Lord of the Rings: A Re-Re-Reread

 

I am reading The Lord of the Rings for a third time. I know that's not a significant feat for LOTR fans. According to a Facebook meme today, Christopher Lee read the books every year for forty years before he became Saruman. I first read the three-book series in the late sixties, more than a decade after first publication. The second read was in the early nineties during another interregnum in my life. Today's reflection on my current immersion in conversation with the many times viewed films.

First, I would observe that most of the Peter Jackson tropes in the films were brilliant and effective summaries of long passages in the text. No real LOTR fan can forgive the omission of Tom Bobadil and Goldenberry but that is for another time. Just last night I finished book one finding a greater artistic respect of both J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson.

I am struck by how much of the writing is description of the land, the trees, the weather, the sky, all the environment of Middle Earth. A good 35%-40% of the entire story is rendered in such detailed, descriptive language. At times, I admit, I skim the approaching storm clouds or the darkening forest. But Peter Jackson was right in shooting the films in New Zealand. The Kiwi landscape mirrors the vivid and varied environs imagined by Tolkien.

Jackson also pours more character into the nine members of The Fellowship of the Ring. Boromir, Gimli, Logolas, Aragorn, even the hobbits are pale in the books, at least through the first volume. Only Frodo and Gandalf are fully formed characters at the one-third mark where I am now. Aragorn is somewhat more vigorous than the others but Merry and Pippin are vague shadows to this point.

I wonder going forward how the battles will be played out. The one major criticism of the films I have is the lengthy battle scenes. Good versus Evil in the story is a more nuanced confrontation than the sword and armor portrayal in the films.

I have no plans to re-re-reread The Hobbit, which is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was published in 1937, as a children's fantasy tale. Tolkien had no thoughts of LOTR back then but was encouraged by his publisher to write more on Middle Earth. The Fellowship of the Ring was published 1954. The Two Towers and The Return of the King followed in 1955.

The Lord of the Rings under a toasty electric blanket in a Michigan winter. Yes, this works for me

Ann Arbor @ Curbside (January 2022)

I'm back in Ann Arbor, so it's time to resurrect our curbside noshing reviews. Reader feedback has led us to incorporate several tweaks in the information we provide, chief among those additions will be price.

Seven (7) reviews this month:

We begin with a new section for non-restaurant establishments we are calling Boutique Foodie Destinations (BFD).

Zingerman's Deli (422 Detroit St., Ann Arbor) Being that we live less than a mile from Zingerman's in Kerrytown, we often stop by for bits and bites of our favorites. This trip we picked up black olive bread ($10), balsamic vinegar ($14 on sale), Zing's own English muffins ($6) and two pot pies ($12 each, pictured above). We went with a Fungi pie and a Cheshire pork pie. High grades for the pork, perhaps a touch lower for the mushrooms, but both good with top notch crusts. The pies come frozen for an easy reheat at home.

Vestergaard Farms (4408 Wagner Road, Saline) Good news, we picked up some Maddy J's bread ($8) and a couple of indulgent ice cream treats (2x$3). Bad news, our favorite reason to visit Vestergaards is to pick-up a supply of Bakewell frozen quiches. We did get the last two on the shelf but Bakewell has had staff and health issues causing a shutdown for the month of January. Plans are to restart in February but those same issues of staffing and health make all plans tentative.

Argus Farm Stop (325 W. Liberty, also 1200 Packard, Ann Arbor) You do know about the marvelous bread at Argus, don't you? Go for the locally sourced weird mushrooms, lettuce and lots of other veggies, frozen items, plus coffee/pastries and stay for the bread! A variety of rotating loaves from a host of local, Detroit area and out of town bakeries. Avalon, Crust, etc. Our recent find and favorite is Hammonton bread from Crust in Fenton. Full of sesame seeds, moist and chewy. May only be available on Mondays. Check the bread delivery schedule at the checkout counter. Don't mis the day-old section of breads/pastries near the 2nd register to snag some carb-loaded bargains.

And now to actual restaurants with curbside pickups:

Zamaan Cafe (3580 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor) This is a new find for us. Advertised as "Mediterranean Flavor" and Halal, we went with Baba Ghannuj and Tabbuleh for starters. Excellent both, though I always add crumbled Feta to Tabbuleh. We also had to pita wraps, an eggplant and rice with garlic sauce, which Diner #2 reports as excellent. I had the Chicken Tawook with some very good garlic sauce. $28 total. We tend to be generous Covid tippers, but are not including gratuities in our food cost reports.

Maddy J's (972 E. Michigan Ave., Saline) Chipolte Turkey Avocado grilled sandwich for me ($11) and a Veggie Quiche ($5) for Diner #2. Both were big hits. We really like Maddy J's. Fortunately, their bread can be found at several outlets including Vestergaards above.

Spencers (113 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor) And now for another take on dining in the time of Covid. Spencers does curbside two days a week (W. & Th.). In person dining, not our thing, Friday and Saturday. The curbside menu is set for two consecutive weeks, there are no substitutions. $65 for two, includes tax and gratuity. We had Willi Lehner's clothbound cheddar, piccalilli, winter salad, and a root vegetable pot pie (there was a chicken alternative). The pie was huge, even for two people. The sauce in the pie was outstanding, Overall, the main course was our highlight of the month. The cheese was excellent, but you had to provide your own crackers, Piccalilli was tasty and different, the salad greens was fresh and plentiful. The tiny homemade Milano cookies were a mini-dessert only for those on a diet.

Bell's Diner (2167 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor) We switched from our standard Bi Bim Bop to a couple of Bento Box choices. One spicy pork and one tofu. A lot of food, with untouched salad leftover for the next day's lunch. Because it was carry-out, no traditional segmented box presentation with dibs and dabs of interesting food in each compartment. I was most satisfied with the spicy pork, though it could have been spicier (they did ask for a spice level, next time . . . more). Bento boxes are $18.99 each, which seems a fair price.

another addition to Ann Arbor @ Curbside: we are inviting Guest Reviews from our many local gustatorily inclined friends. Submissions to my email, you have it, right?