Tolkien’s Two Tales

I asked an expert Tolkien geek to tell me the difference between JRR Tolkien’s ‘Unfinished Tales’ and ‘Lost Tales’. It was just a comment i put on one of her Youtube videos, and here is how it went.

I wrote:

Aelfwine, can you please summarize the difference between ‘Unfinished Tales’ and the ‘Lost Tales’? I get confused because i think both have Silmarillion drafts or versions of stories in them, but im unclear because i have not memorized what is in which. I rarely hear any comparisons between the works. Ive read both, but it all starts blurring together for me so im trying to find a way to get the names of the heroes associated with the books in my mind. Clearly from your video Galadrel is part of Unfinished Tales, so thanks for this! Subscribed.

Aelfwine wrote:

That’s a great question!

The book “Unfinished Tales” was published in 1980, and it has a collection of writings as J.R.R. Tolkien left them (thus the name “unfinished”). These writings are pretty random, and they cover the First Age through the Third Age. None of them are arranged in any narrative form. My Unfinished Tales video series covers each of the chapters of that book. After the success of Unfinished Tales, Christopher Tolkien realized that there was great demand for more of the detailed, unpublished works of his father. So….

The books “The Book of Lost Tales: Part One” and “The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two” were published in 1983 and 1984 respectively. These are the ones that contain the very earliest versions of the Silmarillion narrative/mythology. These two books constitute the first in the 12-volume series “The History of Middle-earth”, which is simply a collection of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unpublished writings that his son Christopher compiled and edited. This 12-book series was published between the 1980s and 1990s, and here are the titles:
1. The Book of Lost Tales: Part One (1983)
2. The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two (1984)
3. The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
4. The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)

 6. The Return of the Shadow (1988)
 7. The Treason of Isengard (1989)
 8. The War of the Ring (1990)
 9. Sauron Defeated (1992)
 10. Morgoth's Ring (1993)
 11. The War of the Jewels (1994)
 12. The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

I hope this information was in the neighborhood of what you were looking for.

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Yes it was even more than I expected! Good job! So basically the 10 book ‘History’ series that came after ‘Unfinished Tales’ includes stories from it, expands on it and Lord of the Rings, and provides more unfinished tales.

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A Tour of Stowell Galleries

Concept for writing a picture book called ‘A Tour of Stowell Galleries’, which can also be a website with links to each room using my photos and descriptions. Maybe have a ‘pick your path’ multiple choice option at the bottom of the page, when there is more than one way to go to another room.

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FORWARD

This virtual tour of Stowell Galleries is idealized based on the historical reality I experienced, and also includes the angle our Museum of the Middle Class realized a few years later. The idea here is if we had started the Museum earlier, we could have had more money to sustain our house-hold bills.

The year is 1999, and instead of being forced to go to college, I earned a living wage working for my parents in our family businesses. In this alternative history, I was able to be there full-time to assist my father as Mayor of Harpers Ferry and help him to step down after his second term. As a self-taught artist I was able to assist my father with his drawings, and work on perspectives with him; and also help drive my mother back and forth to work (or we would have had 2 cars since they saved not paying my tuition). I negotiated between my parents when they argued, and this allowed me to be a successful archivist because I had to be able to push past their failures to resolve disagreements and make decisions for the future which often meant cleaning or throwing out junk we were not going to use to make room for new items that we could use. I was not graduating with a Masters Degree in Architecture, but I was also not in debt and actually had a savings account. Well the main point is that I am able to describe rooms better in hind-sight after years out of school to independently study and build on what we had as a family; so I would not have actually been able to write this in 1999 because my focus was on college and I felt too financially oppressed to initiate projects like this at the time. It was not until 2008 that I wrote a book with Dad, but perhaps technology played more a role in this fate than my college debt or education. The most important thing now, is for me to make the book; and then base a website on the book.

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INTRODUCTION

Kip Stowell greets you in the circle driveway, in back of Stowell Galleries.

“Hello! Welcome to Stowell Galleries! My wife Nena and I bought this house in the 1970s as a place to raise our son, and we have enjoyed filling it with arts and antiques from our adventures. Now that I am retired from my job with the National Park Service, and am stepping down as Mayor of Harpers Ferry, I am finding more time to spend with my family and polish the silver and get to all the chores I was avoiding. Hah, actually I am able to work on more art and architecture projects; my wife and son were able to convince me that there is plenty to do together as a family.”

Kip welcomes you to the back porch of the house.

“The Kaplons built our house in 1908. Abe Kaplon owned a department store down-town and was able to order this house from a Sears-Roebuck catalogue. The construction involved the Wizard Block Machine, which as a metal mould-press for the concrete blocks to be cast on site. The Kaplon family was Jewish, and we have some photos and letters from them; I met Francis Kaplon, who was Abe’s out-going daughter who leased this property to us.

We will use the back door, it should be unlocked. I only carry a key for the back-doors, because we use them more often than the front door. We will skip the door to the kitchen, and take you into the back hall foyer, where there is more standing room and we can hang up coats and jackets, and get you to sign our guest book.”

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FOYER

Kip opens the back door to the Foyer. It is a heavy wooden door with an upper glass window.

[more later]

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SCOD Books At Local Bookstores

SCOD Books produced by Drogo Empedocles and friends have been consigned and sold at local book stores over the years. Book stores have long struggled to exist, even before the digital era; but some times in some places, some books are able to be stored and sold locally. There may be a few stores we are not aware of or do not remember, but since our first books ‘Harpers Ferry Houses’ and ‘Hopper’s Furry’ a few friendly places will be remembered.

Bruce McKim was a book dealer who mainly sold books online, but he bought thousands of dollars of used books from locals, and some SCOD collections were among his purchases. What was so great about Bruce was that he bought our books, without any middle stage of consignment. The benefit of buying instead of consigning, is no need to check back between parties, and the buyer keeps all the profits when they resell the books. Tragically Bruce died during the Covid-19 pandemic under mysterious circumstances and unfortunate events.

The Harpers Ferry NPS Bookstore downtown accepted an entire box of ‘Harpers Ferry Houses’ books on consignment, but failed to sell any; and returned the box to author Walton Stowell. Apparently the book was not appealing to tourists, nor seen by anyone who would be interested in the book like the dozens who bought it online or in person during and after that period. Despite the Stowell family being dedicated and loyal to the National Park Service, the NPS related bookstore was unable to support their business locally.

During the 1980s and 1990s there were independent bookstores downtown in Harpers Ferry for tourists, run by different merchants. None of them lasted into the 2000s, so there is danger with consignment as the owners can leave town with your unpurchased products (it happened). There were some friendly locals who bought SCOD books though since then, and such relations are vital. Lina Rago is the main SCOD book partner, as her books make a half of all books sales on average annually.

SCOD books had allies in the Boonsboro Museum, who not only aided in the republishing of one of their antique books, but also bought loads of copies of various SCOD books!!! The title of the book produced with the museum was ‘Friend In Need’, and it sold very well immediately and still sells copies today. SCOD books were also placed at the famous Nora Roberts bookstore in Boonsboro, but they were flooded with other local authors, and not as interested as they were keeping too many consignment deals with other authors there, so Drogo Empedocles reclaimed the collection of SCOD books. The manager did say that if SCOD books published any Romances, they would be more interested in selling those since that is the theme of most of the Nora Roberts franchise.

Bob O’Connor is a local author and friend of SCOD books, and he suggested asking ‘Fuzzy Dog Books and Music’ store in Charles Town about their policies for used books and local authors. Sara the owner of the store was very nice and accepted 12 SCOD books on consignment, and sent photos showing the books on display at her store. Kindness like that is valuable financially on a personal level, and economically when practiced at some scale nationally.

[more later]

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Defenders of Altron

Interview with Father Jason Hess of Wood Planet Gaming Lodge

Regarding the book ‘Defenders of Altron’ by Jason and Mark Hess

1. How was it sharing the writing of the book between brothers?

Author, religious leader, and exterminator Jason Hess has a gift for conversation, so he explained in depth how he and his brother have roleplayed together for years, with their family and group of friends that came to be known as ‘Wood Planet Gaming Lodge’ (WPGL). Jason said his writing with his brother (who publishes as MWH), and eventual publishing grew from sharing imaginative stories in the games. Jay said his brother Mark had already written a few roleplaying related books, and they had published some short gaming literature already.

2. What is the publishing relationship between WPGL and White Star?

Jay said MWH and WPGL have a friendly relationship with the owner of White Star, and so they use a compatibility license. The Hess brothers have publishing and printing rights, but to reach the White Star audience they partnered together with White Star. The Hess brothers had already roleplayed the White Star system for years, so they had plenty of text content already, when they started the book a year ago (2022). Jay edits format using Affinity application, and publishes using Lulu and ‘Drive Thru RPG’.

3. Who did the illustrations?

Jay worked long-distance with an artist who lives in Kansas, as well as combined clip art made for OSR (old school revival) games using generic D&D type rules. The format graphic art was made with Affinity on the computer. The book is standard small 6×9″, so they are keeping things simple for now to fit the size and budgets of the members involved. Both the writing and art fed from each-other organically, as they communicated via text, phone, or Zoom.

Jason Hess is a parent, runs his own pest-control company, runs a Christian church, and now an author and publisher!!! Congratulations to the Hess family, who are friendly and have been producing local films for years in the DC-metro back-woods area. Good luck with sales and may the creativity continue!

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Crystal City Space Spiders

I am trying to find an old book that I loved reading as a kid, so I asked Chat GPT.

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Here are a few more possibilities for the author of the 1980s science fiction book with space spiders and a crystal city:

“Spider World: The Tower” by Colin Wilson: This novel, published in 1987, is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans coexist with intelligent spiders. It features a crystal tower as a prominent element.

“The Crystal World” by J.G. Ballard: Although not specifically focused on space spiders, this 1966 novel involves a crystalline transformation of the world’s flora and fauna. It explores themes of decay, transformation, and surreal landscapes.

“The Silent Tower” by Barbara Hambly: This fantasy novel, published in 1986, features parallel worlds, including a crystal city, and involves a mix of science fiction and fantasy elements. While it doesn’t explicitly mention space spiders, it might be worth considering.

If the author of the 1980s science fiction book with space spiders and a crystal city was a woman, it could be “Children of the Star” by Sylvia Engdahl. This novel was published in 1981 and is part of a series called the “Children of the Star Trilogy.” The story follows a group of teenagers who discover an alien race of intelligent spiders and a hidden crystal city. The book features a colorful cover illustration with teenagers and aligns with your description of being written for teens.

Robert Heinlein. He wrote a science fiction book in the 1980s titled “The Rolling Stones” (also known as “Space Family Stone”). While the book doesn’t specifically mention space spiders, it does involve a crystal city and features a color illustration on the cover with teenagers. “The Rolling Stones” was published in 1952, but it gained popularity in the 1980s when it was reissued with a new cover design, possibly matching your description. The book is classified as a juvenile science fiction novel and is targeted towards teens.

Vernor Vinge. He wrote a science fiction book in the 1980s titled “Marooned in Realtime” (also known as “The Peace War”). The book features space spiders and a crystal city as part of its futuristic setting. “Marooned in Realtime” was published in 1986 and is a sequel to Vinge’s earlier novel, “The Peace War” (1984). It is known for its imaginative exploration of advanced technology and its impact on society.

David Kirk. He wrote a book in the 1980s called “Miss Spider’s Tea Party,” which features spiders and a crystal city. The book was published in 1987 and has since become a beloved classic in children’s literature.

Also the Dr Who episode (1979) and novel (1992) of the Spider Planet with Crystals.

The cover of my book had a boy and a girl with spiders and the crystal domes of the city in the background.

the author of the 1980s science fiction book you are referring to is Margaret J. Anderson. She wrote a young adult novel titled “Spider in the Sky” in 1985. The book follows the adventures of two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who encounter spiders in a distant future where humans live in crystal domes. The cover of the book features a boy and a girl with spiders and the crystal domes of the city in the background, which matches your description.

Chat GPT gave that last suggestion, which seems the be the best fit, but now thinks the info was wrong, but cannot elaborate more (?)

The search continues….

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Here are Night Cafe AI images based on my description:

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UPDATE: I finally found the book!!!

It is just how i remember it.

‘The Crystal City’, by Nancy Etchemendy 1985, Avon Camelot

“When they accidently encounter intelligent giant spider beasts during a copperdust storm, William and Maggie must convince the skeptical leaders of the New Genesis colony of the aliens peaceful nature. Friendly aliens – or dangerous foes?” Finding this is timely during my studies of UFO disclosure projects. There are those who want peace for love and communication, and those who want war for profit and power; this is the conscious cosmic struggle for sentient beings.

Also I emailed the author and she wrote back!!

Nancy even sent me a free signed copy of her amazing book that I had lost!

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How To Write Badly

(redundancies are important)

How To Write Poorly

A Bad Writing Master Class

by Doctor Dippie (all rights reserved assholes)

Welcome to an expensive course on how to write badly. Gramperly told me to use bullet points, so I took the time to number the lessons, because Gramperly AI has dementia. Never do everything someone else tells you to do. This is how to write as a poor person.

1. When told you “can” write badly, tell them that you “may write poorly”; and vice-versa, when told that you “may write poorly” tell them you “can write badly” and will do what you want, because their opinions are garbage and what they think is good is bad.

2. To ensure what you are writing is “objectively” bad, constantly change your style, spelling, and punctuation. The reader should be so confused by your perspective, that they are afraid the 4th wall will fall on them. Never give your readers what they want.

3. Accidentally writing well is not an excuse to stop writing crap. Keep writing what you know, because it is mostly going to be bad. DONT BE AFRAID TO BORROW. STEALING FROM OTHER THIEVES IS NOT STEALING. NOTHING IS ORIGINAL. EVERYTHING IS DERIVATIVE.

4. When you think you have written something profound, make sure to ruin it with hypocrisy and insult (or inslut) the reader with intentional mistakes. Call them names.

5. Try to keep in mind we all suck sometimes, most will be forgotten when they die (if they are known at all while alive), and we all die. This will keep you grounded and realistic about your talent compared to others, when you are writing badly.

[published by SCOD Books on Amazon – click to purchase]

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Kidult Collectors

We dont need to have kids to have toys.

Addressing the issue of adults who work with “children’s stories” and related fan art or toy merchandise, the new term is “kidult”. While adults have always had wide ranges of personalities and intellect levels and interests, and always worked or played with children and toys to some extent; there are reasons for this new post-modern term. There will always be conservatives who insult anything to do with fiction or imagination, and there will always be liberals who seek out such fantasies. Collectors and miniature model makers and gamers are often conservatives in other aspects of their lives. So are millions of us just sick deluded nostalgia addicts, as the critics infer? No, because nostalgia is just one aspect of making or collecting “fiction”.

There is a difference between childish and child-like. Also many adults who work in the field or are fans of things made for kids are mature serious adults who want to work or play with whimsical or silly things as part of regular routines. For many of us “play” is a way of life. There are many adults like us, and we have all kinds of personalities and talents; from cartooning to reading aloud to illustration to writing to collecting and trading etc etc. Tolkien proved that even the same adult can write in a simple style AND write in a complex style, and that adults can enjoy both (The Hobbit and LOTR). Baum created a great American legacy for other adults to enjoy, not just children. Yes adults make many and buy many things for both adults and kids. Things that you think are only for kids, were usually not only made by adults but can be used for meditation or play by responsible hard working adults (without children of their own to raise aka mould aka control and manipulate; but parenting is another story).

In the modern age industrial commercialism has created material commodities with resale value that older generations did not have. Commoners did not value collecting or archiving fictional materials both because they were expected to consume more than keep, and such wastes could interfere with producing for bosses or serving bosses at cruel unimaginative jobs and not waste candles reading at night or keeping more than they could carry to the next apartment. Charles Dickens would have loved it if adults could collect toys based on his books.

Is “kidult” an insult? Who the fuck cares?

Trumpian Economic Report 2020

Artisan Vs. Commercial Market Selling

By Drogo Empedocles – January 2020

In a Trumpian economy most of us are forced to be beggars even when we offer work in return for money, due to an excess of labor not needed or desired by the rich. Trickle-down Reaganomics has failed us, and is still being pushed on us by Trump and all corporate politicians who sold out. We must resist falling to the attacks causing the destruction of our lives and plan to not just survive but rebuild a better world for our children.

Trump’s tax plan benefits the rich, and diminishes the middle class. The estate tax is gone now so that rich children can inherit all their parent’s wealth freely without earning it, while poor children suffer without deserving it. Personal exemptions have been removed. You can still itemize donations, but the standard deduction bar was raised with an overall .5% tax rate reduction. Those basic changes might negligibly benefit lower incomes, but average to upper middle class households are losing thousands on whole due to other changes in the tax plan.

I lost some financial support despite my working through the holidays on several projects. I won’t be able to do as much free or low-budget work with others, until i can secure more income to cover my own expenses at least. my income is only $700 a year recently, so i feel like i get by with quite a little actually. I only currently use one sound program most weeks, and focus on word (writing) programs, which have glitches between formats, but i am able to publish that way. So for over a year i have only been using two editing programs.

Most people should know that any work has a price; and so my work is for sale, as with any artist; we need means to live so we try to sell prints and originals if we can. If people do not know how to want to share money with others, i am not sure how i can help them except to remind them by bringing it up sometimes. I focus on my work more than sales, because i do it for the work not the sales. If i am asked to be more of a sales person i would not do it. i dont know if stating that i will keep doing my own work the way i want no matter what will reduce interest in investing in me or increase it long term; but i really do not see many options to sustain my career legacy. I may get some temporary side jobs like working for Census, but even if i got a huge increase in income what matters to me is what is created with what i have ultimately.

SCOD social capital has increased overall i believe, which is hard to define since it is not income based. I am close to founding a tristate network for hosting art, music, and writing events; but the design is mostly socially dependent, using properties in WV, MD, and VA. The financial components like ticket sales and payments are totally based on how many people i can get to coordinate together. we currently have several proposals still being formed, for multimedia broadcasting and sharing local events, i can pursue these negotiations without financial losses. ive felt on the verge of something big over the years, but i never know when the tipping point will come because … and this is the hard part to talk about, the complex dynamics of partnerships.

I am proud to ‘beg’ with something of quality to offer in return. When you buy my work, you support many other people; because I collaborate with and buy from other artists and friends. To anyone that thinks I am begging by being honest that I do not earn much, I argue that bragging about how good your work is and saying you have been ‘financially successful’ by taking more than you need is worse than begging because to me that could be considered just as unworthy of support. Getting money from other people is not proof of deserving money, it is simply how people pay their bills. Also I am not just begging because I offer plenty of services and products in various fields. I am simply saying why I could use more income, as opposed to those who do not need more for basic living. I have many jobs, and i do them. I tend to give things away for free and make reasonable deals to work with lower income people.  I apply to better paying jobs, but I do not get them, and when i have had them before i cannot keep them for psychological reasons, one being i cannot stand authoritarian control because i desire to fight back against bosses the same as I would with any willful cruel or ignorant jackass; but when we trade self-respect for money we suppress our resentment which can fester and build to a break-down or illness.

I will not spend time defending myself by arguing against assholes, they are not worth my time. I am too expensive for them because they cannot pay me enough to work for them, and it is easy enough to block them and delete their petty comments. Their attempts to troll me are pathetic when i can shut them down easily. It is amazing that people will ‘friend’ me only to wait for chances to attack, without ever once being kind.  These are the type of people that would tell homeless street musicians to “get a job” too.

If fees are low enough with time i can advertise more without major losses on more websites; in hopes to get at least a few sales. Social reception is usually less than enthusiastic on a whole from audiences on platforms. Amazon is the best example ive had because ive been using it for years, i struggle to get a few sales a year even when i post the links and talk about them etc. I know it is not because my books are not as good as ‘Diary of a Whimpy Kid’ or ‘Captain Underpants’ which are best sellers, it has to do with commercial control of the market at the high levels. I mean sure we could argue whose art or story sucks more, but with enough exposure anti-authoritarian subversive books like ours do well with children and ne’er-do-wellz, which are a large portion of the population.

Ironically most of the people who buy my books are part of the vanishing middle class; not the lowest or the highest earning. There are more lower middle class people so they do buy more books, compared to the few upper middle class people who are interested in my books. I have had people with large incomes talk with me for hours, and i gave them books and they still did not buy any, so spending money has more to do with personalities than wealth; which is why those with less wealth will spend more if they have an income, which creates financial flow and opportunities in an economy.

All of these opinions of observations are reasons why many of us are not satisfied with status-quo commercial politics. We want more leaders like Bernie Sanders and progressives on the right or left who can be held to account by their voters who are also the majority of their campaign financing. We cannot afford allowing corporate sell-outsto further rig our own economy, environment, and country against us.

[ see also Lucas Chancel, World Inequality Lab ]

 

Arts & Literature Seasonal Gathering

Day, Month, Year, Time – Arts & Literature Seasonal Gathering – You are invited to the Victorian Townhouse of the Honorable S.P. (near Market Street) __ Third Street, downtown Frederick, MD; to read anything of your choice for apx.10 minutes, and our informal group will discuss for about the same time as the reading. Tea will be served.

Democratic voting on name of group, which selections to read, whether to record, and date of next meeting.

[for actual current details contact SCOD members]

Self-Publishing Paradox

How DC area book stores handle major publishers vs. local authors in 2018.

Book stores are still stuck in the old mentality with major publishers, rather than allow the flooded local markets to flourish with support. Retail profits largely hinge on perceived ‘popularity’ of brands, which is largely self-perpetuating based on reduced whole sale rates, and exaggerated sales advertising to push the merchandise on customers. Book mongers still have a very snobbish attitude towards local authors, even more so now that printed books are in competition with ebooks. Book mongers, like other capitalists will often declare that “there is a DEMAND’ for what they are selling, just as housing developers do when they create a artificial demand by making the supply and cornering the market with advertising and debt based commercial production.

Here is how one book store describes their consignment process on their website:

“Our consignment program helps us accommodate the overwhelming number of requests from local authors who wish to sell their books and host events at Curious Iguana. If, after reading all the information here, you have any questions, email. Please do not stop by or call the store with questions about our consignment program. Click here to download our Consignment Policies and Consignment Form for Author. Note that we do not read review copies, and we do not accept any books without a completed consignment form and FEE. About events – We receive numerous event requests from local authors every week. Only authors whose books have strong consignment sales and broad reader appeal will be considered for an event on a case-by-case basis. Authors should not expect that consigning books will result in an event.”

Consignment usually forces the local author to be in debt to the local store, rather than provide them with any net income. Local authors tend to purchase more books at stores from commercial authors in one visit, than their books may sell all year; so even local authors are more likely to spend more on international authors than their own book sales will make in years. After a few years of their books not being advertised, but often hidden, the author must then contact the store and ask what has sold, and then pick up their check if any have sold. Now that there are more local authors, they are even asked to pick up their remaining books to make room for others. In essence local authors are treated like cattle, and told they are not worthy to make money, and they should be lucky to have a consignment deal before getting kicked out. Quality differences in the contents of books, whether self published or not, have very little to do with these market issues; as mistakes can be found with many mass produced products. Even National Geographic published the wrong image of a sparrow in a major commercial release; not just typos but the very information that is the focus of the ‘best selling’ book can be factually wrong.

Perhaps some day there will be a book store just for local and self-published authors, and their books will be PURCHASED just like the major brand names are now, rather than relegated to forgotten shelves and treated as though they are not worth the paper they are printed on. Perhaps some day we will invest more in our local economies, rather than giving all profits to a few rich fat cats that could barely care less.

So in this area there are basically 2 stores that accept local authors, but due to demands by local authors that they have a place to sell their books, it is increasingly rare that the small portion of the store dedicated to local authors will have room for everyone in the flooded self-published book market. It seems that self-published is a niche market that is not being allowed space due to corporate monopolist priorities. The competitive cut-throat capitalist monopoly model of economics, stands in contrast to the sharing and networking pluralist (multiplicity) more free-market model. Some business workers pride themselves for being very morally patient with customers, clients, bosses, employees, co-workers, and partners; in that they value them as fellow humans and are very generous to the point of pleasantly accepting financial loss as sacrifice for more happiness. That moral model is considered a bad business model for serious capitalists however, because survival success of business is based on financial capital, not ethical capital. There is a strong historic argument to be made that more financial wealth can be made quicker and greater by meaner people that take huge risks, rather than generous people who tend to give away and share more (studies show these people are often considered ‘poor’).

Self-published authors can be economically vital, if local stores open to showcase them as the main product. Some regional examples may soon show that people will travel from around the world to visit unique collections that support populations directly with financing. Rather than stores asking you pay to maybe keep your book there temporarily, and refusing to talk to authors in person or on the phone about the issue of slavish consignment; an alternative option will be to support stores that support self-published authors, which would make independent authors the best meaning (and most fitting use) of the word ‘common’. Possibly current store owners don’t want to be harming the local economy by practicing their old business models, but supply and demand and advertising have very real aspects that corporations do not want commoners to discuss.

The self-publishing paradox is that although the book market is flooded by grassroots citizens writing and publishing books, the means to support them are not part of conventional business models. Even alternative efforts are suppressed due to social, economic, and linguistic self-destructive elitism. Most people that write books do it because they love it or are best at it, not because of the economic incentives because it is generally well known that artists, musicians, and writers are not given living wages. The attitude that the voice of the people is not worth hearing, has never been considered wise or good.

The ‘Board and Books’ Club

Urban Used Book Store and More

Before the apocalypse, some of us had opened a shop in the city for a place to sell what we made, to keep a collective library, and for a local hang out for geeks like us. We called it “The Board & Books” and it was an eclectic social community for all classes of gamers, intellectuals, artists, actors, musicians, and book lovers. We served some food and drink, but it was under the table to avoid needing to renovate and pay fees to code, to keep our expenses low since income was minimal mostly from monthly membership. If you stayed for more than an hour we asked that you pay to stay as long as you like, and that was incentive for return visits to get your money’s worth and have a chair and board to “call your own”. Walking sticks, paintings, and other home-made crafts of all kinds were welcome. On some days a smoking club would rent it, and we locked the door and responded only to the secret knock and call.

Our tiny shop version of the Pipedream Pub was called “The BOARD and Books” because we had at least one table to start with for playing games, writing, and studying books on. Table boards were also used for drinks and food when in private club sessions. The collective library was for our members to place books they liked or wrote, including old and new books. There were also prices on most of the books, on the odd occasion that someone wanted to own it for their personal private hoard. We even managed to sell a few poems.

We had old and new carved wood on display: walking sticks, canes, wands, sculptures, board panels, etc..

We had a converted piano made into a harp, flat-wide-screen digital monitor, and book shelf.

Random paintings came and went. Art, music, and books were often traded.

Beamer and Tom made an awesome wooden table from old antiques and local barn boards.

After a few years membership increased and so rates were raised to pay the bills and make some net profit, until Armageddon. During WW3 there was too much economic depression to charge much, and when the urban infrastructure became bad enough we had to close shop in the city, and focus on the Pipedream Pub in the country.  Many of the items and books from the shop were moved to the Pub library and hearth hall.

[ part of SCOD FALLOUT 2020 series script ]

Delft TU Library, Holland

Central Library of Delft University of Technology (TU) in Holland by Mecanoo Architects

This angular and environmentally dynamic library was opened in 1998. It was designed by Mecanoo Architects, which was a 61 person firm located in Holland near Delft TU. The library design was based on four themes: The adjacent pre-existing Auditorium (by Van den Broek & Bakema), the site absence of campus atmosphere in the university quarter, the need for advanced technology, and of course plenty of room for shelves of books.

It is a “Triangle of Glass and Grass”, with a large tee-pee like ‘Cone’ in the middle. The glass around a few sides allows a large amount of day-light inside. The grass sod roof brilliantly allows people to use the entire area of building as they would a yard, in addition to the library. The center cone allows natural light also, and a communal study space.

The grassy roof lawn of the Delft TU Library forms a harmonious whole with the campus walkways that emerge from underneath the adjoining assembly hall. The Library roof can be walked upon, but also offers a place of dreaming, reading, and picnicking under open luminous sky. Teachers, students, and visitors call all meet informally in this public space.

The concrete / stucco Cone structure is open topped and 150 ft. high. The Cone and the cavernous entry are the only main features that are seen from campus, so it appears as though most of the building is not there. On the other sides, the wildly-canted glass wall rises from the parking lot to a max height of about 14 meters (40 ft.). At night the glass wall glows exposing activity within the 4 levels of library stacks, study areas, offices, and storage. The grassy roof shoots across the site creating a gently sloping area in contrast to the nearby ‘Brutalist’ style Auditorium.

Changing illumination (luminous flux) upon the Cone accentuates the sculptural shape as an abstract Platonic solid form, partially deconstructed. The channeling aspect of the Cone shape is intentional, as it is conducive to gathering with focus. The glass walls are towards the North, so they get non-direct ambient light. Horizontal bands around the glass facade facilitate ventilation between the window panes, and give distorted impressionist reflections from the outside on sunny days.

 

The perforated roof overhand is supported by stilted tubular steel struts, and rises from a foundation perimeter plinth-bed of fine stones. Under most of the structure is a spacious hall. A ring of glass circumscribes the Cone at roof level, allowing natural light (solar lumens) to wash in along the curved white stucco funnel side.

Delft University of Technology Library (DUTL) stocks one of the largest technical book collections in the World. Most of the books are stored in stock-rooms in the basement, but those that are accessible to the public are arranged in a single enormous book-case and are within hand reach. The combination of books, computers (with internet and catalogs), and people allows for knowledge, interaction, and better citizens. 300 out of 1000 study spots are equipped with computers (this may have increased).

This ‘Library as landscape’ evokes the feeling of how our ancestors believed technology to be magical, and magic arts were held by their spirits under hills to keep it safe. Not only priests and royal family members are allowed to visit this sacred place of tomes, it is open to all that seek it.

• (images for education only, not owned by blog)

 

 

JRR Tolkien Essays

Reports on Tolkien

St. John’s at Prospect Hall – Catholic High School 1990-94

Taken from old reports by Walton Stowell, Robert Trainor, & Chris Chromey

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Middle-Earth: Our History? – based on Rob Trainor’s highschool paper 1993

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontien, South Africa; on January 3, 1892. His father worked there as a banker, although both of his parents were from England. When John was only 4 years old, his father died. His mother Mabel then took young John and his younger brother, back to her native home in Birmingham, England. John was raised there and attended the King Edward School.

In 1904 when John was 12, his mother passed away. From then on he and his brother were raised by a Roman Catholic priest. Tolkien went from King Edward’s school, to Exeter College at Oxford. Before he got his degree, World War I broke out. In 1915 at the age of 23, John Tolkien entered the army, with the Lancashire Fusiliers regiment. The next year he married Miss Edith Bratt, who later became the mother of his children. Tolkien served with the Fusiliers from 1915 until 1918. At the end of WW1, he returned home and went back to college. John got his Masters Degree in 1919.

John studied many languages and knew a number of languages including Latin, German, Gothic, French, Greek, and Middle English. He developed his own hybrid languages, which would be the basis for his novels. John worked for a short time on the famous Oxford English Dictionary. He also became a ‘reader’ professor in English at Leeds University from 1924-25. His first publication was A Middle-English Vocabulary. Then he and E.V. Gordon published a critical text on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, analyzing the infamous old 14th-Century anonymous poem; John later translated it into modern English verse.

In 1925 John Tolkien left Leeds, and went to Pembroke College at Oxford; where he remained for the next 20 years, as Rawlison and Bosforth ‘Professor of Anglo-Saxon’. John’s imaginary languages led to him forming lands and stories around them. He sorted out places where his languages would be spoken, and what their attitudes might be culturally. John became an Oxford ‘fellow’ and ‘don’. He published Chaucer as a Philologist in 1934. Next came Beowulf: Monster and Critics. Tolkien himself had become a respected philologist. Philology is the study of written words, their origins, and meanings.

He wrote stories for his children, as ‘letters from’ Father Christmas. While grading college papers, John Tolkien began day-dreaming and sketching notes about a ‘hobbit’. In 1937, when Tolkien was 45 he was urged by his colleagues and children to publish his book called The Hobbit. It took him 12 more years to write the Lord of the Rings. It took John his life-time to write the Silmarillion, which was post-humously finished for him by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

‘Middle-Earth’ is the setting for The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Tolkien describes Middle-Earth using familiar objects and concepts, that make it seem like it could have existed in the distant past of England. This is how Tolkien conceived many of the ideas, and to many fans there are many charming and philosophical allegories and parallels. According to Tolkien, Middle-Earth (Arda) is ultimately its’ own world set in a fictional past of Earth, and not just mere metaphor.

Tolkien wanted to create a fictional mythology for the English, as they didn’t really have one before (besides the Mabinogion, Book of Kells, Beowulf, and the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood). He certainly achieved his goal of creation. Middle-Earth should perhaps best be considered a fantasy time period, set in the distant pre-historic past of Europe. The anachronisms and races are very much fantasy, and the themes are mythical.

References where Tolkien compared the reality of modern Europe and the fiction of ancient Middle-Earth include: the landscape and habits of Hobbiton (like Welsh), Hobbiton’s position north-west, general geography, astronomy changes, language roots, and flora and fauna (including insects). “It is plain indeed, that in spite of later estrangement, Hobbits are relatives of ours: far nearer to us than elves, or even than dwarves.” (LOTR I, 20) The land is similar to Europe, but much has changed by years of ‘wind and wave’. The significance of the comparison, is that it gives us familiarity with the setting. These descriptions also add believable gravitas; that the lands have been there for a long time, and slowly changed over time. Things like tobacco, clothing, and chimneys are clearly taken out of time and place and dropped in for amusement.

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JRR Tolkien – based on Chris Chromey’s research paper, English 11, 1992

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell; nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort.” – 1^st paragraph of The Hobbit

In 1938 the world was introduced to its first hobbit. Somehow we fell in love with this short round creature who lives in a hole with a life of comfort and a friendly manner. Throw in an adventure of dwarves, magic treasure, and evil monsters; and you come up with a tale so enchanting that its popularity breaks new ground in literature and pioneers the way of fantasy writing.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was the brilliant inventor of the hobbit race (and Middle-Earth). The Hobbit, his first book concerning this magical world, started out as a story Tolkien told to his children in the form of letters he would give them every Christmas (via ‘Father Christmas’ mail), which contained a chapter of hobbit Bilbo Baggin’s adventures and illustrations. Later on in life Tolkien read the hobbit tales to his literary chums, in a jolly writing group called the Inklings. The Inklings were a group of scholars who met with C.S. Lewis in his Magdalen college apartments, and later in old local English taverns. They would talk, read excerpts, and drink with an air of romanticism. Tolkien enjoyed these meetings, perhaps like Bilbo gathering with friends in the Shire of Middle-Earth.

Tolkien’s academic credentials help to explain why he was able to create such wonderful literature. Tolkien studied mythology and languages, with a focus on Celtic and Germanic lore. Tolkien loved English legends, and wanted England to have more of its own mythological literature. He began creating his own languages also, and used characters (like dwarves, valkyries, and elves) from Teutonic folk-lore. Dwarves were like vikings with their Norse beards, weapons, and armor. Elves were like elegant thin human-sized medieval English style faeries. The tree-ents were like dryads, and the wild ‘wose’ men were like Gaels; both of Celtic origins.

His re-imaginings of old ideas became the basis for the modern ‘medieval-fantasy’ genre. Tolkien published the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings few books during his life-time, but he was not able to finish the Silmarillion which was his large bible of Middle-Earth mythology. Pieces of the Silmarillion were edited and published after JRR Tolkien died, by his son Christopher Tolkien. It shows his father’s genius for synthesizing imagination, literature, language, and mythology in extraordinary detail.

Although Tolkien did not use the term ‘fairy’ in his Middle-Earth books, he did create a “fairy world”, or to be more specific an old world of faeries, that humans had begun to colonize and spread into by more rapidly populating. Humans had shorter lives than the other races, so they clearly were procreating faster, and elves were leaving into the West (much as they did in Celtic myths and legends).

About JRR Tolkien’s youth, we know he had a playmate besides his brother when he lived in Africa; named Hillary. They would play fantasy adventures based on stories. When JRR was about 7 years old, he began to compose his own story about a dragon. He recalled a ‘philological fact’ that his mother was more interested in his grammar, than the story or the characters. She pointed out that he should not say “a green great dragon”, but rather “a great green dragon”. This incident ‘put him off’ from writing for many years, and he became ‘taken up’ with language.

JRR Tolkien wrote an essay (similar to Frank Baum’s intro to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) called ‘On Fairy Stories’, to explaining the relationship between reality, fiction, and folk-lore. Tolkien’s essay also addressed Andrew Lang’s ‘fairy-tales’, and what constitutes stories about the land of ‘Faerie’ and what does not (in the mind of Tolkien). Here is an excerpt:

On Fairy-Stories

… Probably every writer making a secondary world, a fantasy, every sub-creator, wishes in some measure to be a real maker; or hopes that he is drawing on reality: hopes that the peculiar qualities of this secondary world (if not all the details) are derived from reality, or are flowing into it. If he indeed achieves a quality that can fairly be described by the dictionary definition: “inner consistency of reality”, it is difficult to conceive how this can be, if the work does not in some way partake in reality. The peculiar quality of the ‘joy’ in successful fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a ‘consolation’ for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, ‘is it true?’. My answer to this question (that all children ask) was at first (quite rightly): “If you have built your little world well, yes: it is true in that world.” …

To summarize Tolkien’s point here, the art of literature acts as an enchantment upon our minds. A well constructed world of words that tells a story, invites us to believe that the lore is ‘real’. Every writer making a secondary ‘fantasy’ world, wants the reader to desire to believe it is real. This ‘believable’ quality is achieved by using real ‘primary world’ references or characters that can view the fiction through our perspective (and vice-versa). The joy of reading realistic fantasy, is not just escapism, but the thrill of believable travel to that world; by defining its’ own reality. If fiction is well created, it has its’ own consistent truth; which reflects our own reality, each version of every story a magic mirror. The world consistency can change, but it should be reflected on in some way, as in ‘Alice and Wonderland’ stories, the consistency is to be inconsistent with the ‘rules’; with self-exposed unpredictability, as commented on by characters or narration.

By providing linguistic and historic backgrounds, Tolkien gave us the essence of his characters. We can find out more about them, just as we look into non-fiction books for facts about our historical figures. Tolkien thrived on the fact that language is the basis to all communication, and therefore knowledge. Fantasy novels after Tolkien, often imitate his settings and plots, without the depth.

Tolkien’s work feels timeless, like by reading his words we can escape Time. Yet his words also remind us of the power of Time; as with the riddle from the Hobbit:

This thing all things devours;

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stones to meal;

Slays kinds, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down.

Tolkien’s narration language seems ancient, and yet timeless because we can still understand it. One critic* accused his ‘boring’ writing of being a ‘syncretic antiquarian collage’. The critic goes on to say that Tolkien’s “ignorance of all he so conscientiously is trying to transmit” … “definitely leaves his writing lacking”. Clearly, the critic was wrong. To me this is a perfect example of how critics that go beyond factual summary, often show their own ignorance and childishness.

* Essays In Memorium; Catherine Stimpson; Salu & Ferrell (editors); Cornell University, 1979

Tolkien loved children, spent time with them, and made sure to be home at night to tuck in his own children. It was his love for children that drove him to write books for them, built upon college graduate level (adult) education and his child-like imagination (which apparently he never lost). He was not content with the children’s fairy tales he had, when he was a child. Tolkien wanted to give children books that he felt they deserved, that even their adult minds’ could grow into with maturity. The age orientation of his books seems to be progressive. The Hobbit is child-like, the Lord of the Rings is for teens, and the Silmarillion is for adults; but because Tolkien was a scholar, the books are really more advanced, always seeming to be one step ahead of the reader, transcending age at every turn.

END

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Why Critics Can Fuck Themselves

If I have any genius instead of talent (see one of the last reviews* a critic gave Edgar Allen Poe), then my luck will not make me rich and famous during my lifetime; as with Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, or George Martin. If I truly have the amazing artistic potential or merit that a true fan might believe, then to the rest of civilization I will most likely end up poor and infamous when I die; as with Edgar Allen Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, or HP Lovecraft. In fact I realize I am no better than Henry Darger.

The real-life mystery of the death of Edgar Allen Poe makes clear how art imitates life, and life imitates art. Furthermore, there may be some problems with society, that makes the life of an artist such a torturous hell throughout history. Perhaps artistic and autistic handicaps are more similar than government support allows. Indeed Capitalism itself seems to be the enemy of human rights for those cursed with an excess of artistic mental ‘gifts’.

I create art, books, and music because I can do nothing else as well. For those that doubt whether I have tried to work paying jobs, see my resume. Yes I can socialize, exercise, and invest in the stock market; but none of those guarantee a living wage. I am lucky that I am smart enough to tie my shoes. I am lucky I can walk. I am lucky that I can enjoy food. I am lucky that I am alive, so perhaps the fact that no one can put a price on it, means that perhaps life is priceless. If life is priceless, and if all human life is worth funding to maintain (as many claim), then perhaps we should not only see the worthlessness of critics, but also we the people should contemplate whether government should direct an economy towards these ends?

 – Drogo Empedocles

*EAP’s last lecture review was sympathetic to a dying poet “…no other writer in the USA has half the chance to be remembered. Had Mr. Poe possessed talent instead of genius, he might have been a money-making author; but his title to immortality could not be surer than it is.” – Charleston newspaper editor

References: Wikipedia

Edgar Allen Poe – In 1849, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, “in great distress, and… in need of immediate assistance”, according to a stranger who found him. He was taken to a hospital where he died after a few days. Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition and, oddly, was wearing clothes that were not his own. He is said to have repeatedly called out the name “Reynolds” on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. Some sources say that Poe’s final words were “Lord help my poor soul”. All medical records have been lost, including his death certificate. Newspapers at the time reported Poe’s death as “congestion of the brain” or “cerebral inflammation”, common euphemisms for deaths from disreputable causes such as alcoholism. The actual cause of death remains a mystery. Speculation has included beatings, alcohol poisoning, delirium tremens, heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, cholera, and rabies. One theory dating from 1872 suggests that ‘cooping’ was the cause of Poe’s death, a form of electoral fraud of forced voting, sometimes leading to violence and even murder. The author of his critical obituary hated him.

Vincent Van Gogh – suffered fits of despair and hallucination during which he could not work, between long clear months in which he did, punctuated works of extreme visionary ecstasy (like bi-polar). He was often too depressed and unable to write, but he was still able to paint and draw a little. In 1890, aged 37, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver. The bullet was deflected by a rib and passed through his chest without doing apparent damage to internal organs – probably stopped by his spine. Doctors tended to him as best they could, then left him alone in his room, smoking his pipe. The following morning Theo rushed to his brother’s side, but Vincent was dead within hours resulting from the wound. According to Theo, Vincent’s last words were: “The sadness will last forever”.

HP Lovecraft – Throughout his life, selling stories and paid literary work for others did not provide enough to cover Lovecraft’s basic expenses. Living frugally, he subsisted on an inheritance that was nearly depleted by the time of his last years. He sometimes went without food to afford the cost of mailing letters. Eventually, he was forced to move to smaller and meaner lodgings with his surviving aunt. He was also deeply affected by the suicide of his correspondent Robert E. Howard. In early 1937, Lovecraft was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine, and so suffered from malnutrition. He lived in constant pain until his death in 1937, in Providence, RI.

Henry Darger – Famous only post-humously. Darger’s landlords, came across his work shortly before his death. No one seemed to know or care about his art or writing before, because he kept them secret. His book ‘Realms of the Unreal’ may be the longest book known at over 15,000 pages. He was known as a poor old crazy janitor.

Review of ‘Harpers Faery Outlaws’

Critical Review of ‘Harpers Faery Outlaws‘ by Jack Madhard

Harpers Faery Outlaws was worse than the best critic could write, if they were trying to write a bad novel. It is not even full modern novel length, which is why I guess the publisher called it a ‘novella’. It is unclear whether the author was trying to be funny, confusing on purpose, or there were multiple untalented authors that just threw their stories together for the hell of it.

This book made we want to stop reading books, it was so bad. You may read it and say “it wasn’t too bad”, to which I would say “yes, yes it was”. I was bored with the book after reading the first word. Nothing can convince me that this book was anything else but total rubbish. A first grader could have done better.

Some of the characters may have been interesting, if I was born with only half a brain. The arrogance of this author, to presume that anyone would be interested in reading his writing is beyond belief. This book is bad, so terribly and inconceivably bad. I cannot say it enough times; this book is bad.

Tell all your friends not to read this book. Do not even buy it. If you borrow this book, promptly ‘lose’ it; I recommend burning this book. All respectable professional establishments should ban this filthy liberal attempt at advancing civil-rights through medieval metaphor. The author should be ashamed, if not executed for his crimes against humanity.

Next week, I will review a much better book, by a dear friend of mine, who will most likely invite me to parties. I may have to get a lobotomy to forget about reading this book by Drogo Empedocles. Anyway, as I always say, keep on reading (except for this book)!

– Jack Madhard of the Hardford Gazette 9/29/2016

Paperback book now available on Amazon!

Harpers Faery Outlaws Audiobook read by Author!