What do you assign to Orthanc?

[The Saucepan Man]

We have Mordor, where we may assign the things we hate. We have the Shire, a veritable repository of the things we love.

But what about the things that we hate to love? Or, more accurately, the things that we know we should hate, but which we secretly (or not so secretly) love?

Should they not be assigned to Orthanc? OK, I was inspired by the "rooting for the bad guys" thread. We know we should disapprove of Saruman. And yet it surely cannot be denied that he is a facinating character. Perhaps the most interesting "baddie" that Tolkien presents us with. Apart from Gollum, perhaps, but the "below Goblintown, the Misty Mountains" is rather too unspecific as a location.

And Saruman had his gulity pleasures too. The Halfling weed, for example.

So, I'll kick us off.

- Cigarettes (obviously)
- Big Brother (the reality show, not the Orwellian creation)
- Reality TV shows in general ...
- George W Bush (I know I should disapprove of him, but I can't help finding something endearing about him )
- Intolerance towards shtoopid people
- Intolerance towards people who dawdle (eg, the "zombie shuffle" in tube stations at rush hour)
- Checking the Barrow-Downs at work
- Playing Werewolf (and making lists pertaining thereto) at work.

OK, that's enough from me for now.

Let's hear those confessions ...

[Durelin]

Your hometown.

Cartoon shows like "Spongebob Squarepants." (The classics should just be a pleasure and not a guilty one. )

Taking part in too many roleplaying things at once and dividing your attention and then wearing yourself out...and then doing it all over again.

Procrastination.

[Bêthberry]

Oooh, great new scope for list-lovers.

CSI--Miami

happy hours at bars

the reports of all those mangy guys who claim to be the father of Anna Nicole's baby daughter

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Guilty pleasures, eh? What a fun idea, Saucy! I suspect guilty pleasures may tell us more about a person than outright hates/loves do...

*chocolates from Peter's Confiserie (the finest our town has to offer, and known much farther than only locally)
*nacho-flavored tortilla chips
*sudokus (good exercise for the brain, but what a time-waster!)
*lots and lots of fabrics (all eminently practical for new patchwork projects, of course, but I do have a suspicion that I can't possibly live long enough to sew them all into quilts!)

*Georgette Heyer novels used to be in that category for me, but after coming back to reread them, I've realized how excellently written they are and have stopped feeling guilty about them. Perhaps they should go to the Shire - I bet Hobbit ladies would love them!

[Lalwendë]

Meh.

I could fill up the whole thread...but for now...

I assign cars. I do not like 4x4s, these are merely expensive vans unless they are upper crust Land Rovers. No, I like sports cars such as the the Aston Martin Vantage; I like 70s cars like the Ford Cortina seen on Life On Mars (that car is seriously cool), or the purple Capri that my mother had; I love retro cars such as the Anglia; I love hot hatches like Golf Gti Mk I, and I also like chavved up, modded cars as they amuse me. I even had one once, a Ford with a full body kit, spoilers, loud stereo, the lot. Spotty oiks would stop and look at it admiringly. Strange really, as I'm always ranting about lazy people who don't catch the bus to work! I also like Top Gear now it's become some laddy humour programme.

I assign gadgets. Not for me living offline without electricity, oh no. I'm what they call an early adopter because I love my toys. I have to be surgically removed from my Zen M:Vision, and the new Nintendo DS is becoming as addictive. I've had Sky digital for 9 years - 1,000 channels of utter tripe but I love it. I have a sincere addiction to The Sims. Technology is awesome. Except for sat nav, that's naff for an expert map reader.

Tobacco is the nectar of the gods. Except I'm cutting down with a view to cutting it out.

I assign daytime TV. Trisha especially, and Jerry Springer. And all those property shows. Richard & Judy. Paul O'Grady. Countdown.

I assign the following juxtaposition of sentences:

Originally Posted by SpM

- George W Bush (I know I should disapprove of him, but I can't help finding something endearing about him )
- Intolerance towards shtoopid people

Heh, heheh....

And laughing evilly.

[ninja91]

Runescape.

I have asked everyone I know to kidnap me for a year if they see me with World of Warcraft. I have made a vow not to touch that game.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

My first ever failing grade. Not just my first bad grade in college, but my legitimately first ever 'F.'

It's in Orthanc because usually I'm told people feel guilt or shame or other such feelings about nasty marks on their transcripts.

[the phantom]

Well, there's the obvious guilty pleasures- twinkies, soda, and fried foods. But that's not all. There's also....

Figure skating! I looooove figure skating! I tell my buds that I only watch it because the girls are smokin' hot (which they are), but secretly I'm actually interested in the sport itself, which is a big no-no for testosterone filled football loving men like me.

[Brinniel]

-Ben and Jerry's ice cream (way too expensive and way too fattening)

-swear words (yes, Brinn admits she can have a foul mouth...)

-pulling all-nighters for no good reason

-napping during the day

-sleeping til 4pm

-over-the-top films that are ridiculously violent and gory *coughGrindhousecough*

-buying new dvds (I buy on impulse and now own over 100)

-singing, rather loudly, to the radio as I'm driving my car (and I should mention I'm a terrible singer...)

-In junior high and high school, I had this knack for persuading my teachers to play certain movies in class, even if they only had a slight relation to the subject (just ask my French teacher, heheh).

And yes...I know I am a film geek.

[Lalaith]

I assign John Prescott. He's not popular with the press but his Yorkshire "I call a spade a spade" approach always raises a smile in our house, especially when decking egg-toting Welsh farmers with mullets.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean.
And on the subject of politics, I assign Max Hastings. All good liberals need one token right-winger to approve of, and he's mine. In fact, I find myself so often nodding in agreement with the stuff he writes, it's scary.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

And on the subject of politics, I assign Max Hastings. All good liberals need one token right-winger to approve of, and he's mine.

PJ O'Rourke is my fave right winger - so funny and my fave lefty is Tony Benn... barking in some respects but you know where you are with him...and at least he is consistent..and sometimes quite right.....

[the guy who be short]

I assign the song "beautiful liar" by Beyoncé and Shakira.

I know, on the one hand, that it's by Beyoncé and Shakira, so it must be crap. It is actually, there's not really much you can say about the song. But I always turn it up when it's on the radio. Reason? They way they repeat their names in the third person makes me think of Pokémon and collapse in laughter.

Go Beyoncé! I choose you!

[Brinniel]

Tattoos!!!

Tattoos are a wonderful thing, at least in my opinion. Though, I won't deny there are some downsides to them. For example:

Good side: If you have a good artist, they look awesome.

Bad side: They're expensive. Of course, it's always a bit depressing when money disappears from your bank account...

And I'm sure you other Downers can come up with some more reasons..

[Lhunardawen]

Fast food deliveries at one in the morning. And months ago I said I'd never eat fast food again...

Talking. It's like this: have you ever been to camps, when it's so late it's early and you're with a group of people, talking about anything and everything under the sun (or moon), and your eyes are starting to droop and you know you SHOULD get to bed but you just can't get out of your seat?

It can be sooo hard to choose sleep over fellowship.

Kilig. It's a Filipino term for something, quite hard to translate, but the nearest English word I can think of is...giddiness. It kind of makes you want to giggle endlessly and shoots electricity up your spine and kind of gives a tingling sensation. It's usually a very shallow romantic feeling.

Now I have nothing against feeling kilig on others' behalf, but when it's for myself... *shakes head*

And reminiscing about the past. There are just some things which are better off forgotten.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Finding a set of 1 edition Lord of the Rings and getting the put aside for you, but them being so pricy that it would not be wise economically to buy them.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Finding a set of 1 edition Lord of the Rings and getting the put aside for you, but them being so pricy that it would not be wise economically to buy them.

Didn't you invest then???

I assign to Orthanc - The Master - wow, he was so awesome and scary, staring into the Untempered Schism and hearing the drums of war....

And Gallifreyan fairy tales.

And the Paradox Machine.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

We have Mordor, where we may assign the things we hate. We have the Shire, a veritable repository of the things we love.

But what about the things that we hate to love? Or, more accurately, the things that we know we should hate, but which we secretly (or not so secretly) love?

Should they not be assigned to Orthanc? OK, I was inspired by the "rooting for the bad guys" thread. We know we should disapprove of Saruman. And yet it surely cannot be denied that he is a facinating character. Perhaps the most interesting "baddie" that Tolkien presents us with. Apart from Gollum, perhaps, but the "below Goblintown, the Misty Mountains" is rather too unspecific as a location.

And Saruman had his gulity pleasures too. The Halfling weed, for example.

So, I'll kick us off.

- Cigarettes (obviously)
- Big Brother (the reality show, not the Orwellian creation)
- Reality TV shows in general ...
- George W Bush (I know I should disapprove of him, but I can't help finding something endearing about him )
- Intolerance towards shtoopid people
- Intolerance towards people who dawdle (eg, the "zombie shuffle" in tube stations at rush hour)
- Checking the Barrow-Downs at work
- Playing Werewolf (and making lists pertaining thereto) at work.

OK, that's enough from me for now.

Let's hear those confessions ...

Prank phone calls, especially those to politicians of foreign countries. (See here for reference: The Canadian Masked Avengers strike again.

Leftover Hallowe'en candies, especially those little chocolate bars and tiny bags of potato chips. (no reference needed)

Gotcha jokes which politicians have taken out of context. (too many references available)

Britney Spears' life problems.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Prank phone calls, especially those to politicians of foreign countries. (See here for reference: The Canadian Masked Avengers strike again.

Good job they're not in the UK or the Daily Mail would be calling for their execution

I assign something I should not really take pleasure in but I ruddy well DO. Namely the crestfallen faces of the Ferrari team yesterday as Massa briefly snatched victory and then had it snatched away again as Sir* Lewis Hamilton took the championship on the last corner. Oh that was sooooo good!



*Surely it can't be long????



I also assign referring to Bob Geldof as Sir Bobby Gandalf. It makes me chuckle evilly, heheh.

[Brinniel]

Politics.

Oh, how much fun it is to root for your favourite candidates and debate the issues....but at the same time, I hate how differing opinions can pull people apart.

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Politics.

Oh, how much fun it is to root for your favourite candidates and debate the issues....but at the same time, I hate how differing opinions can pull people apart.

Seconded. I also hate being looked down on by some people and hearing comments like "But you wouldn't be as stupid as to think so, would you?" There are people I usually love to debate with, but differing opinions makes debating about politics impossible in the long run.

I assign loving people with problems. Being hurt again and again, having to worry about them, seeing them suffer and feeling you can do nothing about it - and still knowing that if not for me, they would be in much worse a condition.

[Groin Redbeard]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

I also hate being looked down on by some people

and still knowing that if not for me, they would be in much worse a condition.

I third what you say Brinniel.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

*Surely it can't be long????

You do have a point.

[Mithalwen]

Ransacking a room looking for the wallet containing your passport, driving licence and E111 card and then remembering exactly where it is ...in a different room. I don't even need any of those items immediately but it is good to be prepared...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

It's pretty much blizzarding snow and sleet right now, which is terrible...

But Girl Scout cookies are in and I discovered Thin Mints in my kitchen!

[Lindale]

The start of our second semester.

[Volo]

Singing.

Seeing drunken men walk straight into walls.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Good... erm... old-fashioned debate. Specifically when you're the only person taking your own side. Because every once in a while it's fun to argue, but when it's an entire class up against you and they all seem to have been personally offended by your dismissal of the greatness of an artiste? Yeah...

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Good... erm... old-fashioned debate. Specifically when you're the only person taking your own side. Because every once in a while it's fun to argue, but when it's an entire class up against you and they all seem to have been personally offended by your dismissal of the greatness of an artiste? Yeah...

I think that sort of stuff belongs to the shire, I do something similar in my History-Method class. They don't get personaly offended, but my classmates do have a tendency to pad each other on the back and not really reflect over the issues.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

They don't get personaly offended, but my classmates do have a tendency to pad each other on the back and not really reflect over the issues.

They yelled at me (literally) and told me I was dead wrong and didn't know what I was talking about.

Hence Orthanc. I like debate, but not when people take it personally.

[Lindale]

I was about to assign this to Mordor, when I thought the better of it. While my dad and I were having dinner and he was sipping his lovely San Miguel beers and I my non-alcoholic sparkling stuff, some girl approached us and asked us to try a new beer. Mountain silver something, brewed by the rival of San Miguel (which our family has always patronized). She seemed so pitiful my dad bought the beer, for me. And boy, was it the most awful beers I've ever tasted. I thought the Light variants of the regular beers were awful, tasting like they were diluted, but that was like drinking half a liter regular beer diluted in two liters water. But then again to be polite, and because it's almost Christmas, I pretended to like the beer all the same.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

San Miguel. . .It is one of the beers I have most fond memories of, though it is far from the best beer I have had. I guess it is because most of my San Miguel memories are from holidays in Spain, although now you can get it anywhere.

[Lalwendë]

It can't be called 'beer' unless you struggle to put it through a sieve*. San Miguel is lager to me.



*Give me some Theakstons any day....

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Amazon.com's free shipping on orders over $25. It gets me every time!

Spend three dollars on something intangible? Or spend seven more dollars and get an actual book?

It never fails...

[Brinniel]

Snow.

It's so purdy....


...until the wind picks up and decides to blow in your face.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

It is always nice when a beautiful girl pay notice to you, but you always want it to be for something else than random knowledge. . . . In this case the random knowledge was the name of Swedens national antheme: "Du gamla, du fria"

[Firefoot]

Certain music... a lot of Cascada's music (most notoriously "Bad Boy"), or that "Boom Boom Boom" song - if only it weren't so catchy.

[Oddwen]

Club remixes of a rather...profane...rant. It amuses me rather more than it should.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Crows. I love listening to them greet dawn en masse, but they started this morning at 4:53.

They're an hour and a half early. It's only March.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Crows. I love listening to them greet dawn en masse, but they started this morning at 4:53.

They're an hour and a half early. It's only March.

I love Crows. There's a clan of them living on our office building. They have a big tree in the 'crocodile pit' light well in the middle with two nests in it and two more perched on the ledges, and if you go high enough you can see in to the eggs. They're deadly territorial though, one of them perches above the entrance doors and shrieks at people coming into the building

Crebain of Government Land! Run for your lives! Heh.

[Mithalwen]

Having beloved books returned after a loan so long you had given up hope of return.... Only not in the Shire because I spent the time I should have devoted to house and garden to rereading....