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Post by lucyolsen on Jun 10, 2012 15:09:14 GMT -5
A galleon is worth about £5 and about $10.
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Silvertongue
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 10, 2012 15:11:08 GMT -5
Ohhh, cool. Did JK say that? I have a vague image of that in my mind but I may just be imagining her actually saying it.
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Post by Dimcairien on Jun 10, 2012 15:26:18 GMT -5
I do think JK announced that a galleon was about equal to £5, but I don't remember where.
As for the parselmouth vs. parseltongue, I got them mixed up briefly when I first started writing. That was two years ago, and I'm working on fixing the passages where that error shows up as now I am embarrassed by it.
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Post by ShotgunWilly on Jun 10, 2012 15:36:51 GMT -5
About the '£' and '$' thing. British keyboards have both of them anyway, and the € too (though that is sometimes only accessible through the FN key). That's the thing, US keyboards don't. It's $ sign or bust unless you look up the symbol code or manage to find a place to copy it from. For example, £ = Alt+Numpad0163 € = Alt+Numpad0128 Also, anachronisms FTW! :v Also, in reference to the amount of pounds in a Galleon, "About five pounds, though the exchange rate varies!" –J. K. Rowling on the value of a Galleon WEB LINK Comic Relief Live Chat, March 12, 2001 Harry Potter wiki claims it's £4.97 to the Galleon, but I think they just pulled that number out of nowhere |
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Post by Dimcairien on Jun 10, 2012 15:56:24 GMT -5
For my laptop, it's alt+3 for the £ symbol. It's take a while sometimes to figure out what shortcut is for what symbol, but it's very helpful. I don't know if I have the euro symbol though. I'll have figure that out.
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Post by G. Novella on Jun 10, 2012 16:22:49 GMT -5
Hold up, a galleon is 5 pounds so $10 (Can't find the symbol, too lazy to try)
How poor exactly are the Weasleys then? As far as I recall, the one mention of their savings account stated they had a few sickles and knuts. Does that not qualify them for some social security? B) Why the hell has Arthur not gotten a better job? Or why is Molly not working?
I always thought of them as the run of the mill family that's a bit behind in their bills. Not dirt poor. This just makes me want to cry for them.
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Post by ShotgunWilly on Jun 10, 2012 16:31:15 GMT -5
I have a feeling that JKR pulled a number out of her ass there. While I'm all for canon, they should really be worth more unless the galleons are fake gold. >_>
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Post by G. Novella on Jun 10, 2012 16:40:49 GMT -5
Forget that, how the hell are the Weasleys alive if that's the sum in their bank accounts? How are debt collectors not storming the door! You have no idea how horrified I am at the idea of a galleon only being $10. Apparently JKR's ideas on abuse and poverty are way off.
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Post by lucyolsen on Jun 10, 2012 16:50:51 GMT -5
The value of wizard currency has varied throughout the books. JKR has said that one is worth $10, but this is not consistent with prices given for items in the first several books.
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Post by matt2785 on Jun 10, 2012 19:18:33 GMT -5
I have a pet peeve that bugs me while reading these stories. The use of first person throughout the story. So and so sighs, reads, says, etc, etc. Bugs the crap out of me, the stories are in 3rd person please.
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Post by NotACat on Jun 11, 2012 9:59:54 GMT -5
I have a pet peeve that bugs me while reading these stories. The use of first person throughout the story. So and so sighs, reads, says, etc, etc. Bugs the crap out of me, the stories are in 3rd person please. Sorry, i don't get your peeve. First Person POV is when the story is told in terms of "I" as in "I woke up in my cupboard when Uncle Vernon banged on the door". Third Person POV would be "Harry woke up in his cupboard". Which is it you don't like? Oh, and for what it's worth, Second Person POV would be "You wake up in your cupboard": it's very unusual, and mostly turns up in present tense rather than past tense. HTH HAND ;D |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 11, 2012 10:04:53 GMT -5
Admittedly, I prefer third person as well, it reads better. Though where it gets really annoying is when people switch between third and first person, and in the same sentence. Or past and present tense.
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Post by Ithiarel on Jun 11, 2012 10:33:45 GMT -5
B) Why the hell has Arthur not gotten a better job? Or why is Molly not working? To be honest, I don't think that Arthur needs a better job. Throughout the books I always felt that the Weasley's actual problem is mismanagement of their resources. E.g. In PS they bought Percy new robes, instead of getting Ron a wand. Later, they spend their lottery win on a (one time) travel to egypt instead of saving it for later. They even bought a whole set of Lockheart's books for each of their children - even though they would only have needed (at the most) two sets! Arthur doesn't need a better job. He and Molly need to learn how to prioritise their expenditures. |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 11, 2012 10:46:57 GMT -5
Percy didn't only get new robes, he got an owl, too. Even less necessary, he can use the school owls.
The bit about the Lockhart books just proves once again that wizards have no logic whatsoever!
Besides, why do they have to get new books for the kids every year? In some cases it was just the same title, grade 1, 2, 3 ... so they could have given the old book to a younger sibling. It was certainly not just Lockhart ...
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Silvertongue
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 11, 2012 11:15:47 GMT -5
Admittedly, I prefer third person as well, it reads better. Though where it gets really annoying is when people switch between third and first person, and in the same sentence. Or past and present tense. THIS! Times a thousand! That is one of the most irritating mistakes I've ever come across and it's sadly all over the place. I also prefer Third person. It flows better and you don't have to stick to that person's thought processes and way of thinking. And it makes more sense when the story doesn't focus on that character for a while. Another spelling mistake I've noticed today (and previously but forgot about) is Duel and Dual. They do not mean the same thing! |
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Post by ShotgunWilly on Jun 11, 2012 12:01:33 GMT -5
I think it's fair enough that they bought Percy an owl as a reward for becoming a prefect. Maybe new robes as well was a little overboard. *shrug*
Mismanagement does seem to be the biggest problem, though.
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Post by Dimcairien on Jun 11, 2012 16:29:12 GMT -5
I like to read in first person every so often and am in fact, writing a story in first person. I'm being careful though to stick with it and not change anything or add thoughts of a different character as that is very annoying.
I do agree that management is a part of the Weasleys problem, but remember, Arthur is probably underpaid as well because Fudge didn't think the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office was very important, or at least it certainly is implied.
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Silvertongue
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 11, 2012 16:31:16 GMT -5
That isn't helped by Lucius whispering in his ear. Why didn't they just have less kids if they knew he wasn't paid much? And seriously, as someone said before, why doesn't Molly get a part time job?
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 11, 2012 23:47:25 GMT -5
True, with the infamous Weasley-Malfoy feud ... I wonder if and how it changed under Kingsley. In the end, it's probably a bit of all the reasons.
Somehow I suspect Molly wanted a little princess at all costs - and when she finally had Ginny, she could stop getting children. As for getting a job - maybe she's one of these people who think the woman belongs in the kitchen, and she has certainly not learned anything beyond graduating, marrying and having children at once. Though she could have tried to get a job as cook or something, as that seems the only thing she has really learned.
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 5:19:20 GMT -5
Another thing I've found which annoys me. "Chocked".
What is that? Is it supposed to be a mix of "shocked" and "choked" or just a VERY common misspelling?
If someone has something stuck in their throat then they are CHOKING not CHOCKING.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 13, 2012 5:22:45 GMT -5
Or take that tendency to mix up accept and except. That are two completely different things!  |
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 6:27:51 GMT -5
Ugh! Hate that too! Or when people leave out whole syllables out of words like "nessary" instead of "necessary".
And "probably" becomins "probly" or "properly". Properly is an entirely different word.
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Post by Ithiarel on Jun 13, 2012 6:29:30 GMT -5
Another thing I've found which annoys me. "Chocked". What is that? Is it supposed to be a mix of "shocked" and "choked" or just a VERY common misspelling? If someone has something stuck in their throat then they are CHOKING not CHOCKING. No, silly. It obviously means "going into shock because of a chocolate overdose". ;D Now, what I can't stand is people mixing up words that don't even sound alike ("defiantly" vs. "definitely" is a hot candidate for that). For me, this type of mistake is even worse, because English isn't my first language, and occasionally I'm left guessing for minutes what the author actually wanted to say... (Homophones seem to be a problem for many people, too. I once read a fanfic where the author had substituted "soul" with "sole"... *no further comment*) |
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 6:37:40 GMT -5
HAHA! I've seen that one! Or "heart" and "hart", "sweet" and "sweat".
"Apologies" and "apologise" is another annoying one.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 13, 2012 6:46:26 GMT -5
No, silly. It obviously means "going into shock because of a chocolate overdose". ;D ROFL! Good one! Oh, I know perfectly well what you mean, as English isn't my first language, either. That's one of the reasons txt-speak is driving me up the walls. Not to mention that I can read and write English reasonably well, but my pronouncation leaves a lot to be desired, which doesn't always help. Maybe not being a native speaker is part of why I never really understand why people keep mixing up their/they're/there or where/were. And then there's here/hear ... |
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 8:38:52 GMT -5
When they put "expectedly" instead of "expectantly", or when they just downright use the wrong words so the sentence doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. It just makes it obvious that they have no idea what the word means but have read it elsewhere and thought it sounded clever. I've seen hesitantly used in a lot of places it shouldn't be.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 13, 2012 8:45:47 GMT -5
I always wonder how much they themselves spell wrong, and how much of it is blind trust in spellcheck. When I talk on AIM with my friend, I always have to turn the stupid spellcheck off. Not only does it change my British English to American English, but it always thinks it knows better than me what I am going to write *growls* I absolutely hate it when it keeps changing my words!
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 8:50:38 GMT -5
LOL reminds me of the predective text on the iphone.
It makes ME wonder if they even say it right when they're talking.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jun 13, 2012 8:57:27 GMT -5
Probably not. Ever noticed how many people seem to believe that "wouldn't of done that" is correct? I actually had to ask a friend who lived in GB for years to finally understand why the 'have' was replaced by 'of' in the first place!
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Post by Silvertongue on Jun 13, 2012 9:07:29 GMT -5
Oh god I hate that! You would think that people would realise that 've doesn't translate to 'of' but it just the end of 'have'. Like with 'can't', the 't' is from the end of 'not'. It sounds like these people haven't even had an education, and if that's the case then they shouldn't be subjecting people to their 10 year old level of writing.
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