Just a bit of a review for anyone who happens to read on the upcoming holiday, or in fact any time in the year!  (This contains many excerpts from the King James Version of the Bible, which is freely reproduced everywhere in the world, except in the U.K., where Cambridge University Press has the official printing rights, which I've not infringed upon.)

A few clarifications:  Using the "Find the answer" links does not lower your score.  This is why this "game" is not listed in the quizzes category; I don't consider something in which you can easily find the answer in one click without losing any points to be a quiz. Feel free to use one at any time, then use the "Return to Question --" item to answer whichever question you left.  Also, if a page's title takes the form Book Chapter:verse(s), the page is of direct scriptural quotation.

Well, in any case, enjoy this, and (on the off-chance that you are reading this about... well, 355 to 360 days after this is written, merry Christmas!

The first in a series of quizzes over Tolkien's classic novel, The Lord of the Rings, NOT Peter Jackson's film adaptation.  The first installment concerns the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring.  IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, DO NOT TAKE THIS QUIZ--YOU WILL NOT SCORE WELL!!!!!!!  This quiz is for those who have, and it does not deserve unusually low ratings from people who cannot understand it!!!

 Note that a "1" at the end of a score indicates that the player ended the game halfway through the quiz.

A "99" is proof that the player answered the bonus question (worth 199 points) correctly.  The rest of the questions are worth 100 points, with an optimal score (not counting the bonus question) being 2600.  Good luck, reader!

After publishing my Fellowship of the Ring quiz, I realized I had not devised a Hobbit quiz. This one is both shorter and simpler than that quiz, for two reasons:

1.) The Hobbit is a shorter and simpler novel than The Fellowship of the Ring.

2.) This counts toward my Lore-masters standings, so I would not want to throw off the mechanics of that scoring system with a quiz as long as that one over a smaller subject matter. This is NOT to say that my The Two Towers quiz will also be this brief; in fact, I believe it will be longer.

Anyhow, this quiz is about J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, NOT the 1977 cartoon, NOT the Sierra Entertainment multi-platform game, NOT the adaptation by Charles Dixon and Sean Deming, and NOT any other derivative work!!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE HOBBIT, DO NOT TAKE THIS QUIZ, YOU WILL NOT SCORE WELL!!!!! You have been warned!

Well, I believe I've said all that is necessary! Good luck, reader!!

In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth and all things within them in six days, resting on the seventh.  Man he placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden, and for him he provided a help-meet in the form of a woman.  All too soon, however, the woman was beguiled by a serpent, and both Man and Woman were corrupted with the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Being a just god, God could no longer fellowship with Man as he had before, and as a result of the first man's sin, death entered into the world.  But there was a single hope for the children of Man, in the form of a Savior who would come to earth and submit himself, a sacrifice to cover the sins of mankind.

But tragically, this Savior was rejected by his own people and it was but a small--small but loyal--following that carried His message to the remainder of the world.  Like a wildfire that could not be extinguished, this new faith spread, in spite of persecution and adversity, encompassing all corners of the world.  Congregations of believers in this Savior's salvation were called churches, and in due time, they could be found in any imaginable locale.  At the start of this "church-age" each church was wholly independent of every other, and though in their doctrines, some descrepancy could be found, even some corruption of belief, none had power over any other.  But this was soon to change....

The emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire was perhaps the first man of power to note that, no matter how these "Christians" were persecuted, their people and their faith only grew.  It was then that a grand vision allegedly struck this man--whether or not it was of God... perhaps He only knows.  Constantine was said to have seen a grand vision: a cross of fire in the air, accompanied by the words, "By this thou shalt conquer."  He called together a great number of churches, forming, as it were, a hierarchy, with organization including political and legislative authority, thus perpetuating the unholy union of church and state.

But not every church was a part of Constantine's new hierarchy, and throughout the ages that followed, these churches faced trial after trial at the hands of men who came in the name of the selfsame God--persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.  This is your life, for you are an ana-Baptist.  Can you survive in an age in which those who dare to defy the words of an earthly father in support of a Heavenly Father are cast out as blasphemers?  Can you keep the faith of your fathers in an age in which death at the stake--or worse--lingers at every corner?  Decide the fate of yourself and your congregation in this historical epic of the Dark Ages, coming eventually.

So much research, etc. to be done for this one!  I haven't abandoned it; I just haven't had the time for the research!

A serious game in which you are a Civil War soldier. You choose your side and get taken to one of two major battles during the American Civil War.

No information will be disclosed at this time--but you can read a version of the prologue on the thread "Strong Beginning" in the writing workshop.

I've never joined a social network because I'm too paranoid about living a public life.  On MAG, my personality is essentially the same as in the real world, but when I talk to you guys, I'm Sir_Lancegalawain.  And Sir_Lancegalawain isn't officially affiliated with my academic life, etc.

Also I'm a bit disillusioned by all the terrible things that transpire on myspace and similar websites---fools giving away their personal information to strangers and the results of that---and all the general uncleanness, not to mention the idiots (and their are some these on every website, not just social networks, I know) who hate a person simply for existing.  Then, as Fleshnblood said, those "I have more 'friends' than you" types.  The point is this: I don't have a myspace.

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."  King Solomon, Proverbs 20:1  (Thought I'd be a little controversial today)

It was a good movie, but I kind of have mixed feelings about some of the plot elements, etc.

If you have not yet seen the movie and do not want any spoilers, don't read any more of this until another bold-faced message says otherwise.  I would hate to spoil the movie for anyone, but I also would like to discuss the film with anyon who is interested in the same key points. Making Marko responsible for Ben Parker's death takes away from the themes, I think.  The entire reason Peter became Spider-Man was by obligation to Ben and society because he believed himself to be responsible for his uncle's death.  Power and responsibility.  Church's portrayal and delivery for the character (still referring to the Sandman) was good, however, and I love that they used the classic green striped shirt.  Also, Gwen seemed a little--just a little--mischaracterized, and I didn't enjoy the fact that Peter, in the movie, really only used her to make Mary Jane jealous.  In the comics, Gwen was his true love.  And the symbiote isn't really... symbiotic in the movie--I guess to go with the theme of  "fighting ones inner darkness" they decided that in the movie it one only amplify the host's aggression.  As someone said earlier, Venom was completely wasted in the movie (come on, filmmakers, why do always have to kill the villains?!).  Still, they didn't give Brock or Venom nearly enough screen time, and both of their personalities are very different from the comics--Venom, in the comics, was out to protect the innocent and punish whomever he thought was guilty.  Still, Topher Grace was pretty good as this new pompous, arrogant, insecure Brock/Venom.  But the New Goblin.  I suppose the filmmakers were trying to compromise between, you know, Harry as the Green Goblin and the Ultimate version in which he becomes the Hobgoblin, but Harry's alter ego was completely unprecedented, and I might have to see the film a second time before I can make a final judgment.  Did anyone else notice that the score was noticably worse?  Can you believe that Danny Elfman didn't write it?  I had never even heard of this Christopher Young fellow before this movie, but his music... just wasn't the same.  I guess I've kind of been a fan of Elfman since I saw the first Spider-Man movie, so maybe it's just some kind of emotional attachment I have. (If anyone's interested in the story behind the composer change--which I doubt anyone will be--here it is: http://www.moviehole.net/news/6250.html)  Spoilers end here.  I repeat, the spoilers are over.  I have finished writing spoilers in this forum post.

So anyway, the movie is definitely worth seeing for anyone reading this who has not.  If anyone wants to discuss this further (and/or argue with me) I'm more than ready to answer on this thread or via private message.

As to the question of which Spider-Man film is my favorite, I guess I'd have to say the first one.  The second is almost equally good, but the fact that everyone and his brother knows Spidey's identity by the end makes it a little worse.