Harry Potter post - those averse are warned.

Yes, this is amusing. A meager day after I discovered (with a bit of help) the sixth Harry Potter book title on J.K. Rowling's website, they announce it all over the internet. Hmph. Bloody bad timing on my part, as is usual. The title's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which I feel is loads better than most of the things that have been suggested online.

Also, a note to those of you who spend your time hypothesizing such things: Rowling does read the internet, and she mentioned in the Rumours section of her site that all the suggested names were awful. She's paying attention, and is amused.

It's not all bad on the personal Potter front though: I finally got to see the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (as if you didn't know). I agree with what the consensus seems to be: it was a very good movie, but certain scenes and additions made no sense. As I have to slog through all the tripe of romantic theories, or "ships" as strange, depressing people prefer to call them, a few of my notes I took (yes, I took notes) are in that bent:

• Where did the picture of Ron and Hermione dancing come from? It's silly.
  
• Why in the hell are there shrunken human heads dangling about? (In the Knight Bus and the Three Broomsticks?
  
• In fact, why were children kept out of the Three Broomsticks anyway? That didn't happen, and there's no sense it it. Bloody hell I'm gonna keep out my briskest business.
  
• Why do the dementors freeze everything? I mean to check, but I'm pretty sure you feel cold. It's not a climate thing.
  
• I saw the choir in trailers and such, but they still bother me. While amusing and great sounding, I still didn't like it overall. Now mind, I love instances of life in the books, and the movies: the scene in the boys' dormitory was fantastic. As were all scenes with Fred and George.
  
• The Divination classroom is reached by a trapdoor in the books. It's not a terribly big change, but that makes it stranger still.
  

There were things I particularly liked, too.

• Person in the Leaky Cauldron reading Stephen Hawking's book.
  
• Sir Cadogan lurking in the background, twice.
  
• The map was done very well, though I did miss the scene wherein Remus reveals who made it Yes, one could figure it out, but the scene was fun, and wasn't too long.
  
• Did anyone else notice what Buckbeak's favorite food was? Ferrets. Book readers: what does Moody turn Malfoy into?
  

Most everyone has probably heard Rowling's quote; she felt the movie was spooky, as she saw references to things she has planned in the sixth and seventh books: no one but her knows them, but Cuaron apparently picked up on the hints. Now, everyone and their annoying siblings has decided this is relationship news, coupling Hermione with either Ron or Harry. I think, instead, it could be Harry's mention of wanting to live in the country with Sirius. Rowling has already clearly told everyone Harry won't be the Minister by the end of book seven. So I feel it's quite likely, if he lives, that he'll retire off into the countryside somewhere. Voila: it even makes sense in context of the books.

(Yes, I too think about these sorts of things as well - but I don't obsess over single points that quite possibly won't even be mentioned in the books.)

The movie also brought Aunt Marge's comment back into focus: "...bad blood will out." Sounds like it's all about book six, really.