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the north star

The North Star - Volume 2, Issue 6
The North Star, the official conference newsletter for Terminus, will be delivered approximately once a month between now and August of 2008. Most regular editions of the newsletter will be presented outside of a cut tag because the newsletter is also part of the Terminus website. Between regular editions, the terminus2008 community will post occasional updates and reminders, as well as in-depth articles on preparing for a programming submission, traveling to Chicago, and so on. The North Star is also available by e-mail; subscription information can be found at www.terminus2008.org/newsroom/subscribe.html.

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THE NORTH STAR
The Official Newsletter of Terminus
Delivered via LiveJournal, Mailing List, Forums, Myspace, and Divination
Volume 2, Issue 6

Read the last issue here!

Registration Deadline and Cap Approaching
The last day to register for Terminus is July 1, 2008; starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 2, all registrations must be purchased at the door. All registration and ticket payments must be received by July 7, 2008, even if the registrant has had fewer than 30 days to make a payment. We thank you for your understanding, as we're due our payments for everything from program books to registration bags in advance.

We never thought we'd have to announce this, but nearly 1,200 of you will be attending Terminus--and we have space for no more than 1,500 attendees. If your friends, family or colleagues have been putting off a registration purchase, we recommend that they obtain a registration as soon as possible because we may not have any available at the door. Additionally, tickets for some programs, such as the keynote lunch with Guest of Honor Cheryl Klein and Thoth's Tournament of Knowledge, are sold out; attendees whose plans have changed may have tickets available for transfer on the conference forums. Other tickets, such as the keynote brunch with Tamora Pierce and the Trade Winds Tournament, are close to selling out, so we also recommend purchasing those tickets soon.

Volunteer!
Have you volunteered to help at Terminus yet? We'll be scheduling volunteers to help with registration, security, programming, Quidditch, and the information desk this week--and those volunteers who sign up for two shifts in advance will receive a special, volunteers-only t-shirt. In most cases, we can match you up with a volunteer position that tickles your fancy, whether it's supporting a friend who's presenting by acting as room monitor, helping an attendee find somewhere to have breakfast, or putting on your best Percy Weasley impression and directing traffic so we don't get as mixed-up as first years following hinkypunks. Your help and support is most appreciated, not only by our planning team, but by every attendee who comes to Terminus!

Go...Green
With many airlines adding surcharges for a second checked bag--or even a first checked bag--going green might not be at the top of your travel priorities. If you're interested in carbon offsets for your travel, though, sites like Terrapass.com and fightglobalwarming.com have more information on how you can neutralize the greenhouse gases produced when you travel. There are other easy things you can do to conserve energy, too. The Hilton Chicago Hotel has a towel exchange program where, if you like, you can hang your towel up to use again instead of having it washed and dried. Carry a water bottle with you and fill it at the tap instead of buying expensive bottled water in plastic bottles. (We'll have a few extra bottles from Phoenix Rising on sale at the Terminus information desk if you forget yours--and don't worry, you can take them through airport security as long as you empty them first.) Open your hotel room window to catch the breeze off Lake Michigan instead of using the air conditioning. And, finally, power down and unplug your laptop when you're at conference programming and events.

Conference Schedules
You can view the programming, games and activities schedules for Terminus here. Please bear with us as we fill in a few last pieces of information, such as the participating authors for the Meet the Author Program. These online schedules may not print very well, as we needed the entire width of the page to include just the programming submitted by attendees! Your program book will include a complete schedule of programming as well, so there's no need to bring a copy.

Vendors
We previously announced Sassy Tails and Brigit's Hearth as vendors--and we're pleased to add a few names to our nearly-complete list of businesses that will offer their magical wares at the Terminus Vendor Station. A complete list will be available in the program book, but in the meantime, we thank the businesses below for their support.
Alivan's Master Wandmakers
GryffinClaw Productions
Julie May Designs
Magical Tours
Mystik Waboose
Philosopher’s Stone
Theatrical Photography by Ed Zuccarelli
Whimsic Alley
Whirlwood Wands
Witch To Wear

Intersections
Thank you to everyone who has already put together an Intersection! The list of meet-up opportunities is simply outstanding. If you haven’t yet finalized your Intersection, please note that it is now too late for us to include this information in our conference program book, but we are more than happy to include you on our website. Please e-mail us at intersections[AT]terminus2008.org if you’d like us to do so.

Programming Highlights
Over the past few weeks, we've picked out just a few of the many incredible attendee-submitted program items, including roundtable discussions, fanart portfolios and panels, to give you an idea of how diverse the programming will be. We hope you're as excited as we are about the programming for Terminus. Today, we'd like to point out a few papers and lectures. The presenters may read from notes or a formal essay, or they may speak in a more extemporaneous fashion about their topics. Usually, presenters save a few minutes at the end for your feedback and questions. Below are a few papers and lectures of interest, and you can find more on the accepted proposals page.

A Duelling Society is a Polite Society: Correlations Between Magical Duelling and Muggle Swordsmanship
RM
We will examine the relationship between the true history of Muggle swordsmanship and the fictional history of magical dueling in the wizarding world. This presentation will address physical technique, rituals and wardrobe, and strategy and purpose to present a complete picture of how fact and fiction relate and the manner in which dueling behavior in conflicts throughout the Harry Potter series speaks constantly of blood status, class issues, personal honor, the rules of war, and even social niceties--all in much the same way as the history of Muggle swordsmanship illuminates our own culture.

J. K. Rowling’s Fenrir Greyback: Identity, Society, and the Werewolf
Renée Ward
This paper outlines the combination of sources that inform Fenrir Greyback’s character, paying particular attention to his connection to Norse myth. It examines Greyback’s behaviour in the series, and suggests that Rowling deliberately creates parallels between Remus Lupin and Fenrir Greyback in order to call into question both our understanding of identity and the cultural hegemonies based upon categories of difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity or class, which have traditionally ostracized those members of society that, like the werewolf, display physical and/or behavioral differences.

Secret KNOWLEDGE / SECRET Knowledge: An Analysis of the Management of Privacy Dilemmas in the Harry Potter Series
Andrea Krause, Elizabeth Goering
This paper examines how the Harry Potter series can be used to illustrate communication theories and even to teach principles of effective communication. Focusing specifically on Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory, the study analyzes how the main characters in the Harry Potter novels manage privacy dilemmas created through the acquisition of “secret knowledge.” While Harry might obtain private information through wizarding means, such as the Pensieve and Occlumency, lessons in how to negotiate potentially volatile information can also be extrapolated from Harry’s experiences for the Muggles among us.

Frequently Asked Questions
When will I receive my tickets in the mail?
You won’t. To prevent forgotten tickets and registration materials--and to save attendees from paying mailing costs--all you will need to claim your tickets and other materials at the conference is a photo ID (and if you are a minor, a parent or parental permission slip). We will send all attendees and ticket-holders an e-mail in July regarding check-in procedures.

I need special meals prepared for me. How can I arrange that?
Some attendees need special plates, such as kosher or vegan meals; some attendees simply need to know what foods they cannot eat due to allergies or other dietary restrictions. If you purchased a keynote presentation ticket, you had an opportunity to enter your requests in our system; if you need to alter that, please e-mail us at registration[AT]terminus2008.org. We will be e-mailing all attendees in a couple weeks with regard to our Arrival Dinner and Departure Breakfast menus, and if you need special accommodations, you’ll be able to let us know at that time.

I can’t find a room. Is the Hilton Chicago sold out?
Not yet, but it’s close. We have a handful of rooms left in our block, and that number--and the types of rooms that are available--change almost daily as attendees alter their reservations. If you’re looking for a room, we recommend that you book as many nights as possible in the type of room that you prefer (and the other nights in a different type of room) and call the hotel regularly to see if the type of room you’d like has come available for the other nights. We apologize to those of you who are unable to find a room; Terminus attendees have already claimed more than 250 room-nights over our original room block allowance, and we are unable to add additional rooms in the hotel because the hotel itself is nearly sold out.