Shields's illustration was so great, I knew I had to use it even though I really wanted this essay's drawing to be of Galadriel at her mirror. Here are some lovely illustrations of that scene by Morgan Rogers and Tessa Bronsky.

The gorgeous illustration for today's essay is "Caras Galadhon" by Ray Shields. www.reddit.com/r/TolkienArt...

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And getting back to Balrog art, we can't forget that Cor Blok rendered its confrontation with Gandalf in his inimitable style. Cor appears to be a pro-wings guy, btw.

The Fellowship at the gates of Moria is one of the most popular topics for fan artists. Here we have illustrations by Joan Wyatt, Ted Nasmith, Alberto Trujillo, and Tolkien himself.

The fantastic illustration of today's essay is "Flame of Udûn" by Weirling. Note: no wings on this balrog! www.reddit.com/r/TolkienArt...

And, of course, our beloved Cor Blok illustrated several passages in "The Ring Goes South". Here we have the failed ascent of Caradhras, and the company attacked by wolves.

For another drawing of the fellowship as they set out on their journey in a very different style, see this piece by Francois Thouvenin.

The lovely, detailed-filled illustration for today's essay is by Robin Robinson. Check out Gollum at the bottom, and Barad-dur all the way at the top. www.tumblr.com/thegorgonist...

My library unexpectedly acquired licenses for thousands of comics and graphic novels yesterday. So on a lark, I read some of the recent Star Trek comics. Nothing really did it for me, but I did really appreciate this page in which Shaxs, from Lower Decks, delivers a beatdown.

I have reached That Chapter in The Return of the King

For a more traditional, but no less excellent, illustration of the council, we can turn to Morgan Rogers, whose series of chapter by chapter illustrations of LOTR never fails to delight. silmaspens.tumblr.com/post/6164397...

The illustration for today's post is by Dutch artist Cor Blok, who illustrated the Dutch edition of The Lord of the Rings with his absolutely inimitable style. We'll have more to say about Blok later in the week.

People keep posting this to my feed and as much as I'd like to join in the jeering, it smells like bullshit. Does the president of the United States go through passport control? Does he get a visa? Do we really believe any country would refuse POTUS entry for being a convicted sex criminal?

In an amusing example of how disconnected TV production and broadcast schedules are, Connor Storrie shows up - sporting a buzz cut! - for a one line role in the most recent episode of For All Mankind, months after Heated Rivalry made him the sort of star who gets invited to the Met Gala.

The illustration for this essay is not an illustration, of course, but a publicity still for the Lego Rivendell set. And, far be it from me to shill for Lego, but I observe that the recently announced Minas Tirith set also includes a scene recounted in the chapter we're discussing today.

In this scene, for example, the characters are having dinner, and one of them mentions "sunset cocktails", but it's pitch dark outside. Not even any street lighting.

Our illustration today is once again by Tolkien himself, an image that has come to dominate how Rivendell is depicted in most other art (even without the movies cementing it in the public imagination).

The potato chips example is particularly instructive, because potato chips or french fries are among the least processed foods you could eat. Here are the ingredients on a bag of Lay's potato chips - short, and exactly what you'd use in a home kitchen.

On the other hand, this guy who plays a nurse on The Pitt is actually a nurse in real life. I mean, he was a rock star and a model before that, but still.

נשמע שהיורה נתפס במעגל האבטחה הראשון ומעולם לא התקרב לטראמפ או ואנס. כנראה שהוא או התקשורת מפמפמים את האירוע יותר ממה שבאמת היה שם, אבל כפי שנאמר זה מצחיק שהם עושים זאת לטובת פרויקט נדל"ן.

At last it can be told! I am appearing (um, reading quotations) in the new season of @goingroguepod.bsky.social, The Fall of Skywalker, in the challenging role of Kathleen Kennedy! (Again, I just read some quotations) Can’t wait to hear what @tansyg.bsky.social does with this topic!

This is a good example of exactly the sort of dynamic I'm talking about. It's a zippy gotcha with a well-known pop culture reference for extra virality, but if you try to parse the argument it's supposedly making, what you come up with is incoherent.

Morgan Rogers (whose tumblr series of LOTR illustrations I highly recommend) has several lovely drawings of the attack on Weathertop and the flight to the ford. silmaspens.tumblr.com/post/1903999...

This is a photograph from the Weizman institute, Israel's premier institute of scientific research, after it was struck by an Iranian missile last June. The damage is estimated at around $0.5B, and some the samples and research lost are irreplaceable.

These three illustrations, by AZED, opheliabmn, and Killianart, take the movie's staging, and give it their own style. www.artstation.com/artwork/5BW4aA www.tumblr.com/opheliabmn/7... killianart.tumblr.com/post/1664553...

And some lovely drawings of Strider in his first meeting with the hobbits. It's actually very hard to find illustrations of this scene that don't feel taken from the movie. Morgan Rogers offers a rare, lovely exception, part of a series of LOTR illustrations. silmaspens.tumblr.com/post/1903999...

Some other interesting art on these chapters' themes: Beverly Arce's Bree tourist poster. www.gallerynucleus.com/detail/31482/

The stunning illustration for this post is by Tomás Hijo, winner of the 2017 Tolkien Society Award for Best Artwork. Can you spot Strider in the corner, and a Black Rider peering in the window? tomashijoart.bigcartel.com

Me: here is a list of settlements where a siren was activated recently Them: aha! You admit the Israeli government only prioritises West Bank settlement like… Be’er Sheva! And these are people I’m then expected to speak to like adults.