Lord of the Rings - Book vs Movie Showdown

I tried to read J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" back in high school but by the time I was done with "Fellowship of the Ring" I was so bored out of my mind that I could read no further. Having seen all three movies, I thought I would try it again and I am glad I did. It took me almost two weeks to read, but now that I had seen the movies I could understand a lot more of what happened which was otherwise dull and incomprehensible (battle scenes and geography primarily). Tolkien's purpose in writing these books was to tell a history, and so the books really read as history books, full of endless details, long dialogs, little foreshadowing or simultaneous story lines and few proper climaxes. Overall I felt that the movies followed the books very faithfully, omitting little and adding the action, emotion and crescendos that make a movie palatable.

Some things that I thought were better covered in the book than the movie:

- Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are two very fascinating characters in the book that are entirely absent from the movie. Though I see how it would have slowed the movie down I would have dearly liked to have seen the portrayal of the River daughter and the man who is Master of the land.

- Theoden King of Rohan was far less fearful and confused in the book, riding out against Isengard instead of 'hiding out' in Helm's Deep, so even though the battle still took place, he did not cower and his spirit was never in doubt.

- For dramatic effect the movie made a great deal out of the wear and tear on Frodo from the Ring, which was much more subdued in the book. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Frodo never sent Sam away but that they had entered Shelob's layer hand in hand.

- Faramir was super cool in the book, cooler even in some ways than Aragon. He rejected the Ring right away, was wise and brave, and his love affair with Eowyn was one of the high points of the story in my opinion (seeing how she is the only woman really involved in the book at all).

- The book finally explained to me what the heck that stick and banner was that Arwen was hiding behind at the coronation (though such a scene never took place in the book it always pissed me off as I watched wondering why she is holding a stupid flag). I think it was supposed to be the standard of Aragorn's royal house or whatnot, with which in the book he commands the army of the dead.



Some things that were better off in the movie than in the book:

- By far the best part of the movies for me (I am a girl afterall) was the love story of Arwen and Aragorn, which was barely mentioned in the appendix of the third book. Aragorn himself was much more admirable in the movie in my opinion, especially in his treatment of Arwen but mostly because it is impossible to resists the charms of Viggo Mortensen

- Just about all the battles, which were actually climactic and followed some sort of interesting pattern, especially the battle of Helm's Deep.



I am ambivalent about the chapter in which the Shire is besieged by Saruman who is then driven out by the four hobbits upon their return. It was an interesting side story and certainly made sure that they got a lot more respect from their fellow Shire-folk for their deeds than they seemed to in the movie.

So that's my two cents.

Dumbledore is gay!

Oh what a hoot!

Albus was outed this past Friday by creator Rowling during an appearance at Carnegie Hall. Reports are saying "the rumors are true" but I have to admit I was surprised, mostly because I always thought of him as some sort of Buddhist monk, asexual and celibate. But it could be my own orientation-centricity (is there a term I could use here? anyone know?).

Some comments on the news include:

"My mind is blown and lying in little pieces all over the floor."
by your mom

"Now, that you made her millions, she reveals it. She was a clever one. If I had known this sooner, I wouldn't have never allowed my children to read the books or see the movies."
by jac

"I think this is great. It's a good statement for tolerance. Especially the fact that no one in the HP universe seemed to care."
by Apophenia

And now onto Laura Mallory. Mother of four from Loganville, GA, she keeps trying to get the Harry Potter books banded from her kids school because she claims they promote Wicca. Mind you, she hasn't actually read the books, but I am sure her opinion is very well informed. While appeal after appeal was being rejected, she became ordained as a Minister and was named Washington Post's 2006 "Idiot of the Year." Mallory told ABC news:

"My prayer is that parents would wake up, that the subtle way this is presented as harmless fantasy would be exposed for what it really is: a subtle indoctrination into anti-Christian values. A homosexual lifestyle is a harmful one. That's proven, medically."

For further musings from Mrs. Mallory visit www.hisvoicetoday.org

Thief of Time

Weather has been unseasonably warm lately (global warming anyone?) but it is starting to cool down now. My professor says that is because the high pressure area over the Atlantic is finally subsiding into its winter diminutive state. But we've been getting some gorgeous sunsets the last few days, even if they do happen earlier and earlier (what? why? where did the summer go?).

Monday evening especially, the sun turned the sky an insane gold and the air itself seemed to glow, while in the east ridiculous black/purple clouds actually stood like mountains or really dirty cotton balls, just to make sure that you wouldn't miss the sun-lit autumn foliage in its foreground. And then, as if it wasn't enough, it began to rain. And the sun shone through the water, and you could see every drop, which was, of course, gold, and a rainbow appeared against the black sky, and it was a full half circle with one end starting, I swear, over our home. I am sure that nature that day had decided to drive me mad! It was an infuriating situation to be in - standing as I was in the middle of this perfection, wet, overwhelmed by the sight, and completely unable to capture the moment with any of the numerous digital devices at my disposal. I tried of course, but 'lame' does not begin to describe the photos that I took.

Being an artist, I could just paint it, but who would ever believe it? There is a great quote from Terry Pratchett's novel, "Thief of Time" (which is an excellent book, and by far his best and this quote does not due it justice, nor does it pertain to any subject matter covered in the rest of the narrative - but it made an impression) :

"Sometimes the gods have no taste at all. They allow sunrises and sunsets in ridiculous pink and blue hues that any professional artist would dismiss as the work of some enthusiastic amateur who'd never looked at a real sunset. This was one of those sunrises. It was the kind of sunrise a man rises and looks at and says, "No real sunrise could paint the sky Surgical Appliance Pink.""

So there you have it. There was magic happening all around me for a few minutes, and all you get is this blog.