Yeah, "Iron Man 3" rocks, and We Loved It!

I could not help but notice that the theater was packed late Friday evening when I finally got to see "Iron Man 3" (this was the final showing). I had hoped the line would have thinned out by then, but who was I kidding?

Our friend SciFi Guy over at Communizine wrote a quick, positive review of "Iron Man 3". Of course, I could not help but share my own thoughts at SF-Fandom. I think "Iron Man 3" is an incredible movie, the best so far, and I hope they continue to make more of these films.

For those of you who may be wondering why I've stopped publishing new content on the Middle-earth Blog the research was just too time-consuming. I hope I can start again later this year, maybe a couple of months in advance of the second "Hobbit" film.

We're also looking forward to seeing "Thor 2". The trailer for the movie was paired with "Iron Man 3", as was to be expected. It looks really, really good. The Marvel film franchise is going strong and shows no signs of growing old.

BTW -- if you have not seen "Iron Man 3", WAIT FOR THE END OF THE CREDITS. The bonus scene is pure genius. I don't want to spoil it more than that.

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Legend of the Seeker Fans Still Going Strong

Just a quick word to let everyone know that February 3, 2013 is Bridget Regan's birthday and Seeker fans are planning a 24-hour Tweetathon to celebrate. You can learn more about the Tweetathon and how to participate if you have a Facebook account (I'm not sure if there are any forum posts at this time but I'll try to check later).

The @Seekerfans account on Twitter was not very active in January because I have been ill. I hope to be able to participate more in February's fan activities.

It has been three years since Legend of the Seeker was cancelled due to distribution problems arising from the Tribune Company's bankruptcy. The show was popular and earned enough ratings to justify a third season. However, Tribune cancelled its contract to reduce costs and therefore reduced the US viewership by about 1/3. Seeker fandom is hoping to find another network or service that would be willing to take on the show.

Personally, I am encouraged by a lot of new original programming from Hulu+. I think maybe in another year or two we'll have a strong enough online viewership to justify getting some high-value Science Fiction and Fantasy shows into production.

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Communizine Shares Super Bowl Menu Ideas

While it has nothing to do with science fiction and fantasy, an article published on Communizine shares Super Bowl Menu Ideas for 2013. The neat thing about menu ideas for Super Bowl munchies is that they also make great munchies for cult film fests where you invite your friends over and watch some classic movies.

Speaking of which, Communizine has a lot of articles devoted to movies and related topics, including this article about Superman on film. It's a nice historical retrospective.

Science fiction and fantasy movies have a reputation for being awful, low-budget blah-fests but in fact we fans often fall in love with movies that general audiences detests. Heck, I even know a few people who love "Battle Beyond the Stars". *shudder*

The next time you get together with your friends to watch some schlocky SciFi or Horror, think about what you'll have to eat. You can find great menu ideas situated around sporting and holiday events. You may even want to know how to make a red velvet cake the right way (don't use chocolate cake mix, for one thing).

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The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

The Middle-earth site at Xenite.Org has published hundreds of question-and-answer articles about J.R.R. Tolkien's books and the world he imagined. It is only natural that many of them also address fan concerns about the movies (and role-playing games.

However, until now we have made no real attempt to compare Peter Jackson's vision of "The Hobbit" with his earlier rendition of "The Lord of the Rings". Over at Communizine our writer SciFi Guy has asked how "The Hobbit" differs from "The Lord of the Rings" -- and he offers a few points to consider.

Considering that both Peter Jackson and film-making have aged a few years since he finished working on "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (which was released in 2003, not 2004 as Martin Freeman accidentally mentioned on the David Letterman show) it is only natural to assume there are improved technologies and techniques.

In fact, many movies now rely more extensively upon the green screen process, where they inject computer-generated imagery (CGI) into the films. The increased use of CGI has led to advancements in the art that now make it near-impossible for average audience viewers to notice the differences between "real" landscape and imaginary landscape.

Well, you get the point. And we don't want to steal SciFi Guy's thunder. So by all means please drop by Communizine and see what you think of SciFi Guy's article.

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So Long MERP-dot-Com and Thanks for all the Essays

When I stopped writing Tolkien and Middle-earth essays for Suite101 many years ago my friend Hawke Robinson asked me to continue writing for his Website, MERP.com. Dedicated to Middle-earth role-playing gamers, MERP.com served as a springboard community for about 30 Tolkien-related Websites through the years.

Hawke not only published (and republished) my essays, he published essays by other people. He also set up, through the Tolkien Scholars Website, a repository for issues of the Other Hands gaming/literary journal created by Chris Seeman in the 1990s and the Other Minds journal created by Thomas Morwinsky in the 2000s.

Among other endeavors and perhaps his crowning Tolkien fandom achievement was Hawke's much-loved Middle-earth Radio, where fans could listen to the Web's largest archive of Tolkien-inspired music in multiple streaming channels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Middle-earth Radio was so popular and successful that many niche artists asked Hawke to feature their latest albums in its streams.

Despite efforts from Tolkien Enterprises to shut down the site, Hawke prevailed (with some help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and managed to keep the music streaming for many years.

Unfortunately, despite warning friends and fans for about a year that all was not well with the finances he used to fund the Tolkien sites and other activities (including Tolkien Moot), on November 18, 2012 Hawke finally shut down his services because too few people had come forward to help keep them alive.

Some people have dismissed the announcement as being silly or trollish, but it's not a "stunt". When you pay out of your own pocket to run 1 or more Web servers that support dozens of Websites and 24/7 streaming media, you incur substantial expenses. Hawke's primary concern was that he not commercialize these fan-dedicated resources.

To merely say that he spent an inordinate amount of time fending off hackers, spammers, and other intrusive agents does not do justice to Hawke's tireless efforts to produce a high-quality experience for Tolkien fans around the world. You can still watch the Tolkien Moot channel on YouTube but soon all the archives for the various Tolkien (and non-Tolkien) sites Hawke managed will go offline forever.

And when that happens, one of the last living memories of the First Age of Middle-earth on the Web will have set sail into the West. As Hawke was fond of saying at the end of each episode of Middle-earth Talk Radio, "Wherever you are, be well. Namárië"

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