$0.80 – $6.00.DISCONTINUED – ON SALE.“‘No thank you, O Smaug the Tremendous!’ he replied. ‘I did not come for presents. I only wished to have a look at you and see if you were truly as great as tales say. I did not believe them.’‘Do you now?’ said the dragon somewhat flattered, even though he did not believe a word of it.‘Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities,’ replied Bilbo.”– J.R.R. Tolkien, The HobbitVivid orange-toned red with bright golden sparks.
Not lip-safe.Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, red #40, calcium aluminum borosilicate, silica, chromium oxide.
And replied to the king, 'May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?' The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her, all who love her. Rejoice greatly with her, all who mourn over her,You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. 137:5-9 What we love, we love to think of.
Those that rejoice in God, for his sake make Jerusalem their joy. They stedfastly resolved to keep up this affection. When suffering, we should recollect with godly sorrow our forfeited mercies, and our sins by which we lost them. If temporal advantages ever render a profession, the worst calamity has befallen him. Far be it from us to avenge ourselves; we will leave it to Him who has said, Vengeance is mine.
Those that are glad at calamities, especially at the calamities of Jerusalem, shall not go unpunished. We cannot pray for promised success to the church of God without looking to, though we do not utter a prayer for, the ruin of her enemies. But let us call to mind to whose grace and finished salvation alone it is, that we have any hopes of being brought home to the heavenly Jerusalem.
Smaug is what we of Othello’s trade call an area weapon: precise location of the target is not required, nor is fastidious marksmanship necessary for good terminal effect.“The Individuated Hobbit – Jung, Tolkien, and the Archetypes of Middle-Earth” by Timothy O’Neill (Houghton Mifflin 1979)I wrote a year ago in anticipation of the release of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” the nature of Smaug the Dragon. I took the opportunity on Friday 13 December to have a look at “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” It was a wonderful rendering of a collection of various elements that appear primarily in “The Hobbit” but also in the Appendices to “The Lord of the Rings” and in “Unfinished Tales”.I have to hand it to Peter Jackson that he and his team seemed to have dreamed the same dream as I have when it comes to rendering the dwelling of the Elves and the musical liet-motifs that accompany them. Thranduil’s realm was beautifully created and the King himself was as mercurial and unpredictable as he appeared in the book – perhaps even more so. He seems to lack some of the ethereal beauty of the Eldar but after all – he is Sindar and a Wood Elf at that. But it is not of Mirkwood or the Elves or the Spiders that I write. Nor is it of Laketown ruled by the Master, marvellously overacted by Stephen Fry in much the same way as Barry Humphries went over the top with the Goblin King in “The Unexpected Journey”. In both cases they work splendidly.The real centerpiece is the conversation with Smaug and the calamitous aftermath.
But first things first. Smaug is pronounced “Smowg” as in “ow” and not “or”. I must confess to having thought in the past the pronunciation was Smorg but then I was inconsistent because Sauron was always Sowron and never Soron. It is all made clear in the 5th Appendix to “The Lord of the Rings” and all disputes can be resolved with a quick reference to that part of the text.
It brooks no argument and Jackson has it right.As to the dragon himself. In many respects the movie Smaug represents the archetype of the evil, malevolent, devious and malicious dragon. My own impression of dragons was shaped at an early age from a reading of Kenneth Graham’s “The Reluctant Dragon” and from Tolkien’s “Chrysophylax Dives” in “Farmer Giles of Ham”. Then along came “The Hobbit” and Smaug was one of the first big nasty dragons but within the context of a book for a younger audience not the sort of beast that would scare your socks off.Then came the novella “Dragonrider” by Anne McCaffrey which won a Hugo and was later transformed into a novel which was the first of the wonderful and evocative “Dragonriders of Pern” series. A different sort of dragon altogether. Then came the dragons that were mentioned in Tolkien’s other writings – Ancalagon the Black and Scatha who appear by mention only and the frightful Glaurung from the various tellings of the tale of Turin Turambar.
By the time we reach Glaurung we know that Tolkien understands his monsters and dragons in particular. Although Grendel and Grendel’s mother are not dragons they are monsters and Tolkien’s analysis of the monster motif in “Beowulf: The Monster and the Critics” makes it clear that the nature of the beast villain is well known to the writer.But Jackson’s rendering of Smaug takes the evil dragon to a whole new level. I had the impression that there was a lot of Fafnir – the giant turned dragon and hoarder of the Rhinegold in Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” – in Smaug but there were other features as well. We never saw Smaug in “An Unexpected Journey” but he is gradually, tantalisingly revealed throughout his interview with Bilbo in the vast expanse of the treasure cave where he dwells, concealed by mountains of his gold with which he will part not one piece.
And Bilbo seeks the most unique piece of the dwarven treasure of all – the Arkenstone. Smaug understands this in short order strips Bilbo’s prevarications away. The Hobbit is a threat to the treasure and is an ally of the hated dwarves. Only by using the ring does Bilbo escape the jaws of the beast and even then Smaug with a dragon’s sense for anything golden knows that there is magic in the air. It is at this stage that Smaug is revealed in all his horrifying might – a creature not only of intelligence, Machiavellian cunning and subtlety but of terrifying and destructive power.The voice of Smaug is Benedict Cumberbatch who does a magnificent job bringing light and shade to the creature, creating a nuanced character full of menace until he is fully revealed in the white heat of his wrath.
We last see Smaug heading for Laketown and the movie ends.Peter Jackson has redefined the dragon in art. Smaug takes many elements of dragons in myth, legend, literature and performance art and moulds them all together into an instantly recognisable and yet unique recasting of the evil monster.As Bilbo is conducting his conversation with Smaug, the dwarves wait outside the back gate. The rumbling from deep within the mountain can be heard and the younger dwarves question what it may be. Balin son of Fundin, he who was later to go to Moria and meet his own nemesis in the form of the Balrog replies – “that, laddie, was a dragon”.He was so right. Jackson’s rendering is unmistakably, magnificently, awfully a dragon – the chiefest and greatest of calamities.NoteFor some general bakgorund information on Smaug see theFor a piece on the history of dragons from the Satanic lizards of the Bible to the Jungian monsters in us all see.
You get the sense of why Legolas might not like dwarves, if a dwarf stole the girl that he liked.Yes! We didn't set out to write a triangle, but Legolas looks at Kili with pure loathing — you know that look? Laughs But it can never be. But then you say, 'Why?
Why can't it be?' I suppose we're messing with the audience a little bit. But it's saying that the connection is fragile, but that doesn't make it less real.But then there are the other questions it raises.
Can elves and dwarves breed? What is elf-dwarf sex like? If elves are tantric lovers, as Orlando Bloom says.They probably would! Dwarves wouldn't be that patient.And apparently I wasn't the only one wondering about interspecies sex in Middle-earth. I heard you guys had T-shirts made on set regarding Azog the orc, saying 'You Can Defile Me Anytime'?Laughs I know! Manu Bennett, who plays Azog the Defiler is actually a very sweet guy. But boy, is he powerful and furious when he takes on that role as Azog!
It was that strange moment when you saw Azog, and it was like, 'Really? What's wrong with me?' He looked quite attractive! It was funny.
But you can't have a crush on an orc.What other running jokes did you have on set?Richard Armitage, when we were doing ADR, he kept saying, 'We'll just use the toilet and go,' anywhere it would fit when Thorin is murmuring something to Dwalin. It didn't get into the movie.
We're not that naughty. It was for our own private amusement. I think I glimpsed Peter Jackson chomping a carrot in Bree, for his cameo.Laughs Can I tell you, Fran Walsh said, 'Really? You're going to do that?' He made me laugh, I have to say.Stephen Colbert has a cameo in this one, too.
Where was he?Ah, did you not spot him? He's in Lake-town. As Stephen Colbert would, he works for the Master of Lake-town, he works for the politician. He's one of his spies. So if you keep an eye out for the guy who has a fake eye patch.When you guys quizzed each other on Tolkien trivia, what answers did you stump him on?It was at a party at my house, most of the cast was there, and I'm sitting down with a glass of wine. Pete comes up and says, 'Oh, Stephen and I had this hilarious idea that you're going to have a Tolkien-off with Stephen Colbert.' And I had heard how good he was.
Somebody said, 'Ah, you'll take him,' and I said, 'I don't think so. I think this is going to be really bad.' And we were probably the only two people in the room who knew if we were getting it right or wrong! Laughs Afterward, there was one where I thought, 'No, he got that wrong.'
And he actually wrote me a very sweet letter afterward, and he said, 'I think I got one wrong.' Which one?Who built the Argonath?
And I also got him on, Which of the dwarves is not related by blood to Thorin Oakenshield? He got me on all the great elvish questions. In my defense, I hadn't been able to read The Silmarillion in like the last fourteen years, because we don't own the rights, and so we've deliberately kept away from a lot of that stuff. I love Tolkien, but I'm certainly no Tolkien scholar, and Stephen Colbert probably is. He's the real deal.
And he would have beaten me anyway, even if I had been studying! He would have taken me out.If you guys could get the rights for The Silmarillion, would you.Oh my God, no!
If co-writer Fran Walsh ever heard you say that, she would have a nervous breakdown! I would say no!
Chiefest And Greatest Of Calamities
We'll let that pass into the hands of somebody else. It's a phenomenal mythology, absolutely extraordinary. Balrogs riding dragons, come on! I mean, there's stuff in there you would just want to see. But no.Benedict Cumberbatch's fans call themselves the Cumberbitches. Are you a Cumberbitch?Um. He's actually as nice and funny and smart and gorgeous as you think he is.
So huge fan, nobody's bitch! Much beter than the first, but still suffers from the same flaws.That said, the action sequences actually felt fun this time around, with some really gravity and urgency which made them a lot more interesting to watch, over the top or not. The films pacing did feel off at a few times though, and it could have used some better character moments. Its not LoTR quality, but its a TON better than AUJ.Oh, and if course it has some hilariously piss poor CG at times. Like fucking awful. But other times CG characters such as. Much beter than the first, but still suffers from the same flaws.That said, the action sequences actually felt fun this time around, with some really gravity and urgency which made them a lot more interesting to watch, over the top or not.
The films pacing did feel off at a few times though, and it could have used some better character moments. Its not LoTR quality, but its a TON better than AUJ.Oh, and if course it has some hilariously piss poor CG at times. Like fucking awful. But other times CG characters such as. They did such an amazing job of Smaug, his voice, his animation, his interaction, the dialogue from the book, it was so good. Made up for other weaker parts of the movie. Me and my brother were both blown away by how well done his sections of the movie were.
Just loved it.These 2 movies have been great but I feel Jackson is trying way to hard to reference things from the rings trilogy and tell the audience, hey, hey i made those movies to, remember this? Remember that? That's my only complaint, the movies don't need that just focus on the source material. The best parts from these 2 movies were also the best parts from the book.
This was one of the craziest parts of the Appendices for me. All the trouble they went through for that scene using the live-action Goblins - all of the effort those people put into not dying when filming under the conditions in those suits - and after it was all said and done none of it was used. Like, they go on about how they initially changed it to mix between live-action and CGI goblins, but then at the very end PJ's just like 'nah make 'em all CGI.' If I was one of those goblins I would have been PISSED. Well, probably not. I would have been psyched just to have done it at all.
This was one of the craziest parts of the Appendices for me. All the trouble they went through for that scene using the live-action Goblins - all of the effort those people put into not dying when filming under the conditions in those suits - and after it was all said and done none of it was used.
Like, they go on about how they initially changed it to mix between live-action and CGI goblins, but then at the very end PJ's just like 'nah make 'em all CGI.' If I was one of those goblins I would have been PISSED. Well, probably not. I would have been psyched just to have done it at all.
That’s right. I am wearing a dragon. I’ve been trying to work out how to get a dragon into my clothing for a while now, and this is it! Isn’t it beautiful?
I especially like how the tail curls round to the back. And the shape of the dress is lovely. I like the pouffy skirt, and love the neckline. I still have a couple of fit issues to sort out with the bodice, but I think just because of the neckline it will have to be repeated several times. I bought fabric for the next variation today. Never mind that I already have fabric and plans for two dresses that need to happen before the end of July that’s plenty of time, right?I made the dragon by sewing together the skirt pieces into a long rectangle, sketching the dragon with chalk (based on a drawing Tolkien did of Smaug that’s on the cover of some editions of The Hobbit) then going over it with my sewing machine – just the straight stitch, no faffing about with fancy things.
Not that my machine would be any good at fancy things if I tried. I did a double line around the wings, to make them stand out a bit more, but decided to leave everything else single. I like that the dragon’s tail continues all the way around the back, it would feel a little silly to have a small dragon just on the front. This satisfies my craving for dragons without feeling ridiculous.I also like the wee peep of red at the back from the zip.
I was looking for a black zip, but couldn’t find one (I was looking in op shops for cheap zips – this is a vintage metal zip), but I think I prefer it with the red breaking it up a little – I don’t wear black very often, and it feels strange being so very plain, so any colour is welcome.(I thought that was an appropriate time to post a back view. You can’t really see the red zip in the photo, but I promise it’s visible in person)I think I’m going to try to come up with both my favourite and least favourite things about each dress I make, so here goes!Favourites – obviously, it has a dragon on. That can’t be beat. Also the pockets are wonderfully deep, and well hidden – you really can’t tell they’re there, even if you know. And the neckline which is fabulous.Least favourites – the bust darts are weirdly bobbly and pointy.
Sure, most non-sewers won’t notice – one of my flatmates didn’t even know what I was talking about when I told her – but I know, and it bugs me. It’s really hard to take photos of your own boobs, but here’s my attempt to show the weirdness:And the sleeves are too tight – even after widening the sleeve ends by two inches (flattening the sleeve cap while I was at it) I have lowered range of motion at that joint. I don’t actually own any other woven things that have sleeves, only knits, so I’m wondering if it’s just a consequence of sleeves in general, but I feel that it should be possible to get better sleeves than this.A few more photos, just for fun:Pattern information – the bodice pattern was from March 2013 BurdaStyle, stocked by my local library (so free!).
The skirt is a gathered rectangle – outside is 80″ wide, lining is 60″. It’s entirely self-lined.
It isn’t as thin as I thought when I decided to fully self-line it, but I like the extra bulk for a more winter-weight dress. And the skirt lining makes it way more pouffy, which is always a good thing, and I think flattering to my shape.I topstitched the neckline and sleeve hem in red, to tie the bodice and skirt together a bit better.This is how I wore it to class – a black merino underneath for warmth, red cardigan on top, and black boots.All that gorgeousness, and it came at a total cost of $5!
The fabric was $3, ribbon $1.50 and zip $0.50 – all from op shops.