The Hall of Fire

It seems to me Sauron can't possibly be anyone the series has focused on thus far. He must be a powerful, convincing, fair-of-face type who is already conniving behind the Elven scenes: someone who can talk elves into thinking there is some kind of necessary deadline for making this darned forge. Th...

Voronwë, why do you think the Stranger will turn out to be Sauron? Isn't Sauron supposed to be corrupting everyone cunningly? Cunning doesn't seem to be the Stranger's forte! And he apparently WANTS to be good, even if he messes up. Plus, if a sweet-natured Harfoot says you're good, shouldn't that c...

Tomorrow in my "Film History, Part One" class, we are discussing The Jazz Singer, the ground-breaking 1927 sound film (part "talkie") showcasing Al Jolson as a Jewish kid who rebels against his destiny as cantor--and thus against his father, the current cantor--to become a "...

I'm just starting a new "remix" (that's the term the publishers are putting out there) of Pride and Prejudice: PRIDE, by Ibi Zoboi. It's set in the gentrifying Brooklyn of today! I very much liked Zoboi's AMERICAN STREET, so I'm interested to see what she does with Austen.....

I am also just so sad about this loss. It's hitting me hard. I got to see her in person in 2013--a great highlight of my adult life. She was everything any writer or human being could hope to be. So poetic and so honest.

I was on an ancient plane that still had (gasp) seat-back entertainment, and so, being tired, I did not grade the pile of papers I had with me, but instead watched Moana, A Monster Calls, and Rogue One. I enjoyed them all, despite the size of the screen. I loved the book that A Monster Calls is base...

Dave, a tiny little bell rang in my memory, reading your description--but the memory bell didn't ring long enough or close enough to summon a title yet. Let me see if "not thinking about it" gets me closer...

:( :( :( Yes, he's doing what he threatened to do. And somehow it doesn't feel, this week, like we have "checks and balances" in our government at all. And we are only one week in! That the Berlin mayor would have occasion to tell us not to be building new Walls! Yikes. When I sign Cloud a...

Well, Nazis are beyond the limits of "tolerance," in my book, but I would like us to find more Quakerly ways to convey that than punching. Especially since violence will play into the Nazis' hands ("see, WE are the victims here!") Yesterday an account on Twitter tweeted the names...

I really enjoyed HIDDEN FIGURES!

Impy, Arrival is MUCH less magical-thinking-ish than Interstellar. I honestly couldn't quite abide Interstellar. Whereas Arrival I liked. The premise gets abbreviated (they learn the aliens' language quickly), but there's a logical explanation underneath what might seem "magical." I recomm...

I liked Arrival despite the handwavium in the whole linguistics bit. Of COURSE it would be harder--as in "impossible"--to learn an alien language just by writing "human" on a board and holding it up in front of you! Ha ha! There's an old TV show called "French in Action"...

Thanksgiving. Whole family, ages 9 to 79, gathered around the piano--and my daughter picked up the viola and our uncle the guitar--and we all sang a couple of glorious, heartfelt rounds of Hallelujah, and it was so sad and so sweet.

I'm so sorry, Frelga.

Aaaaargh. In tears.

Maria, this wolf is amazing!

Yes--depression, exactly--that's what I meant by the "open elevator shaft" analogy--sigh.

True! None of them is a gun!

We've been on a Nickel Creek binge recently at our house....

Anthy!!! :love: Can't you rent guns at the firing range, maybe? I personally would find myself very, very bothered by the presence of a weapon in the house. For all sorts of reasons. It would feel to me like installing an elevator shaft with no elevator in it, and no locks on the door except "s...