Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Had the good fortune to see "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" this week. My only complaint was that I felt it was a bit too long at 170 minutes. Two hours (120 minutes) would have been a good length without losing any of the impact....a definite case of LESS WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE. Title character Bilbo Baggins is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.  Ian McKellen towers above the rest of the cast as Gandalf the Grey. Richard Armitage stands out as Thorin Oakenshield - he's an actor I will look out for in the future.


And, on this subject, news of a real life Mrs. Bilbo Baggins. An Oxford graduate who quit mainstream society, built a hobbit-style mud hut in the hills, banned technology; who fetches water from a stream, generates her own power, grows her own food, keeps goats, chickens and horses...and is happy and at peace with herself.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254397/Oxford-graduate-quit-mainstream-society-live-hobbit-style-existence-mud-hut-Welsh-hills.html


"Emma Orbach, 58, has spent 13 years living with no electricity in her self-built roundhouse in West Wales, generating her own power and growing her own food. Her daily chores involve tending to her vegetable plot, looking after her three goats, seven chickens and two horses and chopping firewood. Her evenings are spent in the glow of her stove, playing her Celtic harp." [Daily Mail] Is it just me or does this lifestyle sound rather appealing....

No comments:

Post a Comment