MuggleCast 122 Transcript
Show Intro
[Soft music plays]
Andrew: Hi, everyone. I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: And I’m Laura Thompson. We’re both from MuggleCast, one of the Top Harry Potter podcasts online.
Andrew: As most of you may know, December 5th is Darfur Fast. On the day, thousands of students from all over the world give up luxury items like Starbucks drinks or something else that they get in their daily lives.
Laura: The situation in the Darfur region of Sudan is nothing short of disgusting. Millions have been driven from their homes into refugee camps, and even more have been killed in the mass genocide of the region.
Andrew: Darfur Fast is organized by the HP Alliance, a coalition of Harry Potter websites and wizard rock bands concerned with ending the genocide in Darfur. MuggleCast wants to help out. So, Laura and I are going to participate in Darfur Fast.
Laura: On December 5th, I will be giving up a Netflix movie subscription for the month of December. This will save 25 dollars and go to charity.
Andrew: And I, myself, am a huge Chick-Fil-A fan. I’ll be giving up the meals for a week, which in my school, also adds up to 25 dollars.
Laura: Together that 50 dollar donation will go to the civilian protection program, but we need your help.
Andrew: Visit TheHPAlliance.org/DarfurFast – all one word – and make a donation today.
Andrew and Laura: Thanks!
[Music changes]
Andrew: Today’s podcast is also brought to you by Audible.com, the internets
leading provider of spoken word entertainment. What are you listening to after today’s epis
ode? How about a free audio book download of your choice when you sign up. Log onto www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast today for details.
[Music changes]
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[Show music starts]
Micah: Because Laura is all about positioning, this is MuggleCast, Episode 122 for December 2nd, 2007.
[Intro music continues playing]
Andrew: Guess what? Chapter-by-chapter was met with reviews that weren’t negative, everyone.
Laura: Yeah. That’s so good.
Andrew: And I’m just going to go right out there and say Laura was not a fan of bringing it back.
Laura: Okay.
Andrew: Not a fan.
Laura: Okay, I wasn’t. Because of the reaction that it got last time. But, I think that it sounds like you guys really changed it up. So, I’ll be the first to step up and say I was wrong. I’m humble. I think that…
Andrew: So you were wrong and you were late.
Laura: I – okay…
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Excuse me. For the past two years of my life…
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: …I can’t count the amount of times I’ve had to sit around and wait for all of you.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: So, because I was out being social on Friday.
[Andrew makes cat noise]
Laura: t’s not even 8:00 yet. So get over it.
Andrew: Okay, the night is young. I don’t go out until 1:00 AM every night. I’m out until, like, 8:00 in the morning Saturday.
Matt: Where do you…
Micah: And by out, you mean falling asleep.
Andrew: No.
Matt: No, where do you go?
Andrew: I go out. I go to parties.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: Wait…
Matt: You don’t know anybody.
Andrew: Wait, who are you mystery voice?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Joining us this week, besides Andy. Hey, Andy.
Andy: Hey.
Andrew: Is Matt Britton, a MuggleCast transcriber, who’s not going to talk much, because the more he talks the more he has to transcribe. So…
Matt: Oh, that’s right.
Andrew: You’re not going to… [laughs] You’re not going to hear from him much. Matt, where are you from?
Matt: I’m from San Diego, California.
Andrew: That’s not where you’re from, though. That’s just where you are.
Matt: I swear I’m going to – okay, what do you want me to say?
Andrew: Never mind. That’s okay. So everyone, we’ve got a good show for everyone today. I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Andy: I’m Andy McCray.
Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.
[Show music continues to play]
News
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum is in the MuggleCast News Center with the past week’s top Harry Potter news stories. Hey, Micah.
Micah: All right, thanks Andrew. According to an article in USA Today, Quidditch is the latest sport being played in colleges across the US. The first intercollegiate match was held earlier this month. One student from Middlebury College in Vermont said:
“Quidditch is one of the most creative things that came out of the books. We were able to create that here, follow all the rules, except the ability to fly. It just caught on.”
In order to make the game work, the Snitch is replaced by a young man, who runs around the pitch at “lightning speed” and, although the players obviously lack the ability to fly, brooms are still carried around for show; these in fact have been supplied by Alivan’s, MuggleNet’s primary sponsor. This modified version of the sport has been described as a cross between rugby, dodge ball and soccer.
On December the 13th, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book written by J.K. Rowling for The Children’s Voice charity, will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s.
And speaking of the Harry Potter author, the Trefoil House has received a signed copy of Deathly Hallows for auction. The book will be raffled as part of the annual Christmas Bonanza, an event where people can come and buy presents they would not normally find in mainstream shops. The event is being held at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange on December 4th and 5th.
Finally, Entertainment Weekly has placed Harry Potter film producer David Heyman at number nine on a list of the 50 smartest people in Hollywood. The article read:
“He has expertly steered the highest-grossing global franchise in film history. Heyman secured the rights to the Harry Potter books in 1997 and has done just about everything right since, including bonding with author J.K. Rowling and wisely seeking her input. He helped find unexpected directors , Alfonso Cuarón and David Yates, who’ve kept things fresh. And he’s kept the cast intact through five films, without any of his three teenage stars succumbing to a Lohanesque episode. While Warner Bros. president, Alan Horn, deserves credit for making the correct macro decisions, the franchise’s success rests on a thousand micro choices Heyman made, including creating a world on set and on screen where people want to be.”
That’s all the news for this December 2nd, 2007 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Andrew: Alright, thank you Micah.
Micah: You’re welcome.
Andrew: Micah, it was a slow news week.
Micah: It was. We keep rotating back and forth. We get big news weeks and then it dies down for a long period of time.
Andrew: It’s like a see-saw.
Micah: It is like a see-saw.
Laura: What?
Andrew: Yeah. Today we were on the ground. We were on the lower part of the see-saw. We’re the bigger kid this week on the see-saw.
Laura: Okay?
Andrew: We’re that bully. Okay, never mind. That’s enough.
Laura: No, you fail.
News Discussion: Tales of Beedle the Bard
Andrew: I just want to bring up Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was displayed, it was on display on Good Morning, America, ABC’s morning news program, and there’s a video online courtesy of HPANA. And basically, they actually have a copy of the book, and it looks thick. Have you guys seen this video?
Laura: Yeah, yeah.
Andy: It looks awesome.
Laura: Yeah, it really does.
Andrew: Yeah, it – yeah. It was funny, all the hosts were holding gloves because I guess Sotheby’s – that’s how you pronounce it, right, Sotheby’s?
Micah: Yep.
Andrew: They were, you know, their guys were probably off-stage being like, “Be really careful with this,” but they were all holding gloves and they were going through the book. It looks fantastic though, you just want to get your hands on it.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: But you won’t.
Andrew: Unless you have like $100,000. But do you know what I did last week?
Laura: What?
Andrew: I ordered a catalogue for the Tales of Beedle the Bard catalog direct from Sotheby’s, and what it has inside of it – I got it a couple days ago – what it has inside of it is lots of artistic pictures of the book, and it’s really cool because it has the intro page that Jo wrote. It’s sort of a message to the buyer and it says at the end, “So, to whoever now owns this book, thank you and fair fortune be yours.” And then if you just picture the rest of this book, I mean, it’s has a beautiful picture of Jo, and it’s really well done. It’s like, the cover is imprinted. You know how like, Goosebumps when you rub your finger up against the title?
Laura: Right.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: You can like feel the title? Yeah, it’s like that, and just a cool little catalogue. You guys should buy it, it’s $19.95 or something like that, and the proceeds go to charity.
Matt: The drawings are really nice. J.K. Rowling is a pretty good artist.
Andrew: Isn’t she? Yeah. And to think that she actually hand drew seven of these along with writing the story.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew:I mean, it’s crazy. And then it’s going to be bound by a separate company, and there’s a picture in this catalogue of the craftsman making the covers for these books, but, just fantastic. And yeah, Matt, the art is really nice.
News Discussion: Happy Anniversary
Andrew: There is some big news this week that wasn’t posted on MuggleNet or really anywhere else, Happy two year anniversary to the MCFCKYJQXY*&?C.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: It’s the MuggleCastFan chat cast. I’m just kidding, it’s actually just MCFCKYQ. It actually started as a podcast that was about this podcast.
Laura: No, wasn’t it about a chat room? It was a podcast about a chat room about a podcast, wasn’t that it? Something like that?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, basically.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: It was just kind of like a little fan community podcast. It was pretty cool, I think even a couple of us were on. I think Jamie and I were on their show for an interview like, a year-and-a-half ago. I think Eric might have been too, I’m not sure. We just wanted to say Happy Two Year Anniversary to them.
News Discussion: David Heyman
Micah: Well I just thought I’d bring up that David Heyman was named the ninth smartest person in Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. And I thought that was kind of cool. I mean, he’s ranking up there with some high individuals, including Steven Spielberg who comes in at number two. Number one is actually, let’s see here, Judd Apatow.
Andrew: Really?
Micah: He directed 40 Year-Old Virgin and
Andrew: Do you know this guy, Matt? I’ve never heard of him.
Matt: Yeah, he’s the guy that did that TV show Freaks and Geeks.
Andrew: Oh. What is that? What show is that?
Matt: Well it was cancelled.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh.
Matt: But it was apparently really good.
Laura: Why is it that I’m failing to see how this guy came in above Heyman?
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: Like, is it just me? I don’t get it.
Matt: Well he came above Steven Spielberg too. He’s number one.
Laura: Yeah. How?
Andy: What was that show called?
Andrew: Freaks and Geeks.
Matt: Yeah, Freaks and Geeks.
Andy: And it was cancelled.
Matt: Yeah, it was cancelled after one season, but it’s become a cult classic. A lot of people love the show.
Andy: Really smart then, isn’t he?
Andrew: Well, Entertainment Weekly says: “Smart becausethis year he didn’t just bring the funny he changed the whole funny business.” Then they go into a whole thing about, you know, explaining that. But, yeah, I mean, you know it is funny we were just talking about this other day about David Heyman. How great of a guy he is to be managing this entire Harry Potter production for the past seven or eight years now.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: I mean, you know, that whole production is a huge thing and he oversees almost all of it.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: And just sticking with it and loving it, you know, he deserves a lot of credit.
Micah: And he has been credited…
Matt: It has aged him terribly.
Micah: Yeah. Probably. [laughs]
Matt: [laughs] Could you just imagine how much sleep he gets?
Andrew: [laughs] And he has got a hot wife.
Laura: I don’t know, I thought he looked like he was – I don’t know. I don’t want to put myself into a weird position here but I thought he looked okay. Like, I do not think he look aged. [laughs]
Andrew: You do not want to put yourself in a weird position, but you think he looks okay.
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: I don’t want you guys to be like “Oh you think David Heyman is hot?” Because, well never mind. [laughs]
Matt: We wouldn’t put ourselves in a weird position for him.
Andrew: Yeah, and keep your positioning to yourself, Laura. Please.
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: No, shut up. I am not talking to you.
[Everyone laughs]
Announcements
Andrew: Well, moving on to some announcements now. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Audible.com, the leading provider in spoken word entertainment. Audible has over 3500 titles to choose from to be downloaded and played back anywhere, just like MuggleCast. On the summer road tour the co-hosts and I listened to a few audible books to pass the time. It’s a fantastic listening experience and is a great way to do some reading. Log on to www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast to get a free audio book download of your choice when you sign up today. Again, go to www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast for your free audio book.
The Wall of Fame that we started, that we opened up a few weeks ago is not complete as we consider it. Go to MuggleCast.com and at the top there is a banner that says “MuggleCast Wall of Fame” and there you will find our favorite episodes and the favorite episodes voted on by the fans. One of the big ones that was voted on by everyone was Episode 59, I think it was. “Time to Talk Time” and when we saw those e-mails I was like “Laura do you remember that?” she was like “Yeah, yeah”, that was a really good episode. We had completely forgotten about that.
Laura: It was, yeah. I had completely forgotten about that. We got into some very circular discussions about that.
Micah: Yeah. Was that the one where Kevin and Jamie kept going back and forth trying to talk about…
Laura: It sounds like something that they would gone back and forth, yeah.
Andrew: Oh!
Micah: …going back in time?
Andrew: Yeah. People say that was a very funny show for such a deep discussion and we pulled off the discussion well. Some other episodes voted on were Episode 20 where we discussed Hermione, Episode fif – no, Episode 59 was “Time to talk Time.” And there’s a few others in that list. And, what’s going to happen from now on is whenever the listeners see an episode that really stands out to you guys, or stands out to us. If it stands out to us we will put it in if we see a lot of good feedback, but whenever the listeners see a good episode and we don’t put it in, if everyone could make a giant Facebook group or one of those online petitions and be like, we think this should be on the Wall of Fame, and, you know, to get our attention and then we will do it, because every episode we can’t have like five or six listeners write in and say, “Yeah, I think that was Wall of Fame worthy.” So, this is basically just a collection for us to look back on and recommend to new listeners if they want to see some of our best work. Laura, what is going on in your home town of Dallas next year?
Laura: Well, as many of you know, the Portus Convention is going on sponsored by HPEF, and we recently found out that we are going.
Andrew: Yea!
Laura: Yea!
[Andy and Laura laugh]
Laura: It’s so exciting.
Andrew: We are going…
Laura: I’m going home everybody!
Andrew: [laughs and sings] I’m goin’ home. Just for the live show, I thought I would bring up that uhhh – what is that song by the American Idol guy?
Laura: I don’t know.
Matthew: Daughtry.
Andrew: Yeah. Chris Daughtry. Thank you. So, Portus 2008, hp2008.org, in Dallas, Texas from July 10th to the 13th. They are doing something called the Podcastpollusa or as I like to call it, the Potter Podcast Palooza at Portus Pickles! This pollusa they are doing is going to be a whole night of podcasting and what is going to happen is we are going to have our own time slot to do our show, and then there is going to be a bunch of podcasts doing their own shows all in one night at that and then at the end it is going to be a big round table of podcasters discussing Harry Potter podcasting, so it is a great idea. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Visit hp2008.org and register up, and we will provide more details as they come along. We don’t know which other podcasts are going to be there yet besides us, but we can say we will be there doing a podcast – I think it is the Friday of Portus, so I think that’s July 11th. So, more news to follow about that, and lastly just a side note. We have some new holiday album art
for Mugglecast. We do that every year, and be sure to check it out, because it’s fun.
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: Of course.
Micah: Are we going to put up those pictures again, we usually do that every year, the ones by Kelly Egan.
Andrew: Yes, Kelly Egan, put them up Micah.
Micah: Done.
[Everyone laughs]
Muggle Mail: Harry Potter and Other Reading
Andrew: Okay. All right. It’s time to move on to Muggle Mail now. Let’s get to the first email.
Laura: Our first email comes from Desiree, age 17, from San Antonio, TX. She writes:
“Hey guys, I was just listening to Mugglecast 121 and you were discussing Harry Potter and getting kids to read. The series did get me to start reading, and I have since moved on to other series and great authors. But the reason I am writing is because lately there has been a lot of talk about a different series taking the limelight away from Harry. I am talking about the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Many news sources were calling the series ‘the next Harry Potter‘ just because of the amount of fans it has gained in the past two years, and especially when it took Deathly Hallows’s top spot upon release. They are even in pre-production of a movie for the first novel in the series. So I am basically wondering whether you think that a new buzz like this could draw attention attention away from such a huge franchise? I am personally a big fan of both series, but HP will always be my number one since it got me to where I am now. Sorry for the long e-mail, just wondering what you think.”
Andrew: No. No.
Laura: Yeah, I don’t know.
Andrew: No.
Andy: I don’t know. Can I just say that every book series that I’ve heard being called ‘the next Harry Potter,’ and I don’t know, I don’t buy it.
Laura: I mean, I know a lot of people are Twilight fans. I think that it’s definitely, I mean, it’s got huge potential to have the kind of following that Harry Potter has, but I don’t think it’s going to take away from the franchise.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Harry Potter‘s just one of those things that even people who don’t read Harry Potter know what Harry Potter is.
Andrew: Right. And there’s fandoms that are all going to flock to this film. I’m sure there’s a big Twilight following, but nothing like Harry Potter and the Harry Potter fandom is never going to change. They’re not going to be like, oh, forget Harry Potter. We have Twilight now. You know? Because Harry Potter is not dead yet. There’s still a few more exciting things to come.
Matt: Well, but there may be a time when that happens, too. I mean, look what happen to Star Trek with Star Wars. I mean, Star Trek was the big thing, everyone, everybody was a huge fan of Star Trek and then Star Wars came and pretty much blew them out of the water.
Andrew: Realy?
Laura: So, I mean…
Andy: If there’s another wizard book coming, they wouldn’t have to do that, because they’ve got space-ish.
Matt: Well, and they also do have a lot of Star Trek conventions, too, and there’s a whole huge group of people that do that also. So, yeah.
Laura: Yeah, but I mean, if you think about stuff like Lord of the Rings, which had a huge following in its day, and there’s still tons of people who are into it. I mean, their fandom’s not as active as Harry Potter is, but I don’t think that Lord of the Rings lost any fans to Harry Potter when it came out.
Matt: Well, it’s a fantasy genre, also. It’s a huge genre that not one subject can take over.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Well, as far as what Andy brought up with new wizard books, I mean, has Eragon really taken anything away? I mean, I know it’s not exactly the same type of a story, but it hasn’t really taken anything away from Harry Potter, I don’t think, and that’s kind of the next biggest thing I can think of that has come out around the same time.
Andrew: It’s not even as big. Yeah. I don’t even think it’s as big, though. And just a side note, which I think is kind of interesting, for the longest time now, since the first Eragon book came out, it was supposed to be a trilogy, three books.
Laura: Yeah. [laughs] Not anymore.
Andrew: Now the author has announced there is going to be a fourth book.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Oh really?
Andrew: I don’t think it is. He wrote up a good reason for why there is going to be a fourth, but all I’m saying is this is just a way to just pull some extra money. Like, I mean, you’re adding a fourth book to the trilogy. It just doesn’t make sense.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s kind of cheap.
Micah: It seems like he had it pretty well set from the beginning.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: So, technically, to add another book – I kind of agree with what you are saying.
Laura: Yeah, I know. Just one last note on Twilight, just the impression I’ve gotten, like, I have a couple of friends who read it, and it just seems like something more geared towards girls. I think – I don’t know what kind of affect that will have on it. It seems like Harry Potter would be more widely encompassing fandom, just because it attracts readers of both genders and, like, I doubt that a whole bunch of guys are going to leave Harry Potter for Twilight. So…
Andrew: Can I be honest? I’ve never even heard of Twilight.
Matt: Yeah, what is Twilight?
Micah: Me neither.
Andy: Me neither.
[Laura laughs]
Laura: I believe it’s – I’ve never read it, but it’s a vampire romance novel. I have somebody here that reads it actually.
Muggle Mail: Harris’ Words About McKllen
Andrew: The next e-mail back comes from Lauren,15, of Omaha, Nebraska. She writes:
“Hey, MuggleCast, I was just listening to the recent podcast when I decided to look up what Richard Harris said about Ian McKellen. So here is the exact quote, courtesy of IMDB. ‘No one trusts me anymore. I spent half the movie Maigret arguing with people and I was accused of causing big on-set rows. But what they won‘t tell you is that I was fighting for Simeneon. I fought for the maintenance of quality. I don’t believe in lying down on the job. I’ve seen these so-called ‘nice’ actors. Very able fellows like Ian McKellen and Kenneth Branagh. But they’re like bank managers. So sweet and careful. Who needs them? We’re suffering a plague of good taste. Give me Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke any day. They project danger. That’s what makes acting, and life, interesting.” Brutal words.”
Laura: Yeah. It’s interesting that he mentioned Kenneth Branagh because he played Lockhart in the second film. I wonder what that made the set like.
Andrew: Well, for the record, this could have been said before Harry Potter.
Laura: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying, like if they got together on set, it must have been like, “So…”
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Jerk.
Andrew: Thank you, jerk. Look whose starring along aside of you now.
Andy: Could you imagine, though, a whole set with a bunch of Sean Penns and Mickey Rourkes? So…
Laura: No.
Andy: Everyone is going to have a black eye, at least.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
MuggleCast 122 Transcript (continued)
Muggle Mail: Amycus Carrow
Micah: The next one comes from Julia, 13, of California, and this one is my mistake from last week:
“Hi there, on Episode 121 you were talking about an untrained Death Eater with a wheezy giggle. I was under the impression that this death eater was Amycus Carrow. This is just what I assumed from the CD’s, because I’m pretty sure this Death Eater had the same voice as Amycus. Love the show. Bye.”
So, that clears up the mystery character…
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: I think, Andy, didn’t you say that, though, last week, too?
Andy: Yeah. I said that. So, one to me?
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: Oh? Good work. [laughs] Good work, Julia – er, Andy.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Are you saying Julia just copied off of you?
Andrew: Maybe.
Andy: No. I – I think I read it somewhere so I can’t really take credit for it.
[Andy laughs]
Micah: Oh.
Andrew: I think Andy already discussed it on the Harry Potter FanZoneCast.
Micah: Oh.
Andy: Sure did.
Muggle Mail: The Source
Andrew: And the last email today comes from Matthew, 17, of Biloxi, Mississippi, about our Chapter-by-Chapter segment talking about Chapter 1:
“I was listening to Episode 121 and when ya’ll were doing the Chapter by Chapter there was a detail that ya’ll did not address, on top of page four U.S. edition. After Snape gives Voldemort the information on moving Harry and Voldemort using Legilimency on Snape, Voldemort begins the question, ‘Good. Very good. And this information comes–‘ but Snape interrupts with ‘–from the source we discussed.’ I was wondering who this source could possibly be. No way it could be Dumbledore’s portrait because he would have no way of knowing the plans of the Order and it most likely would not go too well with Voldie if Snape was conversing with Dumbledore’s portrait. Just wondering what you guys think. Thanks. Matthew.”
Laura: What I’m wondering is why Andrew doesn’t know how to say “ya’ll.”
Andrew: How do you say it?
Laura: You were sitting there going “ya all.” It’s “ya’ll.”
Andrew: Ya’ll.
Laura: Ya’ll. You’re going to Texas next summer! You need to learn how to say these things!
Matt: Geez. You need to brush up on your colloquialism.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Well, I think I’m – I definitely agree that it’s not Dumbledore’s portrait.
Micah: Well, I thought it was Mundungus. I thought that was the whole point of Harry…
Laura: Yeah…
Micah: Seeing that scene in the end.
Andrew: Oh.
Laura: I – yeah, I agree with Micah. I think that’s what it would have to be. I can’t think of anything else.
Micah: I think the source should be almost in quotation marks because it’s not a real source. It was just Snape sort of taking advantage of Mundungus.
Laura: Yeah. He was using him as a scapegoat.
Matt: Well, didn’t Dumbledore and Snape discuss about this before they – before he died, too? Like, they were going to move him on his birthday? Or something?
Laura: Mhm. Yeah.
Matt: So, so, maybe Snape just interrupted him before he could read his mind and said this before Voldemort found out the truth or something.
Micah: Right.
Matt: Do you…
Micah: But I would still think there would have to be somebody, like, between Snape and Voldemort. The source would have to be an actual person. And I don’t think he would trust Dumbledore. You know?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Oh, okay.
Chapter-by-Chapter: In Memoriam
Andrew: Yeah. It’s time to move on now to Chapter-by-Chapter. We’re going on to take on Chapter 2 this week, which once you read it, it’s – it’s a very basic chapter. I mean, really all that’s happening here is Harry’s still at the Dursley’s house and he picks up these two newspaper articles with, of course, differing opinions on Dumbledore. So are you guys ready to go?
Laura: Yeahhh.
Micah: Yeah!
Andrew: Let’s do it! Let’s go and do it. Here we go! A few things I want to talk about this week, and we’re going to go by the U.S. page numbers this week. I guess, maybe Andy can translate them if he wants to.
Andy: Yeah, I’ll try and find ’em.
Doge’s Mutual Attraction
Andrew: Okay. First one. Page 16. I’m sorry, but I have to do it.
Laura: Oh boy.
Andrew: In the beginning of the first article, titled “Albus Dumbledore Remembered,” I quote . . .
Andy: 21 in the U.K. edition.
Andrew: Oh, thank you. “I met Albus Dumbledore at the age of 11 on our first day at Hogwarts. [shouts] OUR MUTUAL ATTRACTION was undoubtedly due to the fact that we both felt ourselves to be outsiders.”
Matt: Well, didn’t he have pimples all over his face? Isn’t that why he sees himself as an outsider?
Laura: That’s right, he had dragon pox. Yeah.
Andy: Dragon pox.
Matt: Yeah! Dragon pox!
Andrew: Well, okay, yes. You could say the mutual attraction is not relationship-able – to create a new word, but [laughs] doesn’t this suggest that, that Elph – how do you pronounce her name?
Laura: Elphias? El-fee-us? I don’t know.
Matt: Elf-phias?
Andrew: Elphias. Just call her Elephant.
Laura: You mean him.
Andrew: That Elephant Dog was attracted to Dumbledore in a romantic sort of way?
Laura: Mmmm. I mean, I guess it’s . . .
Matt: Not everybody’s gay.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Yeah, I guess it’s possible. Not to mention, just because you have a mutual attraction to somebody doesn’t mean that it’s sexual. Like…
Andrew: But Laura, because of recent events I’ve been forced to assume things when I read the word attraction with someone else and Dumbledore.
Matt: [laughs] Geez.
Micah: I thought that Doge was a guy.
Andrew: So, what I’m trying to say here is, we knew all along that Dumbledore was gay. Right from the start of Chapter 2!
Laura: No. We didn’t…
Matt: No we didn’t.
Andrew: Mutual attraction.
Laura: Okay! Friends have mutual attractions.
Andrew: I cannot name one person I’ve had a mutual attraction to.
Matt: God. You find out one character is gay and then the entire wizarding world…
Laura: You have mutual attractions to all of your friends.
Andrew: If I go up to a straight guy right now and I say, “Dude, I’m attracted to you.” He’s going to be like, “Dude, you’re gay.”
Laura: But you wouldn’t say it that way because people like you take it wrong!
Dumbledore and The Mirror of Erised
Andrew: Here’s something we never really discussed after Deathly Hallows came out. Page 21, Harry thinks back to when he asked Dumbledore what did he see when he looked into the mirror. And I thought it would be fun to discuss it now, especially since we know that Dumbledore’s gay.
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: Matt had something when this revelation was first revealed.
Matt: Well, no. That was just the first question I had when you guys told me that Dumbledore was gay. After the two hours of you guys screaming at us in the hotel room. “Oh my god, he’s gay!”
Laura: Well, it took it a while to convince you.
Matt: Well, we didn’t believe you at first. Well, come on, the first thing… Seriously, you were banging on the door, we opened it and you screamed in my face, “HE’S GAY!”
Andrew: Because it was big news! But actually, come to think of it – did we discuss this on the show afterwards?
Laura: I feel like we’ve discussed it.
Micah: I think it came up a little bit.
Laura: Yeah, a little bit but not a lot.
Micah: In Eric’s whole “pig for slaughter” thing.
Laura: “I hate Deathly Hallows” discussion.
Andrew: I mean, now that we’ve seen the back story, I would in all seriousness think he would actually see his family.
Laura: Oh yeah, definitely.
Andrew: Like Harry.
Laura: I think that he would see his family before they were broken. You know, it’s not just seeing them, but it’s seeing them as they were before all this terrible stuff befell them.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: I think Jo actually said that, I’m not sure where though.
Laura: Yeah, yeah. I’m sure she said something along those lines. It only makes sense.
Dumbledore’s Lies
Micah: Yeah, and this kind of comes after Harry learns everything about Dumbledore’s family in the first article that was written and he realizes that this is really the only personal question that he has ever asked Dumbledore throughout the entire six years that he knew him, and what’s interesting about it is that he knew Dumbledore lied when he said that he saw socks. So, the only personal question that Harry ever asked Dumbledore, Dumbledore answered with a lie. And, so I just thought that was kind of interesting given Eric’s whole take about Harry being raised this sort of “pig for slaughter” and him never knowing really what Dumbledore’s true intentions were throughout the course of the series.
Andrew: Not just that, but he didn’t know Dumbledore at all.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: He just knew him as the Headmaster. He…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: He couldn’t see into him. He couldn’t understand anything from him.
Laura: But I mean, you think about other people who in your life are authority figures and other people that you seek for advice. How often do you actually ask them about their personal lives? Because if you start getting into personal lives with these people it makes them so much more human and I think that it wasn’t necessarily just something that Dumbledore was keeping from Harry. I think that on a subconscious level, it was a way in which Harry could keep Dumbledore up on a pedestal. You know? Higher above everyone else.
Micah: Yeah. But at the same time, it started the process of lies, and it started the process of Dumbledore not being truthful with Harry just from that point. You know? Already in Sorcerer’s Stone, he’s lying to Harry and he’s not telling the truth.
Laura: Yeah, but I think that’s part of his humanity.
Andrew: Yeah, I think Laura brings up a good point though about how once you ask an elder or someone you look up to about their personal life, things do change.
Laura: I mean it’s kind of like when you have that first dawning realization that your parents can’t solve everything. You know, when you’re a kid, you think that you can just run up to your parents and ask them and they know everything. When something really serious or terrible happens and there’s nothing they can do, it’s kind of a shock.
Andrew: Yeah.
Andy: But he’s not really lying to Harry to be deceitful or anything. I suppose he’s not telling him that because he doesn’t really think it’s relevant, then.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: At that point he was too young; I mean how could you possibly get into that? “I see my family to because…” It’d take him forever to explain everything.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: But also more on what Laura was saying – maybe Harry subconsciously just didn’t want to know more, which is why he didn’t ask any more personal questions. Because I’m just trying to put myself into his position. If I had a relationship with my principal, where he was guiding me, I don’t know if I wanted to know more about his personal life. Like – it’s just irrelevant.
Laura: No, I mean it just feels somewhat inappropriate. It’s like walking up to your teacher and being like, “Hey what did you do last night?” It’s weird. It’s awkward to ask people about their personal lives, you stay very formal. We see Harry continue to stay formal with Dumbledore throughout the books. I mean he becomes angry with him but it’s only about things that pertain to Harry’s personal life. So, I don’t know.
Rita Mentions Grindelwald
Andrew: Okay, moving along there’s another thing I wanted to talk about on pg. 26. I’m sorry but I just had a dirty mind and I couldn’t find anything else to bring up in here.
Matt: I think it’s 29 in the U.K edition. I think I know what you’re talking about.
Andrew: Rita says “‘Oh, now I’m glad you mentioned Grindelwald,’ says Skeeter, with a tantalizing smile. ‘I’m afraid those who go dewy-eyed over Dumbledore’s spectacular victory must brace themselves for a bombshell – or perhaps a Dungbomb. Very dirty business indeed.'”
Now, if you stop right there you think “Wait, did Rita actually know about the relationship between Grindelwald and Dumbledore?” In all seriousness I read that back and stopped right there to write down the note – I didn’t actually continue to read on. But, I really wish Jo included a couple more hints about him. [laughs] Because that would’ve been a good opportunity, like somehow if Rita Skeeter actually found out that he was gay.
Laura: How would she find out though, I don’t think he told anyone.
Andy: Came into his room as a beetle?
Andrew: Yeah…
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Saw Dumbledore on the computer at a couple of things.
[Everyone laughs]
Micah: I don’t think she was alive, but that’s okay.
Andrew: Well you don’t – well I’m talking as of late.
Laura: I don’t think Dumbledore got up too much in the last…
Micah: One hundred years.
Laura: Seven years.
Andrew: What do you mean, “Got up too much”?
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: What I was saying is I don’t think he had time for a romantic life, during the time when he was raising Harry.
Andrew: Oh, I know that’s why I said he went on the computer.
Laura: No, but…
[Matt sighs]
Andrew: But anyway, if you read on this paragraph it goes on to say, “All I’ll say is, don’t be so sure there was the spectacular duel of legend. After they’ve read my book, people may be forced to conclude that Grindelwald simply conjured a white handkerchief from the end of his wand and came quietly.” [laughs]
Laura: You are so wrong! Oh my gosh, these dirty minds.
Micah: Oh boy.
Laura: So Andrew, why don’t you enlighten us to the meaning of this passage since you highlighted it, instead of giggling?
Andrew: Well, I just told you! If you stop reading at “very dirty business indeed,” one could assume after finding out Dumbledore was gay – one could assume that there was Jo dropping us a hint, and also Rita Skeeter somehow found out. And it could be fun to analyze exactly how she could have possibly found out. [laughs]
Matt: I’m surprised you didn’t do this other passage either, the one right after it.
Andrew: What?
Matt: About Harry.
Andrew: Why?
Micah: Well, hold on. Can I just…
Laura: “It’s been called unhealthy, even sinister.”
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: About their relationship. She says, “the whole Potter Dumbledore relationship.”
Matt: “There’s no question that Dumbledore took an unnatural interest in Potter from the word ‘go.'”
Andrew: So maybe she did know. And I’m not even kidding! What if Rita actually did find out?
Interpreting Rita’s Words
Laura: I think if she did, it would have come out in the book. There would be no reason for her to keep that quiet. I think the angle she’s trying to play up is Dumbledore has had connections to dark wizards in the past and I think that she’s trying to lead people to assume he’s guiding this boy who’s supposed to defeat Voldemort, yet there was a time when he had a very Nazi-esque view of the way the world should work.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: Mhm.
Micah: At the “very dirty business,” I thought, had to do with his sister’s death and them not really knowing how she died.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Mmm, yeah.
Micah: But, I can see how that could be interpreted a different way.
Matt: Probably, also the thing that… Oh! Well, probably the dirty business was also probably the things Dumbledore and Grindelwald did together too. Just the fact that no one knew how good of friends they were and how well they knew each other and all those other things.
Aberforth
Andrew: Mhm. Okay, so moving onto pg. 29, we get to the part where Harry he sees Aberforth in the mirror. For a flash of a second by that time Harry assumes it’s Dumbledore. Did anyone think it actually was Dumbledore in the mirror? I did.
Andy: I really hoped it was but I don’t think I ever believed it.
Andrew Yeah. Because like…
Laura: I didn’t buy that it was Dumbledore but I wasn’t sure who it was. Because…
Andrew: Because we had discussed – sorry.
Laura: Sorry, I just trusted Jo when she said that he was dead. You know? The only real way that – I mean, we even saw that she was true to her word. You know, you can’t bring the dead back. We had the portrait and then we had Harry’s dream/epiphany at King’s Cross. So, he never really came back.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: And, she does it right in the last sentence of the chapter, when she says that “if anything it was certain that the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore would never pierce him again.”
Andrew: Okay, well…
Micah: So… Well, no. I’m just saying as far as Dumbledore returning, that’s kind of what did it for me – when she said that.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: Yeah. But, how could Harry be certain? Why would he be so certain? I mean…
Laura: Because he watched him die.
Andrew: But, he thought he had just seen his eye. So, what? Because remember on the show when we were even talking about what if there were a special connection with the two-way mirror? What if we’re going to see it again and it’s going to be Dumbledore helping Harry via the mirror? Didn’t we discuss that on the show?
Laura: We discussed Sirius helping Harry via the mirror.
Andrew: Oh, right.
Laura: Because there was that big theory going around for a long time that Sirius took the mirror through the Veil with him.
Andrew: Right, yeah.
Laura: But he clearly did not. I didn’t think it was Dumbledore because we knew that there was really no way for the dead to use that mirror. Like, you’re dead. You know?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Laura: It’s not a state in which you can readily communicate with people in that fashion, I don’t think.
MuggleCast 122 Transcript (continued)
The Truths: Doge vs. Rita’s Articles
Micah: I thought it’d be good to bring up looking at both the articles since, despite what Harry thought, there were truths about Dumbledore in both of them. Maybe we could just take a look at some of the basics that were in them. I don’t know. What do you guys think?
Laura: Well, it’s interesting because usually when you look at something – two pieces of media in which you have very different extremes – it’s usually pretty safe to assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Which is pretty much what it ended up being. You know? Of course Dumbledore’s good friend is going to say nothing but good things about him.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: And, he’s not going to confirm any of the questionable things about his past. But, at the same time, a critic like Skeeter – she’s going to attack him every chance she can get.
Andrew: I mean, the one thing about the first article was just that everyone who was reading that article – like us, the real people – we sort of were like, “Awww, yeah. Yeah, awww. Yeah, I remember that. I remember that, too.”
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: It was a very bittersweet way for us to remember Dumbledore. But what I find interesting, and this might come off wrong, is that whenever someone does die you do nothing but talk about some of the best things about the person.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: But as a side note, there was the football player who died earlier this week, Shaun Taylor. Actually, his former football coach from high school was on CNN, talking badly about him. And I was like, “What? You would actually do this?”
Laura: Yeah, I mean. You really run into that kind of thing with heavily influential figures. If you look at the death of Princess Diana, for instance. You had people, they were either on one side or the other. They loved her or they hated her. And they made it very clear how they felt about her in the days after her death. They still make it very clear.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: And I think that that’s just kind of a point that Jo is trying to bring up. That somebody who had so much pull in the Wizarding World as Dumbledore… You know, he was going to have people who loved him unconditionally and people who criticized his every move.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah. And we get the first pieces of information as well in Doge’s article about his family. Because up until this point, we really, other then Aberforth, didn’t know anything about Dumbledore’s family.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: So, it gives us a brief insight into eventually what we learn more about later on in the book.
Andrew: Right. And it turns out to be some of the most important information too. But we just didn’t know it yet. It was very interesting how Jo brought us through those two articles and I really liked how we got two such differing opinions. It was just very, very good writing.
Laura: Right.
Micah: Yeah. And I like how Rita Skeeter brought up the fact that, you know, Dumbledore was into the Dark Arts and he wasn’t always as broadminded as everyone thought he was. And then, you know, you have Harry at the end of the chapter saying that this is all lies and it’s not true and it ends up being true in the end.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: Yeah.
Favorite Quotes: “Dish The Dirt”
Andrew: We’ll do favorite quotes now that we got some e-mails. My favorite of the chapter was when Rita says, “People are cuing to dish the dirt on Dumbledore anyway.” And that made me angry. Do you think that was really true or you think that Rita was doing that just to sell her book?
Laura: I think it was probably true of a couple of people.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: I mean, that’s the main difference that you notice with these two articles while reading them. One is meant to provide a quick overview, a nice fluffy piece about Dumbledore’s life. And then the other is just pushing a book. And it’s just using his name, slaving his name on it, to make money.
Andrew: Yeah. Mhm, exactly.
Laura: So…
Andrew: But the thing that just got me was “people were lining up.” I actually had a visual of people lining up and Rita sitting at a table, just taking all these notes, all this dirt on Dumbledore. It’s faux.
Laura: Mhm. She exaggerates too, though. We know that.
Micah: It’s something like somebody…
Andrew: Oh, definitely.
Micah: Like Lucius Malfoy would, you know, be apt to go ahead and just dish the dirt on Dumbledore, I think.
Andrew: Right. I wonder if other very big influential characters died, like if, say, Lucius or maybe uhhh…ummm…hmmph… who else?
Matt: Fudge?
Andrew: McGonagall.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: Fudge, yeah. If there would be all this dirt suddenly revealed about the person, because it’s…
Laura: You know what’s interesting about that? I always thought we were going to find out – find some dirt on Fudge, because of The Quibbler. Like, all those little things in The Quibbler, like I always kind of figured that Jo threw that in there to kind of give us a few grains of truth, and that we were going to find out all this stuff about Fudge.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: We never really did.
Andrew: Who put this next quote in?
Favorite Quotes: The Locket
Micah: I did. “The locket was accorded this place of honour, not because it was valuable — in all usual senses it was worthless — but because of what it had cost to attain it.” So, I just thought that it was [mockingly] a sentimental quote. When, you know, Harry was remembering Dumbledore.
Laura: Yeah, I remember when I read that when we were all together…
Micah: Did you cry?
Laura: I like – I felt my heart sink. I didn’t cry at that point, okay?
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Laura: I was only fifteen pages in!
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Oh.
Laura: I cried when I thought when I thought Harry was going to die!
Micah: You were crying when you were 50 pages out and thought Harry was still going to die.
Laura: Well, you never know! And it was worse because some people were laughing at me!
Andrew: I was L-M-A-O-ing, to be honest.
[Micah and Andy laughs]
Andy: That’s a bit bleak of you.
Andrew: But there’s another point I want to bring up about that, but it’s in one of the e-mails.
Favorite Quotes: Rita Skeeter
Andy: Well, this is a quote that I picked out, because I think it sums up everything that Rita Skeeter stands for. It’s: “‘Oh my dear,’ beams Skeeter, rapping me affectionately across the knuckles, ‘you know as well as I do how much information can be generated by a fat bag of Galleons, a refusal to hear the word ‘no’ and a nice sharp Quick-Quotes Quill!'”
Matt: Yeah. That is perfect Rita for you right there.
Muggle Mail: Predetermined Beliefs
Andrew: Ummm, let’s move on to e-mails for Chapter 2. This was sent in by our – these were sent in by our listeners this week. The first one comes from Hanna, 16, of Pennsylvania. She writes:
“Hey, guys, I just wanted to make a comment on Chapter Two for your discussion. This chapter is one of my favorite in the entire book, for the reason that it displays one of the prevalent themes of the books, that our predetermined beliefs blind us from the truth. When we first read the chapter we compare the articles written by Rita Skeeter and Elphias Doge. Immediately we side with Doge’s point of view, because of our past negative experiences with her and because of our connection with Doge who was a friend of Dumbledore’s. Because we identify with Doge we assume that his view is the correct of and that Rita, as she often has been before, is wrong. However, after we read the entire book it is clear that, though she embellished the many facts, Rita’s account of Dumbledore is actually more factual than Doge’s rose-colored picture of a kindly old man. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess. Sorry if this was long=winded.”
Andrew: Blah, blah, blah. So yeah, that’s a good point, that’s basically what we’re talking about.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: These two very contrasting views and we’re like, “Oh, psh, Rita, get outta here.”
Laura: Yeah. Yeah, and I think Jo was taking advantage of the fact that we were in the same position as Doge was.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Doge [pronounces it “dog”] you mean?
Laura: His name isn’t Dog.
Matt: It’s Doge.
Andrew: On today’s show it’s elephant dog.
Micah: [laughs] What?
Muggle Mail: Reminiscing
Laura: Next e-mail comes from Kimberly, 18, from New York. She writes:
“Hey, guys. First, I just want to say that you are all amazing and, even though you probably hear it all the time, you really have done such a great job with the show. Keep up the good work.”
Andrew: Thanks!
Laura: Thank you, that’s so sweet. Anyway…
[Micah laughs]
Laura: What?
Micah: You’re like, “anyway, no it’s not.” Let’s move on.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: “Oh, that’s so sweet, anyway.”
Laura: Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. Whatever.
“I thought that it was really nice the way in which J.K. Rowling got us back into Harry’s point of view; he’s at the Dursley’s, and he’s miserable, just like he always is there. Yet, this is the last time that he will be there, so it is in a sort of odd way, special. Not even getting to the whole Dumbledore background story that is the focus of this chapter, I really enjoyed all of the reminiscent things that go on in the very beginning. It seems like its J.K.’s own special way of saluting to various memories from previous books as Harry is going through his trunk, pulling out books, quills, and much more. Right away, we know that this book is going to be very serious and intense because all of the light and happy things that we have seen in the previous books have to be abandoned now. In this sense, Harry is leaving his childhood forever, and for the typical ‘Harry Potter’ fangirl, moments like these totally grab our hearts. I know
that that probably sounds really sappy, but I figured since most of the discussion will be focused on the opening into Dumbledore’s background, it’s something different to read, at least. Thanks for reading, and once again you guys are amazing!! Good luck to everyone on your upcoming exams. I’m in the same boat as Laura and Andrew, finishing up the first semester of college. Cheers, and Happy Holidays!”
Andrew: Well, good luck to you, too.
Laura: Awww, that’s so sweet. Really, it is.
Micah: Anyway.
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: Shut up, Micah. Yeah, I was actually looking at that, like he’s, like going through, like, little things in his trunk. He finds the – what was it, ‘Cedric Diggory, the real Hogwarts champion, Potter stinks badges.”
Andy: The Sneak-o-scope.
Laura: Yeah he just found…
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Laura: It was like going through like all of these, you know, old memories and you know that he’s leaving it behind, like you said.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: And that was just one small part in the whole entire book, and I’m sure we’ll point them out as we continue this series of Chapter-by-Chapter, where, you know, Harry’s just seeing all these things from the past. I mean the example I keep going back to is Oliver Wood.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: He just pops out of no where, and all these little things are in here just to remind us of the series, and it really gave the book a different feeling. It gave the book – throughout the entire book, you got a real closure feeling, seeing all these things again, you know?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Well, pretty much every character in the series made a cameo in this book, didn’t they?
Andrew: Right, yeah.
Laura: Except for Madame Maxime.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh.
Laura: Like, she just kind of didn’t appear anywhere.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Which is really interesting seeing as she is a giant and everything. She’d be kind of hard to miss.
Muggle Mail: Too Little Time?
Andrew: Ooo! Hey! Next e-mail comes from Ashley, 18, of Virginia. She writes:
“Isn’t it interesting that Harry is left to reflect on the jadiness about Dumbledore and the way he, Harry, was never able to make the best of his time with Dumbledore. And most of the readers feel the same way. There is so much we hope to learn but time run out far too quickly. It’s such a feeling that I find great comfort in this similarity, but not just about Dumbledore, but the series as a whole.”
Wow. Yeah?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: It’s another good point. We were sort of talking about that earlier.
Muggle Mail: How is Rita Writing?
Andy: This next e-mail comes from Nina, 14, of Missouri. She says:
“Hi! I’m writing in for the Chapter-by-Chapter for Chapter 2 of Deathly Hallows. In this chapter, Harry writes the interview with Rita Skeeter. But how does Rita is writing anything in the first place? I thought Hermione had shut her up for good in Goblet of Fire, as was demonstrated in The Order of the Phoenix when Rita wrote for The Quibbler. What happened? I guess Hermione didn’t follow through on her threats.”
Laura: Actually that was because Hermione said at the end of Goblet of Fire that she had to keep her quill to herself for a year. So…
Andy: Yep.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: And she’s not really writing for The Daily Prophet, either…
Laura: Yeah, she wasn’t writing about Harry, either…
Micah: She was writing her own book.
Laura: Plus, I’m sure that Hermione didn’t want to draw attention to themselves at this point in time. Like, just having all this information about Dumbledore come out is just one more thing to distract from Harry. So, I guess it’s kind of a way of keeping them safe. Just another form of protection. Because people might be more invested in hearing about Dumbledore.
Andrew: Yeah. And, you know, someone other than Rita is probably making some money off of this.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: So, they could’ve brought her back pretty easily, you know, if money was involved.
Chapter-by-Chapter: Quote Quiz
Andrew: We’re going to start something new here on the Chapter-by-Chapter segment. It’s called, “Quote Quiz”!
Micah: That was good.
Matt: Yay!
Laura: Wooo!
Andrew: Quote Quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz [imitating echo sound] Quote-quote-quote Quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz [more echoing] So, what we’re going to do, [laughs] to get everyone excited about the following week’s chapter, we will pick out a quote from the next chapter. In this case, Chapter 3. And, we won’t say who said it. And we’ll make you guys guess and we’ll make you guys play at home. It will be a lot of fun. Of course, this is not a competition because anyone could just open the book and find the answer. But, just, for you guys to play at home. Just for fun.
First one. This comes form Chapter 3. Guess the quote. Guess who said it. “Very clever of you, sir! Very clever. I personally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs.” Who was the speaker and who is being spoken to? All right, this is been “Quote Quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz-quiz.” Okay, so next week we’ll be discussing Chapter 3, “The Dursley’s Departing.” It features one of the most random quotes you will ever see in this entire Harry Potter series. It left everyone going, “What the…!”
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: “…Fudge.”
Micah: I don’t know what you’re talking about, but…
Laura: Yeah, me neither.
Andrew: Isn’t that the chapter where Dudley says, “I’ll miss you, Harry”?
Micah: Oh. Oh, yeah.
Laura: Oh. Well, Okay. I thought…
Chicken Soup For The MuggleCast Soul
Andrew: We’re going to wrap things up with a Chicken Soup today.
Laura: This week’s Chicken Soup For The MuggleCast Soul comes from Elizabeth. She writes:
“Dear, MuggleCasters, compared to some of the other beautiful Chicken Soup stories, this one might seem a little pointless, but I’m going to go with it anyway. A few months ago I was very low. That might not sound too dramatic, but it’s the best way I can describe it. I’m sure you know that feeling, being clutched in the claws of something dark. Not feeling a part of yourself, your friends, your world. Sometimes at night, just to stop myself from crying once more, I would turn on the MuggleCast and focus on some familiar, friendly voices. The contentment of Harry Potter talk would bring me, plus the ramblings of a handful of simply amazing people would comfort me. I’m not depressed anymore, and right now I’m with a fantastic guy who really understands. I just can’t tell him about my unrequited love for Jamie.”
Of course.
“Thank you, MuggleCast, for being with me in some bleak and lonely times. I wanted to write you guys a poem, but in the thralls of writer’s block this is the best I could do. All my love and more, Elizabeth.”
And she did write a very lovely poem called, “A World Within a World,” for MuggleCast. And we’ve put that up on the site. So, thank you for that.
Contact Information
Andrew: It’s time to remind everyone about our contact information. Laura, if someone wants to send us parcel mail, how do they do that?
Laura: You can send that to:
PO Box 3151
Cumming, Georgia
30028
Andrew: You can also call the MuggleCast hotline. In the United States, the number is 1-218-20-MAGIC. In the United Kingdom it’s 020-8144-0677. And if you’re in Australia, you can dial 020 – sorry, 02-8003-5668. And we’ll get to some voicemails soon. And I know Kevin’s still trying to fix the Skype voicemail box. Speaking of Skype, you can also contact us via that program, just use the username MuggleCast. And remember, no matter how you’re going to contact us via voice, keep your message under 60 seconds and eliminate as much background noise as possible so we can put you on the show. You can also visit MuggleCast.com for a handy feedback form. To contact any one of us at our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. To contact
Andy it is:
Andy: webmaster at harrypotterfanzone dot com.
Andrew: And to – Matt’s got a – yeah, mattb at staff dot mugglenet dot com?
Matt: I don’t know.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Yes, you do. Come on, you log into it.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: Don’t you?
Matt: Oh, it’s matthewb.
Andrew: Matthewb.
Matt: Yeah, you guys couldn’t have said matt at mugglenet dot com. You had to say, matthewb.
Andrew: Because when Micah gave me a list of the transcribers, he gave me “Matthew.” And there was already a matthew at staff, so it had to be matthewb. I remember you e-mailing to me. You were like, “Hey dude, you can call me Matt, man. My name’s Matt. It’s not Matthew.”
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: It’s probably Emily’s fault.
Matt: I’m Matthew B.
Andrew: [imitating Mikey] I’m Matthew B.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: [imitating Mikey] I’m Mikey B!
Micah: It was probably Emily that sent you the list.
Andrew: Oh yeah, it was probably Emily, it wasn’t Micah. Former
staff member, Emily. You can also visit MuggleCast.com for all of our community outlets including: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube,
Frappr,
Last.FM, and the MuggleCast Fanlisting
[Show music begins]
Also, don’t forget to Digg the show at Digg.com. Vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley. It is a new month, December, so be sure to place your vote over there. And rate and review us at Yahoo! Podcasts. And don’t forget there are also subscription links, including the new Zune link.
Show Close
Andrew: So, I think that wraps up the show for today. It was a short show compared to recently, and the co-hosts suck this week. Except for Matt and Andy, thanks for joining us this week.
Andy: Indeed.
Matt: Awww, thank you, Andrew.
Andrew: You’re welcome, Matt. [laughs] Don’t forget, Andy’s over at
HarryPotterFanZone running the Harry Potter website of choice for Australians.
Andy: Yep.
Andrew: Isn’t that what you like to call it?
Andy: Uh, yeah. Why not?
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] So, once again, I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Andy: I’m Andy McCray.
Matt: And I’m Matthew B.
Andrew: [laughs] We’ll see everyone next week for Episode 123. Buh-bye!
Laura: Bye.
Micah: Bye.
Andy: Bye.
Bloopers
Andrew: Sorry, I forgot to tell you about that, too.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I need to write up a book: The MuggleCast Guest-Host Manual.
Laura: The Guest Host’s – yeah. [laughs]
Andy: Handbook?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: The Idiot’s Guide… [laughs] …to MuggleCast Co-Hosting.
Andrew: Yeah, how to record. How to say your name. Yeah Idiot’s Guide.
Matt: I should get that.
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