What is even more exciting for me than preparing for my first Harry Potter convention is that I get to spend over a week with my college roommate, Jeff, or as I sometimes call him, Animal, or JKO2. He’s a pretty cool guy. He’s just spent the last three months backpacking across eastern Europe, the Middle East, and southeast Asia. He’s got this really neat blog where he’s posting pictures and/or stories about his experiences. In one post in particular, he relates the story about how he almost didn’t make it out of Syria alive! Scary awesome stuff, huh? Anyway, here’s the link: Travels of Jeff. Czech it out!
The plan, at the moment, is to rendezvous with Mr. Jeff in St. Paul (where he lives) a few days early, so we can watch the movies together before we get on the plan and fly from Minneapolis to Cleveland to Orlando, which is pretty neat, because I’ve never been to Ohio before, or Florida for that matter. I’m excited to go to the state where Glee is set, kinda like how I was excited to go to Chicago for the first time in May, because that’s where my favorite movie, Stranger than Fiction, was filmed. Didn’t really see anything I recognized, though.
I should backtrack and mention that even though I’ve seen the movies numerous times, I still think it’s a great idea to watch them all again before seeing the last movie. I would have re-read all the books, except that I honestly don’t have the time for that right now, and now with the advent of Pottermore, I plan to re-read them again once it opens–hopefully I get beta access at the end of July, so I can re-read in August! So, the movies will have to suffice for a refresher of the entire saga. Or, in the case of Jeff, an introduction, because I know that he hasn’t seen all of the movies–at least not the most recent few two or three. Or four. This kid just loves traveling, so he agreed to go with me to this convention, not because he’s a die-hard Potter fan!
I still have to figure out what events to attend while I’m there, as a part of my LeakyCon Registration, but I did pay extra for the “A Very Starkid” event, the “Open at the Close” event, and the “Deathly Hallows Part 2 Screening (3D)” event.
I Love It When I’m Right
Last week, on June 23rd, when Pottermore was announced, I remembered that in a previous email from the people who organize LeakyCon (among them is Melissa Anelli, owner of LeakyNews.com) that there was one keynote not yet announced, one that was DEFINITELY NOT an appearance by the author herself, Jo Rowling. After I thought about it, I wondered, what could be so BIG as to keep it a secret until the last moment? Could it be an early preview of Pottermore? After all, last week’s announcement definitely was a big one. So, I thought, why not ask Melissa about it and see if anything comes from it? Here’s my mention to her:
@melissaanelli Can I ask, is the LeakyCon “surprise”, the one that is absolutely not an appearance by JKR, an early look at Pottermore?
Needless to say, she didn’t reply back. I wasn’t really expecting her to write back. But, I’m glad I wrote to her anyway, because this means, after today’s message from LeakyCon, I can gloat. While I can’t link you to the message (as it was sent in an email), I sure can copy and paste it here:
We are happy to announce that the final (and “missing”) mainstage presentation for LeakyCon 2011 concerns Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s new site. You will learn exclusive details about the project directly from the Pottermore team. Led by James Deeley (who has lead much of the creative design of Pottermore) and LeakyCon’s own Melissa Anelli (who has served as a creative consultant on Pottermore since 2009), it is not to be missed! Pacifica 6-7 (mainstage) at 3pm-3:50pm Friday, July 15, 2011.
Again needless to say, I’m very excited. Not only that I was right, but that we have the opportunity to learn new details about the Pottermore project directly from the Pottermore team!
What Phrase Should I Wear?
“HUG ME I’M A RAVENCLAW” comes time mind.
Originally, I had thought about custom-ordering t-shirts to advertise my website and blog. Just a something with “FictionRow.com” on it. However, I realized during the ordering process that it wouldn’t be shipped to my house until after I was already in Florida, so I’ve decided that isn’t the way to go. Instead, I’m bringing a bunch of Plain White Ts (also a great band–I once backed into a semi while rocking out to “Hey There Delilah” on the radio–ask me to tell that story later) with me to LeakyCon, as well as a Sharpie or two. It will save me a lot of money, and I’ll get to wear different phrases for different days, and I’ll get to advertise my website for more days that way too.
I don’t have a long list of phrases in mind–in fact the two above are the only two I’m considering at the moment. But, if you have any ideas for me, post them in a comment below or tweet me @fictionrow, and I might consider them for some of my t-shirts. Seriously, though, I am keeping the “Hug Me” one, because golly, I love me some hugs, and humans–this one especially–just don’t get enough of them.
Perhaps I’ll change it to “HUG ME SIGN ME” instead, so that I can encourage random people to hug me AND sign my shirt. We’ll have to see!
