Random Stuff X: Something Weird

[Mestiv]

2 hours ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

Why do you guys get all the good covers?  

Because our publisher had a good idea to hire Dominik Broniek to make them  Check out his deviantArt account!

[KnightRadiant]

My English class is reading LotR. I've already read it once, so it's just hilarious to see what my friends who haven't think of certain parts. "This here must be foreshadowing of Aragorn's death! There's no other explanation!", "Sam needs a love life. He's too dang loyal to Frodo." etc. The guy I sit next to has also read it, so we share occasional looks of understanding.

And then we hear we're writing an essay on Tom Bombadil. Bombadil, of all people!!  Why not Gandalf, or Sam? Nope, Tom Bombadil. *sigh*.
Alright... done ranting. 

 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

7 minutes ago, KnightRadiant said:

My English class is reading LotR. I've already read it once, so it's just hilarious to see what my friends who haven't think of certain parts. "This here must be foreshadowing of Aragorn's death! There's no other explanation!", "Sam needs a love life. He's too dang loyal to Frodo." etc. The guy I sit next to has also read it, so we share occasional looks of understanding.

And then we hear we're writing an essay on Tom Bombadil. Bombadil, of all people!!  Why not Gandalf, or Sam? Nope, Tom Bombadil. *sigh*.
Alright... done ranting. 

Sounds like your teacher is still annoyed that Peter Jackson cut Tom Bombadil from the films.  

[A Budgie]

59 minutes ago, KnightRadiant said:

My English class is reading LotR. I've already read it once, so it's just hilarious to see what my friends who haven't think of certain parts. "This here must be foreshadowing of Aragorn's death! There's no other explanation!", "Sam needs a love life. He's too dang loyal to Frodo." etc. The guy I sit next to has also read it, so we share occasional looks of understanding.

And then we hear we're writing an essay on Tom Bombadil. Bombadil, of all people!!  Why not Gandalf, or Sam? Nope, Tom Bombadil. *sigh*.
Alright... done ranting. 

 

If my English class (plus friends, because I don't really have any in my current English class) was reading LOTR, one of my friends would be shipping Sam and Frodo so, well, I doubt she thinks he needs a love life...

[+Slowswift]

So we have a neighbor who's selling homemade soap. Recently she's started like a clearance sale thing, so we went over and bought some. Now, my mom's favorite scents are the more traditional ones: peppermint, lavender, etc. Mine?

Man Soap.

Yes, you heard right. It's called Man Soap.  It's teakwood and fir, and it smells marvelous.

[Oversleep]

5 hours ago, Mestiv said:

Take a look at the future cover of Polish edition of Legion ^^

  Reveal hidden contents

 

That feeling when you realize you once again forgot to post Polish cover and that once again @Mestiv will steal all the upvotes...

I'll be there when the Perfect State gets a cover and I won't forget to post it, you hear me?! *sudden moment of clairvoyance which shows me I will forget it anyway*

[Darkness Ascendant]

22 minutes ago, Oversleep said:

That feeling when you realize you once again forgot to post Polish cover and that once again @Mestiv will steal all the upvotes...

I'll be there when the Perfect State gets a cover and I won't forget to post it, you hear me?! *sudden moment of clairvoyance which shows me I will forget it anyway*

Well, that's Oversleep's Talent. The ability to see when he will forget something.

[KnightRadiant]

5 hours ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

Sounds like your teacher is still annoyed that Peter Jackson cut Tom Bombadil from the films.  

Probably! He says he understands why and that the movies weren't all that bad, but he's a serious Tolkien fan, so it wouldn't surprise me.

[soyperson]

5 hours ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

Sounds like your teacher is still annoyed that Peter Jackson cut Tom Bombadil from the films.  

I know I still am.

[ThirdGen]

6 hours ago, KnightRadiant said:

My English class is reading LotR. I've already read it once, so it's just hilarious to see what my friends who haven't think of certain parts. "This here must be foreshadowing of Aragorn's death! There's no other explanation!", "Sam needs a love life. He's too dang loyal to Frodo." etc. The guy I sit next to has also read it, so we share occasional looks of understanding.

And then we hear we're writing an essay on Tom Bombadil. Bombadil, of all people!!  Why not Gandalf, or Sam? Nope, Tom Bombadil. *sigh*.
Alright... done ranting. 

 

"Kill Aragorn early" and "make everything about Tom Bombadil" would have been great ideas for the story.

[Exalted]

1 hour ago, bleeder said:

I know I still am.

Finally! Someone else who understands!

[Oversleep]

9 hours ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

Well, that's Oversleep's Talent. The ability to see when he will forget something.

No, my Talents are bumping into things and general clumsiness. Sometimes I go through the door and end up bumping into the wall... I drop things...

We could sum it up as lack of coordination...

Is that an offshoot of Dark Talent?

On the other hand, I do keep fogetting things...

Edited February 12, 2017 by Oversleep

[Delightful]

I'm giving my first English lesson over the phone today. I'm terrified. I can has support and comfort please?

 

(I still have ahhh I have a job  going through the back of my head in a panic. )

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

15 minutes ago, Deliiiiiightful said:

I'm giving my first English lesson over the phone today. I'm terrified. I can has support and comfort please?

 

(I still have ahhh I have a job  going through the back of my head in a panic. )

You can do this. You aren't Del, ordinary English teacher. You are Kal-Del, English-teaching superhero. This isn't just a job. This is your destiny. 

(Okay, maybe not that dramatic. Point is, you've got this.)

[Delightful]

1 hour ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

You can do this. You aren't Del, ordinary English teacher. You are Kal-Del, English-teaching superhero. This isn't just a job. This is your destiny. 

(Okay, maybe not that dramatic. Point is, you've got this.)

Twi you're amazing. 

Currently reminding myself that you have to be terrible at something before you can be good at it. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

5 minutes ago, Deliiiiiightful said:

Twi you're amazing. 

Currently reminding myself that you have to be terrible at something before you can be good at it. 

There's definitely going to be a learning curve, but remember that hiring people is an investment. You take a chance when you hire someone, with the expectation that your investment will be rewarded with time. Your boss wouldn't have hired you if they didn't think you showed promise (and were at least pretty good already). 

[Erunion]

@KnightRadiant - Dude. You get to study LOTR in English? This is awesome. 

Also, Tom Bombadil is storming cool - go deep and you'll do well  

@A Budgie - please don't ship Sam and Frodo. If you do, you're completely missing the point of their relationship! They're all about the platonic love and bond formed fighting in the trenches. These guys are a fantastic reflection of Tolkien's time in the trenches of WWI.

Don't try to take that away from him/them

[Kaymyth]

I need to shower.  And I need to write.  And possibly eat some lunch.

*looks at time; it is 1PM*

Perhaps not in that order.

[Delightful]

As usual the anticipation is worse than the reality. That wasn't too bad. I can do this.  

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

1 hour ago, Erunion said:

 

- please don't ship Sam and Frodo. If you do, you're completely missing the point of their relationship! They're all about the platonic love and bond formed fighting in the trenches. These guys are a fantastic reflection of Tolkien's time in the trenches of WWI.

Don't try to take that away from him/them

I doubt Sam/Frodo shippers are trying to take something away from the characters and author, or trying to rob the text of its meaning. They simply see something there that the author didn't intend to add, but something that adds more meaning to their reading. It's like when people read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an allegory for American politics back in Baum's day: Maybe the author didn't mean it as a political allegory, but that's what the reader sees, and it enhances the meaning of the story for that reader. 

[Orlion Blight]

17 minutes ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

I doubt Sam/Frodo shippers are trying to take something away from the characters and author, or trying to rob the text of its meaning. They simply see something there that the author didn't intend to add, but something that adds more meaning to their reading. It's like when people read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an allegory for American politics back in Baum's day: Maybe the author didn't mean it as a political allegory, but that's what the reader sees, and it enhances the meaning of the story for that reader. 

Yep. If a story can only be narrowly defined or applied, it does not have much staying power.

It's better for a work to open up your world viewpoint than to close it.

[Erunion]

50 minutes ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

I doubt Sam/Frodo shippers are trying to take something away from the characters and author, or trying to rob the text of its meaning. They simply see something there that the author didn't intend to add, but something that adds more meaning to their reading. It's like when people read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an allegory for American politics back in Baum's day: Maybe the author didn't mean it as a political allegory, but that's what the reader sees, and it enhances the meaning of the story for that reader. 

On the one hand, I kinda see that, but on the other it really bothers me in this case. 

Becuase it draws to something I've mentioned before in other threads; that to our society everything is about romance. 

Romantic love is glorified, while platonic love is ignored and shuffled off to the sidelines. We, societally, have an unhealthy obsession with sex and romance, which (while important!) are not everything as they are made out to be by our society.

Tolkien (who, by the way, is actually good at romance. See Of Beren and Luthien for a fantastic romance, and one of the most badchull female leads ever), decided to write a lot of platonic relationships and love into LOTR, and to focus on them. The book is filled with them - Merry/Pippin are boyhood friends who's friendship and love deepen through adversity.  Legolas and Gimli overcome their racism and cultural divides to become incredible friends; each losing their racist beliefs as they do so. Frodo and Sam overcome their class divide (Frodo is rich, educated, landed gentry, Sam a lower-class gardener and farmer) to form a deep, lasting and abiding platonic love. 

In each case their friendship defines their characters and their platonic relationship becomes the most important relationship in each of their lives. 

 

While I have no problems with shipping in general, nor for people bringing in their own perspectives to a work of art, in this case shipping the characters serves to obscure the true nature of their relationship, and half the point of the novel.

Because a huge theme of LOTR is platonic love, friendship and camaraderie in the face of incredible diversity. 

Edited February 12, 2017 by Erunion
Language.

[Nashan’Elin]

Well, casting came in. While I think I had a good audition, I was placed in the ensemble. 

Which isn't bad! It's just a little bit frustrating because it seems the person who got the role I was trying for only got it because they are a senior and it's their last performance. Oh well, it'll be a fun musical and maybe I'll get a better role next year!

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

6 minutes ago, Erunion said:

On the one hand, I kinda see that, but on the other it really bothers me in this case. 

Becuase it draws to something I've mentioned before in other threads; that to our society everything is about romance. 

Romantic love is glorified, while platonic love is ignored and shuffled off to the sidelines. We, societally, have an unhealthy obsession with sex and romance, which (while important!) are not everything as they are made out to be by our society.

Tolkien (who, by the way, is actually good at romance. See Of Beren and Luthien for a fantastic romance, and one of the most badchull female leads ever), decided to write a lot of platonic relationships and love into LOTR, and to focus on them. The book is filled with them - Merry/Pippin are boyhood friends who's friendship and love deepen through adversity.  Legolas and Gimli overcome their racism and cultural divides to become incredible friends; each losing their racist beliefs as they do so. Frodo and Sam overcome their class divide (Frodo is rich, educated, landed gentry, Sam a lower-class gardener and farmer) to form a deep, lasting and abiding platonic love. 

In each case their friendship defines their characters and their platonic relationship becomes the most important relationship in each of their lives. 

 

While I have no problems with shipping in general, nor for people bringing in their own perspectives to a work of art, in this case shipping the characters serves to obscure the true nature of their relationship, and half the point of the novel.

Because a huge theme of LOTR is platonic love, friendship and camaraderie in the face of incredible diversity. 

I see where you're coming from--and I agree that romance has become a fixation of modern culture. So I can see where reading Sam and Frodo as a couple would feel as if the reader was removing something rare and replacing it with something common. 

On the other hand, same-sex romances in fantasy are also fairly rare. They're not absent from modern literature, but I've mostly seen them in slice-of-life, coming-of-age fiction, where the same-sex relationship is the whole point of the story. Even with opposite-sex relationships, they're often made the focal point of the entire book, distracting from an interesting world and captivating plot. 

So with Frodo/Sam, I can see the appeal in reading a same-sex romance that is so understated. It doesn't distract from the world or plot. It doesn't keep them from saving the day. It just is. 

So while I can see the argument for a strictly platonic relationship, I can also see the appeal in a romance that is simply part of the adventure. 

[Erunion]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles - I get you. And I'm with you; mostly. 

In other words, I think that is good and healthy and we need to see more of it, but that Frodo and Sam are not part of that, and shouldn't be used as an example.

 

Remember also that Sam leaves the woman he is infatuated with, and in his mind all his opportunity with her, to follow Frodo. And when he returns (after the whole Scouring of the Shire), asking her out is 'the bravest thing he ever did'. 

What's so poignant about this is it really emphasizes Frodo's wartime experience. Same comes home, cleans things up, and lives happily ever after with the woman he loves and a big bouncing family. 

Frodo, however is broken by the war. He never fully recovers from the mental and emotional ills. Whereas all his friends are able to enjoy their homes, are built up and strengthened by their experience, poor Frodo is broken so profoundly he cannot live in the Shire anymore.

It's a beautiful and tragic analogy of PTSD, the mental toll of war and how it affects people differently - almost a cry for understanding of the soldier who never really left Ypres, or the Somme. 

 

(There is, however, a decent argument to be made for Frodo being gay, but again it's a distraction from the main points, which are subtle).