Stuff
On the myriad disconnected names in Lord of the Rings: Your reaction very much reminds me of my own experience in the "bugs and drugs" classes I've been taking all spring. This is a large part of the reason I'm skimming four months of back-log on your calendar despite my exams coming up in two weeks.

On roller coasters (Jan minutiae): Your progression is very different from my own. When I was very young, I was too terrified to even try riding a roller coaster. The first one I rode went upside down in a loop, then did a corkscrew, then did it all again... backwards. Surviving it was such an exhilarating experience that I was a convert, and loved them for years. But one day, on the way up the hill my first time riding "Superman" at Six Flags New England, I suddenly had complete confidence in my safety; the rest of the ride was boring, despite the fact that it was the biggest coaster I'd ever been on. I've never enjoyed roller coasters since.

On the new Batman series: I'm glad you had good things to say about Batman Begins. It is one of the few movies I can tolerate watching multiple times--I really like it. I also liked The Dark Knight, but I did find the Joker's character baffling. I just can't fathom a character who has no fundamentally Human motives (reasonable or not) at the core. Despite that character not being a good metaphor for terrorism (and perhaps that wasn't even the idea) I liked the themes brought up in Batman's character: that sometimes, to do the right thing, someone may have to be misunderstood and scapegoated. That isn't at all what I want to believe, but it does match up to reality, I think. Also I your line "they've just discovered that the bank is easier to rob with a contract and a desk than with a gun and a getaway car" is a neat synopsis of a crucial reality people need to wake up to.