21 April 2015

Radio Ravenclaw

You’re listening to WWRVN, Radio Ravenclaw.

Good Morning, Ravenclaw - you’ve tuned in to The Fresh Pot of Coffee!

It looks like a beautifully sunny (or perhaps rainy) day out there, we suggest that it’s an excellent time to hang up some fresh laundry to dry (or get that softening effect of rainwater). What? the weather’s not until tomorrow!

It is, in fact, Thursday, so time for your Horoscope!

Octopodes (10+): That was really surprising, that thing you did! some of you are ahead on points and some of you lost them, depending on the thing, but you should know that your Surprise Factor just about doubled. This is an excellent way to approach the weekend, as your people have no idea what to expect from you and will be eager to give you permission to do things lest you do Other Things on your own. Ask - they will say yes! Also, i before e.

Neon Tetras (20+): That thing that was making you anxious? There’s a right time to worry. In fact, the right time to worry is today from 17:45 to 18:00 local time. Worry as hard as you can. Burn serious calories with the amount of worry. At the stroke of 18:00, let it go. Any worry, concern, or anxiety after that point will have exactly zero effect.

Lions (25+): Do your grocery shopping today (don’t forget safety pins) because Friday afternoon there will be an awesome opportunity offered and you want to be in a position to say “Yes!” You might even run a load of laundry tonight.

Fancy Goldfish (30+): Sorting is Open! You have been going back and forth. Sign the form, buy the pattern, blow us out of the water. This is your term to Succeed Spectacularly!

Narwhals (40+): Your weekend will be less simple, I’m afraid. There is an injustice in need of your tusk. Get a cozy Thursday and Friday evening to build up your spoons, kick butt on Saturday, then you’ll have all of Saturday evening and Sunday to recover and realize that you did a fabulous job and lots of people are going to be happier because you were so brave!

Capybaras (50+): Good News: The chocolate stash that you forgot about is in the freezer. Less Good News: You’re gonna have to defrost the freezer. Worth it.

Cougars (55+): You have worked very hard this week; you thought no one noticed, but the stars did. You have completely earned an at-home spa day. Salt scrub for your feet, lavender bubble bath, candles, favorite music, clean sheets, new brain-candy novel. Yes. Do it.

Peacocks (60+): Public event Friday? You’re going to rock it! The stars suggest keeping your wand handy because there could be opportunities. You know what I mean.

Dragons (80+): Do you need a driver this weekend, ma’am? The opening of your new wing will be lovely.

The Fresh Pot of Coffee is sponsored on Thursdays by The DecRomancer, a new shop on Diagon Alley specializing in custom fortune-telling and tarot cards, delicious divinatory tea blends, and genuine Viking runestones. All your high-end Divinatory needs in one shop. Personal crystal ball attunements will be handled on Tuesdays by appointment. They’re located next to Flourish and Blott’s, and don’t bother knocking.

Now on to your Thursday music, one of our most out-and-proud witches and the Muggles still don’t realize…

She’s Bette Midler,

I’m GazeboGal,

and you’re listening to Radio Ravenclaw on the Wizarding Wireless Network.

We have a special message from PICOT (Person In Charge of Testing), Spike:

Dropping a note here in your planning thread about some upcoming changes for next term and the term after. These are not just minor tweaks, please take note.

First, as of now, we will no longer be accepting OWLs that are proposed based on just time spent crafting. You will no longer be able to propose a specific amount of time with an undetermined amount of crafting resulting from that time. We now will need an estimate of how much will be crafted by pattern, weight, or by yardage. If you require assistance with writing your proposal to fit these guidelines, please see your House’s Advanced Studies thread.

Spring 2015 term is the last term that the Care of Magical Creatures: Option 4 (commonly referred to as the Bowtruckle option) will be available. It is still and always has been possible to learn a new craft with any of the other OWL subjects and options (a note that it is a new to you craft is something to put in the Considerations portion of your proposal).

Thank you, Spike.

Good Morning, Common Room, you’re listening to The Fresh Pot of Coffee!

It’s the Friday Fondoo Review!

First and Foremost, here’s our Fondoo recipe of the week - complete with SCIENCE! It turns out that the white wine is chemically necessary, but it can be the cheapest stuff ever. Also, our kitchen wizard makes excellent observations about Gruyere and Emmentaler cheezes.

If your household has fondoo tonight, remember We Want Pictures here in the Common Room. Because Radio. Also, we suggest “Apples to Apples” as your board game winner for tonight.

Our Quidditch team is hosting a Broom Basics workshop this weekend. Captain SarahTheEntwife will staff the Broom Maintenance station, BrooklynMomDoc will teach us all on-the-pitch First Aid, FangAili and Gipcsoul are reviewing flying basics, and MrsWingnut has a quiet little activity on how to fold your own origami Snitch!

And now, the weather.

• Ocean-going fans are going to be treated to lightning strikes a couple of times per minute for the next several days.

• Flooding in Atlantis - no one is likely to notice.

• Snow melt in Canada will, as ever, lead to those beautiful vernal pools. Let’s protect the delicate ecosystems which depend on these ephemeral sources of water by observing them without bright lights, sounds, or other interference. Perceptum incognitum spells only, please.

• Remember if the clouds are out not to hang up your laundry outdoors, the Muggles will expect it to get wetter, not dryer, and then the Secrecy Statue could be in danger.

• Weather wizard Inger Ingersson has published a fascinating new paper explaining how the effects of La Niña can be explained by the weak nuclear force. When asked “What exactly is the weak nuclear force?” Ingersson replied, ”Mumblety mumblety radioactive decay mumblety.” You heard it here first.

The Weather Report is brought to us weekly by Wimbledon’s WeatherWorks, guaranteeing excellent weather for your venue since 1877.

And now the music. Did someone call for earworms? I believe someone called for earworms, and who am I to deny our fans?

He’s Burl Ives,

I’m GazeboGal,

and you’re listening to Radio Ravenclaw on the Wizarding Wireless Network.

Public service announcement: there are some chapeaux that even a Hat Specialist like Martin Freeman cannot wear. Sorry, Martin. Not this time.

Thank you for your attention. This has been your daily Break Month Levity with Martin Freeman, I’m Cyprienne.

appearance on The Hobbit panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012

Good Morning, Common Room, you’re listening to The Fresh Pot of Coffee

It’s Monday, so it’s time to

Prep With Foxy!

Time to consider Advanced Studies

If you’re a NEWT student, we know you’re already well on your way to Glorious Victory!

The rest of us, it’s time to choose the project which will define our term.

Remember: one adult sweater in worsted or smaller weight is a worthy OWL. While we love to be spectacular, we work smarter, not harder. The Advanced Studies Advisory Thread is full of people to check your ideas with. They’ll talk you down from the edge, help you polish your proposal, and test your photo-posting skills. Let’s say that I want to make a sweater for myself and a matching sweater for my 8 year old niece and a matching sweater for her doll. I could do that in an OWL for 200 points. Or I could do the sweater for 200 points as an OWL, the child sweater as an Order of the Phoenix Mission for 100 points, and the doll sweater for a class earning 15 points plus yardage bonus. Which path is smarter? Check in the thread, because every case is different - the OWL examiners will see if you have a non-standard speed with your crafting.

Also remember: the Order of the Phoenix is an excellent place for a beginning crafter to challenge themselves: teens and pre-teens, you can propose something there which might take an experienced knitter less than six weeks. Make it clear that you’re just starting out and this will be a skill-building Mission as well as project-producing one.

Corollary: the Order chiefs do get a bit fussy1 when experienced crafters see a 12 year old getting permission to do 16 washcloths and want to propose the same thing. Guideline: see how long it took me personally to complete a project like yours, because my own crafting time is my instinctually-available measurement.

Swatch Now! While acknowledging that swatches lie, Swatching saves lives.

Draft your Proposal Now

Check into the Advanced Studies thread now!

The Fresh Pot of Coffee is sponsored on Mondays by Mrs. Madrigal’s Magical Knitting Emporium. They make many great tools for the crafty Witch or Wizard, including their famous Patented No-Snag, Self-Knitting Needles Now with Advanced Auto-Tinking Technology!

Thank you for your continued support and good luck out there. Now back to the music. Screaming is called for.

She’s Annie Lennox,

I’m GazeboGal,

and you’re listening to Radio Ravenclaw on the Wizarding Wireless Network.

1. I can say that, I’m one of them.

We have a message from Mama Eagle OmeletsMom:

Calling all Ravenclaws!

I know you love your House and all of its quirky traditions. Wouldn’t it be nice to share that love with a newly hatched Ravenclaw Eaglet?

Why not volunteer to be a Big Eagle? We are looking for mentors for all lineages (see the current lineage chart here if you are not sure which is yours), especially those that have not been represented recently.

Students from all years are welcome -- our Little Eagles can benefit from someone who has recently been a First Year as well as someone who has long experience in the ways of Ravenclaw and the House Cup.

Please PM me, OmeletsMom, if you are interested in mentoring one of our newest Ravenclaws or if you have questions.

Thank you, OmeletsMom.

Good morning! You’ve tuned in to The Fresh Pot of Coffee!

Sorting is Open until Saturday!

Information has leaked to our star reporter AnnieCC that the famous Thaumaturgical researcher Cascadienne will soon make an important announcement. The rumour goes that Casca has a successful prototype of her Poncho of Bee Summoning. Annie will remain poised on the doorstep of the lab for the press release.

We here at the radio station are putting a few inches on a group-created project. It’s a Hug Shawl for one of the darling dragon-ladies of the church and we younger gals are putting on an inch and passing it on each Sunday. Question for our viewers: When you participate in a collaborative project, how do you account it in your project pages? Ignore it? Count it? Count it as done when your portion is finished? Make a page for it but keep it hibernating until it’s done? Write to us here at the station, we want to know!

The Fresh Pot of Coffee is brought to you on Tuesdays by Geckito’s Garden Exotic Seeds: Are you tired of having a boring vegetable garden? Need to have the most interesting front yard on the block? Try Geckito’s Garden Exotic Seeds! New this year: Super Spaghetti Seeds!” As we say here at the station when contemplating the bounty of a Geckito Garden, “OMG! DIRT!”

It’s kind of a “hazelnut, double cream, double stevia” day here at the station, if you know what I mean. Four typos in the previous sentence. So we’re going to fall back on that spectacular Siberian singer/songwriter to signify the start of a silly semester…

She’s Natalya Arctica,

I’m GazeboGal,

and you’re listening to Radio Ravenclaw on the Wizarding Wireless Network!