main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Master_Keralys, Jan 1, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    *ahem*. Numenor is ATLANTIS. Yes, that means Aragorn's people are Atlanteans. Sauron used to be able to have forms like Gandalf and Saruman, but he was kind of on Numenor when it sank and lost the ability to have a 'human' form. And Sauron was a flunky (well, a lieutenant) of the actual Big Bad. (Also, he was originally - in the sense of the evolution of the stories from their earliest form - a giant cat. Go figure).

    Also, Tolkien in his later years apparently hated the idea that the world was actually 'flat' at one point, and worked on reconstructing the mythology - but it was hampered by the fact that, if it was falsehoods created due to mythology evolving over time, there were elves who were there from the beginning who would've known better.
     
  2. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    It's interesting to read the earlier drafts of Quenta Silmarillion and Ainulindale- the Valar were much more morally ambiguous, to the point of almost being Hellenic deities, in the earliest versions. Illuvatar was also less definitely Catholic God, and particularly in Ainulindale version 1 there's some fantastic prose from a writer who's normally not the greatest at it.

    Also, Morgoth deploys tanks to the siege of Gondolin, which IIRC was written while Tolkien was serving in the trenches.
     
  3. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    You're not intimately familiar with The Silmarillion? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.
     
    CooperTFN and Zeta1127 like this.
  4. Lugija

    Lugija Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2009
    Do you yell that often?

    And everyone should be aware of the history of the world according to the pieces of Elvish literature Frodo pirated into his book and Tolkien translated to English.

    There's for example the deus ex machina of the War of Wrath:
    Cirdan: Wow dudes, I think Morgoth has won this one.
    Eärendil: Not so fast. I'll go to complain to the God's office workers.
    A long sea trip with all sorts of weird never specified adventures later:
    Eärendil: We are sorry for fighting the Big Bad and each other for so long. Can you come to kick his backside until he burps farts?
    God's main office guy: Sure. Do you mind if we destroy the whole subcontinent where your people live while doing it?
    Eärendil: What? No, I guess.
    They do. The end.
     
    RC-1991 likes this.
  5. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    "Kick his backside until he burps farts." I should start using that threat.
     
  6. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    OK, this song is stupidly awesome and addictive:


    Well done Commercial agency, well done.
     
  7. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
    It's funny, during the Chargers/Broncos game a few weeks ago, my mom and I were discussing what sort of drugs the Old Spice ad agency smokes to come up with their ideas. Not two minutes after we settled on crack and pot together, that commercial comes on. I don't know if it confirms or denies our suspicions, but we both laughed pretty hard.
     
  8. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    In all seriousness, the Silmarillion does seem like the Tolkien book I'd get the most into were I to read one. Which I weren't.
     
  9. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003

    I know I shouldn't say this because everybody's gonna hate me but... I finally read the Silmarillion recently and thought it was... really... um....

    ...like reading that one part in the Bible with all the family trees? So-and-so was X-years old and married to Some-Other-Fellow and they did XYZ? And a little like reading the plans to someone's fanfic.


    I'm going to go hide now.
     
  10. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Yeah, see, I'm kinda into that--at least compared to his "regular" stories. I read two chapters of the Hobbit around 13 and I couldn't take it anymore.
     
  11. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    I want a lot of whatever they were on when they made the Terry Crews ones. 8-}
     
  12. Ordo Skirata

    Ordo Skirata Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    I coundn't agree more. Children of Hurin is one of my favorite books. It's a shame that more people haven't heard of it.
     
    darthscott3457 likes this.
  13. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Well Englished, sir.


    Misa ab iPhono meo est.
     
    Ordo Skirata and CooperTFN like this.
  14. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    You are both bad and should feel bad.
     
  15. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2007
    And they've already gone well past their goal.
     
  16. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    And there's the awesomeness of Morgoth's "Ring of Power".

    Also, that elves manage to out-goth humans because humans are immortal and the elves aren't.

    And there was an evil Queen of Gondor that used cats as her spies.

    I love Tolkien.
     
  17. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    While I feel that way about some of the recent Tolkien stories that his son has been mining (though in the case of The Children of Hurin's audiobook, there's no problem; Christopher Lee makes everything better), I didn't really get that impression from the Silmarillion. It was more like reading the good parts of the ROTK appendices (as opposed to the bad parts, which would be the insanely boring linguistic stuff).

    It's kind of ridiculous how much better Lord of the Rings is than the Hobbit. At least the later parts of it; the first hundred pages or so of Fellowship of the Ring has a distinct "The Hobbit" feel, as a means of transition I suppose (looking directly at you, Tom Bombadil. As for the god damn talking squirrel, I'm glaring at you).
     
  18. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Thank you. I've felt that way for ten years and was afraid to say anything.
     
    CooperTFN likes this.
  19. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    It came about because the publishing company kept saying "Yeah, thanks for the Simar-whatsit manuscript, can you please write a sequel to the Hobbit because that made us a lot of money?" LOTR began as "Hobbit 2", with Tolkien not having the first clue on what the story could possibly be. More and more of the type of story he wanted to write kept creeping in, but the earliest chapters were mostly written when it was thought to be primarily a Hobbit sequel.

    What I find astonishing is that the publishing company didn't beg for whatever books he wanted to write after the success of LOTR - but the only real Middle-Earth material he wrote and published after LOTR in his lifetime was The Road Goes Ever On and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
     
  20. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    So, knowing almost nothing about it, I've decided to try and get into this "Doctor Who" thing. It's kind of interesting, as I'm starting with the First Doctor, who I know is nothing like his later counterparts. He's cranky and arrogant, but I've already found things I like about him; most of all his constant smug "Hmm!". Should be fun to watch him evolve.

    Not watching every episode, of course. Just the better ones, at least according to this list
     
    Ulicus likes this.
  21. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Why are you giving in? :p
     
    Havac , krtmd and CT-867-5309 like this.
  22. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    I could handle the barrage when it was coming from just one direction, but that's no longer the case. One of my real life friends has fallen in love with the show. As a result, I'm constantly hearing about it. From here, it's either dig in my heels and accept I'll be hearing a lot of a foreign language, or give in and assimilate. In some ways, I am a very weak person.
     
    anakinfansince1983 likes this.
  23. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    InstantDeath is watching Doctor Who, Justin Beiber was arrested for stupidity (and drugs), it's been a good few days on the faith in humanity front.
     
  24. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
    Hm. So this has now popped up on my radar.



    ASSASSIN'S CREED: MIDDLE-EARTH
    Not complaining, though. It looks good.
     
  25. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Oh cool -- that's how I got started! I think the whole series is a lot more entertaining if you've seen each of the preceding doctors in action -- the later ones tend to play off the random quirks and plots of the previous ones. And not straining to watch every episode comprehensively is a good plan. I made the mistake of getting burnt out at first. And you would no likely succumb to instant death. We can't let that happen.:p

    "Wraith-walker?" Is that... canon?:p
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.