Pr0n vs. Romance

Cute, but far from true. I've read pr0n by women and romance by men.

Everyone has a price. Some people merely keep theirs in a nonstandard location.

That reminds me of why Kovid, my evil warlord-wizard, first stepped onto the path that led to taking over the world.

Raiders trampled his onions one too many times.

Really. He was perfectly happy as a scholarly recluse in a quiet little tower with a garden, not too far from a village. But people kept ransacking his yard, so he dealt with them; and that threw more pressure onto the villagers, who came to him for help; and things just sort of snowballed from there. It explains a lot about his often-short temper dealing with people.

>>That episode was one of many that season
which were just lame rationalizations of US involvement in Vietnam.<<

I would say "exploration" rather than "rationalization." Some episodes were more favorable, while others made war look stupid and atavistic.

>>however, there are few exceptions to the rule about
power corrupting, and absolute power corrupting absolutely.<<

The complete saying is that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." I think it's the approach, rather than the arrival, that is the problem. If you have truly absolute power, then nothing can threaten you, and you don't have anything to left to fight against except yourself. That encourages a shift of perspective. Also worth considering is the way people handle power, specifically, whether they concentrate it or spread it. A person who delegates comfortably is less prone to power trips, and some people simply aren't attracted to power in the first place.

*chuckle* I am always amused to imagine how frustrating it must have for the Ring of Doom to keep getting picked up by hobbits, since the Rings were all racially targeted. It had a really hard time getting a grip on hobbits; gaining traction required very lengthy exposure. And Sam blew it off quite explicitly because its prime temptation was so utterly alien to his personality. By that time, the poor Ring must have been like, "AGH! No! Not ANOTHER hobbit! Help!"

>>The question of exploration/rationalization
wouldn't be the first time we haven't fully agreed on a particular point...<<

True. A key point for me, however, is that several ST episodes caused a ruckus when they were released, because they were perceived at that time as criticizing the war. Interpretations today might vary.

>>You're probably right about the quote, too,
although it might be a matter of how one understands/translates
the original Latin...<<

True. Much can get lost in translation. I prefer the "tends to" variation because it helps avoid the always/never logical fallacy.

>>and now I'll be thinking about writing a synopsis of LotR
from the Ring's POV...<<

*laugh* That would be SO cool! I would love to see that. It would be as much fun as the Very Secret Diaries.