Dawn Felagund (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dawn_felagund) wrote2010-06-16 07:25 pm
dawn_felagund) wrote2010-06-16 07:25 pm
Entry tags:
A M-m-m ... M-Word Thing!
Since coming back to LJ, I've been scouring around for an m-word thing to do. Because nothing says LJ like a meme an m-word thing! (Okay, so the revised version ain't nearly as catchy.) I got this one from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
samtyr. I really like it because, during my rather long absence from LJland, lots of people friended me whom I know nothing about and haven't had much of a chance to talk with. So this is a good opportunity, if you are new to Ye Olde Flist, for us to get to know each other better. Of course, if you've been around since the dawning of my LJ (pun, ouch, yes, I know) and want to play, feel free!
It goes something like this:
Simple, eh, and painless enough? (I hope!)
What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Tea. Any kind. Hot, iced, black, or herbal. Bobby and I can easily polish off a half-gallon jar of tea in one sitting, if the conversation's good or the food is spicy. A significant risk to our income is showing up at an SCA event and finding that the Tea Guy is there. The Tea Guy has dozens of different kinds of teas, with enticing names like "Christmas bakery" and "chocolate cherry." At the moment, my favorite tea that I make is black tea brewed in the sun with a sage leaf, mint sprig, and sprinkling of lemon balm leaves tossed in for good measure.
What do you feel is the worst problem with computers?
Heh. The people who operate them? Seriously, the number of misunderstandings that I see springing from people not understanding how tough communication online can be is depressing. I have wasted far too many hours of my life as the SWG owner on such kerfuffles as well. I love computers, but they have their limitations.
Who is the most misunderstood 'Silmarillion' character?
Sam, these are supposed to be simple questions, not subjects for essays! ;) I have lots of names fluttering through my head right now: Fëanor, Maedhros, Nerdanel, Celegorm, Indis, Maglor ... but I have to choose just one.
So I'll go with Maglor. Because, actually, I am writing an essay on this! :D It drives me nuts how authors tend to depict him as a tender-hearted, doe-eyed pacifist strumming a harp in the corner while his brothers scheme about going to war. Since I am writing an essay on this that I might one day finish, then I'll limit myself to 100 words on why this seems so wrong to me.
Until fostering the twins at Sirion, Maglor never stood up for anything. In fact, he was quite ruthless. It was Maglor who killed Uldor. He would have ultimately chosen to leave Maedhros hanging. He didn't stand aside at any kinslaying or Losgar. People tend to lean too heavily, imo, on his fostering of E&E and his musical talents in developing his character. "Bards" in the literature that inspired Tolkien, are not doe-eyed or soft but, in Celtic cultures, people of great power. Characterization focusing on the fostering of E&E seems rather weak after involvement in centuries of kinslaying and war.
Semi-coherent and cheating a bit with abbreviations, but 100 words exactly!
If you could travel in time to witness one historic event, what would it be?
Bobby and I were talking about this very question the other day. He chose Robert the Bruce's speech before Bannockburn, which is completely irrelevant to the question, yes, but I'm stalling for time.
I suppose I'd choose to witness a Druid ceremony. Because next to nothing is known about the ancient Druids except for obviously biased accounts by the Greeks and Romans. This makes it very hard when developing an SCA persona based on Celtic bards who were forbidden from writing anything down. And Druids are generally interesting.
Have you ever met anyone IRL that reminded you of a Tolkien character?
The Tea Guy mentioned above used to have a helper who looked like an Elf. My husband, when his hair is wet and not tied back, looks a lot like I'd imagine one of the Edain would look, similar to Viggo as Aragorn but not as gaunt in the face. (And, for the record, I was not a Tolkien fan when we decided that we wanted to marry each other!) I look for Maglor every summer on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, but no luck so far.
That was fun--who else wants to play? :D
samtyr. I really like it because, during my rather long absence from LJland, lots of people friended me whom I know nothing about and haven't had much of a chance to talk with. So this is a good opportunity, if you are new to Ye Olde Flist, for us to get to know each other better. Of course, if you've been around since the dawning of my LJ (pun, ouch, yes, I know) and want to play, feel free!It goes something like this:
- If you want to play, leave a comment saying "when I'm dancing with you, tomorrow doesn't matter" Awwww ...
- I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity
- Update your journal with the answers to my questions
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions
Simple, eh, and painless enough? (I hope!)
What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Tea. Any kind. Hot, iced, black, or herbal. Bobby and I can easily polish off a half-gallon jar of tea in one sitting, if the conversation's good or the food is spicy. A significant risk to our income is showing up at an SCA event and finding that the Tea Guy is there. The Tea Guy has dozens of different kinds of teas, with enticing names like "Christmas bakery" and "chocolate cherry." At the moment, my favorite tea that I make is black tea brewed in the sun with a sage leaf, mint sprig, and sprinkling of lemon balm leaves tossed in for good measure.
What do you feel is the worst problem with computers?
Heh. The people who operate them? Seriously, the number of misunderstandings that I see springing from people not understanding how tough communication online can be is depressing. I have wasted far too many hours of my life as the SWG owner on such kerfuffles as well. I love computers, but they have their limitations.
Who is the most misunderstood 'Silmarillion' character?
Sam, these are supposed to be simple questions, not subjects for essays! ;) I have lots of names fluttering through my head right now: Fëanor, Maedhros, Nerdanel, Celegorm, Indis, Maglor ... but I have to choose just one.
So I'll go with Maglor. Because, actually, I am writing an essay on this! :D It drives me nuts how authors tend to depict him as a tender-hearted, doe-eyed pacifist strumming a harp in the corner while his brothers scheme about going to war. Since I am writing an essay on this that I might one day finish, then I'll limit myself to 100 words on why this seems so wrong to me.
Until fostering the twins at Sirion, Maglor never stood up for anything. In fact, he was quite ruthless. It was Maglor who killed Uldor. He would have ultimately chosen to leave Maedhros hanging. He didn't stand aside at any kinslaying or Losgar. People tend to lean too heavily, imo, on his fostering of E&E and his musical talents in developing his character. "Bards" in the literature that inspired Tolkien, are not doe-eyed or soft but, in Celtic cultures, people of great power. Characterization focusing on the fostering of E&E seems rather weak after involvement in centuries of kinslaying and war.
Semi-coherent and cheating a bit with abbreviations, but 100 words exactly!
If you could travel in time to witness one historic event, what would it be?
Bobby and I were talking about this very question the other day. He chose Robert the Bruce's speech before Bannockburn, which is completely irrelevant to the question, yes, but I'm stalling for time.
I suppose I'd choose to witness a Druid ceremony. Because next to nothing is known about the ancient Druids except for obviously biased accounts by the Greeks and Romans. This makes it very hard when developing an SCA persona based on Celtic bards who were forbidden from writing anything down. And Druids are generally interesting.
Have you ever met anyone IRL that reminded you of a Tolkien character?
The Tea Guy mentioned above used to have a helper who looked like an Elf. My husband, when his hair is wet and not tied back, looks a lot like I'd imagine one of the Edain would look, similar to Viggo as Aragorn but not as gaunt in the face. (And, for the record, I was not a Tolkien fan when we decided that we wanted to marry each other!) I look for Maglor every summer on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, but no luck so far.
That was fun--who else wants to play? :D
no subject
1. What inspires you to write? Do you start with a plot idea, character sketch, strong image, something else entirely?
My mind works in images for the most part, so it would be that. When a book/story/topic captivate me, the ideas nearly always translate into visuals for me, and the same is true for inspiration and ideas. For example, with the B2MeM entry for the utopia prompt, the first kernel of the story was a smirking Manwe on his throne and the movie started playing. :D
What I can't do, absolutely, is write the outline of a story beyond a vague direction of the plot, because that kills the whole thing dead, and for the most part I can't recall the images as vividly as I had when I jotted them down. Elleth's mind needs a DVD recorder, perhaps. ;)
2. Related to our shared rants, which character do you think that fan writers get most wrong of all of Tolkien's characters?
I had to ponder this for a while - but I think it's Feanor. Outside our little corner of the Silm fandom, which mostly seems to exist on something like a shared fanon(?) regarding Feanor's character conception and his relationship to the family, I've come across tons of fics that display Feanor as a complete monster, an unrepentantly abusive and/or sadistic husband and father, or even a rapist; later on not... a kinslayer but a an axe-crazy murderer (and yes, I'm well-aware that kinslaying is murder) who would have liked to take down a few more Teleri - you get the gist.
If we're talking the Hobbit and LotR, much the same is true for abusive!Thranduil (or Elrond) and for misogynist jerk!Boromir.
3. What silly peeve annoys you the most?
That's a good question - and I don't know if this qualifies as a silly peeve, but talking without thinking is a big one, in myself and others.
4. If you could walk out your door and end up anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Another hard question, actually! There are lots of destinations in the world that I want to see, so here's a very extensive list of places. What I'd like best at the moment is Malta, and especially Xlendi Bay (despite the many hotels) on the neighbour island of Gozo. Alternatively, Dartmoor would be another place I'd like to return to.
5. Which character in literature do you think is most like you?
And a third hard question! [and ETA'd because I misread the question, although the answer remains much the same]... well. I know that I have a pretty skewed self-image (working on that, though!) and that makes it difficult to compare. I'd like to say Nerdanel, or Lizzy Bennet, but that is wishful thinking on my part - maybe (sans the painted maypole simile), Helena from Midsummer Night's Dream might qualify, but even that is only a rough approximation that moves further away toward the end of the play. I don't know. Sorry. If you permit the question in return, whom do you think you are most like?