The Hall of Fire

Many people have praised the lighting of the beacons of Gondor scene. And justly so; it is a breathtaking and highly moving mix of sight and sound. However, as powerful as this scene is in isolation, the more I think about it, the more I realize that viewed as part of the whole it exacerbates severa...

[Note: I have the current list of errata up at the Comments and Errata page at http://www.arda-reconstructed.com . Please consult that page before listing any additional errata.] Here's one: on p. 219, in the last sentence of the second paragraph, there is a missing "the": "he is ref...

If someone wants to start a Bored of the Rings thread, that would be fine. But let's not get too far afield in this discussion.

Actually this chapter (or rather the Bree section, since the chapter-divisions changed) was one of the most rewritten and overhauled parts of the book, right up there with the Council of Elrond. And yet once again some of the language was in place virtually intact from the very start, even when tha...

Thanks, N.E.B. Sometime I'll try to see some of them. At least A Man Escaped, so that I can see whether I agree that it captures the spirit of LOTR. Am I correct in remembering that it is not in any way meant to be an adaptation of LOTR?

If I'm surprised at all it is that you grant the possibility of validity of an alternative reading. ;) I agree, Elen, that it is not something that a reader would ever pick up on a first reading. It is only after multiple readings and endless analysis that it would stand out. As for the scene during...

There's a lot we still haven't talked about regarding this chapter. Only a bit has been said about Gandalf's letter, and the various interactions between the hobbits, Strider, and Butterbur. And nothing at all has been said yet about Merry's encounter with the Black Riders. But I want to go back to ...

Welcome, Lady Dark Star. What does the "Dark Star" in your name refer to?

Then we can play Hide and Seek the Prim. How fun!

Meanwhile, this is an interesting new website:

http://www.recovery.gov/

N.E.B., I'm sure you've posted this somewhere at TORN, but I'd love to see your top ten list. I'd be willing to wager that a good number of them I haven't even heard of, but I'm pretty sure they would be worth checking out.

I haven't seen Mr. Jindal's speech, but I suppose that the point was probably supposed to be that even if volcano monitoring is worthy thing to do (and of course it is), it doesn't belong in a stimulus package, because it's worthiness is not related to stimulating the economy. If in fact that was th...

I almost pointed that out, too, Teremia. So you're not the only snarky one.

I do think that is the best way to fast for 24 hours though. That is what we do for Yom Kippor (which I actually have observed on occasion).

There is a link to the gallery on HoF's front page, for any whoever visit there.

Why don't you just ask them?

I'm looking forward to seeing this, when it comes out on DVD (which is how I see virtually all the movies that I see).

Padme, I agree, which is why I said that I understand where these Governors are coming from. They have a viable position, which I think it would be good for people to acknowledge, even if they disagree with them. N.E.B., thanks for posting that article about the filibusters. Pretty much supports wha...

The answer is that they would have significantly raise taxes, which those governors are fundamentally opposed to. I disagree with their position, but I certainly respect their right to hold it.

That's a sweet story, Soli (or perhaps bittersweet?).

Oh man! I CAN imagine how hard that would be. I don't know if I could do it.