Do you remember what Ursula LeGuin wrote about wanting to found the Halfling Socialist Union after she finished LOTR?

t snickers

Lizard! How've you been, doll?

Deb, don't tell, but I bought DH the Met's Ring Cycle on DVD; Samuel Ramey singing Woden. Good times, good times.

Good times, good times

Heh. All those carolling giant virgins. Dear old Valkries.

Sing it with me, to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries"

"We're all obNOXious, we're shrieking MADly...."

or, in other parlance?

"Kill the waaaaabit!"

I love LeGuin and Tolkein, thankyouverymuch. I'm entirely aware of the political issues, and yet the sound of the horns of Rohan sends a chill up my spine every damned time I read it.

So.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this frelling piece of climbing story. I may just give up and post it on my website, because I haven't a clue who would buy it.

I found a new women's magazine in REI the other day: "Dandelion, the women's magazine for sports, adventure, and style", or some such thing. And... sigh. It was utterly fluff, complete with a 12-page stupidass layout of ski fashion. All the pages were pale pink and pale blue. I really think this is hopeless.

All the pages were pale pink and pale blue.

Jeez.

I'm very well, amy! Possibly I have mennnntioned the magical-beautiful-love thing, like, I will not shut up about it. Oh! And I'm going to Germany in November for this young-writer's conference, on scholarship.

I guess with a name like Dandelion, it has to be fluff....

I'm entirely aware of the political issues, and yet the sound of the horns of Rohan sends a chill up my spine every damned time I read it.

I know, love. EVERYONE loves Tolkein. I'm a total freak and I can't help it, that all that happens when I read his stuff is that I want to go back in time and tell him to get laid and enjpy himself and stop farting around with all those annoying hairy archtypes.

I've got a different level of heresy--I'm utterly in love with the movies, but only mildly liked the books, and have no desire to re-read them ever. His writing style bugs me.

My problem with the movies is that I walked in during a scene where Gandalf is getting flicked off a bit of rock by a special effect, and I looked at him and thought "Huh. Ian McKellan."

I didn't see a wizard; I saw the actor. A sure sign the movie isn't going to do it for me.

Ah. I've had that experience with other movies.

Of course, I spent half of FotR wondering who the lickable man playing Boromir was, but that's a different distracted by the actor experience entirely. Somewhere on whatever board Buffistas lived on then, there's a post of me saying "Who. Is. That?" and being introduced to Sean Bean and hours of fun with the Sharpe's Rifles series.