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Of 2012.

Good riddance.

Have a safe and happy 2013!

J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius. Not for creating the history of Middle Earth. But for creating the languages of the people of Middle Earth.

Today's link brings you to a thorough study of all the languages Tolkien devised. All of them. Once you see what he did, you'll understand why he created Middle Earth. He needed to hear his languages. He had to create a place for their use. Elves and men, dwarves and orcs, hobbits and ents all had their own tongue. Tolkien created one for each of them. All of them different, and yet some of them the same.

Genius.

http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/

Labels: genius, lotd, nerd, Tolkien

Looking good and making me hungry.

Labels: mmm, tis the season

The Guilt Trip is the kind of movie you watch with your mom on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It's not offensive or embarrassing. It is an affirmation that we all love our mom no matter how crazy she makes us.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

Originally, when you came to Tolkien at a young age, you read The Hobbit first which offered a glimpse of Middle Earth. Searching for more, you then read The Lord of the Rings, which filled in large chunks of Middle Earth, the latter Ages. If you were adventurous and persistent, you would read The Silmarillion and/or Unfinished Tales which expanded Middle Earth, its history, and its cosmology. That was the traditional way if you approached Tolkien through his books.

Now children are exposed to Tolkien from the Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. They already know Middle Earth, Frodo, Gollum, and Gandalf. They just don't know Bilbo. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is supposed to rectify that. It was supposed to take the big and epic and make it smaller; a personal journey, Bilbo's adventure, There and Back again. Unfortunately, it expanded the personal to epic proportions placing it squarely in Jackson's epic world missing what Tolkien was telling in the tale of Bilbo Baggins.

Jackson's Hobbit film took the appendices and included them for this film. It includes the stories that were background to Bilbo's adventure. Remember when Gandalf disappeared for several days? He went to the White Council. Yeah, they filmed that. You remember when you wanted to know about other wizards. Yeah, they included Radagast and his rabbits. Now I don't remember if Tolkien described it, but I think remember a picture of that.

Including all of that, you forget that it was Bilbo's journey. When he went and had himself and adventure. The Took in him took him across Middle Earth. But Gandalf is there soaking in everything. The movie forgets it was Bilbo's journey. While it is not bad, I wish it had been more of Bilbo's tale.

I'm hoping Peter Jackson doesn't get to do The Silmarillion. I'm hoping that it will be an animated film.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review, Tolkien

There's nothing better than to cozy up to a Yule log burning in the chimney and finding a dead Santa. Happy Season's Greetings from you good blog buddy! Stay safe and have a great holiday.

Labels: tis the season

Saveur's latest issue goes to Bavaria for the winter market. I heard about that from the guys that went to Germany with me this past year. It sounds fun and Christmas-y. Anywho, there's pretzels in the latest issue. Pretzels!

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/German-Pretzels

Labels: lotd

NeXT must've been the shit if OS X turned out this way. I should've been a Mac programmer. I would've been cool. I suck.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/12/the-legacy-of-next-lives-on-in-os-x/

Labels: Apple, lotd, Mac

As the holiday season winds down to its inevitable end, let's remember a more festive and giving season: Baseball Season! The Orioles were real generous this year. Here's to a good one in the next.

http://www.camdenchat.com/2012/12/20/3790636/during-the-2012-season-the-orioles-gave-to-me

Labels: Baltimore Orioles, lotd, tis the season

Well is it over? The world, I mean. Has the apocalypse come? And if it has when's it leaving. Soon I hope so that we can all get back to Christmas.

The world doesn't end. It will keep going and going long after we humans are gone. Then it will burn up in the expansion of the solar shell, burnt up in a fireball for all we care. Yes, I did contradict myself. Who cares? It will be over anyway.

Labels: disaster

Funky soul party! Let's get up and dance. One more week! Let's dance! If you're sitting still at your desk listening to this, check your pulse: you may be a zombie! And it's no time for the living dead! Save that for Easter!

Labels: it rocks, music break

Here I thought Miku in a yukata was the cutest; little did we know about Snow Miku in a strawberry white dress version. Good kami-sama so kawaii! Again, another get.

http://nendonesia.com/2012/12/17/nendoroid-snow-miku-strawberry-white-dress-version-is-previewed-by-mikatan/#more-6218

Labels: lotd, nendoroid, so kawaii

I don't think I am. How about you?

Labels: commerce, natsume, tis the season

One of the trailers before The Hobbit.

I was about to stand up and cheer. I was going nuts in my seat. I absolutely can't wait for this one. Hope they don't fuck it up. When will we get this?!

I was never an Evangelion fan. I don't worry too much about mecha. But with the live action mechas in this one, I may have to catch up with Evangelion before Pacific Rim comes out.

Labels: anticipation, kaiju

I believe nendoroid Alice is a great reason to buy nendoroids. So kawaii.

(>o<) http://www.goodsmile.info/product/ja/3786/ねんどろいど+アリス.html

Labels: lotd, nendoroid

Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

Ezekiel 6 verse 3

Labels: curses, disaster, qotd

You've only got a few days until the end of the world. What will you do?

How convenient then that they have the same digits as today!

It's the end of the world!

http://www.december212012.com/

Labels: disaster, lotd

I've never read Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, so you can imagine my reaction watching the latest film version with Jude Law, Keira Knightly, and some fey guy playing the player. I hadn't even checked out the wikipedia page.

And so, I wasn't expecting all the tragedy as this one had. The only thing missing was how did she fall for him.

The conceit of this film was similar to the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. It was a "staged" version of the story. It had a backstage and a proscenium, stage lights and rafters. It was a play, and yet, it was still a movie. It took me few minutes to ignore it all, but it was a strange choice of staging by the director.

3 of 5 stars

Labels: movies, review

R.I.P. Dave Brubeck. If this the only thing I know you for, then thank you. Here's a great cover...

Labels: fare thee well, it rocks

Here's a great Christmas present: a month celebrating Ms. Stanwyck. I implore you to free up some time to catch a movie or two from my favorite actress. There's something for all. Comedy, drama, melodrama, suspense, and noirs she's done 'em all. You should at least watch her Christmas films. It is a holiday: Stanwyck-mas!

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/518184|0/Barbara-Stanwyck-Wednesdays-in-December.html

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, lotd