Interesting Links for 07-01-2013

[andrewducker]

• My Father's "Eviscerated" Work - Son Of Hobbit Scribe J.R.R. Tolkien Finally Speaks Out
  (tags: TheHobbit lotr Tolkien )
• Brilliant book cover design for Orwell's 1984
  (tags: design book 1984 )
• James McAvoy says he wants to play Gandalf in The Silmarillion
  (tags: Tolkein movies lotr )
• So, how many sexual partners did the characters in Friends have?
  

Comments

[marrog]

Eh, Christopher Tolkien does not particularly inspire my sympathy, I must say. It's nice that they got some cash, fair enough, and you can see from the context here that CT put a lot of work in himself (which we knew already of course). But the Alan Moore Problem it ain't. The LotR trilogy is magnificent, and absolutely true, I think, to the spirit of the books - unless you count the fact that it's way less boring and a little less sexist and racist. Cry me a river.

[andrewducker]

I have no sympathy with him, because I don't think he should have any control over something his father wrote 60-70 years ago.

I mean, I have as much sympathy with him as I do with anyone else who doesn't like it when movies come out based on their favourite novels. Possibly a little more because of his unusually close emotional connection. But it's still a pretty teeny amount.

[philmophlegm]

Christopher seems to be an old fart. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was actually Guy Gavriel Kay who did most of the actual work in editing The Silmarillion, not Christopher (GGK was an 'assistant' as a student).

Also, did you know that Christopher disinherited his eldest son over a dispute about the films?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3590335/A-leaf-torn-from-the-family-tree.html#

[andrewducker]

Ouch, that's really unpleasant.

[momentsmusicaux]

Rational suckers: a good example of why we need the Second Foundation. Or in its absence, governments: somebody observes the behaviour, decides to close that stretch of road permanently, everybody bitches about it (and penpushers, and the EU, and so on) but is actually better off :)

[andrewducker]

Yup. And transparency to make sure that we _are_ actually better off, and they aren't just closing the road because it goes past their house and they don't like the noise :->

Brilliant book cover design for Orwell's 1984

[cartesiandaemon]

Oh, cool. That's pretty bold, but on balance I think it's good.

Re: Brilliant book cover design for Orwell's 1984

[philmophlegm]

On a similar dystopian note, perhaps they could reissue Fahrenheit 451 as a small pile of ash...

Re: Brilliant book cover design for Orwell's 1984

[andrewducker]

Hah! I like that!

Doesn't really work with ebooks, sadly.

[philmophlegm]

I fear that the role of Gandalf in The Silmarillion would be something of a waste of Mr McAvoy's talents (I thought he was excellent in 'The Last King of Scotland

[cartesiandaemon]

I was thinking that, although I've not read all the way through yet so I wasn't sure if I was right. (I mean, if he wants to play a small but important cameo, that's fine, it's not really a waste, but it is if want you want is more gandalf :))

[andrewducker]

I am looking forward to Gandalf: The College Years.

[philmophlegm]

http://philmophlegm.livejournal.com/268065.html

March: Peter Jackson announces plans to make 'Farmer Giles of Ham' into a trilogy of films.

Et cetera...

[apostle_of_eris]

It seems pretty clear that ebook readers were a one-hit wonder now that tablets are here. I wonder if that transition will noticeably affect the "ebook" market.

(That "Friends" thing has to be some sort of benchmark for Too Much Time on His Hands.)

[andrewducker]

I am absolutely not giving up my ebook reader for a tablet. e-ink is massively superior for book reading.

And much though I loathe the idea of Too Much Time, if you're looking for people investing time in their hobbies, this wins:
http://cairmen.livejournal.com/438839.html

[philmophlegm]

"e-ink is massively superior for book reading."

Just out of interest, why? I prefer paper, and have never read an ebook. bunn has a first generation kindle which she rarely uses (mostly because most of the books she wants to read don't seem to be available). I do own a tablet (an iPad 2) but have never read books on it. I do use it as a handy RPG reference library.

From what I've seen of bunn's kindle, it has some disadvantages as something to read books on compared to a tablet and some advantages. Battery life is much better, and it's lighter, which would make reading while holding the device in one hand more comfortable. And of course it can't show cover pictures or illustrations in colour. On the other hand, the display is a low contrast black-on-murky-grey (although I understand that newer models now have a white background) and turning pages is both slow and involves an annoying flicker reminiscent of a Sinclair ZX80.

[andrewducker]

It's the fact that it's reflective rather than lit from behind. I find long-form reading much easier when I'm not having light shone in my eyes. Which isn't to say that I can't read on tablets/monitors/whatever, but I find reflective surfaces much easier on my eyes.

The flicker/slowness of earlier generations is thankfully now much reduced, and now takes less time than it takes my eyes to go back to the top of the screen.