A Long Awaited Journey - The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.




WARNING: This review may contain spoilers.

I was delighted that we got to see Bilbo write that line in the start of the Red Book. Yes, I am a fan of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. I have read each probably twenty to thirty times over the years. I know them well. But just because I love the source material it doesn't automatically follow that I will love the films. In adapting any book to film there are many ways that it can be screwed up. When Peter Jackson made the Lord of the Rings films I was both excited and worried at what the result would be. However, he did a fantastic job (although not perfect. There are a few things that I would have done differently). I was much less worried about The Hobbit.

In a word, I would call The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey, excellent.

I did see the film twice. The first time in 3D, the second time in HFR 3D. Lets talk about the technology first. Peter Jackson chose to shoot The Hobbit in 3D at a high frame rate (HFR) of 48 frames per second. This is different than films we are used to seeing which are shot in 24 frames per second. The idea behind shooting at a higher frame rate is to produce crisper, sharper, more lifelike images. At 24fps there is much more motion blur in each frame and strobing can occur when the camera is moved about quickly. You get much less motion blur and strobing at 48fps.
There have been many reviews both good and bad about HFR.
It certainly does produce spectacularly real images. Even the Warner Brothers logo (the first thing you see on screen) looks like it is physically there in the theatre with you. Some people have complained that it makes it look like you are watching a high quaity video. I disagree. It does look different than what we are used to seeing. One effect that I did notice and others have talked about is that occassionally some fast motion looks like it is sped up. It is not, but it appears that way. I'm not sure what the physiology is that would cause that effect, but it is interesting. Another thing to note is that, as with any new technology, the film makers will need to adjust some of their techniques. I found that the HFR made camera movements more noticeable. So camera operators will have to be more careful when they shoot.
Ultimately whether you like the look or not will be a personal preference. My feeling is that it will take some getting used to. We are used to seeing movies at 24fps. But I liked it and think it will be here to stay.
By the way, 24fps was never some magic number that gave the best look for films. It was simply the lowest frame rate (so less film could be used) that you could sync sound to when sound was added to pictures. They could have chosen any other number but it was 24.

Now, the film itself.

With The Lord of the Rings, I had many issues with how some of it was adapted to film (although still loved the movies). I have far fewer issues with how at least this first part of The Hobbit has been adapted to the screen.
It starts with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) writing the first lines of The Red Book of Westmarch (the book that in the Middle Earth universe tells the tale of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings). "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". What a wonderful beginning.
We are then treated to the story of Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain and the coming of the dragon Smaug to Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. It is an action packed prologue in which we get to see the amazing dwarf city in the mountain and are teased with quick firey images of Smaug.
We then get into the real story 60 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) meets Gandalf who is seeking someone to share in an adventure. Bilbo wants nothing to do with adventures but he is visited by the thirteen dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's company and suddenly finds himself involved in one.
The scenes in Bag End with the dwarves are nice. There are even two songs. The book is full of songs.
Once on the road the adventure begins. Most of the scenes from the book are there. We have the meeting of the trolls. This scene is a little different than the book but the heart of it is the same. We go to Rivendel, climb the mountain passes where the company barely escapes a battle between stone giants, then the company is caught by the goblins (orcs) and Bilbo is separated from them.
The scenes with Bilbo and Gollum are amoung the best in the film. They are funny, but you are aware of the peril that Bilbo is in. The game of riddles is fantastic. The ultimate point where Bilbo has the chance to kill Gollum but doesn't ("It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand" - Gandalf - LOTR) is quite emotional. You did feel pity for Gollum.
The film ends after the Eagles rescue the company from the fir trees. The company is left high atop a rock where they get a long didtance glimpse of the Lonely Mountain. And then we (big spoiler) get our first real look at Smaug. He stirs from his sleep and opens an eye.

There are many things that have been added that were not in The Hobbit, but have been taken from the appendices of the Lord of the Rings. These are events that actually occured during the time of The Hobbit and tie it in with the Lord of the Rings. I think they add to the enjoyment of the film. Some of the highlights are Radagast the Brown entering Dol Guldur or the council between Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman.

By the way, Cate Blanchett's entrance in the film is stunning.

Some people have complained that the film is too long. I disagree. I like that they have taken the time to tell the story. Too many films are rushed. People also complained that the Lord of the Rings had too many "endings". This of course is nonsense. LOTR could have done well with more material and time added.

The few issues I have with The Hobbit are more about Peter Jackson's style than anything else. He seems to like the over the top action sequences. At times I found that I really had to suspend my disbelief to buy that anyone could have survived a fall for instance. They also seem to ignore the geography of Middle Earth or the time passage in order to conveniently move the story along.

Overall, it is a fantastic film. Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins. You can't really imagine anyone else as the Hobbit. The thirteen dwarves are a challenge to get to know (in the book it is the same), but a few, Thorin, of course, Balin and Bofur have so far been developed quite well. I found it particularly satisfying to get to know Balin. It makes the scene in the Lord of the Rings where they find Balin's tomb in Moria more impactful.

Now we have to wait for part two. I will be interested to see how far that will take us. I suspect probably up to the destruction of Lake Town which would leave the battle of five armies and the journey home for part three.

 

The Transit of Venus

Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun today, June 5th, 2012. This is called the Transit of Venus. If you missed it, you will not be able to see it unless you live for another 105 years. The next Transit of Venus will be in 2117.

So if you missed it, I got some photos for you.




Update:

Now NASA has released its footage from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Naturally it puts my photos to shame. It is incredible to see the Sun in such detail. Enjoy.

Annular Solar Eclipse May 2012

For those in the right place on the planet, an annular solar eclipse was visible on May 20th, 2012. The lucky ones witnessed a "ring of fire". This is where the moon has almost completely covered the sun leaving only a firey ring visible around the edge. This is different from a total eclipse in which the entire suns surface is covered. In the case of an annular eclipse, this does not happen because the moon happens to be at its furthest point away from the Earth in its orbit thus making it appear slightly smaller.

A "ring of fire" would be spectacular to see. Unfortunately from my location near Toronto, Canada we did not see that. Those watching would see a small section carved out of the sun right at sunset. And for those that were not watching, I did the watching for you.

Watch the video:

Supermoon 2012

The night of May 5th, 2012 saw a Supermoon. A supermoon is when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit while at the same time being a full moon. The last time this occurred was March 19th, 2011.

Read my blog from then: Supermoon March 19th, 2011

Here are photos from tonight's Supermoon.

"The Cabin in the Woods" Review

WARNING: This review is full of spoilers. In order to really explain what I liked and why I thought the film worked it is necessary to refer to specific plot points. Do not read this unless you have seen the film.

I went to this film knowing very little about it other than that people had said that it was good and was not what you might expect. I think that was the best way to go see this film. If you haven't seen "The Cabin in the Woods" yet, please stop reading now and see it before you know too much about it.

"The Cabin in the Woods" is directed by Drew Goddard and written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly as Dana, the smart and sexually inexperienced girl, Chris Hemsworth as Curt, the athletic jock, Anna Hutchison as the slutty girl, Jules, Fran Kranz as the pot smoking Marty, and Jesse Williams as Holden, the guy that they are trying to set up Dana with. As the tag line for the film says, "Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen."

It was important for the film makers to set the tone for this film right from the start. The film takes the stereotypes of the horror, thriller genres and stands them on their heads. If they didn't set it up right the audience could easily be lost or be confused as to what film they were watching. The set up starts right as the main titles role. The credits appear with menacing music and bloody graphics until BAMM! Suddenly we are in a conversation between two middle aged engineer types talking gossip and work. At this point you are not sure what to think. That scene ends with a cheesy title card for the film. Still not sure what to think.

The film then settles into what appears to be a typical set up for a typical horror, thriller. We are introduced to each of the characters. To me each seemed almost too stereotypical at first, but I believe this was intentional. We have the strong, athletic guy, the hot girl, the smart girl, the pot smoking hippy and Scooby Doo. In fact they all get into an RV (the Mystery Machine) and head up to the cabin.

As they leave we get the first real hint as to what is going on. A man with an earpiece reports that the group has left and is on their way. He is reporting to the very engineer types, played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, that we met at the beginning of the film. They are in some sort of control room. They are joined by Amy Acker.

Our gang of five stop for gas on the way and meet a strange and creepy guy who warns them of the dangers ahead. Of course they ignore him and continue on their way. In a particularly funny scene, he is revealed to be on the payroll for the organization.

So, if you have seen the film you will know that what is really happening is that some organization, we really don't know exactly who, is in charge of making sacrifices to some ancient evil force to keep the world safe and that our five young people are to be among those sacrificed. Pretty cool. What was so well done was the way that this was revealed to us. They never gave away too much too early. So while you might be able to guess a little of what was really going on, you never got the full picture until the very end.

Some of the hints that were dropped were really cool. We would see images of other sacrifices around the world on the control room monitors. My favourite was the Japanese school room with a "Ring" like ghost attacking the school girls.

The film did a great job of playing out the typical slasher type thriller scenes in the cabin and mixing it with the humour of the scenes in the control room. There were some genuinely funny moments like the team betting on what creatures would attack the young folks in the cabin.

Most horror films employ a bit of humour mixed with the horror, but this film did it remarkably well.

One moment that really stood out for me was the first death. Jules and Curt go out into the woods. They are hot for each other. This is all being watched by the group in the control room. When it seems like the two are not going to get it on, the control room releases pheromones and adds some mood lighting to encourage them. They are a success when they are able to get boobies exposed.
We are taken from scenes of people joking, to sexual tension, to joking around , to sexual tension, then the killer zombies appear and cut of Jules head.

Normally in a thriller the kills are expected and anticipated, but by cutting between the sex, and the casual joking around of the observers, to the kill, and then back to observers joking, we are not sure how to feel. For me I found Jules death had more impact because it felt wrong to be laughing at it.

Once the surviving duo of Dana and Marty, figure out what is going on and enter the control centre, we are treated to almost every monster and nightmare you can imagine. The cameo appearance of  Sigourney Weaver was a treat. When the tables are turned on the controllers it is very satisfying. However it is hard to imagine how our heroes will survive and in fact we are left believing that they don't.

I did find myself genuinely caring for the characters. They had been drawn as broad stereotypes (this is really because they were being chemically controlled by the organization to be such) but ended up being likable. I even felt for the guys in the control room when they met their demise, especially for Bradley Whitford's character who got taken out by a merman.

"The Cabin in the Woods" was all in all a really good film.

Cold Algonquin Spring

I have just returned from a four day canoe trip in one of my favourite places in the world, Algonquin Park.

Spring is an interesting time to go. The weather can be extremely variable, especially in early spring, which is what we discovered on this trip. When we booked the trip, the long range forecast showed that it would be a comfortable temperature with sun and perhaps a little bit of cloud. As it got closer that changed. We arrived in the park to a light snow and a temperature of -5 degrees. Some might call us crazy, but we got into the canoe and off we went. This is our trip.

photo: (There is a thin layer of ice on the water directly in front of the canoe)


The two of us on this trip are myself and a friend that I used to work with, Tim. We arrived at Algonquin Park just after 10:00am. There was a light snow in the air and it was cold. Not to worry we would soon be warm from paddling the canoe, if we could first get it through the thin layer of ice between us and the creek.

This is a really nice part of the park to canoe. Our start point was right on the edge of Highway 60 just west of the main visitor centre. We put in into Sunday Creek. This is the same creek that flows through the Spruce Boardwalk Trail (which is in fact on the other side of the highway). Sunday Creek meanders through a marshy area on its way to Norway Lake. That part of the trip is not very long, maybe 30 - 40 minutes. There are a few beaver dams across the creek. They were all fairly easy to push the canoe over going downstream.

From Norway Lake we followed another small section of river to Fork Lake. This portion had a slightly larger beaver dam. We made it over going down but knew that it would require getting out on the way back.

Once on Fork Lake we looked for our campsite. We had a choice of two. One was on the north west shore and the other was on a small island. From a distance we could see that the island looked rather sparse as far as trees. This would make it difficult to find wood for the campfire. On the plus side, there would be more sun. We were closer to the site on the north west shore so we chose to take a closer look at that first. Up a steep bank was the site. There was not really any good place to put the tents and it was clear that this would be in shade from mid-afternoon on. There was, however a big pile of would left behind by whoever had that site before. That would be ours.

We paddled over to the island. It was very nice despite there being some snow on the ground in the shaded areas. This is where we would stay for the next four days. We unloaded, then took a trip back to the other site to claim the wood. The wood, we knew, would not be enough. Like I said, it was cold. If it got above zero that first day we were lucky, so we knew that we would be needing a fire to keep warm from evening into night. So the search was on for more wood.

photo: (snow on the ground as we arrived at the island)

We canoed to a couple of portage points in our search for wood. There were plenty of dead trees and branches so we made daily trips to collect wood. And boy did we need it.

photo: (Tim and wood in the canoe)

I should mention, that I had unfortunately caught a cold earlier in the week and was not completely over it. Now the cold weather wasn't helping. The night of April 27th the forecast said that the temperature dropped to -10 degrees. I believe it! We had a good fire going from late afternoon onwards just trying to keep warm.I took a rock from the fire to heat my tent. That really works well for a couple of hours.

photo: (a nice warm fire)

photo: (a hot rock sitting atop a cold rock in my tent)


So the first night was fine to start off. The hot rock made my tent warm and the two bottles I filled with hot water also kept me warm for a few hours. Then it got really cold. I have a mummy bag that I believe is rated to about -12 degrees. Not quite sure what that means. It certainly doesn't mean that you will be comfortable in -10 degrees. Perhaps it just means that you won't freeze to death, I don't know. I also will be getting rid of the mummy bag and getting a conventional bag. To keep warm, I had it completely done up, only my face showing out of the top. Now you can't really move inside a mummy bag and it is a little difficult to get out of. Anyway, at some point in the night, I think around 2am, I woke to a cough. I realized that I couldn't breath at all through my nose. Combine that with the cough and the constricted movement of the mummy bag, I suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic. I felt like I couldn't breath. It was not nice. Despite the cold, I got out of my sleeping bag, put on my shoes and went outside for a few minutes.

I highly recommend going outside when it is pitch dark in the deep of the night when the sky is clear. The stars are stunning. Hopefully, in most cases it will not be so cold.

photo: (from previous trip to Norway Lake)

I had had thoughts that night about never being warm again. I pictured four days with no reprieve from the cold. But the next day was a little warmer, and sitting in the sun, out of the wind brought the warmth back.

The great thing about canoeing to a site and staying there, rather than moving each night, is that you can just relax and enjoy nature. While we did have to get wood every day, we also got to explore a little. We followed one of the portage routes along a stream with rapids and a small waterfall.

photo: (waterfall)

And we were able to just sit back and watch the days go by.



The second day some other people arrived at the site on the northwest shore of the lake. We felt bad for a second that we had taken the pile of wood from there, but then we got over it. The second night, being a little warmer, I stayed up to take some photos.

photo: (starry sky and campfire at the other campsite)

photo: (moon veiled by thin clouds at night)

photo: (canoe in the moonlight)


Getting back to nature is amazing. It is a good experience to be at the mercy of weather. I mean really at its mercy, not just inconvenienced as you go to and from your warm home to work or shopping. Out there, we had to deal with unexpected cold and with wind. We had to find ways to stay warm. It literally could be deadly if we were not prepared. But we also had calm and comfortable moments. And all of it is beautiful.

As with every trip, you look forward to going home, but are sad to leave.

Watch as we make the one and a half hour canoe trip from our little island back to the highway in just under a minute.

"If I Wanted America to Fail"

I recently watched a video entitled, "If I Wanted America to Fail". The video is produced by FreeMarketAmerica.org . I came across it through a link posted on twitter by Sarah Palin. As you can imagine this video is four minute and thirty-nine second piece of right wing propaganda.

Unfortunately we now live in a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a straight story from people. The media (of all stripes) tends to report opinion rather than facts. They will have a pundit on from one side giving their view and then a pundit from the other side giving an opposing view. Then they typically wrap up the story with neither side agreeing and the viewer wondering what is the actual truth. I do put a lot of blame on journalists for this. It should be their job to research and report the facts. It's fine to have differing views on, but please, when somebody is talking out of their ass call them on it!

Back to the video. Click the link to watch it http://youtu.be/CZ-4gnNz0vc

The video makes a lot of claims that are either untrue or designed simply to put fear into the hearts of people. Fear of the evil liberals and progressives. By the way, I really don't think that most conservatives actually know the meaning of those words.

It starts out making the statement that if you wanted America to fail, "to suffer, not prosper, to despair, not dream. I'd start with energy." The rest of the video goes on to say that the only way for America to prosper is to use its cheap and abundant energy while showing oil rigs and coal production. It complains that politicians (obviously aimed at the Obama administration) want to make people feel guilty about using energy.

It then continues with the phony argument that schools had been teaching kids that an ice age was coming decades ago and now we have to worry about global warming. Of course if there is a cold spell, the name changes to climate change.

They make references to Al Gore preaching green technology while still using a lot of energy himself.

Then they talk about the free market being the be all and end all for prosperity.They attack regulations as evil things that must be removed or there will be no prosperity.

It ridicules efforts to protect endangered species. They call the environmental movement an economic suicide pact.


Wow!

Now let's take a look at some of these points. The cheap and abundant energy that they refer to is oil, natural gas and coal. All fossil fuels. These are people that have very little scientific knowledge if they don't believe that burning fossil fuels pumps tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. I think that it may be worse than that. They may actually be smart enough to know the truth but willfully ignore it because it is more profitable in the short term or too inconvenient to make the necessary changes.

For those that truly don't believe that climate change is real try this little experiment. Take two large jars (the bigger the better). Put a thermometer in both. Fill one with plain old air and the other with carbon dioxide (CO2), or if you have access to it, use methane (another greenhouse gas). Now put the jars out in the sun. Take a look at the thermometers. The one with the greenhouse gas inside will be at a significantly higher temperature. The greenhouse gases trap heat. That is precisely what is happening in our atmosphere.

Now I know very few of you will try the experiment for yourself, so that is why there are scientists that work on these things every day. They build models that make predictions, then they make observations that will either confirm or deny their predictions. The prediction that the world will get warmer with more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been proven, that's right, proven by observation.

If you can't accept peer reviewed science then you should not be driving a car or reading this on your computer. It is the same scientific method that has given us all the technology that we use and rely on today.

In regards to America only prospering if it uses its cheap abundant energy, this is folly. There would likely be short term profit and prosperity for those in those industries but the long term cost of climate change would dwarf that. The video implies that green energy is expensive. It is more expensive at the moment. That is why we need to develop those technologies faster so that they become more efficient economically. India is doing wonders promoting the use of solar and the prices have dropped to be competitive with other forms of energy in that country.
http://ecowatch.org/2012/ambitious-solar-program-in-india-driving-prices-to-impressive-lows/

Think about how much more prosperous America would be if it had developed good reliable clean energy in the forms of solar or wind or a myriad of other techniques. These are sources that will never be depleted. Oil, natural gas and coal are finite. Granted there is plenty of coal to last a long time, but then again we come to the fact that we are burning it. We are putting CO2 that was captured out of the atmosphere millions and years ago back into the atmosphere. If we burn a tree (still not good) but that is newly captured carbon that can be captured again by new trees. What we are doing when we burn fossil fuels is putting greenhouse gases that have been out of circulation back into the cycle. The only possible result is an increase in temperature or climate change.

The attack on Al Gore in unfounded. It is true that he uses a good amount of energy. We all do. It is the only way we can live our modern lifestyle. All the more reason for us to develop clean energy so we can still have that lifestyle without the negative consequences of burning fossil fuels. These are not limited to greenhouse gases. Over 2.4million people die every year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.





The video attacks regulations. Regulations are put in place for a good reason. To stop people or companies from doing things that harm others or the environment. News for you; we all live in the same environment! Obviously regulations should be well thought out and efficiently enforced but to say that they should be done away with so that profit can be made is short sighted and dangerous. The free market is good. Capitalism is good, but unbridled capitalism is as bad or worse than any other 'ism you wish to mention.

Protecting other species is of the utmost importance. When species go extinct it is a clear sign that something is wrong. Again, we live in the same environment as they do. Always better to ere on the side if caution than steamroll ahead with no regard to other species. Teddy Roosevelt, a conservative, created the National Park system.

Calling the environmental movement a suicide pact is ridiculous. Not doing what we can to protect the environment is sure suicide. Believing anything else is willful ignorance.

I have included some links to recent articles that show the effects of neglecting the environment. I strongly encourage you to read them. Maybe you will learn something. Having an open mind and accepting actual evidence is far more important that rigidly and blindly sticking to an ideology.

The Global Cooling Myth
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/01/the-global-cooling-myth/

Global Warming Has Driven Europe's Mountain Plants to Migrate 2.7m Upwards in 7 Years
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/275046_Global_Warming_Has_Driven_Euro

Antarctica Ice Melting Caused By Warm Water From Below, Study Claims
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/antarctica-ice-melting-study_n_1453179.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

State of Flux Images of Change
http://climate.nasa.gov/sof/#Icemelt_Alaska13.jpg

Fracking in Ohio
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/hhenderson/fracking_in_ohio.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+switchboard_all+%28Switchboard%3A+Blogs+from+NRDC%27s+Environmental+Experts%29

Oh, and for those interested, here are the definitions of liberal and progressive.

Liberal:

a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.

b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

Progressive:

1. Moving forward; advancing.

2. Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change.

3. Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership.

from TheFreeDictionary.com