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Zooming in on the Tolkien Gateway image is . . . um: ambiguous. If the dot truly exists, it is small, smaller than the width of the strokes. The dots above the ä in Feänorian are darker, but not larger; however, these letters are also slightly smaller:

I couldn't make any sense of the stress on "to" until I read the replies; it didn't ring any bells because I've never read an edition that included that word! "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." is the sentence as I know it. I read it with the stress on...

Tehanu is, I think, deliberately ambiguous, and so it is less-satisfying as a novel. Leguin was bothered by "weak as women's magic; wicked as women's magic", but the big question of what is the proper role of women in Earthsea society and in magic is left mostly unanswered in Tehanu: LeGuin...

I think spying on Rivendell with the Palantir is far beyond Denethor's ability. Galadriel tells us that Sauron tries and tries, but can't spy on Lothlorien; I expect it's similar for Elrond. Since Denethor is not the hereditary "owner" of the Palantir, his command over it would be lesser. And he...

and, entirely to the point, the Shire Calendar is completely "actual". In fact, I strongly favor its universal adoption. It just makes so much more sense!

And, of course, there is no possibility of "actual" conjunction: ME is entirely "non-actual"!

I'd have thought the most obvious source of ringlore would have been Celebrimbor. He's the one who made the three. And at the time, we're told, there was great friendship between the Elves of Hollin and the Dwarves in Kazad-dum. It's not beyond speculation that information was freely shared...

I would think Gandalf might have learned some Ringlore somewhere, perhaps long ago; even now, he may largely trust anything Saruman told him before his treason. Maybe this information comes from another source than personal observation. I like Flammifer's theory that it is the storyteller's...

I have long thought these points to be evidence that Orcs are immortal, like Elves. It is not widely accepted, though.

I'm still not explaining it clearly, I'm afraid. We also get hail - icy balls usually associated with thunderstorms: generally falls in the summer, not winter. "the smaller lighter version" we call graupel: it falls in winter when temperatures are moderate. Happens when snow falls through a...

I'm afraid that "powder snow" in English probably means many different kinds of snow in different contexts. Here, near the Great Lakes, the powder we get most often is lake-effect snow, which does not require particularly low temperatures and falls as big clumps of many large snowflakes...

I have a definite feeling that if JRRT had ever taken it into his head to explain Legolas' snow-running ability it would have been an explanation that would have made St. Thomas Aquinas proud. And that I wouldn't have understood one word of it.

I've been waiting years for this passage! Running back and forth over a rope strung between trees is an example of physical prowess and control. It is something that even Men can accomplish. The main bar to gaining this skill is, in fact, psychological: in the movie "The Walk", about Phillipe...

Clap! Snap! the black crack! Grip, grab! Pinch, nab! And down down to Goblin-town You go, my lad! Nevertheless, marching to a 5/4 drumbeat could present some difficulty for two-footed creatures... I suspect Jackson &co were using this to emphasize how Orcs are "off", like horribly damaged...

Ooh: I didn't know there even was a series. I've watched the movie "The Golden Compass", which covers most of the first book (it leaves off the cliffhanger ending). It's a pretty good adaptation. They got Mrs. Coulter's evilness just right, also Iorek's nobility, and the general weirdness of...

I seem to hate the Jackson movies even more every time I watch; only got halfway through RotK recently. But I laughed out loud at the Orc armies advancing on Minas Tirith to the beat of a drum -- in 5/4 time!

Corey often devotes an episode or two to adaptations at the end of a book series, and even before that there is often some compare and contrast between the book and the adaptation(s). But as far as I can recall, the ONLY work where he explicitly prefers the movie is "The Princess Bride", which...

That's what bothers me about the magic system in Harry Potter: Will is almost entirely missing. You have to aim a spell by pointing your wand; the will to "hit the target" doesn't seem to matter at all. (As far as I can recall, there is no example of a Wizard casting a spell on anything that's...

As the editor of my wife's podcast, who occasionally has a guest with the same habit, I can verify that these are almost impossible to remove in post-processing. I like your suggestion of using a microphone that is not physically connected to the desk: that will help (but not eliminate the...

And don't forget the party, where it "snowed food and rained drink" and they were all left at the end "filling up the corners" with their favorite dainties...