several different "breeds" of Elves exist (or existed) .. including the Noldor, Teleri, Sindar, etc.
ELF frequencies are produced naturally in the earth's ionosphere, among other places; and artificially by various sources including power lines. Active communication in these frequencies is very difficult because the antennas used in their creation must be enormous. Nevertheless, the United States Navy once operated its nuclear submarine communication systems in the ELF range, to prevent the attenuation that higher-frequency signals are prone to in deep water.(The program was eventually terminated due to high costs, the end of the Cold War, and wildlife protesters.Thanks to unperson for pointing this out.)
There is inconclusive evidence suggesting that ELF fields produced by overhead power lines may be a cause of cancer, and the effects of ELF on living organisms are a subject of intensive research - some claim the submarine communication systems injured the auditory apparatus of marine mammals. The ELF band is also a favorite topic of discussion among conspiracy theory enthusiasts who believe it can be used for mind control.
Elves
No one really knows alot about the Elves as they are a mystical race. They are similar in appearence to humans, but have pointy ears and slanted eyes. Many people say that they are immortal, and that once they were kings of this world, now they live in exile and are feared by many. Elves are thought to be in tune with the land animals. They have certain traits that blossom at an early age and as they grow older these traits manifest into useful skills. Their intelligence level is very high and they are very dexterous. They tend to be immortal, and only die after being slain in battle or they can die of greif.
They are excellent spell casters and magic users. Elves tend to live in the woodlands and commune extremely well with nature. The Elven population holds more Ranger and Scout positions than any other race, and they are said to be able to track any living creature that walks, and most that fly.
In such fantasy books as Lord of the Rings they are said to be taller than an average man. Wheras many children who believe in Santa's little elves will imagine them a smaller, fatter creatures.
ELF RACE FUEL - feel the power!
ELF is generally considered to be a brand of racing fuel. They make unleaded fuels for go-karts, motorcycles, and general use, and leaded fuels for essentially all kinds of racing from karts up to pro stock drag racing. ELF is a French company (Elf Antar France) but they sell around the world. In addition, they also make synthetic motor oils in low and high viscosities, including for those vehicles using nitromethane, non-silicone DOT 5.1 brake fluid, shock oil, transmission fluid, fuel additives, grease, miscellaneous lubricants, and automotive cleaning products.
Elf Fuel is the official fuel for the FedEx CART championship series, the American LeMans series, the Speedvision World Challenge, and the Dayton Indy Lights Championship.
Elf also makes road asphalts, and fuels for agriculture.
HISTORY
On the 14th of July, 1939, a gas field was discovered in France, at Saint-Marcet, Aquitaine. The Régie Autonome des Pétroles (RAP) was formed to exploit it, followed by the Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA) in 1941. Finally, to locate and exploit oil resources outside of France, the Bureau de Recherches de Pétrole (BRP) was created. In December of 1965, the Rap and the BRP merged to form Erap (Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières), a holding company for all the companies existing at the time. The SNPA became the new parent company's main subsidiary.
This mishmash of various groups and companies was united under a single logo consisting of a solid red circle on April 28th, 1967, and with the short, "snappy" name of Elf.
References:
Website: Elf Racing Fuels and Lubricants Official Website. (http://www.racecar.co.uk/elfracingfuels/)
Website: Totalfinalelf.com. (http://www.totalfinaelf.com/ho/en/index.htm)
Poor elves.
Once, in the collective imagination, elves were creatures of the forest, always up to mischief. They were of small stature and green skin. They had pointy ears. While they were not openly hostile to humans, they were still dangerous because they were very magical creatures. They would dance in the dark forests, and woe to those who disturbed them then.
Then J.R.R. Tolkien came along. He made the elves tall and fair and noble, made them to look almost like humans. Yet they retained some of their old characteristics. The pointy ears, though never actually mentioned by Tolkien, stuck. They also retained some of their old behaviour. Though less dangerous they were still fond of fun and jokes and laughing.
And though Tolkien changed them, they were now a more interesting and multifaceted people than before. They were interesting because of the tension between them being ancient, wise, immortal, doomed and at the same time joyous, gay (in the old sense of the word) and sometimes almost childish.
Then the Tolkien ripoffs and role playing games came along. They simplified these complex elves down to a stereotype: The noble elder race, immortal, but nevertheless stagnating, decaying, dying. The writeups in this node almost all tell of those twisted, simplified people. Yet Tolkien didn't make them such one-dimensional creatures. The reason you don't read of them having fun in The Lord of the Rings is that they are at war and have more important things to do. (Sauron certainly isn't up to anything fun!) Yet there are some hints, particularly in The Hobbit:
So they laughed and sang in the trees; and pretty fair nonsense I daresay you think it. Not that they would care; they would only laugh all the more if you told them so. They were elves of course.
But in present-day imagination, elves are condemned to being noble and tragic all the time. Poor elves are never having any fun.
Esper Liberation Front, from the Deathstalker novels by Simon R. Green.
When it was discovered that Espers existed (esecially telepaths, but also including telekenetics and the like) they were enslaved by The Empire. E.L.F. struggles to free them, in an often spectacular but mostly useless manner.
The most deadly strike by the Empire against the E.L.F. was, of course, Typhoid Mary.
It's hard to believe, but there are two writeups in this node that define organizations with names taking the form of "E* Liberation Front," but no one's mentioned the Earth Liberation Front....
The E.L.F. is a group of... well, what they get called depends largely on the referrer's opinions of E.L.F. They have been called terrorists, in particular by the F.B.I., although they have yet to kill a single human being. The term "saboteurs" is perhaps more accurate. E.L.F. engages in acts of "ecotage," or in their own words "economic sabotage." They destroy bulldozers, demolish buildings and erect blockades. Localized arson is commonly used. Spiking trees is not enough for them. However, professing respect for all life, they are as reluctant to harm human beings (at least, in a physical sense) as they are to squash squirrels or truncate trees.
Their structure is decentralized. They claim not to have leaders or infrastructure. They encourage small, scattered groups to commit acts under their banner, but they do not coordinate them. They have a public spokesman for the purposes of releasing information, who agrees with their aims but does not possess knowledge of who does what.
The E.L.F.'s aims and some of its membership coincides with the A.L.F., the "Animal Liberation Front." E.L.F. arose out of Earth First!, when that organization began to eschew illegal means.
How unavoidable it is in this modern age that even groups whose stated intent is the breaking of laws and the destruction of property have a website! Theirs is: http://www.earthliberationfront.com/main.shtml
Their FAQ, in PDF format (difficult to read on-line), is at: http://www.earthliberationfront.com/library/elf_faq.pdf
Sources: http://www.earthliberationfront.com/about/ http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/protest990120.html http://www.furcommission.com/debate/words6.htm
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld elves are a different sort than the ones featured elsewhere in fantasy. They are pointy eared, slight figured, large eyed beings with fancies that are exotic, keeping with traditional elven looks. But in the Discworld they are also the cruelest sort of fiend.
They show up in the book Lords and Ladies, for that is what they are called. The novel is one centered on Granny Weatherwax and the tiny kingdom of Lancre, where in a certain part of the woods is a ring of stones meant to keep closed a place where the world is not necessarily the world and where in midsummer, snow can fall. It is a soft region from which elves can cross over and from there they can begin again their rule and reign of terror.
Pratchett's elves are a reference to faeries, Fae creatures who inhabit another world and are a terrible blight on humans that come under them, much like villagers living under the castle of a vampire lord. They are vile and superior, considering all who are not Fae to be as insects are considered by humans. They are a satirical jab at the fantasy fandom that is in love with elves, because all that they know of elves is that they are beautiful.
They exude an aura of their superiority, a sort of glamour that shames all who see them. What an unprotected human sees looking at an elf is the most beautiful creature they've ever laid their eyes on. They immediately feel shame at being human in the presence of such exquisiteness and will do anything that might make the elf in question feel in some small way less disgusted by their human presence. This happens because elves do not see merely see with their eyes or listen with their ears, they feel the thoughts of those around them and bend those thoughts to their will. They have a literal magnetism, thus their weakness is iron.
For dwarves and trolls, elves are a dangerous nuisance remembered in collective history as an enemy to be dispatched with all speed. They remember because they are immune, because trolls are metallic and dwarves love iron above all things (even gold, they just can't rhyme anything with iron).
The elves in Pratchett's book ride unicorns and shoot knockout poison and jewel tipped arrows. They follow the orders of their immortal queen. And they hunt, everyone. But it always takes them a long time to actually kill.
They say elves are beautiful, but they never say elves are kind.
European Folkloric Beings
The name elf refers to a type of magical creatures associated with woodlands and wild nature. The name is from a very old Scandinavian source, usually rendered as alf or alv.
The stories of the Norse refer to two varieties of elves, both inhabiting the realm of Alfheim: the Liosalfar, or 'light elves,' who were beautiful, sylvan, immortal, and wise; the Svartalfar, or 'dark elves', on the other hand were cave dwellers often connected to legends of the dwarves. These dark elves were unfriendly and often seen as being wicked and cruel.
Norse elves seem to have been as tall as humans, as the name elf travelled across Europe and the British Isles, however, they often became conflated with faeries, pixies, brownies, and other such small, wilderness spirits. As this synthesis took place around Europe and the British Isles, depictions became more variable as regards the size and characteristics of the elves. Often, these elves were portrayed as being quite minuscule (one source refers to them dancing on the tops of mushrooms). These minute beings are frequently shown as possessing butterfly-like antennae and sometimes wings as well. Elves are frequently depicted as possessing pointed ears; pointed or animal-like ears were a common feature in non-human (or bestial/partially animal) creatures, spirits, and monsters throughout the world.
Because of their synthesis with other, similar creatures, the word elf became something of a generic term for small pesky spirits (this is particularly true in late Medieval and Renaissance England, where the word elf seems to have been used for anything small and mischievous—possibly including insects and frogs for all I know!*).
Some elves, such as the Norse light elves, were viewed as being benign but, for the most part, elves were thought to be mischievous—even dangerous. As they were nature spirits, largely representing a culture's views on the natural world, this makes some sense. Up until about the nineteenth century, Europeans (and their American descendants) usually viewed nature as a harsh adversary. With such developments as railroads (to travel farther with fewer hazards), better sanitation, and lighting (to keep people safer at night), nature became increasingly to be seen as a source of beauty and pleasure. The view of elves, first as tricky, often cruel sprites and later as clever, jolly, and beautiful faeries seems to echo these opinions.
Christian thinkers often framed elves as demons or minions of Satan, analogous to imps. The word oaf is derived from the same root as elf, based on the idea that elves sometimes steal human babies and leave changelings (these tales were used to account for children with mental or physical deficits). I have also seen the word ugly connected with their name, for the same reason (supposedly coming from elf-like) but I can not verify that (and there seems to be some evidence to the contrary, so this maybe a discredited etymology).
The idea that elves are the jolly assistants of the Holiday Gift Bringer—merrily singing while making wooden train sets, chuckling warmly over a cup of eggnog, and tending Santa's magical reindeer is very modern, and (I think) in line with our more recent, positive view of elves. The idea of
