Iarwainiel I

I just came across this video on YT - the song "Walking In the Air" has been around a while (it's from a Christmas movie, "The Snowman"), but as I listened this time I was imagining Eshonai as the Stormfather let her ride the storm across all Roshar before she departed for the Beyond. It's a gentle song, not violent like the highstorms, but to Eshonai at that point - a spirit riding the wind - this tune seems to fit: full of hope and peace. Hope you enjoy it!

1 hour ago, Spren of Kindness said:

Finished A Talent For War, recommended to me by the amazing @Iarwainiel!  (I'll post in the thread once I finish everything I got from the recs.)

It was good.  Spoilery thoughts inside, and probably later in the week there'll be a while bunch of thoughts I put in the thread I made.

  Reveal hidden contents

I read most of the book in one go, and it was a fairly quick read.  I didn't like that Christopher Sim's brother Tarien and the supposed traitor Talino's name's were so similar.  I got them mixed up quite a few times.  There were a couple times where I raised my eyebrows at the author's choice of words, but other than that, it was pretty good!  I like the concept, and I think it was carried out fairly well.

 

Glad you liked it! The idea of humans in far-flung space, and an archaeologist who finds "ancient" spaceships that would be thousands of years in our future, is really interesting to me - like, they can still read paper books that old if they are still intact, but electronic records are totally gone because the media degraded and/or the device to play the recorded data was lost. Just kinda makes you think. Now I'm wanting to go back and reread the series again!

On 1/23/2021 at 6:08 PM, The Ward's Guard said:

I have now started to listen to the masterpiece known as "Albuquerque" by the genius Weird Al on repeat. All of you who are concerned for me are rightfully so

This song is from an entertainer who was to the 1940s what Weird Al is to us. My grampa (rest his soul) gave us a 78 record of it when I was a child - kind of ironic, seeing as he was rather a wild fellow. Humor in music - it's a tradition!

Do we know where these things ended up? i.e., who has them at the end of the book?

I totally forgot about the chain in Oathbringer - looks like time for another re-read...

I think anything old (1950s-60s) would be less likely to have swearing and graphic stuff (I don't like gratuitous stuff either). I keep meaning to read stuff by Andre Norton - she's one of the top authors from that period.

One more recent book that comes to mind is "Agent to the Stars" by John Scalzi. I'm not 100% sure that there's no strong language at all, but defs less than his other books have and they're no worse than what's on network (not cable) TV. "AttS" is about a Hollywood-type agent who is hired to do PR for the first alien who visits Earth - the challenge being that said alien is literally a few gallons of (sentient) slime that smells very, very bad. The book has some funny parts and a good ending. It's been a while since I read it, but I really liked it.

Another really great book is "A Talent For War" by Jack McDevitt, which is the start of his series about Alex Benedict, far-future xeno-archeologist. In "ATfW," Benedict uncovers evidence that a hero from centuries before was a fraud ... or was he?Great plot twists. IMO the Benedict series is the author's best work - his Priscilla Hutchins series is too cookie-cutter, and his other books all seem to be very preach-y about causes that even if you agree, it's kind of too much. But the Alex Benedict books are really good.

Please let us know what you choose & how you like the book(s)! Happy reading!

On 1/17/2021 at 10:28 AM, Goatbringer said:

TAY: Brandon Sanderson writes about fashion and people who are interested in fashion like someone who has never cared about clothes in their life. “Adolin did up his buttons. They were shiny and round and fashionable, the peak of Alethi style.”

This. This so much. (But srsly we love Brandon just the way he is, fashion or no.)

On 9/24/2020 at 10:39 AM, Vapor said:

... I think, Moosen! I saw a flock of moosen! There were many of them, many much moosen! ... For those of you who understand what ⇧that came from, I applaud you.

I love the Shard!!! I learn so much from all of you!

I fully admit that I did not get this reference (hey, I'm old & haven't had TV in over 20 years, so it happens), so I just looked up the skit on YT. Hilarious!

But I'm posting here for a different reason (since this happened to me just now!):

Just past the point where he says "moosen," it IMO sounds like he starts talking in Spook's Eastern dialect from Mistborn (High Imperial from the Wax & Wayne books). Here's a (rough) transcription - what do you think? "Food is to eatin' is it ... the meets wanting fooden in the wooding is it..." Brilliant!

Thank you fellow Shard-ers for helping me end my day with a jolly laugh!

@Condensation I just now read your signature!    "People who have checked my grammar..." Too funny! Bravo! (I also note with approval your use of the Oxford comma - very glad you're on the correct side of that debate!)

On 1/15/2021 at 3:44 PM, Condensation said:

I made a cape cloak yesterday and my teacher's letting me wear it - with the hood up - at school.

Very cool!!

Arrgggh! Why did I find this thread on a day when I've already used all my up-votes?!?! All of you deserve rep points!!

To several of you: Middle school is (for most people) absolutely the worst time of your life. It was true back in the 60s (yes, I am prolly older than your grandparents, LOL!), and it sounds like it's still true today. Gym was the worst for me too & I was glad when I never had to take it again: there are all kinds of ways to keep fit that aren't competitive or demeaning, so later in life you'll have better options. Your folks might have pointed this out, but if not, let me say that time does make a difference: middle school would have been 1/5th of my life when I was 15 - nowadays it's less than 1/20th of my life, which means it's a LOT less important to who I am as a person. IDK if that makes sense to any of you, but if it does I hope it helps a little bit.

OK, here's my story. It happened a few years ago. A friend and I went for a hike in a nearby national park (we have great parks in Ohio!). It was winter, and pretty cold (20s F) and a little snow on the ground. We started at maybe 2:30 and took a path marked as "1.5 miles." Uh-huh. Well, we walked and we walked ... the sky started getting a little dark ... and we were still walking ... my friend checked her watch, & it was after 5 PM ... and we were still walking, following the trail markers. Now. we are both pretty fit people and walk at a good pace. No way it would take us that long to walk 1.5 miles! And it was getting darker, and we were out in the woods, and there was no one around. And we realized that neither of us had brought any food, or water, or a compass, or a flashlight, or our phones ... what kind of poor woodcraft did we have?!? Gaah! We came up over a rise, and off in the distance I could see her car! I bet it was at least a mile away, as the crow flies. The "path" veered off in another direction, but we decided to go cross-country, through brambly patches and small streams, straight for her car. We got halfway up a hill and she just stopped: "I can't go any further!" So I got behind her and pushed her till we got to the top. The next hill, it was me who stopped, and she pushed me to the top. We were laughing at ourselves, but also getting concerned because the park rangers would chain the parking lot shut once it got dark, and then what would we do? We were finally able to get up on the road that led into the park, and just followed that to the parking lot - drove away just as night was falling. So hungry! But we were both too tired (and kinda sweaty, tbh) to go to a nice restaurant like we had planned - drive-in burgers for us! How did that happen? Our theory is that the park rangers were re-laying the trails during the winter when less people would have been using them, and the trail markers were just messed up enough to cause us to go the wrong way. Anyway, we always bring our phones & water now! And we have a fun memory that we still laugh about pretty often. Hope you enjoyed my story!

On 1/14/2021 at 11:27 AM, Channelknight Fadran said:

Ookla season ended awhile ago, but some people ran out of username changes.

Oh - makes sense. I'm always late to the Ookla-ing, and can never think of a good name that hasn't been taken. Maybe next year...

On 1/13/2021 at 9:24 AM, Channelknight Fadran said:

Okay. You win. *Doffs crown.*

We all win, with the Rings. Thanks!

18 hours ago, Ooklara said:

@Iarwainiel That reminds me, my forum name (the actual one, not this current one) is a misspelling of Gandalf's Quenya name.

My profile picture is Catra 

Very cool re: your forum name! I'll be watching for it. (When does Ookla season end?)

22 minutes ago, Mulk said:

Welcome, Iarwainiel!  And also welcome to the older than all these young pups club...you'd be the second person on the Shard that I know to be older than I am

In all of the Middle Earth related art I've seen over the nearing 40 years since I first read the Hobbit, I've not seen that piece. Thanks for sharing it. And thanks for sharing the story.

I wish the Shard had been around when I was a teen - it would have made a real difference to know that others in the world had the same/similar ideals I did re: beauty, loyalty, hope, etc. Seeing young people interact here, and interacting with them, is just such a joy! It's a great community & IMO many, many of our members have a strong chance of changing the world for the better.

The painting was used in a Tolkien calendar in the 70s. (I'm gonna frame some of those this year - need to decorate my house! ... yes, I saved them ... I am a true nerd, LOL!) Kirk stopped painting for a living & became a graphic artist years ago, but I love his depictions - here's a page that shows them all: https://arthive.com/artists/13571~Tim_Kirk/works

First, pls be kind & not diss on my forum name too much  - I tried to morph part of Bombadil's name (Iarwain Ben-Adar - not sure if it's Quenya or Westron) into a female form. It fits bcos I am old IRL but when I take those "what generation are you" quizzes they peg me at half my age, LOL. Young at heart! and the Shard helps keep me that way!

This thread is a great example: I'm loving all your fun & creative comments.

I don't claim to be the biggest Rings nerd, but I've been at it a long time - I read the trilogy for the first time in 1977, & have journeyed to Mordor 19 times (so far). I've read The Silmarillion (at least 5-6 times), the Unfinished Tales, and the first Book of Lost Tales, but that's as far as I've gone or plan to go.

I've been known to say that all of western civilization could have existed just to produce TLotR - it has been that influential, IMO, and it has also literally changed my outlook on the universe.

I used to be able to read/write Elvish, but have forgotten it through the years. In 1978, I was in the theater seeing a movie (probably Superman), and during the trailers for upcoming films, the screen went all black and red lettering scrolled across - my eyes were as big as saucers! My friend said "What language is that - Arabic?" and I said, "No - it's Elvish!!" The movie was a disappointment, but oh well - nothing can touch the books, for me. YMMV of course.

I have never seen any of the recent movies bcos I want to keep my vision of what characters and settings look like - I don't want to get confused with Peter Jackson's vision, as good as I understand it is. I've avoided even looking at pictures of any images from those movies - so far, so good. If you love the films, that's great! Multiplied ways to enjoy these wonderful stories.

I do think there is a bit of backstory somewhere on Bombadil: that he's a Maia - same level/order as Gandalf, but that he sunk his spirit down into a geographical place in Middle Earth, whereas the Wizards were mobile and moving around. I might be wrong on that, as it's been decades since I read about it.

Last point: my profile image is a snippet from a Rings-related painting - "The Last Shore" by Tim Kirk - puts a lump in my throat just to look at it. Hope you like it too! (from https://arthive.net/res/media/img/oy1200/work/e53/58152.webp)

So excited! Brandon tweeted today that some of the event-only pins from his past tours, etc., are now available in his online shop. https://store.brandonsanderson.com/collections/featured-products/products/event-pins

I missed the Lightweaver one from the Words of Radiance tour (was busy with the "tour archive"/scrapbooking project & neglected to do the cosplay required to get a pin), & I have been kicking myself ever since. I even asked Peter's wife at the Oathbringer release & she said she missed that pin too but there was no way we'd ever get one.

Well now we can!

No idea if Dragonsteel will always stock these though, so if you want one (or more!), it might be a good idea to place your order now.

Thanks Brandon & Dragonsteel!!

This is a screenshot of dear Brandon's face the moment when he found out that a lot of us were having trouble logging in to the Rhythm of War release event.

His expression says it all - this is an author who truly, truly cares about his fans. And we care right back!

The event came off well, especially for a first attempt. And those of us who missed a few minutes were able to catch up via the full recording on YT.

With all the challenges this year has brought, it means so much that Brandon and the whole Dragonsteel team found a way for us to celebrate together. :-)

Strength Before Weakness!

I'm in! I think it can only let so many people in per minute or whatever - just keep trying!

They need to make the recording available later to those of us who can't get in. I am very bummed. :-(

Well, all of you are at least making me feel better that it's not just me.

Truly a catastrophe - 3 years we've waited! 3 years!

I'll be there - got my swag pack yesterday, so will be wearing All.The.Items. Looking forward to e-seeing you @JoyBlu & @aneonfoxtribute!!!

@Frustration - You have to have purchased the book from one of the 10 independent booksellers that Brandon had listed on his site (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-rhythm-of-war-release-party-details-swag-bundle/).

I bought from Weller's: since they're closest to Dragonsteel geographically, I felt they'd get the signed copies earlier than the other booksellers, giving them more time to ship to Ohio.

I had such a blast at the Oathbringer release party (in-person); the virtual event will be nice but not the same. Hopefully we can be back to in-person for SA5!

@Mage - Thanks for making this thread. IMO Alex Trebek was irreplaceable; the world has lost a unique cultural icon.

Just finished DA by Connie Willis (novella). Before that, re-read Ready Player One (was reading while standing in line to vote, & someone else in line noticed & we chatted about the book - SFF fans everywhere!). Also recently re-read a couple of the short stories in the first Metatropolis anthology: Toby Buckell's story has a very creative vision of the future; John Scalzi's story is creative too but also waaaay funny. But then I got Dawnshard & am now reading it several times while I wait for next week to get here!

On 11/7/2020 at 1:21 AM, caranise said:

I think onion should be excommunicated from all food. 

LOL! Before I discovered BeanO, my GI tract would have agreed with you 100%.

One style of preparing onions should definitely be excommunicated, outlawed, banned, etc., and that is "tobacco onions" - at least the way they are prepared around here: sliced raw onions are marinated in tobacco juice (yes, like from cigars/cigarettes). They literally smell like a landfill (extremely rotten garbage); I have no idea how people can eat something that smells so hideously bad. No exaggeration: I was eating in a restaurant and someone in the next booth had tobacco onions on a salad - - I had to be moved to a different table; I just could not stand it/was afraid I wouldn't keep my food down.

But ...

While this is my (very strong) opinion, I respect that this might be a food you like very much, & that's cool - just please don't enjoy it in my proximity.

This might be more common than I thought, but it surprised me the first time I had it (so good!): cubed watermelon + sliced purple onion & chopped cilantro + some lime juice. Refreshing summer "salad" alternative; really inexpensive & easy to take to a potluck or picnic.

12 hours ago, Malim said:

Good thing then, as Chai isn't coffee.  It's more of a spiced tea.  I highly recommend it. 

(Off-topic but maybe not - - who heard of putting corn into a teabag?) Have you tried Inca Tea (https://incatea.com/)? Especially the Peruvian Spiced Berry flavor. It's a herbal, but I like it anyway. A nice treat!

4 hours ago, Cosfan4472 said:

That armor Wonder Woman is wearing comes straight from the Kingdom Come graphic novel.

It is the armor she wears when in a major part of the story, and is DC's Amazonian Royal armor, instead of regular soldier armor, which is tan. 

This is the insider information I know my fellow Shard-ers can provide! Bravo!! And you've also helped me to understand the movie better, whenever it finally comes out - thanks!