Another assault on art

But probably the main reason Tolkien has not been accepted by most critics is his writings do not conform to the tenets of literary modernism. Tolkien's language largely eschews irony, his imagery tends to be generic, and, with some exceptions, his characters go unexplored. In Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster's blueprint of modernist literary theory, story and plot are gently derided. But in The Lord of the Rings, plot is probably the most compelling literary element. Readers steeped in modernist literature simply don't know how to respond to Tolkien's prose.

(Slaps hand to forehead) Eureka! I've got it! The defining factor of all the art I hate these days is the lack of storytelling. This quote, taken from this very interesting article on whether or not The Lord of the Rings is good literature. For me, it's obvious. Of course it's good literature. I reached an epiphany with Maggie a few months ago about reading. I am not interested in reading anything because it's what I'm Supposed To Read; I want to read stuff that is interesting. I want a story. Tolkien is an artist of the story. He weaves his plot in and out of literally thousands of years of invented history. In our modern literature, plot and story are ignored as "too obvious," and character and nuance are emphasized, leaving plot more to the imagination. LOTR is the opposite; it is almost entirely focused on plot, and leaves nuances of character to the imagination. A much better arrangement, in most cases. I have been trying to slog through The Fountainhead for a couple of months now, and I am being held up by the fact that this is a boring, boring book. Literature = good books. Have I said this before?

It's cold as hell here. It's snowing up north, about 40 degrees in the Cities, I can't believe how narsty it is. And we're going camping in two days. Looks like good snuggling weather. One week ago it was 94. That's Minnesota for ya.

Archiving

Those in the Weblog scene are aware of this; oh boy, are you. Those who are not may be interested. I need to put this in my blog anyway for completeness of archives. Kaycee Nicole did not exist. I first learned about Kaycee from this MeFi thread, but never was terribly interested because the blog looked like floofy sentimentalist tripe (the message boards were even worse). Although, I never doubted it. And it was all forgotten until she died. That's when the shit hit the fan. Metafilter sleuths have uncovered an elaborate hoax to fool the blogging world. Read the first link to get a good synopsis.

Check out the unit on that droid!
I found that link yesterday but forgot where I got it. If you can let me know where I got it I will credit it.