Monday, April 14, 2008

There and Back Again





At any given moment, I'm feeling the pangs of nostalgia. Whether it's for 80s music or 90s tv shows or the boy band hysteria, I'm eternally hankering for the good ole days of my pop culture past.

These days my nostalgic gaze is turned toward the year 2003 and a little movie about the return of a king and the little hobbit who could.

That's right. I'm totally and utterly a sentimental sap for The Lord of the Rings.

In a previous blog I talked about how LOTR (as the cool kids say) popped my geek cherry. And now, five years later, it has surprisingly come back into my life.

For a class, I've been assigned to read the books and honestly, I couldn't be happier.

Wait a minute, a college student who actually likes and will do the reading assigned? Contrary to popular belief, they do exist and one of them is typing this here blog right now!

Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yes. I remember.

When I cracked open the books a few weeks ago, it all came back to me. Not just of reading the books or watching the movies, but that whole experience. The idea of leaving the comforts of home to journey to places unknown was not just for hobbits, dwarves and elves. As a high school senior that year, I too was about to embark on a journey of sorts. But instead of ending up in the dark and mysterious land of Mordor, I found myself in the cement covered land of UMass Dartmouth, where guys with popped collars roamed instead of Orcs (and they were just as ugly).

And my assignment isn't the only thing bringing back the memories. In fact, it seems like serendipity has intervened and supplied with me with a dish of LOTR goodness to satiate my nostalgia.

First of all, I'm surrounded by many LOTR loving friends. So when I'm feeling extra sad after watching Frodo sail off to the Grey Havens, I can lament to them about how heartbreaking it is to see him say goodbye to Merry, Pippin and Sam.

Then, to my pleasant surprise, all three movies were shown on tv last weekend. Three nights of hobbity goodness is something I couldn't pass up, especially when my DVDs were away from me at home.

But alas! I wasn't without them for much longer. One short trip home and there they were! My DVDs! All six sets! Where should I start? Why, with the commentaries, of course. Nothing is better than listening to the actors (especially Elijah, Sean, Dom, and Billy) tell stories and crack jokes about filming what was to become the greatest trilogy of all time.

And that's not all! The aforementioned Elijah Wood recently appeared on The Friday Night Project (a comedy/variety show from across the pond). There was much talk of LOTR, of course. The hosts dressed up like Gollum and Frodo. Even Sir Ian McKellen made an appearance!


And so, for now, my feelings of nostalgia have subsided. I've had my fix. But talk to me this time tomorrow and who knows how I'll feel. I might be like Gollum, calling out for the return of my precious. So I'll have to pop in a DVD or pick up the book and dive right back into the world of Middle Earth.

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