Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

Season's greetings, everyone!   Craving alllllll the Christmas-y movies but finding yourself in a rut?  Hopefully this post can help.  I'm going to share some of the films I most associate with this time of year.  I've mixed in a few that don't really have anything to do with Christmas but that are set primarily or partially during the holiday season, and I'm also including some dramatic/tragic options in case you're looking for something a little less holly-jolly.   I've added a one-line blurb for each story and listed each film's MPAA rating.  We're ranging from the scrupulously clean 'Not Rated's to the adults-only 'R's, so do your own research before popping any of these into the DVD player for family movie night, sight unseen. Caveats concluded and without further ado, then, here they are:  some of my favorite films to watch during the Yuletide.  (Listed alphabetically, 'cause there's no way I'm taking the time to ran

What-ho, all, and how are you doing on this fine November day?  (That is, I hope it's a fine November day when I publish this post.  The chances of my actually checking the weather before doing so are very slim.  I suppose I'll have to take my chances.) (**Publishing edit:  It is currently Dark of Night™, so who's to say whether the weather is fine or not?  Alas for holiday seasons and work schedules and school deadlines which necessitate these ungodly hours of Past Ten PM™.) As many of you probably already know, 2023 has been the 100th anniversary year of Walt Disney Animation Studios.  Like so many others, I count Disney movies as some of the most fun and influential media of my childhood, so I wanted to be sure to celebrate a century of the studio in some way before year-end.  (I've also managed to eke out at least one post per month this year, and I'm determined to finish strong with that trend, so here I am, sliding onto home base just under the wire.) What'

Yes, indeedy, people:  This month marked a very special blogiversary for me.  My tenth blogiversary, to be exact.  A whole decade of Meanwhile, in Rivendell  . . . — a whole decade of creative development, a whole decade of a desperately needed safe space, a whole decade of what are still some of the most meaningful friendships of my life.  I may wax a touch emotional in a moment, Jeeves. I had grand plans for this celebratory post, like a) writing an essay's worth of sentimental sludge and b) hosting a giveaway of some sort and c) actually publishing it on my blogiversary (which was over two weeks ago) .  Ahem.  But, as I have been so many times before when sitting down to share on this platform, I'm currently up to my eyeballs in work and school and health and general Life Stuff™, and we must adjust our expectations.   I'm actually okay with that, though.  Not to sound like a Christian Instagram girlie, but one of the things I've most treasured about this blog is the

HELLO HI I'M VERY CONFLICTED.  Top ten lists are often difficult for me, but it feels especially wrong, this time, to exclude some of the characters I've excluded.  In an attempt to assuage my conscience, I've included a pool of honorable mentions at the end of the post, but still. In the end, I've had to console myself with the thought that these are just my ten favorites at this specific moment in time.  They may shift over time, and their rankings certainly do.  So, before you come for me for ranking one character ahead of another, just know that I'm probably even more upset and confused about it than you are.  I'm 100% confident of the #1 spot.  That's . . . that's about the only one, though. I've absolutely no more time to dither over this list, however, as today's the last day of the 2023 party, and if I don't get this post published this year, I shall be Quite Put Out. Forth, Eorlingas! ⸻ #10.  Eomer I've run out of time to wax loq

Well, I did it.  I watched the cartoon versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings made in the late 70's/early 80's, and . . . I have Questions™.  And Comments™.  So, I figure the simplest way of doing this post is to just share those questions/comments in bullet journal format. Before I do that, however, let's have some backstory for the uninitiated: As near as I can tell it after meticulously combing the very best of sources  for information, it all went down like this.  In 1977, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass released an animated adaptation of The Hobbit .  The next year, Ralph Bakshi and United Artists came out with The Lord of the Rings , which was based on  The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers but not The Return of the King .  [Bakshi took over the project from John Boorman, who had originally intended to produce a single-film live-action version of the entire story, apparently with Tolkien's own approval.  United Artists scrapped the project due