Sunday, March 3, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending (7): Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Eowyn/Cenedra, Sandalf, Shelob aka Ungwetari, Varda (presiding)
4:00 PM]Varda: ♪
4:01 PM]Varda: ♫
4:01 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya!
4:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
4:01 PM]Varda: Aiya Sandalf and Phar : )
4:01 PM]Sandalf13: Neat notes, you found...
4:02 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting needs you! Lurk, chat gaming and Tolkien, or just say hi!
4:02 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
4:02 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya!
4:02 PM]Varda: Aiya Eonwe : )
4:02 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya
4:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: One does not simply van into Mordor. There are toll booths there that do not sleep.
4:02 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
4:02 PM]Varda: Membership:
4:02 PM]Varda: Beware the Toll Booths!
4:02 PM]Sandalf13: And Sauron expects payment in blood...
4:03 PM]Arien Valar: oh I should tell you from my friend Tedje that one does not simply walk into Mordor
4:03 PM]Arien Valar: Tedje
4:03 PM]Varda: For making notes: Be sure your NumLock is on, then hit on your keyboard Alt 13, also called Alt + 13
4:03 PM]Varda: Frodo walks into Mordor
@Sandalf13 And Sauron expects payment in blood...
4:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: So payment in Oreo cookies is not accepted. Noted.
4:04 PM]Varda: But but...cookies!
4:04 PM]Arien Valar: The cookies aren' t reak
4:04 PM]Arien Valar: real
4:04 PM]Sandalf13: Of course, if a Van cannot make it into Mordor, perhaps this baby could...
4:05 PM]Sandalf13:
@Sandalf13 Of course, if a Van cannot make it into Mordor, perhaps this baby could...
4:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: If a van can't make it into Mordor, a baby certainly can't.
4:05 PM]Varda: But they can be sung into existence! la la la Ea! Reason we have cookies.
4:05 PM]Arien Valar: ah .. yes i wondered about that
4:06 PM]Varda: ♪ cookie!
4:06 PM]Arien Valar: right then . unfortunately i dont have too much time today as early tomorrow :/
4:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Sun goes down early, must be winter.
4:06 PM]Arien Valar: note let it be .. our cookienote
4:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: ♪
4:07 PM]Sandalf13:
4:07 PM]Arien Valar: how do u do it?
4:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: alt 13
4:07 PM]Sandalf13: Sauron's cousin eating a cookie.\
4:07 PM]Arien Valar:
4:08 PM]Varda: He's so blue... The Way is above for both kinds.
4:08 PM]Varda: Scroll back
4:08 PM]Varda: On a European keyboard, is it the same?
4:08 PM]Varda: Use NumLock, Alt 13
4:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It is.
4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: ♪♫
4:09 PM]Varda: Oh good. : )
4:09 PM]Varda: ♫ 4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: numlock not required, but still useable
4:09 PM]Varda: It's required on mine, heh.
4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ok, using alt 14 without numlock puts down the second note, but also takes me to harbor
4:10 PM]Varda: Any more Membership news we want to pass along? I'll try to get to Tolkien before the sun must set.
4:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: After next week, I won't be likely to make it to meetings for a while. It'll be iffy at best.
4:11 PM]Sandalf13: ♪♪♪♪....sounds like a melody.
4:11 PM]Varda: o oh.
4:11 PM]Sandalf13: Hope it is nothing serious!
4:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ouch. Work thing?
4:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye, work thing.
4:12 PM]Arien Valar: :?
4:12 PM]Sandalf13: Ah...better than something serious...
4:12 PM]Varda: Please feel free to post between meetings!
4:12 PM]Varda: Web:
4:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Work is serious
4:12 PM]Varda: Tolkien Site / Stories:
4:12 PM]Varda: "First Impressions" by Eonwe-(Valar), in the Narn I Auros series. Posted February 29 on Leap Day.
4:12 PM]Varda:
4:12 PM]Varda: Comes right after that last one, or can be read alone. 4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Or you can read the entire series from the beginning up to that point, then wait with bated breath for the next :}
4:13 PM]Varda: That too!
4:13 PM]Cenedra: Heya
4:13 PM]Varda: Aiya Eowyn! Good to see you. : )
4:13 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Cenedra!
4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya Eowyn :}
4:14 PM]Cenedra:
4:14 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Eowyn
4:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Eowyn!
4:15 PM]Varda: Gaming:
4:15 PM]Varda: tosses gavel to Eonwe, with a jet pack to make it that far
4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar:
4:16 PM]Varda: Yay Kirby!
4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's bonus event: Arena Skirmishes. This week's PvP Brawl: Gravity Lapse.
4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: A preview of 8 new hero talent trees is available.
4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Included are the other two Paladin trees. 4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Live this week: WoW Classic Hardcore Self-Found Mode.
4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: See what's up for March's Trading Post.
4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out This Week in WoW.
4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4:
4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: A new patch is coming March 5th.
4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Also coming March 5th: Trials.
4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal: Check out this week's bug fixes.
4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lord of the Rings Online: The Curator is back through March 10th.
4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: That's it from me.
4:22 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe : )
4:23 PM]Varda: More Lord of the Rings Online:
4:23 PM]Varda: Universal solvent code through March 7: CRAFTESS Codes are per account, so make sure you're in the server where you want the code used.
4:23 PM]Varda: This is nice, because it can be really tough to get those in-game.
4:23 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online Valarites that showed up in a kin branch this past week:
4:24 PM]Varda: Fangorn aka Treebeard (or Fangbark in LotRO) and my Tinwetari have been doing the level 150 dailies almost every evening, sometimes afternoons when evenings are taken by other things.
4:25 PM]Varda: Nar is on most days in LotRO
4:25 PM]Varda: in afternoon mainly.
4:25 PM]Varda: So those are good times to catch us over there. : )
4:26 PM]Varda: Please note that Eonwe has updated his umlauts in here. : )
4:26 PM]Varda: The umlaut fun has been doubled.
4:27 PM]Arien Valar: good news for everyone!
4:27 PM]Sandalf13: Here an umlaut, there an umlaut, everywhere an umlaut...
4:27 PM]Sandalf13: äöü
4:27 PM]Arien Valar: hehe
4:28 PM]Varda: Ok, his side jokes are making me laugh out loud. Time to move on to
4:28 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
4:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: ârphârâzôn?
4:29 PM]Varda: In web Tolkien info, I've been slowly working my way into fixing the diacriticals. The old ones mostly turned into diamonds with a question mark inside and have to be swatted and replaced.
4:29 PM]Varda: o dear!
4:29 PM]Varda: As I go, a page (cheatsheet?) is being updated as well that some of you might find useful
4:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Pharazon is a king, only natural he should have so many rooftops.
4:30 PM]Varda: hehehe a whole village!
4:30 PM]Varda: but it is still loaded with junk as it has been mainly for my use. Here you go:
4:30 PM]Varda: Diacritical Marks Help adding diacritical marks to Middle-earth related work.
4:31 PM]Varda: It also has a collection of Alt thingies
4:31 PM]Varda: The lower section is the old part and the above section is more or less fixed up.
4:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hint Hint: Varda just gave you a list of Encyclopedia articles to research :} Nice try Varda, but your ruse didn't escape my detection :}
4:31 PM]Varda: It is especially helpful late at night.
4:31 PM]Varda: oops : )
4:32 PM]Varda: If any of you have a Tolkien topic, go ahead and type fast before I put one in. : )
4:33 PM]Arien Valar: the sun is short today
4:35 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sun's getting real low (YouTube)
4:35 PM]Varda: I like that.
4:35 PM]Arien Valar: luckily my light is not quenched forevr and i will rise again in time ~
4:36 PM]Varda: Tolkien showed us heroes. What is a hero? Who are some of the heroes in Tolkien's works? How do his heroes have different approaches to acting as heroes?
4:36 PM]Arien Valar: namarie !
4:36 PM]Arien Valar: They don t run for once ...
4:36 PM]Varda: : )
4:36 PM]Arien Valar: but i have no other choice :0
4:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes don't consider themselves heroes, just doing their job. They're just.. that guy.
4:37 PM]Varda: You are doing your duty, being a hero, Sunshine. : )
4:37 PM]Varda: Aye. That Guy.
4:37 PM]Sandalf13: A hero is one who does what needs to be done simply because it needs to be done, with no thought of personal gain in the process...
4:38 PM]Varda: From Eonwe about That Guy:
4:38 PM]Varda: Live Free or Die Hard You Tube
4:39 PM]Varda: Somebody's got to do it and there's no one else.
4:39 PM]Varda: That can be on so many levels of our lives.
4:40 PM]Varda: No one else to wash the dishes, no one's going to pat you on the back, but they still need washed, so you do it.
4:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Kitchen hero!
4:40 PM]Varda: Or save everyone from a burning building. Same mindset.
4:41 PM]Varda: Who is one of those heroes in Tolkien's work?
4:42 PM]Sandalf13: The list is a long one!
4:42 PM]Eönwë Valar: That's the Reluctant Hero. There's also the, well I don't know if I want to say "Eager Hero" but the guy who does it because he can, because it's his duty. The guy who chooses to be that first line of defense. He's the guy who's around that let's the Reluctant Hero say "eh, there is someone else this time."
4:43 PM]Varda: Come join me, he says with a smile.
4:43 PM]Sandalf13: A subtle smile, no doubt.
4:43 PM]Varda: and if you don't, he goes anyway.
4:43 PM]Varda: Or a big one.
4:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Which one is Frodo when he chooses to take the Ring to Mordor?
4:44 PM]Eönwë Valar: Not necessarily, heh. There's a good John Wayne Movie, Rio Bravo. John Wayne and his two deputies holding a guy for murder. A posse is going to come in to find him. Sure he'd like some backup, but he's not dragging random citizens into the fight. They couldn't handle what he's up against.
4:44 PM]Varda: And does he shift types?
4:45 PM]Sandalf13: Olorin for sure, and I say Olorin, because he did not want to go to Middle-earth in the first place, and was afraid of Sauron. He was asked to go by Manwe, and did so "under duress," so to speak.
4:45 PM]Varda: One may do something because others can't handle it, not just won't. Aye.
4:46 PM]Eönwë Valar: Rio Bravo Ricky Nelson You Tube
4:48 PM]Eönwë Valar: Frodo is a Reluctant Hero. He wanted to be done with the Ring before he set out from Bag End, but he took it to Rivendell. He wanted to be done with it in Rivendell, but when no one else spoke up he took the burden again.
4:50 PM]Varda: When the request went out to give him companions, those who responded did not have to, but felt they should.
4:51 PM]Ungwetari: Ah, it's that time of the week again?
4:51 PM]Ungwetari: Ah, we're discussing how the Fellowship was formed?
4:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: We're discussing heroes.
4:52 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aragorn is not a Reluctant Hero. He knew what dangers he would face, he chose to face them anyway because he knew that was his duty. He could've sat around Rivendell training for the day when Sauron would rise again, thinking himself above the common man. Instead he went down in the trenches, risked himself time and time again. Learned about the land and the people by living with them, not just hearing about them.
4:54 PM]Varda: He had plenty of motivation if he could bring himself to do the tough work and handle the dangers. His beloved as wife, a kingship over both Arnor and Gondor.
4:54 PM]Varda: Aiye Shelob. : )
4:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya spidey
4:55 PM]Ungwetari: Ungwetari is definitely an unsung hero. Living for years under the great oppression of her mother, barely escaping with her life when her mother started eating all her siblings, but when she finally finds her freedom and a nice cozy little place to call her own, she's being used as a glorified gatekeeper, only to get pricked by a dagger by a couple of kiddos... well, one really, she was just trying to prepare a meal for the other... of the other.... pot-ay-to, pot-ah-to.
4:55 PM]Varda: Shelob, we are discussing heroism.
4:55 PM]Ungwetari: Sorry, in a bit of a playful mood.
4:55 PM]Varda: : ) 4:56 PM]Varda: A certain point of view. : )
4:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She did get rid of a lot of orcs over the years.
4:56 PM]Sandalf13: I have often thought about Aragorn's heroism....sure: there is no doubt that there is a prize for him at the end, but nevertheless, I think that he considered the possiblity of his "winning" very hardly likely, so his choices were raised to the level of doing what had to be done, because he was uniquely qualified to do it.
4:57 PM]Ungwetari: But heroism comes in many forms, some small, some large. I remember this young whippersnapper of a guy, great something grandpa of Aragorn who defied his king and stole a small sapling from a tree before it was burned. A rather insignificant thing at the time, but with huge ramifications down the line.
4:58 PM]Varda: Aragorn had to go through a ton to be worthy of his great prize. Not for the faint of heart.
4:58 PM]Varda: Grabbing that sapling took a lot of sneaking and bravery and being ready to fight and defend. He cared very much.
4:59 PM]Ungwetari: Merry and Pippin started their path of heroism with an act of defiance, spying and interrupting an otherwise "secret" meeting.
5:00 PM]Ungwetari: Eowyn would have been a hero to me, even if she hadn't slain the Witch King. The fact that she didn't silently obey her foster father and king, but followed her heart, that of a warrior, not of a dainty maiden is plenty enough for me to make her a hero.
5:00 PM]Varda: Book it was Sam. They felt it was wrong for him to be rewarded. They got in a little later. Movie, yes.
5:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Sam was definitely brave out of duty to Frodo, even if not pressed to it.
5:01 PM]Varda: Aye, Eowyn was every inch a hero, even with the fatalism in there.
@Sandalf13 I have often thought about Aragorn's heroism....sure: there is no doubt that there is a prize for him at the end, but nevertheless, I think that he considered the possiblity of his "winning" very hardly likely, so his choices were raised to the level of doing what had to be done, because he was uniquely qualified to do it.
5:01 PM]Eönwë Valar: To play Melkor's Advocate: Yeah, It was great that Eowyn abandoned her people and left them leaderless, left them with the potential of having no ruler. (edited)
5:02 PM]Eönwë Valar: Great that she chose that it was more important having absolutely no heir to the throne of the line of Eorl.
5:03 PM]Varda: The fatalism implied is that there was no hope for those left behind.
5:03 PM]Varda: Not even with her there.
5:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Oops, that wasn't meant in response to Sandalf's comment. I just happened to have another line of thought going when I typed that.
5:04 PM]Varda: Serendipity. : )
@Sandalf13 I have often thought about Aragorn's heroism....sure: there is no doubt that there is a prize for him at the end, but nevertheless, I think that he considered the possiblity of his "winning" very hardly likely, so his choices were raised to the level of doing what had to be done, because he was uniquely qualified to do it.
5:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: For Sandalf's comment: I wouldn't discount his heroism on the account of there being a prize. It was still a hard-fought battle. He "earned" his prize through perserverence and hard work. He didn't assume that he was owed it based on his birthright. (edited)
5:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still, she couldn't have known she'd be essential in the battle. As far as she knew she could've been more useful staying behind.
5:05 PM]Varda: She wanted to be in the front.
5:06 PM]Varda: If they could lessen the numbers, shunt them to the side, anything at all, it might be more help.
5:07 PM]Ungwetari: Plus, Aragorn didn't do it for the Kingship. If I remember it correctly, he did it out of the duty he felt for all of Middle Earth. Wasn't he at first reluctant to take the throne?
5:07 PM]Sandalf13: I did not mean to imply that I doubt Aragorn's herosim...,maybe my comment was not clear in that regard. I think that his heroism really came through when he thought that with the loss of Gandalf, he would have to accompany Frodo into Mordor on a surely hopeless quest...but that he would do so anyway.
5:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sorry Sandalf, I wasn't disagreeing with you, I was adding to your point..
5:08 PM]Varda: Kind of interesting how the typing in here works. We can be typing to one person or to a point but it comes out after someone else's. Can be good or bad timing.
5:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Plenty of heroes among the Fellowship. Boromir was certainly a hero out of duty, to his father and kingdom.
5:09 PM]Varda: A natural fighter who liked to put his talent to aiding his kingdom and family.
5:09 PM]Ungwetari: How about the most unsung hero of all? Bill the Pony?
5:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: Eowyn was a hero, but I don't think "disobeying daddy" makes you a hero. Theoden gave her an important task, he didn't lock her in in a treefort after she brought home a boyfriend coughThingolcough.
5:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: very loyal in troll country and wolf country 5:10 PM]Ungwetari: I believe it was rather clearly implied that Bill was aware of his situation, that while he would leave a very bad master indeed, he would trade in that life for one of peril.
5:11 PM]Varda: Disobeying daddy did not make Eowyn a hero, aye. It was her agreement with him that a heroic death defending one's people made one worthy to meet the ancestors.
5:11 PM]Ungwetari: Not to mention she could hardly disobey her daddy to begin with.
5:11 PM]Ungwetari: Considering Theoden is her uncle.
5:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: Uncle, Father-figure, king, you get the point.
5:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: See, that... I'm not sure a heroic death in battle as one soldier among thousands - again, she could not have known the role she'd be playing - is more heroic than taking care of your people in a time of need when the army is at war.
5:12 PM]Ungwetari: I'm autistic. I need to punt in the goal when I see such a clear advantage.
5:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heh.
5:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Eowyn came from a culture where that was a big thing. Gondor was "devolving" to that kind of culture where boisterous men like Boromir were heralded but capable but quiet men like Faramir were seen as lesser, at least from the description Faramir gave of Gondor's current state.
5:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Combat for the sake of combat, whereas Faramir "Loved not the sharp sword for its brightness... but for that which it protects."
5:15 PM]Sandalf13: In their own way, each of the members of the Fellowship was a "hero" in one way or another. Merry: stabbed the Witch King. Pippin: stabbed the great troll chieftain in defense of Beregond. Sam: accompanied Frodo. Gimli and Legolas: stayed with the company, and later with Aragorn, despite their earlier thoughts of leaving the Fellowship at some point. Boromir: died defending the Hobbits. Gandalf: died defending everyone against the Balrog. Bill the Pony: for staying with the group as long as he did.
5:15 PM]Sandalf13: As for Eonwe's comment, yet Eowyn herself say in Faramir a man that no man in Rohan would be able to beat in combat.
5:16 PM]Sandalf13: saw in Faramie
5:16 PM]Varda: Defense, aiding the group that is trying to accomplish the saving of the world.
5:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: Never said Faramir was a slouch :} I just said he cared about what he was protecting more than any sort of "glory" he got in the practice of war.
5:17 PM]Sandalf13: You are correct, I was just trying to reinforce Faramir's heroic qualities.
5:17 PM]Sandalf13: A fighter and a thinker...quite a combination.
5:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: The sword is a tool to protect what's important.
5:19 PM]Varda: Faramir was chosen over Boromir by the visions. Boromir was only second-best, and he was very good.
5:20 PM]Varda: Faramir in the books was a hero of a type near to Aragorn.
5:20 PM]Ungwetari: Faramir was never riddled with arrows, so not that good. ;D
5:20 PM]Sandalf13: Too many people today forget that sometimes one has to fight for what one believes in. Our society has made it too easy to depend on the "other guy" to do the fighting, not one him/herself. I think that Tolkien's wartime battles brought that point home to him, and he made that point in his characterization of his heroic characters.
5:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Agreed. 5:20 PM]Varda: Aye.
5:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sometimes it means standing alone.
5:21 PM]Varda: I think our society has begun slowly to wake up to that, hopefully not too late. We can't wait for just one hero to do things, but must all be heroic.
5:21 PM]Varda: Aye.
5:21 PM]Sandalf13: Right on!
5:22 PM]Varda: And if one hero stands, others may feel they too can stand.
5:22 PM]Varda: Contagious heroism? : )
5:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Inspiring, more like it
5:23 PM]Varda: Aye, better word, less funny. : )
5:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Avengers - Captain America and Iron Man VS Loki YouTube
5:23 PM]Varda: That old gentleman was a hero.
5:24 PM]Sandalf13: Does not Aragorn say to Eowyn, "Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised." Yes. Tolkien is extolling the virtue of heroism without recompense, simply because someone has to do it. Very democratizing to think that all of us, in some small way or another, can be heroic.
5:25 PM]Varda: Aye.
5:25 PM]Sandalf13: Sorry....had to run into the other room to fetch my copy of ROK.
5:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Good quote.
5:25 PM]Varda: Glad you did!
5:26 PM]Sandalf13: My laptop is on the desk in my study, overlooking the Great Plains. My Tolkien Library is in the guest bedroom, must in case a guest wants to read some quality stuff sometime.
5:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Good quote indeed, and I'd like to take that as reinforcing my earlier point that she'd have been no less heroic in her role at home
5:28 PM]Varda: Aye, Phar.
5:28 PM]Varda: We lucked into her being in the right place at the right time. Luck...
5:28 PM]Sandalf13: Serendipity, to use a word seen earlier.
5:29 PM]Sandalf13: In the Broadway show "Pippin," Charlemagne says to his son: "It is smarter to be lucky, and it is lucky to be smart." Try that one on for size.
5:29 PM]Varda: There were a number of cases of mysteriously good timing, and Gandalf mentions the fact that it's not always pure luck. : ) 5:29 PM]Varda: That's a good one!
5:30 PM]Varda: What kind of hero is Sam? People sometimes even say he's the real main hero. (not me but you can see why!).
5:32 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Reluctant at first, seeing it as a punishment. But with ample opportunity to do otherwise, he sticks with Frodo out of sheer stubborn loyalty and goodness.
5:32 PM]Ungwetari: I'd say that if you reckon Frodo to be the main hero (which I don't, because there are too many heroes doing their own thing in too many different places), Sam has the main support role. Someone the Hero can't do without, making the support role a hero in it's own right, but there are things that Sam cannot do (even if only for story constraints, like tossing the Ring into the fire).
5:34 PM]Sandalf13: I believe that for Tolkien, Sam represented the under-appreciated British enlisted man of WWI who had none of the glory of the "upper class" that formed the officers ranks...yet did his duty regardless, and often with no hope of renown, just like Eowyn feared. Tolkien came to have a great deal of respect fot he British common man who went over the edge of the trench in the face of almost certain death.
5:34 PM]Varda: No Ringbearer could throw the Ring into the fire. That's why the Fellowship needed to be along for support.
5:34 PM]Varda: The yeoman, aye. JRRT admired them greatly.
5:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And the one destroying it was the (reluctant) 10th member
5:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: 11th, sorry, forgot the pony again.
5:35 PM]Varda: 11th if you count Bill? ; )
5:35 PM]Varda: hah
5:35 PM]Sandalf13: If Bill was the 10th, wouldn't Gollum be the 11th? he he
5:35 PM]Sandalf13: Hah! Same thought...but you type faster!
5:35 PM]Varda: We all are in agreement there. : )
5:35 PM]Varda: hey, we are allowed to support each other too!
5:36 PM]Ungwetari: Well, I'm pretty much about to go all 8 legs up unwillingly, so I must bid adieu and retire to my snug comfy spidey bed. Namarie, and thanks for the chat. I may not be around much, but always when I am, I enjoy it thoroughly.
5:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Great minds
5:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie, Shelob!
@Ar-Pharazon-V Good quote indeed, and I'd like to take that as reinforcing my earlier point that she'd have been no less heroic in her role at home
5:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: If I didn't already say it, I agree with Phar. We'll give you 10 minutes outside of the Cave today.
5:36 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie, Ungwetari! Alway a pleasure to hear from you!
5:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well Shelob.
5:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ahh, sunshine!
5:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, I'll take my 10 after Arien is back
5:37 PM]Ungwetari: spins a small web over Pharzie as a practical joke
5:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Cozy!
5:38 PM]Varda: We are over time by 38 minutes. : )
5:38 PM]Ungwetari: Keep it, will help you sleep.
5:38 PM]Varda: the gavels look up from their game and make a run for the hammerpad
5:38 PM]Ungwetari: Heroes is a good topic. Lots to say.
5:39 PM]Varda: the hammerpad slides out of the way and they fetch up against our giant bowl of cookies
5:39 PM]Varda: wham wham wham wham
5:39 PM]Varda: After-meeting! 5:39 PM]Varda: Free chat. : )
5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V:
5:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Cookie Monster Eating Cookie! Om nom nom! YouTube
5:40 PM]Varda: The Powers look for those they may use as tools. : )
5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: ...so... they're power tools?
5:40 PM]Varda: Aye!
5:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No wonder cookie monster is always hungry, not a crumb makes it into his mouth.
5:41 PM]Varda: Poor guy.
5:42 PM]Eönwë Valar: Because why not, from Rio Bravo, hear those guys all the girls were swooning over (that's what girls did back then, swoon), Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, singing: RIO BRAVO My Rifle, My Pony, and Me YouTube
5:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh my stars!
5:43 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's a tray of folding hand fans over there for anyone getting the vapors.
5:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I do declare!
5:44 PM]Varda: Singing cowboys.
5:45 PM]Eönwë Valar:
5:47 PM]Sandalf13: Oooops....got to run. Be back later! Great discussion, today...thanks everyone for some great, thought-provoking topics on a thought-provoking topic! Will be back later später (couldn't resist the umlaut). Namarie for now!
5:47 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarië
5:47 PM]Varda: Namarie for now!
5:47 PM]Varda: hah umlauts win again!
5:48 PM]Sandalf13: They always do....
5:50 PM]Eönwë Valar: OK, one more bit of humor and music (and yes, if there's any doubt in your mind about it, read this as humor :}) Who needs a woman who can wield a sword, when you can have one who knows the Dewey Decimal System! Focus on your book to forget your sadness
5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: speaking of humor and heroism and medieval combat, earlier this week youtube tossed me into a channel with lots of funny videos about life in videogames, including one suspiciously like WoW
5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Viva La Dirt League "We're Viva La Dirt League. A bunch of nerds who play games and makes comedy sketches about games. YouTube.
5:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heh, I've watched some of their stuff.
5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: nods I suspected that I'd be the last to know about a 12 year old channel
5:55 PM]Eönwë Valar: Part of the fun is finding stuff and you're like "They really put that up there 15 years ago? How did I miss it?"
5:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: True that!
5:56 PM]Eönwë Valar: Especially when you know you looked for that exact thing in the last 15 years, lol.
5:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: First reaction: "Oh somebody finally put it up here." Second Reaction: "What?!"
5:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
6:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ok, my time to go has come. Hope you all enjoy the new story.
6:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Take care, good night, sleep well, and have fun.
6:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie! 6:49 PM]Varda: Thanks again, Eonwe! Namarie
6:49 PM]Varda: Back later
7:27 PM]Sandalf13: I'm back! Anyone at home?
8:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
8:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report time
8:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, World of Talesworth is a new one this week!
8:06 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Ar! I was reading an article on the Messinian Saline Crisis in the late Miocene...fascinating. I remember steaming in the Med...idyllic, when it wasn't stormy!
8:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: An idle MMO simulator! Create a character, visit a zone for your level range, and sit back while your character gets quests and fights monsters for them, which you can aid manually to speed things up.
8:07 PM]Sandalf13: Hot, though, especially in the summer...our engine room temperatures got up to 120 Grad F ambient....hard to stand a watch in those conditions.
8:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Lots of stuff to upgrade like xp and gold gain, questing speed, bigger inventory, your own gear, and there's crafting as well: You can slow down your speed in order to collect crafting materials, and use those to create upgrades for yourself. 8:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, yes, seems warm
8:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So yeah, truly an idle game for MMO players like many in our guild I've spotted some WoW references in there already!
8:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
8:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 4: Did a few more side quests on the main, in a short questline to investigate werewolf numbers in Scosglen. There's a whole druidic ritual involved that affects the entire area!
8:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: He's also gotten half a level more, to 56.5, gaining a few more paragon points along the way.
8:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: After that, I finally started my seasonal character for season 3
8:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: With the theme being mechanical/construct, I modelled my character after my Warcraft mechagnome mage, Calectronica, and made her a lightning-specced sorcerer.
8:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So far she seems to fit the season quite well!
8:14 PM]Sandalf13: Hope she keeps it up.
8:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She went down into a newly uncovered vault, saved another sorcerer from demonic possession, and in return got a permanent (seasonal) companion in the form of a mechanical pet, sticking around for the remainder of the season and helping out with abilities. You can collect runic stones to get more abilities to choose from, or upgrade the ones you have.
8:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So far it's using lightning attacks as well
8:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, she's on the third quest in the 10-part seasonal questline now, and has made it to level 12. Pretty quick leveling!
8:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 144 on the reward track. Still getting gold, though the xp per level required is increasing again.
8:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Working on the 10 year anniversary quest event, which is going smoothly! Halfway through the main quests while also doing a daily quest every day, and now halfway through the event experience track as well. With 15 days to go still, it should be fine
8:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl is Miniature Warfare: All minions cost 1 mana and have 1/1 attack/health. I'm doing quite well with a deck of mostly powerful legendaries which still have some interesting passive effects and skills despite being 1/1, though I've also lost to some gimmicky decks that set up combos.
8:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still, it's a fun brawl
8:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Rumble: Collection level 28 got. It helps that they got some compensation gifts to players for earlier bugs, which meant a lot of xp tomes and a bunch of gold.
8:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It's now undead week in the dungeon, though I've not gotten the next dungeon level done there yet.
8:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I did, however, defeat 3 more fights in the sigil campaign, completing Winterspring and progressing into the Plaguelands. Not sure if I'll get the next fight, Tirion, with this undead army, since he seems specialized against skeletons.
8:26 PM]Sandalf13: Sounds ominous.
8:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I got one more mini upgraded to uncommon, the necromancer, and talents for all my uncommons that didn't have their talents yet, so in addition to the necro, also Thaurissan, the Drake, and the Arcane Blast spell. Especially the drake one and the necromancer one seem quite powerful!
8:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Currently saving a bit of gold to get the blackrock miner straight from common to rare quality, as it's always handy to have that one around in blackrock armies
8:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW: 8:30 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: More raiding, and as I didn't get anything new from the vault rewards from the raiding, I bought the currency for a gem-socket instead. I then proceeded to upgrade my crafted helm, allowing me to switch helms and chestpieces to retain the setbonus, and put the socket on the helm as well. More upgrades!
8:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly is arena skirmishes, which is going a bit less smoothly this time around, though I'm getting there, and got to honor level 124 along the way.
8:32 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: People don't always like me going into arena in tank/guardian spec, so I gave feral a try, but... I just die too fast and do even less overall dps than in guardian. So I'll be sticking with guardian, and giving my feral performance as an excuse if they point fingers
8:33 PM]Sandalf13: That sounds a bit intimidating to me...maybe they should be more gracious about your appearances
8:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, maybe, but it's an easy target to blame when we lose a skirmish fight, and I do kinda get the point that it's easy to not focus on attacking the tank
8:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, no alting this week as I've been focusing on Diablo 4. But once I get through about halfway the seasonal questline, I might poke the mage in WoW again for a bit.
8:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!
8:35 PM]Sandalf13: wonderful report! Any news on the job front? The home front? How is your moving in going?
8:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm pretty well moved in No news on the job front though.
8:36 PM]Sandalf13: I hope you keep at it! One never knows what may suddenly turn up!
8:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Will do, thanks
8:37 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie! If I see you online sometime, I will try to check in! Sei gesund!
8:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie! March 5, 2024 Eönwë Valar Oops, that wasn't meant in response to Sandalf's comment. I just happened to have another line of thought going when I typed that.
4:24 AM]Eönwë Valar: Just to clarify this, when I set it up to reply to Sandalf, I had one line of thought going, then I switched it to comment on Shelob's mid-sentence and just forgot to clear out the "reply to".
7:16 AM]Eönwë Valar: ♘
7:16 AM]Eönwë Valar: ♞
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!