Any Middle Earthlike places near you?

[Ent]

Of course... to be true to the suffix, the word would need to be Entologist, rather than Entymologist.
I must ponder.

 

[d4rk3lf]

I know, right??
Shufflings, and gruntings, and prints on the ground the next morning..! Sheesh....

Just tell your boss to look at security cameras... and prove you have been in there the whole time.
Don't blame it on Beorn!
If your boss asks you if you seen "Dancing Bears" outside, just say him: "Of course. Not only dancing bears, but dancing mosquitoes, running snails, aggressive turtles, wise pigeons, transforming ameba's that had MC at Mars, because some other living beings had to eat that to survive.... you've seen it all... just because of all the work you had to do".

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

I can finally post on this!
This was a ME themed cafe in Tehran which we went to today. And of course, I had to order lembas.

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

I can finally post on this!
This was a ME themed cafe in Tehran which we went to today. And of course, I had to order lembas.
View attachment 43778

That looks really cool! ✨

 

[Starbrow]

I can finally post on this!
This was a ME themed cafe in Tehran which we went to today. And of course, I had to order lembas.
View attachment 43778

How were the lembas?

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

How were the lembas?

It was soft on the inside and had a chewy and harder outside. It was also very cinnamon-y. Overall, it wasn't something special, but actually very filling. I hadn't have lunch properly, but I barely ate half of the lembas before filling full.

 

[Erurávennë]

Pine Creek Gorge in Pennsylvania is pretty stunning too...

I am there all the time! Just saw a bend of the Pine Creek a few weeks back that looked exactly out of Middle Earth. It had a beautiful very elven building with arches and a steep roof under the shadow of fall colored trees. The trees were somehow the most perfect shape for Imladris, Lothlorien, or the like. Straight out of an Alan Lee drawing!

Every time I am out hiking with my Dad and he sees a mossy spot he says its the Shire! 🤣

 

[Eledhwen]

I can finally post on this!
This was a ME themed cafe in Tehran which we went to today. And of course, I had to order lembas.
View attachment 43778

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16M6KbCViPfN6m8D-8rHEgMfYSwKkcyap/view?usp=drivesdk I knew I'd seen that door before sonewhere! Not the same wood but probably the same hobbit or dwarf blacksmith. Sadly the place I visited is now closed.

 

[Erurávennë]

I don't actually live in Switzerland, but I thought this was interesting:

"If one is fortunate enough to be in the valley in early August and witness the earnestness with which the people celebrate their national holiday, he will be privileged to see a sight long to be remembered. These celebrations close with the gathering together of the mountaineers on various crags and prominences where great bonfires are lighted from fuel that has been accumulated and built into an enormous mound to make a huge torchlight. These bonfires are lighted at a given hour from end to end of the valley throughout its expanse. Every mountaineer on a distant crag seeing the lights knows that the others are signalling to him that they, too, are making their sacred consecration in song which says “one for all and all for one.” This motive has been crystallized into action and has become a part of the very souls of the people. One understands why doors do not need to be bolted in the Loetschental Valley."
(account of celebrations of Swiss people living in the alpine Loetschental Valley in the 1930s)

It sounds just like the Lord of the Rings, the lighting of the beacons. I know many other cultures like the Roman Empire did similar things but Tolkien did visit Switzerland, gained inspiration from the area, and may have known of or witnessed this.

 

[Backyard Professor]

Are there any impolite euphemisms? If there are then one would need another euphemism (a polite one) to fill in for the impolite one.
That situation could go on infinitum. Therefore "polite euphemism" is a redundancy, never to be uttered (or written).

You actually can find impolite euphemisms — they’re usually called dysphemisms.
They’re substitute words chosen specifically to make something sound harsher, ruder, or more offensive than the neutral term.

So the loop doesn’t go to infinity; it just oscillates:

• Neutral term →
• Euphemism (softens it) →
• Dysphemism (roughens it again)

Examples are everywhere:

• Toilet → restroom (euphemism) → crapper (dysphemism)
• Sex → making love (euphemism) → screwing (dysphemism)
• Death → passed away (euphemism) → kicked the bucket (dysphemism)

So “polite euphemism” isn’t redundant — it’s just contrastive.
It distinguishes a euphemism meant to soften from a substitute meant to sting.
Language doesn't spiral forever - it pendulums. We invent euphemisms to be polite, then dysphemisms to be rude again, and the dictionary quietly keeps score....

 

[Deimos]

Maybe someone already posted about this, but I did a quick "search" and nothing came up.
OK...not near me (not even close) but still rather Tolkien-ish ....
The Thinking Tree

Video is OK... Google The Thinking Tree and you'll get better pics to look at