Travels Follow in Frodo's, Harry's Footsteps

More and more people are taking their travel ideas from movies these days - two of the most popular destinations include New Zealand and Great Britain.

Not Harry - But Henry

Several readers have written to point out this article on potential photographic evidence of a haunting at former King of England Henry VIII's palace, Hampton Court. While the tie to Harry Potter is pretty much non-existent (although maybe this is a relation of Sir Nick's?), we found it interesting enough to bringContinued...

USAToday Top 100 List

Pop Candy's Top 100 People of 2003 includes Harry as #7.
Thanks to Sue for the link!

Fan Fiction - Flattery

The Guardian has a piece on fan fiction that mentions Harry Potter and J.K.Rowling:

In fact, a representative for Rowling's agent states that "the general feeling is one of flattery" - as long as it's clear that the author isn't JK Rowling.

Thanks, Ree, for the link.

"What Americans Can Learn From Hogwarts"

Bowling Green State University's magazine features Dr. Margaret Booth in its fall issue, an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at BGSU who has written a paper (along with her 12 year old daughter Grace) called "Learning from the Cultural Context and Practices of a Somewhat British Institution:Continued...

Stephen and Harry

Many TLC readers have written to let us know that Stephen King’s Dark Tower V: The Wolves of the
Calla mentions a grenade-like weapon that has the following information engraved on its casing:
‘SNEETCH’
HARRY POTTER MODEL

Serial # 465-11-AA HPJKR

CAUTION
EXPLOSIVE

Thanks to everyone for the information, and to Mr. KingContinued...

First Lady a Harry Potter Fan

Laura Bush has included Harry Potter in her Christmas decorating at the White House:
Good Morning America:

MRS. BUSH: The theme this year is a Season of Stories. Of course, as an old librarian and a lifelong reader, it was really fun to choose my favorite books. On the mantels we have Harry Potter. On the dining roomContinued...

Grammy Nominations

Harry has earned two -
Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current legitimate motion picture, television show or series or other visual media.)

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
JohnContinued...

Quidditch Goes to School

Connecticut gym teacher Justin vanGelder has incorporated Quidditch into his elementary school's phys ed program:
VanGelder teaches a version of the game that can be played by earthbound mortals.

"The kids don't fly and we have control of the balls," he said.

VanGelder found the game on PECentral.org, aContinued...

Grants May Become Loans

The Scottish Arts Council is considering a plan to ask writers who become successful to pay back their grants. If backdated, J.K. Rowling could be asked to return the £8000 she received to help her write Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Latin: Not Quite Dead?

The Iowa-City Press Citizen notes that while Harrius Potteret Philosophi Lapis may help students to become interested in Latin, and that stats show a couple of years of the language may boost SAT scores, there really isn't a big demand for courses in their city.

HP 'Art Hunt' at the Met in NYC

From PRNewswire:
Art Smart Adventures Inc. today announced it will be hosting a series of Art Hunts, entitled Potter and the Mythology Maze, inspired by the popular stories of Harry Potter.

Art Smart Adventures will lead children ages 5-12 and their parents on a trivia seek-and-find event through The Metropolitan MuseumContinued...

Emma Thompson

The BBC has an article on Harry Potter actress Emma Thompson, which summarizes her career and discusses her efforts to fight Aids. The BBC is also offering readers the opportunity to ask Emma questions about her involvement with the disease in an interactive forum Tuesday November 25th.
Thanks to Lena for the links!

HPFanTrips.com Event

HP FanTrips, along with Visit Britain, has organized
a tour to Britain in June, for the release of the film
version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Chris Rankin, who portrays Percy Weasley, will spend
a weekend with the tour participants, who can
sign on for the whole six day event (if you're coming
from overseas),Continued...

Younger Readers and Reading

Is Harry too hard for some readers? USAToday.com has an article on children and reading that includes mention of Harry:

Didn't the best-selling Harry Potter series reignite interest in reading, especially among boys?
Researchers say it did, perhaps for millions of kids. But Richard Allington, an education professorContinued...