On Dragons Breathing Fire

Every day brings the One Ring closer to Mordor. Every day brings The Lord of the Rings: War in the North closer to me. Here’s the launch trailer: Holy fuck! There’s a dragon! And it’s breathing fire! This is me. Being excited. Breathing fire! To get excited — because the game comes out on TuesdayContinue reading “On Dragons Breathing Fire”

On Anticipating the Next Lord of the Rings Game

For the first time in about five years, I am really excited about a video game. Specifically, Warner’s The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, which is coming out next week. I used to get excited about video games all the time. I just had to have this or that or the other.Continue reading “On Anticipating the Next Lord of the Rings Game”

On the Next Lord of the Rings Game

Today I went to GameStop. I’d gone out to Barnes & Noble, in search of the new issues of MOJO and Uncut, but all I could find were last month’s issues, and while I found a Sherlock Holmes book I wanted, I eventually put it back on the shelf. (I also noticed that my BarnesContinue reading “On the Next Lord of the Rings Game”

On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule

We come to it at last, the great battle of our times. No, wait. That’s not right. Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup. No, that’s not it, either. Oh! I’ve got it! Next weekend, July 8th through 10th, in Hunt Valley, Maryland, is Shore Leave, a science-fiction and fantasy convention.Continue reading “On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule”

On Apocalyptic Thinking

People are preparing for the Apocalypse. For instance, there are Christians who believe the Rapture will happen tomorrow. Or the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta offered advice for surviving the zombie apocalypse. NASA is even prepared for Viking raids. I’m sure there are pagans who are anxiously awaiting Ragnarok, and some Reformed Gallifreyists mayContinue reading “On Apocalyptic Thinking”

On The Beatles’ The Lord of the Rings

In 1963, when the Beatles agreed to make A Hard Day’s Night, the film, they signed a three-picture deal with United Artists. In 1964, they made A Hard Day’s Night. In 1965, Help! By and large, though, they didn’t like making films. Too much work. And so, when the idea was floated of an animatedContinue reading “On The Beatles’ The Lord of the Rings”

On Personal Travels Through Time

One hour in a time machine. All of history, past and future, is open to me. Where would I go? I wouldn't be like the amateur time travelers of Desmond Warzel's short story "WikiHistory" where, as BigChill says in the story, "everybody kills Hitler on their first trip." Honestly, no interest in that. I'd wantContinue reading “On Personal Travels Through Time”

On NPR’s Lord of the Rings Audio Drama

When I was younger, in those days before the Internet made mail order shopping so ridiculously easy, my family used to receive the NPR Shop catalog. And the Barnes & Noble catalog. I don’t know which catalog I saw it in, but I’m sure it was one of those two — the NPR radio dramatizationContinue reading “On NPR’s Lord of the Rings Audio Drama”