Posts to Come

Forgive me Bloggers, for I have procrastinated. It has been 44 days since my last blog post.

Life seems to happen and I follow along, trying to catch a breath now and then. I'm sneaking in a quick post today before I run out with my son and wife to my son's Kindermusic class. My son, Christopher, will be turning three years old on Thursday. He's very excited. I think he's more excited about the play set/swing set that his Dad built for him in the back yard. Luckily I had help from a carpenter fried, or it never would have been finished before his birthday. As it was I spent twelve hours straight outside in the sun on Memorial Day working on it. And that was only one of the days we worked on it.

We are also fast approaching the arrival of my daughter. I don't believe I mentioned before that my wife and I are expecting a girl. Her name is Nanami Elizabeth. Nanami is Japanese for, "seven seas". It's a very pretty Japanese name, which grabbed our attention. But it is also a rarer name in Japan, which my wife likes. Her name, Rihoko, is another uncommon name used in Japan. Should Nanami cooperate we will be meeting her on Tuesday, July 31. We are very excited as this is the first granddaughter, second grandchild, on both sides of the family.

I want to inform everyone of some upcoming posts. Yes, I've taken the advice of people more experienced and blog-wise than I, and have planned out a few of my posts ahead of time. I am actually pulling from some college material. I will be sharing with you a four-chapter paper I wrote on J.R.R. Tolkien. This is a paper that I wrote in the Spring of 1997, yes 1997. I know that's ten years ago. And yes, I believe there's still good information in what I wrote back then. I have to, of course, acknowledge the fact that there have been so many wonderful developments in all things Tolkien during the last decade. Not the least of which was a little movie project you may have heard of. I am hoping to write another essay on the movie and its subsequent impact on the world of fantasy, particularly in its relationship with Hollywood.

The papers that I will be sharing with you are as follows:

Chapter One - Fantasy and Tolkien
Chapter Two - The Man That Was Tolkien
Chapter Three - The Choice Of The Ring
Chapter Four - Tolkien's Legacy

It was a lot of fun for me to brush the dust off of these papers and do a little editing to bring the style and voice more in sync with mine today. No, I did not alter them greatly. I realized that back in college, when I took the time to write, I produced some good material. That was great incentive for me to "make" more time in my life today so that I can re hone my skills and bring myself back to the level I know I can achieve.

I'll leave you with a quote I used in Chapter Three, by W.H. Auden.

"Man is a history-making creature for whom the future is always open."

Be well, you'll hear from me soon.