I just finished watching The Lord of the Rings film trilogy...

[Gewehr98]

No Scouring of the Shire, and too much "Take me, Mr. Frodo, I'm your Samwise, take me now!"

Nice CG, though.     

[MechAg94]

It's too bad they butchered the ending of the movie.
In the book they go back to Hobbiton and take out ole worm tongue who had aided in hexing the king. It also would have been neat to see the elven gifts work in the movie like they did in the book.

They did include a number of them.  Which ones are you thinking of?  It has been a while since I read the book.

[Brad Johnson]

I've read the whole series a number of times, and I'd wager that I know it about as well as it's possible to know it while not being a mom's-basement-dwelling Tolkien Dork.

Sure, but that post kinda makes you an APS-dwelling Tokien Dork. 

Brad

[AJ Dual]

No Scouring of the Shire, and too much "Take me, Mr. Frodo, I'm your Samwise, take me now!"

Nice CG, though.     

  Yeah, it was just a little too "Brokeback Hobbit" in parts. I'll agree.

[roo_ster]

Yeah, it was just a little too "Brokeback Hobbit" in parts. I'll agree.

Oh, thanks a lot for THAT disturbing visual.

[Physics]

... I'm not sure what is hard about LOTR.  I've read the series ~15 times.  Try reading Virgil or Dante, those are hard books.  LOTR!?!  I read that for the first time in 4th grade, and made it through just fine.  The Silmarillion, that was tough, basically the bible for middle earth.  

I also was very disappointed to not see Bombadil in the movies, not to mention old man willow and the barrow wight.  LOTR is so amazing, as has been already said, because of the breadth of it.  The history, linguistics, and geography of Middle Earth is far more developed than other "worlds" such as Star Wars.  Keep in mind Tolkien not only created the characters and their interactions, he created a whole world!  Hell, the Balrog has as much history to it as any Star Wars character.  And through all of this "big picture" world-making, he still takes the time to describe the little Elanor flower in the golden wood, and to tell you (in elvish) what exactly the ring says.  "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul."  One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.

I think this makes me a Tolkien dork, but that's okay, I saw Return of the King TWICE on opening day.  Watched it in the theater, walked out and bought another ticket and went right back in.  I had been waiting for those movies since 4th grade after all.  Oh yeah, if reading the series that many times didn't make me a Tolkien dork, my "One ring" wedding ring kind of gives it away.

Oh and as for "Brokeback Hobbit", I got somewhat of this from the books.  Towards the end of Sam and Frodo's journey, Sam does get a little bit gay there. 

[Manedwolf]

I think the best criticism I'd heard of the movies was that they reduced Gimli to a comedy beard.

[Harold Tuttle]

where there's a whip,
there's a way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y

[BrokenPaw]

I've read the whole series a number of times, and I'd wager that I know it about as well as it's possible to know it while not being a mom's-basement-dwelling Tolkien Dork.

Sure, but that post kinda makes you an APS-dwelling Tokien Dork. 

Touché.

But at least I've met girls.  In person.  That's more than most Tolkien Dorks can claim.   

I suppose now's not the time to mention that the "number of times" that I've read LOTR is higher than twenty; that at one point in my youth, I read it straight through, one book per day; that at another point in my youth, I read it all the way through, and then, when I'd finished, started over and read it again; that I have the inscription on the One Ring (that Physics quoted above) memorized; that I have most of the poems and songs from the book memorized; that I have much of "Bored of the Rings" (A Harvard Lampoon spoof of LOTR) memorized...

I won't mention any of that, because that would make you doubt the fact that I bathe regularly and have a real job and a real wife that I met without benefit of a chat-room.

Oh, and for the record, I can neither confirm nor deny explaining at length to BrokenKid all of the things in the movies that were wrong, and why, and how they should have been.

-BP

[xavier fremboe]

I've read the whole series a number of times, and I'd wager that I know it about as well as it's possible to know it while not being a mom's-basement-dwelling Tolkien Dork.

Sure, but that post kinda makes you an APS-dwelling Tokien Dork. 

Touché.

But at least I've met girls.  In person.  That's more than most Tolkien Dorks can claim.   

I suppose now's not the time to mention that the "number of times" that I've read LOTR is higher than twenty; that at one point in my youth, I read it straight through, one book per day; that at another point in my youth, I read it all the way through, and then, when I'd finished, started over and read it again; that I have the inscription on the One Ring (that Physics quoted above) memorized; that I have most of the poems and songs from the book memorized; that I have much of "Bored of the Rings" (A Harvard Lampoon spoof of LOTR) memorized...

I won't mention any of that, because that would make you doubt the fact that I bathe regularly and have a real job and a real wife that I met without benefit of a chat-room.

Oh, and for the record, I can neither confirm nor deny explaining at length to BrokenKid all of the things in the movies that were wrong, and why, and how they should have been.

-BP

All I can remember from Bored of the Rings was that no one in the village would trust Moxie and/or Pepsi with burnt match.

[Brad Johnson]

Oh, and for the record, I can neither confirm nor deny explaining at length to BrokenKid all of the things in the movies that were wrong, and why, and how they should have been.

-BP

Oh yeah?  Watch UHF and try explaining that. 

Brad

[Tallpine]

All I can remember from Bored of the Rings was that no one in the village would trust Moxie and/or Pepsi with burnt match.

Suddenly Gangolf* stopped talking, and a shadow crossed his face.  "I cannot say more," he said, "because a shadow has crossed my face."

* something like that ...?

[Perd Hapley]

I never noticed the books or the movies being slow, fast, or otherwise.  I thought the poems and songs were pretty boring, and I don't know why he put those in.  But for the most part, I thought the novels read just like any other good literature.  At least it's not like reading Dean Koontz, where he insists on telling you what brand of shoes his main character is wearing. 

Remember, too - that the books were written before tv and video games and ADD

That's a big factor.  Also, Tolkiens' idea of a night out with the boys, was reading Icelandic sagas out loud with his friends.  And not in English, either.  He was not a man of the twenty-first century, probably not even of the twentieth. 

Try reading Virgil or Dante, those are hard books.

If by Dante, you mean the Divine Comedy, it's only hard when you get to Paradiso.  Booooooring.   

[Physics]

If by Dante, you mean the Divine Comedy, it's only hard when you get to Paradiso.  Booooooring.   smiley

I just figured that meant I was screwed.   

I loved inferno, purgatory was neither bad nor good, and paradise was ridiculous.   Luckily the preface to each chapter at least tells you whats about to happen, because I really was lost in that.  At least when Tolkien talks about something, he talks about it, not some crazy allegory.  You know what he's talking about.  Take for example, Canto 14 of Paradise; Dante speaks with King Solomon, yet never in the text of the chapter is Solomon actually named, nor any indications that Dante is speaking to him except a reference to a voice from the light. 

You can at least understand Tolkien.  It's like War and Peace, it is extremely clear and you know exactly what the author is saying, because the use of language is so good (Tolkien was a linguist!).  Sometimes, I guess this makes for dull reading for some, but I absolutely loved Tolstoy, and Tolkien will always be a favorite.   

[Bigjake]

Remember, too - that the books were written before tv and video games and ADD

That's a big factor.  Also, Tolkiens' idea of a night out with the boys, was reading Icelandic sagas out loud with his friends.  And not in English, either.  He was not a man of the twenty-first century, probably not even of the twentieth.

I read up on Tolkien, he and C.S. Lewis were big on that stuff.

[yesitsloaded]

I find Hemingway really hard to read and Tolkien not that bad...if you take notes while reading it. Hemingway is just...ughh. I'm a man and this is what I do. Farewell to Arms is one of the most depressing books ever. Very realistic I guess, but depressing.

[Bigjake]

Yesitsloaded,

Bit of thread drift, but I just read your sig line.

When I took various chem classes, anything I didn't grasp was refered to as PFM  Pure effing Magic!

[MillCreek]

It makes me feel better for the fate of the Republic to see how many other people here are also familiar with Bored of the Rings.  Ah, remember Hashberry?

[Perd Hapley]

I've tried reading Faulkner's The Bear.  Twice.  I always get confused somewhere a few pages into the old plantation journals. 


If you want easy reading, just go with Finnegan's Wake.  You won't understand it.  But if you DO understand it, then we know you need some time in the rubber room and the doctor will make a little cut on your head and take out the part of your brain that makes you do bad things. 

[Manedwolf]

I've tried reading Faulkner's The Bear.  Twice.  I always get confused somewhere a few pages into the old plantation journals. 

Read The Sound and the Fury if you want things you have to read back over to pick up what's being expressed. One entire chapter is written as the events are percieved by a retarded person.

[xavier fremboe]

Remember, too - that the books were written before tv and video games and ADD

That's a big factor.  Also, Tolkiens' idea of a night out with the boys, was reading Icelandic sagas out loud with his friends.  And not in English, either.  He was not a man of the twenty-first century, probably not even of the twentieth.

I read up on Tolkien, he and C.S. Lewis were big on that stuff.

And discussed it with beer at breakfast!
*edited to correct ipod typing error*

[LAK]

Brokenpaw summed it up very well. For me, the movies were for the most part very well done. Casting was very good, and an excellent musical score through all three films.

[BryanP]

LOTR is one of the very few instances in which the movie was better than the book.

Blasphemer!  Stone the heretic!   

I read the books for the first time when I was 9.  They're wonderful.  The movies are quite good too, but in a different way.

[BryanP]

What BP wrote, with bells on it.

Another JRRT book that gives a clue as the the depth of the world he created is The Silmarillion.

As much as I love Tolkien's books, if someone is having trouble getting through Fellowship then asking them to try The Silmarillion is a bit of a stretch.  "Oh, that Nyquil is a bit strong for you?  Here, try some laudenum instead."   

[BryanP]

Edit to add:  I was only a Business major, nothing hard like "real" math or physics.
Chris

So how far to the left of this image would a Business major fall?

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/purity.png