Ranger of the Wilderland

Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen all taking the piss out of Orlando Bloom for going on about a cracked rib too much, while Orlando Bloom desperately tries to wriggle out of talking about it (special mention to Elijah Wood’s “oh it hurts, babes, and I can’t ride the horse, babes” and Viggo Mortensen’s “they can be very fragile, elves, especially the…Mirkwood strain…”)

Ian McKellen commenting that “they never did find any suitable underwear for Gandalf…”

Dominic Monaghan going on and on about how Viggo Mortensen apparently had a crush on one of the Rohirrim extras (who like a lot of the Rohirrim extras was a woman in a fake beard) while Vigoo Mortensen just mutters “one could perhaps say something about Mr. Monaghan’s…proclivities…”

Dominic Monaghan’s imitation of John Rhys-Davies ordering food at a restaurant for the whole cast. “You have partridge? BRING THE PARTRIDGE!”

John Rhys-Davies talking about an incident with the Lothlorian boats and saying “if an elf and a dwarf are in a boat…and…the boat goes under…let us say that the blame was not placed on the elf” while Orlando Bloom splutters “he’s a big guy, man!” 

Elijah Wood talking about how the hobbit actors shared a trailer with Ian McKellen and sometimes they would hear inarticulate bellows of protest from his side when they played loud music in the mornings

Viggo Mortensen talking about how, while filming with those same boats, Kirin Shaw (Elijah Wood’s scale double) started telling him “if the boat tips over…save yourself…I can’t swim.” 

Elijah Wood describing how Sean Astin would try to direct the helicopters to land while they were on location, while the other three hobbits were screwing around and throwing pinecones at each other

Christopher Lee recounting how he had so much trouble going up some steps in Orthanc with his long robe that he stopped in the middle of the scene and said, “I cannot get up these goddamn steps, Peter.” 

indiana jones and tomb that had already been looted by robbers in the 19th century

indiana jones and pottery fragment #1478

indiana jones and the site discovered under somebody’s house so there was no way to actually dig it

indiana jones and the famous treasure that actually turned out to be an ancient chamber pot

indiana jones and the temple of maybe three damaged columns

Building the airport in this location will destroy an ancient landscape, one shaped by the Incan people with terraces and routes.

Critics also suggest that planes flying low over the nearby village of Ollantaytambo and its archaeological park filled with ruins and a massive Inca fortress with large stone terraces, would cause incalculable damage to fragile Inca ruins there and destroy the peace and beauty of the area.

The new airport will make access to the site much easier, and thus encourage greater numbers than ever before to visit.

But Machu Picchu is already overwhelmed by almost double the limit of tourists as recommended by UNESCO. [see also India’s Taj Mahal - an incredible site simply reeling under a relentless, ineffectively managed tourist, both domestic and international, onslaught]

hey! peruvian here

to be completely honest, there is probably nothing anyone can do about this at this point because it has been in the works since the 90’s. as you can most likely tell, our government is a fucking joke. still, this needs international attention. a lot of it. this is my country’s history, culture and one of the most beautiful things we have to offer at risk.

No, they have Westron names and English names.

What you’ve got to understand is that everything Tolkien wrote was him pretending to merely translate ancient documents. He was writing as if the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were actually been written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam (or Bilba, Maura, and Ban) and he was just some random contemporary academic translating it all into English for us. 

There are many languages in his books, but generally speaking, everything written in English in the books is a translation of the language “Westron.” Therefore any names that come from Westron, he translated. Names coming from other languages, like Sindarin, he left as they were. Why? IDK. Maybe because the stories are from a hobbit perspective and hobbits speak Westron, so he wanted the Westron parts to sound familiar and the other languages/names to remain foreign? 

“But Mirkwoodest!” you cry, “The word ‘hobbit’ isn’t an English word! And the names Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck” all sounds super weird and not like English at all!”

Psych! They are in English! (Or Old English, German, or Norse.) Once again you underestimate what a nerd Tolkien was. Let me break it down: 

In Westron, hobbits are actually called “kuduk,” which means “hole-dweller,” so for an English translation, Tolkien called them “hobbits” which is a modernization of the Old English word “holbytla” which comes from “Hol” (hole) and “Bytla”(builder). 

“Maura” is a Westron name which means “Wise.” Weirdly enough, “Frodo” is an actual Proto-Germanic name that actual people used to have and it means the same thing. 

“Banazîr” is Westron for “half-wise, or simple.” In Proto Germanic, the prefix “Sam” means half, and wise is obviously a word we still use. 

“Razanur” means “Traveler” or “Stranger” which is also the meaning of the word “Peregrin(e)” This one is a twofer because  “Razar” means “a small red apple” and in English so does “Pippin.”

“Kalimac” apparently is a meaningless name in Westron, but the shortened form “Kali” means “happy,” so Jirt decided his nickname would be “Merry” and chose the really obscure ancient Celtic name “Meriodoc” to match. 

Jirt chose to leave “Bilba” almost exactly the same in English, but he changed the ending to an “O” because in Westron names ending in “a” are masculine. 

I’m not going to go on and talk about the last names but those all have special meanings too (except Tûk, which is too iconic to change more than the spelling of, apparently). 

The Rohirrim were also Westron speakers first and foremost, so their names are also “translations” into Old English and Proto-Germanic words, i.e. “Eowyn”  is a combination of “Eoh” (horse) and “Wynn” (joy/bliss). 

“Rohirrim/Rohan” are Sindarin words, but in the books, they call themselves the “Éothéod” which is an Old English/Norse combo that means “horse people.” Tolkien tells us in the “Peoples of Middle Earth” that the actual Westron for “Éothéod” is Lohtûr, which means that Eowyn and Eomer’s names, which come from the same root word, must also start with the letter L. 

The names of all the elves, dwarves, Dunedain, and men from Gondor are not English translations, since they come from root words other than Westron. 

The takeaway from this is that when a guy whose first real job was researching the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter “W” writes a book, you can expect this kind of tomfoolery.

Notes: Sorry I said “Razal” instead of “Razar” in my original post I’m a fraud. 

Further Reading: 

They need at least another 3,000 to make their goal... In four days

like there's the immediate implication of this does not require me to explain my labels to you, but also the secondary implication of my existence as a radical statement. when queer people started calling themselves queer, it was an act of public defiance and rebellion.

queer says I don't need to justify myself to you or anyone, queer says I exist and I won't shut up about it, queer says we are a community and you cannot draw arbitrary dividing lines between us. queer is a good word for queer people.

when I find people who call themselves queer, I know they are the ones who won't try to say anyone doesn't belong in our community, that they will defend gay rights with trans rights, that they will stand up against the oppression that we all face, even if it doesn't affect them directly.

like here’s a list of things Viggo Mortensen did :

fake-throwing people from the edge of the mountain

starting a trend that goes like “oh hello, you know I really appreciate your work ” and then suddenly headbutting people with all his might

all that while laughing manically

now the only thing I can imagine is Aragorn being his nice mysterious self and just randomly thinking to himself “you know, I bet I could actually throw Frodo to the other side of that cliff” and Legolas just standing by like “hm, it would probably maybe be wise to not do this” and Gandalf rushing in like  “Aragorn no. put him down. Put . the. hobbit down.” while Aragorn is seemingly trying to fling the crucial ring-bearer from the edge of a mountain for no good reason

It is all too easy to get carried away when describing the clothing of medieval era townsfolk. Like…me. I have that problem. All the time. “And the poor servant girl wore a hood of scarlet.” Riiight, because not only can she not afford scarlet cloth, but she could be arrested on sight for such a travesty! I’ve found this guide particularly helpful when attempting to adhere to a realistic vision of medieval fashion.

Clothing Regulations imposed by the Sumptuary laws of 1363:

Status: Lords with lands worth £1000 annually, and their families.

What they may wear: No restrictions

Status: Knights with lands worth 400 marks (£266 13s 4d) annually, and their families.

What they may wear: May dress at their will, except they may wear no weasel fur, Ernie, or clothing of precious stones other than the jewels in women’s hair.

Status: Knights with lands worth 200 marks (£133 6s 8d) annually, and their families.

What they may wear: Fabric worth no more than 6 marks (£4) for the whole cloth; no cloth of gold, nor a cloak, mantle, or gown lined with pure miniver; sleeves of ermine or any material embroidered with precious stones; women may not wear ermine or weasel fur, or jewels except those worn in their hair.

Status: Esquires with land worth £200 per year and merchants with goods to the value of £1000 and their families.

What they may wear: Fabric worth no more than 5 marks (£3 6s 8d) for the whole cloth; they may wear cloth of silk and silver, or anything decorated with silver; women may wear miniver but not ermine or weasel fur, or jewels except those worn in their hair.

Status: Esquires, gentlemen with £100 per year and merchants with good to the value of £500 and their families.

What they may wear: Fabric worth no more than 41/2 marks (£3) for the whole cloth; no cloth of gold, silk, or silver, no embroidery, no precious stones or fur.

Status: Yeomen and their families

What they may wear: Fabric worth no more than 40s (£2) for the whole cloth; no jewels, gold, silver, embroidery, enamelware, or silk; no fur except lamb, rabbit, cat, or fox; women not to wear a silk veil.

Status: Servants and their families

What they may wear: Fabric worth no more than 2 marks for the whole cloth; no gold, silver, embroidery, enamelware, or silk; women not to wear a veil worth more than 12d

Status: Carters, plowmen, drivers of plows, ox herds, cowherds, swineherds, dairymaids, and everyone else working on the land who does not have 40s of goods.

What they may wear: No cloth except blanket and russet at 12d per ell, belts of linen (rope)