Jun. 12th, 2007

tigertoy: (Default)
Tolkien's famous line "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger," has been sent up in many ways, but the most frequently encountered version comes in two variations:

   Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good with catsup.

- and -


   Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with catsup.

Even I, with my pitifully weak Google-fu, can determine that 'dragons' version is more popular today. In my own arrogant opinion, the wizards version is more clever; it is closer to the original wording, and wizards are more likely than dragons to use catsup. But what I really wonder about is the origin of the quote, and which version is the original. I am fairly sure I encountered the 'wizards' version first, before 1980, and didn't see the 'dragons' one until around 1989. But my memory is unreliable and my experience isn't definitive.

Anyone out there have an opinion, or better yet, evidence, on this burning issue?

(By the way -- it is not in Bored of the Rings. I was positive it was, but it's not, unless my edition has been expurgated.)
tigertoy: (Default)
I'd better write some kind of a report before I forget it all.

We got to the con somewhere around 4.  Construction on the tollways created some congestion but it wasn't too bad.  The hotel wanted to put me on the 6th floor.  I asked the clerk for a lower floor and ended up on 2.  This turned out to be the smoking party floor, but the hallway, though slightly stinky, was never really smoky, the room was fine, and if there were any loud parties they didn't run late.  I took my art down, got my badge, and checked into the art show.  Then started looking for dinner companions, without success, so [livejournal.com profile] birder2 and I walked to Schmaltz' and split a pastrami sandwich, knishes, and a salad they described as Greek.  Then it was the filk guests' concert.  With Frank, Murray, and Moonwulf trading songs, it felt almost like being at Chambanacon 20 years ago.  Then there was open filking; I'm struggling to remember any of it.  I did Swing the Cat with [livejournal.com profile] chirosinger sitting on the floor in front of me trying to write down the chords.  It really puffs my ego that a musician of her caliber would be interested in the details of how I play a song.  [livejournal.com profile] musicmutt sang "Guest Room", his tribute to Dave Alway, and I read Dave's poem "Madison's Mourning".  There was an overly-talented (flashy guitarist who also played keyboard, creditably, and piano accordion, the first time I can recall seeing that instrument in a filk) fellow named, if I'm not confused, Gary, who sang what I assume were original songs (or at least lyrics) that were actual thoughtful examinations of things that come up in science fiction stories.  I didn't stay stay up terribly late, in the hope of having something left for the rest of the weekend.

Read more... )

I mostly left out the parts where I got a lot of hugs and words of encouragement about my life situation and had a lot of those brief moments of friendship that are what a con is really all about.  I mostly don't remember when they happened, and they mostly don't make good conrep material.  But really, they're what a con is for.

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