lavendertook | NYC Hobbit Moot 2009, Part 4

Here are my hobbits chilling in front of the event poster after the Friday night FotR symphony. On Saturday morning, I finally got a hold of the wonderful Jan-u-wine and we made plans to come see her after the bunch of us had brunch.

My very yummy, hobbity brunch. We met at a diner I spotted a couple of blocks from our hotel that looked to be spacious enough and decently priced called the Flame Restaurant and it really hit the spot with a big menu, all tastily prepared. We then walked 5 blocks over to The Russian Tearoom where Jan was meeting a couple of friends next to Carnegie Hall. I spotted her and we pulled her out for a few minutes to meet and hug and chat. We should have gotten pics with her, but didn't think of it until after she needed to go back in.

We said sad farewells to frolijah_fan_54, aliensouldream, verangel, honeyandvinegar, and panmodal, then lbilover, frodosweetstuff, belleferret, and I went to take a stroll in Central Park before we went back to check out of the hotel. My pics there all came out fuzzy, so I will refer you to Steph and Linda's pics here and here.

After checking out, Ellen drove us to JFK airport to send Steph back across the Sundering Sea. More tearful farewells, until next time we all moot together. Then Ellen took Linda and I back to her house nestled in the wooded country in the midlands of New Jersey, with her very happy to see us sweet doggies. We chilled for the evening reading email and sitting in the Throne of Frodo Worship before the Great Banner. I got to sleep cozy in front of the fire place, and by the Great Banner, which was a real treat.

Sunday morning, we took NJ transit into NYC for the TORN event. At the parking garage, we saw a pigeon nesting in the middle of the road; we couldn't tell if it was sick or injured, but Ellen picked it up and put it in some bushes. Then we caught a train to Penn Station and the subway down to the Bowery to the Angel Orensanz Foundation--a cool old gutted out cathedral used for art events--seeing this venue was one of the reasons I wanted to go to this.

We stopped to pick up sandwiches along the way at Katz Deli, and came in during Coleen Doran's presentation on the variety of Tolkien illustrations. David Salo's talk on his work on Tolkien's languages for the film was fun--he talked about some of the improvising he had to do for the parts of the languages that weren't fleshed out.

I was impressed with Elizabeth Cotnoir’s documentary, "Journey’s End," on the making of the music for the films, mostly focused on Howard Shore's amazing work, but also with good focus on Renee Fleming, James Galway, and Annie Lennox. I especially loved how much the documentary gave us of Lennox developing "Into the West" and her working with Shore and Fran Walsh on it.

Then Doug Adams interviewed Howard Shore in person, pictured above. I liked learning that he developed themes by not rereading/listening to what he had already written/recorded, but going with his memory, which would cause him to produce variations on the themes--kind of like playing a musical game of "Telephone" with himself. (-: I got Shore's autograph on my FotR Complete Recordings cover after the talk was over.

On the way back to the subway, we took the hobbits to a playground along the way so they could ride the oliphant--you don't want to hear the sighs the Sam's make if you don't indulge their oliphant whims, nor do you want to hear the skilled unusual sounds a Frodo and Bingo can make in sympathy . . .

. . . and then they said, "Eh, why not?" and went to ride the weird frog creature.

Bingo and Sam had gotten quite accustomed to riding the subway at this point--I overheard them calling it an "armoured mobile smial caravan."

Here they are sitting with a couple of tired Hobbit Wranglers.

When we got back to the Metro Park station, we found the pigeon where we had left hir, but laying on hir back and shivering pathetically, so I picked hir up, wrapped hir in an old t-shirt, and took hir back with us, so ze wouldn't die in the cold or get gnawed on. The warmth of being held seemed to do hir good, but we figured we were just giving hir hospice care at this point. When we got back to Ellen's house, however, the pigeon drank water like a little fiend, which gave us some hope for the first time, that ze might be more lightly injured and might make it. Ze made it to morning and I called around and found a bird rescue person in Maryland who could take hir, but after Linda headed out and Ellen and I sat and talked a bit ze passed on, probably from internal bleeding. So I took an ex-pigeon, who was quite heavy by the time I got home and would have made a fine thing to hit anyone who would give me a hard time about transporting an ex-pigeon in a box in the back of my car, and buried hir in the woods behind my apartment that evening--RIP, lil Elwing. It wasn't really sad, because I didn't count on recovery but just wanted to make hir passing more comfortable, and we did that.

I sure had a lovely time with my hobbit posse that weekend. Until the next moot!

Threaded | Flat

You did an excellent job of picking a restaurant for brunch! There were so many options on the menu any hobbit would be satisfied!

It's a shame about the pigeon, but at least it was warmed and cared for at the end. Thank you.

Looking forward to the next moot!!

What a lovely report & to show such care for a bird, definitely your good deed for the day.

armoured mobile smial caravan Now that's a mouthful.

Poor dolls & company. parting is such sweet sorrow...until we moot again.

I've loved your report and the pictures you took. I'm so glad you got to go to moot with all the lovely LJ friends in NY.

You gave that pigeon a loving and companionable passage. ♥

That restaurant KICKED. I *will* be eating there next time, I will, I will!!

*HUGSES*! Miss everyone, damn it!!

Such a wonderful report and great photos!
I'm so glad Sam got his oliphaunt ride and I love Weird Frog Creature. :D
*am pea-green with envy*

Sorry if this is 110% random. I think I found this place with a bunch of random LJ-clicking. Then I saw a ton of Sam and Frodo photos and INTEREST WAS PIQUED~!

So I just wanted to say your hobbitly pictures are really, really, really amusing and I love them.

Thanks for another great installment, Lavender. Sorry it's taken a while to comment: I've been off galavanting again, but got back a couple of days ago. After making myself complete a long-pending LJ project, I am browsing the f-list.

I want to say how affected I was by the tale of your care for that pigeon. I think it says a lot about you as a person. Not that you're sentimental, nor a person who naturally goes to pieces over a suffering animal, but that you are, I don't know, a respecter of living things, respectful enough to go out of your way to take action if you see a living thing you might be able to help. That you would do all this to lighten the passing of a dying animal impresses me very much. "All what?" you are probably scoffing, brushing it off, but I can't think of anyone but my sister-in-law (who is intensely, crazy-nuts about animals) who would take that sort of trouble over that pigeon. I'm betting most people, like me, would feel saddened by the pigeon's plights, think poignant, stoic thoughts about death and dying at the sight of it there, but walk on. I'd turn my face and attention away, leaving behind what is painful or bothersome. Go you, I say, and those like you. Doing such things you raise the level of life.

and meetings in Red restaurants.....

Dear LT, I just wanted to say (again) how lovely it was to meet you and the rest of the posse....

Thank you for your perseverance in making that happen. It was an honour to be able to spend a few minutes with all of you.

*Next time, a Whole Darn Hobbity Meal at The Flame*

(of course, i'm not sure how much talking can be done with waffle-mouths)

*waves at all the posse*

~jan

"armoured mobile smial caravan."
LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!! And what a lovely pic of the two of them inside one of those things!

I would have loved to hear David Salo's talk, oh well.

And how sad about the pidgeon.

*hugs*

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of oliphaunts and hobbit jaunts.......

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