Author Archives: The Disgruntled Haradrim

Hunger Games

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Finally saw Hunger Games last week, or as I like to call it Lord of the Flies meets Soylent Green. Basic storyline: in a dystopian future, following a fracticious war that almost destroyed humanity, the world is divided into the wealthy victors, and the downtrodden nearly-starved rebels, who are forced to live in impoverished districts according to their usually dangerous occupations (coal miners, etc); as macabre sport and psychological punishment, every year each district is forced to participate in a lottery where two children are selected at random to participate in a survivalist, winner-kill-all, spectator contest called The Hunger Games. I haven’t read Suzanne Collins books, though I’ve been “meaning to get around to it.”

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Orientalist Sketches

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A quick word on my choice of header art. The piece is called “The Moorish Warrior,” by William Merritt Chase (1844-1916). I first came across the painting while strolling through the Brooklyn Museum of Art several years ago. I wasn’t familiar with the artist, but I knew the style–part of what was known as the Orientalist movement, which created picturesque paintings of the Near East. Like every other graduate student in the social sciences, I had the pleasure of reading Edward Said’s groundbreaking work, Orientalism.

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Ainulindalë and Its Discontents

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In the beginning there was Eru Illuvatar, who brought the Ainur into being, and through their song all into existence. Somehow, millennia later, I, along with much of the swarthier side of Arda, ended up on the wrong side of a spat about mystical jewelry. Disgruntled about the whole affair, I decided to start penning my own stories, that perhaps could tell new, diverse tales from differing perspectives. And naturally, like everyone does in this age, I started a blog . . .