February 26, 2022
Sunday Meeting
5:00 P.M. Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for
Eastern, which is Valar time and LotRO /servertime.]
Attending (and typed):
(~7)
Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before-meeting),
Fangorn/Treebeard, Pallando (After-meeting), Pengolodh
(Before-meeting), Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:
Gaming:
World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo 4, Diablo
Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online,
Eve Online
Tolkien:
Topic (during Membership news,
started by Ar-Pharazon): Pronouncing names and other words in
Tolkien's works.
Topic (during Web news, started
by Treebeard): Audio of Tolkien reading from his own works.
Topic (during Tolkien): Tolkien
Moment (means quote) on the gifts of Iluvatar.
Topic (tangent): Entwives, where they
went, chances of the Ents finding the Entwives again.
After-meeting:
(non)Flashgaming
Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
top
Before-meeting
Pengolodh 02/23/2023 11:43 AM
Hi all. Nice to meet you all.
February 25, 2023
Eonwλ Valar 02/25/2023 2:24 AM
Greetings.
[2:27 AM]
A little bit of fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3m4qtI7jaw
YouTube
samlaunch
John Wayne's Dog
[2:27 AM]
And this one too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT2KROiSXDg
YouTube
TheDougsvideos101
Learning to swim from John Wayne! (from the
movie Hondo)
February 26, 2023
Varda 02/26/2023 12:19 PM
Hello Pengolodh : )
Varda 02/26/2023 3:59 PM
Aiya!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:00 PM
Aiya!
Varda 02/26/2023 4:01 PM
@Bounder Valar Guild meeting time!
[4:01 PM]
@Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting time in meeting_place! Come chat
gaming and Tolkien, or lurk!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:01 PM
Hallo All!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:01 PM
Aiya!
Varda 02/26/2023 4:02 PM
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:02 PM]
Membership:
[4:02 PM]
Aiya to Ar-Pharazon the Golden and to Sandalf!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:02 PM
shines brightly
Varda 02/26/2023 4:02 PM
Sounds like an incognito wizard?
[4:03 PM]
We're a shiny lot. : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:03 PM
I'm just dressed in gold armor.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:03 PM
All polished!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:03 PM
I came to Middle-Earth and the servants of Sauron looked at my
shiny armor, before fleeing far away.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:04 PM
Blinded! They prefer darkness.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:04 PM
Indeed.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:04 PM
In Membership news, happy to say Ioreth is back with us after some
computer problems. : )
Any other Membership news?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:06 PM
Twas my dad's birthday this week!
Celebrations were had.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:06 PM
Happy Birthday to your Dad! Hope you enjoyed the celebrations.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:06 PM
Pengolodh on the side list there is not the old Pengolodh from way
back, but looking at lurking and maybe membership.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:06 PM
Thanks
Varda 02/26/2023 4:06 PM
Happy birthday to Phar's Dad!
Hope there was much cake.
[4:07 PM]
Eonwe did the gaming news for us but his email said he isn't sure
he can make the meeting tonight.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:08 PM
Things happen, yes?
Varda 02/26/2023 4:09 PM
Usually work for him. It's a rough time of day for him to show up.
Sunday seems to be a work day for a lot of people.
[4:10 PM]
The time of day was picked so Europeans could perhaps manage to
show up, but hits Americans during work and supper. We're lucky
any of you show up, so thank you!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:10 PM
I got another two boxes from my garage emptied this afternoon,
after I got back to my home from my weekend trip to Lincoln to see
my grandkids and have dinner with my Saturday night dining group.
Also got 2 new air shock absorbers on my car. A Productive
weekend, but I am glad to be home!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:10 PM
Yay!
Varda 02/26/2023 4:11 PM
That's a very busy time! Glad you could come in here. : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:11 PM
Also, Arien poked. I know she's in here already, but might still
need an extra nudge
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:11 PM
I try not to miss...you guys are one of the best parts of my
weekend...
Varda 02/26/2023 4:11 PM
Thanks.
awww thanks!
We're very glad to have you with us.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:11 PM
Aiya all
Varda 02/26/2023 4:12 PM
Fangorn and I watched the LotR movies again and may be in need of
a re-read to straighten us out again. But it was a lot of fun to
watch. The makers obviously loved the material.
[4:12 PM]
Aiya Sunshine : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:12 PM
Aiya
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:13 PM
Aiya Arien!
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:13 PM
oh aye they are good movies whatever discrepancies there are
hard not to love them
I think anyway
[4:14 PM]
and a re-read never hurts
[4:15 PM]
or a re-listen .. there are some good audiobooks out there as well
Varda 02/26/2023 4:18 PM
They don't help the spelling though. ; )
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:18 PM
hehe true
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:18
PM
How do you pronounce Aeaeaearendi/el again...
Varda 02/26/2023 4:19 PM
heh
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:20 PM
Spelling is one thing, but pronouncing Tolkien names can also be
tricky
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:21 PM
not as bad as some welsh names like LLewellyn ..
Treebeard 02/26/2023 4:21 PM
Hello
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:21 PM
Aiya!
Varda 02/26/2023 4:21 PM
And knowing the right pronunciation on our own end is tricky too!
Aiya Fangorn!
Great to see you!
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:22 PM
aiya Fangorn
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:22 PM
Aiya Fangorn!
[4:23 PM]
I pronounce Earendil using the German umlauted "a", so it comes
out like "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaerendil," with the "a" like the
second "a" in "away."
Varda 02/26/2023 4:23 PM
There is a pronunciation guidance in the books.
[4:24 PM]
ahh here is one of them.
RotK Appendix E
[4:25 PM]
Enjoy looking through it sometime. : )
[4:26 PM]
The Sil has a much shorter version in the back
Right after the geneology tables.
"Note on Pronunciation".
[4:27 PM]
Yes, the books are right here by the computer, due to frequent
need, heh. Is that cheating?
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:27 PM
I think it would have FOUR syllables, not three as spelled. Both
the initial "E" and the umlauted "a" need to be pronounced.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:28 PM
Anyway, knowing the right pronunciation to read the LotR out loud
to an audience would be a feat in itself!
resumes typing to sneak around the pronunciation
[4:29 PM]
And yes, the e and a would need their own syllables.
top
Web:
[4:29 PM]
Nothing new up beyond the gaming news.
Go ahead, Fangorn
[4:30 PM]
Takes a while to translate from Old Entish.
Treebeard 02/26/2023 4:31 PM
I am glad that Tolkien was a historical linguistics expert that
studied the non-English folk lore, therefore, I submit that
however he pronounced it is fine with me. Do we have any
video of him reading it out loud?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:33 PM
Hmm, t'would be the ultimate audio book.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:34 PM
Yes
Treebeard 02/26/2023 4:34 PM
If we did, we could sit back and count how many times we think he
mispronounced his own word torture devices...
Varda 02/26/2023 4:34 PM
There are videos of JRRT reading his own work.
[4:35 PM]
o dear. He could have mispronounced or changed his mind on
pronunciation. : )
Treebeard 02/26/2023 4:35 PM
Not likely... Is he, or was he HUMAN
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:35 PM
Well, if anyone's allowed to change their mind on pronunciation of
Tolkien's works, it's Tolkien
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:36 PM
I thought I had seen some too, but didn't want to go digging in
the middle of our conversation.
Varda 02/26/2023 4:37 PM
https://soundcloud.com/brainpicker/jrr-tolkien-reads-from-the-lord-of-the-rings
SoundCloud
brainpicker
J.R.R. Tolkien reads from The Lord of the Rings
[4:37 PM]
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/listen-jrr-tolkien-read-songs-and-poems-em-lord-ringsem-180957916/
Smithsonian Magazine
Listen to J.R.R. Tolkien Read Songs and Poems
from 'The Lord of the...
A rare recording captures the famed author's
voice
That's where I got that recording.
[4:38 PM]
Enjoy : )
He can really roll those r's.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 4:38 PM
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=vid&sxsrf=AJOqlzX_Z1IRSB17Kvx-XS8Ab0wJBKv7Cw:1677451012211&q=tolkien+reading+the+lotr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFytf9n7T9AhWql2oFHQA0ClcQ8ccDegQIDBAH&biw=1141&bih=694&dpr=1.25
[4:38 PM]
Try that one on for size.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:38 PM
Ah yes, I found those videos too, was about to link one
[4:39 PM]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkCZAPw81qs
YouTube
Cons Arch
J R R Tolkien - Reading from The Lord of the
Rings and The Hobbit
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 4:39 PM
sandalf
[4:39 PM]
oh yes thats the one i wanted to link hehe
you beat me Phara
Varda 02/26/2023 4:40 PM
I'm letting the speech go on while typing the next part. : )
Fun background.
[4:40 PM]
top
Gaming:
[4:41 PM]
Report from Eonwe
http://valarguild.org/gaming
The Valar Guild Games Site
Valar Guild Games Site
World of Warcraft:
[4:42 PM]
This week's bonus event: Arena Skirmishes.
The PvP Brawl: Packed House is going until Tuesday, February 28th.
Blizzard wants to remind you that the Trading Post will be
changing its offerings on March 1st, so make sure if you want
something from February's offering you get it soon.
[4:43 PM]
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23910165/get-your-trading-post-items-for-february
World of Warcraft
Get Your Trading Post Items
for February! - WoW
It wont be long until the vendors in Orgrimmar and Stormwind
trade out their wares for new items for the month of March, and
Februarys items go into storage.
[4:43 PM]
Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:43 PM]
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23892230/hotfixes-february-24-2023
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: February 24, 2023 - WoW
Here you will find a list of hotfixes that
address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight,
Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, and WoW
Classic.
Overwatch:
[4:44 PM]
A new blog is out: Director's Take: Balancing Heroes and
Matchmaking.
https://overwatch.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23917966/
Overwatch
Director's Take: Balancing Heroes and
Matchmaking:23917966
Game Director Aaron Keller gives insight into
the current state of hero balance and matchmaking for Season 3
Diablo 4:
A new video is out: Diablo IV Inside the Game: The Word of
Sanctuary.
[4:45 PM]
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo4/23916443/diablo-iv-inside-the-game-the-world-of-sanctuary
Diablo IV Inside the Game: The World of
Sanctuary
Join members of the Diablo IV development team
as they take you on a tour of Sanctuarys distinct Zones and
danger-filled dungeons.
[4:45 PM]
Diablo Immortal:
[4:45 PM]
Check out the latest bug fixes.
[4:46 PM]
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23826549/diablo-immortal-bug-fixes-and-patch-notes-for-all-platforms
Diablo Immortal Bug Fixes and Patch Notes for
All Platforms
We will continually update this blog with all
bug fixes and patches the team implements for Diablo Immortal on
all platforms.
[4:46 PM]
End of Eonwe's report.
Lord of the Rings
Online:
[4:46 PM]
We have until Feb 27 to finish up or work on next year's Ill Omens
quests. Grab your Portent and barters!
[4:47 PM]
Valarites that showed up this past week inside one of our kin
branches for Lord of the Rings Online:
Landroval branch:
Bregalad
Dis
Eonwe
Fangorn
Ioreth
Nar
Varda
Crickhollow branch:
Eonwe
Fangorn
Varda
Shadowfax branch:
Varda
Treebeard branch:
Varda
Varda 02/26/2023 4:48 PM
Starcraft 2:
Fangorn and Eowyn from our guild that I know of personally. Feel
free to mention your game! Maybe you can attract some of us to pop
in there too.
[4:49 PM]
Eve Online:
Sauron, almost certainly Pallando. : )
Any other games we should mention?
[4:51 PM]
doesn't mention Solitaire, cough
On to
top
Tolkien!
[4:51 PM]
Before I blather on, did any of you have a topic or comment for
Tolkien?
[4:53 PM]
Finding the sound recordings of JRRT's readings was a great idea.
I recommend continuing to do that now and then for fun!
On our own mainly.
Anyone else present? : )
[4:54 PM]
Meeting Pengolodh in LotRO was fun. He also has web stuff called
Beginning of Days.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 4:54 PM
Sorry, was focused on the last part of that video, with Bilbo and
Gollum here now!
Varda 02/26/2023 4:54 PM
Got me looking at that again.
A good thing to do, Phar!
[4:55 PM]
That is a chapter name in the Silmarillion.
We've mentioned the gifts of
Iluvatar before. (Please pardon my ghastly lack of diacriticals,
one of my sins.)
[4:56 PM]
Silmarillion "Beginning of Days"
Quote:
[4:57 PM]
For it is said that after
the departure of the Valar there was silence, and for an age
Iluvatar sat alone in thought. Then he spoke and said: "Behold I
love the Earth, which shall be a mansion for the Quendi and the
Atani!
But the Quendi shall be the fairest
of all earthly creatures, and they shall have and shall conceive
and bring forth more beauty than all my Children and they shall
have the greater bliss in this world.
But to the Atani I will give a new
gift."
Therefore he willed that the hearts
of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest
therein; but they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid
the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the
Ainur, which is as fate to all things else; and of their
operation everything should be, in form and deed, completed, and
the world fulfilled unto the last and smallest.
(skipping a paragraph, but you might
like to read it sometime)
[4:58 PM]
It is one with this gift of
freedom that the children of Men dwell only a short space in the
world alive, and are not bound to it, and depart soon whither
the Elves know not.
Whereas the Elves remain until the
end of days, and their love of the Earth and all the world is
more single and poignant therefore, and as the years lengthen
ever more sorrowful.
For the Elves die not until the world
dies, unless they are slain or waste in grief (and to both these
seeming deaths they are subject); neither does age subdue their
strength, unless one grow weary of ten thousand centuries; and
dying they are gathered to the halls of Mandos in Valinor,
whence they may in time return.
But the sons of Men die indeed, and
leave the world; wherefore they are called the Guests, or the
Strangers.
Death is their fate, the gift of
Iluvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy.
But Melkor has cast his shadow upon
it, and confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out
of good, and fear out of hope.
Yet of old the Valar declared to the
Elves in Valinor that Men shall join in the Second Music of the
Ainur; whereas Iluvatar has not revealed what he purposes for
the Elves after the World's end, and Melkor has not discovered
it.
End quote.
[4:59 PM]
(and yes, I typed that out beforehand and copy/pasted.)
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:00 PM
Good for you! Smart thinking! Or, as Charlemagne says in the show
"Pippin," it is smarter to be lucky, and it is lucky to be smart."
Varda 02/26/2023 5:00 PM
hehe
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:01 PM
I will just forge ahead...since I missed a couple of
meetings, it seems....for forgive me the length of my comment!
[5:05 PM]
We all know how deeply religious he was. It seems to me that
Tolkien was very familiar with the story of Jacob and Esau, from
the Hebrew Bible, and ow Jacob (with the help of his mother)
tricked the almost blind Isaac into giving him the blessing due to
the firstborn. It was indeed a lavish gift. When Esau showed up
later, he wept at his father's feet, asking him if he still had a
blessing for him...which Isaac did, of course, and it was like
Tolkien's "new gift," although the roles of Esau and Jacob were
reversed from those of the Quendi and the Atani...the Quendi got
what Eru intended for them, while the Atani had to settle for a
"new gift," that , ironically, turned out to be the better gift. I
am sure that Tolkien was thinking of this tale when he wrote the
section Varda typed in above.
[5:06 PM]
I always felt a little bad for Esau,, even though he was a hunter,
and not intended to be the progenitor of all that came after....
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:08 PM
Not sure if he thought of that exact tale, since fear of the
unknown and jealousy of the other's gifts is a common theme... the
grass always being greener on the other side.
But it's definitely possible.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:18 PM
Are we still here?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:18 PM
I am.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:18 PM
Hope I did not offend anyone!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:19 PM
Offend? Not me... I just like to point out that the Bible isn't
the source of every metaphor
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:20 PM
Of course you are right...but I still think that Tolkien's strong
affinity for religious tradition gave those biblical stories a
"leg up" in his memory...
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:20 PM
True, it increases the odds.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:21 PM
Did everyone else leave? We haven't heard from Varda or Arien in a
while..
Varda 02/26/2023 5:22 PM
Present.
Not offended in the slightest.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:23 PM
Do you have a houseful of guests this weekend, for who you must
prepare dinner?
Varda 02/26/2023 5:26 PM
No. Just the usual.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:26 PM
The usual 2 dozen family members?
Varda 02/26/2023 5:27 PM
I had hoped for more comments on the material presented, but guess
we already talked it to death. : )
the gavel bounces over to a circular item, surely the hammerpad
Splat!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:27 PM
Sometimes the second gift turns out to be better than the
first....in this case, for sure.
Varda 02/26/2023 5:27 PM
the hammerpad had been next to the pizza, slight mistake
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:28 PM
I can't help but think that if Men knew where they were going in
the first place, things would have turned out differently...
it's the uncertainty Melkor was able to exploit.
Varda 02/26/2023 5:28 PM
top
After-meeting!
[5:29 PM]
When Morgoth showed up in the same area as Mankind first appeared,
he was able to twist any info they had.
It's amazing any of them came out well, or knew to run towards the
West.
They had heard somehow of the good in the West, some idea of the
Valar, of decent elves.
[5:30 PM]
They learned from Avari along the way, as well.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:30 PM
Yes. Andreth tells Angrod that a darkness lies on the past of
men...spread by Melkor, no doubt.
Varda 02/26/2023 5:30 PM
Even the Entwives aided humans in learning agriculture.
Aye.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:31 PM
sorry i got entangled with some azures .
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:31 PM
silly dragons, always getting in the way
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:32 PM
Do you remember inn the first chapter of the LoTR, that some of
the Hobbits are talking in the local pub, and one reports that he
saw a walking tree...I always thought that could have been an
Entwife, because, as Fangorn tells Merry and Pippin, he thought
that the Entwives would love The Shire.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:32 PM
och aye . they do at times , even when they think they just have
to prove loyalty to their aspect
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:33 PM
Same, Sandalf, though there may also be connections to the Old
Forest instead, so kinda like huorns rather than Entwives.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:33 PM
I remember , sandalf , aye
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:33 PM
Another unsolved riddle from Tolkien...
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:34 PM
I wonder whether a Huorn wou,dn t have attacked some of the
Hobbits , maybe when chucking firewood
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:34 PM
I agree with you.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:35 PM
so that makes a Huorn a bit unlikely .. either an entwivve or a
far wandering ent
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:35 PM
My thinking exactly, Arien.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:36 PM
Maybe a Huorn did attack a Hobbit... and they just blamed it on
the wind.
Varda 02/26/2023 5:36 PM
I liked thinking they saw an Entwife. Treebeard said the Entwives
would have liked the Shire.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:36 PM
I can see a great B-Grade Horror movie in the making..."Attack of
the Huorns"
Varda 02/26/2023 5:36 PM
The trees across the Hedge did attack
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:37 PM
Attac of the Horror Trees
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:37 PM
Last actually known location of the Entwives was the Brown Lands,
wasn't it? I hope they weren't caught between Sauron and the Last
Alliance, or were wiped out by the Wainriders later on or
something.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:38 PM
I think they made a clean break for better lands soon after the
devastation of the Brown Lands began.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:39 PM
a mass destruction like in the brown lands does speak for a major
catastrophe or spell with destructive power .. if a spell or
even if just a natural desaster is that the entwives fled from it
and maybe they were so traumatized that they fled far away
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:39 PM
And the lands of Anorien would have been, at that time, a great
place to go to.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:39 PM
hang on, this wiki article here refers to the one of the Letters,
let me fetch it...
Treebeard 02/26/2023 5:41 PM
Entwives were part of Tolkien's mythology and I don't think that
he would like to end the Entwives with a sad story. Perhaps
they were acting like the trees that were becoming listless or
sleepy, or fisty like the Irish and others... apparently, not
entities that the Ents thought to keep track of carefully.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:42 PM
I wonder if Ents (males) had low sex drive. He he.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:43 PM
Here we go. Letter 144.
Treebeard 02/26/2023 5:44 PM
I wonder if, since Ents take a very long time just to say hello,
amongst the fewer very long conversations they might have had with
each other: Did any Ent ask the other Ents where they were
or just, supposed not to ask until there was need.
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:44 PM
Probable is that they would take a looong looong time and maybe
because of that , not wanting to lose to much time, had a long ..
reproduction cicle including the period preparing for that
Treebeard 02/26/2023 5:45 PM
haha, maybe...
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:46 PM
angel
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:46 PM
"I think that in fact the
Entwives had disappeared for good, being destroyed with their
gardens in the War of the Last Alliance (Second Age 3429 - 3441)
when Sauron pursued a scorched earth policy and burned their
land against the advance of the Allies down the Anduin (vol. II
p. 79 refers to it). They survived only in the 'agriculture'
transmitted to Men (and Hobbits). Some, of course, may have fled
east, or eve have become enslaved: tyrants even in such tales
must have an economic and agricultural background to their
soldiers and metalworkers. If any survived so, they would indeed
be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be
difficult - unless experience of industrialized and militarized
agriculture and made them a little more anarchic. I hope so. I
don't know."
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:46 PM
halo
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:47 PM
His last words.."I don't know...." So there is some wiggle
room for conjecture.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:47 PM
Hm. Pretty dark conclusion, there, but with hope at the end....
Indeed.
[5:48 PM]
Back to your tangent, I wonder how courtship goes when it takes
such a long time just to say "You look nice. Ready for our date?"
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 5:48 PM
I must say Namarie, so I can finish up my boxes from the
afternoon, and get to Planet Fitness to work out the kinks from
driving six hours from Lincoln. I will check in again later!
Namarie, all! And, as always, sei gesund! He he...good one, Ar!!!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:49 PM
Namarie
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:49 PM
Namarie , sandalf
Treebeard 02/26/2023 5:49 PM
Namarie
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:51 PM
time for me to go to bed as well before i say something i might
regret or eonwe or Varda reprehend me for improper language or an
unproper .. how do you say err inappropriate topic
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:51 PM
Finding a source Letter through google/wiki and quoting the actual
source... this might make a researcher out of me yet.
Namarie Arien
Arien Valar 02/26/2023 5:52 PM
Namarie
Varda 02/26/2023 5:55 PM
: )
Back and forth
[5:56 PM]
Galadriel did mention that the Ents and Entwives might get
together again in the west. We assume Valinor, perhaps, but the
Shire was west of Fangorn. And there were walking trees in the
Shire from the start of the LotR.
[5:57 PM]
Would have been a good story if the four hobbits could have gotten
the ents together againt with the entwives. I wondered why they
didn't mention the moving trees in their area, including over the
Hedge.
[5:58 PM]
Were those really huorns? Waking trees? Ents? Or some Entwives in
there?
What was the date on that Letter?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:58 PM
Oh, let me check...
[5:59 PM]
1954
Varda 02/26/2023 5:59 PM
It's how they were organized, helping us to look it up. Thanks!
heh, I was 1 year old.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:59 PM
Well, I did say nr 144
Heh.
Varda 02/26/2023 5:59 PM
Pardon, I should look more closely.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 5:59 PM
My mom was -1 year old
Varda 02/26/2023 6:01 PM
They were about to publish the RotK at that time.
[6:02 PM]
That's a lonnnng letter.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 6:02 PM
Yess, it is. Deals with all sorts of smaller subjects.
Entwives are nearish the end.
[6:03 PM]
Heh, it mentions an un-inserted epilogue after that about a
hobbit family and hobbit children... good thing we saw that one in
HoME
Varda 02/26/2023 6:03 PM
Found it. Yep, just what it says.
[6:06 PM]
In a bit of hope in the preceding paragraph, "What had happened to
them is not resolved in this book."
Not much hope. I prefer the hope seen in the early part of the
book. But what is, is.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 6:06 PM
We know the most likely scenario in Tolkien's mind now, at least.
Varda 02/26/2023 6:07 PM
Can't help but wonder if JRRT forgot about that. But. It's odd.
[6:08 PM]
Aye. Too much wartime on his mind, maybe. There was some mention
of some fleeing the Brown Lands, seems like, but not going to go
dig for it. Maybe this was all of that mention, but seemed there
might have been more. (Back to cooking a fish fry, pardon.)
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 6:10 PM
Alright, I'll be back later
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:04 PM
I'm back!
Varda 02/26/2023 7:32 PM
Back also
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:32 PM
Hallo Varda! I hope that I can do some work on Chp 6 this week...
Varda 02/26/2023 7:33 PM
You have a lot on your plate. : ) Maybe cut down the focus a
bit.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:33 PM
I read your discussion re: Entwives, and I agree pretty much
wholeheartedly. I do not think that Tolkien would have been happy
with simply leaving the Entwives to an uncertain fate.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:33 PM
Tighten it up so it's not so tough.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:33 PM
I shall endeavor to do my best.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:34 PM
Your best is very good indeed!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:34 PM
Thank you. Do you think Ar will report back with his weekly
report?
Varda 02/26/2023 7:34 PM
Yes, since he has done so every Sunday for many years. : )
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:35 PM
Wonderful!
Varda 02/26/2023 7:35 PM
It can be read tomorrow if you need to be elsewhere, no worries.
He's been pretty amazing. : )
[7:36 PM]
We could load this space with an insane number of gaming stories
every week, what we're all doing on multiple characters in
multiple games. One representative is enough, though.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:38 PM
I have been a member since August 2021...not such a long time, but
it has been a rewarding experience. Maybe we ought to recognize
anniversaries?
Varda 02/26/2023 7:38 PM
JRRT liked to make his work like real history, with intentional
uncertainties and carefully rigged contradictions. Made it seem
more like authentic writing. Plus he changed his mind over the
decades as more ideas came up.
[7:38 PM]
In other ways than we do?
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:39 PM
Sorry...how do we recognize anniversaries now?
Varda 02/26/2023 7:39 PM
Sometimes a person will mention it in the Membership news. : )
Full Members have their date of joining on the Membership page.
Tolkien-onlies have the date of their first contribution on the
Author's page.
[7:40 PM]
The forum used to be more used, had birthdays and whatnot on the
calendar.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:40 PM
That is me, then...until I can really dig into gaming.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:40 PM
Now we mostly use Discord.
You don't have to be a gamer! It would be a fun addition.
[7:41 PM]
You are already a Tolkien member and a welcome addition to the
Sunday chats!
We look forward to whatever you do in the future. : )
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:41 PM
Yes, but part of me says if I am going to do something, I need to
do it...
Maybe my Navy training.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:41 PM
Do you need to game? If so, get started on how to do movements.
I'll bet a gaggle of kids at the coffee shop would help!
[7:42 PM]
Mainly, just practice.
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:42 PM
The most incredible view just ended....the sun has set behing the
mountains, but was sending out enough light to highlight the tops
of the Front Range...then all went dark. It is so nice having such
a wonderful view of the mountains...
Varda 02/26/2023 7:42 PM
WASD and the arrow keys, the mouse.
Ahh sounds amazing!
[7:43 PM]
Might be better to just enjoy the wonderful way you are already
having fun. : )
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:43 PM
I am glad to be home, although I enjoyed my return to Lincoln, and
getting the new shocks...
Varda 02/26/2023 7:43 PM
But we'd be happy to have you in-game too.
Yay for shocks! Does that sound right...
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:43 PM
When I get on my other laptop, I will post a picture. This is my
kitchen laptop, and it is not as up-to-date as my office laptop.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:43 PM
Always good to get to be with longtime friends.
Sounds great
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:44 PM
Indeed it does...the car drove like new on the way home. No need
to oversteer, and it held the road beautifully at high
speed...about 83 mph.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:44 PM
Did you want to try gaming on your laptop tonight? Just to update
the game, pull it up and poke the buttons?
[7:45 PM]
No pressure from anyone, just to mess with it, as if it were a
game for you. : )
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:45 PM
My son-in-law took a nice picture of me with the two older
girls...the toddler is still a bit shy, as I do not see her so
often.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:45 PM
Neato
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:46 PM
I shall try to do so as soon as I go upstairs. I will log into
LoTRO and give it a whirl. Maybe a good way to relax before I go
to bed...for me, it is already almost 9 pm, even though here in
Thornton it is about 15 minutes before 2000...
[7:47 PM]
One shifts time zones in central Nebraska fronm CST to MST. PArt
of the state is in one, and the other part is verblundgett...
[7:49 PM]
South Dakota is the same way, but North Dakota is all CST. Kansas
is also split, but not as much as Nebraska.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:51 PM
10 til 8 here
Ahh the splits
Texas has CST and MST
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:52 PM
Yes...I am a bit ahead of myself....it is 9 to the hour here
too...and yes, Texas is huge.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:52 PM
hehe - time zones will do that!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:53 PM
If you look a map of the U.S., it is always intriguing how there
is a line that runs roughly north-south on the eastern side of ND,
SD, NE, KS, and OK. The western side of that line shows larger
states, and the eastern side has generally smaller states...save
for Minnesota, maybe.
Varda 02/26/2023 7:54 PM
History did it
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 7:55 PM
I am sure that you are well familiar with the sensation of driving
on an interstate, and thinking you are the only car on the road.
From central NE to Fort Morgan, CO, one can imagine that the
Interstate was built only for them...it is often rare to see
another car on the road!
[7:56 PM]
Not a good place to have a breakdown, as I did a couple of years
ago, when a tire blew out on my car near Ogallala....and there was
no place open to get a new tire anywhere! Finally found one at a
junk car place, that was closed, but the tow truck guy knew the
owner, so he opened up for us and got me set up with a new mounted
tire. Got in to Denver about 6 hours later...
Varda 02/26/2023 8:00 PM
yay tow truck guy!
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 8:01 PM
I was really worried about getting there at all on a Sunday!
[8:01 PM]
No problems today, however...6 hours of driving time from downtown
Lincoln to my exit on I76...with a 15 minute break for gas etc. in
Big Springs.
Varda 02/26/2023 8:03 PM
lot of driving
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 8:04 PM
It is pretty relaxing with so little traffic...I had my hot coffee
from the Coffee House in Lincoln that stayed warm until late this
afternoon...I also got a coke in Big Springs....so, a comfortable
seat, some tasty beverages, and no traffic....what a way to
travel!
Varda 02/26/2023 8:11 PM
: )
Sandalf13 02/26/2023 8:17 PM
Namarie! Time to relax.
Varda 02/26/2023 8:28 PM
Namarie
[8:28 PM]
I game and am on Discord
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 8:33 PM
Back I am!
[8:33 PM]
Let's do the gaming report then
Varda 02/26/2023 8:33 PM
Welcome back : )
[8:33 PM]
Yoda
top
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 8:33 PM
For (non)flashgaming, one of the 3 newly badged games I
mentioned last week, got a week full of daily badges this time
around. So not much choice to mention, but that's fine
[8:34 PM]
That game is
https://www.kongregate.com/games/bombsightgames/stug
Kongregate
STUG
STUG is a free skill based 2D multiplayer tank
game with exaggerated shell ricochet physics. Battle other players
in a full on tank war! Each match is an inten...
[8:35 PM]
A multiplayer tank battle game, with dozens of tanks to unlock as
you get experience and research stuff, but while there are
gameplay differences between the various types and their many
variants, they are all supposed to be balanced, no tank is clearly
more powerful than the other.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 8:43 PM
There's various gameplay modes, though for the first few ranks
only Conquest is available, where you fight in teams to claim
checkpoints and gather points from them. I've also unlocked Battle
and Free for All but haven't tried them much, it looks like
they're more based around kills and direct combat.
[8:44 PM]
The gameplay itself is a top-view battle, where you take more or
less damage depending on which side you get hit, and there's also
stuff like ricochets, boosts/ramming, and other neat little
tricks.
And you get to unlock customization for the tank you've been
playing after your games, like decals and camouflage patterns,
including some funny ones
[8:45 PM]
It got a bit boring to collect all the badges I needed in one
week, until I unlocked polkadots for my heavy tank and coming up
with the idea of playing the Girls und Panzer anime soundtrack in
the background, and now I'm just smiling throughout each battle
[8:48 PM]
It won't be for everyone, and the full weekly set of daily badges
got some complaints in the chat, not least from the actual makers
of the game who admitted it's not for everyone and hadn't asked
for all the attention, but I've rather enjoyed it with my own
customizations
So try it out, at least!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 8:51 PM
Oh, and most of the badges you'll get along the way, too. In the
last week and a bit I've unlocked 17 already.
[8:51 PM]
Blizzard gaming:
[8:54 PM]
Hearthstone:
Made it to level 108 on the reward track! 100 gave my 8th of 10
tier 1 class skins, and while I don't care much for those last 3
as I have ones I like more, I still like to collect them, and went
for Felheart warlock. 2 more reward tracks to go, then!
[8:55 PM]
So now the rest of the reward track is just large amounts of gold,
so I can start to build up again after that 10000 gold purchase of
last week.
[8:56 PM]
Brawl is Blood Magic! An old classic wherein all your spells cost
health instead of mana.
[8:57 PM]
I built myself a mage deck filled with spells that basically do
more damage or have higher potential effect than their cost, so
unless the opponent gets the drop on me, I've pretty much always
got an advantage. And, indeed, I've had a few easy matches whereby
the opponent tried to one-turn-kill me, only to fail to get their
cards together at once and being at too low health to withstand my
turn.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 8:58 PM
I did lose to one interesting druid deck, though, which was based
around getting mana crystals and reducing all their spells to 1
cost. Maybe I'll need to look into a version of that for next
time, because there was no way of stopping that
[8:58 PM]
WoW:
[9:00 PM]
For raiding, we're getting good control of the bosses we've
already killed, though the last 2 on Heroic still elude us. Some
people seem to be burning out as well, so we'll be switch to a
2-raid week instead of 3. I wish they'd skip the sunday, since I'm
always late there, but alas, it'll be the thursday. Still, that'll
give me time for other activities!
[9:02 PM]
Weekly quest is arena skirmishes, and despite it being my first
venture in the arena since I hit level 70, it's going quite well.
Part getting good gear from the raid (and upgrading my pvp
trinkets), part recent guardian buffs, and part just experience, I
guess. Still 2 wins to go, but I'll get those in the coming days.
[9:04 PM]
Finally, questing! Completed the Azure Span main questline with my
druid, fighting back some primalists through a huge molten tunnel
they'd dug through a mountain. Quite a hellish environment, with
lots of lava and fire elementals and casters to kill as I went
along the questline.
Ending in a confrontation with Razsageth at a magic tower, where
we were joined by a reinforcements of blue dragons.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 9:05 PM
It was nice to see the Azsuna blue dragons again after the Legion
expansion, and to see little Emmigosa having grown up to be a
young drake, though oddly the pet version of her is still a whelp
[9:06 PM]
And then I finished up the zone by watching Kalecgos activate the
Blue Oathstone, before he gave me the first quest to the final
zone, Thaldraszus. One zone and one oathstone to go!
[9:08 PM]
After that I visited my mage in Bastion once again, getting to
choose a Steward for the fourth time (fourth char), and this time
around I chose Arathane. Gotta get a different one on all my alts,
of course
[9:09 PM]
She then got an audience with the Archon to warn her about the
Forsworn threat, before inspecting the 5 protective wards and
catching Uther in the act of disabling the one for the temple of
Courage. So that's where she'll be going next!
[9:10 PM]
But first it's time to send the druid into Thaldraszus, with its
capital city of Valdrakken, where if nothing else I should be able
to set up the portal between it and Stormwind. And hopefully then
some zone questing there!
And that's my report for the week
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/26/2023 9:15 PM
Namarie!
Varda 02/26/2023 9:22 PM
Namarie Phar
Pallando-Valar 02/26/2023 9:31 PM
hi, I was busy losing in our tournament during meeting, we lost,
womp.
[9:31 PM]
but I think I might be able to make meetings for now..
Varda 02/26/2023 9:33 PM
Fantabulous : )
Feel free to make comments even late! They can still get into the
transcript for the News
[9:34 PM]
Glad you were in the tournament!
Lose or no, you fought!
[9:35 PM]
But if you could make meetings, we could use another for
discussions!
top