Dumbledore's Army Q&A

Harry Potter-loving members of underground campus club, Dumbledore’s Army, are throwing a dance in honor of their Triwizard Tournament this Saturday, January 25^th, at the Dance Zone studio on 1113 Lincoln Ave.

Club President (B)Brook Mize, (A)Alysa Spivak, (R)Rachel Zblewski, (K)Ken Thompson graced me with their presence to let me in on a few secrets. Check out how approachable these wand-wielding wizards really are.

How long has Dumbledore’s Army been in existence?

(B) Dumbledore’s Army was created last year by another girl who stepped down and gave the club to me. I’m a fresh, new club president!

When are your meetings?

(B) Every Friday from 5 pm to 8 pm in room 3602 W. Science.  There is a brief discussion at the beginning of each session, which I don’t even like to do. I find it boring and tedious.

And the only way you get your word out is via chalk on sidewalks and walls?

(B)And posters. Which I feel like haven’t been as effective as I want them to be. But right now everything is coming out of pocket for me, which means posters are limited but walls are free.

You should keep up the chalk, I find it amusing.

(B) Oh. Yeah. Well, I guess P-Safety doesn’t.

But now you guys have a Tri Wizard Tournament and a Yule ball?

(B) Yup. Last year we did a really basic trial run of the Tri Wizard, but this year I really wanted to go bigger this time.

Is it like putting on another Prom?

(B) It is. But fancier. The Dance Zone is letting us use their place.

What food are you having?

(B) Club members have been asked to make treats of various sorts. We’ve got some Weasley-esque treats, chocolate frogs. And butter beer and fruit smoothies!

(A) And chocolate wands, which are just pretzel sticks covered in chocolate.

So it says semi-formal on the posters. Is that just to sound less intimidating?

(B) It was a big discussion because I wanted to hold it as a formal event. However, we are college students; not all of us have formal attire. We figured Semi-formal would be decent enough this time around.

It’s 7 bucks a pop, right?

(B) It’s $7 one ticket or two for $10, and on the day of the ball, last minute ticket prices jump a bit. The proceeds are going towards decorations and leftover will mostly go to Dance Zone for allowing us to use their space.

How many members are currently active?

(B) Right now we have about 13 people active, but we average 10 per meeting.

Are you trying to recruit non-members to come to the ball and perhaps join?

(B) Yes, we want to show people what we do a little bit in order to spark some interest.

(K) And it’s not just about the fan club, I’ve learned so much about just the lore of Harry Potter being in this for the months. Plus I’ve met new people.

(R) Not to mention the exercise you get every meeting.

Um, what’s your exercise?

(B) Dueling!

(R) We run around the halls at night shouting nonsense at each other. On more than one occasion I’ve ran around a corner and shouted a spell at a janitor.

What? How many of you have wands?

(BARK) (*In unison*) All of us.

(B) Every member gets to make their own wand.

Where? How? Tell me.

(K) At my job I have a complete wood shop at my disposal where I can do wood grinding.

(B) He makes the super fancy ones, the rest of us make the cheep-o college ones.

How many times on average do you watch just one Harry Potter film?

(R)I’m actually on a Harry Potter fast. I’m not reading the books or watching the movies until after I graduate so I can have a refreshing experience. I forget some details.

(B) I’m on my seventh go-around reading the books. I can never just read one, I have to go from first to last so every so often when I pick the book up the cycle begins again.

             

And so the members went on attempting to one-up each other in terms of how many times they’ve watched/read the series. They then introduced me to A Very Potter Musical and sang along as if we were watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Sidebar: the Youtube H.P. stage rendition on has an overwhelming amount of hits.

And if this is something you frequent on the web or you’re merely curious, email Brook at bmize@nmu.edu for more information on club meetings and ball tickets. 

This book glows in the dark

For the first time in like three years, I started and finished a book that wasn’t the Da Vinci Code, Pride and Prejudice or (no judgment) Twilight.

            I probably shouldn’t pat myself on the back, though. Robin Sloan’s first novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, didn’t even exceed 300 pages.

            Yet if every other author could generate such exuberant characters, execute a full blown mystery and maintain the profound level of nerdiness Sloan somehow achieved in 288 pages, my Have-Read list might finally outweigh my Must-Finish list.

            It’s a genre misfit, so if you’re fond of Dungeons and Dragons, typography, books (this is a book review, people), California culture, the World Wide Web, design, secret societies, or philosophy – this should be on your radar.

            If you’re college bound, in college, a college graduate, or job seeking – this should be on your radar.

            Like many of us, protagonist Clay Jannon is desperate for employment. First in a noble design-oriented career; then at a company with good-to-subpar morals; then decidedly anywhere that would hire him. We’ve all been there.

            And in wandering melancholy, he stumbles upon Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – a seemingly nondescript business hiring for the graveyard shift. The typical tale quickly turns into every Harry Potter fanatic’s wet-dream.

            Sloan, who “splits his time between San Francisco and the internet”, takes the opportunity to weave his deep knowledge of technology, computer programming and web design into a magical mystery. The book transcends the bridge between an antiquated literary society and the innovative Googlers of the West Coast.  

            I thought this all very cool and clever until I was drowning in search-bar tabs, trying to figure out how and why and where I could breech the sea of techy terms. Perhaps a prerequisite is to have more extensive knowledge than a 100 level HTML formatting class.

            But what Sloan lacks in more thorough explanation of programming, he gains with character development.

            Ironically enough, Sloan doesn’t give his main character all the props. He surrounds Jannon by quirky, successful friends, roommates and love interests. People living in nonchalant San Fran flats. Creative, driven, disgustingly brilliant. Employed by themselves; employed by Google. He is the most underwhelming in terms of career and income, and probably even success. Jannon is consistently on some level of average.

            But once he is able to utilize his friend’s intellectual (and sometimes financial) resources, it becomes clear that he might be just as clever as the lot of them.

            BONUS – if you’re a fan of judging the literal book by its cover, this one glows in the dark.

            An ode to the inner churnings of the book, you’ll realize how sharp it really is. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Book Store will lead you to believe the unbelievable. Make you want to hang out with the characters. And most importantly it will inspire you to hang up your degree and settle for work at a musty old book store for minimum wage – for better or for worse.