----Original Message----- From: "Mary Ann" Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 12:04:59 To:the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com Subject: [the_old_crowd] JKR Interview Real-To: "Mary Ann" For those of you with access to the BBC, there a showing of a Jeremy Paxman interview with JKR on BBC2 this Thursday at 19:30 GMT. I have a meeting that evening (aaargh!) so I'll get Stu to video it On Pain Of Death Or Worse. Mary Ann (off to her kids' school to help with road safety training, and who must remind herself that she must not teach certain little brats to walk in front of moving busses, however tempting it may be) To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: the_old_crowd-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From s_ings at s_ings.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 12:25:47 2003 From: s_ings at s_ings.yahoo.invalid (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 08:25:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Intro Profile Message-ID: <20030617122547.14317.qmail@...> I'm a bit slow on getting this done, but here you go. ***Name: Sheryll Townsend ***Nicknames/IDs: DC Sheryll (DC=darn Canadian), only by my friend Eric sheryll on LJ s_ings on YM ***Age: 44 - may even call that middle-aged if Neil insists ***Family: Husband Andy, 42, bald, sexy, cooks, does renovations, clean and can do laundry if pressed Daughter Nyssa, nearly 20, no longer living at home, off to St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario in the fall to study education, currently lives next door to drag queens and refuses to go over and introduce herself (mutters things like "But they're *your* friends." when the subject comes up). New kitten who's name is Purr C. because Andy said Persistence was a behaviour and not an appropriate name for a cat. He's still small enough to sit on my hand is currently examining the cords coming out of the wall, perhaps debating on whether he can unplug the computer or not. Parents, younger sister with husband, 3 kids and a dog - close enough to borrow money from, far enough they don't drop in unannounced. Oldest nephew (just turned 13) is a HP fan. I dragged him and Nyssa kicking and screaming out of school and down to Toronto 3 years ago for JKR's reading at SkyDome. Okay, I lied. They came willingly. :) Very large extended family scattered across the country. ***Home: Old, always needing renovation, oh, wait, you mean location of said decrepit house. Ottawa, Ontario. ***Birthday/Place of Birth: June 9, Winnipeg, Manitoba ***Education/Job/Role in Life: I have a piece of paper somewhere that says I'm a certified library technician, though I've not worked much in that field. Have done darn near everything but wait tables, including home daycare, telephone surveys and genealogy research. Currently spending 6 days a week in the underpaid position of selling tickets at a movie theatre and, for some insane reason, loving it. Not because the job is fun, because it isn't. It's boring and surprisingly draining. No, it's the people. Not only do I genuinely like all the people I work with, the theatre guests often make my day. I have people who won't see movies unless I recommend them, who come in at Christmas to bring me gifts, who worry if I have time off and aren't there when they come in. Yup, it's definitely the people. I've always done volunteer work, be it elfing at HPFGU, sitting on the Board for the Pride festival, organising conferences, a brief stint as a Girl Guide leader, etc. ***Other things we might want to know about you: omnivore(leaning towards complete carnivore), chocolate addict, there is a personality around here somewhere though it's likely buried under the mess on the desk, completely detest our Prime Minister though I voted for him because the alternatives were even worse, used to speak fluent French but now struggle through the French HP versions with dictionary in hand, recovering alcoholic 13 1/2 years, married to convicted felon now on parole for life ***First contact with Harry Potter: Late spring of 2000. Was working out of the house and my boss dropped the first 3 books off with some work she was bringing, along with a warning to make sure I also got some of the work done. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'art, general enthusing) Book: PoA, so far Characters: Snape, Neville, Sirius, Arthur Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody Ships: honestly don't have one, though I once captained the SS Sirius/I yacht through a few Sunday chats Fics: not keeping up well these days, but like Cassie's Draco trilogy, anything of Al's, Eb's Paradise series, Penny and Carole's Sirius stuff, the Darkness and Light series, and lots more. Oh, and I dearly wish John would somehow finish Song of Time. :) Objets d'art: favourites, eh? Lemme think. The blue mug with the Hogwarts crest, my CoS t-shirt from work, Hogwarts castle Amanda gave me, my Dumbledore ornament which is the only non-handmade thing on my Christmas tree (thanks, Penny), Snape's dungeon Lego. General enthusing: Wish I could afford time off to go to Nimbus, very much looking forward to Ottawa next year. Have met some truly wonderful people and hope to meet many more. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Obsessed? Moi? Does the fact that Andy often says we need to build an addition on the house for all the HP stuff tell you anything? Have the first so far in Canadian and French editions, US edition of SS, Spanish edition of CoS, first three on audio tape, Hogwarts castle, Snape's dungeon Lego, Dumbledore ornament, blue mug with Hogwarts crest, HP Uno, Gnome Toss game, snitch keychain, HP with lightening bolt keychain, first trivia game and much more. Also have a CoS t-shirt that was only available to theatre employees, the CoS poster from the display case outside the front doors and the display pictures from the concession signs for the HP combo. I would be addicted to Fizzing Whizzbees if I could only get them here. *shakes finger at John for giving me the first taste* ***Other interests/activities: Love jigsaw puzzles, used to cross-stitch a great deal but haven't done much lately. No telling how motivating a good HP pattern could be, though. Oh, wait, this part is about *other* interests. :D Love to travel, will go anywhere the bus runs, no matter how many hours it takes. Mostly because that way I meet the most interesting people. Love video games, can cook up a storm if I'm in the mood, will read nearly anything I can get my hands on. ***Current/recent reading: Re-read of GoF, Robert B. Parker's A Savage Place, Sue Grafton's P is for Peril. Was given bookstore gift cards recently and bought 7 books last night. Some of them should keep me busy until this weekend. :) ***Current/recent listening: Not much, mostly the oldies station because it's the station that Andy has the ancient hi-fi set at ***Current/recent viewing: Movies: X2, Matrix:Reloaded, The Russian Ark, The Man Without a Past (Finnish film - loved it) TV: CSI, Amazing Race, CSI: Miami, all the Law & Order shows, Kevin Spencer If you're still reading, I owe you a batch of homemade ice cream! Sheryll, who really should get off the computer and get to work ===== "No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously." - Dave Barry ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 14:24:49 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 07:24:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Yahoo! News Story: Thousands of Potter Books Vanish Like Magic Message-ID: <20030617142449.25942.qmail@...> Yahoo! News Story: Thousands of Potter Books Vanish Like Magic http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030617/people_nm/crime_britain_potter_dc_5 Really, though, who would buy their copy of OoP off the black market?? Are there *that* many people who can't wait until midnight on Friday? Good grief. ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 14:31:42 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 15:31:42 +0100 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Yahoo! News Story: Thousands of Potter Books Vanish Like Magic In-Reply-To: <20030617142449.25942.qmail@...> References: <20030617142449.25942.qmail@...> Message-ID: <$LX+sqAOZy7+IwHC@...> In message <20030617142449.25942.qmail at ...>, JoAnna Wahlund writes >Yahoo! News Story: Thousands of Potter Books Vanish Like Magic > >http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030617/people_nm/crime_britain_potter_dc_5 > >Really, though, who would buy their copy of OoP off the black market??? >Are there *that* many people who can't wait until midnight on Friday?? >Good grief. > > >~JoAnna~ Oh no! I hope that doesn't mean that there won't be enough books to go around (and that these books were destined for shops in the North of England, not Reading!) Catherine From voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 14:05:45 2003 From: voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid (voicelady) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:05:45 EDT Subject: [the_old_crowd] Intro Profile Message-ID: I'd like some ice cream, please, Sheryl! Oh, and I also have a slight ammendment to my own Intro: ***Education/Job/Role in Life: As of yesterday, I am now an actuary for an Insurance Firm. I've never done actuary work, but they hired me anyway. Yes, you could consider me a Jane-of-all-trades. ***Extent of My Obsession: On a completely unrelated EZboard site to which I'm a member, I've been keeping a running countdown for the newest book's release ever since we learned the date. They all think I'm nuts. And my husband's nickname for me? Harry. From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 17:19:45 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:19:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Intro Profile In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030617171945.9232.qmail@...> LOL! My sister calls my husband and I "Mr. & Mrs. Potter." After our wedding, my family decorated our car and wrote "The Potters - Just Married" on it. :-) Congrats on the new job! I have an interview on Thursday... send some of that luck my way! ;-) ***Extent of My Obsession: On a completely unrelated EZboard site to which I'm a member, I've been keeping a running countdown for the newest book's release ever since we learned the date. They all think I'm nuts. And my husband's nickname for me? Harry. ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 17:34:30 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:34:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: today's Foxtrot Message-ID: <20030617173430.74941.qmail@...> Today's "Foxtrot" cartoon has a Harry Potter theme... pretty funny cartoon, IMO. :D http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/ Enjoy! ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 18:01:15 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 18:01:15 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile Message-ID: THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Emilia Monroe ***Nicknames/IDs: Milz ***Age: 34 ***Family: I'm the youngest (and only girl) of 5 children. Mom's a widow and lives with me. ***Home Charlotte Hall, Maryland ***Birthday, Place of Birth: October 30, 1968, Washington DC ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: Health care professional. ***Other things we might want to know about you: I knit and garden. ***First contact with Harry Potter: A few weeks before GoF came out. I heard about the series before that, but I never thought much about it until a copy of SS was left in the waiting room and I thumbed through it. (Yes, the child who left it sent her mother back the next morning to retrieve it!) ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): PoA is my favorite book in the series, so far. Favorite characters (other than Harry) are the Weasley family. Being an October baby, the cursed opal necklace mentioned in CoS intrigues me... ***Extent of Potter obsession: Er...ummm...no comment ;) ***Other interests/activities: I'm a local history buff. I especially like researching those "creepy old" houses and family grave yards in my area. It sprang from my interest in the paranormal and just trying to weed out the urban legends from the more legitimate activity. I have two projects currently in the works: research on something called the "Bucket's O' Blood" tavern near the Washington DC-Maryland line and a field search for a house known as the Hatton Mansion which was photographed in the 1930s by the Historic American Buildings Survey. ***Current/recent reading: Fiction: just finished re-reading "Brideshead Revisited" for the hundredth time. Non-fiction: A couple of ice cream cookbooks (I recently purchased a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, the kind that doesn't need ice cubes and salt). "Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution" by Robert Atkins. ***Current/recent listening: Nirvana MTV Unplugged. Assorted Frank Sinatra CDs. Some classical--- especially waltz. ***Current/recent viewing: Movies: Nothing new recently. I have been disgruntled after I read about the "Cheaper By the Dozen" movie alleged remake. Television: "Buffy" was my tuesday night mainstay. "The Guardian" on CBS is the other. Must-see-TV for me is "EastEnders"...can't live without the Vic! From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 18:43:42 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 18:43:42 -0000 Subject: TIME Magazine June 23rd issue Message-ID: The cover story is "Why Harry Potter Rules". The article is somewhat spoilery regarding OoP From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 19:06:20 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 19:06:20 -0000 Subject: Gathering The Old Crowd - note on further invitations Message-ID: Hi everyone, I don't want to suggest that this list is *only* for those of us who date back to the dawn of time, but some of us are keen to catch with people who were active on the original Harry Potter for Grownups Yahoo list, for example. I'm sure (well, I know) there are people we missed in the first round of invitations. If anyone would like to add names (and email addresses please) to the database in the, um Database section for the next round, please do. We invited about 75 people and there were 8 of us here already, so you may end up adding someone who has already been invited. In those cases I'll note that against their name (I'm not too sure why I stripped the names out now). The veto column is there because there have been occasional clashes in the fandom over the last three years and there are a few people who might start firing off Unforgiveable Curses if we let them in. I'm sorry to sound rather cryptic and 'up-the-drawbridge' about it: it's fairly unlikely anyone will name someone who might need x-ing, but it is possible. Thanks Neil From john at queerasjohn.yahoo.invalid Tue Jun 17 20:43:20 2003 From: john at queerasjohn.yahoo.invalid (Queer as John) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 21:43:20 +0100 Subject: (Re!)intro profile -- or "All About John" Message-ID: ***Name: John Walton ***Nicknames/IDs: Queer as John, Crazy Ivan, Wood's Keeper, The Purple Fag, Johngolas, queerasjohn, qaj, percyneedsalife, jamesstanton, x_coldhands ***Age: 21, so not much "something" in the "twenty-something", but there you go. ***Family: Two parents, older but generally cool (especially when on different continents), two cats, Syska Chipmunkbane and Ashleigh the Six-Claw'd Menace, boyfriend David in Australia -- another fandom relationship! ***Home For another week, The Hobbit-Hole, St Andrews, Scotland. After that, Westchester County, NY. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 12th of September, NYC -- manufactured in America of 100% British Parts. Have lived, variously, in Stuy Town in NYC, a country house in Rome, in a suburban condo townhouse in Westchester, in a Benedictine Abbey in Devon, in a small mansion in Herzliya-Pituach (north of Tel Aviv), a house in East Jerusalem later bulldozed by the Israeli Defence Force, a boarding house dating back to 1519 in Somerset, in a small house with a big garden in Westchester, and in various flats in St Andrews, including my dear current Hobbit-Hole, which I shall miss when I leave it next week. ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: *polishes badge* Next week I shall be receiving my MA (Honours, First Class, roughly = summa cum laude) in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. Would you like fries with that? My plans to teach English in Beijing having been thwarted by SARS, I take up an internship with an IR think tank in NYC in August -- after Nimbus - 2003, of course! ***Other things we might want to know about you: Out and proud queer. Formerly Christian, vaguely Pagan though leaning towards UUism at the moment. "Damn god-hating leftie baby-killing liberal pinko commie fag". Long-distantly boyfriended. Am convinced I have a long-lost evil twin named Bonnie. Never got the same result on a Myers-Briggs test in my life although I think I'm generally introverted. Currently in the final 80 lbs of a 200-pound weight loss journey thanks to the Atkins diet. Avid Mac user. Insanely music-obsessed. The very first people I came out to were the HPFGU chatters sometime in 2000 or 2001...and never stopped. So this group has a wonderful resonance for me. *hug* ***First contact with Harry Potter: Spring 2000 -- borrowed it from a bass in a choir I was singing in. Was at the bookstore at 9am the following morning, skipped classes for a day and just *read*. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): I adore the Golden Snitch keyrings -- I have one hanging from every shoulder-bag I own. Also adore the broomstick keyring I was given last Christmas, and my "I'm A Harry Potter Fan" badge. I adore the Lego figurines, two of which are in a terribly vulgar position on top of my desktop Mac. My favorite mug is one from Caf?Press with the old FA cover art on it. Favorite HP book is PS/SS, and I hope fervently that an extended, unedited edition is released after the publication of Book 7. I'm strictly Swiss with ships, and have a soft spot for most characters -- even Ron, though that's mainly because I wrote a fic from his perspective and now don't actively despise him. I once fed my boss a vomit-flavored bean. And wasn't fired. Go me! ***Extent of Potter obsession: I'm the Center Square for Fandom Squares at Nimbus - 2003. 'Nuff said? No? I Modded at HPFGU, am currently FA Ombudsman, am Chairman and President of the Board of Directors of HP Education Fanon, Inc. (the parent nonprofit corporation which organises Nimbus - 2003), have written various fics, play Fred in the Nocturne Alley RPG, participate extensively in the LiveJournal side of fandom, beta-read for various fandom authors, and once spent two hours composing Hedwig's Theme by ear/memory for my mobile phone ring tune. ***Other interests/activities: I've just returned from a 16-day Summer Tour by my University's Madrigal Group, which I organised. I sing Tenor in that and several other choirs, and am going to be auditioning for the NYC Gay Men's Chorus over the summer. I've always wanted to see if I could sing male alto, and my tenor voice is almost high enough -- I can comfortably hit high Cs. *polishes voice* I take an active interest in gay and other minority rights issues, hold strong and often controversial opinions on almost everything to do with international relations and pretty much anything which interests me. I adore the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and (gasp!) prefer it in terms of story and characterisations to the original Tolkien. Plus, Orlando Bloom v. hot. Spent first viewing of LOTR:FOTR muttering "this is so much *better* than our movie". Previous fannish obsession was Star Trek. Mildly obsessed with tea. I'm highly active in the LiveJournal community (ask me if you'd like a code to start your own journal), play James Stanton in The Lost Land (Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising universe) RPG, play Bobby Drake in X-Project (X-Men 2 movieverse) RPG, and am currently beginning to set up a queer politics blog in the vague hope of eventually earning money from my writing. I spent two summers teaching learning-disabled kids in the dyslexia and autism spectrums in NYC in 2001 and 2002 and am certainly considering going into the education field at some point. Also considering how I can become further involved in the new civil rights movement. ***Current/recent reading: Current: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara 1: Ilse Witch (Terry Brooks) -- uninspiring, though interesting from a world-creation point of view. Recent: The Amber Spyglass (Philip Pullman) -- reread, excellent as ever; Good Omens (Gaiman/Pratchett) -- genius. I'm looking forward to reading books which aren't IR texts now I've finished my degree -- I'm a biblioholic, and am currently mourning the fact that I simply *must* get rid of some of my books from Uni as I can't move them back to the US. RPG reading: The Lost Land, X-Project, Nocturne Alley. Fic reading: Malfoy, P.I.; Irina's M?rr?gna Trilogy; various bits of X-Men fic, various bits of TDIR fic. Looking forward to more fic reading now degree is over. ***Current/recent listening: St Andrews University Madrigal Group: "Sing We and Chant It" (highly recommended, makes excellent birthday present or gift for any occasion, very reasonably priced too!). Currently big on Sarah McLachlan, Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Cry Cry Cry, the Chicago soundtrack, Holly Cole, Erin McKeown, Talisman, the soundtrack to the Buffy musical (OMWF for the obsessed!), Joan Baez, Andreas Scholl, Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, and am currently being very skeptical about Jewel's latest album, which is growing on me. I go to sleep listening to BBC Radio 4 comedy via the web. ***Current/recent viewing: I don't own a TV. I'd rather interact via the Internet and listen to music, frankly. I'm a big fan of Queer as Folk and Buffy, and have annual marathons of days and days of just watching when the episodes come out on DVD. I love going to the cinema, even if it's alone. Recently watched Lilo and Stitch, rewatched Dogma and Gosford Park. My additions to this: ***Most Treasured Fandom Memories: First Ever Fandom Meeting: NYC ...and all the other NYC-fen meetings! Chicago, June 2002 Sheryll's and Amanda's visit to NY, including seeing Alan Rickman live... COS in London London in December 2002 (when I met the boyfriend) MacT00bage ...and soon, Nimbus - 2003! ***For more info, see: http://www.queerasjohn.com (due for a makeover soon) http://queerasjohn.livejournal.com (particularly http://queerasjohn.livejournal.com/info -- might be useful) Again, am happy to give out LiveJournal codes to anybody who wants one -- I adore LJ and would recommend it to anyone. Wonderful to see so many old familiar faces here! --John ______________________________________ Queer as John || john at ... AIM, YM & LJ @ QueerAsJohn || www.queerasjohn.com I do not agree with what you say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it and my right to call you a bloody idiot for saying it. ______________________________________ From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 03:36:41 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 22:36:41 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Intro Profile References: Message-ID: <00c101c3354a$dc43f8c0$0805a6d8@...> ***Name: Emilia Monroe ***Nicknames/IDs: Milz :::total shock:::: For no reason I can now think of, I always thought Milz was male. (goes off boggling) ~Amanda From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 10:54:36 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (Parker Brown Nesbit) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 06:54:36 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] TIME Magazine June 23rd issue Message-ID: Milz wrote: >The cover story is "Why Harry Potter Rules". >The article is somewhat spoilery regarding OoP And our very own Ebony is quoted in it! Get it if you can, it's a very well-written article. Parker _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 14:31:32 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 14:31:32 -0000 Subject: Intro Profile In-Reply-To: <00c101c3354a$dc43f8c0$0805a6d8@...> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" wrote: > ***Name: > Emilia Monroe > > ***Nicknames/IDs: > Milz > > :::total shock:::: > > For no reason I can now think of, I always thought Milz was male. > > (goes off boggling) > > ~Amanda LMAO! My brothers thought "Emilia" was too girly. The story goes, when mom was pregnant with me, they wanted me to be a boy to the point that they picked out my name, "Robert Edward", and were saving up their allowances to buy me a baseball glove and bat. They were shocked when I turned out to be me. My parents called me "Emmy" for a while (I vaguely remember it). Still my brothers thought it sounded too girly so they started to call me "Mills" because it sounded "tougher". So the family calls me "Mills". When I tried registering "Mills" when HP4GU was on E- groups, I didn't want to be Mills29087564134545. So I shortened it to "Milz". Believe me, I sympathesize with Ginny Weasley....all those older brothers! Which is why in a way, I'm a tiny bit disappointed with her character (but not enough to abandon all hope...yet). I have my fingers crossed about her in OoP:) From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 14:41:58 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 15:41:58 +0100 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Intro Profile In-Reply-To: References: <00c101c3354a$dc43f8c0$0805a6d8@...> Message-ID: In message , Milz writes >--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" >wrote: >> ***Name: >> Emilia Monroe >> >> ***Nicknames/IDs: >> Milz >> >> :::total shock:::: >> >> For no reason I can now think of, I always thought Milz was male. >Believe me, I sympathesize with Ginny Weasley....all those older >brothers! Which is why in a way, I'm a tiny bit disappointed with her >character (but not enough to abandon all hope...yet). I have my >fingers crossed about her in OoP:) Good! Actually, Milz, one of the things I remember about you from my earlier days on HPFGU were the quizzes and puzzles you used to put together. Any chance of starting any of those up again? Catherine From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 18:05:30 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:05:30 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... Message-ID: Hi everyone, I'm assuming no one here will object if this list remains open over the weekend, so we can share our thoughts as and when they arise? As long as we all use 'OOP' in the headers for spoilers, I guess we won't turn to stone. I remember HPforGrownups just prior to the release of GoF, when most of us were reduced to panting and dribbling in bright-eyed anticipation, as opposed to constructing our usual fine literary critiques and insightful analyses of the canon. This time, I just feel like a bag of nerves. I've ordered two copies of OoP from WHSmiths in Lewisham, so I can pop down there first thing Saturday morning and cart the goods home for a non-stop session surrounded by incense, light snacks and silence. I've shunned all opportunities for midnight purchasing events, preferring instead to just scuttle into a corner like a squirrel with his nuts (-apologies for that image-). One of my copies is supposedly for someone else, but I'm not too sure if they want it. If not, I guess I can turn it into an occasional table. It's scary how the books are getting bigger each time: PS (small), CoS (bigger), PoA (medium), GoF (large), OoP (hernia). I'm already thinking I'm going to need an extra bedroom to house Book 7. What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? Neil **** Flying Ford Anglia From simon.hp at owlfriend_of_hedwig.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 19:52:54 2003 From: simon.hp at owlfriend_of_hedwig.yahoo.invalid (Pigwidgeon) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 19:52:54 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neil: > I'm assuming no one here will object if this list remains open over > the weekend, so we can share our thoughts as and when they arise? > > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair > arm? In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to > the kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? I am not entirely sure what my plans are for the actual reading. I am meeting with friends in Oxford to buy the book and we are then going back to one of their places to do a read and discussion of the book. Guess this will mean sitting in a chair (how boring), but may decide on the laid out across the floor option. Due to this plan for OotP I will be away from a computer from sometime on Friday until late Saturday and so do not mind whether this list is open or closed for that period. Simon From michelleapostolides at michelleapostolides.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 22:13:53 2003 From: michelleapostolides at michelleapostolides.yahoo.invalid (Pinguthegreek) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 15:13:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030618221353.99864.qmail@...> What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? I'm going to go to Canary Wharf for the midnight thing with Mary Ann and Pip, then come home, try to grab some sleep and start reading on Saturday morning. I just hope I can drive my car back without speeding ! i shall curl up on my bed probably. Michelle --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 23:39:48 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 16:39:48 -0700 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Come the weekend... References: Message-ID: <00cf01c335f2$e8c3a700$fe3c1c40@...> After an all night stay up athon camped out at my local bookstore for their six am opening...curled in bed, asleep, clutching it...oh wait, you meant for after I'm actually sane enough to read it...probably curled in bed, after death threats to all who disturb me, occasionally getting up for snacks and list work on two other HP related lists/sites. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 23:51:22 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (harpdreamer) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 23:51:22 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > Hi everyone, (Snippage > > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > > Neil No parties for me, I'm afraid. I've got to work Saturday (which will be fun, trying to keep my mind on weaving and slavery history while I really want to be at Hogwarts). Amazon sent an e-mail saying that I will be getting the book on Saturday, so if it comes to work, I'll really be tempted.... I'll be curled up on the couch, with Hollyn (my dog) laying on my lap. I just hope I don't drop the book on her! Namarie, Parker From estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 23:56:47 2003 From: estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid (Randy Estes) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 16:56:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: <20030618221353.99864.qmail@...> Message-ID: <20030618235647.8251.qmail@...> While Carole and Brian (son age 9) plan to visit the HP event at Books A Million, I will be forced to hold down the castle with the younger two kids on Friday night. I plan to cast a freeze charm on everyone on Saturday morning and sneak off with Book 5 while the rest of my family and coworkers remains in suspended animation. Since I am a slow reader, you probably won't hear from Carole for several days (so don't be alarmed). Brian is about done with school, so they probably will think we went on vacation early. While my coworkers and I will miss several key milestones on the schedule at work. The loss to the automotive community in general will actually be quite small. Upon completion of the book and after several postings on this site, Professor Estes will clean out the frequently used coffee pot, and go to the bedroom to crash for a few days. When I wake up, I will try to remember how to undo that darned freeze charm to return everything to normal. By the way, I found an old worn out pair of bunny slippers stuck in my copy of Book 3 the other day. Is anyone missing a pair? I seem to recall another Professor who had some...Was it Professor Sinastra...It seems to me that he always did it his way....no that was Frank Sinatra... Anyway that was the perfect world scenario... I probably will be peeking over my wife's or son's shoulders trying to read covertly while they linger on every word. Music starts from somewhere off stage.... Gilbert and Sullivan's stage production flashes before your eyes on the stage..... Charming old man with Red Beard clears his throat and belts out the following lines..... I am the very model of an Adult Harry Potter Fan. My book collection's full of books that other people wish to ban! I'm waiting for Book 5 to show... And revel in the afterglow... Cause three years per book is too slow... I am the very model of an anxious Harry Potter fan! Lots of applause... scene fades to black as he takes a bow! Professor Estes stands up to see the crowd and is hit right between the eyes with a pair of rotting bunny slippers! RE --- Pinguthegreek wrote: > > > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg > over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading > aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > I'm going to go to Canary Wharf for the midnight > thing with Mary Ann and Pip, then come home, try to > grab some sleep and start reading on Saturday > morning. I just hope I can drive my car back without > speeding ! i shall curl up on my bed probably. > > > > Michelle > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 00:45:07 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 00:45:07 -0000 Subject: US Book Order info: Borders and Amazon Message-ID: FYI: If you reserved your copy at Borders Books, they'll hold it for you until the close of business on SUNDAY, June 22. I got a nice automated message on my answering machine from Jim Dale explaining this to me. I reserved a copy about a month and a half ago and the guy at the desk told me, then, it would be held for THREE days (I even wrote it on the back of my reserve receipt). One of my local tv stations reported this during the evening news. If you ordered your book from Amazon.com and will have it release-date delivered, you should get it on Saturday. If not, you will get the book free. I haven't been able to confirm it yet on the Amazon.com site. From voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid Wed Jun 18 23:03:03 2003 From: voicelady at the_voicelady.yahoo.invalid (voicelady) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 19:03:03 EDT Subject: [the_old_crowd] Come the weekend... Message-ID: Unfortunately, June 21st is also my husband's birthday, and he actually has the gall to expect me to spend the day with him! How dare he! LOL Actually, he wants me to read the book as quickly as possible so he can get his grubby hands on it soon. -------------------------------------------------------------- Neil wrote: What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 02:11:04 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 21:11:04 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Come the weekend... References: Message-ID: <03cd01c33608$0a24d490$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> <<<<<<<>>>>>>> Funny you should ask. I'm actually trying to work out my plan. You see, I must leave my house at dawn. Otherwise, I will be treated to "Mama! :::pounding of small fists on the door::: Mama! .... Mama! ...... Maaaaaaaaaammmmmmaaaaaaaaa!" So, I will leave. Where I will go is still a mystery. Bookstores? Sounds noisy & crowded on this particular Saturday, though I may get desperate. Coffee shops? Noisy and I don't drink coffee. Library? Has possibilties over on a college campus like Rice or U of H. I thought about my church, though I'm not sure the building will be open on Saturday or that they won't lock me in there. Am still pondering. Suggestions? [It's too hot in Houston this time of year to consider a park or anything outdoors] Penny [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 02:27:33 2003 From: ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid (Kaitlin) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 02:27:33 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neil writes: > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? I was planning on going to my local midnight events to get my reserved copy from Barnes and Noble, but I was invited to a swinging party at the other end of the state on Friday night, so I probably won't make it. So, even after all the merriment on Friday, I will sneak over to the bookstore on Saturday morning... There are seven very loud people in my house, so I will just take my book wherever the others are not and read in bits and pieces... Aloha, Kaitlin From kippesp at kippesp.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 03:54:46 2003 From: kippesp at kippesp.yahoo.invalid (Paul Kippes) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 20:54:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030619035446.12802.qmail@...> I'll probably have as little contact as possible with the outside world. I've got this strange fear that some spam, tv news, or newspaper news will think it cool to reveal detils of the the book. I kept myself from reading the NY [post???]'s article for similar reasons. Being a rather slow reader, I may have a rather full inbox. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 05:26:18 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 05:26:18 -0000 Subject: More invitations... Message-ID: Hi all, Just thought I'd mention that there are a few more names in the database. I don't think any of these people have been exposed as Lord Voldemort's second cousin once removed and I hope the email addresses are still active for some of them... Shout up if you have any comments or other suggestions, but perhaps it would be best to email offlist to neilward AT dircon.co.uk or to the group owner address the_old_crowd-owner AT yahoogroups.com. I hope to send out more invitations tomorrow (actually today, UK time, but I mean Thursday). Thanks, Neil From macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 12:20:11 2003 From: macloudt at macloudt.yahoo.invalid (Mary Ann) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 12:20:11 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: <20030618221353.99864.qmail@...> Message-ID: Michelle wrote: > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > I'm going to go to Canary Wharf for the midnight thing with Mary Ann and Pip, then come home, try to grab some sleep and start reading on Saturday morning. I just hope I can drive my car back without speeding ! i shall curl up on my bed probably. I'm sure I'll have to start reading before I get to sleep, but I'll need *some* sleep because I'm too old and weary to do the staying-up- all-night thing. Saturday morning I'll still be in London so I'm sure I'll be reading with Pip (with whom I'm staying) and then I'll have a long train ride back home, a perfect time and place for reading (provided I don't fall asleep and wake up in Exeter). Once home I'll be ignoring the kids and reading curled up on the couch. It's already been a busy week (in fact I must dash off now) so I'm going to completely exhausted next week. Worth it? You bet. :) Mary Ann (off to road safety training again) From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 12:26:01 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 12:26:01 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Mary Ann" wrote: > Michelle wrote: > > > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair > arm? > > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > > I'm going to go to Canary Wharf for the midnight thing with Mary > Ann and Pip, then come home, try to grab some sleep and start reading > on Saturday morning. I just hope I can drive my car back without > speeding ! i shall curl up on my bed probably. > I am going to Reading, to spend the evening with Ali, and we'll be going to Waterstones at midnight to pick up our copies. We've made a pact, as neither of us like spoilers, that we have to know what page the other person is up to before we start talking about it. I'm not sure how long I'll read for that night - I'm determined to take it slower this time, and I don't want to spoil the experience by reading when I'm over tired. Mickey is going to drive me back, so I can read in the car, and I am spending today cleaning so I don't have to do anything over the weekend (and have told Mickey that he shouldn't expect his meals cooked for him either). Catherine From s_ings at s_ings.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 12:57:54 2003 From: s_ings at s_ings.yahoo.invalid (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 08:57:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030619125754.58994.qmail@...> Neil asked: <<>> I'm having a few people over Friday for dinner and watching the PS movie. Then we're off to Chapters for around 10 pm. Back to my place to read until we can't keep our eyes open any longer. Once we've had a little sleep I've promised to make breakfast for all as long as someone reads aloud while I do so. We'll read until I decide I've had enough of company and kick everyone out. Then I'll just curl up with some food and the new kitty and finish the book. Sheryll ===== "No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously." - Dave Barry ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From rainy_lilac at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 13:35:18 2003 From: rainy_lilac at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid (rainy_lilac) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 13:35:18 -0000 Subject: OT: *landing with a thump* I'm heeeeeeeerrrrrreeee!! Message-ID: Yay! I look forward to getting my hands on that book soon and catching up with everyone! Thanks for the invite! Yours, Suzanne From rainy_lilac at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 13:43:57 2003 From: rainy_lilac at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid (rainy_lilac) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 13:43:57 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? I will be visiting my family this weekend to celebrate my god-son's first birthday, so Saturday will be crazed. I arranged for Amazon to deliver it to my mother's house after discovering that Border's in Syracuse has *every one of their copies reserved*, so I predict that I will be ducking into the bathroom to read it in bits and pieces during the day, culminating in a non-stop read in my favorite easy chair once everyone goes to sleep. (Will the delivery man need a wheelbarrow to take the huge tome up to our door? That is what I picture.) Little Johnny is too young to understand Harry Potter. I am giving him some nice baby picture books instead, and some nice nail polish and a pedicure gift certificate for his mother. ("Dear Amy, This time last year you were being wheeled into the operating room for a caesarean you would never forget. This time I think you are due for something a bit more relaxing....") Talk to yuo all soon! Suzanne From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 15:53:49 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 15:53:49 -0000 Subject: Caution regarding the New York Daily News lawsuit reports!! Message-ID: Use EXTREME caution when reading articles concerning the lawsuit. I just read an article and it gave away what I consider to be a MAJOR plot spoiler. From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 16:01:43 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 16:01:43 -0000 Subject: Jeremy Paxman Interview Message-ID: Just in case any of the Brits here aren't aware of this (I can't remember if it's already been mentioned), Jeremy Paxman is interviewing JKR tonight. 7.30pm BBC2. I just hope there aren't any spoilers, I've managed to avoid the big ones (by the skin of my teeth), so far. Catherine From mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 16:16:30 2003 From: mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid (Aberforth's Goat) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 18:16:30 +0200 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Come the weekend... References: Message-ID: <004601c3367e$260755e0$da00a8c0@shasta> In the slant of the late afternoon sun a strange figure apeared above the horizon. It hurtled past a pond, swooped down by a barn and nearly crashed into an old picket fence. Was it a bird? Was it a plane? No - it was a small white goat in the train to Zrich, typing furiously and mumbling in disjointed phrases about Meister Eckhart's metaphysics, Kant's critique of the cosmological argument, Zrich's American football team, and how the heck he's going to find time to read OoP. * * * * * Hi guys! I'm on board, but ... > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? Well. Here in Switzerland this is finals week. I have two final exams and two sermons over the next two weeks and am pretty close to the end of my tether. Friday evening I have a church function (no - I don't think we'll all watch the films!) Afterwards, I'll head into Zrich. The bookstore opens at midnight; at 1.01 am, they'll let me run off with the book. I suppose I'll spend the night readreadreading. Not officially, of course. Officially, I need my sleep. Bad. But I'll devour all night anyway. Then I'll take the morning train to the university in Fribourg for a theological colloqium. I'll haveOoP with me and I'll see how much I can sneak in, while everyone else gabbles about this amazing theologian-philosopher called Ingolf Dalferth. (If you ask me, just owning a name like that deserves a medal of honor and a berth in the history books ... so why can't we just skip his articles?) Then I get to ride the train home and readreadread. Sunday morning I'll get up early to readreadread some more, then I'll show up in church. No readreadreading in church, but I will try to walk straight and stay awake. Then I'll go home and start studying again, until I it's time to take my son Evan to the (american) football game I promised to take him to. (Do they mind if the fans readreadread HP in between tackles?) It'll be tough. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. I'll do an intro at some point in the future, but for the most part, I'll be keeping my head down. BTW, readreadreading is different from reading. I'm not sure whether I can explain the difference, but my wife and kids can spot it from a mile away. Baaaaaa! Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray, suddenly wondering: was Britney Spear's hit "Oops I did it again" a typo for OoPs?) _______________________ "Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery...." NEWS: Check out chapter 2 of the Viagramus Curse. Fanfiction that puts the dense back in decadence. http://www.riddikulus.org/authors/agoat/VC02.html From mecki987 at mecki987.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 19:33:09 2003 From: mecki987 at mecki987.yahoo.invalid (Mecki) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 19:33:09 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > > Neil Hi there! Here in Germany, the small Towns don't have midnight openings, at least not for this Saturday (though they probably will on November the 8th, when the German translations comes out) So I will haed to the next town by train first thing Saturday morning, will read on the train back home and go straight into my bedroom, lock the door and then.. My children who dare disturb me, will get stupified- and my husband has unwillingly offered to take care of them until after lunch, giving me about 3 hours time to read the whole book :( I hope it doesn't rain, sothat I can throw the kids out into the garden and lock the door Anyone of you, who already read the book during the night, offer to babysit, so that I get a fair chance? Only 1 1/2 days to come! ( and then another three years wait for book 6 :( ) can't wait Mecki From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 21:32:58 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 21:32:58 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Well, I am planning to be at Barnes and Noble on East 86th by 10:30, which is when the line will start forming. A good friend of mine will be with me, which will certainly help keep me distracted while we wait. Once that book is in my hands, I'll probably burst into tears and then run out of the store, catch a cab home, run up the stairs to my apartment, and reeeeeaaaaaadddddddd until I can't keep my eyes open. On Saturday, I will sit on my couch in my favorite spot and read all day. If anyone bothers me, they will regret it. On a related note, I am so glad that The Daily News is being sued. I'm a New Yorker who is also a teacher, and after all the teacher bashing The Daily News has done, they deserve to get smeared themselves. I hope they lose. Is anyone all jumpy inside just thinking about OoP? I cannot believe we are actually going to have the book in our hands in a matter of hours! --Jenny *********************************************** From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Thu Jun 19 22:02:09 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:02:09 -0000 Subject: Paxman interview / oh no, my parents! Message-ID: Hi all, No, Jeremy Paxman didn't mention my parents during the JKR interview - I'm doing a bit of topic combining. I didn't see the interview, but I read a transcript. JKR made a comment I think I've heard from her before, that there was a central fact/theme that she would be annoyed to find had been guessed by one of the fan lists. She said something like "Nobody has guessed it. A couple of people have come close, but they skirted around it". She says she has read fan speculation, but I find it hard to believe she's read *all* of it (she'd need nine lives, a time turner and a kink in the universe just to make a dent). Quite apart from general speculation, there are bound to be some fanfics that have - unbeknownst to their authors - hit some pivotal facts on the head. I'm also of the view that Harry Potter fans are now so numerous that their nitpicking could be likened to the infinite number of trained monkeys bashing away on their typewriters and producing the works of Shakespeare by fluke. One of us typing primates is bound to have guessed right. Any idea what that crucial thing might be? ** Where do my parents come in? Not speculating on Harry Potter, that's for sure. I foolishly accepted an invitation from my brother to spend Sunday afternoon having a picnic with my parents and my nieces, while he and my sister-in-law look round a museum. Parents and nieces are not good for optimum reading conditions. They chatter, dance around like pixies and try to get me to 'colour in' and read to them. The nieces are even worse. Hey... I *could* read OoP out loud. Hmmm. Neil *** Flying Ford Anglia From morrigan at morrigan27.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 03:34:55 2003 From: morrigan at morrigan27.yahoo.invalid (Vicki) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:34:55 -0500 Subject: Intro In-Reply-To: Message-ID: ***Name: Vicki ***Nicknames/IDs: Morri, Morrigan, hermorrine, morrigan27, HermioneforReal ***Age: 31 ***Family: My parents and younger brother (whom I currently live with), younger sister who's married and pregnant with twins (due in Sept!) and has my niece Lauren (born on Harry's birthday - she'll be 2 this year!), and I also have my boyfriend Mark, whom I met through the fandom - he lives in Oxford, England (I was just there a few days ago, which is why I'm only getting to this now). ***Home Chicago suburbs most of my life, although I spent almost 4 years in San Diego and 6 months in Dallas. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 8/22/71, Chicago, IL ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: BA in Communication w/a minor in Women's Studies and then a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems. I currently do Technical Support for a healthcare data company. ***Other things we might want to know about you: In a nutshell - I'm a tall, bisexual, queer, fat geek. ***First contact with Harry Potter: It wasn't the very first, but what got me into the fandom was when the 1st movie came out. I thought it looked good and I didn't want to see it without having read the books first, so I told myself to get off my arse already and read them. I got them all out of the library and finished them in about 3 days flat. That wasn't enough so I started searching the web and the rest, as they say, is history. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Fave stuff: The UK versions of the books, the "Gryffindor Friends" soft cuddly dolls, the Potion Bottle and Sorting Hats backpacks and the Golden Snitch handbag. Fave book: PoA Fave ships: Harry/Draco, Harry/Ron, Ron/Hermione, Oliver/Marcus ***Extent of Potter obsession: I'm co-HeadMistress of RestrictedSection.org (Gryffindor, of course - the other co-mod is Slytherin), I write naughty smutty slash and het fics, I have license plates on my car that say "HOGWTS 1," I've just been quoted in a newspaper article for the first time talking about HP. ***Other interests/activities: I'm also into Smallville and ice hockey, but neither of those to the extent that I'm into HP. ***Current/recent reading: Some interesting vampire romance novels that I borrowed from my mom. Before that, Jonathan Kellerman's latest. ***Current/recent listening: I drive an hour and a half each way to work daily, so I tend to listen to the radio more than anything else - alternative rock/pop sort of stuff. I'm looking forward to Michelle Branch's new CD next week. ***Current/recent viewing: My dad's now retired and he monopolizes the TV when he's not working on something around the house, so I never watch anymore. I did watch The Matrix, Animatrix, Shrek and Casablanca with my boyfriend over last weekend, and I saw both Chicago and Daredevil on the plane. ***Most Treasured Fandom Memories: Chicago, June 2002 Austin, August 2002 Punt00bage, June 2003 and coming soon, Nimbus 2003, July! Vicki :) From catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 04:55:10 2003 From: catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 04:55:10 -0000 Subject: Paxman interview / reading the book In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > I didn't see the interview, but I read a transcript. Me, too. She said that the Death Eaters used to be named the Knights of Walpurgis. > JKR made a comment I think I've heard from her before, that there > was a central fact/theme that she would be annoyed to find had been > guessed by one of the fan lists. She said something like "Nobody > has guessed it. A couple of people have come close, but they > skirted around it". (snip) > Any idea what that crucial thing might be? I suppose she *knows* that, by talking about one thing that is central but no one has guessed yet, she is offering a Challenge. Evoking my urge to *try* to guess it so I can say Nyaa Nyaa Nyaa. But don't we sort of owe it to the human being who has given us so much pleasure that we not TRY to do something that she said will annoy her? BOOK READING PLANS It's strange to me that so many people are posting about their excitement, impatience, plans to shut out the world in order to readreadread, and I am perfectly calm about it ... my emotions don't yet believe that OoP is happening Having ordered a copy from amazon uk as soon as the release date was announced, I also always planned to get promptly a copy of us edition to read while waiting for the uk one to arrive, and then pass on to Muggle friends. But I was overcome by a fit of fannishness and reserved my us copy at a bookstore in *Valencia* (long way from my home!) because that is where Pippin is getting hers ... and invited everyone on the HPfGU-California list to pick up their copies at that bookstore and then sleep/read on Pippin's living room floor. In costume. So my social life is arranged, but I'm damned if I know how I'm going to find time to *read* the book, never mind catch up on the main list! Reading the intro bio's once again brought to my mind my awe at how much so many of you do ... it seems that the typical listie has a job, young children, a musical instrument (or voice or DJing), a sport, helping out with Nimbus 2003 and/or HP websites ... how do you-uns find the *time*?! I just have the job and some cats, not all those other things, and I can never find time to go to a movie or read fanfic or whatever, and you-uns can? From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 06:40:40 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 06:40:40 -0000 Subject: Invitations just sent... a few more tomorrow Message-ID: Hi all, I've just sent another round of invitations (17), so we may see a few more people through the door before Saturday. There are still a handful of people in the database who were added on the 19th and will be invited on the 20th, unless you any of you attach a Dark Mark to them. Neil From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 07:09:14 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 07:09:14 -0000 Subject: OTish: JKR is making me incredibly rich (virtually) Message-ID: Hi everyone, I just checked my Celebdaq portfolio and dividends on my JKR shares made me ?42985.92 this week (and most of those I only bought recently). Hurray! I've just bought another ?10,000 worth of JKR and that should set me well on the way to my third million! Pity it's all pretend. For those of you wondering if I'm completely off my rocker, Celebdaq is a game run by the BBC. They give you ?10,000 in virtual money and you buy shares in celebrities (mostly British). The prices of the shares depend on their popularity with the players and once a week you earn dividends on the number of column inches your people receive in the press. I built up a ton of money on Keanu Reeves as his price rose, but this week his column inches brought me only 76 virtual pence. Alternatively, Prince William was rather slow on price, but boy did he have inches in the press! I made a mint (a Royal mint, I guess). I made my first million mostly on the back of Kylie Minogue. Now I've piled a total of ?17500 into JKR, as I think there might be a word or two about her in the press over the next week. What do you reckon? http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/ Neil *** Flying Ford Anglia From elfundeb at elfundeb2.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 07:25:45 2003 From: elfundeb at elfundeb2.yahoo.invalid (elfundeb) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 03:25:45 -0400 Subject: Intro Profile Message-ID: <017901c336fd$2a037000$9ddc5644@...> Hi, late arrival here, and I am flattered by the invite since I definitely don't qualify as *old crowd* -- that is unless you mean my age! I've been busy getting my affairs in order for midnight tonight, but I took a detour on the way. THE OLD CROWD - INTRO ***Name: Debbie Duncan ***Nicknames/IDs: elfundeb or elfundeb2, my Yahoo ID ***Age: 46, for another 2 weeks ***Family: DH and two children, ages 11 and 9. Both adopted. Husband addicted to fantasy baseball, mom addicted to HP, daughter addicted to The Sims, son addicted to Yugio! and Game Cube. Normal dysfunctional family! Also, one mom, 77 with good genes but lots of aches and pains, a sister and brother, all stashed in New Jersey. ***Home Old house in Arlington, Virginia, with kitchen renovation imminent. ***Birthday, Place of Birth: July 3, 1956, Teaneck, New Jersey, escaped 18 years later ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: B.A. in Government, law degree, practicing tax lawyer and Nimbus DADA professor. My role in life is to be a chameleon and to have many roles. ***Other things we might want to know about you: Do you really *want* to know? INTP, radical Catholic, liberal democrat, opinionated, etc. ***First contact with Harry Potter: Do you mean when I first had physical contact with the books? Or when I read them? I bought these nice children's books for my children, but then found out they had reading disabilities which precluded them from reading them. But books should never go to waste, and when a deal crashed in July 2001 and I suddenly was home instead of at work at night, I picked one up. And another. And another. Till I read GoF in a single day, largely at poolside, which is why I think I can read OOP properly over the weekend. ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general enthusing): Books: POA, GOF, COS, PS/SS, in that order. Characters: Lupin, Ron, Snape, Hermione, Percy, Bill. Ships: My ship is the menage a trois. Kill one of them off (or turn Harry into Frodo Baggins) and I'll happily ship the other two. ***Extent of Potter obsession: Just the books. But I own three complete sets of the first four books, plus four volumes of commentary. I have 5 copies of OOP on order, plus an audiotape. (This is an exaggeration; I ordered 2 copies from the only bookstore in DC that decided *not* to have a midnight party, but I didn't cancel the order just in case my first copy is stolen and the UK copies haven't arrived yet.) > ***Other interests/activities: Junior Gymnastics, Babe Ruth baseball, summer swim/dive leagues, Girl Scouts/Cub Scouts, bicycling and playing kickball in the street with the kids. There's a pattern to this . . . . ***Current/recent reading: Peg Kerr's The Wild Swans; just finished LotR reread ***Current/recent listening: Have suddenly gone back to really dated stuff like Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, etc. Must be senility. ***Current/recent viewing: Desperately worried that the last movie I saw was CoS (which I disliked intensely), but no, I saw TTT. I don't watch television, except for things like the History Channel. And to answer another question, OOP reading plans: Pick up at midnight, fall asleep on couch over first chapter, pick up in morning, get pedicure and read, go to pool and read (reveries of first GoF read), go home and finish reading. Keep clipboard and paper at hand to take notes. Read till exhausted or done. Reread until HPFGU reopens. Debbie here in the US, 20 1/2 hours and counting [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 15:08:25 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 15:08:25 -0000 Subject: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I'm assuming no one here will object if this list remains open over > the weekend, so we can share our thoughts as and when they arise? As > long as we all use 'OOP' in the headers for spoilers, I guess we > won't turn to stone. > That's okay with me. I'll probably skip coputer time this weekend to 1.concentrate on the book and 2. to start moving things and cleaning up, my basement will be undergoing MAJOR renovation this summer (one bedroom, a utility room, a full bath, a better family room/library/home office). > I remember HPforGrownups just prior to the release of GoF, when most > of us were reduced to panting and dribbling in bright-eyed > anticipation, as opposed to constructing our usual fine literary > critiques and insightful analyses of the canon. This time, I just > feel like a bag of nerves. > I'm a bag of nerves because I have no "Plan B" for getting a copy of the book. I figured I could just walk into my bookstore on Saturday afternoon and casually pick up the book from a huge stack. (I must have been in some dream-world, huh?). I didn't even THINK of reserving a copy until a month and a half ago. Now I'm thinking, if I don't show up at mid-night, I'm not going to get a copy of the book until next week! Paranoia strikes deep (sniff). > I've ordered two copies of OoP from WHSmiths in Lewisham, so I can > pop down there first thing Saturday morning and cart the goods home > for a non-stop session surrounded by incense, light snacks and > silence. I've shunned all opportunities for midnight purchasing > events, preferring instead to just scuttle into a corner like a > squirrel with his nuts (-apologies for that image-). > :p > One of my copies is supposedly for someone else, but I'm not too sure > if they want it. If not, I guess I can turn it into an occasional > table. It's scary how the books are getting bigger each time: PS > (small), CoS (bigger), PoA (medium), GoF (large), OoP (hernia). I'm > already thinking I'm going to need an extra bedroom to house Book 7. > I figure they'll be offering a two-for-one deal with book 7: buy the book at regular price and get a hydraulic-lift free. > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > I plan to be in my pyjamas and reclining on my couch. My light blanket over me and a thermos of tea within reach. From erisedstraeh2002 at erisedstraeh2002.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 17:50:21 2003 From: erisedstraeh2002 at erisedstraeh2002.yahoo.invalid (Phyllis) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 17:50:21 -0000 Subject: Hello! Message-ID: Thank you for the invitation! I'm in the middle of packing for a week-long (computerless) vacation, so I'm going to follow Amanda's lead and use my FAQ intro post to save time. I'll catch up with all of you the first week of July! Enjoy reading OoP! >Real name: Phyllis Morris >Also known as: erisedstraeh2002 (Yahoo ID) Phyl (nickname only used by my three brothers, Grey Wolf and Gail B.) >Age/Sex: 41/F >Birthplace/Livingplace: I was born in Washington, D.C. , but have lived in New York (State capitol, Albany) since 1992. >Family Life: 1 husband, 2 kids (4 and 6). >Personality: Hard-working, fairly serious but I love a good laugh. >Words friends have used to describe you: Sensitive, loyal, provider of good advice >Words you have used to describe you: Too hard-working! >Things you do when not staring at the computer: Primarily working and caring for my family. I hold a third-degree black belt in karate, so I train sometimes (not as much as I should, however!). I also play the piano, but have regressed from playing Bach inventions at competitions to playing nursery songs for my kids (the latter is infinitely more enjoyable, however!). >Comfort foods: Anything with sugar and refined white flour as the main ingredients. Preferably including chocolate. >Education/Work: BA in English and History from the University of Notre Dame; MPA (Master of Public Administration) from the George Washington University. Currently working in the New York Governor's budget office as a budget analyst for state welfare programs. >Language skills I only know English, but I know it well! >Technical know-how: Proficient with word processing; good with numbers; good analyst; good proofreader and editor; fast and accurate typist; OK with spreadsheets. >Favourite HP book: PoA. >Favourite HP character(s): Harry. I'm a sucker for a hero! >Favourite HP line My favorite *funny* lines: Ch. 18 of CoS, when Dumbledore says "`Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy!' `Sword?' said Lockhart dimly. `Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though.' He pointed at Harry. `He'll lend you one.'" My favorite *inspirational* lines: Dumbledore to Harry: "You think the dead we have loved ever truly leave us?" (PoA, Ch. 22) Dumbledore to the assembled Hogwarts students: "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." (GoF, Ch. 37) >Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?: Watching; mostly enjoying, although some parts bug me when they deviate too much from the text. I want the movies to be just like the books! >Into HP fanfiction? I haven't read any fan fiction yet. >Books you'd recommend to just about anyone: Oh, my. So hard to pick just a few. I really enjoyed the "Wind on Fire" trilogy by William Nicholson; the "His Dark Materials" trilogy and "Clockwork" by Philip Pullman; "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. >Favorite TV shows? I haven't watched TV since I stopped nursing my daughter three years ago, but when I was watching, I enjoyed "Law and Order." It was the best show to watch while nursing, since daily re-runs were shown during prime nursing hours ? 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. >Favorite movies: Lorenzo's Oil; Awakenings >One thing about your life you'd change if you could ? you may not >say "lose weight." Rats, losing weight is always high on my agenda! I would try to be more easy-going and not take life so seriously. >One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance >copy of Book 7: Having children. Although I wouldn't want an advance copy of Book 7 until I had the opportunity to read Books 5 and 6! >Philosophy for an easy life: Find the happiness that lies within! (When I've managed to figure out how to do this, I'll let you know.) >How you found HPfGU: I was trying to find out the release date for Book 5. Last summer, I saw the SS video for sale at the drugstore and thought I'd buy it to see what all the commotion was about. I was immediately hooked, and bought the first three books, foolishly thinking that they would answer all of the unanswered questions the movie left me with. I only bought the first three books since GoF was due to come out in paperback the next month and I figured it would take me that long to read three books. How wrong I was! Like so many others, I buzzed right through SS, CoS and PoA and immediately purchased the GoF hardback (there was no way I was waiting for the paperback!). I then wanted to find out when Book 5 was coming out, and Google took me to the Book 5 page on Steve's Lexicon. I started exploring the Lexicon, and found references to HPfGU, and thought I'd check it out. I was instantly impressed by the quality of the posts and the friendliness of the folks! >Active at other HP sites: I regularly visit The Leaky Cauldron for news, and still putter around the Lexicon occasionally. >Your most rock solid OoP prediction: We will find out that Fawkes was once Godric Gryffindor's phoenix. >Members of the fandom you have personally met: None yet, but I am hoping to remedy this in July at Nimbus! Although I feel as if I've personally met many HPfGU-ers during Sunday chat and on the lists. ~Phyllis thanking you all for taking the time to read this! From pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 18:36:56 2003 From: pt4ever at pt4ever.yahoo.invalid (JoAnna Wahlund) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 11:36:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Come the weekend... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20030620183656.46272.qmail@...> I'm going to be in the Twin Cities (Mpls/St. Paul) this weekend for a Starfleet (Star Trek Int'l Fan Club) summit, but I'm going to the Eden Prairie, MN Barnes & Noble for their HP bash at 10pm tonight. The book goes on sale at midnight and I've already reserved a copy. I'm going to stay up all night if I have to to finish OoP! I'll be tired all day Saturday, but c'est la vie - I have been DYING to read OoP. I finished GoF in four hours and I'm hoping I can do the same with OoP. Milz wrote:--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I'm assuming no one here will object if this list remains open over > the weekend, so we can share our thoughts as and when they arise? As > long as we all use 'OOP' in the headers for spoilers, I guess we > won't turn to stone. > That's okay with me. I'll probably skip coputer time this weekend to 1.concentrate on the book and 2. to start moving things and cleaning up, my basement will be undergoing MAJOR renovation this summer (one bedroom, a utility room, a full bath, a better family room/library/home office). > I remember HPforGrownups just prior to the release of GoF, when most > of us were reduced to panting and dribbling in bright-eyed > anticipation, as opposed to constructing our usual fine literary > critiques and insightful analyses of the canon. This time, I just > feel like a bag of nerves. > I'm a bag of nerves because I have no "Plan B" for getting a copy of the book. I figured I could just walk into my bookstore on Saturday afternoon and casually pick up the book from a huge stack. (I must have been in some dream-world, huh?). I didn't even THINK of reserving a copy until a month and a half ago. Now I'm thinking, if I don't show up at mid-night, I'm not going to get a copy of the book until next week! Paranoia strikes deep (sniff). > I've ordered two copies of OoP from WHSmiths in Lewisham, so I can > pop down there first thing Saturday morning and cart the goods home > for a non-stop session surrounded by incense, light snacks and > silence. I've shunned all opportunities for midnight purchasing > events, preferring instead to just scuttle into a corner like a > squirrel with his nuts (-apologies for that image-). > :p > One of my copies is supposedly for someone else, but I'm not too sure > if they want it. If not, I guess I can turn it into an occasional > table. It's scary how the books are getting bigger each time: PS > (small), CoS (bigger), PoA (medium), GoF (large), OoP (hernia). I'm > already thinking I'm going to need an extra bedroom to house Book 7. > I figure they'll be offering a two-for-one deal with book 7: buy the book at regular price and get a hydraulic-lift free. > What are you all planning for the big read? Leg over the chair arm? > In bed with a torch? Sitting under a tree? Reading aloud to the > kids? Armed with a highlighter and notebook? > I plan to be in my pyjamas and reclining on my couch. My light blanket over me and a thermos of tea within reach. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: the_old_crowd-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. ~JoAnna~ http://pt4ever.diaryland.com "You know, you look at George W. and you realize some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some get it as a graduation gift." - Robin Williams --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Fri Jun 20 22:08:56 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 22:08:56 -0000 Subject: Eleventh hour invitations/a note on spoiler space Message-ID: Hi everyone, The last few invitations will go off before tomorrow. I guess we'll send some more out in the period after the book hits the streets, so if anyone wants to add names over the weekend, please do. If anyone is a fast reader (for example, JoAnna can do Goblet of Fire in four hours and is, therefore, clearly ~~not of this earth~~) and plans to post about OoP here in the next day or so, please use spoiler space such as: j k r o w l i n g i s a m i l l i o n a i r e s s and a 'OOP' upside the header (sorry, I've been drinking wine) Blank space doesn't seem to work with Yahoo! I'm teaching my grandparents to suck eggs, aren't I? We're an hour away from midnight in the UK, but as I'm not picking up my book(s) until 8am at the earliest I will probably be stuffing my head into a pillow and singing "la, la, la!" until I've finished reading it. Actually, hmmm, it'll be a bit hard to read like that... Neil *** Flying Ford Anglia From terzarima at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 00:33:33 2003 From: terzarima at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid (terzarima@...) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 20:33:33 -0400 Subject: I can't take the suspense!! Message-ID: <191690-22003662103333453@...> I just went to Border's and begged them to let me just *look* at one of the books. They laughed.... How will I hold out? What if... what if... it is Sirius Black who is going to die? Aaaaggggghhhhhhhh!!! Damn, ruined another manicure. Woefully, Suzanne -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 02:30:11 2003 From: estesrandy at estesrandy.yahoo.invalid (Randy Estes) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 19:30:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: HP Celebration activities In-Reply-To: <20030618235647.8251.qmail@...> Message-ID: <20030621023011.82801.qmail@...> After dinner we had Harry Potter cookies. My oldest son Brian called them that because we had sugar cookies with Red and Green sprinkles for Gryfindor and Slytherin and colored balls to represent the quidditch match. During the actual night of the big event, Carole and Brian went to the party at "Books A Million", but younger Brother Steve and I played Harry Potter games with his rules enforced. During our Wizard Chess match, we had action figure Harry control one side and George Weasley control the other. Pieces fly off the board when captured. We played the Book 2 trivial pursuit where the dice were rolled and players moved in odd configurations based on Steve's whimsy. The final game was Book 1 trivial pursuit. In which we followed most of the rules, and he did his best reading the cards. He has just finished Kindergarten and is reading alot of words now. He spelled the hard ones to me. Of course, Steve won all 3 games. As it should be. Now with Matthew and Steven in bed, I await the return of Brian and Carole with the coveted OOPS in tow. Brian gets his own copy this time. I have enjoyed searching the internet and reading all of the Harry Potter articles tonight! I hope your evening has met expectations! Red Eye Randy (I'm anticipating less sleep this week!) RE --- Randy Estes wrote: > While Carole and Brian (son age 9) plan to visit the > HP event at Books A Million, I will be forced to > hold > down the castle with the younger two kids on Friday > night. > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > http://sbc.yahoo.com > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com From heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 13:20:35 2003 From: heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid (Heidi Tandy) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 09:20:35 -0400 Subject: Woah. Spoilers for OOTP herein Message-ID: S P O I L E R S P A C E Oh, carole. I am so sorry. If we thought we hated Lori for her futurefic... Carole, please finish your fic anyway. I need to know what couldve happened. I love the book. I hate jkr. Hate. Hate her. Sorry, tears again. Am such a geek. She wasn't kidding at the gof launch. Evil bitch. While I was reading it I sent ebony and cassie page numbers for them to chortle and gasp at while they read and when I'm at the computer later, I'll post them here and explanations of why, so those with the uk version can follow along. But I will say that my Book Magazine prediction merits 10 points to my house. Just not sure which it is. And I'm not sure where the hell she's going to go from here. It could end here and I'd be... Whatever will be will be. I do have one prediction - so many loose ends were tied up and mysteries explained that I think there will be less speculation about plot "facts" and more about concepts, perspective and characterisation. Btw - I still think that either draco/hermione or harry/hermione have futures. And I am going to finish SoC and take it through 5th year and into 6th. I swear. From witchwanda2002 at witchwanda2002.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 13:42:57 2003 From: witchwanda2002 at witchwanda2002.yahoo.invalid (Wanda the *B*Witch) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 06:42:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Thank You for this! Message-ID: <20030621134257.77912.qmail@...> This was a great surprise in my mailbox this morning! An invitation to join The Old Crowd! Resistance was futile! I couldn't help myself! Now seeing so many names from the old group I don't feel so OLD! I know I have been out of it for awhile. My Dad who is 83 has been keeping my sister and myself very busy with Doctor appointments and getting him comfortable with new eye glasses and walking support and making sure he is eating right! Plus my Teen Muggles with Junior High School Projects and cracking a wet noodle to get them motivated to finish, I am mentally exhausted! Happy School is out but now comes I'm bored, all ready from William! Also, last May in 20002, William had his surgery, we knew it was coming after that getting even with Hector episode! He did great, more energetic than I am! Otherwise life goes on and now the release of the book, which Roy pre-ordered and better remember to pick up today or the Old Muggle will be more than in the dog house more like an Out House! Well, I think I have bent enough members ears as to what has been happening here in Revere, Massachusetts! Oh yeah, speaking of old, I had to go for a colonosacopy, for 2 weeks I have been teased by my 100% Muggles about Alien Probes and so many anal jokes, that when I told the Doctor, we were laughing through the whole test! Actually it is not as horrible as many think, it is taking that awful tasing stuff before the test! Well, in another 2 weeks I'll now if all is well, if so, no test for 5 years! Now to get Roy to get his! Getting old is not fun but with humor it makes the tests easier! Well, how is this for my first post! You'll get more if Roy brings home the bok or not one way or the other his muggle exsistence depends on it or this old *B*Witch will turn into one heck of *B*Witch and you'll read in The Daily Prophet about Roy Mallett of Revere, Massachusetts cursed forever or blessed! Till he gets home, the suspense is mounting, he won't tell, I called him at work all ready! Later my old friends! Wanda the *B*Witch and Her Very Merry Band of Muggles 100% The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits. ~~~ Albert Einstein --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From terzarima at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 15:21:48 2003 From: terzarima at rainy_lilac.yahoo.invalid (terzarima@...) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 11:21:48 -0400 Subject: Spoilers.... No! No! Say it isn't so! Message-ID: <269620-220036621152148659@...> S
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Aaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Evil! Evil! Evil! I peeked. I admit it. Went to the book store today and peeked. Now I am waiting in anguish for my own copy to arrive so that I can find out why, why, why..... WHY?? Wretchedly, Suzanne -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 15:48:04 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 15:48:04 -0000 Subject: Midnight Madness and Initial Impressions of First 5 chapters. Message-ID: Not terribly spoilery. First, Midnight Madness at the bookstore. I didn't expect it to be _that_ crowded. The youngest child I saw was probably 18 months to 24 months old. He was in costume as Baby Harry post-AK curse, complete with an eye-liner lightning scar above his right eye. I'll admit he looked cute, though somewhat bewildered. The most elderly person in costume (or at least I HOPE he was in costume) was a 60-ish looking man who looked like the Robby Coltrane Hagrid. Seriously, he had the long unruly hair and the beard. Because he looked somewhat ferocious, I didn't ask him if he was in costume or if that was his usual appearance;) At my Borders Books, they gave a number to those people who reserved books. They called up groups of numbers to minimize any mob activity. I was number 260. It took about an hour and 45 minutes before my group number was called. I didn't get home until 2 AM this morning. I didn't get to sleep until 3:45 AM because I read the first 5 chapters. All I can say is "WOW!" I won't go into any detail but those 5 "little" chapters are jammed packed with information. Many of the questions we've asked and mentally masturbated upon at the HPFGU main board since GoF are answered there. I won't be able to read anymore until tonight...got alot of moving and cleaning to do, the contractor wants to start gutting the basement by the end of the week. ~Milz From Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 16:11:58 2003 From: Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid (Ali) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 16:11:58 -0000 Subject: Why oh why? I've finished Message-ID: S P O I L E R A L E R T I finished to book about an hour ago. I stayed up til 5 in the morning -long after Catherine had called it a day. I'm still emotionally drained. Why did she have to? I didn't want anyone to die. But Sirius? I wanted him to be pardoned, to take up his position as Harry's godfather. Not to die some kind of weird death through a veil. I'm starting to wonder whether Neville could actually be the "one", rather than Harry: perhaps he has a less visible scar. Too tired to think much now, and off to a BBQ with friends who have already called be insane and abnormal for *liking* Harry. Oh well... A traumatised, but dry eyed, Ali From mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 20:59:04 2003 From: mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid (Aberforth's Goat) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 22:59:04 +0200 Subject: OoP Death & First Impressions References: Message-ID: <000501c33837$f3cf9450$da00a8c0@shasta> Ali wrote, > S > P > O > I > L > E > R > > A > L > E > R > T > > > > > > > > > I finished to book about an hour ago. I stayed up til 5 in the > morning -long after Catherine had called it a day. > > I'm still emotionally drained. Why did she have to? I didn't want > anyone to die. But Sirius? I wanted him to be pardoned, to take up > his position as Harry's godfather. Not to die some kind of weird > death through a veil. Whew! Just finished. And I'm rather shocked. Though I felt it was coming. There *was* a stunned moment when I thought that Hermione had bought the farm - that had me so shell-shocked that Sirius' death didn't quite register. You know, this is going to play havoc with our fanfiction! * * * * * So what do you guys think? I read at a breakneck speed, can't really claim to have really tasted the book. Still, some first thoughts: - It's another gripping read - mostly. I thought the plot seemed to drag in the second half. Maybe I was just tired, though. - No trick ending! - There was some of JKR's signature humor, but less than the last few. Pity. - OTOH, I was fascinated to see Harry having complicated emotions. He seemed more real this time. In fact, a whole bunch of people seemed more 3d: Ron, Molly, Ginny, in particular. - Also, the moral issues have taken on a new level of complexity. The Sorting Hat is having second thoughts about its job; James & Sirius are acting like pricks. I'm happy about that. Draco redemption still seems pretty far off, though ... Well ... here's to the next three years! Baaaaaa! Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray) _______________________ "Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery...." NEWS: Check out chapter 2 of the Viagramus Curse. Fanfiction that puts the dense back in decadence. http://www.riddikulus.org/authors/agoat/VC02.html From heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 20:59:39 2003 From: heidit at heiditandy.yahoo.invalid (Heidi Tandy) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 16:59:39 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] OoP Death & First Impressions Message-ID: B U T M I K E B ! ! ! I was sure you'd mention the mention of Aberforth in the order! You're a brave goat, my dear. From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 21:53:37 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 22:53:37 +0100 Subject: How Could She?! (Sob!) Message-ID: J K R O W L I N G S P O I L E R S P A C  Ali, I don't know how you remained dry eyed. I've finished, I'm chatting to Ebony, and I *still* can't stop crying. Sirius Black R I P Catherine (Loved the book though - more on that when I've calmed down a bit) From hp at plumeski.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 21:59:40 2003 From: hp at plumeski.yahoo.invalid (plumeski) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 21:59:40 -0000 Subject: Intro - Profile Message-ID: Before I respond to the little questionnaire, I'd like to thank Neil (and anyone else resposnsible) for considering me worthy of joining this august group. I certainly don't consider myself an HPFGU old- timer and chronologically speaking, I certainly am not (having first posted in January 2002). Nevertheless, in the context of a recent conversation on (I think) the OT list , I do remember the first stirrings of MAGIC DISHWASHER and think I understand its intricacies (although I findamentally disagree with them). :-) THE OLD CROWD ? INTRO ***Name: Richard Sliwa ***Nicknames/IDs: (on Yahoo) Plumeski or GulPlum; otherwise plumski ***Age: 41 (and two weeks) :-) ***Family: Two elderly parents (with whom I live, technically to look after them), six siblings (five sisters, one brother). ***Home Birmingham, England ***Birthday, Place of Birth: 9th June, Birmingham ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc: I can't be bothered to type this up. All kinds of personal details (including the above) and a potted bio are on my web site: http://plum.cream.org ***Other things we might want to know about you: My site is in desperate need of updating (the bio was last amended four years ago!). I moved back to live with my elderly parents (in the house in which I was born!) just over two years ago and am registered as their "carer". I therefore don't currently have a "proper" job, although I do all kinds of bits and pieces which I can do from home, which include a bit of web design, a bit of tech support for a web hosting company owned by friends, some tanslation work, and all kinds of other things for my parent's technically illiterate friends (these folk are not only generally in their 70s or 80s, but have a very poor command of English, being immigrants from Poland). For various reasons, I have never applied for a driving licence and have never had a single driving lesson (or spent a single moment in command of a car in any other circumstances). Most people find this strange. :-) I am therefore completely reliant on my pushbike or public transport, which as any other UK folk know, can be a right drag! ***First contact with Harry Potter: First movie. I saw it at a preview screening (see below) and came out of the cinema wondering why the narrative didn't address the question of why Snape might hate Harry (yet at the same time be prepared to save his life). I acquired the book on my way home in the hope that it might answer that question. I bought CoS the next day (pretty much by accident). I wasn't all that impressed with either book, TBH. Having made my first tentative steps in online HP fandom and discoverning that the general consensus appeared to be that PoA was the best, I bought that (and GoF) the day after that. The rest is history. :-) ***Favourite Potter things Other than the books and DVDs of the movies, I have an HP bookend (pseudo-ceramic one of Harry reading, which holds my HP books in place, which I received as a present) and have an HP wall calendar just above my current eyeline (which I bought on the cheap). I am not a fan of branding or labels (that's an understatement!) and despise virtually any kind of merchandising. I am particularly vitriolic about merchandising aimed at (small) kids, which hasn't stopped me buying HP toys and clothes for my two nephews (currently 7 and 4) for their last two birthdays and Christmas! :-) ***Extent of Potter obsession: I have a distinctly compulsive personality. If I get interested in something, I take it to the hilt and lose interest in pretty much anything else. The unceasing Potter bandwagon over the last 18 months or so has continued to feed that compulsion and thus, at least for the next few weeks (while OotP is being dissected in all directions) I expect to continue to think about little else. I will therefore probably take a break from the end of July until after Christmas, when the PoA movie bandwagon will start rolling again. ***Other interests/activities: Apart from the various interests listed on my web site (and the two sub-sites there devoted to specific topics) I am a fanatical movie- goer. Thanks to the UGC cinema chain's subsription system, I am able to maitain that interest on a budget (?10 per month for unlimited movies; by comparison, cinemas around here charge approx. ?3 for one daytime ticket). As a result, I have seen almost every movie released in the UK in the last couple of years. Becuase there's only one (awful!) "art" cinema here in Birmingham, the posh UGC (13 screens) alo shows a lot of "art" or foreign movies (at least one or two a week). This has also permitted me to have seen CoS over 30 times in the cinema (I have watched the DVD through from beginning to end *once*!). Neil mentioned that he's not a fan of child actors. My attitude is slightly more complex: I REALLY, REALLY hate kiddie movies which rely on kids being cute and doing cute things (and bursting into tears on cue). I absolutely ADORE intelligent "coming of age" movies (though not the "let's lose our virginity" type), and my personal top ten of all time includes "Stand By Me" and "Hope and Glory". The latter happens to have been directed by my favourite movie director, John Boorman (who directed "Tailor of Panama", famous in Potter movie circles for its own reasons). I maintain that Boorman should have been given a shot at adapting and directing the HP movies (he has exactly the right sensibilities for this kind material - he specialises in "quest" stories, he's *great* with kids and he has a "wicked" sense of humour, oh and he's British and boarding-school educated to boot). ***Current/recent reading: I usually have about three or four books on the go at any time; one or two are likely to be pulp fiction (usually sci fi, of the "what if..." kind), one is likely to be "worthy" and one will be non- fiction (biographies or "philosophy"). My bedside table currently has on it a book called "Little Brother" (an interesting take on 2002 computers, written in 1982 i.e. before the advent of the home PC) by an author whose identity I can't be bothered to check, Ayn Rand's "Return of the Primitive: The Anti- Industrial Revolution"; I have decided that I will have read all of the BBC's "Top 100 Books" before they return to the subject in October (I have thus far read 65 of them at one time or another). I just finished "The Grapes of Wrath" (I'm not very well read when it comes to American literature) and will be picking up "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho from the library next week, as soon as the first wave of discussions about OotP is done. ***Current/recent listening: I'm a big movie soundtrack fan, and am currently in Danny Elfman mode (he should have scored the HP movies, not Williams!). I have MP3'd some of my Elfman collection and have it on random play whenever the TV's not on. ***Current/recent viewing: My current TV viewing has several "must watch" items: 24, Law & Order (UK TV is presently 4 years behind US producion!), CSI, The West Wing and Big Brother 4 (I see Neil's watching too!). :-) I am also a news junkie (though I don't currently have digital/satellite/cable TV, so am limited in my options). I go to the cinema at least 3 times a week, and won't even start listing what I've seen recently. :-) From hp at plumeski.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 22:44:39 2003 From: hp at plumeski.yahoo.invalid (plumeski) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 22:44:39 -0000 Subject: OoP: half way through; a few comments (minor spoilers) Message-ID: My original intention had been to get the book at midnight and zoom through it at fast as I could in one sitting. However, partially because my plans for today had to change and partially because I completely agree with a comment someone made on HPFGU that "you only get one chance to read a book for the first time", I decided to take things at a slower pace and to read the book the same way I do any other long novel. That is, a few chapters at a time, followed by some reflection on what's happened to date and then moving on. With material like this, I also read at the speed of speech (i.e. not reading out loud, but wallowing in the "internal" sound of each word or phrase). I have reached the mathematical half-way mark (p. 389 of 766, the end of Chapter 20, "Hagrid's Tale") and that's it for today. I hope to have all of tomorrow to finish, with any luck just in time for the "re-opening" of HPFGU. A few comments on what I've read thus far (I've deliberately not been reading any other posts, and some of this may duplicate what others have already said, so I apologise in advance - I've already had "who dies" spoiled thanks to a subject title in another forum)... Firstly, I think that JKR and/or her editor/proofreader is/are getting sloppy. I've not made notes so I can't quote examples, but I recall at least 3 misplaced apostrophes, and several syntactical compositions which I found ambiguous or plain wrong. To some extent, this has spoiled the pleasure for me (considering my position as a Grammar Nazi). It's also striking me that JKR's writing style actually works better when the text is read out loud (this could be one of the reasons for the popularity of the audiobooks). I find this just a little jarring at times. Nevertheless, I think JKR's vocabulary has grown up just a little and I really don't see many under-14s understanding everything (which I consider a Good Thing). Pet peeve to date: "Luna Lovegood". Urghh! The name sounds like something out of a bad fanfic (or an internet alias). JKR's usually more inventive than this with her character names. I'm not sure where this character is headed yet, but every time I see her name, I feel nauseous. On the other hand, "Dolores Umbridge" is a magnificent name for this character ("pain" and "umbrage"). Boy, is she a nasty piece of work! Talking of Prof. Umbridge, I am curious what happened to Educational Decree Number 23 (22 establishes the Inquisitor; 24, several chapters later, is about Umbridge's extra powers). I expect to find out before the end of the book... Potential Flint/plot hole: how does Harry come to be in possession of the Marauder's Map? We last saw it in GoF, in Barty Crouch Jnr's possession... There is no mention of the Hallowe'en Feast. In the four previous books, something big happened on that day. In year five, the festival isn't even mentioned ("October extnguished itself [...] and November arrived"). It seems that JKR has been getting a lot of mail about commonly- debated subjects and/or has been checking out various online HP communities. She's given answers to whether or not Snape wanted the DADA job, how old Lucius Malfoy is, the first names of various characters previously known by surname alone, etc, etc. It reminds me of her explaining how to pronounce "Hermione" in GoF. :-) A couple of lexical questions to readers of the US editions (page numbers are obviously no help, so I'll have to provide context): Chapter 16, "In the Hog's Head", about halfway through the chapter: the pupils are relating Harry's previous heroic deeds, and after talk of the Patronus and the Basilisk, Neville refers to the "Philological Stone" (which Hermione corrects to "Philosopher's Stone"). I'm curious what was made of this as, of course, the American text would have it as the "Sorcerer's Stone". Three pages on, the pupils are discussing where and when they're going to meet: ... "Library?", suggested Katie Bell after a few moments. "I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library", said Harry. ... As far as I'm aware, this usage of "chuffed" is peculiarly British, and I doubt the US edition would have included it... OPK, that's enough for now. I am going to try to keep away from HP forums until I've finished the book, at which time I will doubtless have more to say... From ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid Sat Jun 21 23:59:26 2003 From: ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid (Kaitlin) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 23:59:26 -0000 Subject: OOTP--over halfway there...(semi-OT) Message-ID: So it's good to know that I'm not insane, and that some people have been reading it faster than I am. This may be due to the fact that some of you are British, and have had access to the book about 6 hours longer than I have, and that I was too tired last night to go down to my local Barnes & Noble at midnight so I waited until 10:30 this AM. What I can't believe is that with over 8 million copies in the first American printing, bookstores are still running out of books. At the B&N I went to today, they said that if you reserved your copy this week, you still weren't guaranteed a copy today...luckily I reserved my copy over a month in advance... I don't know how I feel about the book so far. Some parts annoy me, and some parts are like, Oh my God! Hope everyone is enjoying it so far. Aloha, Kaitlin From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 00:10:38 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 00:10:38 -0000 Subject: Initial Response Message-ID: I C A N ' T B E L I E V E I F I N I S H E D ! Hey! Wow! Here are some of my initial reactions. I am taking a break before I start reading it again. *Cho sucks - why did she have to turn out to be so annoying? *H/G - I still have hope! *Funniest line (had to put book down to laugh for a few minutes): "Of course, he may have crawled into the airing cupboard and died... But I mustn't get my hopes up..." -Sirius, on Kreacher. *Best line: "Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike" -Dumbledore, of course. *Best character development: Neville, Ginny, Harry. *I wasn't expecting Sirius to die, and was shaken up enough to have to stop reading when he did. Boy, did I cry! *Absolutely loved the D.A. classes. *Hagrid is still a moron. *It was refreshing to see Harry so angry - it was more real to see him throw and break things and yell than to hold back as he did for four books. It was also understandable; I'd feel the same way. I am incredibly impressed at how many predictions were right-on, from people knowing what the Order of the Phoenix is, to Figg being a Squib, to Harry visiting St. Mungo's and the MoM. Wheeeeeee! We have so much to talk about! --Jenny, dying to hear what Penny has to say about all the SHIPpy things that went on in OoP ******************************* From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 00:33:37 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (harpdreamer) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 00:33:37 -0000 Subject: Question about OoP delivery Message-ID: Hi All, Just popping in for a moment to ask if anyone else who pre-ordered OoP from Amazon & was guaranteed delivery on the day of publication didn't get theirs. I got the e-mail from Amazon (was excited to hear that it would be here) & today I waited...futilely (sp?) it seems. Namarie, Parker, disappointed From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 02:14:47 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 21:14:47 -0500 Subject: First thoughts upon finishing, while mail downloads References: Message-ID: <000c01c33864$0e9d9800$e304a6d8@...> I W A N T B O O K S I X T O M O R R O W I just finished, am downloading email, but wanted to post first impressions. Loved how JKR managed to accurately convey the awkwardness of teenage romantic interaction--I have had my body proportions go all awry and not known how to swing my arms while I'm walking, etc., if someone was watching. Am astounded that, in almost 900 pages, JKR has managed to *still* not give me either confirmation or denial of my favorite theory. Blergh. Yet, I have to say, the thought at the front of my mind upon reading Snape's worst memory was, why was that the worst memory? Why, of all the many unpleasant ones he must have, did he pick *that* one to carefully remove each time? Two ideas present themselves: Harry didn't see the end of it, and even worse happened; or it was because Lily was there and not only saw it, got involved. Am *waiting* for the vampire people to point out that "Snape never eats here" comment as evidence. Although I saw no other shred of anything like it. Am *delighted* to hear Snape is a superb Occlumens, nicely reconciling the people who said Voldemort can detect all lies, and the people who said Snape could fool him, who were *both* right. I would personally like to knock Harry in the head for not apologizing to Snape after that. Seriously. Honestly. I can understand not thanking him, when you're eleven, for not saving your life--but at fifteen, when you've just stuck your head into a memory he removed for the explicit purpose of preventing you seeing it, and discovered he'd possibly had a point in what he'd been telling you and not *only* being nasty, and have been in exactly that position and realize the sort of personal area you're treading on....I *refuse* to condone Harry's total lack of any kind of remorse for this. Okay, that's it, the mail's downloaded and I want to see what the rest of you are saying. ~Amanda, irritated that the book is too big to hold in the tub From editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 02:27:45 2003 From: editor at mandolabar.yahoo.invalid (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 21:27:45 -0500 Subject: OoP: more first impressions that I forgot to mention References: Message-ID: <002d01c33865$de9d29c0$e304a6d8@...> By the way, Kelley's and my trivia quiz went great and they let us buy books there even though we hadn't reserved them. Charged us the pre-order price. S O M E T H I N G S I F O R G O T First time in my *life* I ever yelled at a book: "Go to SNAPE, you idiot!" to Harry, when he found McGonagall was gone and thought nobody could help him. Yelled at Ron and Hermione, too, who BOTH also knew Snape was in the order and did not contradict him. ARrrrggggh. Draco is an irredeeemable little drip of snot, as I suspected. Percy is too, which I didn't, really, but he'll have to die for someone or an equally noble thing to make up for sending his sweater back and making his mother cry on frickin' Christmas Day. Asshole. ~Amanda, weeding through the mail From ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 04:42:44 2003 From: ReinaKata02 at reinakata02.yahoo.invalid (Kaitlin) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 04:42:44 -0000 Subject: lexical answers (was Re: OoP: half way through; a few comments (minor spoilers)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I will add some spoiler space to answer your questions...~Kaitlin i n s e r t i n g s p o i l e r s p a c e n o w "plumeski" wrote: > A couple of lexical questions to readers of the US editions (page > numbers are obviously no help, so I'll have to provide context): > Chapter 16, "In the Hog's Head", about halfway through the chapter: > > the pupils are relating Harry's previous heroic deeds, and after talk > of the Patronus and the Basilisk, Neville refers to the "Philological > Stone" (which Hermione corrects to "Philosopher's Stone"). I'm > curious what was made of this as, of course, the American text would > have it as the "Sorcerer's Stone". *In the US version he calls it the "Sorcerous Stone." > Three pages on, the pupils are discussing where and when they're > going to meet: > > ... > > "Library?", suggested Katie Bell after a few moments. > "I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in > the library", said Harry. > > ... > > As far as I'm aware, this usage of "chuffed" is peculiarly British, > and I doubt the US edition would have included it... *Actually, the US version does use "chuffed," as well as a number of other British words--Blimey, jumper, mum (rather than "mom"), mate, and "taking the mickey," whatever that means... From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 05:56:30 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 06:56:30 +0100 Subject: Proper First Impressions.... Message-ID: OK, now I've calmed down a bit (ie, slept for a few hours), here's some initial impressions. B O O K S I X I N A Y E A R ? It was *fast*. At the beginning, I felt as though we were being bombarded with new faces, facts, events... a great atmosphere of, confusion and chaos for Harry. Very well done. Harry - I was glad she made him so angry and frustrated. Losing his temper does him good. But - I was furious with him for a few reasons. For not going to Snape to apologise and to resume lessons, and for forgetting Snape was one of the OoP. For missing out on talking to Sirius (the mirror), for being completely clueless with girls, although I admit Cho's behaviour was enough to confound any 15 yr old boy. Oh, and for answering back Umbridge too many times - the detentions were torture to read - and there were far too many of them. And why didn't he tell anyone about that?! This book did not have the lightness of the others, but a few things made me laugh. Although, I was absolutely furious with her for making me chuckle over "Look, I didn't learn joined-up writing for nothing, you know!" V. evil. Big confession. On initial reading, I found myself liking Ron again. A lot of anger at Dumbledore for not explaining things earlier. Sirius's death was so unnecessary! That's probably why I am so upset and angry about it. As much as I have loved Hagrid, I thought he was superfluous to this book. Delighted that I was right about Ginny, and I hope there was enough of her there to convince everyone else that there *was* always more to her than meets the eye. And I was glad that Neville got much more time as well. Shipping - I haven't really had time to think about it - bigger things happened. I thought there was going to be much more about Lily - I'm starting to worry that we're not going to get as much back story as I'd like. Horrified that Sirius and James behaved so badly, even if they were only 15. Harry was quite right when he compared their age with his. Ugh. Catherine From mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 06:43:39 2003 From: mike at aberforths_goat.yahoo.invalid (Aberforth's Goat) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 08:43:39 +0200 Subject: OoP Criticism References: Message-ID: <003101c33889$9e08d5c0$da00a8c0@shasta> > B > O > O > K > > S > I > X > > I > N > > A > > Y > E > A > R > ? Catherine wrote, > As much as I have loved Hagrid, I thought he was superfluous to this > book. You know, I think that is the weak spot of the whole book - and the reason why I'm a little ticked off with my rl hero, Jo: her characters are multiplying like rabbits - and she can't bear to leave them in there cages all book long. Let alone send one or two to the butcher. Why didn't she just leave Hagrid in the mountains the whole time? Gorp, or Gwump, or whatever-he's-called may have a big plot job in a later book, but having Hagrid haul him in just to save H&H from some tetchy centaurs seems like a waste. Just leave Hagid in the Alps, or send him of to Paris for the year - believe me, Olympe wouldn't have minded taking care of him ... Why did she have to introduce the whole matrix crew - err - I mean the whole Order of the Phoenix gang. Yeah, Tonks, for instance, is way cool ... but one did she contribute to the plot to justify her existence? Luna same thing. She'd better have something *big* planned for Luna later on. But even if she *does* - couldn't she have used a Patil girl or one of the Hufflepuf chicks? Did she really need yet another character? (BTW, I think she does have plans for Luna - who, I assume, is a resurrection of Ron's cousin who got plotted out of GoF.) My take: There's just too much *stuff* going on in the series; it's as though Leonardo had decided to paint the Last Supper into the background of the Mona Lisa. In all the ways that really count (i.e. being a cool human being), success does not seem to have gone to JKR's head. But I think her writing has lost an essential measure of artistic self-discipline. Baaaaaa! Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray) _______________________ "Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery...." NEWS: Check out chapter 2 of the Viagramus Curse. Fanfiction that puts the dense back in decadence. http://www.riddikulus.org/authors/agoat/VC02.html From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 10:00:15 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 03:00:15 -0700 Subject: My Thoughts....might be changed later after I digest References: <003101c33889$9e08d5c0$da00a8c0@shasta> Message-ID: <00c401c338a5$151a24a0$5f371c40@...> My thoughts after completing this book in a 12 hr read (stopping only to sleep and throw up...) I R E A L L Y D O N T F E E L G O O D . . . Sorry, got too creative with my spoiler space. ANYWAY! My thoughts: *Predictions that I lost: I missed three prefects, I guessed Harry for Gryffindor, Justin FF for Hufflepuff and someone else for Ravenclaw that I can't even remember now. I thought Dumbledore would be our lost one, I thought Hagrid would meet his mother, not brother and I was pretty sure Figg was going to be a witch not a squib. *VOLDEMORT!! I'm sorry but I just am in awe of his slightly evilness. Sadly, he's not as scary as I had hoped. Looks more like a fool playing bad but hopefully this will get better. And yes, I kept giggling every time Dumbledore said Tom...one should not watch the CoS movie just before reading book six. *I cried throughout this book...course that could be because I'm sick and dead tired but from the Sorting Hat's song till the tears on Dumbledore's face I could not stop sniffling as I turned pages. *Harry has grown up but still needs to learn to trust people and what to do in situations. Many, many times during the book I felt the urge to just smack him upside the head. Although he's good at giving well coded messages to the Order (if only he would learn to trust the other members). He should have gone to someone when he started writing he lines in his own blood. (like ANYONE would allow her that freedom), he should have wrote something to Snape after the pensive ordeal, a nice letter of apology for snooping. He SHOULD have contacted someone else regarding Sirius, such as Lupin or Moody but what's done is done. There's a ton of should haves that we have in our lives. *Can I just say I love Luna? I really hope she sticks around. She's not quite all there but she's a brilliant girl in her own right. Ooo, I'm starting to see a resemblance. :o) *Neville. My baby. He's just grown up so much and I can't wait to see what the next book brings with him and the D.A. I knew he's eventually come around but the way he fought by Harry's side just made me so proud of him. *Seamus' and he mum need a good smack every once in a while. * The D.A. I knew this was going to come about but to see it was just wonderful. I predict much bigger plans in store for them. *The Order: From beginning to end I loved every mention of the Order. Especially the last bits *snicker* I really hope we continue to see them at the beginning and end of the years as well as sprinkled throughout. *Draco...I really hope that boy gets his act in gear and picks a bloody side. Right now he's just a no account annoying bully whom is probably going to die a horrible death that will leave me relieved to have gotten rid of him. He's not evil, he's not good, he's just annoying now. *SHIPS: *watches the H/G sail away and glares* That ship better get it's butt turned around let me tell you....grrrrr. And Ginny can't go out with Dean as he belongs to Seamus. *Professor/Headmaster/Whatever: What's her face that I can't bother remembering. Your know who I'm talking about, the annoying bint that made me rant and rave to myself in the bath for about an our. Annoying woman she was. If I ever wanted to strangle a character she would be it, and I rarely strangle characters...they all have some purpose. Well, those are my main thoughts. All in all, a good book. I REALLY should lay off the fanfiction as a lot of it was VERY familiar. I felt like I've read it before. But it was all good, no real complaints besides character flaws that hopefully will be cleared up. Sadly it didn't seem like a Harry Potter book. I was expecting something more like the first four, not ready for the shift in gears towards the war we knew was coming. It's understand able why it took some time though. It was well plotted, well written and an amazing ride from beginning to end. Sad part is...the wait starts again. *stairs at her calendar...pokes it* Damnit. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 10:46:21 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 11:46:21 +0100 Subject: OOP: Not finished yet Message-ID: Hi everyone, Actually, no spoilers here. I almost daren't look at the incoming messages on this list, but I glimpsed a few "oh no, how could she?" comments in the headers. I have no idea what that means, as I'm only on p400 or so. I'm about to dash off for this family picnic (post-rainstorm - brilliant), so I reckon it'll be late on Sunday evening before I finish the book, if not Monday. I've already had to turn the sound down on the news and watch pictures-only of excited children being interviewed whilst clutching a copy of OoP. Why do they never interview adults? If I see JKR's face on the TV now, or a shot of Dan Radcliffe on a broom, or any cross-legged child in a witch hat, I switch over to 'Big Brother 4' immediately: at least I know the BB housemates can't possibly give anything away about OoP! Anyway, you won't be hearing from me for a while yet... Neil From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 12:05:45 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 12:05:45 -0000 Subject: OoP Criticism In-Reply-To: <003101c33889$9e08d5c0$da00a8c0@shasta> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Aberforth's Goat" wrote: > > B > > O > > O > > K > > > > S > > I > > X > > > > I > > N > > > > A > > > > Y > > E > > A > > R > > ? > > Catherine wrote, > > > As much as I have loved Hagrid, I thought he was superfluous to this > > book. > > You know, I think that is the weak spot of the whole book - and the reason > why I'm a little ticked off with my rl hero, Jo: her characters are > multiplying like rabbits - and she can't bear to leave them in there cages > all book long. Let alone send one or two to the butcher. I totally agree. The Hagrid plotline could have waited until the next book. As for the members of OoP. I didn't really feel much about many of them one way or the other. Tonks I found a bit annoying. Mundungus Fletcher was a bit too Arthur Daly for words - I could have done with him being a bit less wide boy, a bit more eccentric. And, time devoted to these people, and Luna Lovegood, who I'm not sure about yet, took valuable time away from Lupin, Moody...there could even have been a bit more of Neville. I loved the way he developed, but I wanted to know a bit more about how he got there. At least we can totally understand why he's in Gryffindor now. His bravery at the end, coupled with his overall bravery regarding his parents. I cried hard over those sweet wrappers. Catherine From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 12:22:51 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 12:22:51 -0000 Subject: FLINT! Message-ID: I finally finished last night at 1:15 am, despite a day full of distractions. A bunch of people have posted on my list so far about the book, but no one noticed one fairly Flinty item that leapt off the page at me immediately. Further spoiler space to be nice to those still reading the book. In the very first book, Hagrid says to Harry when he come to get him in the hut on the rock: "Now, yer mum an/dad were as good a witch an/ wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day!" Why should Hagrid get this wrong? His exaggeration about all dark wizards coming from Slytherin is one thing; there's such a thing as hyperbole. But this is just getting the facts wrong if Lupin was indeed the prefect in their year in Gryffindor. And the way Lupin talked about him being the prefect, not James or Sirius, certainly made it clear, I thought, that they were all--including Peter--in the same house. Now, I suppose certain things are possible. It's POSSIBLE that you don't have to have been a prefect to become Head Boy. But if that's so, why was it so strongly implied that this IS the case when Percy went from prefect to Head? And if this is so, why didn't Lupin say something about James finally getting his act together by the time James became Head? I suppose it's possible that after Sirius tried to get Snape killed by Lupin and James saved him Dumbledore took Lupin's prefect badge from him and transferred it to James, but that's hardly fair considering that the whole affair wasn't Lupin's fault. Has anyone attended a British school with a prefect/head system where someone could become Head Girl or Boy without being a prefect first? Did JKR forget she had Hagrid say this? (And once again-- she has him exaggerate, but she's never had him get the FACTS this badly wrong.) Inquiring minds want to know... --Barb From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 12:32:31 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 12:32:31 -0000 Subject: lexical answers (was Re: OoP: half way through; a few comments (minor spoilers)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Kaitlin" wrote: > I will add some spoiler space to answer your questions...~Kaitlin > i > n > s > e > r > t > i > n > g > s > p > o > i > l > e > r > s > p > a > c > e > n > o > w > > "plumeski" wrote: > > "Library?", suggested Katie Bell after a few moments. > > "I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes > > in the library", said Harry. > > > > ... > > > > As far as I'm aware, this usage of "chuffed" is peculiarly > > British, and I doubt the US edition would have included it... > > *Actually, the US version does use "chuffed," as well as a number > of Other British words--Blimey, jumper, mum (rather than "mom"), > mate, and "taking the mickey," whatever that means... Yes, my daughter noticed the Britishisms right away. I think I didn't notice at first because I've become accustomed to reading the British versions, but my UK copy is still winging its way to me, so I weakened and bought a US version. "Mum" was actually used in all previous US editions, so that's nothing new, and things like "chuffed" appeared too (particularly in the twins' dialogue, which was always the most bursting with vernacular). I noticed Ron calling Harry "mate" which I don't recall from either the previous US or UK versions; I think that's more a matter of them getting older, doing what they hear older people doing, and also feeling closer to each other. The first thing I noticed was, very early in the book, "trainers" being used for "sneakers." In fact, except for the Philospher's/Sorcerer's Stone change, I had the impression that the only changes made for the US audience were spellings, like "favorite" for "favourite." There weren't even grammatical changes; the US version has "Gryffindor are" instead of "Gryffindor is." Nice to see this. A pity she didn't have the clout way back when to adequately protest the change of PS to SS. I thought I'd heard her say that she wanted few changes for the US version this time around. That's something I liked. There were actually quite a lot of things I liked, although a load of things I didn't. That'll have to wait.... --Barb From john at queerasjohn.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 12:45:47 2003 From: john at queerasjohn.yahoo.invalid (Queer as John) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 13:45:47 +0100 Subject: [the_old_crowd] FLINT! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- psychic_serpent said: > Has anyone attended a British school with a prefect/head system > where someone could become Head Girl or Boy without being a prefect > first? Did JKR forget she had Hagrid say this? (And once again-- > she has him exaggerate, but she's never had him get the FACTS this > badly wrong.) I noticed this too. My initial reaction was that JKR was just futzing around with the Prefect/Head Boy system again. AFAIK she never actually experienced a boarding school (as either teacher or pupil), and so has taken certain liberties with it. Which is fine, just means that we can't draw conclusions. If anyone wants to read my Great And T00by OOP Trip, it's up on my LiveJournal, at http://queerasjohn.livejournal.com -- I had an absolute blast in Glasgow, but wish I'd gone to Edinburgh since JKR turned up there at the last minute. --John ______________________________________ Queer as John || john at ... AIM, YM & LJ @ QueerAsJohn || www.queerasjohn.com "Don't put your wand there, boy!" roared Moody. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!" --Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling ______________________________________ From meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 14:25:50 2003 From: meboriqua at jenny_ravenclaw.yahoo.invalid (jenny_ravenclaw) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 14:25:50 -0000 Subject: My Thoughts....might be changed later after I digest In-Reply-To: <00c401c338a5$151a24a0$5f371c40@...> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > I > > R > E > A > L > L > Y > > D > O > N > T > > F > E > E > L > > G > O > O > D > . > . > . > *Draco...I really hope that boy gets his act > in gear and picks a bloody side. Right now > he's just a no account annoying bully whom is > probably going to die a horrible death that > will leave me relieved to have gotten rid of > him. He's not evil, he's not good, he's just > annoying now.> Really? I thought his behavior throughout was pretty despicable. At the end, when Draco threatened, quite seriously, to kill Harry, I thought that pretty much confirmed what JKR has in mind for him. He's a bad egg. The fact that Lucius is in jail due in part to Harry only gives Draco real fuel against him now, which was well done. I'd have to say that any money I had in the Redeemed!Draco bank is being withdrawn at this time. > *Professor/Headmaster/Whatever: What's her > face that I can't bother remembering. Your > know who I'm talking about, the annoying bint > that made me rant and rave to myself in the > bath for about an our. Annoying woman she > was. If I ever wanted to strangle a > character she would be it, and I rarely > strangle characters...they all have some > purpose.> Ah, Professor Umbridge. What a bitch. She is eerily similar to many of the bureaucrats running around the Dept of Education here in NYC: the constant, intrusive observations, the eagerness to discipline and pull rank at any opportunity, the complete lack of understanding of curriculum, the quickness to quell any opposition... She was a little too real for me: only here in NYC, the bureaucrats don't get the shit beaten out of them by centaurs. They get $100,000 raises. BTW, did anyone else snicker when Petunia asked Dudley "Did he use - his *thing*?"? I have some big questions but will save them for when the main list opens up again. --Jenny ******************************************* From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 14:27:12 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 14:27:12 -0000 Subject: FLINT! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, Queer as John wrote: > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > > psychic_serpent said: > > > Has anyone attended a British school with a prefect/head system > > where someone could become Head Girl or Boy without being a > > prefect first? Did JKR forget she had Hagrid say this? (And once > > again--she has him exaggerate, but she's never had him get the > > FACTS this badly wrong.) > > I noticed this too. My initial reaction was that JKR was just > futzing around with the Prefect/Head Boy system again. AFAIK she > never actually experienced a boarding school (as either teacher or > pupil), and so has taken certain liberties with it. Which is fine, > just means that we can't draw conclusions. I thought that possible as well, but if that was the case she missed an opportunity for Lupin to comment on how James had finally got his act together by the time he was Head Boy in seventh year. He behaved the entire time as though he was the only one among the four of them who had any kind of authority while they were in school. His statement about being the responsible one seemed to cover more than fifth year. JKR seems to have genuinely forgotten that she made James Head Boy, IMHO. --Barb From Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 14:48:09 2003 From: Ali at alhewison.yahoo.invalid (Ali) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 14:48:09 -0000 Subject: How Could She?! (Sob!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, Catherine Coleman wrote: > J > > K > > R > > O > > W > > L > > I > > N > > G > > S > > P > > O > > I > > L > > E > > R > > S > > P > > A > > C > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Ali, I don't know how you remained dry eyed. I've finished, I'm > chatting to Ebony, and I *still* can't stop crying. > > Sirius Black > R I P > > Catherine Err, well, I cried when I read the last few sections for a second time, and nearly, when I was thinking about it today when I was on Thomas the Tank Engine. Big Unhappy Sniff! Ali From foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 18:58:58 2003 From: foxmoth at pippin_999.yahoo.invalid (pippin_999) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 18:58:58 -0000 Subject: FLINT! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "psychic_serpent" wrote: > --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, Queer as John > wrote: > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > > > > psychic_serpent said: > > > > > Has anyone attended a British school with a prefect/head system where someone could become Head Girl or Boy without being a prefect first? Did JKR forget she had Hagrid say this? (And once again--she has him exaggerate, but she's never had him get the FACTS this badly wrong.) > > I think this is a mystery, not a Flint. What did Lupin do to discredit himself? I got the impression Lupin was made prefect so that he could rein in James and Sirius, only that didn't work. Remember the prank hasn't yet happened in the Pensieve scene. "Sirius showed he was capable of murder at the age of *sixteen*." (emphasis mine). Snape would have thought Lupin was joking about being a werewolf in the conversation he overheard. Possibly Dumbledore took Snape's belief that Lupin must have been in on the prank in sixth year seriously enough to make James Head Boy instead. Pippin more on the main list later--is ESE Lupin the theory that's going to annoy JKR? If so, should I stop discussing it? From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 19:06:27 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 12:06:27 -0700 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: My Thoughts....might be changed later after I digest References: Message-ID: <013301c338f1$728e2d60$5f371c40@...> Jenny wrote: Well growing up in a school where this was said to me on a pretty common basis which as much feeling as I'm sure Draco put behind it...I can't get that worried he meant it. I still think he's just an annoying little brat who has yet to do any real damage. His behavior throughout the book WAS despicable...but not evil. He's still a little boy playing at grown up games unlike everyone else whose doing SOMETHING, either good or bad. You said it. That woman was too close to school administrators then I liked. Hated them then, hate them now. But I think Prof. Umbridge took it all a little too far. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 19:19:08 2003 From: saitaina at saitaina.yahoo.invalid (Saitaina) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 12:19:08 -0700 Subject: BAD, BAD me (last post had spoilers) References: <013301c338f1$728e2d60$5f371c40@...> Message-ID: <01ab01c338f3$27de6300$5f371c40@...> I forgot to copy my spoiler space on my last post. I blame it on excitement. Saitaina **** "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you? From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 19:42:07 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 14:42:07 -0500 Subject: My review (jumbled thoughts really more than a proper review) Message-ID: <012401c338f6$5e017550$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi all -- Ergh. Am still trying to digest everything and absolutely must, must, must do a re-read immediately. But, is anyone else absolutely & utterly *DRAINED?* I feel as though I lived through those events with Harry. It was the most intense experience with a book I've ever had. Weird. I do *not* remember this reaction to GoF, and I can't quite decide if it's because OoP was that much more intense or if it can be attributed more to my intense fandom involvement for the 3 intervening years. Anyone else feeling just utterly wiped out and weird? I just can't seem to shake it off. In fact, I'd almost say I feel *depressed* today. I suppose that might be a normal (or semi-normal! Please?) reaction to let-down. Sort of a "Ah.......3 years of anticipation and .......er........*now* what?" It does make me incredibly nervous about what my reaction to Book 7 might be. I might need therapy. S P O I L E R S P A C E I think it was worth the wait, and I think this book absolutely explodes our insights into canon on many levels. I hate to say that it is my favorite of the lot, because it was decidedly lacking in any light moments or humor at all (IMHO). It was a tense and dark book throughout, but yet, it may well be my favorite because the characters are becoming so much more richly complex (as if that were possible!). I'm hearing that a number of people found it to be dark and hopeless and bleak, and while I think it *was* all those things on some level, I'm still quite taken with it. Just a few jumbled opinions as they occur to me: 1. SIRIUS -- Well, I can't say that I was utterly shocked beyond measure, because JKR certainly laid the groundwork for that one throughout this book (and let's face it, he was a primary contender for this death all along since Rowling herself loved him so much). But, I was *shocked* that she didn't reverse course; I thought it was going to be another one of her classic shifts of course and that it would be Neville or Ginny or even Luna. Like Mike, I was absolutely sick with worry about Hermione at that one point (she did a good job of making us think that she *might* kill off Hermione, there for just a short while). Sirius was my #3 favorite character, so I do find this devastating. But, not shocking. I need to re-read that whole sequence again though, as there are some things I don't fully understand yet I don't think. Need to re-read it and try not to blotch the page with my tears. 2. SHIPPING -- Ah, Jenny, you want my views? :--) Sure! I'm delighted. Delighted. Absolutely, positively delighted. Whatever Rowling said to Couric (and there seems to be some confusion over the exact transcript within the fandom at this point), there was *no* R/H in this book. Not really. GoF was a much better book for the R/H shippers. I didn't get explicit FITD (damn), but I see some very, very good signs for H/H in this book. Yes, despite the fact that Hermione's *seems* so helpful toward a Harry/Cho romance. As Pippin so sagely predicted earlier, JKR didn't really give us any resolution on any ship. No death knells for any of them, except I think Harry/Cho is pretty well dead (though I won't go so far as to declare it completely irreversible). There are some things on the shipping front that I'm just absolutely delighted with, definitely. Details later when I'm coherent. 3. HARRY -- I loved the complexities that we get out of Harry in this book. I do agree with Cassie's LJ review that the lasting image I'll take away from this book is Harry's bloody hands from Umbridge's detentions. It made me love him so much more though. :::schnoogles Harry::::::: 4. HERMIONE -- She really gets a chance to shine in this book, and I think her characterization, together with McGonagall proving herself time and time again, ought to make some critics ease up on the gender issues. I do want to re-read the book with an eye to whether Hermione was *too* perfect or not (I've seen that one charged already). It didn't strike me that way on first read-through. 5. RON -- I liked him much better. He won't maybe ever be one of my favorite characters I don't think, but I liked him again. I definitely liked him again. I'm glad he got a chance to shine, and I'm glad that we can see that it seems to be a real confidence issue with him. I think getting made prefect did alot for Ron (and it did alot for Harry too to see how he would react to that sort of situation), and I'm glad he finally got his act together on the Quidditch field. I hated seeing him taunted like that. [I do still think that there are utterly fundamental problems with any R/H ship though, because I think Rowling went out of her way to emphasize that the R/H "bickering" is really arguing, not witty banter, and that it's *unpleasant*] 6. GINNY -- Okay, I must completely recant my previous stance on Ginny. I like her. I'm no H/G shipper, but she has matured and she is more fully fleshed out. However, like Cassie, I found it grating that Rowling slipped us facts about Ginny through other characters, as if she realized that she'd done an absolutely lousy job of laying any groundwork for Ginny to be more involved in the plot (which she had). I also had a strange sensation of Ginny trending a bit too close to the Super!Ginny of fandom that I could never fully appreciate. But, I do have to note that Ginny's "bigger role" was really not all that big, on balance. She wasn't integral to the plot, and she wasn't nearly as well-developed as so many other characters. But, she's come a long way. A *long* way. 7. UMBRIDGE -- Oh, I detested her beyond all measure! I was *glad* to see that she wasn't *really* a good guy in the end. 8. PERCY -- A big disappointment for this P.I.N.E. fan. I'm convinced that he must be under the Imperius Curse or some such, because I cannot believe I was *that* horribly wrong about him. 9. SNAPE -- I agree with Amanda -- despite the teasers, we didn't seem to learn all *that* much more about him in this one. I don't, however, agree that Harry necessarily owed Snape an apology. He might owe it eventually, but Harry's still sorting out a number of complex feelings about his parents and their friends. I'm not surprised that he didn't take that step yet. Not being an obsessed Snape fan, I'll leave it at that. 10. DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY -- I absolutely loved this. This was just fantastic. I loved that we learned so much more about some ot the other peripheral students. 11. LUNA -- Still not sure what I think about her. It was *weird* to have her introduced like that at this juncture. I couldn't quite get my arms around what I thought of her. I might be a Ron/Luna shipper soon though. :--D Okay, that's enough from me for now. I'll have more coherent thoughts when I re-read it and/or get out of this weird funky state I'm in. And, I'm off to watch that interview now. Penny From potterlovingash at potterlovingash.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 21:55:04 2003 From: potterlovingash at potterlovingash.yahoo.invalid (Ashley) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 21:55:04 -0000 Subject: FLINT! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- > SPOILER SPACE -- > > SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE - - > SPOILER > > SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- SPOILER SPACE -- >Barb wrote: JKR seems to have genuinely forgotten that she > made James Head Boy, IMHO. Sorry to start theorizing right off the bat here, but I think perhaps we are jumping too quick to a possible flint. Perhaps this will develop into something with many important plot points. How about that for many in the Wizarding World, a werewolf as Head Boy would be revolting. Perhaps James takes on the Head Boy role to protect Lupin. My feeling is that there is a justified explanation for the shift in responsibility, not that this is a boarding school conduct flint. ~Ashley From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Sun Jun 22 22:53:49 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (Parker Brown Nesbit) Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 18:53:49 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: My Thoughts....might be changed later after I digest Message-ID: Jenny wrote: >I have some big questions but will save them for when the main list >opens up again. Hope you ask them here, as well. I'm not on the main list any more. Parker, who found out that she *did* get OoP yesterday, but didn't check the mail at work *AARGH!* _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus From catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 00:44:07 2003 From: catlady at catlady_de_los_angeles.yahoo.invalid (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 00:44:07 -0000 Subject: OoP, of course Message-ID: s p o i l e r s p a c e The thing I wanted most in OoP, I *knew* wasn't going to happen: the Sirius/Remus ship, dating back before Wormtail's betrayal. So I feel triumphant that she didn't *contradict* it ... altho' imagine Remus's heartbreak *now*. Catherine Coleman wrote: a lot I agree with, and << For missing out on talking to Sirius (the mirror), >> I cried when Harry, packing to go 'home' for the summer, found the present from Sirius he hadn't even unwrapped. I didn't think for a moment that he'd be able to contact Sirius in it then, but I did think that if he (and I) had *remembered* it, he could have chatted with Sirius *withouy* dangerous fireplace-talk, which would have cheered poor lonely Sirius up, and maybe if he had mirror-chatted with Sirius frequently, Sirius would have carried the mirror around with him like a cell phone, so when Harry needed to check whether Sirius was at home or captured by Voldemort, he would have *reached* him ... when Harry realises that, his burden of guilt will go UP. But Sirius should have told Harry "use the mirror I gave you" when Harry called him about Snape/James memory. << Big confession. On initial reading, I found myself liking Ron again. >> I've always liked Ron, so I was very pleased with his role in this book. I expected Harry or Neville to be Prefect (Harry for the same reasons all his classmates expected it, Neville because Dumbledore hoped it would draw out his potential). I expected JKR to go on being cruel to Ron, but she was nice to him and gave him new pajamas that fit, Prefect, a new broomstick, a place on the Quidditch team, and even one moment of child-like glory. He loved his new broomstick even tho' it wasn't a Firebolt nor even a Nimbus. During the whole book, he didn't call anything he owned 'rubbish' and he didn't complain about poverty except in regard to the fake Galleons, and that was jokingly. I *loved* the "What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" line. I was bugged about the thing of Molly getting him a reward for being made Prefect, tho': while Ron was mature about how much broomsticks cost and he knew she couldn't afford the best, it seems to me that if the Weasleys have enough money for Molly to offer a new owl or new dress robes, they aren't as poor as we've been told, and they have enough money that they could have replaced poor old Errol (it's *cruel* to make him keeping taking long trips). Maybe they HAVE replaced Errol (no Weasley owls were mentioned in this one), but not having replaced him sooner suggests that the money to do so was a recent windfall. << As much as I have loved Hagrid, I thought he was superfluous to this book. >> I enjoyed him in it, superfluous or not. << Horrified that Sirius and James behaved so badly, even if they were only 15. Harry was quite right when he compared their age with his. Ugh. >> Yes, Tabouli was right about them having been crude bullies then. That flashback reminded me of some James/Severus/Lily flashbacks in Barb's fic ... not to mention the DA reminding me of Barb's Duelling Club ... BUT I am sure that there's a long history of James/Sirus vs. Severus from the first year to fifth, during which BOTH sides went from bad behaviour to worse. I feel we were deceived by the chapter title "Snape's Worst Memory" -- I believe that Snape or an objective observor would say that some of his Death Eater memories are worse, but he doesn't care if Harry sees those. << Neville ... I cried hard over those sweet wrappers. >> I immediately assumed that the wrappers are going to have a Meaning, to be a Clue, in the next book. << Mundungus Fletcher was a bit too Arthur Daly for words - I could have done with him being a bit less wide boy, a bit more eccentric.>> I am sure that the bit with the goblets is to let us know that Potterverse werewolfs are not harmed by silver, at least not while in human form. She'd already established what kind of person Mundungus is, so she didn't need it to demonstrate that he'd steal from his host, so she must have needed it for something else. Bit with goblets, at dinner in the Black house (which Tim complained was not punned on in relation to the White House), Mundungus asked Sirius if the goblets were solid silver, and Sirius said yes. Later that very dinner, it is stated that Lupin, who was drinking wine, put his goblet down. As it was NOT stated that his goblet was different from everyone else's, it was therefore solid silver. Aberforth's Goat wrote: << Yeah, Tonks, for instance, is way cool ... but one did she contribute to the plot to justify her existence? Luna same thing. She'd better have something *big* planned for Luna later on. But even if she *does* - couldn't she have used a Patil girl or one of the Hufflepuf chicks? >> A character being way cool is enough to justify their existence. I believe she had planned Luna Lovegood from early on, because of the Portkey chapter in GoF: (from memory) "This is all of us, the Lovegoods have been there for two weeks and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets". I *like* Luna Lovegood. *agrees with Saitaina about Luna* Barb wrote: << It's POSSIBLE that you don't have to have been a prefect to become Head Boy. But if that's so, why was it so strongly implied that this IS the case when Percy went from prefect to Head? >> One of the characters in THIS books says that you have to be a Prefect to be Head Boy ... I'm searching for it ... but anyway, either the person is right who said JKR forgot that she made James Head Boy or she is preparing a Big Surprise about how James became Head Boy. JKR contradicted herself in another matter, thus proving that interviews are second-rate canon: she said in that interview that the Bones who were killed were Susan Bones's grandparents, but in this book, they were her uncle, aunt, and cousins. Btw, the older Boneses were a wizarding family with more than two children: they had at least Amelia who survived, Edgar who was killed, and Susan's parent (probably father, because of the surname). Btw, I was surprised by how much you "got right", altho' my response to the introduction to the Ministry building was "it's not in a Tube station." Jenny from Ravenclaw wrote: << Oh, Professor Umbridge. What a bitch. She is eerily similar to many of the bureaucrats running around the Dept of Education here in NYC: >> When she started lecturing about "age-appropriate" DADA (before we knew she was out and out evil), I said: "This is JKR's comment on the craze for standardized testing." From cassandraclaire73 at cassandraclaire73.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 04:34:08 2003 From: cassandraclaire73 at cassandraclaire73.yahoo.invalid (cassandraclaire73) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:34:08 -0000 Subject: Harry's bloody hands In-Reply-To: <012401c338f6$5e017550$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "pennylin" 2. > > 3. HARRY -- I loved the complexities that we get out of Harry in this book. > I do agree with Cassie's LJ review that the lasting image I'll take away > from this book is Harry's bloody hands from Umbridge's detentions. It made > me love him so much more though. :::schnoogles Harry:::::::" ----- Oh god, yes, that certainly wasn't a complaint, my saying that. It broke my heart, in a good way, my poor baby Harry with his bloody hands. And that he TAKES it. He just sits there, quietly, bleeding all over the place, not going to anybody, even his friends, to fix it. Because somewhere in there Harry decided that that is what strength means. *sigh* I stick by what I said earlier - that OOtP is an excellent (although not unflawed) book and a worthy entry in the series, but it is painful and crushing to read. What, in previous books, was the joy of discovering new nooks and crannies of the wizarding world, was replaced in OotP by the torment of discovering new darkness, evil, and pain in the wizarding world. Hagrid also totally annoying and Ginny unbearable. Woe. the gloom-ridden Cassie From psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 14:50:54 2003 From: psychic_serpent at psychic_serpent.yahoo.invalid (psychic_serpent) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:50:54 -0000 Subject: Harry's bloody hands In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "cassandraclaire73" wrote: > Hagrid also totally annoying and Ginny unbearable. On the contrary, Ginny was wonderful and kick-ass. She put Harry in his place more than once and gave him some perspective about being used by Voldemort. She had personality and depth, although her relationship with Michael Corner couldn't have been much deeper than Harry's with Cho's (oof--that was uncomfortable) as she seemed to get over him rather easily. I do wonder if she mentioned Dean just to needle Ron. And did anyone notice that the configuration of who was riding together on the train at the beginning was reflected in the rescue party at the end? After Ron and Hermione went off to the prefects' carriage, Harry and Ginny were going through the train, unable to find a place; they ran into Neville, and then the three of them went into the compartment with Luna. Ron and Hermione joined them later-- our rescue party is complete. And I predict that Matchmaker!Ron (he seems to be shipping H/G now) will be a major pain in the butt to everyone involved in the next book, although it should also be rather funny. --Barb From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 15:13:29 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 15:13:29 -0000 Subject: My 2 Knuts Message-ID: I hope these don't upset anyone .too much;-) S P O I L E R S P A C E Harry: Well, his inattention to detail, impulsiveness and his "I don't want to bother ___________(fill in the adult's name)" really did him in this time. I'm glad Harry is portrayed as being not too perfect. He is slowly realizing that adults, even the ones he admires and trust, make mistakes. Hermione: She has decreased her "Type A" personality. Her character has grown too. Ron: What can I say? He's gained more confidence. When he played well as Keeper, it was a relief to me because he has finally stepped out from under the shadows of his brothers. I also think his protectiveness of Ginny is cute. Ginny: Wow! I had always hoped Rowling will show Ginny's spunk. I'm glad we finally caught glimpses of the "secret life of Ginny Weasley". She's out-going (has non-Gryffindor friends) and sneaky like the Twins. I especially liked her interaction with Harry concerning Voldemort possession. Neville: I was so disappointed when I read CoS, PoA, and GoF, because Neville had so much potential in SS/PS. I was glad to see him fighting side-by-side with H-H-R. Just like Ron, Neville's confidence has improved. I have a feeling that Neville will be as great a wizard as his father. Fred & George: Okay, their farewell to Hogwarts was the one of the best "F-You" scenes in literature (ranks up there with Rhett and Scarlett, imo). I can see them using their skills to make weapons for the OoP. I bet their joke shop will be among the more popular shops in Diagon Alley. Percy: Ron was correct in GoF. Percy did choose his ambition/career over his family: slamming the door in Molly's face when she tried to talk to him, not visiting Arthur in the hospital, sending back the Weasley jump. His letter to Ron summarized his philosophy: your career is more important than your family. Sad, imo. But it also made an interesting parallel with the Death Eaters. Percy was willing to follow Fudge and the MM, to the point of disowning his family, in order to advance himself. Molly: Wow, she's had a tough year. No wonder she's so snappy: she's scared of losing her family. Sirius: Never in a million years would I have ever expected him to die. I thought it would have been Dumbledore. The questions about Sirius I have are 1. did he have a "death wish"? He was still a fugitive and still a prisoner, of sorts. Was death his only means of freedom? Dumbledore: He finally told Harry the score. More importantly he admitted his mistake. However, if Dumbledore can misjudge, as anyone else, then can we continue to wholly trust his decisions? Which leads me to . Snape: I agree with Harry. Only Death Eaters call Voldemort "the Dark Lord", so why does Snape continue to address him thusly? Yes, yes, yes, I know Dumbledore trusts him. However, several characters continue to believe Snape hasn't reformed, including Ron (who thought Lockhart was a fake and who pegged Percy correctly), and Sirius (who apparently grew up in a bigoted household and knows the psyche of these magical bigots). Never have I so much wanted to reach into a book to tell a character "Get over it. Harry isn't James so stop using him as your emotional punching bag. Hug your inner moppet and get over your childhood trauma already. The Marauders were jerks, but that doesn't excuse your behavior , then or now, either!" Tonks: I like her and hope to see her in the future books. The one thing I noticed was that her clumsiness was pointed out a couple of times. Will this be a liability in future books? Arthur, Lupin, Bill, Moody: More in the background, unfortunately. I suppose if Rowling gave them larger roles, the book would be 2000 pages;-) Luna: In an American high school (well, at least the one I attended), Luna would be a "freak". I like her, but then I was a nerdy kid .I also liked the jibs at the tabloids. The DAs: Imo, the organization was introduced because they might battle the Death Eaters Junior League in later books. Draco: Lots of anger and hate there. If Lucius will be jailed, I'm pretty sure Draco won't have a conversion to "our side". I can see him being the next "faithful servant" of Voldemort and the president of the Death Eaters Junior League. (I hope Harry .no, I hope Neville kicks his behind). Embridge: lol, I've actually met her type before .Brought back some bad memories . Random thoughts: Bill and Fleur: possible Weasley wedding in the future. Pure Blood Family Genealogy: This is very interesting. If the pure blood families are somehow related as Sirius stated, then there might be some dark Weasleys and "good" Malfoys. For example in Sirius' own family, he, Andromeda and Tonks didn't turn out dark/bigoted, but were disowned by the Black family. The Malfoys probably don't acknowledge their blood ties to them either. Sirius' admission that he and Molly are cousins by marriage and that Arthur is his second cousin once removed (meaning they share a common great-grand parent) makes me view Molly's initial reaction to hearing Sirius' name in PoA in a new light. Was she surprized that Sirius escaped from Azkaban or was she afraid that the family relationship would be brought up and tarnish her family? Another thing that's interesting with this revelation that pure blooded families have intermarried to the degree that they are all related, is that James Potter might not have been a pure blood. Unless all wizards with Potter blood were killed by Voldemort or died by some other causes, Harry could have had some distant wizarding relative that he could have lived with. Unless, Harry does have wizarding relations but since the protect he got from Lily's was from Lily's blood, Dumbledore had no choice but to house him with Petunia. Florence: Okay who was the Florence Bertha Jorkins caught kissing someone, who in turn jinxed Bertha (GoF)? Was Florence the girl sitting behind Sirius "eyeing him hopefully" during the OWLS? Madam Pomfrey: Is she a "nurse" or is she a qualified healer like those at St. Mungo's? Dudley: What did he hear when he was influenced by the Dementors? Also, I thought Dementors just made Muggles feel depressed (have to go check PoA). If so then why did it attack Dudley, unless Dudley isn't a Muggle? ~Milz From hp at gulplum.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 15:42:02 2003 From: hp at gulplum.yahoo.invalid (GulPlum) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 16:42:02 +0100 Subject: OoP: Mixed feelings (spoilers) Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20030623125200.00974260@...> It took me a little longer than I'd expected to finish the book (around 11pm last night) and I thought I'd sleep on my thoughts to get them into some kind of perspective. I've kept away from online discussions elsewhere (and frankly don't know if I *want* to catch up with the hundreds of messages on the main list!) although I've read what folks here have to say. I shall try not to repeat the comments others have made, and assume they are taken as accepted. Spoilers forthcoming... Any quotes refer, of course, to the Bloomsbury edition. As the subject indicates, I can't make my mind up whether or not I like this book. My basic problem (as with PS and GoF) is the foundation of the plot. In other words, what is the point of the Prophecy Room? And related thereto, I'm curious about how the glass orbs are created, and perhaps more relevantly, WHY? Do *all* (human, wizard) predictions result in orbs being created? If so, to what end? Have Ron's correct (if jokey) predictions made during the course of Divination lessons resulted in the shelves filling up? If predictions do not automatically create an orb, then who decides that a prediction "qualifies" for inclusion? And how does that person know about the prediction's existence? Dumbledore implies that he is the only person who is aware of the full wording of the prophecy, yet at least the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecy knew enough to decide to re-label the "official record" (all p. 742). Why hasn't Voldemort (and the DEs) gone after him/her before? Who is s/he? Rookwood worked for the Department, but he wasn't the Keeper (otherwise Voldemort would have known more than he does). Considering getting his hands on the Prophecy was so important to Voldemort, I consider Dumbledore to have made one massive and fundamental blunder which he didn't recognise in his speech to Harry (and neither did Harry). It's a plot hole which JKR clearly didn't spot herself either. Over the Christmas break, it became clear that Voldemort was aware of his psychic connection with Harry. Why the hell didn't Dumbledore just take Harry on a visit to the Hall of Prophecy to get the orb and destroy it there and then? Of course, Harry hadn't started Occlumency training and thus it would have been dangerous for him to have known the content, and there are several ways to protect him from that knowledge at that time. (Harry got the orb to Neville who ultimately dropped and smashed it, so it seems that whilst only the subject(s) of the prophecy can take it from the shelf, others can handle it without going mad). Alternatively, Snape was aware that Harry was seeing visions of the Dept. of Mysteries, and should have been more forthcoming about why it was important for Harry not to delve into it. Sure, Harry doesn't like or trust Snape, so it wasn't really worthwhile for Snape to go about it in person. He should, however, have got Sirius (or Lupin) to get Harry to report any instances of thinking about it, and perhaps even explain to him what was going on. It's often been said that Harry has a big problem with trusting people. That's not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is that Dumbledore has a problem with trusting Harry. One way or another, the Order played the situation all wrong, and I simply can't see any reason why the orb was't destroyed (or better still, replaced with a fake) from the outset. Nobody seems to have made anything of the DA members wrecking whole shelves of the things, and in any case, as implied above, I can't see any real reason for keeping them. If the orbs can only be handled by the subject of the prophecy, and (certainly in Harry's case) the subject isn't necessarily aware of the prophecy's existence, what earthly reason does the Ministry have for keeping them? Especially if, once revealed, the record is destroyed. On to other observations... I was *especially* unimpressed with the DEs' tactics during the battle with the kids. What on earth were they playing at? For starters, as soon as they showed up, a quick STUPEFY or LOCOMOTOR MORTIS would have kept the kids at bay and allowed the DEs to deal with them at their leisure (or a quick ACCIO PROPHECY). Why the goading? And why hit Neville with a bloomin' TARANTALLEGRA? It just doesn't make any senseat all. These people are EVIL, yet the best thing they can think of are childish hexes? Bleurgh! I'm inclined to agree with Snape. Harry is perhaps just a little more arrogant than teenagerhood permits. He really does think he knows (and understands) what's going on around him better than the adults who care for him. He knows that there are things going on from which he is being protected but he insists on getting himself involved. Yet he doesn't really know what to do. It's interesting that the DA is not his idea, but once it's up and running, he relishes it. When it comes to the crunch, though, he doesn't summon the whole gang, but wants to go off alone. Harry is a very silly boy (in a Monty Python/Dad's Army tone). :-) Oh well, as ever, it's not JKR's plot that has me going, it's the little details. Fred & George's departure will go down as an absolute classic in any kids' book. Magnificent. Then there are bits of phrasing. In the Hog's Head, "Harry was very conscious of the slurping noises coming from the table next door" (p. 494) had me in stitches. The arcane marking/grading system is another JKR classic for her upside-down world. I feel compelled to reproduce it (p. 278): "O" for "Outstanding" "E" for "Exceeds Expectations" "A" for "Acceptable" "P" for "Poor" "D" for "Dreadful" "T" for "Troll". Dumbledore's full name: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian (p. 127). It just seems wonderful for him to have been given such a ... Muggle... name in the mixture. Oh, and talking of Percival, it seems that "Percy" is Percy Ignatius Weasley's full first name. And is Fudge's second given name, Oswald, an authorial nod towards Oswald Moseley (I don't expect anyone to admit not knowing who he was)? A couple of potential foreshadowings: In the Hog's Head, the barman is described as looking "vaguely familiar to Harry" (p. 300). The bandaged man and the veiled "woman" were both later revealed, but the barman was not mentioned again. Lily's maiden name now having been revealed in canon, is "Mark Evans", the 10 year-old boy Harry states Dudley to have beaten up two nights before the beginning of the book, any relation? Is the fact that he's 10 significant? (i.e. he'll be 11 and a potential Hogwarts first year for Book Six). Are these Evanses related to Petunia? That's enough for now., I have other things I need to be doing. I have some travelling (and work away from home) over the next couple of days, so I hope to be reading the book again to see if I pick up anything more... From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 15:40:15 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 15:40:15 -0000 Subject: Question about OoP delivery In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "harpdreamer" wrote: > Hi All, > > Just popping in for a moment to ask if anyone else who pre-ordered > OoP from Amazon & was guaranteed delivery on the day of publication > didn't get theirs. > > I got the e-mail from Amazon (was excited to hear that it would be > here) & today I waited...futilely (sp?) it seems. > > > Namarie, > > Parker, disappointed Hi. Last week a local news station reported that anyone who ordered the release-date shipping was guaranteed to get it on Saturday or Amazon will not charge you the price of the book. I wasn'at able to confimr it on the Amazon site. But I think you should contact them and I mean contacting them by telephone about your non-delivery. ~Milz From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 16:31:13 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 16:31:13 -0000 Subject: OoP: Mixed feelings (spoilers) In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20030623125200.00974260@...> Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: > It took me a little longer than I'd expected to finish the book (around > 11pm last night) and I thought I'd sleep on my thoughts to get them into > some kind of perspective. I've kept away from online discussions elsewhere > (and frankly don't know if I *want* to catch up with the hundreds of > messages on the main list!) although I've read what folks here have to say. > I shall try not to repeat the comments others have made, and assume they > are taken as accepted. > > Spoilers forthcoming... Any quotes refer, of course, to the Bloomsbury edition. > > And is Fudge's second given name, > Oswald, an authorial nod towards Oswald Moseley (I don't expect anyone to > admit not knowing who he was)? > This isn't very spoilery, so I won't include the spoiler warning.... In one of her many interviews, Rowling said she named her daughter "Jessica" in honor of Jessica (Decca) Mitford, whom Rowling admires. Jessica Mitford's sisters included the Duchess of Devonshire, Nancy Mitford and Diana Moseley (the wife of Oswald Moseley). Rowling also said that she gave her daughter a copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography "Hons and Rebels". "Hons and Rebels" is the real-life version of Nancy Mitford's novels, "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate". I suspect Rowling used the Mitfords and their fictionalized counterparts, the Radletts, as her models for the Weasleys, as they share a number of similiarities. (I posted a rather long message about this on the HPFGU main list about a year ago). In fact, if you compare the Twins', Ginny's and Ron's dialogue in the earlier Potter books, especially when they're whining about unfairness, it's almost the same dialogue in the same context as the Radlett children dialogue in "Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate". At that time, I theorized the future Weasley family events will most likely parallel Mitford/Radlett family events. In a nutshell, Diana Moseley was incarcerated by the British government for 2 years during WW II, for her involvement in the Fascist movement. It was Nancy Mitford who informed the government that Diana was a subversive. Jessica Mitford never forgave her sister, Diana, and brother-in-law for their early support of the Hitler. Mainly it was because her husband, Esmond Romilly, was killed in action during the Battle of Britain by "Diana and her friends". Another sister, Unity, was in Hitler's inner circle, and shot herself when the UK declared war on Germany. Tom Mitford, the only son of 7 children, died during the war. The Mitford parents, Lord and Lady Redesdale, initially supported Hitler and the Nazi's in the 30's. However, Lord Redesdale later withdrew his support. This lead to the breakdown of the marriage. ~Milz From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 16:53:38 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 17:53:38 +0100 Subject: OOP: First random thoughts Message-ID: spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace I finished the book about two hours ago, so this ramble will be more a collection of random thoughts than a review. Actually, it sounds a bit grumpy now I've read it back... Overall, I felt the book was too long, nice as it was to see new characters and locations beyond a mention and have time for development of existing characters. I think the people around JKR let her do exactly what she wants on the basis that her words are like gold dust, instead of advising her to edit. I wouldnt say the book was boring, but there were no dramatic highs and lows; it trundled along and it was more about a steady increase of pressure on Harry, as event after event sought to crush his will. I liked the way his anger and frustration developed and how he interacted with those around him. I think a second read may bring other things to the fore. I think Dolores Umbridge is a brilliant character [nice play on words with umbrage]. As soon as her plans became clear though, it was obvious that Harry would face setbacks at every turn and that Dolores would get her come-uppance (classic 'villain heading for a fall' stuff). It was admirable that the hate relationship between Harry and Snape was maintained in the face of one-hit villain Umbridge and Snapes involvement in the OoP. I loved the House of Black, Mrs Black, Phineas Nigellus, Kreachers mutterings and the address Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place (Im fairly sure there is no such place). Was it really necessary though, in such a long book, to resort to using a family tree tapestry to explain interrelationships between half the characters? Hardly a stone left unturned there, despite being useful to know that nearly all the pure blood families inter-married. Having warmed to the Blacks, I found myself largely unaffected by the death of Sirius Black. I hadnt made much emotional connection with that character, but, imo, his death was not handled to best dramatic effect. He died in the middle of a frenzied battle, by which point several other characters had already been touted as "the one who'll die and make you cry" Hermione, out cold with barely a pulse; Ron attacked by a flying brain (oh, please...); the elderly McGonagall, zapped in the chest and lying in St Mungos, etc, etc. Suddenly, with spellfire all around, Sirius is hit and staggers through a curtain. Huh? Okay, well that was majorly dramatic. I was glad we heard more from Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, particularly through the D.A. storyline, which made up for the dullness of the homework and revision mentions every five minutes. It was interesting that Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood was added to the expanded Gryffindor team of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville (henceforth known as "the sexumvirate"), but struck me as unlikely that they could have reached Year Five and not encountered such an eccentric before (okay, at least not have *mentioned* her before). I think she's here to stay. Ill echo what some others have said: why introduce a plethora of additional characters, and waste time on scenes with characters such as Lockhart, when poor old Vector and Sinistra still had nothing more than a stroll along the corridors, not to mention the minimal page time given to the fleshing out of some major characters? I really liked the new characters, but the books can't just keep getting bigger as JKR stuffs more and more people into them, can they? Maybe I'm being overly critical here - she is just expanding her world. Hagrid could easily have been killed to save us from another pointless sub-plot in Book Six. I thought the giants were going to play a big role in this book but other than being introduced, they served no purpose. Unfortunately, 20ft tall beings that cant speak English dont lend themselves to complex plot development. So, Trelawney and Firenze are going to jobshare in future years? I get the feeling that JKR is trying to find things for every character to do and that the only way to do this is to (a) have several people serving the same purpose and rotate them or (b) create gangs of previously-mentioned characters (OoP, D.A. Death Eaters etc.). At some point, shell have to choose to have (c) lots of characters killed in a freak accident. Voldemort: Doesnt get out much, does he? The Order of the Phoenix gives us a potentially cohesive group of wizarding adults to pit against the Death Eaters, but they came across as a strange bunch of misfits. Even Tonks, who appeared out of nowhere, was given the somewhat pointless trait of being clumsy. Also, can I just complain that the word metamorphmagus sounds very awkward. It was fun and informative seeing inside the Ministry of Magic and St Mungo s, especially hearing the descriptions of all the different departments - I loved all that. Mind you, as soon as St Mungos had been mentioned, it seemed that someone was being carted off to one of its thousands of beds on every other page. It's obviously not part of the NHS. There were no major surprises to me when 'mysteries' were unravelled. I was left thinking that Dumbledores reasons for keeping Harry in the dark were pretty, well, dumb. He didnt tell him because he cared about him? Motherly love was the powerful thing that protected Harry against Voldemort, but 'grandfatherly' love prevented Dumbledore from telling him the truth, thus leaving him exposed to act in the dark and get trapped? It hadnt occurred to me that Petunias specific blood connection (as opposed to just family ties) to Lily was the key to Privet Drive being safe. However, this would perhaps mean that if Harry and Dudley were to get a bachelor pad together hed still be protected. Stand by for redeemed Dudley... Snapes hatred of Harry seemed to be simply because James bullied him. However, we only saw one of three thoughts Snape put into the Pensieve and that was just an example of taunting (of which there were presumably many). Snape: if that's all it is - get over it! So, Neville could have been the boy who would ultimately vanquish Voldemort? I was thinking that in choosing Harry and marking him Voldemort may have assigned that role to him rather than doing it because it was predestined. Of course, supposedly the reason Harry was marked and not dead was that Lily s love protected him; Neville would have died in similar circumstances... or would he? Others have noted this, but there seemed to be many statements of people full names, either in courtrooms, on tapestries or in letters and decrees. This, and the naming of all the departments at the MoM and St Mungos, seemed to me to put paid to speculation and invention by fans. I definitely agree that JKR tried to respond to fandom comments with some of these things. The Room of Requirement: I liked the idea, but it was another one of those things that seemed to have been a secret rather too well kept over the last four books (I'm not sure the tie in with the chamberpots was planned when she wrote that). The name is a bit dull, but that seems rather petty to mention. I have some comments on shipping, believe it or not, but I'll save those for another message! Neil *** Flying Ford Anglia From pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 17:29:22 2003 From: pbnesbit at harpdreamer.yahoo.invalid (Parker Brown Nesbit) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 13:29:22 -0400 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: Question about OoP delivery Message-ID: Hi All, I got it on Saturday after all. ::Curses self out for not checking the mailbox at work:: Yup, I didn't know it would be sent by USPS (thought they'd send it by FedEx) & so I didn't check the mail. Doug will bring it home to me this evening. Parker, red-faced _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 17:53:13 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 18:53:13 +0100 Subject: OOP: Some shipping thoughts Message-ID: I'm probably going to look back on these initial comments and wonder what I was thinking when it clearly states "xxxx" on page 581. Anyway... spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace I dont usually comment on shipping, but there were some rather heavy signs and hints in this book, not to mention actually kissing. Did JKR really need to cut away at the moment Harry and Cho were about to kiss? It's not as if the next scene had them in bed smoking post-coital cigarettes [note to self: would probably be pipes in the wizarding world]. So, the H/C ship was explored, but appears to have been for the purposes of noting the awakening of Harrys hormones and introducing Madam Puddifoot's coffee den. Harry fancies Cho, yeah, but is over her by the end of the book. Okay, Hermione really likes Harry and pushes him to chase Cho, because she realises he likes Cho and thinks he needs something to take his mind off his mind. This "why dont you go after Cho and by the way mention that you think I'm ugly" behaviour could be interpreted as clear evidence of Ha/He from Hermione, but Harry, being rather preoccupied, is almost oblivious. I expect to be roasted alive for saying this, but imo, JKR is definitely heading more towards a R/He ship now the bickering, the comparison to Mr & Mrs Weasley, Hermiones letter to Krum to make Ron jealous. It seems rather obvious, but she is tending to follow the obvious lines rather than potentially inventive theories hidden between the lines. It's clearly still a bit Farmer-In-The-Dell overall: Ron likes Hermione likes Harry likes... ? I felt there was a hint of Hermione/Draco in comparison to Lilys attitude to James in Snape's memory and later marriage to same arrogant bully, but I think the "mudblood" thing is a major barrier to any sort of romance, unless Draco performs a spectacular U-turn. I don't see any evidence that JKR is going to convert Draco into a nice young man. Ron obviously thinks Harry should be with Ginny and is surprised that she is seeing other boys, indicating his own immaturity (i.e. harking back to an old crush she had on Harry and thinking she is still 10 and a virgin). There were hints that Luna Lovegood has her eye on Ron, so I speculate that she may be used to wake Hermione up to her unrealised interest in Ron in Book 6. Back to the ? for Harry, I think Tonks is a possible match, which may be why she was introduced. The (slightly) older woman, who knows a few tricks... Neil *** Flying Ford Anglia From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 17:50:09 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 18:50:09 +0100 Subject: OoP: Flint! Message-ID: It's probably not needed, but: spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space Hi everyone, I'm on my second read, and incidentally, I'm enjoying the book a lot more this time around....but I've come across a very stupid, nitpicky flint. Dennis Creevey turns up with his brother in the Hog's Head, so presumably has been allowed on the Hogsmeade visit? How? He's only a second year, and pupils are only allowed out from the third year onwards. Believe it or not, I *do* have serious thoughts to impart on the book, but they'll have to wait - I'm half way through packing up my books, ready for the move (20 large cartons so far), and haven't time. Told you it was nitpicky, Catherine From catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 17:57:22 2003 From: catherine at catorman.yahoo.invalid (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 17:57:22 -0000 Subject: OOP: Some shipping thoughts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > I'm probably going to look back on these initial comments and wonder what I > was thinking when it clearly states "xxxx" on page 581. Anyway... > > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > Back to the ? for Harry, I think Tonks is a possible match, which may be why > she was introduced. The (slightly) older woman, who knows a few tricks... > > Neil Sorry for the me too, but as Ali will bear out, it was one of the first things that struck me when she was introduced - not that I liked the idea. Pros and cons? Well, some people may like to be with someone who can change their appearance at will, for obvious reasons. I think our Harry would be disconcerted by it, however. And do we know what she *really* looks like? I'm not sure I'm with you on the FITD. Hermione likes Harry, but is still trying to make Ron jealous by writing to Krum? Hmm. Catherine From bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 18:00:56 2003 From: bohners at synaesthete7.yahoo.invalid (Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:00:56 -0400 Subject: Not a flint after all? References: <1056369456.4947.37214.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <006801c339b1$668b36a0$6500a8c0@bohners> Maybe I'm just displaying my ignorance here, but I don't see that just because Lupin was a Prefect in Fifth Year, James could not have been made a Prefect in Sixth Year and therefore eligible to be Head Boy in Seventh Year. If Lupin were removed or stepped down as Prefect after Fifth, then a replacement would be needed and James could have stepped in to the breach, as it were. Or am I missing something? -- R.J. Anderson http://rjanderson.blogspot.com http://synaesthete7.livejournal.com From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 18:11:27 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 13:11:27 -0500 Subject: NY Times (Penny Rants again) Message-ID: <025701c339b2$ddbe6430$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi all -- Feeling more coherent, I decided to check out some of the reviews of OoP. The official NY Times OoP review is quite nice actually. It's positive, but not glowing, and overall a very fair assessment. However, the Book Review Editor, Charles McGrath, apparently feels the need to justify his decision to create that silly Children's Bookseller List and remove all the HP books from the main bestseller list once again. He wrote a piece for yesterday's Times, and in it he not only completely blasts Rowling's writing style and talents but insults all of us, the adult fans. The link is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22CLOSE.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=105 6391218-hfP/l4PUCkwrnBgX9D2evQ You do have to register to access NY Times articles but it is free. I will hope that Heidi won't have a fit though if I invoke fair use just to give you some snippets from the overall article. " we received bundles of letters from outraged adults. They had read and thoroughly enjoyed the Potter novels, these readers said, so how could we ghettoize them as mere children's books? Weren't the Potter books far superior to a lot of the stuff that regularly makes its way onto the fiction list? Well, they had a point there. On the other hand, the outlandish claims that were frequently made for Potter made you wonder whether some of these people had ever read anything else." "Eventually maybe even free enough to pick up another, more challenging kind of book." I plan to write a letter to the editor. Again. I was definitely one of the outraged adults who sent them a letter 3 yrs ago. Penny (who considers herself reasonably well-read and really doesn't need this sanctimonious twit to hurl insults at her reading habits just because his assine decision is bound to come into question as people realize that the series is not so easily classified as kiddie lit as he thought ...........) From neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 18:27:20 2003 From: neilward at flyingfordanglia.yahoo.invalid (Neil Ward) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 19:27:20 +0100 Subject: [the_old_crowd] Re: OOP: Some shipping thoughts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > Back to the ? for Harry, I think Tonks is a possible match, which may be why > she was introduced. The (slightly) older woman, who knows a few tricks... > > Neil Catherine: <> You see - it's confusing! I think I meant "is making Ron jealous," which is obvious (I'm good at saying obvious things). I do think there's a more reciprocal thing under the surface between Ron and Hermione, but it's still a bit FITD too. I suppose the conclusion is that JKR is laying clues and red herrings to all sorts of relationships and we won't know for sure until the end of Book 7. Neil From absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 18:36:43 2003 From: absinthe at milztoday.yahoo.invalid (Milz) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 18:36:43 -0000 Subject: OOP: Some shipping thoughts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote: > I'm probably going to look back on these initial comments and wonder what I > was thinking when it clearly states "xxxx" on page 581. Anyway... > > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > spoilerspace > > I don't usually comment on shipping, but there were some rather heavy signs > and hints in this book, not to mention actually kissing. > > Did JKR really need to cut away at the moment Harry and Cho were about to > kiss? It's not as if the next scene had them in bed smoking post- coital > cigarettes [note to self: would probably be pipes in the wizarding world]. ROTFLMAO.....Yep...Harry Potter and the Playboy Mansion Party. > So, the H/C ship was explored, but appears to have been for the purposes of > noting the awakening of Harry's hormones and introducing Madam Puddifoot's > coffee den. Harry fancies Cho, yeah, but is over her by the end of the > book. > > Okay, Hermione really likes Harry and pushes him to chase Cho, because she > realises he likes Cho and thinks he needs something to take his mind off his > mind. This "why don't you go after Cho and by the way mention that you think > I'm ugly" behaviour could be interpreted as clear evidence of Ha/He from > Hermione, but Harry, being rather preoccupied, is almost oblivious. > I got the impression that Hermione loves Harry as though he were her brother. Even in the previous books I never got the impression Hermione liked Harry any other way. She always seemed more attracted to Ron imo. > I expect to be roasted alive for saying this, but imo, JKR is definitely > heading more towards a R/He ship now ? the bickering, the comparison to Mr & > Mrs Weasley, Hermione's letter to Krum to make Ron jealous. It seems rather > obvious, but she is tending to follow the obvious lines rather than > potentially inventive theories hidden between the lines. > > It's clearly still a bit Farmer-In-The-Dell overall: Ron likes Hermione > likes Harry likes... ? > > I felt there was a hint of Hermione/Draco in comparison to Lily's attitude > to James in Snape's memory and later marriage to same arrogant bully, but I > think the "mudblood" thing is a major barrier to any sort of romance, unless > Draco performs a spectacular U-turn. I don't see any evidence that JKR is > going to convert Draco into a nice young man. > I'm with you there, Neil, on all accounts. > Ron obviously thinks Harry should be with Ginny and is surprised that she is > seeing other boys, indicating his own immaturity (i.e. harking back to an > old crush she had on Harry and thinking she is still 10 and a virgin). lol, I think Ron is surprized that Ginny is actually dating. But it also indicates that Ron isn't up-to-date with Ginny's life. HE was still under the impression that she still had a crush on Harry. > There were hints that Luna Lovegood has her eye on Ron, so I speculate that > she may be used to wake Hermione up to her unrealised interest in Ron in > Book 6. > Good thought. > Back to the ? for Harry, I think Tonks is a possible match, which may be why > she was introduced. The (slightly) older woman, who knows a few tricks... > Don't forget Susan Bones. Harry never met her before the DA. And they share a commonality: family killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters (doesn't that sound like a '60s rock and roll band? "Voldemort and the Death Eaters with their number one hit, "Die, Die, Die") ~Milz From cassandraclaire73 at cassandraclaire73.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 19:00:56 2003 From: cassandraclaire73 at cassandraclaire73.yahoo.invalid (cassandraclaire73) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 19:00:56 -0000 Subject: Ginny In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "psychic_serpent" wrote: > --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "cassandraclaire73" > wrote: > > Hagrid also totally annoying and Ginny unbearable. > > On the contrary, Ginny was wonderful and kick-ass. ----- I think it's a personal response thing. I loathed her - loathed her intensely, had to stifle gag reflex, as did three of the five people I read the book with. The other two thought she was all right. I do see OOtP as perhaps prefiguring an H/G relationship more strongly, although it's far from set in stone. Cassie From pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid Mon Jun 23 19:23:09 2003 From: pennylin at plinsenmayer.yahoo.invalid (pennylin) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:23:09 -0500 Subject: [the_old_crowd] OOP: Some shipping thoughts References: Message-ID: <000d01c339bc$e1ffabd0$4f5ffea9@cq5hs01> Hi -- No worries, Neil ------ I shan't be roasting you alive. :--) I'll keep the spoiler space for now. spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace spoilerspace <<>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Yep, I wondered that too. It seems Rowling professes to want to age her characters realistically but finds it harder to actually *do* this in the books. I have a very good lurker friend (who'd probably love a group like this if we have any desire to invite vouched-for-lurkers), who has 2 teenagers. She was telling me that this reticence on the sexuality thing seems hugely out-of-step with reality to her. We wondered if it was a function of a cultural difference between the US and the UK, or if Brits would similarly find the characters to be still acting a bit too young in this regard. <<<>>>>>>>>> Yep, I agree that this one is pretty clearly over from Harry's end, which would make it slightly more challenging to return to, though not impossible. <<<<<<<>>>>>>> Interesting that a non-shipper would put this spin on it. I agree with you, and I'm delighted that a "neutral" party had the same reaction. I also think there are several other possible He---------->Ha instances in this book, but Rowling has crafted it brilliantly in true Austen-esque fashion because each piece of evidence has an almost perfect opposite interpretation in my mind. The first, of course, is Hermione's reaction to the arrival of the prefect badges. My interpretation is that she not only *expected* to be paired with Harry in this role, she *wanted* to be (and her disappointment and surprise shines through before she recovers herself). Of course, the perfect corrollary is that she was flustered and blushing because she would have been more *comfortable* serving in that role with Harry, rather than Ron. It's brilliant. Truly. [I reserve the right to completely revamp my opinions on all of this after re-reads and debates .........] I also thought the scene where Harry acknowledges that he and Cho just snogged was telling, but again, brilliantly-crafted. Hermione asks what Cho wanted in a "businesslike manner," she asks "briskly" if they kissed and is seen to be wearing a slight frown as she awaits his answer. Overtly, this looks He---------->Ha to me, but I'll concede that she might well be frowning and reacting overall to Ron's completely juvenile reaction to the entire topic. <<<<<<