Under The Stars August 2015

uts@starmanet.com

3 participants
4 discussions

Finally
by Effie in the desert 12 Nov '15

12 Nov '15

Hi all, I have no idea who I blathered on to back in June 2013 when I was kicked out of the Toppenish chamber for writing a letter about all the things Zach wasn't doing. So if this email makes no sense to you, I apologize and you can cheerfully ignore it. If you were one of those people and if you remember my rambling the news is: Zach's last day is March 14! Effie

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JKR plotting
by Effie in the desert 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

I wish I could read the writing on the page, especially the Harry/Snape column. http://www.popsugar.com/tech/JK-Rowling-Handwritten-Notes-36658037

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Prequel
by Effie in the desert 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

http://www.crushable.com/2008/06/11/entertainment/the-harry-potter-prequel-… I don't remember reading this before. But it was posted 7 years ago which is before I got into HP. Effie The Harry Potter Prequel – READ IT HERE! 7 years ago by Wendy Boswell The Harry Potter Prequel, by JK Rowling The speeding motorcycle took the sharp corner so fast in the darkness that both policemen in the pursuing car shouted ‘whoa!’ Sergeant Fisher slammed his large foot on the brake, thinking that the boy who was riding pillion was sure to be flung under his wheels; however, the motorbike made the turn without unseating either of its riders, and with a wink of its red tail light, vanished up the narrow side street. ‘We’ve got ‘em now!” cried PC Anderson excitedly. ‘That’s a dead end!” Leaning hard on the steering wheel and crashing his gears, Fisher scraped half the paint off the flank of the car as he forced it up the alleyway in pursuit. There in the headlights sat their quarry, stationary at last after a quarter of an hour’s chase. The two riders were trapped between a towering brick wall and the police car, which was now crashing towards them like some growling, luminous-eyed predator. There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the alley that Fisher and Anderson had difficulty extricating themselves from the vehicle. It injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like, towards the miscreants. Fisher dragged his generous belly along the wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping off the wing mirror with his backside.[tagbox tag="Harry Potter"] ‘Get off the bike!’ he bellowed at the smirking youths, who sat basking in the flashing blue light as though enjoying it. They did as they were told. Finally pulling free from the broken wind mirror, Fisher glared at them. They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter’s guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band. ‘No helmets!’ Fisher yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. ‘Exceeding the speed limit by – by a considerable amount!’ (In fact, the speed registered had been greater than Fisher was prepared to accept that any motorcycle could travel.) ‘Failing to stop for the police!’ ‘We’d have loved to stop for a chat,’ said the boy in glasses, ‘only we were trying -’ ‘Don’t get smart – you two are in a heap of trouble!’ snarled Anderson. ‘Names!’ ‘Names?’ repeated the long-haired driver. ‘Er – well, let’s see. There’s Wilberforce… Bathsheba… Elvendork…’ ‘And what’s nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy or a girl,’ said the boy in glasses. ‘Oh, OUR names, did you mean?’ asked the first, as Anderson spluttered with rage. ‘You should’ve said! This here is James Potter, and I’m Sirius Black!’ ‘Things’ll be seriously black for you in a minute, you cheeky little -’ But neither James nor Sirius was paying attention. They were suddenly as alert as gundogs, staring past Fisher and Anderson, over the roof of the police car, at the dark mouth of the alley. Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets. For the space of a heartbeat both policemen imagined guns gleaming at them, but a second later they saw that the motorcyclists had drawn nothing more than - ‘Drumsticks?’ jeered Anderson. ‘Right pair of jokers, aren’t you? Right, we’re arresting you on a charge of -’ But Anderson never got to name the charge. James and Sirius had shouted something incomprehensible, and the beams from the headlights had moved. The policemen wheeled around, then staggered backwards. Three men were flying – actually FLYING – up the alley on broomsticks – and at the same moment, the police car was rearing up on its back wheels. Fisher’s knees bucked; he sat down hard; Anderson tripped over Fisher’s legs and fell on top of him, as FLUMP – BANG – CRUNCH – they heard the men on brooms slam into the upended car and fall, apparently insensible, to the ground, while broken bits of broomstick clattered down around them. The motorbike had roared into life again. His mouth hanging open, Fisher mustered the strength to look back at the two teenagers. ‘Thanks very much!’ called Sirius over the throb of the engine. ‘We owe you one!’ ‘Yeah, nice meeting you!’ said James. ‘And don’t forget: Elvendork! It’s unisex!’ There was an earth-shattering crash, and Fisher and Anderson threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle’s turn to rear. Before the policemen’s disbelieving eyes, it took off into the air: James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby. What did you think? Who do you think the guys in the alley were? Why were James and Sirius trying to go so fast on their bikes? So many questions!

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Vicki and Liz Survived the Fire
by Chuck S 08 Aug '15

08 Aug '15

Hello Everyone, To those of you who may not have heard, Vicki and Liz, who have homes near the big fire in California, and were on advisory evacuation all this week, did not have to evacuate, and they and their homes are safe. Liz had been updating folks on Facebook, and now advises, "Well, this will be my last report about the Rocky fire which came very close to Vicki and me. I have been letting Vicki know every day about the comments made and who liked each report. We would like to thank all our friends for your prayers and concerns. The fire burned 69,636 acres and is now 62% contained. All advisory evacuation has been lifted. Many mandatory evacuations have also been lifted. Thanks to all the wonderful firefighters who worked so hard with this tricky fire." >From my calculations on the CA State Fire Map, the fire reached about 3-4 miles away from them as the crow flies, or the winds blow, in this case. In all, at the peak, some 3500 firefighters were fighting the blaze, with 318 fire engines, 19 helicopters, 63 bulldozers, and 43 water tenders involved. Pretty scary. So glad everything worked out okay. To put those 70,000 burned acres in perspective, that's more than twice the size of San Francisco. Thanks to Nina for keeping me updated, since I am not on Facebook. BL, Chuck S.

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Under The Stars August 2015