75 Years English English until the American's say stop

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Opening lines of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 1937

However...


In a street in Southampton, England there lived a public house. Not a nasty, dirty, wet pub, filled with the end of cigarettes and an oozy smell, not yet a drt, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was themed on a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.


However, the Orcs of Hollywood movie lawyers didn't like the fact that a quaint pub named after a character from English literature had been there since 1989. I know I had a pint in there while I was a student on a visit to Southampton. Many of the patrons and staff are Tolkien fans, and by that I mean have read the books, and reread the books, and probably not just four of them. 


The lawyers for Middle Earth Enterprises who are trying to profit from the 75 year old icon of English literature because they have a film out later this year that they are charged with marketing. So they want the comfy hobbit water hole to rebrand. 


Rebrand as what?


How about Rivendell? Or maybe in light of the attack on them Minas Tirith? 


The Hobbit is Southampton is hardly likely to detract from the profits of Middle Earth Enterprises. For a start you have to go there, order a drink and enjoy the atmosphere. Apparently they own the copyright including the titles of the works, the names of characters contained within as well as the names of places, objects and events within them, and certain short phrases and sayings from the works.

So I may not be able to review The H*****, and tell you about how well Martin Freeman plays B**** B****** of B** E**. When the film comes out in December. May not be able to talk about T** R*** and how B**** B****** with the help of G****** the G*** and the rest including the dwarfs (see I think they are excluded from Saul Zaentz's copyright.

If you agree that this is just petty legal action and an American trying to encroach on what is English and British heritage then go an like their Save the Hobbit Facebook page.


Footnote There may, or may not, be other pubs called The Hobbit but i'm not telling Middle-earth Enterprises where they may, or may not, be.

Has Top Artist Gone Round the Twist?

Think back to your childhood days. Were you ever entertained by a balloon sculptor? Was the shape that ended up in your hands or the child next to you by chance a sausage dog?

Chances are it was. In balloon sculpting the dog shape is one of the easiest to make seeing as it requires just one balloon and only seven twists. Easy! Any old clown could do it (see picture). Even I have been able to make a balloon dog for almost 25 years.

However  internationally celebrated artist Jeff Koons has made a few balloon dogs himself, out of steel between 1994 and 2000 Blue, Yellow, Purple, Red and Orange. Notice I'm not using any images on here of any of those, but you can link through to see then.

The reason being that Koons has decided to sue a company that used the image of a balloon dog for their own bookends. Now if Koons had the intellectual copyright on the image of a balloon dog there may be a point in his case. But as I pointed out above he started making his balloon dogs in 1994, which is actually long after I started making mine (maybe I should counter sue). However, what is the true origin of the balloon dog. The 1975 book by "Jolly the Clown" Petri credits "Herman Bonnert from Pennsylvania at a magician's convention in 1939" as being the first balloontwister*. I have very little doubt that one of the first shapes he twisted looked like a little dog. So for at least 72 years there has been the image of the balloon dog in generations of peoples' minds.

If Koons had come up with a origional image for his sculpture, rather than reinventing an old one, he may have had a case. As it is he is clearly round the twist.

* Source Dewey, Ralph. Balloon History BalloonHQ Column (via Wikipedia)