I get nostalgic for Canon Snape sometimes, considering the ways people spin his character on the forums or feel the need to spread the Snape-Hate around. Luckily many artists understand book-Snape perfectly because they aren't in denial about what actually happens in Deathly Hallows.  

Edited to Add: I intended this post to be some quick escapist fan art, and didn't realize I was expressing myself so badly.

After reading many of your comments, I realize that my view of Canon Snape may be somewhat different from the norm.  I was actually referring to people who hate Snape's character in general and are stuck in the past around PoA when his character still seemed like a cardboard villain. I talk to people like that every day on the forums.  They want to dwell on the dark side of his character rather than the redeemed man he became by the end of the series (with apologies to Mary J ~ we'll have to agree to disagree on that fact).

I don't know why fans of "Dark Snape" have a monopoly on the term "Canon Snape." I disagree with their view of Snape in the canon because I don't think of "Canon Snape" as just mean and cunning, and I shouldn't have used such a charged phrase. To me that is what Snape haters say when they accuse Snape fans of glossing over his faults - that we are missing Canon Snape and only seeing a romantic hero.

BUT ~ ( Read more... )

These are some pictures from DeviantArt that have touched me lately. Follow the links to see more from each artist. And of course, all these are much better seen at full size, so check that out also. The first one especially may be one of the best fan art pics ever done. Cheers to Vizen for her brilliant use of color, the blurry plaid on McGonagall's clothing, thhe sense of humor, Dumbledore's cocktail glass with a tiny umbrella, and Snape's spectacular nose.

Pictured Intensive for those on dial-up. No Slash.

 

The Snape-Haters say they see him that way, but in reality they want to believe Harry's view of his least-favorite teacher. There's a guy I know who continually says that Snape "whipped" Harry with a lash and pushed him to the ground at the end of HBP just for the enjoyment of it. I don't see that at all - but it's the allegedly the same canon.

So to me, Canon Snape is the guy in the books with his many faults and his good points. In my opinion, he is a sympathetic character by the end of the series, and not just a baddie or a mean old schoolteacher. He's a well-rounded character, and a very complex character, which is why we are still talking about him years later.
 

~~Willy at fourteen was a caring child, an absent-minded dreamer. That’s how it all began because he had been given the Book of Secrets with directions as to his initiation into Wizardry.

~~The great hall of Napoleon’s Castle revealed a dramatic scene. There were wizards everywhere. Willy gulped. There right across the hall just above their cone hats was a large white banner printed in giant letters, ‘IT IS FORBIDDEN TO CAST SPELLS WHILE YOU VISIT THIS CASTLE. THE PENALTY FOR THE THOUGHT...’
There were wizards of all races. Chinese, with massive Mandarin hats beautifully hand painted with peasant scenes. Black and brown wizards from the Ivory Coast and Delhi. Willy wondered. Until now he’d never realised the immensity of the Wizard brotherhood. He was frightened at the power it could muster.

~~Willy had been on Cloud 84 which was for Wizard Chess Players.
These were pullman-like trains made of see-through platinum, and inside the trains were chess rooms. Willie was handicapped 18. There were Wizard Chess Masters who were virtually unbeatable. Willie had made a daring move. He didn’t want to watch his opponent’s response and his mind wandered at the moment that Angel Sandy had tapped violently on the train window....

( More Quotes and Pictures Under the Cut... )

The allegations of plagiarism made today, Monday 15 June 2009, by the Estate of Adrian Jacobs are unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue,"

"Both Willy and Harry are required to work out the exact nature of the main task of the contest which they both achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers, in order to discover how to rescue human hostages imprisoned by a community of half-human, half-animal fantasy creatures," the estate statement said.

"It is alleged that all of these are concepts first created by Adrian Jacobs in Willy the Wizard, some 10 years before J.K. Rowling first published any of the Harry Potter novels and 13 years before Goblet of Fire was published."

According to the statement, Jacobs had sought the services of literary agent Christopher Little who later became Rowling's agent. Jacobs died "penniless" in a London hospice in 1997, it said.

He allegedly sent the manuscript to Christopher Little, the literary agent at Bloomsbury Publishing who went on to represent Miss Rowling, but it was rejected.
Instead his book was published by a smaller company under the title The Adventures Of Willy The Wizard No 1: Livid Land.

Mr Jacobs, who lost all his money in a stock market crash in 1991, died in 1997, so did not live to see the Harry Potter books' success.

But his estate - which includes his son and grandson - now claims Miss Rowling's fourth book, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, was plagiarised.

In both books, the boy wizard competes in a magic contest. The lawsuit also notes both have the boys trying to rescue human hostages held by half-human creatures from a bathroom. Shared references to a wizard train and a wizard prison are also part of the allegations.
Legal proceedings have been issued at the High Court against Bloomsbury, and the Jacobs estate also says it will file a lawsuit against Miss Rowling.

The estate is also seeking an injunction to prevent further sales of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, and damages or a share in the book's profits.

                                 

Thanks to lunas_ceiling for letting me know that she got her copy of Harry Potter Should Have Died in the mail today! And she took pictures!!!  

Mugglenet's Harry Potter Should Have Died
Pre-Order it on Amazon
Read the Back Cover Here

"So if you have both a pulse and at least a modicum of knowledge of the
Harry Potter books, we’ll be very disappointed if, upon reading some of our
verdicts, you’re not inspired to challenge us to a duel or something."

My friend   bohemianspirit   showed me a developing story over on the Zenhabits blog.
 
It seems that the blogger, Leo Babauta, had used the phrase "Feel the fear but do it anyway" as the title of a post, and was then served with a Cease and Desist email from the attorneys of a writer who has that phrase trademarked as the title of a book. Unbelievable. He had never heard of her book, nor was he quoting her, but she wanted him to put a trademark symbol beside the words and a disclaimer that she was granting him "permission" under the title.
 
Zenhabits: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway or The Privatizaion of the English Language

bohemianspirit and I left comments over there. There are alot of comments, pro and con, but mostly in favor of the blogger.


UPDATE: Lots and Lots of bloggers are picking up this story. Techdirt even gave me credit for sending them the story - wow! I didn't expect that.

Techdirt: Using Trademark To 'Privatize The English Language' from the did-you-(R)-that? dept

Jeanne sent in news of yet another overly aggressive trademark claim, this time on a blogger who just so happened to use the phrase "feel the fear and do it anyway" in a blog post.

. . . trademark law is only supposed to apply to use in commerce, and it seems like a stretch to claim the blog post is use in commerce (though, since the blog has ads, the lawyers might disagree). However, the fact that the use of the phrase seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the book again raises questions about how this could possibly be considered confusing or dilutive of the mark. Either way, Barbauta makes a point we've been trying to make here for a long, long time...

Andrew writes: ...Susan Jeffers holds a federal trademark registration for “FEEL THE FEAR…AND DO IT ANYWAY.” She actually owns several registration for that precise trademark, for different goods and services.

The main trademark registration at question here is probably registration # 3338961 for these specified services: Education services, namely conducting seminars, workshops and training programs both in person and online, and the production of video and television programs in the field of psychology, spirituality, personal development and self improvement.

But the real question is: How did Leo use the trademark? He wrote a blog post that used the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyway” deep within the content.

Here’s the key: Leo didn’t use the phrase as a trademark. Susan Jeffers doesn’t own the exclusive right to “feel the fear…and do it anyway.” She just owns the right to use that phrase as a trademark on certain goods and services.

" They already enjoy huge tax-free earnings from their creative writing. Now the popularity of Cecelia Ahern, Marian Keyes and Maeve Binchy in public libraries means they will each earn a windfall of up to €8,000 from the state this year.

Details of the first full month of a new scheme that rewards authors when their books are loaned from public libraries include payments for such bestselling international writers as J K Rowling and Francesca Simon of Horrid Henry fame.

Under the Public Lending Remuneration scheme (PLR), introduced at the start of this year, authors who register and who live in the European Economic Area are entitled to a payment each time their works are borrowed. Some 1m books are loaned each month from Ireland’s 358 libraries.

According to the list for January, the Offical Driver Theory Test is the most sought after but the Road Safety Authority, which produces the guide, will not benefit as state publications do not count. This Charming Man by Keyes was the second most popular, with Binchy’s Heart and Soul next and Someone Special by Sheila O’Flanagan in fourth, ahead of Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

... Binchy said many bestselling authors donate their cheques to charity but they remain an important incentive. “It’s only fair that if hundreds of people borrow your book, you get paid,” she said. “It’s especially important for those who don’t get huge sales. When you see that PLR written on an envelope your heart soars because it’s never bad news. It’s confirmation people are reading your books.”

• Saturday, April 18 @ 11AM
Borders, N1 Shopping Centre
Parkfield St., Islington, London
Tel: 0207 226 3602

• Saturday, April 18 @ 3:30PM
Borders
9 Magdalen St., Oxford
Tel: 01865 203901

• Tuesday, April 21 @ 5:30PM
Borders, Clifton Promenade
48-56 Queens Rd.
Bristol, BS8 1RE
Tel: 0117 9226959

• Wednesday, April 22 @ 6PM
Borders, Bullring Shopping Centre
Birmingham, B5 4BE
Tel: 0121 616 1094

• Thursday, April 23 @ 6PM
Borders
12-13 Market St.
Cambridge
Tel: Helen Stickney, 01223 306188

• Friday, April 24 @ 6PM
Blackwells Bookshop
52-63 South Bridge
Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 622 8222

• Saturday, April 25 @ 1PM
Borders, Fort Kinnaird Retail Park
Newcraighall Road, Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 657 4041

From Duke University Libraries Blog

Falzone will talk about these cases and the importance of fair use for scholars and universities in a talk at Duke on MARCH 2, 2009 in the Schiciano Auditorium (Fitzpatrick CIEMAS engineering building) at 5 pm. He will emphasis that fair use is vital in higher education not only to prevent copyright from stifling scholarship but also to support free speech and academic freedom.

His lecture is entitled “From James Joyce To Harry Potter And John Lennon: The Impact Of Fair Use On Scholarship And Free Expression.” A reception will follow.

This event is open to the whole Duke community, but it is especially relevant for scholars and teachers who rely on fair use to create their own scholarship or to distribute scholarly works to students and colleagues, as well as to those interested in the role of free speech in the academy.

...Falzone’s lecture will be repeated at UNC Chapel Hill on March 3 at 5:30 pm in the Wilson Library. These events are jointly sponsored by UNC University Library, Duke University Libraries, UNC’s Center for Media Law and Policy, and Triangle Research Libraries Network.

Fair Use Held Hostage by ABC-Disney

( Read more... )


So what are the lessons to be learned here? Many media companies want to assert their copyright privileges beyond legal limits - not for petty cash, but for petty power. They aim to establish the precedent that they are in control, regardless of their legal standing. I’d guess the last thing ABC-Disney would want is to sue me or OUP over the frame grabs, as a loss in court would firmly establish the limits of their claims (and an unlikely win would yield little in revenue anyway). What they really want is bully power, the ability to make outsiders assume that rights holders also hold all the power. Unfortunately because the book was already in press, we had to yield - if we were able to, both my editor and I wanted to swap out the cover Lost image to avoid having to pay for the frame grabs that we had the right to use, thereby implying that fair use did not apply.

I've been out of things with a bad cold this holiday weekend, so I missed alot of news! So I'm putting all the news I could find into this one post 

This is long so all of it is under the cut.
 

( Quotes Are Here ~ SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )