In the Lord of the Rings fandom there’s a persistent debate whether balrogs, or Durin’s Bane specifically, have wings. The text in Fellowship is ambiguous whether what it is describing are literal wings or something else wing-like.
In the Lord of the Rings fandom there’s a persistent debate whether balrogs, or Durin’s Bane specifically, have wings. The text in Fellowship is ambiguous whether what it is describing are literal wings or something else wing-like.
There’s two in my hobbies.
First is in DnD. I’m going to ignore the obvious version wars but a lot of people debate who is and isn’t fan of DnD. A lot of people just watch Critical Role or Dimension 20. Some in the community say that doesn’t count and you’re not a fan unless you actually play.
My take is everyone is welcome, and if all you do is watch then I’ll just talk about storytelling with you and discuss mechanics with someone else.
The other big one is Chinese fountain pens that clearly mimic more well known brands. Are they good pens? Should they be shunned? Does it matter since most of the brands haven’t made the specific model in ages? So much back and forth.
My take here is some people will never have the money for a Pelikan M1000 and those who do are going to go for which writes better. There’s only so many ways a tube can be made unique.
yeah because if there’s anything the nerd community needs more of it’s bullying
I mean, I never said the argument was a good one. Just it’s one I hear all the time.
Sure. But it’s not just about the tube. It’s mostly about the ball.
At last - China learns how to make a ballpoint pen
That’s from 2017. Until then, China had to rely on importing the little steel balls from Switzerland despite making 80% of the world’s pens.
There’s no ball in fountain pens though which is what I’m talking about.
Oh right. Well, it’s still quite a cool fact. I’m not really into pens.
I think the lack of personal time to pursue fulfilling hobbies and the general difficulty of finding a group of 4-8 players who have the sane consistent schedule is the primary bar of entry. The base rules of 5e are free, and anyone can download a dice rolling app for free. And barring that, pirating DnD books is stupid easy.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a game you can’t always play. If that was the bar of entry, then everyone’s uncle who is super hyped about the Superbowl isn’t a football fan.
Patent on the Pilot Vanishing Point as far as I can tell has expired and that Majohn (Moonman) and Jinhao have made cheaper versions.
VPs are still bloody expensive for me and I don’t want to gamble and see if I like it for that much money (and try to sell i t off if I don’t like it).
Turns out I like retractable fountain pens but the jinhaos and majohn one I suppose isn’t as well made and dry out quickly. From a bunch of reviews I’ve consumed they could be as good at not drying out but for the cheap price it’s a QC issue.
So now what? Throw away perfectly fine cheap pens just to get the real one?
But on the flip side, I have tried a Lamy 2000 and I love it and I know there are blatant copies and homages from the Chinese brands and I won’t get them.
Hobbies are just weird.
But at the end of the day, I think the cheap brands should he celebrated even copies because it’s a good entryway to the hobby. If a pen hasn’t been produced for decades, then someone else made new copies or homages, then I don’t blame anyone wanting those instead of having to hunt for vintage pens and hoping to restore it (by themselves or sending it to someone).
I think I mostly agree with you. If I ever see a Pilot myu clone I’m snagging it. Og or clone. They’re so rare that an original will never be in my budget. A clone would just let more people enjoy the pen.
Not that I expect it to be cloned pretty much ever.