Something a little different.

Today I am going to talk about Lord of the Rings. It's a topic I often get upset with, especially with the movies.  Now people will remember not the book, which founded a whole new genre of writing; but this crappy knock off.   I came to Lord of the Rings probably a little different then most.  I have come across a lot of books in strange ways;  the Belgariad by David Eddings I had picked up with the Castle of Wizardry, the fifth book in the series...I bought it at a second hand book store for fifty cents or something like that and the cover was missing; and I was lost as to what was happening and it wasn't until years later when I started working that I learned that it was the fifth book in a series of books.  Now Lord of the Rings I discovered in a similar manner, only with the Lord of the Rings the book I had bought Return of the King, it had a cool cover but I have long since lost that paperback version.   I fell in love with the story at once.  I'd never read the Hobbit before this point, so keep that in mind (however as a child I did see the cartoon the Hobbit many times as my older brothers loved it).  My first step into Lord of the Rings (as literature) was Return of the King, which by the way Tolkien was right.  It's a stupid title given that much of the book is set up with the question, "Will Aragorn return from the Passes of the Dead?"   I was not lost at all in it for some reason as I read it, unlike Castle of Wizardry.   It had everything I loved at the time, wizards, warrior women (eowyn), the nazgul, and great battles.   There are a lot of characters in it I felt were not given the justice in the movies that Tolkien gave them in the books.  I think this might have been because in truth there are two reasons for the failure.  The first is that perhaps it was still not ready to be filmed yet.  The second being that it was foolish to take on a project of this scale, scope and epic portions and have it be only three movies.  Tolkien divided up the Lord of the Rings into six parts and in my mind it should have been at least 6 movies (3hours each roughly in length).

Denethor was a great disappointment to me.  I had loved the character in the book; but for me they had only given him a shallow and superficial personality.   The character of Denethor is so much more complex in the books.  Here is a man who dearly loves his city/kingdom above all else, even his own sons.  But the only thing he loves as much as Gondor is his sons, both of them equally.  He wants his son to be his own man and not the puppet of a wizard no matter how lofty and noble that wizard's goals.   The movie seems to forget that it was not Denethor that sent Boromir to claim this "mighty gift." but that it was Faramir who had a dream/prophecy and was bent on going until Boromir took the task for himself after having the same dream/prophecy once, that Faramir had multiple times.  Going back to Denethor as I have diverged from him.  He is a man that dared to wrestle with Sauron for control of the Palantir, and who had been in the counsel of Saruman the White/Many Colors.   It is obvious that Denethor favored Saruman, who treated him with the proper protocol over Gandalf who comes into his city, uses his vaults and doesn't even give the proper functions of court protocol by paying a visit to him.  When Saruman turns traitor what is to think of another of his wizards in his court, especially one that offers him little of the respect he feels he deserves.   But when Gandalf comes he does welcome Gandalf's counsel.   He sees Minas Tirith as the last stronghold for the humans against the Dark Powers in the East, namely Sauron.   He knows he cannot allow the city to fall so long as he rules as Steward, since it was given into his care.   he even tells soldiers to go back to their posts and burn not to flee.   That is how dedicated he is to the defense of the city.  He is in chainmail much sooner in the books then ever in the film.   And it annoys me that in the extended cut where Saruman reveals his palantir, that is the knowledge of Denethor that he reveals.  Knowledge that pushed Denethor passed the breaking point and into madness.  Those lines of the dark fleet belong to Denethor not Saruman!

And speaking of Saruman I hate how they changed him from the books.  Saruman's most powerful weapon was his voice.   He was a stateman and they took all that out of Saruman's character.  They turned him into a puppet of Sauron, when in the books this was not the case.   Saruman was another deep character that got neglected in the films in it's own way.  That is why the scene in the Voice of Saruman is so powerful and important that the title of the chapter is the Voice of Saruman.  There he tries to use his statecraft to save his ass; but he has lost almost all his powers save his voice and in the end he loses that as well as having his staff broken and being cast out of the order.

The misquote Gandalf and Tolkien by suggesting that the Stewards of Gondor are lesser men  greatly annoys me.  The blood of Numenor flows as well in their veins and it is because of this fact that Faramir has the visions he does in the books.  When Gandalf is speaking of the rule being given over to lesser men he's not talking about bloodlines but of the quality of the later Kings of Gondor before the Stewards had to take over because of their rash and sometimes foolish actions.

(I just want to get the basic ideas and then I'll post up more later....with quotes from the book to prove my points.)

An Interesting Video

I am NOT a People Person

As some may not know, I am Not a people person.   I am anti-social and proud of it. Although I do enjoy conversing with people of intellect, the problem is that I rarely encounter people I consider intelligent.   I've been called an elitist by some in my family; but I don't see having standards as being an elitist. The sad thing is I don't see myself as intelligent, only smarter than most the people I've met. In the end unlike many people I'd rather have a few friends of quality then having a large quantity of friends.   And that's another thing that annoys me about people, how easily they toss around the word friend now a days.  Just because someone is your co-worker and you get along with them, doesn't make them your friend.  It makes them a co-worker or peer or colleague.  All things which are not friends.  Now I'm not saying you can't have a friend that is also a co-worker; but just because you're a co-worker doesn't mean you're a friend.   I hate all my co-workers and bosses.   I feel at the mercy of people I'd not trust to pick my nose, to quote the Dick Solomon of Third Rock.

Another thing is you can only have one best friend,  best being that they are the top choice.  There can only be one by the definition of the word.   It annoys me how people toss those two words around too.

I just don't get people and don't think I'll ever understand, nor do I desire to understand.   I hate people, they are stupid and ignorant, in many cases by choice.   An individual that proves intelligent is no longer just under that category I call people.  They are an individual and a potential friend candidate to me.

I hate the two faced nature of our society.   Personally I don't care if customers have a nice day or not. I am completely indifferent but people feel the need to provide an over friendly atmosphere, especially in small towns.  The whole idea of the overly friendly store makes me sick.  You don't make friends at the grocery store.   And another thing is people always asking how you are when in truth they don't really give a fuck unless they're some kind of jack ass busy body.   If I let into a customer on how I'm really feeling I'd probably be fired.  Going off on them that my life sucks because I'm forced to work the lowest position in the store( because it feels like they don't want to move me anywhere after asking four times in the two years I've been there), watching other workers get promoted above me into higher positions, making barely above minimum wage, getting shitty hours, going on over 30 yrs old and working a job I could have landed without a diploma, because it's the only job in the town that hired me after 3 years of being out of work and looking, not having a car and having to walk 3 miles to work everyday and 3 miles back home where I live with myself, that I can barely make ends meet, living a lone without the support of anyone emotionally (not that I'd want a pity party, which is one of the other reason I don't lay into a customer) ,  that I have never been on a date in my entire life, and by this point you get the picture but I could go on but I'll close it here.

I'll type more when I have more on my mind.

Christians are disgusting Part 1

I was talking with a friend about Creationism and how i'd be okay with it in schools as an elective as along it was taught as theory and not fact in a class on Religious and Scientific Theory.   And somehow the topic of communion came up. You know where the good little christian or follower or whatever you want to call yourselves now eats a bit of wafer or bread and drinks wine.   All those people that do that are disgusting cannibals.   The moment you eat that wafer/bread and drink that wine you're committing cannibalism. If you believe in your christian religion then you are eating human flesh, it becomes that the minute you pop it into your mouth or sip it.  If you don't believe in it; but take communion anyway then you're committing ritualistic cannibalism.  But either way if you do then step the fuck away from me, I don't want to be on your dinner menu.

I may write more on this kind of subject later so calling this part one...but not sure if gonna touch it again, unless feel the need to say anything else on religious subjects.

(Taken from the Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn, felt this would be a good closer:)
"Besides, isn't a big part of Christian ritual the sacrificing of your god, and eating part of Him?"- druid girl in Lion of Ireland.

Mama's Family

Some Mama's Family Episodes I think are the best:

Mama the Psychic Gypsy

Mama Myself

Mama In A Fancy Resturaunt