Much has been said, sewn, and documented online about the various movie costumes from the fantabulous Lord of the Rings film trilogy. In the grand scheme of things, most costumers (and I’m speaking more of the women’s garments here) tend to love the dresses and clothing of the Elves. It’s long, lean, elegant, rich colors, etc etc. And I have to admit, the first time I saw the movies, that’s what fascinated me as well. After that, Eowyn’s dresses catch the eye, and the women of Rohan have a chance …

…in which we gasp at the most scandalous of social commentary, obscenely revealing hemlines, and ruinous inuendo that so distracts us from living a morally upright daily life!
In this month’s book review corner, I’ve got three new romance novels (!!) as well as a book about romance novels. Dear reader, are you perhaps sensing a theme?

The Top Five Villains that would have been More Realistic for the Plot Twist of Angels & Demons.
Note: Sarcasm. And Spoilers, too. Deal with it. And, let’s face it, do I need an excuse to post another picture of Ewan here? Come on. I thought you lot knew me by now.

Whose Screen Will Reign Supreme??
Well, Iron Chef references aside, I’ve had a ton of fun this month so far watching two really spectacular science fiction movies. Both of them had some amount of bad press to work up against, whether it was an early release work print or a fresh-faced cast who dared to not be William Shatner, et al. Both of which are forgivable sins; X-Men Origins: Wolverine managed a solid opening weekend wherein the general populace thumbed their noses at the idea of illegal downloads actually helping sales, …

Inspired by the beautiful, stunning work done by Lynn McMasters, as well as the thought that I needed to have something to wear while going to an upcoming event, I did a first-draft of an “arched brim” style Elizabethan hat. While I didn’t use her pattern, I was able to piece together a buckram shape and wire the edges (breaking a needle on my machine, alas!) to a shape that seemed to work. The hat is covered in some charcoal grey wool I had laying around, and the inside is …