the ADMIN pages

Yes, the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has been leaked onto the Internet. No, they aren't fakes.

I personally have completely rejected the temptation of reading the book early (I will be purchasing my copy at 12:01 am tonight), but I couldn't help but notice The Pirate Bay's logo on their homepage today:

Of course, in the spirit of the Google Doodles, which are linked to relevant searches regarding the subject of the drawing, TPB's logo is linked to a torrent of the book.

From today's Tribune (Tempo section): a small sidebar on 7 questions they hope Deathly Hallows will answer

Allow me to dissect and answer a few of them (and no, I haven't read the book yet).

5. What private contact did Petunia Dursley have with Dumbledore? ("Remember my last, Petunia.")

Dumbledore explained this himself at the end of Order of the Phoenix: "I thought she [Petunia] might need reminding of the pact she had sealed by taking you." (p. 836) Dumbledore wished Harry to live with the Dursleys because his Aunt Petunia had his mother's blood, which protected him from Voldemort while living there.

6. Who else was at Godric's Hollow when the Potters were killed?

Was there ever even a hint at this? "Why did Dumbledore have James Potter's cloak?" is a better question to ask along this line.

7. Why was there a gleam of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes when he learned Voldemort had resurrected himself with some of Harry's blood?

I'm fairly certain this has also been answered before. It has to do with the magical connection Harry gained when Voldemort tried to kill him. As far as I can remember, the significance of Harry's blood being used to resurrect Voldemort was that it strengthened the bond between them, or something like that.

UPDATE: (July 21, 2007 @ 12:43 pm) Wow, don't I feel stupid about that last one (after reading the book, that is). I never expected the blood connection to be so important. Oops.

Sorry Chicago Tribune, but that was some pretty lame speculation. A much better resource: MuggleNet's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7

"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton." - Brother Odd (page 73)

The latest piece of literature to gain my perusal is John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise, an "almanac" of "COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE." Unfortunately, this is misleading. The only knowledge you will obtain from this book is that John Hodgman should never write again. Granted, I did find myself laughing out loud at two or three points duirng the book, but even a mute man has a good two or three jokes in him. Such topic titltes as "Nine Presidents Who Had Hooks for Hands," "How to Raise Rabbits for Food and Fur: The Utopian Method," and "Seven Hundred Hobo Names" were merely reasons for this book's publisher to kill several trees. And I'm no treehugger, but this book really sucks. John Hodgman's "hodepodge" (no pun intended) of bizarre, untrue information is useless to the point that it fails to be funny. I could barely compel myself to finish this book. Werewolf Transformation Timetables that preface each chapter are about as useful as a pocketknife in a laser tag arena. Aside from Hodgman's claims that there is a 51st state that seems to only appear after rainstorms, that Chicago does not exist, and that hoboes infiltrated the White House, the single fact that his book is titled The Areas of My Expertise tells me that John Hodgman has no expertise at all. This book is quite frankly a poor excuse for a human being to purchase (even if I did only check it out from the library).

I must give this book 0 out of 5 for a poor "almanac" that is useful to no one.