The Tolkien Middle Age Club

[Brinniel]

I'm not much of a phone-talker and rarely contact friends by phone, so I'm probably not quite a dependent on it as others my age. My main dependence for my cell is for family reasons. Now that I'm away at college, I enjoy talking to my parents and sister every few days- after all they're the ones who know me best. I mostly use my phone as an alarm clock. I nap a lot and without that phone, I'd never make it to class.

My main dependency: my laptop. It has my whole world on it- my homework, my music, my pictures, my entertainment, and most of all the internet. Without my computer, I'd be out of touch with the rest of the world. From the internet, I check the daily news and keep in touch with friends. And of course, 90% of the time I'm here on the Barrow Downs. Oh boy, I don't know what I'd do without this site....

Computers are awesome.

[Macalaure]

There you have it. No cell phones here. Cell phone: nada. I don't even have an answer machine. If somebody wants to call me and it's important, they will call again later. The idea to be reachable all the time is, in fact, a little scary to me.

There were times when I wore a watch almost everytime. Then someday, some months ago now, it broke, and my second one just after it. Since I'm lazy, it took me some time to get them repaired, and in that time I was wearing none. The first days it was weird, but then I more and more realized that you don't really need one all the time. It is a liberating feeling! Now I don't wear watches anymore and it's no problem ever. My two ones still lie on my desk at home - unrepaired (I told you I'm lazy).

I feel like a modern rebel!


PS: I heard about people who wear memory sticks around their necks. What does that remind me of?

[Farael]

Originally Posted by Macalaure

PS: I heard about people who wear memory sticks around their necks. What does that remind me of?

What's a memory stick? you mean the things you plug into the computer to transfer files? (I.e; Modern-day floppy disks?)

Here's a thought for you guys. Want another "Ring"?

The Internet. And the 'downs is a part of it. Raise a hand if you have NEVER EVER procastinated and put yourself in a bad situation because of over-using the 'net (including visiting the 'downs for a bit too long ).

hmmm.... see? I thought so.

[JennyHallu]

Wow...you must have internet 2.0...I can't see people's hands.

[Macalaure]

Originally Posted by Farael

What's a memory stick?

I meant these little helpers. I have one too, of course, but I only have it with me when I know I'll need it.

[Brinniel]

I know I'm not a great conversation starter, but in an attempt to revive this thread, I'm going to find a new topic to discuss...

Okay, a lot of us in this group are students at a university or college. I'm curious...have any of you been in a class where one day the professor starts discussing or mentioning Tolkien, his books, or perhaps even just the films? Or maybe you've actually had a class on Tolkien or were required to read one of his books or essays...something like that. If you have, tell us about it!

I'll start off:

Last semester, I took a class called Making Monsters, where we studied different monsters from film and literature. One of the first things we had to read was Beowulf, and along with that, Tolkien's "The Monster and Its Critics." Imagine my excitement when I found out I was required to read Tolkien. Tolkien's essay was the main topic for multiple days, and it later became one of the main essays we based our arguments on. Later into the semester, Gollum was mentioned, and I also think my professor briefly talked about LotR and the importance of the roles the monsters have...something like that.

For my class Foundations of Visual and Media Arts, my professor often mentioned LotR as the perfect example of certain aspects of filmmaking, particularly when it came to the storytelling.

Anyone else have similar experiences to share?