Chanute and Parsons, KS

Today it was just Lisa and I in Chanute (top photo) and Parsons (bottom photo), KS. These were "Get a Clue" shows, and it was fun to sing some different songs for a change. In Parsons I had space to bring volunteers up for "You're a Dinosaur." Lisa says they were my most entertaining group of volunteers yet. My Stegosaurus was a real ham, and my hadrosaur's hoot was a cute little sound. The adults seemed to be having as much fun repeating it as the kids.

Evalyn spent the day at her grandparent's with her cousin Brittany who is visiting from Arkansas. She will join us again tomorrow for a tightly scheduled three shows, the first in Muskogee, the other two in Okmulgee. Then we do our final summer program Thursday in Duncan!

We did finish reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday. I don't want to say much because you might still be reading it, but what a wild ride! We all enjoyed it very much.

Reading Reading Reading

I took this photo today of Lisa and Evalyn reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's a bit posed, I admit - I've been the one actually doing most of the reading. This book is all we've been doing for two days, other than meals! We are about two thirds of the way through it. So far it's a real page turner; well worth the hype, as we knew it would be. Evalyn cried bitterly at one point, but she's anxious to continue. I'm sure there will be more strife ahead...

It may sound corny, but it feels to me like we are taking part in something bigger than ourselves. This is a once-in-history moment. Millions of people are experiencing the same long-anticipated story all at the same time, each head creating his or her own unique version as printed words are eagerly translated into ideas and images. Very cool.

Hardesty Branch, Tulsa

We had a nice evening show at the Hardesty branch library in Tulsa today. As you can see I snuck the camera out and took a couple of rare photos of Lisa and Evalyn together. This is how they pass the time at each library while I'm setting up for the show, and also during the show until it's time for Evalyn to perform - reading together. We also read in the car and at bedtime every night. Evalyn must be the most read-to kid in the world!

Only three days of shows left next week - Tuesday we're in Chanute and Parsons, KS; Wednesday in Muskogee and Okmulgee, and Thursday in Duncan.

Wish me luck tomorrow. I have a meeting with my former ISP to try to regain control of two of my domain names, montyharper.com and kidsmusicplanet.com. Why they still have them is a long story but basically, they want a lot of money out of me or they'll shut down the sites. I just want to get administration of the domains transfered to HostBaby, where the sites actually "live." This has been a thorn in my side for almost two years. Hopefully it'll all get straightened out tomorrow.

Harry Potter on Saturday! We plan to attend one or more release parties tomorrow evening, but we'll play it by ear as to whether we want to hang out until midnight. We've already got a copy of the book coming via Amazon.com on Saturday. We'll be trying to get it read before Tuesday's shows so we don't overhear any spoilers, which is what happened last time!

See you at the library!

Get a Clue on iTunes

My Get a Clue CD is now available on iTunes! You can download individual songs or the whole CD. Just click the album art above and if you have iTunes it will open to Get a Clue. Please write a review!

Not a whole lot going on today. I slept in and prepared a bank deposit (which is no small task when one's income consists of many small checks from many diverse sources).

Lisa and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was OK, but we were expecting much better. We thought it did a poor job of interpreting arguably the best Harry Potter book of the series so far.

It's easy to criticize any of the movies for feeling rushed, or leaving too much out. We understand that the movies must necessarily be put together differently. But the other movies stood their own pretty well, and stayed true to the spirit of the books.

This one fell short on both counts. I imagine anyone who hasn't read the book will feel puzzled in several spots watching this movie. We were also dismayed at various omissions and/or changes that seemed to stray from the spirit of the story. For example, Harry got awfully wise awfully quick with a little speech about Voldemort and love; in the book he struggles with these concepts, which is way more interesting and realistic. All the moral complexity and character development from the book seems missing. Perhaps a dementor sucked the soul out of the script.

But my biggest disappointment was that I didn't get to see the tapestry of trolls in tutus across from the Room of Requirement! Come on, how hard is it to put up a tapestry?! It's not like it would've made the movie any longer!

Well, we'd be interested to hear from you - especially if you see the movie and haven't read the book - did you feel like you were missing something? Post a comment!

Our recommendation, though - READ THE BOOKS whether you see the movies or not. Those who've only seen the movies must be wondering what's the big deal? If you just watch the movies you're missing out on 90% of the story! And if you haven't done either you're missing out on the greatest children's series since... ever!