The Author – Bart Busschots
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Jul
18
Potter Ponderings
Filed Under 42 (Life the Universe & Everything) on July 18, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I’ve had a whole series of potter articles in the back of my brain for the last few months and I just haven’t gotten them out. Now with the book officially only two days away and a leaked copy doing the rounds on the internet I guess those posts are just not going to be. Two friends of mine now have a copy of the leaked book and both are convinced it is genuine. So, it would seem that the time for predictions is over and the time to watch out for spoilers has begun. I have to say I just don’t get the mentality of those people who think it’s fun or clever to ruin the book for the fans. Yesterday a supposedly sensible and educated chap ruined the book for a good friend of mine by posting spoilers on Mikado (our college bulleting board system). I have to say I was not impressed. What kind of sicko takes pleasure from causing others pain? Surely someone with a personality like that needs help? Anyhow, I’m being very very careful about what I read and what sites I visit for the next few days but before I vanish into hiding I just want to list the important un-answered questions from the first six books as I see them (in order):
- What were Snape & Dumbledore arguing about in the forest when Hagrid over-heard them? – Theories that Dumbledore ordered Snape to kill him hinge on this
- On who’s orders Snape to betray Emaline Vance? We know Snape gave Voldemort information that led to her murder, was that a solo-run by Snape or was it on Dumbledore’s orders? This would give us insight into which side Snape is really on.
- What did Dumbledore’s little gleam of triumph at the news that Voldemort used Harry’s blood to return to power mean?
- Who is R.A.B.?
1. Duh for that answer.
2. It’s pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain which side he’s on. See your own point 1.
And the Vance thing is not very important I would think.
3. Not so much duh, but not so much of a mystery that I’d have listed it.
4. Extreme duh. If you didn’t get that already, wow.
I am one of the ones that is reading the book at the moment (page 200 and counting!).
I have no intention of spoiling it for anyone, even if they asked me to spoil it for them.
That said, I was also one of the ones who saw the last page spoiler on the internet. I freaking hate seeing the end of a story before reading it. They could have at least posted the first page, ffs.
And it’s not fake. The art, layout, etc are all perfect.
“What kind of sicko takes pleasure from causing others pain?”
And the award for overstatement of the year goes to…
I don’t think so Niall. I guess you don’t get just how bit this is to Potter fans. Imagine waiting for something for a decade only to have some gombean ruin it for you. That’s what it comes down to. It’s up there with taking a baseball-bat to someone’s brand new Nintendo Wee on Christmas day and then wondering why they don’t think it’s funny.
It sucks that people had it ruined, though to be honest, if I cared so desperately about not knowing (as opposed to being the spoiler whore I am), I would be desperately avoiding places like Mikado (and fark, and digg, and… well pretty much the entire user-created internet) for the entire month before the books release.
Despite the supposed ten million dollar security operation, there was no way the book was going to be released without spoilers getting out, and it is a sad fact of life that there are guaranteed to always be people looking to spoil the fun by posting shock-spoilers. I read recently that people waiting outside stores for the book at midnight are being advised to listen to their mp3 players while in the queue to avoid assholes running/driving by shouting spoilers at them.
Surely the journey is what’s important in such a long series of books.
Take lord of the rings, of course frodo was gonna make it, of course the world would be saved. The books are still worth reading even if you know that, they’re not spoiled because you know the ending. So many people read the books after the film, and still enjoyed them.
I know it’s a total pain in the ass, and a dickhead thing to do, but I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy the read in either case.
Hmm.
This only confirms my Iron clad belief that this world will never be rid of idiots and arseholes. Sadly they exist and they would stop the sun shining if they could, never mind ruining the ending of the Harry Potter saga.
Thankfully, people will still read the book no matter what. Even if some asshat tries to ruin the ending, people will read it to see if its true.
Besides, the joy is not in the ending, I find, but in the journey you take from beginning to end. I remember when the last Dark Tower book came out and I stayed up all night to read it.
Did I read the back page first? No!
Why? Because it’s the journey, not the conclusion that people want to experience. Some muppet yelling spoilers, though incredibly annoying, and though it can spoil some of the pleasure, will not stop people from reading, and enjoying, a book they have anticipated since the first came out years ago.
Well, I’m nearly finished it.
Judgement reserved, etc.
If you normally read the last page first, don’t with this one.
Just finished it now. Very pleased with how it went.
What up there with 250 euro worth of property damage (more if they took out the extra controllers, those things cost a bomb)?
I had been assured I was getting a Wii before they went on general sale and so was definitely going to have one for Christmas (big win since I didn’t prebook one-was out of the country when they started). I was majorly psyched I’d been waiting for the console since it was announced, even booked time off work so that I could overdose on Zelda, bowling and rabbits. In the end it didn’t happen, was Wiiless (ha ha ha) for Christmas and spent the time off desperately trying and failing to find one in the country. In the end I did find one, but about 2 months later. Now imagine hearing about that fracking book for 2 months and not being able to get a copy.
Moral of the story is that I didn’t go postal, didn’t go off at the person who promised me the console and dealt with it like an adult rather than a 5 year old whining about emotional damage.
Niall, kindly don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t mention emotional damage or any such carry-on. I said that people who take pleasure in depriving others of pleasure have some form of mental problem. I stand by that. Your Wii story is not really the same is it. Shit happens, however, no one went around actively trying to deprive you of your Wii, gloating about it, and taking pleasure in your dissapointment …. or is your local store run by a particularly sadistic person?
[niall]Now imagine hearing about that fracking book for 2 months and not being able to get a copy.[/niall]
2/2.5 years we haven’t been able to get a copy.
Fran if you are going to estimate time like that we have been waiting for the wii for 3 years.
Bart you were talking about the spoiler causing people pain, it’s hardly a massive leap from being causing emotional pain (unless he was actually beating you with the book) to emotional damage. You’re right the wii thing isn’t the same, but can you honestly say the book would be any less spoilt if somebody accidentally told you the whole story?
Niall, Unfortunately most courts in the world seem to agree with you that is something causes you any amount of pain it must have damaged you. Hence a load of farcical court judgements. I don’t hold with that carry-on. I’m not demanding that everyone who posts a spoiler be sued for causing emotional harm!
Anyhow, you’re right that spoilt is spoilt. It doesn’t matter if it’s an accident or a deliberate attempt, the effect on the reader is the same. But I don’t see the relevance to my point that those who CHOSE to intentionally do so are in need of psychiatric help. It is a sick thing to do and nothing anyone has replied with changes that in the slightest.
Niall, that’s not the same.
You didn’t have six previous versions of the wii to sample beforehand.
You can’t miss what you didn’t experience.
Yo,
I have to say
“What kind of sicko takes pleasure from causing others pain?” is a bit of any overstatement. It didnt put me in any pain.
Yes its annoying but at the end of the day its not the end of the world. Anyway i managed to warn people of it and have mostly managed to scramble wha t i saw in my own memory so im not really sure what i saw.
I was purposefully avoiding mikado and the likes for the last while, i only logged on to check their wasnt any issues i had missed.
However the pic that was up was designed to grab peoples attention for long enough to throw out several massive spoilers.And then it was changed later so it wasnt the same for everyone who saw it. People like that.. well i’m a big fan that the universe sorts them out and well people like that are usually just sad lonely gits who have nothing else in their lives so they try to inflict their misery on others.
The only thing i am actually annoyed about is i lent the guy in question a back-up disk so he could reinstall xp a few weeks ago when he put up a help request on mikado.
JC