HP Parties?

[dadaist]

Okay, admit it. SOMEBODY here's going to be in one of those lines Friday night waiting for the stroke of midnight to buy Harry Potter #5.

...someone OTHER than me.

If anyone in the Chicago area wants to find me that night, PM me, I'll give you the location.

[PantyFanatic]

aaaaaaaaa.................... I'll see you when you get back. I have this thing about lines.







...... even lines I'd want to be in. ;)

[dadaist]

Actually I'm going for the people I already plan on meeting there, and NOT for the book! I pre-ordered mine on amazon.com in April. ;)

Plus many bookstores are having in-store parties, giveaways, etc etc.

[PantyFanatic]

I still only enjoy crowds in my bedroom.

[dadaist]

Must be a pretty spacious bedroom then.

[Scarlett]

I am not going at midnight, but I will go the next day to pick up the book.

[dadaist]

Originally posted by Scarlett
I am not going at midnight, but I will go the next day to pick up the book.

Okay, just to be fair then I won't post spoilers when I'm done with it before you get yours ;)

[airhog]

My gf is going, which means I will be going.

[LixyChick]

OK.......now don't whack me upside the head or anything but......

I've NEVER read HP.........nor have I ever seen a single movie!

I have no clue what the books are about (cept some magic of some sort) because when the very first book came out I thought it was just for children and so I never followed the series (as I have no children) and now I fear I am too far behind to play catch up!

*covering my ears as everyone starts to yell at me for being in the dark on topical reading*

[Scarlett]

It's not too late Lixy. This way, you will have 5 to go through without waiting for them to come out one at a time. I started them after the first 4 were already released. I picked up the first 2 for some light reading for a vacation one year. When I started I never looked up until we got to the vacation city. Since then I have read them all at least twice and I am so ready for #5!

[LixyChick]

Whew! TY Scarlett! I saw that you had posted after me and I was kinda scared to come back in and see if you yelled at me for being so far behind on my reading! LOL!

*hugs*

[dadaist]

We could even suggest waiting until all seven are out and she's all done with them, but no one knows how long that will be. She was doing 1 a year until after book 4 came out. She took time to have a hand in the first two movies (and the third is in production), got married, had a second kid with the new (younger!) husband, released two smaller books in early 2001 for charity....
But she's supposed to start on #6 this summer, after the hype for 5 starts to fade.

[Eliza]

Originally posted by dadaist
Okay, admit it. SOMEBODY here's going to be in one of those lines Friday night waiting for the stroke of midnight to buy Harry Potter #5.

...someone OTHER than me.

If anyone in the Chicago area wants to find me that night, PM me, I'll give you the location.



ME!!
I can't wait!! I preordered mine too...but I just wanta go cuz it seems fun.

[Scarlett]

Did you ever finish Desperation Lixy? TAK!

[dadaist]

And I assume everyone heard about the stolen copies:

Thousands of Latest Harry Potter Books Stolen
Jun 17, 11:21 am ET

By F. Brinley Bruton

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of copies of the eagerly awaited new Harry Potter book were stolen from a warehouse in England over the weekend, police said on Tuesday.

The 7,680 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth in JK Rowling's series on the boy wizard, were taken in a late-night heist on Merseyside in northern England on Sunday.

Police said they were checking a white articulated trailer truck found about 20 miles from the warehouse for forensic evidence.

They cautioned would-be readers not to touch the books, before their public release early on Saturday.

"We want to warn members of the public that if they handle the book between now and Saturday in any way other than legitimately, they may face criminal charges," a spokeswoman said.

Rowling's four books, the first of which she wrote as a penniless single mother in Edinburgh, have sold almost 200 million copies in 55 languages.

Police previously thought the haul was worth about one million pounds ($1.7 million), but later reduced that to around 130,500 pounds.

Bookmakers William Hill, meanwhile, leapt ahead and took a bet on future plot twists in the seventh and last installment in the series.

"Once we were sure that it wasn't JK Rowling trying to place the bet, we were happy to oblige," said a spokesman. "After all, we are, er, bookmakers."

[GingerV]

Oh please please please don't tell me anything. 1 week, that's all I ask. Amazon's delivering me my very own copy on Saturday, but I'm going to try to save it for a Trans-atlantic flight 5 days later. It'll be a perfect airplane book.....

[dm383]

Did you ever finish Desperation Lixy? TAK!



Didn't know you were reading that, Lixy!! (My bad :()

Isn't it ACE?!?!?! :)


BTW, I've never read HP either..... but my 9 yr old daughter has read all 4 to tatters!!

DM

[FussyPucker]

Of course I wont be in line never read HP and never will :D Come to think of it I've not seen the movies either!

What about the walmart store that put the book on it's shelves early be mistake..........a few people managed to buy a copy before the error was spotted and the books were withdrawn !!

[skipthisone]

They should all be handed vomit any-flavor-beans and propperly scolded.

[Steph]

I wanna know what major character bites it! Augh! Someone tell me!!!

[BlueSwede]

Originally posted by pantyfanatic
I still only enjoy crowds in my bedroom.

:D <-----------PF. You and me both, PF. :cool:

[Scarlett]

I am really curious about that too Steph. Can't wait to find out!

[Scarecrow]

forget the lines and crowds I pre-order also.

[d5254t]

I have preordered the book also, for all you nuts out there have you visited the web page with all the neat info anout HP called

www.mugglenet.com

its a good site for info.

I read all the books one after another a few months ago and got hooked and have been waiting for this book.

[dadaist]

Lets see there was the Wal-Mart (in Canada I think) that sold them early, some pharmacy around Indianapolis that sold some early, and the store that sold one early to the New York Daily News, which ran a preview with that copy, and is now being sued by Rowling (and presumably her UK/US publishers) for breaking the silence.
And SHE's the one that insists on the silence!

oh well.

Still trying to get my group together for Friday night.

[RandyGal]

Joining PF in yelling aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....a line for a BOOK?
Nevah!

Movie, maybe. Book, well, haven't read the others so I guess jumping into this would be like jumping into a vat of chocolate AFTER the kettle has been licked clean! :p

[dadaist]

Originally posted by RandyGal
Joining PF in yelling aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....a line for a BOOK?
Nevah!

Movie, maybe. Book, well, haven't read the others so I guess jumping into this would be like jumping into a vat of chocolate AFTER the kettle has been licked clean! :p

I better not say anything about the Apple Store North Michigan Avenue opening on the 27th at 6 PM then. Those ALWAYS generate a crowd.

[Steph]

Originally posted by dadaist
Lets see there was the Wal-Mart (in Canada I think) that sold them early, some pharmacy around Indianapolis that sold some early, and the store that sold one early to the New York Daily News, which ran a preview with that copy, and is now being sued by Rowling (and presumably her UK/US publishers) for breaking the silence.


A woman who scored a copy in Canada was offered $5,000 from the publishers if she'd give it back but she wouldn't!

[RandyGal]

Originally posted by dadaist
I better not say anything about the Apple Store North Michigan Avenue opening on the 27th at 6 PM then. Those ALWAYS generate a crowd.

NO! You had better not say that! I don't wanna have to bite you! :bite:

;)

[RandyGal]

Originally posted by Steph
A woman who scored a copy in Canada was offered $5,000 from the publishers if she'd give it back but she wouldn't!


Anyone else giggling cuz it sounds like they're drug traffic-ing?

Anyone else think the woman is NUTS for not taking the money, sticking it in her panties and running like hell?
:cool:

[souls_cry2000]

I also pre-ordered so I won't be waiting in line at midnight. I'd like to head out and see the excitement but I haven't been sleeping well lately. I'll probably take a few sleeping pills and catch some Z's.

[Steph]

Originally posted by RandyGal
Anyone else think the woman is NUTS for not taking the money, sticking it in her panties and running like hell?
:cool:

She claims she couldn't put the book down. Shit, for $5,000, I'd photocopy it and bring it back! No, scratch that, I'd just bring it back for the moolah. Hello, it's being released in a few days!!!

It kinda screams 'marketing hoopla' to me.

[BIBI]

Originally posted by Steph


It kinda screams 'marketing hoopla' to me.

It certainly does! :)

[RandyGal]

Originally posted by Steph
She claims she couldn't put the book down. Shit, for $5,000, I'd photocopy it and bring it back! No, scratch that, I'd just bring it back for the moolah. Hello, it's being released in a few days!!!

It kinda screams 'marketing hoopla' to me.

Shit, no shit! LOL I think I'd hand copy *WITH A DULL PENCIL EVEN!* the book for $5000 bucks! DAY-YUM, that's a lot of money!


Kind of begs the next question I guess. What would or wouldn't ya do for $5000 bucks? LOL






(I would touch a monkeys butt for a mere 2 dollah!) ROTFLMAO

[Loulabelle]

Never read it either, nor seen any of the films.

To be quite honest it doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm not into fantasy (other than sexual) in the slightest and I actually find it kind of annoying. I have this big thing about going against the tide....if everyone else is going to be doing x, I like to make damn sure I'm doing y! LOL

I would rather read something a little more 'real' and a little more contraversial.

Lolita is my favourite book in the world and I just don't see how Rowling is going to match up to Nabokov......just my opinion, you're all welcome to tell me I'm a snob and that I'm missing out.

Hehehe....you can tell me off all you want, but it won't make a blind bit of difference to me! LOL

*Stubbonly digging heels in*

[BlondeCurlGirl]

I'm with ya on that Lou...we can be snobs together ;)

[Loulabelle]

Excellent BCG!!

There's safety in numbers :D

[Uncle Silky]

readin? pfft. i never readed and i turned out real good-like. *squints and looks around*

[Scarlett]

So how were the HP parties?

[Lilith]

My people went.. and just about the time I got naked to get in the tub they were back already. They said nothing exciting was going on. Had their pics made in glasses and Mr. Lil picked up a copy at Target today.

[Scarecrow]

Copy came by postman today on time and no lines

[Scarlett]

I picked mine up at Wal-Mart today with no fuss and no muss :D

[campingboy]

Apparently she is now the richest woman in England beside the Queen.

I have not read any of then - yet. Nor have I seen the movie. But from everything that I have read about the books, is it not a modern C.S.Lewis 'The Lion, The witch, and the Wardrobe'? CS was a fabulous writer. Is Rowling now at that level?

It has been speculated that she had some ghost writers to help her on this last book.

[dicksbro]

I haven't read the books but did enjoy the movies. Looking forward to the next one. My wife, on the other hand, pre-ordered the book and went to get it the day it came out. She and the kids all swear by the books.

[Steph]

Just heard on the radio that there's been a mix-up in the order of the pages in some copies. Booksellers here, when trading books, then have to make sure the new copy they're giving the customer is in the right order. Fun!

[Lilith]

cool...may make the fuck ups worth something some day!

[airhog]

I would say that Rowling is not anywhere near the level of C.S. Lewis.

I read those books several times through and I still believe they were a better read than the harry potter books.

[dadaist]

Met a couple people at the Barnes & Noble downtown and made an evening of it. Went and walked on the Riverwalk for a while too.
Two other people that thought about meeting us (including the one who first suggested it and reserved a copy) didn't show.
A friend of mine who was at the American Library Association convention in Toronto over the weekend said she came home with a Canadian first edition - and said there were a few bookstores there courting them to come out.
The B&N had a magic show and a science show (doing stuff with sounds and slime and whatnot) for the kids, and trivia contests, etc etc.
The other bookstore downtown was supposed to have booths all through their parking lot, but it looked as if only one food vendor showed.
Oak Park, IL, on the other hand, had 10,000 people turn out....

[dadaist]

On the subject of HP, can someone tell me what Venus Williams is smoking?

HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:

"I might be a little old now. I'm 23, I've got to really focus on things that are really going to enrich my life."

--Tennis star VENUS WILLIAMS, who was reading a "Harry Potter" book when she won Wimbledon two years ago, saying she might pass on the latest book about the boy wizard.

[dadaist]

I'm bumping this thread back up because there have been a couple of HP-related news stories posted that I've found amusing (especially the second, since last I heard, the French and German national past times were bashing anything and anyone written and spoken in English - or maybe they've forgiven the English already and are only picking on Americans, but I digress).

Here's the first:

Harry Potter House Up for Sale
Jul 9, 9:53 am ET

LONDON (Reuters) - For sale: a prim suburban house in middle England that boasts a boy wizard and an owl among its former residents.

The house that played host to the loathsome Dursleys and their magical nephew in the Harry Potter movies is on the market, British newspapers reported on Tuesday.

With fans gripped by the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's series, the owner of No 4 Privet Drive -- in reality No 12 Picket Post Close -- is putting the house up for auction with a price guide of $415,000.

The detached house in Bracknell, south-east England, was first used by Warner Brothers when they filmed "Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone" -- known as "The Sorcerer's Stone" in America -- in 1999.

It is the place to which Harry reluctantly returns from wizarding school Hogwarts to spend his holidays.

From its gleaming front door to its pristine lawns, the house was selected by a location spotter for its lack of interesting features, the papers said.

But as readers will know, Harry saw little of the house in his formative years, spending much of them locked either under the stairs or in his sparse bedroom.

It will be auctioned on July 22 in London.

[dadaist]

And the second. Dunno why they didn't post the link. And I'm too lazy to go looking ;)

Impatient Potter Fans Do Own Translation
Jul 9, 9:46 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Harry Potter fans, too impatient to wait for the official translation of the latest adventures of JK Rowling's child wizard, are translating the new book into German themselves on the Internet.

The latest outing for the bespectacled boy magician, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," is the first ever English-language book to top the German bestseller list.

It is not due to be published in German until November 8. But hundreds of fans are already hard at work translating the brick-sized book as part of a web community.

Translators are asked to translate a couple of pages of the English original into German and as a reward receive access to the work of other translators in the community.

While there are 870 pages in the latest tome, the fifth in the series, there are already 2,000 German pages on site, as some pages are duplicated and some people have come up with different translations.

"There is no perfect single translation, it's a question of interpretations," Bernd Koeleman, who operates the site, told Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel daily.

The Web Site says it is non-commercial and only community members can read the finished German text to avoid contravening copyright laws.

Bild daily praised the initiative, saying: "Our children are becoming language geniuses of their own free will thanks to the book. Only magic is faster than this."

The book last month also become first English-language book to top France's bestseller list.

[dadaist]

Or heck, try this?

`Harry Potter' movie sites for U.K. visitors

By Jay Clarke
Knight Ridder Newspapers

July 6, 2003

LACOCK, England -- Remember when Professor Dumbledore discovers Harry Potter sitting bemused before the magical Mirror of Erised in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first of the wildly popular movies of the series?

That scene was filmed here in the former chapter house of the Lacock Abbey cloisters. Two other rooms in the cloisters were used as movie classrooms, and a nearby house was seen as the site where Harry's parents were killed by Lord Voldemort.

Lacock is one of a number of Potter filming locales in England and Scotland that have become tourist attractions since the release of the movies--and are expected to get renewed attention with the recent release of the fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

While the filming sites are scattered around the country, several are easily accessible to visitors based in London. The abbey here, the cloisters in Gloucester Cathedral and the dining hall at Christ Church College in Oxford are less than two hours by car or train from the British capital--and all are well worth a visit for reasons unrelated to Harry's celluloid wizardry.

Gloucester

Several important scenes were filmed in Gloucester Cathedral's famed cloisters, which are known for their exquisite fan vaulting. They also cloak visitors who know the Potter films with an eerie sense of foreboding, a feeling that they might run into Harry, Ron or Hermione--or worse, he-who-must-not-be-named.

Among the scenes shot here is one from the second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," where a Hogwarts passage is flooded and writing in blood is seen on the walls. A temporary floor was built for the flooding, and the writing on the wall was superimposed electronically, so no damage was done to the structures.

Another scene shot in the cloisters was the entrance to the quarters of the Gryffindor students, reached after giving a password to the Fat Lady in the painting that covered the door. A smaller door was constructed, and since the entryway leads to steps that descend to the outside, the filmmakers built a platform above the stairs so it would appear the students walked straight into a long passage.

"They also blocked out ecclesiastic scenes in the stained glass windows with film, so that the windows admitted light but not the pictures," said Tony Higgs, chapter steward (chief administrator) of the cathedral.

None of the filming was done in the Gothic cathedral itself, whose 225-foot-high tower crowned with tall corner turrets soars above the city. Inside is a magnificent choir lined with medieval misericords, faced at one end with the 72-foot-high Great East Window, the largest stained-glass window in Britain. King Henry III had his first coronation here and several British kings and nobles are buried in the church.

Elsewhere in Gloucester, visitors can see the historic Gloucester Docks, now home to several museums, offices and restaurants, and roam the shop-lined, pedestrian-only portion of Westgate Street a block from the cathedral.

Oxford

Christ Church College is the oldest and best known of the 39 colleges in this city. Several memorable scenes in the Potter movies were shot there on the grand staircase leading to the college's huge dining hall.

In the first movie, Potter and other new Hogwarts students march up the stairs to be greeted by Professor McGonagall. In the second movie, Potter meets the malevolent Tom Marvolo Riddle there.

The dining hall itself, which seats 300, was used as a model for the one in the movies. Oxford students sit at three rows of tables that run the length of the hall, but the Potter storyline called for four rows of long wooden tables, one for each of Hogwarts' four houses. So an exact but larger replica of Oxford's hall was built in the Leavesden Studios north of London.

Still, visitors who have seen the Potter movies find the Oxford dining hall's interior intensely familiar. There's a head table where Dumbledore and the other professors sit in the movie. Table lamps glow at the place settings, and there are portraits on the walls, though the persons portrayed in them, unlike those in the movie, do not move.

Around 800 meals a day are served in the hall, including two dinner seatings. One is casual, the other formal (school robes and gowns required), and students can choose whichever they prefer. The paintings include portraits of six British prime ministers who were educated at Oxford, as well as of Charles Dodgson, who wrote "Alice in Wonderland" under the pen name of Lewis Carroll.

Christ Church College also is the site of Oxford's Cathedral, which has seen much history. Two British monarchs lived at various times in the deanery attached to the cathedral.

The quadrangle on which the great dining hall is situated is the largest in Oxford, and the most distinguished. Started in 1524 by Cardinal Wolsey and completed by Henry VIII, the quad also is known for the Big Tom tower added by famed architect Christopher Wren.

Inside the cathedral, one of the most interesting structures is the Watching Loft, where monks used to spy on parishioners to make sure no one made off with offerings left below. Parts of the Potter films also were shot in the Bodleian Library and Divinity School off Catte Street in the city's historic core. The library's staircases were the model for the ones that moved in the movies, and hospital scenes took place in the Divinity School.

London

Probably the best known Potter filming site in the city is at King's Cross train station. That's where Harry and his pal Ron reach Platform 9-3/4 by ramming their wheeled luggage carts through a brick wall. The station's real arched wall is located about a third of the way down between Platforms 4 and 5.

The scene where Harry gets money from his parents' vault in Gringott's Bank was shot in the Australian High Commission building on The Strand.

Visitors aren't permitted in the building unless on official business, but they can view the lobby floor where the scene was filmed from the entrance on Melbourne Place. The gnomes who staffed the teller cages are gone, but the intricately designed marble floors, columns and chandeliers all are visible from the same perspective as the movie's.

The Reptile House at the London Zoo was where Harry talked to a python and caused his cousin to fall into the snake cage. It's near Regent's Park in northern London.

Other sites

Exterior shots of Hogwarts School and of the quidditch matches were made in the north of England at Alnwick Castle, whose many turrets create a dramatic backdrop. The castle, owned by the Duke of Northumberland, is open to visitors in spring and summer.

Scenes in the first two movies of the Hogwarts Express, the old-time steam train that Harry and other students take to the wizardry school, were made on a scenic train that chugs between Pickering and Grosmont in North York Moors National Park. The film's Hogsmeade Station is actually at Goathland, a town on the train route.

Near London, a suburban road called Picket Post Close in the little town of Bracknell depicted the home of the Dursleys, Harry's aunt and uncle. In the movie, the road is called Privet Drive.

Current filming

Shooting for the third movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," is taking place mainly in closed sets at Leavesden Studios (no visitors) and in Scotland. Earlier this year, scenes involving the purple Knight bus that Harry takes to escape from the Dursleys were shot at and around Palmers Green, a residential area in North London.

In Scotland, most of the filming, which started in May, is taking place around Glencoe. According to London's News of the World newspaper, Hagrid's hexagonal hut has been built on a hillside near Torren, Argyll, along with a turreted gatehouse and 18-foot-high polystyrene boulders.

As in London, some of the filming has hit minor roadblocks. In February, sparks from the Hogwarts Express apparently set a fire that burned 500 acres near the Glenfinnan Viaduct, also seen in the second movie. And in April, hikers were seen clambering over the set and "running off with polystyrene rocks in their pockets," according to The Scotsman newspaper.

A remote island off the west coast of Scotland, Huskeiran, reportedly has been chosen as the set for the dreaded prison of Azkaban.

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

IF YOU GO

`POTTER' TOURS

While you can create your own Harry Potter tours by car or train, many commercial tours are offered. Here is a sampling. Prices are per person, double occupancy; child prices are for those occupying the same room.

# Beyond Boundaries Travel, 800-487-1136; www.beyondboundariestravel.com or www.cointl.com: Five-night escorted tours Aug. 1, Aug. 27, Oct. 29 and Dec. 30 (additional $90 for adults and $50 for kids for the New Year's Party) take in several sites and offer such interactive fun as a potions class and a dragon-slaying lesson. Land-only price: $1,699, $1,199 for teens, $999 for children; includes most meals.

# Trafalgar Tours, 800-648-1638; www.ttusa.trafalgartours.com: Seven-night escorted tour visits several sites, includes lodging, two dinners, airport transfers. Land-only price: $1,059, $550 for children 12 and under.

# Lynott Tours, 800-221-2474; www.lynotttours.com: Two self-drive, four-night itineraries are offered at $378 per person, $64 children, includes lodging, car and map. Lynott also offers day tours from London, including one that visits Oxford and Gloucester by ground vehicle for $112, $96 for children, or to Alnwick Castle via train for $144 and $115, respectively.

# Back Roads Touring Co., 011-44-208-566-5312; www.backroadstouring.co.uk: Eight-night tours visit several Potter sites. Price: $1,845, $1,299 children 11 years or younger.

For a map of key locations created by the British Tourist Authority, contact Visit Britain at 877-899-8391 or 800-462-2748; www.visitbritain.com.

[dadaist]

And the German publisher is demanding the website providing an early translation 'cease and desist'

Legal rematch for German Potter fans

German Harry Potter fans who were forced to remove home-made translations from the internet in 2000 been threatened with legal action once more.

With the official German version of the latest book not due until November, a virtual community of Potter lovers has set about translating it themselves.

They did the same thing with the last instalment in 2000 - and had to remove their work after being threatened with an injunction by Potter's German publishers, Carlsen.

Now Carlsen said it has ordered the site's owners to remove the material - again - and they have agreed - again.

The Harry auf Deutsch site has encouraged a reported 1,000 readers to help translate Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was published in English in June.

The man who runs the site, Bernd Koeleman, said it is not a profit-making venture, and is done for fun to help readers improve their English.

But Carlsen said any material from the book that appeared on the site was a breach of copyright.

A spokeswoman for the publisher said the company spoke to Mr Koeleman on Tuesday and he agreed to remove the translations.

"We agreed with him that he does not want to do these infringements and so he will take these texts away," she told BBC News Online.

"And if he does not follow this request, we have to take legal steps."

Mr Koeleman said the translations would not be available to the public on the site - only by e-mail for the site's members.

More than 15 million copies of the first four official German translations have been sold so far.