How is Harry going to finish up? Alive or dead?

The final Harry Potter book is going to be released July 21. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” its called. No doubt we’ll be buying as soon as its out, and my daughter and I will be fighting over who reads it first.

While I think the last few Harry Potter books have been pretty longwinded and could really have done with a strong editor to keep JK Rowling’s meanderings under control, I am keen to find out how it all ends. Rowling has said she’s going to kill off at least a couple of characters, and there has been speculation that she might kill off Harry at the end. I reckon Professor Snape’s a good bet to be one who dies - he’s been on the crux of good vs evil most of the series, and my feeling is he’ll face a choice during a final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, and will turn on the latter and die which will enable Harry to win. Not sure who else might go.

When they come to make the movie of this book, will they give Harry a view of Hermione like this one?

Its a publicity photo from the play Daniel Radcliffe is in at the moment, “Equus”. He’s diversifying from his Harry Potter role - and his involvement in the nude scenes in the play has caused a bit of kerfuffle from some parents of Harry Potter fans (remember folks, he’s an actor, not really Harry).

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, Daniel Radcliffe

According to the script

….England needed to beat Australia in the cricket tonight, something they’ve not looked remotely like doing all summer, to have a chance of making the finals of the one day series.

Strangely enough, thats exactly what happened. Australia were off their game for once, and allowed England into the game and eventually to dominate it. Now the competition comes down to England playing New Zealand in the last game. Had England been beaten tonight, the last couple of games before the finals would have been pointless (or even more so than usual).

How nice for Cricket Australia and Channel 9 that the series is still alive, and now right up to the last game before the finals. Exactly the result needed tonight. Funnily, this seems to happen fairly regularly, Australia lose a game late in the series just at a time when it works to keep the contest between the other teams a bit more interesting.

Speaking of sport, it strikes me as strange that Super 14 rugby union is being played …I saw some of the Western Force playing in Perth - sensible idea, football, summer, Perth - and it looks as hot as you’d expect.

Update (11/2/07): Well, I was wrong there! England did genuinely lift and Australia fell in a hole over the last few games. Congratulations England on winning the one day series. Hard to believe after seeing how shitfully they’ve played for 90% of the summer! Imagine what the Ashes might have been if England had prepared properly and professionally, and turned up ready to play right from day one of the tour.

Technorati Tags: cricket, one day international, England, Australia, rugby, Western Force

Inflated sense of self-importance