A Contest! A Contest!

I have grown bored with my posting icon...Mr Potatohead just doesn't have the lasting amusement value I'd expect, even if he's naked. So I'm opening a contest to find my new icon. Post the pics in the comments here or email 'em to me directly.

For obscure copyright reasons, nothing that has been part of a previous caption contest will be considered.

Need I Say More?

Road Trip, Anyone?

Potter buffs may soon be able to visit Hogwarts:

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- J.K. Rowling, who became the world's first billion-dollar author on the back of Harry Potter's success, has given the go-ahead for the creation of a Florida theme park dedicated to the schoolboy wizard.

"The plans I have seen look incredibly exciting and I don't think fans of the books or films will be disappointed," Rowling said of the Orlando park that is scheduled to open in 2009.

The park is a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment, whose Potter films have so far grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide, and Universal Orlando Resort (Warner Bros. Entertainment is owned by the same parent company as CNN).

In a statement rich in entertainment hyperbole, the builders of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" said they planned to "create the world's first immersive Harry Potter themed environment."

Barry Meyer, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, said: "Over the years we've received thousands of letters from fans around the world wishing they could visit Hogwarts (School) and the wonderful locations described in each of J.K. Rowling's beloved stories."

The park's opening could help to quell the withdrawal symptoms of Potter fans around the globe who have bought 320 million copies of her wizard tales and turned every one of the films into a box office hit.

Pottermania is set to scale new heights in July with the last novel hitting the bookstands and the latest film being launched in a deluge of global publicity.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final installment in her hugely successful series, is being released on July 21.

Rowling is to mark publication with a moonlight reading for fans at London's Natural History Museum.

Sweepstakes are being conducted by her British publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and American publisher Scholastic to pick the winning fans.

"Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix," the fifth film in a blockbuster series based on the books, is being given its official world premiere in London on July 3.

Rowling, whose books are always released under tight security, has said two characters will die in the seventh and final book but she has refused to give any clues.

The author has appealed to people to keep the end a secret: "I want the readers who have, in many instances, grown up with Harry, to embark on the last adventure they will share with him without knowing where they are going." (Full story)

U.S. authors John Irving and Stephen King were so worried about the fictional hero's fate that they urged Rowling to spare the bespectacled hero.

Back at the Keyboard Again

I've finished my exile in the Hellmouth, which was made less painful by Mary and Kevin, who let me come over and sit on their sofa, and Tommy (who none of you know, but he used to be my boss) and his family who met me for dinner the other day.

Thanks, y'all.

I spent last night seriously planning how best to exit my current career path, and do something less painful, like drive nails through my scrotum for money. I may have been suffering from sleep deprivation at the time, so I decided to hold off on any final decisions for a few days. In the meantime, I'm off tomorrow. Perhaps I'll buy a firearm.

Another Week, Another Post

I've survived another week in the Hellmouth. I'm noticing that I feel increasingly exhausted the more time I spend there. I don't think I'm sleeping very well. Given the abundance of silly Joss Wheedon TV shows I've been watching it amuses me to think that this is becuase of the evil influences. More likely, it's 'cos the beds down there suck.

Either way, I'm gettin' some serious sack-time on my Tempur-Pedic tonight. Those things _spoil_ you.

Great weather in New Orleans today. Spent about half the day Uptown, going back and forth between the new Mona's and SSB's Rue (she wasn't there, so I figure she was exam-ing--good luck!) with (variously) Barbara, Karen, and Heather. Then Karen and I went to the park to meet up with Patrick. This was a great way to spend one of my four days off this month.

Food for thought: When I was in college, I used to do basically the same thing all the time. Strange I didn't realize how much fun I was having. Now I have this weird urge to hunt down a 20-year-old and tell 'im "these are the best days of your life! Enjoy them!"

I'm getting old way too fast. Time to buy a motorcycle.

Letters from Exile

I'm stuck in Hellmouth, Louisiana for another month, except this time without internet access. The good news is that I get to leave sometimes (like today). So I'm catching up on email, sleep, and house stuff. The other good news is that after this month, it will be AT LEAST 13 months until I have to take call again.