Confessions of a Wizard Rock Fangirl

We'll start with the confession portion of this evening. I have two things to tell you.

1) I love wizard rock.

2) I only discovered wizard rock one year ago, on July 25th, 2008, during The Mudbloods, JFF, Whomping Willows, Remus Lupins show in Pittsburgh.

I went to this wizard rock show on a whim, and I was totally amazed by it (of course). I had wanted more friends that were into Harry Potter since Deathly Hallows. Most of my friends had read it; some had even gotten the book at the midnight release with me. By the time we had all read and discussed it, most of them were done. That was just...the end. And I didn't want it to be.

When I went to the show, most people were much younger than I was. The only ones that seemed my age were the bands, so after they were done playing, I went over to talk to them. I ended up talking to Alex Carpenter for a bit and left wanting to know more. Here's part of my blog entry from four days later:

"Being completely oblivious and ignorant can have certain advantages, I suppose. Since going to the Wizard rock show on Friday, I have spent much time listening to and finding Wizard rock. I can't get over how adorable it is to listen to songs and sing along about Harry Potter. Seriously, so much fun. Why did I never pay attention to this before?

But it turns out, uneducated in wrock as I was, that meeting Alex Carpenter is a Wizard rock fangirls' dream come true. I also introduced myself to Matt Maggiacomo of The Whomping Willows since he was sitting right there. Since I had missed most of his set, I really had no idea who he was, and have only found out by seeing pictures of him online while finding more wrock.
I wonder if they are so used to squeeing from their fans that they were amused by the fact that I was not? Did they realize I had no idea? If so, was that refreshing or disappointing?"

This past year, I went to 20 shows and saw 21 different bands perform, in 5 different states.

This past year, I started writing for and running a website and had more than my friends and family read the things that I wrote. This introduced me to one of my favorite people ever.

This past year, I invited strangers to sleep at my house. I've also slept at near strangers' houses and felt perfectly comfortable doing so.

This past year, I stopped saying "this person I know online" and started saying "my friend" about people I had never met before. I also tackle hugged many of them when I finally met them.

This past year, I have gotten more hugs than I thought possible. I also learned the definition of "stink shoulder", but I didn't mind at all.

I could go on and on, obviously.

The other day, I was with a group of friends, one of which doesn't live in town. The subject of wizard rock came up, and one of my friends said, with pride, "You know, Freya's pretty important in the wizard rock community. She runs their website and is friends with the bands and travels all the time to go see them." I quickly explained that being "important" in the wizard rock community was a slightly ridiculous concept since we're such a tight-knit community. But I couldn't help but feel amazed that one of my Muggle friends thought of it like that. Like it was something that he thought was admirable and worth mentioning. It's become how I'm defined, and I'm perfectly happy about that.

A year and a day ago, if you had suggested that this is how my life would be, I would have stared at you blankly. And laughed. And now I can't imagine wanting anything more than what I have now. I love this. I love our community. I love the music. And I love having all of you in my life.

Out of Hibernation

About six weeks of writer's/life block ended last week, and I am finally updating my life, both here and in the real world. I've had a series of annoying weeks where nothing seems to go right, interspersed with some random awesomeness. I'm going to try to topically cover everything.

Wizard Rock
Writer's block really screwed me here. I sat on articles far longer than I should have for the 'pedia, and it drove me constantly crazy that I couldn't accomplish anything but news bits for awhile. I missed writing interesting things, and I like to think that people missed reading them. I also had my first real foray into managing an all-volunteer staff. It's tough. There were weeks I spent 20 hours dealing with things for the site, and this is a LOT of my free time. At this point, I think we have managed to set everything up to be ok with less work. Big sigh of relief there. I think JP was getting to the point of resenting the time I was putting into it. I was getting there, too.

I found a roommate for and bought tickets to Wrockstock (a three day wizard rock festival in November). I get butterflies of excitement every time I think about it. Bands that I have never seen, awesome people to hang out with more (including my roommate!), new people to meet, three days in the woods of Missouri - it's going to be insanity, and I can't wait.

I have had some really cool things come out being the 'pedia editor lately. I got my first press copy of a CD to review, which included a personal note that had me all misty and going "Why did I ever doubt this was worth it?!" to JP. I spent time with wrockers that I had really only interacted with because of the site (and had an amazing time!). I've gotten random comments here and there, from people who appreciate what I do. And, most exciting of all, my proposal for a wizard rock panel at LeakyCon got accepted!

LeakyCon is the Harry Potter conference that I'm going to in Boston this May. My entire panel is full of people that I can't wait to hear answer the questions I have (erm, will have. WIP at the moment). I think everyone will walk away from it really impressed by our community and feel full of wrock love. At least, that's the goal. The other goal is for me to have my outfits picked out soon! I need one for traveling/arriving, one for Thursday night, one for Friday (that includes my panel), one for Saturday, one for the ball, and one (possibly two?) for Sunday. So far, I have two for sure, and three with a general plan. Well on my way.

I've been to three more shows. I don't think I will ever not enjoy jumping up and down to wizard rock. The shows that I have been to over the past six months have included some of the most raucous fun, insane adventures, and happy friend-making of my life. It's amazing.

Real Life
I've read a bunch of books, seen some good movies, and had some really great moments with the boys. It's been a generally happy time where friends and family are concerned.

I've also hit another peak of insomnia. I see 4 or 4:30 am pretty often. I'm torn about asking for more Ambien, after my last experience, but it did really help with the sleeping. We'll see.

I've spent what seems like hours trying to deal with the Parking Authority (PSA: Pay your parking tickets on time, kids!), doctor's offices, and admissions staff at La Roche. Just so you know, the Parking Authority will cash your check for a ticket, not tell you that it was late, and charge you late fees. (I only realized this when I went to pay a different ticket online. Fuckers.) Don't ever believe a doctor's office when they say they will call you back. I've never had one that did. They may also get snotty with you when you suggest that they are irresponsible assholes for not doing so, yet telling you specifically NOT to call them. Gah. And also, just because you have a bachelor's degree doesn't mean that you don't need to turn in high school transcripts. Uh huh. Makes sense to me.

I have failed to keep up with laundry or any sort of cleaning, but this is typical of this time of year. It seems that it is finally spring-ish, so I'm back in my spring cleaning mode. It really is amazing how much my productivity and what I do depends on the seasons. At least now I can mentally prepare for how gross the apartment gets in February and March (but not without the requisite guilt - I really should've been a Catholic).

And so it goes. I've noticed a lot of people seem to be trying to shrug off the mid-winter funk and get back into the swing of things. I'm glad to see we are all emerging.

Adventures in the Snow, or How Freya Cried at the Crystal Ball (part 2 of 5)

Friday was hp-ohio's Crystal Ball, so Kathleen, Rose, and I piled into the car with suitcases, pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, air mattresses, and ball gowns. The car was beyond stuffed.

Our trip to Loudonville was supposed to take 3 hours, according to the GPS and Google Maps. We were warned that there was supposed to be eight inches of snow that night, but we didn't expect it to affect our trip out there. About two hours into driving, the roads started to get bad. We were on fairly major roads, so it was mostly slushy and a little slippery. Not ideal, but hardly anxiety-attack inducing. Once we turned off the "main" road (a county highway) onto Township Road something something, things got bad. There were about six inches of freshly fallen snow, with only a few car tracks that had gone through and more snow falling all the time. At this point, we were about an hour behind schedule.

After Kathleen explained to me how to drive on freshly fallen snow (easier than any slush or ice in Pittsburgh, for sure!), I was feeling pretty good. There was decent traction, and I was driving about 15 mph on the straight parts, and slower on the curves. Things weren't great, but we were making it.

Until we reached a blind curve.

As we started to round the curve, I thought we might be going a bit too fast. I knew that hitting the brakes would only make us slide, so I just hoped things would be ok. Except that around the curve was a fire truck, stuck in a small ditch on the side of the road. We slid to a stop, narrowly avoiding the ditch, and the firemen walked over to talk to us. He said they were trying to get their truck out and he would help us turn around. Turn around?! Yep. There was also an overturned car in addition to the truck in the ditch and they expected it to be an hour or more before the road opened. While I'm creating plans of us getting to a gas station bathroom somewhere to change and put on makeup, he tells us there is an alternate route. Well, at least it's something.

After about 14 reverses on the narrow road, we go back and loop around to another similar road. Still crappy, still snow-covered, and later than ever. After about 20 minutes of so on this road, we see a car ahead of us that is trying to come up a hill and just failing. The guy in the truck behind us gets out along with Kathleen, and they manage to get the car some traction to get going. We get to the bottom of the hill, which is a T, and realize we need to turn right and go up a smallish hill. We fail, so I back down the hill and try again. Fail. The third time, I started from about a quarter mile back and got enough momentum to get up. We cheered, because right at the top of the hill was the place to check in to our "hotel". I got into this little cottage, pay the guy, and he gives me an honest to goodness key and points up the big hill that we had just come down and tells me the rooms are up there.

At this point, it's about 6:30-6:45ish, and we are getting nervous about making it to the ball to check in. Kathleen comes up with the brilliant idea of just going to the castle and changing in their lobby bathroom. We can just figure out how to get to the room later.

After another harrowing ten minutes, we're at the castle, and it's magical.


(photo by Rose)

We stumble out of the car and decide to check in and then get ready so as not to be rushed. When we get into the lobby, we realize they have moved check in to the events center across the grounds. I am blinking back tears at this point because things have just not worked out at all. We have no cell signal, and there is no payphone, but the receptionist kindly lets me use her phone to call JP, which makes me burst into tears. I reassure him we are fine, calm myself down, and we wander down the path to check in. While we're checking in, Matt comes over and says "Did you guys get here ok?" I shook my head no, burst into tears, and turned around to go outside where I tried to calm down again. All I could think was, "How the hell are we going to get back to our room tonight?"

Rose, Kathleen, Matt, and Justin appeared a moment later. I got big hugs and was told that there was no way that 1) we were changing in a hotel lobby bathroom, and 2) we were trying to drive back to that hotel that night. Matt, Justin, and Sam had a suite with a pullout couch and a giant bathroom, and we were invited to get pretty there and then sleep on whatever surface we could find. I almost started crying again with relief and gratitude. I know that this is what friends do for each other, and of course I would've done the same. Nonetheless, we had been rescued, and sometimes a girl just needs to be rescued, ya know?

A Wizard Rock Birthday, or How I Now Have an Entry for Cake Wrecks (part 1 of 5)

Thursday through Sunday I spent with Rose, Kathleen, various wizard rockers, and lots of new friends. Overall, the good parts were awesome and amazing and the bad parts were awful beyond belief. By the end, though, it definitely ended up well in the plus column.

Thursday, Rose had a show at her house where Matt (The Whomping Willows) and Justin (Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills) played. Sam Friedman is their merch girl for the tour, and so after seeing her various cameos in the Five Awesome Girls videos, I finally got to meet her. She alternates between vivacious energy and low-key snarky remarks, and she can take it as well as dish it out. A good combination, for sure.

Matt has a new album coming out in May that is mostly about the wizard rock community and touring. One of his songs, titled 'A Brief Repose', features a stanza about Pittsburgh. It even mentions Edgewood in particular. Even though JP wasn't there, Matt dedicated the song to the two of us. Aside from the fact that we're included in there, I really, really dig the song. All of the new songs, actually. Justin wrote an EP with songs inspired from Beedle the Bard that were all new and completely enjoyable, too. I especially love 'Hairy Heart'. It's very quintessentially Justin. The first time I heard them, I wasn't that into JFF, but after a bit, it just grabbed me. Meeting Justin helped as well. His music is exactly what I would expect from him, and that makes me like it even more. Justin in song form! Such a good idea.

Since the next day was Matt's birthday, I had planned for our house afterward to be a small birthday party of sorts, replete with a Hannah Montana birthday banner and a cake that I had ordered. The cake probably could've been much worse, but to quote Tim, "The guitar was clearly drawn by someone who's never seen a guitar before but has only had it described to them, in a language they had a shakey understanding of. Or [they] thought you wanted like a science fiction guitar from the future."



So, we sang happy birthday and drank cocktails until the wee hours.

It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake

My friend Matt the wizard rocker is turning 30 this Friday. His band is The Whomping Willows. Since he will be at my house Thursday night, I thought I would get a cake for him. I called Giant Eagle to order it, and I believe that the woman there thinks I am insane.

me: I'd like to order a cake to pick up on Thursday.
her: Ok, and what would you like? (goes through cake/frosting options)
me: (I dislike cake usually, so I just pick random things.) Yeah, that sounds good.
her: And what do you want written on that?
me: "Happy Birthday Matt"
her: Ok, and do you want roses on that?
me: Um, well, can you put a guitar on there?
her: Well, we can certainly try to airbrush one on there, but I can't promise anything.
me: (imagining an entry for Cake Wrecks) No, that's fine. It might be funny if it's awful. I'm ok with that.
her: (laughter)
me: Um, is there any way you could also put a tree on there? Is there room?
her: We can put a tree on there, sure.
me: Awesome.
her: (slightly incredulous) Ok, so you want it to say "Happy Birthday Matt" and have a guitar and a tree on it?
me: Yes, that's perfect. Thank you so much!
her: No problem, ma'am. We'll see you on Thursday.

15 days in 7 minutes

Where I sum up my life lately. Recorded on Thursday.



Nerdfighter: a term used to describe fans of John and Hank Green's Brotherhood 2.0 project.
My Nerdfighter videos can be found here and here.
Buy Paper Towns and Stargirl on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

Various marijuana proposition information can be found here.

And finally, a small, spoiler-free review of Twlight.
I kinda thought the movie was better than the book.

Up until the Port Angeles scene, the movie was awkward and uncomfortable. I laughed hysterically when Carlisle came onto screen for the first time (and got dirty looks from the woman next to me) because he looked like a freaking circus clown. His makeup was just so overdone. After Port Angeles, the movie was very true to the book. I thought they captured the mood incredibly well, and the Cullens were everything I was hoping for. The few changes that were made actually helped with the flow of things rather than detracting from my enjoyment. That being said...
If you haven't read the book and teeny-bopper vampires are not your thing, you're not going to enjoy the movie. Just a warning. Personally, I thought it was great, and I plan on seeing it again in the theatres.

Wizard Rock Road Trip

Throughout my wizard rock adventures last week, I took a TON of video. I spent this entire weekend compiling the clips of the shows for the Wizrocklopedia's YouTube channel (check out the Whomp the House, Part Deux entries) and making a video of my vlogging adventures. Below is my account.



When I got home from Columbus, JP noticed that I had a huge rip in the ass of my jeans. I had been wearing them for two days and never noticed when it happened, so now I'm convinced that I was walking around like that for awhile. Whoops.

Post Wizard Rock Stress Disorder

A very serious condition that may include the following symptoms:

1) A feeling of disappointment when realizing the show is over alternating with periods of shit-eating grins when remembering how great it was
2) Scouring the internet to find more wizard rock shows to go to and justifying spending large amounts of money/backing out of plans made months ago to do so
3) Humming the song that's stuck in your head and realizing with a jolt that the person who sings it is sitting next to you in your living room
4) An urge to abandon your life and start driving toward the next Wizard rock show

I know that I tend to self-diagnose, but I really think I have this.

Seriously, this week in wizard rock was amazing. We had the Pittsburgh show on Tuesday, followed by a fairly impressive amount of partying at our place. After sleeping for about 4 or 5 hours, we woke up and hung out for a bit. The boys left to get to Columbus early, and I took off a few hours later.
When I got to the venue, I found the three of them outside the venue in the cold with a locked door behind them. No one had arrived to open the bar, and we had to wait about an hour and a half. Fans and the other band were all just standing around outside, definitely attracting some attention with the number of striped scarves in the crowd. The local Harry Potter group, a part of HP Ohio, bought us all pizza which I used to warm my hands up a bit. As soon as it was no longer warm, I ate it.

But of course it was worth the wait! Tom Riddle and Friends played, as well as Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills and The Whomping Willows. When I first arrived, I had told Matt how I needed to exchange the live CD of his from Wrockstock that I bought the night before because one track wouldn't play, and it was my favorite. Before his set, I tried to peek over his shoulder to see his set list, which he hid from sight while reassuring me that he would play my favorite song. With two songs left to go, he dedicated the song to me in thanks for giving them the best night of tour so far. Later on, the HP Ohio people gave me shit about how we had worn them out the night before, so they didn't want to go out partying again. Whoops.

Yay wizard rock!

Taking the Good Along with the Bad

It's Sunday morning, and this weekend has been an emotional roller coaster so far.
Wow, that's a bit melodramatic. Essentially, yesterday was full of both happy and angry, alternating throughout the day.

It started with my 2pm appointment being canceled via a voicemail. I called back to reschedule and was told they were "too busy" to deal with it then, and they would have to call me back. When the scheduler finally called me back three hours later, she was snotty and annoyed that I asked if I could be squeezed in on Monday and then further annoyed when I told her I wasn't available on Thursday. Like it was my responsibility to keep the entire week-long period after my appointment open in case they canceled my original one. Grr.

Then I found out that I got into La Roche for my design program! Ahhhhhhh!!!! Life goals being achieved!

Then I went to drop JP off at the liquor store while I ran to Giant Eagle for flowers and some woman just backed her car out of a parking spot into my car. There is barely even a dent, so I wanted to let the whole thing go. In retrospect, I should've taken her info and fucked with her as much as possible because after she hit me:
1) She told me that if I had honked, she wouldn't have hit me. (I was laying on the horn for a good 5-10 seconds when I realized she was about to hit me)
2) She told me that I probably didn't want to have to pay my deductible for such a small dent. (Even though she would be responsible for it because SHE FUCKING BACKED INTO ME!!!)
3) She never ONCE apologized.
But we were late, and I somehow felt bad for her even though she was a raging bitch, so I just left.

Then we went to the 25th anniversary party of some family friends. We met this awful woman who bonded with JP because she's a lawyer. As the three of us were interacting, I noticed any time I tried to insert something into the conversation, she would look at me, pause, and then continue as if I had said nothing. After the third time this happened, I simply got up and left to find more enjoyable conversation partners.

Then we drove home, put on costumes, and headed over to Brian, LeeAnn, and Rob's party. Everyone was adorable, of course. I have some amazingly creative friends when it comes to costumes.


And then I woke up this morning to find a new Half-Blood Prince trailer!



I suppose the good outweighed the bad in the overall scheme of things, and I have full confidence that karma will work its magic to punish those that deserve it.

Fruition

So, today marks the two year anniversary of my blog! Two years ago today, I posted for the very first time. Sure, there have been some gaps without entries for awhile (like recently, sorry!), but I have stuck with it. And I have to say that being able to rant, rave, and just generally speak my mind to an audience is pretty awesome.

In addition to this anniversary, today also marks the beginning of lots of plans I have had for a few months now. Tonight is the Readathon at Joseph Beth's Booksellers. At 5pm, I will start reading. Hopefully, I will make the full 24 hours. If I do, I will have raised almost $200 for Beginning with Books, my charity of choice. So, I will definitely be out of any communication loop from tonight until Sunday morning (I plan to pass out shortly after coming home on Saturday and sleep until morning). 24 hours with no internet! Is that harder than the lack of sleep? We'll see.

I've also managed to write three articles for the Wizrocklopedia so far, and a fourth should be posted in the next few days. I've totally loved writing for them and getting to talk about wizard rock to an audience who cares. It's very cool to have people react positively to something you've written; especially enough to comment or email me about it.

In less than three weeks, we have the first wizard rock show I have been helping to plan. This has been going on since the middle of August, so again, I've been waiting awhile for it. The day after the Pittsburgh show, my friend Rose and I are going to jump in the car and follow the bands to Columbus, where they will be joined with yet another band. The day after that, we'll drive to outside Cleveland and see them again. Wizard rock road trip! I know some of you think I'm crazy and ridiculous and should be devoting my time to more worthwhile things, but at the moment, this is what makes me happy. After that, it's less than a month until the show that I set up at Your Inner Vagabond, followed quickly by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yikes! Am I really thinking about 2009 already?

And finally, Monday is my birthday. I am usually so super excited and planning craziness and jumping up and down, but I have really been far too busy lately to anticipate it. Plus, 27 may be a bit old to make a huge deal out of it. There will still be parent celebration and drinks and dinner with friends on Monday, and that's all I really need.

If you've been reading this for two years, thank you so much for following my life, step by step. If you've jumped in somewhere in the middle, I appreciate the time you've spent here. Thanks to everyone for letting me sound off - it means a lot.

Work is for people with jobs, take 2

After my last article for Wizrocklopedia, I decided to make it a series. First, I wrote about wrockers in college, which gave me a chance to interview and talk with several bands. My latest article (here) is in regards to working, and I talked to yet more bands. My final installment is going to be about people who manage to do wizard rock full-time, and yes, that's even more interviews. I've really been having so much fun with this, and the comments have all been positive (from the bands, random readers, my editor, friends/family).

Blogging for a living. How much fun would that be?

Work is for people with jobs

I haven't written anything these past weeks for a couple reasons.

1) Life has been super crazy, with 2 weddings, lots of PAW (Pittsburgh Area Wizards) stuff that I've been doing, and I've been really tired and, therefore, lazy.
2) I've been writing something else. Namely, my first article for the Wizrocklopedia!

It was just posted today, and you can find it here. My editor was really positive about it, and I thought it turned out well, too. There are already 3 really complimentary comments up there from people who have no idea who I am. That makes me super happy.

Thanks to all of y'all for always listening, even if you are entirely uninterested. It really does mean a lot to me.

Book meme

I actually collected this from two shorter ones. I would love to hear your answers as well. Do it.
And thank you all for your sympathy and suggestions about my lost photos. It has made me feel much better.

Total number of books owned:
I'm going to say somewhere between 300-500. I may be inspired to count now.

Philosophy on reading:
Reading books is a purely escapist pastime for me. I don't want to read about politics or wars. I read to forget those things. I have enjoyed classic literature in the past, but nowadays I tend to read whatever I feel like, and screw anyone for thinking less of me. Considering 25% of the U.S. population didn't read a book last year, I'm ok with just reading what I like and not forcing anything down my own throat. Sorry, Dostoyevsky.
I made the first ever New Year's resolution that I am trying to stick to. I need to read 20 books this year, not counting re-reading any Harry Potter's or any fics (novel-length or not!). I'm a little short of being on track, but I will do it. Currently reading new book #12.

Last book bought:
Today I was at Borders and finally bought 'Twilight'. I also bought 'The Host' because I was told it was better. =)

Last book read:
I reread 'Deathly Hallows' again, but before that was the ninth Harry Dresden. Currently reading the tenth and wondering how I will cope when it's over.

One book you’d want on a desert island:
For some reason, I could read Michael Crichton's 'Andromeda Strain' over and over again.
Though, I should probably say 'Ulysses' because the only way I will ever willingly read Joyce again is when it is the only reading material available to me.

One book that made you laugh:
Every single Dresden Files has made me laugh out loud while in public.

One book that made you cry:
One?!? I cry at the drop of a (book) hat. The worst was 'The Notebook' - all I did was sob through the whole thing. It's like the Grey's Anatomy of pulp fiction. 'The Amber Spyglass' is probably the saddest thing ever, though.

One book that you wish had been written:
'Lyra and Will - Together Again'.
Seriously though, I wouldn't mind a 'Remus Lupin, the Lost Years'. Good thing there's fanfic. Lol.

One book that you wish had never been written:
The entire Dark Tower series. I found it to be an egregious waste of time (sorry to every other person on the planet that loved them).
Also, 'Wicked'. Egads, that was tedious.

One book you’re currently reading:
'Small Favor', Jim Butcher.

One book you’ve been meaning to read:
'The Host', Stephenie Meyer.

Five books that mean a lot to you:
(I am going to cheat and say that series count here)

The Dragonlance Chronicles, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: Trilogy. The very first fantasy that I ever read. My father read 'The Hobbit' to us on a practically yearly basis, but this was the first that I picked up on my own, and I was blown away. Fantasy continues to be my favorite genre.

His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman: Trilogy. I have never heard of so many grown men crying as I have about the end of 'The Amber Spyglass'. I can't even really talk about it without tearing up. There is so much in those books to take in, and I hope to someday meet my dæmon.

Harry Potter, JK Rowling: 7 part series. I don't know what it is about the Potterverse that continues to fascinate me, but I can't stop. I want to talk about it. I want to muse aloud about the adults' personal lives and bad habits and coping mechanisms. I want to wonder how it was possible that we were all saved by a 17 year old. Yet, it's so believable. And they are still my favorite re-reads of all times. Every time I finish a book, I have to fight not to pick up one of them, yet again.

'Stargirl', Jerry Spinelli: Everyone should read this book somewhere around age 14. She gives me faith in humanity by being honest and hopeful and not too cheesy or schmaltzy. I <3 Stargirl.

'Neverwhere', Neil Gaiman: My copy was borrowed a few days before my birthday, taken to a signing without my knowledge, and signed 'Happy birthday, Freya. Mind the gap. Neil Gaiman." (I was also gifted 'The Golden Compass' by the same person (Tim) that year). I've always loved the book for its pure escapism without being insulting to my intelligence.

I'm not the only crazy one.

See? Look at all the Wizard rock fans.
Wrock, fans, wrock.

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They actually broke the chandelier in the ballroom below, and had to stop jumping up and down at one point.

I love the Potterverse, or how I don't really hate JKR

I am putting together a guide to the HP fandom for some friends of mine, and of course, I had to touch upon The-Case-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named. In my search to find good info on both sides (I don't presume anyone should take my POV simply because), I stumbled upon the Leaky Forums and have gotten myself all worked up again. It reminds me a bit of this entry that dealt with real-life politics, and not the ones of the fandom.
I found these 3 questions posed by rotfang07 on part 14 of the WB/JKR vs. RDR forum that I would like to respond to.

1. How can you believe you are a fan and simultaneously go against Jo Rowling's wishes?

Because I am not necessarily a fan of her, but of the world she created. I don't know JK Rowling. I know her work. Just because I love what she has made doesn't mean that this should transfer to the person. I think many people have forgotten this in the entire lawsuit hubbub. Yes, it was her decision to challenge the printed Lexicon. She has the right to do that. But (and I am guilty of this as well), why must we be on "her" side or "his" side? It isn't personal! It's a lawsuit. The only people who this should personally affect are people who personally know the plantiffs/defendants/people affected. (And let's not forget that Steve was not actually a defendant.)
I am not "anti-Jo", as so many have accused. I am of the opinion that the law should allow something like this to exist. This is based on research and my personal feelings about copyright and IP. If my husband decided to pursue this same type of lawsuit, I would disagree with him, too. It's not about how I feel about a woman that I've never met; it's about how I feel about the legality of the issue. The people who have contributed to splitting the fandom are the ones that don't see this as a legal issue, but rather, a personal one. It's become "fanning fans", by choosing which "superfan" you want to side with.

Here's the thing. I love the books, of course. But I also love fanfic, fanart, and Wizard rock. These are not things created by her, but rather, inspired by her. All of these things could be called into question as well. Now, I'm sure we could argue about whether wrockers/ficcers/artists make (or could make) the same amount of money as the Lexicon has the potential to do, but I thought this was not about the money. From her testimony, I was under the impression that she wants to have control over her world (again, something she has the right to defend). I also understand that she can pick and choose what to pursue as a violation of her control, and that since she hasn't done so yet for these things, she probably won't. I'm still a little concerned.

2. How can you maintain loyalty to two apparently contradictory goals? i.e. publishing the LM and placating Rowling and/or fandom.

By doing exactly as I explained above - not making it personal. People disagree all the time and still manage to be friends, lovers, coworkers, etc. Why can't we as a fandom say, "this is not about me, but I have an opinion"? And then constructively discuss from there? At its root, this is politics, pure and simple. People get angry about politics. People take sides. People avoid discussing it because it can turn the best of friends into enemies. Why hasn't anyone stood up to point this out?

Of course, I'm sure this is just like saying that Democrats and Republicans should just get along as well. What can I say? I'm a Libra, through and through.

3. How can you apparently believe one thing at one time and apparently believe the opposite the next?

How can you ask the same question three times, making all 3 sound accusatory and causing me to become defensive?

I have a new interest, and it's called Awesome!

I know I emailed this to some of you already, but thought I'd put it out here as a blog entry as well.

I'm sure many of you can remember how excited I was when I met Seth Rogen in January. If you haven't heard the story, "met" in this case means rolling down my window to talk to him and then driving away. It was then that I really accepted my fangirl leanings. They had always been lurking, but getting to do that really just brought it out into the open. And like anything, if you nurture it, it will grow.

As interested in my spritual growth as I'm sure you all are, I do have another point. I've always had a thing for Harry Potter, even moreso than anyone else I know personally. My latest foray into the fandom has been exploring the world of Wizard rock, which I've posted about before.

I don't even know how to really explain the Wizard rock community to you, but I can tell you that these guys are very into promoting literacy and raising money for various social awareness movements, most notably the HP Alliance. Their goal is not so much to make money, but to tour around and get to play. They all eschew big media and record labels, and are proving that you can be a musician without that. They do this with the unerring support of their fans, like me (us?).
One of my favorite Wizard rock bands is launching a fall tour specifically to make money for the HP Alliance and asked their fans to help them book shows. I spent a day contacting various venues and organizations to see if anyone was willing to have them play and have booked a show for them at Your Inner Vagabond in Lawrenceville on November 25th, at 7pm. Cover is $3.

As silly as you might think this sounds, it would be really awesome if as many of you could come as possible.

Pros:

• $2 of your cover goes to the HP Alliance.
• You support me.
• You support a fan movement that has managed to bring people together from all over the country.
• You will avoid my great disappointment by not attending.
• You will prove to Your Inner Vagabond and the bands that Pittsburgh is a place that is willing to make itself available to Wizard rockers.
• If you're lucky, you can meet Matt of the Whomping Willows. If you just read some of his lyrics, I think you'll agree that he is definitely someone that most of us will get along with.
• You can watch me all dressed up in my HP finery, bouncing around and singing all night long.

Cons:

• For 2 hours you're going to have to listen to 2 guys playing music that might not be your cup of tea.
• You'll have to be in the same room as some teenagers.

See, when you break it down like that, isn't it obvious that you should come?
I also have to ask a big favor of someone(s). I need someone(s) to work the door and collect the cover. Normally, jobs like this would fall to my go-to guys (JP and Tim), but they both already have assignments for this (JP is allowing random people to sleep in our apartment, and Tim is doing photography). It would be nice if someone would volunteer for the door, but if you desperately need to be paid, I can pay you in goods and/or services.
I know it's awhile away, but think about it a little.

Wishing much love and Wizard rock your way!

Are you more important than me?

The more time I spend researching and joining in the Harry Potter fandom, the more I like the idea of belonging to a community with similar interests. It's pretty great to be able to automatically have a conversation with someone you don't know about something you are passionate about. It seems, however, that with any large group of people, drama has ensued.
Matt Maggiacomo from the Whomping Willows recently posted a blog on his MySpace about how someone has created a tiered rating system for how much of a fan you are, "based on how important and influential [you] are within the fandom". No, seriously?

I can't find the original post, and I have no idea who actually did this (Matt never says), but he goes on to berate this person, saying to sum up - "there are only two tiers in this community: J.K. Rowling, and everybody else". He also points out that "there's a weird dynamic within this fandom, where fans of Harry Potter have become fans of other fans". I guess everyone wants some sort of celebrity, and if meeting influential Harry Potter fans is the closest you can get, you'll take it.
The point that the original blogger is missing is a huge one. Where would all these podcasters and Wizard Rock bands be without these people who support them and get excited about these things (the "low-level fans", if you will)? Why would you want to alienate your fanbase by telling them "you're just not as important as I am in this fandom"? It seems so petty.

Of course, I don't want to belittle what many people have done for the fandom. It can be a full-time job to run a website like The Leaky Cauldron or Mugglenet, or tour around the country with your Wizard rock band. Yet it seems that these people are the ones that are humble and grateful for this experience, rather than walking around with your own brand of narcissism because of something that, let's face it, much of the world would classify as "nerdy". Matt says, "One unifying characteristic of these people is that they are hard workers who have made personal sacrifices to pursue their work. Another is that they truly love what they do, and it is their passion for their own creative process that keeps them from susceptibility to the pitfalls of fame." I am sure there are exceptions in this group as well, but I don't think it's necessarily the norm.

I found an interesting editorial by Victoria Loe Hicks about the fandom. "A bunch of adolescent kids suddenly find themselves wielding hitherto undreamed-of powers, faced with a sometimes repressive adult establishment and, in ways few grownups even grasp, engaged in shaping the future of the world." Sound familiar?
And she has a good point. She goes on to say that:

"...the most potent cultural narrative of recent years coincided with an explosion of interactive, Web-based technologies that have become the scaffolding for today's youth culture. Those new platforms have morphed the "fan clubs" of yesteryear, which communicated sporadically via photocopied newsletters delivered by snail mail, into dynamic real-time communities that span the globe."

The editorial then mentions the influence that this fandom has, being millions strong. Dr. Henry Jenkins, director of MIT's Comparative Media Studies program says, "One could argue that this vision of fandom as a political movement might reflect the ideological construction of the books themselves, which encourage us to stand up for what we believe in, to question authority, and to take strength in our own communities". It's easy to see how this has influenced fans. Take the entire Harry Potter Alliance, for example, or look at the Wizard Rock album, "Rock Against Voldemedia". Andrew Slack, the founder of the Harry Potter Alliance had this to say:

"Once Voldemort took over every form of media in the Wizarding World, Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix formed an independent media movement called “Potterwatch.”
Now the HP Alliance and Wizard Rock have come together to fight for a Potterwatch movement in the real world to fight back against Big VoldeMedia from further pushing out local and foreign news, minority representation, and the right to a Free Press."

Hicks also points out that "Ms. Rowling owns the legal rights to Harry Potter, but the fandom owns his zeitgeist". We have been given the canon, and we have created the rest. Every 8 year old Potter fan has contributed to that just as much as George Lippert has. Didn't Harry Potter teach us that the "little people" are just as important? After all, the Wizarding world was saved by 3 teenagers, not the Ministry of Magic.

Post 200

Since I started this blog in October of 2006, I have posted 291 entries. Since I am an editor first, and a writer second, I agonize over many of these. I actually write most of my posts in Gmail, and then send them to myself to have a separate archive. I guess in case the whole internet except for Gmail disappears? Regardless, I only use this method for things that aren't just links or surveys. So, out of these 291 entries, 92 so far have been links or surveys. This is post 200 of the "real" posts.

I knew it was coming up, so I was trying to figure out what I wanted to write about. And in fact, there are two things we can talk about.

1) Yesterday, I received a text from one Stephanie Pierce. A text from her brand new phone in Georgia! For those of you who don't know Steph, she spent from May 2007 until July 2008 deployed in Iraq. And now she's back and coming here in mere weeks to visit.

2) Today would be Harry Potter's 28th birthday. What has he been up to since we last saw him? He married Ginny, of course. They have 2 or 3 children at the moment - James is about 3, Albus is about 2, and Lily is born sometime in 2008 (we just don't know when). Last year, he was appointed Head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. Seems like he's doing pretty well for himself so far! Good to know that he keeps that up for another 9 years, at least.

So, Happy Homecoming to Steph, and Happy Birthday to Harry.

Oblivion, or why Alex Carpenter might be important

Being completely oblivious and ignorant can have certain advantages, I suppose. Since going to the Wizard rock show on Friday, I have spent much time listening to and finding Wizard rock. I can't get over how adorable it is to listen to songs and sing along about Harry Potter. Seriously, so much fun. Why did I never pay attention to this before?

But it turns out, uneducated in wrock as I was, that meeting Alex Carpenter is a Wizard rock fangirls' dream come true. I also introduced myself to Matt Maggiacomo of The Whomping Willows since he was sitting right there. Since I had missed most of their set, I really had no idea who he was, and have only found out by seeing pictures of him online while finding more wrock.
I wonder if they are so used to squeeing from their fans that they were amused by the fact that I was not? Did they realize I had no idea? If so, was that refreshing or disappointing?

I am definitely glad that I didn't ask for hugs or pictures or such (at least at this first meeting, lol). We'll see if I can contain myself next time, or if the squee will overflow. I figure if I'm surrounded by 15 year olds, I can't possibly be the most excited fan there.

Wizard Rock!

Tonight, I managed to convince LeeAnn and two of the Germans (Marc and Fred) to come to the free outdoor Wizard rock show with me. They sat on the grass at Schenley Plaza while I stood at the back of a very excited group of kids, aged 10-15.

So, the headliners was The Remus Lupins. Head over to his MySpace and listen to 'Seven Potters'. It was my favorite song of the night. The entire experience was absolutely adorable. All these girls (and the two boys) jumping around and singing every word to the songs. It was infectiously awesome. And not unlike the Tom Petty show, except that we could legally drink.

After the show, I wandered over to talk to Alex Carpenter (possibly the only official member of the band?), and also met The Whomping Willows' Matt Maggiacomo. Since this was my first live Wizard rock experience, and the rest of it is from the one night I spent trolling on MySpace to listen to various bands, I had no squeeing fangirl in me. I went to the show because I am a part of the fandom and you do these things to support it. Of course, there hasn't been anything about the fandom that I've rejected yet, so I guess I am now Wizard rock's newest fan.

What do you say to someone you don't know about at all? Naturally, I asked the most controversial question I could think of - where did he stand on the whole JKR vs. RDR thing?

You know how you're not supposed to talk about politics or religion? Yeah, I'm terrible at that rule.

He told me what he thought and we had a good discussion about it. They are playing here again next Sunday, but I'll be out of town. Bummer! This was really tons of fun, as you can see from the 5 second video below:



And here's the artistic interpretation of the really blurry pic I took while jumping up and down (hey, it was also infectious):