This week, I'm welcoming fellow substacker and Tolkien nerd, Charles McBryde, whose essay 'Shire Anarchy' caught my eye in the cultural curiosity that is the substack notes app.
Watched the edit on the weekend. Such a beautiful edit, and aligned with a lot of how I felt about the original being diluted. But I suspect that Gordon’s comments will challenge this.
In my childhood and teenage years I lived in Shire like Wisconsin countryside. The small town, small business, small farm ecosystem began to die in the 70’s due to economic forces. It was a complex of neighbors, rooted families, self government on the level of villages , townships and county, churches, various civic, charitable groups, mutual help, deals done on a handshake and your word, no cars and homes ever locked, local foods, local community events, a local card game - euchre, wedding dances where all ages joined in doing the waltz, polkas and the schottische (a most lovely folkloric dance) Here is a picture of a typical farm of that era and area embedded in the landscape https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_County,_Wisconsin#/media/File:Farm_in_GreenCountyWI.jpg
He was baptized an orthodox & left the church seeking…he read so many books & walked thru so many temples and ashrams he even returned to the literal “Church of Assumption” and sat for the sermon on the 1st n’ last day of lent and he sat, stood, meditated, & did not utter the words in the house of GOD. But did interrupt the end of service and the last “shitty choir” song really though it was godAwful. I interrupted the father in front of the congregation cloaked and all and ask him what book he was reading from I’ll post a picture of the insignia and numbers therein but he would retort “‘Tis our scripture (boy)”
“Ah, so only GOD permits YOU to read it”
“Uhuh”
“Well, then, s’posin I’ll be headed home”
“Ah, well, what ‘Tis thine name (boy)”
“ZEPHYR (JONES)”
“Ah, well, sweetsillyflower I shall hope you join us soon”
My husband and I stay the weekend at my grandparents’ house once a month. Last time we were there, Grandma and I talked about binge watching the LOTR movies next time we were there. I have not yet read the books, but I watched The Fellowship of the Ring many times and love it. The Two Towers I’ve seen a couple Times over the years, and I don’t think I’d seen Return of the King the whole way through.
Just by happenstance and divine timing, I listened to this episode last Friday, before we went to my grandparents’ house. We watched all of the movies on Saturday, which was life changing for me - and I’m not being dramatic about that.
There are things in life that seem separate. Like a book I’m reading, plus the LOTR movies, plus listening to a podcast, plus things I have been thinking of doing. The universe has asked me to embark on a quest, and shown me how alchemizing it is, and that my entire life and being will be different on the other side.
Thank you both for articulating my views and trifles with Anarchy in the modern age!
Pro vaccine anarchist rallies, that shook me too.
Ummm… sorry for asking… and I did google it first… but where do I find the 4 h M4 book edit of the hobbit?
Sorry. Found it. https://m4-studios.github.io/hobbitbookedit/
Watched the edit on the weekend. Such a beautiful edit, and aligned with a lot of how I felt about the original being diluted. But I suspect that Gordon’s comments will challenge this.
Fantastic interview, but is there a way to watch this somewhere other than Substack? Substack video streaming is terrible compared with YouTube.
Oh yes terrible to not get interrupted by commercials..
In my childhood and teenage years I lived in Shire like Wisconsin countryside. The small town, small business, small farm ecosystem began to die in the 70’s due to economic forces. It was a complex of neighbors, rooted families, self government on the level of villages , townships and county, churches, various civic, charitable groups, mutual help, deals done on a handshake and your word, no cars and homes ever locked, local foods, local community events, a local card game - euchre, wedding dances where all ages joined in doing the waltz, polkas and the schottische (a most lovely folkloric dance) Here is a picture of a typical farm of that era and area embedded in the landscape https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_County,_Wisconsin#/media/File:Farm_in_GreenCountyWI.jpg
This was so much Fn’ fun U GUYZZZZ
Bahahaha I literally watched that “non-sequitor” skit literally (a short time ago) before I got to writing all this BS
D(awwww) U guyzzzz
He was baptized an orthodox & left the church seeking…he read so many books & walked thru so many temples and ashrams he even returned to the literal “Church of Assumption” and sat for the sermon on the 1st n’ last day of lent and he sat, stood, meditated, & did not utter the words in the house of GOD. But did interrupt the end of service and the last “shitty choir” song really though it was godAwful. I interrupted the father in front of the congregation cloaked and all and ask him what book he was reading from I’ll post a picture of the insignia and numbers therein but he would retort “‘Tis our scripture (boy)”
“Ah, so only GOD permits YOU to read it”
“Uhuh”
“Well, then, s’posin I’ll be headed home”
“Ah, well, what ‘Tis thine name (boy)”
“ZEPHYR (JONES)”
“Ah, well, sweetsillyflower I shall hope you join us soon”
“Hmmmm….perhaps”
And so it goes….
My husband and I stay the weekend at my grandparents’ house once a month. Last time we were there, Grandma and I talked about binge watching the LOTR movies next time we were there. I have not yet read the books, but I watched The Fellowship of the Ring many times and love it. The Two Towers I’ve seen a couple Times over the years, and I don’t think I’d seen Return of the King the whole way through.
Just by happenstance and divine timing, I listened to this episode last Friday, before we went to my grandparents’ house. We watched all of the movies on Saturday, which was life changing for me - and I’m not being dramatic about that.
There are things in life that seem separate. Like a book I’m reading, plus the LOTR movies, plus listening to a podcast, plus things I have been thinking of doing. The universe has asked me to embark on a quest, and shown me how alchemizing it is, and that my entire life and being will be different on the other side.
The Shire - sounds like Distributism, which is derived from late 19th century Catholic social teaching right up Tolkien's alley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributism