User:Smog

From Tolkien Gateway

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my profile. My name is Art, and I am a linguist and devoted student of J.R.R. Tolkien's work. I currently live in St. Louis, Missouri where I work as an editor and writer. Outside of work, I cosplay, play video games (old school RPGs, Lord of the Rings Online, and other various MMOs as they get released), bowl, write, and play board games and tabletop RPGs with my friends.


Focus and Areas of Interest

I attended graduate school for linguistics, with my focus being in Tolkien's works: primarily the development and evolution of his languages throughout the periods discussed in the early History of Middle-earth volumes. My main interests, and the bulk of my writing, concerns the creation of his mythos as an elaborative space for his languages, and the composition and syntax of the songs, music, and poetry that play such an important role throughout his writings.

Beyond Sindarin and Quenya, my expertise lies in the histories and songs concerning the Years of the Lamps, Years of the Trees, and the First Age. I have a certain obsession with the Ainulindalë and the Two Trees of Valinor. If you have any questions regarding the languages of the Eldar, the creation story of , or the times prior to the Downfall of Númenor, don't hesitate to contact me!

Contact Information

  • Email: apitch8512px-nospam.svg.pngyahoo.com
  • IRC: Smog on irc.tolkiengateway.net
  • Or always on my talk page.

What I Do Here

Mainly small edits, grammar corrections, redirects, and general cleanup. My personal belief is that the Gateway should be as efficient and organized as possible, so most of my time is spent to that end. I also keep an eye on most of the articles concerning my particular interests mentioned above. As I work full-time and do a fair amount of my own writing and research, my spare time is limited and I am not able to contribute to the Gateway as much as I might prefer.

Current Projects

Random Facts

  • I strongly believe that Tom Bombadil is the embodiment and "echo" of the Ainulindalë.
  • My favorite characters are Tom Bombadil, Glorfindel, Finrod Felagund, and Tuor.
  • I do not, at all, understand the Balrog wing debate. They're Maiar, and can take whatever form they choose, so why would we assume they all look identical? And even if they do have wings, which Durin's Bane is clearly described as having, that doesn't mean they're functional. Giant, flaming shadow wings are scary, yes?
  • I enjoy the The Lord of the Rings (film series), despite their omission of my favorite characters.
  • Despite their many problems, I also hesitantly enjoy The Hobbit (film series), if only for their larger inclusion of canonical music and material from the Appendices.
  • I plan on getting tattoos of Telperion, Laurelin, and the Silmarils if I can ever find an artist capable of mocking them up to match my image of them.
  • Before I die, I want to sail west from the U.K. to Ireland in an Elvish-style boat that I build myself.
  • My girlfriend and I have eight cats, who we would feed before we fed ourselves if it came down to it.
  • I maintain around a 200 average in league bowling, which I participate in when I can spare the time.
  • No, my name is not a poorly spelled reference to Smaug.
  • I shamelessly ripped off Hyarion's user page format.
Smog
Maia
Smog.jpg
Biographical Information
Other namesArt P.
BirthOctober 12th, 1985
Physical Description
GenderMale
Height6'0"
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorGreen
Badges
lore-4 This user has an encyclopedic understanding of J.R.R. Tolkien's works.
John Howe - Icon Elves.png This user supports Elves.
John Howe - Icon Free Peoples.png This user supports the forces for Good.
Balrog.png This user believes Balrogs have wings.
Jan Drenovec - Túrin vs Morgoth.jpg This user believes the Dagor Dagorath is canonical.
Ents.png This user believes the Entwives are lost forever. Because Tolkien said so.
The Tolkien Society - logo.png This user is a proud member of The Tolkien Society.
ChromeLogo.png This user contributes using Google Chrome.
USA.png This user is from the United States.


RP This user frequently presses the Random page button to find interesting articles to edit.
RC This user patrols recent changes.
<ref> This user recognises the importance of citing sources.



Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.