Lord of the Rings

A Critical Note

Map of Middle Earth / Arda

In a previous posting I reviewed the first of The Lord of the Rings movies; here I will discuss some aspects of the novels.1

It is well known among Tolkien fans that J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) started writing about his fantasy universe before the First World War and that he continued to do so right until his death. Further that his fascination with Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Celtic mythology, along with making up languages just for the hell of it made him interested in Anglo-Saxon and started his academic career by which he eventually became a Don at Oxford University. Other things about Tolkien and his fantasy universe are less well known.2

Homer Tilted into Absurdity

Ancient bust of Homer

The following is a slightly reworked version of a few postings1 I did a few years ago on the book Where Troy Once Stood2 Having read it I was amused but not convinced at all.

Remembering

9/11

Ground Zero

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the attacks in New York City and in Washington D.C. that killed c. 3,000 people.1 This event has had and will continue to have a large and significant effect on life, politics and culture in our world. Here I will simply talk about my own recollections about and thoughts concerning 9/11.

Killing your Grandfather is the least of your problems

Some notes on Time Travel

The Time Machine from the 1960 movie

The Time Machine

Time travel into the past although it is a stable of much Science Fiction and Fantasy writing does have certain problems.