Author Archive
September 3, 2013 at 7:16 am by Demosthenes
Thunder in the distance, clouds on the horizon. It was shaping up to be a day spent huddling inside when the company split ways for the day, but they did not despair.
Justin took the crystal slab, streaming the knowledge of Middle-Earth to those who wanted it most, while Doug and Ryan fled into the dark, cold, gaming cave. Where they played Cryptozoic’s table-play The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with all manner of persons. Jovial were the games when people learned the power of working as a team, as one unit, and the company never faltered once. (more…)
Posted in Conventions, DragonCon, Events, Fans, Graham McTavish, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, The Hobbit, William Kircher
September 3, 2013 at 2:45 am by Demosthenes
In this piece on his blog Midgardsmal, linguist David Salo writes about how he derived various Orkish dialects used in the Lord of the Rings films from his own extrapolations of Black Speech, and
about his thoughts on the approach Sauron might have taken in putting together Black Speech itself.
(more…)
Posted in David Salo, Green Books, Hobbit Movie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Languages, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Tolkien
September 2, 2013 at 6:55 pm by Demosthenes
Courtesy of Ringer Oleander Took on the TORn messageboards, we have some exciting new merchandising key artwork to ogle. (more…)
Posted in Collectibles, Headlines, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, The Hobbit
September 2, 2013 at 9:58 am by Demosthenes
If you live in Belgium, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Norway, or parts of Switzerland, congratulations — it’s only 99 days until The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug debuts in your region! It opens a day later in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Serbia & Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switz-German and Thailand.
Here are the release dates as listed by region on the official website for The Hobbit: (more…)
Posted in Events, Film Screenings, Headlines, Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
September 2, 2013 at 8:30 am by Demosthenes
As you know, we’re currently conducting our pledge drive to raise funds and keep our servers running. We also have some very exciting auctions going on over at Ebay.
There are some fabulous, exclusive pieces up for grabs – including some things which, usually, money can’t buy! Time is running out on some of our auctions too, so best check them out now. Here are just three that might tickle your fancy: (more…)
Posted in Books, Books Publications, Collectibles, Headlines, Merchandise, Sideshow Collectibles, TheOneRing.net Announcements
September 2, 2013 at 3:35 am by Demosthenes
With thoughts of Bree-town still dancing in their heads, the company was sure they’d make this the best day yet. Panels were streamed with the powerful crystal slab, Middle-earth’s daunting history was made more easily digestible by resident historian Larry, Lord of Festivities.
Parts of the company whiled away the afternoon, and into the evening played exciting table-top games, crafted by the logistic smiths of the mighty Cryptozoic. They shared the good tidings with any and all who sought to go on exciting adventures with Thorin and Company and recreate the glories of an Age long past.
However, a body can only take so much Cryptozoic-induced euphoria without fuel, so they packed-up and headed to dinner with fellow Ringers! If ever there was a setting like Bilbo’s pantry the night before an adventure this was it! They ate, drank, made merry, and sang the pantry song for all to hear.
Drums in the deep sounded from within the bowels of the inn, a calling from some unknown cavern. The Company set out to find the source. What they discovered was altogether unexpected. A vast hollow underneath the building opened to them, filled with the sound of laughter, the boisterous song of the peoples of Middle-earth making merry, irrespective of race, age, or creed.
Thranduil had shown up, adorned with strands of bio-luminescent moss and goggles that shutter the sun and shade the eyes. He danced like the Eldar of old, as if Ilúvatar himself were watching.
Dwarves had hewn this dance chamber, and dwarves dancing there were. From thumping their feet in time, to causing a howling ruckus. They even caused Thranduil to spill his wine, but such was the sense of camaraderie that, in an uncommon show of friendship, he laughed it off and called for more!
When the revelry was over, and the hobbits put to bed. The company, with their newly acquired friends, recalled fond memories of legends by playing a final table-play of Cryptozoic’s Hobbit before retiring.
Are there dark clouds on the horizon? Is there a chill in the wind foretelling a change in the weather? Find out in tomorrow’s installment of “Cryptozoic’s Lost Tales” on The Road to Dragon Con!
Doug Brochu.
If you like what we do, and would like to see your Tolkien community keep growing and growing, consider making a contribution to our Pledge Drive. Every bit helps defray our costs!
Posted in Conventions, Creations, DragonCon, Events, Fans, Meet Ups, The Hobbit
September 2, 2013 at 2:30 am by Demosthenes
| Source: Atlanta Magazine| No Comments »
The internet can be a harsh, hyper-critical place that’s quick to judge and low on thoughtful, considered analysis. This article is a bit of a reminder that passion runs deep in all fandom cultures, and to totally steal a quote from Gandalf, and mangle it a bit, we shouldn’t be too eager to tear other folks down.
Also, “the cultural roots of Tolkien’s The Hobbit in the Old Norse literary form of the Legendary Saga.”? I’d be all over that if I was there. (more…)
Posted in Conventions, DragonCon, Events, Fans
September 2, 2013 at 1:55 am by Demosthenes
| Source: If Industries| No Comments »
File this under cool (or weird) concept art. This comes ultimately from conceptual artists If Industries, who seem to delight in taking geeky things from pop culture and going “well, how might that work in the real world?”. Their initial suggestion seems to be litter box, but we prefer the idea of filling it with pillows and turning into a cosey little hidey hole.
Thanks to Ringer Banazir for the spot! (more…)
Posted in Fans, The Hobbit
September 2, 2013 at 1:10 am by Demosthenes
This is an illustrated tale of the untried university graduate who brought new life to JRR Tolkien’s previous creations. Here lies a tale about a young rookie who was plucked from the wilderness to deliver an almighty task despite lacking in heavyweight stature.
Art student Jemima Catlin, an avid JRR Tolkien obsessive, was just 23 when her work fell into the lap of literary giants Harper Collins – and little did she know that she would go on to illustrate none other than her beloved epic, The Hobbit. (more…)
Posted in Christopher Tolkien, Hobbit Book, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Tolkien, Tolkien Estate
September 1, 2013 at 11:20 am by Demosthenes
| Source: Elanillounico.com| No Comments »
According to our Spanish friends at Elanillounico.com, Imagenes Magazine has just published a new edition that contains a five-page feature dedicated to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. (more…)
Posted in Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
September 1, 2013 at 12:45 am by Demosthenes
| Source: The Daily Beast| No Comments »
Yours truly has been ever-so-slowly getting through the newest Tolkien book The Fall of Arthur for the last month-and-a-half with a hope of at some point stringing together a few poor words on the subject.
I’ve also been reading other what others have had to say in the media. This piece, by Tolkien scholar John Garth, is a good place to start if you’re interested.
Early in The Fall of Arthur, long awaited by fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and now edited for publication by his son Christopher, an army rides to Mirkwood where they see in a storm above it, Ringwraith-like:
wan horsemen wild in windy clouds
grey and monstrous grimly riding
shadow-helmed to war, shapes disastrous.
But this isn’t Middle-earth: it is Europe on the brink of the Dark Ages, and the army is led by Arthur and Gawain. Mirkwood is simply the old name for Germany’s eastern forests, which Tolkien borrowed for the children’s story he was writing in the same period in the early 1930s, The Hobbit.
Tolkien was a writer of endless stories. And as with most of them, The Fall of Arthur is literally endless: unfinished. It’s been lying among his vast legacy of papers, almost unknown but for a paragraph in Humphrey Carpenter’s 1976 biography and a single reference in Tolkien’s published letters. Publication follows that of the more difficult The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún in 2009, which Christopher Tolkien probably elected to publish first because it was complete. Like Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur is in alliterative verse, a mode last fashionable in the 14th century.
[Read More]
Posted in Books Publications, Christopher Tolkien, Collectibles, Green Books, J.R.R. Tolkien, Other Tolkien books, Tolkien
August 31, 2013 at 7:55 pm by Demosthenes
DragonCon: There And Back Again – the adventure continues next week! Meet our fearless Company of Dwarves as they return to the western lands. Join your local event on TheOneRing Facebook event page. (more…)
Posted in Conventions, DragonCon, Fans, Meet Ups
