from 'Faces in Things' on Twitter

Tree is happy to get a hug

my favorite story from "Mediaeval Tales"

"The Tree of Paletinus"
Valerius tells us, that a man named Paletinus one day burst into tears; and calling his son and his neighbors around him, said, "Alas! alas! I have now growing in my garden a fatal tree, on which my first poor wife hung herself, then my second, and after that my third. Have I not therefore cause for wretchedness?" "Truly," said one who was called Arrius, "I marvel that you should weep at such unusual good fortune! Give me, I pray you, two or three sprigs of that gentle tree, which I will divide with my neighbors, and thereby enable every man to indulge his spouse." Paletinus complied with his friend's request; and ever after found this tree the most productive part of his estate.

frustrated

sometimes my brain won't explain itself in writing

Travel Journal - Oxford, pt. 3

Day Ten - Last day of Oxonmoot. It ended with a graveside service, which I was concerned might be a little cheesy, but it turned out to be moving, with a reading from the end of "The Return of the King," and one of the men singing in Elvish (I know how nerdy that sounds, but it really was lovely). After that I went to the Bird & Baby for lunch with a couple other Mooters, then we hit a tea shop for a bit, then I headed back to my b&b to relax. Oxonmoot had flown by. I was so sad to have it be over. Scotsman said that he understood that especially coming from far away I would want it to last longer, but he also made the point that for locals who can't take time off work, having it short allows for them to come to the whole thing. And he told me that next year it will be a day longer. Naturally. But I did have a 65-year-old tell me he'd buy me a drink if I go next year. I told him I don't think it's quite going to happen. He then upped it to two. And I think the 55-year-old German guy who asked me to lunch would buy me a drink or two, too. I think he wanted it to be just us going to lunch, but I quickly invited others while his back was turned. I thought he was into me anyway, but then he was showing me some of his pictures from the Moot and I saw a picture of just me (which I'm guessing I wasn't supposed to see). A bit creepery, but harmless. Seriously, you want to feel hot, go to a conference full of Tolkien nerds. They're nice people, but honestly, there are reasons why there are stereotypes. One of the women told me that her friends at home tell her she's a nerd, and she says, 'Oh, you should see the other Tolkien Society members. On a scale of one to ten, I'm a two!' Yeah, sweetie, you're telling me this as you're standing there in your homemade elf costume. Scotsman seemed normal enough, but note he didn't flock to me. We did, however, walk from the bus to the grave together. One thing I noticed with that, though, was just how much I appreciated walking with a man. I felt it when walking with Adrian (Westminster dude), too. Just to walk alongside a man is a wonderful feeling. I don't know that I've done that since college. One more thing to be thankful for on this trip, I guess.

at the andover community center

yes, it is a book vending machine. :)

hobsis already know this one, too

the benefits of having your friend as your boss; email conversation:

boss: These records might need to be requested.

employee: Already done.

boss: Well then.     You. Are. The. Bomb. :)

employee: It's true.

boss: I know.

hobsis already knows this

at work at the beginning of the school year we were told that we each should choose 5 students to encourage and help along in their schooling. my office just looked at each other and said, 'yeah, cuz how are we supposed to do that? we're not teachers, we're not counselors, we have no contact with the students. whatevs.' and left it at that. but starting this year the kids have to write essays as to why they want to attend our school when they fill out their application. which means i see the essays. one of the kids really jumped out at me, a recovering addict who i believe truly wants to make his life better. i really want to help him and encourage him, but i have no contact with him, so what can i do? duh, melilot. you can pray for him. so he's the first of my 5.

so what did you do friday night?

sat home and watched twins clips from 2010.

yeah. time to go to bed.

i think i might want to see this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qmj5mhDwJQ

Travel Journal - Oxford, pt. 2

Day Eight - First day of Oxonmoot. We started with a tour of the Oxford area for mostly the Newbies. We had a special in at the Kilns (C.S. Lewis's house), so we got a special tour, which normally I would've been thrilled about, but the lady was a tad long-winded, which took away from Tolkien. Very glad I got there, though. We did see a few of Tolkien's houses, though, which would've been harder to find on my own. After that we Oxonmooters had special access to the Bodleian Library's Magical Books exhibit. The parts that were Tolkien and Lewis and the like were nice and fun to see. I got a yucky feeling from some of the exhibit, though, as it didn't just focus on fairy tale magic, but also witchcraft type magic. I didn't like that at all. After that we officially registered at Oxonmoot, where Newbies were welcomed with champagne and bacon-flavored Pringles, before a nice dinner. Nice as in a little to fancy for me foodwise, but nice. It was good to meet some people there, too, as I ended up spending time with a few of them throughout the weekend. Granted there was one I would've liked to spend more time with (a Scotsman), but it's hard to make that kind of thing happen when he knows other people there.
Day Nine - Lectures began. One that I found interesting was by a man who has written a book about the idea of kingship as expressed through the writings of Tolkien, Lewis, and Charles Williams. Sadly the publisher did not get the book to the Moot as they were supposed to, so I was unable to buy it. The focus was on the concept of Divine Kingship, including awe, the idea of a king as a creator, and the idea of a king being a servant. The presenter wasn't the best speaker, so I couldn't take much by way of notes, but I have a feeling he'd be a good writer. I suppose it's good that his book wasn't there, though, as there was a room with books for a pound a piece, so I bought my share. The other lecture that stood out was on honours bestowed upon the hobbits, such as knighthood for Merry and Pippin versus the Star of the Dúnedain for Sam. It really was more interesting than it may sound. I couldn't take much by way of notes on this either, though, as the presenter spoke so fast I could hardly catch my breath - I don't know how he caught his. I skipped the party this night, due to bus schedules and the need to regroup. (Turns out that was okay, as Scotsman wasn't there either.)

Travel Journal - Oxford, pt. 1

Oh, Oxford. One week was not enough time with you. I want to have time to sit there, as in days to sit there, and soak it all in; to just wander, and tour all the colleges, and walk all the green spaces, and move in at the Bird & Baby, and get permission to hug the Tolkien Tree. One week is not nearly enough.
Day Six - Got to Oxford on Wednesday, sadly just missing Blackwell's bookshop's Inklings tour, which is said to be wonderful. Of course it's only once a week, and I left just before it the following Wednesday. Clearly a sign I must go back. I did get to wander the 3 miles of books at the store, though, and who doesn't love 3 miles of books?
Day Seven - Ashmolean Museum. Another with too much to see, but it was interesting. For lunch I went to the Eagle & Child. I purposely went at 2:30 so I could sit in the Rabbit Room, where the Inklings sat, and try to imagine them there. And goodness I could. It was wonderful. And the lamb meatballs were delicious. In the evening I went to Trinity Church, C.S. Lewis's church, for a church tour and talk on Lewis. They were having a Lewis celebration service in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death, so there was stuff there all weekend. Oxonmoot started the next day, so I wouldn't be able to go to anything else, but this was the thing that most interested me anyway. So naturally, since I missed the Inkling Tour, there was a sign saying the talk was sold out. I was disappointed. But I saw the church and graveyard anyway, which was something. And then I saw the booth outside where people would be picking up their tickets. And I figured, if you don't ask, the answer's no. So I went up to the man and said, 'So I hear you're all sold out.' 'Actually, we just, not 5 minutes ago, had a cancellation. There's one ticket left, if you'd like it.' And here I'd like to pause a moment and mention that I spent a lot of time on this trip stopping and thanking GOD for wonderful things like this. Had I asked 10 minutes earlier there would not have been a ticket, and I sadly would have gone home without hearing the lecture. But instead I got to hear it. It was given by Alister McGrath, a Lewis scholar and author and Oxford don with a melodious voice. I didn't feel that I necessarily learned anything new, but I was so thankful for the opportunity. Getting to be in that church, attending a lecture on Lewis, getting out in the evening and doing something intelligent was all wonderful. My favorite thing he said was that Lewis believed that, "Something that's not engaging the imagination is not telling the whole truth." So true.

reese's pieces are the jason bateman of candy

i always forget how much i like them until i have them, and then i'm all 'dude, i love these' and can't get enough

dear chelleybutton and auto,

http://i-am-a-hobbit.blogspot.com/search?q=philology

Movie Review: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

I didn't like the book "The Hobbit," so when the movie was coming out, I had no interest in it. And then when I heard that Peter Jackson was splitting it into three movies, I knew that I didn't want to bother with it. Really, PJ? Three?
But then I was on a 9-hour flight not conducive to sleeping. Alright, fine. "The Hobbit" could kill three hours, and since I know the story it's not like that would force me to see the other two (like "The Fellowship of the Ring" did). And so, I turned it on.
After 15 minutes I was bored. And wondering why the dwarves looked like men. But again I figured it was killing time, so I'd let it get a little more into the story before I decided what I really thought. After another 15 minutes I couldn't take it anymore. Talk about tedious. Good gravy. Skip this one.

please!

Dear Mythgard Institute,
Please, please, I beg of you, offer this class again. I'm devastated I didn't get to take it, but when you're gone for six weeks of the class it just doesn't work. Please, offer it again!
Extremely sincerely,
Melilot Dolly Brandybuck
http://www.mythgard.org/academics/fall-2013-courses/philology-through-tolkien/