Random Thoughts

THE tallest man i’ve ever seen in real life just stopped me in the hallway by the coin operated laundry apropos of nothing and asked “which direction are you going?” i said east and he said “good” and walked away.

i caught up with him and asked why and he said “west’s no good right now. i just came from there.”

As long as we've had ROADS or even game trails this

very scene

has played out in brush shelters, shrines, taverns, inns, post stations, and hotel lobbies.

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Is a file extension you don't recognise (this one is a visual basic file, used for scripting, but others like exe or bat are used)

has a very low or unexpected file size (this one's is less than 1KB, or 0.001MB, a good reference should be at least 500KB)

How did they manage to get the Balkans to go along with that all on their own with nothing but peace and love.

Tell me about Istanbul what was going on there with the name change, and why is a cathedral that predates islam listed as a mosque.

Saw someone bring up that the ottomans ended the jizya tax for Christians and tried to frame it as something they did out of the kindness of their hearts instead of the historical reality of France and England making that a condition that needed to be met if the sultan wanted their help in the Crimean war.

Can't forget

You (the sultan) can trust a guy who has no standing other than what you give to him. Because without you, he’s nothing. No aristocratic family agenda. No patronage. No power of his own. Their subordinate status is why they’re allowed to conditionally excel—subject to the whims of others. And you can reap the benefits of real meritocracy, because merit is all these guys have.

And everyone else who turned was also de facto forced to, considering that not converting meant to be a class B subject in the best case scenario and outright persecution in a the others.

Let's not forget all the other cultures that ended up being erased by the muslim colonisation of the entire northern Sahara region.

Erdogan is a dictator, another one like Putin using the religious (in his case islamic, christian orthodox in Putin's case) rhetoric to stay in power despite his complete failure as a politician, demonstrated in multiple occasions in the recent years.

Nowhere is this more evident to me than when they are going through Moria, and Gandalf pauses a long time at a fork in the road trying to decide which way to go. Sensing the growing anxiety among the fellowship as Gandalf keeps lingering there, Aragorn says: “Do not be afraid! Gandalf has led us here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself. He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Beruthiel.”

Okay, buddy, let’s break that down:

1. Beruthiel is a long-dead queen of Gondor, hated for her cruelty and for her Cat Spy Network. Her husband eventually exiled her AND THE CATS out to sea. Her name was struck from The Book of Kings, but her legend lived on! How could it not.

2. Aside from Aragorn himself, only Gandalf (who is not listening) and Boromir will understand this reference. And I can’t help but feel it’s going to make Boromir immediately suspicious. Why is Aragorn referencing this deep cut of Gondorian history?

3. EVERY OTHER member of the fellowship had to be standing there like, “…Cats?”