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Schadenfreude, Nopalxochia, Silmarillion
Jul. 19th, 2014 09:20 pmI made a Schadenfreude Pie this morning and took it to a baby shower. It was well received. The parents-to-be are both big John Scalzi fans, so they appreciated the gesture. John Scalzi invented the Schadenfreude Pie. I tweaked the recipe a bit (four eggs instead of three, 1/2 cup corn syrup instead of a cup, some buttered graham cracker crumbs to sprinkle over the top). Here's John Scalzi's original recipe with hilarious prose: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2006/09/26/how-to-make-a-schadenfreude-pie/
And here's a photo of my Schadenfreude Pie.
I was not laughing maniacally at the misfortunes of me this afternoon, though, when I discovered that my Nopalxochia had received far too much sun and not enough water over the past few days. Several leaves have turned an unappetizing liver color and have dark ugly pits. A mess of them are shriveled, too. I gave it a thorough watering and waited more than an hour before pouring off the excess. It was a relief to see parts of it slooooowly rehydrating. Many leaves are goners, though, and the plant is going to require a severe haircut at the very least. I'm relieved that I grew a new plant from cuttings so that if the mother plant turns out to be a goner I haven't lost it entirely.
Several times over my lifetime I've attempted to read Tolkien's Silmarillion with only partial success. So many character names, complex interrelationships, and place names -- and no pegs to hang any of the stuff on. Well, I'm trying again. I have a big hardbound copy in the bedroom, a paperback downstairs and I just added it to my Kindle. Yesterday, I also went trawling through the internets and I found a map! of the Hobbit/LOTR part of Middle Earth, the Silmarillion part of Middle Earth, including vanished Beleriand, and the Undying Lands to the west. Finally! when Tolkien says that so-and-so went from Point A to Point B I can visualize where so-and-so was going. And with that, the pieces are starting to fall into place. I don't think either J.R.R. or his son Christopher, both accomplished cartographers, ever drew this mashup. Indeed, I'm not aware that J.R.R. ever drew a map of the Undying Lands. So this may or may not be completely accurate. I don't care. I'm able to hang character names on place names, see the interrelationships, and make sense out of the narrative.
Here's the map I found -- on Flickr, imagine that! There's a really really really big version there.
And here's a photo of my Schadenfreude Pie.
I was not laughing maniacally at the misfortunes of me this afternoon, though, when I discovered that my Nopalxochia had received far too much sun and not enough water over the past few days. Several leaves have turned an unappetizing liver color and have dark ugly pits. A mess of them are shriveled, too. I gave it a thorough watering and waited more than an hour before pouring off the excess. It was a relief to see parts of it slooooowly rehydrating. Many leaves are goners, though, and the plant is going to require a severe haircut at the very least. I'm relieved that I grew a new plant from cuttings so that if the mother plant turns out to be a goner I haven't lost it entirely.
Several times over my lifetime I've attempted to read Tolkien's Silmarillion with only partial success. So many character names, complex interrelationships, and place names -- and no pegs to hang any of the stuff on. Well, I'm trying again. I have a big hardbound copy in the bedroom, a paperback downstairs and I just added it to my Kindle. Yesterday, I also went trawling through the internets and I found a map! of the Hobbit/LOTR part of Middle Earth, the Silmarillion part of Middle Earth, including vanished Beleriand, and the Undying Lands to the west. Finally! when Tolkien says that so-and-so went from Point A to Point B I can visualize where so-and-so was going. And with that, the pieces are starting to fall into place. I don't think either J.R.R. or his son Christopher, both accomplished cartographers, ever drew this mashup. Indeed, I'm not aware that J.R.R. ever drew a map of the Undying Lands. So this may or may not be completely accurate. I don't care. I'm able to hang character names on place names, see the interrelationships, and make sense out of the narrative.
Here's the map I found -- on Flickr, imagine that! There's a really really really big version there.
