A Bit More Tolkien Magic

Ok, so I started writing this post because I wanted to gush about my spiritual bond with Tina Fey. Then I realized that everyone loves Tina Fey, always say great things about her, and my post would be nothing different. So I scratched that (even though Tina Fey is the greatest person of all time and I adore her).

Instead, I received the inspiration for today's post from my younger brother, who is often infuriatingly inspiring sometimes. Darn him to heck. (I think that's quote from the Dilbert comic strip, but I can't be sure.) But my brother is one of those people who reads only certain books, at certain times, when he feels like it. Which is, like, two books, twice a year, and only when he doesn't have an Xbox game to level up on. Seriously, I couldn't even get him to read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. I even used the words, "science fiction," "time travel,""WWII," and "dark humor." My sales pitch didn't work. Instead, my brother wandered a couple aisles down the green Hastings carpet to a different set of books from which I could barely drag him away. More on that later.

Despite my description, my brother has done a bit of reading, and in fact,  he has a favorite book. If you asked me to pick a favorite book, a look of terror would shoot across my face, because I literally, couldn't give you an answer. My brother, on the other hand, could tell you, without hesitation, that his favorite book is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. He's read it more times than I can count. He owns at least three copies of it. Yesterday he bought the new Hobbit movie on Blu-Ray - the special edition. We've watched it twice since then. He saw it multiple times in theater. He plays LOTR video games. And that mesmerizing aisle in Hastings? A whole section dedicated to Tolkien books. That's like, five shelves worth. But he loves it! He hates to read Shakespeare, but this is his thing, so I'm going with it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Tolkien's books too. (In fact, I read them before my brother -Ha!) But even though my brother loves these books, he hasn't read all of them. That's why I want to tell you about Roverandom.You're probably thinking - WAIT! Tolkien only wrote stories about Middle Earth right? He wrote about hobbits and elves and wizards. What the heck is Roverandom?

I'm so glad you asked. Roverandom is a lesser known children's story that Tolkien wrote after the Hobbit, but it wasn't made available until 1998. It's also a novella, which means it's not quite a novel, and not quite a short story. So it's perfect for a child's bedtime, or for a nice, quiet read at home. And don't worry, wizards and magic make an appearance in this story - but the main character is Rover. Rover is a nice little dog who travels to the moon and under the sea, and has many adventures. There are also things called "moon-dragons," but you'll have to read the story to find out more.  (Here's the part where you abruptly leave my blog and rush to your local library.)

Or you can purchase it here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Roverandom-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0395957990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363995900&sr=8-1&keywords=roverandom

My brother still loves hobbits and wizards and such, so he will never say this book is better than the Hobbit. But really, if you like Tolkien, wizards, puppies, and a good adventure story. Please, I beg you, buy this book. Read it to your children. Read it for yourself. Treat your kids to a bit more Tolkien magic -and rekindle your own sense of wonder and imagination.

Cheerio my darlings,

Verity

Timberlake

These past few weeks, all I've heard about is Justin Timberlake's new album 20/20. Seriously, the guy is everywhere. He spent a week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, hosted SNL for the 5th time, gave a huge album release party, and naturally, the ads promoting his new songs are plastered all over YouTube. JT knows how to release an album. Seriously, even I'm considering buying it.

BUT WAIT! Why do we love this guy so much? I mean, it's not like all his songs are super awesome or anything. Granted, I've never been a huge Justin fan, but I can't believe that the average person knows more than five of his songs. Off the top of my head, these are the only songs sung by JT that I know:
1) Sexy Back
2) Suit and Tie
3) Some random N'SNYC song that I've probably forgotten in the last ten years
4) What Goes Around...Comes Back Around

That's it. And I had to look up the name of #4. I own every song the Beatles ever sang (I think), and five of them are in German. I mean, have you looked at the lyrics to their songs? Not the music, the lyrics. Each song is a mini story, or poem, or even a psychedelic blur that doesn't make sense, but they're all pretty much music gold. All I know about JT is that he's a modern day sex symbol. Ten years ago, he looked like this:

This tan sweatered, pinky ringed, blond highlighted, permed, former boy band member is now this:

Amazing what a couple decades can do.

But back to my original point - do we really know him for his music? I don't. I know him as the guy who sings the History of Rap with Jimmy Fallon. He's the guy who play opposite Andy Samberg in short films like D*** In a Box. He's that actor who shows up in B movies like Bad Teacher, or Oscar winning films like The Social Network. He's the Sexiest Man Alive, according to assorted magazines. He's that guy who married Jessica Biel. He's funny. He's talented. But his music? So far, I'm not a huge fan. But this new album has hope. It's new. Has at least one hit - maybe more. Let's just hope the content is there this time.

So today's tip: Remember folks, presentation isn't everything - the music and the lyrics have to be there too. Same goes for writers - quit worrying about the dust cover photo and write something meaningful. 

Cheerio my darlings,

Verity

Pilot

Ok, so this is my first post, and you, whoever you are, are probably wondering why another average person is writing another average blog about the boring crap they do everyday. I am not such an individual. But with this first post, I'm going to introduce myself and tell you what to expect from this blog.

So let's talk about me. First, here's my "resume." I'm from Kansas. I studied English - Creative Writing, German and Pre-Law for my undergraduate degree, and now I'm in law school. I've worked at a landscape company, a hardware store, and a law office. Boooring. Now for the fun stuff.

I love anything to do with entertainment. Seriously. Books, television, film, theater, stand-up comedy, art museums, history museums, board games, video games - I love it all. Need I say more? However, there are things I really don't care for. I hate horror films. Can't watch them. I've never read a comic book. Don't get me wrong, I'm open to it and I love superheroes, but just so you know... I love critiquing and writing fiction and poetry in my spare time. I currently have a book and a screenplay in the works, but both are on hold while in law school. And because Hemingway encouraged writers to write a page a day, here I am.

That's all you need to know about me right now, because I believe you'll learn a lot more about me through my future posts, whether I want you to or not. But what am I going to talk about? That's easy.

First, I'm going to talk writing tips - anything for creative writing, technique tips, editing and grammar help, etc. I'm also going to post links, pictures, videos, etc that I find inspirational or great examples of story, theme, character, plot, dialogue, and so on. Seriously, anything I'm interested in that has to do with writing I'll talk about. And that is literally everything.

Second, if something interesting happens (or has happened) in my life that might fall into any of the above categories - I'll talk about it.

Finally, I hope to give you snippets of my own writing  - descriptions, mini stories, and such - to entertain or something. 

And there you have it! All these delightfully vague descriptions of future posts will hopefully mature into fully round and detailed writings that will capture your attention long enough to distract you from reality TV. Oh, and about that - hate reality TV. Absolutely hate it.

Cheerio my darlings,

Verity