Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

⸻  He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. The Hobbit ⸻  Since The Lord of the Rings movies were a staple in my home long before I was old enough to watch them, I had certain preconceived notions about the characters before I ever actually "met" them.  Trading cards, soundtrack inserts, stills in piano books — all of these ensured that I was familiar with the faces of Middle-earth, and with that familiarity came assumptions.   Occasionally, I would ask various family members different questions about the characters I'd see:  What was this one's name, what was that one's relationship to this one, things like that.  In the course of this pre-viewing questioning, I developed a kind of anticipatory dislike of Elrond.  I still hadn't watched the movies, but I preemptively decided that I wouldn't like him when I did.  This was because ...

Rachel's ninth annual Tolkien Blog Party is finally here!  I can't wait to celebrate all the Tolkien-y goodness with you guys. 😊  This is one of my favorite weeks of the year, and I count down the days every September.  I have an Elrond appreciation post coming in a few days, and I'm still deciding whether I'll cap it at that or whip up a few shorter posts just for fun before the week runs out.  We'll see. 😉 For now, here are my answers to the  tag !  Utilizing this gorgeous series of Tumblr aesthetics has become a tradition for me when filling out this tag, and since this year's questions are themed around each of the Nine Companions, I'll use the corresponding character collages for each of my answers.  (Which still leaves me with plenty of new ones to use for future parties, without recycling the ones I've already featured!  Happy fangirl over here.) ⸻ 1. Aragorn: Favorite Tolkien hero/heroine Say it with me, now: F a r a m i r .  Faram...

Hello again, and happy September! My good friend Rachel has kindly nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award, and what better way to (theoretically) get back into the groove of blogging than with a nice, laidback Q&A?  Thank you, Rachel! Rules List the award’s official rules Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog Thank the person who nominated you   Provide a link to your nominator’s blog Answer your nominator’s questions Nominate up to 11 bloggers Ask your nominees 11 questions Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts Rachel's Questions 1. What was your favorite movie when you were 10 years old? Spirit:  Stallion of the Cimarron , because I had Taste™. 2. What's your favorite movie now? My Fair Lady , because — I flatter myself — I still have Taste™. 😉 Joking aside, though, it's actually interesting:  I enjoy several of my other top favorite films more.  I turn to The Parent Trap (1998) and You've Got...