January 3 marks the birthday of an absolute legend, a storyteller so iconic that he essentially built the blueprint for modern fantasy, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.

Tolkien was truly on another level from most “ordinary” writers: he conjured entire universes, which included designing detailed languages, cultures, and histories…enough to rival the mythologies of ancient civilizations.

His masterpieces, The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (published between 1954 and 1955 – because yes, genius takes time), set the standard for epic fantasy.  The Hobbit was the first work of Tolkien’s that I read.  It was certainly the longest book I had read at that point, which made it the first book I ever “got lost in.”

Happy birthday, Professor!

I spent a bit of time driving in the rain at speed.  Music blaring at unholy levels, of course.  And it was great…simultaneously clearing the mind of nightmare sewage and focusing very sharply on the next big turn and that “here we go” feeling when you feel the tires start to slip on the wet pavement and you start wishing you’d entered the turn going maybe 5mph slower….
I was reminded of how long it had been since I had done this…just gone for a drive.  I used to do it all the time…70mph through Golden Gate Park in the middle of the night.  I think I should reinstate the practice: unscheduled, random tearings-of-ass through the rain-soaked city streets.

N.P.: “Machine!” – Frigid, Plastic Bertrand