I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that everyone who reads this blog can, in fact, read. (Bear with me here.) If this is the case for you, esteemed reader, then you may enjoy an article I read recently. Next time you're at your local library, look for the December 22-29 2003 issue of the New Yorker. Towards the back and flanked by advertisements for all kinds of frivolous things is a great article comparing the Lord of the Rings with Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung. The similarities are pretty interesting. I don't know much about Wagner, but the article provides ample info about both Wagner and Tolkien. The illustration of Gollum riding a tricycle around Wagner sitting at a piano is reason enough to pick up the magazine.