Posts

Showing posts from June, 2011

Return of the King: Part Two

Note: It has been my intent with the five posts on Tolkien to whet your appetite for reading his great trilogy, even if you never do. Even though I have referred to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) as a “trilogy” it technically isn’t. Although it was originally published in three volumes (largely due to paper shortages following World War Two) Tolkien’s masterpiece is, in fact, one novel of six linked sections or books. Still, it remains a “trilogy” in most minds. There are three subtitles, after all. Of all the many minor characters in the work, Prince Imrahil is my favorite. Imrahil gives some depth to Minas Tirith by representing the strength of Gondor as a nation. He comes with 700 fine cavalry and a strong company of infantry from Dol Amroth , a major fortress far away on the coast of Gondor. Tolkien also uses Imrahil to tie the different pieces of the narrative together; even including him at the grand feast near the end when he meets Frodo and Sam . But, generally, Imrahil is u

Return of the King: Part One

Image
The cover of The Return of the King with all my necessary reading accessories sitting on the bench in my woods as I started rereading it a few weeks ago. Note: This is part four of an overview to my recent, ninth reading of Tolkien’s classic fantasy. Whereas I have previously finished each volume in one post this time I am running much longer than I anticipated so I am posting it in two separate short essays. I'll finish this up in a few days. The narrative remains split well into The Return of the King (ROTK). Frodo and Sam do not make an appearance for the first 200-plus pages. The last the reader knows of them is that Frodo has been taken prisoner by Orcs and Sam, heavily fatigued, follows toward the Tower of Cirith Ungol , carrying the Ring . At this point Tolkien diverts the reader’s attention away from the main task of destroying the Ring by overwhelming us with action-packed details of the multifaceted build-up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields , the largest battle

Immersed in myPad

My daughter is a persistent advocate of whatever cause strikes her fancy. Usually the Cause involves shopping or going to gatherings with friends. But, for my birthday this year she persisted with Jennifer to get me an iPad2 . It was a total surprise. So, for the past several weeks I have been obsessed with my new toy. Life before my iPad , which I have somewhat affectionately dubbed “myPad”, was a comparative mobile technology wasteland. I did not possess an iPhone or an Android or any other fancy mobile device. My cell phone is about ten years old and works fine. It doesn’t text and I don’t even know how to send a text message. I am ancient and antiquated in this regard. As I mentioned previously, I don’t even have a Facebook account. I never had a MySpace account. Maybe I’ll catch the next thing…there’s always a “next” isn’t there? Suddenly, I have been thrust into a wider technological realm with myPad. As is the way with technology – such as when I first bought my PS3 and HDTV

Anthropocene Dreams

Last weekend, as we experienced one of the hottest Memorial Day holidays in recent memory, I found a little time to read a fascinating issue of The Economist that featured a cover story entitled “ Welcome to the Anthropocene .” It was the first time I have encountered this term though it has apparently been batted around within the scientific community ( particularly in geology ) since 2000. In brief, a growing body of scientists both within geology and in other disciplines are coming to the conclusion that we are no longer living in the Holocene geologic period. Instead, we have entered a new period with amazing swiftness where human beings are no longer the passive victims and observers of environmental processes. Due primarily to our active participation in the carbon-cycle and the nitrogen-cycle , humanity now shapes the workings of vast ecological systems. The Gaia Principle is now married to (or perhaps in contention with) the human footprint upon the earthly engine of cr