In anticipation of the release of The Hobbit, Brian the Unipiper rode through Portland on his unicycle in full Gandalf garb while playing "Concerning Hobbits" on the bagpipes.

Here's a view of the Green Dragon Pub at Hobbiton near Matamata in the North Island of New Zealand. Originally built as a movie set for The Hobbit trilogy, the bar recently opened to public as a licensed pub in late November. For more info, check out the article over at Noosa News.

Beautiful Pipedream of the Day is a new feature series devoted to showcasing a variety of visual artworks, films, music and literature in the world of surrealism and futurism.

Chicago-based comedy group Octavarius presents a compilation of quotes that are unlikely to be said by Gandalf, Thorin and Bilbo Baggins in this short parody of the upcoming film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

In celebrating the upcoming release of The Hobbit, Utah-based Balloon artist Jeremy Telford turned his family living room into an authentic hobbit hole using 2,600 hand-pumped balloons over three days in about 40 hours of work. If you're curious about the process, be sure to check out the behind-the-scenes video!

The Wellington airport just got a lot more precious. What's next, New Zealand? Peter Jackson for Prime Minister?

Peter Jackson has also revealed the running time of the first film: 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Denny's is rolling out an unexpected menu, full of Hobbit-themed food options. Anyone up for "Shire Sausage" or "Gandalf's Gobble Melt?"

See if you can stomach the commercial.