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While sometimes we long for the days when LEGO sets didn't always tie in to popular franchises and children had to use their imaginations to play with them, we're generally in favor of themed sets -- after all, having LEGO-fied versions of your favorite heroes and villains pretty much rocks. The creators of Brotherhood Workshop must agree, because their YouTube channel is filled with amusing stop motion LEGO videos that feature characters from Lord of the Rings and, most recently, Harry Potter.

From cinematic young wizard Harry Potter to thespian stable boy to Broadway singer, young actor Daniel Radcliffe is still up and coming. Now his acting pursuits are taking a decidedly darker, and delightfully more thoughtful turn, as Radcliffe is in talks to join a 20th Century Fox production of Frankenstein -- not as the monster or the doctor, but as the twisted manservant Igor. The obvious question is: Why would Radcliffe play second fiddle to the monster or the doc?

With the public's attention span for Harry Potter waning after the release of the final film, so too has the public's love of domesticated owls apparently. In the United Kingdom, hundreds of the birds are being abandoned by erstwhile fans while sanctuaries are filling up fast. Given that they have a habit of taking over from the local birds when released into the wild, it seems they might have a real owl-pidemic on their hands. Please forgive me for that joke.

In what may later be viewed as a mistake by the Ministry of Magic, Pottermore, the officially endorsed Harry Potter online experience, has thrown open its doors to the masses. The activation of new registrants may yet take some time, the website warns, but they insist it will be worth the wait. After all, taking part in the legendary story of Harry Potter in new ways is exactly the kind of thing Severus Snape would frown on.

Harry Potter, the book and multimedia series that has come to define nerddom for this generation, is over. The books are finished, the movies have run through the reels, and now all that's left to do is find new and interesting ways to sell it to you. To that end, Warner Brothers is preparing to unleash a $500 box set of the movies. Called the "Harry Potter Wizards Collection," it includes 31 discs, 13 discs of special features, and a host of other stuff. There's no firm release date, but that doesn't mean you can't pre-order it on Amazon for the low, low price of $350.

Today is the birthday of celebrated actor Gary Oldman, whom you have almost certainly seen. Perhaps you didn't realize that he portrays both persecuted wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films, and as the long-suffering but upstanding Commissioner Jim Gordon in the most recent Batman films. And perhaps you didn't know that actor Gary Oldman, 53, has also portrayed a Florida mental patient, a cutthroat scif weapons tycoon, a vampire, and Sid Vicious but it's all true. So,  here's to Gary Oldman! A hundred faces, a hundred voices, but all the same incredibly versatile actor.

From the UK's Royal Mail, the above set of stamps features some of the most (currently) famous wizards, witches and enchanters. Featuring characters from Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the legends of King Arthur, and characters from the Narnia series. Who else is thrilled The Luggage makes an appearance? He follows his owner everywhere, after all. Head past the break to see a larger version of the set.

While we don't condone the defacement of public or private property, one must at least acknowledge the obsessive dedication of whoever wrote the text of the entire first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on a bathroom stall. See also: Street artist converses with the police in graffiti and whitewash. (RentHarryPotter via TDW via Flavorwire)

'Tis the season for giving; and since HarperCollins has furnished us with no less than five copies of Harry Potter: Film Wizardry, their retrospective viewbook on 6/7ths of the Harry Potter movies; we'll be passing them along to you.  If you can gives us a sentence on why you should teach Defense of the Dark Arts, you might be getting a really beautiful book, that is full of other, smaller, beautiful books. More details after the jump.

This particular musician is improvising in the Stride style of the Ragtime genre of Jazz. "Harlem Stride Piano, Stride Piano, or just Stride, is a jazz piano style that evolved partially from ragtime. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord on the second and fourth beats... Unlike earlier "St. Louis" pianists, stride players' left hand often leapt greater distances on the keyboard, and they played faster and improvised." -- Wikipedia "Flipping difficult." -- Susana, resident Geekosystem piano nerd (via Neatorama.)

Pirate Bay Admins Face Higher Fines (Ars Technica) Drawn and Quarterly to Publish a Complete Lynda Barry Collection (Comib Book Resources) The 100 Greatest Movie Spaceships (io9) Dentists Repair Elephant's Tusk (BBC News) Star Wars LEGO Minifig Alarm Clocks (Think Geek) Christmas Tree Ornaments of Science! (Eavesmade) Track 9 3/4 Appears in New York City (NY Daily News) (mashed potato DeLorean via That's Nerdalicious!)

With the Harry Potter movies soon coming to an end, Warner Bros. needs to find new ways to milk the franchise for money, and that might very well be all things Quidditch. The Hollywood Reporter points out that Warner Bros. has been trademarking just about everything under the sun in regards to Quidditch over the years. However, neatly tucked away in the paragraphs and paragraphs of trademarked Quidditch items, lies one simple crazy word: Lingerie.

We demand that two brave souls show up to Monday's taping of Conan dressed as cows. Um. Look, just watch the video. (via Look at this Frakking Geekster.)

This much we know to be true: there are a lot of Harry Potter fans out there who have never been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and are not likely to get a chance to visit the Orlando based theme park any time soon. If you're one of those fans, solace has arrived. Solace in the form of retail therapy, at least. And is that really more expensive, on the whole, than conventional therapy? What we're trying to say is that Universal is making the stuff that they sell at the park available for ordering online.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Tom Felton appeared on MTV News for a comedy segment called "American Talk with Josh Horowitz," where each cast member was given a few "popular" American phrases, such as "Twilight blows," and are asked to speak said phrases in their best American accents.