If I can't be a dragon-whisperer, can I at least befriend a talking dog?
My local smial (aka, my Tolkien buddies) read the last four chapters of The Lord of the Rings this month. It’s a tough section to read, because it’s sad, and because after the destruction of Sauron, there are lots of loose ends to tie up, despite the fact that Tolkien devoted roughly eighty pages to... Continue Reading →
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in a letter that “I am not Gandalf, … As far as any character is ‘like me’ it is Faramir — except that I lack what all my characters possess (let the psychoanalysts note!) Courage.”[1] Recently, someone asked me how Tolkien had the gall to consider himself like Faramir, who is wise,... Continue Reading →
Here is my best whack at summarizing the pop culture references made during The Prancing Pony Podcast's sixth season. As I was looking through my data, I realized once again just how unscientific this whole process is (see my self-made rules here). The time-span the project covers has made it really difficult for me to... Continue Reading →
What do Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies and the musician Sting have in common? The Prancing Pony Podcast, of course. In honor of season four, which ends today, here are my statistics on jokes and references made during both this season and last. And (spoiler alert) you already know who got the most... Continue Reading →
I'm celebrating Tolkien's birthday in a strange way this year: by making graphs about the The Prancing Pony Podcast. As a Tolkien fan, I have been listening with great joy. Alan Sisto and Shawn Marchese do a great job of dissecting the texts, digging into the rich historical background of Middle-earth, and also bringing in... Continue Reading →
