Currently at Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square awaiting the arrival of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I figured it would be cool to take some classes at Hogwarts and see if there are any similar ones at MIT:

Looking for Herbology ... stumped
Looking for Potions, try: 5.36: Biochemistry and Organic Laboratory
Looking for Transfiguration ... stumped
Looking for Charms ... stumped
Looking for Defence Against the Dark Arts ... try the Kickboxing PE Class
Looking for History of Magic, try: 21A.211: Magic, Witchcraft, and the Spirit World
Looking for Astronomy, try 8.282J Introduction to Astronomy
Looking for Care of Magical Creatures, try 21H.909 People and Other Animals
Looking for Divination, try 12.310 An Introduction to Weather Forecasting
Looking for Ancient Runes, try 6.875J Cryptography and Cryptanalysis
Looking for Arithmancy, try 18.781 Theory of Numbers
Looking for Muggle Studies, try any one of the many classes the HASS department

Strangely enough, even though Hogwarts is fictional, many similarities exist between MIT and the fictional school. If you consider that everyone at Hogwarts has special abilities, you could say the same for MIT. I've never had a professor I despised as much as Harry despised as Snape, but I have had my share of Dumbledores and Hagrids.

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK FOR NINE YEARS ... ZOMG

Oh and if you think you're going to post a spoiler, think again. I've been given permission by admissions to deny or revoke your admission or diploma (jk)

The t-shirt I was planning on wearing reads:

"If you tell me what happens in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I will punch you in the face. I'm not kidding."

Photos from camping out for the book:

A lesson I learned from all of this was that if they say the line doesn't start forming until X o clock, it means the line started forming at X - 2 o clock.

Bloggers have a way of running into each other.

Harry and the Potters Concert

So my friend Diana and I were terrified of spoilers:

Don't watch this video if you don't want Book 6 spoiled for you:

But this video made me semi-paranoid

And then this cartoon from dieselsweeties made me laugh:

... so we quickly dashed on the bus and hurried home where I finished the book the next morning by 1 pm ... if you'd like to discuss the book, email me.

And in commemoration of Book 7, there was a hack!

(Photos courtesy of the MIT Hack Gallery)

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

First post
Am wickedly jealous that I'm not in Boston this summer.

Posted by: Lady Theta on July 20, 2007

OMG I want that shirt.

Seriously.

Posted by: Laura on July 20, 2007

you know Bryan.. you always say "photos later, more to come, wait for more", that kind of crap, and you never follow up! i will try to wait patiently this time.. :(

Posted by: 0 on July 21, 2007

Got the book and already finished it!

It wasn't as impressive as I expected it to be ... but well I had high expectations so its ok.

@ Adam '11 "Hem, Hem"

Posted by: Vihang on July 21, 2007

It was an AWESOME book. Ending didn't dissappoint me.

Posted by: JR on July 21, 2007

the new HP movie sucked!!!!

Ankit Chandra
Gaborone, Botswana

Posted by: Ankit Chandra on July 21, 2007

haha.....i'm not kidding, classic!!!

Posted by: KantoKid on July 21, 2007

Harry dies in the new book!!!

Ankit Chandra

Posted by: Ankit Chandra on July 21, 2007

Yeah........the new HP movie sucked,......so many cuts and some of most imp scenes nt included.....

Seriously feel bad to see a let down......although those who hadnt read the book it was good, thts wat some of my frnds. say......

Posted by: utkarsh on July 21, 2007

@ Ankit: Nice try.

Personally, I thought the movie was great - it was never going to be as good as the book, but as adaptations go it was very well done.

As for the book...let's just say it was rather bittersweet to finally close the cover of the last Harry Potter book. *insert melancholy, over-dramatic sigh*

Posted by: Paul '11 on July 22, 2007

I can't believe that it's over. I got the book at midnight, and after a lot of reading, crying, and fighting (sleep, that is), I finished around 10am. It was amazing.

I'm sad it's over - practically a decade of my life has been devoted to HP - but I thought the book was excellent.

Posted by: Wings '11 on July 22, 2007

I finished reading the book today. What an adventure! It's all over now, tough. Well, it was good while it lasted. I loved the ending; it was just perfect.

I know many fans are mad because the movie cut out many important (essential) parts from the book, but we must realize that this was a movie adaptation. You have to see the movie as what it is and not expect an exact living replica of every action that goes on in the book. Enjoy the book and the movie for what they are independent from each other. That's how you enjoy the Pottermania.

Posted by: Zaira '11 on July 23, 2007

I think its going to take a while for me to genuinely realize that Harry Potter is over. But, I agree with Zaira, and would like to add that you do need to realize that the book is not the movie in order to fully appreciate the work of J. K. Rowling. Now, that the book is over, I really don't think I will go see another HP movie. The magic of Harry Potter, for me at least, lies solely in the power of ink-and-paper, not in cinematic special effects.

Posted by: Rose on July 23, 2007

Who decides which books get press (Harry Potter) and which get censored? After all, censorship is becoming America's favorite past-time. The US gov't (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and Wikipedia, shut down Imus and fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, thermite in particular, took down the WTC buildings. Free Speech forever (especially for books).
Last link (before Google Books caves to pressure and drops the title):
America Deceived (Book)

Posted by: Steve on July 26, 2007

charms: particle physics
transfiguration: introduction to genetics
herbology: botany

Posted by: anonymous on July 31, 2007

ya good! looks attractive

Posted by: nipun nigam on August 8, 2007

Wow!It's so strange to know that so many MIT students are intereting in Harry Potter.I mean,here in China,who read this book would be considered naive and childlish,(I'm senior in high school)so I had to read this book after I got to bed.By the way,I think the new book is GREAT!Only one thing,I just don't Voldemort should die so SIMPLY,just one killing spell?It was quite not what I expected.And it's so uncomfortable to know that Ginny and Harry,Hermione and Ron got married and had kids.......
The new movie isn't that bad,I suppose.I have to admit it is a little boring,but the book itself was not so exciting,comparing to other books in the series.
I love the movie of Harry Potter and the Champer of Secrets most.

Posted by: ultravioletRay on August 12, 2007

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