This weekend I sat down and did something I never do — I wrote out New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve never been the resolution-y type. I’d occasionally make a list, and it would be a vague list — write more, exercise more. This time, I sat down and asked myself, “What am I trying to accomplish? … Continue reading The Plan
Tag: The Lord of the Rings
I’ve just finished listening to Joel McNeely’s Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire soundtrack. I bought this when it came out in the spring of 1996. And I have no idea what I did with that CD. So, after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I found it inexpensively on eBay. It arrived today. I … Continue reading Link Round-Up: December 28
In my closet there’s an ammunition crate, painted red. It’s where I keep my LEGO bricks. There are LEGO bricks in that crate that are older than some of my coworkers. No, I’m not kidding. There are some LEGO boat pieces (that float on water) that I know date from the late 1970s, and I … Continue reading The Itch to Build
This weekend at Farpoint, I bought my first piece of artwork from the Art Auction. To be honest, it was the first time I bid on anything in the Art Auction at any convention. Usually I’ll go and take a look, see something that looks nice, but never anything I felt like I simply couldn’t … Continue reading The Trouble with Artwork
A few weeks ago, the day Shore Leave began, I stopped at Target. I needed to pick up some supplies for the weekend, and while I was there I took a look at the various LEGO and LEGO-like sets that they had. And, there on the shelf, were the Mega Bloks World of WarCraft sets. … Continue reading On Building a Mega Bloks Set
Though its existence has been known for weeks, today it became official with a press release and a trailer — later this year, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games will be releasing LEGO Lord of the Rings, a video game that transports J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic story of good’s struggle against the forces of evil … Continue reading On Excitement for the LEGO Lord of the Rings Video Game
A few months ago on a bulletin board I was drawn into a somewhat tedious argument over what, exactly, pipeweed is in The Lord of the Rings. My sparring partner argued that pipeweed was clearly tobacco, Tolkien said so, and that, clearly, was that. The problem with the identification of pipeweed with tobacco, I said, … Continue reading On Kirill Yeskov’s The Last Ringbearer
Today, I frightened my cubicle neighbor. I’d come into the office, and I walked into the middle of a conversation he was having with another writer in the Bullpen. “I bet,” said my cubicle neighbor, “that you can’t jump up and down for joy.” So without taking off my coat, without unslinging the BPRD bag … Continue reading On LEGO Lord of the Rings
A group of Orcs rushed down the rocky, snow-covered mountain trail toward my party. My two-handed sword was held out in front of me, and as the orcs approached I swung. The sword connected with the lead Orc. He staggered under the blow, and my momentum carried him into the Orc immediately behind him, knocking … Continue reading On Waging the War in the North
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 Tuesday … Continue reading On Dragons Breathing Fire
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
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 Barnes … Continue reading On the Next Lord of the Rings Game