Magical Month for Harry Potter Fans
For Harry Potter fans, July could not have arrived fast enough. And finally, it's here.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- the fifth movie in the J.K. Rowling book series -- is now in theatres nationwide, and on July 21, the seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" comes out in stores. Despite it not being available yet, fans are buying "Deathly Hallows" pre-sale books and other items on eBay.
Movie reviewers give "Order of the Phoenix" fairly high marks, largely for the movie's glorious production designs, mapped closely to the book, an experienced supporting cast, and how the three main characters - Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) - continue to grow up on screen and develop their acting trade. One criticism is that the movie, which is two and a half hours long, prunes a number of storylines from the 870-page book, and those that do get included receive relatively little attention. But overall it's considered an enjoyable experience for movie-goers as they are kept in suspense, even if they read the book.
Bonds Items Ramping on eBay as Record Nears
With Barry Bonds on the verge of breaking Hank Aaron's all-time home run record -- currently at 751 as of the All-Star Break -- Bonds-related items on eBay have tended to increase by an average of 10 percent week over week since June 1. An average of 3,100 Barry Bonds-related items such as trading cards, jerseys and autographs are selling per week on eBay. Last year about this time, the Barry Bonds 715th home run ball -- the shot that broke Babe Ruth's record -- was sold for $220,100 on eBay.
Other key milestones over the first half of the 2007 baseball season -- and opportunities for collectors to stock up -- include Sammy Sosa hitting his 600th home run (left), Frank Thomas smacking No. 500, Craig Biggio getting hit 3,000 and reliever Trevor Hoffman recording save No. 500. Of course, all will pale considered to Bond's breaking of Aaron's long-standing mark. But don't look for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to be present when Bonds cranks out Nos. 755 (ties record) and 756 (breaks record). The whole steroid controversy makes him a bit uneasy and as of July 10, he had not made a decision if he'll follow Barry from game to game, waiting for history to be made.
BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag
On the heels of the Live Earth event, we thought it would be interesting to see how the ubiquitous "I'm not a Plastic Bag" canvas bags from high fashion designer Anya Hindmarch have been selling on eBay. Plastic bags have become Public Enemy No. 1 recently -- as they well should -- given that many end up in land fills in China or molded into huge blocks and put out to sea, according to the Green Issue of Vanity Fair. Simply put, the bags have been all the rage, first in the UK and as of mid June, in the U.S., too. People, mostly women, have stood in long lines, clamoring to get their hands on the must-have fashion-meets-function-meets-environment accessory of the season. Over the last month over 2,200 have sold on eBay, at an average price of over $113! One even sold for over $480. Most retail
places are offering them for $7-15, but on the eBay marketplace, it's not uncommon to see the bags getting 20-30 bids per listing (the average is 10).
Naturally, the bags have a bit of controversy surrounding them. Apparently the bags are made with neither organic nor free trade materials, and were constructed in China; however, it was reported that the laborers in Asia made twice the regular salary and the bags were shipped by sea. Regardless of how and where they were made, the bag craze raises general awareness and consciousness of how we answer that simple, yet loaded, question at the supermarket, "Paper or plastic?" Hopefully, next time, your answer might be, "Neither. I brought my own."
