For a good cause: 2013 fantasy literature pin-up calendar

It really is nice to see that geekdom (and all that may be close to it) has finally become mainstream. Yes, very much so – we can now have a pin-up calendar with pictures from our favourite fantasy worlds! The list of names is very much impressive: Bradbury, Martin, Harris, Rothfuss, Pratchett, Gaiman – and it is all for a good cause! Patrick Rothfuss recently presented it in a blog post and I would like you to consider buying this – as of now, only pre-ordering is possible.

Each month of the calendar will feature a pin-up based on a different author’s works and/or characters. Illustrated by Lee Moyer, all proceeds will go to Worldbuilders in support of Heifer International.

And so it begins … again. The Hobbit

The Hobbit is being filmed in New Zealand, starting on March 21st, 2011. Thumbs up for this project!

http://www.thehobbitblog.com

https://www.facebook.com/TheHobbitMovie

Really nothing else to say. Looking forward to it!

Picture:  (c) Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema/ MGM

John Howe could paint your Smart, too :)

Sophisticated Games SMART in Hobbit colours

Sophisticated Games in Cambridge belong to a very small number of companies allowed to publish board games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical world of Middle-earth.I have only been involved in one of these products, the Middle-earth Trivia Quiz, which in Germany was published by KOSMOS (I was the translator.) Generally speaking, I am always interested in board, card and roleplaying games as I have been a gamer all of my life (both virtually and in front of a gaming table.) Robert Hyde, managing director of Sophisticated Games, sent me these pictures of their company’s SMART which has seen some slight alterations. All fans of John Howe (artistically responsible for the film trilogy, amongst others) will appreciate this new style.

How a Hobbit can become a beatboxing champ

Note from the start: The young man I am presenting with this blog post does not seem to be a Tolkien fan. His nickname does not derive from the Hobbit of my favourite author, J.R.R. Tolkien, but from his father’s nickname (whose family name is Hobbs) – and simply because the nick sounds great. However, my personal interest in beatboxing AND Tolkien made me find this illustrious English beatboxer from Gloucester: pleased to meet Hobbit.

He is in his early twenties and has recently won the South West Heat of the UK Beatbox Championships 2011. Despite not being grown up (according to Hobbit lore) he has earned quite a few accolades and is considered to be the 2nd best beatboxer in the UK right now (I am not judging on that but have read this a couple of times.) What I find especially interesting about him is that does not simply stand on a stage with a mike in his hand but does loads of cooperations with other musicians, even going on tour with world music players from all over the world. To get an idea what this man has been doing do have a look at the YouTube channel of Hobbit, hobbittv.com. His label mic(ism) does have some more pieces of information and the beatboxing Hobbit is on Facebook as well.

One of the best pieces I have ever seen is this littel beatbox game between Hobbit, Marvill and Reeps feeding each other lines. Big up!

Picture: Hobbit (c)

The Saga of Biôrn, the Viking. Wonderful animated short

The Animation Workshop in Denmark seems to be a breeding ground for hilarious creativity in animation art if you judge it by this film – and it is a bachelor film project, i.e. done by students! The class 0f 2011 put up their stuff in February on Vimeo eingestellt and I have to thank Blaz for telling me about some of the most entertaining seven minutes I have ever had in my life.

Biôrn is a Vikings’ Viking and for him there is only thing in life he would die for: to reach Valhall, the Hall of the Fallen, where they celebrate and fight until the end of time. However, every time the opportunity arises to actually fall in battle the Gods seem to have it in for him – until, finally, he stumbles over a might troll just torching a church …

Biôrn, an old Viking, is determined to reach Valhalla, the warrior’s afterlife full of excessive drinking and debauchery. To gain entry he has to die honorably in battle, but he discovers that the right death isn’t so easy

Picture: Saga of Biôrn, Animation Workshop, 2011. A film by: Benjamin J. Kousholt, Daniel D. Christensen, Mads Lundgaard Christensen, Jesper A. Jensen, Jonas K. Doctor, Steffen Lyhne, Pernille Ørum-Nielsen, Frederik Bjerre-Poulsen, Jonas Georgakakis

Help Nathan Buy Firefly – fans want to have series back

On February 17th, 2011, Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds with the awesome Sci-Fiseries Firefly, said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly something that made the fans go wild – again:

If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.

People who know Firefly fans (called Browncoats) know who truly fanatic they are about their favourite series which made it onto the television screen at the end of 2002 just to be cancelled – prematurely. The man behind it all (as well as Angel and Buffy), Joss Whedon, had the opportunity to do at least a film and this happened mainly because of the support given by the fans. Since then the whole franchise didn’t really get anywhere, television or film-wise.

Following Fillion’s statement Browncoats from all over the world jumped at the opportunity to try and convince licencees Rox and Universal (television/film rights) of a resurrection of Firefly. When other people who participated in the original series, both in front and behind the camera, offered their support and the Facebook group Help Nathan Buy Firefly had more than 100,000 members (on 28.2.2011) pledging financial backing for this whole project on a website it became pretty clear that this might be the biggest chance yet to have Firefly on the air again. By the way: one of the most vocal supporters is bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind.)

war klar, daß dies mit Abstand die beste Gelegenheit seit Jahren war, Firefly endlich wieder auferstehen zu lassen.

Support this initiative!

http://twitter.com/HelpNathanBuyFF

http://www.facebook.com/HelpNathanBuyFF

http://helpnathanbuyfirefly.com/the-pledge-system-and-100k