The Hunt!

... for Gollum. Some talented fans have put together a project based on the story of Aragorn's hunt for Gollum between Bilbo's farewell feast and Frodo's 50th birthday. 

Their non-profit, made-for-online movie is viewable at Daily Motion here: The Hunt for Gollum. 

It's about half an hour, so set some time aside and give it a viewing, won't you? 

There was a (relatively) short, thought-provoking discussion over at Fr. Z's blog concerning the books and the movies; a lot of people seem to love the books but to have disliked the movies for character assassination and too much attention to special effects. I've only ever run into people who either liked both the books and the movies, or neither.

I have to admit, though, that there is a noticeable 'reluctant king' figure set up in Peter Jackson's trilogy that was not in Tolkien's writing. To me, it was just a bit jarring, but I could live with Aragorn's reluctance in Fellowship after seeing his leadership in Return. It's probably also a credit to Viggo Mortensen. When the same mopey figure reappeared, however, in Disney's Narnia series and the portrayal of Peter (the High King), it just seemed graceless and ill-considered. 

Anyway, go watch The Hunt for Gollum! 

refreshed!

Not that I wouldn't appreciate Golden Week actually lasting through the week... but I digress. :)

I didn't actually end up doing much walking at all, since I rediscovered the pool!  Hitherto, although I have lifeguard experience, I'd never much enjoyed swimming as an activity,  and when I came to Japan this time around I didn't bring a swimming suit. One became necessary for some function or other. So I went to the sports store and bought the most reasonable one that fit me, which as it turns out is this awesome pro-athlete-like Mizuno creation that's like half of a body suit, or a regular one-piece with biker shorts attached. Anyway, swimming in that is ALWAYS fun. 

It still tickles me somewhere inside, though, that most people here won't do a sport without looking like they're totally serious about it: there seems to be a big focus on having the goods and looking put together. On the flip side, in the States I think a much smaller percentage of people, mostly women, really care what they look like while exercising. The gym, track, and pool become a sort of sanctuary where you don't have to care. Not so much, here. 

First that was amusing, then annoying; then I got my pro-swimmer wet-suit of fabulousness and I started to understand, just a wee bit. 

Well, every time I've procured a long-term pass for the sports center, my attendance drops off after a couple of weeks, so during the past few days I only got hour-long tickets for the pool. If I can manage to keep up a routine for more than a couple of weeks, I'll get one of those passes again. 

For all going back to work tomorrow, 頑張りましょう (ganbarimashou), or, let's get our noses back to the grindstone!