Tom

This is one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard.

oh yeah

Congratulations, Stef and James!

they looked great.

Reposting this from a few years back because it's got a fun story about Tolkien and the Classicist Maurice Bowra.

If the Vanyar had a favorite flavor of ice cream, it would be called Vanilla Bliss.

Two statements I have heard in my life that seem axiomatic to me:

1) If more is better, you'll never have enough.

2) Nothing is always more than you think.

Books or articles with titles like those below should be greeted with the deepest suspicion. Mucho distrust.

-- The True Story/History of _______

-- The Real Truth about ______

-- The Hidden Code of ______

-- The Secret History of ______

Cary Grant was never so smooth.

Pictures or it didn't happen.

Do people in our parks who get stomped on by bison or mauled by a grizzly they've approached too closely get to sue? I'm sure they've probably tried. Stupid is as stupid does should be an articulated legal principle if it already isn't. Res stulta loquitur.

From now on Viktor Lazlo will be the founder of Antifa to me.

Asfaloth's bells are to the Witch-king as the alarm clock in the Crocodile is to Captain Hook.

I love to think of him chasing the black riders down the road bells a-ringing. He doesn't care if they know he's coming. He wants them to know he's coming.

As advertised then?

photo of ICE agent pepper spraying a clergyman

If you're old enough, you may remember a photo of a South Vietnamese officer shooting a member of the Viet Cong in the head on a street in Saigon. It's a powerful, gruesome image.

But the moment I saw this photo from Chicago, the picture from Vietnam leaped into my mind.

I am very happy with it.

Fear no danger to ensue,
Purcell tours as well as the Who

True. He says that the Valar occupy the mythological, but not the theological, place of gods. And like angels in that they are greater than elves and men, divine in that they existed before the world, but not as great as Eru.

Yes, and still he is so far beyond them and they know it. It's like Bombadil is the Master. Eru is the father of all.

He is so far beyond them that they will not understand his purpose or design until they have blundered through the whole history of Arda, and get to sing it right at last.

None of this appears before letter 131, because 131 is really the first time he has ever had to explain his legendarium to someone not named Jack or Christopher.

It's really quite revealing how he speaks of them in the letters. The word god/s is almost always in quotes or qualified -- "gods, so to speak" -- and capitalized only in titles "the Gods of the West". But Eru and God are always in capitals. "Angel" is much the same.

And I very much look forward to your announcement. This has been very much on my wishlist.

Sweet. I searched on my kindle app and then scanned them to eliminate those that come from C. How does your index/search count instances where C quotes his father, since that would skew the numbers?

In The Book of Lost Tales Tolkien uses the word god/s to describe the Valar over 300 times (not counting Christopher's uses).

Never once does he use it of Eru Iluvatar, although he is clearly who Tolkien would say is God.

He also never uses "angel" to explain the Valar, as he does in his letters.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

Watching the Obi-wan Kenobi series the other night, I reached the final duel between Obi-wan and Vader. Vader opens a deep hole into which Obi-wan falls. Vader then buries him beneath tons of rocks.

Here was the perfect chance for Vader to say "Who's got the high ground now, Obi-wan?"

Thanks for the shout out.

Your advisor, who's pretty darn good, won't let you crash and burn. She might let you smolder a little to see if you can sort it out yourself, but you are in good hands. And you're pretty smart yourself.