aredwitch

I have a very strong view and my view --
4 my view is that it is analogous to me making a cake and that in
5 the creation of this Lexicon, all the plums in my cake, as it
6 were. . .

I believe that
13 the contents of those books have been plundered

From Cendali's Summation:

It's incentivizing people who write about Harry
24 Potter to take less, to not just copy, as Ms. Rowling, once
25 again, eloquently put it, not taking the plums in her cake or

1 cherry-picking out the adorable wonderful clever things about
2 it and selling in her own. Not taking her plums; so taking
3 less, but doing more

She compared this taking of her work to plundering all of the “plums in [her]
cake.” (Tr. (Rowling) at 647:3-6).

aredwitch

"DE(DavidEnglish) did the judge really write that SVA 'plundered' JKR and stolen her 'plums'? That sounds so out of place in a legal document, I have to go back and read it again. It sounds so suggestive. Who knew that a legal judgement could be so sexy?

Steve has put up a link on the Lexicon's "What's New" page for ordering the book ~ HERE

Kristin Devoe: Daily Prophet ~ HP Lexicon to be Published Jan. 12th!
MatthewHolm: Harry Potter Lexicon Dispute Concludes with Worst Book Title Ever
Stanford Fair Use: Anthony Falzone ~ Lexicon Resurrected

( Original News Links Here )

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that can occur in groups of people. Rather than critically evaluating information, the group members begin to form quick opinions that match the group consensus. Groupthink seems to occur most often when a respected or persuasive leader is present, inspiring members to agree with his or her opinion. Groupthink is sometimes positive but is more often seen in a negative light, particularly in the United States and other countries that value individual opinion. Mass hysteria can be seen as an extreme example of groupthink.
http://phobias.about.com/od/glossary/g/groupthinkdef.htm

Steve has put up a link on the Lexicon's "What's New" page for ordering the book ~ HERE

Stanford Fair Use: Anthony Falzone ~ Lexicon Resurrected
Baby Blue on Shell Cottage: The Best of All Worlds ~ The HP Lexicon Will be Published ~ Finally
E-Online: Muggles Beware: Rogue Harry Potter Publisher Back on the Loose!
Publisher's Weekly: RDR Drops Rowling Appeal; Has New Book
Bluestocking has an Inklings News Alert Podcast on her blog now.
Muskegon Chronicle 12-5 ~ Publisher will issue Harry Potter Lexicon
Muskegon Chronicle 12-5 ~ Cutlerville Native Pens Second Harry Potter Reference

 Leaky Cauldron 12-4-08  Publisher RDR Books voluntarily withdrew its appeal in the RDR Books vs. WB/JKR case concerning the publication of an unauthorized Harry Potter encyclopedia. The publisher is working on releasing a version of the book in question that complies with the judge's ruling, which indicated that the original book copied heavily from the Harry Potter books. There was no settlement in the case.

The Christopher Little Agency released the following statement today:
"...We are also pleased to hear that rather than continue to litigate, RDR have themselves decided to publish a different book prepared with reference to Judge Patterson's decision."

It might be nice if the Potter Puppet Pals did a reenactment of the case with Snape as SVA, Hermione as Jo, Fudge as RDR, McGonagall as Dale Cendali, Lucius Malfoy as Falzone/Hammer, and Dumbledore as Judge Patterson. "What's that ticking sound? Oh, it's a Cease & Desist letter. Just ignore it and it'll go away." *BOOM*

Ironically, what Madden dubs podcasting's "democratic reach" also could be its downfall.

"Because of the ease of doing it, a lot of people will wind up doing it who don't have talent and don't have anything particular to say," agrees DJ Paul Bruno, 30, a self-proclaimed "rock snob" from Shore Acres who incorporated a podcast into his "Unblinking Ear" music blog six months ago.

In short, without enforced quality standards, the rambling results (sometimes three hours in length) are often more fun for the D.I.Y. crowd making them than the people listening on their iPod.

But then again, duds come and go in every artistic medium, points out onetime Annadale resident Melissa Anelli, 28, co-founder of Pottercast, a J.K. Rowling-endorsed show dedicated to the "Harry Potter" book and film franchise.

"It's the same thing as free market competition. If you're better, the cream will rise," says Anelli, a former Advance reporter whose program rates 30,000 to 40,000 downloads per episode. "That happens in television. That happens in theater."

While big audiences -- and profits -- are still a dream for indie operators like "Degocast," "Pottercast" has attracted sponsors since six months after it debuted in August 2005. Still, that revenue isn't paying anybody's rent, says Anelli, webmistress of The-Leaky-Cauldron.org, the parent site of "Pottercast." The offshoot only brings in as much as 5 percent of the site's revenue.

"It's a nice cushion. We're able to afford a new mic when somebody's mic breaks," says Anelli, whose current sponsor is Audible Inc., a division of Amazon.com, that sells digital audio editions of books, newspapers and magazines.

My friend Bluestocking has posted some new enlightening essays for your summer reading pleasure:

It Ain't Libel If It's True!

and . . .


Copyright Through the Annals of Time, Part One

Yes it all started with the fabled "book curse."


Let's take a trip to the "Lego Hogwarts Library" shall we? I've never heard Madam Pince sound so convincing (and alot like Norman Bates' mother from Psycho):

First of all, since some of you are sick of Fandom, I've got a video first for a change. You can watch it and then walk away if you like. This is for all my friends, old and new, but especially my friend

corvus_coronis

*Now 100% Complete with extra Boring stuff in Blue* so Anonymous people won't think I'm leaving out important facts 
(I didn't listen beyond the end of this, nor am I ever going to, thanks.) 

The other day, I posted a comment from the writer Karen Brown, author of Prejudice in Harry Potter. I had originally seen the comment on Kristin Devoe's Daily Prophet blog, and I posted it Here in a discussion of Tim Wu's New Yorker Article.

I did not know Ms. Brown, but I wrote an e-mail to her inviting her to comment further, which she did. I never meant to drag her into a huge controversy or cause problems for her in any way, and I am so sorry. I have quoted dozens of bloggers in the past few months to show different views, and several of them have decided to comment here with no drama.  

I was just trying to give a balanced view of the case, since I have been criticized for my own bias. I felt that Ms. Brown had a refreshing view, since she is a fan and supporter of J. K. Rowling, but was wishing that fandom would tone down their criticism of Steve Vander Ark and let the legal system decide the fate of his book.

But due to unfortunate things that have been said in the past few days, Ms. Brown has been drawn into some accusations and threats, both public and private. She feels her statement is being misconstrued and her views distorted. This has caused her a great deal of distress, and she decided to state her own view in a public setting.  Therefore Karen has put out a Press Release:

Caught on the Wrong Side of Harry Potter Fandom 

lunas_ceiling

( Calling a Spade a Spade )

Tonight an interesting encounter on Leaky in which Melissa accused the poster kbnthomas of being Karen Brown, and demanded a retraction of the comment posted above.  About the deletions - many people who support Steve Vander Ark have been deleted on Leaky.  I don't see how we can "prove" that now, since the posts are, by definiton, gone.  If Melissa wants to open up her logs for a day and let us see the names of the people deleted in the past three months, that might convince me, so I would urge her to "prove" that we haven't been deleted.

"Unsurprisingly, the fan reaction has been visceral, in all sorts of directions. I particularly like being compared to Rita Skeeter. Obviously there is much more I would have liked to have put in - there were hours of interviews, and great contributions from Sheryll Townsend that were cut in their entirely to my dismay. But overall the thrust of the article was to describe the feud over Steven Vanderark in fandom, and his punishment therein.

Ironically, the article itself seems to have led to even more feuding in fandom.
Melissa Anelli in particular feels she has been misrepresented; though I am not sure I see why. Briefly, I mention and quote language to the effect that her and other leaders in fandom have been strong supporters of Rowling, and tough on Steve Vander Ark. This no one can deny. It is also true that Anelli herself has a good relationship with Rowling, and is writing a book, on fandom, with her blessing. These are the facts - and I didn’t refer to her as having mushroom hair, so she ought be happy.

Perhaps I will end with a para that was cut from the piece that seems to capture things:

Sheryll Townsend, a forty-eight year old Slytherin and fellow member of Harry Potter for Grownups (she calls herself a “list elf”), said, “Fandom tends to eat their own.”

I just transcribed part of Pottercast 148 from Leaky Cauldron, since they can't seem to agree on who said what, and I wanted to hear it for myself. I think the problem that Tim Wu had, and that I had, is that Melissa and Sue sound rather similar when they only give one word answers such as "right."  That implies that they agree, whether they do or not.  There is no way to prove who is agreeing, whether Melissa or Sue. 

John Noe speaks the most, Melissa talks about her book, so we know that is her, and , from comments I've read on Leaky, it is Sue who makes the actual statement about Steve being "vilified" by fandom. So Tim Wu may have to make a correction to that article, but it's obviously all the same because no one argues a different side in this part of the Podcast.

This is the first time I've ever listened to a Pottercast before, although I've read the transcripts.  I admit I didn't listen to the whole thing.  I think I'd rather have a long slow root canal. 

( Steve's Interview Here With Thoughts On Fandom )