Official Hobbit news has now begun to trickle in from writers embedded in the production. If you haven't read the report on AICN, I strongly encourage you to do so. (And as ever, if you're sensitive to strong language, I suggest you remain above the Talkback section -- both literally and metaphorically.) As announced in Ghent, Howard Shore has recently been down to New Zealand as well, but that's all the Hobbit news that's fit to print for the moment.

Anyway, it's not as if there's a Shore drought right now. A Dangerous Method is out in Europe, and will be circulating in the States soon enough. Hugo is on its way as well -- and the impatient among us can hear some preview snippets on the official Hugo site. Another Cronenberg picture, Cosmopolis, is currently in production. Canadian band Metric recently revealed that they'll be collaborating with Shore on that score.

As for me -- I think I'm now fully recovered from my recent press tour. Maybe. While October's travels and concerts are still recent memories, my mind has actually turned back a few pages to early September. For the past few months I've held my tongue regarding a fun little excursion I enjoyed in the waning days of summer 2011. I can't reveal the story quite yet, but if you'll check back later this month, I'll tell you a bit about my involvement with Hugo.

More to come!