Annoying Amateurs

[bilbo_baggins]

I liked your dancing Elf that other time, Gil-Galad! Too bad we can't have more of them!

And I do believe that Fingon was your daddy! (He is your daddy, isn't he?)

People, quote me on this: "Annoying Amatuers are, well, just that; Annoying!"

[Orominuialwen]

The other day I got into this conversation with a good friend of mine about the pronunciation of Sméagol. The're quite intelligent and having studied French for 2 years was in the process of saying to someone else that it is 3 sylablles and not 2.

Having heard that (I have this ability to detect anything LOTR related in an instant, anyone else have this uncanny ability? ) I promptly proceeded to tell them that they were mistaken and that it was only 2. They kept insisting that because there was an accent mark, there were 3 syllables.

After a few minutes of my trying to explane the basis of his name in terms of its Old English roots and her still insisting there were 3 syllables she finally said, "I shouldn't be arguing with you, you know more about LOTR than I do."

I pronounce it with 3 syllables, like smay-uh-goll, but whatever.

I once had an obnoxious girl who didn't even like LotR tell me that she couldn't remember Legolas' name, but she though he was hot, so she just called him "Arrow-Man."

I still consider myself an amateur, although hopefully not an annoying one. I hadn't read any of the books before I saw FotR, but I started reading them shortly after that, so I've only been a fan of LotR for a little more than two years. I've only been on the 'Downs for a bit less than a year, and I've only read some scattered bits of HoME. I think that it's perfectly fine to be an amateur, so long as you don't think you know everything.

[Tulkas the Mighty]

have this ability to detect anything LOTR related in an instant, anyone else have this uncanny ability?

Yeah it happens to me all the time.. Its kinda fun

[Lush]

What's with the ego-tripping on this thread at the expense of people who just can't be bothered to give a hoot underneath it all?

Some are annoying, yes, but nowhere near as annoying as those who know bloody everything and righteously stick it in your face, whether you asked them to or not.

Seriously, the mistakes that people make when talking about Tolkien can even be humorous at times. I knew a movies fan who was convinced that the name "Legolas" was somehow derived from "Lego" of the cute little building blocks fame. Hee hee.

[HerenIstarion]

by Gil-Galad

One thing that is "newbish" is peeps saying that what they say about lotr is right, like this one kid says that a book called "peoples of middle earth", it says that Gil-Galad is Orodreths son, when Tolkien clearly wrote that he was Fingons, that kid said it was corrected in PoME, which wasn't written by tolkien

I assume the kid mentioned was rather over advanced a bit, for PoME is part of HoME - precisely, its volume 12, and HoME itself stands for History of Middle Earth, and is collection (with editorial notes and analysis made by JRRT's son Christopher) of Tolkien's drafts and different versions of stories which stand behind and form the ground for LoTR. One of the drafts indeed names Orodreth as Gil-Galad's father. Orodreth is also constantly shifting positions from Finrod Felagund's brother to his son, mere kinsman and steward and back to brother.

HoME vXII,


The only further change was the rejection of the name Artaresto and its replacement by Artaher, Sindarin Arothir; and thus in the excursus (note 23) Arothir [Orodreth] is named as Finrod's 'kinsman and steward', and (note 47) Gil-galad is 'the son of Arothir, nephew of Finrod'. The final genealogy was


Angrod, brother of Finrod Felagund ----> Artaher/Arothir [Orodreth] ----> Artanaro/Rodnor/Gil-galad

But do not dispair - though there is no need to expunge such a version, there is no opposite obligation either to change the knowledge you were sticking to up to now. Just allow for yourself that there are several sources that state some facts differently.

by Lush

Some are annoying, yes, but nowhere near as annoying as those who know bloody everything and righteously stick it in your face, whether you asked them to or not

Did I just do that?

[Iaurhirwen]

Yeah, I actually looked up the pronunciation of Smeagol and its 2 syllables but, whatever.

One of the most annoying things I have found to arise lately is the number of internet quizzes that test you on your character compatability. There are some good ones out there but a majority of them are low class and very "newbee-ish." Especially the fangirl ones about which male character is your true love or whatever. I truely can't stand them.

[Gil-Galad]

so which would be correct? the silmarillion or PoME/HoME?