The Pensieve

Updates and Plans

Dana — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:28:59 +0000

It’s been a long time since I updated this poor, neglected blog. First things first: our school has a Harry Potter Club that has had four trivia tournaments for students and one for faculty. I won the faculty tournament and will go on to face the champions from Slytherin (12th grade), Gryffindor (11th grade), Ravenclaw (10th grade), and Hufflepuff (9th grade).

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Harry Potter Companion‘s updates and thoughts about each chapter of the series. Now that all seven books have been released (as well as The Tales of Beedle the Bard), and the seventh movies are currently filming, I think I would like to re-read the series with some sort of analysis or connection to my own experiences with the books might be fun for me. And if you like it, well, that’s so much the better.

I’m in grad school hell at the moment, so I’m not sure when I’ll have the time. Summer?

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Updates and Plans

Dangerous Wands

Dana — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:44:12 +0000

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

I have watched this a bunch of times, and it cracks me up every time.

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Dangerous Wands

Wrackspurt Got You?

Dana — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:54:58 +0000

If there is one single mythical creature Luna Lovegood refers to, or for that matter in the HP universe, that I’m tempted to believe in, it’s the Wrackspurt. Luna defines the Wrackspurt thusly:

They’re invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. (HBP 140)

In the HBP film, Luna can see Wrackspurts with her Spectrespecs, a fun addition, although not one that seems to support JKR’s canon.

We have probably all experienced the feeling Luna describes at some time or another. I found this guide to Wrackspurts in Mugglenet’s fanfiction area, and I thought it was fun. One has to wonder what the updated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them looks like after Luna Lovegood joined the Scamander family. Would her husband possibly have included any of Luna’s mythical animals?

P. S. I am tentatively opening comments on this blog again, but comments on all posts prior to this month (7/2009), are still closed and will remain so.

Well, that experiment didn’t last long. For some reason, folks are just not able to leave civil comments at this blog, and it puzzles me because I don’t get uncivil comments at my other blogs. I hate to think HP fans are just kind of jerks.

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Wrackspurt Got You?

HP6 Review and New Feature

Dana — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:47:25 +0000

First of all, this blog has lain dormant for too long. I can’t bring myself to delete it, as it does represent a lot of writing on a topic I’m in which I’m very interested and invested. The carnival proved to be too cumbersome and ultimately not rewarding, and I think finally the reason I decided not to continue is that I really didn’t feel like I was contributing anything. No new content. I really like HP fan art and HPL and similar sites because they create new content and are creative. With that in mind, I plan to use this blog to expound upon some feature or other in HP books or fandom. Perhaps the idea that I’m creating content that might be interesting or fun will entertain others, and that will be nice, but I also think it will be fun for me.

I saw the new HP movie today, and I liked it a lot. I feel that Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in particular have come a long way as actors, and I felt both were very good in this film. Alan Rickman, as always, was great. I liked Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in this film more than in any of the others, but part of me really wishes Richard Harris had been able to do the entire series. It’s just a shame, as Gambon on the whole has not done the character of Dumbledore justice. I really enjoyed parts of the movie, but I was puzzled by the extraneous (i.e. non-book scenes) like the burning of the Burrow. Wouldn’t the action in the Astronomy Tower have been just as exciting as that scene that never occurred in the book? The script included most of the major details, which was good to see, but the movies never quite capture the books, and the minor characters are reduced to extras. Still, within the confines of the medium, I think they do a good job telling the story of the books. I really liked the two young actors who portrayed young Tom Riddle, too.

As a result of an analysis of Hogwarts teachers I wrote, I was invited to discuss the Hogwarts education on Sean Moncrieff’s show on Newstalk in Ireland. You can listen to it here:

Moncrieff interview of Dana Huff

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

HP6 Review and New Feature

Comments

Dana — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:19:12 +0000

I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I am permanently closing comments on this blog. I don’t receive many comments, but the few I do receive, particularly lately, have done nothing to contribute to conversation about the posts and frankly have me wondering about the future of the human race.

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Comments

Updates and Thoughts on JKR’s Case Against RDR

Dana — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:20:28 +0000

It has been quite some time since I updated this blog. Partly it’s the time of year. As a teacher, I find spring taxing. That said, I am finding the Harry Potter Carnival difficult to maintain. I rarely received submissions, and those I did receive often made it patently obvious that submitters were looking for links to their blog rather than really trying to share information with HP fans. It was a lot a work. It was a labor of love. I always told myself I would stop doing it if it began to be a chore, and after DH came out, I’m afraid that’s what it became. I am putting it on hiatus indefinitely. I am not willing to hand the carnival over to someone else. I did that with another carnival I ran, and they never did a thing with it. Technically speaking, the carnival probably belongs to Blogcarnival, as that is where I created it. However, I created it and have been alone in throwing it together and almost alone in finding links to share. So it is on indefinite hiatus, as I said.

I do have some thoughts on the case JKR brought against RDR books, a company that was set to publish the HPL with Steve Vander Ark. A lot of the press who only started following the case when the trial started gave JKR a hard time. They insinuated that she was being greedy. In my opinion, she was being protective of her rights. JKR has been generous to her fans. She has allows fanfiction, fansites, and all kinds of fanart. To me, any doubt as to whether or not Mr. Vander Ark was in the right was erased when TLC severed their ties with HPL. Mr. Vander Ark did not seem to be able to hear the opposition, and to be honest, I think that’s because so many fans were so nasty. I wouldn’t want to hear it either. But there were some voices of reason he didn’t listen to, either. I feel sad that a man who has done so much for the HP fan community feels cast out. Vander Ark has been silent about the case over the last few months, and perhaps that’s for the best. I wish him well, but I agree with Jo on this one. She would have been within her rights to put a stop to a lot of what goes on in the HP fandom, but she has been remarkably supportive. I think she was right to pursue the case. TLC has a good summary of the case.

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Updates and Thoughts on JKR’s Case Against RDR

Harry Potter Carnival #60

Dana — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:03:51 +0000

Welcome to the 60th Harry Potter Carnival! As promised, this month our focus is Harry Potter: TNG. Star Trek fans will get that.
I received no submissions related to Harry Potter at all this month (and for that reason, I’ll post my own theories about HPTNG soonish); the four submissions I received could best be categorized as spam. It’s a pity that people bother with that sort of thing. For one thing, because of all the spam, off-topic submissions, and submissions for material that has been submitted to the carnival before, I have to remind submitters of criteria for acceptance. It really bothers me that I feel obligated to post this reminder each month, but every month I receive submissions that are not suitable. I’m not picky. I just have three basic rules:

Blog posts submitted to the carnival need to be made within the last month (between the last carnival and the current one).
Submissions must not previously have appeared in the carnival. I would like to provide carnival guests with recent information and news when I can; therefore, please check to see if news has already been posted in a carnival before submitting it to the next carnival.
The information must be related to Harry Potter.

The best way to be published in the carnival is to be an active reader of it — advice which is true of any other publication.

J.K. Rowling

Beyond Hogwarts compiles some information JKR shared about the fates of her characters following DH.

Fan Art

This month’s featured artist is Frizzy Hermione, who submitted this work to Argentinian site Amortentia Multimedia:

You can view the submission and more details here.

Theories and Speculation

DH hints that Albus Severus could end up in either Gryffindor or Slytherin. Which one do you think he ended up in? Folks at Mugglenet’s CoS Forums speculated. I think a lot of fans wanted him to be in Slytherin, but truthfully does he exhibit any characteristics that would make sorting him into Syltherin plausible? We know already that James is a Gryffindor. What about Victoire? I am thinking either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Teddy Lupin, I think, was probably a Gryffindor like his father; however, it’s worth noting his mother was a Hufflepuff, so who knows? Scorpius Malfoy most likely wound up in Slytherin. I’m betting Rose Weasley will be a Gryffindor, too. The Scamander twins I see in Ravenclaw like their mother. You can look for my thoughts on this issue some time soon, but until then, let’s speculate: where do you think HPTNG ended up?

Hermione’s Library

If you want to mine DH’s Epilogue for clues about the fates HPTNG, you might find HPL’s reader’s guide handy.

Random Fandom

If you want to display your appreciation for HPTNG characters on your Web site, you can join the following Fanlistings:

No individual Fanlistings exist for any of TNG Weasleys. If you’re interested, why not propose them?

Just for Fun

While not strictly related to HPTNG, this site is kind of interesting. Translate anything into Parseltongue. I know Harry received this gift from the bit of Voldemort’s soul that resided in him, according to JKR, but I wonder if any of his children can speak Parseltongue. If any of them can, my bet is on Albus Severus.

Thanks to everyone for the submissions! To submit Potterica for the next carnival, use my carnival submission form. Please note the category for which it should be considered. Deadline is 10:00 P.M. Friday, March 14. The next HP carnival will appear Saturday, March 15. Please be careful to read past carnivals before you submit articles to be sure you are not submitting material that has already been included. Also, keep in mind this is a carnival for HP fans, and your posts must be directed toward that audience.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, carnival, J.K. Rowling

Post © Dana Huff and originally appeared on The Pensieve

Harry Potter Carnival #60

Harry Potter Carnival #59

Dana — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:05:43 +0000

Welcome to the 59th Harry Potter Carnival! Before we begin, I would like to remind submitters that I welcome your blog posts and artwork, but blog posts must be made within the month between the posting of the previous carnival and the current one. I would like to provide carnival guests with recent information and news when I can; also, please check to see if news has already been posted in a carnival before submitting it to the next carnival. The best way to be published in the carnival is to be an active reader of it — advice which is true of any other publication.

J.K. Rowling

JKR appeared in a two-part show on PotterCast. She shared new canon, which HPL was kind enough to gather in one place.

You can download the PotterCast interview:

Also, if you have not yet seen the documentary, J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, you should check it out. Some new canon learned in this documentary is discussed later in this carnival.

Fan Art

This month’s fan art selection is a beautiful drawing of Professor Trelawney by Pia’Sharn.

Theories and Speculation

GrrlScientist shares speculation that JKR may actually write another book… if her daughter has anything to say about it. For my own part, I can’t wait until that encyclopedia comes out.

Hermione’s Library

New canon appeared in the form of a quick family tree drawn by JKR for J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life. The tree details the Weasley family beginning with Arthur and Molly and running through their grandchildren’s generation. You can view the tree here (click the appropriate language version, click the eraser, open the door to the Room of Requirement, and it is there as of this date), but here is a quick run-down:

Bill and Fleur’s children include Victoire, Dominique, and Louis.
Charlie never married or had children.
Percy married an unknown character named Audrey (maybe she’s a Muggle — Arthur would be so excited). Their children are Molly and Lucy.
George married his twin’s ex Angelina Johnson; their children are Fred (aw) and Roxanne.
Ron, of course, married Hermione, and they had Hugo and Rose (no middle names given)
Ginny, of course married Harry. We already knew the middle name of their second son, Albus Severus, but we learned that the eldest is James Sirius (who didn’t guess that one?) and the youngest is Lily Luna. My question: why were none of the Potter children named for Ron or Hermione? Or even Lupin? I did, however, find it charming that dear Luna was so honored.
Draco Malfoy married Daphne Greengrass’s little sister Asteria (two years behind the trio and Malfoy in school; she would have been in Dennis Creevy’s year), and they had Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy (yikes!)
Luna married the grandson of Newt Scamander (author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and they had twins Lorcan and Lysander. Lorcan is an Irish name meaning “little fierce one,” and Lysander is most famously a character in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but also a historical commander of the Spartan fleet in 405 BC.

Wouldn’t a next generation series be great? I want to read more about Albus Severus, and I want to find out if he is sorted into Gryffindor, as he wished. See below for more details on the next carnival.

Random Fandom

Mike Blitz submitted a review of the film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

As I mentioned already, reviews that appear in the carnival must have been written within the time period between the last carnival and the present one. In other words, reviews for this carnival were only accepted if they were written during the latter half of December or first half of January, as Mike’s was. Each month I receive carnival submissions for reviews that not only lack substance (“I saw the movie and liked it, but the book was better.”), but also were written many months ago. Since it is my goal to present readers with new information related to HP, I will not include news or reviews that are older than the previous carnival.

Just for Fun

Are you learning or Italian? A native speaker? Maria Fernandez submitted her post, which shares how you can find HP books in Italian in the U.S.

Thanks to everyone for the submissions! To submit Potterica for the next carnival, use my carnival submission form. Please note the category for which it should be considered. Deadline is 10:00 P.M. Friday, February 15. The next HP carnival will appear Saturday, February 16. Please be careful to read past carnivals before you submit articles to be sure you are not submitting material that has already been included. Also, keep in mind this is a carnival for HP fans, and your posts must be directed toward that audience.

The next edition of the carnival will focus on the next generation: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter; Hugo and Rose Weasley; Victoire, Dominique, and Louis Weasley; Molly (Jr.) and Lucy Weasley; Fred (Jr.) and Roxanne Weasley; Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy; Teddy Lupin; and Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. Please submit only fanart and speculations related to these characters. I would like to see original posts speculating about the personalities, futures, etc. of these characters.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, carnival, J.K. Rowling

Happy Birthday, Professor Snape

Dana — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:08:53 +0000

January 9 is Snape’s birthday. R.I.P., Half-Blood Prince!

Image created by Heather Campbell. View her other spectacular HP art.

Harry Potter Carnival #58

Dana — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:11:54 +0000

Welcome to the 58th Harry Potter Carnival! Before we begin, I would like to remind submitters that I welcome your blog posts and artwork, but blog posts must be made within the month between the posting of the previous carnival and the current one. I would like to provide carnival guests with recent information and news when I can; also, please check to see if news has already been posted in a carnival before submitting it to the next carnival. The best way to be published in the carnival is to be an active reader of it — advice which is true of any other publication.

J.K. Rowling

JKR made news this week as Amazon paid $3.98 million for a copy of her Tales of Beedle the Bard. Amazon is generously sharing information about the tales on its website for fans. I have to admit I would love to be able to read them.

JKR has also been nominated for Morgan Stanley’s “Great Briton Awards” in the Arts category , and Newsweek named DH the “best book of the year.“

Fan Art

This month’s fan artist is =Bilious. Chapter 33 of DH, “The Prince’s Tale,” might be my favorite chapter in the whole series, and I admit I’m a sucker for pictures based on that chapter. Here’s “BFF”:

I really like the cartoon aspect.

Theories and Speculation

JKR updated her website with information about the Elder Wand, Harry and Dudley’s future relationship, exactly what happened when Voldemort cast the Avada Kedavra curse on Harry in DH, and what the mutilated baby Harry saw at King’s Cross was (although any astute reader of GoF should have got that one), thus ending some speculation for readers.

Hermione’s Library

A serious treatment of the similarities between Star Wars and Harry Potter appeared on StarWars.com this past week. I still have a fondness for this one, too:

And of course, this is one of my favorite pictures of all time:

Random Fandom

Ever wonder exactly what Wikipedia is saying about you? Check out their Harry Potter Fandom article.

Just for Fun

Exactly how many students attend Hogwarts? Well, JKR has said repeatedly that she is “bad at maths.”

Thanks to everyone for the submissions! To submit Potterica for the next carnival, use my carnival submission form. Please note the category for which it should be considered. Deadline is 10:00 P.M. Friday, January 18. The next HP carnival will appear Saturday, January 19. Please be careful to read past carnivals before you submit articles to be sure you are not submitting material that has already been included. Also, keep in mind this is a carnival for HP fans, and your posts must be directed toward that audience.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, carnival, J.K. Rowling