Train Derailments: Off the track and down the rabbit hole!

*sweeps the tracks of a new thread*
*summons rocking chair*
*realizes rocking chairs don't work well on moving trains*

Now wait a minute....how can you sweep the tracks if you are on the train?

Magic. ;o)

I am on the train, aren't I? *looks over rocking chair. sees tracks.*

Where's the train?

I think It left

Mighty frisky for a derailed train, ain't it?

More importantly... are we talking tiny train, or gargantuan rabbit (à la, Night of the Lepus)?

I call it Harvey, myself. The Harvey Express. It is a fuzzy train with whiskers and cute long ears. Engine ears. :oP

Well...does it jump the tracks? and do you want your money back?

Of course it jumped the tracks. That's what trains that follow rabbit trails do. *buckles seat belt as train hops*
*Gets thrown into the air*

Oops. Forgot I was in a rocking chair.

* gets out an ice pack and aspirin for JP*

Oh, I'd better post here . . . otherwise the train will be 100 posts ahead of me in no time!

  The Pace of Modern Life
 

Alternate text: "Unfortunately, the notion of marriage which prevails ... at the present time ... regards the institution as simply a convenient arrangement or formal contract ... This disregard of the sanctity of marriage and contempt for its restrictions is one of the most alarming tendencies of the present age." --John Harvey Kellogg, Ladies' guide in health and disease (1883)

I know I'm not the only one around here who loves Mary Grand-Pre's illustrations. Buzzfeed has some rare ones very worth looking at. I think #11 "Expelliarmus" is my favorite! (FULL COLOR PEOPLE! PIANO!)

Beautiful! I always loved the flying keys picture. Nice to see them in color.

I think my favorite of those is Christmas in the Great Hall.

LT seems to have a new look... I think it's the first time it's changed since I joined, was that 6 years ago now?

edit: it will be 6 years in November...

It's the first thing I noticed when I refreshed the page. Classy!

It was certainly jarring when I opened LT this morning! Though I did come on at one point yesterday and "Home page is unavailable" is what I got, so this was an improvement over that. I moved some modules around and I think I have it the way I like it now. Talk started out WAY too low on the screen!

Yes, the first thing I did was move Talk up. Then I liked the new design.

Mind if I sit and freak out a little? My daughter is leaving for England in less than two weeks and I've seen one too many plane crashes on the news. *panic, panic, panic, panic...*

#19 -- My reaction was similar, as my parents are flying home in a few days. However, I read a statistic recently that any American child chosen at random is more likely to grow up to become President than to ever be involved in a plane crash.

That is reassuring. Catbastet would make an awesome president. :o)

I would think that being out of the country would disqualify her from the presidency. She might have to settle for being Queen of England.

LOL! Queen and president are too much pressure, though. I would rather she live a happy life creating beautiful things!

J.K. Rowling wrote a book under the pseudonym "Robert Galbraith" and it was published in April of this year.

Just thought of letting you guys know. I would like to give her writing another chance since I thought The Casual Vacancy was just O.K.

Here is the article.

Hmmm . . .

I read about this last night. I'm a bit more interested in this than I was The Casual Vacancy, I always liked the "mystery" bits of HP.

I read about that, too, and I'm really excited. The first two things that popped up in my brain were: 1) How did this stay a secret for so long, given her status? and 2) This explains her myriad "pen and paper are my priority" tweets. Due the the publicity, Amazon has a backorder. This is also slightly ironic as J.R.R. Tolkien released a new book in May (which I'm finishing), The Fall of Arthur even though he's no longer with us (his son published it).

Currently on LT it has a 4.14 average rating (which is impressive) and several positive reviews. I didn't love The Casual Vacancy, but I might give The Cuckoo's Calling a try.

Has anybody else noticed how infrequently J.R.R. tweets? It's a wonder his books sell at all.

I had not noticed. But I don't tweet. I growl sometimes, but I don't tweet.

Missing my oldest child. She's with LadyN today in London.
I want to be in London too.
*sigh*

I would love to be in London too, settling for a theme-park :)

I don't know, I don't like big cities. I get awe struck and confused. I am much more comfortable with nature

Then I think you would love Cambridge, Polly. That's where she's been staying during the week. It sounds like it's much more the small town feel. Of course, she looked up where the local yarn shop was and stopped in. The shop owner offered her a cup of tea. :o)

That does sound nice!

This is a cool compilation of tidbits Rowling has given interviews as to what happened after the Battle of Hogwarts. I didn't know a lot of this.

That was great, bib, thanks for posting it. Now I feel the need for graphic novels of the entire series. Something that would leave in all the parts the movies left out. That should keep them busy for years decades!

And then we need Potter: The Next Generation!

I knew most of those details, but the fan art that they put along with them was really neat.

I know some, but not all. I even teared up at a few! Thanks Bib!

As a teacher I really wish Harry would have gone back to Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He would have been great!

I was thinking I'd go look something up in Chamber of Secrets, but then my cat sat on me.  Can't move if you've got a cat sitting on you . . . it's just a rule.

we just got a new fridge, and the egg-holder-thingy (egg container? egg section? egg cups? ovoid resting place?) has spaces for exactly 11 eggs. That's right, eleven.

What am i supposed to do with the twelfth egg? Sacrifice it to Odin?

I can't believe you want us to give suggestions about where to put the egg. And I can't believe your egg crate thing only holds eleven eggs. What kind of odd chickens do you have there?

eat it for breakfast of course!

and if i do my shopping after breakfast...what then? juggle it until tomorrow?

>#43: It was a little foolish of me to ask a rhetorical question, wasn't it?

If you juggle it, you might solve your problem. ;o)

I would return the fridge. Obviously it's defective. If the manufacturer can't count to twelve, what else is wrong with it?

Rhetorically speaking.

So apparently there's an Annual Harry Potter Festival near me. Unfortunately, this year's is tomorrow and Saturday and that's not enough notice to go but I'm making mental plans to go next year. Perhaps a meetup?

A friend shared this picture with me.  It made me smile.

46: let us know,Bib. I could try for a meet up.

I'm getting very tired of reading books that end with "to be continued..."

There's a Gift Exchange Thread. I'm going to cross-post this in a couple places to make sure people see it.

Squeee!

49:  I know, right?  And these books are monsters, as it is! My husband is currently reading through Ursula K Le Guin's stuff.  I wish more books were that size.  I remember being very excited when I saw the size of Goblet of Fire, but now?  While Goblet had context for me, I'm losing interest in big, fat door stops.  As demonstrated by Robert Jordan, all those pages just might mean that the author doesn't know how to be concise.

two of the last nine members to join Hogwarts Express are llamas.

You know what they say, a llama by any other llama still smells like a llama. I'm paraphrasing, of course.

i think the saying is: if it looks like a llama, and it walks like a llama, and it quacks like a llama, it's probably a platypus.

You know, you really can't judge a llama by its platypus.

Hey, MrA, question for you: What kind of sound does a platypus make? Does it quack? Is it the sound of one hand clapping?

cartoon platypus, stuffed platypus squeaky toy, or real platypus?

You're so silly, that's not a platypus. That there is what we New Yorkers call a "Bronx cheer." ;o)

Does online stuff derail your reading? An article in the Washington post I found interesting, I've also posted this in other forums:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/serious-reading-takes-a-hit-from-online-scan...

Edit for mis-post

Yeah, I skimmed through that one too. I think stuff that is online may or may not catch my attention. Does it take away from my "real" reading? Not really. I get in different moods with how and what I read. It's always been like that for me.

Life in general takes away from my reading time.

Is it ironic that the article about online stuff derailing reading is online?

Seriously. I'm never sure if I've got the definition of irony right. :o/

JP- from Dictionary.com:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irony

In other words: Life is what happens when you're buisy making other plans....

We are at 2,222 members!

That is too, too, too, too cool!

>66 jugglingpaynes: I pretended this was Twitter and starred that comment :-)

>67 Jenni_Canuck: I often find myself searching for the "like" button. ;o)

They're being too, too, too, too quiet lately!

Too, too, too, TOO quiet. *glances around to see if they are being watched*
There could be a member lurking behind every virtual tree...

Hey, where did all of these virtual trees come from? Are they left over from when we were role-playing and got lost in the Forbidden Forest?

Could be...are we still lost in the Forbidden Forest?

I dunno...but it keeps me up at night...

New Harry Potter covers for everyone but those of us in North America. But I need them. I may finally breakdown and buy them from amazon.uk...

>75 biblioholic29: Oh, I want them! So much better than the old UK covers.

I love them, and they are so much better than the old covers. Harry does look a bit like a girl in some of them, though.

Benedict Cumberbatch reenacting Mr. Darcy!

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/09/benedict-cumberbatch-mr-darcy-well...

Nice one, compski!
Do you notice something? It seems like the go-to solution for all the world's problems lately is to get your shirt wet. :o)

Just want to say a belated hi to anyone who's been around a while and remembers me.... I used to be here quasi-frequently but it's been almost two years since I've logged onto LibraryThing. (hangs head in shame)

Things have been a bit crazy- two kids, new house, new job, new (adopted) dog - but it warms my heart to see much of the same HE shenanigans alive and well. Cheers to all!

El! Good to "see" you!

Of course we remember you! Welcome back! Two kids, huh? Sounds like life got in the way. Been there. Still there. :o)

*waves and starts passing out cake*

hi foggi!

jp - Yes, life has changed a lot. A 2 year old and 2 month old, both girls, it's as delightful as it is chaotic!

And you'll all be pleased to know my toddler LOVES books!! :-)

Well of course she does. That is exactly what I would expect!

They're delicious.

*waves to MrA*

I had hoped MsD had trained you not to chew on books anymore...

I got a friend HTML for Babies for an upcoming baby shower.  Mutual friend pointed out that the newborn won't be able to appreciate it for a while.  I argued that they grow up fast, and she can chew on it until she's old enough to read it. :p

It's so dark this morning. Why am I up when the sun is obviously sleeping in?

I slept in late, this morning.  Took a benadryl last night and couldn't wake up at a reasonable hour.

When is my pizza going to get here?
   

Looks like ninjas got it. Order another.
Wait.
Order one for me, too.

In case anyone needs a pick-me-up.

Is that a duck with a turtle shell?

I think it's a turtle with a duck body.

It's a turtleduck ^_^
http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Turtle_duck

I really need my memory jogged.
*straps on bike helmet*

Snape fans, get ready to cry. The Harry Potter story in order from Severus's point of view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhOQ4VW6xV8

I started a new thread I think at least some of you will find interesting. Go to the group page!

Fully illustrated editions of Harry Potter will be released over the next 7 years. How is this the first I'm hearing about this?! How far away is October 6th?

Scholastic hardcover, British paperbacks, ebook editions. It looks like I will be buying a fourth set of Harry Potter books!

It makes you wonder...how much thicker will that make The Deathly Hallows and Goblet of Fire?

GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! Some of the images from the illustrated version (LESS THAN A MONT AWAY!!!) have been released and they're beautiful and I already wanted to live in Hagrid's Hut, but I want to live in this version of Hagrid's Hut sooooooooooooooooooo much!

>102 biblioholic29: Oh, I wasn't sure I would want this, but I do, I do!

Wow! There are some impressive illustrations here!

I already have one on hold at the local bookstore! It looks amazing!

So the new gender swapped Twilight. I might have to read that.

My Illustrated SS/PS is here and it's so beautiful I could cry. I haven't even opened it yet.

>107 biblioholic29: Ooh, I ordered a copy for the library where I work, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. I probably should just go ahead and buy a copy for my personal collection...

Also, >106 biblioholic29: Every time this crops up in my news feed, I think, "Is this a joke? April Fool's Day just comes once a year, right?"

>108 foggidawn: You definitely should get one for yourself. I imagine I'll probably actually read it once and thereafter only take it down when I want to look at the illustrations. I'm also anticipating the size of the last four. I'm going to need more shelves.

>110 biblioholic29: Oh, yeah -- those will be massive!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Other than the Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone change, the text in the illustrated version is the original British. Dumbledore eats sherbet lemon, they wear jumpers, and they revise for their exams!

Sounds good to me. I wish they would have left it Philosopher's Stone!

They probably thought changing the title would be too confusing at this point.

Can't wait to see it! I don't know if our library is getting it, but I imagine at least one of our relatives will probably want to gift it to us for Christmas. This is how we get our fixes. Another relative has been buying us Dr Who season DVDs for the last three years.

We are ever so slightly spoiled...