NEWS FOR THE DAY 14.06.06

The New Leaky Gallery

The Leaky Gallery has been completely redesigned! Thanks to John Noe and Super Alex, one of Leaky's top programmers, it's now boasting its own snazzy design that changes with every click.

Since we unveiled this gallery in February, we have fielded your hundreds of complaints; the AJAX-based navigation, while easy on load times, is still too problematic for the back button, for direct image links, etc., for it to be ideal to the purpose of finding pictures of your favorite book/movie/actress/etc. A few months ago we started playing with ideas for fixes, but none really worked; we ultimately came back to good ol' HTML/PHP, and a tweaked Coppermine layout. It's finally up for all to enjoy, and we'll have more features and improvements unveiled in the near future as we strive to keep it your favorite Potter image resource.

So, go and enjoy the more than 45,000 pics that currently reside there, with more ease than ever. :)

Georgia Woman Appeals Potter Book Ban Ruling

Last month we told you of a woman who lost her attempt to have the Gwinnett County school board in Georgia ban the Harry Potter books. The school board rejected this claim, allowing the books to remain on the shelves, and now Laura Mallory has filed a written appeal of this decision. Previously, this mother of four had filed complaints against all of the Potter books, saying they had "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this." As to what will happen next with this appeal , the Gwinnett Daily Post reports that:

"Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks will now have 10 days to submit a copy of the appeal, the transcript of evidence and proceedings from the public hearing, and all other related materials to the Georgia Board of Education. Once the appeal is filed with the state, the legal services division of the Georgia Department of Education will determine the next step in the Harry Potter saga."

Monty Python and the History of Comedy

Comedian John Cleese (Nearly Headless Nick) has given a new interview where he says he plans to retire from "writing and performing sitcoms," and will instead write a book "on the history of comedy and will hold classes explaining how to make people laugh." Mr. Cleese, one of the founding members of the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe, says that too much of the comedy today is poorly written, and that the perfomers of today aren't aware of the "basic principles" of comedy, reports the BBC. Mr Cleese notes:

"It is very rare today to see someone with that grasp of old-fashioned comedy," he said.

"The last truly excellent performance I saw was Eddie Izzard. But Ricky Gervais is also a match for the great American sitcoms."

The AP reports that this book be a " history of stage, film and TV comedy, from silent screen classics to the workplace sitcom "The Office." The BBC has a profile of the many contributions of John Cleese to the world of comedy via this link.

Goblet of Fire Wins Golden Trailer Award

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was named winner in the "Best Animation/Family" category at the seventh annual Golden Trailer Awards. These awards honor movie trailers which they feel are " works of art in their own right, expertly blending elements of cinema and advertising." Congratulations to WB and The Ant Farm.