The Hall of Fire

One does not change an entrenched culture like the one that has inculcated Washington for so long over night. I hope that he stays the course (to use what has become a loaded phrase) for as long as it takes. Otherwise, we'll just continue around and around the same old merry-go-round. It's encouragi...

No, it's poor journalism. "Other Tolkien books" means "other LOTR books other than The Two Towers ." Because of the way the Agreements are drafted, New Line contends that they only owe 2.5% royalties on The Two Towers , as compared to 7.5% for the other books. The plaintiffs say ...

vison wrote:Not so revisionist, Voronwë, since the Republicans I meant were Mr. Bush and his chums.

I see. My bad. I assumed that when you said 'Apparently, "that was then, this is now"' you were talking about the same people.

My guess, honestly, is that you won't like any of them. If you don't like the music, you don't like it. Different people have different tastes. Nothing wrong with that. I couldn't even begin to try to choose a "favorite" Bob Marley album. Or to suggest which one might appeal to someone who...

Looking in from the outside I am smiling ironically. Which is fun, especially this early in the morning. Only weeks ago, as Sen. McCain suspended his campaign and rushed to Washington for the sake of his country, as Mr. Obama looked grave and solemn, as Mr. Bush looked, you know, like Mr. Bush alwa...

A man walks down the street He says why am I soft in the middle now Why am I soft in the middle The rest of my life is so hard I need a photo-opportunity I want a shot at redemption Don't want to end up a cartoon In a cartoon graveyard Bonedigger Bonedigger Dogs in the moonlight Far away my well-li...

Believe it or not, Faramond, I think that statement is true, even though I have not seen it mentioned anywhere before in the debate on the stimulus package. I found this on the website of Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota: In 2007, as the new Budget Committee Chairman, Senator Conrad led the effort t...

Cool, Al!

I'm still working on that.

Well, I just heard it. It is beautiful. Very different than the version that I am used to. Really like a completely different song, though the structure of the melody is the same. Very interesting.

Oh, I don't think I need a taster to know that I would love it. Let me see if I can track it down, and if not, I'll get back to you!

Jonny Depp could pull virtually anything off!

Impy! I too have adored Carlos' music for a very long time, and Europa is probably my favorite of all of his songs. But I have never heard it played with lyrics sung. And in a collobration with Paco de Lucia? Wow, that must be GORGEOUS! I'll have to try to seek that out. Do you know if it is availab...

Thanks, N.E.B.! I don't think that description was there when I first went to the page. Or maybe I just didn't see it!

Hopefully, over time, the Obama administration's broader strategy (including the appointment of Richard Holbrooke as special envoy, which I understand has gotten mixed reviews in South Asia) will result in better cooperation with the Pakistani government, less need for unilateral attacks, and most o...

I have no problem at all with listing the names, but I am inclined to agree with Faramond that publishing the addresses (and mapping exactly how to find them) serves no purpose other than facillitating harassment. Faramond, I don't know off-hand of any cases addressing people distributing maps showi...

A strange one, eh?

You should fit right in.

Mahima, do you have a link to a story with more details?

Primula Baggins wrote:How can he have a character arc when the whole story happened decades ago? Unless he has one of those terrible "At last I understand what it all meant!" moments.

You mean one of those "I think at last we understand each other, Frodo Baggins" moments?

The parties in the case have apparently agreed on a mediator, and are tentatively scheduled to hold the mediation in mid-March or April. However, I would not be at all surprised if that get's put back a while.