We’ve started to have this conversation many times over the span of HPProgs. Do the Harry Potter books get ruined or spoiled because of the movies? Does it hurt our reading imagination to be able to visualize the books based on the film makers’ choices? Are there any characters who were either ruined for us or made popular BECAUSE of the movies (Snape, anyone?). Can someone be considered a true Potter fan if they have only seen the movies?  Join us as we answer and discuss these questions and more in Episode #96 of HPProgs!!

Also, check out the links we mentioned on this week’s episode:

• Candy Bar Lab : A blog exclusively about candy bars. They track down candy bars from around the world and write thoughtful, in-depth reviews with pictures.
• collativelearning.com: An incredible film review website. Make sure to check it out, it is brilliant!!

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Hey guys. Just wanted to say hi. First of all, BIG, HUGE Thank You to everyone who commented after episode 95. It was great to see some new names as well as hear from some of our old favorite listeners again!

Things have been pretty busy around here. Greg and I are both dealing with some job related stuff and between that and regular life, we haven’t had a chance to sit down together to come up with and record Episode 96 yet. We hope to record within the next few days or so, but in the meantime, I wanted you all to know that we are still around, still reading comments, and still interrupting each other any chance we can.

If for some reason you are REALLY missing your HPProgs, I recommend going back and listening to some old episodes, that is always fun. And if you want something different, I joined the folks over at Mugglecast again for their latest episode, 166. We had a really interesting discussion and the episode should be up over the next couple of days. I am going to be a semi-regular contributor over there so you can now get a double dose of me! (How lucky for you. *Insert Sarcasm Here*)

Like I said before, we hope to record sometime over the next few days. Talk to you soon and in the meantime, Keep On Prognosticating! Oh, and Happy Holidays to all!!

-Penny:)

If it weren’t enough that Half Blood Prince is going to be screened at an Imax theater, or that there will be an awesome “Masters of Harry Potter” Business track, or that the formal and academic programming will be amazing, the folks at Azkatraz 2009 have made another VERY exciting announcement:

In conjunction with HP Alliance, HPEF is taking wizard rock into San Francisco Bay on Friday, July 17, 2009 with WROCK AROUND THE ROCK, a four-hour cruise featuring wrock, games, and a Magical/Muggle tour of Alcatraz from the water.

There will be food, an open bar (three hour open bar with alcohol available for a small additional fee), and music from Brian from the Draco Malfoys, The Remus Lupins, The Whomping Willows, The House of Black, Ministry of Magic and more!

Also, we’ll have one deck on the yacht that’s music-free, with space for games, conversation and, of course, food!

If you want to see all of the information about the cruise, go to the Azkatraz 2009 website for the details.

You can register for Azkatraz 2009 here. (Remember to write hpprogs in the referral section.)

We can’t wait to meet you at Azkatraz. And in the meantime, keep on wrocking (and prognosticating)!

The mp3 of JK Rowling’s Harvard Commencement speech came on to my iTunes as I was shuffling through the library.  I have spoken before about how much this speech touched me and how it is full of wonderful lessons for people of all ages. When listening again just now, I came to the following portion:

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

I can’t help but compare this to the lesson taught in the Beedle the Bard Story, “The Hairy Heart.” The Moral of the story is that if you don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable you will never truly live. The wizard in the story specifically closed his heart away and he was never able to love or live properly and his heart ended up becoming something of a beast- killing his one chance at love.  As I mentioned on the last podcast, I think that the moral of this story can be compared to the song, “The Rose” by Bette Midler. After hearing JK Rowling’s Harvard commencement speech again I can only be even *more* certain of this.

Here are the lyrics that sum up this story best in my opinion:

It’s the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken…
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

Failure and vulnerability are hard lessons to deal with.  However, I agree with JK Rowling (and Bette Midler) that unless you try, and even if you open yourself up to the possibility of failure, you will never truly live.

Warner Brothers has released  a press release to officially announce the premiere of the international tour of  Harry Potter: the Exhibition.  It will be opening in Chicago on April 30th, 2009 at the Museum of Science and Industry:

“We are proud to present this unique exhibition, which captures the magic of Harry Potter and will give fans of all ages a front row seat to some of the most iconic artifacts and scenic elements from the beloved films,” said Brad Globe, President, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “We are pleased to debut this very special exhibit in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry.”

“Since 2000, when we began production on the adaptation of the first of Jo Rowling’s remarkable books, we have had the great privilege of working with some of the most talented artists and craftsman in the world,” said David Heyman, the producer of the Harry Potter films. “We are delighted that fans will finally have the opportunity to see, in person, some of their favorite props and costumes. We are looking forward to audiences enjoying the care, creativity and attention to detail involved in their making, just as we do each and every day on set.”

Tickets are on sale now at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s website.

(Thanks to HPANA for the “Breaking” Tip!)

UPDATE: Here is a link to the video from the announcement in Chicago. (HT: Questionswork)

The historic Ziegfeld Theater in New York City will be having a Harry Potter Marathon from December 19 through December 24!

The movies will be playing at different times throughout the 5 days and tickets can be purchased now!

I will be in NY then to see several HP Actors in a certain play….I might have to check this out!!

(hat tip to Fandom Fashionista)

A lot has been going on since Beedle came out last week. Here’s what we’ve got:

• Cinemablend.com reports that there is a possibility that Warner Brothers is looking into turning The Tales of Beedle the Bard into a movie. Could be interesting, but I don’t see it happening.
• The Telegraph has reported that Beedle has become the fastest selling book of 2008:” It has sold almost five times as many copies in its first few days after publication as its nearest rival, Guinness World Records 2008.
  The success of the 109-page collection of short stories, which Rowling did not originally intend for publication, underlines the powerful hold she continues to exert over readers – and the book industry.
  The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.”
• Beedle the Bard has taken the Number One spot on USA Today’s Best Seller List

All of these news items are exciting to hear. Once again, these pieces of news beckon us to ask how a brand new complete book or series by JK Rowling would fair. I think we can assume, pretty well.

If you thought there were no more Harry Potter books…THINK AGAIN! We got our hands on The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and made our way through it just about as quickly as possible. The first thing we did, of course, was sit down and put a podcast together.  There’s really not much else to say, just download and listen already (but watch out: this podcast is full of spoilers)!

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

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

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Reuters is reporting that JK Rowling published “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” (which is available to purchase today) because of fan demand.

“The idea actually came from you, by which I mean Harry Potter fans,” Rowling told around 200 primary school children gathered at Edinburgh’s Parliament Hall for a tea party that officially launched Beedle the Bard.
“There was quite a lot of high feeling from Harry Potter fans that only someone who had two million pounds could afford to read the book. I thought ‘fair point’, so I thought ‘I’ll publish it and then the charity can have that money too’.”

I wonder if we can get her to publish an eighth Harry Potter book too?!?

This is just a friendly reminder to all of you that Beedle the Bard has officially come out!! I haven’t picked my copy up yet but I will be going to  Barnes and Noble soon to get it.

We can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on the book. Please feel free to leave comments or send us emails to let us know what you think!!

Penny

p.s. If you are getting Beedle from Barnes and Noble, make sure to give them the HPEF Book Fair Code so you can help a great Non Profit organization out!!