The Tolkien Coming of Age Club

[alquadae]

Liriodendron, HEAD, HEART ,HANDS, HEALTH ", Been there ,done that ,got that t-shirt"I would go back to the fair to see that!
Fair winds , Alquadae

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

SUCCESS!!!! B&N only had one copy of The Atlas of ME in stock. I heard it calling my name as I came in the door. Right next to it on the shelf was another book called "Tolkein: The Illustrated Encyclopedia" by David Day. I've never heard of this book before, but there was so much cool information that I couldn't pass it up. There were things like "A Chronicle of Middle Earth & the Undying Lands", maps/drawings showing the evolution of Arda from the Ages of Creation to the Fourth Age of the Sun, encyclopedia-type entries under headings of Geography, Sociology, Natural History & Biography. Both of these books are awesome. Thanks for pointing me to the atlas!
I've blown my budget for the next month, but it's worth it.

[mark12_30]

Alatariel, congratulations! I'm glad they had it! Many happy map-tracings to you.

Pukel-man, I had similar questions, and I didn't find much; but, you might want to look at this link for general interest, although it's mostly about hardcover repair:

repair (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~preserve/repair/repairindex.htm)

If your books are really disintegrating, would you consider simply retiring them to the shelves and getting a new reading copy? Don't throw them out; put them out to pasture, so to speak.

Or-- if you just can't do that-- I've been known to cover my paperbacks, essentially putting a dust-jacket on them as if they were a hardback; or, sometimes I even put a layer of clear contact paper over the cover (this truly **horrifies** some people, but then the book becomes much tougher.) If it's a book that I really want to protect and maintain its original condition as best I can, then I put on a paper cover (like a dust-jacket) and then cover THAT with clear contact paper.

Good luck. Whatever you do don't throw them out. I got rid of my originals (they had mildewed) and ... (sob) ... well, just don't do it! Keep them!

[Samwise]

Hm. See you.

[Pukel-Man]

Thanks for the link Mark 12_30, I will see if I can repair the books. I fear that this set has been read for the last time and will take their place upon my bookshelf remaining there untill the end of my days. I suppose that the lack of any appreciable humidity in Arizona where I live has sped up this process and there may be nothing I can do to prevent this from happening. ( I wonder if I can build a humidor specificaly for book storage? hmmmm.....)

[Alphaelin]

Alphaelin mentioned using them for needlepoint designs.

I'm still trying to chart them - I've never tried developing my own chart, but thanks to Samwise, I am using scientific graph paper. I haven't been able to scan them to a large enough size to trace, so it's going slowly.

Also, I am splitting my needlework time between this and kneelers for my church's altar rail.


I wonder if they could be done in counted cross stitch

Samwise, if I ever get the things finished, I'm sure they could be used for counted cross stitch - after all I use CCS charts for needlepoint all the time!

[The Saucepan Man]

SUCCESS!!!! B&N only had one copy of The Atlas of ME in stock. I heard it calling my name as I came in the door.

Alatariel, I saw your thread this morning and resolved to finally buy the Atlas of ME myself. I have been meaning to get it for a long time, but it is never in any of the book-shops I usually go to.

So, I decided to go to the Foyles on Charing Cross Road in my lunchhour today. It is the biggest bookshop in London, so I fully expected not to be disappointed. But what did I find? A whole section of JRRT's works, complete with companions, guides, books of illustrations, biographies etc. But no Atlas smilies/frown.gif . On enquiry, I established that they had none in stock but six on order. Despondently and reluctantly, I resigned myself to waiting another week.

But, as I was leaving, I spotted another book-shop across the road, called Borders, and decided to give it a try. And there they were. Not just one, but six or seven of them sitting next to all the other Tolkien books. So off to the counter I trotted with one of them in my happy little hands, together with the Complete Tolkien Companion, just to round of my success. smilies/cool.gif

And the Atlas of ME is certainly no disappointent. I'm amazed at how much is in it. Not just maps, but plans of strongholds and other key locations. And plans of the battles, showing the "troop" movements. Well, being a bit of a map fanatic, it has truly been a successful day (well, yesterday now). smilies/smile.gif

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Sounds like you were in luck, Saucepan Man. I was in Foyles myself yesterday on a thoroughly self-indulgent shopping spree, which has furnished me with the three-volume hardback set of the Histories, a copy of the Letters, Roverandom and Carpenter's Tolkien biography, not to mention a large map of Beleriand and some C.S. Lewis. I too noted the absence of the Atlas, but there were too many people in our company for me to do any further browsing, and we had gone to London with a very different purpose than to buy books: we were supposed to be looking for outfits for my friend's Tudor-themed wedding. Still, we saw some good books and a nice five-string Ibanez bass guitar, so it wasn't a total write-off. smilies/wink.gif

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

And the Atlas of ME is certainly no disappointent. I'm amazed at how much is in it. Not just maps, but plans of strongholds and other key locations. And plans of the battles, showing the "troop" movements. Well, being a bit of a map fanatic, it has truly been a successful day (well, yesterday now).

Saucepan Man: Congratulations! I'm glad your search was successful. I have really enjoyed my Atlas. It was wonderful to see the "global" maps: The First Age showing where Aman is in relation to Middle-Earth; the Second Age showing the changes in land masses, with Númenor & the "Lands Under the Wave"; and the Third Age showing an overall view of M-E, from the Northern Wastes in the far north to Haradwaith in the far south. I also like the map coordinates that correspond with the Index of Place Names in the back. If I can't find a specific location mentioned, I can check the Index and then find it on the appropriate map. (Kinda like my Rand McNally on vacation.) I was having a lot of trouble trying to visualize where particular lands or locations were in relation to one another with only the text of the Silm. My copy of Silm only had one map showing Beleriand with the Realms of the Noldor & Sindar. I'm was halfway through with the Silm before I got my Atlas, but rather than finish, I'm going to go back and start from the beginning. I think it will make more sense to me when I'm able to see where places are.

[The Saucepan Man]

Yes, the Atlas is definately a valuable addition to my collection. For me, it is something to browse through for a while, put down, and then come back to later and browse again. I wish that I'd had it while I was reading the Silmarillion. Still, it's a useful reference point for the Unfinished Tales, which I am reading at the moment and which doesn't have a Map of Beleriand (well, my copy doesn't, anyway).

Squatter, I didn't see the Letters when I was in Foyles. Had I done, I would have snapped them up there and then, since they are right at the top of my "to buy" list. Still, with the Unfinished Tales and Tales of the Perilous Realm, not to mention the Atlas, I have enough to keep me going for a while ... smilies/smile.gif

[Samwise]

Samwise, if I ever get the things finished, I'm sure they could be used for counted cross stitch - after all I use CCS charts for needlepoint all the time!
Really? Hm.... smilies/wink.gif
http://www.tolkien-movies.com/people/characters/sam.jpg
#3 Bagshot Row (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[Alphaelin]

Samwise, you wicked girl! Are you trying to tempt me to join yet another list smilies/wink.gif?

(Repeating to myself: I have no hobbit fan-fic, I have no hobbit fan-fic...)

(Voice inside head: But we reads it, my precious, we reads it, don't we.)

[mark12_30]

Helen - Don't forget the special edition Ballantine box set

Bird, it arrived last night, and aside from yellowed spines and some slight waterspotting on the spines, it's in great shape; tight, clean, unmarred, perhaps even unread... **contented sigh**

Pauline Baynes is the best. I have her map on my wall, so why did I so want it on a slipcase cover??? I dunno. But it's gorgeous.

[Birdland]

Awwww, Helen. I think that is my favorite edition, and it lasted me for years. My new hardcovers with the Alan Lee covers are not holding up as well, unfortunately.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

[Samwise]

Samwise, you wicked girl! Are you trying to tempt me to join yet another list ?
Nah...jus' tryin' to drumb up some membership, as this p'r'ticular group only has 3 memebers--me, myself an' I. smilies/frown.gif
~Sam

[mark12_30]

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Bird, you may laugh-- oh, go ahead-- but I have several sets of books that I often read in the bath (so far, I have yet to fall asleep mid-bath and drop the book into the water. So far.) Anyway, I started covering certain books with clear contact paper. Now, it gives my husband the willies ("You've ruined it!" --was I ever planning on selling it? Ever?) ...anyway...

Of course, I don't do that to the ones that I "collect". And for the most part, I've switched to covering the books with paper and then covering the paper with the clear contact paper. That way, I can have some fun online looking for the Perfect Cover for my book (sometimes it's a scanned replica of the original cover, sometimes it's an alternate cover printed right off of Amazon or an art site, or... you get the idea.)

My two "workhorse" copies of LOTR are the Ringwraith-omnibus paperback and then the Gandalf-omnibus paperback that followed it. (Walmart, twelve bucks.. who could resist? And I landed in Seattle, very first trip, with no LOTR-- can't have that.) Both those now have clear contact paper over them (Ruined! Ruined!-- so I bought them again, one each, to add to the collection... I've gone over the edge...) Anyway, those are the copies that I take on travel, read in the tub, whatever.

So the moral of the story (there has to be one) is that thirty years from now, you can look me up on The Really Decayed And Decrepit Barrow-Downers Club list and ask me, Say, Helen, how are those two Contact-paper omnibus LOTR copies holding up? And I can tell you how they are (Mint, New, VyGd, Gd, Fair, Poor) and then you can decide whether you think clear contact paper is a good potential protective layer over your own working copies.

See? It's important for old friends to keep in touch.

[ March 04, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Birdland]

OK, first Helen makes her own "covers" for her books. Then she makes her own boxes for the "box sets". Then she probably builds her own bookshelves. Next comes building a house to keep all these books. Then a library to keep all the duplicates....where does it end?!!

My paperbacks are on their own, I'm afraid. They fall apart, or not. But I am on a mission to have all of my favorite books in nice, hardbound editions, and I would love to be able to make my own plastic sleeves for the dust covers. The store-bought ones are so expensive, and hard to find.

I don't think I could bring myself to coat those dust covers with contact paper, though it is a pain to try to keep them "mint".

[Mithadan]

As for the plastic sleeves, it strikes me that Child would be a good resource to tap into. I for one would like to hear about good places to purchase those non-acidic plastic jacket covers that are used in libraries. Child?

[mark12_30]

Build my own bookshelves? I'm _so_ over that. Now it's my husband's job... He built bookshelves into the north wall of his upstairs office, from scratch, oak molding, dental molding and all.

Actually my cheezy walmart shelves embarass him terribly. smilies/rolleyes.gif But if I keep collecting LOTR books I'll need to buy another one. smilies/eek.gif I *TOLD* you I was out of control...

[Birdland]

It's not so much the look of them, Helen. It's the fact that the particle board shelves start to bow in the middle from the weight. I'm proud to announce that since the year 2000, my own house has been a "Sauder-free zone".

Oooooh, Mith! That's a good idea! "Ohhhhhh, Sharon...!"

[Child of the 7th Age]

Try www.brodart.com (http://www.brodart.com)

Let's see if I can make this link work:book covers (http://www.shopbrodart.com/onlineliterature/bjcslct/select10.htm)

Yeah! It works. This is a good section to help you pick out the right product. Just scroll down the page.

[ March 05, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Birdland]

Thankee, Chile'! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Samwise]

(Repeating to myself: I have no hobbit fan-fic, I have no hobbit fan-fic...)

(Voice inside head: But we reads it, my precious, we reads it, don't we.)



....and your quite welcome to do so. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730) S'matter of fact, it would be much appreciated.

(on topic) Reading in the bathtub? I would almost surely drop it.... smilies/tongue.gif smilies/eek.gif smilies/wink.gif

[Samwise]

I for one would like to hear about good places to purchase those non-acidic plastic jacket covers that are used in libraries.
Oh, wait a sec..... smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/wink.gif Does this mean they're waterproof as well???

[Mithadan]

OK, Mark 12_30. Repeat after me slowly and in a clear voice. "Hi. My name is Mark 12_30 and...I'm a Tolkien addict! There! I said it!"

[mark12_30]

Mith, if you don't have a twelve-step recovery program to go along with that declaration, then don't raise my husband's hopes only to dash them in the end.

And who said I was willing to go thru detox???

[mark12_30]

Rae, did you ever go to the Ringcon? How did that go?

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I don't qualify for this thread, as I am still in school smilies/wink.gif , but I couldn't resist a quick question: the edition that says This paperback edition, and no other, has been published with my consent and co-operation. Those who approve of courtesy (at least) to living authors will purchase it, and no other. was out in 1973? Wow. I had Two Towers in that edtion at some point, I didn't realize it was that old. smilies/eek.gif

[Faenaduial]

Coming of Age Club! What a nice way to find those of us who have loved reading Tolkien for many years.

I discovered LotR back in 1973 and having been reading it about once a year ever since. I have to admit I don't read The Hobbit every year.

I still find it very disconcerting when people who have only seen the two current movies think they know everything there is to know about LotR but I'm glad to see more people discovering the books since the movies came out.

[mark12_30]

Faenaduial, welcome! What a great sig. 73? That's about when I started reading LOTR too. Glad to see you here. --Helen

[Estelyn Telcontar]

'73 was a great Tolkien year, apparently - that's when I first read the books too! A warm welcome to the club, Faenaduial!

[Faenaduial]

Thanks for your welcome Estelyn. I saw your recent post about needlework designs.

Many posts ago (page 3 of this thread - I really had to hunt!), there was a link to a site with pictures of the Númenorean tile and the emblems Tolkien drew. Alphaelin mentioned using them for needlepoint designs. That got me started thinking about the possibilities of Tolkien-inspired patchwork.

I'll be interested to see pictures of any of your work. I like to applique and plan to take a look at the designs and give them a try. I'll let you know how I make out.

[Samwise]

Faenaduial, welcome to th' thread an' th' site!

Please Click Me. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[mark12_30]

Bird, did you order your clear bookcovers, and do you like 'em? I checked out the page; thanks, Sharon; if I majored in hardbound books, I'd go for it.

I just bought a beat-up copy of MacDonald's "What's Mine's Mine" that might be worth a roll of the clear covers, anyway, just to keep that one book from further falling apart. And speaking of falling apart, it looks like some silverfish got to the binding:
scroll down to picture of binding (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=12568&item=3504525352&rd=1)

and I'd hate to have them infest the rest of my books! As in, my Tolkien collection... smilies/eek.gif

My question is, should I be worried about whether there were (shudder) eggs laid in the book after they munched it? And if so, what should I do?

Sharon, what would you do?

Meanwhile, I need to make room on my Lewis/ MacDonald shelf for it. That means the Fairy Tales & Myths will need a shelf of their own... whee! maybe under the Tolkien shelves... seems fitting...


--Helen

ps. On another note, How's the needlework going, O ye nimblefingered elvish ladies?

[Birdland]

Found this, Helen:
Silverfish found in books and documents can be killed by exposure to microwave radiation. Olkowski et al. (1991) recommend placing books in a microwave oven for a period of 30 to 60 seconds to kill silverfish. Caution should be used with books or documents containing color plates or in fragile condition.
I never cease to be amazed at what you can find on the 'Net.

BTW - I assume the caution about "color plates" might have to do with the fact that there might be metals in the inks - so keep a close eye out if you do this!

[mark12_30]

Heh! Great idea. But first, I'd better get rid of the salsa smell in there. That would be NASTY...

Bird, I thank you, and my books thank you!

[mark12_30]

Ooooo! Now it feels nice and toasty. I roased it in six ten-second bursts, checking it in-between... The "gold" lettering & pattern didn't spark, so I guess it's just a sparkly paint (thank God!)

[Raefindel]

If you keep bay leaves between the pages it helps repel pests, too.

[mark12_30]

Ooooooo! Ooo oo oo! Now that's worth buying another bay tree over. My last one croaked; dunno why.

Ithilien grows again in my office!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

In answer to your question about the needlework, Helen, I'm at the most interesting, difficult and time-consuming part of any patchwork - finding just exactly the right fabrics. The actual sewing is easy, comparatively. But nothing to show yet...

[Samwise]

Silverfish found in books and documents can be killed by exposure to microwave radiation.

Microwaved Silverfish? smilies/tongue.gif smilies/eek.gif
Good to know, though--gotta remember it...*scribbles it down, 'cause her old Hobbit brain probably won't). smilies/wink.gif
*******?******* (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[Birdland]

(crunch-crunch-crunch) Hmmmmm, not bad, if you add a little salt. (crunch-crunch-crunch)

[Samwise]

*smacking her lips* Eh...I don't know, Miss Birdie...it ain't right...no garlic, no onions, no taters...

[Faenaduial]

With regard to needlework, I am trying to pick a design for an embroidered or needlepoint wall hanging. I want to use an elvish theme for this and have seen several nice illustrations for Rivendell and a few for Mirkwood. Rivendell is colorful and Mirkwood would use alot of dark colors with silver thread.

I'd love to hear your opinions on which you would like to see.

[ March 16, 2003: Message edited by: Faenaduial ]

[Eruanna]

Having recently posted in the Geriatric's Club I'd like to thank Mithadan for the link to this thread.
I have enjoyed this site immensely since I found it (entirely by accident) last year. I hung around for a few months, reading the posts, trying to answer questions in the Quiz section etc and finally plucked up the courage to join in!
I first read "The Hobbit" at the age of eleven. I had won a small prize (a book token) for doing well at school. The assistant in the bookshop, trying to be helpful, was pointing me in the direction of Enid Blyton and Eleanor M. Brent-Dyer (this was 1964)
However, I was struck by a display which featured a large map....so I wandered over and picked up...... "The Hobbit".
"Oh, you won't like that," she said "it's about a little dwarf who lives in a hole!"
Five minutes later I was the proud possessor of my first Tolkien book and I have been hooked ever since!
I had the great pleasure of reading both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings" to my son and although he is of the "Star Wars" generation he still reads and appreciates Tolkien. In fact, he introduced me to "The Silmarillion" about ten years ago.
As a devotee of the books, I approached the movies with a certain amount of trepidation....Would the Elves be silly "Vulcan-like" creatures.....Would Boromir be a Viking......Would Aragorn be a modern "Action Hero"???
I was pleasantly surprised. There were one or two quibbles of course, but on the whole a definite thumbs-up!!

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Welcome to the thread Eruanna!

[Raefindel]

Welcome to the Downs, Eruanna! smilies/biggrin.gif

Some of us have posted our pictures Here
Member Pics (http://breeunderbreehill.com/id103.htm) If you are interested in seeing our faces.

[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Just found the link to the pictures. It is nice to put faces to some of the names.

Saucepan Man: Your children look so sweet.

Mark 12_30: Helen, I love your outfit. Did you buy it in Hobbiton or Bywater?

Lynn

[mark12_30]

Lynn,

Why thanks. Actually, the very inexpensive breeches came from a rather large shop in Buckland with the odd name of Walmart. The shirt is an old one purchased in a faraway city. The jacket also came from across the Brandywine River, from another oddly named establishment, The Dress Barn (that's a story in itself.)

Various weapons, staff, and cloak were from Raefindel's wardrobe and graciously loaned to me for the afternoon.

The bare feet, in February, cost nothing but a chill, nicely remedied afterwards as I recall by Raefindel's excellent tea.

[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Raefindel]

That was fun Helen, wasn't it?

Thinking of selling the cloaks on E-bay. What do you think?

[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[mark12_30]

Fun?? Rae, if that was fun, then Mt. St. Helens is a sand dune. I had a BLAST that day. Probably the most fun I've had in... well, a LONG time. I sure wish you lived in-state. I mean, in my state.

Selling cloaks on ebay? Sure. I wonder if you could sell them here on the downs; they sell tee-shirts & such, and those elven brooches.

(Pout-- nice coffee gone. Sad Helen. More?)

How do you make it?

[Raefindel]

Here's the recipe, Precious...

fireside coffee (http://www.cremora.com/Cremora_Detail.cfm?ID=47)

I often use more instant coffee that is called for , and only 1 tsp cinnamon, not
1 1/2 tsp.

[Eruanna]

Thanks for the link to the pictures Raefindel. It was lovely to be able to put faces to names!! Some are just as I had imagined....others completely different! smilies/smile.gif

[Samwise]

Eruanna, hullo! *bows as best he can* You've seen the picture page? ACK! smilies/eek.gif Hope mine didn't scare you! smilies/tongue.gif

~*your friendly neighborhood gardener*~ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[Samwise]

Speaking of pictures, Alatáriël, that's an awfully cute avatar of the "Little One." smilies/wink.gif
Weird. Working with preschoolers, that is SO much what he reminds me of..... smilies/rolleyes.gif smilies/biggrin.gif

[alquadae]

Raefindel
Greetings! I would be interested! XL green.I have been spending some time on ebay checking out costumes, boots,and Elvish style jewerly. plenty of rennasiance or sca stuff but very little non massed produced Tolkien treasures. Lets chat.
Alquadae

[Raefindel]

No Problem! Sounds like we can find you something.

[Samwise]

Oh, Miss Rae, that sounds LOVELY!!!! (hint)
smilies/wink.gif

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Speaking of pictures, Alatáriël, that's an awfully cute avatar of the "Little One." Weird. Working with preschoolers, that is SO much what he reminds me of....

Samwise: Thanks. There were a whole series of pictures of Elijah taken (I think) in Toronto that this one came from. He is such a cute little boy. I find him strangely attractive, even though he's 8 years younger than my son.
**Wow, that sounds weird, but...I just enjoy looking at his pictures.**
~Lynn

[Samwise]

You're quite welcome. I found a pic of him as more of a little boy than he is now. He was ADORABLE! smilies/wink.gif Being a little over 10 years his senior, I will think of him as a "cute little boy" when he's forty. smilies/wink.gif

[mark12_30]

Some of us are "Radio Flyer" fans. Heavy pop-psych!!! And for those into pop-psych, Bumblebee was fun too.

[Samwise]

Bumblebee broke my heart. smilies/frown.gif Of course, if you've read too many of my posts on different things, you've probably figured out that it dosen't take much to break my heart) smilies/wink.gif.
It was very good, though...yet I found myself...
Okay, for those of you who haven't seen "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway"----SPOILER!!
Ahem. When "Barney was about to jump out the window and follow his friend, yelling all that stuff about how he was only going to die anyway and the dr. and the others are trying to convince him not to jump, I found myself yelling,

smilies/eek.gif smilies/eek.gif"No!! You still have to see New Zealand!!" smilies/eek.gif smilies/eek.gif

[Samwise]

'Nother thing about Bumblebee (an age thing)
In the first scene where they first show 'the boy', and they're taking all the medical stuff off of him...my first thought was,

"Somebody FEED that boy! "

Jeez, is he smilies/rolleyes.gif
skinny!

[ March 21, 2003: Message edited by: Samwise ]

[Samwise]

'kay, this is the last post I'll do in succession, I promise....
My mother gave me an issue of 'PARADE', with the 'Little One' on the cover (which is why she gave it to me). Actually, it's of his face, and it looks like he hasn't shaved for a day or so.
I talked to my good friend (who's a man) about it, saying, "Jeez, he at least could have shaved." and he, in his 'guy wisdom' said,

"Well, he has a baby face (NO... smilies/rolleyes.gif ). He dosen't want everyone saying, 'Oh, he's so cute....'

(LOL! TOO LATE!) smilies/biggrin.gif.

I guess from a 22-year-old boy--er--MAN standpoint that's so, but...

Sorry, Little One, for some of us a little facial hair AIN'T GONNA WORK!! smilies/wink.gif smilies/tongue.gif

[ March 21, 2003: Message edited by: Samwise ]

[mark12_30]

Somebody on this forum once said, "He brings out every maternal instinct which I possess." I think perhaps she was not alone. I had always thought if I ever adopted, it would definitely be a girl. After FOTR I changed my mind.

[mark12_30]

I found that the whole concept of despair and memory (referring to Barney Snow) circled back around to Frodo's despair after the war; Legolas' resting in his memories, and Frodo unable to do that, but having to go to the West to have his memories "fixed", or put into the proper light.

The whole psychological implication of "fixing memories by removing them" I find a killer. Literally. A good friend of mine went through every other therapy known to man, and finaly they tried electroshock on her; I called her a few days later, and she didn't remember who I was. "My husband tells me, that I do know you..." I went to visit her, and I got that same blank look that Barney is so good at.

I think that's why I found the movie so haunting, especially the last scene; that white shirt symbolizing the clean slate, the blank page, echoed by the pleasant but blank stare.

We have the "Barney Snow" methods; we need the "Elvenhome" methods... My friend, despite all their memory removal techniques, is dead anyway. Her third attempt was a success. She needed to go West instead.

I wonder if Tolkien's war experience told him that Frodo had to leave, that there was no healing for him in Middle-Earth. I wonder if my friend knew that too, or if she just despaired. I like to think the former but I fear the latter.

[ March 22, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Samwise]

Oh, Helen.....(I should OWN Kleenex co., I really should....) I'm so sorry. If by "West" you mean "up", at least you have the hope of meeting again one day, and she will remember you. smilies/smile.gif
I know what you mean about the end....the girl walking into the room and "Barney's" "Hello", but it was like he'd never seen her before and they had previously begun to have such a wonderful relationship.... smilies/frown.gif (Oh, why dosen't Plauder Smileys work anymore so that I can put one of those SOBBING faces here!!)

[mark12_30]

Thanks, Sam. Rae is right, you are a treasure.

She was such a lady; refined and sophisticated, gentle, kind. The last time I spoke with her, we were sitting on my garden bench. She surprised me with a gift shortly after that, and then she quietly moved away, and that winter she was gone.

Yes, she knew him. We prayed and worshipped together often, and studied the scriptures, which makes her despair all the harder to endure. Someday perhaps we'll laugh about it; at least we'll celebrate the King together.

If I ever meet Mr. Wood, I'll thank him for Barney Snow; watching that movie was like soul-surgery, or like focusing a lens on the whole story. Suddenly things snapped into place. Frodo was all well and good; but Barney Snow was, to me, his most gripping role. I guess it's all what a story connects to.

Then again, maybe when Frodo sails west next year, it'll all come crashing down. Ugh-- I dread it.

[Samwise]

(Miss RAE!!!!!!!! Now you shouldn't ought to go talkin' like that!) smilies/redface.gif

smilies/frown.gif Dread it...so do I, Miss Helen, so do I.....

Oi...Yes, Barney Snow was quite a role for the little fella. Sigh. smilies/frown.gif There were a couple of portions (thankfully only a couple, which was a pleasant surprise) where I would have liked to grab that little man's ear, led him down the hall to the bathroom and made him eat SOAP, smilies/mad.gif but sadly, in movies made by folks in this world, that "stuff" is to be expected. smilies/rolleyes.gif

Ah...how wonderful that your friend knew Him. In that case, I look forward to meeting her, too. smilies/biggrin.gif

[ March 22, 2003: Message edited by: Samwise ]

[mark12_30]

Rae, how's business? Floral stuff? Cloakmaking?

I went tramping thru the woods with another hobbit: yesterday afternoon, and again this morning; we've gotten addicted. Guess we'll just have to explore the whole reserve, 1 1/2 hours at a time.

[ March 24, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Raefindel]

Hi Helen and everyone! I'm back from a trip. My son went to state championships in Kennewick; he took 5th in state.

I start the floral job tomorrow and it is ,unfortunately, half school days all this week, just to make it tough. I'll be leaving the oldest in charge of his younger sisters for a few hours. (May as well try it, it is how it will eventually be.) I expect to enjoy floral design as much as I did when I was 20(gee, has it been that long?)

I haven't started the cloak-making yet. I have to get a few patterns first and they go on sale the 3rd. I should have time to do both- work and sew. When I get a few cloaks made and posted on e-bay I'll add a link to my signature.

Helen, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend! I had a friend who committed suicide and it was really hard to take because she wasn't sick or mentally ill or even abused- she was just different. She was a dwarf and felt she never fit in.
smilies/frown.gif

[ March 24, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[mark12_30]

Rae, So good to hear from you! I'm very glad to hear about the state competitions.
Give the tumbler a high-five for me, and tell him I said he totally rocks.

Sad to hear that you lost a friend that way too... what's to say, besides ouch? What's to do?... I'll keep you in prayer. Call, PM, or email me if you need to talk.

I just printed out that coffee recipe. My friend and I are going to celebrate the destruction of the ring tomorrow nite... her idea. smilies/biggrin.gif Time to bake some Lembas. Hmm, maybe that seed-cake recipe?
How's this for ironic? I'm allergic to wheat, so I use a mix that involves corn instead. Guess what she's allergic to-- ... corn! Back to the drawing board.

Anyway, to celebrate, we were thinking of finding some chasm somewhere and dropping a ring into it. But there are no volcanoes that I knew of in New England. (I should have mailed you the ring, Rae, and you could have hiked up Mt. St. Helen's with a video camera and... nevermind.)

Maybe instead we should just haul out the guitars and sing about victory over darkness. We have one or two songs in stock that will do.
smilies/biggrin.gif

[ March 24, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Raefindel]

Well, I was going to make a comment about a guy I saw leaning into the engine of a car but maybe that is inappropriate for this forum. smilies/eek.gif

[mark12_30]

It took me minutes to figure out what you meant and now I wish I hadn't. (Slaps hands over eyes) I think we'll do the singing instead.

I dug out the rules for mixing corn-free, wheat-free flour: (6 parts white rice flour to 2 potato starch flour to 1 tapioca flour, plus xanthan) and we'll try that with the lembas tonight. If it's good, we'll take some on the trails tomorrow.

[ March 25, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Raefindel]

I hope it works! smilies/smile.gif Have a fun hike!

Started the new job today; everything went well. In fact the owner seems quite pleased!

Oh! Forgot to tell you I finally read the first 9 chapters of "The Fairy Wife" Wow! Helen you're gifted! It's great! I read a novel a week and I know good writing when I read it, and YOURS is Great! I thought the Hobbit names were VERY CLEVER! No boring spots, Just enough description to keep the reader interested, It's perfect!

[ March 25, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[mark12_30]

(Blush) smilies/smile.gif

Lembas report: The alternate flour mixture worked well enough. I forgot how much per frying pan, and they came out thicker than I'm used to, which bummed me out at first: but it turns out that "movie-thickness" (think Sam, "More Lembas Bread...") is fine, just different than cookie-thickness. So... I learned something.

We went most of the way up "Mount Tom" this morning. In Seattle terms, It's a glorified sand-dune. I think the elevation is over 400 feet. No, that's not a typo, I wasn't trying to say four thousand. I mean four hundred feet. This is Rhode Island, after all.

Personally I'm guessing that they named "Mount Tom" after a turkey. smilies/tongue.gif

It was fun. And we each had a square of Lembas on the way. And I was even on time for work after that.

By the way, is anybody else kind of intrigued by the whole "Walk To Rivendell" thing? For those who walk or might like to, check it out.
Walk (http://home.insightbb.com/~eowynchallenge/Walk/walk.html)
challenge (http://home.insightbb.com/~eowynchallenge/index.html) Since I'm walking anyway, I thought, "what the heck..."

Bottom line: Frodo was a serious walker! I'm developing a healthy new respect for the fellow, and his companions too.

[ March 26, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Wow, what a wonderful idea! Now that is something I could go for. I would definitely be a soft, slow going hobbit to begin with, though. Office work has been talking its toll.

Your commemoration of the destruction of the ring sounded like great fun too. Such creative folk out there! It wasn't until I read this thread that I remembered that my sister-in–law was born on such a very special day. smilies/smile.gif

I was very sorry to hear about your friend. But no doubt she has left a broken world behind to find joy at last. Malachi 4:2
I hope that you aren't left haunted by it though. It would be hard to be left behind.

[mark12_30]

Hilde, Frodo also complained that he was out of shape, although he'd been walking a fair amount as I recall.... But the Fellowship did this with packs on... wow.

I'm not exactly rock-solid myself (says she, typing at the desk she sits at all day.)

My husband would laugh, and say, "It never happened." Like he did last night. "You're celebrating a fictional destruction of a fictional ring by fictional people in a fictional time and place?"

Yes, dear, I am.

Now, where was that map?

[ March 26, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

It's the thought that counts...good overcoming evil...now that is something to celebrate! It seems a bit more meanful to me then say St. Patricks Day. smilies/wink.gif

The story maybe fictional but the characters are an inspiration.

[Raefindel]

I Love the walk Idea! Helen, why don't you start a new thread where we can all check in and talk about it.

I'll bring a pitometer to work and see how far I walk a day. Standing for 6 hours a day was something I haven''t done in a while but I didn't get tired till I got home. I'll have to bring some lembas with me.

[mark12_30]

Thread started in the Barrow Downs forum. Thanks for the nudge, Rae! And I'm very glad to hear the job is treating you well.

Off to study-group... but I've gotta grab dinner on the way out. Bye!

[Aratlithiel]

Hope I don't discourage anyone from a new fitness regiment, but I can't help but share the following...

(I've cut & pasted this from an email I sent to a friend last week so excuse any context errors)

OK, so I hadn’t been feeling well for over a week (thought it was the flu, but no…) and was going bug-**** . I was feeling a little better and decided to take a short run. Now, I have a 5-mile trail that I made for myself in the woods behind our house that I use everyday and love because it’s really a tough work-out and very private. My husband (who was out of state at the time) has always hated it because he’s always afraid I’m going to ram myself into a tree or get eaten by a bear or something. So anyway, he really didn’t want me to go on the trail since I was still not 100% well and insisted I go on the 1-mile jogging/biking track at the park a couple miles away. Since I really wasn’t feeling great anyway (and, although I would never dream of admitting it to him I didn't think I could do 5 miles that day anyway) I figured I’d go there to make him happy & do 2 circuits to make myself feel better.

So I’m running along with Queens of the Stoneage blasting in my headphones (which, by the way, is the ONLY way to listen to that particular band – think it might be a law or something) when I get hit by a coughing fit…and I mean coughing FIT. I stopped in the middle of the track and proceeded to double over hacking and expecting a lung to come popping out any minute and would really not have been surprised if I coughed up one of my shoes at that point (now bear in mind that I had quit smoking some time ago). Now I’m getting dizzy and feel a cold sweat starting to break out and I think that if I can just get my sweatshirt off, then the fit will magically go away and I can finish my run and go home (so I wasn’t thinking too clearly, OK?). The only thing is that it didn’t occur to me that I needed to 1st remove the headphones from my head which were attached to the Walkman which was attached to my waistband of my shorts. Picture an idiot in the middle of a path with one arm out of a sweatshirt which is stuck over her head because it got tangled in the headphone wires which obstinately refused to become detached from the Walkman – all the while hacking like a seal with a chest cold.

But wait! It’s not over yet!

While I’m bent over trying to extricate myself from my rebellious clothing before I pass out from coughing into the sweatshirt that has taken on a life of its own and is trying to stuff itself further and further into my mouth, a biker (who wasn’t watching where he was going and was going WAY too fast for the track he was biking on) slammed directly into my side and sent me flying over a trash barrel and into a tree. Now, I’m not talking about some bad-*** dude on a Harley who mowed me down because he was too busy toking on his doobie to see me – no, no…I get run over by an accountant…on a bicycle…a SMALL bicycle…and a SMALL accountant…wearing the most ridiculous helmet I’ve ever seen.

3 cracked ribs, wrist broken in 7 places, broken collar bone, concussion, crushed knee-cap and nose broken so badly that I got to pick a new one. (Wish it were possible to break one’s boobs – I coulda used a new & improved set of those.) PLUS, it turned out that what I thought was the flu was actually pneumonia – try having THAT with cracked ribs!! So I’ve had plenty of Demerol days and Codeine nights. Apparently I’ve read 2 books and have absolutely NO idea what they were about.

And all because my husband insisted I go running at the park – for my SAFETY!! Can you say IRONIC? Give me a hallelujah, brother!

[Birdland]

Aratlithiel - That is an absolutely horrific thing to happen to anyone. I hope you are recovering and will be hitting the trails again soon.

And yet, there is a small, wicked part of me that wants to nominate that story for a Darwin Award (http://www.darwinawards.com/) smilies/biggrin.gif

[Raefindel]

Oh My Goodness, Aratlithiel !

I'll say a prayer for your speedy recovery!

Oh, and "Pick a new nose" is that like a play on words or your entertainment for the evening?

[ March 26, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[Aratlithiel]

LOL, Birdland. I was going more for Ripley's, but if the monkey fits...

Rae - I was wondering if anyone would catch that. I plan to have all kinds of fun with that little pun over the years.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Oh Aratlithiel! What a story! I'm very sorry but you had me in hysterics with that account. (I feel so guilty!) I hope that you are all better from the ordeal.

[Raefindel]

How long ago did this happen?

[Aratlithiel]

Hilde, you're a luv & everything is now down to a dull throb until I have to have my knee re-done next month. That should be fun. And don't feel bad - believe me, I see the ridiculousness of the whole thing myself. How could anyone help but laugh?

Rae - This was 03/06. Most of the bruising (or SPECTACULAR bruising as my sister says) is down to a dull yellowish-gray now. My nephew asked me how I got 2 black eyes and I told him it happened when I picked my nose. Bwa ha ha ha! I know, I'm so evil! But like I said, I intend to squeeze some fun out of this one.

My older sister came down from CT the 1st weekend to help out and then my younger sister came from FL this past weekend to relieve her and will be staying until Sunday. While we were all together this past weekend we decided to have an early b-day celebration for me and my younger sister decided to unleash her nefarious scheme to get me wasted so I could forget my troubles for awhile. To make a long story short, we loaded up the FotR ext. DVD and proceeded to play a LotR drinking game that she swears has rules - although we were fairly certain she was making them up as she went along with the express goal of seeing how many shots of tequila I could down before I totally lost consciousness. I swear, if I never see a lime again as long as I live...

Though I was well and truly drunk before the 2nd CD went in, I do remember being forced to sing the "Heigh Ho" song several times before finally being allowed to go to the little girls' room. And don't worry, I had already been off the pain meds. for 2 days (with the exception of X-strength Tylenol which they will have to pry from my cold, dead hands). Kids, don't try this at home.

Anyway, what I remember of it was fun. You have to say J.R.R. Tolkien everytime...
- A hobbit cries
- Frodo falls down (but it doesn't count if he's pushed)
- A black rider screams
- Someone speaks in Elvish
- Aragorn looks disgusted (which was cause for several arguements - kind of ambiguous, wouldn't you say?)
- The Ring whispers
- Gandalf does magic

There was more that I can't remember but you get the idea. The last one to say J.R.R. Tolkien has to do a shot. Needless to say, the more shots you do, the slower you get and I was already at a distinct disadvantage so. And much to my chagrin, saying "Jaaaarrrraa Tooknuh" didn't count. I think they made me do 2 shots for blasphemy.

[The Saucepan Man]

Hey, great game, Arat. I'm always in the market for new drinking games. smilies/rolleyes.gif

Here'sh to a shpeedy recoverary *hic* smilies/biggrin.gif

Seriously, hope your back up and running again soon. smilies/smile.gif

[mark12_30]

Aratlithiel, that game sounds like fun even without the tequila.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Wow, so this accident was a recent thing! I thank God for your sense of humor and for sharing it with us as well as the story, the warning and also the game of course smilies/biggrin.gif. Sounds like a fun and creative bunch of siblings,(your poor parents)!

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Aralithial: I know that that must have been (and probably still is) quite painful. But you had me on the floor laughing. I hope you'll soon be movin' & groovin' again.

(Wish it were possible to break one’s boobs –I coulda used a new & improved set of those.)

I actually got a new & improved set (much smaller than the originals) about 13 years ago. I love still being "perky"!!

Anyway, what I remember of it was fun. You have to say J.R.R. Tolkien everytime...
- A hobbit cries
- Frodo falls down (but it doesn't count if he's pushed)
- A black rider screams
- Someone speaks in Elvish
- Aragorn looks disgusted (which was cause for several arguements - kind of ambiguous, wouldn't you say?)
- The Ring whispers
- Gandalf does magic


I believe that during FotR, this would entail saying "JRR Tolkein" about every 5 minutes. I'm the only Tolkein fan among my circle of friends, so I'd have no one to play with. But if I offered tequila jello shots, some of them might be willing to watch the movie. smilies/tongue.gif

[mark12_30]

Awfully quiet. How is everyone?

Moot, moot.

[peony_foxburr]

hi, all--I was directed over here after I registered earlier today--well, yesterday, but I'm working nights...how fun to be with some other Elders! My first LoTR reading was in 1969, age 15, Ballantine paperbacks of which I still own 2 out of 3 (I lent one to a boyfriend who has passed into myth). I did a little D&D during the 80s but then got too old to stay up so late smilies/smile.gif. Count me as one who has also enjoyed the films--yes, Peter Jackson leaves lots of stuff out, but that's the difference between a novel and a film. And I adore all the actors, young and old. What a shock, though, to read that Elijah Wood was born 3 DAYS before my own son(1/28/81 was his original due date, in fact--THAT cut short a few flights of fantasy, let me tell you, LOL! Skimming some of the past posts, I see a few mentions of EW's past film work. For fun I've been looking around on eBay for videos of some of them, & now have The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, with Radio Flyer en route. I leave in a week for Washington state to help out my parents while my dad has radiation for (localized) prostate cancer--gotta load up on viewing material. (Oops, I'd better delete that "EW Now&Forever" bookmark before the 24 yo daughter sees it on my computer and is totally mortified!!!)

[Samwise]

Hullo, Peony! Welcome to the Barrowdowns and the thread! *Bows as best he can*
LOL--don't feel bad, I just bid on and won a signed photo of the actor I refer to as "The Little One" among other things (aka Li'l Mr. Wood). I'm not old enough to be his mom (32), but I work at a Preschool/Daycare, and every time I see a pic of the little guy w/o facial hair my mind squeals, "He's just so darn CUTE!" (which is also what happens when I see a particularly cute child/baby at the preschool. smilies/wink.gif

A Small Gathering Place (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[mark12_30]

My first LoTR reading was in 1969, age 15, Ballantine paperbacks of which I still own 2 out of 3 (I lent one to a boyfriend who has passed into myth).

Hi Peony! Were they the acid-inspired covers with the emus and eggplants? You can get singles of those online at ebay if you'd like to re-complete the set. Anything later is available as well.

I went nuts collecting paperback sets, as you may read. I finally calmed down. I am still on the lookout for a "signature set" (red box, white paperback books) but I'm running out of space on my shelves.

Sounds like a tough trip ahead. If comedy appeals at all, have you seen Lilo and Stitch? I'm a sentimental sort, and it's my favorite. They advertise it as sassy, but the ending is sweet. I watched it four times the week we bought it. Stitch is a little blue orc. (And Lilo is... me! Except I never liked Elvis, I much prefer Elvish. So where's my Stitch? I want one!)

[lindil]

'My husband would laugh, and say, "It never happened." Like he did last night. "You're celebrating a fictional destruction of a fictional ring by fictional people in a fictional time and place?"'

well it may be fiction, but it's TRUE!

smilies/smile.gif

[Mithadan]

Welcome, Peony. Where in Massachusetts? I lived there until 1991.

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I'm still in school, so I don't fit here smilies/wink.gif but I'm also wondering- where in MA? I live in Massachusetts.

[mark12_30]

It may be fiction but it's true!
lindil, you are good for the soul.

[peony_foxburr]

To reply to several posted questions:I live in a town northwest of Boston, near the border w/NH, named Chelmsford. Unlike many other town names in NE, this one DOESN'T recur all over the English speaking world--there is a Chelmsford, England and a Chelmsford in Ontario, Canada...(this afternoon's bit of trivia, LOL)

I was cruising eBay just this morning in search of the "emus&eggplants"edition, in fact. I'll keep an eye on general trends before getting into a bidding war, tho!

Thanks for your suggestions re:humorous videos--I have seen Lilo&Stitch and agree it's totally adorable. The Monty Python collection will definitely come along. I am lucky in that my dad is a very upbeat person (unlike yours truly, the original hypochondriac depressive)and has borne up well under the past 3 1/2 mos of Lupron injections--for the unitiated, that's a testesterone antagonist which starves the cancerous cells out, but in the process brings on hot flashes that make menopause sound tame! (This makes it difficult to sleep soundly, so he's very tired as a result) Almost done with that stuff--I suspect radiation will be a piece of cake by comparison. He started off basically healthy as a horse for a guy of 79, and the doc has every expectation he will be playing golf on his 90th birthday! I'm going out to offer moral support, to help with the driving to daily "nuking" sessions, and assist in keeping my mother organized--she is definitely more confused and forgetful than she used to be--so wish me a large dose of PATIENCE smilies/smile.gif...I'll be back in late May to go to my son's college commencement in DC, but then mayhap we doddering souls from this area can have our own FotR drinking game (see back a few pages), which sounded like just the thing to appall my children smilies/biggrin.gif...

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Lol
Chelmsford....hmm....never heard of it. Too bad. smilies/tongue.gif

[Mithadan]

Good luck Peony. I do know Chelmsford, though I never lived in that area.

[mark12_30]

We used to play 'em. Peony, do you remember the Acton Boxborough Colonials? Track & field, 1978/ 1979. smilies/biggrin.gif Javelin & shot. Not very middle-earthy, although I could pretend the javelin was Aiglos.

[Raefindel]

Hello Peony, Welcome to the Downs.

Where in Wa are you going? I live in Washington. I live in Port Orchard just west of Seattle.

Just to touch base, I LOVE my new job and have posted some Middle-Earth-Floral humor on the "Spring unfolds the Beachen leaf" thread.

[Samwise]

Oohh...track and field...*shudders at bad memories* You will do well, Peony, I'm sure!

So glad you're likin' the new job, Miss Rae! I'll have to go see that thread! *Flower humor....* smilies/wink.gif

[peony_foxburr]

Raefindel: I'm headed to Lacey (near Olympia)--my parents live in "Panorama City" a big life-care community. (They lived from 75-96 in "Sunny Sequim.") Beautiful country, the Olympic Peninsula, with very Tolkienesque mountain ranges...

Mark: I didn't live in this area until 1979--yes, the terrible truth is that I WAS NOT here for the Blizzard of 1978. [Peony hangs head in shame] I recall many defeats dealt out to my kids' soccer teams by those athletes from Acton/Boxborough, however:-).

[Raefindel]

Peony, You'll be a stone's throw away. My grandparents looked into moving to Panorama City. I've done a great deal of hiking in the Olympics. It really is beautiful here. If you happen to come by Port Orchard look me up. smilies/cool.gif

Helen did you ever find the missing earring?
Yes, I imagine you'd make a good elf, but you make a GREAT hobbit.

Samwise I don't want to be offensive, but what is your avatar supposed to be?

[ April 09, 2003: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[mark12_30]

...(squints)...I think it's a horse. Is it Bill the Pony and Sam, you know, the sculpture?

At first it looked like a Merry-Go-Round horse, you know, a carousel horse... It is "rather small."

--Helen (who is happy to be more hobbitty than elvish) smilies/biggrin.gif

[Raefindel]

Maybe I need glasses, I just can't see it!
Bill, where are you?

[peony_foxburr]

Instead of packing for the Journey, I've been haunting the Barrow-Downs today. Test post to see if my avatar pic came out smilies/smile.gif.

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Elijah Wood was born 3 DAYS before my own son(1/28/81 was his original due date, in fact--THAT cut short a few flights of fantasy, let me tell you

(Oops, I'd better delete that "EW Now&Forever" bookmark before the 24 yo daughter sees it on my computer and is totally mortified!!!)

Peony: Elijah is 8 years YOUNGER than my son. That was a big jolt to my flights of fantasy also. You might want to check out "Elijah's Blue Eyes" website for some really nice pics. (My 32 year old daughter thinks I'm really weird!!)

[Samwise]

LOL---I just recieved a copy of an autographed photo of the Little One today. Boy, those peepers are INTENSE. smilies/eek.gif
But, he IS after all practically still a child... smilies/wink.gif
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/groups/g_9167699/Misc.++LOTR+pics/__tn_Li%27l+Mr.+Wood--signed.jpg?bcKmkl.AuGjwYSEn

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

LOL---I just recieved a copy of an autographed photo of the Little One today. Boy, those peepers are INTENSE.
But, he IS after all practically still a child...

Samwise: Which photo did you get? Was it one as Frodo or just Elijah? (And he may be practically a child to us, but he's still a really cute child.) smilies/wink.gif

[Samwise]

'twas of the little one himself, not as Frodo. Sadly, even though it was really cute, I've since returned it 'cause I neglected to read that it was only a COPY of a photo instead of a real one. I am going to keep haunting ebay for a real one, though, and of course one of Sean Astin... smilies/wink.gif

(and he is indeed a very cute child...... smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/wink.gif )

#3 Bagshot Row (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Number_3_Bagshot_Row/?yguid=39722730)

[mark12_30]

Sometimes it seems like some popular opinion refuses to allow him to progress into adulthood. Fortunately popular opinion doesn't have that much raw power...

I often wonder where his destiny will take him; he has tremendous potential, he's already done a great deal, and I don't think he's done yet. I hope he has the freedom to find out all the different things that he was designed to do.

[ April 15, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Guinevere]

Very well said, Helen!

I fear that being so famous makes it almost impossible for a young actor to develop a normal character. And having thousands of women having a crush on him wouldn't make it easier to have a normal relationship with a normal girl!
I guess, he'll want to get away from his innocent Frodo-image as soon as possible.
There are so many examples of former child-actors who have turned bad... Up to the LotR movie, he was always under the supervision of his mother, but now...
I only hope for him that success won't spoil his character. I am just too fond of those soulful eyes! He manages to convey emotions in a way that touch the heart, and that's his strength.

[mark12_30]

Galadriel, I know what you mean about child actors. I do have high hopes for EJW, however. He does seem to have a good head on his shoulders.

For that (seemingly rather small) subset of Barrow-Downers who are interested in prayer and in Tolkien both, I think it's appropriate to pray that the actors absorb the very best of their characters and take that with them. Readers have that golden opportunityhoefully the actors are not denied it by their own attitudes or by anything else, but with open heart and mind, recieve the very best that Tolkien's work has to offer each of them.

So many sense a challenge, or a call, to something higher in the professor's Legendarium, and so many do respond heartily. My highest hopes of seeing that manifested among the actors lie in Wood and Astin, for a number of reasons; but I do hope that for them all, and think that many others will to some degree. Far from it being beyond their reach, I think Tolkien by his art makes the possibility accessable.

[ April 15, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

For that (seemingly rather small) subset of Barrow-Downers who are interested in prayer and in Tolkien both, I think it's appropriate to pray that the actors absorb the very best of their characters and take that with them. Readers have that golden opportunity, hopefully the actors are not denied it by their own attitudes or by anything else, but with open heart and mind, recieve the very best that Tolkien's work has to offer each of them.

We're not that small a subset. I hope that these individuals take the opportunity to study these works that they've been involved in & retain some of the traits of their character in their future lives. I don't know what any of the actor's religious beliefs are, but as our "subset" celebrates the Resurrection, I hope that the friendships made during the filming and their experiences in living in Middle-Earth bring them to a closer understanding of our Creator.

So many sense a challenge, or a call, to something higher in the professor's Legendarium, and so many do respond heartily. My highest hopes of seeing that manifested among the actors lie in Wood and Astin, for a number of reasons; but I do hope that for them all, and think that many others will to some degree. Far from it being beyond their reach, I think Tolkien by his art makes the possibility accessable.

Maybe they won't be as obsessed as the average BD'er, but the possibility is there.

[peony_foxburr]

I, too, suspect that those with an interest in prayer and Tolkien are a larger subset than one might assume. It isn't necessary to be a believer to appreciate Tolkien, but it's necessary to know that he was one and be aware how that is informing his writing. (Not to mention the encouragement he received from C.S. Lewis)

Good, in a way, that Sean Astin and Elijah Wood both had a chance to do some work and attain adulthood before fame overtook them, and that should stand them in good stead. From EW's comments on child actors, their parents, and his mother's influence, sounds like he has reached that age Mark Twain speaks of where (after thinking at age 14 one's parent is hopelessly stupid)"when I was 21, I was amazed by how much the old man had learned in 7 years!"

[Liriodendron]

Well, here's for another direction! smilies/biggrin.gif I was having a nostalgic ebay moment, perusing all things T Rex. Remember that band? I was a quite a fangirl of Marc Bolan. His band, T Rex, was popular at the start of the seventies. (about the same time I read LoTR, I was jamming to "Bang-a-Gong"! ) The cool bongo player/drummer was Steve Peregrine Took! No wonder I liked them smilies/smile.gif There was a recording the group did at a place called "The Middle Earth Club", back in 1967. Hey....Frodo lives! smilies/biggrin.gif

[ April 22, 2003: Message edited by: Liriodendron ]

[The Saucepan Man]

smilies/biggrin.gif Well now, Liriodendron, there's something that I never knew. Brings a whole new dimension to the song Ride a White Swan

In fact looking at the lyrics, there's a line that goes:

Catch a bright star and a place it on your fore-head

Hmm. Who do we know that wears a star on their forehead? smilies/wink.gif

[Aratlithiel]

Personally, I'm partial to Mr. Spock's fine tribute to Hobbits with his rendition of 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.'

Ballad of Bilbo Baggins (http://homepage.mac.com/evanbaumgardner/iMovieTheater6.html)

(You guys DO know I'm kidding, right? I'm not really that strange)

Seriously - if you haven't seen this yet, it's a laugh riot. You gotta watch the dancers in the back (VERY Nancy Sinatra). Hilarious.

[Faenaduial]

Oh my Arathlithiel, that is histerical.

I found it really strange that the dancers are wearing pointy ears, but Mr. Spock isn't. (Are those supposed to be Hobbit ears?). smilies/biggrin.gif

[The Saucepan Man]

I found it really strange that the dancers are wearing pointy ears, but Mr. Spock isn't.

Mr Spock doesn't need to wear them - he has naturally pointy ears. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Liriodendron]

Yes SPM, Bolan's lyrics are quite "cosmic"! smilies/biggrin.gif I've been listening to T Rextasy in my car, and I feel quite young again! There's a bit I might use in my next sig.
......She bathes in thunder, The elves are under her, She walks the wind and has a panther with silver fur......

Of course, the power chord of 20th Century Boy is the the best part! smilies/smile.gif I wonder who had "The beard of Stars" ? smilies/tongue.gif

[peony_foxburr]

Then and now: The Lord of the Rings was cool because it was magical, seemingly without limitation, and our parents were NOT there. (What was in that pipe-weed, anyway?) I'm now amazed by how much just washed right over me then, that now resonates so deeply. For example:the parting of Sam and Frodo at the end of ROTK. When a teen, I could not imagine losing a friend to death. When I did, at age 33, it was all the more poignant because he also could not be healed--this was AIDS in the days before protease inhibitors--and was suffering, and yet I *so* wanted him not to go. And like Sam, I live in the hope that the separation is not permanent.

This posting is not simply for the purposes of catharsis: was wondering how "Tolkien revisited" resonated for others in this group.

[mark12_30]

Peony-- yes, a lot, and I've written about it extensively on other threads... Now if only I could remember which ones.

[mark12_30]

Peony, having given it some more thought, I'm going to say: Frodo himself. I seemingly missed him the first nine times thru the book, when I focused on mostly men (Aragorn, Boromir, Faramir, Eomer.) And then Sam, of course, and I also enjoyed Merry and Pippin at times. But Frodo was the hardest one for me to enjoy or understand or appreciate.

Now everything revolves around him. The Grey Havens chapter used to wrench at me because of Sam's loss; now it's Frodo's loss that gets me. And I think that's because twenty years of life has gone by, and I see the applicability of his experiences, where before they were just a mystery.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Peony, Helen,

The first time I read Lord of the Rings, I instinctively connected with Frodo and Sam and the hobbits of the Shire, at least on a superficial level. I spent a lot of time tramping around the English countryside during college and graduate school. I would look around and constantly see scenery, cottages, etc. that reminded me of the Shire. I also had a strong connection with the message about preservation of the land and trees. (Remember that I went to college in the late 60s.)

The parting at the end did not resonate in the same way as it did later. I had some personal experience with death, but not in the same way as when our seven-month old daughter died unexpectedly. At that point, I definitely connected with the brokenness that Frodo was feeling when he left the Shire.

In the sixties, I was less aware of the religious beliefs which influenced the author and his writing. People weren't talking about that much yet. It was the publication of the Letters that opened my eyes to a great deal of the meaning of LotR, whether "spiritual" or the influence of the Nordic tales.

It also took me a long, long while to get to know the Silmarillion. I bought the book when it first came out in the seventies, but I ddn't really appreciate it until I came and posted on the Downs and heard what others had to say.

The first time around, I also had trouble connecting with the human characters. I guess I saw them as too close to me, too normal and uninteresting. It was only later that I felt some affinity for Aragorn, and the tale of his love for Arwen. (At the time, I was more enamored with Elves like Galadriel who seemed so utterly magical.)

My appreciation for Men has widened since understanding the Silmarillion--especially the bravery shown by the Edain and the challenge Men face in dealing with the "gift of Eru," and how they can step outside the music and have a special impact on the fate of Arda in a way that other races did not.

In general I would say this. The first time I read the book, I saw less sadness and more sunlight. Now, I am sometimes overwhelmed with the bittersweet feeling of loss that permeates the end of the book. Much is preserved and goodness does prevail, but so very much is lost.

Gets out hankie......

[Alphaelin]

Liriodendron & Sauce Pan Man,

T. Rex and 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins' - my husband is *still* a heavy metal fan at age...well, old enough to have a teenager, lol. And I had a friend who actually bought Nimoy's album smilies/eek.gif and made me listen to it. (She was a very good friend, or I would have bolted at the first opportunity!)

Alphaelin

[mark12_30]

Quiz time for the old timers! What song in your vast and misty history most reminds you of Middle-Earth? Why? What mood does it put you in? What part of the book do you connect it to?

This came up because of the Nimoy song... (No, that's not my choice!) But, my sister had the Nimoy album three or four decades ago, and so did my HS Tolkien friend. Unfortunately, I can sing fair-sized parts of that song. (ACK! DELETE! DELETE! PLEASE???)

(Alphaelin, it's good to see you in this thread again... You're one of the few folks whose name begins with "A" that I can easily spell! How have you been, Swan Lake?)

[mark12_30]

(I'll go first!) Because of the lines about the trees drawing me near; reflections of my mind; gentle voices (elves in the trees, of course) ; and leaving myself behind, the fairy-land of love, and the beauty seen... all, all terribly elvish.

It brings me to either Rivendell, Lorien, or Gildor in the Shire, or, Frodo and Bilbo looking for elves in the woods of the Shire. (The oboe helps a great deal; for an instrument that I initially disliked, it definitely has a profound effect on me.)

Moody Blues
The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)

Tuesday, afternoon,
I'm just beginning to see,
Now I'm on my way,
It doesn't matter to me,
Chasing the clouds away.

Something, calls to me,
The trees are drawing me near,
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh.

I'm looking at myself, reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind,
So gently swaying thru the fairy-land of love,
If you'll just come with me and see the beauty of

Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon.

(repeat v. 1 & 2)

[Birdland]

I remember that Steeleye Span's Misty, Moisty, Morning always used to put me in mind of Tom Bombadil:

One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man
Clothed all in leather.
He began to compliment,
And I began to grin,
sayin' "How'd ya do?
And how'd ya do?
And how'd ya do, again?

[Alphaelin]

(Alphaelin, it's good to see you in this thread again... You're one of the few folks whose name begins with "A" that I can easily spell! How have you been, Swan Lake?)

Lol, I wondered if anyone would ever comment on my handle - I named myself after my favorite ballet! Anyway, I have been busy with Spring Childrens' Activities :P . I love them dearly, but spring has become my least favorite time of the year due to the plethora of end-of-year things for school, church, dance & skating. BOY am I glad June is finally here!!

Middle-Earth related songs: At the risk of being trite, the opening lines of 'Nights in White Satin' have always made me think of the depth to be found in JRRT's vision: "Nights in white satin/Never reaching the end..." One really never does reach the end of his vistas - there's always something new over the next rise.

I'll have to ponder and think what else comes to what's left of my mind. smilies/smile.gif

[mark12_30]

Alphaelin, I knew that because I named one of my elves "Swan Lake" in The Fairy Wife... Otherwise, I wouldn't have guessed.

"Beauty I'd always missed with these eyes before"... reminds me of Frodo touching the trees in Lorien, on Cerin Amroth, and appreciating for the first time the life of the tree.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Whoa, Moody Blues and Steeleye Span! Good taste. (I had to break out my copy of "Hark! The Village Wait" after "Ummagumma" finished playing here at work)

Birdland, I think Steeleye Span took those words from a nursery rhyme. I ran across them in one of my daughter's books when we were living in India, and who knows were the book got them from!

I know this doesn't sound like typical Tolkien, but since reading UT it reminds me of Turin every time I hear it!
-------------------------------------------
Crazy Man Michael by Fairport Convention:
Within the fire and out upon the sea
Crazy Man Michael was walking
He met with a raven with eyes black as coals
And shortly they were a-talking

"Your future, your future, I would tell to you
Your future, you often have asked me
Your true love will die by your own right hand
And Crazy Man Michael will cursed be"

Michael he ranted and Michael he raved
And beat at the four winds with his fists-oh
He laughed and he cried, he shouted and he swore
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss-oh

"You speak with an evil, you speak with a hate
You speak for the devil that haunts me
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land?
Your sorceror's words are to taunt me"

He took out his dagger of fire and of steel
And struck down the raven through the heart-oh
The bird fluttered long and the sky it did spin
And the cold earth did wonder and start-oh

"Oh, where is the raven that I struck down dead
That here'd lie on the ground-oh?
I see that my true love with a wound so red"
Her lover's heart it did pound-oh

Crazy Man Michael, he wanders and walks
And talks to the night and the day-oh
But his eyes they are sane and his speech it is plain
And he longs to be far away

Michael he whistles the simplest of tunes
And asks the wild woods their pardon
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
And he must be keeper of the garden

[ June 04, 2003: Message edited by: Hilde Bracegirdle ]

[Birdland]

Ahhhh, Ummagumma! I always said "Scratch a Hobbit and you'll find a Pict." (Most likely grooving in a cave with several species of small, furry animals.)

[peony_foxburr]

Errrm...I went away to a boarding school where there were no radios allowed, and only one record player allowed, in the dorm common rooms...by the time I returned to the world of popular culture, I was pretty out of it. Tell, me fellow COAgers, what should I be downloading from the Apple Music store to catch up?
Finally found a link for "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" video that worked. How deliciously awful!!!!

[Mithadan]

Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull (the entire album) has always reminded me of Middle Earth. I just ordered it from Amazon as a matter of fact, after being unable to locate it on CD for more than a year.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I don’t think that I have heard Songs From the Wood. Hope Amazon has some samples of it to listen to. I’ll have to write that one down!

Does anyone know anything about Glass Hammer or David Arkenstone I’ve only run across them but would like someone else’s option before investing in an album. Glass Hammer has done quite a bit of Tolkien inspired stuff through the years, but I suspect it is not entirely accurate.

Yes, Birdland today we had the pleasure of listening to both CD's of Ummagumma! smilies/biggrin.gif This hobbit was truly blissed. You are right, I have noticed a definite Pict-ish leaning in choice of books and song, it's in the genes I suppose just like furry feet and love of life's simple pleasures. Have you heard Hallaig by Martyn Bennett? smilies/smile.gif But I'm getting chatty here....Hard to break bad hobbits!

[ June 05, 2003: Message edited by: Hilde Bracegirdle ]

[mark12_30]

What does everyone think of the Tolkien Ensemble's latest CD's? I'm expecting one in the mail any day now...

[mark12_30]

Well, "At Dawn In Rivendell" has arrived, and I love it and hate it depending on the track. I posted this review:

Christopher Lee's poetry readings are marvelous, dark and foreboding, and full of import. He lives up to his reputation here; enough said...
The music: I have heard it called operatic. Not quite. This is folk music. But it is Danish folk music, and for the hobbit sections at least, I find that strange. It is a Danish interpretation of a culture that Tolkien clearly stated was English. I would have preferred a more English style; barring that, something from the British Isles would have made more sense. Shetland music shows this Danish influence, but the Shire is not patterned after the Shetlands.

I will group the songs by character.

Treebeard's songs are pleasant enough. Since I never had any urge to sing them myself, I have little comment.

There is a "technique" which I have heard referred to as Scooping, Sliding, or Cheating: I guess you could describe it as too many slurred grace notes. That technique is used on this album by the singer performing Frodo's songs. I find it annoying and unpleasant. It makes the tune terribly difficult to follow; nor do I think Frodo would have had that style. One reviewer called it "bumptious". I think the decision to sing in that style was misdirected. I will fight through the songs to try and learn the tunes, but I don't enjoy hearing them. I think the tunes will be good once they are simplified and the slidy, slippery grace notes gotten rid of.

Pippin's songs are fine! Enjoyable, pleasant, easy to follow, no nasty slidy grace notes... The Bath Song is good; the Farewell Song is good. Well done.

Eomer's song, in my opinion, is an utter travesty. Instead of a fiery-dark Nordic battle-cry, it has been turned into a keening lament more suited to a destitute Irish widow than a general. I detest it.

The Song of Gondor took some getting used to; haunting, but with a challenging tune. However, by the third time hearing it, I was humming it afterwards. Well done.

Song of Lebennin: again, takes a little getting used to. I suspect, given a little more time, I'll be humming that too.

I saved the best for last: Song of Nimrodel is wonderful! Gently sung in a velvety smooth tenor voice, tastefully accompanied on guitar. It is marvellous. It makes me imagine that I am in Lorien, and one of the hobbits has said, "Legolas-- that song about the singing stream, let's hear it again." It was worth the price of the album.

[ June 13, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[Linnamalle]

Who else has the "Rivendell" cds by Tolkien Ensemble? I have "Dawn" and it's nice, but "Night" and "Evening" seem very difficult to get, if not impossible!

And as for "The Starlit Jewel", well... I can only wish! Somebody was asking $150 for it secondhand at Amazon. Eeek!

[Samwise]

"bumptious".

? smilies/confused.gif Sounds like he was describing a road, if you understand my meaning...

~Samwise, who owns none of the cds.... smilies/frown.gif

[Child of the 7th Age]

Evening came out in 1997 and Night in 2000. But there is a comibned set with both cds in slipcover that was issued in 2001 called "24 songs from the Lord of the Rings." I found this in Borders in late 2002. My favorite is Galadriel's Song of Eldamar.

I know Amazon will take requests for those wanting to buy the used set (there are three people already waiting!), and I have also seen it sporadically on e-bay over the summer but you'll have to be persistent and lurk. Don't know if this helps or not....

*****************************************

Speaking of e-bay and lurking, I was able to buy something this summer that I've wanted for a long time. When most people buy a first edition of LotR, they look for the British one by Allen & Unwin with the eye of Sauron and the classic cream cover.

But does anyone remember the funky U.S. first edition in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin? They were multi-colored (I- light gold; II - aqua blue; III - dark gold) with an intricately designed tree with mysterious things intertwined in the branches -- dragons, gollums, animals etc. Very strange indeed!

Back in college, I couldn't afford the $5 for the hardcover (don't laugh!) so I had to be content with the $.95 cent softcover Ballantines. But I always wanted those crazy hardcovers which some of my friends had on their bookshelves. This summer, I lurked on e-bay every day looking for the best bargains, and I finally managed to get all three volumes. Yeah me!

If you're thinking of the kind of first editions that you can sell and retire on, that is not my set! They are in good shape, but definitely used, and later impressions. Two have facsimile dustcovers (they look great but are phoney, of course!), and one has the real thing. I went to Abe Books hoping to buy a dustcover to replace the facsimile, but it cost $550. Faint! I definitely won't be buying that...

What was interesting to me is how difficult the U.S. first edition was to find. There were at least ten times as many British first editions for sale as U.S. ones. Either the U.S. ones are scarce, or no one wants to buy or sell them because they look so quirky! But I am very pleased to have mine.

The other thing I managed to pick up at a bargain price was Tolkien's Descriptive Bibliography by Hammond and Anderson. This lists all the different editions and printings of Tolkien's works with all the variations, plus everything he did in periodicals, a listing of all the letters published (not just Carpenter's book), and other useful stuff. It's definitely for reference and not for reading!

sharon

[ August 26, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Birdland]

Now Child, I would have sold you my copies, and the dust jackets are all real. smilies/biggrin.gif I had dollar signs in my eyes when I saw how much those editions were going for, but listing them for so much and actually selling them for so much are entirely different.

But I did get something very important from those "funky hardcovers": it was while researching the books that I discovered the Barrow Downs, lo these many months ago.

Child, if you want to know what editions you have, I have the article from the Tolkien Collector.

[Linnamalle]

Sharon, that mysterious tree sounds so lovely. Is there a picture of it on the net somwhere? I'd love to see it. I'm glad you found the books you wanted!

[Birdland]

http://www.tolkienshop.com/1stedfellowus.jpg

[Linnamalle]

Oh! That's WONDERFUL! Sharon, now I understand why you hunted so long and so hard!

[Child of the 7th Age]

Whoa, Bird! You stole my book. smilies/tongue.gif That's definitely it.

Anyways, I probably couldn't afford to buy yours with all those "real" dustjackets! I really hunted and lurked to get a bargain on these at e-bay.

If you have any information about my volumes, I'd appreciate it.

My Fellowship is a 16th printing (no date--maybe that was the last one?); Two Towers is 10th impression, 1963; and Return (the one with the real dustjacket) is 10th impression, 1963. So I don't have real old ones. They all have names and/or bookplates at the front except for Fellowship. But they are nice and sturdy and the map is in good shape.

sharon

[Birdland]

Sharon - Identifying the various printings is an arcane science, based on tiny clues such as damaged type, italics vs. capital letters, and-so-on. Only the very first printings of the American editons had the date on the title page. This was apparently common for H-M in the 1950s and 60s. The first printing of FotR in 1954 was only 1,500 copies.

I had a very nice correspondence with Steven Frisby, but I have lost the e-mails. If I remember right, mine were 5th, 6th and 7th printings.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I ran across a hard back copy of The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two over the weekend! Needless to say, it now it in my bookcase. I had believed it out of print in hardback. smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/smile.gif smilies/biggrin.gif

[Snowdog]

I have just picked 18 as the legal coming of age. So how many of you have been reading LotR and other Tolkien books for at least 18 years? Please tell us how long ago you first read the book(s); if you like, your age at that time and what prompted you to read Tolkien.I dont think I have seen this thread, or have and never opened it. I did a search on my member number to see if I have posted here and it didn't come up with this thread, so here goes...

It was the summer of 1975 when my neighbor and I were out on a walk when he started telling me of this book he was reading. It was called the Hobbit. He told me about Hobbits and how they liked to sit about and eat and smoke. I was mildly interested, and so when he was done he loaned it to me. I read it and liked it, and so he passed his copy of Fellowship when he was done as well. The trouble was I fell in love with the story, and I seemed to read faster than he. So I waited awhile for him to finish Two Towers, and I quickly consumed it all. Well, he had not started Return of the King by the time I was done with Two Towers, so I went to the library and checked out Return of the King.

My senior year in high school started that fall (That will give ya my age smilies/wink.gif) and I was toting and reading Return of the King during lunch and when ever I could, and the cement wall by the flag pole was a nice spot. There I met a girl who was also into the Lord of the Rings, and we got to know each other pretty good. We even had fun with the Tengwar in the appendices, passing notes and such. There was some construction going on nearby the flag pole, and one lunch they poured fresh cement curbs, so we decided to cut a class and we imprinted 'Friends' in Tengwar using our fingers! We did a fair job with only one small mistake being we were in a hurry to finish before being spotted. That curb remained until last winter, when the high school went through a complete renovation and it was destroyed. I visited it just before, and had I known it would be destroyed, I would have sat and chisiled it out and took it home.

So I was into Tolkien before the release of the Silmarillion. I was at a 'line party at a Walden Books for the release of the Silmarillion, for it was the first 'new' Tolkien writings to be released since the 1950's. I suffereed through the Rankin-Bass & Bakshi era, and was again suprised in a grocery store in 1984 to see in one of those checkout counter racks 'Unfinished Tales'! I impulsivly bought it, and the stories re-kindled my love in Tolkien's writings. I have since read the Lord of the Rings complete with appendices, and Unfinished Tales several times. I find the Silmarillion a harder read, and only read it a few times.

[Mithadan]

Welcome to our little cabal of the "eldest" Snowdog! Though I first read Tolkien a few years before you, I see that you are about three years my elder *bows*. I'd make a bit more of that, but it's been nearly two years since I was stripped of my title as "eldest" at the Barrow-Downs. smilies/wink.gif

[Linnamalle]

Pleased to meet you, Snowdog! (Great name.) And I like your sig.

I'm curious: Besides the Downs, what other expressions of Middle-Earth bubble up in your life from time to time?

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Welcome master Snowdog! Nice to see you've found the thread.

[Liriodendron]

Hi Snowdog! smilies/wink.gif

[Alphaelin]

Hi, Snowdog! and welcome to the thread. We must have gotten hooked on LOTR about the same time - I bought my paperback edition in '74.

I'm currently reading The Fellowship to my youngest, while encouraging my teenager to finish TTT - she only became interested in the books after seeing Orlando Bloom, lol.

Your sig reminds me of this quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Youth is wasted on the young."

[ September 11, 2003: Message edited by: Alphaelin ]

[Ealasaide]

Greetings, all!
Hilde Bracegirdle told me about this thread when I first came to the BD back in May (as Ealasaid without an "e" on the end). It's taken me this long to find it!

I first read LotR back in 1975 or so when I was in Junior High. All I can remember is being completely absorbed in it until I finished it from cover to cover, to cover, to cover! smilies/biggrin.gif When I came home from school everyday, I went straight to my room & read for hours until I was finished. Then I was depressed because there wasn't any more. So, I tried to write my own Tolkein-inspired stories with mixed (and frequently laughable) results. As you can see, I've never grown out of it & am still writing Tolkein-inspired stories with mixed (and frequently laughable) results, lo, these many years later! smilies/wink.gif

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Hi Ealasaide! Looks like the gang's all here...well almost! And actually, quite a few of your early works were quite wonderful stories. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Linnamalle]

Where do we find them?

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I hope you kept them Ealasaide, I wish I had kept those drawings I had done back then!

[Liriodendron]

I still have an acrylic canvas I painted (when 14) of the block print from my Hobbit book called "The trolls". I made the forest very woody and dark, with the red glowing fire, but I made the trolls florescent green, about the color of the green thumb icon on this post! smilies/rolleyes.gif The trolls look good, I guess I wanted them to stand out. smilies/wink.gif I also stuck little Bilbo in there, right by the fire. Making him beardless was hard, but I did stay true to the books description in the rendering of a hobbit. If I ever get that digital camera, I'll post it! smilies/smile.gif smilies/cool.gif

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I'd love to see it Liriodendron! I used to draw mostly my own characters, nothing so complicated as a scene that I can recall.

[Earendil Halfelven]

Is this where all the old people come to talk about the good ol' days of "Frodo Lives" bumper stickers? smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/evil.gif

(Sorry, as an 18 year old, I couldn't help it)

[Mithadan]

No, this is where Site Administrators hang out waiting for foolish youngsters to intrude. Let's see.... Shall I ban Earendil or merely disable his ability to post? Or maybe I should consider his post a joke and just laugh. Hmmmm.

Ok. Ha ha ha ha. smilies/tongue.gif

[Samwise]

Oh, Liriodendron, I'd really like to see it too! Having no artistic talent myself, I enjoy taking peeks at others'. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Liriodendron]

I had a button that said "Frodo Lives" smilies/wink.gif my bumper sticker said...ERA NOW smilies/rolleyes.gif Hopefully, I'll get a digital camera for Xmas and post my Hobbit pcture! smilies/smile.gif

[Samwise]

Can't wait to see the picture!
Oh, dear, like to have one of those buttons, but I don't think they were around when I was...never mind. smilies/wink.gif

*Looks at post at which Mr. Mithadan commented....* Disrespectful kids....*grumble grumble....* smilies/tongue.gif smilies/rolleyes.gif smilies/wink.gif

In exactly two months my hobbit self will be of age!!! WOOOHHOOOOO! smilies/biggrin.gif Wish Mr. Frodo could be here... smilies/frown.gif

[Ealasaide]

Unfortunately, I went through a cleaning frenzy in my mid-twenties and threw out almost everything I had written as a kid. I really, really regret it now. Even the truly awful stories would have been fun to read over again now.

We should have new bumper stickers made that say "LotR Geezer...and proud of it!" or something of that sort.

Hilde -- you are too kind! I seem to remember most of my stuff from the old high school days as being rather melodramatic and pretentious. I couldn't seem to decide who I wanted to be more: Dumas, Tolkein, or Tolstoy!

Your drawings on the other hand were wonderful! I think I may still have one or two of them.. I'll have to search my parents' attic & see what I can dig up! smilies/evil.gif

Pardon my low-brow sense of humor, but did anyone see South Park the other night? It was the episode titled "Return of the Fellowship to the Two Towers". Oh, I laughed my butt off! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Alphaelin]

I used to draw mostly my own characters,

Ooo! Ooo! I can draw stick figures! Seriously, I have always looked at artists in wonder, having no talent myself.

A LOTR parody on South Park and my hubby didn't tell me?? Wicked, wicked man. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Welcome to the Club, Snowdog - and all others whom I have forgotten to greet! (You know how it is with the memory when you get older! smilies/wink.gif ) You've come just in time to help us move to a new thread - this one has gotten so long that it takes an inordinate time to load - a nice testimony to the Fellowship of the Geezers. So grab your walkers, everyone - a moving company will bring the rocking chairs along - and come on over to The Tolkien Coming of Age Club 2! Please do not post here - this thread will be closed.