It’s 8:23pm, and I’m rugged up in multi-layered cardigans, scarves and other deliciously warm pieces of clothing in an attempt to lull myself into a comfortable maths-studying temperature. It isn’t working – I’ve been at this all day with little success. I honestly cannot stand mathematics. We do not get along. Right now, we’re not speaking to one another – I’ve exiled my notes to a far corner of the room while I attempt to muster some productivity in yet another neglected area of my life, blogging. It will not remain neglected much longer, however, as tomorrow is the first of August, and August begins with an A (oh, well done, Sam! Have a cookie.), making it the second BEDA of 2011.
The cynical little voice in my head is snickering at my serious intent upon making a comeback from blogging twice in a month to every day in a month. But I can do it. I can.
Where has July gone? It’s my favourite month of the year, and I find myself teetering on the far edge, trying to cram as much maths revision as possible into the remaining hours. What a terrible way to spend the birthday of Harry Potter, and his wonderful creator, J.K. Rowling, both of whom have had such an incredible impact on my life. I honestly don’t know where I would be now without the wonderful Potter fandom. It has played such an immense role in my life.
Today, however, members of the fandom disappointed me a little. If you’re still unaware (shame on you!), today was the first day of early registration for the mysterious and highly anticipated Pottermore website, the function of which I still do not understand in the least. The site proper opens to all in October, however, for a week beginning today, the first handful of people to answer a Potter-related question correctly are offered early registration and possible early entry into the site. Naturally, all of the die-hard Potter fans want this very badly, myself included, and as a result, we were all very geared up today, ready to solve the clue and bite, scratch and claw our way in. However, the catch is that no-one was sure when the clue we had to solve would appear on the site, and there were dozens of false rumours about the time it would be posted circulating tumblr and twitter.
I didn’t have a problem waiting, because all of the most likely rumoured times were during the day or early evening in my time zone (the one benefit of being Australian). Others, however, were not so lucky, and were pulling insane all-nighters in a desperate bid to be the first in. There was wonderful camaraderie as we waited. But when the widely rumoured time for the clue to appear arrived, and then went without any change, the world saw the ugly side of the fandom, and I’m pretty ashamed of us. The people in various time zones that had required them to wait up until insane hours of the morning were absolutely incensed. I would say with good reason, but it was made very clear in the official F.A.Q. for those who bothered to read it that the time of release was random and would not be made publically known. But people were angry anyway. And how did they take out their rage? Well, cursing Pottermore a little, which, while a little unfair, is more or less harmless.
And then they started cursing J.K. Rowling. This I will not abide. Of course, it’s natural to be annoyed when you’ve waited up until three am for something only to realize it is, in actual fact, going to be released at a later, unknown time. But when you waited up because of a beautiful, amazing fandom created by the brilliance and perseverence of a fantastic woman and talented author, I don’t understand how you could then turn and vent your anger against her. No, tumblr. She is not J.K. trollin’. She is not sitting there watching your panic in a state of amusement as her fingers hover over the button that will release the clue and end our misery. And especially on her birthday. I’m shocked at how rude some people were about the woman who gave us so much to enjoy and love and passionately follow for all of these years of our lives. Posting “Fuck you, Rowling” on tumblr is not showing your appreciation for what her writing and the fandom has givien you.
To all of those who registered for Pottermore early, congratulations. For all of those who missed out, you’ve got another six days of clues during which you can try to snag a chance. And if not, then you’re only waiting until October, which is, in the grand scheme of things, not that long. So be excited, be passionate about your fandom. But think before you speak, especially when you’re shaming hundreds of thousands of patient, polite fans by being downright rude to the woman responsible for the cause of so much joy in your life.
Thank you for Potter, J.K. Rowling. Happy Birthday.
Catch you all on the flipside. The flipside being August. Thirty-one days of back-to-back blogs. Prepare yourself 