February 22, 2015 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending: (4)
AriehnV(presiding), ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, ArPharazonV,
VardaValar1
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Ar-Pharazon's report on the first
official Dutch MLP convention
Web:
Gaming:
Tolkien:
Topic: Tolkien loved the
countryside. How did that affect his writing?
After-meeting:
Gaming continued
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Before-meeting
You have just entered room
"valarguildmeetingplace."
karakedi25 has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Aiya Indis!
karakedi25: aiya
AriehnV has entered the room.
AriehnV: Aiya all :-)
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
karakedi25: aiya
AriehnV: seems we are all tonight .. so we can keep it short and sweet
:-)
ArPharazonV: :-)
karakedi25: very short, please
karakedi25: in fact I need to go afk now
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AriehnV: Elen
sila lummenn omentielvo! A star shines upon the hour of our
meeting
AriehnV: all right Indis , you are excused
ArPharazonV: Just make sure to be back later for LotRO and perhaps your
Tolkien topic :-)
AriehnV: Membership:
AriehnV: you are here .. despite Indis being afk
AriehnV: who is not here is Eonwe and Varda. Varda is still in Texas
and Eonwe even worse working hours than i have :-)
AriehnV: oh hang on she is not in Texas but Florida
ArPharazonV: Silly United States, so big.
AriehnV: Arizona .. *blush*
AriehnV: Arizona is right
ArPharazonV: hehe
AriehnV: so Varda is in Arizona :-)
ArPharazonV: Choice of 50? ;-)
AriehnV: hehe yeah
karakedi25: back
AriehnV: aiyata Indis
AriehnV: Webnews:
AriehnV: there are none
ArPharazonV: More member news!
AriehnV: oh you have?
AriehnV: come on out with it Phari :-)
ArPharazonV: I'm back from Hearth's
Warming Con, my very first convention :-)
AriehnV: got us a report?
ArPharazonV: Sure!
ArPharazonV: It was the first "official" Dutch MLP-convention, and we
had about 300 people according to tickets sold. Not sure if it was that
many at once in the same room at any point, but still.
ArPharazonV: Since it was the first one, organization was a bit messy
and all the panels and workshops etc started a bit late, so had to be
pushed together a bit more.
ArPharazonV: But it was still a lot of fun, with a voice actor panel
for voice actresses from certain European dubs, and at the end an
interview by webcam with one of the "real" voices in Canada/US :-)
ArPharazonV: Also art workshops, a cosplay competition, a charity
auction, things like that, fun to witness.
AriehnV: sounds cool, i can imagine
ArPharazonV: And after spending about 100+ euros on merchandise I'm
happy too ;-)
AriehnV: hehe , well spent tfhen?
ArPharazonV: With a starter set and a workshop into it, I also got
started at the Collectible Card Game, not sure if I'll really pursuit
that though, maybe I'll just stick with collecting :-)
ArPharazonV: Yep, well spent, in all!
ArPharazonV: Glad I went. Passed on the afterparty though, had enough
socializing for one day.
AriehnV: very good
ArPharazonV: And that's it for the report and my member news!
AriehnV: thanks for the report :-)
ArPharazonV: Here's hoping there'll be another one next year ;-)
AriehnV: well there is a
AriehnV: one bit of web news Eonwe put up gaming news
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AriehnV: Gaming:
AriehnV: any non LotrO or WoW games played?
AriehnV: I myself a fair bit on Diablo
3 for the second season , bounties and a couple of Nephalem
Rifts but thats it
ArPharazonV: Hearthstone, few flashgames, a few more minutes of Legends
of Equestria. You can imagine my weekend has been pretty busy.
ArPharazonV: I'll report on those in the aftermeeting :-)
AriehnV: very good :
AriehnV: there is a new patch coming soon in Diablo 3 , there are first
notes up
AriehnV: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/17989719/first-look-patch-220-2-19-2015
AriehnV: Heroes of the Storm
has a new blogpost for the closed beta upo
AriehnV: http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/blog/17906504/heroes-closed-beta-patch-notes-february-10-2015-2-10-2015
AriehnV: and biggest news on WoW
is of course the new patch coming up coming Wednesday
AriehnV: Indis, how is it on the LotrO
front? there is a new update as well i have seen?
karakedi25: Nothing in the past week or so. I haven't been playing
much, and don't have much to say.
AriehnV: all right
VardaValar1 has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: *gasp*
VardaValar1: Aiya Arien, Phar, and Indis. :-) Please continue.
ArPharazonV: A Wild Varda Appears!
VardaValar1: hehe
ArPharazonV: Aiya :-)
VardaValar1: Got help from Faramir to get on the network. :-)
AriehnV: aiya! *gasp* inded i didnt think you'd be here
karakedi25: aiya
AriehnV: just in gaming Varda
VardaValar1: Faramir is very good. :-)
VardaValar1: Please continue. :-)
AriehnV: we were nearly throught with that anyway i forgot the link for
the WoW patch notes for the script . so my apologies but here it is
AriehnV: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/17953992/patch-61-arrives-february-24-2-17-2015
AriehnV: apart from Pharis personal gaming news we have covered it all
and he will add those as usual at the end after Tolkien
AriehnV: which brings us to .. well you guessed ..
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AriehnV: Tolkien
:-)
AriehnV: Indis , you had a very interesting suggestion as i rememember
right? Are you ready for that?
karakedi25: I suggest we postpone it.
AriehnV: all right
AriehnV: Varda do you have a suggestion for a Tolkien topic then?
VardaValar1: Tolkien loved the countryside. How did
that affect his writing, leaving machines to another day.
AriehnV: very well
ArPharazonV: Not sure I get the last part.
AriehnV: he descibed various areas of exceptional beauty , two , no
actually three or four for the Elves and one for the Hobbits
VardaValar1: The bit with the machines was part of Indis' topic that
we'll be taking up another day.
ArPharazonV: Oh, like that.
ArPharazonV: Yes, what Arien said :-) The Shire especially seems to
represent the countryside he would have been familiar with, including
hills and rivers and small forests.
VardaValar1: We see a lot of description that is very informed by
JRRT's own walking about.
karakedi25 has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Or, as Gandalf put it, the woods, the fields, the little
rivers... ;-)
ArPharazonV: Or was that Bilbo?
VardaValar1: The setting for much of the journey is outdoors, so it is
described much as in another story for city streets or other urban
settings.
VardaValar1: Frodo is still in love with those. Think Bilbo mentioned
it about Frodo?
VardaValar1: We see the changes in the outdoor setting all through the
journey.
VardaValar1: It tells the history of a place, gives atmosphere, mood.
VardaValar1: Elvish woods are described differently than Shire woods.
Rivendell is outside but very different from Lothlorien.
VardaValar1: Lorien is like super-woods.
ArPharazonV: With super-trees.
VardaValar1: Aye :-)
AriehnV: we see a shadow of those trees later in the shire , when Sam
spreads the earth from Galadriels garden and the planting of the
Mallorn :-)
VardaValar1: Ithilien is wild and beautiful but not elvish. Straight
out wild places.
VardaValar1: Aye
karakedi25 has entered the room.
karakedi25: sorry my computer decided to reboot itself
VardaValar1: Then the marsh vegetation with neeker-breekers. :-)
VardaValar1: Welcome back!
AriehnV: ugh .. stupid computers .. welcome back
ArPharazonV: Aiyata
VardaValar1: We were just talking about the changing scenery with the
changes in the journey
ArPharazonV: We also have the denser forests, like Fangorn.
ArPharazonV: Can't imagine those being common in the UK.
VardaValar1: The very domestic Shire farmlands and woods, the hidden
places of Rivendell, the super-woods of Lorien, wild places of Ithilien
VardaValar1: True
VardaValar1: Maybe something like the Black Forest of Germany? JRRT saw
a lot of places.
ArPharazonV: Sounds about right. Such forests are supposed to be found
in Poland and Russia too, I think.
VardaValar1: Not a lot of walking trees, but when we see trees with
roots at the ground, it can be imagined.
VardaValar1: I wonder what sort of locomotion Treebeard used? Thrashing
roots at ground level? Stubby pillars? Long legs?
ArPharazonV: They only move when you're not looking, like in the Old
Forest.
ArPharazonV: Long legs if the movies are to be believed.
ArPharazonV: Though roots gliding through the soil would be a sight.
VardaValar1: Am I still here?
karakedi25: yes
ArPharazonV: You are.
VardaValar1: Seems as if the ents would have to be careful not to wreck
the terrain they're walking through.
VardaValar1: Thanks :-)
ArPharazonV: Would be rather counterproductive.
VardaValar1: So they would do their best to find a way to walk in a way
that hurt little. Maybe the movie isn't too far off. Stilt style legs
maybe.
VardaValar1: The Brown Lands used to be the gardens where the Entwives
grew things and taught humans to do the same.
ArPharazonV: There was more to it than that, though. From the
destruction of Isengard I think I gathered that they can extend
fingers/roots into the rock to break it down.
VardaValar1: Then Sauron's forces wrecked it and the Entwives may have
scattered, leaving a sad brown land.
VardaValar1: Agreed, Phar
VardaValar1: Real roots can sure do that. Just speeding up normal tree
action could be spectacular.
ArPharazonV: Aye.
VardaValar1: The hair-sized roots could find the tiny cracks and
exploit them.
ArPharazonV: Stretching the stone, and making more cracks.
AriehnV: hmm about walking trees or something similar .. we dont have
those either in the black forest or in russian legend as far as i know
^^
ArPharazonV: As I said, Arien...
ArPharazonV: only when you're not looking ;-)
VardaValar1: The marshes were spooky. Great setting to add the history
from the Battle of the Last Alliance and ghostly things, set up the
fell beasts and Nazgul.
AriehnV: but what they do have is a kind of walking house thing , witch
thing whats it called Baba something?
ArPharazonV: Baba Yaga.
VardaValar1: That could be some fun surfing, locating walking trees in
other legends and myths.
ArPharazonV: It's a house on chicken legs though :-)
VardaValar1: Far as Russian tales go, Goldberry still sounds like a
reformed Rusalks, a drowned woman that came back.
VardaValar1: Rusalka, pardon
AriehnV: Baba Yaga thats the one ^^ but walking something anyway .. so
maybe some sort of inspiration hehe
VardaValar1: Back to vegetation. The plants tried to survive around
Mordor, becoming more like those one finds in deserts or other harsh
living conditions.
VardaValar1: Could have been, aye. :-)
VardaValar1: Then when things are really bad, it's just hard, volcanic
rock. A dead, inhospitable place.
VardaValar1: Makes me wonder if JRRT was ever around volcanic areas.
Seems possible.
VardaValar1: He was also well-read, however, and knew others that
traveled.
VardaValar1: Ahh, left out the Old Forest. More walking trees, less
pleasant than those in Fangorn.
VardaValar1: I wonder how many evil things ran into that border and
never made it to the Shire-folk.
VardaValar1: Possilby not just the Rangers keeping them back.
VardaValar1: Rohan was another very different location. Plains of
grass, wonderful for horses.
VardaValar1: The movies had a problem with that because such places
weren't normally found in New Zealand. Pretty much everything else was,
though.
VardaValar1: We had suggestions more than deep descriptions of the
shores, or even where the Corsair fleet was. Yet it seemed enough to
get the feeling across.
VardaValar1: Like to mention some other natural more-or-less locations?
VardaValar1: Lot of variety.
VardaValar1: We seem to be winding down. :-)
karakedi25: I need to leave soon anyway.
VardaValar1: I'm hoping to be back home for next Sunday's meeting. :-)
karakedi25: that would be good--and I hope I'll be up to the Tolkien
topic I suggested.
VardaValar1: That would be great!
ArPharazonV: Sorry for bit of afkness, catching up.
VardaValar1: Arien may be afk as well.
karakedi25: going to call it a night now....namarie
VardaValar1: Namarie!
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
karakedi25 has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Yes, the southern shores of Gondor at least don't see much
description. But it's easy to infer, anyway.
VardaValar1: Had to be enough room for a cavalry charge.
VardaValar1: Then there was Osgiliath, the city with a river running
through it.
VardaValar1: Glittering Caves in Rohan under Helm's Deep.
ArPharazonV: We've had a city surrounding a river, a city on a
mountainface, a city on a hilltop, a city in a valley, a city in a
forest...
VardaValar1: So many locations, tons of variety. No wonder readers love
Tolkien's Middle-earth.
VardaValar1: True
ArPharazonV: And yet the combinations all felt quite natural.
VardaValar1: They did indeed. Grew out of history, types of people,
types of terrain.
ArPharazonV: Then there's a city *on* a lonely mountain plateau...
ArPharazonV: surrounded by plains, surrounded by mountain ranges :-)
VardaValar1: Moria inside the mountain
AriehnV: dont forget the city in the mountain ...
ArPharazonV: That too.
VardaValar1: Erebor inside the mountain
AriehnV: Moria and the refuge fortress of the deserters
VardaValar1: Lake-town really caught my imagination
AriehnV: in the paths of the dead
ArPharazonV: A town on a lake, yes, that's also unique.
VardaValar1: I wondered about the raft-elves. Did they live on the lake
doing their work, just come out when they knew a shipment would be
incoming by schedule?
VardaValar1: er, along the river, pardon'.
AriehnV: i love it was built on stakes and platforms .. you know thats
a historic design? remnants of settlements like that were found in Lake
Constance in Germany
VardaValar1: Aye, it's an actual workable design
ArPharazonV: They seemed to have a more or less permanent encampment on
the shore, which Bilbo raided.
ArPharazonV: But they probably had some idea about barrel schedules
too. Don't want to take an early rest and wake up that your job for the
week has already floated by :-)
ArPharazonV: *wake up to find
VardaValar1: I think one of the Histories or the Appendix mentions that
Mirkwood elves sometimes left Mirkwood for short times to ride free in
open spaces. Maybe the raft-elves were transients.
VardaValar1: They pushed the trapped barrels along so they could go
around the bend, but wouldn't want them sitting too long.
AriehnV: dating from 7 th century bc or so .. if you want to have a look
ArPharazonV: There's a difference between rafting across a river and
riding free though.
AriehnV: http://www.pfahlbauten.de/
AriehnV: looks like Laketown :-)?
VardaValar1: Aye, just the idea that they might go out for short times.
Maybe the camp was permanent, but the people were not?
ArPharazonV: Possibly.
ArPharazonV: Reminds me of the beacon-guardians.
VardaValar1: Nifty. Very sharp rooves on those houses.
ArPharazonV: I think Peter Jackson commentated on the beacon-guardians
during the CE commentary?
VardaValar1: That would have been a tough job, far from cities
ArPharazonV: Hmm, nice pictures... they remind me of the Lake-town
level in one of the Battle for Middle Earth games.
ArPharazonV: I wonder if the game-makers used it for inspiration.
ArPharazonV: And yes, they theorized about the people at the beacons,
sitting there for months at a time doing absolutely nothing useful
except watch out for beacons to be lit that hadn't been lit in
generations :-)
ArPharazonV: Can't be easy.
ArPharazonV: "Hey, remember when we thought one of the beacons had lit,
but it was just the sun shining through the clouds?" "Yeah, that was
exciting..."
VardaValar1: heheh
ArPharazonV: Give me a good computer with internet access, though, and
I'll take that job.
VardaValar1: Right-o!
VardaValar1: Tall tower right there. :-)
VardaValar1: Good spot for book writing too, or art. What a view.
VardaValar1: Gang, I need to leave. It was great having the chance to
be here today. Thanks again to Faramir. :-)
ArPharazonV: Position myself under a roof with a view on the nearest
beacon, and a mirror near to it in my view for the one behind me...
VardaValar1: heh
VardaValar1: I'll read the rest in the transcript. :-)
VardaValar1: Namarie
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
VardaValar1 has left the room.
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ArPharazonV: Should we head to aftermeeting?
ArPharazonV: In Arien's absence I'll just start my personal gaming news
:-)
ArPharazonV: Flashgames:
One point and click game, not too difficult, but a bit eerie: http://www.kongregate.com/games/RedHerringLabs/morningstar
ArPharazonV: And a jumping game where you play a llama and have to go
as fast as possible to bring color to the world:
ArPharazonV: http://www.kongregate.com/games/frozencoin/fade
ArPharazonV: Thought that one was quite fun :-)
ArPharazonV: Hearthstone:
Season almost over. I hit my first all-duplicate booster pack from the
expansion, so switched back to the Classic; and the first pack I got
there immediately gave me a Rogue-ability I was sorely lacking. I'm
hoping to pick up more stuff before drowning in duplicate packs again
;-)
AriehnV: thank you very much Phari
ArPharazonV: And... WoW
AriehnV: let me hear :-)
ArPharazonV: Well, I was hoping to finish my stable quests this week,
but no time, so I'll finish them tomorrow :-)
AriehnV: good luck with them :-)
ArPharazonV: Raiding's going well! Today we tried the Iron Maidens for
the first time, and they're a very fun and hectic fight to tank, but
not so hectic that it stresses me out.
AriehnV: sounds good
AriehnV: thats in the foundry is it?
ArPharazonV: Yes. One of the last bossfights.
AriehnV: cool
AriehnV: are you doing the legendary quest?
ArPharazonV: Normal difficulty though, so it's not that much of an
accomplishment, but it's a good step forward.
ArPharazonV: Hmm, haven't spent much time on that. Wanted to do some
more questing first. I figure I'll be able to do the legendary quest in
LFR anyway, when the time comes.
AriehnV: yes mostly .. theres some fun solo bits in between
AriehnV: and nice cinematics
ArPharazonV: I'll get around to that soon enough I hope, even though
the patch is around the corner, bringing more Garrison stuff.
ArPharazonV: But once again, the game is "hope that I get to do more
stuff next week" ;-)
ArPharazonV: That goes for Diablo
too. I just read that the second season is supposed to be a bit shorter
than the first.
ArPharazonV: I think that's it for me.
ArPharazonV: Have you got anything?
WoW:
AriehnV: mh not really bit more levels on the few characters that are
not 100 yet and working on the garrison and crafting , else much rp
where i can fit it in
AriehnV: and this concludes our meeting i think :-)
AriehnV: so i call it officially
AriehnV: Aftermeeting!
ArPharazonV: And.. for the bits that we usually do in aftermeeting, see
right above the aftermeeting? ;-)
AriehnV: *clears throat*
AriehnV: lets call it a a backflash then .. nods
ArPharazonV: haha
ArPharazonV: I would've waited, but I didn't know how afk you were, and
if you had to leave right as you came back. And I didn't want to give
the news to an empty room.
AriehnV: i am usually never afk for a long time .. i always look
inbetween
ArPharazonV: That's good :-)
AriehnV: but maybe i shouldnt have been when i am chairing ^^
ArPharazonV: Hey, your chair, up to you.
AriehnV: oh well we have all bits :-D
AriehnV: and .. looking at the clock, .. perfect timing
ArPharazonV: Hah.
AriehnV: i ll see you next week or in game :-)
AriehnV: Namarie
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Saving and sending transcript.
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