Defense Against the Dork Arts

I was going to go ultra-geek and compose a Harry Potter themed post after M and I go and see Order of the Phoenix tomorrow evening, but I got a little antsy and decided to do it earlier. We're also mulling over the possibility of attending a themed book-sale party at the B&N bookstore on the corner by where I work in downtown, but I'm on the fence. Being stuck in a very small space surrounded by Potterphiles - many of whom might decide to go in costume - until midnight? I'll have to think about it. Besides - if I don't have a babysitter, it's not something I'd want to drag my son to.

As anyone who has been alive in the last ten years knows, there are countless websites devoted to J.K. Rowling's books - the themes, the symbolism, and the development of the characters themselves. J.K. herself (or Jo, as some of the fans call her...but not me) has a site where you can find a lot of information about the author and her inspiration for the books, as well as hidden goodies and answers to questions. There is the UK site for the Warner Brothers release of Phoenix, which I like a lot, as well as the US site for the release (check out the Dark Mark section for some desktop wall papers and I had fun with the 20Q game in the Daily Prophet section - it guessed what I was thinking in 16 questions). MSN also has a section of their website devoted not only to Phoenix, but links to information on the previous movies, as well. Scholastic has a section of their website devoted to the whole book series.
And that brings us to the fan sites. There are too many to list here, so I'll stick to the most user-friendly and most popular of the lot (most of these are highlighted in the fan site area of Rowling's website, as well). The first two are The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet. Both are great resources for main-stream news stories about the Harry Potter movies and books, on one site. There is also the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator, and Veritaserum, but I can't say I'm much of a fan of the layouts of both of those. One of my favorite sites is The Harry Potter Lexicon (also known just as "The Lexicon"). It may not look like much at first, but it's a great resource for all things related to the Harry Potter world. There's a spell encyclopedia, a beastiary, pages of information about famous wizards and witches and a visitor's guide to Hogwarts. Immeritus is for fan-girls with a serious thing for Sirius Black. I'm a Remus Lupin chick, myself, but you don't see me going around making a website for that! Although I did find a tidbit from there that said producers are casting for the characters of Lavendar Brown and Tom Riddle for the next movie - and in the latter case, different actors to play He-Who-Would-Be-Voldemort at different ages, if they stick to the timeline of the book. Another site I found that was very helpful in navigating J.K. Rowling's website was Potters Keys - I would never have been able to open the door to the Room of Requirement without some of the helpful tips located there. And of course, as with everything now, there's a Wikipedia page, and a Harry Potter Wiki, as well (and, no - they are not the same thing!). There's another interesting fan site devoted to breaking down the possible meanings of the names Rowling devised for the characters. The fan site Harry Potter Facts is full of information and a lot of speculation, but don't go there unless you are okay with possible spoilers and a lot of red herrings - not only about what is to come, but also about some things that have been. Last, but certainly not least, assert that you are fighting for the just cause by joining Dumbledore's Army.

And if you haven't already, read the books! They aren't "just for kids", especially once you get to Prisoner of Azkaban (so far my - and M's - favorite of the series). The movies aren't bad, although a lot of "filler" has to get cut to pare the storyline down, and sometimes little things get lost in the translation - of course this happens in all book-to-film adapatations, so it's to be expected. The acting has improved and the overall pace of the movies has picked up, even as the plot has gotten progressively darker and more "adult". I expect there will be an update to this post sometime on Sunday after I've seen Phoenix - it looks promising, and most of the reviews have been pretty good. Entertainment Weekly has an "Ultimate Potter Wiki" on their site...as well as something I need - a guide on how to handle your strange Daniel Radcliffe crush. And in my case, I do need help. I can't go having inappropriate reactions to underage actors. It's creepy. I need a support group.

But if you missed Daniel on Jay Leno the other night (like I did), this one's for you:



And then there's this (creepy factor = 10.5)



UPDATE: He turns 18 on July 23rd. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. I just pre-ordered Deathly Hallows from Amazon today. And I plan on avoiding the internet next weekend - entirely. M and I enjoyed Phoenix - I liked it better than any of the films so far. The acting has improved tremendously, much of the dialogue seemed more natural and less stilted, Imelda Staunton (did I just mangle her name - I think I did...) was nearly perfect as Umbridge, and some of the scenes were just...I don't have words for it. I caught myself holding my breath a couple of times. The opening sequences were very unexpected, and the flashbacks were a welcome surprise. After the movie, M and I sat and talked about the differences between the book and the movie (and our various theories about R.A.B., what are the final horcruxes, and about a hundred other little mysteries from the first six books) for about an hour and a half on Saturday night. It's kind of weird that I got into the series so late, and now it's almost at an end.