’’Hidden in an old copy of The Lord of the Rings, a U.K. rare book store has found a map of Middle-earth annotated by J.R.R. Tolkien himself.
The map, found in a book given to Blackwell’s Rare Books, has Tolkien commenting on numerous facets of the world of the popular book series. Most notably is that Hobbiton, seated within the Shire and the home of numerous Hobbits in the stories, is the same latitude as Oxford, England. Tolkien’s annotations also suggest Ravenna in Italy inspired the city of Minas Tirith…’’
The Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) that nest in our yard every summer gather with others to form small flocks of two or three dozen after nesting is finished and autumn is here. They can often be seen harvesting grass seeds as a group while they gradually move south. These small flocks offer an opportunity for the immature sparrows, as pictured here, to learn from the more mature birds.
Throughout Perestroika, Prior believes his vision loss is linked to his becoming a prophet. After he chooses to return from heaven, however, he realizes that it was part of his AIDS all along. (inspired by this post)
