fannish stuff
Jul. 30th, 2011 01:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
telperion1A few fannish points of interest:
#1. Celeritas wrote me a ficlet as a mathom for her birthday. It's wonderful! Tea-time conversation between Bilbo and Boromir in Rivendell. I snorted out loud at least twice (that bit about Boromir not having learned Bilbo's father's name was inspired). Celeritas really captured two of my favorite characters' demeanor so well, and the whole interaction left me smiling like a loon.
Boromir's Education Begins Early
#2. SWG bio is completed and sent off. I'll post a link when it's publicly posted in a few days. Whenever I do this I get a newfound admiration for Oshun, who does this every month. Once a year or however regularly I get to do it is exhuasting - and yet I find myself wanting to do it more regularly.
#3. I taught the Ring of Gyges on Thursday, a story from Plato's Republic that critiques our idea of justice because (Glaucon argues) if you had a gold ring that would make you invisible you would steal things and act unjustly all the time, because you knew you wouldn't get caught. Shades of Gollum after he just found the ring. I pointed it out to my class and we had a good discussion of which story was correct. Would everyone steal if they knew they wouldn't get caught, or just those who had some weakness in their character? (Neither Frodo nor Bilbo go off like Gollum when they first inherited the ring.)
#4. Doing research for the SWG bio, I stumbled across yet another heart-rending detail about the dark religion Sauron instigated on Numenor:
It's that last bit that really has me reeling. So not only were they sacrificed to a false god, not only was the whole system set up by someone who was using the religion to drive the Numenoreans toward destroying themselves, but on top of that they had to be named traitors or kin-slayers as well because it wasn't enough to say they were heretics? Just... damn. There is level upon level of yuckiness built into there.
(And you know that latest bit will inspire a fic one of these days. My muses are already working overtime on it. Just how many pieces can one passage inspire?)
#1. Celeritas wrote me a ficlet as a mathom for her birthday. It's wonderful! Tea-time conversation between Bilbo and Boromir in Rivendell. I snorted out loud at least twice (that bit about Boromir not having learned Bilbo's father's name was inspired). Celeritas really captured two of my favorite characters' demeanor so well, and the whole interaction left me smiling like a loon.
Boromir's Education Begins Early
#2. SWG bio is completed and sent off. I'll post a link when it's publicly posted in a few days. Whenever I do this I get a newfound admiration for Oshun, who does this every month. Once a year or however regularly I get to do it is exhuasting - and yet I find myself wanting to do it more regularly.
#3. I taught the Ring of Gyges on Thursday, a story from Plato's Republic that critiques our idea of justice because (Glaucon argues) if you had a gold ring that would make you invisible you would steal things and act unjustly all the time, because you knew you wouldn't get caught. Shades of Gollum after he just found the ring. I pointed it out to my class and we had a good discussion of which story was correct. Would everyone steal if they knew they wouldn't get caught, or just those who had some weakness in their character? (Neither Frodo nor Bilbo go off like Gollum when they first inherited the ring.)
#4. Doing research for the SWG bio, I stumbled across yet another heart-rending detail about the dark religion Sauron instigated on Numenor:
Thereafter the fire and smoke went up without ceasing; for the power of Sauron daily increased, and in that temple, with spilling of blood and torment and great wickedness, men made sacrifice to Melkor that he should release them from Death. And most often from among the Faithful they chose their victims; yet never openly on the charge that they would not worship Melkor, the Giver of Freedom, rather was cause sought against them that they hated the King and were his rebels, or that they plotted against their kin, devising lies and poisons. These charges were for the most part false; yet those were bitter days, and hate brings forth hate.
It's that last bit that really has me reeling. So not only were they sacrificed to a false god, not only was the whole system set up by someone who was using the religion to drive the Numenoreans toward destroying themselves, but on top of that they had to be named traitors or kin-slayers as well because it wasn't enough to say they were heretics? Just... damn. There is level upon level of yuckiness built into there.
(And you know that latest bit will inspire a fic one of these days. My muses are already working overtime on it. Just how many pieces can one passage inspire?)
no subject
Date: 2011-07-30 12:58 pm (UTC)Would everyone steal if they knew they wouldn't get caught, or just those who had some weakness in their character? (Neither Frodo nor Bilbo go off like Gollum when they first inherited the ring.)
I don't think everyone would steal if they knew they wouldn't get caught, but I am uncertain that very many would be able to leave such a thing alone, as Frodo appeared to do for 17 years. How tempting would it be to use it for OTHER things besides theft? Such as hiding from unwanted company (as Bilbo did); playing jokes; spying on friends or foes; or even using it to perform secret acts of philanthropy. And of course, Bilbo did steal some when he used it to survive in the Elf King's caverns, and when he took the Arkenstone-- but that was under particular circumstances. It did not actually turn him into a habitual thief!
And that last-- just shows how nasty Sauron really was, and also that he understood the value of propaganda!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 01:25 am (UTC)Good points re: the temptations of the ring. That seems to be Glaucon's point (the character in Plato's dialogue who describes that ring) - few of us are so moral that we'd act justly if no one would catch on. I can only imagine Sauron's ring would be harder to deal with.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-31 03:18 am (UTC)The "father's name" bit came because I was going to write "Baggins" but then recalled that no one outside the Shire would get the purpose of family names, and then I wondered if he'd ever have reason to learn "Bilbo son of Bungo" and I just took it from there. It seemed an appropriate detail to stick in a cross-cultural ficlet.
~Celeritas
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-02 04:42 am (UTC)Bilbo only used the Ring for harmless things, and it was a far more powerful artifact than the Ring of Gyges, which as far as I recall did not offer to let its wearer rule the world. So I think it would really depend on the circumstances of the individual, not just their character, since behaviour is hugely situational. Theft by someone who is starving and has a family that is starving does not, in my view, say anything one way or another about their character.
Unlike Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo were rich and socially secure (by this I also mean secure enough in their class standing) enough not to need to steal or to use it for other socially undesirable activities. Raiding Farmer Maggot's fields comes under "youthful high spirits" rather than "professional criminality".
The Ring of Gyges would be of great use to a field naturalist or birder, or badger-watcher too. Or just for walking down dangerous streets at night.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-02 04:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 01:33 am (UTC)I am not sure I agree about the societal differences. Gollum's grandmother seems at least as rich as the Shire gentry. I read the difference as more one of character than comfort, personally.