Recent content by MattfromWI

Listening to The Prancing Pony Podcast this weekend, I thought their guest Bret Devereaux (@BretDevereaux on twitter) made a really good point about how morally correct actions are privileged over practical ones. I thought it was so good that I transcribed it, and I thought you all would enjoy...

Fair enough. I should probably do more research. Thanks for posting.

I'll go first. 1. Rivendell's creation or "virtue" as a product or outcome of Elrond's Elven-Ring. I have always resisted this because I think, inevitably, the most obvious exemplar of an Elven-ring in use is Lothlorien--and that's not a necessarily a good use. It's beautiful and timeless...

Only got a few bites on last week's idea to have a comment thread in which classmates can post their insights and takeaways from each episode--because in class itself, between trying to pay attention to the Professor and the class I invariably feel that I miss some great perspectives--but I'll...

Thank you for responding (both of you!). I love reading these kinds of insights. I don't want to get into a <debate> on this stuff, because I'm hoping threads like this becoming a forum so people can offer perspectives--I think the thought @Rachel Port ended with is one that I think maybe we'll...

From Session 197, “Bilbo’s Literary Theories,” there were two things that came up that really sparked my interest. The first is the discussion about how Rivendell compares to Lothlorien as far as being a “timeless place.” Although it seems that most readers of LOTR assume that the Elven-rings...

Maybe what I'm proposing would be too much like the episode summaries. Let me know in the comments. But I am suggesting this because during class, I am usually not able to keep up with all the insights from the commenters. While I do listen to the episode podcasts when they are released, and...

Thank you -- so much -- for putting this together :D

Thank you both for the conversation! @LyndonLeaves I also like the idea of Gandalf as community organizer, though I think that is a result of his affinity to Nienna and Irmo: he harnesses compassion, vision, and dreams to draw people closer emotionally/spiritually. I think this is evident too...

So I'm still catching up a bit, and I just finished the episodes where Prof Olsen recharacterizes the Wizard colors from marks of hierarchical status (understood like karate belts) to signals of each Wizard's particular discipline or role. As I understand it, the class decided that the...

Major kudos for the LPW reference! For a long time he was my favorite literary character.

Forgive me for jumping into the discussion--I'm about 10 episodes behind but eager to catch up. I don't know everything that was discussed during the classes but I think the text makes pretty clear Gandalf's thought process: Gandalf narrates that at Weathertop, "I was hard put to it indeed"...

Thanks all for responding! I wrote this too soon, a bit--in subsequent episodes Corey and the group did distinguish that Aragorn is being Kingly by prioritizing the salvation of Gondor, and is expressly NOT pursuing a crown. (I mean, he probably wants a crown so he can wed Arwen, but his...

Nice catch! I think this reading aligns nicely with the fact that the Ring appears to respond to fire/heat. You're further ahead than I am. I look forward to seeing you among the group when I catch up! Episode 140 today....

I am one of the many, I'm sure, who is working feverishly to catch up. I just finished Episode 138, in which you and the group discuss the exchange between Aragorn and Boromir (the first one) during the Council of Elrond. In your discussion of Aragorn "casting" his sword on the table and in the...