Category Archives: READING MATTER

Books I read & recommend

GALADRIELS’ WARNING TO GANDALF

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

History has proven that Stupid Humans have been more devastating to Middle-Earth and Planet Earth, than a billion truckloads of Balrogs and Orcs!  If Gandalf had listened to Galadriels advice, he might not have saved the Hobbits and Stupid Humans from the Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-dum.  Then, Saruman the White could have been victorious over the Stupid Humans and The Earth might have been saved from pollution and destruction by Stupid Humans!  (No doubt, the Stupid Humans exterminated all the Hobbits too, just like they massacred the Native Americans and all the rest of the indigeounous people of Earth.)

Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head (after Saruman’s betrayal and fall) of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West. In The Lord of the Rings, he is initially known as Gandalf the Grey, but returns from death as Gandalf the White.

Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books. Balrogs are described as tall and menacing with the ability to shroud themselves in fire, darkness, and shadow. They frequently appeared armed with fiery whips “of many thongs”, and occasionally used long swords. In Tolkien’s later conception, they could not be casually destroyed—significant power was required. Only dragons rivaled their capacity for ferocity and destruction,and during the First Age of Middle-earth, they were among the most feared of Morgoth’s forces.

Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales.  She was a royal Elf of both the Noldor and the Teleri, being a grandchild of both King Finwë and King Olwë, and was also close kin of King Ingwë of the Vanyar through her grandmother Indis. She was one of the leaders in the rebellion of the Noldor and their flight from Valinor during the First Age, and she was the only prominent Noldo to return at the end of the Third Age. Towards the end of her stay in Middle-earth she was co-ruler of Lothlórien with her husband, Lord Celeborn, and was referred to variously as the Lady of Lórien, the Lady of the Galadhrim, the Lady of Light, or the Lady of the Golden Wood. Her daughter Celebrían was the wife of Elrond and mother of Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir.  Tolkien describes Galadriel as “the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth” (after the death of Gil-galad) and the “greatest of elven women”.

Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the novel, but eventually desires Sauron’s power for himself and tries to help the Dark Lord take over Middle-earth. His schemes feature prominently in the second volume, The Two Towers, and at the end of the third volume, The Return of the King. His earlier history is given briefly in the posthumously published The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.  Saruman is one of several characters in the book illustrating the corruption of power; his desire for knowledge and order leads to his fall, and he rejects the chance of redemption when it is offered. The name Saruman means “man of skill”;he serves as an example of technology and modernity being overthrown by forces more in tune with nature.

Orcs are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman. The Orcs also work independently as the common antagonists in The Hobbit, though in that work they are more often called Goblins. Although not entirely dim-witted and occasionally crafty, they are portrayed as miserable beings, hating everyone including themselves and their masters, whom they serve out of fear. They make no beautiful things, but rather design cunning devices made to hurt and destroy.

FULL FRONTAL HYPOCRISY

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hy·poc·ri·sy (hĭ-pŏkˈrĭ-sē)  noun pl. hypocrisies (hy·poc·ri·sies)

  • The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

  • An act or instance of such falseness.

Origin: from Late Latin hypocrisis, play-acting, pretense

“Hypocrite, n. One who, profession virtues that he does not respect secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.” – Ambrose Bierce

“The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity” – Andre Gide

“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing” – Edward Burke

“Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today” – Mahatma Gandhi

“He (Thomas Paine) saw oppression on every hand; injustice everywhere; hypocrisy at the altar; venality on the bench, tyranny on the throne; and with a splendid courage he espoused the cause of the weak against the strong” – Robert Greene Ingersoll

“Woe unto you, scribes and *Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” – (Matthew 23:14)

*(Note: the word “pharisee” has come into semi-common usage in English to describe a hypocritical and arrogant person who places the letter of the law above its spirit.)

RESOLUTION IN THE ETERNAL NOW

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NEW YEAR RESOLUTION 2014

YOU ARE A SOURCE OF CREATION.
ADMIRE THE ROLES YOU PLAY IN THE GAMES OF THE ETERNAL NOW.

PLAY THE PARTS WORTHY OF YOUR ABILITY, YOUR SANITY AND YOUR SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY.

TIME IS CHANGE; ALL THINGS PASS. WE ENDURE THE FUTURE WE CREATE. LOVE OF PLAY IS OUR DESTINY.
LIFE IS THE GAME WE PLAY.

— Lawrence R. Spencer, 2013 —

GREATEST GEEK

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THIS IS THE FIRST PAGE OF A VERY EXCELLENT ON-LINE “COMIC BOOK”  ABOUT NIKOLA TESLA.  READ THE ENTIRE THING HERE:  Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived – The Oatmeal

Additional notes from the author:

  • If you want to learn more about Tesla, I highly recommend reading Tesla: Man Out of Time
  • Also, this Badass of the week by Ben Thompson is what originally inspired me to write a comic about Tesla. Ben’s also got a book out which is packed full of awesome.
  • There’s an old movie from the 80s on Netflix Instant Queue right now about Tesla: The Secret of Nikola Tesla. It’s corny and full of bad acting, but it paints a fairly accurate depiction of his life.
  • The drunk history of Tesla is quite awesome, too.
  • X-rays: just to clarify, Tesla did not discover x-rays, but he was one of the early pioneers in its research.
  • Cryogenic engineering: I’m referring to the cryogenic engineering that has to do with using liquified air to cool a coil and reduce its electrical resistance (Patent No. 11,865), not freezing people and waking them up in the future so they can fight Wesley Snipes.
  • Transistor: Tesla’s influence on the modern transistor can be found in patents 723,188 and 725,605. (a better explanation here)
  • Radio: Tesla was the nicest geek ever until he decided to sue Marconi a few years later. 8 months after Tesla died, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Marconi’s patents on the invention of radio. So Tesla eventually won that battle, although he was dead by then.
  • Tesla VS Edison: I could write a novel on the differences between Tesla and Edison, but seeing as how this comic is already huge I decided to leave many things out. For instance, Edison killed cats and dogs, but Tesla loved animals and had a cat as a child. Originally Tesla wanted to be a poet, but after getting zapped by static electricity from his kitty he was inspired to study the effects of electricity. One could vaguely construe that Tesla’s cat was responsible for the second industrial revolution, which arguably makes it the most awesome cat who ever lived.
    Edison believed that fossil fuels were the future and that there were enough resources in South America to provide for the next 50,000 years. Tesla believed that renewable energy sources like hydroelectric, solar, and wind power were the future. This is remarkable because in the 1890s there was no such thing as “going green,” so Tesla’s ideas on conservation were very forward-thinking at the time.  (From OATMEAL)