WEBVTT - Listener Mail: The Face That is Gazed on as it Gazes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Listener mail. This is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick.

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<v Speaker 1>And boy, we got a bunch of good listener mail

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<v Speaker 1>for you today. These came in in response to our

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<v Speaker 1>episodes on mirrors on Waiting I think on Chrono Telly

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet Lord of the Rings adaptation. I'm very excited, Robert,

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<v Speaker 1>you ready to jump right in? Let's do it. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe I'll start off doing this one from Cody about mirrors.

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<v Speaker 1>Cody says, j plus are, oh boy, so much to

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<v Speaker 1>say about mirrors, and I'll keep it as brief as

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<v Speaker 1>I can. Really, you guys could have done a five

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<v Speaker 1>part series on mirrors and it would have stayed fresh

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<v Speaker 1>the whole time. Okay, So point number one, you guys

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned solar de O UNI is the largest natural mirror

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<v Speaker 1>in the world. But I thought you'd like to know

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<v Speaker 1>that space based telescope and mapping satellites use that mirror

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<v Speaker 1>to calibrate their instruments because they can see themselves reflected

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<v Speaker 1>in it. I haven't fact checked this, but I believe you, Cody,

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<v Speaker 1>and that sounds really interesting, So again as a refresher

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't remember, this was the giant salt flat

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<v Speaker 1>that will sometimes fill with very still water during the

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<v Speaker 1>I think during the rainy seasons, is in South America,

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<v Speaker 1>so it forms this giant reflective surface that is a

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<v Speaker 1>photographer's stream, and a lot of you'll find a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of cool pictures of people posing there and standing on

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<v Speaker 1>what looks like an infinite mirror. But Cody goes on

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<v Speaker 1>point number two. I was attending a conference in Rome

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<v Speaker 1>that was held in an ancient Roman circular building with

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<v Speaker 1>a large copper bowl recessed into the floor. Above this bowl,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a hole in the ceiling, and someone associated

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<v Speaker 1>with the conference said that this had something to do

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<v Speaker 1>with letting moonlight into the room and reflecting it around.

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<v Speaker 1>That got me thinking, though that surely someone would have

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<v Speaker 1>looked down into this bowl while the moon was overhead

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<v Speaker 1>would have been shocked to see the moon magnified. Or

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<v Speaker 1>if not this bowl in particular, somebody somewhere must have

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<v Speaker 1>accidentally built a crude telescope with a reflective copper bowl

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps seen the mountains on the moon long before

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas Harriet described him in the sixteen hundreds, but no

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<v Speaker 1>such story exists, or at least I can't find any

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<v Speaker 1>evidence this happened. Imagine though, had very ancient people like

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek's been aware of the worldness of the moon

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<v Speaker 1>and how different history might have unfolded from then on.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a really interesting thought, codye. Yeah, absolutely, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>here's one from Nayla. Nayla writes in and says, Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>Robert Joan Seth. First off, I'm a huge fan of

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<v Speaker 1>the show and have been listening for years. I love

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<v Speaker 1>how you pull from science, history, art, and mythology when

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<v Speaker 1>considering a subject. I always look forward to seeing what

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<v Speaker 1>you will tackle next. I just finished your third episode

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<v Speaker 1>on mirrors, and I have to write in about my cat.

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<v Speaker 1>We have four cats. We asked for this, by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>in case we have four cats, Two of them show

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<v Speaker 1>no interest in mirrors, but the third has actually learned

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<v Speaker 1>how to use them. Yeah. I have a full length

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<v Speaker 1>mirror leaning against a wall, and this cat, Chloe, will

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<v Speaker 1>use the mirror to stalk another cat from behind the furniture.

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<v Speaker 1>The furniture blocks line of sight, so Chloe will watch

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<v Speaker 1>the other cat in the mirror and then pounce on

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<v Speaker 1>it in the real world. I can't tell if she

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<v Speaker 1>recognizes herself, but she does seem to be able to

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<v Speaker 1>accurately relate the reflection to real life. Wow. I'm almost

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<v Speaker 1>kind of skeptical of this, but but yeah, I I

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<v Speaker 1>believe what you say, Nayla, um that it seems. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, it seems different than than the self recognition test,

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<v Speaker 1>where they would recognize their own body in the mirror.

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<v Speaker 1>But it does seem. Uh certainly, I don't know, harder

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<v Speaker 1>to believe than just seeing their reflection in the mirror

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<v Speaker 1>and regarding it as another animal. Yeah, either way, it

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like Chloe as a clever girl. Anyway, she continues,

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<v Speaker 1>we recently adopted a kitten, and at first she reacted

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<v Speaker 1>to her reflection as if it was another cat. Now, though,

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<v Speaker 1>she also seems to understand how it works. Once, when

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<v Speaker 1>she was facing the mirror, I stood behind her and

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<v Speaker 1>held up her favorite toy. When she saw the toy

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<v Speaker 1>in the mirror, she turned around and ran up to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Completely anecdotal, of course, but I do think cats are

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<v Speaker 1>a lot smarter than people give them credit. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>the many hours of learning and entertainment, uh, Nayla. Interesting

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<v Speaker 1>that this has got my brain burning. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure what to think about all this, But um,

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<v Speaker 1>in a way, it does make sense that if a

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<v Speaker 1>cat was to use a mirror, what would he use

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<v Speaker 1>it for? You know, for grooming itself? Now, cats are

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<v Speaker 1>already great at that, they don't need a mirror's help

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<v Speaker 1>with that. Would they be able to utilize it to

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<v Speaker 1>better hunt and to practice their hunting? Well? Maybe so?

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<v Speaker 1>And I do agree that that cats. I think here,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's wrong to dismiss the cats as being

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<v Speaker 1>you know, stupid. They can certainly do some things that

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<v Speaker 1>that humans might be tempted to judge as stupid. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they have a different social situation compared to

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<v Speaker 1>other animals like dogs and cats, Like they just they

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<v Speaker 1>live in in different sensory realms. They have different you know,

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<v Speaker 1>social structures for how they regard each other, so uh

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<v Speaker 1>and and different you know, different behaviors. So um, I

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<v Speaker 1>think by and large, when we when we think about

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<v Speaker 1>animals in general, we have to be careful about saying

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<v Speaker 1>like one is, this one's smart, and this one's dumb.

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<v Speaker 1>Like no, and generally speaking, an animal is as smart

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<v Speaker 1>as it needs to be to do the things that

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<v Speaker 1>it excels at. Yeah, they have different kinds of intelligence

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<v Speaker 1>than we do. Yeah. Are you gonna say a slug

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<v Speaker 1>isn't smart? I mean, the slug slugs are doing great.

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<v Speaker 1>They're they're they're they're killing it out there. The new

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<v Speaker 1>motto of our show, slugs are Smart. Um. Okay from Jesse. Hey, y'all,

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<v Speaker 1>I've just finished listening to all three of your episodes

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<v Speaker 1>on mirrors, and i'd like to see if you'd be

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<v Speaker 1>interested in talking about a more recent phenomenon, mirror selfies.

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<v Speaker 1>As more and more people have access to cameras and

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<v Speaker 1>are able to easily publish photos of themselves, I've also

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<v Speaker 1>noticed that taking a picture of yourself in a mirror

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<v Speaker 1>is still very popular. Is this because it's easy to

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<v Speaker 1>take a picture this way parentheses? Everyone has a mirror

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<v Speaker 1>in their bathroom and you don't need a tripod? Or

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<v Speaker 1>can it also be that taking a picture of yourself

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<v Speaker 1>in a mirror captures a certain version of you. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening and keep up the great work. Jesse. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>this is a great question, and I think both of

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<v Speaker 1>your answers there might have something to do with it.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, one thing is that like we were talking

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<v Speaker 1>about in the very first Mirror episode. Your image that

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<v Speaker 1>you have in your brain of yourself is probably based

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<v Speaker 1>mostly on looking at yourself in a mirror, which is

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<v Speaker 1>different than the way you look to most people because

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<v Speaker 1>it's reversed along the horizontal plane. So there's definitely that,

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<v Speaker 1>But then there's also I think, um, you ever noticed

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<v Speaker 1>how I feel like this is true for me, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how true this is for other people.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like I am better at positioning my body

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<v Speaker 1>and my face in a way that I think looks

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<v Speaker 1>good in a mirror than I am able to do

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<v Speaker 1>in a photo, like when I'm posing for a photograph.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess because I can't see myself when I'm posing

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<v Speaker 1>for a photograph, and so I guess you could maybe

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<v Speaker 1>see yourself in the screen of a phone. That's like

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<v Speaker 1>reversed into selfie mode. But that's a very small thing

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<v Speaker 1>you're looking at there, when if you're just looking at

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<v Speaker 1>your reflection in the mirror, you're getting more information and

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<v Speaker 1>like a larger picture to base your pose on. Does

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<v Speaker 1>that make sense? Yeah? Yeah, I mean there's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of real time feedback and exactly how you're posing your body. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>all right. This one comes to us from Alan. Alan says,

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<v Speaker 1>to tidbits for you to consider number one in mirrors

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<v Speaker 1>part when you mentioned covered mirrors. In Jewish tradition, when

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<v Speaker 1>a person dies and the family is in a period

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<v Speaker 1>of deep mourning called shiva, mirrors are covered. On a

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<v Speaker 1>logical level, it could be so that people don't try

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<v Speaker 1>to spruce up their appearance, but on a mystical level,

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<v Speaker 1>it could be an avoidance of the deceased in case

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<v Speaker 1>they are in the mirror. I think, m um. And

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<v Speaker 1>then Alan also writes, I treat vets with PTSD when

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<v Speaker 1>we talk to them about their experiences undeployment and how

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<v Speaker 1>psychotic that was. We refer to it as stepping through

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<v Speaker 1>the looking glass, as in Alice in Wonderland, UH, where

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<v Speaker 1>reality is topsy turvy and psychotic and the real. In

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<v Speaker 1>their rehabilitation, we try to alleviate the effects of the

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<v Speaker 1>combat stress and help normalize their lives. The military prepares

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<v Speaker 1>them with battle mind, whereas we try to teach, for

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<v Speaker 1>lack of a better way of putting it, civilian mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Love the podcast, Alan, So we got this email before

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<v Speaker 1>the last episode where we were talking more about mirror metaphors,

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<v Speaker 1>but this is clearly one of the big ones, right,

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<v Speaker 1>like the idea of stepping across the boundary of the

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<v Speaker 1>mirror into like a reversed version of yourself off Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Through the looking glasses the probably the prime example of that.

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<v Speaker 1>And I remember encountering big mirrors as a child and

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about that, like staring into the mirror and imagining

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<v Speaker 1>what would happen if you crawled through that mirror and

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<v Speaker 1>you were in that world on the other side. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And I don't know to what extent it was because

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<v Speaker 1>of Alice in Wonderland or illustrations of it that I

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<v Speaker 1>had seen, but but yeah, that definitely went through my mind,

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<v Speaker 1>And maybe that was what was going through my mind

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<v Speaker 1>when I managed to pull a large mirror that was

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<v Speaker 1>hanging on a wall behind a couch off of the

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<v Speaker 1>wall and break it over my my body when I

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<v Speaker 1>was something like I don't know two or three years what.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think you told me about this? Oh yeah, well,

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<v Speaker 1>if it's it's it was long a favorite story and

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<v Speaker 1>and in my household, I don't really remember it happening,

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<v Speaker 1>but I remember I remember standing there on the couch

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<v Speaker 1>with broken mirror all around me and like adults running in.

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<v Speaker 1>But I was completely unscathed. So in a way, I

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<v Speaker 1>did go through the looking glass. Did you think you

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<v Speaker 1>were Do you think you were trying to get through?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I don't know. Maybe I was just

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<v Speaker 1>looking in it and I decided to pull on it.

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<v Speaker 1>But it it's made me very nervous about hanging mirrors

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<v Speaker 1>my whole life. I just hung a mirror the other day,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, as I was like measuring everything twice

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<v Speaker 1>and second guessing in and warning everybody in the house, now,

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<v Speaker 1>don't hang on this, even the adults, and you know

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<v Speaker 1>that my wife is like, I'm not gonna hang on

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<v Speaker 1>the mirror. You don't have to worry about that. Somehow

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<v Speaker 1>this seems very illuminating about you. But yes, I've been

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<v Speaker 1>through the looking glass. Okay. We got a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>messages in response to our Vault episode about the tomato,

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<v Speaker 1>remember those tomato episodes being being some favorites of mine.

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<v Speaker 1>One yea very juicy one is from Arthur Apparently. I

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<v Speaker 1>think we were talking about vegetarian substitutes for bacon and

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<v Speaker 1>a b LT and Arthur says the best non meat

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<v Speaker 1>substitute for bacon I found for sandwiches and salads is

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<v Speaker 1>barbecue flavored potato chips. Scratches the bacon itch. You know that.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a good idea, Arthur, I have to try that.

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<v Speaker 1>I do love some some barbecue chips. I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>think in the episode we talked about stuff like maybe

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<v Speaker 1>like roasted eggplant or like roasted mushrooms that can create

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<v Speaker 1>a very nice meaty flavor. But with those you wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>really get a bacony texture. But with barbecue potato chips,

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<v Speaker 1>hey that's crispy. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And of course they

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<v Speaker 1>keep up with the Annie on on our on our

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<v Speaker 1>fake meat world. I mean, just a year later, we

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<v Speaker 1>have we have some some wonderful options that have just

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<v Speaker 1>come online. I was just trying out some new field dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>The other did not field dogs. They were like they're

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<v Speaker 1>supposed to be like stadium dogs are supposed to taste

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<v Speaker 1>like a baseball hot dog, but they're baste alternative. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it tastes like baseball. They're good, they're good cool. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, But the other way, I can't remember

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<v Speaker 1>if we already said this in the episode. Sorry if

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<v Speaker 1>I'm repeating myself, But the other way to go. If

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<v Speaker 1>you don't want bacon is technically for really good sandwich,

0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:02.800
<v Speaker 1>and you've got good ripe summer tomatoes, you don't even

0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:04.720
<v Speaker 1>need the lettuce and bacon. You can just have a

0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.680
<v Speaker 1>bacon sandwich just like good bread, mayonnaise and ripe summer

0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:12.960
<v Speaker 1>tomatoes is exquisite. Just not just the bacon, just the tomatoes.

0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.240
<v Speaker 1>Did I say bacon, No, just the tomatoes. Yeah, yeah,

0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:17.679
<v Speaker 1>I think you might have said just the bacon at first. Anyway,

0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:18.720
<v Speaker 1>I know what you mean. I knew what you mean,

0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:22.040
<v Speaker 1>just the tomatoes. Tomato stands alone. But if you're really pressed,

0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.520
<v Speaker 1>I would say, also, um, just some some some bread

0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:29.240
<v Speaker 1>and mayonnaise. Also not bad. I mean it's not the worst.

0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.440
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, okay, squeeze little lemon on there. Okay, yeah,

0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:40.160
<v Speaker 1>I got you, all right. This one comes to us

0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.680
<v Speaker 1>from Blake. Hi, guys, I'm emailing you to share my

0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:46.000
<v Speaker 1>thought regarding and potential used for tomatoes with a notable

0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.679
<v Speaker 1>nicotine content. As a smoker who is currently trying to

0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:53.120
<v Speaker 1>quit and who has tried nicotine replacement means such as

0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:56.120
<v Speaker 1>vaping and nicotine gum, I think it sounds like one

0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.679
<v Speaker 1>of the healthiest ways to stop smoking. Eating tomatoes in

0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 1>modern ration. Considering recent health issues around vaping and the

0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.160
<v Speaker 1>dental issues around chewing gum, why not load up a

0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.720
<v Speaker 1>nice juicy tomato with a bit of nick. I really

0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:13.160
<v Speaker 1>like your show, respectfully, Blake. Oh my Blake, I think

0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.760
<v Speaker 1>you're joking, but please, no one do this. I think

0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.800
<v Speaker 1>what we were talking about was that that somebody had

0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:23.200
<v Speaker 1>manager claim to have managed to have grafted tomato planned

0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:26.120
<v Speaker 1>on to tobacco roots or something like that, and they

0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:30.480
<v Speaker 1>grew tomatoes with substantial nicotine content which could be poisonous.

0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.120
<v Speaker 1>Do not eat that, seriously, we really don't want anybody

0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.720
<v Speaker 1>to get death by nicotine poisoning, even if it is

0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:42.240
<v Speaker 1>from the most delicious ripe summer tomatoes. But all that aside,

0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:49.800
<v Speaker 1>good luck with quitting, Blake. Keep at it all right.

0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.160
<v Speaker 1>I think we should wrap this up with one last message,

0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.200
<v Speaker 1>and this comes to us about Weird House Cinema. On

0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:57.080
<v Speaker 1>our episode about Soviet Lord of the Rings a k a.

0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:02.240
<v Speaker 1>Chronatelli or the Keepers. This comes from Pat. Pat says, guys,

0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:04.680
<v Speaker 1>thanks for giving me a chance to visit a peeve.

0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.920
<v Speaker 1>On this episode, you repeated the oft held notion that

0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.560
<v Speaker 1>the bomba dial episode and the Fellowship of the Ring

0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:14.199
<v Speaker 1>does not advance the plot and is understandably left out

0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.040
<v Speaker 1>of other productions. I love those productions, in particular Peter

0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.920
<v Speaker 1>Jackson's This is one great error. Nerds like me have

0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.800
<v Speaker 1>read everything we could. In light of all the books,

0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.360
<v Speaker 1>particularly the Sill Marillion, one cannot deny that Tolkien placed

0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.400
<v Speaker 1>great importance in the religion and mythos of his world.

0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.760
<v Speaker 1>The Bomba Dill episode is important because of the stress

0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.080
<v Speaker 1>of mythos and religion. The knives given to the Hobbits

0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:41.200
<v Speaker 1>and the barrow Downs are imbued with animism. A great

0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:44.160
<v Speaker 1>moment of irony is lost when Mary helps defeat the

0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.880
<v Speaker 1>Witch King using a sword that is wound with the

0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.680
<v Speaker 1>curses of his vanquished. The trilogy is filled with this animism,

0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:53.640
<v Speaker 1>and it is left out of theatrical productions. Thanks for

0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.280
<v Speaker 1>all the fun. You guys are the best, Pat Rob,

0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.840
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you have thoughts on this. Um. Yeah, yeah,

0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:02.480
<v Speaker 1>I think this makes it. It's a good case. I mean,

0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.800
<v Speaker 1>like like like Pat says, clearly, this is the kind

0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.400
<v Speaker 1>of meat that Tolken shoot on. You know, he didn't

0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:13.400
<v Speaker 1>he didn't do anything lightly regarding his use of mythology

0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 1>and symbolism and how he he weaved these various uh

0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.720
<v Speaker 1>you know, mythic elements into his work. So uh yeah,

0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.640
<v Speaker 1>it's it's not like, um like, as we're recording this,

0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:26.480
<v Speaker 1>we just did a weird house cinema episode on on

0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.800
<v Speaker 1>the Return of the blind debt. You know, in the

0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:30.520
<v Speaker 1>Return of the blind Ed, you can make an argument

0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:31.920
<v Speaker 1>for a well, you could probably cut this out and

0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.640
<v Speaker 1>everything would be fine. Uh you know, but with with

0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.080
<v Speaker 1>with Tolkien, Yeah, if you're gonna, if you're gonna surgically

0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:42.240
<v Speaker 1>remove something, well maybe you didn't think that organ was

0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.120
<v Speaker 1>doing anything, but it was probably in there because it

0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:48.680
<v Speaker 1>was doing something, at least to a more you know,

0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:53.840
<v Speaker 1>I guess detail oriented, refined read off the original text.

0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean there's another way of thinking about whether things

0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.040
<v Speaker 1>can be excised from the progress of a plot in

0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.600
<v Speaker 1>a in a novel or a movie, um, which is

0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.960
<v Speaker 1>that anything you take out will leave the final product changed.

0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:08.480
<v Speaker 1>I mean, every little like moment an episode in the

0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:13.040
<v Speaker 1>story changes the overall feelings and impression that the that

0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.200
<v Speaker 1>the reader hasn't mean anything in a well written story,

0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.400
<v Speaker 1>unless it's just something that's incredibly repetitive and similar to

0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.360
<v Speaker 1>what came before and after. So I do think the

0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:25.080
<v Speaker 1>story is changed by taking out Tom Bombadylan the Barrow Downs.

0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.480
<v Speaker 1>I think what I could acknowledge about it, despite how

0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.600
<v Speaker 1>much I like those those sections of the book, is

0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.440
<v Speaker 1>that you can take those parts out and the story

0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:39.520
<v Speaker 1>still feels like it makes perfect sense. A person who

0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.440
<v Speaker 1>experiences the story without those parts does not detect that

0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.800
<v Speaker 1>something is missing or does not feel like the story

0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:49.240
<v Speaker 1>is incomplete. And yet at the same time, I think

0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.240
<v Speaker 1>it's absolutely true that, yeah, when you take them out,

0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:55.200
<v Speaker 1>something is lost, but the story can function without them.

0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:57.680
<v Speaker 1>I think what we need to see, though, is that

0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.640
<v Speaker 1>if Peter Jackson can three films out of The Hobbit,

0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.760
<v Speaker 1>he needs to make one film out of the Barrow

0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.720
<v Speaker 1>Whites and Tom Bomba Dill section stand alone with the Fellowship. Yeah,

0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.280
<v Speaker 1>stand alone. I'm not sure what else he could draw on,

0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.440
<v Speaker 1>but oh, it's gotta be possible. It's gotta be possible.

0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.960
<v Speaker 1>All the songs. You need to have all the songs. Obviously, Um,

0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.399
<v Speaker 1>did we talk about casting for Bombadill yet? No. I

0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:24.919
<v Speaker 1>was thinking a little bit of the other day the

0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:26.679
<v Speaker 1>other day, though, I'm not sure how you do it.

0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.240
<v Speaker 1>How do you who could you possibly cast as Bomba dough.

0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:33.359
<v Speaker 1>You'd probably have to really draw from like musical theater.

0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:38.000
<v Speaker 1>I guess, uh, somebody with a strong like singing, uh

0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:42.080
<v Speaker 1>sort of um presence, I don't know, but they also

0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.160
<v Speaker 1>need to be peaceful and not menacing like um, I'm

0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.960
<v Speaker 1>thinking of like older actors, like maybe maybe Brian Blessed

0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:53.920
<v Speaker 1>could could have played this role. But um, I almost

0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.320
<v Speaker 1>said Brian Cox, just because I love Brian Cox, But

0:17:56.359 --> 0:18:00.240
<v Speaker 1>that's totally wrong. Brian Cox is far too severe for Tom. Yeah,

0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.320
<v Speaker 1>because you don't want him to be menacing either, right,

0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:06.560
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's it's a particular energy that Tom Bomba

0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:08.760
<v Speaker 1>Dill has to have, and he's also he's got to

0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:11.159
<v Speaker 1>have some some lungs, he's got to be able to

0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:15.840
<v Speaker 1>to really built those numbers like basically Acapella mid Forest.

0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.119
<v Speaker 1>So I'm not sure who you would cast. What about

0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.639
<v Speaker 1>Stephen McKinley Henderson, who's playing through Fier Hawat in the

0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.960
<v Speaker 1>upcoming Dune movie. I feel like he he maybe has

0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:31.200
<v Speaker 1>the right kind of of sort of supernatural benign presence

0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:33.800
<v Speaker 1>that you need for Tom Bomba Dill. Yeah. Yeah, maybe

0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:35.639
<v Speaker 1>so you do kind of I feel like there's some

0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:39.240
<v Speaker 1>crossover with actors who have effectively played Santa Claus. If

0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.840
<v Speaker 1>you have an effective Santa maybe Bomba Dill. I was

0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.600
<v Speaker 1>I did think I was thinking about I think you

0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:46.440
<v Speaker 1>should leave, and I was thinking about the skits in

0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:49.280
<v Speaker 1>season two with the where Santa Claus becomes an actor.

0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:55.000
<v Speaker 1>I think Detective crash More. Yeah, I think Santa Claus,

0:18:55.119 --> 0:19:00.720
<v Speaker 1>the actor from from those skits could potentially play Bomba Dill. Uh.

0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:04.040
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, I don't know. It's a It's a tough one, Okay.

0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:06.359
<v Speaker 1>I think we need to wrap it up there. All right, Well,

0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:08.480
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna go and close the mail bag here for

0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:10.639
<v Speaker 1>this episode of Listener Mail, but we'll be back next Monday,

0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.639
<v Speaker 1>so keep them coming. If you have thoughts about current episodes,

0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.200
<v Speaker 1>recent episodes, future episodes of stuff to blow your mind,

0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.280
<v Speaker 1>or the artifact or weird al cinema responses to other

0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.720
<v Speaker 1>listeners emails, all that is a fair game, so right in.

0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.200
<v Speaker 1>We'd love to hear from you. Huge thanks as always

0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.119
<v Speaker 1>to our excellent audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you

0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.120
<v Speaker 1>would look to get in touch with us with feedback

0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.520
<v Speaker 1>on this episode or any other, to suggest a topic

0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.680
<v Speaker 1>for the future, or just to say hello, you can

0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.080
<v Speaker 1>email us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind

0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:49.200
<v Speaker 1>dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production

0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.000
<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio,

0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:54.879
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:56.280
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