Imagine Better This Saturday With the Harry Potter Alliance at Plantory

Real talk time: the world is kind of a mess right now, but there are definitely things that restore my faith in humanity. Case in point, the Harry Potter Alliance.  I must confess that I haven't even finished the book series, but I did see all of the movies, and have been a huge Harry Potter fan for almost 15 years. I am so excited by the work that this group is doing. Since 2005, the Harry Potter Alliance has engaged millions of fans through work for social justice, equality, and literacy. The best part, though, is that the organization is making activism accessible. They've succeeded, with nearly 100 chapters and a network that reaches nearly one million people.

The good news of the work that they're doing is spreading like wildfire. Just this week, HPA succeeded in a four year long campaign for Warner Bros to use all fair trade chocolate for their Harry Potter licensed candies. This victory has gone viral and has been featured by a large number of online publications including People. This is certainly some great PR for the Alliance and should show the world the great work that they're doing. And their work spreads beyond the Harry Potter fandom, they're also energizing Hunger Games fans, launching the Odds In Our Favor campaign to fight income inequality and hunger.

If you're in the Bluegrass Region and you're interested in getting involved with activism, but are unsure how, please join us at The Plantory on Saturday, January 17 at 1:30 PM for the  Lexington Harry Potter Alliance Formation Meeting. Anyone ages 12 and older are welcome to attend. The WC Wizengamot, an official chapter based out of Woodford County, will be on hand to share how they use fandom based activism to enact change. This is a very exciting organization to be involved with and I just know that it's going to make a huge impact on Lexington!

Oh, and be sure to bring $1 to the meeting if you can, to help benefit the Huffleruffs, for care of magical creatures throughout Central Kentucky. Everyone at the meeting can use their dollar to vote for their favorite team name with proceeds to benefit Homeward Bound Canine Rescue and Rehabilitation.

For more information about the Harry Potter Alliance, check out their website. If you're unable to attend, keep an eye on the Lexington United page for more information about meetings. And if you're not in the Lexington area, fear not, because there is a Northern Kentucky chapter!


Be sure to like Kentucky Geek Girl on Facebook and follow my daily updates on Twitter! If you have any questions or want to discuss partnership opportunities, be sure to send me an email.

Elementary, my dear geek!

Semesters are finally starting at colleges across the country this week and with it comes new classes and fulfilling the wonderful general education requirements. For my history major, I'm taking The Age of Samurai and Europe 1914-1945. For my Anthropology minor, I was able to get into a class on Explorers and Anthropologists where I'm going to be doing a project on representations of explorers and adventurers in popular culture. (Cue *Dun duh dun duhhhhh*) Transylvania University (where I attended college) has a history of offering some pretty awesome classes. There have been Foundations of Liberal Arts (Freshman writing and composition) courses on Appalachian stereotypes, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I took a course on comedy called Laughing Matters. Some classes have even studied ghost hunting! Pretty awesome stuff. Transy isn't the only university to teach some pretty interesting and geeky classes. Check out a list after the break!

Stop sippin' the Hogsmeade Haterade

I have been a fan of Harry Potter since 2000 when I was in the eighth grade.  My grandmother had purchased Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for me because she thought that I would like it. When she presented it to me, I hadn't actually read any of the books. Going with the recommendation of a close friend, I checked books one through three out of my school library and read them quickly. I was drawn into Hogwarts and immersed myself in this fantastic world. The movies began coming out the next year and that was a whole other dimension added to my experience of reading Harry Potter. I anxiously awaited each movie premiere and saw the last five movies at midnight.

Countdown to Potter Premiere: T - 3 days!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. The midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is just about 76 hours away and it brings with it the last stop of the Hogwarts Express. I, for one, will be sad that we will not have another new movie or book to look forward to. However, with the release of Pottermore this fall, we will be able to experience some never before seen content from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I'll be tweeting the pre-Potter festivities from the theater and will post a wrap-up of the experience and review of the film! Oh and btw, there will be cosplay!

This is one of my favorite Harry Potter parodies from the Potter Puppet Pals!

Are you seeing HP7 Pt 2? Dressing up? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Is Hufflepuff the reject bin of Hogwarts?

Say it ain't so! I mean, every sorting hat quiz I take online says I'm a Hufflepuff, but really I think I a mix of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Huffleclaw? Ravenpuff? Havenpaw?

If you need a primer on the houses of Hogwarts, just watch this video from The Second City Network.

via The Daily What

Stuff That Doesn't Suck (7): The All Youtube Edition!

 Stuff that doesn’t suck is a meme hosted by Pam at Bookalicious where we graciously share with you the things that we come across in a week that don’t suck. This includes a variety of things from books to music to youtube and even more. Feel free to join in on the comments or on your own blog.

Drunk Cooking Show That Doesn't Suck

An episode of My Drunk Kitchen was posted on Facebook by a good friend and I think it's awesome. If you're like me, when drinking you want something to nom on. My first experience with this was trying to cut pineapple after having tequila for the first time. This is why we can't have nice things. Anyway, Hannah does drunk cooking with poise and style. Her topics range from Mac and Cheese, Cookies, Tacos, and most recently Ice Cream. Hannah is hilarious and proves that sometimes cooking is a hot damn mess. Follow Hannah on Twittah @harto.

Stuff That Doesn't Suck (3)

Stuff that doesn’t suck is a meme hosted by Pam at Bookalicious where we graciously share with you the things that we come across in a week that don’t suck. This includes a variety of things from books to music to youtube and even more. Feel free to join in on the comments or on your own blog.

Blog That Doesn't Suck

Chronic Geek is a blog written by 8-Bit Emma. She is a college student studying Information Systems Technology. Her blog features her loves of comic books, zombies, gaming, music, and Doctor Who. Not only does her blog feature things about herself and her life, but it also spotlights some of her favorite geek finds. She is an insightful writer and I like that way she incorporates her own photography in her blog. She participates in blog memes such as Fishnet Friday and recounts some pretty epic events like her trip to Brewfest 2010 and refurbishing an arcade game cabinet. I think Emma is awesome and I look forward to her blog posts and tweets.

Movie Trailer That Doesn't Suck

Okay, so if you're like me, most or all of your adolescent life was spent in the company of Harry Potter and the students of Hogwarts. I'm sad to see this epic series come to an end, but I'll tell you, this trailer does it justice. It looks absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to see this movie.



TV Theme Song Cover That Doesn't Suck

Just go with me on this one. I'm a fan of theme music. If I had my own personal theme, it would be a bouncy, light-hearted ditty and there'd probably be some ukulele in it. Anyhoo, the folks at Nerdbastards posted this on their site and it was too epic not to share. I'm not watching Game of Thrones until I've read its literary namesake, but I will attest that the opening theme is awesome. This guy created a heavy metal version of it and uploaded it to youtube on Friday. Bask in the awesomeness.



Adorable Puppy Dog That Doesn't Suck

Just because I felt like we needed another video from youtube, here's a video that a friend posted on our gaming group's message board. Actually, this isn't the version he posted, it's actually a better version. I could not help but smile when I saw this adorable pug.

What hasn't sucked for you this week?