Movie Comparison: Sorcerer's Stone vs. Philosopher's Stone

I created and uploaded this video almost three years ago.

Blog Reboot

I created this blog 15 years ago to document my experience while going through the new Pottermore website, though after a while I did not use it the way I intended it. For the last few years I've been considering turning this into a general Harry Potter blog, and I am finally starting work towards this. I am going to keep the original name of the blog; there's no reason to change it and I put a lot of hard work into creating the blog's header image. I have seen that for some inexplicable reason I have been getting a few visitors recently, so I am not going to remove all of my original posts like I had planned, except for ones which have embedded videos that are no longer available online. I am also making some minor adjustments to the blog. I am no longer the young man I was when I created the blog and the quality of my eyesight is a lot poorer. I have made the text larger so it is easier to read, and I have changed the text and background colors since it hurts my eyes to read white text on a dark background. I have still retained the Pottermore purple where I could.

Pottermore Opens After October

When the Pottermore was first announced, the site was to be opened to the public some time in October. Now, according to the Pottermore Insider blog:

"From the end of October, registration will be opened to everyone and we’ll be giving access to registered users in phases. Access may be granted quickly, but please note it could also take some weeks or months, depending on demand."¹

I am one of the site's beta testers, but once the site is open to everyone, I will post more content to this blog, as well as my opinions of Pottermore.

E-Books Launch Delayed Until 2012

On Friday, the creators of Pottermore, a Harry Potter website, said that the e-book store has been pushed back until next year, the Associated Press reports. E-book versions of Harry Potter were set to go on sale in October through Pottermore.

Read the rest of the article from THR.

I'm In Hufflepuff

Hufflepuffs are trustworthy and loyal. We’ve produced the fewest Dark wizards of any house in this school. Hufflepuff is the friendliest, most decent and most tenacious house of them all.

My Wand

Length: 10 3/4 in
Wood: Hawthorn
Core: Unicorn
Flexibility: Surprisingly Swishy

From the notes of Mr. Garrick Ollivander:
"Hawthorn wands may be particularly suited to healing magic, but they are also adept at curses, and I have generally observed that the hawthorn wand seems most at home with a conflicted nature, or with a witch or wizard passing through a period of turmoil. Hawthorn is not easy to master, however, and I would only ever consider placing a hawthorn wand in the hands of a witch or wizard of proven talent, or the consequences might be dangerous."

"Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard."

There is a lot more notes on wand wood, cores, lengths, and history on the Ollivander family.

I'm In!!!

FINALLY!!! 32 days after completing the Magical Quill Challenge, I am in Pottermore!

I was able to go through the first four chapters in 'Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone', but once I got to chapter five 'Diagon Alley' section two 'Harry and Hagrid Visit Gringotts' I get the message:

"Be patient, this page will be unlocked very soon. Parts of the experience are locked so that the story is not spoiled for you."

Seriously? I read 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' 11 years ago. What's to spoil?

UPDATE:(after 24 hours of frustration)
Pottermore tip: When you get to Chapter 5, Moment 1 (Diagon Alley), zoom in once, and pick up your list. That will unlock the next moment.

Beta Testing Now Open

The Pottermore Insider blog has announced that Pottermore is starting to allow beta testers on the site.

We’re excited to announce that early access to Pottermore has begun, so if you’re one of the million people who found The Magical Quill and registered for early access, please read the rest of this Insider post carefully.

The most important thing to know is that we need to stagger entry to the ‘Beta’ (early) version of Pottermore so we can properly collect all the feedback. To begin with, we’ll be inviting a very small number of people onto the website, so you may not receive your Welcome email straight away.

We’ll be sending those Welcome emails out over the coming weeks and, once yours arrives, you’ll be able to log in and start helping us develop the Pottermore experience.

Read the rest of the post here.

It's been two weeks since I completed the Magical Quill Challenge! I'm just ready to use the site!!!

Teaser Email

I checked my email and saw a message from Pottermore with the subject "Congratulations!" I thought, "Yeah! It's finally here! I am going into Pottermore today!" But I should not have gotten my hopes up. It is still not the official welcome email yet. "We will activate your account between mid-August and the end of September, so keep checking your inbox for our Welcome email."

Sigh.

Magical Quill Challenge Ends

The Magical Quill Challenge has ended! This past week has been fun and challenging. The beta invites should be coming soon!