The Hobbit, and Other Adventures

Like most other college students across the country, I have been kicked out of my dorm for the days surrounding Christmas.  So, at home with no classes to attend or homework to do, I have turned to other forms of entertainment.

On Christmas day, my family and I went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in the theater.  To highlight exactly how momentous this occasion was, I’ll just mention that the last time I saw anything before it came out on DVD was over three years ago (Monsters vs. Aliens, in 3D, and before that, Finding Nemo in 2003).  The point of all this is that I don’t exactly frequent movie theaters with any sort of regularity, but The Hobbit was completely worth my three hours and pushing lunch to 3 o’clock (we went out for dim sum, so waiting for lunch was worth it too).

To avoid wrecking the movie for those who haven’t gotten the opportunity to see it, I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that I enjoyed it.  The movie is slow by virtue of the fact that after 2 hours and 45 minutes, the dwarves and Bilbo haven’t even reached Mirkwood yet, but it didn't feel slow.  It’s also a lot lighter than The Lord of the Rings.

Inspired by the movie (and my general liking of anything that has to do with Tolkien’s Middle Earth), I have created some Hobbit themed bracelets in my abundant spare time.  Just go with me on this one.  Besides, it’s not too farfetched – green for the grass in the Shire and Bilbo’s door, blue for the sky, brown for the dirt and hobbit feet, yellow for the ring.

And finally, snow.  Through the entire months of November and December, Ithaca did not receive a single snowstorm.  We got occasional flurries, but no accumulation.  Back home, it appears we've been hit by about six to eight inches of snow, so I’m off to shovel.