January 7 2024 — Existential Autotrip

January 7, 2024
# 1638

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Commentary
Lord of the Rings is one of those stories that appeals to both adults and their children.

Toni-Lee and I read our children to sleep every night. ‘Every night’ took a lot of books. The books didn’t just show up. You had to go get them. ‘Every night’ meant frequent trips to the library for books so short you needed several of them a night. I think JRR Tolkien had that in mind when he wrote his 1,000 page masterpiece. When he wrote, “The End,” I could hear him say under his breath, “That’ll hold the mf…” Tolkien was like that. Not.

Reading a tome is its own experience. How many pages tonight? How much time to recap the last reading? Learning to share experiences. What parts of the work should be read during the day because they are too scary to read to a child before they go to sleep?

Reading the Tolkien chef-d'œuvre brought us many collateral benefits.

In malls, we were all drawn to the window displays that highlighted Rings memorabilia.

Over the decades we loved the television or theatrical adaptations of Tolkien’s work:
"The Hobbit" (1977, the animated television film directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. And,
"The Lord of the Rings" animated film (1978): directed by Ralph Bakshi. And,
"The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy (2001-2003): directed by Peter Jackson.
"The Hobbit" film trilogy (2012-2014) directed by Peter Jackson.
"The Lord of the Rings" television series (2022 and ongoing): Amazon Prime.
We even went to plays that adapted the books.

We shared any references to Tolkien’s iconic characters, Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum and the rest of them throughout our culture.

But by far, the biggest impact those readings had on us was how the reading shaped what we talked about the next day. Bear in mind our three sons were 5, 7, and 9. My daughter was 3.

Here’s a list of some of the things the book led us to talk about:

1. The environment. Tolkien’s love of nature is illustrated by his descriptions of pristine landscapes and the destructive forces of industry.

2. Philosophy. The struggle between good and evil.

3. The corrupting power of the ring. Especially in Gollum and Boromir who succumbed, and Sam and Frodo who resisted.

4. Heroism, as demonstrated by Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Gandalf.

5. Fate vs. Free Will or the prophecies versus the characters' choices and actions.

6. Friendship and loyalty, especially the bonds among the Fellowship.

7. Racial tensions and cooperation and Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, and Orcs.

8. Women in a patriarchy as in the roles and portrayals of female characters like Eowyn, Galadriel, and Arwen.

Gandalf proves that Frodo's Ring is the One Ring by throwing it into Frodo's fireplace, revealing the hidden text of the Rhyme of the Rings.
Peter J. Yost - Own work
The One Ring made from scratch in Blender 3D software.

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Kat’s Gen Z Corner

2023 in Books

One of my end-of-year highlights is looking back on the books I consumed. My big takeaways this year are that:

I still love my women: Elena Ferrante, Jhumpa Lahiri, Rachel Cusk, and Ruth Ozeki. If they’ve written it, I’ve read it.

Out of the 2023 popular reads — Lessons in Chemistry, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow — Emma Kline’s The Guest was best.

I shamelessly devoured celebrity memoirs and biographies: Trevor Noah, Andre Leon Talley, Ram Dass, Anna Wintour, Tina Fey. All were fabulous.

The most anticipated and enthralling book of all was my cousin’s Trouble the Living. It truly was a pleasure to read.

In my post-college life, I’ve derived great pleasure from reading books that I myself have selected. I’m able to read/consume a lot thanks to an amazing app called Libby that connects to your local library so you can “take out” unlimited e-books and audiobooks for absolutely free.

I love audiobooks and identify as an auditory learner, probably thanks to the hundreds of hours my dad spent reading to me before bed. It irks me when people say listening to audiobooks is cheating. My brother Mino listens to 100+ books a year via audiobook and remembers everything! I would like to think I remember, too.

Below you can find all the books I read with stars over my favorites. If you have opinions or recommendations, please share.

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Tucker’s Corner
Since I’ve managed to write a weekly review for nearly everything I saw and enjoyed this year I don’t know if dedicating an entire post to my favorites of 2023 would be anything but redundant. But. before I dive into Lord of the Rings I figured I would share my list of favorite films from this year in case any readers are interested.

Please find my list of favorites here

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

Directed by Peter Jackson

“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost. For none now live who remember it.” – Galadriel, the Lady of Lorien

Twenty-two years ago the world got its first glimpse of Peter Jackson’s vision for Middle-Earth with the release of The Fellowship of the Ring. The film was met with critical acclaim and was hugely successful at the box office. But in the years since it’s become clear that The Lord of the Rings trilogy is more than simply three films that made money and were well reviewed. Galadriel’s whispered words in the first moments of the film were somewhat prophetic. With the Lord of the Rings trilogy the world had changed. Their release marked a pivot point in big budget epics on film. Lord of the Rings wasn’t just a movie adaptation of a beloved series. It would set a template that Hollywood has followed for years since — not just for epic fantasy, but the entire medium of film.

Like the novels, The Lord of the Rings was essentially a single film split into smaller installments. Originally intended as a sequel to Tolkien’s debut The Hobbit, the novels cover a story that grew in the telling, turning from a light-hearted fantasy adventure to a massive tome that would provide inspiration for almost every fantasy novel that followed it. The series had been adapted in the past with a series of animated films starting in 1977, but it wasn’t until the late-1990s that there was serious interest in doing a live-action version.

Jackson had initially planned for the adaptation to run for two films, with studios pushing for it to be condensed down to one. When the project landed with New Line Cinemas, studio head Bob Shaye somewhat famously asked, “Why would I want to do two films? There are three books. Why not do three films?” The expansion to become a trilogy would allow Jackson to adapt each novel, and to adapt more of Tolkien’s original material. Production for the film started in October 1999, with Peter Jackson helming an ambitious project: all three films of the series would be shot at the same time in New Zealand over a 438-day shoot.

The adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s colossal trilogy should’ve been a bloated, hubristic disaster—the sort of project, like Cleopatra or Heaven's Gate, that torpedoes a major studio. But just like how the ring initially finds its way to Bilbo in The Hobbit the LOTR film trilogy found its way to the most unlikely filmmaker imaginable, Peter Jackson, whose previous credits included the micro-budget slapstick horror films Bad Taste and Dead Alive, and the masterful art film Heavenly Creatures. In the latter, two adolescent girls create elaborate fantasy worlds in their own backyard; so too does Jackson, who shot the trilogy in the lush, rolling greens and towering peaks of his native New Zealand, merging the stunning natural landscape with CGI wonders designed by his own special-effects house.

An enthusiastic visionary set loose on one of the biggest playgrounds ever constructed, Jackson brought more personality to the series' first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, than typically seeps into a franchise of this magnitude. His light touch remedied many of the problems inherent in adapting the Tolkien books, which are heavy on exposition and light on structure, barreling from one scary encounter to the next without a sense of the grand design.

In the mythical world of Middle Earth, where the forces of good and evil are as boldly demarcated as on the Fox News network, an intrepid hobbit named Frodo (Elijah Wood) has inherited a gold ring that his older cousin Bilbo (Ian Holm) found on his travels decades earlier. Forged long ago by a dark lord looking to consolidate his power, the One Ring somehow slipped from its creator's grasp and eventually made its way to Hobbiton in the Shire, the furthest spot west of the lord's kingdom in Mordor. Wood's journey begins when the benevolent wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) implores him to take the ring to the fires of Mount Doom and destroy it before it falls into the wrong hands. Facing an endless gauntlet of orcs, Ringwraiths, and genetically mutated Uruk-Hais, Frodo is accompanied at various points by three fellow hobbits Samwise, Merry, and Pippen (Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd), the two human warriors Aragorn and Boromir (Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean), the elven archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and the roughneck dwarf Gimli (a scene-stealing John Rhys-Davies).

In condensing Tolkien's book to feature length, Jackson and his screenwriters do the necessary pruning while remaining faithful to the text. Pared down to its Cliffs Notes essence, the story moves forward at a relentless pace. But only the most expansive imagination could dream up a spectacle of such eye-popping proportions, with Jackson and his technicians constructing kingdoms and monsters with the innovation and joy of Ray Harryhausen. Setting vast digital armies against towering backdrops, the battle sequences have the visceral kick expected from the director of Dead Alive, as Frodo and his motley militia hack through foes like zombies at the business end of a lawnmower. The Fellowship of the Ring ends with a slow burn cliffhanger that sets up its sequel perfectly and leaves us all wanting more.

At once thoroughly cinematic and faithful to the spirit of Tolkien's book, Fellowship presented Middle Earth as an immersive experience, a world in which every aspect is realized in minute detail. It made the impossible believable, and without draining the magical happenings, fantastical locations, and uncanny creatures of their wonder, it also never abandoned a sense of dramatic and thematic weight. Thanks to the well-chosen cast, Fellowship's characters had all the depth Tolkien gave them on the page (and sometimes more), and their quest to rid the world of a ring of absolutely corrupting power took on greater urgency as the film progressed.

To live up to expectations, The Two Towers only had to be as good as its predecessor–and, astoundingly, it might be better. That's not simply a matter of exposition giving way to action, although the film has plenty, as Frodo and Sam made their way toward Mordor, friends Merry and Pippen found unlikely allies deep in a forest, and the team of Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn attempted to defend the struggling kingdom of Rohan from the forces of Saruman (a perfectly cast Christopher Lee).

What makes Towers so staggering is the way it brings the full scope of Jackson's adaptation into focus. Without missing a beat in three hours, the film shifts from epic to lyrical and back again. It portrays a harrowingly intense battle one moment, then pauses for a father's grief over his son's death the next. It shows in frightening detail the engines of war, then links those engines to the bloodshed they cause and the ecological destruction that made them possible. What Fellowship suggested, Towers explains. It's thrilling as swords clash and arrows fly, but it also never abandons the underlying sadness of Tolkien's world, in which each victory only forestalls the transition to a meaner age. Ironically, for all the attendant technophobia, it's another technical masterpiece. Gollum, voiced by Andy Serkis, wound up being the first fully fleshed-out performance by a CGI effect. Despite its fantasy trappings and setting The Two Towers continues the unfolding of a tale from a fantastic imagined past rich with resonance for the human present.

As Frodo travelled closer and closer to Mordor the ring grew heavier and more difficult to resist. The same could be said of the franchise’s weight around Peter Jackson’s neck. With each subsequent installment the franchise grew bigger, heavier, and created more responsibility and anticipation. The Fellowship of the Ring proved that Jackson and his co-screenwriters, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, were more than capable of bringing Tolkien to the screen with an eye toward large-scale spectacle as well as a respect for the original story, characters, and themes. The Two Towers did it one better. Ratcheting up the intensity on every level, it took the series to the same place as Tolkien's books: the realm of shared cultural myth.

Jackson doesn't buckle under the burden of winding it down with The Return of the King, either; in fact, he lets the weightiness define the film. As Frodo, Sam, and Gollum progress toward destroying the ring, while Aragorn, Gandalf, and the Fellowship's other surviving members mount a defense against the evil Sauron, every gesture conveys a significance emphasized by Jackson's slow, portentous approach. In the end, the director pays off the time viewers invested in the first two films with a climax that places equal emphasis on both Frodo’s personal struggle and an army-of-millions battle, with a conclusion that gives a proper sendoff to characters who have become something like old friends. The Return of the King ultimately meets the series' increasingly difficult task: making movies that echo legends, making legends that reflect life, and reconciling it all with the fact that both legends and lives all eventually meet their ends.

The films eventually earned a collective 17 Academy Awards, with the Return of the King picking up an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director. The film’s success was also critical in kicking off a minor film renaissance that began during the early 2000s, which helped pave the way for a number of other adaptations of well-known fantasy novels, such as 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia and 2007’s The Golden Compass. The trilogy’s success also demonstrated that fantasy was no longer for a niche audience, unleashing the floodgates for films such as Stardust, Snow White and the Huntsman, Clash of the Titans, and television shows such as HBO’s Game of Thrones, MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles, and Legend of the Seeker. Even the manner of their production was imitated by high-profile blockbusters such as The Matrix Reloaded / The Matrix Revolutions and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest / At World’s End, installments which were filmed simultaneously. While this wasn’t new to the film industry, the risk that New Line Cinema took on developing an entirely untested concept is staggering.

Without Peter Jackson’s (center) passion and vision we wouldn’t have these masterworks.

The Lord of the Rings took seven years and an army of gifted artists to execute, and the striving of its makers is in every splendid frame. It’s more than a movie—it’s a gift and one that gives with every subsequent rewatch.

National Bird Day, Jan 5

National Bird Day is an annual holiday with half a million adherents who celebrate through birdwatching, studying birds, and other bird-related activities. Bird adoption is a particularly important National Bird Day activity. According to the newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution, many bird enthusiasts celebrate by adopting birds and by educating future bird owners about the special issues involved with taking care of birds, including their "screaming, biting, constant cleanups, the need for daily interaction and a varied diet". The Avian Welfare Coalition's National Bird Day campaign aims to improve the welfare of parrots and other birds by discouraging their purchase as pets, and encouraging the support of wild bird habitat conservation programs and captive bird rescue organizations and sanctuaries. National Bird Day takes place every year on January 5.

Colleen G
Amateur phototographer

Thank you Dom:)
I hope you had a lovely day.
Here's a Christmas Day photo of what I thought was an eagle, but may be a red-tailed hawk, as it sat perched on a tree outside our back door. It was so impressive and peaceful to just sit and watch. He/she sat while two mourning doves sat on a branch the next tree over and then the bird turned around to face the sun as it rose. Later two squawking blue jays danced from branch to branch around the bird to try to taunt it but it didn't care--probably knowing it could swallow either whole if it wanted. Amazing!
Happy New Year!
Cheers,

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MONTHLY HEALTH REPORT CARD: of an 81-year-old male.
January 7, 2024

Natural Physiological Change
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Grade: A

Weight-lifting
Am lifting regularly but my legs seem to be strained. I must cut way back on my legs.
Grade: B, down from an A

Walking
December was a good walking month.

Grade: B-, down from an A-

Illness
All well.
Grade: A, up from a B+

Injury
None.

Grade A+

Weight
(Using only weight as a measure of health is simplistic. I know. Health care specialists consider an entire range of metrics. Two commonly used indicators are the Body Mass Index that takes into account a person's weight and height. And Body composition, considering the distribution of body fat and muscle mass rather than solely focusing on weight. But this analysis of the state of our health is meant to be doable in our regular day’s living. We’ll use simple body weight and take other steps when we feel things going really poorly.)

My weight is pretty good.

Grade B, down from a B+

Oral Health
I have no teeth or gum issues.
I brush and floss regularly.
Get a cleaning twice a year.
Grade A+

Substance Abuse
My morning coffee is now 10oz of a half-caffeine free and half regular. I am drinking two glasses of wine at dinner time and never other.
This grade is based on the total absence of stimulants and mind-bending substances. My grade stays unchanged.

Grade: B+, no change

Stress Management
Being retired and living alone I am deprived of the joys of gainful employment and daily social intercourse. But, on the other hand, I have the pleasure of a multitude of happy relationships.

Grade: B+, no change

Sleep
My sleep is better than its ever been. Taking no sleep aids whatever, I am able to always get between 5 and 6 hours sleep.

Grade: A-, up from B+

Regularity
I maintain a decently balanced diet which is not only good for my weight-control, but also for my regularity.

Grade: B+

Memory
I do a lot to stay mentally active. One of my primary activities is writing. I recently published a book I edited, I work on this magazine, a website I am constructing for the North End is in its alpha testing phase, and I have completed my novel.
My other major memory activity is meal preparation, from the planning of the menu, the shopping, and the preparation which sometimes involves me in writing recipes.
Yet, despite all I do, memory loss is real and a nuisance: I am the subject of those 1,000 jokes about walking into a room and wondering what I’m doing here.

Grade: B+.

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Chuckles and Thoughts
The only weapon we have is the comedy.
Robin Williams

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Six Word Stories
"Whispers in snow, love's first kiss."

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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts, including links.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
text to 617.852.7192

This from someone anonymous who says I may paraphrase:

Ahhh . . . it's nice to have time to read and to think all at once. Who knows how long it will be allowed, but with kids on vacation and Christmas behind me, I can.

Two thoughts:

Liked your Robyn Williams quote

And the paraphrase:

I object to giving credit to "Chat" for any recipe.
Chat absorbs and regurgitates the work of others and has never offered credit to any of those people who did the painstaking work (or fun work) of creating that recipe it claims as its own. Humbug. Chat is a plagiarizer.

Ok, now back to being lazy and not thinking!

Editor’s note: From now on I will not credit the great thief for stealing work from others.

And another friend, Ed Mc writes simply:

I hope you are well....I enjoy these....all the Best

Edward

And from daughter Kat:
Re: post #1639 A

Loved your use of Hopper' Night Hawks. Love you

Kat C

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Last Thought
The New Year begins auspiciously for me. Two people whom I did not know on Christmas Day and now part of my daily life, as in one person with whom I fell out of touch years ago and now is back.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 3 January 7 2024