50 States of Pray, End of ROW80 Round 4, Eagles vs Mount Doom, and Holiday Photos

ifty States of Pray is here!

Mark Koopmans thought up this wonderful scheme to get at least one person from all fifty states, plus others from different countries, to each share a prayer, a thought, a memory, a hope, a regret about the past and/or a wish for the future.

My wish for the future is for health for everyone. Many of us have struggled this year and in previous years with all sorts of health related issues and either long term or short term debilitations and setbacks. It sounds like a cliche but I guess it's a cliche for a reason: your health is everything. If your body or that of a loved one is letting you down, then all other matters fall by the wayside. Often the struggle is made worse by the fact that nothing you do can change certain outcomes. So here's a toast to everyone who's working on research, in healthcare, and generally helping those who struggle with vital problems.

A happy and healthy new year to all!

Check out all the other participants!

Meanwhile, it's the end of another round of ROW80. I have not done half as much editing as I could have in the last couple of weeks. I did write a few thousand words, though, bringing my NaNo story, Larksong, that much closer to the end -- only the epilogue left to draft now. And my second installment for our collaborative Winter Solstice story is up!

Now I'm going to digress for a bit and talk about something... There's a question that keeps cropping up now and again, and was most recently asked by our Ninja Captain Alex: why didn't the Eagles fly Frodo to Mount Doom in Mordor?

First off, if you haven't seen it yet, there's an in-depth analysis of this question at Sean Crist's Could the Eagles Have Flown Frodo Into Mordor page. He breaks down some of the common objections to the plan that Gandalf, Elrond, and the others could have come up with at the Council of Elrond to simply ask the Eagles to carry the ring to Mount Doom, including discussing whether or not: the Nazgul could have intercepted the Eagles; orcs might have shot at the Eagles; and Sauron himself might have attacked them, as well as why or why not Sauron might have caused the Mountain to erupt just as they reached it. He concludes that the matter is indeed a hole in the plot, and an item that Tolkien could have, but neglected to, include in the Council of Elrond discussions.

I've been rereading the History of Middle-earth books, which are compilations of many other Tolkien stories, as well as drafts for The Lord of the Rings, and the matter of the Eagles was not discussed even in drafts for the Council of Elrond chapter. I do have five more books to reread, so I'll see if I come across anything then.

Meanwhile, though, I'm rereading The Hobbit.

There's a very brief conversation with the Eagles wherein they state categorically that they are not baggage carriers. I know they carry Gandalf off Orthanc because Galadriel asked them to, but that brings me to the other comment the Eagles make: they don't care about this world's battles. The only reason they rescue Gandalf in The Hobbit is because they're wondering what all the fuss in the woods is, between the Wargs and the orcs, and they whisk Gandalf off the treetop in order to question him. It's only when he asks them to do so do they return for Bilbo and the Dwarves. Conceivably then, even if Gandalf or Elrond or Galadriel had asked them to carry the ring (or Frodo bearing the ring) to Mount Doom, their likely response would have been similar to Bombadil's: they wouldn't understand the reasons why, wouldn't care enough to take the journey seriously (except insofar as saving their own skins), and would feel no sense of value in accomplishing this one task.

The wizards are sent by the Valar specifically to meddle in the affairs of Middle-earth. The Eagles have no such higher purpose.

From my point of view, it's not a hole in the plot at all, but a case where Tolkien knows his characters so well, he doesn't need to explain their motives at every step.

And now... because it's the holidays, some gratuitous photos:

My birthday burger, onion rings, and milkshake last month at Cheeburger, Cheeburger. Yum.

Lara Lacombe and I were discussing the sugar content of American vs Canadian ketchup. Apparently the Canadian kind has more sugar, exactly the opposite of what I'd expected. Can't quite taste a difference though, but maybe that's because I don't eat it often enough.

Photographer Kyle Cassidy has a Flickr group featuring MorningCATFace.

Reindeer pyjamas and Christmas Vacation!

Unlit Christmas tree with snow on the windowsills. We got another 30cm this past weekend.

Wish you all sweet dreams this winter!