Randomness in bullet form ...

[bubosquared]

1. The HP Lexicon wankerage is SO ENTERTAINING people! (If you donj't know, don't ask unless you really want to know. Warning: the management is not responsible for any unboggling your brain may need. Mine is still stuck in boggled from Friday.
2. I spent half the weekend getting increasingly desperate that I'd lost my silver crucifix. Could not find it, and when I checked the Lost and Found at work this morning as a last ditch attempt, I nearly broke down when it wasn't there. I just caught a glint out of the corner of my eye while changing, and there it was, hidden and wedged between the floorboards in my bedroom. Words cannot express my relief.
3. I had a third point, but I've lost it again. DAMMIT!

Comments

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Start with Cleo's summary here and her follow-up here for the non-wank links and context and the like.

Cleo originally posted this in f_l. It was then moved to fandom_wank, followed up, and followed up again.

Summary mostly c&ped from chat with troubleinchina:

JKR has, in past, priased the Lexicon and admitted to using it herself sometimes, which has made a lot of people worjkingon it quite happy.Steve Van Der Ark, the main honcho of the Lexicon, apparently decided that this meant he was, like, totes allowedto publish the lexicon as a book, for profit. (Actually, there was a lot more there, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

JKR and the WB went "Uh, no," and sent a bunch of C&D letters to SVDA's publishers, who ignored the C&Ds to the point where JKR/WB filed a formal complaint to take them to court.

At which point the publishers turned into the rude traunting Frenchmen from Monty Python and the Holy Grail or somwthing, tellin the WB lawyer's that they couldn't send them (the lawyers) a copy of the book, because "it's not printed yet" and told them the book was typeset from the site directly, so just print the site, and "if you don't know how, ask one of your people to show you," and ON THEIR WEBSITE, compared this lawsuit to THE ATOMIC BOMB, and pulled a godwin whining about hos only in a police state would a man like SVDA not be allowed to publish "his book".

In comments to various f_w posts, we find out, over the course of several days/threads, that Steve actually started the Lexicon because he knew JKR would one day write her own, and he wanted to work with her on that. He was EXPLICITLY TOLD NO by JKR about the Lexicon book, but now whinges a lot about how he had "no indication" to believe JKR would sue him for this book. (Most people believe he saw his tixcket to richess and fame slip away when JKR turned down his "generous offer" of working together on her encyclopedia, and decided to just go it alone then.)

Additionally, the publisher keeps harping on the fact that the book is a) "typeset directly from the website," and b) contains ciritcal essays etc., to bolster their claim that it's nopt just a reproduction of JKR's work.

"Critical essays by SVDA and his staff" I should say, and by "staff" they mean the volunteer contributors to the Lexicon ... very few of whom were contacted for contributions, none of which were contacted for permission to include their already existing essays, and NONJE of whom gacve their permission to have their essays included, let alone be referred to as SVDA's "staff". SVDA and his PA both say, BTW, that the essays are NOT included in the book.

*takes a deep breath*

I think that's the more egrarious wankbits, although it bears mentioning that the UK cover of the Lexicon bears a striking resemblance to the UK adult book covers, and just says "The Harry Potter Lexicon" with no mention of "unofficial" or "unauthorised," and that ALONe would probably have the JKR/WB lawyers laughing all the way to court.

... Any more questions?

:D

(STILL NOT OVER THE HIROSHIMA THING OVER HERE!)

[jamaisneutral.livejournal.com]

Never thought he could be worse than he already was in my imagination! :-)

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

And his publisher is worse!

Why did you already hate him, out of curiosity?

[jamaisneutral.livejournal.com]

We met him at Sectus. He was a total arsehole to my friend (called her disgusting because she'd read the leaked copy of DH). Oh, and he spoiled everyone during the final "feast" (in a no-spoiler zone, where you had the risk of being kicked out for saying the slightest littlest thing... -My friend had wanted to wear her "Snape is innocent" t-shirt on the first day (the day before the book came out, a t-shirt from during HBP) but she was terrified because really... mass hysteria)-
And there 's the fact that he ran around like he owned the place. Butting in in panels where he was supposed to be "one of the crowd".

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

That pretty much confirms what I'd heard in the f_w comments, yeah. Ugh. Self-important wanker.