Back to Back! Better than Ever!

What the hell happened? What year is it? I feel like time has been press ganged by some sort of run-away naval commander and I just get to sit and remember all the time I used to have before it got all muscly and covered in rude tattoos. "Too many years at sea," says time shaking its head. (Sorry folks that simile got away from me!) But luckily there is an answer! I think.

You heard it here first, all the dozens of people who find themselves on this page because they miss-clicked something! We are going to create a new and improved Jeremy Stuff webpage!

Huzzah!

How are we going to do that you may ask? Well, for one, I'm going to do more writing. Wait a sec, you may ask, haven't you been writing this blog all along? This thing better not be ghost written, you are probably saying, I'm scared of ghosts!

Fear not, those of you that are afraid of ghosts! I promise to keep the ghosts at a minimum (except for the one in the picture above and the ones that I can't help but let visit and tell spooky stories from time to time). But other than that no ghosts! Also I do my own writing, so all of the great ideas you have read here are my own. (Incidentally all of the spelling errors and mistakes were done by someone else who we had to fire. He no longer works here.)

Anyway, on top of sharing neat things I find on the internet, I am going to try to make this blog work for me, and you the reader, and anyone else that clicks here accidentally. And I'll also post at least once a week too.

But Jeremy, you are probably yelling at the screen, how on earth can you manage to do all of the things you listed somewhat incoherently? Well, my friends, I have a secret weapon. Ladies and gentlemen with a great deal of applause and fanfare, I'd like to introduce my favorite reason to go to work, the fairy god mother that can make all of your reasonable dreams come mostly true, the one (of two I have pieces for), the incomparable, the speaks with a really gravelly voice, GRENDA the fairy god-witch of mediocrity!

TA-DA!

How will she be able to do this? Who knows? But tune in next week to find out. Otherwise I'll just be sitting here, speaking to myself. Ciao!

Colin Mochrie's Favorite Star Wars Scenes

I've loved the TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? for a long time. The regulars, Ryan Styles, Wayne Brady, and, of course, Colin Mochrie are each master classes in improv/sketch comedy. We all have our favorite moments of the show, and Colin is totally essential to a lot of my favorites.

And so, I give you Colin Mochrie playing with Star Wars action figures as we all did when we were young and still had imaginations. Just watch it, you won't be disappointed.

 

Two Hobbit films become Three . . .

Hey all,

I just learned from Peter Jackson that there will now be three Hobbit films. So that is happening. Here is the published note of Peter Jackson's Facebook page:

"It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie - and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'

"We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.  The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

"So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.

"It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, "a tale that grew in the telling."

"Cheers,

"Peter J"

So to all of you who are excited about revisiting Middle Earth, huzzah! To all of you who are Tolkien purists who object to the movies anyway, be aware. I'm not exactly sure where I fall in regards to this announcement, but regardless, I will be dressed up for the release come December.

Cheers, indeed! Also here is the eighth production video:

Hobbit Minifigs Teased

Here's Gandalf, Dwalin, Bombur, Bofur, Bilbo, and Balin, in minifig form.  Some of the online forums have guessed that this may be the mythical Bag End set. 

A few of the Hobbit minifigs have been teased above. Apparently there will be more to find out a SDCC (San Diego Comic Con). Wow this looks awesome! And on top of all of that, we finally get some white hair! Hooray!

LEGO LotR Game Video: AWESOME

Wow! Time has flown. Sorry for being MIA for so long. But here is a great thing to post upon return!

Yeah the LEGO LotR game will probably be one of the greatest things ever. Just saying!

Bookstores After Close

I always sort assumed something like this happened when bookstores closed! When I was in high school I dreamed of having a bookstore that looked a lot like this one does. Except I would have had cats at the bookstore to keep the books in order over night.

It seems as though Youtube is invading my dreams again. Nicely done for all those involved with this superb video!

Hobbit LEGOs! This Is AWESOME!

I'm screwed! I have wanted to see this since the beginning of my love of Lord of the Rings and my love of LEGOs. (Thanks to Brothers Brick for the announcement.) Read the whole article here. Here is the actual LEGO Company release!

Feel free to peruse my own Fellowship at Brickshelf.

We will have them my precious, all of them! Legoses maybe sneaky and false sometimes but they also likes moneys! We loves them and curses them both! Loves and curses! Gollum, gollum!

The Legend of Korra Trailer!

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best television shows I have ever seen! Seriously! This show is phenomenal! Aang the Avatar, seated atop his sky bison Appa, flies all over the four kingdoms and has adventures. These adventures lead him to end the war with the fire nation and bring peace to the world. (My description kind of sucks, but the show is awesome!)

Now, there is a sequel to the show and the opening of the new television show (due in 2012) has just shown up on the internets! (Alas, the original opening has now been taken down. Hopefully you saw it!) Here is the official release video:

A little more after the break . . .

Rockapella Wishes Everyone a Happy December

It is not a secret but my favorite group of a cappella rockers is Rockapella (of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego fame). They have been touring with the Boston Pops and have recently posted this message on Youtube!

So happy Decemberween to everyone! And I hope you have an upcoming awesome Christmas, Hanukkah, old New Year's, and Jeremy's Birthday. "Soon it will be Christmas day. . ."

Happy International Nigel Tufnel Day

Today is a great day to be alive. Why you ask? Because today goes to eleven.

Sometimes as a bloke you are on a day at ten here. You are playing at ten. All the way up. All the way up. All the way up. Your on a ten at your day. Where can you go from there? Where? Nowhere, exactly! You need to be able to go to eleven. Because it's one more than ten!

HERE's a link to the clip I cannot embed.  Have a rockin' eleven loud day!

Michael J. Fox is my hero!

I've always liked Micheal J. Fox.  He will be forever immortalized by his role in Back to the Future as well as television shows like Family Ties and Spin City.  He also suffers from Parkinson's disease and his foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, has raised awareness and money to help those with the disease.

I hope one day I will have as good a sense of humor about diabetes as Fox has about Parkinson's.  Here is is on Curb Your Enthusiasm:

You can buy his book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Man-Michael-J-Fox/dp/0786867647

Hobbitty Dragon News!

The star of the show Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as the voice of Smaug the Calamity in the upcoming Hobbit. I'm not sure exactly what all this means but Smaug has been cast which is good news.

In other confirmation news Elrond, Legolas, Frodo, Galadriel, and possibly even Saruman are back for this outing in Middle Earth. So not only will it be awesome to see Middle Earth again, but it'll also be the faces we are used to. Hooray!

I'm also headed to Ravinia to see the Fellowship of the Ring played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on August 19th. So if you are in the north Chicago area that day come join the Fellowship! FYI though: tickets are $25.

Here's a link: https://www.ravinia.org/ViewDate.aspx?date=8/19/2011

Hobbit, Hobbit, HOBBIT!

And in Hobbit news . . .


Peter Jackson has started by posting a video blog of the beginning of shooting The Hobbit. I've included it below! I can't tell you how excited I am about these movies. Seeing some recognizable sets, and some caves that are not immediately recognizable make me have to root around and get my Frodo costume ready!

I'll warn that this video is a bit of a tease but Serkis and McKellen both make a brief show! Enjoy!

And Here's Series Five!

Anytime I begin to think that I'll have monies, LEGO announces another group of Collectible Minifigures. Thanks LEGO you big jerks. The clown pairs with the earlier clown, the dwarf with the dwarves from before, and Sherlock Homes is too cool! Not to mention the gangster, the Beefeater, and the anthropologist too! And all we seemingly have to put up with is another snowboarder! Well done!

In related news, Series Four figures have been spotted at Toys backwards R Us stores even though their release date isn't for another couple of weeks. So needless to say, the Bricklink stores are already a-buzz with fervor! The cool part of this collection seems to be the apparent lack of filler figures to round out sixteen new minifigures. Every figure seems awesome. I guess I'd be least happy to end up with a fist full of skater dudes or surfer chicks, but even these figures have some great new pieces or colors. Vikings and geishas fill out existing LEGO castle themes and the hockey player and figure skater are the first examples of minifigure ice skates available. Plus the musketeer, werewolf, and Hasmat guy are all going to be violently sought after figures. This latest set as well as the upcoming series five is pure win!

These ARE the droids you're looking for . . .

"In sad news today it appears that the two leads of Star Wars Revisited: Revisited have been forced to part ways due to artistic differences. It is unknown whether Simon Pegg (Scotty from the new Star Trek reboot fame) and Nick Frost (who can still do a hella-good chimpanzee impression) will move on to other projects or just sit around rolling in the massive piles of awesome they have already accrued. What is known is that they have already killed Phillip, and by the power of Greyskull, this video is among the greatest nerd things ever made."

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

In all seriousness, this video is obviously a plug for Simon and Nick's upcoming movie Paul which will be arriving in theaters near you on Friday March 18th. It needs not be mentioned that the combination of two nerd actors, that have stolen all of our hearts, doing a scene from a beloved moment in most of our childhoods is a flawless move. I really wish they had actually shot the entire movie because I would, without doubt, watch the hell out of that. In the mean time, try not to spend too much of your day pondering what might have been. I'll meet you at the Winchester for a pint!

Series Four

LEGO has released pictures of the soon to be upcoming fourth series of Minifigures.

LEGO has figured out this is like printing money. Well done!
(Sorry the pictures are blurry better ones to follow.)

Remember, remember!

Happy V for Vendetta Day! The graphic novel for this is awesome! Consider picking it up here.

Wow! Andy Grammer rocks!

So, Andy Grammer just released a video for his song "Keep Your Head Up" and it is all sorts of awesome. You get to choose what happens in the video. And the video responds to your choices while the song continues. It is a choose-your-own adventure with a really catchy tune!

Here is the link: http://vevo.com/videoevolved/andy-grammer/keep-your-head/
Seriously, try this out!

There's Not Knowing Where You Might Be Swept Off To

Hopefully Middle Earth during the Third Age! Whee! After much ado it appears as though the Hobbit is moving forward. I was originally very excited that Guillermo del Toro was on board to direct but due to the time commitment necessary for this job he has moved on to other things. This means that Peter Jackson has been signed to direct the two films that will tell the story of the Hobbit. And the be fair, Jackson is still a dream director for this story!

Today a significant part of the casting has been announced. A handful of the major parts have yet to be confirmed but we'll keep our fingers crossed that they are still going ahead. The announced parts thus far are as follows:

Bilbo Baggins - Martin Freeman
Thorin Oakensheild - Richard Armitage
Fili - Rob Kazinsky
Kili - Aidan Turner
Oin - John Callen
Gloin (Gimli's dad) - Peter Hambleton
Dori - Mark Hadlow
Dwalin - Graham McTavish
Bombur - Stephen Hunter


There is word that a number of actors from the Lord of the Rings are returning for this stretch of the story. Sir Ian McKellen has been the most vocal of these actors, and I can't imagine anyone else as Gandalf. The yet unconfirmed parts acted by known players are:

Gandalf - Sir Ian McKellen
Gollum - Andy Serkis
Elrond - Hugo Weaving

Rumor has it that Jimmy Nesbitt and David Tennant may also be awarded roles. There are a handful of juicy parts such as Bard, The Elven King (Legolas's dad), and Beorn that hopefully will be filled soon. Currently there is also a lot of speculation about who will voice and play the devastating dragon Smaug. No word has arrived yet on who will voice this part. Friends, this is incredibly exciting news from New Zealand! Having been phenomenally impressed by the Lord of the Rings saga in Peter Jackson's hands, I expect that this story too will be lovingly crafted. We shall have to watch closely to see this project reach fruition!

After all, "the road goes ever on and on,
down from the door where it began . . ."

Series 3!?

Hang on to your Small LEGO figs! I've found pictures of Minifigs Collector sets series 3! This is just pre-visualization shots so who knows what we'll actually get, but the figures here look pretty cool!