The Fireside

Well, I thought I'd provide an update thus far, to let everyone know how the year is so far. I generally post news that interests me, as well as others, but I wanted to provide a general summary. I've been playing the heck out of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild  on wii u. If there are any wii u owners have a hard time tracking it down, may I suggest buying it off the eshop? It's going quite well....I want to talk about it, but I don't want to ruin anything though! Perhaps I'll share my thoughts closer to when the first DLC batch rolls around...that way, hopefully, very mild spoilers will be known. It's officially spring now! Even though it may not seem  like it, due to winter weather not wanting to leave.I love winter, and the snow. But enough is enough. I suppose I wish we always had all 4 seasons lasting the same amount of time, weather wise. The reading has slowed down a tad, in favor of my playing Zelda . I'm reading on the ereader when I trave...

We finally have a look at what the deluxe edition of the forthcoming Beren and Luthien  deluxe edition will look like! It is a dark green. The Children of Hurin  was blue. So, if I am correct to assume, that should The Fall of Gondolin  be published in a similar style, that the deluxe edition will be coloured dark red, almost maroon. Appropriately enough, this was revealed on 'Tolkien Reading Day', one of the dates celebrated by Tolkien fans. the others include Tolkien's Birthday, ad well as Sept. 22 [Bilbo 's & Frodo's Birthdays, as well as the publication of the The Hobbit , the first book to be published that is set in Middle-earth.] Apparently, it features a nightingale motif, which is appropriate considering the fact that "Tinuviel", Luthien's last name, is Elvish for "nightingale." This motif is most likely designed by Alan Lee, who also provided similar motifs for the deluxe editions of The Children of Hurin  and Tales From th...

So there's a new Nintendo system out. That means, someday, it'll get a brand new Smash bros game on it. I'm not talking about a deluxe version of an existing one (look at Mario Kart 8  for the wii u, and then Mario Kart 8   Deluxe  for the Switch) but a brand new Smash game. The Smash game have always 'updated' their characters as they've had changes to them throughout the series. Take a look at Mario's move set from Smash 64, Smash Bros. Melee, Smash Bros. Brawl, and Smash Bros. U  to see what I mean. Because of the fact that Breath of the Wild  was an overhaul for the Zelda series, I think it's safe to speculate that Link will change for the next entry, possibly Zelda as well. At the very least, I can see Zelda getting a new skin change. Link, on the other hand, will be quite different than what we've seen before. I am talking about Breath of the Wild  Link replacing the normal "Link". If there's an additional Link, I can ...

One of my all-time favourite albums is getting the deluxe vinyl boxed set treatment. It's The Joshua Tree  by U2; possibly the very best album they've done. The package is quite extensive, so my post is about the contents of the set. It'll be available June 2 .  Here are the contents: Super Deluxe 7LP Box Set Bespoke boxset. Cover features a textured embossed gold foiled Joshua tree icon. This collector’s boxset includes: 7 pieces of original, live and unreleased recordings on 12” 180gsm vinyl. 3.5hrs of audio content / 49 tracks (25x unreleased tracks: 17x live, 7x new mixes, 1x archive track) • The Joshua Tree double album (gatefold) with a download code for a digital version • The Joshua Tree Live at Madison Square Garden double album 1987 (gatefold) • The Joshua Tree Remixes • The Joshua Tree Outtakes • The Joshua Tree B-Sides • The Joshua Tree – Photographs by The Edge. An 84-page hardback book of personal never-before seen photography by The Edge, taken during t...

I don't have any [documented] Irish Blood in me, I've got English, Scottish and German. However, I like a good tasting drink, and encourage others to enjoy their taste buds. I never understood the appeal of ruining beer by making it green. Sure it doesn't affect the taste....but still. If you're going to party on St Patrick's Day, do it properly. Here are some Irish drinks to enjoy today: BEER - Guiness - Kilkenny - Smithwicks - Harp I recommend giving each of those a try. If you're looking to drink "a lot" or for a "normal beer", go with Harp. Especially if you plan on having other non-beer drinks. If you're just sticking with beer, well then have all 4, but go from heaviest to lightest [the order iIlisted the beers in.] If you're feeling fancy, you can even try this: Tilt and fill a pint glass just over halfway with pale ale. Wait a few seconds for foam to settle. Turn a spoon upside-down so the back is facing upwards. Put the...

The premiere date is July 16.  Which means….the absolute earliest that  Winds  can come this year would be…..the week of September 3. Also, if George doesn’t say “the book is coming out this year” or whatever BY October, it will not be published in 2017.   I arrive at this conclusion because it would be silly of them to release the book WHILE the show is airing, despite them being 2 different things. October or later means that the book won’t have enough time to ‘become’ a book to be out in 2017. Ultimately, it means George has pretty much until Season 7 premieres to finish the writing the book if it’s to come out this year.

One of my favourite music artists (of ‘today’, I mean…) is Ed Sheeran. He appeals to my music tastes. I was a latecomer to the party, though I did discover him because of his song “I See Fire” which appeared on the soundtrack (and end titles) for The Hobbit: Part 2 back in 2013. Looking at his music, I discovered a pattern. 1) He has released an album every 3 years since 2011 2) All his albums. So far, are named after the main / basic / key mathematic functions: Plus (+), Multiply (X) and now Divide (….there isn’t a key for that on my keyboard.) Because of that ‘pattern’ I’ve discovered, I believe that his next album (not his newest one, Divide, released last week) will be titled “Minus” (or “Subtract”) feature a – on the cover, and be coloured red. That one will be released in 2020. Following that, Ed will release what could very well be his final album, titled “Equal” (=) . This one will most likely be on a pure white background, and be released in 2023. Following this...

So I promise I won’t spoil anything from the game, including location names [beyond the starting zone]. I haven’t even barely begun to scratch the surface of the game in all aspects, but I wanted to give my thoughts thus far. I will also include a few hints and tips and the odd warning where necessary. Everything you’ve heard about this new game is true. All those single-word reviews that praise the game, they are not wrong. Nor can I say anything that’s already been said about the game thus far. I will offer my thoughts, opinions, reactions etc. So far, this is the Zelda I’ve always wanted. Not quite since ever, but I’d say since Ocarina of Time . I say that because that game in particular changed not only gaming, but the Zelda franchise itself [ using a shield, targeting, etc…] plus the idea of moving about in a 3D environment. A Link to the Past I’ve always quite enjoyed, as that’s the game that gave us the Master Sword, the Hookshot…plus gave us a huge world to explore. A...