European Geek Culture won
This year the Finnish heavy metal monster rock band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest. Times are really changing, geek culture pops up everywhere, even in least expected places.

Music video:
Hard Rock Halleluja

Understanding Tolkien
A lot of people has difficulties understanding the works of Tolkien. I can understand that because contrary to (post-)modernist beliefs he is in fact difficult to grasp.
I've come across a certain kind of people who likes fantasy but dislikes the Lord of the rings. It is of course ok to dislike what others might like. But in this case there is a central argument. They were expecting more action.
I think they were expecting Sword and Sorcery or Dungeons and Dragons. The Lord of the Rings is not action-based melodramatic fantasy (even though the movies protray his fantasy like this).
The Lord of the Rings is epic intellectual fantasy. One has to be a careful reader and preferably know a lot of great works in literature in order to grasp his work fully (if that is in fact possible).

Denmark has a roleplaying school.
(This was originally posted May 3rd. 2006.)