I saw the third part of the Hobbit trilogy last night, and it's kind of sad.

Not the movie. The movie is great. 

But now there's no movie for me to look forward to.

So, that's that. 

Thankfully there are plenty of Tolkien books and stories for me to re-read, but sometimes I just want to escape into a movie.

I also feel this way when I finish a good book. It's bittersweet. That's what makes a great book, in my opinion. I don't want to leave the world.

There hasn’t been a movie before that I’ve looked forward to as much as that one.  So, of course, we had to go as soon as it opened.

Some thoughts on it… It did veer from the book, but movies and books are different animals. You can “get away” with a lot more in a book than you can in a movie. So, the differences don’t bother me. It’s mostly important to me that a movie adaptation capture the tone of the book, rather than a point by point breakdown of the storyline.  

I think that a big misconception was that Peter Jackson (the director) was just adapting The Hobbit, and that alone, but he was actually doing something bigger. He used appendices and other writings of Tolkien, and then he made some creative choices of his own, based on what we can infer from all the information to make a fuller story, along the same line as the Lord of the Rings.

On that note, one of my favorite parts of the film was the conflict with the Necromancer (Sauron).  Not in the book, but it worked. 

Another one of my favorite things about the movie was the final song. A perfect ending to the film, as well as the entire Middle-earth saga.  You should definitely click here to listen to it:

There are times in life when you may feel like you can't keep going on any longer. Things just seem too bleak. Most of us have been there at some point, and lately that's been me. But I've got to hunker down, hold on for a just a little longer, until the relief comes.  And it will come. All dark days eventually see the light.

Also, make sure that you maintain your sense of humor, at all costs.  Work these gems into everyday conversation:

"Late is the hour in which these conjurers choose to appear. 'Lathspell' I name them. Ill news is an ill guest."   (I'm thinking that you could say this if you are having a happy conversation with some of your co-workers, and then a boss or someone who is annoying interrupts your conversation to announce something work-related.)

or

"I didn't get a Masters degree to bandy crooked words with a witless worm."  (You could use this in many, many situations. For example, your boss or an annoying person tries to make smalltalk with you. This would definitely shut down the conversation.)

I gave this advice to Liz yesterday... she was having a bad Monday morning (remember how she hates various days of the week?) and so I tried cheering her up with this same advice.  I think she tried it, and it even worked. 

In case you didn't know, those quotes are from Lord of the Rings (well, except for my addition).

Today's my birthday, by the way. Whereas some people may be ecstatic celebrating their momentous occasion, I'm not really one of those.  All I can think about is how little I've accomplished in the past 37 years (just being honest).

(My wife likes to list as one of my accomplishments that I've fathered four children... I'm not sure, but I think that's actually something that's fairly easy to do. Frankly, a lot of people have done the same thing, many times they see it as an accident too. So, not really encouraging.)

But before you think I'm wallowing in the depths of self-pity right now, I'm not, I promise. After all, I have homemade cake to look forward to, and probably some amazing handmade cards from my kids (There will be NO glitter).

It's one day closer to Christmas. And one day closer to the newest Hobbit movie premiere, which I will post here for the heck of it.

I think this is the time of year that a lot of people get sad, and I understand that. Those of us with melancholy personalities are particularly vulnerable.

Meanwhile, keep marching forth stalwartly through time.