There actually are some things I’m going in hoping to enjoy and appreciate. I’m not all gripes here. These things include . . .
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Is Sauron of The Rings of Power trying to look cool for the benefit of those around him? No, says actor Charlie Vickers. It’s for himself.
I have some things to say about it (and I’ve said many things about this show, good and bad, all found here: “Concerning The Rings of Power“
But first: In January of 1970, Tolkien wrote a short essay (later published in The Nature of Middle-earth) explaining why there’s a 93-year gap between the moment Sauron forged the One Ring (and was thus revealed to Celebrimbor) and the actual war that followed. This gap specifically:
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Today is the 49th anniversary of The Silmarillion. Next year is the big one!
Speaking of the Tale of the Silmarils and all things Elvish . . . You know how Isildur is pronounced ee · seel · door, right? But wait, maybe it’s ih · sihl · door instead? That’s ee vs. ih. Surely only one of those can be right! Tolkien’s language by-laws are quite clear, aren’t they?
Not necessarily! Here follows a short but nerdy bit of Tolkien trivia. But first thing’s first: Full credit to my friend Chad Bornholdt, Elvish enthusiast/expert, who stumbled upon something recently.
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9/11 is a day of remembrance for many Americans. Some strive for solidarity and unity—and I wish that’s all it would be—but many people just make it just another opportunity to spew their bigotry and their contempt for people who aren’t like them. They target the wrong people while supporting someone far worse than those they’re demonizing.
I find myself wanting to rant about that last group of people, but not yet. I actually want to take the opportunity to actually remember some stuff first. Some of the happiest times of my life were baked into a very hard time. I know from reading and writing about Tolkien that joy can eventually spring from sorrow.
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J.R.R. Tolkien was a master of restraint. Don’t believe me?
Oh, sure, the running internet-meme joke is that he describes every tree, but that’s precisely what he doesn’t do. Does that mean he doesn’t go on and on about the textures of the land? Oh, sure, he does do that sometimes but he does it with purpose.
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In The Lord of the Rings, in “A Part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” (from Appendix A) we learn that Aragorn’s birth name was Estel, which means “hope” in Elvish (Sindarin specifically). But did you know that in Middle-earth, in Arda, and possibly the real world, there are two varieties of hope: estel and amdir?
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Rush is the real article. What you see (and hear) is what you get. In this era of “alternative facts,” religious and political hypocrites, and legions of performative actors and rage-baiters (“blankers and boasters / all the bluffers and posers”), this band remains a breath of fresh, very real air.
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With the third season of The Rings of Power coming later this year, Amazon is starting up its promo material. This—combined with ongoing political turmoil, war, and the powerful “charismatic” demagogues that make the real world worse than it needs to be—seems like the right time to talk about Sauron again. That is, Sauron the Third Wheel, as he is portrayed in Amazon’s adaptation.
Sauron in the books and in other adaptations is fairly clear cut: he’s terrifying, faceless, and evil, and had been evil since long before Elves and Men even awoke in Middle-earth. His phase of moral ambiguity began and ended before time was measured. That’s what Elrond is referring to when he says . . .
(more…)“Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.”
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This post touches on literature, spirituality, and inevitably, politics. While I have no interest in talking politics straight-up on this site, nearly all forms of media have some form of politics in it, and the passage I want to share characterizes a certain strain of performative spirituality very much present in a political faction in the United States.
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Okay, I’ve seen Masters of the Universe (MotU). Here are my initial thoughts not just as a fan of speculative fiction but as a big fan of He-Man since I was six years old. I’ll do my best to keep the spoilers light!
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