Tag: Harry Potter

Wind up Geek’s Cool Merchandise: Handmade Harry Potter Mugs

Harry PotterBy James Robert Shaw
(The Wind up Geek)

In all my travels and in all the conventions I visit (Van Isle Comic Con, Tsukino-Con, and Fan Expo Vancouver), I have been amazed at some of the cool merchandise that can be bought at the vendor tables. I don’t just speak about the mass-produced items with names like Funko, Bandai, and Hasbro, but of the finely crafted local items as well.

At the 2017 Tsukino-Con, I spent much of my money on said items and a roll full of prints from local and more internationally known artists. I even bought a My Neighbour Totoro phone charm (which I will highlight at another time). For now, I will bring to your attention merchandise I discover and to share them with you, our readers. Perhaps along the way I will help you find something new.

Continue reading “Wind up Geek’s Cool Merchandise: Handmade Harry Potter Mugs”

Muggles Produce Harry Potter Christmas Trees To Rival that of Hogwarts’ Great Hall

harry-potter-great-hall-decorationBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

It’s Christmas time, that time of year with a magic all it’s own. But one doesn’t need to be a wizard to whip yourself up a Harry Potter Christmas. Two fans of the Harry Potter series of books, created by J.K. Rowling, have created the ultimate wizarding tree complete with Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat where an angel or star would be.

This first tree is designed by Hanah Lee Keirsey, owner of Keirsey Kreations of West Helena, Arkansas. Hanah made all of the ornaments, the Hogwarts house flags and the tree skirt herself.

Continue reading “Muggles Produce Harry Potter Christmas Trees To Rival that of Hogwarts’ Great Hall”

Fantastic Beasts is Fun, and The Pandora’s Box is Something to Worry About

A tiny bit of that familiar Harry Potter magic is all that’s needed to spin Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into its own yarn.

fantastic-beasts-sequel-03aug16By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

A tiny bit of that familiar Harry Potter magic is all that’s needed to spin Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into its own yarn. While most of the music is original, the signature tune from the Potter films reminds viewers about where this new series fits in a greater whole. The movie has all the intrigue from, say The Untouchables (1987), but when that familiar formula from the books J.K. Rowling wrote about the titular character, the young man in this new film has hints of Nicholas Rowe (ala Young Sherlock Holmes) feeling lost, embroiled to his own world, until reality hits him hard.

The wizarding world J.K. Rowling invented is expanded upon. With this new film, the very precocious Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is getting the spotlight even though a bigger issue (which will span several movies) is afoot elsewhere. He arrives in America by boat (through New York) and meets Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol). An accidental switch of suitcases belonging to the two men opens up a Pandora’s Box of problems.

Continue reading “Fantastic Beasts is Fun, and The Pandora’s Box is Something to Worry About”

Making a B Line (can’t say P) to Potted Potter

potted-potter-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I’m no stranger to the ‘reduced’ format when stage performers decide to condense a very well-known work from its voluminous size down to a few minutes. The final result is often hilarious and you do not need to attempt to read the book afterwards! Take, for example, the many works of William Shakespeare (which the Reduced Shakespeare Company is famous for) or Star Wars (One Man Star Wars). There’re other works too, and when I heard about Potted Potter, I had to be there and drag James Shaw along.

Interestingly enough this show has a James Percy as the straight-laced half of the comedic duo (he plays Harry throughout the show) who knows the material and Joseph Maudsley making himself appear like he did not know the books. Maudsley was kinetic on stage and cross-dressed. Can you imagine him as Cho Chang? For the strong male personalities, he played Hagrid like a Scotsman. To hear him claim that he had not finished reading the saga made the sitcom all the more hilarious because what’s on stage mirrored the friendship I have with my buddy. Though I don’t slap James around, he does get well-deserved noogies. In order to know how to play out some scenes, Joseph was required to know the final book by the end of the show. I bet my buddy felt a little lost. Continue reading “Making a B Line (can’t say P) to Potted Potter”

Shawn’s Dreaming of Spooky Gaming Hijinks

Presented in no particular order in what spooky gaming products are good includes:

Harry Potter
By Shawn Trommeshauser (Dreaming in Digital)

Halloween is my favourite time of year! The weather is cooler, the days are shorter, and this special day is approaching fast. It’s a time to enjoy the spookier side of life, and with that in mind here are ten recent and classic games and franchises to fit the mood.

Presented in no particular order in what spooky gaming products are good includes:

Silent Hill

silent-hill-2

Before this game even became a franchise, the original Silent Hill had you searching a small town of perpetual fog for your missing daughter. The mountain town of Silent Hill seems quiet, serene and surprisingly deserted. If you’re a fan of the recent television hit, Stranger Things, you couldn’t be blamed to think that Silent Hill was one of its inspirations.

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Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy to Appear at Fan Expo Vancouver!

TomFeltonProImageBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Tom Felton, better known as villainous Draco Malfoy from J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter films, will be appearing at the 2016 Fan Expo Vancouver.

Originally hailing from Epsom in Surrey, Felton is a talented actor who established himself in two feature films before landing the role as Potter’s Slytherin house rival. Felton played Peagreen Clock in the 1997 film The Borrowers with Jim Broadbent and as Louis Leonowens in Anna and the King starring Jodie Foster and Chow-Yun-Fat.

Felton’s post Potter acting credits include Dodge Landon in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, as Viscount Trencavel with John Hurt in the TV mini series Labyrinth, James Ashford in Belle, and as tech genius and prime suspect in the Steven Bocho series Murder in the First.

Felton is a noted singer who turned down a position with the famed Guildford Cathedral Choir at a younger age. His YouTube performances have racked up millions of hits. He is also one of the founding owners and talents at Six String Productions, a record company that signs young musical talent normally overlooked by major recording labels.

Fan Expo Vancouver will be held November 11-13 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit their official website at http://fanexpovancouver.com/.

Source(s): Fan Expo Vancouver and InternetPerson16.