Nokra

Maybe a desperate ploy to get people to start using the site again, amid all of its current troubles?

NSFW

Deactivated my account yesterday... Better late than never.

I finally got around to watching this series. I was initially very hesitant to do so, given my enormous fandom of Tolkien's writings and my concerns that the studio was going to butcher this, but I'm so happy with the final results. First, it's absolutely beautiful. I initially watched this show on my tablet while on an airplane and now I'm going back and watching it on my 4K TV because damn, it's gorgeous. Top notch effects, cinematography, etc. It's easy to see where the budget went. The actors do a great job, IMO, and I love that they went with all relatively-unknown people. I love the slower pacing and the long establishing shots; Middle-earth never looked so good! I was also really concerned that they wouldn't treat the original source material with the respect that it --in my opinion-- deserves, but these worries were completely unfounded. I love all of the new characters they've created and IMO they fit in with the canon very well. The Harfoots, Adar, Bronwyn, Arondir, etc... they all flesh out the world sketched out by Tolkien so well without coming off as being shoehorned in, IMO. I have a couple minor quibbles also (e.g. what someone mentioned about Halbrand having to suggest to Celebrimbor that he should try creating an alloy with the mithril, as if one of the greatest Elven smiths wouldn't have thought of that ) but the changes from canon generally make sense to me and are pretty minor, IMO; it seems clear to me that the showrunners have enormous respect for the original material. Overall, I'm so impressed! Lastly, I just want to say that I really appreciated and enjoyed reading the discussion about all of the minute aspects of the lore here. I mostly avoided this topic before I watched the show, but after watching the show I've now gone through and read all 18 pages. I will admit that it has been over a decade since I've read these books, but they remain my all-time favorites. It was really a pleasure to read everyone else geeking out on this stuff. The wait of up to two years for the next season is going to be brutal!

Sorry if this has been asked a million times already in this thread, but which 4k player are you all using?

Yeah I live in Portland, OR but grew up in southern ID and have family there. It's a beautiful area, but you do have to watch out for rednecks and apparently murderers.

I briefly considered a Tesla but between all of the stories of their terrible build quality, the rigid ride, and Musk, I think I'll eventually buy an Ioniq 5 (to replace my 2007 Prius).

Just want to say that I love mail-in voting. Dropped off my ballot around noon and by 3 pm i had an email saying my ballot had been counted.

I'm sure it's hard, but I think you're doing the right thing. Taking care of yourself will let you be there for Elton in the best way, no pun intended.

Cognitive dissonance is a heartless bitch.

Is he meaning that he's being censored because he's black (rather than for his actual racism)? If so, that seems like a classic "boy who cried wolf", cheapening any future (legit) cries of racism.

@PaladinSolo just FYI I added a spoiler tag and NSFW warning to be on the safe side; I'm guessing some people's employers may not be as tolerant of any sort of context here.

I also got an Uber from a Tesla yesterday and I asked the driver about it. He said that he was actually renting the Tesla specifically in order to do Uber. We didn't go any more into detail than that but a deal with Uber or a deal with a rental company would make sense.

Yeah I don't see why it would be a problem to visit your friend. Probably good for both of you!

At the risk of sidetracking the thread (though not really, since this thread is at least tangentially about how to live, right? )... As someone who is also interested in Stoic philosophy, I'm curious what your thoughts are on e.g. Ryan Holiday or Mark Manson. I've read a couple of their books, enjoyed them, and definitely got some good out of them, but I do wonder if they veer a little too far into the "this is an industry" territory. On the other hand, I do think they have a decent understanding of the underlying philosophy, and I wouldn't even mind them dumbing things down a bit to have mass appeal, since more people becoming interested in the topic seems like a win to me. What are your thoughts?

Gotta be young scrappy and hungry </Hamilton>

I'm also really liking the trend of verified people changing their name to "Elon Musk":

Welcome back! If you want to keep up the presidential theme, you could use Joe in his aviators.

The account looks up to me.

IIRC Beerham was Tofurkey's husband, though I believe they divorced.

Probably it was karma for bragging, but my flight got cancelled due to a maintenance issue as we were on the runway about to take off. Now flying out tomorrow.

(just have to give @sblfilms a hard time ) I leave for Hawaii in the morning. Never been before so I'm pretty excited. I'm not usually much of one for lying around on the beach, but it's where my family wanted to go and I think between the hikes I'm hoping to take, the snorkeling, maybe some surf lessons, Pearl Harbor, a couple National Parks, etc. it will be pretty fun/interesting. We're spending one week on Maui and then one week on Oahu. Anyone ever been? What was your favorite thing to do on those islands?

But in all seriousness, yeah you want one or two layers of heat retention (e.g. hoodies, fleece) and a layer of wind/rain stopper (e.g. rain jacket, hardshell jacket, etc.). Hat/gloves optional, depending on your personal comfort level. It might also be a good opportunity to buy and wear a scarf, if you've never done so before. It's the style there (it's where I picked up the habit too) and it's pretty crazy what a difference it makes if your neck is no longer exposed and cold!