Attention Literary Potter Readers! Leaky Con Academic Proposal Deadline Extended to March 10!

February 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This cartoon from this week’s Monterey Herald serves as a reminder that there are still folks who need reminding of our shared text’s literary value!

On that note, the deadline for academic programming proposals for Leaky Con 2011 is now March 10. I’m really looking forward to some amazing academic presentations, as well as the opportunity to confer with my brother wizards in the steamy Florida sunshine! If you’ve not gotten your proposal in yet, and your Time Turner is broken, get cracking! Even if you don’t want to present, but you have some ideas for academic programming that you’d like to see, email the fine folks planning the academic schedule.

Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Potter Fandom

Department of Accidental and Skewed Shared Text References: Kitten Pattern Dishes and DVDs Sale

February 24, 2011 by 3 Comments

As I was recently browsing the local classifieds, I nearly dropped the paper when I came across these two entries back to back. I have been sorely tempted to call the number of the second ad and ask for Dolores! I’m fairly certain the folks at the local paper probably didn’t put these two together on purpose, but it’s fun to think so.

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Filed Under: Shared Text

Taking ‘Shared Text’ Vocabulary to the Movies!

February 8, 2011 by 1 Comment

“I’ll explain it to you. And I’ll use small words so you’ll be sure to understand.” The Princess Bride

Standardized tests are generally considered so terrifying that only “IRS” could be considered a scarier acronym than “SAT,” but Brian Leaf takes the big test to our favorite movies and gives us a big tub of popcorn to make learning frequently tested vocabulary  as fun and effortless as a Saturday matinee. In Name that Movie: A Painless Vocabulary Builder, Leaf uses the approach that he has taken in Defining Twilight, Defining New Moon, Defining Eclipse, and Defining Breaking Dawn: he delves into the stories we already know and love and pulls out the words we ought to know.

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Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Movie Thoughts, Shared Text

Jane Eyre 7: A Lesson on Authorial Intent from Jasper Fforde’s Literary Detective Thursday Next

February 3, 2011 by 6 Comments

As we wrap up our wonderful visit with the delightful Miss Eyre and her creator, the equally delightful Charlotte Bronte, we will spend this last post on a rather unconventional visit to Thornfield in a luridly painted sports car with literary detective Thursday Next, whose exploits in The Eyre Affair cast the story of Jane and Rochester in a whole new light.

As our last entry in the Jane Eyre book conversation, The Eyre Affair poses some fascinating possibilities about the sacredness (or not) of texts, while also getting in plenty of great bookish humor. If you’ve had a chance to check out Jasper Fforde’s initial Thursday Next adventure, join us with your thoughts, or, if you’ve not picked up The Eyre Affair yet, join us anyway for some fun final thoughts on Jane.

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Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, HogPro Book Club

Let the Hunger Games Filming Begin!

February 2, 2011 by 25 Comments

Word is out that the folks working on the film of The Hunger Games are looking for unknown talent as preparations begin for the filming for a 2012 theatrical release. Check this link to see the guidelines put out by the folks doing the casting.  The character descriptions are interesting but a little confusing, since both President Snow and Finnick Odair are listed in the lineup, though Snow’s role is minimal in The Hunger Games, and Finnick is not even introduced until Catching Fire. Notable by their absence are Cinna, the prep team, and Caesar Flickerman. I’m not sure why there is a listing for Haymitch, as, no matter how much it costs, they really ought to have Hugh Laurie in that role. More interesting to me, however, is the fact that filming will take place in North Carolina and Georgia. Join me after the jump for some speculations on locations.

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Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Hunger Games, Movie Thoughts