MuggleCast 108 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
Mason: What’s up, MuggleCast listeners? This is Mase here with some information that you need. Before we start off this twelve-hour live podcast, I need to tell you about GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy.com’s economy package is just $3.59 a month for a year. With the economy package, you get 250 gigs of bandwidth, 5 gigs of storage, and up to 500 e-mail accounts. But if you think that’s all, you’re wrong because when you check out, you can save 10% by entering code “Muggle.” That’s right, M-U-G-G-L-E, Muggle. Some restrictions do apply. Check the site for details. If you’re planning to build a website, take advantage of this offer. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.
[“Innuendo” by Queen plays]
Micah: Because podcasting has no limits, this is MuggleCast Live for September 15th, 2007.
[Song continues]
Andrew: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to MuggleCast Live! Jamie and Laura are here.
Laura: Hey everybody!
Jamie: Hey!
Andrew: We are live on the Internet. This is our first ever twelve-hour podcasting event.
Jamie: Yeah!
Andrew: I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the first ever twelve-hour podcast.
Jamie: I would agree with you.
Laura: I think that’s a safe guess.
Andrew: That’s a safe guess. Laura is at college right now.
Laura: I am at college dealing with internet that’s somewhat not wanting to work today, so here’s hoping that it pulls through for me.
Andrew: Well, it’s holding right now…
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …and it’s actually sounding better than Jamie’s connection, but…
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: Yeah…
Andrew: …nothing we can do about that.
Jamie: …my connection is not particularly good.
Andrew: Jamie, this is twelve hours we’re doing here.
Jamie: This is twelve hours and I don’t think we need to tell everyone that twelve hours is an extremely long time. In twelve hours you can do a lot. You can fly from Heathrow to America twice in a jumbo jet, you can go there and come back. Also, you can go from Heathrow to New York and back twice on Concorde. You can drive almost the entire length of the UK. You can run a very long way, I don’t know how far. If anyone wants to try it, please feel free and then you can write in and tell us. You can cycle a long way, you can even walk a very long way. We’ve worked out that writing at two thousand words an hour, you can write a full graduate degree thesis in twelve hours. And according to the Toronto Film Festival, it is even possible to record and edit an entire movie in that time. So, there’s a hell of a lot you can do…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: …in twelve hours. We, however, decided to spend them doing podcasting and we hope you are all going to spend your time with us these twelve hours.
Andrew: That’s right. We also have some contact information for you today. Throughout the entire show, you’re going to be able to call in and voice your thoughts on what we’re discussing or bring up a new idea for something to talk about. If you’re in the United States, you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you can dial 0-208-144-0677. And if you’re in Australia, the number is 028-003-5668. I almost have that memorized! Also, you can Skype the username “MuggleCast” on Skype. Just download Skype.com, all free stuff. Just one thing to remember, when you are calling in, turn off your stream or just pause it or mute your computer so that we do not hear it, because then there’s going to be feedback and it’s going to sound very, what I like to say, unprofessional. Okay, and…
Jamie: Yes, extremely unprofessional.
Andrew: So feel free to call throughout the entire show. Of course, we’re getting tons of calls right now. Seven hundred and three people listening live right now. And on the Ustream stream, there’s a little countdown. We still have 11 hours and 53 minutes to go.
Jamie: Which is [laughs] a long, long, long, long time.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Andrew, I think we should quickly tell them about the prize that you can get if you stay here for all twelve hours.
Andrew: [laughs] Well, we don’t have a determined prize yet for…
Jamie: Well no, first of all, the deal we’ve worked out…
Andrew: Okay.
Jamie: …with super giant Walmart. Okay…
Andrew: Okay.
Jamie: …if you stay with us for the full whack, the whole twelve hours, then you will receive ten brownie points for doing this, okay? Now, if you go into your nearest Walmart, any Walmart, it can be a supercenter – see, I know my Walmarts here – and if you tell them that you have these brownie points, along with a secret phrase which is “Sirius Black is awesome,” you will receive an unlimited gift card that you can spend on purchases of your choice, any purchases, but you have to spend in one twelve-hour period and imagine what you can buy in Walmart in twelve hours. [laughs] And that story might not be true. It’s up to you to decide. You have twelve hours to think about it.
Andrew: [laughs] We’re also running another little contest here on the show if you listen for twelve hours. What we’re going to do – actually, Jamie thought this up about ten minutes ago. [laughs] You want to explain it?
Jamie: [laughs] Yes, of course. Well, it sort of goes on from the whole pickle theme, vegetable theme. What we’re going to do is, each hour, on the hour – well, perhaps not on the hour, but close to the hour, we’re going to say one vegetable and then the first person to e-mail in this list of vegetables in the correct order right at the end of the show, after the twelve hours, wins a prize. We’re not sure what this prize is. So to give an example, at the end of twelve hours, after you’ve listened to everything, you can send in an e-mail to whatever the e-mail address is that says sort of, “Broccoli, carrot, celery, pickle,” all this way down to twelve vegetables in the correct order. The first person to do that wins something nice, so keep your eyes open. Or rather your ears.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, it’s going to be mugglecastlive at gmail dot com, that’s the e-mail address you want to send your vegetables in to once we give out all twelve. So the first person to send them in, you said? We’re going to – the first person to send in all twelve, Jamie?
Jamie: Is going to win something exceptionally nice.
Andrew: Right. Okay.
Jamie: We don’t know what yet, though. Still thinking on it.
Andrew’s Mission to Get a Ticket to J.K. Rowling’s Book Reading
Andrew: You can also contact us via the feedback form, MuggleCast.com/Live, okay? And there’s a special feedback form there that will redirect all your e-mails to us so we can read it on the show here today. I’m on a mission today, guys.
Laura: What’s that?
Andrew: I want to go to J.K. Rowling’s book reading, her book tour in New York City, and I couldn’t get a ticket. I entered, like everyone else did, and all the winners have been announced, and there was one person on Facebook who decided to brag that she got her ticket. I didn’t really appreciate that. Did you guys see that?
Jamie: No, that is…
Laura: Yeah, I saw that.
Jamie: That’s just asking for it.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: It’s kind of arrogant, if you know what I’m saying. So I commented on her bragging post and I said, [laughs] “So, if I take you out for lunch, can I get your second ticket?” and she says no, she needs a parent or guardian. So, I’m on a mission here today. I really have no setup for this or anything, I’m just looking for a ticket to the reading. If anyone has got one…
Jamie: See, Andrew, I…
Andrew: …I’ll take you out to lunch in New York City before the reading and so then we’ll go to the show together. Isn’t that nice?
Jamie: I think you went the wrong way about that. Niceties are so old-fashioned. Don’t say you’ll take her out to lunch. Tell her what’s going to happen if she doesn’t give you the ticket.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Well no, no, no! [laughs] That girl on Facebook needs a parent or guardian to go because she’s not eighteen, so it’s like a legal thing.
Jamie: Ahhh.
Laura: I was going to say, Andrew…
Jamie: I see.
Laura: …that you offer to make it like a date thing, like you give me your ticket and I will take you out on a dinner date.
Andrew: Oh, there you go! Okay, I’m up for that.
Laura: Yeah. For some reason, I think a lot of them might go for it. So ladies?
Andrew: Yeah. Call in or e-mail in to MuggleCast.com/Live. That’s a good idea, actually. That’s a good idea. And it could be a guy, too. I mean, I’m not trying to be sexist here, so…
Laura: No, no, not at all.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Laura: And if any guys out there have an extra ticket, I would be happy to take your ticket off your hands, so…
Andrew: But me first, me first. It was my idea first.
Jamie: Ooh, you can fight over it!
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: You can have like a – it can be a blind-date type of thing.
Andrew: No, but seriously, me first. Okay, so I was going to answer a couple of calls but – oh, there’s someone calling now, and let’s get them in. Hello, you’re on MuggleCast Live!
Caller: Hi!
Andrew: Hi there!
Caller: This is Shannon!
Andrew: Hi Shannon! Do you have a ticket for me for New York City?
Caller: I’m sorry, I don’t.
Andrew: Oh, I’m sorry, we’re going to have to take another call.
Jamie: Shannon, can I ask you a few questions?
Caller: I wish I did, though. My friend – I’m talking to her on AIM. She really wants one, too, so…
Andrew: Yeah. Jamie?
Jamie: Wow, everyone wants one.
Caller: Well, I’m a Pickle Pack member!
Andrew: Oh. Well, you should have waited for the Pickle Pack Hour! [laughs]
Jamie: Special Pickle Pack Hour.
Caller: I didn’t know when it was! I was looking everywhere and I couldn’t find it.
Andrew: Oh, fair point. We never announced it on PicklePack.com. My bad! [laughs]
Jamie: Very bad. Awww. Shannon, I have two questions for you.
Caller: Okay.
Jamie: First one, since you’re the first person we’ve spoken to who’s listening in to the show, I want to know, what is the sound quality like? Because we’ve had a couple of fans asking about it.
Caller: Well, it’s kind of skipping every few seconds. It kind of skips and so my friend keeps asking me what you guys are saying, and I don’t know either.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s what happens on Ustream. It’s just part of the – I think half the problem is that there’s seven hundred people listening now, so…
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: …it’s getting a little laggy. However, this is a good opportunity to thank Ustream for their support in today’s show because they’re more than happy to work with us, and I’ve been e-mailing them and asking them to help us out. And they have us on their high quality server thing, meaning that [laughs] we’re apparently are on a better server than most Ustream streams are.
Jamie: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: So, that’s what… [laughs]
Jamie: What… [laughs]
Andrew: What?
Jamie: What’s their slogan, by the way? Their sort of motto?
Andrew: “Always on,” I think.
Jamie: Because – oh. Well see, it should be – do you know what it should be?
Andrew: What?
Jamie: It should be, “Istream? Westream? Mystream? Ustream!”
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I’m going to e-mail them and tell them to put that up.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I’ll e-mail them. I have the owner’s e-mail address. You can work with them there on a new slogan.
Jamie: Oh, do you? Well…
Andrew: I’m not trying to brag. I’m just saying, you know?
Jamie: What are you doing today, Shannon?
Caller: I am – well, I’m actually studying for chemistry along with listening but it’s kind of hard to study, so – I’m trying to listen and study at the same time, but it’s not really working.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh, okay.
Caller: But I’d rather listen, though. I really don’t want to study.
Andrew: Yeah, listen….
Laura: There you go.
Andrew: …I had some work to do in class – well, I had some work I was supposed to do yesterday but I was just so excited, I was like, “Oh, I’ll save it until Monday.” Laura, how’s school going for you, speaking of that?
Laura: Pretty well, actually. I’ve been actually a really good student. I’ve been doing all my homework when I’m supposed to do it. Except for today, so…
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Laura: …I’ll do that tomorrow. But yeah, actually it’s going really well, pretty cool.
Andrew: But it’s Saturday! So…
Laura: It is Saturday, yes.
Andrew: So, why do you have to work? Why do you have to do…
Laura: Because I have weekend homework!
Andrew: Oh.
Jamie: Awww.
Laura: And I want to do it before the night comes, you know?
Jamie: Laura, Laura, can I just say – I think your attitude is fantastic. I’m very pleased you’ve trained yourself into university, okay? But you realize that’s going to last you all of two weeks. You’re going to – in two weeks…
Laura: Okay, I’m starting my fourth week this week, thank you, Jamie.
Jamie: Okay, it will last you two weeks from now. That’s what I meant, Laura.
Laura: Uh huh. Yeah. Okay. Whatever. I love my classes. You can…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: So do I!
Laura: [laughs] I won’t say that, that’s a very rude thing to say.
Andrew: We’ll talk about school a little bit later on because we got an e-mail about that. You guys want to talk about some news right now? Because there’s a lot of news going on.
Jamie: Sure.
Laura: Sure.
News: Harry Potter Becomes Top Grossing Franchise of All Time
Andrew: In the things. [laughs] So first of all, Harry Potter top grossing franchise of all time.
Laura: Wow.
Andrew: This was announced by Warner Bros. earlier this week. Of course they’re going to announce this. I mean, this is nothing but good PR for them. It came in a press release, and Alan Horn, the president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., said, “It would be an understatement to say we are proud of the success of the Harry Potter films. We also want to congratulate all of the extraordinary actors, filmmakers and artists who have shared this remarkable cinematic journey with us.” And the total amount they have made so far, $4.47 billion dollars.
Jamie: Wow.
Laura: Oh my God.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: That is a lot of money.
Andrew: Was anybody – I mean, nobody ever – well, at least personally, I never saw this coming, but is this a surprise to anyone?
Caller: I don’t think it’s very surprising.
Laura: I mean, it’s not really a surprise.
Andrew: [laughs] The caller is still on! I forgot to say bye to the caller!
Caller: [laughs] Yeah, I was like, “Umm, I wonder if they still know I’m here?”
Andrew: Well, you’re still here now so you can chime in, too. Sorry.
Caller: Okay. [laughs]
Andrew: Go ahead, carry on.
[Prolonged silence]
Andrew: Go ahead, somebody.
[Andrew and Caller laugh]
Jamie: Go on, Shannon. You give us your thoughts.
Caller: Well, I didn’t think it was very surprising, I was kind of waiting for it to happen. But I was listening to a podcast that you guys did a really long time ago and it was talking about how Chamber of Secrets was the seventh highest or something, and I was like, “Oh, that just happened, how they were the highest now.” But I think it’s pretty cool that it passed Star Wars and James Bond and things like that.
Andrew: Yeah, that was the one thing. They said that this – well, some critics are saying this might not be very accurate because of inflation. Back when Star Wars and James Bond came out, movie tickets were obviously cheaper.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: So the thing is, is this really – is it really the top grossing motion picture franchise of all time? Especially when you think Bond has had, what, twenty-two films now? They’ve all been huge.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: Star Wars has had, what? I’ve never seen a Star Wars film. Actually, I’ve seen one.
Laura: There’s like six of them, I want to say. I don’t know. Jamie, you should know this.
Jamie: What? About Bond?
Andrew: How many Star Wars films.
Laura: How many Star Wars films there are.
Jamie: Why should I know that?
Andrew: Don’t you listen?
Laura: Because – yeah, you like that guy, right, from – the one actor. You think he’s a good actor or whatever.
Jamie: What guy?
Laura: I don’t know, the guy from the Star Wars movies! [laughs] I don’t know, Jamie!
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Well, that’s news to me!
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: I’m glad I like him, though.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I’m sure he’s very cool. [laughs] There have been six, I think. There have been the three originals and then the three – I’m sure I’m wrong, though, so…
Laura: Yeah, I thought…
Jamie: I don’t know. There have been three originals, yeah. Yeah, six.
Andrew: Okay. So yeah, I guess it’s a big deal, sort of.
Laura: I think it’s a…
Jamie: Can we say extremely quickly – if you are experiencing skipping audio or anything like that, please, please listen through MuggleCast.com. It’s embedded on there and if you listen through there, it should improve. Is that right, Andrew?
Andrew: Hopefully, because with Ustream – if you listen through Ustream’s website there’s also the chat, and the chat sort of lags the thinger.
Jamie: Yeah.
News: Order of the Phoenix DVD Release Date Announced
Andrew: So moving on, in other news, we finally have a release date for the Order of the Phoenix DVD, December 11th.
Jamie: Yes.
Andrew: Just in time for Christmas.
Laura: That’s a little later than usual, isn’t it?
Andrew: Is it?
Laura: Normally it’s November, it seems like whenever they release those movies.
Caller: I thought it was supposed to come out in November or something?
Laura: Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.
Andrew: Yeah. Okay. Well, I don’t know. Maybe – there are a lot of extra features on this DVD. I’ll read the description:
“Extras on the two-disc release will include ten minutes of additional scenes…”
Which we asked director David Yates about and he gave to us.
“…an A&E documentary, a Trailing Tonks feature with actress Natalia Tena…”
Jamie: Ooh!
Andrew: [continues]
“…various making of featurettes, and a Fun and Games feature in which…”
I think this is very cool.
“…director David Yates and editor Mark Day show us what a difference a good edit makes and allows you to edit a scene.”
So that sounds pretty cool.
Laura: Yeah, that is really cool.
Caller: It seems like more special features than usual.
Andrew: Yeah, and I just wonder how they’re going to let you edit a scene on DVD. It’s probably like you press three buttons or something and it’s edited.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: So that’s fun. And then for the first time – well, actually Goblet of Fire was released on HD and Blu-ray, was it? I think.
Laura: I don’t know, I don’t use either, so…
Andrew: Right. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was.
Jamie: And who cares because you’ve got to sell your house and remortgage it eight times to buy a Blu-ray player, so…
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Laura: [laughs] Yeah.
Jamie: …who cares about Blu-ray, really?
Andrew: Blu-ray players and HD DVD players are both very expensive. They are coming down in price but it’s like – if I may get techy for a second, it’s like the original VCR/DVD player. Those were a few hundred dollars. Now look at them, you can get…
Jamie: Exactly.
Andrew: …a VCR player for 20 bucks and a DVD player for 50, not even.
Jamie: Well actually, Andrew, funny you should talk about that, because I was reading an article on Wikipedia about sort of how computers have gone and progressed and stuff like that. I was reading about a computer manufacturer – I think it was thirty years ago, I think it was called the PWP1 or something like that, and it cost 120,000 dollars and it had sort of two kilobytes of RAM…
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: …it could run sort of half a program at once…
Andrew: Awww sweet!
Jamie: You know, stuff like that. It was – yeah.
Andrew: Can I buy one?
Jamie: It was unbelievable. You should definitely buy one.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: It will kill your Macbook Pro into the ground.
Andrew: Yeah. All right, Shannon, we’re going to let you go. Thank you for calling in today.
Caller: Okay. Can I ask you a question real quick?
Andrew: Sure.
Jamie: Of course.
Caller: Well, since you guys are talking about movies, I was just wondering, in the seventh movie, how do you think they’re going to do the epilogue? I would assume they’re going to keep the same actors but it’s supposed to be like nineteen years later. They’re going to be like 20 something by then.
Andrew: That’s a good point. And you know what? Actually, we’ll save that for later on because we’re going to have a movie discussion later on, specifically about…
Caller: Oh, okay.
Andrew: …that final book, okay?
Caller: Okay. Well, thanks for…
Andrew: All right.
Caller: …taking my call.
Andrew: No problem. Bye.
Laura: Thanks Shannon.
Jamie: Buh-bye.
Caller: Bye.
Andrew: Another thing I want to say about the movies is that – do you watch them when you get them on DVD? Like, the second – Goblet of Fire, [laughs] I still haven’t watched my Goblet of Fire DVD.
Laura: I don’t watch them the second I get them, but…
Andrew: Yeah. I actually…
Laura: I mean, I do watch them.
Andrew: Hmm?
Laura: I do watch them, eventually.
Andrew: I actually go straight to Disc Two because that’s all the new bonus stuff, so…
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: That’s extremely interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever watched the special features. I just – they just don’t appeal to me because it just seems to be the same stuff. Not just Harry Potter, but on every single DVD extras. Interviews with the same people and they always say the same things…
Laura: The same things, yeah.
Jamie: …and the games – yeah, I mean, Laura, the extras on Star Wars and Harry Potter are exactly the same. They were talking about the same stuff…
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: …doing all the same things, so it was – can I interrupt very quickly? Because we just had an e-mail which [laughs] just reads brilliantly. It’s from – I don’t know how to pronounce her name. It’s A-N-E-K-E from Germany, and it says: [laughs]
“Hey MuggleCasters. I just wanted to say that you’re doing an awful job. I love MuggleCast! I’m just sitting in front of my computer in Naila which is a little town in Germany. The time is twenty past six and I’m going to listen during the whole night until 6 AM.”
Andrew: Wait, she said “awful” or “awesome” job?
Jamie: Yeah, so it’s kind of a negative e-mail mixed into a positive format. I like that. [laughs] Are we doing an awful job?
Andrew: I hope she didn’t mean awful or my morale is just going to sink…
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …through the ground and I’m going to hit the “End” button. [laughs] But yeah, as for – yeah, DVDs are good. I disagree with what you’re saying, though. I mean, they do have – it is a lot of the same, a lot of, “This one’s the darkest one and we’re just all becoming a great big family.” Blah, blah, blah. But there’s the deleted scenes which are always fun to watch, and I think…
Jamie: Yes, they are.
Andrew: …hearing from the director is interesting. I don’t know.
Laura: I think watching all the bonus scenes and the interviews is interesting, but [laughs] all of the games and stuff that they put on those second discs, and – like the stuff like you were talking about creating or editing a scene, it all just comes across as extremely lame because they try to make it easy for little kids, I think.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s true.
Laura: And…
Jamie: Oh yeah.
Laura: …I’m sitting there and it takes me like two seconds to do whatever it is I’m doing, unless of course, for some reason my DVD remote does not like the disc and it won’t do anything…
Andrew: Right, right.
Laura: …which often it does on those DVDs. But, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. I…
Jamie: It’s a waste of a DVD.
Andrew: Yeah. And the thing…
Jamie: They’re always the same.
Andrew: I would love to see the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD because when the Goblet of Fire one came out, there was an extra commentary from the Phelps twins. And not only that, but the DVDs worked differently because apparently since they have more memory, you can have the menus come up while you’re watching the film and stuff like that. And it’s tailored for high definition, so it’s a pretty cool experience.
Jamie: That is kind of cool.
Andrew: Maybe I’ll use some MuggleCast money to buy that and then keep it, if that’s okay with you.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: A few people have been e-mailing in saying that when I said where you should go and listen, it cut out which is helpful. So, what you should do is go on MuggleCast.com and listen to the stream embedded there, because there is a chat on Ustream and that can lag.
Andrew: Right.
Jamie: So, go to MuggleCast.com and listen through there.
News: Order of the Phoenix Nominated For Scream Award
Andrew: In other news, Order of the Phoenix nominated for a Scream Award, or should I say a “Yawn Award”? Who cares anymore? Seriously.
Jamie: A what award? What’s it called?
Andrew: A Scream Award.
Jamie: A Scream Award?
Laura: Why don’t we explain a little bit what that is for anybody who doesn’t know?
Andrew: “Honoring the newest and hottest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and comic genres.” I called it a “Yawn Award” because the movies get [laughs] nominated for so many random things now, and it’s like the only reason we post it on MuggleNet right now is because news has been so slow lately. [laughs]
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: But I guess nobody’s…
Jamie: Yeah, it has been.
Andrew: …with me on that.
Jamie: No, no, I agree with you completely. These awards do – I mean, I’m sure it’s a very – these awards are obviously extremely prestigious, but there can just be too many awards. It’s like – and I don’t know if anyone remembers – in the days of GeoCities and sites like that when there would be the Super Dooper Site award and – just from a GeoCities site. And some site would win this award and then happily display a banner on their site…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: …that sort of – that says – that’s made in Paint and says, “This award came from Dave’s big GeoCities site,” and stuff like that. There can just be too many awards, you know?
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: But I’m sure it’s good if it wins.
News: Daniel Radcliffe Confirms Coming to Broadway for Equus
Andrew: That’s a fair point. Let’s see, to wrap up the news today, we also wanted to discuss Dan confirming he could be coming to Broadway for Equus which is upsetting to me, Jamie, because I flew all the way over there to see him.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Yes. But Andrew – but you saw it in London and you got the London atmosphere, and…
Andrew: Umm, I guess.
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: And you saw him naked in London, so… [unintelligible]
Andrew: So I paid $600 for a flight to see him naked in London?
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: When I could just pay…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …a $50 train to see him naked in New York City?
Laura: See him in New York. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: But it was more natural – okay, I’m clutching at straws so you’re absolutely right.
Laura: It’s more natural in London?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: You should have just waited until he came on Broadway, Andrew. It’s your fault.
Andrew: I’m a little upset. However, he didn’t mention this: one of the casting agents for Equus on Broadway actually picked up my audition tape for the Harry Potter musical and they’re actually considering me now for Equus on Broadway. So…
Jamie: They’re considering you?
Laura: Ooh.
Andrew: So that’s why I’ve been hitting the gym lately.
Jamie: Ahh yes, yes.
Andrew: And we’re going to see how that works out.
Jamie: Tell me, Andrew, do you remember the name of the character [laughs] who…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Alan.
Jamie: …you’re going to be playing?
Andrew: [laughs] Alan Strang.
Jamie: [laughs] Oh, you do.
Andrew: Come on, that’s an insult to my intelligence.
Jamie: I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. You’re absolutely right.
Laura: Well, good luck Andrew. If you get that, we’ll all be there with front row seats just for you.
Andrew: I don’t want you to be that close, especially during that one scene.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Why? Do you have something to hide?
Andrew: No. No. What? What?
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Moving quickly on.
MuggleCast 108 Transcript (continued)
Listener Calls: MuggleCast UK Tour?
Andrew: This is a children’s program. [laughs] Moving along, we’re – let’s take a couple of more calls right now.
Jamie: I agree.
Andrew: And I’ve been wondering why no one’s calling in and that’s because I turned off calling. But calling is back on now, so if you want to call in, 1-218-20-MAGIC – oh, and then we get bombarded. Let’s take someone from the UK!
Jamie: Yeah!
Andrew: Hello, English person.
Caller: Hello.
Andrew: Hello. You and Jamie talk.
Caller: What?
Andrew: You and Jamie talk.
Caller: Okay.
Jamie: Where are you calling from?
Caller: Newhaven in East Sussex.
Jamie: From Sussex? Nice.
Caller: Yeah, East Sussex.
Jamie: I’m probably the only person listening – well, apart from the few UK listeners – who knows where that is.
[Caller laughs]
Jamie: Andrew, are you a fan of Sussex?
Caller: South of England.
Andrew: I do not know where “Suffek” is.
Jamie: No, Sussex.
Andrew: “Suffeks”?
Laura: Sussex.
Jamie: Yeah, there’s “Suffek” and Sussex. [laughs]
Andrew: No, why are you asking me? [laughs] I have no idea.
Jamie: I don’t know, just in case you’re a fan of that place. Perhaps your great uncle came from there or something.
Andrew: No, I can’t say – how’s the weather? Let me guess: cloudy and rainy.
Caller: No, it’s sunny at the moment.
Andrew: Oh.
Jamie: There you go. There you go.
Laura: You fail.
Andrew: I stand corrected.
Jamie: It’s not all bad news. Normally, it is in England but just today it’s sunny. First sunny day in six years. How are you doing today? Are planning on staying in for the full duration?
Caller: No, because it’s so early in the morning and I’ve got to go out tomorrow.
Andrew: Awww man.
Jamie: That is very true. 5:00 AM.
Andrew: What’s your name, by the way? Did we get your name?
Caller: Martin.
Andrew: Marty?
Caller: Martin.
Andrew: Martin.
Jamie: Martin. How old are you, Martin?
Caller: Sixteen.
Jamie: Cool, cool.
Andrew: Got anything on your mind today?
Caller: Yeah. Were you thinking of doing a UK podcast tour or were you just leaving that to the US?
Andrew: Are we doing a UK podcast tour?
Jamie: Hmm.
Andrew: Jamie? [laughs]
Jamie: [laughs] I wouldn’t rule it off the cards, however I would say it is unlikely at the moment.
Andrew: I guess at the moment, yeah. It couldn’t hurt to take some – put up a – sorry, ask for feedback from international listeners or UK listeners, and be like, “Hey, how many of you would show up if we did a tour in these towns?”
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: I want to go to Ireland to do a podcast. Laura, you want to go to Ireland?
Jamie: I’m sure she’d like to go to Ireland. She’s just said, “Be right back.”
Andrew: Oh, sorry. I better keep an eye on the chat. [laughs]
Jamie: But yeah, Ireland would be an awesome place to go. Or we should do a tour of Europe. Now that would be fun.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: [unintelligible] …in all the European countries or something like that.
Andrew: Yeah. Wouldn’t hurt. I have a friend in Germany I’d like to visit.
Jamie: Well, there you go then. There you go. We’ll do Germany, UK, we’ll do Ireland if you want to go there, things like that.
Andrew: Sure. Yeah, Ciaran – so yeah, I mean, UK tour, we wouldn’t rule that out. It would be fun. It would just be expensive for us since six out of the seven co-hosts are in the US, so flying – I mean, not everyone would go on the tour obviously, but flying a few of us over would be pretty pricey.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: [laughs] Which is a good time to mention GoDaddy.com is your number one…
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Andrew: …domain retailer worldwide…
Jamie: [imitating Mason] GoDaddy.com!
Andrew: …no matter where you live.
Jamie: Big shout-out, Andrew, to Mason who does it, who is listening now.
Andrew: Is he listening?
Jamie: He is.
Andrew: Because he just called me on my phone and I turned it off.
Laura: [laughs] Awww!
Jamie: There you go. Hey Mason.
Andrew: But yeah, Martin. So don’t rule it out, buddy. We’ll keep you updated, though.
Jamie: Thanks for calling in.
Andrew: Yeah, thanks for calling. Let’s take a couple of other calls right now.
Jamie: Good idea. Let’s take a few more.
Andrew: I like when people call in because you never know what you’re going to get.
Jamie: No.
[Echoing sounds in the background]
Listener Calls: MuggleCast East Coast Tour?
Andrew: That was my bad. I answered the call the wrong way. Let’s try this. Hello caller.
Caller: Hi!
Andrew: Hi! Where are you from?
Caller: I’m from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, but right now I’m in Hartford because I’m in college.
Andrew: Oh, cool.
Laura: What’s your name?
Caller: Tierney.
Andrew: Tierney.
Laura: Awesome.
Andrew: And what’s going on today?
Caller: Not much. It’s pretty gross out here in Hartford. [laughs]
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: Really rainy.
Andrew: Oh, that’s no fun.
Caller: Yeah. But it’s nice because it’s been like ninety degrees, so…
Andrew: Awesome. Hurricane what’s-its-face is coming towards me. I have to board up the windows and stuff.
Caller: Oh, God! [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. Actually, I’m just kidding. It’s like a tropical nothing now, so… [laughs]
Caller: Awww. [laughs]
Laura: Darn, I was so hopeful.
Jamie: Don’t worry, because Andrew promised me that he would continue podcasting throughout anything. So even if a hurricane hit his house, he would go down to the basement with his laptop.
Andrew: Yeah, until the power goes out.
Jamie: No, no, no, no, no. Because we bought that generator, remember Andrew? So you can still…
Andrew: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Jamie: Well… [unintelligible]
Andrew: Anyway – [laughs] okay. Anyway, what’s on your mind today, Tierney?
Caller: Oh, nice job. You said it right. [laughs]
Andrew: What’s that?
Caller: I said “Nice job.” No one ever gets it right, so…
Andrew: Oh. And I’m terrible with names, so…
Caller: [laughs] I was wondering if you guys were – I know you guys just got asked if you were going to the UK, but do you think you’ll ever come back up to New York…
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: …and maybe Boston? [laughs]
Andrew: Okay, here’s the thing, I think I’ve said this before: whenever we announce we’re going to be somewhere, we always get 30,000 e-mails from people saying…
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: …”Why aren’t you coming to my hometown?”
Jamie: Hey, hey.
Andrew: What?
Jamie: I would probably – I’d be the same, though, because…
Andrew: No, I agree.
Jamie: …I used to live in a tiny town, in a tiny, tiny, tiny town. Nothing happened there. There was a shop and…
[Caller laughs]
Jamie: …the whole town got excited when there was a new product coming into the store catalogue or something like that in the shop. So I know what it’s like to live in a small town.
Andrew: Yeah. I would say that – yeah, there’s definitely a possibility we could do something like an East Coast tour or something like that. Boston would be very cool. I have to say – and I haven’t really had time to talk about this on the show yet – that I really just get all – a little emo when I start talking about the tour, when I tell people about the tour. It was seriously the best time of my life, ever.
Caller: Oh, God.
Laura: Awww.
Jamie: Yes. It was a lot, a lot, a lot of fun.
Andrew: It was just so much fun, day after day, eight straight days of show after show. You wake up, you drive a little bit, you get to the place where you’re doing the tour – the show, your podcast – we go to a hotel or we drive a few – it was just so much fun! It was just so much fun and I would be willing to do another cross-country tour, seriously, in a heartbeat.
Jamie: I’d be willing to live on tour. Awww, it would be so cool.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. Hopefully we’re going to have Alex Carpenter on later in the show today.
Caller: Oh, cool.
Andrew: And him and I have just – we’ve been going back and forth on Facebook and IM and stuff like that.
Jamie: Yeah. That sounds so romantic, Andrew.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: What? Well, we are – what’s the word I’m looking for?
Jamie: Engaged?
Andrew: Well, we’re interested in pursuing some sort of relationship, but…
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, I think an East Coast tour would be pretty fun because we get a ton of e-mails saying, “Hey, why don’t you come to Florida,” or “Hey, why don’t you come to Boston,” for example. Boston is a big one, too.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: So yeah.
Caller: Great.
Andrew: It could happen. I will say we’re working on doing a show up in New York for J.K. Rowling’s reading.
Caller: Oh!
Andrew: Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing set in stone yet.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: Ben’s working on that right now and we’ll see what we can do.
Caller: That’s great.
Andrew: So yeah, that would – again, incomplete – this could not – this could happen – this might not happen at all. It would be October 19th, sometime during the day.
Caller: Hey, but at least it’s something.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Would you come to that?
Caller: Yeah, of course!
Andrew: Okay, cool. Have you been to a live show before?
Caller: I haven’t, I’ve wanted to forever. I’ve been listening to you guys for – almost since the beginning, and I’ve just been poor and [laughs] can’t take a train out to New York!
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Jamie: Awww.
Andrew: All right. Well yeah, I would say that that may happen still, we just don’t know yet. We’re waiting to hear back from people.
Caller: Oh, that would be great!
Andrew: Yeah. So keep an eye out, we’ll announce it on MuggleCast and of course MuggleNet.com and all that if, if, if… [repeatedly says “if”]
Jamie: Emphasis on the “if.”
Andrew: [laughs] If, yeah.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: It might not happen at all and in that case I’m going to look like a fool. However, if we did do that, Laura would be there, right Laura?
Laura: Mhm. That’s right. Well, I’m going to be there anyway, but…
Andrew: Well, right. So will I. [laughs] But yeah, so that’s that!
Caller: All right!
Andrew: Okay, thanks for calling.
Jamie: Thank you very much for calling.
Caller: Thanks guys!
Andrew: All right, bye!
Laura: Thank you.
Caller: You have a good day today!
Andrew: Thanks! Bye.
Jamie: Andrew, I have a technical question for you that’s come in a couple of e-mails: people are asking if they don’t type in the chat room on Ustream, will it stop it lagging?
Andrew: I don’t know. It’s up to your browser, I think.
Jamie: Hmmm.
Andrew: So…
Jamie: You heard it here first.
Andrew: Yeah. And Jamie, can you adjust your mic a little bit? You’re popping a little bit.
Jamie: Sorry, sorry.
Andrew: What was I – oh, I have a big announcement today. I’m really excited about this. I don’t know if you guys heard, but…
Jamie: It sounds like you’re excited.
Andrew: …Kelly Clarkson is on tour.
[Jamie laughs]
Laura: [in a sarcastic tone] Oh, boy. I’m so excited.
Andrew: And I’m happy to report that a friend of ours [laughs] secured tickets for one of her shows.
Laura: And who is this friend?
Andrew: I can’t reveal that on air. However, I’m going to see Kelly Clarkson! Yay!
Jamie: Wow.
Laura: [uncertainly] Yay. [laughs]
Jamie: Wow. I’m actually extremely jealous, but I’m going to hide it…
Andrew: Awww.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: …and just be like, “That’s cool, Andrew. I’m so happy for you. I’m really, really glad that you’re going to be happy soon, seeing Kelly Clarkson.”
Andrew: I’m just saying if anyone else is going to Kelly Clarkson’s tour, call us. [starts singing] “1-218-20-MAGIC. It’s the question – it’s the number -“ I forget my wizard rock song. I’m sorry.
[Jamie laughs]
Listener Calls: Type of Pickle on Pickle Pack T-shirt
Andrew: Let’s take another call now. Let’s see. Man, we’re getting bombarded by calls!
Jamie: But Andrew, just a quick question. I have a quick question.
Andrew: I already accepted the call, but go for it.
Jamie: Okay, first question is – someone e-mailed me: “I have a question: What do boys like?”
Caller: Hello?
Laura: Oh my gosh. Don’t answer.
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: Hello?
Laura: Guys, don’t…
Andrew: Hi!
Caller: Hi!
Andrew: Who’s calling?
Caller: The person from last night.
Andrew: I know, I just wanted to get your name on air.
Caller: Oh. Yeah, Colin from State College.
Andrew: Sweet. Oh, Pennsylvania, right?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s crazy. We know someone who goes to Penn State there.
Laura: Yeah.
Caller: Oh.
Andrew: So you were – what’s your name, buddy?
Caller: Colin.
Andrew: Colin, yeah. Colin was helping Jamie and I out last night as we were testing this stream on Ustream, right?
Caller: The one who was the boy.
Andrew: Yeah. Oh, no, no, we knew you were a boy. Jamie said…
Caller: Well, I wasn’t sure what the whole Jamie saying like, “your little bro” and all that, so…
Andrew: Jamie, do you remember what you said last night? [laughs]
Jamie: I do! It was late. I was tired. It was late and I was tired. And it was late. And extremely late.
Andrew: No, it’s not – I don’t think it’s a big deal. It was just a joke though, he wasn’t serious or anything. It was just a joke. [laughs]
Caller: Yeah, I know, I know.
Andrew: And so – yeah, so cool. So [laughs] you got anything on your mind today?
Caller: Well, I do have a question for you about pickles.
Andrew: Oh, this is good because we’re trying to bring the pickle catchphrase back to…
Jamie: Yes.
Andrew: …MuggleCast.
Caller: Yeah, this is kind of random and it all spawned off from when I was in Las Vegas airport a couple of months ago.
Andrew: Okay.
Caller: And this person who was working at Brookstone saw my shirt and I was wearing my Pickle Pack T-shirt.
Andrew: Uh-huh.
Caller: And she asked me what kind of pickles they were.
Andrew: Oh.
[Jamie laughs]
Caller: And I did not know, so I thought I might as well ask you what kind of pickles…
Jamie: They are Egyptian pickles. No, actually I have no idea what they are. What are they, Andrew?
Andrew: Well, actually – I’m actually looking up “pickle” on Wikipedia right now to see what kind of pickles there are.
Laura: I was going to say dills, but…
Andrew: Dills?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Is that like the basic pickle?
Laura: Yeah.
Caller: That’s what I told them, but I wasn’t sure.
Andrew: Okay. Did you ask them why they cared?
Caller: They just said that it was kind of just like one of those things. I also had a person who was at the security desk ask me what kind of pickles they were, and I had a flight attendant on the airplane ask me.
Andrew: [laughs] Really? Geez, I don’t…
Caller: They were all…
Andrew: I don’t even…
Caller: They were all…
Andrew: Huh?
Caller: I have no idea, but they were just all interested in what kind of pickles they were.
Jamie: Wow.
Andrew: Did I mention this on Pickle Pack last week or was it MuggleCast? I said that I was going through Canadian customs and he looked at…
Caller: Oh, yeah.
Andrew: Was that on Pickle Pack?
Caller: I don’t…
Laura: No, I think you mentioned that on the show.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Laura: You know what? This reminds me of a funny story though. When I was coming back from Toronto, I was getting on the plane, and you know how the pilot and the co-pilot would sometimes be standing right there?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: And the co-pilot – I was wearing my MuggleNet shirt and he looked at it and he was like, “Oh, you know MuggleNet?” and I was like, “Yeah, I work for them!”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: And he just thought that was the coolest thing ever. He was like, “Oh wow, I love MuggleNet.” So I just thought that was really cool. It’s like, even your pilots go to MuggleNet. So…
Andrew: [laughs] Right, right. Awesome.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Okay…
Caller: Last night when I had you guys say like, “Hi Colin, Laura,” that was kind of because I have a best friend who listens to MuggleCast.
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: And she flipped out when I told her, “Oh, guess what? I was just talking to Andrew and he said blah, blah, blah.”
Andrew: Yeah, I did say “blah, blah, blah.” Those were my exact words actually.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, so thank you Colin for calling in today.
Caller: So yeah, have a good show, guys.
Andrew: All right, thanks!
Jamie: Thank you!
Laura: Bye!
Andrew: I’m liking these calls – oh, I cut him off. These are good calls. These are intelligent, thought-provoking calls. I do want to bring up – that reminds me of one situation on the tour when this guy and girl came up to me, and they were like, “Oh my gosh, we’re huge Laura fangirls!”
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Well, the guy didn’t say fangirl, but [laughs] he said…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …”We’re huge – we love Laura! She’s so great! I wish she was here!” And so I pull out my Apple iPhone and…
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: …while they’re gushing over Laura, I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, she’s great. Yeah, too bad she’s not here.” I’m dialing her number at the same time.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: And then I call her and I’m like, “Hey, you got a second?” I’m like, “Hold on.” I hand the phone over to Laura and they go nuts [laughs], right Laura?
Laura: Yeah. I was actually talking to them, and they were saying that they thought it was really weird that they were – like, in the middle of talking to you and you were just like, “Yeah,” and you pulled out your phone and [laughs] you started playing with it. They were like, “Oh my gosh, he’s so mean!”
Andrew: [laughs] Awww. Oh well, geez…
Laura: No, no, no, but then they were like, “Oh, okay.” They realized what you were doing.
Andrew: Right, right.
Laura: But I just thought that was funny. Yeah, they were pretty cool. I was at work, they gave me some entertainment while I was sitting in the break room bored. So…
Andrew: There was actually someone else in Tulsa who – it was a few girls and they were like, “We love Laura!” But then I called you at that time too, and they probably thought I was rude for looking at my phone…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …but then you weren’t there unfortunately at that one.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: But Laura, I think you win the award for most requested on tour, most requested and most wanted to be called. [laughs]
Laura: Awww. Okay, well then I’ll be sure to come on tour next time.
Jamie: And prettiest dressed as well.
Laura: As long as Ben promises not to drive.
[Jamie laughs]
Laura: Because I heard that story about him, and – no.
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Jamie: That was fun.
Andrew: Have we told this story yet?
Jamie: I think…
Laura: It was…
Jamie: …we told it at Prophecy.
Laura: Yeah, it was during the live show.
Andrew: Yeah. Oh right, right, right. Ben basically – and then we had some heckler in the Prophecy audience trying to be smart with us. That wasn’t – I didn’t appreciate that. So – Ben was a good driver. So was I. Not to brag but I was excellent.
Jamie: I was a good driver as well, wasn’t I Andrew?
Andrew: Jamie, you didn’t drive a mile. [laughs]
Jamie: Can I just kind of point out though, I would have happily helped out – the point was I couldn’t drive because a) That was a huge car and my first experience of driving on an American road shouldn’t really have been in a 2007 Lincoln Navigator. However…
Andrew: Limited edition.
Jamie: Yeah, limited edition as well.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: But everyone treated me, because I wasn’t driving, as a second class citizen. They were like, “Oh my God, are you sleeping now?” So I was like, “Well, what else am I going to do if I’m not going to drive?”
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I felt shunned, I felt in the minority, I felt ill – oh, it was just awful.
Andrew: Uhhh…
Jamie: I’m lying.
Andrew: I was going to say…
Jamie: It was awesome!
Listener Calls: Duel Between Harry and Hermione
Andrew: I don’t believe you. Let’s take another caller now.
[Echoing sounds in the background]
Andrew: Hey, mute your computer so we don’t have this feedback, Elliot.
Caller: Yeah, sorry about that.
Andrew: Oh, no problem, buddy. What’s going on?
Caller: I just had a question for you: I was wondering what you’d think in who would win in a duel with Harry and Hermione?
Andrew: A duel out of Harry and Hermione.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Can you mute your computer? It’s still feed-backing.
Caller: Is that better?
Andrew: Or something is, Skype is. Yeah, there you go. Actually no, it’s not at all. [laughs] Here, I’ll just do this. Oh. No, that didn’t work.
Caller: Is that better now?
Laura: Okay.
Jamie: Awesome.
Andrew: Sort of. Yeah, Laura?
Caller: All right.
Laura: I think that – and Jo actually mentioned this, I think she answered this question. Somebody asked her who would win a duel between Harry and Hermione, and she said up until Book 3 it would have been Hermione, but after Book 3 it was Harry. So I think it was when Harry really got his confidence up by learning how to produce a Patronus, and he just learned so much more about his past and everything, I think that really helped him and I think he kind of came into his own in that book. So I think that Harry would beat her as of now.
Andrew: That’s a great point actually, yeah. Harry is definitely stronger than Hermione now dueling-wise.
Caller: Yeah.
Jamie: No.
Andrew: No?
Laura: Oh, I think so though, Jamie, because Hermione is somewhat limited by the fact that she kind of questions anything that isn’t considered normal magic, and it’s sort of been to Harry’s…
Jamie: She does.
Laura: …advantage that he accepts that there are things out there that can’t be explained.
Jamie: Yes.
Caller: Yeah.
Jamie: No, you’re absolutely right but I would say to that that Harry – I mean, both of them I don’t think could hurt a friend so neither of them would be throwing spells to do any significant damage. But I think Harry would sort of try and throw up a shield charm because he couldn’t hurt his best friend, and then Hermione would be in tears and be like, “Oh no, Harry. This is exactly what Voldemort wants.”
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Jamie: And then Harry would Expelliarmus her.
[Caller laughs]
Jamie: So neither would win, but Harry would get the upper hand.
Laura: But Jamie, Jo said that Harry would win.
Jamie: What does she know, Laura?
[Caller laughs]
Laura: No, she just wrote the books. I mean, who cares what she thinks, right?
Andrew: Good point.
Jamie: Yeah, she only writes the books.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, I agree.
Jamie: [laughs] You agree?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: No, I agree with the caller. I agree with the caller [laughs] and Laura.
Jamie: I see.
Andrew: Sorry, I guess? What’s your name? Elliot?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. Elliot C. I know that because of your Skype name.
Jamie: Well, Elliot…
Laura: Hey Elliot?
Caller: Yeah?
Laura: Emma from Sweden likes your accent.
Andrew: Ooh.
Jamie: She does.
Caller: No, I’m actually from the UK.
Laura: No, no, Emma from Sweden.
Caller: Oh.
Jamie: Likes your accent a lot.
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: Maybe we can hook something up here. It’ll be our first MuggleCast dating service success.
Andrew: Ooh. Let’s not bring that up. That’s a…
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Sore point?
Andrew: Sore point in my podcasting career.
[Caller laughs]
Jamie: I see.
Andrew: [laughs] But – all right, Elliot. Thank you for calling in today.
Jamie: Thank you.
Caller: All right, thanks.
Jamie: Buh-bye.
Andrew: I want to have a duel between me and Harry. I think I could…
Jamie: That might be difficult considering he’s a fictional character but…
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: …good luck, Andrew.
Andrew: I think I could beat him, actually.
Jamie: Yeah? What would you do? What sort of spells would you cast? What would be your tactics? Have you thought about this?
Andrew: No.
Jamie: Planned it out?
Andrew: Actually, I need to work on it more. But I actually have a little story to tell. Actually, let me switch to the e-mails real quick. Nicole from Illinois is asking via the live feedback form at MuggleCast.com/Live:
“I was wondering if any other MuggleCasters are going to be on the show today.”
The answer is…
Jamie: No.
Andrew: …what’s wrong with us? Do you not like us or something? Is something wrong here?
Laura: We could leave.
Jamie: I’m hurt, I’m hurt.
Andrew: Yeah. Also – no, everyone will be along later in the show. Eric is going to be on at some point today. I know Mikey is working on coming on today. Who else? Who else hosts the show? Oh, Kevin is going to be on today. Ben is at a Notre Dame football game right now, but I think he’s going to be on later today. Jamie, do you know?
Jamie: I think so, yeah. When he comes back from it.
Andrew: Yeah. And who else hosts the show? Oh, Micah. [laughs] Micah is going to be on later, later, later on, probably not until later tonight because he’s at a wedding in…
Jamie: Nantucket Bay, which if you are a Billy Joel fan and listen to “The Downeaster ‘Alexa'” you will hear him referencing that, and Micah is extremely excited about that fact because he is also a big Billy Joel fan. And I hope everyone listening is as well.
MuggleCast 108 Transcript (continued)
Birthday Shout-Out Request
Andrew: I sort of am. So I have a little story. I was in my Film Appreciation class yesterday – it was Friday, yesterday Friday – and I’m trying to enhance my education. We’re watching movies, all is well, and I get a call from a random number and ever since Ben gave my number out on another podcast way back when – I’ve been getting these random calls, so usually I ignore them and I ignored this one.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: And it was this voicemail here. Hit “Play” here:
[Audio]: Hi, I’m calling because my sister is a huge MuggleCast fan and her birthday is tomorrow, and what I was thinking would make her really, really, really, really, really happy is…
Jamie: Really happy.
[Audio]: …if possible you could call her sometime in the morning, like before 9:30, and wish her a happy birthday. That would be really, really great. So I hope you get this message. Thanks. Oh, her number is…
Andrew: [laughs] Kind of important. And we won’t listen to the rest of the number there. And then he calls back two minutes later while I’m still trying to enhance my education:
[Audio]: Hi, this is Timmy, the guy who just called about my sister’s birthday which is coming up tomorrow, September 15th. And her name is Becca and so…
[Laura laughs]
[Audio]: …if you get this message can you please call me back at this number which is…
Andrew: And so – [laughs] so I thought this was really nice. This kid is calling my phone number. Somehow he got my phone number, I don’t know how.
Jamie: Oh, your cell phone, that is?
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, this is – I’m playing this on my phone.
Jamie: Oh.
Andrew: And I think we should give her…
Jamie: But isn’t it after 9:30 in the morning?
Andrew: It is, but…
[Caller’s voicemail plays in background]
Andrew: Go ahead, keep talking for a second, Jamie.
Jamie: No, I was going to say, it’s after 9:30 in the morning. Perhaps she’s got work or something like that. But I agree, I think we should try and see what she’s doing. But first, I’d like to answer a very quick e-mail. A very, very exciting e-mail coming from Ben from North Carolina who asked me how psyched I am for the new season of Prison Break, and I hope I speak for everyone listening in now – and Andrew and Laura, although I fear you aren’t as big Prison Break fans as I am, but…
Laura: I’ve actually never watched it.
Jamie: Well, Laura, that is blasphemous, okay? That is just – oh my God. Awww.
Andrew: I haven’t watched it either, actually.
Jamie: Awww. I can’t stay here. I’m going to have to go, I’m sorry.
Laura: I don’t watch Prison Break, I don’t like Boys Like Girls. I mean, what’s wrong with me?
Jamie: [laughs] Well, I can’t answer that question.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: I have no idea, but…
Andrew: [laughs] Okay, so…
Jamie: [unintelligible] …Prison Break – wait, wait, wait. Andrew, wait, wait. Ben, I am so excited. The sneak preview on YouTube looks amazing and I completely agree, it’s going to be unbelievable. I cannot wait. In fact, I’m watching the first and second seasons in preparation so I don’t miss a thing.
Andrew: You are a fangirl. So…
Jamie: Andrew…
Andrew: …let’s give Timmy’s sister, Becca, a call. And hopefully – I have a feeling we’re going to get the voicemail, because we were supposed to call before 9:30 but we weren’t doing the show then.
[Phone rings]
Caller: Hello?
Andrew: Oh, hi. Becca?
Caller: Yes? Who is this?
Andrew: Okay, you were definitely just listening to the MuggleCast stream, weren’t you?
Caller: Yeah.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Laura: Awww.
Caller: Is this Andrew?!
Andrew: You answered that phone way too quick.
Jamie: She had answered too quickly.
Andrew: Yeah, do you know me? Andrew Sims?
Caller: Oh my God!
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Awww!
Caller: Hi!
Andrew: Laura and Jamie are here, too.
Laura: Hey Becca.
Jamie: Hey Becca.
Caller: Oh my God!
Jamie: Happy Birthday!
Caller: I was listening, and I guess I didn’t hear Timmy’s name…
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: …and I was like, “Oh, that’s cool. The girl has the same birthday as me.”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Awww.
Caller: Oh my God!
Andrew: That was so nice of your brother to call for you. However, he did call during my Film Appreciation class. I didn’t really appreciate that.
Laura: Oh…
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: [laughs] I’m just kidding. It’s okay.
[Andrew and Caller laugh]
Andrew: So, I met you in Pittsburgh, didn’t I?
Caller: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. And – cool. I’m wondering – not that I care, but how did you get my phone number? [laughs]
Caller: Oh, okay. [laughs] Well, when we went to Pittsburgh, I was with my friend Zoe…
Andrew: Right.
Caller: …whose birthday is Harry Potter’s birthday.
Andrew: Right.
Caller: And her mom had called you, and you guys had talked on the phone about…
Jamie: How did…
Caller: …getting a shout-out for Zoe.
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: Yeah. So then Zoe had your phone number from the e-mail and so [laughs] she gave it to me.
Andrew: Oh, okay. I see.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Well, it’s funny because after I got the two calls from your brother…
Caller: Uh-huh.
Andrew: …[laughs] I got an e-mail from your mom.
Caller: Oh, really?!
Andrew: [laughs] Yes.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: And she said, “It wasn’t a prank call! It wasn’t a prank call!” I believed it, though. So anyway, what have you been doing today? Why did we have to call you before 9:30? Although obviously you had your phone anyway.
Caller: Oh, because I had a kickboxing class at ten.
Andrew: Oh, geez. Oh, I don’t want to get near you now. You’re tough.
[Caller laughs]
Jamie: Very, very.
Andrew: [laughs] Anyway, well we hope you have a happy birthday and…
Caller: Thank you. This is the best birthday present ever!
Andrew: Awww, that’s so sweet.
Laura: That’s sweet.
Andrew: What else are you doing today, while we have you here?
Caller: I’m going to the March On Washington to stop the war.
Andrew: Oh, awesome! [laughs]
Laura: Oh, cool!
Andrew: That’s very cool. Cool, cool, cool.
Laura: Good for you.
Andrew: We just lost…
Caller: And other than that I’m just [laughs] listening to this.
Andrew: Cool. That’s great. So we hope you have a great day.
Jamie: Happy Birthday!
Andrew: Anything you want to talk about while we have you on the line here?
Caller: Umm, I don’t know. I just – I love MuggleCast and pickles, and I love you all.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: Oh, good. We love you too.
Caller: Yay!
Andrew: Come on, give us something Harry Potter to talk about. [laughs]
Caller: Okay.
Andrew: Anything.
Caller: Well, I was wondering in the seventh book, Cho is there at the end when Harry gets back to Hogwarts.
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: And I was wondering why she was there, because she’s in a grade above him.
Andrew: When was this?
Caller: So…
Laura: Well yeah, she was there, but she’s a year older. So if Harry was going to be a seventh year, why would she be at Hogwarts?
Andrew: Oh.
Laura: The only thing I can think of is that she just came back because didn’t – gosh, I don’t want to say that they used the coins from Dumbledore’s Army, because…
Jamie: Who are we talking about here?
Caller: Oh yeah… [unintelligible]
Andrew: No, they did. They did, though.
Laura: Okay, they did?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: I just didn’t want to say it in case I was wrong. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: But I think they might have.
Caller: No yeah, that’s probably right.
Laura: And I’m sure she came to her senses after she was…
Jamie: Who is this?
Laura: …a complete psycho.
Andrew: Cho.
Laura: Cho.
Jamie: Oh. Ahh, yes.
Andrew: Plus I mean, we – well, it seems like Jo wanted to include as many people as possible from – like the Oliver Wood…
Caller: Uh-huh.
Andrew: …reference that I keep bringing up.
Jamie: Yeah.
Caller: Oh yeah.
Andrew: Just to get everyone in there one last time.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: So yeah, I guess that would make sense to me.
Caller: Oh, and I also – just before I go I wanted to say me and my friends Zoe and Maria, when we were in Pittsburg we bought a teddy bear…
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: …and we named it “Jandrewson” after Jamie, Andrew, and Emerson.
Andrew: [laughs] Jandrewson.
Jamie: Nice.
Laura: Geez.
Caller: And it’s really cute.
Andrew: That’s pretty funny. [laughs]
Jamie: Awww.
Andrew: You should take a picture and send it to us.
Jamie: Yeah.
Caller: Oh, okay.
Jamie: We’ll post it on the site.
Andrew: Okay. Well, thank you for calling. Happy Birthday once again.
Caller: Thank you so much!
Andrew: No problem.
Jamie: Have a great day.
Caller: Awww.
Andrew: You’re welcome.
Jamie: Buh-bye!
Andrew: Okay, bye!
Laura: Bye!
Caller: [laughs] Pickles! Bye!
Andrew: Pickles! Yay, Pickles! Okay, that was nice.
Muggle Mail: What The Hosts Would Make Using Various Materials
Jamie: I’ve got a question.
Andrew: Yeah?
Jamie: Someone just e-mailed in and said:
“If you had a piece of rope, a cardboard box, a rubber band, an old sock, and a copy of Deathly Hallows, what would you make?”
Because they had to answer this for an audition for a play, and they want to know what we think.
Andrew: Say it again. What are the materials?
Jamie: A piece of rope, a cardboard box, a rubber band, an old sock, and Harry Potter 7. What would you make? I would make a copy of Harry Potter 7, inside a sock, wrapped in a rubber band, in a cardboard box, hung by a piece of rope from something. What would you make, Andrew?
Laura: And the point of that would be what?
Andrew: How would that make you a good actor…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …to be involved in a play?
Jamie: See, you two need to broaden your minds, you know?
Laura: Okay, Trelawney.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: I have no idea. I would make the same thing you would, Jamie.
Jamie: Wow, great minds think alike, Andrew.
Andrew: Yes, that’s us.
Jamie: Very much so.
Andrew: So I think we are going to go to break. We have a couple of songs for you, then when we come back – coming up in the next hour we have some Harry Potter discussion. We’re going to talk about university and the effect it’s had on…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: …the hosts. And you guys. We want to hear how you’re involving MuggleCast in your university life. Laura will be here for the next hour, Jamie and I plan on being here for a while.
Jamie: The next eleven.
Andrew: By a while, I mean next eleven, yeah. [laughs] And Laura, you’re going to come back later on?
Laura: Yeah, I’ll probably be back later tonight.
Andrew: Okay. We’ll be back in a few minutes. You’re going to be treated to a couple of songs. This is MuggleCast Live, we’ll see you in a couple of minutes.
Jamie: Buh-bye! Stay with us!
Laura: Bye!
[“Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille plays]
[“Radio Nowhere” by Bruce Springsteen plays]
Andrew: Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to MuggleCast Live, September 15th, 2007. The time right now on the East Coast: 1:05 PM Eastern. I’m still here with Jamie and Laura.
Laura: Hey everybody.
Jamie: Hey.
Andrew: What you guys were just listening to is “Radio Nowhere” by Bruce Springsteen. I am the only Springsteen fan in this group. It’s actually off of his new album, Magic. This single was released and his whole album leaked online. It’s actually a pretty good album. And the song before that, Jamie?
Jamie: Umm. It was lagging for me.
Andrew: [laughs] I thought you were going to say it. It’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” by…
Jamie: Ahhh. But I’d also like to say…
Andrew: Hold on. By Captain & Tennille, I want to say.
Jamie: I don’t know.
Andrew: Something like that.
Jamie: But we’ve had a load of e-mails asking what the songs are, so we’ll post a list afterwards of all the songs we play.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: And I forgot to say the vegetable from the first hour.
Andrew: Oh, duh! [laughs] Whoops.
Jamie: So the vegetable from the first hour is the carrot. And can I also say we have no way of policing this, we have no way of knowing, but I think you should feel very, very, very, very, very, very bad if you tell other people what the vegetables were.
Andrew: Well, I don’t see why people would because if you want to win, you won’t go telling people who come in six hours later.
Jamie: Who knows what people do?
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: People’s actions are illogical. Everyone’s, everyone’s.
Andrew: [laughs] Anyway, second hour here of MuggleCast Live. Actually, on the stream we have a little countdown going. Ten hours, fifty-three minutes and six seconds left to go.
Jamie: Wow.
Andrew: [sighs] Shoot guys, what are we going to talk about?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: What are we going to talk about? Let’s look at the plan.
Andrew: I’m just kidding.
Jamie: What about – oh, sorry. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, I was completely kidding.
Jamie: I see what you mean.
Name for Laura’s New Radio Program
Andrew: What I do want to kick the hour off with is a little discussion on school, before we get to some Harry Potter discussion. Laura, I am personally very proud of you.
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: You told me today you were getting involved in what club there at McDaniel?
Laura: Radio club.
Andrew: Yay!
Laura: McDaniel Radio. I’m very excited.
Jamie: What club?
Andrew and
Laura:
Radio.
Jamie: What club is it, Laura, sorry?
Laura: Radio.
Jamie: Are you really? That’s awesome.
Laura: Yes.
Jamie: Well done.
Laura: Yeah, I signed up for it the other day. They haven’t had a meeting yet but…
Jamie: Very, very cool.
Laura: …I’m going to pitch the whole MuggleCast thing to them and hopefully they will let me do some stuff.
Andrew: You’ll shoot right up to the top, I really think so.
Laura: Oh, okay. Well, thank you.
Andrew: I think it’d be fun to hear you do a radio program.
Laura: Yeah, I’m – hmm?
Andrew: Go ahead, sorry.
Laura: Oh, I was just going to say I know some schools have theirs streamed through iTunes. I don’t know if they do that here, but if they don’t, I’m going to see if I can talk them into doing it, because I think that’d be really cool.
Andrew: Yeah. Or get them to start a podcast.
Laura: Yeah. Oh…
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: I should start McDaniel’s first podcast. That would be awesome.
Andrew: There you go, yeah.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s how I plan on getting up in the TV program at Rowan. I’m going to be like, “Hey…”
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Andrew: “…I’m sort of a somebody in the online world, and you don’t know this but…”
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: So, I was trying to think up a name for your show the other day, what your show should be called.
Laura: Okay.
Andrew: I came up with…
Jamie: Mc podcast.
Andrew: The “Nook” podcast?
Jamie: No, the Mc podcast because she goes to McDaniel’s, right?
Andrew: [laughs] The Mc podcast?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Uh-huh.
Laura: Nice, Jamie.
Jamie: And then you can have a section each week that takes a McDonald’s product and sort of evaluate it.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: You can have some call in saying what they think of the McChicken sandwiches and stuff like that. I’d listen, Laura.
Andrew: I was thinking of something more like Laura’s Lounge or…
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Jamie: That sounds like a show on TV where she talks about women’s issues, Andrew.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, you can talk about – you can do that on the podcast.
Laura: Oh God, I want to talk about other things.
Andrew: I want people to call in right now with name ideas for Laura’s upcoming radio program. Let’s see here, take Lexi. Lexi, how are you doing today?
Caller: Hi.
Andrew: Hi.
Caller: I’m good.
Andrew: Do you have a name idea for Laura’s radio program?
[Jamie laughs]
Caller: Hmm, what’s a good one? Probably…
Jamie: You can think about it for a bit if you want.
Caller: Yeah.
Jamie: What’s on your mind today, Andrew?
Caller: Hmm. How about…
Andrew: She’s still thinking about the name.
Caller: …Lucky Laura?
Andrew: [laughs] Lucky Laura?
Laura: Lucky Laura, I like that. That’s cool.
Andrew: [in a silly voice] Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Lucky Laura!
Jamie: [laughs] Woo!
Laura: And I’ll have you do the voice for me, Andrew. You can be me and do the show.
Andrew: [laughs] That could be your on air – like, you know how radio personalities have their – I don’t have any examples but…
Laura: Yeah, their DJ voices, yeah.
Andrew: Well, not just…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: …their voice, but their name. Like the – I can’t think of one off the top of my head…
Laura: Yeah, I know what you’re talking about.
Andrew: …but you know what I’m saying. You can be the Lucky Laura. Whoa!
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Laura: And I’ll make that ridiculous noise after I say it, too.
Jamie: I would do. I would definitely, yeah.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: [in a silly voice] Whoa, look out! [laughs]
Caller: You’ll get lots of viewers.
Andrew: Yeah, I think so. I would listen. But…
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. Anything else on your mind today, Lexi? Lexli?
Caller: Lexi.
Andrew: Lexi.
Caller: Not really, just excited to be the weekend.
Andrew: Yeah, me too, me too.
Jamie: Definitely.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Me too.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: How about that? Okay, well we’re going to take…
Caller: And…
Andrew: Oh, go ahead. Sorry.
Caller: Can I say one last thing before I go?
Andrew: Sure.
Caller: Gak!
Andrew: Gak gak, Pickle Pack!
Laura: Oh. Vultures in the house.
Andrew: Kind of weird. Okay, thank you for calling in.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Caller: Okay.
Andrew: See – oops.
Jamie: Thank you.
Andrew: Cut her off. I’m bad at cutting people off.
Jamie: I’m bad.
Andrew: Okay, let’s see here, getting lots of calls. Hey, you got a name for Laura’s radio program?
Caller: Hi.
Andrew: Hi.
[Echoing sounds in the background]
Caller: Hello.
Andrew: And mute…
Jamie: Hey.
Caller: Hello.
Andrew: Can you mute your stream please so we can’t hear us in the background?
Caller: Hi, can you hear me? Sorry.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Mute your stream. Mute your computer.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Got it?
Caller: When I mute my computer…
Andrew: Your radio.
Caller: …my mic goes weird.
Andrew: Oh, okay. What’s going on? Do you have a name for Laura’s radio program?
Caller: Yeah, I do.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Laura: Oh, cool.
Caller: How about Laura’s Lowdown? [laughs]
Andrew: I like that.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Oh, that’s good.
Laura: I’m writing that down, just so you know.
Andrew: Laura’s Lowdown. [in a silly voice] The lowdown with Laura, hey.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: So, cool. All right, you got anything else to add?
Caller: Yeah. I am obligated to say that I am talking to the SPoT people right now.
Andrew: Who’s that?
Caller: Have you heard of SPoT? It’s like this group that tried to find the hidden messages on MuggleNet to get the T-shirts.
Andrew: No.
Jamie: Andrew, have you seen…
Caller: Yeah.
Jamie: There’s a post on Pickle Pack, I can’t remember which one it was, in which a slight argument, the hints of an argument break out between the Vultures and SPoTs, and it calmed down in the end.
Andrew: Oh. I missed that.
Jamie: Do you remember that?
Andrew: No, I don’t at all. [laughs] But yeah, okay.
Jamie: Oh well. Well, that’s cool. An awesome shout-out to them.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Thank you very much for calling.
Caller: So yeah, just shout-out to them, yeah.
Andrew: Cool.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: Well, thanks for calling in.
Caller: Yup. Okay, thanks.
Jamie: Thank you.
Caller: You guys rock.
Jamie: Buh-bye.
Caller: Bye.
Laura: Bye.
Andrew: Thanks, bye. Yeah, one thing, guys, about when you call in, please, please, please mute your stream, meaning mute your – mute us. Mute how you’re listening to us whether it’s through your computer or whatever…
Jamie: Andrew…
Andrew: …because otherwise – we don’t want feedback. Yeah, Jamie?
Jamie: Cassidy Jordan from Memphis…
Andrew: I know her.
Jamie: [laughs] Oh right. Well, she says:
“Tell Andrew his radio voice is hot, hot, hot.”
So…
Andrew: Whoa! Whoa, hey. Wait a second.
Jamie: Can you give a special message to her in your radio voice, maybe?
Andrew: See, I don’t really have a radio voice. [laughs] It’s just me going, [in a silly voice] “Whoa!”
Laura: This is how he talks all the time.
Jamie: I think that’s what she’s referring to. Try that.
Andrew: This is how I talk all the time. [in a silly voice] Whoa! Cassidy!
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Is that okay? Cool.
Jamie: I’m sure she liked that.
Andrew: Yeah. We met Cassidy on the road tour, actually, and she’s a big fangirl of MuggleCast Mase. They’re actually in a relationship.
Laura: Ooh.
Andrew: I want to start that rumor. That wasn’t me who – I didn’t do that. So, Laura’s Lowdown. I like that idea, Laura.
Laura: Yeah, that’s pretty cool.
Jamie: I like that as well.
Andrew: Another thing – hmm?
Jamie: I want to say, quick reminder if anyone wants to send in any feedback go to MuggleCast.com/Live. We’re getting quite a lot but we can always do with more. So if you want to send anything in, go there.
MuggleCast 108 Transcript (continued)
Hosts Meeting MuggleCast Listeners
Andrew: So with college, Laura has already met a MuggleCast listener who lives right across the hall, right?
Laura: Actually – it’s really weird. I’ve got – my next door neighbor is a listener, and she pretty much freaked out whenever she found out. I was sitting on MuggleNet and she came over. She’s like, “Oh, you’re on MuggleNet,” and I was like, “Oh yeah, I work for them. You know them?” And she was like, “Yeah,” and she looked at me…
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: …for about a few seconds, then she went, “Oh my God, you’re Laura!”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: And she started dancing in the middle of my room, like jumping up and down.
[Jamie laughs]
Laura: She was like, “You know Andrew and Jamie and Kevin and Micah…”
Jamie: Laura…
Laura: …and freaking out. It was hilarious. Yeah?
Jamie: [laughs] Imagine if she had been like, “Oh my God, you’re Andrew Sims!”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: We don’t sound alike, I don’t think, in our…
Laura: No, I don’t think so.
Andrew: Our hairstyles…
Laura: I don’t think…
Andrew: …are a little different.
Laura: …we look alike, either.
Andrew: Yeah, that too.
Laura: Yeah, a little longer.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: So…
Laura: But yeah, apparently there’s someone else on my campus that knows about it too, because they write on my Facebook wall [laughs] a lot…
Andrew: Really?
[Jamie laughs]
Laura: …but I’ve never actually seen them in person, so…
Jamie: That’s cool.
Laura: And I don’t think it’s him. I think it’s his friends that listen and then we just started talking on Facebook, but I haven’t actually seen him yet on campus. So yeah, it’s kind of weird. Someone cornered me on the way back from the dining hall the other day, too. [laughs]
Andrew: That’s funny because…
Laura: [laughs] A little weird.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, that’s cool though because you’re meeting people who listen to the show right there where you’re going to school.
Laura: Yeah, it’s not what I expected.
Andrew: Yeah. And then Jamie knows of one.
Jamie: Mhm. [laughs]
Andrew: Don’t you know of one MuggleCast listener in your school who I met, I think?
Jamie: [laughs] Well, you were there, Andrew. We were at Revolver. Do you want to explain Revolver?
Andrew: Revolver is – okay. Well, I’ll prefix it by saying in the UK, the legal age to go to nightclubs and stuff like that is eighteen. So when I was out there a few months ago, Jamie and I went to Revolver, one of the clubs in…
Jamie: Durham.
Andrew: Durham. But see, I don’t remember meeting her there. I remember meeting her before Revolver and you were like, “She’s a huge fan, she’s a huge fan,” and then we went to meet her and she was just – like she didn’t really talk – to me, at least.
Jamie: No, no, I’m talking about a different one. She has listened to the show but I’m talking about when we were at Revolver. Revolver is like a huge MI uni, and there’s a huge downstairs ballroom thing and each Saturday night they turn it into an indie music-style thing. They have a bar there, they have a DJ, and everything like that. And Andrew and I were there dancing with a few friends, and this girl comes up to me and says, “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan.” And I wasn’t thinking straight for some reason or another.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh, by the way, this reminds me of something, but once your story finishes.
Jamie: And I was like, “Oh, are you really? That’s cool,” and she was like, “I listen to MuggleCast.” I was like, “Oh, that’s so cool! I’m really, really pleased.” So yeah, that’s – she’s the fan I know of in Durham, and there’s one more who came to the Waterstones podcast who goes to a college near me who I met who was very nice as well. So yeah, there are a couple which is nice.
Andrew: Yeah, I was – before I get to Jamie’s story [laughs] I’ve only met one person in Rowan who listens to the show, but he e-mailed me on Facebook and he said he lives off campus so it’s not like we’ve really hung out or anything, which is amazing how like wherever we – almost at any college we’ll meet a MuggleCast listener.
Laura: Yeah, I really – I mean, I’m not trying to sound naive or anything but I really didn’t expect that to happen.
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Laura: Like, I didn’t think – especially coming to a small college, I didn’t think that anyone would actually know it here, so…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: It’s pretty cool though.
Andrew: [laughs] I agree. So Jamie… [laughs]
Jamie: Yeah?
Andrew: [laughs] We were talking about Prophecy two weeks ago, and we got on the discussion of the Yule Ball and…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …how you were just so good for the dance floor that they kicked you right out.
Jamie: Yes, I believe there was a bit of a – I got a couple of e-mails saying, “What happened? What happened” so I’m sure you had fun ripping on me the entire show.
Andrew: No, no, no, we didn’t rip on you! We just said that you were…
Jamie: Okay.
Andrew: …just too good for the dance floor.
Jamie: Yes, that was it. That was precisely what happened.
[Andrew and Laura laughs]
Jamie: My moves were just too impressive and too cool, and they said, “Sorry, you’re just too cool. You have to leave,” so I said, “Fine, I’ll leave.”
Andrew: Oh, Prophecy.
Jamie: That’s precisely what happened.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Could not be more spot on.
Andrew: Yeah. So…
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: …one other thing…
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Oh gosh. Laura, did you [laughs] see his good dancing moves that night?
Laura: [laughs] I did.
Andrew: Yeah. Good stuff. I love you, Jamie.
Laura: Fabulous, yeah.
University Courses on Harry Potter
Andrew: So [laughs] one thing else I wanted to mention – I wanted to have a little discussion on Harry Potter in school…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: …because in some colleges now, there are classes – Harry Potter courses, you can go and analyze Harry Potter. And this has really been unheard of especially when – especially right now because of how popular the series is and some schools see it as too commercial. It’s too commercial to study and really take seriously. And then some professors see it as a children’s novel so you could never really study it. I actually – if Mason is listening right now, I want him to call in – I don’t know if he is, though – because he’s going to Northern Arizona University and there’s actually a Harry Potter course. If there is any listeners out there right now that know of any Harry Potter courses feel free to call in. 1-218-20-MAGIC in the United States – [sighs] let me just say: Bryan Veter, stop calling with you and a couple of other people. We don’t accept group calls. So Laura or Jamie, have you heard of any Harry Potter courses?
Jamie: Yeah, somebody told me that they were taking one. Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a bit – I mean, can you imagine five hundred years ago people going to old stone brick universities with candles walking around studying one book series? It’s just – I’ve always thought university is for a broad education. It can be on one subject, but I just – I don’t know about studying Harry Potter. Perhaps after undergraduate you could specialize and do literature and do Harry Potter, but an actual course in Harry Potter I’m not so sure about. I’m sure I’m just old fashioned though and backwards.
Laura: I really don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. I think it’s actually really cool because – especially as you start getting up closer to your major.
Andrew: Uh-huh.
Laura: And the American university system, you take more focus classes. You don’t necessarily take a class that covers a huge – a very broad subject. You’ll take something that’s more focused.
Jamie: No, I know.
Laura: And…
Jamie: Sorry, go on.
Laura: I don’t know, I think a Harry Potter course would be pretty cool. We don’t have any here, but one of my teachers makes Harry Potter references everyday in class without fail.
Andrew: Really?
Laura: He makes some sort of Harry Potter reference, and I just sit there and I just sort of smile. I’m like, “Yeah.”
Andrew: I know him.
Laura: “If only you knew.”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: It’s a lot to explain, isn’t it? Because people ask and then I’m like, “Yeah, I’ll tell you the whole story another time.”
Laura: [laughs] Yeah.
Jamie: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I don’t normally bother to – well, some people I’ll tell about Harry Potter, but it’s such an effort because if you tell someone you like Harry Potter – like I tell people occasionally. I’ll be like, “Yeah, I like Harry Potter,” and they’ll be like, “You like Harry Potter? What, do you like own all the books or something?”
Andrew: [laughs] “You loser.”
Jamie: And I’m like – [laughs] yeah, I’m like…
Andrew: “You like magic or something, man? [laughs] Magic’s not real.”
Jamie: …”You do not know the half of it.”
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Exactly, and it’s such a story to tell about what happens. But if they’re being annoying about it and they’re being all “Oh my God, do you like Harry Potter?” then they need a smack-down to be laid so then…
Laura: Yeah.
Jamie: …you have to explain the entire thing.
Andrew: Yeah.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Okay, only call in right now if you have something to add about our discussion on Harry Potter in education. Let’s take a caller right now. Hopefully this person…
[Loud beeping noises]
Andrew: Whoa, hey!
Jamie: Ooh.
Caller: Hello?
Andrew: Hi! What’s your name? Where you calling from?
Caller: Hello, I’m Simone and I’m from Australia.
Andrew: Oh, Australia. Do you know of any Harry Potter courses at your local school?
Caller: No.
Andrew: Awww, man.
Caller: No. They’re all kind of against it. It’s really sad.
Andrew: They’re all kind of against it? Do you know why?
Caller: No. My friend and I are like obsessed about Harry Potter but everyone is like, “Ewww, Harry Potter.” And then when the book comes out, everyone reads it but then everyone just gets over it straight away.
Andrew: Right, right. Yeah, interesting. I mean – yeah.
Jamie: Either way – I mean, I think you either want to do it or you don’t want to do it. It’s like – I can understand some universities offering a course in it and some not doing it. I don’t think it’s ever going to be mainstream.
Laura: No.
Jamie: It’s just going to be one of those, you know?
Listener Calls: Ticket to J.K. Rowling’s NYC Book Reading
Andrew: Right. Let’s take another call right now. Cole. Hi Cole.
Caller: Hi.
Andrew: Hi – oh thank God, you sound good. Thank you. [laughs]
Caller: I…
Andrew: Huh?
Jamie: You should probably say that you mean audio quality there, not… [laughs]
Andrew: No. Well yeah, the audio quality, yeah. [laughs]
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: What’s up?
Caller: Hi.
Andrew: Hi.
Caller: Before we begin, I just want to say that I get to go see J.K. Rowling in New York read the seventh Harry Potter book.
Andrew: Oh, you show off!
Laura: You want to give me your other ticket?
Andrew: No, I want your other ticket.
Caller: And if I was over eighteen then…
Laura: Awww, man.
Caller: …I would take one of you guys but I can’t.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Can I be your legal guardian? Can we just work that out?
Caller: I guess. I don’t know, my parents are like, “Oh my God! We get to go!”
Laura: Oh, okay. I wouldn’t take that opportunity from your parents.
Andrew: I would! How much do you want?
[Everyone laughs]
Jamie: Andrew will take you out on a date and buy you wine…
Andrew: There you go.
Jamie: …and food and everything like that, and then you can have the tickets, right Andrew?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Right, Jamie. [laughs] What was I going to say? Oh, so when did you learn that you won?
Caller: It was the twelfth, I think. It was two days ago.
Andrew: Yeah? And how were you notified?
Caller: I got a call and they told me.
Andrew: Oh. Awesome. And what did you do? What was your reaction?
Caller: I was ecstatic. I was like screaming and jumping off the walls and everything.
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: I was so happy.
Andrew: Awesome.
Caller: And I actually have another friend who’s talking to me on Skype right now and is like, “Oh, I hate you because you get to talk to MuggleCast.”
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: She also got two.
Laura: Awww.
Caller: Her name is Anna.
Laura: Hi Anna!
Andrew: And how much does she want for her ticket?
Caller: I don’t know. Let’s see. Anna, how much do you want for your ticket?
Andrew: I’m not ending this podcast today until I have a ticket to the thing.
[Jamie laughs]
Caller: She wants me to add her but I don’t think I can.
Andrew: Well, she got a ticket too, you said?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Well, have her call in. What’s her name?
Caller: Anna.
Andrew: We have that technology here, we can group call people. Okay, so do you know where you’re sitting already, or what?
Caller: No, I don’t. They said that you get to pick up the tickets like five days before.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Caller: At the box office.
Andrew: Oh, you actually have to go pick them up?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: What if you live in like [pauses] Detroit? [laughs]
Caller: [laughs] I don’t know.
Andrew: Huh, interesting, interesting. Well, that’s very cool and congrats on getting in. That means you also get a signed book.
Caller: Yeah. I’m very excited.
Andrew: And do you know what the policy is for asking questions? Because she’s answering questions. Do you know about that?
Caller: No, I don’t. I’m kind of confused about that. I want to do some research and figure that out.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Maybe it comes when you pick up the ticket so perhaps they tell you then.
Andrew: Perhaps. And so what’s your plan? Are you going to go up to New York City for a couple of days?
Caller: Yeah. Well, I live in Jersey, so…
Andrew: Oh, where in Jersey? If you don’t mind me saying.
Caller: Bergen County.
Andrew: Bergen County?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Is that North?
Caller: It’s North Jersey.
Andrew: Yeah, okay.
Caller: I actually have a cousin who went to your school.
Andrew: Oh, really? What, Shawnee?
Caller: At Shawnee.
Andrew: Yeah?
Caller: Yeah. He actually knows you, too.
Andrew: What’s his name?
Caller: His name is Mike Burns.
Andrew: Mike Burns.
Caller: He’s a big lacrosse football player.
Andrew: And he’s at Shawnee right now?
Caller: He’s a year above you.
Andrew: Oh, he was a year above me. Oh.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh. No, I can’t say I know him, no.
Caller: I told him about you and he was like, “Oh, he’s the MuggleCast guy,” and I’m like, “Yeah.”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I’m the MuggleCast guy. Yeah, when I was outed I was pretty humiliated.
[Caller and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: That was – there was a front page of my school newspaper. The headline was like, “MuggleCast at Shawnee?” It was terrible. Just terrible.
Jamie: Awww.
Andrew: But hey, what’s your friend’s username or number?
Caller: It’s annabanana, that’s her name. She’s trying to call in. Her username is sevenberries.
Andrew: Oh, I got it now. Okay. Hey Anna.
Caller 2: Hello.
Andrew: Hey, so…
Caller: Hi Anna.
Caller 2: Hello, this is…
[Prolonged silence]
Andrew: This is Anna?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: [laughs] So you got tickets too?
Caller 2: Yes, I did.
Andrew: Awesome. And what was your reaction?
Caller 2: Well, I started screaming, and jumping up and down.
Andrew: [laughs] Whoever was making the calls at Scholastic must have been so fed up by like the twentieth time someone went, “Oh my God!”
Caller: [laughs] Yeah.
[Andrew laughs]
Caller 2: Yeah. I actually got my call yesterday at the end of the day.
Andrew: Really? And was it a nice person on the phone or was it – was it Arthur Levine or – who was it? Do you know?
Caller 2: No, it was – I’m not quite sure who it was. It was just some woman who works at Scholastic.
Andrew: Oh, okay. Cool.
Caller 2: I would take you along, but I can’t because I’m under thirteen.
Andrew: You’re under thirteen?
Caller: Eighteen.
Caller 2: I mean under eighteen!
Andrew: [laughs] I was going to say, you sounded older than thirteen!
Caller 2: I mean under eighteen. I am thirteen.
Andrew: Oh, okay. I’m sure you’re lying to me but whatever.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: So while we have you guys here, do you ever hear Harry Potter in school? Like a class or anything?
Caller: Well, our school has a club.
Andrew: A club?
Caller: A Harry Potter club.
Andrew: Yeah?
Caller 2: Yeah. Where they listen to MuggleCast.
Caller: Yeah, they – it was actually the description. They were like, “We will listen to a MuggleCast.” I was like, “What’s a MuggleCast?” I’m just like, “Umm okay.”
[Jamie laughs]
Caller: “It’s a MuggleCast episode.”
Andrew: [laughs] Wait, you didn’t know what a MuggleCast was until then?
Caller: No, I did.
Andrew: Oh.
Caller: I did. I’ve been listening for a while, but it’s not a MuggleCast, it’s a MuggleCast episode. So…
Andrew: Right, right, right.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, I hate when news articles refer to us as “The MuggleCast.”
Caller: Yeah.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Like we’re a car or something.
[Caller laughs]
Andrew: But…
Laura: We are a car though, Andrew. Didn’t you know?
Jamie: Yeah, we are.
Andrew: What? No. Are you trying to be funny?
Jamie: Didn’t you know that?
Andrew: It doesn’t make sense at all.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: So yeah, okay. Well yeah, we actually have a Harry Potter club in our – well, in Shawnee we did. The Harry Potter Discussion Association. I know they would listen to MuggleCast – well, a couple of them were MuggleCast listeners. They might be listening right now, actually. But…
Caller: Awesome.
Andrew: Yeah, Harry Potter class – interestingly – I could see it maybe – what? Twenty, thirty years from now? Sort of like a Shakespeare class or something.
Caller: [laughs] Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, I could – I mean, I personally think that Harry Potter is going to go down as a classic just like Lord of the Rings.
Caller: Yeah.
Laura: I mean, there are actually Lord of the Rings classes. They’re actually fairly common. You don’t see them on all campuses, but…
Jamie: Yeah.
Laura: …you see them on several. I’ve got a friend who is taking a Lord of the Rings class right now.
Caller: Yeah, it’ll be there for a long time, Harry Potter.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Definitely.
Caller: It’s just a great book. And then soon we’ll make all our children read Harry Potter and…
Laura: Oh, definitely.
Jamie: And their children, and then their children’s children.
Caller: Mhm.
Andrew: Cool. Well, thank you, Anna and Cole, for calling in today.
Caller: Okay, thanks.
Jamie: Thank you very much.
Andrew: We’re going to talk some more with some other people, okay?
Caller: All right, bye!
Caller 2: Bye!
Laura: Bye!
Andrew: Cool.
Muggle Mail: Harry Potter‘s Contribution to the World
Jamie: I have a quick e-mail, Andrew…
Andrew: Yeah? Go for it.
Jamie: …that is going to shock every listener. It’s from Amber from Nashville. She says:
“Recently, I got into a debate with my uncle about the pay that athletes receive, and my uncle replied back with, ‘If,’ and I quote, ‘the Harry Potter lady deserves the money that she earned, then so do athletes.'”
When Amber replied that, “Yes, she does deserve the money,” her uncle shot back with, “But how has Harry Potter contributed to the world?” And I’m sure that shocked…
Andrew: [laughs] Oh my gosh!
Laura: Oh my gosh! Are you kidding me?
Jamie: …every single person…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Amber, I suggest your uncle goes into the witness protection program because you have five hundred to seven hundred very angry Harry Potter fans listening in now. [laughs]
Andrew: How do sports contribute to the world?
Jamie: How do sports contribute to the world? Well, there you go then, there you go then.
Laura: Yeah, people get violent in front of their television screens.
Jamie: Yup.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: [laughs] Yeah, so…
Andrew: Not that I’m not a sports fan, but compared to J.K. Rowling – you know.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: We all know how J.K. Rowling has contributed to the world with reading.
Jamie: Yup.
Andrew: Children’s literacy! Stuff like that.
Jamie: Yup. Every single place – when we were in New York, Andrew, at the reading there were like two or three people – of course, you wouldn’t have known because you slept most of the time, didn’t you?
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: But there were two or three people… [laughs]
Andrew: Not even going to get into it.
Jamie: …who were like, “You helped my daughter to read. You helped my son to read,” all that kind of thing. So obviously the Harry Potter books are enormously world-changing.
Andrew: Definitely.
Jamie: So your uncle is wrong.
Listener Calls: HP Class at Eastern Michigan University
Andrew: Jackie, you’re live on MuggleCast right now. How are you doing?
Caller: Good, how are you?
Andrew: We are good, thanks. What’s – do you know about any Harry Potter classes in your school or whatever?
Caller: Actually, at Eastern Michigan University, where I want to go for college…
Andrew: Yeah.
Caller: …in order to graduate, you have to have an English elective credit, and one of the classes they offer is a Harry Potter literature class.
Andrew: Oh, perfect!
Laura: Oh, cool! Are you going to take it if you go?
Caller: Definitely! That’d be my first sign-up.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: Do you know – was there a course description or anything?
Caller: No, but my friend is taking it right now. It’s her first year at Eastern, and she said that one of their assignments was they had to listen to a Harry Potter podcast and analyze what they talk about as if they were another co-host.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Caller: So she listened to MuggleCast because I constantly talk about it to her.
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Andrew: That’s awesome.
Jamie: Awesome.
Caller: It is. All right, my friends keep telling me to say “SPoT” even though we’ve already gotten a shout-out from you guys.
Andrew: SPoT! Yay!
Jamie: Double shout-out to SPoT then.
Andrew: Well, thank you for calling in, Jackie.
Jamie: Thank you.
Caller: I have a question really quick though, Andrew.
Andrew: Oh, okay. Okay.
Caller: The listener challenge from two weeks ago.
Andrew: Yes!
Caller: You never said who won that and we really want to know.
Andrew: Well, hold on! We have twelve hours of podcasting. I have a list of the winners right here and we’re going to get to it a little later on.
Caller: All right.
Andrew: Okay? [laughs]
Caller: Thank you.
Andrew: I’m being attacked like it’s my fault that we didn’t have a show last week or something, yeah.
Jamie: Andrew, I have an e-mail from Shannon in New Jersey who says Andrew’s voice is, and I quote, “Sooooooo dreamy.”
Andrew: [laughs] That’s funny you mentioned that one because I actually was going to read that. [laughs]
Jamie: Oh. [laughs]
MuggleCast 108 Transcript (continued)
Listener Calls: Make The Connection
Andrew: Sam Watchman is on the phone right now.
Caller: Hi.
Andrew: What’s up, Sam?
Caller: I’m good, thanks. You?
Andrew: We’re pretty good. We’ve met you a couple – well actually, no. One time. No, twice. No, once. You were at the live podcast in England.
Caller: I was indeed, yeah. It was really good.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Sam, are you planning on sticking around for the whole twelve hours?
Caller: Yeah, although it’s going to be until five in the morning, I might as well.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Well…
Jamie: I agree, I agree.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: If you’re going to go into nine, if you’re going to go into ten, why not go for the full twelve?
Caller: Yeah, I may as well go for the whole nine yards.
Andrew: That’s it.
Jamie: Exactly, exactly.
Andrew: Sam was sort of getting on my nerves at the UK podcast. He took my iPhone and I had to pull it off of him. It was kind of annoying.
[Caller and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: Just kidding, Sam.
Jamie: What’s on your mind today, Sam?
Caller: Well, I’ve just started sixth form, I don’t know what the equivalent in America is for that.
Jamie: They don’t have one because we finish secondary school here at sixteen, and then we go to sixth form and then we go to university, whereas over there they finish high school at eighteen and then go straight to college.
Caller: Oh, right.
Jamie: But that’s cool. So you started when?
Caller: I’ve been there for about a week now.
Jamie: And are you enjoying it?
Caller: Yeah, it’s actually good. I’m actually starting to enjoy school for once.
Jamie: [laughs] Oh, really?
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: Awesome. Very, very pleased. Any Harry Potter questions? Any discussion ideas?
Caller: Well, I was just about to say, I was in my drama class and one of my teachers said, “We’re going to be doing something to join in the connections,” and I just automatically smiled.
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Jamie: Make the Connection?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Do any Harry Potter ones?
Caller: No, I don’t have any.
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: Have you got one for me?
Jamie: I wouldn’t bring it up though because they’ll probably think that you’re weird.
[Jamie and Laura laugh]
Jamie: But I will give you one if you want. Okay, make the connection between Harry Potter and a 19-inch widescreen TFC monitor made by LG. Oh, that’s difficult.
Andrew: [laughs] You are so random.
Laura: Jamie, I’m not sure anything can trump the one that you gave me at the live show in London.
Jamie: What was it?
Laura: Do you remember that one? It was Harry Potter…
Jamie: Oh.
Laura: …and setting a pillow on fire using only friction.
Jamie: Yes, I’m very sorry.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: That was quite mean.
Laura: Yeah, that was awful.
Jamie: [laughs] That was difficult. Sam, any ideas? It is a tough one, I’m not going to lie.
Caller: Give me a minute.
Jamie: Okay. I can’t think of anything at the moment. Andrew, any ideas?
Andrew: [laughs] No, I’ve got nothing. That’s so random.
Jamie: Technological one? We need Kevin Steck here, we need Kevin Steck. I’m sure he would find some type of component within the LCD display that somehow links to Harry Potter. There’s got to be something, got to be something. If anyone knows anything, e-mail in, MuggleCast.com/Live.
Andrew: Sam, I think I got an e-mail for you here coming in from the live feedback form on MuggleCast.com/Live. It comes from Kathryn and Ellen at a MuggleCast party in Detroit, Michigan, and she writes:
“This guy on the phone has a hot voice.”
Jamie: Ooh.
Laura: Ooh.
Caller: Thank you very much.
Andrew: Sam, do you want their e-mail address, maybe? We can hook you up here.
Jamie: We’re having so many success stories…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: …on this one. Wow.
Andrew: Yeah. Sam, why don’t you say “Hi, Kathryn and Ellen” for them.
Caller: Hi Kathryn.
Andrew: And Ellen.
Caller: Sorry. And Ellen.
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: I thought it was just an entire name.
Andrew: Oh, no, no.
Jamie: Yeah. [laughs] It’s French.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Kathryn-Ellen, Kathryn-Ellen. Very nice, very nice.
Andrew: All right. Well, thank you for calling in, Sam.
Jamie: Thanks Sam.
Caller: Thanks very much. Can I give a shout-out to someone?
Andrew: Of course.
Jamie: Of course.
Caller: Rebecca.
Andrew: From?
Caller: She’s listening right now.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh okay, cool. All right. Thanks buddy. See you later.
Jamie: Bye Sam.
Caller: Thanks very much.
Laura: Hey everybody, I just want to make a little bit of an announcement: you do need to call the main MuggleCast line. You can’t call us individually.
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Laura: I’m getting a couple of calls from people. I can’t add you in.
Andrew: Yes.
Laura: We’re doing this through the main number, so – just saying.
Andrew: That’s – yeah. Let’s give out the numbers once again. It’s all available on MuggleCast.com, and then there’s a page to all of our live contact information. You can call us, United States: 1-218-20-MAGIC, United Kingdom: 0-208-144-0677, and if you’re in Australia: 028-003-5668, or Skype the username “MuggleCast.” Do not Skype our personal names.
Jamie: Andrew, I’m missing the old-fashioned one. Well, not the old-fashioned one, but the really excitable one. The…
Andrew: If…
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: …[adds emphasis on “if”] “If you want to e-mail in, you can e-mail andrew at staff dot mugglenet dot com or you can call…” [goes into high-pitched mumbling]
Andrew: What?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Ever since you guys started mocking that, I…
Jamie: It’s not mocking it, it’s…
Laura: We’ve made him self-conscious now, Jamie. He’s not as [unintelligible] as he used to be.
Jamie: Yeah, but it’s not mocking, it’s impersonating the things you like.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Which I think is excellent.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I like it a lot. I really do. I really, really do. I think you should keep doing it.
Andrew: You can also go to MuggleCast.com/Live to send in feedback, and then we will get it sent straight to our computers here and we’ll read it online. I’m actually working on getting MuggleCast Mason on here because I want him to talk about the class in school because – this is interesting. I really hope that Harry Potter can start becoming part of English curriculums, because right now I really don’t think you can find it in high school.
Jamie: [laughs] Oh, I very much doubt you can find it.
Andrew: You can’t find it in middle school, elementary school, although Jamie and I both found the Harry Potter books through elementary school. Isn’t that right, Jamie? Isn’t that how…
Jamie: Yeah, we both did.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: So…
Jamie: We both got read it by our teachers.
Andrew: Right.
Jamie: And the rest is history, as they say.
Andrew: Right.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: But now it’s like – for some reason, they just don’t want to include it in their curriculum and I think it’s just because it’s so commercial.
Laura: Well, I can say that at my old high school, they did read Chamber of Secrets in the British Literature class.
Andrew: Oh really?
Laura: Yes, they did. I always thought that was weird. I was like – when I went to that school, I was like, “Why are you guys reading the second one?”
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Yeah, that is a bit silly.
Listener Calls: What Sound Does a Vulture Make?
Andrew: Yeah. Let’s get another caller in here right now. Actually, MuggleNet staff member Rosie. Hey Rosie!
Laura: Hey Rosie.
Jamie: Hey Rosie.
Caller: Hey guys.
Andrew: Hey, this is actually your first time on the show.
Caller: Thanks for taking my call.
Andrew: Yeah, no problem. This is your first time on the show.
Caller: Yes.
Andrew: You post news on MuggleNet, and we’ve been joking saying that the new poster on MuggleNet.com is Rosie O’Donnell.
[Andrew and Caller laugh]
Andrew: But no, it’s you, Rosie.
Caller: Yeah, that’s me.
Andrew: So, what’s going on today?
Caller: I just want to say “Gak!”
Andrew: [laughs] She’s a Pickle Pack member.
Caller: And the Vultures want me to ask you if you like cats.
Andrew: If we like cats?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: I have a cat.
Caller: That’s cool.
Laura: I like dogs.
Andrew: Jamie loves cats, don’t you, Jamie?
Jamie: I do like cats very, very, very much, yeah. I think cats are awesome. So are dogs, though. All animals. Big animals are…
Caller: Jamie, guess what?
Jamie: Yeah?
Caller: Alyssa, she totally loves you.
Jamie: Well, that’s very nice. Awww, thank you. Hey Alyssa!
Caller: We all love you, Jamie.
Jamie: Shout-out. Awww.
Caller: Everybody loves you, Jamie.
Andrew: Rosie, were you listening to MuggleCast before you became a staff member?
Caller: Yeah. Actually, I listened to MuggleCast before I even got to MuggleNet.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh really?
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: How’d you find it?
Caller: I don’t know, I was looking on iTunes, and I just came across it and I was like, “Cool.” So I listened to it, and then I was like, “Oh, MuggleNet. Cool.” And I looked on the site and was like, “That’s cool.”
Andrew: Oh, awesome.
Caller: Yeah.
Andrew: Rosie is a perfect example of how you can start as a fan and then become a staff member on MuggleNet, and actually be good.
Jamie: Yeah.
Caller: [laughs] Thanks.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Follow her example. Follow her example.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say.
Caller: [laughs] Thanks.
Andrew: Well, anything else going on today, Rosie?
Caller: No. I just love you guys.
Andrew: Awww. Well, we love you too!
Laura: Awww. We love you too!
Caller: Thanks!
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Can I – Rosie, can I ask a question, please?
Caller: Okay.
Jamie: About the Vultures. Now, I’ve been wondering this for a while. If somebody said to me, “What noise does a vulture make?” I’m not going to lie, I don’t think “gak” would come to my mind first.
Caller: [laughs] Really?
Jamie: I would – actually, what noise does a vulture make?
Caller: What would you think it is?
Jamie: I don’t know. [laughs] I guess “gak” is quite a good interpretation, actually.
Caller: [laughs] There you go.
Jamie: Because I can’t think of anything.
Caller: Gak!
Jamie: Gak. I guess that’s quite good. Laura, what do you think they’d say?
Laura: I was never quite sure where “gak” came from, so I just sort of went with it. But the more I think about it, I guess it’s the term that would make the most sense. I don’t know. I’ve never heard a vulture make a noise before.
Jamie: Haven’t you? You’ve lived a sheltered life.
Caller: Awww.
Laura: Yeah, I go out and I sit by dead things, waiting for vultures to come and make noises at me.
Jamie: I do, I do.
Laura: [laughs] Well, you would.
Jamie: What’s wrong with that? Oh-ho! Zing!
Caller: Wow.
Jamie: Wow. Anything else on your mind, Rosie?
Caller: No. I’m good.
Andrew: [laughs] Okay.
Caller: [laughs] I just want to say, the Vultures, they really love you. And the MuggleCast Fan Forums, they love you too.
Andrew: Oh.
Jamie: Awww.
Laura: Awww. We love them.
Caller: And we all love you. We really appreciate you guys.
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: Awww. Well, that’s very nice. We’re enjoying doing this so far. Looking at the countdown, we’ve got ten hours and seventeen minutes left to go. So…
Jamie: Oh, I hope everyone is staying.
Caller: Wow. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah…
Caller: Good luck.
Andrew: …it’s still – thanks, we’re going to need it.
[Andrew and Caller laugh]
Andrew: All right. Thank you, Rosie, for calling in today.
Caller: Okay. Bye guys.
Jamie: Bye Rosie!
Andrew: Bye.
Laura: Buh-bye, Rosie.
Caller: Seventeen…
Andrew: Oops. Why am I bad at this?
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: What was she saying? Seventeen?
Jamie: Don’t know.
Laura: You just fail, Andrew.
Andrew: I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. So…
Jamie: Well, what do we…
Andrew: I think that’s about it for the Harry Potter thing. Mason doesn’t want to talk about it because he’s only been in the class for – he was only in one class and then [laughs] dropped out right away…
Jamie: Nice.
Andrew: …because it was so lame, he said. But not because it was Harry Potter – well, apparently you had to hand in a paper every class or something.
Jamie: Oh.
Andrew: Now he’s calling me expletives over AIM. I don’t appreciate that, Mason. That’s mean.
Jamie: Mason, Mason, come on, come on, that’s just mean.
Andrew: [laughs] Another caller now. Abby, you’re on MuggleCast Live. What’s up?
Caller: Hey!
Andrew: Hey!
Jamie: Hey! What’s on your mind?
Caller: I was calling because I actually – for the tickets to the J.K. Rowling in New York thing…
Andrew: Mhm.
Caller: …I actually was wondering if you knew if they’ve called all the people yet.
Andrew: I heard that all winners were supposed to be notified by the fourteenth, yesterday.
Caller: Didn’t it say like on or around the fourteenth, though?
Andrew: Well…
Jamie: Why? You are still holding out hope?
[Andrew laughs]
Caller: Yes, I am.
Laura: I am, too.
Andrew: I need to look – I’m pretty sure – I’m looking right now.
[Loud breathing sounds]
Andrew: Someone is breathing into their mic.
Jamie: That would be me, sorry.
Andrew: I’m pretty sure – I don’t have it right now, I’m sorry. If someone can find it somewhere around online, can you e-mail it in, please? mugglecastlive at gmail dot com or MuggleCast.com/Live. I’m pretty sure it was on or before the fourteenth.
Jamie: Awww.
Andrew: Of course, I could be wrong about that, so I’m sorry. But I mean, you can start your own podcast and try to get a ticket like I am.
Caller: Yeah.
Jamie: Do it, do it.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: You’ve got to speculate to accumulate.
Andrew: But see, I’m really holding out hope here. I mean, we’ve got ten hours. Somebody has to have an extra ticket and not really want to go with one of their friends. They would rather go with me.
Laura: Or with me. laura at staff dot mugglenet dot com.
Andrew: No, no. What? What? What, Laura? You’re breaking up. With me. So…
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: See, now I would feel really bad if someone did offer a ticket, [laughs] and then Laura and I would have to rock-paper-scissors-shoot for it…
Laura: [laughs] Yeah.
Andrew: …or something.
Jamie: Yeah.
Caller: If I had one I would take you.
Laura: And you would be a perfect gentleman and you would let me have it.
Andrew: I don’t…
Jamie: Would you, Andrew? Would you? On the spot here.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I don’t know about that for sure. I’m sorry.
Jamie: Quick e-mail from Chelsea from Long Island. She says that the reason “gak” was picked was because it rhymes with pack.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Jamie: And that’s why the Vultures picked it.
Andrew: Very cool.
Caller: And can I make a shout-out?
Andrew: Sure, go ahead.
Jamie: Of course.
Caller: If I can make a shout-out to Reba?
Andrew: Reba?
Caller: Yeah, she would be listening, but she’s celebrating the Sabbath right now, so…
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Laura: Oh, okay. Cool.
Jamie: Awww.
Andrew: Well, we’re going to let you go because I have someone I want to talk to right now.
Caller: Okay.
Andrew: So thanks for calling in.
Jamie: Thank you.
Caller: Thank you.
Jamie: Buh-bye.
Listener Calls: Ticket to J.K. Rowling’s NYC Book Reading
Andrew: Bye! Okay, Anna, call in right now, please.
Jamie: Who’s this?
Andrew: She wrote in via the live feedback form:
“So I have tickets to the J.K. Rowling event and would be able to give you one.”
Laura: What?!
Andrew: [continues]
“There are a few small concerns, but you should take my call.”
Jamie: Oh!
Andrew: I don’t know her Skype name though, so Anna, call in, please.
Jamie: Corruption, corruption, corruption…
Andrew: I would appreciate that.
Jamie: …corruption, corruption.
Andrew: I’m looking forward to this. I have a good feeling about this.
Laura: Anna. Anna, come now.
Andrew: Mase from Flagstaff, Arizona, writes:
“Hey, I’d just like to say that I love Andrew Sims. He really makes my life.”
Thank you, Mase, for that.
Jamie: [laughs] After all those expletives.
Andrew: Yeah, exactly. Okay, someone talk here [laughs] while I’m trying to get this caller on.
Laura: [laughs] I can’t believe that she’s actually offering a ticket.
Andrew: Well, she said there’s a few concerns so maybe we can work out the problems. Maybe this is Anna, hold on. Hello, is this Anna?
[Echoing sounds in the background]
Andrew: Okay, you have bad feedback.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Anyone who has bad feedback gets kicked off from now on. We can’t talk to you.
Jamie: Just like on eBay! Just like on eBay, Andrew!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: I have something quick to announce: the vegetable of the hour – that’s what it’s called from now on, vegetable of the hour. This hour is celery, okay?
Andrew: Cool.
Jamie: So keep an eye out on that and the next hour, and list all your vegetables in the e-mail that you’re all going to be sending, obviously, at the end of the twelve hours…
Andrew: I wish Anna would call! Huh?
Jamie: How long until the twelve hours is up? Ten hours and twelve minutes?
Andrew: We’re at ten hours and twelve minutes, yeah. Exactly.
Jamie: Awesome.
Andrew: So…
Jamie: Andrew, if you get this ticket from Anna, you better buy a plentiful supply of coffee to keep you awake, because…
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: I don’t know how you’re going to sleep at night, having taken a ticket off someone who’s a Harry Potter fan.
Andrew: Well, frankly – I mean, if we’re talking about who deserves it more, I think that would be me over Laura.
Laura: Umm, no. I think you’re wrong.
Jamie: Why don’t you have a fight to the death? That’s how they settled stuff years ago.
Laura: Okay, sure. Andrew, what’s the midpoint between us? We’re like, what, two-and-a-half hours apart?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, let’s find some city in the middle and we can just have a showdown there.
Andrew: Okay. First we’ve got to get Anna on the line though!
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I’m really annoyed. Why hasn’t she called yet? [laughs]
Laura: She probably pranked you or something. She’s probably sitting there…
Andrew: She probably is.
Laura: …in front of her computer, laughing now, like, “Hahaha!”
Jamie: Yeah, yeah. She is.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: You can tell she is.
Andrew: Yeah. We probably need a – let’s take another…
[Weird noises in the background]
Andrew: That didn’t work out too well.
Jamie: Hey, Elizabeth from St. Louis says that in her old grade school, there were recommended books for incoming eighth graders and Harry Potter is on the list. So it can be part of a literature class. Wow.
Andrew: Cool. Cool.
Jamie: So Harry Potter is making its way into all of our schools, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly…
Andrew: Okay, also, Jack from Virginia is writing:
“Hey, it’s Jack again. I have things to talk about. I can also give you one of my tickets to Jo’s NYC event.”
I don’t want people messing with us. I have no problem hanging up on you if you’re messing with us. So…
Jamie: Suddenly all these people have these tickets.
Andrew: [laughs] I know! Exactly!
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Oh gosh. You have to call in and give me your number so I know which one to call. Let me take this call right now. Hi, do you have a ticket to J.K. Rowling’s book reading? Hi Rebecca?
[Echoing sounds in the background]
Caller: Hello?
Andrew: Hey, do you have a ticket to J.K. Rowling’s book reading?
Caller: No, I didn’t. No, I’m sorry.
Andrew: Hey, mute… [repeatedly says “mute”] [laughs]
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Mute your feedback.
Caller: I’m sorry, I forgot to turn it off.
Andrew: Oh, okay. Can you turn it off?
Caller: Yeah, it’s off now.
Andrew: Okay, cool. I don’t think it is. It’s still going.
Caller: No, it is. I promise.
Andrew: I can still hear you!
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Myself!
Caller: Okay, there, is that better?
Andrew: Test. No!
[Jamie laughs]
Jamie: Oh, it doesn’t matter.
Andrew: What’s going on?
Laura: Don’t yell at her, Andrew
Caller: Well, I don’t know. I turned it off.
Andrew: What’s going on today?
Caller: I don’t know, [laughs] I’m just spending the day watching you guys. Or listening, rather.
Andrew: Cool.
Caller: And if I had a ticket – I am eighteen, so I would give one of you guys the ticket.
Andrew: Awww man! Man!
Jamie: Awww.
Laura: Now the question is, who would you give it to? Because Andrew seems to think that he’s a better Harry Potter fan than the rest of us.
Andrew: No, I didn’t say that. What I said was I deserve it more than you do, Laura.
Laura: And that’s not saying the same thing?
Jamie: Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Whatever.
Laura: Yeah, whatever yourself.
Andrew: Whatever.
Jamie: Hey?
Andrew: Huh?
Jamie: We’ve just had a flux of e-mails from people who have tickets [laughs] to the J.K. Rowling reading.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Well…
Jamie: That e-mail I was going to – where is it? Where is it?
Andrew: Leave your username or your phone number if you want us to answer, if you have a ticket and if you’re offering it to us, because – seriously, don’t call in just because, [in a silly voice] “Yeah, I have a ticket. Yeah, I’m going to give it to you.” [back to normal voice] We can’t trust people these days. But…
Jamie: Hey?
Andrew: Yeah?
Jamie: I’m sorry, I was just going to say – I’m just going to repeat the vegetable thing because a load of people missed it. On the hour – well, at some point during every hour, I’m going to be saying a random vegetable. What you need to do is you need to write it down and at the end of the twelve hours, you need to present in an e-mail to the live feedback form at MuggleCast.com/Live, a list of all the vegetables mentioned during those twelve hours in order, so from the first hour to the twelfth hour. And the first person to e-mail that in wins a nice prize. We’re not sure what yet, but we’ll know soon and we’ll announce it.
Andrew: It’ll be good, probably.
Laura: And I would just like to say, an e-mail from Maddie just came in and she said:
“In a showdown, Laura would so kick Andrew’s butt.”
Andrew: What?!
Laura: Yes!
Andrew: What kind of showdown?
Laura: Any showdown. I think she’s being very general for a reason.
Andrew: What, like – I mean, come on. Give me an example here.
Laura: I just said, any showdown, I could take you.
Andrew: Okay, I…
Laura: I’ll beat you in a fight.
Andrew: …couldn’t agree any more with that.
Laura: Thank you, Maddie.
Andrew: Okay, but I think we’re going to take a break right now and regroup here. Maybe, hopefully, we can get some tickets.
Jamie: [laughs] Yeah.
Andrew: Here’s the deal: if you have a ticket for us, if you’re serious, Laura and I will take you out to lunch or something. And we both want a ticket, so there we go.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: But e-mail in, mugglecastlive at gmail dot com or go to MuggleCast.com/Live. Laura, you’re going to hang around for the next hour, right?
Laura: Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Andrew: Awesome. Yeah, it’s going very well. And coming up in the next hour, we’re going to be talking about somebody complaining from Mexico because today is Mexican Independence Day. Also, I want to give someone a call who we haven’t tried to call in a while, Laura.
Laura: Uh-oh!
Andrew: You know who I’m talking about?
Laura: Would that be someone who I share my first name with?
Andrew: That would be correct. And [laughs] hopefully we’ll get through this time. And also, we’re going to have the winners from my listener challenge entries. Right now, “Killer Queen” on MuggleCast Live! We’ll be back in a few minutes.
[“Killer Queen” by Queen plays]
———————–