Lord of the Rings

The ability to use stop action and frame by frame forwarding on DVD has allowed viewers to catch many goofs and losses of continuity in motions pictures both present and past. Tech people who end up onscreen. Motor cars that appear in period pieces, broken bones that shift limbs, clothing that is alternately wet and dirty, clean and dry.

In Lord of the Rings we get to see dramatically the way in which gunpowder made castle battlements obsolete. No longer could rebel nobles hide behind their walls and defy their kings.

Two items relating to Saruman and his Wizard’s Tower Orthanc have troubled me. When Gandalf is lifted by wizardry to the platform atop the tower he appears to have been transported right through solid stone. No stairs or openings lead to it. Saruman stands there to curse the travelers on the mountain top and on other occasions. In his final scene Grima Wormtongue joins him there.

In that same scene Saruman talks of the rings of the seven kings and five wizard’s staffs. Was this a scripting error? There were 9 Nazgul. We know of only 2 wizards in the books. I’ve never quite figured out where Aragon’s Ring of Barahir fits in the scheme of things, seemingly it has no magical powers. Further the third elven ring appears to be worn by Gandalf leaving Galadriel’s husband without one. Is Elrond a wizard, don’t remember seeing him with a staff.

Gandalf seems to go through a number of wizard’s staffs. He loses the original one to Saruman in Orthanc. Has another when he appears at Rivendell. Loses another in Moria. Has his staff broken in the movie by the Witch King of Angmar in Minas Tirith but appears shortly afterward with an identical one outside the Black Gate.

Paradigm Shift

Time was when an unruly child was sent to his/her room or grounded as fitting punishment. Today a more fitting discipline would be to be deprived of all their electronic devices and sent outside to play. A child’s bedroom used to be for sleeping accompanied by teddy bears and dolls. Today it contains a flat screen TV, sophisticated game controllers and remotes; fancy sound systems, tablets, computer systems, smart phones; DVD players, MP3 players, fancy head phones, even virtual reality helmets. Hence the phenomenon of Parents texting their kids that a meal is ready as the only means of making contact with a child totally wired into their devices.

It is ironic that in a world where people are in constant online contact actual human contact is becoming an endangered species. Hanging at the mall has been replaced by online chatrooms and Facebook. In this digital arena it is possible to have thousands of online friends from all over the world that one has never met, never will meet, and of whom you have no idea what they look like or if they actually are the person they claim to be. Cyber bullying has become a new catch-phrase and can be as emotionally damaging as the physical variety.

There’s a price to be paid for all this electronic interaction. Beyond the impossibility of socially interacting with thousands of individuals the lack of physical interaction is alienating. The irony of the situation is that persons with thousands of online friends are lonely. All this electronic ‘activity’ leads to a sedentary lifestyle that results in obesity. The psychological effects of violent electronic games is still under study; what has definitely changed is the desire for instant gratification. Online gaming is instantaneous. Whereas a game of chess by mail with a pen pal could take years online it can be over in minutes.

This addiction to electronic devices has had a definite social cost. Whereas my Father preferred to get in his truck and drive to talk with his friends rather than use a phone today people who are in the same room text one another. Online service providers and cell phone networks are capitalizing on this addiction. The anonymity provided by electronics has become a goldmine for the providers of pornography of all kinds. Even prelates succumb to its dubious charms.

Bemoaning the State of Chapters Book

Recently paid a visit to Chapters Book in Oakville. Can I be forgiven
for thinking that books should be front and centre in a bookstore rather
than a pile of gift crap. I don't go to a bookstore to buy candles and
cookware. As a serious reader I arrive with a list in hand of the books
I wish to find. I do not come principally to browse book covers and the
latest best-sellers though I may glance at them in passing. I do
appreciate finding books in alphabetical order by author and I deplore
the Blockbuster Video approach to placing books they wish to highlight
in favourable positions on the shelf out of order so they show up
better. We all know what happened to Blockbuster. It would seem by the
books featured on the back wall that Young Adult books are a priority.
Most of the titles don't interest me. Didn't know what Manga is and not
sure I needed to learn that it's Japanese Graphic Novels.

The coffeeshop is long gone as are the comfortable chairs where one
could sit and get acquainted with a book. Gone too are the tables. The
computers for accessing the catalogue are new but the interface is as
slow as ever. I stopped visiting here regularly when Heather took over
and banned EYE and NOW along with the Montreal Review of Books from her
stores. I used to drop in weekly to pick them up and buy a book or two
while I was there but no longer. When she banned Mein Kampf from her
stores I decided to download and read it just to see what the fuss was
about. By this action I was introduced to Gutenberg Books.

I suppose my main complaint is the fact that the place is no longer
inviting to bibliophiles. I realize that a bookstore has to make money
to survive but I find this crass commercialism repellant rather than
welcoming and inviting. When I enter a bookstore I want to smell paper
and ink not scented candles, bath salts, and kitchen spice.

May Days Rant

Because my Mother was encouraged to use formula rather than breast feed I was probably predisposed to develop allergies. The sugar and salt unnecessarily added to baby foods sets our palettes to desire sweet and salty foods. The fact that I grew up on the East Coast with soft water means my teeth are softer and the prevalence of Gold in the rocks there also means there’s arsenic in the water. The fact that I now live in a concrete building exposes me to more background radiation and the ‘city’ I live in exposes me to more background noise and pollution.

Every time we turn around we read of another food source that is good for us or bad for us. Can anyone drink enough green tea, eat enough oatmeal, blueberries, or drink enough water to stay healthy. Sitting too long is bad for us, milk, coffee, bread, salt, and now sugar are the great no, nos. The same people who rail against frankenfoods probably drink bottled water in plastic, a major source of dioxins. They also probably complain about the price of gasoline while paying even more for that filtered tap water that has sat who knows how long in a warehouse.

Life is a fatal disease. We all die from it. Our planet is slowly or rapidly dying because there are too many of us. Worry is bad for our health just as is having a high BMI. So let’s take all things in moderation, take that morning walk though not too early if you have allergies, sit for a while and meditate, breath deeply for at least 5 minutes, and take that afternoon nap. It isn’t afternoon yet but I believe I’ll go back to bed and read the comix. Laughter is good for the soul.