Continuing My Streak of Hobbit Spamming

I realized that I have completely forgotten to talk about Balin in the movie. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it is so, and I really don't know why. I just seem to find Balin very forgettable, and it shouldn't be so. He's one of the more important Dwarves, after all.

(May all peoples who use the plural 'dwarfs' in connection to Tolkien's world perish to the tune of Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!)

My summation of Balin is this: a short Santa Claus without a moustache and with a sword. Yeah, pretty much. He's one of the oldest Dwarves and probably the wisest; he is the most kindly of the Dwarves in the book and becomes a good friend of Bilbo. He still has that role in the movie, and it was a delight to spy him straight off in the Erebor prologue of the movie, albeit with a darker beard. (Balin is the more dignified older brother. Dwalin has a mohawk at the Battle of Azanulbizar. What have I said before about older brothers always having more dignity??)

I really do like Balin. I mean, I like all the Dwarves. Balin just hasn't made it to the top of my list, for whatever reason. Of course, young people will like the awesome characters and it's only the older and wiser people that really appreciate characters for the wisdom, dignity, and kindness.

Most of the time.

In other Hobbit news, it has become very interesting on Tumblr... Fanfiction.net/book/Hobbit has become swamped with Mary Sue stories, self-inserts, and horrible slash pairings. I have seen only two good contributions since the movie. I'm on the verge of swearing it off forever, just as I have done with LOTR fanfiction. Except for the Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth. I really want a Hobbit edition of that...

I'd also like to state that, unlike most fangirls, I have no romantic intentions towards Fili and Kili. As if! I'd much rather be their sister. To explain: I think they'd make AWESOME older brothers. Fili would be the responsible older sibling who'd look after you when you were sick and comfort you when you were crying and remind you to put a coat on before going outside in the cold. Kili would be the fun older brother who'd help you sneak outside and who you'd get in trouble together with.

XD No contest. Older brothers it is. I've never wished for older siblings before, so it's a very odd feeling.

 

Credits to kaciart on Tumblr. Not my art by any long stretch. Cannot figure out how to link the picture, so I just have to mention it. I love pictures of Thorin with his nephews, and this one is just so sweet and also has Bofur (thus including my four favorite Dwarves) that I had to put it up here.

 

I HAVE, however, done my own sketches of Thorin, Bofur, Fili, and Kili, but I haven't figured out how to post those, other than by scanning them in and that is a HEADACHE, let me tell you, so it likely won't happen any time real soon, if at all...

 

It's the family element that I like the most in stories, I think. Since I am the oldest of four and I have a very large extended family that gets along quite well (a novelty, I think), I am very attached to my family. In my own stories, family bonds figure in a lot and there are lots of siblings and cousins. My favorite moments in stories and movies will inevitably ones that consist of positive interactions between family members. That explains why my favorite scene in all of Star Wars is the redemption of Darth Vader via Emperor thrown down an elevator shaft (priceless) and also why I gripe so much at the lack of meaningful Theoden/Eomer interaction in The Return of the King.

 

You hear a lot about friendship in books, movies, and shows (Yu-Gi-Oh... sigh... just Yu-Gi-Oh. I really don't know why Tea was branded 'the Friendship Girl' since Yugi talks about it more than her!). But you don't hear so much about family, which I find very sad. Family is very important. You might not be able to choose your family, but blood is thicker than water, to quote an old cliche.

 

Three cheers for The Hobbit being composed of a whole bunch of brothers (and some cousins)!

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

More Hobbit Stuff, Lalalalala...

It pretty much goes without saying that if I ever got married, the dude would HAVE to be a complete Ringer (Tolkien fan), because otherwise he wouldn't survive. He'd also have to survive a bunch of other geeky things I like, including some (sort of) sillier ones like Princess Tutu and Yu-Gi-Oh.

What? Princess Tutu is epic. Don't let the name fool you. Just watch it. Your mental process goes like this: "Episode 5: I hate Fakir." "Episode 10: I feel kinda sorry for Fakir." "Episode 15: Whoa, Fakir is awesome!" "Episode 20: Who cares about Mytho, I prefer Fakir!" "Episode 25: YESSS, FakirxAhiru is CANON!" "The Ending: NOOOOOO! *uncontrollable sobbing*"

Yep, that's pretty much how it went for me and everyone else.

As for Yu-Gi-Oh? I am entirely unapologetic. I know almost nothing of Zexal, cannot understand why I think Yusei from 5Ds is cool (he is, though... I cannot understand it... it is very strange... everyone else is hideous... what makes crabhead guy any better?), and GX took the only characters I thought were cool (a.k.a., Syrus and Zane) and put them through the wringer. The original was the best. You can't beat Yami for snarkiness, and the manga had the most hilarious psycho!Yami of all time. Seriously, I was keeping count of how many people he set on fire.

The main attraction of YGO, though? Two words: Dark Magician.

Oh, and I don't like him just because he's cute (which I do not deny), because that alone is a stupid reason to like a character. I like the personality! I like the way he shows off sometimes (I DARE you to deny it. The completely pointless flip in the air in Season 1 when they were fighting the Paradox brothers springs to mind. Also, his most epic attack of all time when he was fighting Arcana. I DARE you).

Anyway.

This post was going to have a bunch of Hobbit stuff, and somehow I derailed myself. It's amazing how that happens. Sooo... At any rate, I will have a very Hobbity post after I come back from watching it for the second time, lalalalala.

In the meanwhile!

A lot of people love Figwit. I really don't see why. If you are going, "Who's Figwit?" don't worry. You're not alone. He was a random Elf extra at the Council of Elrond that some girls on the Internet noticed, decided he was insanely cute (which I do deny), and labelled him Figwit for, "Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?" They loved him so much Peter Jackson stuck him in The Return of the King as the Elf who tells Arwen they must not delay after her vision of Eldarion (her and Aragorn's son).

And now, since the fandom STILL loves Figwit so much, he stuck him in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Lindir, a sort of assistant for Elrond.

However, I think Figwit/Lindir should be memetic for another reason: whoever he's assigned to look after escapes him! He was assigned to ensure Arwen made it to the Grey Havens. She got away and went back to Rivendell. He was assigned to ensure Bilbo and the Dwarves did not leave Rivendell. They got away and left. I privately think that in The Fellowship of the Ring he was sent to ensure Arwen did not get any delusions of grandeur so she wouldn't leave Rivendell to go after Aragorn and the hobbits while Ringwraiths were out there. Of course, she escaped him and went after Aragorn and the hobbits, anyway. Is it any wonder Elrond wants her to go to Aman? Really now?

It also makes you wonder why Figwit/Lindir keeps getting tasked with keeping up with people...

Speaking of memes, TH:AUJ already has three. One is: "I simply cannot go running off into the blue. I am a Baggins... of Bag End!"
Two is: Majestic Thorin. I humbly submit for your perusal this link: http://thorinissomajestic.tumblr.com/
I discovered it last night and it completely ruined my ability to concentrate, since I was laughing so hard. Poor wannabe-majestic!Kili. For some reason, the, "u smell of dignity," part cracked me up. I am still laughing about it as I type.
Warning: 50% of the vocabulary of people on Tumblr seems to consist of profanities.
The third meme: Ridiculously Lovely Bofur. I humbly submit for your perusal this link. Come with me! Jump on board the Bofur bandwagon and celebrate the Dwarf with the best hat of all time!
Bofur is tied for my second favorite- along with Bilbo. My favorite, of course, is a three-way-tie between Thorin, Fili, and Kili. Sorry, Bofur! If it makes you feel better, I love your hat.

RANDOM BOFUR APPRECIATION POST!

 

 

 

 

Only three good ones? Hmm. I need more Bofur pics.

 

So, yeah... I like Bofur. And his hat. He must keep it on with superglue. That is the only explanation I can come up with.

 

Oh, and, before I leave you, I must submit one last random picture for your perusal, simply because I find it hilarious:

 

 

Chillin' Like a Bombur.

 

'Nuff said.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse



 

MORE HOBBIT INSANITY

I really, really wanted to go see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D HFR today, alone if necessary since almost no one else in my family likes 3D even if they have never experienced it before (I figure it's worth a shot), but now I have heard rumors that Florence High is in lockdown and either ECM or Helen Keller or possibly both are in lockdown because of some nut, and now I'm kinda afraid to even go out Christmas shopping as I planned...

Even if nothing is on the news... except for something about Helen Keller. o.O Am very confused.

So... I'm stuck here.

HOWEVER.

I thought of a few more things that were great about TH:AUJ! SPOILERS!!!!!

Elrond in armor. Big highlight of the film for me. Personally, I think Elrond looks great in armor (and not so great out of it in most cases), so seeing the Elven riders taking out the wargs was really great. I was chanting under my breath during that scene, "Elladan, Elrohir! Elladan, Elrohir!" It looked like there were a couple of dark-haired Elves, but no one can say for sure. Folks on TheOneRing.net are already speculating if a golden-haird Elf is Glorfindel.

Oh, and the picture above is from a German LOTR website. I love being able to visit Herr-der-Ringe and being able to read most of it!

It's also hilarious when there's a German comment on a video on YouTube and I can read it. Especially when the comments are things along the lines of, "This is so corny," or, "This is so 80's," as it was for one video...

As for the other thing... well, I'm gonna attempt to embed my first gif file. Here goes!

 

And whaddaya know... it looks like it's worked.

 

This is for all those who are drooling over Thorin and Kili and ignoring the blond Dwarf. Fili needs some love, too. (There's a three-way tie for my favorite Dwarf, if you can't tell.) I can always pick out Fili in a group shot- the blond hair makes me think 'Elf' every time. Which is hilarious.

 

Anyway, the way Fili walks on into Bag End is simply priceless in my opinion. Kili just sort of barges on in and Fili follows with more dignity. Older brothers always have more dignity. Even so, Fili's walk here can only be described as a swagger. Really. I have never used that word before. But Fili is just that cool.

 

Oh, and this is something also funny I found on Tumblr.

 

 

If you click on it, it should expand. It is a helpful little tool for people who have not watched all the production vlogs, have not memorized the names of all the major and minor actors, and who can tell you what each Dwarf is wearing, who their brother is, and what is their ultimate fate. Like, say, me for instance.

 

I am obsessed and I do not mind in the slightest!!!

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse



OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I SAW THE HOBBIT!!!!!

AND IT HAS REDUCED ME TO NEAR-INCOHERENCE!!!!

LITERALLY THE ONLY THING I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO THINK ABOUT SINCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON IS HOBBIT STUFF!!

Well, actually, if I calm down a bit and type more rationally, I've mostly been thinking Dwarf-related stuff. For obvious reasons.

 

Introducing Fili, Thorin, and Kili, nigh-unanimous fan-favorites. Yeeeepppp. Every bit as pretty as we thought they'd be. Let us all just pause for a moment and admire Thrain's gene pool, shall we? (As someone said on Tumblr.)

 

The rest of this post, I warn you, shall contain my insanites about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. There will be lots of pictures and silliness. You are warned.

 

Also, **SPOILERS**!!!

 

I am horrible about accidentally spoiling things for relatives, especially with regards to books I've already read. I remember one of my cousins was reading Eldest and I asked her, "So, have you got to the part where Murtagh comes back?" She was ready to hit me with the book...

 

ANYWAY!

First things first. I'd like to know what planet in the Milky Way the critics of the movie are on, and just what movie they were watching. BECAUSE IT WAS AWESOME. I was grinning like an idiot through the whole thing. I think this movie's going to be a base breaker: people who love the book will love it. Those who don't like the book or haven't read it won't like it so much; they'll say it's too long and too slow and has too many Dwarves.

Personally, I love each and every Dwarf. I can't even decide which is my favorite, it's that bad. My favorite three are definitely those pictured above. XD Although I loved Fili and Kili for their personalities long before the movie.

The whole thing was generally EPIC. There were two songs (I am currently listening to "Blunt the Knives," which is the FUNNIEST thing of all time) which I was practically singing along with. The prologue with all the shots of the Kingdom of Erebor in all its glory literally caused my jaw to drop. It was so beautiful. And Thorin... simply Thorin.... EPIC.

The acting was flawless, it really was. Bilbo and Thorin were perfectly cast, and if you're not drooling over Fili and Kili, I'm not sure what to say... Gollum looked better than ever, with a mixture of hilarious/spine-chilling expressions, which absolutely nailed the "Riddles in the Dark" scene. Thranduil... Well, he's Legolas's dad, so we should probably have expected the rather eerie prima donna stare he gave the camera for all of 10 seconds, and his crown is growing on me, but...

OHMIGOODNESS, the deer!

Hahahaha, there is already an intense fan debate over whether it's a moose, an elk, or an extinct Megaloceros. *snerk* Maybe we should just all dub it the 'war cervid' and move on.

The humor was priceless. I am perfectly fine with the characters not taking themselves overly seriously, and I'm one of the people who thinks the Wilhelm Scream is hilarious! So I loved Goblintown (my brother has been imitating the little goblin secretary ever since we left the theater).

Azog is my one drawback. Personally, I think the concept was great. He's called "the Pale Orc" and "the Defiler" (I suppose I really don't want to know why and how he got the last title) and comes complete with a white Warg. He had the potential to be really epic. But he just looked too CGI to me.

However, it was not enough to dim my enthusiasm for everything else in the movie!!!

Okay, now for individual gushes over the Dwarves.

 

DWALIN.

 

Just Dwalin. He is truly the big 'biker' guy of the Dwarves he called himself in an interview. He even wanted to name his pony Harley! He also said that he's pretty sure one of his tattoos says something like, "If you can read this, I must be punching your face." And in the flashback to the Battle of Azanulbizar, he has a MOHAWK!!! This has been dubbed the Dwarfhawk on DeviantArt. No joke. (If you can't tell, I've practically lived on Tumblr, TheOneRing.net, and DeviantArt today looking for reactions to the movies.)

 

Oh, and I saw the movie yesterday at noon, on the day it came out, before anyone else in my family (well, I saw it with my sister and brother). So I've had over 24 hours to cool down and I'm still going nuts.

 

Okay. Deep breath. Next Dwarf.

 



 

Or Dwarves. It's probably easier to do them piecemeal. Ori, Dori, Nori, from left to right. Nori only got one line towards the end of the movie, poor guy. I like Jed Brophy, and Nori's starfish hairdo has grown on me.

 

Dori had a random refined side I wasn't expecting. He showed up with a teapot and teacups on a tray at the scene in Bag End and offered Gandalf some chamomile tea. Seriously. Gandalf asked for red wine instead. Some time later, Dori retuend with tiny little hobbit shot glasses of wine. Oh, and Gandalf hit his head on the chandelier again. PRICELESS.

 

Ori is so cute! And cute in a, "Aw, look at the polite little baby Dwarf!" sort of way, not like the fangirl, "SQUEE! IT'S KILI!" sort of way. His slingshot... lol. He shot a rock at a Warg... No sell. Then he panicked.

 

Oh, and Peter Jackson? Ori is NOT the youngest Dwarf. Kili is. Now, thanks to you, there'll be a lot of movie-only people thinking Ori is the youngest.

 

 

Bombur, Bofur, and Bifur.

 

Bombur and Bifur didn't really get to do much in this movie, but, have no fears, they'll have more to do in the next one! Bifur did get one line to Gandalf in Bag End (in Khuzdul, of course).

 

Bofur... *sigh* I WANT HIS HAT! I seriously do! If someone could get me that hat for Christmas, I would be very happy. It doesn't hurt that Bofur is HILARIOUS!!! I know absolutely nothing about James Nesbitt and I am now a fan of his. Bofur is priceless. He feels compelled to tell Bilbo, in great detail, how he will die via dragon fire. Cue Bilbo fainting.

 

One of the best scenes I wasn't expecting (I had read all about the plot changes so I would be prepared for them and not be sitting in the theater going, "AHHH! WHAT DID THEY JUST DO TO THE PLOT????") was Bofur's conversation with Bilbo when the hobbit tries leaving the Company up in the Misty Mountains. Bilbo accidentally hurts Bofur's feelings, there's a nice discussion of home, and Bofur sincerely wishes Bilbo all the luck in the world. :) It's so nice to see the Company's relationship with Bilbo improving. (Also, later, Fili and Kili's remark about how they thought they'd lost their burglar.) It's also nice to see another side to Bofur.

 

Plus, the conversation where Bilbo admits to his homesickness but decides to help the Dwarves get their home back on the other side of the mountains was great. When I first saw it in a trailer, I thought it was a non-sequitur and didn't like it. However, in light of his conversation with Bofur and with the choice Bilbo has to make about staying with the Company, I thought it was perfect.

 





 

Again, Oin and Gloin didn't really get to do anything special. Oin didn't even get to demonstrate that he's the medic of the group. Rats. However, they were there and kicked epic goblin butt, just like everyone else.

 

On that note- Kili has pretty darn good reflexes for a dwarf! Deflecting goblin arrows with his sword... *marvels* Instant fan theory: Kili has the Force.

 

 

 

If you do not know which one is Fili and which one is Kili, you are a very sad person.

 

Kili is the one on the right, for your information, and Fili is on the left.

 

THEY ARE AWESOME.

 

Again, it's not just the looks (which I make no attempt to deny), it's also the personalities. Ahh, the cheerful young dwarves off on their first great adventure... Their entry to Bag End... PRICELESS.

 

"Fili."

"Kili."

*together*"At your service!"

 

And then Bilbo tries shutting the door on them. Kili: "What, has it been canceled?" Fili: "Nobody told us." Bilbo: "No, nothing's been cancelled..." Cue Fili and Kili barging on in. I couldn't help but crack up as Fili nonchalantly handed his swords to Bilbo with, "Careful. I just had the sharpened," while Kili is looking around at Bag End and going, "Nice place. Did you build it yourself?" and wiping the mud on his boots off on Bilbo's furniture... XP

 

Just... oh my goodness... Fili and Kili... Sadly, no shots of them turning cartwheels in the entry hall. I suppose there's still hope for that to make it into the extended edition. However, it has now firmly become my headcanon that they practice plate-tossing at home. How else do you explain the fact that Fili can toss a plate down a hall, Kili can catch it, spin around, and toss it into the kitchen in the blink of an eye? Without dropping it? Or chipping it? (Or blunting the knives??!!) AND they used mostly real plates for that scene, too!!!

 

There wasn't all the Thorin-nephews interaction that I hoped for, but there was some. In fact, I don't think it explictly said that they're his nephews. I guess I'm just so used to knowing that they are... Thorin did kind of snap at Kili at one point for joking about orcs (he and Fili were trying to scare Bilbo), and just the dejected look on Kili's face... Awwww. No wonder Balin started explaining stuff to cheer him up.

 

However, during the mountain giants scene... A few Dwarves get stuck on a different giant or giant appendege (it was hard to tell), Kili among them. For a split second, you get a look of fear on Fili's face. Poor guy. The brothers are inseparable, you know? And then when the other giant smashes into the mountain... And Thorin goes, "KILI!!"

Me: "Awwww!" *melts in a puddle warm goo*

 

And then at the end, where Thorin's down and Bilbo goes completely EPIC stepping in to defend him, Fili and Kili join him fighting Azog and the Wargs. Awesome scene, of course, but... sent chills down my spine. Deja vu, really. Because.... well, I don't want to spoil it for anybody. You just have to read the book.

 

Oh, yes, and finally:

 

 

GAH.

 

I knew I was going to like Thorin. I knew it. I really did. But Fili and Kili were my favorites. Then I saw the movie. Now there's a three-way tie for number one.

 

Really.

 

THORIN IS THE MOST EPIC THING IN THE HISTORY OF EPICNESS!!! And I am not a person who overuses the word 'epic' in everyday conversation, either. No, I save 'epic' for appropriate spots, like, say, right now, in application to Thorin Oakenshield.

 

Just. Gah. Daaaaaaang. Thorin.

 

You know why I think I've decided I'd like him as my king over Aragorn? Because it takes Aragorn three movies to look like a king. Thorin? Looks like a king from the first instant he's on screen and just runs with it. Even when he's reduced to working iron in a forge for Men. Still a king. Just something in his presence. He is the King under the Mountain, and don't you forget it.

 

The song... gah... the song...

 

Far over the Misty Mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To find our long-forgotten gold

 

The pines were roaring on the height

The winds were moaning in the night

The fire was red, it flaming spread

The trees like torches blazed with light

 

And, yes, that was entirely from memory.

 

And the actors REALLY SING THE SONG! SERIOUSLY! I found a clip of them on an actual soundstage, recording the song. EPIC.

 

Oh, and once Thorin gets his hands on Orcrist? He becomes a spinning blur of pure death and destruction. I saw in an interview that Richard Armitage said that the sword seemed to have a motion of its own, due to its unique shape, and so once you got it going it was more a matter of hanging onto it and going along for the ride. Watching Thorin just spin and take out goblins from all directions on a rickety board bridge... AMAZING.

 

Just... gah... THORIN!!!

 

Although I have failed miserably at isolating only one favorite character, I CAN tell you my favorite moment of the movie!!!

 

Drumroll, please!

 

THE ENDING!

 

No, NOT the fact that I have to wait an entire year for the next installment, but what actually happens then. And I am going to share it all with you, so MASSIVE SPOILERS!

Consider yourselves warned!

 

Anyway, Thorin climbs down out of the flaming tree (EPIC. I assure you, that picture is among my nice little collection of Dwarves that forms my screensaver slideshow) to fight Azog, but Azog sics his Warg on him (cheater!), so Thorin is down. Bilbo runs to defend him. Seriously. Bilbo. Alone against Wargs and orcs. And he manages to not die! Fili and Kili run to help him, of course. Then the eagles come... *sobs uncontrollably*  It's even better than when Frodo gets rescued from Orodruin!! The eagle swooping down in slow-motion to grab Thorin... so beautiful!!! And then the shot of all the eagles flying with the Dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo... and you're thinking, "Where's Fili and Kili?" And then the camera pans over to the eagle carrying them (yep, both of 'em) and Fili yells, "THORIN!" while they're still in flight, because Thorin isn't moving...

And then they land on the Carrock and Gandalf goes to check on Thorin and he isn't moving and even though I knew he would be okay I was amazing at how convincing PJ was at making everyone in the theater who hadn't read the book freak out and then he moved and I was like YESSSS! And he asked first for their burglar and Gandalf was like, "Bilbo's here. We're safe," and THORIN GETS UP and goes to Bilbo and gets all angry at him- seriously, like a parent screaming, "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" And he goes on to say how he said Bilbo couldn't fight and had no place in his Company and then he pauses and goes, "I have never been so glad to be wrong," and HUGS BILBO and it is the BEST ABSOLUTE EPIC HEARTWARMING MOMENT OF THE ENTIRE THING!!!

 

I wanted to cry!

 

And I am ready to shoot all the BilboxThorin shippers that were born that instant because they are horrible beings with shipping goggles who can't even allow the tiniest bit of friendship to go by without screaming, "I SHIP IT!" and throwing down a mug like Thor and screaming, "ANOTHER!"

 

Ahem. I also have my gun ready for all those insane GaladrielxGandalf shippers. AND the ElrondxGandalf shippers. Seriously??? Do people not know about the existence of Celeborn? He was even in two of the movies! And Celebrian! Seriously, Celebrian! Read the Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth, years one and two, and fall in love with CANON (and Elves in Black Leather).

 

Oh, and second favorite moment? I've named it, too.

 

No, not the epic bunny sled, although I loved it a lot, too.

 

FILI AND KILI LOSING THE PONIES!!

 

Haha, I don't know why, but somehow the part about Bilbo wandering after them carrying the bowls of soup and the way they're just standing there motionless with blank looks on their faces. You can practically read their minds: "Thorin's going to kill us." "Yup."

And their actual lines? "We're supposed to be guarding the ponies." "But we're having a problem. There's only 14 instead of 18."

 

AGH, who am I kidding, just go see the movie now!!!

 

Have just reviewed Tumblr some more. Have come to the conclusion that the fact that Fili and Kili are Thorin's nephew should have been spelled out VERY CLEARLY for the idiotic audiences. Because there are ThorinxKili shippers. Seriously. However, some of them likely wouldn't care anyway about blood relationships, would they?

 

I'm almost scared to see what's happened to the Hobbit section of fanfiction.net in my absence of a few days. I'll bet it's exploded.

 

Well, I've got my gun ready. And I'm still hyper so my aim probably wouldn't be very good. *grins maniacally*

 

Come and get me.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse



 





The End

No, it is not the end of this blog. But it is the end of the semester. Five exams down, none to go. I am very happy about that.

MASTER GAVE DOBBY A SOCK!! DOBBY IS FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

That pretty much summed up my thought process coming out of speech this morning. That, and some lingering amusement from the way a few of us had to stall the teacher (always very easy; ask her some question and she'll divert herself into a ramble about a former student of hers) so Marcela could make it. But we were very happy to do it! That's what friends are for: stalling teachers. XD

My happiness at the semester being over with has been dulled by having to read a book on centering prayer for the church library. It was very mentally exhausting, particularly as I was arguing with the author the entire way. Although he is a Trappist monk, he is under the delusion that the Holy Spirit is a 'she'. ???? Just plain 'God', however, was referred to as a 'he'. But the Holy Spirit is God. So it should be 'he'. Can you say, Logic Bomb?

There were three Logic Bombs in the book in all. My brain did not thankfully explode, but it still feels like it. I am very tired.

Oh, and the dwarves in the above poster. Can you name them? From top to bottom, left to right: Gloin, Kili, Bofur, Bifur, Oin, Ori, Balin, Fili, Thorin, Dwalin, Dori, Bombur, and Nori.

And The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has come out in theaters now in the UK, so I shall have to stay off the Internet now until I see it, lest I discover massive spoilers! Gah!
In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Four Down, One To Go

 

I feel your pain, Bilbo. I felt like that today, too. I had three exams today. All right, all right, one involved a pizza party, and the geography one wasn't that hard. But I was still on campus for about eight hours. Yaaaaay. Oh, and the Wi-Fi in the library refused to work for me (although that is a minor complaint).

 

Still, my brain feels very exhausted. So I have basically nothing else to say. The end. Forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

Hooray! One exam down, only four to go!

From left to right: Dwalin, Ori, Fili, Oin, Gandalf, Bilbo, Kili, Bombur, and Gloin. In case you were wondering.

I also have a complaint to lodge against the bus service. Were they just really behind today, or what? I live 20 minutes away from campus, and I left my house 45 minutes before my exam, getting at Darby Drive 35 minutes or so before the exam. A bus showed up 15 minutes before the exam, leading to me getting to campus 2 minutes before the exam.

Not good.

That crazy girl running across campus with arms waving and panicked expression? Yeah, that was me.

So I am not really a happy camper at the moment.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Consolation Picture(s)

To console myself for the horrible screen image YouTube, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to put up on the post below this one for my honors forum video, I am posting this nice picture of Dwalin with a lantern.

This picture brings to mind the fact that for St. Nicholas's day I and my siblings (that sounds so awkward. It sounds so much more natural to say "me and my family") received the LEGO Hobbit memory game. So we put it together this afternoon and played it. I was Fili. I also lost. If you know me at all, you also probably know that I WIN at memory games. I also win at games like Go Fish since I remember what people have asked for. However, this LEGO game doesn't really depend so much on memory as much as it does on pure luck to win. If you use your memory to get a match, you get 1 point. However, if you randomly stumble across a Dwarf tile, you get 10 points.

It's like LEGO is saying, "Haha! Take that, puny human brain!"

There is also, however, an online version of the game at LEGO.com that works the same way, wherein you are Gandalf and you play against Kili. The first few times I played it, I lost miserably. However, when I finally figured out how the game worked, I proceeded to beat Kili soundly. Then I went to hard mode and beat him again. It was very therapeutic. It's also amusing to see the little LEGO minifigures hop around. XD

Oh, and speaking of minifigures, the Hobbit cast received the LEGO versions of themselves. I haven't been able to locate all the pictures yet, so here's one of the best ones.

 

And, yes, if you click on the picture, it will enlarge so you can see the adorable little Bilbo minifigure better. I have almost all of the LOTR LEGO sets and I am very much hoping to expand my collection with Hobbit LEGO sets!

 

Must collect all the Dwarf minifigures. Must collect all the Dwarf minifigures. Gotta catch 'em all...

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

 

Here It Is. The Horrible Video.

I posted this video before, in the (tiny) link under the post, "I Shall Kill Google". However, I later considered (when my crankiness had passed) that Dr. Brewton would have a hard time finding it. So today I finally managed to get Blogger to embed the video. I am rewarded by a spectacularly stupid image of myself with my mouth open and my eyes big and staring.

All I can say is: Gee, thanks, YouTube, that's really encouraging.

Now pardon me while go hunt down the Google monster. My homicidal intentions towards it have not wavered in the slightest.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Dead Day

It's hard to properly enjoy Dead Day when you know a messload of finals are just around the corner, isn't it?

Oh, and apparently we're not supposed to call it 'Dead Day' anymore, but rather 'Study Day'. I'm not sure why. Is calling it 'Dead Day' offensive to dead people and so we must be politically correct? I wonder how much studying goes on during Dead Day. I've always found it a bit incongruous that the Honors Program has a party on Dead Day. However, I went, despite my case of the sniffles. The food was catered by Chick-fil-A, so you know it was good. I didn't win a gift card, but then I really wasn't banking my hopes on that, either.

Afterwards, about half a dozen of us gathered together and had a small gripe session about speech class. I think we all found it very therapeutic and entertaining.

On the good side, my group finished our project for the W. C. Handy Music Festival poster competition, so we feel very happy and relieved about it. If we do say so ourselves, we think our design is very good and we (of course) hope it will win. But we'll have to wait until the spring to find out!

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

LAST DAY OF THE SEMESTER!!!

"Hooray!"

Today was the last official day of the semester! Isn't it a great feeling? No more assignments... actually, I did have an assignment today. We had to do our self-critiques for speech. Figures that it would be that class, out of all of them, that this would happen in. Also, we didn't manage to finish up our speeches today and two of us will have to go on the day of the final.

So yay.

However, it's the last day and so I am not going to let it get me down!

Now we've just got Dead Day (apparently, it is politically incorrect to call it that nowadays; instead, it has to be 'Study Day') and the finals to go, and then we're free until mid-January. Ain't college wonderful? Maybe I'll be able to get some Christmas shopping done. I've already started, but I've come to a dead end of sorts. Of course, I really don't like shopping in the first place. Somehow, I always manage to arrive in the middle of a ginormous sale. So the place is swamped with middle-aged women, who nearly run me down with their shopping buggies and then smile apologetically.

Grr.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

I Shall Kill Google

And I shall kill a bunch of other things as well.

I have posted the video to YouTube. Are you happy? It has taken me four or five hours. I am very unhappy. Blogger now refuses to find my video or to upload it from my webcam.

Here is the link. I am not in the mood to fight with this thing anymore. I just want to go to bed. After I find the Google monster, which in a few years will rule the world along with Disney, and strangle it slowly and painfully.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Second to last day of school, my precious! We can last! We can! We can!

On an unrelated note, only 10 days to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!!!!

Well, literature today wasn't as messy as I had feared it would become. At least, I managed not to incite any Catholic-Protestant firefights. Always a plus. I did have to explain papal infallibility (I found it oddly amusing that no one could pronounce 'papal' properly XD), which probably went straight over most people's heads. Couldn't help but be delighted when Christian said his reading response consisted of pointing out Martin Luther's fallacies.

As for Martin Luther being humble? Pff, not a chance. I can't lay hands on the book at this moment, but I have read a quote where people were questioning his teachings, and he lost his patience and told them to belief it, "Because Master Luther says so." Yes, he was pretty much claiming the Pope's authority for himself, but whatever...

For those of my readers who are Catholic, a great site to check out is www.catholicmemes.com, which is exactly what it says on the tin. If you scroll through them all, there's sure to be something you'll find funny.

On another unrelated note, I shall try to record a video of myself for honors forum and upload it, the operative word being "try". First I have to figure out how the thing works...

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

An Unexpected Forum, 12/13/12

Today is the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, one of my favorite saints. So yay!

This post is actually about The Unexpected Forum, unlike the previous one, which merely contained my reaction to the news of said Unexpected Forum and various other drabble-y remarks about my day. This one will actually contain my reactions to said Unexpected Forum and my philosophical ramblings thereabout.

Soooooo.

I was at forum every night. Do I get some sort of extra credit? No? Rats.

Dr. Brewton told us that the benefits of classes we hate now may only appear years, even decades later. I realize that. I know that, however horrible it may have been, taking speech is a good thing and it has improved my communication skills. It's also helped me be a little less nervous about getting up in front of people and talking. (I still zoomed through my speech on nuclear energy, though. I think I was so worried about going over the time limit my mouth went into overdrive and I finished up at just over 5 min.) As a bonus fact, I have really talked to a bunch of other people in that class, learned some names, and generally met people. As I am terrible about talking to people and meeting people, this is a big deal. Hanging out in Lafayette beforehand has certainly helped, too.

Dr. Brewton also told us that fulfillment doesn't necessarily come from a sucessful life and career. I understand that, too. We have to find the purpose for which we were created and brought into this life, our destiny (if that term can be used seriously anymore), and work towards that goal in order to find fulfillment.

Then Dr. Brewton went a little quote-happy with stuff by some Robert K. Greenleaf. Honestly, the first then I could think of when I saw that name on the PowerPoint was Legolas Greenleaf. *Insert completely pointless picture of Legolas here.*

 

This picture's actually from The Hobbit. If you'll notice, his clothes are different. Ahem. Anyway.

 

This imposter Greenleaf guy wrote about the mid-life search for meaning and described servant-leadership. I'm not going to rehash the talk about leadership, and instead I'll just post the best definition of leadership I've ever run across:

"Do you understand what I just did for you? You address Me as 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and fittingly enough, for that is what I am. But if I washed your feet- I Who am Teacher and Lord - then you must wash each other's feet. What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do. I solemnly assure you, no slave is greater than his master; no messenger outranks the one who sent him. Once you know all these things, blest will you be if you put them into practice." -- John 13:12-17, NAB

 

The imposter Greenleaf went on to state that the true leader has servant-ly feelings and inclinations first, but arises to greatness because a "conscious choice beings one to aspire to lead". Oh, really? Perhaps it's so in some cases. However, what I've noticed is that generally some of the best leaders are those who do not want to and never wanted to lead at all. Nolo episcopari - I do not wish to be a bishop. Those who do not want power are generally the safest ones to entrust it to.

 

While I'm thinking of Latin, let's look up the etymology of 'servant'. (I found it privately amusing that Dr. Brewton asked for the etymology of 'passion'. Did anyone else raise their hand, or did I cut them off? I responded with 'patior: to suffer, to allow' pretty quickly...) Servus, of course, can mean either 'slave' or 'servant'. You have a choice of verbs, however. Servio means 'to serve', but servo means 'to keep, to guard'. I find that very interesting. To me, it implies that serving requires a dedication of the heart in order to serve a cause, to keep its flame alit... It's hard for me to put down what exactly the interesting combination of servio and servo means to me...

 

Anyway, the imposter Greenleaf (yes, I am going to continue to refer to the dude as such) said that a test of leadership is to ask whether the served people benefit, growing as persons, etc., and whether the least privileged benefit or at least are not further deprived. Cannot really contest that test of leadership.

 

However, I had more of an issue with the next quote. (I did say that Dr. Brewton went quote-happy. I cannot point fingers as I love quotes myself.) It read: "Responsible people build; they do not destroy. They are moved by the heart. They prime test of rightness of an act is how it will affect people; are lives moved toward nobility?"

 

This is moral relativism, one of the most pernicious poisons affecting our society today. This is arguing a postieri, looking at the consequences instead of a set of moral principles, which are a priori. This leads into dangerous 'ends justify the means' territory. Yes, I know people are tired of that accusation. BUT IT IS BEING LEVELED SO MANY TIMES BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE LEVELED SO MANY TIMES!!!! It is entirely possible to do a bad thing hoping for good consequences. But does that make the bad action good? NO. In order to be good, an action has to have: (1) good intentions (2) good foreseen consequences and (3) the act itself must be inherently good or at least morally neutral. It is entirely possible to do a good act with bad intentions, and you can do a good act with good intentions and it have bad consequences...

 

What are they teaching them in schools these days?

 

Then the imposter Greenleaf proceeded to his next piece of moral relativism with this little gem: "The ultimate test of entheos (literally, 'being possessed by the gods/God', but here probably referring more to the butchered 'enthusiasm'), however, is an intuitive feeling of oneness, of wholeness, of rightness, but not necessarily comfort of (or?) ease." Oh, it sounds very nice, doesn't it? My problem is with the word feeling. You don't have to watch a few episodes of Princess Tutu straight to get tired of the word "feelings". It's everywhere in modern society. People base all their actions on their feelings. Star Wars isn't helping in this regard, what with all that Force claptrap and "trust your feelings". Blah, blah, blah.

Feelings can err, peoples! I understand intuiton and all that, but intuition can go wrong in a person who doesn't have innocence and grace in them. We are flawed and fallen beings! We aren't inherently evil or inherently good (no matter how much Rosseau may protest): we are good things that have been warped, 'bent', to borrow C. S. Lewis's haunting and evocative terminology. We can err. We can't always trust our feelings. We can be tempted into doing something, our natural human sympathies preyed upon. And then we find out that we should have listened to that nagging voice in the back of our minds after all!

IT'S MORAL RELATIVISM ALL OVER AGAIN, PEOPLES! You cannot make decisions based on foreseen consequences alone. A postieri is bad, very bad! Rules exist for a reason!

 

Gah.

 

Anyway, then there was some quote about having a dream and working towards a goal. At that, my mind went off in lala land about Tangled and the song in the inn where Rapunzel gets all the rough-looking guys to start singing about their dreams, be it tiny ceramic unicorns, interior design, or you name it. So I wasn't exactly paying attention for a few moments. Man, that song is an earworm! I would embed a video of it if I knew how, if only to share it with everyone else.

 

It also made me think of a passage in G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, where he states that in order to achieve progress in any sort of effort, there must be a fixed goal. After all, if your goal, the end result your are striving towards, is constantly changing, if the goalposts are being moved farther and farther away, you aren't going to get anywhere. So, yes, you've got to have a dream, and you can't keep changing it if you're going to get anything done. I would suggest a nice period of prayer and discernment and possibly some trial and error in order to discern one's true dream, one's true 'calling' or vocation. (Vocation literally means 'calling', from the Latin verb voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatus, 'to call'.)

 

After that, Mr. Imposter Greenleaf had another quote. I did not understand it. It had a lot of fancy words and some grammatical acrobatics. Possibly, I did not understand it because I have had logic classes and have read too many philosophy books for me to look at a quote, go, "Aw, what a nice sentiment," and move on. Nooooo. I have to try to understand it. I'm the person who tries to make my own fantasy world make philosophical sense, after all, and writes pages of background material in order to ensure that...

 

At any rate, apparently the incomprehensible quote means that one must be convinced of the rightness of one's cause and have a faith and passion for it. I only got that out of it because Dr. Brewton discussed it. It was probably around this point that he asked for the etymology of 'passion'. Anyway, having this 'faith' and 'passion' is apparently the hallmark of a true servant/leader.

 

The NEXT quote from the imposter Greenleaf stated that the real enemy are people who are natural servants/leaders who do not follow their calling to lead or choose to follow non-servants. HAH! I am on the verge of just leaving this quote alone on its little wibbly-wobbly legs so everyone can see how ludicrously teetering it is, but on seconds thoughts there is a tiny kernel of truth to it. (Of course there is, or otherwise no one would confuse it for a moment as something profound.) People who refuse their callings/vocations/destinies do ultimately become the enemies. What did satan do, after all? He was created to bring order to the universe, as a sort of vice-regent for the King of Kings. He refused his destiny... and now he is the great enemy.

 

Yes, I believe in satan's existence. I haven't explained him away as some figment of ancient imagination standing for whatever mythological or psychological concepts. I realize that he prefers to be thought imaginary, since that leaves him free to work his damage completely unopposed in unwitting people's minds....

 

No, for once I am not spouting off one of my ludicrous conspiracy theories, either.

 

Dr. Brewton also mentioned something about a fable with angels and really long spoons. For those of us who had never heard of it before, he told us to google it. I am kinda scared to. People have dirty minds. And I had to read an angel book once that was chock-full of bad theology and various foreign mythologies (it was apparently supposed to be a Catholic book) that looked like they had been written while the author was high on some drug or another. It came complete with equally psychadelic pictures. Needless to say... I disapproved of it.

 

Dr. Brewton also explained, via a story about himself and a poor deformed guy, that when you don't know what to do with yourself, you should do something non-self-centered in order to recover yourself. Sounds a bit counter-intuitive, right? Not really. It is only when you 'stand outside' yourself that you can properly see yourself and analyze yourself. It's hard to do on this mortal earth, but it's doable. Only when you have completely lost yourself in some good do you truly become yourself. Ecstasy, after all, comes from the Greek ek-stasis, or a 'standing outside oneself'.

 

I no longer recall what prompted me to scribble this down, but I have it noted to quote this, from Gildor Inglorion in The Fellowship of the Ring. My brother is reading FOTR at the moment, and he likes to hide the books he's currently reading for whatever reason or another (and I REALLY don't want to enter my brothers' room; it's like a war zone), so I can't go get the book and find the exact quote, but I believe it is in Chapter Three: Three is Company. "The wide world is all about you. You can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence the world out."

 

And no sooner had I scribbled that down than Dr. Brewton dragged up Frodo as an example. XD Not quite sure where he was going with it, but he was going. Don't think Frodo wanted to be in 'a happy place' with his Ring, however... Frodo didn't have a clue about the full horrors of Mordor, no. He didn't want to do it, but he did it.

Paraphrased badly (again, since I can't locate my copy of FOTR at the moment): "I wish the Ring had never come to me."

"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All they have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to them."

 

Apparently, my evil little crusade to spread everything Tolkien so that it will conquer the world via putting up pictures of it constantly on my blog is succeeding! Mwahahahahaha.

 

I did feel the need to remind Dr. Brewton that, "One does not simply walk into Mordor," but thankfully I prevented myself from saying that aloud at the last moment. Instead it came out as more of a mumble.

 

 

In the spirit of this forum, Frodo was a true servant-leader because he undertook his horrible and arduous journey in order to serve (both servio and servo) Middle-earth and the Free Peoples. However, he paid the price. The Shire was saved, but not for him. He had received a wound that would not fully heal, like Dr. Elwin Ransom in Perelandra. And he had to leave. He wasn't given immortality upon this earth as his reward, merely a place of rest in Aman before passing on. 

 

In other philsophical news, tomorrow in literature we're supposed to be discussing a passage by Martin Luther where he viciously attacks papal infallibility and other topics. I don't think I would have chosen such an incendiary topic for a literature class, no, precious, I don't think I would have...

 

More than 18 Bibles will be pulled out of thin air, methinks... It ain't gonna be pretty. It just ain't gonna be pretty.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

 

 

 

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

 

-- Benjamin Franklin

 

Why did I put up a picture of Aragorn with this quote? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I actually find this picture hilarious, mainly because of a caption on it I saw somewhere: "And here we have Aragorn, son of Arathorn, trying not to slide off his horse..."

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

An Unexpected Forum

"Please tell us that isn't an unexpected forum we see ahead of us..."

I don't think I'm the only person who doesn't check my email over the weekend, so surely I'm not the only person to receive a shock when I checked my email today to find a message stating we have forum tonight. Whoopee. I was planning on doing my speech critique, reading my assignment for literature, and (hopefully) doing my video for forum once I google how to use my webcam.

HOPEFULLY forum tonight (since I suppose I must go and stay in Dr. Brewton's good graces) will not be painful or prolonged. If someone tells me how to record a video, it will be worth it, however. I am supremely ungifted with technology. I wonder how many other people will show up tonight, however...

Last class of geography today. Happy face or sad face? I'm not sure. I really liked that class, and Dr. Mikey was an amazing teacher. Sad face, I suppose.

Second to last class of speech today. Happy face for listening to everyone else's speeches, which are always really interesting. Ashley told us why carbonation was bad for us and Jacob spoke eloquently about how the foster care system is in dire need of reformation. Andrea spoke about music and childhood development. Trevor tried to persuade us that video games do not lead to violent behavior. Not sure that he really persuaded me, however. Then again, I hold the position that video games alone do not lead to bad behavior; I merely think thy can be one of various factors.

To end it all on a good note, Marcela explained to us all the benefits of chocolate. XD My favorite speech of them all. After it, I went to the Guillot and got lunch. I also got a brownie. What, it's health food!

Also turned in my form about my volunteer hours, so that's another thing checked off my list.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING DIGGING UP THE PRESIDENT'S LAWN??? Seriously, I'm dying of curiosity. I had thought they were messing around with a sprinkler system or something. Today a couple of guys were digging a hole- by hand, too, not with a mini backhoe, either- and half a dozen other guys were standing around watching- supervising, I suppose. What are they up to?

In other news, apparently the big fountain has been shut off and drained for the winter. It now looks very bare and lonely and sad.

In other, better news, only 11 days until The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!!!!

And, you will note, that only had 4 exclamation marks. For, as every good Pterry fan knows, 5 exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

War’s legitimate object is more perfect peace.

 

 – William T. Sherman monument, Washington, D. C.

 

On another note, I think I've decided that Elrond is my second favorite character.

Only 13 Days To Go, Only 13 Days To Go...

Only 13 days to go!

Yes, and this is Fili and Kili. Kili is taller... must be the Longbeard genes. Actually, from what I've seen of behind-the-scences footage, Aidan Turner (Kili) really is one of the taller guys, along with Richard Armitage (Thorin).

Also, only 3 days of this semester left! I cannot believe it. I suppose I'll have to. In less than a week the exams start. Oh, joy.

Gratuitous picture of Fili. What else did you expect, eh? I have to pay tribute to the amazing Fili in all his honor and glory. Between Fili and Kili, I honestly don't have a favorite. I love them both so much. I can't wait to see them being their cheerful selves in the movie. I'm also really hoping to see some meaningful interaction between them and Thorin, to make up for the complete absence of any meaningful interaction between Theoden and Eomer. *grumbles*

 

And I can't exactly post a picture of Fili without posting another gratuitous one of Kili, can I? Haha, you're probably wondering, my dear nonexistant reader, if and when I shall ever run out of Hobbit pictures. The answer is... NEVER! Mwahahahaha. I have an inexhaustible supply of them and I shall torment everyone with them for long after I have finally seen the movie!

 

I am so evil. Meeheehee.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse