by Stone Marshall | Mar 3, 2015 | Awesome Book News |
MEXICO CITY — A young Mexican’s fascination with Harry Potter has grown into the world’s biggest private collection of toys, books, clothes and other items related to author J.K. Rowling’s fantasy hero. Now, other fans have a chance to see it all.
The collection belonging to real estate lawyer Menahem Asher Silva Vargas has been certified by Guinness Awards as the largest anywhere. And it is on display at the Mexican Museum of Antique Toys in Mexico City.
Silva Vargas started collecting Harry Potter items 15 years ago, when he was 12. He started with toys, then branched out to all sorts of things, from scarves to soda cans from Japan and Chinese language editions of Rowling’s books.
He has 3,097 items in all. The exhibit formally opened Saturday.
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by Stone Marshall | Mar 3, 2015 | Awesome Book News |
The world contains many wonderful things. Fanfic— especially masterful fanfic like Harry Potter & The Methods of Rationality— is on that list. But writer Eliezer Yudkowsky, aka Less Wrong, stands over a cliffside, off which his readers desperately hang. The magnificent son of a bitch has given his readers a pop quiz, and one hell of an ultimatum. [Massive spoilers below.]
Yudkowsky has done the seemingly impossible (not unlike a wizard) by re-writing Harry Potter’s past, playing dice with his first year at Hogwarts, and setting up a chain of events that defy description. Naturally, I will attempt to describe them anyway. [Edit: I tried and failed.]
The Premise
Posit: What if Harry Potter was raised by loving parents, instead of by the hateful Vernon Dursley? It really is that simple. In the backstory, Petunia Evans had a slightly better relationship with her sister, Lily.
Result: Petunia begs her sister for a bit of magical help to improve her looks, and winds up marrying a completely different sort of man than this walking pile of hate. A good man. A man of books and learning. A man of science. Harry’s parents still die as they did in the original timeline, and Potter’s raised with love and guidance, instead of in a cupboard under the damn stairs.
Consequence: This Harry Potter has confidence in himself, a voracious appetite for knowledge, and most importantly, a foundation in the scientific method. Holy hell. So Harry Potter is headed to Hogwarts with a razor-sharp intellect (more on that later) and enough gumption to ask questions about the magic he’s being taught. Questions that lead to innovations and experiments that haven’t been considered in centuries.
Major Changes
According to Yudkowsky’s own First Rule of Fanfiction, “You can’t make Frodo a Jedi unless you give Sauron the Death Star.” Ergo, you can’t make Harry Potter a magic/science prodigy unless you make Voldemort a genius and give him the Evil Overlord List.
Yeah. Let that sink in. Harry’s going to be taking Hogwarts by storm, so his nemesis has to be every bit as dangerous. Here are a couple of tweaks that have shaken out before the story even begins:
- Voldemort still died when he tried to kill Harry, but his power base was significantly stronger before that (and his horcruxes were virtually impossible to recover).
- Dumbledore’s not nearly as reliable in this universe, leaning hard into the Obi-Wan Kenobi school of mentoring: that is, deliberately feeding his followers misinformation, playing the fool far too well, and being so eccentric that almost no one trusts him.
- Snape and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix have been working overtime to prevent Voldemort’s return— including poisoning the remains of Tom Riddle, Sr. to prevent being used in any resurrection spells.
- Simply put, Harry is vastly smarter here than his canon counterpart. It has everything to do with his being a you-know-what-if-you’ve-read-Deathly Hallows.
- Harry and Hermione both wind up in Ravenclaw, and Ron is practically a non-entity in the story proper.
- Harry has a cold, ruthless voice in his head that gives the worst kind of advice.
- Harry and Draco hit it off immediately, becoming fast friends. Yes, really.
I Can’t Cover The Big Beats
So. Harry gets sorted into Ravenclaw and immediately starts questioning just about everything he learns. He’s not trying to be petulant, he just wants to know HOW magic works. As a result, he starts brainstorming in his free time, and discovers how to do partial transfigurations: turning part of an object into something else.
He’s doing things with magic that have never been done, never been tried. This rightly freaks out Professor McGonagall and the others, but they can’t really discourage Harry, either. Wizards have a rule about trying to interfere with magic they can’t understand. Specifically: DON’T DO IT.
Almost from the start, it becomes clear that Less Wrong intends to wrap up the entire 7-book plot of the original series in just one school year. Events begin to accelerate at a seemingly natural pace, but by the time we’re halfway through the story, they’re on their way to spinning out of control.
I tried to break it down into a bullet list of meaningful events, but if you read half of them, you’d call me a liar. They sound preposterous, which fits, because they are preposterous. It all makes sense, but only taken sequentially from A to Z.
Take my word for it, and read the story. It is well worth your time.
Where We Stand Now
Quirrell succeeds in getting a hold of the Philosopher’s Stone, which has a property far more valuable than creating any Elixir of Life (that only extends your lifespan). It has the ability to make transfigurations permanent.
He takes Harry to a graveyard where he conjures up an altar, unearths a massive supply of Voldemort’s blood (saved for just such a purpose), and transfigures it into a new, immortal body for himself. Then he summons 37 Death Eaters.
The Mother of All Cliffhangers (and Pop Quizzes)
So Voldemort’s given Harry an ultimatum: teach Voldemort something he doesn’t know— “The Power Which The Dark Lord Knows Not”— and do it fast, or Harry is dead… and his loved ones will swiftly follow.
The Pop Quiz: Come up with a solution: what Harry can tell Voldemort to spare his life, and the lives of his loved ones. As a cheat sheet, here’s everything Harry knows.
There is no cavalry coming to the rescue. Harry has his wand, and nothing else. If he tries to raise it, the Death Eaters will kill him. If he tries to speak anything but Parseltongue (a language in which it’s impossible to lie), they’ll kill him.
If someone’s able to post a satisfactory response in the latest chapter’s reviews, the story will play out as it’s supposed to, and we get to read it through to the end.
If not? Well. We get “a shorter and sadder ending.”
I, for one, don’t WANT a shorter and sadder ending. I’m wracking my brain to think of a solution, and if you’ve read the story, I advise you to do the same. Quickly, as we have less than 60 hours.
by Stone Marshall | Mar 2, 2015 | parent-news |
The Spring Valley Public Library now has “Ten Shiny Snowflakes” and “The Creature in My Closet,” thanks to the people whose contributions are “suitable for hanging.”
The new additions to the library are tied to the programs and speakers at meetings of the Spring Valley Kiwanis, which has a mission of serving the children of the world.
“At the end of our Kiwanis meeting, the speaker of the day is asked to choose a book from the stage, where we have several books laid out,” explained Spring Valley Kiwanis Club member Nancy Cornell. The book is then donated in the speaker’s name to the Spring Valley Public Library.
The club holds a meeting each Wednesday noon at the Spring Valley Community Center, and often, there’s a guest speaker, be it someone who’s been on a mission trip to another country as a result of a sponsorship through the community or representatives of other organizations, outlining what they do and why or how they might work with the Kiwanis to make the world a better place. At the end of each presentation, the speaker receives a framed certificate from the Kiwanis as a token of appreciation – and the Kiwanians, having graduated from giving unframed certificates to framed ones, declare that the certificate is “suitable for hanging” and invite the speaker to choose from the stack of books on the stage after the meeting.
Cornell stated that her husband, Denis, also a Kiwanis member, then keeps track of the book until it is donated to the library.
“After the book is selected, Denny puts a label inside the front cover,” said Nancy. “The label says ‘Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley’ and ‘donated in appreciation of the program presentation by’ whoever happened to be presenting that day. We usually wait until we have 20 or so books and then either present to the librarian at a Kiwanis meeting or just take them to the library.”
Spring Valley Public Library director Jenny Simon was the program presenter of the day this past Wednesday, Feb. 18, and like others, she received a “suitable for hanging” certificate, but was also privileged to take a diverse stack of children’s books back to the library, including “Ten Shiny Snowflakes,” “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” “Middle School Get Me Out of Here,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck,” “Kate the Great,” “The Creature in My Closet,” “Snowmen at Night, Disney’s “Frozen,” and “You Will Be My Friend,” among others.
As she accepted the books, she commented, “What a gift this is. I’m very excited to take these to the library. The kids always know when we get new books because they’re put on the top of the shelves and have a ‘new’ label on them. When the kids come with their parents, the new books are immediately gone, and we have to wait for them to come back in again so that everybody can read them. They definitely appreciate the new books.”
During her program at Kiwanis, she gave an update on the upcoming events at the library – including the children’s summer reading program, with a “Every Hero Has a Story” theme this year, and a trunk show featuring the book “Moo,” appearances by the author and illustrator and activities to accompany the event.
She also thanked the Kiwanis for their contributions to children’s literacy, reiterating that she is “very excited” to be able to offer new stories for the area’s eager small readers.
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by Stone Marshall | Mar 2, 2015 | Awesome Book News, parent-news |
As expected, YouTube today launched YouTube Kids for Android and iOS, described as a “family-friendly destination” and “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.” You can download the new app for free, available only in the U.S., directly from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
The app’s main selling point is that it only has content deemed appropriate for kids. In other words, the pitch to parents is very simple: This app will ensure that your kids can watch videos posted online without stumbling on clips you wouldn’t want them to see.
YouTube Kids Screenshot
The Google-owned company explains the app is designed to make it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore. It is also a much more simplified and basic app (larger images, bold icons, and built-in voice search for those who have yet to learn how to type or even spell) compared to the main YouTube experience, though it still features videos, channels, and playlists.
There’s also a content focus for early literacy, including science and math tutorials, though YouTube stops short from calling it an educational tool. The parental controls include a timer for watch time (even if the content is filtered, you presumably don’t want your kid watching videos all day), as well as options to turn off background sounds and the search function (limiting viewing to just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen).
YouTube Kids App Icon
If the search is turned off, the main way to find videos is to browse the channels and playlists, which are organized into four categories: Shows, Music, Learning, and Explore. As for the actual content itself, YouTube promises videos from DreamWorks TV, Jim Henson TV, Mother Goose Club, Talking Tom and Friends, National Geographic Kids, Reading Rainbow, and Thomas the Tank Engine.
It’s too early to gauge whether YouTube Kids will take off. YouTube says that “the possibilities are as endless as a child’s curiosity” but at the end of the day, it comes down to what parents think. They have to download the app, block or delete the main YouTube app, and then encourage their kids to use YouTube for Kids.
We’ve heard for a long time that Google is working on apps aimed at children. Indeed, the company not only says that “this is the first step toward reimagining YouTube for families” but that this is “our first building block in tech for tykes.”
In short, you can expect more Google apps and services aimed squarely at the youngest generation. It’s no secret in the tech industry that if you get them while they’re young, they may just use your products for life.
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by Stone Marshall | Mar 1, 2015 | parent-news |
On Friday, we asked dancers how high their expectations were for Thon 2015. With optimism, most students responded that they will be able to push through the 46 hours of no sitting and no sleeping.
READ: Dancer prep for Thon 2015: ‘I know I’m going to make it, I just don’t know how.’
Now, with the final four hours approaching, walk out on the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center and you’ll see friends giving dancers piggy back rides, Dancer Relations captains wiping the tears from dancer’s cheeks and people mouthing words because they’ve lost their voice.
So we asked the dancers, “What has kept you going?”
Our first pair of dancers are best friends, and have been leaning on each other for support. Lauren Powers and Laura McAndrews, both of Yardley, Pa., say they knew it was going to be tough when they started.
Powers spoke for her and McAndrews, who had completely lost her voice. She said t
he cheery environment of the Bryce Jordan Center has kept their spirits high. Being able to dance with her best friend has helped “time to fly.” But in the end, it’s all been a mental game.
“You can prepare all you want,” Powers said. “But it’s all mental.”
For dancer Joseph Almato, of Bucks County, Pa., not knowing the time has helped him stay somewhat sane, he said.
“I’ve been catching myself falling asleep while standing and talking to people,” Almato said. But he “wakes up” every hour to do the line dance, which he has apparently perfected.
WATCH: Learn the Thon 2015 line dance
Dancer Nick Danforth, of Beverly, Ma. told us that about an hour ago, he felt like he “was going to die.”
“I was actually terrified going into it,” Danforth said. “The expectations where high. But there have been moments where I’m at my lowest, and little things keep me going. I got a letter from my brother that made me cry. He said there’s a much greater cause at stake, and he knew standing for 46 hours wouldn’t keep me down.”
Other dancers, like Danielle Diguglielmo of Newtown, Pa., said they feel better than they thought they would. But, she’s disappointed that her friends haven’t been able to make it on to the floor.
“The biggest struggle is probably the pass system,” Diguglielmo said. “It hasn’t been functioning and it’s disappointing when you
‘re expecting to see people.”
On Friday, Jordan Margolis of Monroeville, Pa., told us, “I know I’m going to make it, I just don’t know how.”
When we caught up with her today, Margolis said it hasn’t been easy. But like she said, she’s going to make it.
“There have definitely been highs and lows,” Margolis said. “The lows are exhausting and delirious. But if you stop then everything stops. We’re so close now. The kids don’t give up, so why should we?”
The dancers can sit when Thon officially ends at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015.
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