Hobbiton! What a wonderful tribute to Tolkien and a magnificent playground for Peter Jackson and his crew. I became tickled at witnessing the descriptions of the village and couldn’t help thinking it a massive toy. But I mean no disrespect. I envy Sir Peter’s ability to do what he loves and bring such affirmation and adulation to a place he adores — New Zealand. And who wouldn’t love what we’ve seen? It’s lush and yet firm — the velvet rolling hills and jagged mountains peeking through at times and then overwhelming to remind of their solidarity and unrelenting pursuit of the sky. How many places on earth have those qualities? It’s a special place. And it struck me that those qualities are often manifest in Richard Armitage. It’s almost as if this place was made for him.
I Know You’re All Waiting
…Waiting for Richard Armitage to give us a message. I still think it would be cool if he did a verbal, and no, I won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t. But wouldn’t that be cool? Seriously? Oh well, maybe next year. :D
A picture for your trouble in coming over here. It just never gets old, and as usual you can click to enlarge:
Screencap from my stash
edit: if you’re new to Richard Armitage, I hope that photo might somehow inspire you to stop and consider what’s going on in New Zealand and give them some help.
The Misty Mountains Call
[note: mp3 download at bottom of the post]
Who knew the dwarves singing would be absolutely wondrous by evoking such a keen sense of adventure? It’s telling how the song pervades my spirit and immediately demands an identification with 13 guys from a fictional place. At less than one minute, I’m hooked and ready to go with them. Bravo! Peter Jackson and Howard Shore and Tolkien of course! Bravo! But then comes the let down that the wait will be a year. Thankfully, a few things are occurring to alleviate the withdrawal. I’m reading Tolkien. Read The Hobbit again a few months ago, and pictured Richard Armitage marvelously as Thorin. Thank you again, Peter Jackson! I’m also starting the trilogy and heck, I’ve purchased all of Tolkien’s works including the non-fiction (more on that later) and some of it in more than one format. Several are duplicated on my Kindle. Yes, sometimes I really am insane. Oh, and I’ve purchased this as well as reading lots of excellent sites which give literary analysis of Tolkien.
As if that weren’t enough, I’ve downloaded Over the Misty Mountains Cold (a longer version) to my iPod where I will listen to it until I have learned every measure and their dynamics, and hopefully, get tired of it and then grow to love it again before the movie is released. And I found this video of it on YouTube. Phew, is it fun to surf around today! If you haven’t tried it, go for it. Lots of interesting things to read and watch about ‘The Hobbit.’ Good thing I’m on vacation. Just don’t get caught up on stuff like this as I did.
Tolkien obviously loved music, and his passion abounds even now. He’s inspired countless others with his sense of the epic. Here’s another site I found surfing around awhile back. Wonderful! And be sure to check out the last guy on the list. He and his band are an old favorite — Tolkien inspired songs or not. If you don’t know him, check this out, and I’ll stop there as I feel a tangent coming on. Yeah, I know some of you remember that song. :D
In the meantime, here is an mp3 version for those who need a regular fix.
edit: bccmee made a version of this that I love:
Thank you, Sir Peter
Is this a fake fan letter? Yes, since I won’t be sending it to the man. But it is sincere.
Dear Sir Peter,
You have great taste and should be commended for it. I know many others more important have said as much, but I had to say it too. There are so many things lacking in taste, lacking in good judgment. So many things that leave me dissatisfied. But you came with your good judgment about quality, and I feel wonderfully refreshed. Every detail of that trailer was perfectly done, and thank you for recognizing that Richard Armitage belonged there. Many of his fans have long recognized he is quality, and it’s such a joy to know someone of your position recognizes it as well.
And may I say as someone who has been a fairly tepid Tolkien fan, you are pulling me into that madness. I was not prepared to go willingly, but I find myself continually wanting to delve in deeper to the point I may become proficient in Sindarin.
Guren glassui,
One of Richard’s fans, who is not as crazy as she appears and fast becoming appreciative of Middle-EarthP.S. My apologies for not observing the proper protocol before when I called you a mere Mr. :D
And Something Else Finally Happened
Richard Armitage finally trended on Twitter, and it was organic and not manufactured by some rabid fans. My friends, he is no longer going to be all ours. The world is catching on. :D
Screencap courtesy of Julischka80.
Finally, The Hobbit Trailer
And it was well worth the wait:
And some caps…
Still looks good on a horse:
Singing!
Caps are my stash. I may have to post some more later. :D
The Art of the Tease: Waiting on The Hobbit Trailer
I thought I knew about teasing, but the building of expectation for ‘The Hobbit’ trailer has taken teasing to new levels. The last time I was this tightly bound, I was watching a pregnancy test stick but that never gave me a tic! Now if I even hear or see a word that looks or sounds like trailer, I jump. Early this morning I was working on some business issues and reading about possible marketing strategies. I caught site of the word trailer, uh, I mean mailer, and my heart sped up. A few minutes later, one of the kids said they were going over to see trailer, uh Taylor, who lives next door. Phew! I’m not sure how much longer I can stand it. And really I don’t understand why I’m so jumpy since the trailer won’t be shown until this evening. Won’t it? Yes, I’m paranoid I may miss it, and I want to see it as soon as it comes out!! I dare not tell you how many times I’ve visited various websites. My poor browser has never worked so hard trolling the web. ;-)
And I want to hit something! Which puts me in good company since the comments I’ve read around the web have threatened bodily injury to someone if the trailer isn’t shown soon. Not being the violent type, I would never threaten bodily injury — not verbally anyway. In my head, there are all sorts of violent things going on.
Stress reliever courtesy of Harry Knowles.
Until further notice, this is a possible link for watching the trailer.
Tintin Looks Interesting
I’m contemplating seeing this movie. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a movie theater, and it would be nice to get out of the house. SO was talking about taking our eleven year old to see it, and my extreme eagerness was duly noted with a look askance that said, “What is going on?” My look back, “Nothing. I just thought _________ might love this movie, and it is the holiday season. Maybe we can go on opening night?”
I refuse to believe Richard Armitage is corrupting my reputation. What is it to me that I’ve watched the cheesy Robin Hood, then more cheesy Captain America, and now… But I’m doing it so my kid will have some entertainment, and I’m sure she would love the trailers:
Promo courtesy of TheOneRing.Net
Trying To Come Up For Air
Armitage Day came and went, and I found myself at a loss for an appropriate blog piece to commemorate it. But it occurred to me yesterday that I gave Richard Armitage the perfect gift from me — a few days off from this blog. Taking off was made especially easy as my conscience was pricked by reading things like this. LOL! Notice the bold sentence. Third “paragraph” down if you’re not sure. Poor guy(s). And no, I have no need to instruct anyone on proper behavior toward Richard Armitage. It’s just that when I read something like that, or I see him duck his head when he hears, “women will chase you…,” I feel funny and wonder if anyone else feels a bit foolish. Maybe that’s a good sign?
Earlier today I was asking myself why I’m even keeping this blog up. Yeah, I’ve beaten this drum before about my conscience. Apparently, I’m really not as insane as I first feared, and the part of me that’s so cussed circumspect especially wants to take over after being inundated with the birthday gushing. I threw myself into the midst of that fangirling, and by Sunday night I was in a bit of a stupor from my tweeting. Come Monday I had run dry for the blog.
Have I made you feel sufficiently self-conscious yet? LOL! Well, no worries, ’cause I’m soon going to leave the self-flagellation behind.
Today, some inspiration for renewed gushing manifested in my email. A fan sent me one of her favorite private pictures of him taken a couple of years ago. Look at that face!
I love the candid shots. There is a freshness and sweetness to them that always makes it hard to look away. Richard Armitage seems to have such a pure smile, and that really does make me like the guy (even if he turns out to be a schmuck). See! I’m still a bit insane although not tempted to draw arrows on RA’s pictures yet. ;-) But if I were ever tempted to draw them on anyone’s pictures, it would be his. :D
As if this weren’t enough to put my addiction at full throttle, RA has sent another message to the troops:
Dear Friends,
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all the kind gifts which have been sent to me over the last few weeks, for my birthday; so many gifts, cards and emails of good wishes from all over the world. (Poland, Ukraine, Japan, Russia, Germany, Korea, Itlay, USA, Canada, Netherlands and all over the UK)
I will be so ‘well read’, drunk, fat, warm and sweet smelling thanks to your generosity.
I am particularly excited to let you know that the “Just Giving” donations to our four charities has reached an amazing £11,933! In addition to donations to Oxfam and Christchurch Earthquake appeal, which I find both thoughtful and moving.
I am afraid there may be some delay in remitting thank you letters and any requests for signing photos, as I am in New Zealand for the rest of the year, but am working on a system to remedy this.
So middle age has arrived and apparently ‘life now begins’. I look forward to the next chapter, there is nowhere I would rather be at this moment than exploring “Middle Earth” with my new family of Dwarves, Elves, Men, Wizard and Hobbit. What a gift to be here, in this place, at this time. I can’t wait to share it with everyone. I am a very fortunate man.
Much love
RA
And the crowd said, “Awwwwwww!” and beamed.
Did he make a cryptic acknowledgment of Calexora’s book of fan letters? Looks that way to me.
Man, that typing with thumbs is tough! No more references to the typo or we’ll revisit the apostrophe debacle. ;-) Also, I’m going to spare RA some more today by not waxing on about the topic of middle age. I will get to it later. Too good to pass up.
I would say what’s coming up next on this blog, but I’m learning I like flying by the seat of my pants, and a good thing since that’s what I’m forced to do these days.
Candid photo courtesy of KuchingGirl.
Message courtesy of Richard Armitage by way of RichardArmitageOnline.com
edit: the photos coming up, are, well, let me put it this way: take your heart medicine. Oh, you don’t take heart medicine? you might after looking at these photos.
Thorin Oakenshield as You’ve Never Seen Him
Okay, the title is for the new fans as I’m sure many of you others (that sounds better than ‘old fans’) have already seen these pictures. For the new fans, you can see him animated at Who is Richard Armitage? If you are feeling the hunger to investigate further, there are lots of good Places to Get a Fix. If you are already into full blown addiction and need to “commiserate,” of course you can get plenty of that here, but I’m far from the only place as there are many blogs on The Addict List. And if you’re on a phone and can’t easily access my About page, then go here — might make you feel better if you’re feeling a little funny right now.
But onto really important matters. :D
If I were single and there were someone like this who is intelligent and doesn’t just look the part?
It would be a serious temptation to my good sense. Oh heck, I would be addled, and I remember when I was addled by someone.
As if that’s not enough, consider the physical Richard Armitage:
Watching the workout segment in the recent Hobbit production video from Peter Jackson created a powerful flash back of seeing SO for the first time. He was in a ragged golf shirt and jeans. Although he could afford better clothes, he was on the go so much of the time that he loved how those ragged clothes “breathed.” The golf shirt was truly awful, but I was still dazed by him. He has always been very fit looking, and he was quite the athlete. He walked around our college campus, and I seriously did swoon. Before we started dating, I would squirrel myself in a seat unseen on the football field/track and watch him work out. He didn’t know I was already in love with him. Then after we were together, I used to run stands with him and much later told him, “You had to know it was love, baby, since no one in her right mind would do that unless they were training for the Olympics.” I loved looking at him, and especially his legs. He’s always had the most beautifully muscled legs and back and shoulders, and I’ll stop. But one last thing. The most compelling part of SO is his mind. He is clever and after all of our years together, he is still interesting; still keeps me on my toes. Yes, there have been times I have wanted to wring his neck, but it was never enough to eclipse the force that he is and remains, and seriously, I marvel at that. I’ve said this before on this blog, and I couldn’t help saying it again. Today, I was looking at SO at a task, and I was addled again. Sadly, I see so many people bored with their SOs, and I feel for them.
Still have that golf shirt.
Dear Richard,
Thank you for just being you, and thanks for serving as a catalyst for such lovely memories. Hope you don’t mind that I used you that way, but hey, if you’re going to be objectified, I can’t think of a better way.
Sincerely,
One of your crazy fans gone to look for her SO. :)P.S. I have never understood why so many fans refer to you as slim. Oh, you are fine (more than fine), but you are not a little guy such that words like ‘slim’ are apt descriptions. Far from it.
Promo still for Captain America from Life and screencaps from “The Hobbit” set are mine.
RAFrenzy 
