“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” LEGOS

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been geeking out about The Hobbit way too much these days. Finally saw the movie on Friday (and LOVED it!) and am seeing it again tomorrow with a Tolkien aficionado who will no doubt help answer some of my burning questions. I won’t spoil the movie for you by telling you anything more, but, know this…Smaug ends very abruptly with a doozy of a cliffhanger.  Yes, we have to a whole year to find out what happens. Unless, you could always, you know, read the book. But, even then, Peter Jackson’s Hobbit is so markedly different from Tolkien’s, that you never know what he has in store for us. Either way, be prepared to be left hanging.

Luckily, for big old toy geeks like myself,  there will plenty of fun, Middle-Earth adventures to be had while we wait for the next movie thanks to LEGO’s very cool line of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings LEGO sets. And since Greta just recently “graduated” to “big kid LEGOS” from her old DUPLO play sets. Now I actually have a totally valid excuse for dumping loads of cash into the beautiful The Hobbit LEGO sets. You know, because, ahem, I’m buying them for her too now.

Anyway, if you haven’t already seen them in stores or online, the LEGO sets are gorgeous and as textured, detailed and visually stunning as the movies they are based on. So far I only have the mini-pack Riddles of the Ring which includes LEGO mini figurines of Bilbo and Gollum as well as not one, but two shiny golden rings. You know, in case your kid drops one in the fires of Mordor or something. And while that set is cool, you can’t really build too much with it, so, I’m hoping Santa got my memo and sends me a couple more sets for Christmas.

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Hobbit Fever!

Longtime readers will know that I am something of a geek when it comes to all things Middle Earth. Not only did I see most of The Lord of the Rings films at least twice on the big screen, but, last week, I had the chance to do the same thing with the soon-to-be-released The Hobbit as well.

Last Tuesday night, went to a Hobbit screening with Mrs. Yeti while our friend Tevana babysat Greta — they watched The Wizard of Oz, so, at least they enjoyed a great literary film as well!  — and then last Friday, I took Tevana to another Hobbit screening as payment for babysitting. Turns out Tevana is an even bigger Tolkien fan than I am, so, our post-screening discussion of the movie (which was amazing and may be even a little better than the first film of the LOTR trilogy, if you ask me) was positively nerdtastic. She answered all my questions like a true Tolkien scholar. So awesome!

Better still, said discussion was held at Denny’s over steaming plates of their new Hobbit-themed menu offerings — she had the Shire Sausage, which I highly recommend, and I had the Pumpkin Patch Pancakes, which are as good as they sound! — so, we had fun.

Another fun thing I got to do, in my new persona as a roving journalist for the airline industry (don’t worry, I don’t actually call myself that…yet), was cover a story about the touch down of Air New Zealand’s new The Hobbit-themed aircraft at LAX. Adorned with beautiful full color images of the cast, the plane was gorgeous and the event was held atop LAX’s landmark Encounter restaurant, so, that was pretty cool too.

Anyway, if you’re interested in reading my account of the day, click here. And if you’re looking for more info on Air New Zealand’s super fun The Hobbit marketing tie-ins, you gotta check out their cheeky inflight safety video below. It’s hilarious! They don’t call themselves “The official airline of Middle Earth” for nothing!

Oh, and finally, do yourselves a favor this weekend and check out The Hobbit on the big screen. I watched it in 2D and 3D and though I am usually not a huge fan of 3D movies, the 3D in this film is so insanely well done and so totally immersive that both Tevana and I were swatting at the air in front of us throughout the movie. I told Mrs. Yeti that I watched a mere movie with her on Monday, but actually journeyed to Middle Earth with our friend on Friday. I know it sounds nerdy, but, it’s true. So, if you get a chance to see it twice, try it both ways and see which you like best.

And if you get to Denny’s make sure and ask for a pack of The Hobbit trading cards with your Hobbit-themed entree. I’m looking for a Galadriel or a Gollum to complete my collection!