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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 11, 1:46pm
Post #1 of 15
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It's time for some BS!
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Here's part 1 of a 3-part look at Frodo and Sam dealing with Gollum on their way to the Cross-roads… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Journey to the Cross-Roads: The Two Towers …"'Which way do we go from here?' asked Frodo. 'Is that the opening of--of the Morgul Valley, away over there beyond that black mass?'
… 'Need we think about it yet?' said Sam. 'Surely we're not going to move any more today, if day it is?'
… 'Perhaps not, perhaps not,' said Gollum. 'But we must go soon, to the Cross-roads. Yes, to the Cross-roads. That's the way over there, yes, Master.'
… The red glare over Mordor died away. The twilight deepened… …crawled above them. Frodo and Sam took a little food and then lay down, but Gollum was restless. He would not eat any of their food, but he drank a little water and then crawled about under the bushes, sniffing and muttering…
… '...Off hunting, I suppose,' said Sam and yawned. It was his turn to sleep first, and he was soon deep in a dream. He thought he was back in the Bag End garden looking for something; but he had a heavy pack on his back, which made him stoop. It all seemed very weedy and rank somehow, and thorns and bracken were invading the beds down near the bottom hedge.
… 'A job of work for me, I can see; but I'm so tired,' he kept on saying. Presently he remembered what he was looking for. 'My pipe!' …and with that he woke up.
… 'Silly!' he said to himself, as he opened his eyes and wondered why he was lying down under the hedge. 'It's in your pack all the time!' Then he realized, first that the pipe might be in his pack but he had no leaf, and next that he was hundreds of miles from Bag End."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 12, 1:40pm
Post #2 of 15
(243 views)
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Here's part 2 of a 3-part look at Frodo and Sam dealing with Gollum and seeking shelter deep inside a tangled knot of thorny gorse-bushes on their way to the Cross-roads… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Journey to the Cross-Roads: The TwoTowers ..."It seemed to be almost dark. Why had his master let him sleep on out of turn, right on till evening?
'Haven't you had no sleep, Mr. Frodo?' he said. 'What's the time? Seems to be getting late!'
...'No it isn't,' said Frodo. 'But the day is getting darker instead of lighter... ...As far as I can tell, it isn't midday yet, and you've only slept for about three hours.'
...'I wonder what's up,' said Sam. 'Is there a storm coming? If so it's going to be the worst there ever was. We shall wish we were down a deep hole, not just stuck under a hedge.' He listened. 'What's that? Thunder, or drums, or what is it?'
...'I don't know,' said Frodo. 'It's been going on for a good while now. Sometimes the ground seems to tremble, sometimes it seems to be the heavy air throbbing in your ears.'
...Sam looked round. 'Where's Gollum? ...Hasn't he come back yet?'
...'No,' said Frodo. 'There's not been a sign or sound of him.'
...'Well, I can't abide him,' said Sam. 'In fact, I've never taken anything on a journey that I'd have been less sorry to lose on the way. But it would be just like him, after coming all these miles, to go and get lost now, just when we shall need him most... ...if he's ever going to be any use, which I doubt.'
...'You forget the Marshes,' said Frodo. 'I hope nothing has happened to him.'
... 'And I hope he's up to no tricks. And anyway I hope he doesn't fall into other hands, as you might say. Because if he does, we shall soon be in for trouble.'
... At that moment a rolling and rumbling noise was heard again, louder now and deeper. The ground seemed to quiver under their feet. 'I think we are in for trouble anyhow,' said Frodo. 'I'm afraid our journey is drawing to an end.'
... 'Maybe,' said Sam; 'but where there's life there's hope, as my Gaffer used to say; and need of vittles, as he most-ways used to add. You have a bite, Mr. Frodo, and then a bit of sleep.'"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 13, 9:19am
Post #3 of 15
(230 views)
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Here's part 3 of a 3-part look at Frodo and Sam dealing with Gollum and seeking shelter on their way to the Cross-roads… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Journey to the Cross-Roads: The Two Towers ..."The afternoon, as Sam supposed it must be called, wore on. Looking out from the covert he could see only a dun, shadowless world... ...It felt stifling but not warm. Frodo slept unquietly, turning and tossing, and sometimes murmuring. Twice Sam thought he heard him speaking Gandalf's name. The time seemed to drag interminably. Suddenly Sam heard a hiss behind him, and there was Gollum on all fours, peering at them with gleaming eyes.
... 'Wake up... ...Wake up, sleepies!' he whispered. 'Wake up! No time to lose. We must go, yes, we must go at once. No time to lose!'
... Sam stared at him suspiciously: he seemed frightened or excited. 'Go now? What's your little game? It isn't time yet. It can't be tea-time even, leastways not in decent places where there is tea-time.'
... 'Silly!' hissed Gollum. 'We're not in decent places. Time's running short, yes, running fast. No time to lose... ...Wake up, Master, wake up!' He clawed at Frodo; and Frodo, startled out of sleep, sat up suddenly and seized him by the arm. Gollum tore himself loose and backed away.
... 'They mustn't be silly,' he hissed. 'We must go. No time to lose!' And nothing more could they get out of him. Where he had been, and what… …was brewing to make him in such a hurry, he would not say. Sam was filled with deep suspicion, and showed it; but Frodo gave no sign of what was passing in his mind. He sighed, hoisted his pack, and prepared to go out into the ever-gathering darkness."
We have been there and back again.
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
May 13, 1:40pm
Post #4 of 15
(227 views)
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A very happy birthday to mega-fan, late-night host and screenwriter for The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past (working title) Stephen Colbert. Many happy returns on the occasion of your sixty-second birthday!
“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Jenny Blake Isabella
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CuriousG
Gondolin
May 13, 9:22pm
Post #5 of 15
(212 views)
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Always good to have a prominent ally
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And I was dazzled years ago by not only Colbert's depth of lore mastery, but the speed with which he could cover facts. There are some Youtube clips of him rattling off detail-heavy answers to Tolkien questions that are fun to watch, including his passion on the subject. May Colbert's beard grow ever longer!
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 14, 1:59pm
Post #6 of 15
(190 views)
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Here's a Book Spoiler of one of Tolkien's lovely ways of setting up an event and the way he can draw you into it... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Palantír: The Two Towers
..."Pippin said no more. He lay still now, but sleep remained far away; and it was not encouraged by the sound of Merry breathing softly, asleep in a few minutes after saying good night. The thought of the dark globe seemed to grow stronger as all grew quiet. Pippin felt again its weight in his hands... ...saw again the mysterious red depths into which he had looked for a moment. He tossed and turned and tried to think of something else.
...At last he could stand it no longer. He got up and looked round. It was chilly, and he wrapped his cloak about him. The moon was shining cold and white... ...and the shadows of the bushes were black. All about lay sleeping shapes. The two guards were not in view... ...Driven by some impulse that he did not understand, Pippin walked softly to where Gandalf lay. He looked down at him. The wizard seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed: there was a glitter of eyes under his long lashes. Pippin stepped back hastily. But Gandalf made no sign... ...drawn forward once more, half against is will, the hobbit crept up again from behind the wizard's head. He was rolled in a blanket... ...his cloak spread over the top; and close beside him, between his right side and his bent arm, there was a hummock, something round wrapped in a dark cloth; his hand seemed only just to have slipped off it to the ground.'
...Hardly breathing, Pippin crept nearer, foot by foot. At last he knelt down. Then he put his hands out stealthily, and slowly lifted the lump up..."
We have been there and back again.
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
May 14, 3:15pm
Post #8 of 15
(184 views)
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May 14 - Another Day, Another Birthday
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Kate Blanchett, the good Galadriel, turns 57 years old today. Have a great birthday, my Lady!
“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Jenny Blake Isabella
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 15, 12:01pm
Post #9 of 15
(161 views)
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This is a Book Spoiler about the effect of the Ring when it's put on... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Choices of Master Samwise: The Two Towers ..."Only a few steps; and now only a few more and he would be going down and would never see that high place again. And then suddenly he heard cries and voices. He stood still as stone. Orc-voices. They were behind him and before him... ...He wheeled round. He saw small red lights, torches, winking away below there as they issued from the tunnel. At last the hunt was up. The red eye of the tower had not been blind. He was caught...
......In a minute they would reach the top and be on him. He had taken too long in making up his mind, and now it was no good. How could he escape, or save himself, or save the Ring? The Ring. He was not aware of any thought or decision. He simply found himself drawing out the chain and taking the Ring in his hand. The head of the orc-company appeared in the Cleft right before him. Then he put it on.
...The world changed, and a single moment of time was filled with an hour of thought. At once he was aware that hearing was sharpened while sight was dimmed... ...All things about him now were not dark but vague; while he himself was there in a grey hazy world, alone, like a small black solid rock, and the Ring, weighing down his left hand, was like an orb of hot gold. He did not feel invisible at all, but horribly and uniquely visible; and he knew that somewhere an eye was searching for him.
...He heard the crack of stone, and the murmur of water far off in Morgul Vale; and down away under the rock the bubbling misery of Shelob... ...and voices in the dungeons of the tower; and the cries of the Orcs... ...deafening, roaring in his ears, the crash of the feet and the rending clamour of the Orcs before him. He shrank against the cliff. But they marched up like a phantom company, grey distorted figures in a mist, only dreams of fear with pale flames in their hands. And they passed him by. He cowered, trying to creep away into some cranny and to hide.
...He listened. The Orcs from the tunnel and the others marching down had sighted one another, and both parties were now hurrying and shouting. He heard them both clearly, and he understood what they said. Perhaps the Ring gave understanding of tongues, or simply understanding, especially of the servants of Sauron its maker, so that if he gave heed, he understood and translated the thought to himself."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 16, 1:28pm
Post #10 of 15
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May 16, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The Company passes Amon Sûl.
(determined from text – referencing Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Bilbo and Company follow the road that continues northeast past Weathertop and reaches the southeastern foot where they come to the last foothill below and camp at its foot."
~~Now here's a Book Spoiler that takes a look at Amon Sûl/Weathertop... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Strider: The Fellowship of the Ring ..."'Weathertop?' said Sam. 'What's that?'
...'It is a hill, just to the north of the Road, about halfway from here to Rivendell. It commands a wide view all round; and there we shall have a chance to look about us...
...'...There is no barrow on Weathertop, nor on any of these hills,' answered Strider. 'The Men of the West did not live here; though in their latter days they defended the hills for a while against the evil that came out of Angmar. This path was made to serve the forts along the walls... ...in the first days of the North Kingdom, they built a great watch-tower on Weathertop. Amon Sûl they called it. It was burned and broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown on the old hill's head. Yet once it was tall and fair. It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-galad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance.'"
May 16, 2001
1. Cannes Film Festival has first look at Middle-earth.
... Peter Jackson introduces a 24-minute presentation at the Cannes Film Festival. The preview of Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings features a completed sequence from the Mines of Moria (as the Fellowship enters the Great Hall to just before the Balrog appears), and a brief glimpse at footage from other scenes of the trilogy. Jaded industry representatives are reportedly blown away by what they see.
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Sun, 1:57pm
Post #11 of 15
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Today in Middle-earth
May 17, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The Company continues northeast on the road, dropping slowly into the 'Lone-lands'.
(determined from text - referencing Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."...they had gone on far into the Lone-lands, where there were no people left, no inns, and the roads grew steadily worse. Not far ahead were dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees. On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people. Everything seemed gloomy, for the weather that day had taken a nasty turn."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Mon, 11:45am
Post #12 of 15
(61 views)
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Here are some Book Spoilers of a few encounters of the sun and wind by Bilbo and Frodo… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Flies and Spiders: The Hobbit
... "Poor Mr. Baggins had never had much practice in climbing trees, but they hoisted him up into the lowest branches of an enormous oak... ...and up he had to go as best he could. He pushed his way through the tangled twigs with many a slap in the eye… …more than once he slipped and caught himself just in time…
...…In the end he poked his head above the roof of leaves... ...Bilbo's eyes were nearly blinded by the light. He could hear the dwarves shouting up at him from far below, but he could not answer, only hold on and blink. The sun was shining brilliantly, and it was a long while before he could bear it…
... ...he could see no end to the trees and the leaves in any direction. His heart, that had been lightened by the sight of the sun and the feel of the wind…."
From Not At Home: The Hobbit ..."A whirl of bats frightened from slumber by their smoking torches flurried over them; as they sprang forward their feet slithered on stones rubbed smooth and slimed by the passing of the dragon.... ...and stood gazing out with dazzled eyes. They were come to the Front Gate, and were looking out upon Dale.
..."Well!" said Bilbo, "I never expected to be looking out of this door. And I never expected to be so pleased to see the sun again, and to feel the wind on my face…."
From The Ring Goes South: The Fellowship of the Ring ...[The Fellowship reaches Hollin] "They had been a fortnight on the way when the weather changed. The wind suddenly fell and then veered round to the south...
......Away in the south Frodo could see the dim shapes of lofty mountains that seemed now to stand across the path that the Company was taking...
......Gandalf stood at Frodo's side and looked out under his hand. 'We have done well,' he said. 'We have reached the borders of the country that Men call Hollin; many Elves lived here in happier days… …The land and the weather will be milder now, but perhaps all the more dangerous.'
...'Dangerous or not, a real sunrise is mighty welcome,' said Frodo, throwing back his hood and letting the morning light fall on his face.... "
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Tue, 1:14pm
Post #13 of 15
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Here's a Book Spoiler that peeks in on Sam's relatives… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Shadow of the Past: The Fellowship of the Ring Cousin Hal
..."'Queer things you do hear these days, to be sure,' said Sam.
...'Ah,' said Ted, 'you do, if you listen. But I can hear fireside-tales and children's stories at home, if I want to.'
...'No doubt you can,' retorted Sam, 'and I daresay there's more truth in some of them than you reckon. Who invented the stories anyway? Take dragons now... ...what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away beyond the North Moors not long back.'
...'Who's they?'
...'My cousin Hal for one. He works for Mr. Boffin at Overhill and goes up to the Northfarthing for the hunting. He saw one.'
...'Says he did, perhaps. Your Hal's always saying that he's seen things; and maybe he sees things that ain't there.'
...'But this one was as big as an elm tree, and walking--walking seven yards to a stride, if it was an inch.'
...'Then I bet it wasn't an inch. What he saw was an elm tree, as like as not.'
...'But this one was walking, I tell you; and there ain't no elm tree on the North Moors... ...you can't deny that others besides our Halfast have seen queer folk crossing the Shire--crossing it, mind you: there are more that are turned back at the borders. The Bounders have never been so busy before.'"
From The Taming of Sméagol: Two Towers Gamgees and Ropes
..."To the complete surprise of both the hobbits it came loose. Sam fell over, and the long grey coils slithered silently down on top of him. Frodo laughed. 'Who tied the rope?' he said. 'A good thing it held as long as it did! To think that I trusted all my weight to your knot!'
...Sam did not laugh. 'I may not be much good at climbing, Mr. Frodo,' he said in injured tones, 'but I do know something about rope and about knots. It's in the family, as you might say. Why, my grand-dad, and my uncle Andy after him, him that was the Gaffer's eldest brother, he had a rope-walk over by Tighfield many a year. And I put as fast a hitch over the stump as any one could have done, in the Shire or out of it.'"
From Lothlórien: Fellowship of the Ring Uncle Andy
..."When this slender bridge had been made, the Company passed over, some cautiously and slowly, others more easily. Of the hobbits... ...Sam shuffled along, clutching hard, and looking down into the pale eddying water as if it was a chasm in the mountains.
...He breathed with relief when he was safely across. 'Live and learn! as my gaffer used to say. Though he was thinking of gardening, not of roosting like a bird, nor of trying to walk like a spider. Not even my uncle Andy ever did a trick like that!'"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Wed, 1:57pm
Post #14 of 15
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Today in Middle-earth
May 20, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Passing Weathertop.
(determined from text - referencing Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."The Company of Hobbit, Wizard, and Dwarves has passed Weathertop as the Road turns more east."
May 20, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Spring at Bag End.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Frodo and Gandalf enjoy a peaceful Spring in Bag End and make plans for the fall as the Conspirators make plans of their own.
May 20, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Fellowship rests in Minas Tirith.
(not from the appendices)
..."The Hobbits still remained in Minas Tirith, with Legolas and Gimli; for Aragorn was loth for the Fellowship to be dissolved.... ...In those days the Companions of the Ring dwelt together in a fair house with Gandalf, and they went to and fro as they wished."
2. Elrond and Arwen come to Lórien.
(from the appendices-no text)
...A grand Company from Rivendell has come to Lothlorien as Elrond and Arwen join with Galadriel and Celeborn for a journey to Minas Tirith.
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
3:08pm
Post #15 of 15
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Today in Middle-earth
May 21-23, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo and Company continue east.
(determined from text - referencing Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Far behind, the Weather Hills show less and less. Ahead, company begins to see the tops of the Trollshaws. The road becomes rough."
This is a short entry, so let's take a closer look at this:
[Map variation from Encyclopedia of Arda]
...The Weather Hills span east of Bree-land and north-west of the Lone-lands (located between Bree-land and the Trollshaws along the Great East Road) in central Eriador. Weathertop, or Amon Sûl, lays at the southern end of the range.
...When Angmar was formed, the range was fortified (to include Weathertop) by Argeleb I, the seventh king of Dúnedain, in an attempt to return Arnor to its former glory. Once the most regal and prominent feature of the Lone-lands rising above the road, Weathertop was a proud tower of vision and vigilance and the home of the strongest palantír of the north. However, it fell in battle to the Witch-king of Angmar, and has sat derelict in the wild ever since.
... Marks of this fortification still existed in the path of Thorin and Company and when Aragorn led the hobbits from Bree to Rivendell. No other peak in any nearby area matches Weathertop's height. Any traveller is affected by its fashion and power and are moved by its ruin.
[Info gleaned from Tolkien Gateway and Lotro-Wiki.com]
... [While The Weather Hills might not be mentioned by name in the texts of either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien does mention them in APPENDIX A: ANNALS OF THE KINGS AND RULERS: ERIADOR, ARNOR, AND THE HEIRS OF ISILDUR. They are also named on Christopher Tolkien's maps and he refers to them in his notes for ALDARION AND ERENDIS in Unfinished Tales].
[Info supplied by Otaku-sempai 5/20/2020]
We have been there and back again.
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