The Hall of Fire

Mind and body are inextricably linked, to the extent that the belief one is being medicated can lead to symptom alleviation. This is described as the "placebo effect", and although poorly understand, it has measurable outcomes, sometimes outcomes that outperform medical treatment. I think ...

"Slag" might not be as inappropriate a name as first appears. ;) Yes, until the guy brought up the idea of it being "inappropriate" I had only ever known slag to be the stuff you skim off the top of molten metal. "Slag" as "promiscuous woman" is more of a Bri...

"Slag" might not be as inappropriate a name as first appears. ;) Yes, until the guy brought up the idea of it being "inappropriate" I had only ever known slag to be the stuff you skim off the top of molten metal. From https://www.etymonline.com/word/slag slag (n.) "refuse f...

I am so utterly perplexed why - if this indeed is an officially licensed adaptation - the name changes, Smaug became Slag, or even generics like trolls and goblins became groans and grablins. :scratch: "Slag" might not be as inappropriate a name as first appears. ;) Slag - waste material ...

There are a very few examples where I might disagree with that (though honestly none are popping into my tired mind right now), but generally speaking I agree. Where Jackson adhered to the spirit of Tolkien's work (and as much as possible the letter as well) he could border on genius. When he tried...

I hated it too. I would have made the same choice. My overriding imperative was to be as close to the written word as possible. The trolls scene deviated far beyond my tolerance level. I understand film and the written word are very different beasts, but I fail to see how Peter Jackson improved on ...

Just out of curiosity, why did you leave out the capture by the trolls? It's been a while since I watched it, but I seem to remember that scene being pretty well done. I hated it. Bilbo's dialogue with the trolls after capture, the fight, the stupid resolution of the fight (all the dwarves drop arm...

I finally got a chance to watch An Unexpected Journey. I like the idea of skipping all the backstory and going straight to Bilbo in his comfortable home life, just as the book does. Like Bilbo, we are blissfully unaware of the scary world outside of The Shire, and experience it with him. My major c...

This topic was difficult to place, but I think it sits best in Tol Eressëa as it concerns cognition and the process of information assimilation, helping illuminate how we experience our world. I hope this hasn't been addressed before! Did you count correctly the number of passes? ;) (Video is 1 minu...

Humour is frequently the most effective means of transmitting a serious message. Within that framework, this is comedy at its best. It challenges preconceptions of perceived individual moral authority. It's also funny!

For example - the big picture when it comes to discussing Middle-earth is that it is a work of fiction created by one man whose ideas evolved over time, and as such some questions don't have definitive answers or have contradictory answers. Ah, but that "big picture" isn't necessarily THE...

Corollary - it's a red flag when someone enters a discussion and focuses entirely on minor details, the semantics, the hypotheticals. In my experience it means at best that that they do not understand the subject well enough to grasp the big picture, and at worst, that they are not participating in...

A Re-view of an old film, but I watched John Carpenter's "They Live" the other day, for the first time in over 30 years, and I was pleasantly reminded just how clever a film maker John Carpenter was. Most refreshing was how naturally "diverse" was the casting. There was no impres...

QP is one of those things that terrify me because when I think I'm starting to understand it I think I must be mad because there's no way I actually understand any of this so I am perpetually convinced I don't understand it at all even when I think I do which I obviously can't. I call it my Quantum...

If your interest in Quantum Physics has been piqued, and you like Jim Al-Khalili's approach to the subject, this is an excellent introduction. It is the poetic window into another world.

Pleased you appreciated it, Alatar and Inanna. :) The act of observation affects reality. "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" From the other end of the spectrum (pun intended), this is an experiment demonstrating a property of light that is ...

I am never sure where quantum mechanics belongs. It is counter-intuitive. It seems to belong to a different world with different laws of existence. It touches on the very idea of consciousness and reality. I hope nobody has already posted on this specifically, but here is a Royal Institution lecture...

I'm not sure when it happened; probably my late twenties, but I find, rather than reading one book, I have multiple books on the go at the same time. Also, my taste has changed. I remember roaring with laughter on reading the Discworld books. Now? A faint smile is the best I can muster. I find mysel...

Voronwë the Faithful wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 5:19 am There is no possible way that I am going to engage with you on this subject.

Having observed your unwarranted hostility, I have no desire for your engagement.

You and I have very different ideas about what 'sexism' means. Probably. I try to dispense with loaded definitions. Sexism to me is the elevation of one sex in favour of the other, by (for example) presenting one as superior to the other. Whichever is elevated is immaterial. What does "sexism&...