What makes this so disturbing, is that for those of us who feel that this book frankly, is no big deal, and should be published under the guidelines of “fair use”, we have been called “JK Rowling haters”, or “Steve Vander Ark lovers”. Simply because, we are exercising out inalienable right to disagree. We are not “true fans” 

GASP!!! We disagree!!!

Now, the Star-Bell Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.
Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.

But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches
Would brag, “We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches.”
With their snoots in the air, they would sniff and they’d snort
“We’ll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly sort!”

...When the Star Belly Sneetches had frankfurter roasts
Or picnics or parties or marshmallow toasts,
They never invited the Plain-Belly Sneetches
They left them out cold, in the dark of the beaches.
They kept them away. Never let them come near.
And that’s how they treated them year after year...

~ Dr. Seuss

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. 

"...when Rapoport received a series of threatening letters last fall from lawyers . . . he didn't flinch.

'The intimidation factor was zero,' Rapoport said with quiet pugnacity."
~~~~~~~

Rowling seemed willing to compromise on the witness stand, saying, "I never ever once wanted to stop Mr. Vander Ark from doing his own guide, never ever. Do your book, but, please, change it so it does not take as much of my work."

. . . "That opportunity was never presented to us," he (Rappoport) said, his eyes flashing with anger. "The only thing they said [in the lawyer letters and pretrial discussions] was: 'Will you stop the book?' "
~~~~~~~

. . . the publisher said he has never been worried about the ultimate outcome. His lawyers, he said, have told him that "no court has ever ruled that the writer of a fictional work is the only person who can write about that book."
~~~~~~~ 

"I fully expect that the outcome of this lawsuit will be:

1. Publication of Lexicon will go on without any problem or prejudice, because it clearly falls within the copyright law's provision for scholarly work, commentary and review.

2. Rowling will be forced to pay Steven Vander Ark's legal fees, since her suit was utterly without merit from the start.

3. People who hear about this suit will have a sour taste in their mouth about Rowling from now on. Her Cinderella story once charmed us. Her greedy evil-witch behavior now disgusts us. And her next book will be perceived as the work of that evil witch. "

( Follow the Yellow Brick Road to more Entries )

A. I think that it is sloppy, I think there is very little
4 research, and I don't think that it -- I don't think it
5 constitutes an original work.
6 Q. You mentioned that the Lexicon occasionally -- earlier that
7 the Lexicon occasionally contained etymologies.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. I believe you also mentioned that the some of those
10 etymologies were wrong?
11 A. Hmm-hmm.
12 Q. Could you give the Court an example.
13 A. I could give several. But Mr. Vander Ark gives an
14 etymology for alohomora, which is an incantation used within
15 the Harry Potter books to open a locked door by magic. And he
16 asserts that this word was derived from the Hawaiian aloha
17 meaning good-bye. Which is errant nonsense. Alohomora is a
18 Sidiki word from West Africa, and it is a term used in
19 geomancy. It is a figure -- the figure alohomora means in
20 Sidiki "favorable to thieves." Which is obviously a very
21 appropriate meaning for a spell that enables you to unlock a
22 locked door by magic.

UPDATE: Ding Ding and Ta Da!!!  We have a winner!  An anonymous, but very lucky researcher discovered the source for Alohomora! And her name is "Marielle."  Also thanks to sander123 and sciencegeek for following soon after.

Whoo-Hoo! So here's the Magic Link: http://www.serenapowers.com/sikidy.html

And another, which says "See Aloha" - *lol* : http://www.mysteryarts.com/magic/words/Ed.3/?p=115

As you see, you have to spell it "Sikidy" instead of "Sidiky."  That is probably a court transcription error.  Sikidy is not a dialect but a type of divination used on the Island of Madagascar. I had seen some links leading to that yesterday while researching Geomancy, but dismissed them because . . . that is East Africa, not West Africa. So even with the supposed location of the name origin, this was a challenge to unravel just from what the author said.  I don't know why "alohomora" doesn't show up on Search Engines from that website - it's odd, but I just searched for it again, and got nothing except references to the HP books. Anyway, this has been alot of fun and thanks to all who did the research!

( See the Map of East - Not West - Africa Here )

( Read all the Pithy Comments Here )

Trial Transcripts!!!    

Selected Quotes of the Day

"I believe the flood gates will open," Rowling said, her voice rising. "Are we the owners of our own work?"

"Copyright law does not permit an author to suppress a book because she doesn't like it," he said. ~Anthony Falzone, Defense Attorney

“I can’t simply take the expert’s opinion as my own.” ~ Judge Robert Patterson

Again, Judge Patterson interrupted, and addressed Rowling directly. “Can you imagine anyone reading [the Lexicon] for entertainment value?”  

“Quality shouldn’t matter,”. . . If the Lexicon is lousy, Falzone concluded, the answer is not to suppress it, but for Rowling to write her own. 

( Read the News Under the Cut )

(JKR) complained that the entries consisted of words like “Death” or “Voldemort” arranged alphabetically, followed by what she considered bare-bones definitions.  For instance, she said, the Ogre entry simply said, “Ron and Hermione think they see an ogre at Three Broomsticks.” A superior entry, Ms. Rowling testified, would have pointed out that “An ogre in European folklore was a flesh-eating giant.”

The entry under Remus Lupin, she said, missed the opportunity to comment on the etymology of the name as a “double allusion” to the character’s being a werewolf, since in Roman mythology Remus was raised by wolves, and Lupin derived from lupine.  

She also objected to what she called the book’s “facetious asides,” like a comment about whether Hagrid could fit into a booth at McDonald’s. “I think it’s dire,” she said. “I think it’s atrocious.”

The lead defense lawyer, David Hammer, was not impressed with her literary critique of the work.

“Have you ever read a dictionary, Miss Rowling?” Mr. Hammer demanded. Alphabetical order, he continued, “is what the Encyclopedia Britannica uses, isn’t that true?”

To which Ms. Rowling retorted: “What are you accessing in these A-to-Z’s? Aren’t you being suckered out of your hard-earned cash?”

“You feel it’s your responsibility to prevent people from paying their hard-earned cash for things you don’t like?” Mr. Hammer asked.

“Absolutely not,” Ms. Rowling replied. “This is theft. This is wholesale theft.”

It was the ultimate irony, Mr. Rapoport’s lawyer said, that the same Web site that Ms. Rowling was now denigrating was one that she had admitted using herself a time or two to check facts.

Ms. Rowling conceded that she had given a “fan-site award” to Mr. Vander Ark’s Web site in 2004, but she said she had given the award only “as a kind of 'A' for effort.”

When she gave the award, she wrote on her own Web site: “I have been known to sneak into an Internet cafe while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter (which is embarrassing).” But she said she had consulted the Web site only because “I wanted to do a nice thing for the award. Do I now regret that? Yes, bitterly.”

I had a feeling I would be using my Twilight Zone icon alot today. Can you hear the music?

I just found a blogger who took notes today in court, and this just deserves it's own space.  

Now, to me, it isn't just weird because they are discussing magical creatures in court, it is the fact that JKR believes there is only one "correct" interpretation of "Alohomora."  I always thought it came from "Aloha" since I don't speak West African.  So if someone misinterprets the books - say they don't believe Dumbledore is gay, or that Snape is a big evil dodo bird - then they need to be set straight (or not straight, as the case may be)! 

NY Times Blog: J. K. Rowling and the Courtroom of Muggles

April 14, 2008, 3:02 pm
By Jennifer 8. Lee

As the author J. K. Rowling took the witness stand on Monday to testify in the copyright lawsuit over a Harry Potter encyclopedia, the line between her magical world and the muggle courtroom became somewhat blurred. The lead plaintiff lawyer apologized for saying the name of the villain Lord Voldemort out loud. Albus Dumbledore was quoted in opening arguments for his admonition of when you must “choose between what is right and what is easy.”

Ms. Rowling, when asked to define what wizard cards were, explained in a matter-of-fact matter that they were cards of famous wizards that came with the purchase of a chocolate frogs. (Her lawyer had to explain to the judge that outside the books the cards only existed in a video game). And while the lawsuit was filed on Oct. 31, the lawyers noted, “The fact it was filed on Halloween, your honor, was just a coincidence.” 

When asked to discuss the similarity of the Lexicon’s definition of Chinese fireballs on the stand with her own writing, she said that it was not like a giraffe, where if she and Mr. Vander Ark were describing the animal, they might inevitably use the same words. “It’s not as if we are describing something that exists outside my imagination,” she said.

It was clearly an emotional issue for Ms. Rowling, who had flown in from Scotland to testify. She was given a box of blue tissues after she said, “I really don’t want to cry because I’m British.” 

“Alohomora,” a spell that opens doors in Harry Potter’s word, does not come from “aloha,” the Hawaiian salutation, she said on the stand. Rather it derives from a West African term meaning favorable to thieves, she said. 

The courtroom at the federal court house at 500 Pearl Street was considerably more packed than other copyright cases (like Viacom v. YouTube/Google). There were reporters, law students, copyright groupies, legal scholars and even a young fan or two (shouldn’t they be in school?).

Occasionally, the muggle world would come in focus. When the lawyer apologized for struggling with the pronunciation of “occamy” (a creature resembling a winged snake that was a play off of Occam’s Razor), Ms. Rowling said: “You can pronounce it any way you want. It is not a real thing.”

JKR arrives at the courthouse: