The Hall of Fire

I agree with soli. Regardless of how we got into this mess, we are in it. Recrimations may have some place (particularly in regards to avoiding making the same kind of mistake in the future), but that doesn't mean that we don't have to make hard choices in dealing with the situation. soli, I mostly ...

Indeed. At the beginning of this campaign, I leaned towards supporting Richardson, but he lost any chance of having my support when he stated unequivocally that he would pull all of the troops out of Iraq at once if he was elected. That sounds good, but it simply ignores reality. As much as I would ...

Indeed. But yours was very illuminating as well, vison.

I still plan to respond in more detail with my thoughts, jumbled though they might be, but it probably will not be until next week.

Thank you, Cerin and Maria; excellent responses both of you. Cerin, to answer your specific question, "Are you thinking in terms of soul being different from spirit?" I am so open on this issue that I am really looking for whatever different ways that different people look at "souls&q...

Faramond, good posts. I don't (as I think you know) completely agree with you, but I think you make very cogent arguments, which definitely help give me keep things in perspective.

I was pretty surprised to see that. I do think that it will help Obama, but only time will tell. Less surprising is the news that Guiliani is also dropping out. The word is that he will be endorsing McCain. I would be pretty surprised if McCain didn't win the Republican nod at this point. But in thi...

nel, it is always a pleasure to engage with you about important issues, even (or perhaps even particularly), when we don't agree. I'm going to ponder the points that you made and respond tomorrow (assuming that I have anything worthwhile to say in response).

Faramond, I think it's fine either way. I'm happy to continue to have discussion of the Republic campaign here, or to have it be in a separate thread. In regards to McCain's victory in Florida, strongly solidifying his position as the Republican front-runner, I have decidedly mixed feelings. I do ad...

Well now, this is quite interesting. At the blog on the website of Doug Adams (no, not the Hitchhiker's Guide author, the guy who has written the liner notes for the Complete Scores and his writing the book The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films), there is the following exchange: Any comments on D...

Would that more people would have such a "character flaw".

You're making this awfully hard for me to be all pessimistic and grumpy, Ms. Sunshine.

I think we are mostly debating semantics. I would not categorize any of those scenes that you mention from either LOTR or The Hobbit as "horror scenes". But Prim has summed up my concern pretty well. Based on both Del Toro's stated lack of regard for the story of The Hobbit or for "he...

On the other hand, V-man, there are parts of TH that are, or could be reasonably interpreted as being, as close to horror as the Paths of the Dead, Shelob's Lair, the first part of Moria, or the Watcher in the Water. The goblin cave, the Riddle game, the spiders in Mirkwood, and some aspects of Bil...

I'm not convinced. :x I think the two of them together are going to exacerbate their horror-flick-excess tendencies. A lot depends on who writes the script, of course. If someone who has a good understanding of Tolkien and is not someone that "heroic fantasy" leaves cold, maybe that will m...

Awful lot of "cuts" in this episode.

*And the life-rafts. Particularly for Primula and Ophelia.*

Oh, and Alatar, Del Toro eats babies; you heard it hear first.

From AICN: When Guillermo and I talked about it, he spoke very heartfelt about how he had to adhere to what Peter had already established - but how he couldn't wait to expand that universe with the environments, creatures and most especially Smaug. I fear that the result will be a return to PJ's Bra...

Al, you know as well as I do that that is his revisionist take on the subject, once it became clear that he might be considered for the project. His original answer to the question of how much he was influenced by Tolkien (translated from Spanish) was: Not at all. I could barely finish "The Hob...

Following the editorial in the NY Times by JFK's daughter Caroline endorsing Obama (and comparing him to her father), her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy also endorsed Obama. This was somewhat of a surprise, as Sen. Kennedy has not endorsed any candidates in presidential primaries in recent years, and was s...

I have mixed feelings about Del Toro. He is definitely a talented filmmaker, but in contrast to what this report says, he has not indicated an affinity with Tolkien's work. We'll see if it even turns out to be true.