I like that line (the veil rolling back, and all turns to silver glass, and beyond a far green country). I like even better that it's not actually a description of death -- it's a description of the Undying Lands. One of the things that I especially like about Tolkien's universe-building is that he doesn't have a big answer about human souls and heaven -- even Mandos does not know what happens to men when they die. They just do, and gift or curse it's a mystery.
So yes, Gandalf's description doesn't sound so bad, but Pippin will never actually see it, or if he does, he won't be able to report back.
I do like the Lennox song -- it's grown on me. Although, taken literally, some of the lyrics imply that the moon rises in the west. Some serious cardinal direction problems throughout the trilogy. Did I mention the part where, at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the sun rises in the northwest?
Oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who still cries at "Into the West"! The entire second verse kills me. "Hope fades, into the world of night/ through shadows falling, out of memory and time/ don't say we have come now to the end/ white shores are calling, you and I will meet again/ and you'll be here in my arms, just sleeping..." wah!
On edit: Nutty, yeah, I also love how Tolkein treated death in Middle-Earth. Another moment that gets me is Theoden saying (paraphrased): "I go now to the halls of my fathers, in whose company I shall know neither fear nor shame."
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who still cries at "Into the West"!
I cried when she sang it on...whatever late night show she was on on Friday. I also cried during the 10-minute Bravo Making of ROTK special - the Sam carrying Frodo clip.
Sean Astin looked very handsome at the Grammys last night.
I had to report first thing this morning on maybe the best t-shirt I have ever seen - ever. Saturday night I go to my local bar and my rather tall and adorable bartender is wearing a green t-shirt that just says
I'm All Gay About Hobbits and Shit
wanted to take him home.
Billy Boyd sang at a Children's Concert in Glasgow over the weekend--someone put up a clip of him singing "Beyond the Sea" here (.wmv format).
Sean Astin looked very handsome at the Grammys last night.
He looked really, really good. Roommate and I looked at each other and said, "Sean got his chest back!"
Kathy, you might not want to direct-link that clip--can you link to the page?
Ummm, sure! Let's see--
[link]
is the final link, but there's no way to get to it from the billyboyd.net main page.
Huh. (The reason I mentioned it was because it's a bandwidth issue--usually when people share files they like people to go through the main page so they can track bandwidth usage.)
You can still track bandwidth usage from a direct link.
Okay, I have a few TTT questions. (I was just at the gym, and caught the last half-hour of TTT, starting from when Theoden says "Is that it, Saruman? Is that all you've got?" Which is followed immediately by the Uruk-Hai Olympic torch bearer, which reminded us all of the axiom: Do Not Taunt The Dark Lord.)
1) The Nazgul -- they're the original 9 kings of men? They were corrupted b/c of the Ring?
2) The Rohrrim -- I remember that Theoden kicked Eomer out back at Edoras. But I thought the rest of Rohan, including the men, fled to Helm's Deep. So....where did the Rohrrim come from? Why weren't they already at Helm's Deep?
3) Why do people not see the Frodo/Sam love?
