Podcast listener who came here to see the Gollum pics... All I can say is, YIKES. 😮 Fascinating, though! My mental picture as a child of Gollum came from the Rankin-Bass animated movie since my family owned the record and we listened to it often.
In the guiding of the deeds and events by the Valar in the lives & choices of folk in Middle Earth, even ordinary people may influence the great happenings of the 3rd Age. Bilbo’s decision not to slay Gollum leads to Frodo’s being the Ringbearer, which leads ultimately to Gollum’s “accidental” seizing of the One Ring from Frodo & falling into the fire of Mount Doom.. thus Sauron’s downfall.
I stopped growing facial facial hair when It started making me look like a panda. I had really bad jay fever when I was a kid so until I was about 7 we couldn't have a real tree, as my brothers and sisters never tired of reminding me. When I was about 3 my father made a Christmas tree out of a dead tree that he painted white glued glitter to.... for several years that was my idea of a Christmas tree.
I guess Jonathan's beard's gone grey from watching all that Rings of Power nonsense 🙂 As for riddles in Lord of the Rings itself, how about Gandalf's little poem Pippin hears as they ride of to Minas Tirith? _Tall ships, tall kings_ _Three times three_ _What brought they from the foundered lands?_ _Seven stars, seven stones, and one white tree_ Also, it's not Tolkien, but there are Merlin's set of questions (where he mentions 'Numinor') to Ransom in C. S. Lewis's 'That Hideous Strength, that shows Merlin Ranson is the current Pendragon? Finally, the idea of the eye emitting beams of light by which we see was once a common concept, dating back to ancient Greece. It's called the _Emission theory_ of vision, and Tolkien as a medievalist would have been very familiar with it. The idea survives in the term eyebeams, which you can find in poetry dating well past the time the theory was disproven. For example John Donne's 'The Ecstasy' which has _Our eye beams twisted, and did thread_ _Our eyes, upon one double string:_ Or Swinburn's 'Atalanta in Calydon' which has _But favourable and fair as thine eye's beam,_ _Hidden and shown in heaven_
My favorite moment from today's episode: Michael's "insta-thoughts" 😂
Podcast listener who came here to see the Gollum pics... All I can say is, YIKES. 😮 Fascinating, though! My mental picture as a child of Gollum came from the Rankin-Bass animated movie since my family owned the record and we listened to it often.
In the guiding of the deeds and events by the Valar in the lives & choices of folk in Middle Earth, even ordinary people may influence the great happenings of the 3rd Age. Bilbo’s decision not to slay Gollum leads to Frodo’s being the Ringbearer, which leads ultimately to Gollum’s “accidental” seizing of the One Ring from Frodo & falling into the fire of Mount Doom.. thus Sauron’s downfall.
I stopped growing facial facial hair when It started making me look like a panda.
I had really bad jay fever when I was a kid so until I was about 7 we couldn't have a real tree, as my brothers and sisters never tired of reminding me. When I was about 3 my father made a Christmas tree out of a dead tree that he painted white glued glitter to.... for several years that was my idea of a Christmas tree.
I guess Jonathan's beard's gone grey from watching all that Rings of Power nonsense 🙂
As for riddles in Lord of the Rings itself, how about Gandalf's little poem Pippin hears as they ride of to Minas Tirith?
_Tall ships, tall kings_
_Three times three_
_What brought they from the foundered lands?_
_Seven stars, seven stones, and one white tree_
Also, it's not Tolkien, but there are Merlin's set of questions (where he mentions 'Numinor') to Ransom in C. S. Lewis's 'That Hideous Strength, that shows Merlin Ranson is the current Pendragon?
Finally, the idea of the eye emitting beams of light by which we see was once a common concept, dating back to ancient Greece. It's called the _Emission theory_ of vision, and Tolkien as a medievalist would have been very familiar with it. The idea survives in the term eyebeams, which you can find in poetry dating well past the time the theory was disproven. For example John Donne's 'The Ecstasy' which has
_Our eye beams twisted, and did thread_
_Our eyes, upon one double string:_
Or Swinburn's 'Atalanta in Calydon' which has
_But favourable and fair as thine eye's beam,_
_Hidden and shown in heaven_
Good call on the riddles-- particularly Gandalf's poem! Of course, "Speak Friend and Enter" might be considered a riddle too...