Tolkien Fan Q &A

So it should be pretty obvious by now that I'm a huge Tolkien fan. My friend Suzy made up this Tolkien Q&A at her blog resoundinglyrohan and I thought the questions were great "get to know you" questions so I'm posting them here! Feel free to use them if you want, just credit her (and let me know so I can read your responses!) I'd love to know what your preferences are and meet some fellow Tolkien fans in the process ^_^

Here are mine:

1) Which is your favourite Tolkien book?

     The Fellowship of the Ring. I just remember reading it the first time and wanting to be part of the fellowship and go exploring in Middle-earth!

2) Which is your favourite LOTR/ Hobbit film?

    Fellowship (for the same reasons as above).

3) Who was your favourite character?

     I love all the hobbits (Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin). It’s hard for me to choose between them. My first ever favorite character was Bilbo because he was easy to relate to and yet such a positive role model. But now it’s probably Frodo because I relate to him the most.

4) What is your favourite quote?

     “If you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

5) Which race would you want to be?

     Probably a hobbit so I could just eat all day and wander around the Shire.

6) Where in Middle-Earth would you want to live?

     The Shire.

7) Fangorn or Mirkwood?

     Well, Mirkwood, if I was friends with the wood elves. Otherwise, Fangorn.

8) Rohan or Gondor?

     Rohan. Gondor is too big and imposing.

9) Favourite sword?

            Sting. I know it’s technically a dagger, but both Bilbo and Frodo possess it so that just makes it awesome in my opinion.

10) Favourite Tolkien artist?

I don’t have one in particular. I think Tolkien’s own artwork is gorgeous. I also love Alan Lee’s drawings. There are several artists I’ve seen on tumblr who have made amazing fanart (I would consider them Tolkien artists ^_^)

11) Favourite piece of Tolkien inspired music?

    A tie between May It Be and Now and For Always (from the musical).

12) Which character would you like to be?

     Bilbo because he seems to be able to handle everything life throws at him and always makes the best of it. Or Frodo simply because he has the best friends imaginable.

13) Adventure or home?

     Both? It’s nice to be able to go out and have adventures, but only if you have a home to come back to.

14) Merry or Pippin?

  This is hard. It depends. I think I'd rather meet Merry in real life, but Pippin's more fun to read about, if that makes sense? Merry is very admirable and Pippin is very entertaining. But if I had to pick one in general I suppose I’d go with Pippin. Though I do love Merry, Pippin has some of the best lines in both the book and the film. I might also be influenced by the fact Pippin often reminds me of my sister :P

15) Fili or Kili?

     Kili. Because he was stabbed by a morgul weapon and I feel like I can relate….

16) Boromir or Faramir?

     Faramir. He’s always been one of my favorite characters. He’s a bit more thoughtful and compassionate than his brother.

17) Which character are you most like?

     Frodo. I’m not really sure why, but I just relate to him for some reason. Probably because I’ve always dreamed on going on adventures, but I know I’m not cut out for them. I tend to volunteer for things that are too demanding, but I always see them through. Also, my friends mean the world to me (although, sometimes I feel like I rely on them a little too much).

18) Which actor portrays their character best?

     Martin Freeman, hands down. I love all the actors, but he is the perfect Bilbo.

19) Favourite poem/song in the books?

     The Road Goes Ever On (Frodo's version, which is slightly more somber than Bilbo's)

20) Favourite character development?

     Merry (in the books). I feel like, of the four hobbits, he becomes the most well-rounded and admirable. I love how he comes back ready to apply all he’s learned to the good of others.

21) Favourite image from the books?

     The Ringwraiths. I had nightmares about them for years.

22) Favourite image from the films?

     Bag End, because it’s exactly how I imagined it.

23) Which character would you want to live with?

     Aragorn. I’d always feel safe!

24) Which mystical creature would you want as a pet?

      An Ent. Does that count? I just really like trees.

25) Which character do you dislike the most?

     Other than the bad guys, I think I’d probably say Thorin. I like him, but it annoys me that he puts so many lives in danger due to his own greed.

26) Eowyn or Arwen?

     Eowyn. I like Arwen, but Eowyn defeated the Witch King and that’s wicked awesome!

27) Would you wish for immortality as Elves have?
     No. It would be really sad to watch everyone else die around you.

So there you have it! What do you think? Anyone in agreement with me on any? Care to dispute some? I'd love to hear what you think!

Hello *listening for the echo*

I've been away for quite sometime (writing in the dark corners of a dorm room and hunching under the every day pressures of "the real world"). Let's see, since my last post in January 2013 I have:

-Graduated with a BA in Psychology and a BFA in Creative Writing

-Interned as a social worker

-Been in my first Car Accident

-Got my first "big girl job" as a Marketing Coordinator

-Quit my first "big girl job" to move to England

-Stared working on a Master's in Creative Writing in Oxford!

I've also aged two years (but that's a given). Of course there's been more going on, but those are the big events, the memorable ones. No, I didn't become a world famous author (like I'd dreamed) or a psychologist (like I'd planned) but I have grown up quite a bit (at least, I like to think so). So over the next few posts, I'll be re-introducing myself as the Morgan two years older than the one frozen in the screen and figuring out what direction I'll be taking this blog in (self-exploration, yay!)

Has this happened to anyone else? Have you stepped away from your blog or other parts of your life and looked back on them and thought "what was I thinking?" Because that's how I feel coming here... cringing at some of my old posts and laughing at some of the others. It's like reading an old diary and feeling like a stranger. I had half a mind to delete it and start over new, but then I thought, "Where's the fun in that?" so I'm just going to pick up where I left off, a year and a half later, and see where it goes. Here's hoping it's fun!   

Hobbit Thoughts

So I'm late on this, I know. I've been a huge Tolkien fan my entire life (literally... My mom used to read me the books before I even knew what the words meant) and I've been looking forward to the Hobbit before they even announced they were making it into a movie. That being said, I kept away from the fan boards and magazines as much as possible so it would be a surprise. My whole family came down to celebrate my graduation & we did so by going to see the Hobbit.

Going to see the Hobbit with my Grandpa :)

Without giving anything away, I was very pleased with how it turned out. They found the right balance between making it a light-hearted adventure and the rising suspense/darkness of The Lord of the Rings. The actors did an amazing job and the script was well written. It wasn't exactly like the book, but where they changed it made a lot of sense cinematically and still stayed true to the characters and plot.

I saw it in a regular theater first, then in 3D, and finally in 3D HRF. I know some people haven't liked the high frame rate (HFR) showing, but it was by far my favorite. It felt like a disney ride, where you were right there, watching actors on a stage in front of you before being pulled into a different place and a different scene.

What did you think?

Psychology Fan Girl

For the first time, I've become a huge fan of a historical figure: psychologist Carl Rogers. Not only is he an outstanding psychologist (most famous for developing client-centered therapy techniques) he’s a great writer as well. Most of his ideas surround the importance of good open communication and understanding. Anyone who wants to brush up on psychology without getting lost in terminology should check out his work. Here are some of my favorite quotes of his:

It seems to me that I am still — inside — the shy boy who found communication very difficult in interpersonal situations: who wrote love letters which were more eloquent than his direct expressions of love; who expressed himself freely in high school themes, but felt himself too “odd” to say the same things in class. That boy is still very much a part of me. Writing is my way of communicating with a world to which, in a very real sense, I feel I do not quite belong. I wish very much to be understood, but I don’t expect to be. Writing is the message I seal in the bottle and cast into the sea. My astonishment is that people on an enormous number of beaches — psychological and geographical — have found the bottles and discovered that the messages speak to them. So I continue to write.

-Carl Rogers

A Weekend of Anime & Anime Lovers

 My sister is a huge anime fan (like learn japanese and add "chan" to the ends of her friends' names kind of anime fan). So we went to an anime convention for her birthday. It was really fun. I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures of everyone in costume (even though I only recognized about a tenth of the characters). It's like Disney World, only cheaper and with people more exited to be in costume.

My sister made all the costumes. They went as Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty from Soul Eater:

Like I said, I don't watch much anime, so I went as Kaylee from Firefly (it's old, I know, but I only just got around to watching it about a month ago)

 

My sister's friend and I were super exited to find Sherlock posters! (I also bought a Firefly and a Merlin one). My wall is so pretty now :)

  

It was fun! I'll probably go back next year. I just found out there is a comic convention in my home town the weekend I'm going home, so I'm making plans for that. It's in just two weeks! I'll have to start on a costume- I'm thinking something from X-men.

Waking back up

So I'm back. And I have stories to tell.

During exams, I planned on taking a week away from writing. I stopped working on my stories, stopped posting here, stopped doing any work that wasn't specifically for school. Then I finished my classes, went to my friends' graduation (which, funny enough, turned out to be my own graduation even though I'm not technically finished with classes for one more semester), watched the Avengers, was introduced to Firefly (way too late), went home to visit family, moved back to start taking summer classes, started taking summer classes, and suddenly, I realized almost three weeks had gone by and I hadn't written a word! Ok, well maybe a few texts and e-mails, but that doesn't count.

I started writing again on Monday, and while it may have been a little rough at first, it's almost as if I never stopped. Today I came back here for the first time in a while and the first post I saw was this great post by Martha at Martha's Musings on The Right Not To Write. If anyone has ever or ever starts feeling guilty about taking a break from writing, I encourage you to take a look at it. Because, let's face it, we all need a break every once in a while. Anyone who spends there whole life staring at a word document or with a pen in their hand will run out of things to say far faster than those who are out there living.

And then we get to come back and write about it :)

Sorry it's been so silent here.

It may look like I’ve been lazy these past few weeks, but I can assure you that’s not the case. I’ve been working on this:

(my 50 page thesis)

And this:

(Our Anthology)

And I've been having a bit of fun decorating my roommates graduation cap (with her help). It’s nearing the end of the semester, so that means papers and finals and speeches and presentations these next few weeks, so forgive me if I’m not the most exciting blogger this month. These last weeks of April are coming too fast!