GUEST POST – My friend X from List of X (http://listofx.com/) has decided to tackle an age-old question: Star Wars or Lord of the Rings? This is a topic dear to my heart. Below is X’s well-considered analysis of the issue – thanks X, for wading in on the matter with your usual humour and insight!
This post was inspired by Trent’s post Hobbits Versus Lightsabers (http://trentlewin.com/2012/11/07/hobbits-vs-lightsabres/), which got me thinking about the clash of Star Wars’ evil Galactic Empire and Tolkien’s Middle Earth from Lord Of The Rings. So I have decided to apply my analytical skills to predict how exactly the war between the two famous fantasy franchises would go.
First, let’s review the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents, Galactic Empire and the planet which is home to Middle Earth. (I don’t know if Tolkien gave a name to the LOTR planet, so I’ll call it Lotria.)
So in a close combat Lotrians could have the advantage despite their primitive weapons. However, the Empire has the technology like lasers, cannons, flying ships, rockets, and those walking tank thingies that are great for stomping out rebellions. All that technology would easily prevent Lotrians from ever getting within the arrow range. Besides, their tendency to fight in densely packed groups would make it very easy for the Empire to wipe them out without having to spend that much ammunition. (Those laser rays aren’t cheap, people! You just wouldn’t believe just how much the galactic military contractors charge Empire per pound! They’re the evil ones, I tell you!).
And Middle Earthers can’t really count on their hyped-up wizards being much help, because, let’s face it, if Gandalf, Saruman, and Sauron were really that powerful, they wouldn’t need to raise armies of stick-wielding brutes to do their fighting for them in the first place. LOTR’s most powerful benevolent wizard Gandalf, unfortunately, way too often has better things to do elsewhere, instead of doing boring day-to-day chores like fighting. Saruman will likely be the first to greet Darth Vader and ask how he can help – for example, he could shave his beard to make a nice wig for the emperor who has to wear a hoodie because he’s very self-conscious about his visible bald spot, or Saruman could get a job as Count Dooku’s body double.
Finally, Sauron, supposedly the scariest and most powerful being of LOTR, hasn’t actually done that much impressive magic throughout the entire trilogy, other than looking at people from a great distance and messing with their heads, which isn’t that different from the type of magic that anyone with a Skype account can do.
On the other hand, Darth Vader and Emperor probably won’t even show up for the action, because for some reason they seem to think that catching a lone rebel fighter and engaging him in multiple protracted lighsaber duels is the most productive use of their time.
So what happens when the opponents actually meet?
Because neither side is interested in a peaceful resolution, a war inevitably breaks out. Lotrians see some initial success against the vanguard contingent of stormtroopers (or, as the Empire refers to them, “military advisers”), especially because they will have an element of surprise on their side – unlike the stormtroopers who in their shiny white armor can count on an element of surprise only when they attack someone in a public restroom. But then the Empire comes down hard and fast, bringing their latest and greatest military hardware, operated by the cutting-edge 1980’s computer technology, and with a just-developed breakthrough in war machinery that changes the future of warfare forever, namely, an inside lock on the walking tanks’ entry hatch.
As a result of their overwhelming technical superiority Empire takes over the entire Middle Earth in about a week after crushing all of the elf, human, orc, and dwarf armies, and the Emperor gives a victory speech aboard the imperial cruiser under the “Mission Accomplished” banner. However, just days later those few surviving freedom-loving elves, dwarves, and orcs begin an insurgency campaign. And considering the highly wooded and mountainous terrain of the Middle Earth, and the Lotrians’ tradition of living in those mountains and forests rather than towns – because it’s not like these towns have Wi-Fi or even working sewers anyway, they can basically wage a guerrilla campaign from the comfort of their own home.
And guerilla warfare is where the Lotria’s magic and quirks like hiding cloaks, masking spells, and fun-sized dwarf warriors really come in handy. Eventually even orcs figure out that they can use the blasters they’ve captured for more than just smashing stormtrooper helmets, so the military hardware disparity levels out quite a bit. Very soon, “Ewoks on crack” doesn’t even begin to describe what Empire’s forces encounter outside the walls of their few protected military bases. They aren’t even fully safe within the walls, because ragtag bands of Hobbits keep sneaking inside to throw garbage and various magical objects into Empire bases’ incinerators, hoping that this would somehow destroy the Empire (hey, it worked with Sauron!). The Middle Earth invasion turns into Empire’s Vietnam – while the Empire holds the bases and few towns and claims nominal domination of the entire planet, the stormtroopers only venture out for military missions to take out various #2 leaders of Elf Qaeda, or mete out random punitive carnage like the Shire massacre.
However, unlike the United States during the Vietnam era, the Empire is a brutal dictatorship with zero freedom of speech, and their mainstream mass media consists of something like Fox News circa 2002 (“Emperor is great!!!”) and the opposition media being like Fox News circa 2007 (“Emperor is kinda old, but still pretty great!”). The Empire has no problem drafting more stormtroopers; however, with their resources spread pretty thin by the rebel alliance, they have to take drastic measures. Yes, I’m talking about the Death Star.
Of course, the Empire could justify the use of Death Star by legitimately claiming that they found weapons of mass destruction hidden in caves after they encounter Balrog or Smaug. But in reality, the Empire doesn’t even have to explain anything to anyone, because, as you may recall, they already blew up the planet Alderaan to pieces solely for the heinous crime of being listed first in the Galactic Yellow Pages.
In the last ditch effort to get Middle Earth to surrender, Darth Vader claims to Frodo that he is his father (hey, it worked with Skywalker!), but his plot fails when Vader refuses to get a DNA test. Frustrated Darth Vader orders the strike, Death Star fires on Lotria, and the planet blows up. The end.
No, wait!
Suddenly giant eagles fly in and whisk Bilbo and Gandalf 10 seconds before the explosion, but… unfortunately they all perish anyway because eagles and hobbits apparently can’t breathe or fly in a vacuum. The END.
NO, WAIT!
Somehow Gandalf survives by making a large magic air bubble around him, ends up on Tatooine, and steals the identity of Obi-Wan Kenobi who had actually retired to Florida years ago. Because there aren’t any gullible hobbits on Tatooine to do Gandalf’s dirty work, Gandalf finds Luke Skywalker and enlists him to avenge the destruction of the Middle Earth and finally bring down the Galactic Empire.
THE END.
I learned more than I ever knew about any of this! 🙂 That’s a good thing.
Don’t you ever sleep, Pete? Morning!
But I am glad you learned something. I think I should name myself after a letter too, it might make me funny.
haha yeh nom de plume it dude. 🙂 I just woke up, 420 and coffee YAY!
Damn you Pete – making me jealous. I’m just about to hit 24 hours up being up. Flippin frickin work… grrrrr….
Oh yeh this is my normal time to be here after a good night’s sleep, like the dead.
(gritting teeth). I caught like an hour of sleep on the floor. Seriously, this is not cool. But I saw you posted something, so that gives me a diversion.
Morning Pete!
There you go, divert divert!
You could at least slip me a little something, that would be appreciated…
All right, back to the slag.
Okay.
Thank you, but just don’t name yourself after Z’s
Trent, I just sent you an e-mail, did you get it?
That also means that I’m thinking about these things more than I should.
No it means you have an interest and love for it that shows through to someone who has no idea what you’re talking about, but learned by investing in reading what you had to say. Your language is very clear, you’re very readable. So thanks. 🙂
Two of my favourite bloggers on the same stage.
Now admittedly I didn’t understand much as I’ve never read or seen any of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ stuff but this was still an entertaining piece. And an Ewok on crack..? They were crazy bastards without drugs; there’s no telling what they’d be capable of now…
My friend, the book might be worth the read if you have a year or two to spare. The movies… pretty much about the same thing.
Love the Ewok comment… those furry crazy bastards, they ran the show!
The books might be worth a read if you have a year or two to spare? Seriously? OK, maybe if you read a page a day because you have to spend 30 hours straight at work!! Sorry, just had to throw that in.
Well, for the average book that doesn’t contain five paragraphs of description for every one of actual plot, perhaps my reading speed would be quicker, but in this case, blah.
Midget! You’ve arrived! I’ve been hoping you would chime in and give opinion on X’s analysis. You have to say, he has a point…
Sean, if you’re not planning to spend a year to read the books, or nine hours to watch the movies, here is the brief summary of LOTR: hairy hobbits, pretty elfs, mega evil stink eye, ugly orcs, walking, fighting, walking fighting, more orcs, fewer elfs, more walking, more fighting, trees, trees walking, trees fighting, fewer orcs, more hobbits, more walking, more fighting, AAAAAAA!!!!! GIANT SPIDER!!!!!! more walking, more fighting, more orcs, more fighting, fewer orcs,12 consecutive happy ends.
X, you rock. That is perfect.
So basically, Star Wars is better.
Yah.
Here’s the summary of Star Wars — horrible acting, worse dialogue, guaranteed to put you to sleep. I think you pretty much got the problem with Star Wars regarding the fragility of the stormtroopers body armor and their inability to hit the broad side of the Death Star if it was a foot away. What’s the point of all that technology if you can’t actually hit anything with it? And that’s where your analysis falls apart. The Empire wouldn’t be able to take over Middle Earth because they would keep missing.
I would have to say, my friend, that they might keep missing, but they would have ample time to keep trying as the Lotrians endlessly described the means of their impending attack. Also, Star Wars knows how to end things! Lotrians, as X has described, engage in repeated false endings – this will be their downfall.
Try as they might … they keep missing!!!! The “knows how to end things” is a fascinating concept, however. Star Wars — Death Star destroyed, the Jedi victorious. Oh wait, the empire must strike back. And then we have the return of the Jedi. But, there’s more. We actually have to go backwards for three movies … and then wait more than 30 years for the final trilogy. “Star Wars knows how to end things!” Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!
Okay, what I meant is that within any one movie, they are courteous enough to have one ending, rather than six or seven. Hey, this was a good movie… oh wait, that’s not the ending. Hey, this was a decent movie… oh wait, that’s not the ending. Hey, this was a passable movie… still not the ending? Hey this is crap… STILL NOT THE ENDING? Someone get me out of this theatre! Wait, that’s STILL not the ending? Make it stop, for the love of Darth Vader!
Explain away … you still lose on this one. Six movies later and the damn story still isn’t over and probably won’t be for at least another decade. I can’t wait for the opportunity to fall asleep during Episode VIII — when the Empire Strikes Again after the Jedi Got Revenge and Luke impregnated his sister and Hans Solo finally killed off Chewie because he was tired of his howling.
Okay, that really made me laugh… And it’s not just the wine talking!
“horrible acting, worse dialogue, guaranteed to put you to sleep” – that’s a summary of a lot of movies. Here’s my summary of Star Wars: heroes get captured, escape, hide in the trash, fight with lightsabers, blow up Death star, almost get captured, escape, hide in the trash, fight with lightsabers, get captured, EWWWW!!! GIANT WORM!!! escape, fight with lightsabers, awww, Teddy bears!!!, get captured, fight with lightsabers, escape, blow up Death Star, phew…incest avoided, happy end.
Sheer brilliance, X.
Thank you.
For one like me who has neither read any of these books nor watched these movies fully (except Hobbit 2 -Smaug), *a moment for the expression of shock!* you have given me a splendid reason not to have to. I actually enjoy screening movies for viruses. Thanks for this, X-T (list of x + Tent).
Watch Star Wars first, Doc!
Really, I was almost rooting for Lordy. I will check out star wars for real then.
Excellent… let me know what you think.
Okay, sir.
How are you doing, by the way? I haven’t seen anything new from you in a bit. Are you still very busy?
I have been well, sir. Thanks for asking.
A mix of being busy and not enough fire to really turn in posts.
You might just as well dust off the old Beatles v. Stones arguments. Without the Beatles, there’d be no Stones. Without Start Wars, there’d be no LOTR.
True enough. Some might say there’d be no Star Wars without the LOTR books.
By the way, Stones.
Yeah…but…there’d be no LOTR movie without Star Wars, and that’s what we’re talking about here, reet?
In a recent interview, a journalist asked Mick Jagger if he was a Beatles or Stones guy. He deadpanned, “I’m a Stones guy.” It was really funny!
Beatles. Sorry.
No worries. Beatles are plenty good. But I like bad boys.
Agreed, no Star Wars movie and no LOTR movies. But no Hidden Fortress and no Star Wars. The chain extends.
I have to find that interview, that sounds priceless.
Trent … I think it’s over between you and I. You do realize that the Stones are the most over-rated rock band in the world, don’t you?
Midget! Really??? For all our shared politics, you’re a Beatles-LOTR guy instead of a Star Wars-Stones guy? Come on!
I wouldn’t necessarily say I am a big Beatles fan. But my disdain for the Stones knows no limits.
Oh goodness gracious…. they did have one or two good songs, you know.
I’d tell you just how many good songs they have, but I’m not sure I can count that high. Oh, wait, it’s something like three or four. Absolutely incredible, classic songs. The rest of their catalog, however, is complete and utter crap.
Sigh. You know I’m going to have to post a love poem to the Stones now, right?
You do that … people will really start to worry about you. I’m about to post something about this on my blog.
Oh boy… Also, people are plenty worried about my mental state as it is, so no worries there. Bring it on, Midget!
I don’t question what begot what, because I need both SW and LOTR at the top of their form for this war.
And Beatles.
Ah dang it. I knew you were going to say Beatles… I got a feeling I’m in the minority here.
Stones are Ok too. But Beatles! I mean, even the guy who’s blog name is a Stones pun goes with Beatles…
Maybe that man can write, but apparently can’t write “whose” correctly.
I am seriously outnumbered, aren’t I?
Hopefully it would make you feel better that even Beatles fans are probably outnumbered by Bieber fans now.
Bieber’s in jail, ain’t he? Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. His hometown is about thirty minutes from here, but don’t tell anyone.
I think you should go and egg his house. I won’t tell anyone.
That might take a lot of eggs…
Just use all of them. Hens won’t mind, it’s for a good cause.
I’d rather egg him. It would be more efficient.
Hold on a sec … without Star Wars, there’d be no LOTR?!?! You do realize how long ago Tolkien wrote LOTR, right? You do realize that the technology that made Star Wars possible was already in use?
Again…we’re limiting our comparisons here to the movies. Literature has no place in this argument. If Star Wars had not been such a monstrous money-printing machine, LOTR would have died on the vine as the unfinished wet dream of Ralph Bakshi.
Really. No other filmmaker for the next 25 years would have come up with a story line that has been used over and over and over again and made a poorly acted, poorly scripted piece of Ewok dung using existing technology? Hmmm.
It was the catalyst. It set a lot of wheels in motion.
Here here!
And…yes, it has not aged well. The acting is atrocious. And I have low standards!
Yeah, but the Ewok dung had to come from some where…
Ah yes, Mr. Bakshi, he who realized that the bogged-down pacing of LOTR just could not be adequately translated into a movie that anyone wanted to see, even an animated one… Number of aborted attempts to bring Star Wars to the big screen, on the other hand: zero.
When I was a young lad in high school I was an usher in a suburban Cleveland movie theater. We played that animation/live action hybrid of Bakshi’s LOTR. An admirable undertaking but, Christ, it was dull. I saw it dozens of times. It’s a good thing I was being paid.
I made it through it once, on VHS, and I swear it melted the player. I never looked back.
I think he meant the movies.
Beatles.
And X. He is a GENIUS. I am ashamed to say, I had no idea. Quite how smart he was, before this.
Wow. I’m going to drink a second cup of coffee, and re-read this.
The man can write.
True that. But this post – holy crap.
Aw, thank you, Samara… All that writing about politics, and the pinnacle of my intellectual achievement is a post about Star Wars… 🙂
Hey don’t knock it, X. Star Wars is modern day mythology happening as we watch it.
Exactly. Just this morning, I heard on the radio that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill are getting ready to make another sequel.
Yup, they’re already signed up. Now if they could just find a real director…
Star Wars is very intellectual stuff. If you think about it.
X, my admiration for you deepens.
Until this comment, I didn’t actually realize that Star Wars is very intellectual. NOW I know why I found it so appealing.
It’s also great to watch while drunk. Talk about versatile.
I’ve never been drunk, if you can believe that. I don’t know if I need to start just for that one movie.
Drinking is bad. But I do love my wine. Honestly, Star Wars is too great for me to drink while watching it. This is hallowed ground we’re talking about.
A group of AP (advance placement, college level)
History students, who are EPIC nerds (I am one, and I use the term oh so affectionately),
spent one weekend watching the Star Wars movies in reverse, chronologically. As it parallels the unfolding of US History, in their opinion.
Star Wars = Intellectual.
I’m with you on this one. And strangely tempted to try this backwards watching…
Could this be any more awesome? Shame about the Death Star, but really, we have all seen it coming.
The only possible planet-saving twist would be Galadriel getting into Lord Vader’s head, him falling for her (we know he was capable at a point in time) and thus somehow Lotria. Except there has to be some death, so maybe he decides his betrayal was dishonourable and the Death star instead is used to destroy another planet with him on it?
I like the way you’re thinking. I’m sensing an opportunity for a follow-up here, Pixie Girl. The stories never do end, do they? There’s always a few sequels.
Totally. A sequel is always a possibility, no matter what ending!
If Galadriel ever gets into Lord Vader’s head, she’d probably get lost in his huge helmet.
But honestly, I just don’t see how Lotrians can defend against the Death Star.
Not when it comes to Death Star already being in the running; they’d have to win before the Empire realised they could lose. So Galadriel would have to be quick.
And come on, as if there was anything in this world not revolving around sex. Love. I meant *love*.
Two words: orbital bombardment. Middle Earth loses without the stormtroopers ever having to set foot on the ground. AND DON’T KNOCK THE ARMOR! Only stormtroopers can knock the armor!
I am totally with you on this one. Can an Elf send an arrow into space? Can a dark lord send a spell? Doubtful. I sense that the hobbits et al are about to get a pounding.
Indeed.
A pounding from the gang that couldn’t shoot straight? Sheesh, you Star Wars galactic hero wannabes amaze me with the blind spot you have. Yeah, the one that’s the size of the Death Star.
Last I saw, the Death Star did actually take out a planet… how about that Sauron guy? What did he ever do? Look all scary-like but never show up to the battle? Worst. Villain. Ever.
You ever had a huge eye, surrounded by flame and that fills the horizon, looking at you? I didn’t think so.
Depends on how much I’ve drank.
Now that you mention it … I’ve got one staring me down pretty much on a daily basis.
Thanks for ruining a promising LOTR vs. Star Wars movie!
Sorry, they never stood a chance.
I’m with TD on this one, those Lotrians are toast.
Shows what you know … they’re lembas.
What’s a lemba, Midget?
I don’t know, I think it sounds like a pretty sweet premise.
I won’t say any more about the quality of the armor, but you guys need to form a union and demand something better.
Orbital bombardment will definitely take care of the pesky elfs, but if the Empire needs the planet for the slaves, it should never be Plan A.
The have wookies for slaves. And the last guy who spoke up about the armor got force choked. We’ll take our chances with the armor.
Yes, that’s a good point.
You keep forgetting … they don’t know how to aim. “Orbital bombardment”? They’d probably be at the wrong planet and blow up a bunch of Real Housewives instead. Or the Kardashians. Or Bieber. We could hope at least.
Yeah, but there’s nothing wrong with taking out any of the people you mentioned, now is there? I suggest we blast Bieber a few times. You know, just to be sure.
Of course not, I could think of a few others to add to the list — a certain bullying governor of a state along the Eastern seaboard, for instance. Sigh, if only there was a Death Star.
Wait, what was I just saying? No, Death Star. The evil eye of Sauron could take care of this. Or maybe Frodo’s hairy toes.
Ha ha ha – Midget, you make me laugh. Frodo’s hairy toes indeed.
I’ve been called Frodo, by the way … because of my feet.
I think that may call for a blog post.
When I coached my son’s baseball team, the first thing I did when I got to practice was to get the damn shoes off my feet and then run around at practice in my bare feet. During games, when the catcher wasn’t ready, I’d go out and warm up our pitcher. In my bare feet. The umpires thought I was crazy — one even told me I couldn’t warm the pitcher up bare foot. The guys I coached with called me Frodo.
Hmmm… could this be the reason for your passionate defence of LOTR, Midget?
Well, I certainly think the elf chicks are much more appealing than Leia and her clam shell hair … but, no, ever since my teen years and I first read The Hobbit and LOTR, they have been among my favorite stories. Jackson’s LOTR did a great job of turning the trilogy into a movie. The Hobbit — not so much. The best description I’ve heard of the difference between the two is that LOTR was Jackson’s homage to Tolkien. The Hobbit is Jackson’s homage to himself. And, all I can say is that I did, in fact, fall asleep during the last episode of Star Wars. No, not Episode Six. Episode Three. Which is a whole other reason to dislike the whole Star Wars cinematic experience. The last episode isn’t actually the last episode.
Okay, Princess Leia a metal bikini… nuff said!
I greatly respect the novels. I thought the first three movies were okay but bloated. The Hobbit… terrible terrible commercial cash grab. Splitting that little book into three movies? Peter Jackson should be ashamed of himself.
Hey!! We agree!!! I saw the first installment of The Hobbit. Skipped the second and will do the same for the third.
And, I hate admitting it, but I grew tired of the multiple endings of The Return of the King. Only problem is … that’s how the book ended, so it was actually true to the book.
I guess, but it was irritating to watch the multiple endings in the movie. I think that’s one part they could have improved in the movies. Also, I would have LOVED it if Frodo had had a change of heart when Gollum felt into the lava… perhaps called him by name, felt sorry for him as he watched him fall… I felt that was a missed opportunity.
By the way, the second Hobbit movie was better than the first in my opinion. It was not bad at all, although Peter Jackson went a bit insane near the end.
Peter Jackson? Insane? Hard to imagine.
King Kong anyone?
I’m thinking he needs to take on Goodnight Moon next.
What’s that?
He could possibly direct one of the Star Wars sequels too… I’ve heard a rumour to that effect.
Goodnight Moon … one of the simplest, yet most classic children’s stories there is. I just threw it out there as a bit of randomness that would make no sense. But, since they made a movie out of Where the Wild Things Are, I can imagine that one day somebody will make a movie out of Goodnight Moon.
I’ll have to check that out… my kids are young enough for such stories. I never read the WTWTA book, but the movie was awful.
Goodnight Moon is an excellent story for the littlest ones. Great pictures for finding things, very few words, but just an incredible sentiment to the whole thing.
I will definitely look it up – thanks for the tip, Midget.
Just think … if he takes on the Star Wars sequels, the whole thing will morph into 15 more movies! Yippee!!!
Ha!
Orbital bombardment is the easiest thing a military could do once they get into orbit: just drop the bomb somewhere above the planet, and let force of gravity do all the work. If a bomb hits the planet (and it has no place else to go), you hit the target and can call the operation a success.
I think the Empire prefers large laser beams arranged in a tripod configuration to any physical ordinance.
It’s actually more environment-friendly, because you don’t have to mine lead or iron every time you need to kill someone.
This is true. However, there is the small matter of the energy used to power such laser beams… what if that intense electrical outburst comes from coal-fired production, for instance?
Hmmm … how then did the Empire lose?
You’d know if you you haven’t been asleep during the Return of Jedi. 🙂
Ha!
Holy shit, that was epic! Please tell me you two met on my blog so I can totally take some credit for this.. okay… that was self-centered… even for me… but still… awesome-sausage-squeezings-of purejoyattude.
Nope, fraid not, we were acquainted beforehand. This is the first time anyone asked to guest post on my blog, and it was this. Awesome, eh? I am totally honoured. But I feel I may have to reply, maybe in poetry format like that hobbits versus lightsabres post.
Don’t you already owe someone a poem???
Crap. Yes. She is very insistent. I have to do that. She’s already started, but she is like, good. Sigh. I’m going to do my Trent P. Lewin best.
We have done two serious ones in these comments, and then we started doing rhyming comments back and forth for fun
I have to go check those out… but there are a lot of comments… sweet.
that was the plan, remember…
How could I forget?
That is the question
Thank you, Trent – but this post was already a response to your post. But as I said, I’d really like to see your analysis.
I’m going to have to work on that. You are very articulate, X. Tough act to follow.
We may have been acquainted. but we did start following each other after Inner-view series. Even if we haven’t, you are still welcome to take credit for it.
And thank you.
I just want to feel like I occasionally do something useful around here…
You should feel like it whenever you feel like it.
I should, but I don’t…
Oh come on, who does more around here than you? Literally ripping your guts out. You da man.
I do, don’t I?
True story.
wait… 1,465 comments… we are almost half way there… yay
Excellent.
I couldn’t have done it without you, nor would I have wanted to.
Oh sweet. The game is on!
respect, yo
I’d give you a medal if you were nearer, and I thought that you actually existed.
Me too
That’s right, I forgot! Art, take all the credit you deserve and desperately crave.
Who I root for in this battle is totally dependent on which side is going to keep more Ewoks away.
I’m pretty sure one side is actually into cooking and eating them…
THEY SHOULD WIN!!!!
Waitaminute – how are they being prepared?
Yes, it matters.
Well, I would suggest a light flaying followed by a good powder rub, and then slow basting over a charcoal bbq. Not that I’ve ever actually thought about this before…
If I had spent any time thinking about this, I’d probably say that I don’t think a powder rub would do anything for the gaminess, unless that was followed by a deliciously aromatic marinade.
If I had spent any time thinking about this.
I understand, and good point. I have also not thought about how Ewok penis is probably some kind of overpriced delicacy that, when prepared with a raspberry aioli, is absolutely delicious, if somewhat not very filling.
I’m sure if I read the circulars, I could tell you that Micks Market on 7th is having a bulk sale this weekend, only $2.99/lb.
(But get the raspberries from Tony’s across the street. He imports fresh!)
And I’d have to add that the creaminess of a tart aioli (citric acid!) is really the only way to unlock the deeper flavors of that penis.
I’m glad I’ve run across others of sensible culinary tastes, who have a similar love for furry penis. Thanks for the tip. I don’t suppose you can hook me up with Sarlaac testicle by any chance?
Dammit man, I’m a cook, not a provisioner!
(Meet me in the alley after 9.)
Bwahahahaha… I finally found out what that meant. Just wanted to say that.
Why, you don’t like those these cute homicidal hairballs?
I think LOTR would win. Middle Earthlings don’t travel off=planet, so Empire would have to bring the fight to them. That didn’t work so well before. The Ewoks are fairly primitive, and they defeated the Empire. Middle Earth has magic, hordes of orcs and giant elephants, while Star Wars only has the Force, hordes of clones, and airships…
Wait a minute…
Yeah, I think this might actually be a no-brainer for the Empire. Plus they can always take out the whole planet if they feel like it.
Well, keep in mind all those Ainur and Valar, not to mention Iluvatar.
I think you made that up. At least I hope you did.
I didn’t. Silmarillion.
Best-selling book no one (except you) ever read.
Oh, I think everyone who bought it read it once, more or less, but that’s it.
Man, I hardly cracked it. I bought some of the Unfinished Tales stuff too, and the Lays of Beleriand. I even have Tolkein’s book of letters… But I couldn’t get through the backstory stuff, it was just too much for me.
Yeah, it’s like a regular history book that you will never be quizzed on, so why bother? I read the main stories and that’s it.
The Middle Earth has giant eagles. And if Avatar taught us anything, it’s that big birds can take out the airships if they try hard enough.
It also told us that you can indeed tell the same story for the eighteenth time and make people come see it.
but how can it be the same story if the people in it are blue???
I dunno, the Smurfs managed it.
True!!
Why didn’t Gandalf get the Eagles to fly them all to Mordor at the start of the film? Would have saved a lot of foot leather and trouble…..
Talk about a huuuuuuge plot hole, eh?
All that effort and for what!
Were their eagles in the book? I don’t remember. I’d like to pin this plothole on Peter Jackson, if I can.
Can’t remember – it has been a few years……
Yes. Eagles were in the book. But, more importantly, if you want to talk about plotholes. Oh, never mind, it would take as long to discuss the holes in Star Wars as you suggest it would take to read the LOTR books.
Hee hee hee…
Not only there were eagles, but they actually flew to Mordor to carry Frodo and Sam out of there after the ring was dropped off.
Oh. So where were these eagles beforehand? Seriously, couldn’t they have shown up earlier and just taken the lot of them to the volcano?
I was wondering about that too. So, of course, I googled it and found a couple of convincing arguments here:
http://periannath.com/feature/why-doesnt-frodo-just-ride-an-eagle-to-mount-doom/
And you should watch the alternate ending video, too.
That’s hilarious. I don’t buy the argument at all, that the eagles were basically a contrivance and stated as such by some unknown entity – that seems like lazy storytelling to me. Video was hilarious. Blindfolded eagles, indeed.
Cheers for that! I wouldn’t tell a giant Eagle what to do either!
This man X does the research…. watch the video, it’s hilarious.
Brilliant!
Yes, I’m commenting on my own blog… List of X has created quite a topic of conversation, and I’d be remiss by not linking to my friend KingMidget (one of my oldest friends hereabouts) and his opinions on the topic: http://kingmidgetramblings.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/the-final-word/#comment-3990
I support both franchises so the only loser is my wallet.
Well said, my friend. Prepare to lose more on both, though.