Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

I don't have much for you by way of a preamble today, because the title is really as self-explanatory as I can make it.  I can, however, tell you that I got the idea for this post randomly earlier this year, and it's a little odd that I did, to be quite honest with you, since I don't tend to have much interest in Westerns set in the present day.  (I like a lot of Westerns that were made in the present day, but they're all set in the "Old West".)  But, there it is:  one day I was listening to some country songs and started thinking about how well they would fit into the soundtrack of a contemporary Western, and I realized that that could make a fun LoWCW post.  So, here we are. 😉 Read on, then, for a list of songs that I would include in a modern-day Western film, along with a brief blurb about how I envision each song fitting into a given story. ⸻ "Daddy's Mugshot"  by Laci Kaye Booth Paging Hailee Steinfeld, paging Hailee Steinfeld.  It'd b...

Hey, as long as I get my yearly recap post published during the first quarter of the new year, it still counts, right?  (Even if I squeeze it in at the eleventh hour.  Ahem.) Present tardiness aside, I do usually try to post at least one "top ten" list at the beginning of each calendar year, reflecting on the best of the new-to-me media I consumed the last year.  In 2024, however, it would appear that most of said new-to-me media was . . . unfortunately mid.  Thus, where I would usually select ten favorites in each category, I'm limiting myself to five this time around and just compiling everything into the one post.  But we're also expanding the categories to include music, so I think we'll have plenty of material to cover. 😉 "The hour is late and bed beckons," so without further ado, let's get into it. ⸻ ❧  Best Books #5.   Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton "... details the story of a man who falls in love with his wife's cousin and the trage...

It feels like it's been ages since I've really discussed musical theatre on here, and what better time to remedy that than during my friend Rachel's We Love Musicals week ? As the title of this post suggests, this will be a look at some of my current favorite musicals.  Specifically, I wanted to focus on those musicals that I'll more frequently choose to listen to as I'm going about my day, rather than just the movie musicals that I'll more frequently sit down to watch, as the two groups seldom overlap.   For example, as we all know, the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady is tied for my top favorite film of all time, but will I regularly listen to the soundtrack?  No, because while I do like the music, my adoration of the movie is due more to its non-musical elements.  (Of course, there are exceptions to this rule — you'll find both  Evita and  Newsies in this post, but I probably watch screen versions of both of those almost as often as I listen to the...

Greetings, my dear Shirelings!  Yesterday was Hobbit Day, and it marked the commencement of what is probably my favorite annual online event:  Rachel's Tolkien Blog Party.  Check out Rachel's kick-off post here  and be sure to enter the fabulous giveaway she's hosting in honor of the party as well. I plan to answer this year's tag questions later this week, but for today's post, I'm casting my mind back to this time last year.  During 2023's party, Rachel hosted a game that gave players the opportunity to build a hobbit name for themselves.  (You can check out that post by clicking on this link .)  Per the rules of the game, my hobbit name turned out to be Cloverpin Sackcobble , and you know something?  I actually love it.  "Cloverpin" as a hobbit name?  Are you kidding me??  So cute, so versatile.  Fantastic. Anyway.  I enjoyed playing that game so much that it got me thinking about what my life would actually look like ...

Greetings, all!  I've been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by my pals Ivy Miranda and Rachel , and they've come up with some fun questions.  Thanks loads, ladies! The rules are pretty basic:  just thank the person(s) who nominated you and link to their blog(s), answer the questions they asked you, nominate eleven blogs yourself, and give your nominees eleven new questions.  As has (unfortunately) become my wont, I'm not going to nominate anyone new, partially because most of the people I'd nominate have already been so.  But!  I did very much enjoy answering these questions and wholeheartedly invite you to do so yourself if you haven't already. Let's get into it.  [My graphics game is chaotic today (not a cohesive aesthetic in sight), so, be forewarned.] ⸻ ✵  Ivy's Questions   ✵ 1. What's your favorite memory of 2023 so far? Don't know that I can choose one specific one, but, generally:  taking trips to/with friends, hiking, se...