Lexicon Update: Bluestocking, Pundit Ads, and Whatnot
Bluestocking has added some new posts, one legal and one literary:
The Rule of Evidence 101
Author Biography: Stephanie Meyer
She has some new insights from Judge Bluestocking and her fictional courtroom, as well as insights into the way evidence was handled in the Lexicon case. UPDATE: Her comments are still not working but she has added a "shoutbox" where you can write comments.
I can't believe Stephanie Meyer is in her mid-thirties! She looks about 21 in that picture. I haven't read her books yet because I don't want to buy them, and they are on constant hold in our library system. Lots of people are reading these!
However, being a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, it all sounds really familiar to me and I wonder if she ever watched that show or what Joss Whedon thinks of it all. Of course, the "idea" of vampires is not copyrighted, and Ann Rice certainly has her own spin on them as well, so it's always fun to see what someone new has to say about the Undead.
My daughter is in the living room right now watching "Angel" and there was never a more brooding Byronic figure than David Boreanaz. But Angel and Spike do not "sparkle" the way I hear the vamps do in the Meyer books - well, Spike's bleachy hair, perhaps. (Sorry to any Twilight fans - but have you ever seen this cartoon by Piratemonkeys? Sparklypoo is the fifth House of Hogwarts - but no offense to anyone named Mary Sue either,*lol*.) I'm actually looking forward to reading the Meyer books. :) I love a good romance.
Next . . . My friend
wimble_mimble discovered an oddity about the recent Movie Magic article about what supposedly happens to poor besieged Arthur Weasley. Did WB lift something else right out of the Lexicon and use a paraphrase as their own? Or did Movie Magic?
As I wrote in a previous post, there is an article in Movie Magic magazine about HBP and according to Snitchseeker it summarizes an attack on Arthur Weasley by Fenrir Greyback:
"...in his attempt to create 'an army of werewolves' Fenrir attacks Harry, but Harry or (someone unseen) petrifies him in time. But Ron’s Dad is not so lucky-Fenrir mauls his face and nearly kills him.”
wimble_mimble wrote:
I'm not sure if anyone else noticed or brought this up, as I've not actually read all of the comments-- your LJ seems to be quite popular. ^.^ But the quote . . . seems to be oddly similar to the quote from the Fenrir Greyback page of the HP Lexicon.
"The night that Dumbledore was killed, Greyback attacked Harry, but Harry (or someone unseen) petrifies him in time (HBP27). Bill Weasley wasn't so lucky. Greyback nearly killed him and mauled his face so badly that Madam Pomfrey could not restore it. Werewolf wounds are "cursed wounds" and never heal completely."
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/greyback.html
0_o It follows the same format, with a bit of editing here or there. I don't really know what this means, if it even means anything, but I found the whole thing to be very strange.
Yes, similar wording - "mauls his face" and "nearly kills him," as well as the exact same wording on "Harry (or someone unseen) petrifies him in time." Hmmmm . . .
Either Movie Magic copied that, or WB gave them a press release that copied that. The addition of the information that it is Arthur instead of Bill makes me think they are copying from a press release. There are scans there on Snitchseeker, if anyone wants to look at it.
I can hear it now, though! JKR wrote it in the first place so it's not "copying" since the Lexicon "stole" it in the first place! Please, spare us, I beg you.
WB also says they never use the Lexicon, and that's what this is about, ok? How do they keep coming up with the same wording if they are not checking the Lexicon? This is just like the whole Timeline question.
Finally, I came across this press release about an attorney out in California (Carol Handler) who says she is "available" to the press to discuss the Lexicon case if and when the verdict comes down. I thought she had some interesting things to say about the case:
. . . Handler notes that the judge in the often-emotional Harry Potter Lexicon case tried to get the parties to settle, saying the issues involved were not a proper subject for litigation. "This is uncharted territory where we have essentially empowered the audience to be a creator and there is a need for all sides to work out how far the audience can go. And there are mechanisms aside from litigation that could be brought to bear on these issues to work out the ways in which creators can remain in control of their work, while allowing their fans to continue to enjoy and participate in their creation."