There comes a time in a person’s life when they realize, for the first time, that the world is not actually the way they thought it was.  That the picture they had in their mind about how the world works, the rules of the game, are suddenly gone.  It is the end of innocence.  When does this end of innocence occur for Harry, and for the series?  In this week’s show, we discuss when Harry Potter first comes face to face with a picture of the wizarding world that is not what he thought he knew.

In the news:

• Amazon.com bought “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”. Awesome reviews on their website .
• As mentioned before on HP Progs, JK Rowling came in 3rd for Time’s Person of the Year. Better luck next time you finish writing the world’s most popular book series that turned a generation back on to reading and inspired millions of people, Jo.
• JK Rowling gave her Fan Site Award to the Harry Potter Alliance. Next year, HP Progs (assuming that Greg ever writes his thank-you letter).
• New actors announced for minor roles in HBP movie.  Phew. I haven’t been sleeping at night wondering about who would play Marcus Belby.
• Stephen Colbert bested JK Rowling in the AP’s “Celebrity of the Year” .  As a member of “Colbert Nation”, I am happy for Stephen but think this is ridiculous.
• JK Rowling types REALLY fast.  You can see a video of her finishing Deathly Hallows. Thanks, ITV.

We are happy to announce that we will be attending Portus 2008, the Harry Potter symposium which will be held in Dallas, TX from July 10-13, 2008.  We will also be taking part in the Portus Podcast Palooza while we are there.  You may remember what a fantastic time we had at Prophecy 2007-  we hope you can join us this year!!

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Sad to say the triple crown for 2007 honors won’t be happening for JK Rowling.

Time has announced that their 2007 Person of the Year honor will be going to Vladimir Putin.

Al Gore came in as the first runner up, while JK Rowling was the second runner up.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

And that is on top of the impact, even her critics acknowledge, of inspiring a generation of obsessive readers unafraid of fat books and complex plots. “They’re easy to underestimate because of what I call the three Deathly Hallows for academics,” says James Thomas, a professor of English at Pepperdine University. “They couldn’t possibly be good because they’re too recent, they’re too popular, and they’re too juvenile.” But he argues that the books do more than entertain. “They’ve made millions of kids smarter, more sensitive, certainly more literate and probably more ethical and aware of hypocrisy and lust for power. They’ve made children better adults, I think. I don’t know of any books that have worked that kind of magic on so many millions of readers in so short a time in the history of publications.”

It should be noted that Andrew Slack, the Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance
(which in case you aren’t familiar with, is an organization which was created to promote awareness of the Genocide in Darfur- and BTW, HPProgs is the top recruiter for- on their facebook cause right now) was mentioned in the article and there was a nice write-up about the HP Alliance, which runs under the motto, “The weapon we have is love.”

Late last night, via BlogTalkRadio, we had the first ever HPProgs live call-in show.  We were really nervous on a number of accounts: that no one would be listening, that no one would call in, and that it would be difficult.  But, in the end, thanks to all you guys, it went really well!  There was some great discussion, great ideas and we really hope to do it again soon.  Thank you so much to everyone who called in, listened or joined us in the chat room (except for those two guys at the end…whatever).

You can listen to the call-in show with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

The  first ever HPProgs call-in show is set to kick off at 11PM EST this evening, December 15.  Call in and talk to us about whatever you like!  It’s going to be awesome.  In case you’re too shy (or chicken) to verbally engage us, we’re pretty sure you can listen live. 

The call in number is 646.595.4635 for those of you choose to speak to us!!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hpprogs has all the details you’ll need.

As far as preparation goes- we are going to be pretty laid back about the discussion.  We will probably discuss some of the latest HP news- but mostly this will be a listener driven conversation.  So if you have anything you wish to discuss, we will be happy to oblige. 

 We can’t wait to hear from you!! 

The top bidder in the auction for the seventh handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been announced.  It’s Amazon.com!  Amazon has always been one of my favorite companies and web sites (I do all my online shopping there, if I can help it), but this makes them even more awesome.  Not only are they going to take the book on tour so that everyone can get a chance to see it, they are posting copious amounts of information on their web site.  It’s so amazing that Amazon has chosen to share this with so many Potter fans.  Thanks Amazon.

Check out the Amazon page for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and make sure to check back, as Amazon is promising to post additional information, pictures and more.

So…we preordered a copy of the Order of the Phoenix DVD, but it didn’t arrive yet…so, we borrowed a copy so that we could watch the extra features and review them for the podcast but…there were no extras on the copy we borrowed….so instead we just watch a few scenes and offer our comments.  Hope you like it.

Mark you calendars: the first ever HPProgs call-in show is set to kick off at 11PM EST this Saturday, December 15.  Call in and talk to us about whatever you like!  It’s going to be awesome.  In case you’re too shy (or chicken) to verbally engage us, we’re pretty sure you can listen live.  The call in number is 646.595.4635, check out the call-in page for more details.

Looking for the perfect holiday present for a Harry Potter fan?  Why stuff their stockings with a Harry Potter t-shirt from the HPProgs T-shirt store.  It’ll guaruntee a Happy Christmas.

In the news:

• Jim Dale was nominated for a Grammy.  “Oh Hareeeeeeee!”
• JK Rowling is Barbara Walter’s Most Fascinating Person of 2007.  Let’s hope she wins the Triple Crown.
• The trio actors will be featured on Biography’s “Potter Kids” documentary.  Not to be confused with the “Cosby Kids”.
• Several HP actors have been nominated for Theatregoer’s Choice Awards.  Well done.  Well done.
• Tim Roth as Snape?  Say it aint so!!!!
• Dan says HBP movie is set to be the funniest of the Potter series.  Yeah, I always found the scene where Dumbledore  died funny.  Didn’t you?
• Happy Birthday Charlie Weasley.  Did you have a party for Charlie?  I did.  In my mind (quote from HP Progs listener David E.).
• JK Rowling has updated her site with some good new info.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

This deserves its own news post.

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — J.K. Rowling’s handwritten book of fairy tales sold for 1.95 million pounds ($3.98 million) at a London charity sale.

Sotheby’s top estimate for “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” one of seven copies made after Rowling finished her last Harry Potter book, was 50,000 pounds. The money will go to the Children’s Voice, a charity co-founded by Rowling and Emma Nicholson, a member of the U.K. House of Lords.

The buyer was Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, an old-master dealership with many collector clients, Sotheby’s said.

Continue Reading Article

 Wow.  Wow, wow, wow.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has reinvigorated a generation and turned them on to reading. But what to read when the battle against Lord Voldemort is at an end? One of the more popular answers is Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy; the first installment, The Golden Compass, has been adapted to film and hits theaters this month. In this week’s episode, we take a closer look at Pullman’s series, and how it compares to Rowling’s novels, as well as other novels geared towards youths and placed in a fantastic setting.

Joining us on this week’s episode is Travis Prinzi, proprietor of SwordOfGryffindor.com. Travis’ background in philosophy and literature were especially enlightening in this discussion.

Here is a link to the interview that Travis mentioned on the show: Phillip Pullman and Peter Chataway, an award-winning Christian film critic.
In the news:

• JK Rowling talked about Multiple Sclerosis on “Your Total Health”.
• The Potter actors (not Chris Rankin) are on ANOTHER Forbes list.

You can listen to this podcast with the player below, or download an mp3 directly.