emerwenaranel

[emerwenaranel]

Levi Prentice (American,1851-1935)

Still Life Of Peaches, Cantaloupe And Pineapple

oil on canvas

[emerwenaranel]

[emerwenaranel]

Jinn causing toothaches. Illustration from an 18th-century Ottoman manuscript.

[emerwenaranel]

Sarah Vivian , Gate to The Moonlit Valley, West Penwith

[emerwenaranel]

finally finished the eowyn piece! super glad i got it done after losing motivation and confidence tbh. it was a fun study

[emerwenaranel]

I think alice is in kind of a sasori situation and marisa is her deidara, you know?

[emerwenaranel]

[emerwenaranel]

one must imagine [scribbling frantically on paper, accidentally tearing it while trying to convey the intensity of the idea] two demon blades [scribbling on the wooden table] clashing agasinst eacjother

[emerwenaranel]

"In the twenty-first century, nothing is more indicative of U.S. empire than the global reach of the U.S. military. Much of this power comes from its approximately 800 military bases located in around eighty countries, accounting for about 95 percent of the world’s foreign military bases. No other country comes close to the U.S. level of worldwide military control. ... The United States probably has more military bases than any other empire in history, yet most Americans remain largely ignorant of their numbers and location. The history of these bases is an imperial history, tied to war, occupation, and military expansion. Wherever the U.S. military has gone bases have usually followed, giving the United States an ongoing presence long after the war or occupation is over.

The creation of bases has accompanied each wave of U.S. expansion. Military forts enabled continental conquest—255 in total—which functioned as foreign bases on land that was often still controlled by Native peoples. These forts operated as the military outposts of settler-colonialism and were targeted by Native peoples as violations of territorial integrity. The War of 1898 and subsequent occupation of overseas colonies resulted in a global basing system, and by 1938 the United States had fourteen military bases outside its continental borders in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Midway, Wake, Guam, the Philippines, Shanghai, the Aleutians, American Samoa, and Johnston Island. ... The explosion of foreign bases during World War II would be followed by surges during the Korean War, the War in Vietnam, and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, showing that wars and occupations continue to expand U.S. territory, even if the form of those acquisitions has shifted since the days of settler-colonialism and annexation. The contemporary number, which hovers around 800 to 900, is still an impressive network that places the military within striking distance of every spot on the globe. Historian Bruce Cumings calls the modern form of U.S. empire an 'archipelago empire,' small islands of U.S. control from which power can be projected anywhere in the world. It has become increasingly difficult to tell where the boundaries of the United States begin and where they end.

... For most U.S. citizens these bases are either invisible or accepted as a natural part of our national security apparatus. David Vine argues that Americans 'consider the situation normal and accept that US military installations exist in staggering numbers in other countries, on other peoples’ land. On the other hand, the idea that there would be foreign bases on US soil is unthinkable.'"

Stefan Aune, "American Empire," in At War: The Military and American Culture in the Twentieth Century and Beyond, 2018

Map source

[emerwenaranel]

I deeply love all of the little echoes between the Silmarillion and LOTR, but this is one of my faves:

Last of all Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: ‘Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!’

-Húrin at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears (C. 20, the Silmarillion)

"Hail, Lord of the Mark," said Éomer. "The dark night has passed, and day has come again."

-Éomer at the Battle of Helm's Deep (C. 6, Two Towers)

Naturally, I adore the fact that Éomer is the echo of Húrin, almost definitely the single most badass human of the entire First Age (and arguably of the first two ages!). What an honor for our horse boy! The echoing quote could easily have gone instead to Aragorn or an elf, both of whom are descendants of traditions that go all the way back to those First Age events where Húrin did his thing. But instead, the line went to the heir of a newer, younger people—a people who are, in many ways, more representative of the future of Middle Earth than the old, historical communities that have been in decline or fading for some time. So I love that choice of pairing. Húrin and Éomer feels less expected but more fitting to me.

Of course, the outcomes for these two are starkly different. Húrin is facing a crushing defeat and is about to be subjected to the wrath and punishment of Morgoth himself, which leaves him permanently destroyed emotionally. Éomer has just come out of an unexpected victory and is headed for another, at the end of which he can rebuild a happy life and even come to carry the royal title of Éomer Éadig, the Blessed. But I think that's the point of the echo.

Húrin did all that was possible (and arguably more!) for a human to do in the circumstances he faced, and in the end it wasn't enough. He never gets to enjoy a new morning. But that doesn’t mean he was wrong. Day does come again. It comes for Éomer. Because if there is one thing Tolkien wants us to know, it’s that you never give in to despair. You keep going and you try again, because eventually someone will find that sunrise and live to enjoy its warmth and brightness.

[emerwenaranel]

Love how this scelionid wants us to believe she has no booty. Just head and thorax. And those adorable flappy scelionid antennae of course. 🤎

She turned up in some pine bark I collected this past weekend. Barely visible.

[emerwenaranel]

Lê & Nguyễn dynasty attire. Credit to Hoa Niên.

[emerwenaranel]

Yếm & nón quai thao. Credit to nhimsally.film (Instagram).

[emerwenaranel]

[emerwenaranel]

Patreon

[emerwenaranel]

[emerwenaranel]