Monday, March 18, 2024

Where Are the Eagles?

In The Lord of the Rings, one of the biggest plot contrivances that some folks get confused about is the introduction of the Eagles.

We'll use the movies as examples here, because I don't have the books right in front of me. But in the movie, first we see an Eagle when Gandalf, trapped high in the sky in Saruman's white tower, sends a moth to call for one. A lone Eagle soars by and Gandalf takes a leap from a great height and lands on the Eagle's back to fly safely away from his captor.

The Eagles do not appear again until the end, when in the third film, as the Men of the West are fighting off orcs and Sauron seems to be winning, Pippin stops amidst the fighting and cries, "The Eagles! The Eagles are coming!"

And the Eagles come and fight off the dark riders, and later, when Frodo (well, actually Gollum) has destroyed the One Ring and ended Sauron for good, the Eagles carry Gandalf to the top of Mt. Doom to rescue Frodo and Sam from the volcanic mountain.

The big question many folks ask is, why didn't the Eagles carry Frodo to Mt. Doom in the first place, instead of having him wander all over Middle Earth to try to take the One Ring to Mt. Doom?

It's a good question, and it is a bit of a plot hole. There are many answers, but answer I like best is that the Eagles are another race, sentient beings like humans, and have agency. They therefore cannot be subjugated into doing the will of others. Although it does seem like performing a task that would stop evil would be a good thing.

Many of the non-human characters in The Lord of the Rings have agency: the Ents, who are tree shepherds, orcs, who are used and abused, goblins, who are wild things, for the most part, and wizards, who look like men but are not men. And we must not forget the elves, who also look human but are not, or the dwarves, who look human too, only shorter, as well as the hobbits, who look like humans but are shorter still.

In many interviews I've read about Tolkien, who wrote The Lord of the Rings books, he claims that the books are not about war. However, the author served in World War I and his sons in World War II.

I think The Lord of the Rings is about war.

Lately, I've been watching the eagles in California as they attempt to hatch a trio of eggs. The time for viability for the eggs has long passed, but the eagles continue to try to hatch eggs that aren't going to hatch. It has been an interesting couple of months watching these birds as they built their nest and laid the eggs. Now it's sad to look in on them, sitting diligently on eggs that, at least according to scientists, are simply rotting and not hatching. It reminds me of all the time I spent trying to have a child even though it was a fruitless exercise.

I have had eagles on my mind.

However, another question keeps running through my mind, and getting all confused with The Lord of the Rings, the eagles on the nest, and this country. The question is this: where are the Eagles? Not the eagles on the nest. Not the Eagles of Tolkien's world, not exactly.

I think Tolkien was using the Eagles as a metaphor for the U.S., who was late entering both World Wars. We entered World War I three years after it started, and World War II began in 1939 and we didn't enter it until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. How many lives were lost, how much devastation was rendered, because the United States didn't step up when we should have?

The Eagles were late and came in near the end. They were, however, crucial to winning the wars, World War I, World War II - and the war in The Lord of the Rings.

So that question keeps crossing my mind these days: where are the Eagles? Not the Eagles of The Lord of the Rings, but the Eagles who are true patriots, the ones who will see through the conspiracy theories and the crackpot craziness and stand up and set the United States back upon a better path. Because technically, the US is now at war with itself. We are close to taking that old Constitution and ripping it to shreds, no matter who wins, although one side is more distasteful to me than the other.

Right now, I see no Eagles, not on the right, and not on the left. I caught a glimpse of a lone Eagle in Liz Cheney, which is something I never thought I 'd ever say, but if we have an Eagle guiding us, at the moment that's who it is (and I'm not sure of that). If she is like the lone Eagle swooping in to save Gandalf, where and when will the other Eagles come from? Who will rise up to make this nation over and bring back our better angels? It won't be the Republicans, who are bent on turning back the clock, taking away rights, and creating an American version of Hungary. 

The Democrats are no angels. I'm not sure they are Eagles, either, having turned away from the philosophies of Franklin Roosevelt as they have in the last 40 or so years. Roosevelt had his flaws, as all men do, but he did seem to have the welfare of this nation, and of the world, on his heart when he made decisions. (Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, not Roosevelt. We don't know what Roosevelt would have done with those bombs, although he didn't stop their construction.)

We aren't in a novel at the moment. This is real life. But we have lots of fighting going on all over the world, and we have lots of in-fighting going on in this nation. We have climate change creating monumental catastrophes. However, we have no wise wizards at our sides, no guidance that comes from anything beyond the beaks of those who crave great power, even if that power is only to be the loudest mouth in a thread on a Facebook page. Given the wealthy crows who own the social media companies, what else should we expect?

So, I ask again, where are the Eagles? Where are those who would stand up against the powerful, and be the beacons that we need to lead us to a stronger, brighter, fairer and better world?

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Sunday Stealing



1. What ONE thing would you change about your life? How would your life be different?

A. I would be healthier. I would eat better, exercise, and have a less sedentary lifestyle. Maybe I would run marathons. 

2. What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Why was it hard for you? What did you learn?

A. Keeping my mouth shut is the hardest thing. I should always keep my mouth shut. I have learned it is the best way to get through life without problems.

3. Write about the most glorious moment in your life so far.

A. Glorious moments are for a different sort of person than I.

4. Write about a moment you felt brave.

A. When I stood up to a bully.

5. What made you happy today?

A. My husband took me to lunch.

6. What did you dislike most about growing up?

A. Chores. I had a lot of chores.

7. Write about five activities you love the most and why you love them.

A. Reading books, because they take you to other worlds, playing guitar, because music takes you to another space, writing, because it allows you to put on paper whatever you're thinking, hugs because they make me feel loved, and dancing (when no one is watching) because it makes me feel free.

8. Do you have an embarrassing moment that still makes you cringe?

A. Yes. But that doesn't mean I have to write about it.

9. What has been your best trip so far?

A. Probably my trip to Spain and France when I was 16, simply because it was out of the country. In the U.S., I enjoyed our trips to Williamsburg, VA a lot.

10. What traits (physical or personal) do people notice when they meet you for the first time?

A. I haven't any idea. I'm not especially pretty but I'm also not butt ugly. I've been told I have expressive eyes and nice skin.

11. Is social media a blessing or a curse?

A. It's what we make it.

12. What is your greatest hope for your future? What steps can you take to make it happen?

A. I would just like to take it day by day for now, thank you very much.

13. What did you struggle most with today?

A. That not speaking up thing I wrote about earlier.

14. Name the biggest priority in your life right now.

A. My husband is always my top priority.

15. What are 5 things you wish others knew about you?

A. (1) I need a lot of hugs. (2) I am very lonely. (3) I miss being a student. (4) I hate the way my body looks. (5) I do not ever stop thinking.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Saturday 9: Charlie Mops




Not familiar with this week's song? Hear it here.
 
1. This week's song is about a legend, Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer. Tell us about something you enjoy so much you could sing about it with the same enthusiasm the Salt Sea Pirates sing of beer.

O! I enjoy the place I live, the beautiful Blue Ridge, there's not much I can say about the mountains that would be bad! Here and there you find a bridge, a flower, and a tree, there really isn't much in the mountains to make me sad!

2. The lyrics tell us beer goes well with breakfast, dinner and snacks. Think about what you dined on yesterday. What beverages did you have with your breakfast, your dinner, and your between-meal snack?

A. Just water. That be all I drink, matey.

3. "Charlie Mops" was chosen because it's an Irish drinking song and Sunday is St. Patrick's Day. Do you expect to raise a glass in honor of the day?

A. No.

4. Beer is not the only beverage often dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. In 1970, McDonald's introduced the Shamrock Shake, a milkshake made with a minty green syrup. If we were to go out for shakes right now, what flavor would you order?

A. Chocolate, although I am allergic to milk and haven't had a shake in 40 years or so.

5. Legend has it that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns, who can be mischievous pranksters. Is there anyone you would like to avoid today?

A. There are always people I would like to avoid. That is what makes home so attractive. They aren't here.

6. For all our talk of green, it was not the original color of St. Patrick's Day. Through most of the 18th century, blue was worn across England and Ireland to honor St. Patrick. The Irish switched to green to express their independence from the English. Which color do you wear more often: blue or green?

A. Blue.

7. Today St. Patrick's Day is observed all over the world. In Tokyo, it's not a single day but a weekend celebration. When you think of Japan, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

A. Honestly, it would be my college professor who translates poetry and has spent time in Japan; I've seen her photos from there and it's been like taking a trip with her, sort of. So, when I think of Japan (and China), I also think of Jeanne, who used to be my professor but is now my friend.

8. One of the biggest parades each year in Buenos Aires is for St. Patrick's Day. Have you ever participated in a parade?

A. Yes. I was in the high school band, and we marched in lots of parades. I hated them. Then when I became a news reporter, I had to take pictures of them. 

9. Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA, crowns a Miss St. Patrick's Day. Tell us about an event you recall from your college days.

A. I was an adult student who lived off campus, so I didn't really participate in much of the after-school events. I went to numerous poetry readings, though. Once, I begged my husband to come with me, I don't remember who was reading but at the time it was important to me - but he bought a load of cattle at 3 p.m. that day, and I went on to the reading by myself, but he came from the stockyard to be with me - in boots covered with mud and he smelled like cow. I was so glad to see him that I didn't mind. Well, I didn't mind too much. I'm not sure what everyone else thought, though. Those poetry readings were awfully hoity-toity.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 


Thursday, March 14, 2024

Thursday Thirteen


Things my parents said . . .

1. Because I said so.

2. If you swallow your gum, it will stay in your stomach for 7 years.

3. If you swallow a watermelon seed, it will grow in your stomach.

4. Keep making that face and it will freeze like that.

5. I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it.

6. I have eyes in the back of my head.

7. You can't swim for 30 minutes after eating.

8. If you sit too close to the TV, you'll go blind.

9. I'm just going to the store for one thing. (Comes back 3 hours later.)

10. Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about.

11. Wipe that smile off your face or I'll wipe it off for you.

12. Do as I say, not as I do.

13. I hope your kids turn out just like you, so you'll know what it feels like.

Did your parents say things like this?

______________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 851st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Movies, TV, & Books

Last night we watched part of the Oscar Awards, mostly because we couldn't find anything else we wanted to watch.

The only movie I have seen of all the movies mentioned was Barbie. I don't go to the theater often and some of these movies simply haven't made it to HBO/MAX yet.

Most of them I'd barely heard of. I am not a connoisseur of pop culture, apparently.

As for the Oscar Awards show, I neither liked it nor disliked it. It was just something to watch.

Movies

Now, on to the most recent movie I have watched: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, starring Jason Momoa.

Apparently, this movie was in theaters in December. We watched it when it came on HBO last weekend.

It is not a great movie. It's not even a good movie. When I spend more time trying to see what references to other movies and books I can find in a picture than actually watching the picture itself, then it's definitely not holding my interest.

This movie had references to Star Wars, H.G. Wells books, Batman and Robin, 48 Hours, Castaway, Thor, Harry Potter, and loads of other DC Comic lore. I am sure I missed other references, too.

Frankly, I'm about comic-book charactered out with movies, and hope that Hollywood moves on to better films, preferably not remakes of old ones as that seems to be the pattern of the moment. I would like to see something original occasionally.

I'm not going into the Aquaman plot; anyone can find a rehash of it on Wikipedia and all I wanted to note was I saw it, Momoa was fun to look at, and it was definitely a "B" rated flick.

TV

This brings me to the most recent binge of TV. I watched all six episodes of HBO's
True Detectives: Night Country, staring Jody Foster. Mostly I watched it because I have always liked Jody Foster.

This show was weird and creepy. My husband said it gave me nightmares, although if it did, I don't remember them. But it was a different sort of show and I'm not sure I would have watched it had it not been for Foster.

Foster's character was a true hard-assed bitch named Liz Danvers. (The name made me think of Super Girl, whose last name was Danvers when she wasn't saving the world, so I wish they'd used another name, unless the inference was intentional.) Danvers was trying to solve two murders along with another police officer, Evangaline Navarro, played by Kali Reis.

Actually, it was more than two murders, as the initial murder was of six different men, all found naked out in the frozen Alaska tundra, their faces contorted in fear and their bodies molded together with ice. The officers called it a "corpsicle," which should tell you a lot about the humor of this show. It was very dark humor. Somehow this murder tied in with an older unsolved murder case. 

Most everything that seemed supernatural in the show could be explained, but it was one seriously delusional piece of work. Masterfully done, well-acted, and a bit crazy. I am glad I watched it, but like Game of Thrones, it's not something I intend to ever watch again.

Books

I've mentioned recently that I finished Heather Cox Richardson's book, Democracy Awakening. It's a very important book for these times and one that I encourage everyone, regardless of political persuasion, to read. The historical aspect that leads us to today is incredible and I guarantee that there are things in this book that one did not learn in the public schools, and maybe not even in college.

Another book I recently finished that was quite eye-opening was Educated, by Tara Westover. This memoir of a young woman who was "homeschooled" and a member of the Mormon faith is incredibly eye-opening and concerning. The story opens with an admonishment that the book is not meant to deny or endorse any religion, but it doesn't make religion of any kind look good. I think it reflects the evangelical religiosity that has taken hold of some folks and made them a bit crazy, regardless of brand of faith. I have never been one to live my life on emotion and have tried to be rational in my thought processes, although being human I am sure I've failed. But people who are living only on faith and belief are people I cannot understand. They do not step back and self-examine themselves or their actions and cannot or do not see reality in a way that I understand.

It is difficult to be the person who is different in any family; I imagine it must be nearly impossible in an evangelical one. Westover's memoir showed how difficult it was, and how hard it can be to overcome backwards thinking. 

It's definitely a book to read (or listen to, as I did), and think about.