I'll shortly be off to Asheville, and I look forward to seeing some of you at my "The Dystopian Tradition: What Worlds Gone Wrong Can Teach Us" weekend event.

Before leaving I had to make a quick post to say how very excited I am that The X-Files is returning (excited is an understatement!) and to share this Honest Trailer for The Hobbit: The ( Read more... )

* Huge congratulations to Glass Hammer's Stephen R. Babb on the publication of his gorgeous The Lay of Lirazel in paperback, ebook, and audiobook form. The Lay Of Lirazel is narrative poetry told in epic fashion, but it is poetry fully equipped with fangs and enough terror to keep a reader turning pages till the last curse falls and death and doom ( Read more... )

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Hello, everyone!

Fun things...
* From Medievalists.net: "The Hidden History of Christmas Carols." Well worth reading. (Thanks to James!)
* From Thirdroar: The Art of Amy L. Rawson: Santa Cthulhu 2013. Fantastic. (Thanks to wellinghall!)
* Today is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug day! Woohoo!

Reminders...
* My free Hunger Games event begins on Monday, ( Read more... )

Fun stuff:
1. "What to Expect When You're Expecting Cthulhu."
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Lego Trailer.
3. The Honest Trailer: Star Trek into Darkness.

And a quick reminder: "Sherlock, Science, and Ratiocination" begins next Tuesday! There's still time to sign up to audit or take the course online.

Click to view

Thanks to everyone who took part in my Peter Cushing poll! The poll is still open, in case anyone else would like to participate.

Here, have a new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer!

Click to view

I'm off to Santa Fe for a conference -- and apparently some snow. (My brain insists on playing "You can drum a gentle drum, and I can seat guests as they come, chatting not about Heidegger but wine..." on continual loop. Silly brain.) But before I leave ( Read more... )

* Hi there, everyone! Just a reminder, FYI: my Goodreads giveaway of the new Lois McMaster Bujold: Essays on a Modern Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy ends tomorrow.

* Random goodness: "15 Must-See Historic Cemeteries Across the United States."

* I now have my schedule for StellarCon 37 and SONAR: The Symposium on Nerdy Academic Research. ( Read more... )

I'm a very happy height-challenged, mushroom-loving Middle-earther, as I've been invited to be a guest scholar at one of the most anticipated international Tolkien events currently in the works, A Long-Expected Party 3. I do hope to see some of you there!


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Happy birthday to brighteyed_jill, and happy early birthday to scribblerworks, mjolnir1964, altariel, pwilkinson, lukeski, seemag, and pinkfinity, and thrihyrne. May you enjoy many happy returns of the day, my friends!

I'm doing the start-of-semester shuffle as my classes get underway.

I thought this might be of interest to some of you. It's a 2003 documentary narrated by Sir Ian Holm called The Real Middle-earth, and it investigates ( Read more... )