The Flame Imperishable

Now that Camus has defined the constraint by which his argument rests, he begins his essay. In this first portion, Camus spends his time figuring out what absurdity actually is. What is the definition of absurdity and how does the feeling of absurdity point us to that definition? Once we have a definition, have others writers and philosophers also landed on a similar definition? 

We start our reading of Albert Camus's 'The Myth of Sisyphus' and discuss suicide, the absurd, and Camus's boundaries for the argument he's about to make. 

We finally start The Fellowship of the Ring, discussing chapters 1-3 and bridging the gap between the Hobbit and the beginning of the Fellowship

I'm joined again today by Kelly and we actually talk about the Hobbit this episode. We cover the whole book and then spend some time linking the ending of the Hobbit to the beginning of the Fellowship. 

I'm joined today by Kelly from The Middle Page to discuss the Hobbit. This was a long conversation so I broke it into 2 episodes. In this first part, we catch up from the end of the silmarillion to the beginning of the story. We cover what happened to the dwarves, how Smaug came to Erebor, and a chance meeting between Gandalf and Thorin.  Next week we'll discuss the rest of the book and...

We did it folks, we got through the Silmarillion. In this episode we cover the final chapter and start talking about the third age. 

The penultimate episode of the Silmarillion where we discuss the downfall of Numenor.

We finish the Quenta Silmarillion this week as we discuss the falls of Doriath and Gondolin. Then we get into what is debatably the most epic battle in all of Tolkien's writing and it lasts for about a page. 

Discussing the 5th Battle and Turin Turambar. Really uplifting, feelgood episode

We discuss the epic battle between Fingolfin and Morgoth and then move on to one of the most well renowned tales of the Silmarillion: Beren and Luthien. 

We're taking a break from the Silmarillion this week to dive into Tolkien's essay 'On Fairy Stories'. This essay is essentially Tolkien's blueprint on how he approaches writing a fairy story and it gives a revealing glimpse into the mind that gave us The Lord of the Rings. 

Lots of Setup this week as we meet Maeglin, hang out in Gondor, meet his creeper of a father, and (to no one's surprise) run into tragedy. Then we move on to the migration of men into Beleirand and the deluge of names and geography that brings with it. 

This week we discuss Feanor's return to Middle Earth and the havoc the Noldor bring with them. Lots of geography, politics, and drama. And we found a city or two. 

This week we're discussing the arrival of the Dwarves, the creation of Menegroth, and the wars of Beleriand. We move on to the mythological origin of the sun and moon, the hiding of Valinor, and then wrap it up with the arrival of Men. 

We discuss some of the most important chapters of the Silmarillion this week: The darkening of Valinor and the Flight of the Noldor. We take some time to discuss Tom Bombadil, The Nameless Things, and Ungoliant. And of course, more geography along with a heaping dose of Catholicism. What could be better.

In this episode we discuss Thingol and Melian, and then get into the many long lineages of not just the Noldor but also the Trees of Valinor. We wrap up with a discussion of Feanor being temperamental. And did I mention all the geography all the time? 

In this episode we open with a discussion of the Red Book of Westmarch. We then move on to discussing chapters 1-3 of the Quenta Silmarillion. 

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Flame Imperishable. We're going to be reading through and discussing the SIlmarillion. In this first episode, we're covering the first two books of the Silmarillion: The Ainulindalë and the Valaquenta.