Last week, this week, next week

[heidi]

Last week? Infinitus. All Infinitus, all the time. I was pretty much jill-of-all-trades hither and yon at the Royal Pacific in the con-space, and for a few hours each day, with my family. Why my husband thought I would be able to look after the kids for two hours each evening is just... But it was amazing to watch them enjoy the kids' program (no, it wasn't a kids' track, they were just in a room for crafts, activities, discussions and fun stuff) and by 2012, Harry will (kindasorta) be almost old enough to actually be a registrant.

The most gorgeous thing about Infinitus to me was being able to walk around the hotel, and especially around Hogsmeade, and see friends everywhere. At NoaTW and when I went back to the park for an hour on Sunday after dinner, before the amazing Drinks + HBP At The Pool extravaganza (um, Zoners, can HP people GANZA too?), I saw familiar and friendly faces everywhere; it was like walking around Hogsmeade on an Old Boys' and Girls' weekend, like a page out of our own AU of Paradigm of Uncertainty. I could go back any random day, but I think I'm going to save the trips to the WWoHP for when friends are in town to see it. I'll go with anyone I know, because I don't want to walk around there alone just yet...

I have reports and squees and thoughts on con-crit (pun intended) and a few scattered photos, but if you posted a con report before yesterday, or have any photos that I happen to be in, please let me know! And if you took any photos that show the LCD screens when they had the gorgeous front and back cover images that jin_fenghuang did (you can also see them here) she would love to see them! Must finish off my spn_j2_bigbang vid first, though.

Brief Infinitus linkspam:
Shaebay's amazing 'plant' information which you may've seen in the trees
A piece from the UMichigan school paper about A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel, the latter of which was shown on Saturday night and which caused those massive lines. The shows were both written and produced - by a team of undergrads (and a few grad students) at the university; they filmed it back in 2009 and it became a massive YouTube sensation, sort of like Potter Puppet Pals in days of old, and by showing at Infinitus, almost 1300 people got to see it.
Rumor has it Universal ran though a multi-year supply of Butterbeer mugs in about two to three weeks. They've been running short on other things, too, because the demand is outpacing the supply, especially things like Snape-items (including his wand) and Pygmy Puffs. Lucky me, I have a mug and a Puff!
An interesting post that discusses not just Infinitus but also Avatar the Series with some anthropological perspective
Oh, and do friend ascendio2012. We won't have much news in the coming weeks or months, so it won't be very highly trafficked for now, but if you add it now, you'll start to see stuff as we post it. An amazing team is coming together for 2012 and I cannot wait!

This week: Liss came back to Miami with me, and we hung out, watched Glee, talked HP and cons and weather and amazing cookies and she helped me shop for groceries as we had nothing in the house. My sister went out of town today and her dog Zoe is moving in tomorrow, and my kids can't wait! And alas, the likelihood of me going to Comic Con has basically slipped to a virtual zero, because Aaron has to be in LA for deposition prep by 11 AM PDT on Monday and there's not enough time for me to do my Harry Potter panel on Sunday afternoon, and then fly home in time for him to fly out to LA. I will miss all of you, but between trips to NYC and D*Con this fall - and hopefully How to Succeed in February or March, I'll see a lot of you in the next few months including...

Next week in Washington, DC or Williamsburg, VA. We're coming up to DC next Friday and would love to see as many people as can make it for dinner at Bua just off DuPont Circle on Saturday night. Still finalizing times but it should be around 5:30. LMK if you're possibly able to make it, and I'll let you know as the plans finalize.

Has anyone done the Washington Monument tour recently? I have actually never been up but we have tickets to go up on Saturday morning.

Next Sunday we are heading for Williamsburg, and I hope to see bookshop and eibil_libbie if she is in town. Anyone else in the general vicinity? We'll be in the area through August 7.

Of course, the night before we go, roguebitch will be joining me in Miami Beach for OMGOMG a Crowded House concert! We have front row seats! There will be a Neil right in front of us and we will scream and squee and sing along a lot! I cannot wait!

I know I've been bad at keeping up on LJ recently - how many days behind am I on that HP meme? I promise I'll start tomorrow - but now that Infinitus is over I'll have a bit more time, I hope. I've hardly read anything in a week, so message me if there's something you think I need to read.

Comments

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

They've been running short on other things, too, because the demand is outpacing the supply, especially things like Snape-items (including his wand)

LOL! They really should have banked on having way more Snape merchandise!

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I will admit that I have suggested that they make a cuddly Snape doll like that cuddly Voldemort doll they have at Filch's. But you saw, there's not many t-shirts or pins with character faces on them - there's a load of House stuff and things with creatures on them, but not much with the movie actors. Not sure why, though.

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

It looks like they're being really conservative and broad with the merchandising. Even though there is a lot of house stuff, which I love!!!!, there's a lot more Gryffindor and Slytherin merchandise than Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

A Snape plushie would make me squee - especially if you squeezed him and he insulted you. Oh my!!!

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

I did the Washington Monument about a month ago. It's a much shorter tour than you might expect. What did you want to know? :)

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

How claustrophobic will I feel on the way up?

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

Good question! It seems like a pretty big elevator, and the tour I was on didn't exactly pack people into it. The elevator ascent goes pretty fast, too. I do have to say the observation deck is kinda tiny--not a ton of space up there--and very exposed in terms of pipes and such.

The ride down, they stop the elevator to let you take a look inside, so that would be something to consider, too.

[marag.livejournal.com]

I might be able to make it for dinner! Keep me posted :)

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Aw, bummer about you missing ComicCon.

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was wondering - I saw your name on the schedule when I was going through it but hadn't seen you mention anything about SDCC. Too bad but it's understandable!

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links! I'm sad I missed the plant signs, and I sure hope they increase their supply of products, including Snape things! Some friends managed to find ONE Snape-likeness merchandise, a keychain, and promptly bought ALL of the available keychains. That being said, I was particularly impressed by the quality of most of the merchandising. The graphics on the t-shirts and hats, etc. were very appealing.

I'm sorry you won't be able to go to Comic Con either :(

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

I am sad faced that I won't get to see you at CC!

[shaebay.livejournal.com]

I don't think Universal realized how much HP fans love good merchandise. When I went to the park on Wednesday (after not being there since before the official opening) I was surprised to see the window display at Zonko's had changed from Pygmy Puffs to Fanged Frisbees!

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

What I wondered this summer was whether there were cost/legal issues in licensing actors' likenesses. Back when Enchanted came out, there was talk of adding Giselle to the Disney Princesses roster, but because of the cost of licensing Amy Adams' likeness for years or decades or perpetuity, they opted against it. The legal issues are different for a ride or a limited edition item than they are for merchandise - whereas there are no likeness-license costs associated with creating merchandise featuring Buckbeak or dragons or Pygmy Puffs (other than what they pay to JKR).

I have no idea if this is the actual case, but it seems possible.

[trinity_clare]

I found this in my late-night internet travails, and I didn't have any other shippers I could foist this on, so here, have a gif:

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

For tumblr-ish reasons, rereading posts from Infinitus, found this, had to smile.

[trinity_clare]

Two and a half years later and still hilarious. :D