Valar Guild

January 15, 2017 Sunday Meeting

5pm EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace

Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.

Attending: (8)
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, Ar-Pharazon-(V)/ArPharazonV, Eonwe-(Valar)/Eonwe Valar, Erkenbrand-(V)/confidential, Eru-(Valar)/eru68, Gilraen-(V)/Iryenth, Lenwe-(V)/perseid28, Varda-(Valar)/VardaValar1 (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       Stories: Learning to Smile
       Articles: Timeline: Second Age
    Knitting a Tolkienesque scarf.
    Beren and Luthien book
    Chit-chat about movies for Middle-earth past and present.
Gaming
    movie trivia
    Eonwe gives the Games report
Tolkien:
    Topic 1: Tolkien's creation myth for England and John Campbell's 4-question test of a creation myth.
    Topic 2: Who is Eru?
    Topic 3 Hobbits and the strange things passing through. Includes entwife topic..
After-meeting:
    More on Topic 1, with perhaps more clarity.
    Group got together for LotRO gaming here.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming Ar-Pharazon
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Before-meeting
Ar-Pharazon-V (ArPharazonV) has entered the room.
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya, Golden One :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Varda Valar: About 15 minutes yet.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Good, because more world quests :-D
Varda Valar: Yay!
Iryenth . (Iryenth) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya Gilraen :-)
Iryenth .: Aiya
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
perseid28 has entered the room.
perseid28: Aiya!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Iryenth .: Aiya
Eru Valar (eru68) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya Lenwe :-)
Varda Valar: Aiya Eru :-)
Eru Valar: Aiya!
Varda Valar: Good to see you back. :-)
Eru Valar: Thanks, good to be back.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya.. Eru, eh?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I was told you didn't exist!
Varda Valar: Wasn't me. :-)
Eru Valar: Really?
Ar-Pharazon-V: According to the Akallabeth, yes!
Eru Valar: Ahh I see.
Erkenbrand () has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Ar-Pharazon! Right. Sauron said something to that effect.
Varda Valar: Aiya Erkenbrand ;-)
Erkenbrand: Aiya!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
perseid28: Aiya Erkenbrand!
Varda Valar: Computer's running slow. Cuttiong off some programs.
Varda Valar: *Cutting
Varda Valar: Hey, Phar. Is the sun up?
Iryenth .: Aiya folks
Varda Valar: Aiyata Gilraen :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: It's 11 in the evening, so I'd say - ah, you mean Arien, let me check!
Varda Valar: Aye, Arien. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Arien poked.
Varda Valar: Thank you
Iryenth .: careful, she might burn you
Varda Valar: I go on fission trips, no problem. Phar, though.
Iryenth .: That was terrible
Varda Valar: Why yes, yes it was.
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Varda Valar: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Varda Valar: Membership:
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Good to see Eru back. Would you like to say a few words? We have some folks here who haven't met you before. Eru,  original founder of the Valar Guild.
Varda Valar: Eonwe, aiya!
Eonwe Valar: Heya :}
Erkenbrand: Aiya Eonwe!
perseid28: Aiya!
Varda Valar: Eru founded the guild in its current state in 1997, and we are happy to say the idea of a Tolkien fan club and gaming group has continued ever since.
Varda Valar: He's from England, quite fitting for a Tolkien club.
Varda Valar: He was in the Tolkien Society there, not sure if he still is. Maybe he can tell us when he returns from afk.
Varda Valar: Any other membership news? Crazy snow, nice weather? Auroras?
Varda Valar: Arien would be the one where they make photos of auroras.
perseid28: We've had a solid couple of weeks of cloudy skies here. Typical Midwest winter weather
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has left the room.
Eru Valar: First of all I'd like to apologise for not being around for many years.  Like the road, life goes ever on and on,becoming a routine.  I'd often meant to come back sooner but it's just the way of things, so finally I made a point of doing something about it again.  My love of Tolkien has never dimished though. I wasn't afk, just typing!
Varda Valar: We actually had a night where it got down to freezing, if you can imagine!
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Ah, pardon.  :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: We've had a bit of snow. Didn't last long.
Erkenbrand: After a week of double digit sub-zero temperatures we finally reached 20 today!
Varda Valar: eep
perseid28: It's nice to meet you, Eru. I'm pretty new to the Guild, but love that it has a history spanning almost 20 years
Eru Valar: A pleasure to meet you too.  Yes, it's endured beyond anything I ever imagined.
Varda Valar: Lenwe, you joined in 2015 I think?
perseid28: October or November 2015, aye :)
Varda Valar: Not bad longevity there, either.
Varda Valar: Lenwe and Erkenbrand are brothers. They have a sister in the kin too, Marigold. :-)
Eru Valar: It has always been a family place, even at the beginning.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Makes me sad I'm the only one in my family ;-)
Erkenbrand: Yeah, nice meeting you Eru. This is my first AIM meeting so i'm trying to sit tight and observe :)
Iryenth .: The passing of time can make it harder to return, rather than easier, but good to have you back again!  I don't recall if we've met - I'm Gilraen, also from England though I live in Canada currently.
Varda Valar: Hey, borrow some of us for family?
Eru Valar: You're in this family, Ar-Pharazon.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh!
Ar-Pharazon-V: that works ;-)
Eru Valar: Pleasure to meet you too, and it's been so many years for me, I'm observing mostly too.
Varda Valar: We have meeting transcripts availabe to help familiarize you or catch up if missing a meeting. Available from the News page.
Varda Valar: Also, all of you are welcome on the Forum.
Varda Valar: We do Membership, Web, Gaming, then Tolkien discussion. After that is free chat if you're still around, and sometimes gamign together.
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Varda Valar: Web:
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm pretty sure we met once, I think you showed up in an AIM meeting before.

Varda Valar: This week on the Tolkien Site, we have the next chapter of Little Jewel-(T)'s story, Learning to Smile, chapter 9:
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/LittleJewel/Life9.htm

Varda Valar: Also, updating has been going on for the Timeline, adding more events and links.
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/events/timeline/Complete_Chronology_of_First_Age.htm
Varda Valar: It is showing where we have holes in the Encyclopedia that really need filled. Places would be one weak spot, for instance.
Varda Valar: Check out the Subjects for unlinked names and see if there's one you'd like to research for us sometime, folks. :-)

Varda Valar: Also, we have a nifty link from Gilraen. :-)
Varda Valar: It's a knitting site. Check out the theme on this scarf:
Varda Valar: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/one-ring-scarf
Varda Valar: Tolkien has even gotten into our knitting!
Varda Valar: Cthulhu has too, but this is cool.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Does it glow if you take it to Mordor?
Iryenth .: Only one way to find out...
Eru Valar: If you throw it on the fire.
Varda Valar: and it doesn't burn!
Ar-Pharazon-V: How about invisibility?
Eru Valar: It also falls off your neck if a more suitable candidate passes by.
Varda Valar: oops
Iryenth .: that's what safety pins are for.  much more effective with a scarf than a ring.
Varda Valar: Gollum wants a large safety pin now.

Varda Valar: Any other Tolkien news from online?
Varda Valar: or elsewhere?

Varda Valar: I was curious if Eru was still involved with the Tolkien Society?
Varda Valar: Maybe a link to your branch would be available?
Eru Valar: Yes, still in there.

Varda Valar: (Oh, working on the 2017 Membership page, just hasn't supplanted 2016 yet.)
Varda Valar: Nice  :-)

Eru Valar: There's a new book, Beren and Luthien coming out this year.
Varda Valar: Ah right. We're in 2017 now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Is that like the Hurin book?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I must get it, then :-)
Eru Valar: It gathers together all of their story into one place.
Eru Valar: It needs to be a film, but not by Peter Jackson.
Varda Valar: Hoping they can get the main stories all separated out from the Sil and HoMe. Bet they make movies later.

Varda Valar: Saw some potential scrips for LotR by other directors and they were far worse. Not sure who would be good.
Eonwe Valar: If it were by PJ, it'd be 3 films... :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: I wouldn't mind that ;-)
Iryenth .: At least 3 films..
Erkenbrand: maybe 3 trilogies
Eru Valar: Yes.  I enjoy his LotR mostly, but The Hobbit was like butter that has been spread too thinly.
Eonwe Valar: No disagreement there. I could've done without some of the extended scenes.
Varda Valar: Maybe we can just leave them as books.
Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya Sunshine :-)
Eonwe Valar: On the other hand, others were nice to have in the movies, so whether that balances out or not is up to the viewer.
Varda Valar: Good thing this table has long benches.
Arien V: Aiya all
Arien V: :-)
Eru Valar: I think the main thing I enjoyed was just seeing the world visualised.  The rearranged dialogue and additions for dramatic effect less so though.
Eonwe Valar: True. the world was beautifully done.
Varda Valar: Come to Lord of the Rings Online with us and run around in Middle-earth!
Varda Valar: Onward to
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Varda Valar: Gaming!
Varda Valar: A quick mention for LotRO. We're in luck with 3-man box runs this week. Iorbar's Peak.
Varda Valar: (Fangorn-Valar says hi!)
Varda Valar: (Looks as if Phar is typing, paused to see.)
Erkenbrand: Hey Fangorn!
Iryenth .: Hi to Fangorn!
Eru Valar: Aiya Fangorn!

Varda Valar: Eonwe had a neat bit of movie trivia, if you'd like to tell it?
Eonwe Valar: Heya Fangorn :}
Eonwe Valar: Sure.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Sorry, got distracted on the way. I was going to say, maybe visit New Zealand then if you like the world visualized in the movie ;-)
Eonwe Valar: The actor playing the Master of Laketown's assistant, Ryan Gage, plays King Louis in the BBC series "The Musketeers," which I watched, and found mostly enjoyable, if you don't go in expecting it to hold to the book(s).
Eonwe Valar: I didn't realize it was him when I started the series, he looks so different.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Speaking of looking different, I watched the newest season of Cold Feet here recently.. starring James Nesbitt - who we also know as Bofur. Now he looks different!
Eru Valar: Taller too.
Varda Valar: heh
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, indeed.

Varda Valar: For the LotRO kin group, I have the list for the last week. Some of you are in it. :-)
Varda Valar:
Bregalad
Elladan
Erkenbrand
Fangorn
Lenwe
Nar
Nimrodel
Varda
Varda Valar: Missed last week somehow. For that add:
Varda Valar:
Dis
Marigold
Nerdanel
Varda Valar: Any other LotRO news?
Eru Valar: I see it moved from Turbine to Daybreak?
Eru Valar: I have an account, a few characters in the 20s I think, but I haven't played for a while.  I just got an email though recently mentioning the move.
Varda Valar: Actually from Turbine to Standing Stone, but the same developers making an indie company. They didn't like beting stuck on mobile games instead.
Eru Valar: Daybreak handle the accounts and support I think.
Varda Valar: Daybreak is just distriuting for Standing Stone, a big deal for an indie company. [Note: yes, the paperwork end.]
Varda Valar: If your characters are on Landroval server, you're very welcome to join in the kin branch there.
Eru Valar: Hmm, good question..I have no idea which server.
Varda Valar: We've been on Landroval ever since it came into existence. We were part of the kin groups setting it up as a role-play encouraged unofficial server.

Erkenbrand: On a similar note, I took up SWTOR again. Does the Valar Guild still have a kin in that game?
Varda Valar: Seeing them recognize it with the RP-encouraged symbol at last was fantastic.
Varda Valar: We did have one, Erkenbrand Not sure any of the group is still active there, though.
Varda Valar: Arien, are you?
Erkenbrand: That's cool, I never realized you had such a large role in the start!
Eru Valar: I'm in SWTOR too.
Varda Valar: Sauron says he almost never gets in there these days.
Varda Valar: We were on Ebon Hawke.
Varda Valar: He didn't like the non-canon Empire popping up.
Varda Valar: We're a really old group, Erk. :-)
Varda Valar: Eonwe, would you like to give the Gaming Report now?
Eonwe Valar: Sure.

Eonwe Valar: World of Warcraft:
Eonwe Valar: Patch 7.1.5 is out. See the patch notes.
Eonwe Valar: There was a Developer Q&A this week. Check it out here.
Eonwe Valar: Check out the latest hotfixes.
Eonwe Valar: Lothar: Crossed paths with Nob during the week.

Eonwe Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
Eonwe Valar: A hotfix patch came out this week.

Eonwe Valar: Hearthstone:
Eonwe Valar: A Developer Q&A came out this week for Hearthstone as well.

Eonwe Valar: (addendum) Diablo 3:
Eonwe Valar: The 20th Anniversary event is still going, so don't miss out on getting the achievements and the pet.
Eonwe Valar: That's it from me.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Been working on those, but labyrinth runs last long and it's tough finding all the rares :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: *unique bosses
Eonwe Valar: The cultist pages were easier than I thought they'd be.
Varda Valar: (SWTOR kinmates can still get together on Ebon Hawke for the fun of it.)
Varda Valar: Thank you, Eonwe.
Eru Valar: I think my SWTOR characters are all on The Progenitor server. Which is a revelation for me to actually rememebr which server I'm on in any game.  Possibly Moonglade in World of Warcraft...possibly.
Varda Valar: Is there any other business? Suggestions, comments, requests for invites in various games while we're handy?
Varda Valar: In WoW, we are in Lothar server.
Eru Valar: However in LotRO I'll be on the European servers, I'm sure.
Varda Valar: SWTOR is Ebon Hawke
Varda Valar: LotRO we are on Landroval, which includes Europeans as well.
Varda Valar: Arien games with us on Landroval server.
Eru Valar: Ok.
Varda Valar: Some servers are split for languages, such as German.
Eru Valar: Yes. I'd only be able to make a room reservation and order dinner though on those.
Eonwe Valar: But they're all still in the same server pool, right? They didn't revert that? Namely, anyone can access any server regardless of location?
Varda Valar: There are only a few servers now, far larger than the old ones, all located in New Jersey, I think.
Varda Valar: You can access any server, aye.
Varda Valar: Nice thing is you can play as free to play on LotRO all the way up, just grindy.
Varda Valar: If you have the lifetime, you're in great shape.
Varda Valar: It's one of the least expensive subscriptions, however.
Varda Valar: Also, if you subscribe for a short time, you keep a lot of the perks after returning to free to play.
Varda Valar: Any other comments, suggestions?
Varda Valar: (Does not want to sound like a salesman.)
Varda Valar: On to
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Varda Valar: Tolkien!
Varda Valar: If you have a subject or question, feel free to whisper it to me and be put in line, or just blurt it out.
Varda Valar: Meanwhile, we have one:
Varda Valar: Joseph Campbell says any country lacking a creation myth risks proper moral development.
Varda Valar: It gives something to hang ideas on.
Varda Valar: England didn't have one of its own, so JRRT fixed that by giving us his own Silmarillion, showing up as backgound to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit.
Varda Valar: Campbell suggests four functions. Maybe we can spot those functions in Tolkien's mythology? Let's give it a shot!
Varda Valar: (paraphrasing)

Varda Valar: 1. Waken and maintain a sense of wonder and participation in the mystery of the universe.
Varda Valar: 2. Fill all of that cosmological image with a measure of this mystical importance.
Varda Valar: 3. Validate and maintain the culture and moral system of that culture's way of life.
Varda Valar: 4. Conduct individuals in harmony through the passages of life from childhood through old age and to whatever may be beyond.

Varda Valar: Ok, jump in and see if we can find anything that works with them. Please add the number so we can see which one you're playing with.
Varda Valar: This is for any of the books: H, LotR, Sil, HoME supplements.
Varda Valar: First, does JRRT's myth handle any of this at all?
Eru Valar: I'd say all of them.
Varda Valar: How about music? That permeates everything, is the system for creation, and continues during the stories.
Varda Valar: (2)
Eru Valar: Serveral instances of waking a sense of wonder in the world around them, for example the elves' need to name everything.
Varda Valar: Looking up at the stars giving the only light for the elves, and it thenceforth shines from their eyes for all to see. (1)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Wait, are we talking about what having this mythology does for the observers (us) or about what it does for its own inhabitants?
Ar-Pharazon-V: The subject might be a bit beyond me, I must admit.
Varda Valar: We're talking about how JRRT's myth serves those four points.
Eru Valar: For (1) I was speaking about the inhabitants, but it certainly does for us otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about it...
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yes, those 4 functions. But are they, for example, supposed to waken and maintain a sense of wonder for us, or the inhabitants?
Varda Valar: Just look at the four points and see if any are illustrated by any of the his books from the Hobbit, to the LotR, to the Sil.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right :-)
Varda Valar: For the inhabitants of Middle-earth. By extension, it works for England too.
Varda Valar: It's the pre-history for the whole world as viewed from the English myth that JRRT came up with.
Varda Valar: What Eru said.
Varda Valar: Pick any of the points and consider if we see an example of that happening in Middle-earth or Aman etc.
Eru Valar: I think we might well be confused by the point earlier, if we're speaking about the inhabitants of the myth or by it's affect on us.
Varda Valar: A creation myth defines how the cosmos we live in began.
Varda Valar: Let's go with the inhabitants of Middle-earth.
Varda Valar: Eru taught music to those that sub-created for him using that music. They made a vision together, and then were expected to make it material.
Eru Valar: For (2), the measure of the importance is known to Elves, some Men and Dwarves, but certainly not to the Hobbits, who are pretty much ignorant of anything beyond their own history.
Varda Valar: The creator or sub-creators might participate in the day to day lives or special events of the created.
Varda Valar: A fall from grace and attempt to get back up is expected.
Eru Valar: Unfortunately I'm out of time.  It's been a pleasure to see you all, I'll try to attend on a regular basis from now on.  Namarie!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
Varda Valar: We can look at the whole thing in one way. How does the creation of the world by the creators and sub-creators continue affecting the inhabitants?
Varda Valar: Thanks for joining in!
Eru Valar (eru68) has left the room.  
Varda Valar: That cuts it to one question, if that helps?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, some of the sub-creators are indeed actively busy in some of those ages.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Especially the ones creating discord.
Varda Valar: Raise the mountain range. Ack! Morgoth just flattened it into an ocean!
Ar-Pharazon-V: It's not difficult to be religious when you have demigods ruling over you ;-)
Varda Valar: Right
Varda Valar: Elves had personal meetings with some of the sub-creators. They could pass along their experiences.
Eonwe Valar: Actually, my time to go is here as well.
Varda Valar: Some humans did too. Ulmo spoke directly with Voronwe and
Varda Valar: ok, namarie.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
Varda Valar: Maybe the Tolkien chat should start earlier. :-)
Varda Valar: Thanks for coming!
Eonwe Valar: Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well we've been here for an hour and a half already, that's not too common before aftermeeting :-)
Varda Valar: The question was not well-forumlated, makes it tough
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has left the room.
Varda Valar: If anyone has another topic, we can move on to it.

Varda Valar: Like who is Eru anyway? :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: He made stuff!
Ar-Pharazon-V: And then he helped that stuff make other stuff!
Ar-Pharazon-V: And then he made other stuff.
Varda Valar: He also made that stuff move and think. Like making Aule's robots into living dwarves.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Very impressive.
Varda Valar: Melkor kept looking for how Eru did that trick of adding life. Figured he could find it hidden in the Void.
Ar-Pharazon-V: But that tricksy Eru had it with him all along.
Varda Valar: Melkor didn't want to think he could not do it himself.
Varda Valar: Right!
Varda Valar: It was inside him. Couple of names: Secret Fire, Flame Imperishable.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And then he set it in the heart of the world, right?
Varda Valar: Aye, so it could come to exist.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So all Melkor would have to do is smash open the world.. now everything makes sense!
Varda Valar: He taught music. The music was used to make blueprints.
Varda Valar: Just the effect, not the actual thing, if I understand correctly.
Varda Valar: Eru wanted Arda made to give a home to his new children. He made those himself.
Varda Valar: He had his sub-creators make the place for the children to be.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That's what I meant with the third stuff he made, yes, the children :-)
Varda Valar: So we have stuff made.
Varda Valar: Who are the children?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Elves, Men.
Varda Valar: Aye
Ar-Pharazon-V: Dwarves and Ents (and those derived) might be considered his adoptive children.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or his grandchildren :-)
Varda Valar: I'd have to agree that dwarves were like adopted children.
Varda Valar: Ents, Eagles and the like, not so sure. Part of the Valar buildiing of the world, used much as tools?
Varda Valar: maybe just part of this world.
Ar-Pharazon-V: The Ents in particular were made as a sort of counterpart or defense set against the creation of the Dwarves and other species that would (ab)use nature as they see fit. But regardless, they were made by the Valar, and they possessed the type of sentience that only Eru could give.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So even if it was not explicitly mentioned I would say the Ents and Eagles underwent a similar process as the Dwarves.
Varda Valar: Interesting.
Varda Valar: The Dwarves were made in an attempt to anticipate the children, what they would be like. Not intended as hubris, intentionally, just overeagerness.
Varda Valar: The Eagles and Ents were intended by the Valar for specific purposes in the world, messengers, scouts, protectors. Not as Children themselves.
Varda Valar: But it is tricky, because they are intellgient beings.
Varda Valar: They have speech.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right.
Varda Valar: You have a good point.
Varda Valar: Shall we switch over to After-meeting?
Varda Valar: *picks up a small hammer from the conveyor belt shelf*
Varda Valar: *taps it on the hammer pad*
Varda Valar: *WHOMMMP*
Varda Valar: *let hammers ring from mountain to mountain in a song of pounding creation*
Varda Valar: *puts hammer back verrry carefully*
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Varda Valar: After-meeting!
Varda Valar: Chat, get together here for various games, have fun. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hurrah, fun!
Varda Valar: Yay!
Varda Valar: A link with something of what I was trying unsuccessfully to get at:
Erkenbrand: Hey, that was interesting!
Varda Valar: http://www.stjohns-chs.org/english/jrrtolkien/creationmyth/creationmyth.html
Varda Valar: The hammer was interesting?  :-)
Varda Valar: Thank you.
Erkenbrand: I have to say that was verrrrry interesting :-D
Varda Valar: We try, sometimes too hard, but we try.
Ar-Pharazon-V: The topic felt a bit like religious philosophy and I've never been good at that :-)
Varda Valar: Guess it did. Was supposed to be about the first part of the Sil, and about why JRRT made his story in the first place.
Varda Valar: He wanted a creation myth for England.
Varda Valar: All the other countries had one. He enjoyed the Scandinavian ones.
Varda Valar: but his own home? Zilch.
Varda Valar: So he made one. :-)
Erkenbrand: yeah, was that a typical AIM meeting or is it different every time?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, I'm sure old Celts had something, they definitely had gods. But England's too much of a mash of cultures to have a single myth of origin developed naturally.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'd not say it was very typical, but if Eru joins us more often, it might become so ;-)
Varda Valar: I was trying to come up with something that might give him a bit of a stretch.

Varda Valar: There's always hobbit culture to fall back on. :-)
Varda Valar: Hey, things are good. Pay no attention to those Rangers keeping away things that freeze the blood.
Ar-Pharazon-V: A bit more down to earth, that.
Varda Valar: Ignore those trees trying to jump the gate.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh.
Varda Valar: Look at that. Elves walking through the woods on the way to the Grey Havens. Ok, they're gone.
Varda Valar: Dwarves coming through with some wagons of goods. Cool, *buys a tool* Fellow short people. Ok, they're gone.
Varda Valar: Back to normal.
Varda Valar: Those eagles must be flying low. Can't be that big, really.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not much curiosity in there.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'd say curiosity is a key part of developing a mythology, and the hobbits generally had little of it unless it concerned agriculture or something.
Varda Valar: Or maybe trying not to see what might be uncomfortable.
Varda Valar: They didn't seem to call on Yavanna. Not much talk of the Entwives that brought so much gardening knowledge.
Varda Valar: Short lifespans help forget that old history.
Erkenbrand: so was Tolkien implying that the Entwives were up near the Shire when he says a hobbit saw a tree walking and Treebeard tells Merry and Pippen that the Entwives would have liked the Shire?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I was more thinking of the practical things, like what makes the crops grow better ;-)
Varda Valar: I think so. He never comes out and says it.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, to be fair, how would a hobbit be able to distinguish between an ent and an entwife? A walking tree's a walking tree.
Varda Valar: How about that soil Sam brought home from Galadriel, made everything grow great, improved wines, children were born blond.
Varda Valar: A walking tree means the ale was good.
Erkenbrand: heh
Ar-Pharazon-V: I dare say they might have been curious about that, yes. Would some of them have ventured to Lorien in later years in hopes of finding soil like that?
Varda Valar: That's an intriguing thought. Did Merry and Pippin pick up more when they traveled to and from Minas Tirith?
Ar-Pharazon-V: If it was worth going across the mountains for.
perseid28: Didn't Bombadil also hint that something like an Entwife lived in the Old Forest?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or under it, eventually.
Varda Valar: The Lorien soil without the Ring may have lost its ability.
Varda Valar: Lenwe, I kept hoping Merry and Pippin would tell Fangorn about the moving trees at the Shire.
Varda Valar: The ents might have made another march!
perseid28: I suppose they had other things on their minds at that point
Varda Valar: If only to check it out.
perseid28: it would have been neat!
Varda Valar: Agreed.
Varda Valar: Galadriel said the ents and entwives would get together eventually in the future, think she said in the west.
Varda Valar: Maybe she didn't mean so far as Valinor, but west to the Shire.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Unless they meant the afterlife which would be rather tragic.
Ar-Pharazon-V: *she
Varda Valar: Agreed. The tragic one is what came immediately to mind. But it might not have meant that. Kind of like Legolas interpreting her message to mean his death.
Varda Valar: Not everything is dark and gloomy. :-)
Varda Valar: This is After-meeting. Just informal chit-chat.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Even if Galadriel makes it sound like it could be dark and gloomy.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe she just likes stirring up drama.
Varda Valar: Bet that's right

Erkenbrand: Anyone up for skirmishes in LOTRO later? My Guardian reached lvl 100 and I outfitted him with a complete set of essence armor and jewlrey. Lenwe and I were going to see how effective he is at tanking with this build
Varda Valar: Sounds great. How long is later?
Erkenbrand: anytime you want :)
Varda Valar: A few minutes? An hour?
Varda Valar: ahh, heh. Fangorn was asking.
perseid28: I'm up for that too
Erkenbrand: I believe I'm free for whatever this evening
Ar-Pharazon-V: In the meantime I'll give my own gaming report :-)
Varda Valar: His Fangbark is only 90. Is that a problem? (Note: Fangbark was actually 91)
Varda Valar: Okie dokie.
Varda Valar: I wonder what kind of gaming report my 20+ characters in LoRO would give. ;-)
Erkenbrand: nah, i'll still be able to work on my tank techniques in a group
Varda Valar: Ok, going to grab something or other for a bite to eat and come bak
Ar-Pharazon-V: Pooh, 20+? I've got less than that, only play 1 of them with any regularity (unless a single timewalk every month or so coutns) and I wish I could do more stuff playing him :-)
Varda Valar: Sounds good.
Erkenbrand: i've been soloing a lot lately
Ar-Pharazon-V: How much could you possibly do with 20+ in the same 24 hours of the day?
Ar-Pharazon-V: *counts
Varda Valar: If I used that 24 to game? Wheee
Ar-Pharazon-V: Haha, I feel the same sometimes :-)

Ar-Pharazon-V: Flashgames!
Ar-Pharazon-V: 3 of em again
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/TerryCavanagh/tiny-heist is the first! A simple-graphics roguelike stealth game, whereby you have to make it from floor to floor, picking up loot, avoiding or taking out cameras and guards, and making it to the exit, using gadgets you find around.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/frvrgames/lines-frvr is a graphics puzzle game where you have to, basically, connect the dots... by drawing lines between points of different colors, while using up all the nodes and not having them cross each other.
Iryenth . (Iryenth) has left the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/ZBlip/mine-of-sight is the third game! Bit of a mix between minesweeper and other logic number puzzles like nonograms or battleship puzzles.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Use the variety of hints to uncover where the mines are. No guessing involved!

Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard games!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 3: As I mentioned earlier, I've been trying to get all the unique monsters in the Old Tristram labyrinth for an achievement and portrait frame, for the anniversary. Kinda tough, but I have been able to cross some off the list, and the latter levels are thankfully much shorter than the earlier ones. So it should still be possible on time.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Made it to level 40 now, and gotten some interesting legendaries to help me along the way.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm: Just getting more xp on my heroes. The brawl this week was the same as the first brawl we ever had, so I've already got the portrait, and it's not a particularly fun one in my opinion so I'm skipping it. Maybe next week's will be better :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Malfurion's almost level 10 now, after that I can decide what warcraft support hero I want to level next.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: All classes at 46! Onward to 47. I also poked the League of Explorers adventure a bit again, beating the last boss and finishing some of the class challenges.
Ar-Pharazon-V: This week's brawl was an old familiar one, where you choose a class and then, at the start of the game, choose between 3 other classes to add class cards to your deck, making an interesting hybrid.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Using that, I managed to get credit for my warlock class card quest while getting experience on the priest ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V: No new pet from Northrend this week (though I did get a new saber kitten from a rare mob who was the target for a Val'sharah world quest), but I did finish the quest for Val'anyr, the legendary weapon from Ulduar! Now I have every legendary weapon my druid can collect, only Shadowmourne and the rogue Fangs are missing.
Ar-Pharazon-V: We finished heroic Trials of Valor with our raiding this week, killing heroic Helya earlier tonight :-) Just on time too, as the Nighthold is coming out next reset.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Still doing world quests of all kinds, having done over 160 different ones now (I've got a list!) and easily completing this week's weekly quest, which was completing 20 world quests. Didn't even take any extra effort!
Ar-Pharazon-V: For the Family Familiar achievement, beating each world quest pet tamer with a specific team of each kind, I'm making some progress, being almost done with human, halfway through dragon and even having done flying on some of them, depending on what tamers are available for me to fight.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Also started leveling some specific pets for the fights, so that's just another thing taking up my time now and then.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've now done over 200 world quests total, including in a hidden appearance, so that's another hidden appearance unlocked. Only the 100 dungeons appearance remains. Which means I can now continue doing my world quests in damage spec rather than tank spec, which really speeds things up.
Ar-Pharazon-V: No luck unlocking the base feral hidden appearance (third Screech has not yet shown up) but I did finally get the base restoration one from the Evergreen soil garden plots in the class hall, took me quite a few months :-) So more progress there!
Ar-Pharazon-V: For wardrobe appearances from old instances, I've finally finished Heroic Blood Furnace, getting the last 2 items yesterday, allowing me to start normal Slave Pens elsewhere in Outland. The hunt continues!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, right, and I also poked Suramar quests a bit more, getting to the part where I get a disguise to wander around the city, which in turn unlocked the last section of leatherworking quests...
Ar-Pharazon-V: and having done those, I was able to buy the last bunch of recipes, as well as the 2-star versions of them from Dalaran.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Now the trick becomes collecting all the 3-star ranks, which come from a lot of various sources, including rated battlegrounds, special vendors, world quests and dungeon drops.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Gotta catch em all?
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for this week!
Varda Valar: Thank you, Phar

Varda Valar: Fangorn, Erkenbrand, and I just ran a skirmish in LotRO. Lenwe, you're welcome to come when reay.
Arien V: if i wasnt so tired i d come for one or two .. but as it is .. *yawns and rubs eyees*
Varda Valar: no worries :-)
Varda Valar: Rest well
Varda Valar: We have 4
Arien V: you two :-) all right, have fun and hello to the gang :-)
Arien V: Namarie :
Varda Valar: Nighty night :-)   and Namarie
Arien V: :-)
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie Arien!
Varda Valar: Heh, we completed a 6-man with 4 of us.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not bad :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: saving and sending transcript
Varda Valar: Thanks!
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