dh1989
10-08-2002, 03:15 PM
There have been a couple strange and uncommon stories involving Harry that have just been released. Check 'em out below......
HUGE HAGRID LEGO MAN
Lego fans build on tradition: Crew constructs plastic block Harry Potter character at mall
By Kathy Hills
Monday, October 7, 2002
NATICK - Lego fans young and old helped construct the largest Lego model of Harry Potter character, Hargrid, at the Natick Mall this weekend.
Children used mallets and hammered into place the small Lego pieces making 2-by-4-inch modular bricks to give to master builders Pete Donner and Erik Varszegi.
Donner and Varszegi, who work for Lego Systems Inc., America's division of Lego Company based in Enfield, Conn., used more than 2,500 bricks of brown, yellow, black, red and gray built by children to create the larger-than-life image of Harry Potter's friend.
Some of brick builders were longtime members of the Lego Club, while others were out shopping with their parents and wanted to join the fun.
Newton's Lauren Smith was with her mother when she happened upon the construction zone near Lord & Taylor, where the giant character began on the first floor and was to stretch to the second level.
"I love creating different things using the buckets of Lego products I inherited," said Smith.
Smith, a member of Newton Girls Soccer league, said she enjoys playing Lego soccer. "I try to get the ball in the net and score a goal," she said.
"She begged me to stay," said mom, Debra Smith who has fond memories of all her children playing with Lego products of different sizes and shapes.
Steven Tiberi from Natick started playing as a toddler with his dad's classic Lego products and wanted to join the festivities based on his favorite book series.
Alex Haugland from Natick thought the Lego event would be interesting since he has been to Legoland Park outside San Diego, Calif., and Lego Imagination Store in Chicago.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate and computer engineer Ian Munger said he still enjoys creating with Lego products.
"I starting playing with buckets of Lego products my cousins gave me when I was very little and I still play with them today," said Munger, 24. "I enjoy assembling the Lego Star Wars that have about 4,000 pieces."
Children banged their mallets to make sure all their Lego pieces fit tightly to help create the Harry Potter character.
"Hagrid, a favorite to many, is Harry's friend and keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Brian Bowler, public relations associate from Lego Systems Inc.
Lego, which is introducing eight new Lego sets based on the Harry Potter stories, was founded in 1932. During the Depression, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen noticed that even though families were not buying much furniture, parents were buying toys for their children.
"We have a basement full of Lego products," said Steve Ober of Southborough, whose two older children, Nick, 10, and Brett, 5, create whatever their imaginations want.
Here is a cool photo....
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/images/october/news/mwlego10072002.jpg
Original URL: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/nati_lego10072002.htm
Industry insiders note Harry Potter and Jesus Christ as saviors of a sometimes faltering industry!
— By Paul Majendie
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Publishers hailed Jesus Christ and Harry Potter on Tuesday as saviors of their industry in tough economic times.
The search for spiritual sustenance after last year's September 11 attacks has boosted the profits of religious publishers while children have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for the exploits of a boy wizard.
With the industry hit by the current global downturn, the number of companies attending this year's Frankfurt Book Fair has dropped four percent -- but there are still 6,375 exhibitors from 110 countries.
At Tuesday's media launch of publishing's biggest marketplace of the year, organizers were quick to pay tribute to two of its stars.
"The industry depends on two young men: Jesus Christ on the one hand and Harry Potter on the other," said Dr. Hubertus Schenkel, chairman of the fair's supervisory board.
Spiritual advice was in demand, he said, particularly in the United States. "Especially after the attacks of September 11, religious publishers around the world have been able to make gains," Schenkel told reporters.
"Anything to do with trying to understand the meaning of life is also doing well -- from the Bible to esotericism and psychology and including how-to guides on keeping the peace in the family," he added.
In a media age where so many children's lives are dominated by Pokemon and PlayStation, the industry lauded author J.K. Rowling for re-introducing kids to the joys of reading.
Schenkel was among those to marvel, noting that more than 150 million copies have now been sold of the four Potter books.
"And just how much the market is waiting for Harry Potter was revealed by the reaction when author Joanne Rowling hit the headlines in September with reports of her pregnancy and that she had almost finished number five in the series," he said.
He forecast that publishing companies will in future depend even more on the pulling power of their best-selling authors.
"For several years now, many publishing companies have acted on the assumption that 80 percent of their sales come from 20 percent of their titles," he said.
No fewer than 80 percent of the world's rights deals are clinched every year at Frankfurt, viewed as unmissable by industry big hitters, although some U.S. publishers did cancel last year after the September 11 attacks.
Book Fair Director Volker Neumann, bemoaning the slight drop in companies attending, said: "We are going through difficult times -- but we are confident that after this decline, things will be better again this year."
With a number of publishing companies and old-established bookshops going out of business, he said: "The media industry as a whole is going through difficult times. This is true of book publishers as well."
Dieter Schormann, President of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, was cautious in his outlook. About a third of German booksellers think that sales will still be weak in the second half of the year.
"Even if Christmas business is good, we must still expect a slight sales deficit," he concluded.
Copyright 2002 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2002 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Original URL: http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/reuters20021008_106.html
HUGE HAGRID LEGO MAN
Lego fans build on tradition: Crew constructs plastic block Harry Potter character at mall
By Kathy Hills
Monday, October 7, 2002
NATICK - Lego fans young and old helped construct the largest Lego model of Harry Potter character, Hargrid, at the Natick Mall this weekend.
Children used mallets and hammered into place the small Lego pieces making 2-by-4-inch modular bricks to give to master builders Pete Donner and Erik Varszegi.
Donner and Varszegi, who work for Lego Systems Inc., America's division of Lego Company based in Enfield, Conn., used more than 2,500 bricks of brown, yellow, black, red and gray built by children to create the larger-than-life image of Harry Potter's friend.
Some of brick builders were longtime members of the Lego Club, while others were out shopping with their parents and wanted to join the fun.
Newton's Lauren Smith was with her mother when she happened upon the construction zone near Lord & Taylor, where the giant character began on the first floor and was to stretch to the second level.
"I love creating different things using the buckets of Lego products I inherited," said Smith.
Smith, a member of Newton Girls Soccer league, said she enjoys playing Lego soccer. "I try to get the ball in the net and score a goal," she said.
"She begged me to stay," said mom, Debra Smith who has fond memories of all her children playing with Lego products of different sizes and shapes.
Steven Tiberi from Natick started playing as a toddler with his dad's classic Lego products and wanted to join the festivities based on his favorite book series.
Alex Haugland from Natick thought the Lego event would be interesting since he has been to Legoland Park outside San Diego, Calif., and Lego Imagination Store in Chicago.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate and computer engineer Ian Munger said he still enjoys creating with Lego products.
"I starting playing with buckets of Lego products my cousins gave me when I was very little and I still play with them today," said Munger, 24. "I enjoy assembling the Lego Star Wars that have about 4,000 pieces."
Children banged their mallets to make sure all their Lego pieces fit tightly to help create the Harry Potter character.
"Hagrid, a favorite to many, is Harry's friend and keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Brian Bowler, public relations associate from Lego Systems Inc.
Lego, which is introducing eight new Lego sets based on the Harry Potter stories, was founded in 1932. During the Depression, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen noticed that even though families were not buying much furniture, parents were buying toys for their children.
"We have a basement full of Lego products," said Steve Ober of Southborough, whose two older children, Nick, 10, and Brett, 5, create whatever their imaginations want.
Here is a cool photo....
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/images/october/news/mwlego10072002.jpg
Original URL: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/nati_lego10072002.htm
Industry insiders note Harry Potter and Jesus Christ as saviors of a sometimes faltering industry!
— By Paul Majendie
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Publishers hailed Jesus Christ and Harry Potter on Tuesday as saviors of their industry in tough economic times.
The search for spiritual sustenance after last year's September 11 attacks has boosted the profits of religious publishers while children have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for the exploits of a boy wizard.
With the industry hit by the current global downturn, the number of companies attending this year's Frankfurt Book Fair has dropped four percent -- but there are still 6,375 exhibitors from 110 countries.
At Tuesday's media launch of publishing's biggest marketplace of the year, organizers were quick to pay tribute to two of its stars.
"The industry depends on two young men: Jesus Christ on the one hand and Harry Potter on the other," said Dr. Hubertus Schenkel, chairman of the fair's supervisory board.
Spiritual advice was in demand, he said, particularly in the United States. "Especially after the attacks of September 11, religious publishers around the world have been able to make gains," Schenkel told reporters.
"Anything to do with trying to understand the meaning of life is also doing well -- from the Bible to esotericism and psychology and including how-to guides on keeping the peace in the family," he added.
In a media age where so many children's lives are dominated by Pokemon and PlayStation, the industry lauded author J.K. Rowling for re-introducing kids to the joys of reading.
Schenkel was among those to marvel, noting that more than 150 million copies have now been sold of the four Potter books.
"And just how much the market is waiting for Harry Potter was revealed by the reaction when author Joanne Rowling hit the headlines in September with reports of her pregnancy and that she had almost finished number five in the series," he said.
He forecast that publishing companies will in future depend even more on the pulling power of their best-selling authors.
"For several years now, many publishing companies have acted on the assumption that 80 percent of their sales come from 20 percent of their titles," he said.
No fewer than 80 percent of the world's rights deals are clinched every year at Frankfurt, viewed as unmissable by industry big hitters, although some U.S. publishers did cancel last year after the September 11 attacks.
Book Fair Director Volker Neumann, bemoaning the slight drop in companies attending, said: "We are going through difficult times -- but we are confident that after this decline, things will be better again this year."
With a number of publishing companies and old-established bookshops going out of business, he said: "The media industry as a whole is going through difficult times. This is true of book publishers as well."
Dieter Schormann, President of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, was cautious in his outlook. About a third of German booksellers think that sales will still be weak in the second half of the year.
"Even if Christmas business is good, we must still expect a slight sales deficit," he concluded.
Copyright 2002 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2002 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Original URL: http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/reuters20021008_106.html