ladybug_archive | Entries tagged with lotr

[Error: unknown template qotd]This is a hard question. I suppose the first book is probably my favorite; I love the opening that deals with the Shire and the relationship between Bilbo and Frodo. I love the interaction of Frodo and Gandalf and the forming of the Fellowship of the Ring. And I love that it followed all the characters all the way along, not dividing into two parts to follow separate sets of characters, as the other two do after the Fellowship breaks up. The division is rather irritating, story-wise. I wish he would have alternated chapters following the two groups instead of having one whole half of the books devoted to one group and the other half devoted to the other group.

Frodo has always been my favorite character. I feel for him and his tortured quest and how he becomes so bogged down and changed by it that in the end he feels he can no longer stay in the Shire he loves, the Shire he gave up everything to protect while the majority of the residents don't understand or appreciate his sacrifice and just think he was off foolishly adventuring. It must have been horrible for him, to feel that he was becoming such a burden on Sam with his wife Rosie and that he needed to get away so that Sam could devote all his time to his family.

I must say, though, I honestly prefer the films over the books. The casting is perfect, the scenery absolutely breathtaking, and the music extremely powerful and moving. And for the most part, with the exception of how they changed the Shelob's Lair segment, I feel that every one of the changes actually improved the story and eliminated things unnecessary to the main plot. I also like that they actually gave Arwen something to do. I was stunned at how little she appears in the books (including the appendix where Tolkien shows how she and Aragorn met). And I read the books before I saw the films, I should point out.

Current Mood: thoughtful

So, has anyone here seen the extended version of the first Hobbit film? I notice that among its ratings reasons is "Fleeting Nudity", which kind of made my jaw drop. The LOTR films tried to avoid nudity, even where the books had it. (Case in point, Frodo's capture by the Orcs in Return of the King.) When that film came out, I worried how they would handle that part, and I was thoroughly satisfied that Frodo was not completely stripped naked.

So ... can anyone tell me why there's Fleeting Nudity in the extended version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? I'd kind of like to know what that's about before I see it.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found out. Apparently we see bare Dwarf backsides as they bathe at Rivendell. Wonderful. **sarcasm.**

Current Mood: confused
Current Music: O Holy Night---Jenny Oaks Baker

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In all honesty, I've thought long and hard about this many times in the past, and I think I'd be the one not ready to commit. It's hard for me to imagine me being ready while the other person wouldn't be. In fact, it's downright nigh-impossible.

I've thought long and hard in general about men and dating lately. I had occasion a couple of weeks ago to attend an activity of people my age in this area who belong to my church. They were friendly and sweet and some of them I'd like to get to know better. But at the same time, the atmosphere was just so full of silliness that I felt I didn't fit in. I'm a serious person by nature, even though I like to laugh. The person I think I clicked with best there was someone who seemed more that way. He had a great, fun time there and put on a good act (it was a talent show), and he wasn't pushy about me preferring to attend a different congregation than the one made up specifically of people around my age. (Pushing me to try to go to the latter congregation just alienates me further, so it meant a lot to me that he was understanding. He said, "Wherever you feel comfortable.")

I've been wondering lately if I would feel most comfortable with someone older than me. All my life, I've usually gravitated more to older people to chat with and have as friends. Even when I was in the youth group, I struck up rapports with the leaders and preferred chatting with them over my contemporaries. I liked talking one-on-one with those my age, but if I didn't take a shine to a particular one I preferred to stay quiet.

(And of course, there's my love of old movies and TV shows. There's not a lot of people my age who are into older things, or at least, it's not always easy to find them except on the Internet. Which may also be part of the reason why I feel more at home with older people.)

With celebrities too, I've noticed that for the most part I have always gravitated to older men. I took notice of young Paul Popowich because my mom noticed him, and then I grew to love him too. And Elijah Wood was just so awesome as Frodo that he ended up becoming a favorite of mine as well. But they're the exception rather than the rule. When I was little and watching Mr. Rogers, I used to say my quilt had a crush on him. LOL. I suppose I probably really had a crush on him myself. And I remember crushing on Chuck.

Around eleven or twelve I had a crush on Barney Fife. Then, when I got to see Gomer Pyle for the first time since I was in kindergarten, I realized I had a crush on Corporal Boyle.

I've mentioned before that I prefer Jimmy Murphy in his older roles, when he was in his thirties and forties. For Simon Oakland I'm more torn on what era I prefer. But regardless, he didn't even start acting in the movies and on TV until he was in his forties. And now William Talman's strongly in the picture too (even though I've liked him for however long I've paid attention to Perry Mason episodes).

I kind of feel torn, though. I love quite a few recent things as well as old things, so I wonder if I'd be happy with someone who is more into older things alone. What I kind of think I'd like best is a man older than me who likes a mixture of both, as I do. But maybe if there is a man my age who likes both, I'd be happy that way too. Maybe what I ultimately want is someone serious and mature who still knows how to have fun.

In any case, I did find that fellow very sweet. I liked him when I saw him previously at my class on Wednesday once, too. I don't see him around very often, but if I see him again I plan to try to say Hello.

Also in any case, however, I'm not ready for any sort of romantic relationship. But, even as cynical and scoffing as I often am, it is something I think about.

Current Mood: thoughtful

1) Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
That's a good question. I don't know what was my first book. But I probably still have it.

2) What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?
Current: Altered State by Gregg Luke. It's a psychological thriller involving mad scientists and mind control.
Last: The Missing Chums by Franklin W. Dixon. #4 of the original Hardy Boys books. For some reason, I didn't like it when I read it years ago. When I read it now after finally adding it to my collection, I loved it. It's very intense and exciting.
Next: Final Act by C. Paul Andersen. A mystery/thriller involving a huge, mysterious house.

3) What book did everyone like and you hated?
I wouldn't say I outright hated Twilight, but I was cringing at the terrible, goopy, mushy nonsense. Honestly, I think I could write a better romance. And romance is not a category I like to write.

4) Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
I don't know. Any book I'm telling myself I'll read I fully intend to get to.

5) Which book are you saving for “retirement"?
Why would I want to save any book for retirement? Why wait to read in forty years what I can read today?

6) Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
It depends on the book, honestly. Sometimes I can't bear it and I just have to know if the characters are going to be okay. Other times I won't even read it at all if I peek and see there's a discouraging ending. And sometimes I have the willpower to just read straight through.

7) Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
Those who helped/inspired the author should be acknowledged. Usually I read the acknowledgments, unless they're outrageously long.

8) Which book character would you switch places with?
Why would I want a fictional character's life? Then I'd get their problems, too. And face it, book characters' problems are usually far worse than your own.

9) Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Yes, I have quite a few like that. Books that were gifts or that were received at a special time often remind me of the particular time they came into my hands. Sometimes I feel quite nostalgic reading them.

10) Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
Exactly what ways are you thinking of, other than buying or receiving as gifts? I haven't stolen any books, if that's what you're wondering. But I do have a few of my deceased maternal grandma's books. I found them in a box and thought they looked interesting, so I brought them into my room to be part of my collection. Another one, a book of cat stories, I used to read and reread at Grandma's house. Also, I received the first Baby-Sitters' Club book through the mail as part of a surprise Scholastic promotion. I read it and fell in love with the series.

11) Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
No. Except when I was really little and I used to "gift" my books to Mom. Otherwise, if there's a title I want to share with someone, I buy them their own copy.

12) Which book has been with you to the most places?
I don't tend to take books out of the house much, but I did read a good deal of the Star Wars book Heir to the Empire while waiting in the car. Also, I took The Lord of the Rings several places with me and finished it at a wedding. That was a very stupid idea. It took me some time to stop crying over the ending.

Though I suppose technically, the books that have gone the most places with me are religious volumes. I always have my old Book of Mormon in my large black purse, albeit I rarely get into that pocket because I discovered spider webs inside it and I still haven't cleaned them away. I tend to read my other copy.

13) Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
I don't think I've reread any of my required reading. I thought The Old Man and the Sea was rather depressing, but realistic and with some shimmer of hope.

15) Used or brand new?
New. I love the smell of new books. And with used books, to quote the Weird Al song Germs, "You don't know where it's been!" That being said, I have learned that there were at least two Patty Duke Show books released in the sixties, mysteries at that! And I must have them.

16) Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
I haven't read any of his books, but judging from what I know of them I'd say literary genius. I've wanted to read some of them, actually. If I didn't scare easily, I probably would.

17) Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
Yes, almost every one. I'm that strange person who usually prefers to see stories brought to life on the big screen. Save for a couple of objections, I like LOTR better in the movies. I think most of the changes were excellent.

18) Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Pollyanna. I *hated* the changes Disney made when they did the movie. Also, it seems like White Fang has never been done right. As it stands, I prefer both of those as books.

19) Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?
Yes. Offhand I don't remember what, however.

20) Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
I don't know if I'd "always" take one person's advice. Everyone's taste runs different.

... What happened to question #14?

Current Mood: fine
Current Music: Human---The Killers

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Most people would probably think me the weirdest person on the planet for actually preferring the movie versions in general. There are very few occasions where I think the book is overall better. I dunno, I love seeing how the characters and scenes come to life on the screen, I love movie music, and the changes they make usually make things better.

I approve of almost every change made to the LOTR movies, for instance. There's just a couple of things I detest, one of which is the way Sam leaves Frodo in Return of the King after the Shelob fiasco. In the book, he had a long debate with himself, and he certainly didn't leave when he heard Orcs coming! There were no Orcs in the book until he was already going and couldn't go back.

I also don't really care for the friction between Frodo and Sam in general in the movie. That was not in the book. Frodo was being corrupted by the Ring, but Gollum never succeeded in turning Frodo against Sam because of it.

Other than that, however, you name it and I probably loved it, including Arwen's bigger role. It was just plain disappointing that she was hardly around in the books, especially when she was Aragorn's love interest. (Yes, before you ask, I have read the appendixes.)

However! One movie I could not stand compared to the book was Pollyanna. I thought the changes made were terrible, particularly the way she got injured. They apparently didn't want her to be as sweet of a girl in the movie, so among other changes, they had her injuries happen when she's disobeying her aunt. Granted, I think the aunt was being too strict, but that doesn't mean I liked seeing Pollyanna flat-out disobey her like that, sneak out to the bazaar, and then be hurt upon falling from a tree while trying to return to her upstairs room. In the book, she's hit by a car (and was not disobeying her aunt). There's no reason why they couldn't have kept that. Just don't show the actual impact. They didn't actually show her falling from the tree as it was.

There's at least one other book I was very disappointed in as a movie, but right now I can't think of it. Oh, I don't like Disney's White Fang either, but that isn't the one I'm thinking of. The book ending was so, so much better. White Fang going with the guy back to his family and later protecting them all from a madman? YES PLEASE. It was so awesome and intense and squeeable. And even though he was badly hurt, he got better.

I don't think Nancy Drew has ever translated well to movies, when I think of it. Her best portrayal was the Pamela girl in the seventies TV show. Nancy is a very difficult character to portray right. Bonita Granville made her far too bubbly in the thirties movies, and I remember not being pleased with the girl in the Canadian nineties TV show, either. And didn't she have brown hair in that one? What the heck?

I haven't even tried seeing the Nancy Drew movie from a couple of years ago. I'm highly displeased at having them move and not having Bess and George around because of that.

I do really like the nineties version of The Hardy Boys, however. Paul Popowich as Joe? Yesssss.

Current Mood: thirsty
Current Music: Gymnopedie #1

Based on the most recent RP. Crystal will be doing the full-length fic, as it's largely her idea, but I wanted to write out my version of the climax. X3 This is rather LOTR-esque, clearly establishing Scott and Elliott in Frodo and Sam's roles. ♥ Fictional Rockapella only!

( When the Cold of Winter Comes )

Current Mood: squee!
Current Music: Have a Little Faith---Rockapella

Firstly, I adore this icon Aubrie made from one of the new Crisis Core scans. Zack and Yuffie! The cute! X3

The weekend was largely spent working on my KH Seph fic for prompt #18 at

13_fears, and it seems to be almost done. I'm gonna take a breather and let it sit for a couple hours, then give it another once-over and post.

It's the first time in a while that I really felt sad, even upset, at something I've written. XD; It turns out alright, but it still seemed so saad, the way the antagonists were treating KH Seph, like he wasn't human, and pulling and even stepping on his wings. ;__; I think it has to be the way I did it, to make it the most deep/different it can be, but I still felt awful for putting him through that.

In the morning I got hit with an idea for an intense twist at the end and decided to use it. Its usage makes the story more than random hurt/comfort and angst, and sets up a mini-arc for at least one other fic. I have an idea for said fic, too.

I also finally colored the pictures of Zack trying to untangle his hair and Zack with Sephiroth at the end of Sunrise and Midnight, when Zack announces his restoration. I'll probably scan them later.

The Scottish festival is this weekend. X3 I found out recently that I actually have some Scottish blood, which makes it even cooler.

Been watching LOTR films again lately. **pets them.** And tonight I listened to all three soundtracks. A nice backdrop for my proofreading. It's always so hard for me to pick a favorite film, because each time I watch one, I decide it's my favorite. XD;

Was gonna say something else about them, but I forgot what.

Current Mood: worn out
Current Music: Into the West---Annie Lennox

You are shy!!

How Social are you ::Anime Piccles::
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You are Aragon

Aragon

Which Lord of the Rings Character Are You?
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O__O! You can't even spell ARAGORN!

innocent kiss - you're cute and sweet and like it
that way

What Sign of Affection Are You?
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XD Hardly. Kisses kinda disgust me actually. XD I prefer huggles.

Find your Role-Playing
Stereotype at mutedfaith.com.

Anti-hero? That's a new one. XD

Current Mood: okay

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell how I enjoyed it. Well, the aftermath of Shelob's Lair was better than the movie version. Much angstier! But for that scene, I'd say the book has it the best.

I didn't really like too many of the voice actors XD Aragorn and Boromir were just .... wrong. XD Arwen sounded old >< It was weird hearing Bilbo's voice coming out of Frodo's mouth XD I know, I'll tell the ones I liked: Sam's, Gandalf's, Pippin's, Galadriel's, Celeborn's. . . . I couldn't stand Gollum's XD

I have Castle in the Sky. It has a pendant in it. I'm hoping it'll help me write Paper Flowers. I WILL get that story done!!

Evil cold. **kicks it.** Couldn't even get back to sleep when I wanted to 'cause it decided it would be fun to make it impossible to breathe.

Current Mood: mellow

Ahhh. Niiice. **holds up shirt with Yami Yugi, Seto, and Marik!** It's so kewl when you find nice surprises at stores. X3

I got the BBC production of LOTR from the library. I can hardly wait to hear, especially "The Choices of Master Samwise." In the book, that's my favorite part. It's absolutely so beautiful and sweet and sad and angsty. The movie really mashed that scene up and made things unbelieveable. But that was really the only scene I had a problem with in the movie XD Sam never would have left Frodo's body there when he heard the Orcs coming! That was absurd. Sam would have considered it a desecration of one he treasured. In the book, Sam absolutely did not want to just leave Frodo's body there, unburied. He has a long struggle wondering what on earth he is to do. I hope the extended Return of the King shows some of that ^^

I'm actually sort of leading one of the RP arcs with Aubrie! ^o^ It's nice for once to be able to have a good solid villain to cause some problems and to be able to come up with some plot ideas instead of always playing Follow the Leader XD

I hope my neechan can get all her late work taken care of. I don't wanna hardly ever be able to talk to her til summer! The last week we've been two ships passing in the night XD

It's so kewl that we're using the "sister" titles and stuff now. It's really what I always longed for. That time when she said we could call each other "imouto" and "neechan" was one of the happiest for me. I almost levitated XD Seriously, I don't think she realizes just how much I love having her around.

Current Mood: pleased

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Answer for question 4398.
Question concerning the first Hobbit film (Extended Version)
Writer's Block: True love waits
Book Quiz from pleasant_valley
Writer's Block: Book based
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LOTR Radio
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Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

We were so carefree then, our hearts were on a cloud....

Entries tagged with lotr

Answer for question 4398.

Question concerning the first Hobbit film (Extended Version)

Writer's Block: True love waits

Book Quiz from pleasant_valley

Writer's Block: Book based

Blurb

X3

Quizzes

LOTR Radio

Stuff