Orlion Blight

Doom: Eternal

So, because I sometimes like to keep an open mind, I listened to the My Chemical Romance cover of Desolation Road. You kids need to stay off my lawn *shakes fist*

Fans that fancy themselves to be analytic critics even though they conflate the plausibility of a narrative in comparison of "objective reality" with narrative device and purpose. Fans that frequent TV tropes. CinemaSins.

It's not worth it. Back in yonder day, it was different and as a result inspired the next round of writers. The thing about art, though, is that it tends to improve. Sword and sorcery novels now have better plots, writing, characters, etc. An angst ridden elf with an evil sword is nothing against all that. Some works have a timeless quality. This isn't one of them. But if you must, just read Stormbringer.

Avatar is only related in that my refusal to watch it contributed to me watching She-Ra. And I won't watch it because I don't wanna Scorpia grew on me, she's a solid choice for mistaking for best princess I hope Kevin Smith continues to keep the mythologies separate. His track record is such that I don't think his He-man series is going to be any good. He's free to prove me wrong, but do so without potentially tainting She-ra by association!

I shall break my silence on the matter: This may be my least favorite Star Wars. There seemed to be no care or love put into crafting it as it built to a disappointing climatic battle. Compare the fight with Palpatine in this movie with the fight with Snoke in The Last Jedi. Somehow, Snoke's power has more weight to it than Palpatine, even though Palpatine is electricuting a fleet of Star ships. And compare the Knights of Ren with the Guards in the Last Jedi... But I'm not surprised. J J must have some dirt on powerful people to keep getting opportunities to make disappointing stories.

Here's a quick lesson for you: the nature of systemic racism is such that any person of privilege (shorthanded to "white" for the rest of this post) will and does have racist thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. That means conservative whites, liberal whites and oooo boy, don't get me started on Green Party whites. They all have them. I have them. I used to have waaaay more. A key to all of this is to accept accountability for our beliefs and actions, even when they are not intended to be racist. Even if it was the product of being raised in a systemically racist society and culture. Another takeaway is to not conflate white supremacy with racism. White supremacists are racists, but that's not the end all to racism. So, are all American conservatives white supremacists? No. Does their ideology create an environment that can foster white supremacy? Yes, the nature of conservatism, at its core, is that there are "betters" that should run society. What "betters" mean can vary by time and place. Classic conservatism would say aristocracy. Some technocrats would say experts. White supremacists would say the white race. You can see where this ethnonationalism can intersect with the American conservative consciousness. And for the most part, they do so insidiously. And if we aren't constantly self-reflecting, we'll find ourselves unwittingly repeating and accepting racist ideas. This post focuses on conservatism because I'm trying to focus on a few aspects. American liberalism contributes its own set of issues that will have to wait for another post.

Breakfast wood smoke on the breeze and that damp earth smell that proceeds a thunderstorm in the desert.

It's honestly about time. Now's a time for courage and conviction. I honestly thought he was silent as more of a way to not harm his career/brand. I remember his post on gay marriage a long while back, and the pushback he recieved seemed to teach him in the immediate moment: "my stated opinions can harm my budding career." People want to know that the people they read and supplement their income have some morality, and in some cases that they care about their diverse group of fans. J K Rowling has continually failed in this, I'm hoping Brandon doesn't.

Just finished binging this for the first time because I refuse to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it's easily one of the best cartoon serials out there! The pacing is great (I think I was bored only once somewhere in season 3), the characters are generally used the right amount with none overstaying their welcome and Mermista is the best princess!

I mean...

Nested spoilers are a serious crime!

But it all serves the Grand design of Eru, the One, the Great Iluvatar... because Tolkien read Milton and was all like "Ima gonna take THAT for my mythology... what's that dead, blind jerk going to do about? Sue me? Mwahaha!" Tolkien would later die from eating too many chocolates.

You do you... but yes, you're wrong

Sooooo...?

I feel my contrarian nature can not let this stand! So, a lot of stuff like the songs and ruins and legends are meant to hint at a deeper history and culture. Since Lord of the Rings is not meant to be a historical work, meta or otherwise, the context and meaning are not necessary. Lord of the Rings is a literary work meant to depict the passing of an age of magical wonders. The tales hinted at but not elaborated on enforce this sentiment: wonder and magic have passed from the world, and though we may remember hints, the content has been lost to us as we've progressed into the Modern World and lost innocence post-WWI. For that, I label Lord of the Rings as a modernist fantasy, and it's the modernist elements that make it somewhat palatable in literary circles. That Tolkien actually developed most of these tales beforehand meant that he could reference them in an authentic way. As a technique, though, that's kinda a bit much and unnecessary for world building.

It would be very early on, as in the first mention of the Maiar in the second chapter of the Quenta? I'd have to see, but in very general terms I seem to recall that they were identified as "following" the Valar and that some Ainur did not leave for the world. I also use the second edition, so once I find my copy and passage, we can compare notes! Edit: Found it! There are two places of interest, the first is in the Valaquenta under the Maiar heading: "With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree." Then, if you want to avoid cross referencing passages, in the index next to the Maiar entry: "Ainur of lesser degree than the Valar." So, the Valar are like Archangels, the Maiar regular angels and Balrogs fallen angels.

@Dunkum Precisely!

*Puts on nerd glasses* Actually, Manwe is distinguished from the Maiar by being Valar, since almost all the powerful beings; Valar, Maiar, Balorgs; were previously Ainu. Strangely not Tom Bombadil. He's just a mystery.

@Ammanas Yeah, everyone knows the first Ewoks movie was better than Battle for Endor!

If you are getting treated for it, I think that counts as officially being diagnosed. Though if you want to dance around with language in the future, you could write "Received treatment designed for OCD" and let everyone draw their own conclusions

Always butter. Sometimes chocolate chips or blueberries. If I use syrup, it has to be a good maple syrup. That's just my preference, though, you could put a lot of things on waffles like bacon, eggs other savory and salty items...or, you could go sweet with fruit and even ice cream! It's very versatile. You just have to use some common sense and not add things that don't go well together... like eggs and ice cream!

Agreed! I honestly did not know what they would have abridged out of that book anyway, it all flowed together just fine in the original form. As far as the OP is concerned, Lord of the Rings is garbage, both book and film. You should partake in true art like the book The Eye of Argon or the movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

I just started playing again and started over. I got a Mantis Claw!

In the US? Boston or Albuquerque. On the western hemisphere? You can add Nindirí, Nicaragua. I haven't really been anywhere else, though I imagine I would like Spain or France.