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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 22, 2:38pm
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TIME - January 22
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Today in Middle-earth
January 22, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Fellowship rests in Lothlórien.
(not from the appendices)
..."They remained some days in Lothlórien, so far as they could tell or remember.... ...The air was cool and soft, as if it were early spring, yet they felt about them the deep and thoughtful quiet of winter. It seemed to them that they did little but eat and drink and rest, and walk among the trees; and it was enough.
...They had not seen the Lord and Lady again, and they had little speech with any of the Elven-folk; for few of these spoke any but their own silvan tongue. Haldir had... ...gone back again to the fences of the North, where great watch was now kept since the tidings of Moria that the Company had brought. Legolas was away much among the Galadrim, and after the first night he did not sleep with the other companions, though he returned to eat and talk with them. Often he took Gimli with him when he went abroad in the land, and the others wondered at this change."
2. Gandalf battles the Balrog.
(from the appendices)
..."''Long time I fell... ...Long I fell, and he fell with me. His fire was about me. I was burned. Then we plunged into the deep water and all was dark. Cold it was as the tide of death: almost it froze my heart... ...it has a bottom, beyond light and knowledge,' said Gandalf. 'Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone. He was with me still. His fire was quenched, but now he was a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake.
...'We fought far under the living earth, where time is not counted. Ever he clutched me, and ever I hewed him, till at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin's folk... ...Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel....""
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jan 22, 2:53pm
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January 22, 1940 (Common Era)
1. John Vincent Hurt born in Chesterfield, U.K.
The late Sir John Hurt CBE was born on this day eighty-two years ago. John Hurt voiced Aragorn son of Arathorn in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 23, 3:07pm
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Today in Middle-earth
January 23, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Gandalf and the Balrog reach the peak of Zirak-zigil.
(not from the appendices)
..."'Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways of Khazad-dûm: too well he knew them all. Ever up now we went, until we came to the Endless Stair... ...it had not been destroyed,' said Gandalf. 'From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak it climbed, ascending in unbroken spiral in many thousand steps, until it issued at last in Durin's Tower carved in the living rock of Zirak-zigil, the pinnacle of the Silvertine.'"
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grammaboodawg
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Jan 24, 2:24pm
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Today in Middle-earth
January 24, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. Hobbiton is busy healing the hurts of Saruman.
(not from the appendices)
..."Sam stayed at first at the Cottons' with Frodo; but when the New Row was ready he went with the Gaffer. In addition to all his other labours he was busy directing the cleaning up and restoring of Bag End..."
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 25, 2:31pm
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Today in Middle-earth
January 25, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Gandalf casts the Balrog from the mountain, but passes away afterwards. His body lies on the peak.
(from the appendices)
..."'There upon Celebdil was a lonely window in the snow and before it lay a narrow space, a dizzy eyrie above the mists of the world... ...Out he sprang, and even as I came behind, he burst into new flame. There was none to see, or perhaps in after ages songs would still be sung of the Battle of the Peak.' Suddenly Gandalf laughed. 'But what would they say in song? Those that looked up from afar thought that the mountain was crowned with storm. Thunder they heard, and lightening... ...smote upon Celebdil, and leaped back broken into tongues of fire.... ...A great smoke rose about us, vapour and steam. Ice fell like rain. I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell...'"
[Gandalf does not return to "life" for 20 days. This part of the story continues on February 14.]
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 26, 1:20pm
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Today in Middle-earth
January 26, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Fellowship rests in Lothlórien. [Having defeated the Balrog, Gandalf's body lies on the snowy peak of Celebdil]
(not from the appendices)
..."Now as the companions sat or walked together they spoke of Gandalf, and all that each had known and seen of him came clear before their minds. As they were healed of hurt and weariness of body the grief of the loss grew more keen. Often they heard nearby Elvish voices singing, and knew that they were making songs of lamentation... ...for they caught his name among the sweet sad words that they could not understand.
... Mithrandir, Mithrandir sang the Elves, O Pilgrim Grey! For so they loved to call him. But if Legolas was with the Company, he would not interpret the songs for them, saying that he had not the skill, and that for him the grief was still too near, a matter for tears and not yet for song."
Lament for Gandalf
(featured in Lothlórien)
(Solo by Elizabeth Fraser)
(Sindarin)
In gwidh ristennin
i fae narc hannen
I Lach Anor ed ardhon gwannen
Mithrandir, Mithrandir! A Randir Vithren!
U-reniathach i amar galen
I reniad lín ne môr, nuithannen
(Chorus in Quenya)
Ilfirin nairelma nauva i nauva
Ilfirin nairelma ar ullume nucuvalme
Nauva i nauva melme nóren sina naire lma
(Sindarin text)
'The bonds cut,
the spirit broken
The Flame of Anor has left this World'
Mithrandir, Mithrandir, O Pilgrim Grey!
No more will you wander the world green.
Your journey in darkness stopped.'
(Quenya text)
'Undying [is] our regret, [it] will be what will be [or 'What should be shall be']
Undying [is] our regret and yet we will cast all away,
[It] will be what will be, love for this land [is] our regret.'
Lothlórien
(performed by Elizabeth Frazer)
A Olórin i yaresse… (Olórin who once was…)
Mentaner i Numeherui (Sent by the Lords of the West)
Tírien i Rómenóri… (To guard the Lands of the East…)
Maiaron i Oiosaila, (Wisest of all Maiar,)
Manan elye etevanne (What drove you to leave)
Nórie i malanelye? (That which you loved?)
Ú-reniathach (No more will you wander)
I amar galen (The green fields of this earth)
I reniad lín ne môr, nuithannen (Your journey has ended in darkness.)
In gwidh ristennin, (the bonds are sundered,)
i fae narchannen (the spirit is broken)
I Lach Anor ed ardhon gwennen. (The flame of Anor has left this world.)
Calad veleg, ethuiannen. (A great light, has gone out.)
(Choir text)
Melme nóren sina (Our love for this land)
núra ala (Is deeper that the deeps)
Eäro. (of the sea)
Ilfirin nairelma (Our regret is undying)
ullume nucuvalme. (Yet we will cast all away, rather than submit)
Nauva i nauva... (What should be shall be.)
[From former site Magpie's Nest: Credit for these lyrics and notes goes to TheOneRing.net; Language in The Lord of the Rings Movie by Galadhorn – elvish.org which is linked through TheOneRing.net; an article in Music from the Movies, number 42; Warner Brothers sheet music; Lord of the Rings Soundtrack inserts]
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grammaboodawg
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Jan 27, 12:38pm
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Here's a Book Spoiler for our very own Quickbeam... Happy Birthday, Oh Hasty One... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Treebeard: The Two Towers ..."'Hm, hoom, here I am again,' said Treebeard. 'Are you getting weary, or feeling impatient, hmm, eh? Well, I am afraid that you must not get impatient yet. We have finished the first stage now… ...I have brought you a companion. He has an ent-house nearby. Bregalad is his Elvish name. He says he has already made up his mind and does not need to remain at the Moot. Hm, hm, he is the nearest thing among us to a hasty Ent. You ought to get on together...' ...Treebeard turned and left them.
...Bregalad stood for some time surveying the hobbits solemnly; and they looked at him, wondering when he would show any signs of 'hastiness'. He was tall, and seemed to be one of the younger Ents; he had smooth shining skin on his arms and legs; his lips were ruddy, and his hair was grey-green. He could bend and sway like a slender tree in the wind. At last he spoke, and his voice though resonant was higher and clearer than Treebeard's.
...'Ha, hmm, my friends, let us go for a walk!' he said. 'I am Bregalad, that is Quickbeam in your language. But it is only a nickname... ...They have called me that ever since I said yes to an elder Ent before he had finished his question. Also I drink quickly, and go out while some are still wetting their beards. Come with me!'
...He reached down two shapely arms and gave a long-fingered hand to each of the hobbits. All that day they walked about in the woods with him, singing, and laughing; for Quickbeam often laughed. He laughed if the sun came out from behind a cloud, he laughed if they came upon a stream or spring… …he laughed sometimes at some sound or whisper in the trees."
  
TORn's Master of Ceremonies, Host of TORn Tuesday and Contributor to TORn's Green Books
Happy Birthday! :D
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(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jan 27, 12:38pm)
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dernwyn
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Jan 27, 5:05pm
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Many happy returns of the day, Quickbeam! //
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 28, 1:49pm
Post #9 of 53
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Today in Middle-earth
January 28, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Fellowship rests in Lothlórien. [Having defeated the Balrog, Gandalf's body lies on the snowy peak of Celebdil]
(not from the appendices)
..."It was Frodo who first put something of his sorrow into halting words. He was seldom moved to make song or rhyme; even in Rivendell he had listened and had not sung himself... ...But now as he sat beside the fountain in Lórien and heard about him the voices of the Elves, his thought took shape in a song that seemed fair to him; yet when he tried to repeat it to Sam only snatches remained, faded as a handful of withered leaves.
When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the Hill were heard;
before the dawn he went away
on journey long without a word.
From Wilderland to Western shore,
from northern waste to southern hill,
through dragon-lair and hidden door
and darkling woods he walked at will.
With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men,
with mortal and immortal folk,
with bird on bough and beast in den,
in their own secret tongues he spoke.
A deadly sword, a healing hand,
a back that bent beneath its load;
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,
a weary pilgrim on the road.
A lord of wisdom throned he sat,
swift in anger, quick to laugh;
an old man in a battered hat
who leaned upon a thorny staff.
He stood upon the bridge alone
and Fire and Shadow both defied;
is staff was broken on the stone,
in Khazad-dûm his wisdom died. ...'Why, you'll be beating Mr. Bilbo next!' said Sam.
...'No, I am afraid not,' said Frodo. 'But that is the best I can do yet.'
...'Well, Mr. Frodo, if you do have another go, I hope you'll say a word about his fireworks... ...Something like this:
The finest rockets ever seen:
they burst in stars of blue and green,
or after thunder golden showers
came falling like a rain of flowers. Though that doesn't do them justice by a long road.'
...'No, I'll leave that to you, Sam. Or perhaps to Bilbo. But—well, I can't talk of it any more. I can't bear to think of bringing the news to him.'"
[Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 465-465 FotR: Lord of the Rings]
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jan 28, 2:57pm
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January 28, 1981 (Common Era)
1. Elijah Wood born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Happy forty-first birthday to Elijah "Frodo Baggins" Wood!
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 29, 3:04pm
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Here is part 1 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that takes a look at the Fellowship as they come to Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Mirror of Galadriel: The Fellowship of the Ring ..."'Welcome to Caras Galadon!' [Haldir] said. 'Here is the city of the Galadrim where dwell the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel the Lady of Lórien. But we cannot enter here, for the gates do not look northward. We must go round to the southern side... ...the way is not short, for the city is great.'
... There was a road paved with white stone running on the outer brink of the fosse. Along this they went westward, with the city ever climbing up like a green cloud upon their left... ...as the night deepened more lights sprang forth, until all the hill seemed afire with stars. They came at last to a white bridge, and crossing found the great gates of the city... ...set between the ends of the encircling wall that here overlapped, and they were tall and strong, and hung with many lamps.
... Haldir knocked and spoke, and the gates opened soundlessly... ...of guards Frodo could se no sign. The travellers passed within, and the gates shut behind them. They were in a deep lane... ...and passing quickly through it they entered the City of the Trees. No folk could they see... ...but there were many voices, about them, and in the air above. Far away up on the hill they could hear the sound of singing falling from on high like soft rain upon leaves.
... They went along many paths and climbed many stairs... ...they came to the high places and saw before them amid a wide lawn a fountain shimmering. It was lit by silver lamps that swung from the boughs of trees, and it fell into a basin of silver, from which a white stream spilled. Upon the south side of the lawn there stood the mightiest of all the trees; its great smooth bole gleamed like grey silk, and up it towered, until its first branches... ...opened their huge limbs under shadowy clouds of leaves. Beside it a broad white ladder stood, and at its foot three Elves were seated. They sprang up as the travellers approached, and Frodo saw that they were tall and clad in grey mail... ...from their shoulders hung long white cloaks....
......One of the Elf-wardens then blew a clear note on a small horn, and it was answered three times from far above."
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dernwyn
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Jan 29, 3:42pm
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I am glad this was changed in the movies to a glistening stairway encircling the tree. Much more elegant - and less dizzying to my mind! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
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Jan 30, 2:13pm
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Here is part 2 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that takes a look at the Fellowship in Caras Galadon standing before Celeborn and Galadriel... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Mirror of Galadriel: The Fellowship of the Ring ..."'Here dwell Celeborn and Galadriel,' said Haldir. 'It is their wish that you should ascend and speak with them... ...I will go first... ...Let Frodo come next and with him Legolas. The others may follow as they wish. It is a long climb for those that are not accustomed to such stairs, but you may rest upon the way.'
... As he climbed slowly up Frodo passed many flets: some on one side, some on another... ...some set about the bole of the tree, so that the ladder passed through them. At a great height above the ground he came to a wide talan, like the deck of a great ship. On it was built a house, so large that almost it would have served for a hall of Men upon the earth. He entered behind Haldir, and found... ...he was in a chamber of oval shape, in the midst of which grew the trunk of the great mallorn, now tapering towards its crown...
... ...The chamber was filled with a soft light; its walls were green and silver and its roof of gold. Many Elves were seated there. On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat... ...Celeborn and Galadriel. They stood up to greet their guests, after the manner of Elves, even those who were accounted mighty kings. Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful... ...clad wholly in white... ...the hair of the lady was of deep gold... ...the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory.
... Haldir led Frodo before them and the Lord welcomed him in his own tongue. The Lady Galadriel said no word but looked long upon his face.
...'Sit now beside my chair, Frodo of the Shire!' said Celeborn. 'When all have come we will speak together.'
... Each of the companions he greeted courteously by name as they entered. 'Welcome Aragorn son of Arathorn... ...It is eight and thirty years of the world outside since you came to this land; and those years lie heavy on you. But the end is near, for good or ill. Here lay aside your burden for a while!'
...'Welcome son of Thranduil! Too seldom do my kindred journey hither from the North.
...'Welcome Gimli son of Glóin! It is long indeed since we saw one of Durin's folk in Caras Galadon... ...today we have broken our long law. May it be a sign that though the world is now dark better days are at hand, and that friendship shall be renewed between our peoples.' Gimli bowed low."
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grammaboodawg
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Jan 30, 2:17pm
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The film's stairway looks more majestic and ethereal, imho. While they may not get many visitors and so maintain a norm of ladders to flets, the thought of each of those exhausted and heartbroken members climbing high up a ladder to come before the King and Queen is sad.
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grammaboodawg
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Jan 31, 3:22pm
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Here is part 3 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that takes a look at the Fellowship with Celeborn and Galadriel... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Mirror of Galadriel: The Fellowship of the Ring ... When all the guests were seated before his chair the Lord looked at them again. 'Here there are eight... ...Nine were to set out: so said the messages. But maybe there has been some change of counsel that we have not heard. Elrond is far away, and darkness gathers between us, and all this year the shadows have grown longer.'
... 'Nay, there was no change of counsel,' said the Lady Galadriel, speaking for the first time. Her voice was clear and musical, but deeper than woman's wont. 'Gandalf the Grey set out with the Company, but he did not pass the borders of this land... ...tell us where he is; for I much desired to speak with him again. But I cannot see him from afar, unless he comes within the fences of Lothlórien: a grey mist is about him... ...the ways of his feet and of his mind are hidden from me.'
... 'Alas!' said Aragorn. 'Gandalf the Grey fell into shadow. He remained in Moria and did not escape.'
... At these words... ...the Elves in the hall cried aloud in grief and amazement. 'These are evil tidings,' said Celeborn, 'the most evil that have been spoken here in long years full of grievous deeds.' He turned to Haldir. 'Why has nothing of this been told to me before?' he asked in Elven-tongue.
... 'We have not spoken to Haldir of our deeds or our purpose,' said Legolas. 'At first we were weary and danger was too close behind... ...afterwards we almost forgot our grief for a time, as we walked in gladness on the fair paths of Lórien.'
... 'Yet our grief is great and our loss cannot be mended,' said Frodo. 'Gandalf was our guide, and he led us through Moria; and when our escape seemed beyond hope he saved us, and he fell.'
... 'Tell us now the full tale!' said Celeborn.
... Then Aragorn recounted all that had happened upon the pass of Caradhras, and in the days that followed... ...he spoke of Balin and his book, and the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul... ...the fire... ...the narrow bridge... ...the coming of the Terror. 'An evil of the Ancient World it seemed, such as I have never seen before,' said Aragorn. 'It was both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible.'
... 'It was a Balrog of Morgoth,' said Legolas; 'of all elf-banes the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.'
... 'Indeed I saw upon the bridge that which haunts our darkest dreams, I saw Durin's Bane,' said Gimli in a low voice, and dread was in his eyes.
... 'Alas!' said Celeborn. 'We long have feared that under Caradhras a terror slept... ...had I known that the Dwarves had stirred up this evil in Moria again, I would have forbidden you to pass the northern borders... ...and all that went with you. And if it were possible, one would say that at the last Gandalf fell from wisdom into folly, going needlessly into the net of Moria.'"
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grammaboodawg
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Feb 1, 1:32pm
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Here is part 4 of a 4-part Book Spoiler of the Fellowship speaking with Celeborn and Galadriel... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Mirror of Galadriel: The Fellowship of the Ring ... [Celeborn laments that Gandalf's decision to go into Moria was folly and he fell needlessly] "'He would be rash indeed that said that thing,' said Galadriel gravely. 'Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. Those that followed him knew not his mind and cannot report his full purpose... ...the followers are blameless. Do not repent of your welcome to the Dwarf. If our folk had been exiled long and far from Lothlórien, who of the Galadrim, even Celeborn the Wise, would pass nigh and would not wish to look upon their ancient home, though it had become an abode of dragons?
... 'Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram... ...cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dûm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone.' She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the Dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes... ...it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding. Wonder came into his face, and then he smiled in answer.
...He rose clumsily and bowed in dwarf-fashion, saying: 'Yet more fair is the living land of Lórien, and the Lady Galadriel is above all the jewels that lie beneath the earth...!'
... ...At length Celeborn spoke again. 'I did not know that your plight was so evil,' he said. 'Let Gimli forget my harsh words: I spoke in the trouble of my heart. I will do what I can to aid you, each according to his wish and need, but especially that one of the little folk who bears the burden.'
...'Your quest is known to us,' said Galadriel, looking at Frodo. 'But we will not here speak of it more openly. Yet not in vain will it prove... ...that you came to this land seeking aid, as Gandalf himself plainly purposed. For the Lord of the Galadrim is accounted the wisest of the Elves of Middle-earth... ...a giver of gifts beyond the power of kings. He has dwelt in the West since the days of dawn... ...I have dwelt with him years uncounted; for ere the fall of Nargothrond of Gondolin I passed over the mountains, and together through ages of the world we have fought the long defeat.
... 'I it was who first summoned the White Council. And if my designs had not gone amiss, it would have been governed by Gandalf the Grey... ...then mayhap things would be gone otherwise. But even now there is hope left. I will not give you counsel... ...For not in doing or contriving, nor in choosing between this course and another, can I avail; but only in knowing what was and is, and in part... ...what shall be. But this I will say to you: your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true....
......with that word she held them with her eyes, and in silence looked searchingly at each of them in turn. None save Legolas and Aragorn could long endure her glance. Sam quickly bushed and hung his head.
... At length... ...Galadriel released them from her eyes, and she smiled. 'Do not let your hearts be troubled... ...Tonight you shall sleep in peace.' Then they sighed and felt suddenly weary, as those who have been questioned long and deeply, though no words had been spoken openly.
... 'Go now!' said Celeborn. 'You are worn with sorrow and much toil. Even if your Quest did not concern us closely, you should have refuge in this City, until you were healed and refreshed. Now you will rest... ...we will not speak of your further road for a while.'
...That night the Company slept upon the ground, much to the satisfaction of the hobbits."
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 2, 10:53am
Post #17 of 53
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It's time for some special BS! February 2 - Groundhog Day!
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In the U.S., February 2nd and the anticipation of "weather" or not Puxsutawney Phil will see his shadow is always done with hope! Any clue of how much longer we'll have winter weather helps. I also use it as a mark of the half-way point of these cold months. All eyes are turned to Pennsylvania and his prediction!
However, Michigan has its own fuzzy representative. If the sun is shining, there's a lot more cold and a longer winter. If there's no shadow, we should be having an early Spring! OH THE DRAMA!
Here's a Book Spoiler that discusses the Celebrity of the Day... though really it's his badgering cousin... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From A Long-Expected Party: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "'Well yes--and no. Now it comes to it, I don't like parting with it at all, I may say. And I don't really see why I should. Why do you want me to?' he asked, and a curious change came over his voice. It was sharp with suspicion and annoyance. 'You are always badgering me about my ring; but you have never bothered me about the other things that I got on my journey.'
... 'No, but I had to badger you,' said Gandalf. 'I wanted the truth. It was important. Magic rings are--well, magical; and they are rare and curious.'"
From In the House of Tom Bombadil: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "Frodo looked at it closely, and rather suspiciously (like one who has lent a trinket to a juggler). It was the same Ring, or looked the same and weighed the same: for that Ring had always seemed to Frodo to weigh strangely heavy in the hand. But something prompted him to make sure. He was perhaps a trifle annoyed with Tom for seeming to make so light of what even Gandalf thought so perilously important. He waited for an opportunity when the talk was going again, and Tom was telling an absurd story about badgers and their queer ways—then he slipped the Ring on."
From A Journey in the Dark: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "'There must have been a mighty crowd of dwarves here at one time,' said Sam; 'and every one of them busier than badgers for five hundred years to make all this, and most in hard rock too!'"
From Helm's Deep: The Two Towers ... "'Do not judge the counsel of Gandalf, until all is over, lord,' said Aragorn.
... 'The end will not be long,' said the king. 'But I will not end here, taken like an old badgerin a trap. Snowmane and Hasufel and the horses of my guard are in the inner court. When dawn comes, I will bid men sound Helm's horn, and I will ride forth. Will you ride with me then son of Arathorn? Maybe we shall cleave a road, or make such an end as will be worth a song—if any be left to sing of us hereafter.'"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 3, 2:41pm
Post #18 of 53
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Here's the 1st of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers ... "The hobbits stood now on the brink of a tall cliff, bare and bleak, its feet wrapped in mist... ...behind them rose the broken highlands crowned with drifting cloud. A chill wind blew from the East. Night was gathering over the shapeless lands before them...
......South and east they stared to where, at the edge of the oncoming night, a dark line hung, like distant mountains of motionless smoke. Every now and again a tiny red gleam far away flickered upwards on the rim of earth and sky.
...'What a fix!' said Sam. 'That's the one place in all the lands we've ever heard of that we don't want to see any closer; and that's the one place we're trying to get to! And that's just where we can't get, nohow. We've come the wrong way altogether... ...We can't get down; and if we did get down, we'd find all that green land a nasty bog, I'll warrant. Phew! Can you smell it?' He sniffed...
...'...Yes, I can smell it,' said Frodo, but he did not move... ...his eyes remained fixed, staring out towards the dark line and the flickering flame. 'Mordor!' he muttered under his breath. 'If I must go there, I wish I could come there quickly and make an end!' He shuddered. The wind was chilly... ...heavy with an odour of cold decay. 'Well,' he said, at last withdrawing his eyes, 'we cannot stay here at night, fix or no fix. We must find a more sheltered spot and camp once more; and perhaps another day will show us a path.'
...'Or another and another and another,' muttered Sam. 'Or maybe no day. We've come the wrong way.'
...'I wonder,' said Frodo. 'It's my doom... ...to go to that Shadow yonder, so that a way will be found. But will good or evil show it to me? What hope we had was in speed. Delay plays into the Enemy's hands... ...here I am: delayed. Is it the will of the Dark Tower that steers us? All my choices have proved ill. I should have left the Company long before... ...down from the North, east of the River and of the Emyn Muil, and so over the hard of Battle Plain to the passes of Mordor. But now it isn't possible for you and me alone to find a way back, and the Orcs are prowling on the east bank. Every day that passes is a precious day lost. I am tired, Sam. I don't know what is to be done...
......I wish we could get away from these hills! I hate them. I feel all naked on the east side, stuck up here with nothing but the dead flats between me and that Shadow yonder. There's an Eye in it. Come on! We've got to get down today somehow.'
...But that day wore on, and when afternoon faded towards evening they were still scrambling along the ridge and had found no way of escape."
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 4, 1:37pm
Post #19 of 53
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Here's the 2nd of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers ..."The bottom of the gully... ...was rough with broken stone and slanted steeply down.... ...Frodo stooped and leaned out.
...'Look!' he said... '...It's much lower here than it was, and it looks easier too.'
...Sam knelt beside him and peered reluctantly over the edge... '...Easier!' he grunted. 'Well, I suppose it's always easier getting down than up. Those as can't fly can jump... ...Ugh! How I do hate looking down from a height! But looking's better than climbing.'
...'All the same,' said Frodo... '...we had better try at once. It's getting dark early. I think there's a storm coming....'
......Frodo sniffed the air and looked up doubtfully at the sky. He strapped his belt outside his cloak and tightened it, and settled his light pack on his back; then he stepped towards the edge. 'I'm' going to try it,' he said.
...'Very good!' said Sam gloomily. 'But I'm going first.'
...'You?' said Frodo. 'What's made you change your mind about climbing?'
...'I haven't changed my mind. But it's only sense: put the one lowest as is most likely to slip. I don't want to come down atop of you and knock you off... ...no sense in killing two with one fall.'
...Before Frodo could stop him, he sat down, swung his legs over the brink, and twisted round scrabbling with his toes for a foothold. It is doubtful if he ever did anything braver in cold blood, or more unwise.
...'No, no! Sam, you old ass! ...You'll kill yourself for certain, going over like that without even a look to see what to make for. Come back!' He took Sam under the armpits and hauled him up again. 'Now, wait a bit and be patient!' he said. Then he lay on the ground, leaning out and looking down... ...light seemed to be fading quickly, although the sun had not yet set. 'I think we could manage this... ...I could at any rate; and you could too, if you kept your head and followed me carefully.'
...'I don't know how you can be so sure,' said Sam. 'Why! You can't see to the bottom in this light. What if you come to a place where there's nowhere to put your feet or your hands?'
...'Climb back, I suppose,' said Frodo.
...'Easy said,' objected Sam. 'Better wait till morning and more light.'
...'No! Not if I can help it,' said Frodo with a sudden strange vehemence. 'I grudge every hour, every minute. I'm going down to try it out...'
......Gripping the stony lip of the fall with his fingers he let himself gently down, until when his arms were almost at full stretch, his toes found a ledge. 'One step down!' he said. 'And this ledge broadens out to the right. I could stand there without a hold. I'll---' his words were cut short."
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 5, 2:30pm
Post #20 of 53
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Here's the 3rd of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers ..."The hurrying darkness, now gathering great speed, rushed up from the East... ...Then came a blast of savage wind... ...mingling with its roar, there came a high shrill shriek. The hobbits had heard just such a cry far away in the Marish as they fled from Hobbiton, and even there in the woods of the Shire it had frozen their blood. Out here in the waste its terror was far greater: it pierced them with cold blades of horror and despair, stopping heart and breath. Sam fell flat on his face... ...Frodo loosed his hold and put his hands over his head and ears. He swayed, slipped, and slithered downwards with a wailing cry.
...Sam heard him and crawled with an effort to the edge. 'Master, master!' he called. 'Master!' He heard no answer... ...he was shaking all over, but he gathered his breath, and once again he shouted: 'Master!' The wind seemed to blow his voice back into his throat, but as it passed... ...a faint answering cry came to his ears:
...'All right, all right! I'm here. But I can't see.'
...Frodo was calling with a weak voice... ...not actually very far away. He had slid and not fallen, and had come up with a jolt to his feet on a wider ledge not many yards lower down. Fortunately the rock-face at this point leaned well back and the wind had pressed him against the cliff... ...He steadied himself... ...laying his face against the cold stone, feeling his heart pounding. But either the darkness had grown complete, or else his eyes had lost their sight. All was black about him. He wondered if he had been struck blind. He took a deep breath.
...'Come back! Come back!' he heard Sam's voice out of the blackness above....
...' ...I can't see. I can't find any hold. I can't move yet.'
...'What can I do, Mr. Frodo?' shouted Sam, leaning out dangerously far. Why could not his master see? It was dim... ...He could see Frodo below him, a grey forlorn figure splayed against the cliff....
...'...I'm coming down to you,' shouted Sam, though how he hoped to help in that way he could not have said.
...'No, no! Wait!' Frodo called back, more strongly now... '...I feel better already. Wait! You can't do anything without a rope.'
...'Rope!' cried Sam... '...Well, if I don't deserve to be hung on the end of one as a warning to numbskulls…!'" You're nowt but a ninnyhammer, Sam Gamgee: that's what the Gaffer said to me often enough, it being a word of his. Rope!'
...'Stop chattering!' cried Frodo, now recovered enough to feel both amused and annoyed.... '...[Have you] got some rope in your pocket...?!'
...'...Yes, Mr. Frodo, in my pack and all. Carried it hundreds of miles, and I'd clean forgotten it...!'"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 6, 2:16pm
Post #21 of 53
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Here's the 4th of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers [Sam remembers his elven rope as Frodo clings to the side of the cliff]
... "'Then get busy and let an end down!' [Frodo cried out]
... Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it. There indeed at the bottom was a coil of the silken-grey rope made by the folk of Lórien. He cast an end to his master. The darkness seemed to lift from Frodo's eyes... ...He could see the grey line as it came dangling down, and he thought it had a faint silver sheen. Now that he had some point in the darkness to fix his eyes on, he felt less giddy. Leaning his weight forward, he made the end fast round his waist, and then he grasped the line with both hands.
...Sam stepped back and braced his feet against a stump a yard or two from the edge. Half hauled, half scrambling, Frodo came up and threw himself on the ground.
... The hobbits crawled away back into the gully; but they did not find much shelter there. Rills of water began to run down… …splashed and fumed on the stones, and sprouted out over the cliff like the gutters of a vast roof.
... 'I should have been half drowned down there, or washed clean off,' said Frodo. 'What a piece of luck you had that rope!'
... 'Better luck if I'd thought of it sooner,' said Sam… '…you remember them putting the ropes in the boats, as we started off; in the elvish country. I took a fancy to it, and I stowed a coil in my pack. Years ago, it seems. "It may be a help in many needs," he said: Haldir, or one of those folk. And he spoke right.'
... 'A pity I didn't think of bringing another length,' said Frodo; 'but I left the Company in such a hurry… …If only we had enough we could use it to get down. How long is your rope, I wonder?'
... Sam paid it out slowly, measuring it with his arms: 'Five, ten, twenty, thirty ells, more or less,' he said.
... 'Who'd have thought it!' Frodo exclaimed.
... 'Ah! Who would…? …Elves are wonderful folk. It looks a bit thin but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light. Wonderful folk to be sure!'"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 7, 11:30am
Post #22 of 53
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Here's the 5th of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers ... "'Thirty ells!' said Frodo considering. 'I believe it would be enough. If the storm passes before nightfall, I'm going to try it.'
... 'The rain's nearly given over already,' said Sam; 'but don't you go doing anything risky in the dim again, Mr. Frodo! And I haven't got over that shriek on the wind yet… …Like a Black Rider it sounded--but one up in the air, if they can fly. I'm thinking we'd best lay up in this crack till night's over.'
... 'And I'm thinking that I won't spend a moment longer… …stuck up on this edge with the eyes of the Dark Country looking over the marshes,' said Frodo.
... With that he stood up and went down to the bottom of the gully again. He looked out. Clear sky was growing in the East once more. The skirts of the storm were lifting ragged and wet… …over the desert and the reeking marshes the deep blue sky of evening opened once more, and few pallid stars appeared, like small white holes in the canopy above the crescent moon.
... 'It's good to be able to see again' said Frodo, breathing deep. 'Do you know, I thought for a bit that I had lost my sight? From the lightning or something else worse. I could see nothing, nothing at all, until the grey rope came down. It seemed to shimmer somehow.'
... 'It does look sort of silver in the dark,' and Sam. 'Never noticed it before, though I can't remember as I've ever had it out since I first stowed it. But if you're so set on climbing… …how are you going to use it? Thirty ells, or say, about eighteen fathoms: that's no more than your guess at the height of the cliff.'
... Frodo thought for a while. 'Make it fast to that stump, Sam… …Then I think you shall have your wish this time and go first. I'll lower you, and you need do no more than use your feet and hands to fend yourself off the rock. Though, if you put your weight on some of the ledges and give me a rest, it will help. When you're down, I'll follow. I feel quite myself again now.'
... 'Very well,' said Sam heavily. 'If it must be, let's get it over!' He took up the rope and made it fast over the stump nearest to the brink; then the other end he tied about his own waist. Reluctantly he turned and prepared to go over the edge a second time."
[NOTE: Commonly used as nautical measurement, 18 fathoms = 108 feet / 36 yards / 33 meters or 3 standard school buses end-to-end. Convert fathoms to feet by multiplying the length value by 6.]
[[What is a fathom? The longest of many units derived from an anatomical measurement, the fathom originated as the distance from the middle fingertip of one hand to the middle fingertip of the other hand of a large man holding his arms fully extended [in front of himself]. The name comes from the Old English faedm or faethm, meaning outstretched arms. [Britannica online]]
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 8, 2:46pm
Post #23 of 53
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Here's the 6th of a 7-part journey with Frodo and Sam relying on the elven rope on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers [Sam slowly slides down the cliff while Frodo holds the rope above]
... "It did not… …turn out half as bad as he had expected. The rope seemed to give him confidence, though he shut his eyes more than once when he looked down between his feet. There was one awkward spot, where there was no ledge and the wall was sheer and even undercut… …there he slipped and swung out on the silver line. But Frodo lowered him slowly and steadily and it was over at last. His chief fear had been that the rope-length would give out while he was still high up, but there was still a good bight in Frodo's hands, when Sam came to the bottom and called up: 'I'm down!' His voice came up clearly from below, but Frodo could not see him; his grey elven-cloak had melted into the twilight.
... Frodo took rather more time to follow him. He had the rope about his waist and it was fast above, and he had shortened it so that it would pull him up before he reached the ground; still he did not want to risk a fall, and he had not quite Sam's faith in this slender grey line. He found two places… …where he had to trust wholly to it: smooth surfaces where there was no hold even for his strong hobbit fingers… …But at last he too was down.
... 'Well!' he cried. 'We've done it! We've escaped from the Emyn Muil! And now what next, I wonder? Maybe we shall soon be sighing for good hard rock under foot again.'
... But Sam did not answer: he was staring back up the cliff.
... 'Ninnyhammers!' [Sam] said. 'Noodles! My beautiful rope! There it is tied to a stump, and we're at the bottom. Just as nice a little stair for that slinking Gollum as we could leave. Better put up a signpost to say which way we've gone! I thought it seemed a bit too easy.'
... 'If you can think of any way we could have both used the rope and yet brought it down with us, then you can pass on to me ninnyhammer…'"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 9, 4:03pm
Post #24 of 53
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Here is the last installment of Book Spoilers where Frodo and Sam trust the elven rope on the cliffs of Emyn Muil… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers ... "'If you can think of any way we could have both used the rope and yet brought it down with us, then you can pass on to me ninnyhammer, or any other name your Gaffer gave you,' said Frodo. 'Climb up and untie it and let yourself down, if you want to!'
... Sam scratched his head. 'No, I can't think how, begging your pardon… …But I don't like leaving it, and that's a fact.' He stroked the rope's end and shook it gently. 'It goes hard parting with anything I brought out of the elf-country. Made by Galadriel herself… …maybe. Galadriel,' he murmured, nodding his head mournfully. He looked up and gave one last pull to the rope as if in farewell.
... 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..? …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… …And I put as fast a hitch over the stump as any one could have done, in the Shire or out of it.'
... 'Then the rope must have broken—frayed on the rock-edge…' …said Frodo.
... 'I bet it didn't!' said Sam in an even more injured voice. He stooped and examined the ends. 'Nor it hasn't neither. Not a strand!'
... 'Then I'm afraid it must have been the knot…'
... Sam shook his head and did not answer. He was passing the rope through his fingers thoughtfully. 'Have it your own way, Mr. Frodo,' he said at last, 'but I think the rope came off itself—when I called.' He coiled it up and stowed it lovingly in his pack."
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Hamfast Gamgee
Grey Havens
Feb 9, 8:41pm
Post #25 of 53
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So did the rope fall by itself or not?
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I have wondered this before. Tolkien is a little ambiguous on this one,
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