If you want a good laugh ...

Owen

... go have a look outside Waterstones at the people queuing up for the Harry Potter book at midnight. It's like a 'dress like Sloth from the Goonies' convention with flasks, folding chairs, and blankets.

idlesupernova

Mental!! I saw on the news Childline are drafting in extra staff overnight and over the weekend in case Harry or a good guy character snuffs it and the kids get upset, crazy.

Owen

idlesupernova wrote:

Mental!! I saw on the news Childline are drafting in extra staff overnight and over the weekend in case Harry or a good guy character snuffs it and the kids get upset, crazy.

PMSL, are you serious?

Fysh

Yeah, saw that outside Easons. It's a bit retarded, and I'm wondering what they'll do when the kids need to go to the jax, what with Cork's lack of public toilets in the city centre.

As for support hotlines, yeah, it's serious. Frankly, anyone - including children - who gets that emotional over a character in a kid's book needs a belt round the ear. Possibly several.

Blitzkrieger

They should be rounding up the lot of them and taking them to Saint Anne's. It's harry ****ing potter for christ's sake! You wouldn't wipe your ass with it. God help me I read in the times that six major characters die - maybe the one good thing that'll come out of it is there won't be enough major characters for another ****ing book.

If they want to read it that badly why don't they just download it like everybody else? I was going to go home early tonight but I might download the book and go yell the ending up and down pana instead.

Owen

Blitzkrieger wrote:

If they want to read it that badly why don't they just download it like everybody else? I was going to go home early tonight but I might download the book and go yell the ending up and down pana instead.

You should print it, bind it, and hand out copies at about 10pm when the 'excitement' reaches feverpitch (You'll be able to tell, as they'll be wetting themselves about this point). I guarantee they'll HAVE to read it.

Fysh

Ah in fairness now, deliberately trying to spoil the book for kids is a sh*tty thing to do. Personally I blame the parents for letting the kids get so hyped up about a mediocre book release. Let's face it, the only reason the publisher is making a fuss is because they want their cash cow to reap the maximum profits on its last outing (and what better way to get publicity than crowds outside shops and kids in tears about character deaths?).

idlesupernova

ITN - Friday, July 20 08:24 am
Childline are preparing to be inundated with calls from distraught Potter fans as the final book goes on sale at midnight tonight.
The phone counselling service has predicted that many young readers will be left feeling distraught if one or more of the key characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is killed off.

The 24-hour hotline service has even drafted in extra volunteers to cope with the expected demand.

Senior ChildLine supervisor Kate Trench warned the long anticipated death of a key character could upset young readers.

"Death and loss of any kind can make children feel upset, angry and afraid. The story could bring back unhappy memories for children who have lost friends, relatives or pets," she said.

At the stroke of midnight Potter readers will be able to get their hands on the seventh and final instalment of JK Rowling's magical series.

Stores will stay open into the early hours to cope with the Potter frenzy.

Fans from all over Europe have been camping outside Waterstone's in London's Piccadilly for three days to be certain of getting their hands on a copy.

Potter followers will also be keen to pick up a bargain copy at Asda after the supermarket announced it would be selling the book for just £5 in what it describes as "the biggest book launch we've ever seen"

deRanged

There's minigoths queueing at Waterstones and much better prepared people with chairs at Easons. I've queued at the last couple of releases, normally starting at 10 ish and that put us well towards the front of the queue even with people starting in the afternoon. For toilet breaks for the kids we took them down to Macdonalds in shifts (we timed buying drinks and food with them). It's good craic and the kids love it. There's fancy dress competitions and prizes to be won too.

Fysh

I can see it being a good bit of fun with the fancy dress contests and that, but I honestly don't quite get the hysteria-level excitement that seems to be building up around it...

Blitzkrieger

Fysh wrote:

Ah in fairness now, deliberately trying to spoil the book for kids is a sh*tty thing to do.

One of my biggest regrets in life was not having one of those "Dumbledore dies on page 92." t-shirts back when it would have been funny. I'd have worn that thing 24/7 doing all sorts of crazy **** to get to YouTube's no1.

Normally I'd never ruin a book for someone but I'd have to make an exception for that drivel. It's worse than someone saying the Da Vinci Code is a good read...........or liking books by Anne Rice...

deRanged

Fysh wrote:

but I honestly don't quite get the hysteria-level excitement that seems to be building up around it...

are you a nine year old?

think about it from a kids point of view. you get to stay up late, you get to dress up, you chat to other people and at the end of the night you get something you've wanted for ages.

doesn't sound so terribly different to a grown up's friday night.

Owen

deRanged wrote:

are you a nine year old?

No, but even though I was a geeky computer loving 9 year old at one stage (I was welded to my Vic-20), I'd have flushed kids who waited outside a bookshop at midnight down the toilets at lunchtime.

Fysh

deRanged wrote:

are you a nine year old?

think about it from a kids point of view. you get to stay up late, you get to dress up, you chat to other people and at the end of the night you get something you've wanted for ages.

doesn't sound so terribly different to a grown up's friday night.

Sorry, I didnt explain myself properly in my last post. All of what you've said makes sense and I have no real issue with it, though I will poke fun at it My comments about hysteria are more directed at the shower of muppets who've been gasbagging it up in interviews everywhere wondering what they'll do with their lives when they no longer have Harry Potter to cling to.

It's not like this is the first time this has happened (Star Wars, anyone? Star Wars prequel trilogy? Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy?) but it's still pretty goddamn stupid to claim that Harry Potter is such a core part of people's lives that the death of characters in a fictional story will drive people to suicide or despair. There again, they did the same thing when Take That split up; it's either a judgement on our culture or our species and I'm not sure which would be worse...

dahamsta

Blitzkrieger wrote:

It's worse than someone saying the Da Vinci Code is a good read.

It is a good read, as long as you're intelligent enough to read the word "fiction" on the back first.

Fysh is actually 9 btw.

adam

Fysh

dahamsta wrote:

Fysh is actually 9 btw.

I'm not 9, damnit, I just act like it. Arguably worse but what the hell.

blow69

Walked past Pana 10 mins ago.The people are starting to que up in numbers now.I just had to shout 'LUUUUU-HOOSSSSSERS!' It's a frickin' book.Get over it!

Fysh

Feh. If that's how they want to spend their evening, so be it. No less worthwhile than going out to $City_Centre_Pub and getting tanked up while being bombarded with music too loud to let you have a conversation with your friends, really...

DonJose

Blitzkrieger wrote:

One of my biggest regrets in life was not having one of those "Dumbledore dies on page 92." t-shirts back when it would have been funny.

I saw some kids there tonight wearing the following t-shirt.

dahamsta

Cruel, but funny. But so were the Dumbledore shirts.

(I'm actually watching The Prisoner of DooDah atm.)

You may have the general physical attributes of someone older than 9 Fysh, but I hear you're somewhat lacking in the underpants department.

adam

parsi

blow69 wrote:

Walked past Pana 10 mins ago.The people are starting to que up in numbers now.I just had to shout 'LUUUUU-HOOSSSSSERS!' It's a frickin' book.Get over it!

Isn't there a cat picture or something to post in response to a poster on a web forum telling other folk that they're losers ?

My youngfella went to MP a few minutes ago for the craic. For an 8 year old there is a bit of fun in being up "late" and it's not as if they are harming anyone is it ? Or is it the case that the only folk who should be in town are langballs full to the gills with drink ?

Still it's not as bad as getting upset over a clothes shop closing down

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=53111854&postcount=1

Fysh

I believe this is the card you refer to, my good sir?

parsi

Ah yes - that's the one !

You, Sir, are a gent

Blitzkrieger

DonJose wrote:

I saw some kids there tonight wearing the following t-shirt.

Cool - I wanna get one for all my friends. Can I get one with a picture of me masturbating furiously on the back?

dahamsta

You don't have one already Blitz? We all do.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

blow69

parsi wrote:

Isn't there a cat picture or something to post in response to a poster on a web forum telling other folk that they're losers ?

My youngfella went to MP a few minutes ago for the craic. For an 8 year old there is a bit of fun in being up "late" and it's not as if they are harming anyone is it ? Or is it the case that the only folk who should be in town are langballs full to the gills with drink ?

Still it's not as bad as getting upset over a clothes shop closing down

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=53111854&postcount=1

Stalk much?

Fysh

blow69 wrote:

Stalk much?

In fairness, it takes about 3 clicks or so to get to the list of threads started by any given poster. It's not exactly like he had to hire private detectives and have you shadowed for weeks.

Also, I find that this thread is sadly lacking in cheese content. I'd like someone to address this issue, please.

dahamsta

Gouda God!

rymus

Anyone hear the comment on the radio this morning that some chap high up in the queue to get the book promptly walked outside after he'd bought it and read the last 5 pages of it aloud?

Apparently it happened outside a Waterstones... I'd pay good money to see hundreds of small kids dressed like Harry Potter beating a grown man to death with their broomsticks.

Blitzkrieger

Legend.