The Fireside

Earlier this week, Tolkien’s prose translation of Beowulf was published in paperback for the first time. It appears to be pretty similar to the hardback edition. The ISBN for the release is: 9780008116583. The translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of the poem by the translator himself, in the written form of a series of lectures given at Oxford in the 1930s; and from these lectures a substantial selection has been made, to form also a commentary on the translation in this book. From his creative attention to detail in these lectures there arises a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if he entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as ...

It’s now time to start choosing your favourites! Beau’s is letting their drinkers choose which 4 bottles will go into the Best of Beau’s 2015 Mix Pack. Head on over here http://beaus.ca/vote/ to begin voting. They’re doing it a bit different this year, it appears to be in a series of ‘rounds’ (of pints?) . So head on over, vote wisely, and hope for the best! My picks: - Wag the Wolf - Boghopper - Mission Accomplished - Rudolphous VI -  Opa’s Gose - Dry Irish Stout - Doc’s Feet - Bogfather - Hogan’s Goat - Ellsmere’s Regret - Burnt Rock - Two Week’s Notice - Oktobock - Bottle Imp - Rauchstack  My custom set, "Moumou's Selection 2015" would consist of: - Wag the Wolf - Opa's Gose - Dry Irish Stout - Hogan's Goat

What a great weekend at the con. This year, I came as prepared as I could: I printed off a map of the floor plan (not necessary due to my guide book), as well as compiled a list of comics I wanted to get a hold of. Guest-wise, in terms of Q&As and autographs was extremely minimal this year. Actually, no autographs due to my comic budget, and the fact that I bought a brand new phone, when it is still considered ‘new’ on the market! [the iphone 6 64GB] That’s OK, though – meant I got to enjoy a different side of the con this year (wandering and shopping) as opposed to waiting for Q&As. The deluxe is definitely worth it, though if you never been to the con or have no set agenda, the regular suits just fine. Due to my geekery, I opt for deluxe. Hardly any, if any, complaints at all. Mine would be associated with the fact I was there all weekend, and did a lot of walking. But you know what? That’s ANY con you go to, or any week-end long event. Likewise with the...

Well, it's nearly here - the 2015 Ottawa Comic Con. The con runs from this Friday - Sunday, and I am definitely well-prepared. I have created a shopping list, printed off a map, and withdrawn funds for said shopping. Tomorrow I'll be picking up the tickets, then Friday - Sun is enjoying the con itself. This space will be a little quite until Tues - Wed of next week. I'll do a re-cap of my adventures. Hope to see you there!

Are you a fan of Donkey Kong? How about Banjo-Kazooie ? How about other 3D adventure playform games where you need to collect things? Well, there's a new coming up that may be for you. Playtonics, formed of Rare's older, better staff, is putting anew game together called Yooka-Laylee. The game is set to arrive in Oct 2016, on pretty much all current gen gaming platforms. The game launced on Kickstarter a while ago, where you can find it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival Depending on how much you wish to donate donate, as you can see, you'll get special bonuses (I'm going for the one which offers up a download copy of the game on consoles) The game already met its targeted goal, and will come out in 2016, unless there's unforseen delays. Playtonics was intending to make the game anyway - the Kickstarter is them asking for fans' input (and yes, finances) to help make the game better. For example, with ...