What I Found 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Andrew Gilbertson Note: The title above is completely inaccurate, of course- designed to grab attention and identify the subject of the blog, but also perpetuating an unfortunate myth. As I recently read in another author’s blog, 20,000 leagues beneath the surface of the sea would go straight through the Earth and ...

(Warning: The Hobbit; The Desolation of Smaug is mercilessly and comprehensively discussed below; major plot spoilers abound.) Peter Jackson’s Hobbit: The Utter Ineptness of ‘The Desolation of Smaug’? by Andrew Gilbertson Oh, Desolation of Smaug… what went wrong? As of the time of this writing, it looks as if the Battle of Five Armies will be the only Jackson/Tolkien film ...

“Kili’s Marmalade Buns” by Astrid Tuttle Winegar Well, you’ll recall that Kili wears a blue hood and plays the fiddle in The Hobbit…and that might be all you’ll recall about him from the book. Then there’s the film version of Kili. I remember when casting for the Peter Jackson films was first announced a few years ago and photos were ...

From Oloris Publishing: An Interview With Poet, Robyn Stone-Kraft by Julie S. Dobbins Robyn Stone-Kraft is a natural educator as well as poet. Catching up with this busy woman to elicit her thoughts on poetry was enjoyable and enlightening. Here are her candid responses to a few questions on her favorite subject. ~Julie S. Dobbins When did you fall in ...

Middle-Earth Menu: “Fili’s Honey Almond Bars” by Astrid Tuttle Winegar Fili and Kili are the sons of Dis, the daughter of Thrain II; therefore, they are nephews to Thorin II (Oakenshield). Both Fili and Kili wear blue hoods and play fiddles. Thorin cuts a fashionable rug by wearing a “sky-blue one with a long silver tassel.” You might recall that ...

(Fair warning: While this blog discusses the concept of spoilers for the Chronicles of Narnia, it also contains them in a major and overt way. I would never want to ruin such a fantastic set of books for someone who hasn’t read them; indeed, the entire thrust of the article is precisely that. So if you haven’t read the Chronicles- ...

“Belladonna Took’s Lovely Lemon Cake” by Astrid Tuttle Winegar We’re going to skip over Bombur’s two requests for the moment and honor the dwarves who are asking for “more cakes—and ale—and coffee, if you don’t mind.” In my original cookbook, I envisioned this lovely lemon cake as a recipe handed down from Bilbo‘s mother, hence the name. I have pictured ...

When Movie Adaptation Miss the Point: Narnia Edition by Andrew Gilbertson Oh, Narnia. Narnia, Narnia, Narnia. Whatever is it with you and adaptations? There was that animated one where the Witch explodes into black smoke (but at least they did some cool stuff with that ‘fire and water’ bit). Then there was that BBC one with the terrible, terrible costumes, ...

“Nori’s Nutmeggers” by Astrid Tuttle Winegar The purple-hooded Nori is another one of those expendable dwarves. Robert Foster’s Complete Guide to Middle-earth sums him up as a member of the House of Durin and a member of Thorin and Company. That’s it. He apparently plays the flute. I believe he does not have any lines, but you can correct me ...

You might remember that Balin was featured in my last post. Balin was a kind dwarf who became rather friendly with Bilbo Baggins. He wore a scarlet hood and played a large viol. Relatively long-lived, he knew both Thrain and Thorin; eventually he settled in Khazad-dum where he became king. Unfortunately, he was killed by Orcs there—the Fellowship sees his ...