make....it....st o p
Today's forecast: partly hurricaney. With more on the way.

I watched the Two Towers again for the first time in a long while, and was struck by the crisp elegance of Faramir's Gondorian accent. I read somewhere that the Gondor accent was based loosely on the Yorkshire accent, with long o's and e's ("mehyn" instead of "men", "Bohrohmir", etc.). The effect is very plummy and smooth. You know you're in the presence of a literate culture, a civilization of scholars and poets.

Now, if the filmmakers had defied logic, common sense, and tradition, and gone the American route - who knows? Maybe they would have given the Gondorians a Boston accent, as follows:

"A chance foah Fahrameah, captin of Gondoahh, to show his quality. Wicked pissah!"

"Battahlions of ohcs are crahssing the rivahh..."

Or perhaps an upper Midwest accent:

"Yer bodygaird, eh?"

OK, I just realized I have no point here.

Talk amongst yourselves.