The Fireside

    Well, what a year for hockey, and for the Ottawa Senators. They had a few great games here and there, but what a shitty season. So shitty I barely bothered to blog about the games. I wasn't surprised that they didn't make the playoffs, though I always wanted them to.   Since they didn't make it through, I went for the St Louis Blues as my playoff hopeful. Now they're gone.   Speaking of playoffs and hockey, The Rivalry will happen again this year: Montreal vs Boston. And I say, go Boston.   Pittsburgh will most likely play New York (go Pitts), Chicago will play either Colorado or Minnesota (the playoff underdog), and Anaheim will play either LA or San Jose.   From here on out till the Cup, we should have some interesting hockey games.

I believe it was when season 2 of Game of Thrones was beginning to air that Chapters, a national bookstore (a Canadian version of Barnes and Noble) featured tables and displays with some Thrones merchandise, as well tables and displays marked as 'If You Like Game of Thrones, Try These...' and I can recall seeing some titles on display such as The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham, Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell, and some by Ken Follett (I forget if it was Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, or Fall of Giants.  Anyway, now that the newest season has begun, Chapters has a similar section on their website. Here are the books they list:

Apparantly my 'next-favourite-author' has been quite busy.

Peter Jackson officially made the announcement today: Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo's own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we've gone along. “There and Back Again” felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, i t suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the "Desolation of Smaug". When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate. And so: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" it is. As Professor T...

So I bet you're wondering how The Saga of Kalvel is coming.  It's going well, but slow. I'm not putting into as much time writing the series as I'd like. It's still being thought of in my head, and I'm only able to get to it part time, but I'm still planning and writing at the same time. This weekend I'm hoping to binge through some.  I'm working on the third chapter for one character, and would like to start the first chapter for another character. I begun as early as Dec. 2011, and my deadline is August of 2016, but so far I have approx about 40 completed manuscript pages that I'm thinking of going back to until the first draft is completely done.  Now. That's manuscript pages.  If I were total everything I'd ever written about Kalvel, it would be closer to around 100 (give or takr about 15 either direction, some things are in various states.) I've said before and again that the most difficult vo...

There seem to be new editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings headed our way in the fall [but not for The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales or Children of Hurin ?]   They are different from each other.       For The Hobbit , it was a reproduction of the very first edition ever published - before Tolkien revised it to better tie-in with Lord of the Rings [I'm not referring to his planned re-write after Lord of the Rings came out which he abandoned]. Most of us know of the current revised 'second' edition, as it had been in circulation longer than the original first book.    But now we are given a chance to read the complete original 1937 text. The description officially reads as: The Hobbit was published on 21 September 1937 with a print run of 1,500 copies. With a beautiful cover design by the author and a coloured frontispiece painting, the book proved to be popular and was reprinted within three ...

As some members of my friends and family can attest to, I drink a lot of beer that's not quite run of the mill to the average person. To the beer afficindo, they could be considered greats...hell I love them.  If you've been reading this blog for a while, it should come as no surprise that I quite enjoy Mill St, Beau's, and other craft breweries (keep an eye on Whitewater). A good number of them are Ontario microbreweries, so I apologize for mentioning something you can't have depending on where in the world you live.  My favorite beer, however, has to be the 'Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale'. It is brewed by Beau's, however, it is not their recipe from what I understand. It is thus far the only beer in the 'B-Side' brewling label. Uusually Beau's bottles are engraved with the famous tractor logo; Kissmeyer bottles are engraved with a record patterning. So Beau's basically brew's another recipe and that's the distinction....

It happened not long ago, but Microsoft has ended its support for one of their operating systems, Windows XP.  Microsoft has had their share of flubs over the years. My own experience consists of Windows 3.1, DOS, (is that made my Microsoft? I'll be sure to check when I'm less busy), Windows 95, Windows 95, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Also, I've used Vista, 7 and a little bit of 8. It was Windows XP that I've used the longest, however.  It launched way back in the fall of 2001, and built upon and enhanced (in my mind) upon the structure that Microsoft had been building since Windows 95, and were finally able to perfect at that point with technology and resources.  It used the familiar appearance and engine that began with Windows 95, but upgraded and enhanced it. It went on to further enhancements through Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Windows 8 uses an app based approach.  XP also launched with Home and Professional editions. Professional allowing mo...

George R.R. Martin has posted a sample from the forthcoming World of Ice and Fire book. the sample is entitled 'Aegon's Conquest', and can be found here: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/world-of-ice-and-fire-sample/ . Enjoy!

It's that time of year again - new season, means new beers get rotated.  There a re a few offerings by both Beau's and Mill St. Beau's is now offering the "Beaver River", which is their standard spring seasonal IPA. It is quite good, and as most real IPAs go, bitter. But not overbearingly so. This one of the IPAs that got me to be able to drink them. Some can be too bitter if you're not used to IPAs, but this was a great 'gateway'. It's available at the brewery, on bybo.ca , or the LCBO. For info on it, head to here:  http://www.beaus.ca/beer/seasonals/beaver_river Also, Mill St is offering their Spring Seasonal Mix Pack, which features two types of beer: The Portage Ale (made here in Ottawa, and for a while was exclusive to the Ottawa brewpub, nut now can be purchased in this mix pack), as well as the 'Spring Thaw Maple Ale.' It's good, but not 'maple-y' enough. I recommend the mix pack, but if you cou...

me: Bruins, Lightning, Pens, Flyers, Avalanche, Blues, Stars, Kings. I'm really rooting for the St Louis Blues. With Ottawa out, I'm going for a western team.  

Recently George R.R. Martin provided an update for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. What follows is a re-post from his own 'Not a Blog'. 

Tonight the final season of Mad Men begins. Much like Breaking Bad, this final season is split into two. The name of the episode to watch for is called 'Time Zones".

Aside from reading and writing altely, I've always been watching some TV here and there. I recently finished up the first season of Homeland , which was quite good. I'm looking forward to Netflix Canada posting the other seasons, as they only have season one. Hell on Wheels , also took care of the first season not long ago.  I also finished up the series for Avatar , which I liked more than I thought I would initially with season one. Oh, Futurama as well, which is over...for good? Presently though, I'm watching Clone Wars . I'm not much of a Star Wars fan, but I enjoy the space battles and light saber fights while eating for instance. I'm also working my way through House of Cards . I've only seen the first episode, and I thought it was quite good. Then again, I've been a fan of David Fincher's work since Fight Club and Seven.  Finally on the shows list which I'm presently watching is Stargate (SG-1) . I'm still very early on in, b...

Well, mine own writing is going well. I regret that I can only write 'part time' but Kalvel is always being thought of, fear not! It may be a bit before Volume One becomes a BOOK, and I hope (but am not promising) to have the rest out shortly thereafter: approx no more than three years between each book.   Anyway, a break!   For you Ottawa Citizens (or nearby) that like medieval weapons, armour and what not, Armoured Company of the Sword has some events coming up following this Saturday's which I covered in a post previously.   Ottawa Comic Con. Check out the Guild booth: selling swords, armour, and talking about class. Bill will also be holding his panel about armour and swords on the Saturday . I plan on topping by either the booth or panel, depending on times, and discussing weapons and armour a bit; because of the series I'm writing. It is my hopes to have a booth set up (not picky of size or duration) as early as the next con.  htt...

From the How to Train Your Dragon facebook page, here are some great Game of Thrones / Dragons crossovers.... This one is a little less obvious. Kit Harrington who plays Jon Snow on the HBO Thrones , does the voice for this character in Dragon 2 , hence this image.     The above poster is a 'spoof' on : http://www.moviedeskback.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/all-men-must-die-game-of-thrones-poster.jpg Lastly, the above image spoofs House Stark's sigil (as seen on HBO posters http://fangirlshub.com/fgh/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wallpaper-stark-1600-290x290.jpg ). I enjoy both Thrones and Dragons so this neat to see. And after season 4 ends, I'll get my big fantasy fix by seeing the second film in theaters. 

Breaking Bad finally gets the 'complete series' treatment on blu-ray on June 3. Read more info, courtesy of tvshowsondvd.com : 

Not long ago, I finished watching the first season of AMC's drama, Hell on Wheels .

This Saturday , there's going to be a good 'ol treat to be had.   Armoured Company of the Sword and Beau's are pairing up at Temple's Sugarbush for a fantastic day of entertainment. There's going to be swords and knights. There's going to be Beau's beer. There's going to be maple. What more could one want? For full details, head on over to : Would that I could attend this year, but sadly too much to be done. I'm fleshing out some history on one of the factions, as well as outlining a next chapter for Volume One. It's a character that will be one of the main five, but I haven't written anything about her yet.   One of our Partners, Beau's Brewery will be joining us on Saturday April 12th with beer samples at the door! Then you can try a Breakfast Biscuit with smoked ham, Swiss cheese and egg in a buttermilk biscuit, served with home style potatoes...and a glass of Lugtread. They are a local, family-run and totally...

As you may have heard by now, Game of Thrones has gotten renewed. What's surprising, though, is that it was a double renewal. So the show will go on till at least six seasons. Meanwhile, no news yet on Book Six, The Winds of Winter in the book series which it's based upon. Although I have a feeling we'll hear something anytime between now and May 29. May 30th is George's first 'major' appearance since about November and I have a feeling that he'll submit the manuscript for The Winds of Winter prior to departure (maybe sooner), with an announcement. Either way, I hope it's going well for him, and that Six and Seven give him minimal issue. 

Finally, House Martell of Dorne made its appearance on Game of Thrones And this is why I watch and enjoy Game of Thrones . I am first and foremost a fan of the books. They are more enjoyable to me than watching someone's version of it. But that someone has overall been doing  a great job. This episode had it all for me, as well as all the characters advancing, and introducing some new ones....most notably some family members of House Martell, a house we've never seen up until now (looking forward to actually seeing Dorne.) The episode begins with the forging of 'Two Swords', which serves as a nice intro to the season, and episode. From there, we meet the Martells of House Dorne....let's just say that Lannister haters have a new house to support.    All the main characters get re-introduced (and any secondary and tirtiary characters will get caught up with in future episodes.) I've read Blood and Gold, and A Feast for Crows (heck, also Dre...

As you may well know, tonight Season Four of Game of Thrones begins airing. The name of the episode is titled "Two Swords". The season is expected to finish on June 15. Please see my 'Game of Thrones Goodies' post to help pass the time before the season starts, between episodes, and the wait between Season Four and Season Five (and the wait for The Winds of Winter... . I will write a review of that episode after I see it. 

It is now finally time for me to change musical formats. 

At long last, The Elder Scrolls Online is now available for PC /Mac. Head on over to the official site to download the game. I would if I could, but my PC is somewhat outdated (doesn't meet the specs to play 'comfortably'...you know, fully maxed out). I do intend to get a new desktop at some point this year, so I'll join then. I will be playing 'Daggerfall Covenant' as a Breton. Have fun, and remember that this is not Elder Scrolls VI, nor is it meant to be. PC Recommended System Requirements Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8 64-bit Processor: Quad Core 2.3GHz or equivalent processor Memory: 4GB System RAM Hard Disk Space: 60GB free HDD space Video Card: Direct X 11 compliant video card with 2GB of RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® 560 Ti / ATI Radeon™ 6950 or better) Sound: DirectX compatible sound card PC Minimum System Requirements Operating System: Windows XP 32-bit Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor Memory:...

At long last, I've created a Facebook page for...myself! This, of course, is for me as an author and all things writing. I will still blog, but if you want the 'official' facebook page, or status updates (which will be covered via the blog, just not as frequent due to the length of a status vs length of an entry). So head here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeffrey-R-Hawboldt/717955721550094 if you wish to stay connected beyond the blog. I'll link all my blog posts there, little status teases, a few pics etc.  

The problem with being a reader, and one who visits bookstores often, is that you constantly discover new books and authors. When your reading pile is large, that can be a problem. However, the obvious benefit is that you get exposure to lets of (hopefully) good books.       That being said, one author who I've heard of in passing a few times over the years but haven't read yet, is Guy Gavriel Kay. Tolkien fans may recognize the name, as he worked with Christopher Tolkien on a little book called The Silmarillion . Wiki p edia states: When Christopher Tolkien needed an assistant to edit his father J. R. R. Tolkien 's unpublished work, he chose Kay, then a student of philosophy at the University of Manitoba , whose parents were friends of Baillie Tolkien's parents. Kay moved to Oxford in 1974 to assist Tolkien in the editing of The Silmarillion . There he learnt a lot about writing and editing, and later admitted of Tolkien's influ...