“we can’t call most historical figures things like gay or lesbian because those terms didn’t exist in their times/cultures and if you ever call them that you’re a bad historian and/or just projecting”
“while it is important to be aware of the differences in how sexuality existed in other time periods and cultures, and using modern terminology is generally inappropriate in an academic setting, our terminology is still a convenient way to speak about historical figures who would likely have those identities in our own time. a historian should always be conscious of those differences, but that does not mean that it is wholly inappropriate to use our modern terminology in a casual setting for historical figures who had same-sex relationships, especially since, for many queer people, these historical figures can be a source of inspiration as well as a connection to the past”
Simon Tolkien's previous books have been mysteries. No Man's Land, set at the turn of the last century, is his first venture into historical fiction. We follow the life of Adam Raine, the son of a construction worker and passionate socialist who attempts to unionise his fellow workers. After a failed strike, Daniel is branded a troublemaker and finally takes his son north to become the union representative for a coal mine in Yorkshire. Disaster follows, and Adam ends up being fostered by Lord Scarsdale, the owner of the mine. (There are Reasons, but I don't want to spoil the story.)
By this time, the winds of war are blowing. Adam is admitted to Oxford, but after fleeing the shelling at Scarborough, he feels compelled to join up, and thus we find ourselves in the hell of the Somme.
Tolkien spent several years researching the book, and it shows in the characterisation of the miners and the excruciating detail of the war. I particularly liked the miners, who despite their lack of education are not ignorant. When I don't need a cheat sheet to remember the characters and their names, the author has made them real.
One curious moment is the funeral procession of Edward VII, when Adam locks eyes with Kaiser Wilhelm: 'It was only a few seconds at most, but Adam had time to sense the man's extraordinary rigidity - his frozen left arm, his chin thrust forward, his unblinking blue eyes; his concentration and self-absorption. He seemed mad somehow, capable of anything.' I do wonder if this came from JRR's memories, as it seems intensely personal.
If I have a bone to pick with the book, it's with the portrayal of women, most of whom are either selfless slaves to their men or conniving schemers. Adam's mother and the maid Sarah are two exceptions - I do wish we'd seen more of Sarah in the final chapters. Miriam eventually becomes more likeable as she comes into her own, but I was much more taken with Sarah, though perhaps that would have been a rather unrealistic ending.
Nonetheless, the heart of the book is the injustice of wealth and poverty during the era - I would say that Simon is not unsympathetic to the socialist cause. Those who had no land had no vote, so many of the men sent to slaughter in WWI had no part in the government that blundered its way into the war. The fictional mining town is decimated by the war; being men of no consequence, they are the grunts who march into the German guns at the Somme. The callous lack of care for human life of the generals is fully exposed; one can understand why so many men attempted go AWOL - a quick finish by a firing squad must have seemed preferable to them. That so many did not can only be attributed to the myth of honour in a foolish war.
One reviewer mentioned that JRR Tolkien "didn't feel it was right to share [his experience in the trenches] with people at home", and thus we see Adam on home leave, desperately inarticulate and unable to connect with the people he loves. One might wish they had spoken more about the horror (though I understand why they could not); in the pre-television days, men only spoke of glory, and young men joined up at once, eager to meet out justice to the Germans. This is one of the things I've always respected about JRR - he was one of the few who knew better. He joined up eventually, but under a provision that allowed him to complete his studies before fulfilling his service (and by that time, he would have been taken anyhow by compulsory order). Adam's miner friends are so eager to join up that they try to lie about their ages (this goes badly in a small town, as everyone knows them). However, their lives as miners (most of these boys have been working since they were ten) are hardly the kind to inspire self-preservation; Adam, at least, has a better life before him.
My favourite holiday. Now, never mind that six more weeks of winter is actually good news in my part of the world (March and April are our snowiest months - springtime in the Rockies sucks). The point is that summer, beautiful summer, is coming.
modern horror story: a single 200 chapter fic on ao3 summarized as a “collection of drabbles.” it is tagged for 200 different fandoms and every single character who so much as breathes in any of the chapters. it takes you an hour to scroll past. it is always at the top of your search results because it updates three times a week.
Imagine being a refugee and waiting for years and years, jumping through every ridiculous hoop, then being arrested when you land. Fuck everyone who told me to be calm
Moreover, Customs and Immigration has been ordered to ignore the emergency stays granted by the judiciary. Hundreds of people were stuck in airports this weekend, unable to board planes to the US or leave US airports. These are people with legal visas, people who live and work in the US. (Not to throw refugees under the bus - they’re screwed even more.)
This is a constitutional crisis - when the executive branch is no longer subject to checks and balances, we have a dictatorship.
sad? watch lord of the rings. happy? watch lord of the rings. sick? watch lord of the rings. sleepy? watch lord of the rings. dying from a festering wound? watch lord of the rings. have homework to do? watch lord of the rings.
watching lord of the rings solves 100% of all problems. trust me i am a medical doctor.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, this twitter account is posting the names and photos (when available) of refugees turned away from America who became victims of Naziism. #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome
And unfortunately, he’s not just our problem when you consider global warming, trade, Russia, foreign aid and the complete balls-up he’s going to make of the Middle East.
I keep seeing this, and I'm finally going to have to answer.
Yes, we did have $100+ loan payments in 1995. My repayment plan was $400 per month over ten years, and the only way I could consolidate for a 20-year plan was to make full payments for six months. I was making $7.50 an hour. You do the math. My loans went into default, and I have repaid three times the amount of the original loans. All the profit went to private banks, even though the government guaranteed the loans and the only way to avoid repayment is to die. (Thanks to President Obama, the final $7,000 was forgiven and the loans are finally paid off. I'm almost 50.)
We did have internet bills. We paid by the minute for dial-up access - I had 10 hours per MONTH for $20, and given that I had no money, I was careful not to go over that limit.
That said, the job market was better, and you could rent a decent apartment for $300 a month. (I ate a lot of mac-cheese and tuna.) The problem is that wages haven't kept pace with costs, and outside the service sector (minimum wage), entry-level jobs have disappeared. Some of that is off-shoring, but many jobs have also been lost to automation. Increasing the GDP has a climate-change penalty - we can't just make more crap that people don't need. A universal minimum income is the only sensible way forward.
Tolkien’s world is like a song, with repeating scenes and themes throughout the ages. Events repeat themselves with new characters, relationships are formed anew (Beren & Luthien, Aragorn & Arwen). The Ainulindalë plays forever. Which makes it all the more enjoyable to think that Maedros casting himself into a fiery chasm holding a Silmaril was repeated millennia later as Gollum, falling into Mt. Doom, holding the One Ring.
This is what I love about Tolkien's legendarium: the way the themes repeat across the span of time. It's even more remarkable considering that the Silm was never more than a work in progress. I'm not sure that he even realised the serendipity of his narrative, or how all the pieces would fit together so beautifully.
Maglor: You have one cow. You throw it into the sea.
Celebrimbor: You have three cows. You hide them away to keep them out of your terrible ex-colleague’s hands who’s coming after them with stakes and pitchforks.
The Valar: You have an entire continent full of cows and people fighting over them. You sink the continent.
