Ever Wanted To See Middle Earth From Space?

Now it's possible thanks to the Middle Earth Digital Elevation Model Project. It's still a project in progress, but what they've created so far is pretty amazing.

What's more, they're working from Tolkien's texts, both finished and unfinished, as well as his notes, and not so much (at least from what I've read) from the movies.

For those of us who are slightly more technically minded, it's even possible to download a simulation of what they've created so far. Personally, I'm not quite game, at least not right now, but I definitely like some of the videos they've made available as well.

I'm definitely impressed!

Reading Slump

I know, it's been a very quiet month here. No, I haven't abandoned All Booked Up, I'm still loving this blog, even after as many years as I've been posting to it. However, I just haven't been reading much of anything since before Christmas.

Not through lack of interest though. I'm picking up books and intending to read them, but I'm just not getting very far with any of them.

So far, the list includes the following books:

1. Elementary - edited by Mercedes Lackey
2. There and Back Again: The Origins of The Hobbit - Mark Atherton
3. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
4. Indexing Names - edited by Noeline Bridge
5. The Lady In Medieval England 1000-1500 - Peter Coss
6. Growing Up In Medieval London: The Experience of Childhood in History - Barbara Hanawalt

I think the main issue is stress-related. We moved in October from a condo to a house. Almost right away, we discovered a few issues, the biggest one being water in the basement. First thought was that it was the hot water tank. Instead, it turned out to be water coming in from outside. That problem has been ongoing ever since. Every time we've thought we had it figured out and fixed, a couple of weeks later it came back (turned out that part of the problem was that the sink and shower drain pipe had gotten separated just outside the basement.

Now though, it turns out to be a groundwater/perimeter drainage issue. This morning we got up to discover that the water issue was worse than ever - halfway across the room. Out came the shop vac, which worked wonders. First time we'd had to use it for water - where it excelled. One emergency call to the person we'd called earlier in the week and he's coming with the heavy machinery first thing in the morning. Thank goodness!

Back to the water issue - painted cinderblock foundation wall. For the most part, the water's been oozing in - a few drips here and there only, so manageable with towels, from the grout-lines. Today, it was visibly dripping down, in a couple of places, with enough water pooling that we were using the shop vac every 10 to 20 minutes or less.

Frantic searching online ensued for something we could use to seal the grout-lines that would be easy clean-up (both today and in terms of removal tomorrow or soon after) and that could be applied to a wet surface. Hydraulic cement was a maybe, but we weren't too certain because of the paint, but more because of the need to gouge out the holes and cracks in order to fill them. Couldn't find much - at least not that was available in stores nearby. So, brainstorming.

Ended up trying chewing gum. I had to chew five or six pieces in short order to have enough to cover the worst spot, and I don't even really like gum. The occasional piece now and again, but not like I was chewing them today. We were lucky to even have that much around. Guess what...

It worked. The water leak has been slowed to an absolute trickle. Enough that we can leave it and go to bed.

The great water leak saga isn't the only thing causing stress though. The other large part of things is that I'm both trying to find a job and get my new indexing business, Quill and Ink Indexing Services off the ground. Mostly I've been focusing on the latter, working on the website (which still has a couple of bugs), cold-calling and e-mailing publishers and creating my business cards.

Another Photomanipulation

I've done another photomanipulation to ring in the new year. This one's done for one of the contests on the dA site.

Tragic by ~Endaewen on deviantART

Unread Books 2014

Here's the 2014 incarnation of my Unread Books list. It's just as scary as it has been every other year I've posted it too. For every book I read from the list, I seem to add at least one to the list again, and usually more than one. The titles with a line through them are currently sitting in boxes. I think there's only one box left to unpack, but to be honest, I'm not completely sure what's in it now.

One of these days I really need to go through this list and my book collection and give it a proper update. I know there are books that aren't on the list, and others that are but that I've sold on. I try and work from memory most of the time and it's definitely not a hundred percent accurate.

1. Star Wars: X-Wing Omnibus 3 - Michael Stackpole - Fiction (Graphic Novel)
2. The Children of Hurin - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction (Fantasy)
3. On Faerie Stories - Ed. Verilyn Flieger - Non Fiction
4. The Tolkien Legendarium - Ed. Carl Hostetter - Non Fiction
5. Splintered Light: Logos And Language In Middle-Earth - Verilyn Flieger - Non Fiction
6. Life In A Medieval City - Francis and Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
7. Life In A Medieval Castle - Francis and Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
8. The Histories - Herodotus - Non Fiction (History)
9. The Peloponnesian War - Thucydides - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
10. The Name Of The Rose - Umberto Ecco - Fiction
11. The Eagle - Jack Whyte - Fiction
12. The Battle For Middle-Earth - Bonnie Rutledge - Non Fiction
13. The Ring Of Words - Jeremy H. Marshall - Non Fiction
14. Greek Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
15. Roman Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
16. A Flame In Hali - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Fantasy)
17. The Fall of Neskaya - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Fantasy)
18. Zandru's Forge - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Science Fiction)
19. Ravens of Avalon - Diana L. Paxon - Fiction (Fantasy)
20. Ancestors of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley - Fiction (Fantasy)
21. God's War - Christopher Tyerman - Non Fiction (History)
22. The Eagle and the Raven - Pauline Gedge - Fiction
23. Tolkien: A Celebration - Joseph Pearce - Non Fiction
24. Beowulf - Trans. Seamus Heany - Poetry (Primary Source)
25. Job: A Comedy Of Justice - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
26. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Reader's Guide - Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull - Non Fiction
27. The History Of The Hobbit: Mr. Baggins - John Rateliff - Non Fiction
28. The History Of The Hobbit: Return To Bag-End - John Rateliff - Non Fiction
29. Masters Of Fantasy - Anthology (Fantasy)
30. Lives of the Twelve Caeasars - Suetonius - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
31. The Annals - Tacitus - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
32. An Imperial Possession - David Mattingly - Non Fiction (History)
33. The Peloponnesian War - Donald Kagan - Non Fiction (History)
34. Augustus: The Life Of Rome's First Emperor - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
35. Cicero - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
36. The Dark Champion - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
37. Caesar - Adrian Goldworthy - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
38. The Fall Of The Roman Empire - Peter Heather - Non Fiction (History)
39. Xenophon's Retreat - Robin Waterfield - Non Fiction (History)
40. Isabella - Alison Weir - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
41. Anthony And Cleopatra - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
42. Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
43. Richard III - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
44. The Comedy Of Errors - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
45. All's Well That Ends Well - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
46. Troilus And Cressida - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
47. Henry IV Part One - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
48. The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry (Primary Source)
49. The Saga of Grettir The Strong - Fiction (Primary Source)
50. The Conquest Of Gaul - Julius Caesar - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
51. The Annotated Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction (Fantasy)
52. Rome And Jerusalem - Martin Goodman - Non Fiction (History)
53. The History of Britain - Simon Schama - Non Fiction (History)
54. Metamorphosis - Ovid - Poetry (Primary Source)
55. The Medieval World - Eds. Peter Linehan & Janet L. Nelson - Non Fiction (History)
56. Europe And The Middle Ages - Edward Peters - Non Fiction (History)
57. The Age of the Cathedrals - Georges Duby - Non Fiction (History)
58. A History Of Private Life I - Non Fiction (History)
59. A History Of Private Life II - Non Fiction (History)
60. The Peasantries Of Europe - Ed. Tom Scott - Non Fiction (History)
61. Law And Life of Rome - J. A. Crook - Non Fiction (History)
62. The Temple And the Lodge - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh - Non Fiction
63. The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh - Non Fiction
64. The Battle Of Salamis - Barry Strauss - Non Fiction (History)
65. The Knights Templar - Piers Paul Read - Non Fiction
66. The Lost Tomb Of Alexander The Great - Andrew Michael Chugg - Non Fiction (History)
67. Greek Lyric Poetry - Trans. Sherod Santos - Poetry (Primary Source)
68. Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armada - James Delgado - Non Fiction (History)
69. On Sparta - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
70. A History Of My Times - Xenophon - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
71. On The Prowl - Anthology (Romance)
72. Knight Of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
73. Sword of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
74. Sword and Sorceress VIII - Fiction (Anthology)
75. Sword and Sorceress XV - Fiction (Anthology)
76. Sword and Sorceress XIV - Fiction (Anthology)
77. Sword and Sorceress X - Fiction (Anthology)
78. Sword and Sorceress VI - Fiction (Anthology)
79. Sword and Sorceress IX - Fiction (Anthology)
80. Rocket Ship Galileo - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
81. The Real Middle Earth - Brian Bates - Non Fiction (History)
82. Roman Poets Of The Early Empire - Poetry - (Primary Source)
83. Readings In Medieval History - Patrick Geary - Non Fiction (History)
84. Troilus And Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry (Primary Source)
85. Falls The Shadow - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History)
86. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History)
87. Eleanor Of Aquitaine - Alison Weir - Non Fiction (Biography)
88. Growing Up In Medieval London - Barbara Hanawalt - Non Fiction (History)
89. The Lost Capital Of Byzantium - Steven Runciman - Non Fiction - History
90. Charmed Destinies - Anthology (Fantasy)
91. The Ties That Bound - Barbara Hanawalt - Non Fiction (History)
92. Making A Living In The Middle Ages - Christopher Dyer - Non Fiction (History)
93. The Art Of Medieval Hunting - John Cummins - Non Fiction (History)
94. Medieval English Prose For Women - Eds. Bella Millett & Jocelyn Wogan-Browne - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
95. Sword and Sorceress I - Fiction (Anthology)
96. Sword and Sorceress V - Fiction (Anthology)
97. Sword and Sorceress VII - Fiction (Anthology)
98. Against The Odds - Elizabeth Moon - Fiction (Science Fiction)
99. Dictionary Of Mythology - Non Fiction
100. Hadrian - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction - Biography
101. The Inheritance Of Rome - Chris Wickham - Non Fiction (History)
102. Josephus - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
103. Women in Early Medieval Europe 400-1100 - Lisa M. Bitel - Non Fiction (History)
104. An Illustrated History of its First 12000 Years: Toronto edited by Ronald F. Williamson - Non Fiction (History)
105. Becoming Modern In Toronto: The Industrial Exhibition - Keith Walden - Non Fiction (History)
106. The Complete World Of The Dead Sea Scrolls - Phillip R. Davies, George J. Brooke and Phillip R. Callaway - Non Fiction (History)
107. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
108. Alexandria - Nick Bantock - Fiction
109. Morningstar - Nick Bantock - Fiction
110. Gryphon - Nick Bantock - Fiction
111. Londinium - John Morris - Non Fiction - History
112. The Archaeology Of Roman Britain - R. G. Collingwood - Non Fiction - History
113. Lord of the Two Lands - Judith Tarr - Fiction (Fantasy)
114. Daily Living In The Twelfth Century - Non Fiction (History)
115. Cathedral, Forge And Waterwheel - Francis And Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
116. Medicine And Society In Later Medieval England - Caroline Rawcliffe - Non Fiction (History)
117.  Variable Star - Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson - Fiction (Science Fiction)
118. Zoe's Tale - John Scalzi - Fiction (Science Fiction)
119. The Forgetting Room - Nick Bantock - Fiction
120. Sex, Dissidence And Damnation: Minority Groups In The Middle Ages - Jeffrey Richards - Non Fiction (History)
121. The Life Of Christina Of Markayte - Trans. C. H. Talbot - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
122. Medieval Costume And Fashion - Herbert Norris - Non Fiction (History)
123. The Venetian's Wife - Nick Bantock - Fiction
124. Medieval Households - David Herlihy - Non Fiction (History)
125. Special Sisters: Women In The European Middle Ages - Arthur Fredrick Ide - Non Fiction (History)
126. Everyman And Medieval Miracle Plays - Ed. A. C. Crawley - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
127. The Last Apocalypse - James Reston Jr. - Non Fiction (History)
128. The Museum At Purgatory - Nick Bantock - Fiction
129. Lysistrata/The Clouds  - Aristophanes - Fiction (History, Primary Source, Play)
130. Shadow Of The Swords - Kamran Pasha - Fiction
131. The Forest Laird - Jack Whyte - Fiction (Historical Fiction)
132. The Grand Design - Steven Hawking - Non Fiction
133. American Vampire - Scott Snyder, Steven King - Fiction (Graphic Novel)
134. A Game Of Thrones - George R. R. Martin - Fiction (Fantasy, e-book)
135. Stray - Rachel Vincent - Fiction (Fantasy)
136. Queen By Right - Anne Easter Smith - Fiction (Historical Fiction)
137. Dreams of Joy - Lisa See - Fiction (Historical Fiction)
138. Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire - Fiction (Fantasy)
139. The Axe and the Oath - Robert Fossier - Non Fiction (History)
140. A Short History of the Middle Ages - Barbara Rosenwein - Non Fiction (History)
141. Pausanias Guide to Greece Volume One Translated by Peter Levy - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
142. The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History - James J. O'Donnell - Non Fiction (History)
143. Atlas of Medieval Europe - Non Fiction (History)
144. Shanghai Girls - Lisa See - Fiction (History)
145. The Art of The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien - Non Fiction (Fantasy)
146. By Fire By Water - Mitchell James Kaplan - Fiction (History)
147. Hobbitus Ille - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction (Fantasy)
148. The Landmark Arrian - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
149. Alexander The Great - Philip Freeman - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
150. The Rise And Fall of Ancient Egypt - Toby Wilkinson - Non Fiction (History)
151. Earth To Hell - Kylie Chan - Fiction (Fantasy)
152. Hell To Heaven - Kylie Chan - Fiction (Fantasy)
153. Heaven To Wudang - Kylie Chan - Fiction (Fantasy)
154. Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades - Johnathan Phillips - Non Fiction (History)
155. The Crusades A Reader - Ed. S. J. Allen and Emilie Amt - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
156. Women's Writing In Middle English - Ed. Alexandra Barratt - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
157. Stalking Darkness - Lynn Flewelling - Fiction (Fantasy)
158. Traitor's Moon - Lynn Flewelling - Fiction (Fantasy)
159. The Crusader States - Malcolm Barber - Non Fiction (History)
160. Chronicles of the First Crusade - Ed. Christopher Tyerman - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
161. The Empire At War Vol 1 - Fiction (Graphic Novel, Science Fiction)
162. The Empire At War Vol 2 - Fiction (Graphic Novel, Science Fiction)
163. The History of the World in 100 Objects - Neil MacGregor - Non Fiction (History)
164. The Zero Mile Diet: A Year Round Guide To Growing Organic Food - Carolyn Herriot - Non Fiction (Gardening)
165. The Landmark Hellenika - Ed. Robert Strassler - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
166. Women In Medieval Society - Ed. Susan Mosher Stuard - Non Fiction (History)
167. The Lady In Medieval England 1000-1500 - Peter Coss - Non Fiction (History)
168. Passion Play - Beth Bernobich - Fiction (Fantasy)