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Harry Potter Prognostications
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A weekly podcast delving into the deeper themes and meaning of the Harry Potter novels.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'jk rowling'
Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech Sheds Light on One of the Tales From Beedle
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 l...
Episode #95: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
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...
Beedle the Bard Published Because of Fan Demand
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 aro...
Richard Dawkins Hates Harry Potter (And Everything Else, Including Small Children)
Richard Dawkins, noted zoologist and atheist, is the subject of an article published today in the Telegraph entitled Harry Potter fails to cast spell over Professor Richard Dawkins. The article states: The prominent atheist is stepping down from his...
Hear JK Rowling Read from “Beedle the Bard”
BBC News is reporting that JK Rowling will be reading excerpts from the Tales of Beedle the Bard at a tea party at the National Library of Scotland, hosted by The Children’s High Level Group, the charity that Jo Rowling co-founded . The Party w...
Episode #90: Interview with Steve Vander Ark of the Harry Potter Lexicon
If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter books and J.K. Rowling, and were alive during the month of April of 2008, you probably heard about a little law suit over a book called “The Harry Potter Lexicon.” The author of that book, Steve...
Episode #89: Rowling Defeats Vander Ark
It has been almost 6 months coming, but Judge Robert Patterson finally handed down the verdict in the JK Rowling/WB vs. Steve Vander Ark/RDR lawsuit. And the winner is…..JK Rowling. In this week’s episode, we discussed the decision, the r...
Statements and Full Text of JKR/RDR Decision Now Available
Both JK Rowling and RDR Books have issued statements following the verdict that sided with JK Rowling in the copyright suit against RDR Books and author, Steve Vander Ark. Rowling said the following of the verdict: “I took no pleasure at all ...
JK Rowling Wins Court Case Against Steve Vander Ark
After almost six months of deliberation, the verdict is finally in. NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled Monday in favor of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling in her copyright infringement lawsuit against a fan and Web site operator who was se...
Bloomsbury Reveals the First Official ‘Beedle’ Promotional Poster
Bloomsbury, the UK Publishers of Harry Potter have revealed the first official “Beedle The Bard” promotional poster for the upcoming release of the book. The low res poster can be downloaded here and the high res poster can be downloade...
Episode #88: Delayed!?! And, The Eyes Have It
So, it’s been a week or so since the last episode of HPProgs; while you were waiting for the next show, and even larger wait was sprung upon you: Half Blood Prince, The Movie, was delayed from 2008 to 2000-and-freakin-9. Penny’s been cov...
Episode #85: Free Will and Choice in Harry Potter
One of the over-arching meta-themes of the Harry Potter books is, without a doubt, choice. From early on the books the theme of choice is empasised, when the Sorting Hat defers to Harry’s wish to be in Gryffindor, or when Dumbledore makes it cl...
Episode #82: Prognosticating The Prequel
Wow, feels like old times. Because of the release of JK Rowling’s new 800 word Harry Potter Prequel , we were able to return to the pre-DH revelry of prognosticating Harry Potter. We took a break from Patterns in Potter and dedicated the entire...
JK Rowling’s 800 Word Harry Potter Prequel Now Online
The 800 word Harry Potter Prequel that JK Rowling wrote for the Waterstone’s “What’s Your Story?” Charity benefit is now online. Click on the link to read the authors’ stories to get to Jo’s submission. If you are ...
Episode #81: Patterns in Potter, Book 6 - Definitely Evil
This week, we discuss J.K. Rowling’s commencement address to Harvard University’s graduating class of 2008 (with audio snippets!) and conclude our Patterns in Potter discussion for the theme of Book 6. JK Rowling’s Speech at the Har...
Episode #78: The Truth Hurts
In the week’s episode, we continue our discussion of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the central theme of truth and knowledge, specifically how the book presents the theme in context of Hogwarts, education, careers and experientia...
Episode #77: A Dramatization; and, Patterns in Potter, Book 5
In what will go down in history as being HPProgs’ finest hour *or* our worst episode yet, we bring to you Episode #77. We decided to go a slightly different route for part of this episode and after our very short news discussion we re-enacted ...
Is Harry Potter Becoming Obsolete?
Thanks to Travis for the heads up that for the first time in ten years a Harry Potter book is NOT on the New York Times Best -Seller List. What is interesting is that this comes on the same day as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People cam...
Day 3: J.K. Rowling/Steve Vander Ark Trial Continues
Ginny, have you seen my Firebolt? The trial over Steve Vander Ark and his Harry Potter Lexicon continued today in New York, in what appears to be the final day of testimony. According to the WSJ Law Blog (which may be suing HPProgs for copyright, as...
Partial Settlement Reached in JK Rowling/Steve Vander Ark Trial
Well the hopes of a full settlement were apparently too much to ask for. Darn. The WSJ law blog tells us that when the courts reconvened today, the attorneys informed Judge Patterson that they had reached a settlement only on the false advertising a...
Episode #76: Harry Potter Goes To Court
This week, we take a break from the Patterns in Potter series to disucss the court case currently underway in New York between J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. on one side, and RDR Books and Steve Vander Ark on the other. There’s been excellent c...
The Judge Wants a Settlement
Apparently, Judge Robert Patterson feels similarly to many Potter fans. Towards the end of today, he asked both parties involved if they could reach a settlement, stating that he feels that the case between JK Rowling and Steve Vander Ark/RDR Publis...
Steve Vander Ark Testifies
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has posted another great entry about the JKR/RDR/SVA court case. SVA testified today. What’s More Important to the Parties? Money or Passion? Yesterday, Rowling said the case isn’t about money, but about principle...
More on Today’s Testimonies
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has given a report on some of today’s court proceedings. According to the Law Blog, the heart of this case is the fair-use doctrine which according to the US Copyright Act is explained as follows: One of the r...
Testimonies Have Begun
NEW YORK - J.K. Rowling said Monday that her efforts to halt a publisher’s “Harry Potter” lexicon have been crushing her creativity. Rowling said she has stopped work on a new novel because the lawsuit in federal court has “de...
JKR/RDR/SVA Trial To Begin This Week
JKR/RDR/SVA: really bad shipping idea? Well…yes, but they are also the key players in the trial which will begin this week in New York City. The showdown between Rowling and Steven Vander Ark is scheduled to last most of the week in U.S. Dis...
JKR vs. SVA
We haven’t spoken about the JK Rowling’s lawsuit against Steve Vander Ark and RDR Publishers lately. But a whole bunch of news stories have cropped up today rehashing the issue. Here is how the Associated Press is reporting what Jo has...
Episode #65: Leadership in Harry Potter
What makes a leader? For centuries, philosophers have debated the essential qualities of a leader (the differences in what a culture values in it’s leaders is often a good indication of the values of said culture). When looking at Harry Pot...
Episode #64: Coming Soon
So things are a bit crazy around here and we will not be able to record until the weekend. We are looking to have the show up hopefully sometime Saturday night or Sunday. As a preview: We will be discussing the transformation of Ron Weasley from a se...
No Triple Crown for JKR
Sad to say the triple crown for 2007 honors won’t be happening for JK Rowling. Time has announced that their 2007 Person of the Year honor will be going to Vladimir Putin. Al Gore came in as the first runner up, while JK Rowling was the second...
