Hobbit Day 2012

22 September is called “Hobbit Day” because it is both Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday in the books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. On this day various feasts and parties are held worldwide to celebrate the day.

So, if you want to party, read the books, or just relax, I thought that blogging about some music inspired by Tolkien’s works are just the thing.

Soothing Songs and Beautiful Music
Probably the most famous Tolkien-inspired groups is the Danish The Tolkien Ensemble, who sings the songs and poems from Tolkien’s works. Their website can be found here; and here is one of my earlier blogposts featuring their music.

The Lonely Mountain Band also has songs and music inspired by Tolkien. Check out their website here to listen to some of their music.

The Dutch Celtic group Anois now also has an album of songs from Tolkien’s works. Parts of the songs can be downloaded for free on their website. The music is soothing, with the elf-like voice of Veronica Metz. Visit their website here, and listen to their other music while you’re there.

For a real party 
If you’d rather have a party, have a listen to Marc Gunn’s album Don’t Go Drinking With Hobbits. And especially for Hobbit Day, you can download the whole album (legally) from this website. This is definitely also one for me to buy.

These are songs written by Marc Gunn and is inspired by both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Visit his other website for some more good Celtic music.

(Yes, I love Celtic music!)

But, whatever you do this Saturday, enjoy it!

Hobbit Dag 2012

22 September word “Hobbit Dag” genoem omdat dit beide Bilbo en Frodo se verjaarsdag is in die boeke The Hobbit en The Lord of the Rings deur JRR Tolkien. Op hierdie dag word verskeie feeste en partytjies wêreldwyd gehou ter viering van hierdie dag.

Dus, as jy wil partytjie hou, die boeke lees, of net sit en ontspan, het ek dit goed gedink om musiek wat deur Tolkien se werke geïnspireer is in hierdie inskrywing ten toon te stel.

Strelende ballades en pragtige musiek 
Seker die bekendste Tolkien-geïnspireerde groep is die Deense The Tolkien Ensemble, wat die liedjies en gedigte uit Tolkien se werke sing. Hulle webwerf is hierso en hier is een van my blog inskrywings wat hulle musiek bevat. 

The Lonely Mountain Band het ook wonderlike, oorspronklike musiek wat deur Tolkien geïnspireer is. Hier is hulle webwerf waar jy ook na hulle musiek kan luister.

Die Nederlandse Keltiese groep Anois, sing ook van die liedjies uit Tolkien se boeke sing. Gedeeltes uit van die liedjies kan gratis afgelaai word by hulle webwerf. Hierdie is strelende musiek met die elfagtige stem van Veronica Metz. Besoek hulle webwerf hier. Luister ook sommer na hulle ander, pragtige musiek.

Vir ‘n regte opskop
As jy eerder ‘n opskop wil hou, stel ek Marc Gunn se album Don’t Go Drinking with Hobbits, voor. Spesiaal vir vandag kan jy ook die album gratis (en heeltemal wettig) by hierdie webwerf aflaai. Beslis een vir my om aan te skaf!

Hierdie is liedjies wat deur Marc Gunn self geskryf is en is geïnspireer is deur beide The Hobbit en The Lord of the Rings. Besoek ook sy ander webwerf hier vir nog goeie Keltiese musiek.

(Ja, ek is mal oor Keltiese musiek!)

Maar, watookal jy besluit om hierdie Saterdag doen, geniet dit!

Worldbuilding Wednesday - After the Midland Wars

Some history on the history

Some of you might have seen on Twitter that I'm doing a major rewrite of a short story. This story started out about two years ago as a flash piece "The Dragon Seeker" which I wrote off the top of my head. Now it's being rewritten to actually fit into the history and world of Airthai. I've also changed one of the main characters to Mara – the granddaughter of Nasja (from "A Dragon's Freedom" and "The Price of Freedom"). It's turning into a novella, so I'll keep updates on how it's going as well as some of the worldbuilding that's going on as the story proceeds.

The Dragon Seekers 
Mara, the daughter of Mairja and granddaughter of Nasja was only twenty five years old when her mother passed away at Holt Haliern. Just as Nasja and Mairejath had become the first of the Dragon Seekers, so too was Mairja and Mara trained in Holt Haliern to become Dragon Seekers. During this time, the wild dragons which had been freed by Nasja before the start of the Midland Wars, had started attacking towns

The exodus of the dragons and their Guardians to the Western Isles had already started and with many of the Guardians now training as Dragon Seekers, the world of the Midlands and the southern kingdom of Reiaghy had quickly changed.

The hardest hit of the Midland kingdoms by the wild dragons was Tarathlon and Guldargan, as so many of the dragons had taken to hide and live in the marshes north of the Great Wood. The sanctuary around Théotriewe, however, was almost untouched as was the great house of the Keepers. The dragons seemed drawn to the cities and attacked, their burning tears setting buildings alight and their claws tearing at the people who scrambled away in fear.

While some of the Dragon Seekers ventured into the swamps to try and subdue the dragons with their dragon’s tongue and the ancient songs they had learned in Holt Haliern; others were called to cities after an attack as the dragons sometimes made a nest in the great houses or waited on the outskirts of the city until it attacked once more. The wild dragons, unlike the southern dragons, seemed to burn with malice and many were born with red scales. Some had even fallen as far as to start fading to a silvery grey – a type of dragon which the Guardians had believed had forever been left behind when they fled the Sundered Lands during the Great Sundering.

Old memories of the great wars between the Lewjan Lord’s creatures and the dragons started to be told once more and, in many instances, were embroidered upon. But new tales were also told by the storytellers and singers. Ballads of the heroic Dragon Seekers who could subdue the wild dragons or even slay them by turning the wild dragons to stone. While not all of this was true, the Seekers were sworn not to tell any of their secrets to those who were not Seekers and the dragon’s tongue was to remain a secret to outsiders as well. The gift which the Creator had bestowed upon them when the dragons first awoke seemed more important than ever.

For more about the Midland Wars, visit this page: The Midland Wars.

Net 3 maande tot The Hobbit begin!

Vandag is 'n goeie dag - dit is net nog 3 maande voor die eerste deel van The Hobbit in teaters te siene is!

Hier is die lokprent vir die eerste deel - en as jy nog nie die boek gelees het nie; kry dit en lees dit!
Oor die volgende paar maande gaan ek 'n paar inskrywings hê oor The Hobbit, veral oor die mitologie daarvan en die mitologiese inspirasie in die boek - dink Noorse mitologie... Beowulf...
En ja, ek het al lankal verlof ingesit vir 14 Desember.

Only 3 months until The Hobbit!

Today is a good day - it's only 3 months until the release of the first part of The Hobbit films!

Here's the trailer for the first part - and, if you haven't yet read the book get it and read it!
Over the next few months I'll have some posts, especially regarding the mythology aspect of the book, and the mythology inspiration for the book - think Norse Myth... Beowulf...
And, yes, I already have taken leave for 14 December.

How to end a world

Yesterday I noted that: “I had one of those amazing epiphanies during the weekend when a lot about the world you are writing in (or building) becomes clear. I had known for some time that the stories of Airthai which I am writing at the moment are a build-up to more and more of the history of a changing world.”

The Time of Tears 

I had had some vague ideas about the rest of the future of Airthai – for example, the Diminishing (during which the Talent bestowed on people at the creation of the world gets less and less) and the changing technology of the world during the ages. At first I had only a second Sundering in mind (to read about the first, or Great Sundering, click here), but this soon grew until I ended up at the destruction of the world.

For the Creation of Airthai – read here.




The Second Sundering, The Time of Tears
Five generations before the Second Sundering took place, the Elders of the Keepers of Holt Haliern all received the same dream. In this dream the people of Airthai were warned of a catastrophic change which would take place. Great waves, earthquakes and fires were told of in these dreams. An, indeed, the Midlands and Eastern Lands often felt tremors of the earth and smoke was seen rising from the great mountain in the Circling Stone.

The Midlands and the Eastern Lands tore apart

Because the great library of Holt Haliern was still being kept in tact during this time, the scholars could turn to the old texts telling of the Great Sundering and realized with much trepidation that this may happen once more. This time, however, the people of Airthai had not stood together to beg a sundering of the lands by the Creator, but the darkness in Airthai was as great, if not greater than before the Great Sundering.

In the Second Sundering, the great mountains – the Grey Mountains and the Cloudstepped Mountains – that once served as the border between the Midlands and the Eastern Lands tore apart. Great fire spewed from the area of the Circling Stone and great quakes ripped at the mountains, unlike any of the quakes which had been felt since the Great Sundering. And so, in the Second Sundering – also called the Time of Tears – the Continent ripped apart and lost being known as the place chosen by the Creator; unlike the Sundered Lands which lay to the south.

Forge: paths of fire 2, by Miguel Saavedra 

The Third Sundering and the Great Reckoning
Just before the Second Sundering, some of the Elders were visited by the Airus and warned that the Second Sundering would take place, but that this would not yet be the last of the breaking of the land. There would be a Third Sundering, breaking the lands once more and this Sundering would be brought about by the people of Airthai themselves.

After this Third Sundering, the time would not be long before the fourth and final sundering would take place. During this, the Final Sundering, the oceans would churn and rise and swallow all the lands. This would mean the death of all on Airthai, but there would also be a Great Reckoning of all, when those who followed Allwaldans would be sundered from those who had followed the Lewjan Lords and the darkness. And so it would be that the world of Airthai would end in fire and water.

The Great Office Trek II – The Curse of Too Many Dictionaries

A little over a year since the previous Great Office Trek, we received the call once more. This time we would move from building again (hey, it’s a huge company) and I would receive a new cubicle. On Friday I quickly packed all my things from my desk - realizing at twelve that I needed to be packed up by two. (Somehow the time passed much faster than expected while I was still scurrying around after the long weekend off.) So, with three boxes, a bubble wrapped computer and everything having my name taped all over it, I left for the weekend and looking forward to seeing the new offices. Not actually having to carry all my dictionaries two blocks by myself was simply delightful as well.

I had opted, however, to take most of the dictionaries home (where the preciousss would be safe for two days) and realised just how many books were actually crammed into the space next to me. I think some of them might have just appeared there – I couldn't remember when exactly it was that I decided I need my bilingual Oceanography Dictionary with me. But, in my defence, I had used it a few times. This meant taking only those I use the most back to the office on Monday.

Photo by Michal Zacharzewski 

Reaching the new offices – which are very nicely decorated in bright colours – I realized that I am not tech savvy. I take twice as long as anyone else finding the little box-thingy where you scan your access card. The taps in the bathrooms have buttons – buttons which look as if they should be on the Enterprise. I think I would have preferred the taps on Serenity – somehow I think I would be able to work those without looking like an idiot. But, I guess in a few days’ time it would all be second nature. I'm really holding on to that thought!

Our desks are new-ish, which means seeing more of your neighbours (which I like, thank goodness), but also means that there is a whole new desk to decorate. Yes, I said decorate. For some reason my brain seems only to be able to focus on my work if my desk isn’t the “proper empty desk with computer, phone and one file”-state you see on most brochures. I need colour, I need quotes and photos and, an action figure or two will also not go amiss!

 For the time being my bookcase is on the other side of the office, but I will take that as a reason to get at least slightly more exercise. Tomorrow the rest of the pile o’ books will take their place on the shelves and I will definitely make sure that anyone who dares to touch them without permission will be eaten by a thesaurus if a raptor cannot be found. Language Practitioners are like that.
Now… just to find a place to hide my coffee and tea stash…

In other writing news
I had one of those amazing epiphanies during the weekend when a lot about the world you are writing in (or building) becomes clear. I had known for some time that the stories of Airthai which I am writing at the moment are a build-up to more and more of the history of a changing world. I love the idea of taking one sliver of the time and telling the stories of the people of that specific time period – for instance the stories around the Midland Wars. I also got a clearer picture of the earlier history of the world while sketching out a map. (I still cannot get the flow of the story of “The Dragon Seeker” quite right.)
For Worldbuilding Wednesday (tomorrow), I will have a bit more of the history polished for posting.
I am also working on a shorter piece, which I hope to have finished by the weekend. At the moment I seem to have so many ideas! I think I should just make a list and randomly choose one to work one!

A Prequel to tomorrow's sequel

Last year I posted The Great Office Trek during June.
It was quite a good year. And then came the news... we're moving - again. So, I packed up all my stuff and this morning walked into my New Office.
So, tomorrow, I will bring you The Great Office Trek - The Curse of Too Many Dictionaries.

A “Better late than never” update

After being MIA for a while, you’d think that this would be a much longer post! But, alas, a shorter catch-up might be better.

Finish Year 2012

Mont Fleur, Stellenbosch, view from the top

One of the first things to go onto my Finish Year list was to get a paper accepted for the 2012 SASMARS Conference. Well, earlier this year I got the good news that it had been accepted and my list quickly changed to “finishing the paper”. The Conference was last weekend and it was a truly pleasurable experience. Not just great people, but the papers were all also very interesting. I gave my own paper on the Saturday and it went well – answering the questions afterwards with more than an “I have no idea” or having to hide under my table was also a great relief!
And, who wouldn’t want to spend a weekend in this great location:

View to the top...

Some other news:
The rest of the time away was because of being under the weather. I lost some time at work, but also some writing time. This have, however, taught me to always have some posts, etc. in the “storage cabinet” for when I am suddenly away from my “online life” for a while. My normal posts – fiction, worldbuilding and the like, will be back from next week.

Fynbos

Until then; á Agrai tellarias or s'agrélar silássa