As I mentioned in the last post, Kiri Liz and Miss Melody Muffin have been kind enough to kick off a 30-day Middle Earth Blog Challenge (MEC for short) for the month of November. This started Friday... and I've fallen a just a wee bit behind (a week now. yikes. can't even blame NaNoWriMo!)... so here are my responses for days 1, 2, 3 and 4:
DAY 1: FAVORITE BOOK
As I may have mentioned before, I've had the privilege thus far of reading The Hobbit, and thoroughly enjoy all the Peter Jackson films, but haven't actually gotten around to reading the trilogy itself (a problem that is being remedied as we speak.) So! The Hobbit wins by default; though I am rather tempted to say that would have been the result in any case.
The story itself definitely has a cheerier feel than that of the trilogy. Though that's not always a good thing for certain books, it makes for a nice upbeat start leading into the darker trilogy. The characters are fantastic as usual; and I tend to think because the plot is a little simpler and there's not nearly as much Middle Earth history to work through, the book really allows for a focus on their personalities in a little bit more detail (though I may not be far enough into the trilogy to be able to say that yet.)
You might have to take "characters" as a reference to mean practically everyone except the majority of the dwarves. Thorin is an interesting character, Dori is endearing, Bombur is comical, but to be honest I'm still not convinced the dwarves really had that much character depth (their uniformity had a lot to do with that; no wonder Peter Jackson felt compelled to differentiate each of them so drastically.) All the same, they were still quite delightful.
(I suppose Smith of Wooton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham aren't actually set in Middle Earth, but I do remember enjoying them a great deal as well.)
DAY 2: FAVORITE MOVIE:
I'm assuming by this they mean from among the Peter Jackson films, and hey, let's face it, that would definitely be the case here. It's honestly been a while since we last saw the trilogy; and all three of the individual movies flow so well into each other, it's hard for me to recall which parts belong in which movies. So, I'm calling lack of recall and looking over this one... until later.
(In all honesty, I've delayed posting this whole thing because I couldn't decide on questions 2 and 3. Pathetic, nein?)
DAY 3: FAVORITE QUOTE:
I still can't quite decide on any one particular quote, but these gems are regularly uttered in our house:
1. "It's the beards."
2. "Is it niice, precious? Is it juicy?.. Is it scruumptiously crunchable?"
3. "Ex...excuse me, that is a doily. Not a dish cloth."
"But it's full of holes!"
It's supposed to look like that. It's crochet."
4. *Balin shaking his head doubtfully at some cheese in Bilbo's pantry*.... "mmm, no, it's gone blue."
DAY 4: FAVORITE SCENE:
From the books (those I've read,) even though there are many many fabulous little tidbits I can't recall off the back of my head, the interaction between Smaug and Bilbo in The Hobbit takes the cake for me (very probably because the most recent time we read it, the news of Cumbersmaug and Freebaggins was already out there.) The banter between them, with Bilbo stroking Smaug's ego, while at the same time getting a deal of satisfaction in riddling the beast, along with Smaug's own sardonic enjoyment of the conversation is really fun to read (and not a small bit like these two... coincidence? I think not... looking at you, Jackson.) And Smaug is a dragon; dragons are always a good thing to have. Just great characters having a great conversation.
From the movies, I always love watching the scene in The Two Towers where Gandalf restores Theoden and drives Wormtongue away. Hate to go overboard on the symbolism I've gleaned from various forms of entertainment, here, but in witnessing that transformation, and the power-play between Gandalf and Wormtongue, for me it becomes a really powerful image of Christ's ultimate power to save us, no matter how decayed by sin we become. The actual CGI in the literal transformation is something else. And Theoden's reunion with Eowyn is just downright beautiful.
Back later with days 5-7! There are so many different things to talk about when it comes to Tolkien. What are your favorite LOTR books, movies, quotes, or scenes? Leave a comment to share! =)
(On a side note, I've just now realized the buttons on the sidebar are having trouble linking to their respective sites... working to remedy that problem, sorry for any inconvenience!)
DAY 2: FAVORITE MOVIE:
I'm assuming by this they mean from among the Peter Jackson films, and hey, let's face it, that would definitely be the case here. It's honestly been a while since we last saw the trilogy; and all three of the individual movies flow so well into each other, it's hard for me to recall which parts belong in which movies. So, I'm calling lack of recall and looking over this one... until later.
(In all honesty, I've delayed posting this whole thing because I couldn't decide on questions 2 and 3. Pathetic, nein?)
 |
| It does not do to leave this quote out of your calculations, either. |
DAY 3: FAVORITE QUOTE:
I still can't quite decide on any one particular quote, but these gems are regularly uttered in our house:
1. "It's the beards."
2. "Is it niice, precious? Is it juicy?.. Is it scruumptiously crunchable?"
3. "Ex...excuse me, that is a doily. Not a dish cloth."
"But it's full of holes!"
It's supposed to look like that. It's crochet."
4. *Balin shaking his head doubtfully at some cheese in Bilbo's pantry*.... "mmm, no, it's gone blue."
DAY 4: FAVORITE SCENE:
From the books (those I've read,) even though there are many many fabulous little tidbits I can't recall off the back of my head, the interaction between Smaug and Bilbo in The Hobbit takes the cake for me (very probably because the most recent time we read it, the news of Cumbersmaug and Freebaggins was already out there.) The banter between them, with Bilbo stroking Smaug's ego, while at the same time getting a deal of satisfaction in riddling the beast, along with Smaug's own sardonic enjoyment of the conversation is really fun to read (and not a small bit like these two... coincidence? I think not... looking at you, Jackson.) And Smaug is a dragon; dragons are always a good thing to have. Just great characters having a great conversation.
Back later with days 5-7! There are so many different things to talk about when it comes to Tolkien. What are your favorite LOTR books, movies, quotes, or scenes? Leave a comment to share! =)
(On a side note, I've just now realized the buttons on the sidebar are having trouble linking to their respective sites... working to remedy that problem, sorry for any inconvenience!)
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