vivdunstan: (tolkien)
Have booked me an online ticket for Oxonmoot 2025 in September. Buying early because I can get a chunky early bird discount. I also get a discounted online ticket as a Tolkien Society member. I have been watching Oxonmoot online, mostly on catchup after, since they offered streaming in 2020. They are very very good at doing the technology side of things, and it works extremely smoothly. And there is always a fascinating range of talks and events to enjoy, even at a distance, and even if like me watching it potentially months later! Anyway booked.
vivdunstan: (tolkien)
Just finished my catchup viewing of the Tolkien Society Oxonmoot this year. And wrote up a blog about it. It's amazing how well it worked to make the event accessible even for me in very extreme circumstances. Thank you to all the team!
vivdunstan: (lord of the rings)
I'm rereading Lord of the Rings, starting with Fellowship. And gobbling it up. Until I got to the Council of Elrond chapter, which was estimated by my Kindle to take 45 minutes of reading. To be fair I was extra sedated at the time, so this was even more of a mountain to climb than usual. But I can also remember young me, e.g. teenage years and earlier, boggling at this lengthy over-wordy section of the book.

I'm now nearly through it, and will press on quickly with the rest. At the same time, I'm looking forward to Oxonmoot in a few weeks, the Tolkien Society annual convention in Oxford. In recent years it has offered online viewing too, watching live as things happen, and later on catchup through Christmas. I sleep through most live talks, so find catchup invaluable. And yes, I have another online viewing ticket, bought very early on, when it was extra low cost, helped by my Tolkien Society member discount.

After Worldcon I have also been picking up a few treat things, as substitutes for not being in the Dealers' Hall in person this time! Today I picked up a low cost ebook version for my Kindle of Luna Press Publishing's Adapting Tolkien collection of essays from a Tolkien Society seminar. Some while ago I picked up a print copy of their Translating and Illustrating Tolkien collection of another Tolkien Society seminar’s essays.

I'd also like to pick up something decorative in my not-at-Worldcon catchup. Must resist a plush dragon, though the call is strong, and not for any dragon in particular! I may wait to see what's on offer from the dealers at Oxonmoot, and possibly pick up something Tolkien-y. Though going to browse the Weta Workshop site just now might not have been my best move! Not just Lord of the Rings and Hobbit stuff, like a balrog, Smaug and even Radagast* (I'm telling my husband, very unsubtly, about that last one, given my birthday soon!). But they also sell other great things, including a scene from the Escher-like castle, and Sir Didymus and Ambrosius, all from The Labyrinth movie. Also Hoggle and Ludo figures ...

* I greatly disliked the Hobbit films of Peter Jackson. But Sylvester McCoy's Radagast was fab.
vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
I'm trying to remember to make time for this each week. To randomly draw a simple past/present/future 3-card spread of the Urban Crow oracle cards which I got recently. And find very easy to work with/interpret.

As usual, I'm using them as a tool to reflect on my situation and circumstances. And think about where I am and what I want to do. I am not using them in a predictive kind of way.

Here is today's spread. With thoughts/comments after the picture.



The middle card, Freedom, was lovely to see. I am currently newly in a better patch in between my recurring rollercoaster of post Covid vaccine neurological autoimmune disease flares. I've had these flares 9 times now, after every Covid vaccine (I get, and need, a lot of Covid vaccines because I am severely immunosuppressed). Each time I am even more ill for up to 3 months, with phenomenally increased sedation, headaches, arm and leg loss of control, and increased bladder incontinence. Many people wouldn't put up with this. But I'm not willing to sacrifice my much needed Covid vaccine protection. And I know I am generating good antibodies from each one.

So I'm in a better patch, for the next couple of months. After that I will get my 10th Covid vaccine, and be iller again for another 3 months. I will just cope. Plus my neurological disease is still progressing, and leaves me severely disabled, even in the better patches. But that progression is slow. And that's partly why I'm still here 30 years into living with this illness!

So yes, this is a time of relative freedom for me, and I want to make the most of it. Maybe get more things done, including the academic journal papers and research projects I am working on sporadically. And maybe get out more with Martin, to have fun.

The left card, reflecting the past, is Anomaly, which can be a problem, or something out of the ordinary, or other interpretations. It's making me think of my latest Covid vaccine flare more than my long-term neurological disease. A devastating neurological flare which has run from early May to early August. And it does tie in with Freedom.

The rightmost card, reflecting looking ahead, is Caching. Which again fits nicely with where I am. I want, in this short better patch, to make new valuable memories, and get things done I can look back on in future. So I want to make the most of this time, in a way I can look back on happily when I'm much iller again.

An interesting draw anyway, and some nice things to think about.

Meanwhile re Freedom, today is the start of the Glasgow Worldcon, and I have digital streaming access thanks to my attending ticket. I won't be watching much live, but hope to see one talk later today. And catch up on even more in the coming weeks and months. I also have Oxonmoot to look forward to in a few weeks. Again with a digital ticket. And ditto for the Edinburgh Book Festival. Streaming has been transformational for me.
vivdunstan: (lord of the rings)
I'm currently enjoying a reread of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, my all time favourite book. Having just got to the end of the first half of Fellowship (the end of the first of the 6 books the 3-volume trilogy is divided into internally) I thought I'd jot down some notes.

I'm always struck by how slowly the story starts. And how small the world initially appears to be. Even after Bilbo and Frodo's very lengthy birthday party, then Frodo leaving too, it takes an extremely long time for the hobbits to actually leave The Shire. That's good writing, reflecting how the characters would have thought, as their perception of the world expands. But it also makes for a very leisurely experience at times.

I like the Old Forest section, but could happily skip Tom Bombadil. To be fair I do skim his numerous songs. And, also to be fair, I honestly found him a little less annoying than usual this time around! The Barrow Wights are fun. And then Bree is a lot of fun, though I could do with fewer slant-eyed references, and I start to ponder more about the use of black in the book too ...

Aragorn's introduction remains one of the highlights of the trilogy for me. I *adore* this quote:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.


From leaving Bree the tension and speed cranks up dramatically, but it's also noticeable how much more miles the hobbits are covering in these sections. There are many whole days, largely skimmed over. It's quite a contrast from the 1985 The Fellowship of the Ring text adventure game, which lets you cover these distances in surprisingly few moves.

As for Weathertop, I have a fondness for how the movie handles this climactic encounter. But it's a dramatic series of events whatever.

Re the race to the ford, I do rather favour the use of Glorfindel here, rather than the movie Arwen. Though that's probably due at least in part to Liv Tyler's often monotonous delivery! I do understand why they brought her in here. There is a phenomenal lack of female representation and agency throughout these books. But in this case I prefer the book's approach.

So we're now at Rivendell. I'll continue on with the book. Which is rather timely, with Oxonmoot coming up shortly. As usual in recent years I have a virtual ticket for it. Though will be watching on catch up, rather than taking advantage of the live events.
vivdunstan: (tolkien)
Working through the schedule for Oxonmoot 2024 in August/September - which I will be watching online on catchup for months after. And there are some marvellously titled talks. I particularly like "In a Hole in the Ground There Lived a Cassette", and "From Mushrooms to Man-flesh via Maggots: Food and Consumption in Middle-Earth".
vivdunstan: (hobbit)
Registered as an online delegate for the Tolkien Society conference Oxonmoot this autumn. Helped by a hefty early bird discount slashing my society member online attendance fee in half. Their Oxonmoot streaming has worked brilliantly for the last few years, and I can watch on catchup slowly, working around my neuro illness. https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2024/
vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
This is mainly a reminder to myself, but may be of use to others to know about these streaming options.

Edinburgh Book Festival offers online streaming access to many of its events. Which can still be booked, even after the events have taken place. You can watch recordings on catchup until the end of September. I have streaming tickets this year for:
  • David Greig & Alan Warner: Scottish Legends Retold
  • Denise Mina: 15th Century Culture Wars
  • Katrín Jakobsdóttir & Ragnar Jónasson: Partners in Crime
  • Kübra Gümüşy, R F Kuang & Irene Vallejo: A Short History of Language
All of which have now happened, and I slept through the live events, but I can access the recordings online through September. I also had a streaming ticket to see Greta Thunberg talk, but she pulled out of the festival, because of the festival sponsor's fossil fuels links.

This coming week the Tolkien Society's Oxonmoot event will be taking place in Oxford, and again online in hybrid form. I have an online ticket. Will sleep through the live events, but can watch recorded talks over the coming months, probably until nearly Christmas. The Oxonmoot team are really good at getting the streaming technology working well (I've had online tickets for the past few years), and the content is fascinating.
vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
Booked myself in for the Tolkien Society conference Oxonmoot in 2023. It can be attended in person or online & I’ve attended online since that was offered in 2020. Works brilliantly. I usually watch later on catchup. Discount rate available till February. https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2023/
vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
Extremely relieved I decided against paying for a virtual access ticket to this year's Worldcon in Chicago which is happening right now. They are using Airmeet, which admittedly isn't Gather Town. But I anticipated problems. The conference have now emailed out a fulsome apology to Worldcon members for the accessibility issues that people are having. It is such a shame, and so extremely unnecessary. The New Zealand Worldcon a couple of years ago aced a purely online conference using Zoom and Discord. But yup, very relieved I'm not battling the tech! By contrast the Tolkien Society are hosting a hybrid Oxonmoot this weekend, in both Oxford in person and online via Zoom / Discord and later YouTube for catch up videos. They have handled this technology wonderfully for a couple of years. I have full confidence I will be able to access and enjoy this year's event too, though mainly on catchup. But yup, glad I dodged the Worldcon.

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vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
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