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The Toast is the Professor 2016 edition
Jan. 3rd, 2016 09:27 amToday is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s 124 birthday.
Funny thing, I was having a conversation with some people not too long ago about the influence of Tolkien on the world today, which is quite great.
And I have met a number of folks who are huge Lord of the Rings fans and have never cracked the source material. That might sound unusual but I have found quite a few Sherlock Holmes fans who have never read any of the original stories that Conan Doyle wrote.
Then there are the people who are fans of other authors who cite Tolkien as one of their main influences as a writer. I’m not saying that if you are a fan of these other authors, you are going to enjoy Tolkien but know that you are reading what they are writing because Tolkien wrote.
Fantasy role playing both paper and electronic would not be the same if it had not been for Tolkien. Heck, TSR even created a character class that was so close to a Hobbit that they emphasized that the character was skinny and hairless below the head so as to say it was different. The TSR version of Ents are a whole other tale in itself. Gary Gygax didn’t pussyfoot around about his love for Tolkien and his world building skills.
We got a number of decent films out of it and a couple of what were they thinking but the ratio is pretty good. The visuals worked for me and it was cool visiting the set for the Shire in New Zealand before they started filming the Hobbit.
For me personally, I will always associate Tolkien’s work with my father reading to me. We would sit down and he read me the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was my personal time with my father which I treasured since I had two brothers and a sister in the mix. He would do voices for the characters and was consistent with the voices through out the books.
The day before I went to Girl Scout camp on year, we read Frodo’s trip across the Ford of Bruinen. The chapter ends with a wave of water sweeping the Nazgul away and that was it for a week. I had so many speculations in my head and I hoped that Frodo would be all right.
Since then I have read and reread many of Tolkien’s works including some of his academic papers and essays. Could he have used an editor? Well at times yes but over all you know what you are getting into so it is a minor quibble.
Tolkien has influenced me in many ways. His work has become a touchstone for me in my creative endeavors. I have made a number of good friends thanks to his writings.
So on his 124 Birthday, the toast is the Professor.
I am grateful for Tolkien’s work even the parts I don’t care for much.
Funny thing, I was having a conversation with some people not too long ago about the influence of Tolkien on the world today, which is quite great.
And I have met a number of folks who are huge Lord of the Rings fans and have never cracked the source material. That might sound unusual but I have found quite a few Sherlock Holmes fans who have never read any of the original stories that Conan Doyle wrote.
Then there are the people who are fans of other authors who cite Tolkien as one of their main influences as a writer. I’m not saying that if you are a fan of these other authors, you are going to enjoy Tolkien but know that you are reading what they are writing because Tolkien wrote.
Fantasy role playing both paper and electronic would not be the same if it had not been for Tolkien. Heck, TSR even created a character class that was so close to a Hobbit that they emphasized that the character was skinny and hairless below the head so as to say it was different. The TSR version of Ents are a whole other tale in itself. Gary Gygax didn’t pussyfoot around about his love for Tolkien and his world building skills.
We got a number of decent films out of it and a couple of what were they thinking but the ratio is pretty good. The visuals worked for me and it was cool visiting the set for the Shire in New Zealand before they started filming the Hobbit.
For me personally, I will always associate Tolkien’s work with my father reading to me. We would sit down and he read me the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was my personal time with my father which I treasured since I had two brothers and a sister in the mix. He would do voices for the characters and was consistent with the voices through out the books.
The day before I went to Girl Scout camp on year, we read Frodo’s trip across the Ford of Bruinen. The chapter ends with a wave of water sweeping the Nazgul away and that was it for a week. I had so many speculations in my head and I hoped that Frodo would be all right.
Since then I have read and reread many of Tolkien’s works including some of his academic papers and essays. Could he have used an editor? Well at times yes but over all you know what you are getting into so it is a minor quibble.
Tolkien has influenced me in many ways. His work has become a touchstone for me in my creative endeavors. I have made a number of good friends thanks to his writings.
So on his 124 Birthday, the toast is the Professor.
I am grateful for Tolkien’s work even the parts I don’t care for much.
