Wednesday, March 4, 2015

That's it

 This just might be my last blog about J.R.R Tolkien. Bout time, but then again that means I need to find another book. Fun. There really isn't much more to cover so this blog might not be as good as the rest. Anyway, I guess what I'm going to talk about is some of the other work that Tolkien did. Things like "The Silmarillion" which was #1 best seller in 1977 after Tolkien's son finished the writing for him, for good reason too. If you don't know what the book is about I'll explain. Basically it's a collection of other stories, mostly focused around middle-earth, from elvish translations to maps and other tales of middle-earth itself. However it did have many negative thoughts put to light about it, one of which being how many readers disliked the book because of it's style and way of portraying itself was similar to the bible. Apparently. I wouldn't know.
That's beside the point of well...my point. The book is mainly about the universe of Eä which holds the many lands in the TLOTR. Including middle-earth of course. Spanning from the beginning of time to elves and their leave from middle-earth. I don't know but I find it oddly cool how the Silmarillion was his first book, but also his last. It was published by his son Christopher, long after Tolkien told Christopher to finish the book if and when Tolkien were to die. There are small rumors about a movie of the Simarillion but, most say that there is a very very...very low chance of it. Despite it bringing much profit than it already has. Other than that all I can say is that I want to read it.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Language and Random

So seriously though, J.R.R Tolkien knew, wait for it...35 languages. First of all, how does someone even do that, like really? Okay to show you I'm gonna list them ALL; Latin, French, German in his childhood, but while at school he learned Middle English, Old English, Finnish, Gothic, Greek, Italian, Old Norse, Spanish, Welsh, and Medieval Welsh, but wait there's more, he also knew these last "few" Danish, Dutch, Lombardic, Norwegian, Icelandic, Russian, Swedish, Middle Dutch, Middle High German, Middle Low German, Old High German, Old Slavonic, and Lithuanian. Really though he knew languages I didn't even know were a thing until I read his biography. He even (if you read the books) made his own languages, most famous being Elvish which he created as an odd spin off of Finnish. Yet here I am with my wonderful English...hooray.
 Heh, so his story of Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit are crazy no doubt right? Well he was very questioning of the fans he had made with The Lord of The Rings or just LORDT for short, he was always calling his fans "lunatics" and other things as he found they were dimwitted compared to him being a professor and all. He meant it saying that the fans would never fully understand his work but only just enjoy it from time to time. Another cool thing my book taught me was that the only person in the movies who actually knew Tolkien personally was Christopher Lee. See, Christopher was loving of LORDT books and was giving permission to play Gandolf if ever there were to be a movie made. That sounds pretty cool, obviously. As well as if you've ever seen the movies and know who Christopher Lee is you'd know that he never played Gandolf....but he did play Saruman, or in simpler terms: the bad wizard guy trying to take over Middle-Earth. To me that seems like a good bit to end off on.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Edith and Ronald

It's later now by about ten seconds. As I was saying though, he wanted to see Edith again so very much. By the time he was a legal adult at eighteen he DID see Edith again, but she came with bad news..she was getting married. This sunk Ronald's heart to his stomach, but he was determined and after a few short weeks he convinced her to cancel the marriage and break up with her fiance. That's some pretty good convincing. So him being an adult now he and Edith spent much of their time together, if not then they sent letters.
Ah, young love...I have no clue what it's like. That aside a tragedy happens. Shocker, right? As I said in the post before this, it's the war times and Oxfords student numbers went from three thousand to only about one thousand. Ronald wanted to join just because he felt left out and wanted to go, Edith of course did not care and wanted him to stay so he joined a program that let him finish his degree (A.K.A mostly to see Edith more) then enroll. Although he was not sent out immediately, which was good, however Edith wanted to stay near Ronald which just led to her jumping from house to house as he went from camp to camp. Sounds....fun. Oh boy, next is when he actually goes to war, more fun.

J.R.R Tolkein...again

Okay, so apparently he's a vet, like what. He didn't kill any one, though he saw countless lives taken away. Hmmm...seems a bit like Mordor, oh wait, that's what Mordor was inspired from you know that horrific place with the Orcs and Sauron....yeah that one. Oh and Bilbo Baggin's village is based off of where he grew up. I never knew biographies would actually teach me interesting things. Well, he only really joined the war because he felt left out, literally just went so he wouldn't feel left out, that was only after finishing his degree at Oxford.
Also I don't know if I've said this before but when he was in his later teens he was in love with a girl, Edith, after hanging out for several months they eventually figured out they both had feelings for each other. Alas she moved away after they had no contact with each other, not even letters, because Father Francis, legal guardian of the Tolkien boys, forbid it as Tolkien began to mess up is school work. He became desperate and waited around the town market wanting to "accidentally" see her and engage in small talk. Oh hey...I'll finish this later.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

J.R.R. Tolkien

Well before I read the Lord of The Rings books what I'm gonna do is read a quick book on Tolkien  and his history. If you for some odd reason don't happen to know who J.R.R Tolkien is the-then you should, he's the amazing writer of The Hobbit, and The Lord of The Rings series. So it is short but I think it'll do the trick. Seriously though, am I the only one that thinks it's weird his name is "Ronald"
I just don't like that name. The book as well says that he lived in South Africa for an amount of his childhood.....wouldn't really expect that.
Now, the book says The Hobbit is a children's book, it was originally tested by a child but as far as the movies go it's anything but. Something to note is that he answered some of these questions when he was around 70 and he even says that a lot of the things in his past very well... kinda expected but you know, felt as if it needed to be said. Updates will be made on the book though.

The Carnivorous Carnival pt.2

Okay, so now I've finished the book. As I've said I don't read the books for the endings because they are literally the same every time. Predictable. I read them for the events pryer to them, that's the part that's always different. From just some old guys house to a reptile house with a man eating snake on the loose. Always different. I mean a giant pit filled with lions ripping people to shreds is just but a tad different than the first two examples.
That's not my point, my point is that it was a good book, and I'm not gonna end up reading anymore so why not spoil a the end of a book you're never gonna read. Eventually in the end book literally called "The End" Olaf dies. Whoop whoop. He dies in a weird way as well, like he gets shot by a harpoon by a character that doesn't matter currently. Don't worry it gets better, he miraculously manages to stay alive long enough to help a woman give birth and wait for it....recites a poem and "*ploop, just falls over dead*". Yeah gotta mention the children help with the birth and the mother dies right after, and hey guess what the orphans are now parents for an orphan....fun times. Also at least they burred their bodies and payed their respects. Not the best ending but still glad Lemony kept the common theme of people always dying in some way. Which sounds psychotic, slightly is, but still. So you're welcome for a book that doesn't really matter.....HOORAY! 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

The Carnivorous Carnival

I have read all the eight prier books to the ninth one, this one,  in the series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket, and a year or so ago I only began to read this one but I'm back where I left off. So here's a little bit of whats going on. For anyone who knows the series know that the main villain in the books is Count Olaf a terrible, weird, disgusting man. Anyway in this one the children find themselves in a carnival, surprise surprise, where they have disguised themselves as carny freaks to hide from the rechid....rechid? Is that how it's spelled, haven't found anything else. Anyway, rechid Count Olaf. Yeah, that's pretty much in as far as I've read.  I guess the children themselves need to be explained.
The Baudelaire children's names first of all are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny from oldest to youngest. It all began when their parents were killed within in their own blazing house while they were young. Ever since they've had to go from distant relative to distant relative, all ending the same way. They arrive, they have a miserable time, Count Olaf shows up, and people end up dead, then the cycle starts over.