Universal Orlando has just sent us some brand new concept art of the book store, Dervish and Banges which will be found in the village of Hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (set to open in 2010)!

Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Website (http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/?__source=email.hp.2009.02.24) for more details!

“TODAY Australia” gave HP fans some new and exciting footage of the Half Blood Prince movie.  Take a look!

(Hat Tip: The HogsHead)

Welcome back. We actually recorded an HP Progs podcast!!! In this week’s episode, we talked about Dumbledore’s self loathing behaviors. Specifically those that were evidenced at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as well as in Dumbledore’s commentary at the end of Beedle the Bard.  We talked about the anguish that Dumbledore must had to make him feel so horribly about himself and we also talked about how this related to his relationship with Harry. We hope you enjoy this topic and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

In other news, please remember to enter “The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Survivor” contest for Azkatraz 2009. It is going to be great!

Also, please check out our listener and friend, Michal’s youtube channel. She did a phenomenal job narrating “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” in a fantastaic British accent. We now know that we should have hired her to play JK Rowling in our re-enactment of the JKR/SVA trial.

As we mentioned, you can now check out the Smart Mouth’s Podcast, which is our new podcast endeavor with some of the Mugglecast Crew.  This is a general news/entertainment/politics podcast and we hope you will enjoy it!

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

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments, thoughts, and suggestions about this latest episode of HPProgs.

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

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Hey everyone!! Since we have started HP Progs, we have talked about doing podcasts on other subjects as well. We even had a podcast for the TV show, “The Wire” for a few weeks. Well, we would like to announce that we have collaborated with the people who bring you Mugglecast to do a GENERAL news, entertainment and pop culture podcast.  This has been a long time in the making and it is part (and I need to stress the word PART) of the reason HP Progs hasn’t been out in a while.

Anyway, we have just released our Pilot Episode- we don’t even have a name yet. Do us a favor and check it out and please send in your feedback to us at pilotpodcast@gmail.com.  Remember, it is just a pilot so we haven’t tweeked it completely yet.

I also must stress that this is an explicit podcast. Meaning if language and mature content offends you, please don’t listen.

You can find the podcast at: http://tinyurl.com/bjpqgj  You will need to hit subscribe and then the feed for the episode will show up on your own iTunes podcast page.

Thank you so much for your continued support! Happy listening!

-Penny and Greg

p.s. We have guests lined up for the next HP Progs and we couldn’t be happier to interview them on a great topic!  That will hopefully recorded soon.

HPEF announced some VERY exciting news today:

The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Survivor

Do you have what it takes to be the next Potter Podcast Idol? Have you ever listened to your favorite podcast and thought, “I can do that!” – Well here’s your chance! HPEF and MuggleCast are proud to present The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Survivor – a contest and endeavor to make the next great Harry Potter podcast. Individuals will audition on YouTube for our panel of judges by March 15, 2009, and the top 5 will be chosen to make the new podcast. Guided by our judges, the winners will go through all the steps necessary to make a successful podcast, like giving it a name, making the website, defining roles for each host, editing the podcast, finding theme music, and much more. The entire process will be documented on HPEF Presents (the official podcast of HPEF), MuggleCast, and YouTube. The winners will get the chance to podcast live from AZKATRAZ this July in San Francisco at the Podcast Palooza on Monday, July 20, and a Libsyn account to host your podcast, courtesy of MuggleCast. Here are all the details:

Part 1: Auditions:

If you think you have what it takes to be the next Potter podcasting star, then you’ve got to audition of course! Post your audition reel to YouTube with the title HPEF The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Contest – (insert your name here ) by March 15, 2009, to be eligible for the contest. You MUST be registered for AZKATRAZ to enter the contest (otherwise, you couldn’t be at the Palooza!). You must be at least 14 years of age to enter. Those under the age of 18 as of July 18, 2009, must email us a copy of the notarized chaperone form you must submit when registering. After posting your YouTube video, email us at pr@hp2009.org with a link to your video. You must also include the following information: Real Name (not your fandom name), age, email, and phone.

Part 2: Announcing the winners:

A panel of judges (consisting of hosts from the podcasts HPEF Presents and MuggleCast) will choose the top 5 audition tapes and announce the winners on a special edition of HPEF Presents.

Part 3: Making the Podcast

Once the winners are chosen, the work begins! At this point, the hosts will work with our judges to name the podcast, define their individual roles, make a website, come up with a theme song, design the format of the show, come up with new and exciting content, record & edit a first show, promote their show, and much more!

Part 4: The Big Tamale

Finally our new podcasters will have the chance to get their feet wet; there’s no time to waste, so they’ll jump right in! The culmination of this contest will, of course, be recording a live podcast at AZKATRAZ’s Podcast Palooza event this summer. Having worked with the judges for months in preparation for this event, the Podcasters will put on a live podcast by themselves in front of the entire AZKATRAZ conference. We will see if this podcast can become the next great Harry Potter podcast! For questions, please email us at pr@hp2009.org.

We can finally see some of the official Half Blood Prince Movie Posters and they are NICE!

Tell us what you think of the posters!

(Hat tip: A.S. of MN)