Sunday RA SmoRgAsbord: Memes!

A ‘proud, cantankerous’ father figure: An Xbox SmartGlass Exclusive Vid Clip

This clip is part of an exclusive featurette, “The Company of Dwarves,” which you get when you buy THAUJ on Xbox Video. It features Richard Armitage, Dean O’Gorman and Aidan Turner talking about their respective characters and their relationships with one another, and gives lots of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film. Quite a lot of Thoriny goodness here. And the rumble of Richard’s voice. And I do believe I detected a note of Richard in Dean’s character voice–well, he did say he patterned it after RA, right?

Richard describes Thorin as a proud, cantankerous, angry, burdened man who has developed a hard shell from life’s circumstances. Yet the uncrowned King Under the Mountain also tries to be a father figure to his two fatherless nephews, Kili and Fili, grooming the eldest to one day sit on the throne and lead his people. We see how the three share a strong bond. Watch and enjoy! Thank you, RA Net, for the heads up on this at Twitter.

Scenes from my ancestral home: Ireland calls to me

English: Swan at Killough Bridge, near Killough, County Down, Northern Ireland, October 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A scene at Killough Bay in County Down, Northern Ireland. My maiden name is “Killough,” and we know an ancestor named David Killough journeyed to the American colonies in the mid-18th century from Killough, later serving in the Revolutionary War.

Long before that, it appears there were the McCellaughs and before them, the MacKellochs, who lived in Scotland and eventually emigrated to the Emerald Isle. The name “Kellogg” as is Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, is said to be a derivative of Killough.

There was once a manuscript my father had some genealogist compile detailing a good deal of family history (including an Indian massacre of a group traveling by wagon train to Texas), but it has long since disappeared, I am sorry to say. I have always enjoyed history and hearing family stories. And as I get older, I find myself more intrigued than ever to know the story of those who came before me.

I would love to go to Ireland one day and visit Killough. I felt so at home when I visited England more than a decade ago; I wonder, would that feeling be even deeper and more profound if I found myself walking the same earth my ancestors had once walked?

The lighthouse at Killough Bay.

The ruins of St. John’s Church near Killough.

A shot of Killough Harbor.

Love the drama of the sky and sea here.

Yes, one day I would like to be able to shoot my own photos in Killough. It’s on my bucket list. 😀 Happy Saint Paddy’s Day!

Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Irish Jack & Company: Erin Go Bragh!

Doesn’t he make the cutest little Irish hound?

I love a good hat, the color green, shamrocks and being Irish. Of course, everyone in this melting pot called the U.S.A. is a little bit Irish on St. Paddy’s Day.

Poor Thorin. *sigh* Seeing the little people jigging amidst the green beer.  I was so distracted myself I misspelled “keeps” as “keep.”

Dear long-suffering Uncle Rascal. But isn’t he rakishly handsome in that hat!

Related articles

• Want to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day right? Avoid green beer (bizjournals.com)
• Try Not to Pass Out on St. Paddy’s Day (nymag.com)
• 5 Things You Don’t Have to Do This St. Paddy’s Day (thoughtcatalog.com)
• Even Dogs Lap Up St. Paddy’s Day Celebrations (minnesota.cbslocal.com)