Of course. we can’t come to the city that never sleeps and NOT throw a party!  So on Thursday 10th October we will be holding our annual ‘Ringers Take Manhattan’ event!  This year, we’ll be at a different venue – the charming Oak Cellar at Jake’s Dilemma, 430 Amsterdam Avenue (just down the road from where we were last year).  As ever, we’ll have a generous finger food buffet, and your ticket will also include your first drink and two tickets into our raffle for the evening.

You can buy tickets for this party here.  Tickets can also be bought on the door that night, but will be $5 more expensive then – so it pays to buy in advance!  We really hope you’ll join us – we look forward to seeing many of our fellow fans in NYC in October!

[Buy tickets to Ringers take Manhattan]

Out of all the jewellers in the world, Peter Jackson chose The Ringmaker Jens Hansen to make The One Ring™ for our favourite movies. Jens submitted 15 ring prototypes in a variety of weights and finishes, and from this extensive collection, the final Movie Ring design was selected. This design has now become the “World’s Most Famous Ring”.

The Jens Hansen team also created Vilya, the ring worn by Hugo Weaving as Elrond, and last year made a special commission of 12 rings for The Hobbit’s actors who played the dwarfs.

In the workshop in Nelson, New Zealand – the middle of Middle Earth – the Jens Hansen craftsmen make gold and silver The One Ring™ replicas and character rings, along with sought-after distinctive, Scandinavian-inspired jewellery.

And, because Jens Hansen loves us movie fans so much, they are running a competition for us. Click here to like them on Facebook to enter the draw to win your own gold-plated The One Ring replica, in your size choice with engraving or without. And, don’t forget to follow them on Tumblr and Twitter so you can follow all their news. Good luck! [Enter Today]

Twas a long ride filled with much entertaining and lore-banter via the crystal slab. They talked of the rings of power and heir respective fates, the Line of Durin and what sealed their doom, and of the secret greed of Sauruman, coveter of the One.

As the sun set below middle-earth so did they set down in the bustling metropolis of Atlanta, City of the Sweet Fruit. The company unloaded their precious cargo of outerwear and delved into the fabled convention.

What will the fellowship of “Cryptozoic’s Road to Dragon-Con” encounter on the morrow? Find out live at Theonering.net/live or stay tuned for tomorrow’s installment of “Cryptozoic’s Lost Tales”!

Seriously, thanks to the Ringers who were gracious enough to have us in your home. Your kindness will not be forgotten.

Cheers, Doug.

We’d like to continue to thank Cryptozoic - our official sponsor of our Road to DragonCon! Cryptozoic has an amazing line-up of trading card and traditional games, including their recently released Hobbit Board Game and newly released The Two Towers Deck-Building Game .

Please support our adventures and our 2013 pledge drive!

• Pledge Levels
• Donate any Dollar Amount

Ways to contact our adventurers…

• LIVE Event page
• @theoneringnet #tornlive #road2dcon
• email roadtrip@theonering.net
• call 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• text 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• Map of Route

Winding country lanes called their name and they answered. Among the winding mountainous roads they found one of Radagast’s hidden dells of unspoilt nature, The Wildwood Rabbitry. The two sisters who call this haven their’s were strong and of the earth, like the Entwives of old.

Among many Shire-like services they did for the community and the land itself, they bred giant Rhosgobel (Flemish Giants) Rabbits, the ones that in times past pulled the woodland sleigh of the Brown Wizard. They fed the weary band with homemade rolls that would’ve made Beorn himself blush, crystal clear spring water reminiscent of the Ent draught of legend, and desert cakes that Bombur could only dream of.

Then they shared lore! Oh the lore! They showed them all different manner of Giant Rabbit, cows in the field, fish in the pond, crops in the garden, pigs in the slop, and dogs on the watch. The sisters showed them their workshops, where they craft wearable pieces of beauty or decaying disrepair, each to the desire of the commissioner.

The Road to DragonCon’s band of merry middle-earthians left with light hearts after a stop in a haven of such hardiness. They then set out to the City of the Elvish Minstrel, Memphis! On the way they stopped at the shop of a Misty Mountain Woodsman. He chiseled and sawed wood into desirable shapes, and the company was pleased.

Long travels make late arrivals, and this journey is no exception. When the company arrived in The Singing City the hour was late. Luckily a warm-hearted family of the race of Man had opened up their home for the company to rest their weary heads. They ate and celebrated friendship at a local eatery, and toasted to good health.

The company went to sleep like stones, no willows scratching at the windows could rouse them from their slumber.

What awaits them at the Dragon Con the following day? Wait and see.

This story (and journey) has been brought to you by Cryptozoic!

Wildwood Rabbitry

https://m.facebook.com/WildwoodRabbitry?id=583834518316936&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch&_rdr

Gwen Grim’s (Jennifer) deviant art
http://frocktarts.deviantart.com/

Inkubus’s (Alanna) deviant art
http://inkibus.deviantart.com/

Cheers, Doug.

We’d like to continue to thank Cryptozoic - our official sponsor of our Road to DragonCon! Cryptozoic has an amazing line-up of trading card and traditional games, including their recently released Hobbit Board Game and soon to be released The Two Towers Deck-Building Game (Aug 28th).

Enjoy the pics below and as always, please support our adventures and our 2013 pledge drive!

• Pledge Levels
• Donate any Dollar Amount
• Request a Topic
• Feed or Fuel the Team
• Personalized Shout-Out

Ways to contact our adventurers…

• LIVE Event page
• @theoneringnet #tornlive #road2dcon
• email roadtrip@theonering.net
• call 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• text 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• Map of Route

The day-to-day operation of the website, and the events we host, require a lot more resources than when we first started nearly 15 years ago. We sometimes find it hard to ask our readers for the help we need to keep running, so we began discussing what it is that makes TheOneRing.net worth helping out. It started out as a search for the Top Ten Moments of TORn, but the list got so long because each staff member had their own idea of important moments in TORn history. Here, instead, is something more encompassing: Ten Ways TORn helps serve Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fandom (listed in no specific order).

And, if you enjoy what we do, consider a donation (no amount too small, because every bit does help!) to keep us running!

If you can’t, that’s fine as well — keep reading, commenting and contributing. Because TORn is as much you as it is us!

If you’ve ever sent in an article, submitted a photo or report, posted on our messageboards, visited our chat, or commented on our twitter, facebook or g+, you’re the reason TheOneRing.net is among the largest and most-respected pillars of the Tolkien community on the web.

• Spy Reports

• Spy reports were a big part of our content when the website first started. From casting announcements to secret location pictures to leaked images of important plot points, spy reports were our bread and butter stories. Some of the reports were from random, anonymous sources, while others were official leaks from cast and crew. In fact, there were many production members who said they used TheOneRing.net to keep track of what some of the other filming units were doing. Other spy reports were just someone stumbling upon a film location and sending in a story or images and then we’d all try and guess what location it actually was. Some of our biggest spy reports were of Arwen at Helm’s Deep (which subsequently didn’t happen), Saruman’s prone body on a spiky wheel (which did happen), and TheOneRing.net was given the honor of introducing Thorin to the world. And very soon, we will be seeing stories from MrCere’s visit to the set from his Production Embed last year.

• Hall of Fire Chats and the Message Boards

• Literary discussions on the message boards and Hall of Fire chats – From the very beginning of TheOneRing.net, discussions of the books, chapter by chapter, has been a hallmark. After all, while we waited for news on who would be cast, where filming would take place, and rumors of what might be cut out, we had the books to talk about. Discussions worked by talking about one chapter at a time, and luckily, there are enough books with enough chapters, to keep those discussions going on for a long while. Since the beginning, we’ve looped through the books several times, but luckily, there are always new readers joining the discussion, and new interpretations to be had. And for something a little more dynamic, there are the Hall of Fire chats in Barlimans. Sometimes the talk is about a specific chapter, or a certain character, and sometimes it is about current events, such as new character images or reviews of a recently released trailer. No matter which forum you use, there is always someone to talk to about some aspect of Tolkien, the books or our fandom.

• TORns Live Videos

• We began with TORn Live, which consisted of Red Carpet interviews at premieres, awards ceremonies and special events like Cannes 2001 and SDCC. These would be recorded, edited and released online a few days or weeks later. But technology now allows for live streaming interviews and vlogs and the like. Quickbeam hosts a weekly TORn Tuesday event with interviews and discussions, while he interacts with a live chatroom. The Happy Hobbit ladies record and post their vlogs and post them within a day or two of their recordings, for a much quicker turnaround on video content. And right now we have the Road to DragonCon in full swing with live streaming from across the country.

• Conventions

• Convention appearances – Calisuri and Quickbeam hosted a panel at San Diego Comic Con in 2001, before the release of FOTR, and since then barely a year has gone by that TORn hasn’t had a presence at at least one convention. At many of the conventions we appear at we also have a presence on the exhibit hall floor where we have sold some of our classic TORn shirts. We love it when we get up on stage for a panel and half the people in the audience are wearing some of our older shirts.

•  

  

  Baggins Birthday Party sign

  Line Parties and Fan Events

• Line Parties and other fan hosted events – TheOneRing.net has always been a grass roots type of fan-site and that is no more apparent then looking at the Line Parties of years past. Whether it is just a few friends, or some hundreds of people signing up on the website to attend, fans like you all over the world hosted Line Parties. A few even took place over several days, and included costume contests and trivia games for prizes. Other fan hosted events over the years have been the Hobbit Day/Baggins Birthday Bash events on Sept. 22, the Tolkien Toast on Jan. 3 and the Tolkien Reading Day on March 25. TORn staff in Los Angeles have been hosting a Baggins Birthday Bash party for 11 years now, but there are fan groups around the world that have hosted similar events. Smaller moots happen around the world all the time, there is a very active group in Wellington and one in Croatia. If you are hosting a fan event in the next year or two, please feel free to tell us about it.

• The Oscar Parties

• Originally conceived as a fan event to help raise funds to buy TORn a new server, who could have imagined the Cast and Crew actually showing up to the FOTR oscar party? Even more surprising, who could have imagined the ROTK sweep and all those Oscars on stage at a fan hosted party?

• O.R.C and E.L.F.

• TheOneRing.net hosted conventions – The One Ring Celebration on the West Coast (O.R.C.) and the Eastern Lord of the Rings Festival on the East Coast (E.L.F.) were co-productions with a professional convention company, but they definitely had a TORn stamp on them. The conventions allowed us to combine our love of the films by interacting with cast and crew with our love of the books through academic discussions, the art shows and costume displays. We really did break the mold on how a commercial scifi convention is run and hope everyone who attended had a blast.

• Academic essays and editorials

• TORn has long standing relationships with many in the academic community who have posted guest essays and editorials. Over the year several staffers have posted in depth analysis to fan questions on the site as well. In fact, we have a whole section on the ‘old TORn’ (pre-crash) called Green Books for academic posts. This section had so much good stuff in it, we published a book called “The People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien” and a sequel book as well.

• Driving fan initiatives

• After Return of the King was done and Peter Jackson moved on to do King Kong, the fans waited to see what would happen with The Hobbit afterwards. Months turned to years and still no word while studios went bankrupt, copyrights issues got tangled up and various lawsuits were filed for missing payments. Finally, a few fans decided they had had enough and started a petition to ‘Make the Hobbit Happen’. They brought it to TORn and we got thousands of you to sign so that a big pile of names was delivered to TPTB. A similar thing happened when there was talk that the production would be moved out of New Zealand. The fans could see no where else as Middle-earth, so the ‘Keep the Hobbit in NZ’ campaign was born, but this time on Social Media. And most recently, there was an explosion of Tolkien fan love over the #Votebilbo twitter event prompted by an MTV Audience Award.

• TORn Community

• This list compiles many of the things that TheOneRing.net does to keep you informed, entertained and engaged, but there is really just one thing that makes TheOneRing.net so important to keep around. And that is the community of fans that convene on our message boards, in Barliman’s chat, on Facebook and Twitter.

This site was built by fans getting together to discuss what they hoped for from Peter Jackson long before FOTR ever saw the light of day. The fact that a long existing fan-base gathered here meant engaged and informed discussion began from day one, including analyzing all the spy reports about casting and location details. We didn’t have to wait for the release of the films, or for several episodes of a new show to take off before we could discuss the minutia of every detail because our fan base was already well established.

And what is ‘fandom’ if not a community of like minded people passionate about the same thing. Sure, everyone has their own opinions, so every time a new image was released, or a new trailer appeared, the message boards and chatroom erupted into heated discussions. But as the years wore on friendships were made, some turning into marriage, and we all began meeting up at various moots, conventions, concerts, premiere events, trips to New Zealand or just coffee and a movie. How many of you newer fans were galvanized by the #Votebilbo campaign and now have a wider array of Twitter friends because of it? The fact that TORn was able to continue to exist during all those lean years between film productions is due mostly to you, the readers, sticking around to discuss anything and everything to do with Tolkien, and sometimes other bits of pop culture. We know that after the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again we will see another decline of readership, but we also know that the community is strong, the friendships have been forged and all of you take that fandom with you where ever you go next.

So again, if you are so inclined to help support us and keep the website going, please do make a pledge or bid on one of the many cool auction items we’ve been posting about the past few days. On behalf of the All Volunteer Staff at TheOneRing.net, you have our deepest gratitude for all the support over the years.

Ways to contact our adventurers…

• LIVE Event page
• @theoneringnet #tornlive #road2dcon
• email roadtrip@theonering.net
• call 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• text 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• Map of Route

Please support our adventures and our 2013 pledge drive!

• Pledge Levels
• Donate any Dollar Amount
• Request a Topic
• Feed or Fuel the Team
• Personalized Shout-Out

On the way out of the trading metropolis of Denver they picked up a new member, Katalena! A master of masks and trickery, makeup and mirrors. She joined them to be a player in the masquerade that is Dragon Con.

The flat, empty, fly-ridden plains of Kansas opened up like a hungry maw before them, they had no choice but to enter and cross. All across the never-ending plains they shared stories with their companions watching via crystal slab, and chatted awhile with Cliff the Unmoving, The Adamant Wizard.

Finally the weary band made their way in the outskirts of Kansas City, where after multiple tries they found an inn to rest their weary heads.

What is next in store for the Fellowship of the Dragon? Moridan himself can’t tell you that secret.

- Doug Brochu

We’d like to continue to thank Cryptozoic - our official sponsor of our Road to DragonCon! Cryptozoic has an amazing line-up of trading card and traditional games, including their recently released Hobbit Board Game and soon to be released The Two Towers Deck-Building Game (Aug 28th).

Enjoy the pics below and as always, please support our adventures and our 2013 pledge drive!

• Pledge Levels
• Donate any Dollar Amount
• Request a Topic
• Feed or Fuel the Team
• Personalized Shout-Out

Ways to contact our adventurers…

• LIVE Event page
• @theoneringnet #tornlive #road2dcon
• email roadtrip@theonering.net
• call 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• text 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• Map of Route

We were proud to present this one night only gallery exhibit held on February 22, 2013 at Lot 613 in the historic arts district of downtown Los Angeles. In this cool space, we featured a variety of artists who use many different mediums and are creatively inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth universe. The all volunteer TORn staff spent hours setting up the space, coordinating and meeting with artists from around the world, and cleaning up after a wonderful night of music and artwork. We then had to hurry over to help set up for our next event — the Oscar party we threw the very same weekend! As you can imagine, it was quite tiring but very rewarding to see and meet so many fans admiring the beautiful artwork and having a chance to mingle with such an incredible group of talented artists. It was a true celebration of how much J.R.R. Tolkien’s works mean to all of us.

Acclaimed artists Tim Kirk, Donato Giancola, and Jerry VanderSelt were on hand to meet fans, sign prints, and in the case of Tim, get a portrait of yourself drawn as a playful Hobbit! They also took the time to autograph and draw on a special TORn stretched canvas panel for us. Tim drew Smaug, Donato drew Gandalf, and Jerry sketched Strider. Eleven other artists who attended the show also signed the canvas including LEGO artists OneLug, graphic artist Nancy Steinman, stained-glass artist Christie Wood, and more. You can own this truly unique and one of kind piece of artwork from this spectacular TORn event by bidding today!

Goblin’s in Arizona??

The Road to DragonCon team is frolicking around the mountains of Colorado today on their way to the first fan meet-up in Denver. Details on that in a little bit! First a bit of a recap from yesterday.

We’d like to welcome Cryptozoic as an official sponsor of our Road to DragonCon! Cryptozoic has an amazing line-up of trading card and traditional games, including their recently released Hobbit Board Game and soon to be released The Two Towers Deck-Building Game (Aug 28th).

Justin, Doug and Ryan woke up in the rain at Lake Powell, Utah – allowing them only 4 hours of sleep that night. Rain in the desert is not as uncommon as one might think! They made their way to a local Denny’s where the manager and waitress gave them the all-star treatment.

The made their way to the Four Corners Monument – the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. While there, they found an unusual arrow, that seemed worth enough of a possible auction item. Coming soon!

After driving through Monument Valley, they ended up for the night in Salida, CO.

Today they’ve already trekked through Alma, CO, the highest incorporated town in the country on their way to Denver. In Denver visited Casa Bonita (yes, that one from South Park) and then are getting a rare after-hours Dino tour at the Denver Natural History Museum.

They’ll spend the night in the Best Western Denver (@bestwestdenver). The Best Western was kind enough to donate a night stay for our weary travelers.

The night will be spent playing Cryptozoic games and taking your requests for topics! We hope you can join us!

Enjoy the pics below and as always, please support our adventures and our 2013 pledge drive!

• Pledge Levels
• Donate any Dollar Amount
• Request a Topic
• Feed or Fuel the Team
• Personalized Shout-Out

Ways to contact our adventurers…

• LIVE Event page
• @theoneringnet #tornlive #road2dcon
• email roadtrip@theonering.net
• call 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• text 530.64FRODO (530.643.7636)
• Map of Route

As you are well aware, TheOneRing.net is a 100% volunteer not for profit website. We’ve been fan-powered for nearly 14 years, and are looking to keep it that way. From Aug 24 through Sept 4th, we are holding our first annual pledge drive, appropriately named, ‘Light the Beacons: TheOneRing.net’s Fellowship Fundraiser.’ If you believe your experience with TheOneRing.net brings value to your personal Tolkien experience, please consider a donation. We’ve set-up a variety of pledge levels, each with a unique item or opportunity.

Any Amount Pledge  [Pledge Here]

General Pledge – $5-20 [Pledge Here]

Bronze Pledge – $25 [Pledge Here]

• Name listed as a Bronze Level Sponsor for a period of one year on TheOneRing.net’s ‘The Tale of Honour‘ web page

Silver Pledge – $50 [Pledge Here]

• Name listed as a Silver Level Sponsor for a period of one year on TheOneRing.net’s ‘The Tale of Honour‘ web page
• TheOneRing.net Supporter T-Shirt (Black Shirt with White TheOneRing.net Logo)

Gold Pledge – $75 [Pledge Here]

• Name listed as a Gold Level Sponsor for a period of one year on TheOneRing.net’s ‘The Tale of Honour‘ web page
• TheOneRing.net Gold Supporter T-Shirt (Black Shirt with Faux-Gold Foil Logo)
• Commemorative TheOneRing.net Supporter Pin (2.25″ Circular)

Platinum Pledge – $150 [Pledge Here]

• Name listed as a Platinum Level Sponsor for a period of one year on TheOneRing.net’s ‘The Tale of Honour‘ web page
• TheOneRing.net Gold Supporter T-Shirt (Black Shirt with Faux-Gold Foil Logo)
• Commemorative TheOneRing.net Supporter Pin (2.25″ Circular)
• Collectible TheOneRing.net Supporter Tote Bag
• 5% discount code for Shop.TheOneRing.net (valid until Aug 1st 2014)

Mithril Pledge – $400 [Pledge Here]

• Name listed as a Mithril Level Sponsor for a period of one year on TheOneRing.net’s ‘The Tale of Honour‘ web page
• Black Full Zip Sweatshirt with TheOneRing.net Logo
• TheOneRing.net Gold Supporter T-Shirt (Black Shirt with Faux-Gold Foil Logo)
• Commemorative TheOneRing.net Supporter Pin (2.25″ Circular)
• Collectible TheOneRing.net Supporter Tote Bag
• Facebook Mention as Mithril Pledge with Tag (optional)
• Twitter Mention as Mithril Pledge (optional)
• First access to TheOneRing.net event opportunities.
• 10% discount code for Shop.TheOneRing.net for a period of one year.

Costumes are encouraged, and we may have a prize or two for the most beautifully or most creatively attired lads and ladies. There will also be fun and games, as usual, and …maybe even the traditional impersonation contest (I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE ATTENDEES TO LEARN SOME HOBBIT QUOTES!). And because it was such a success last year, we will have the Reading Corner again, so bring your books and bring your reading voice. We do have some Hobbit Activity books to share with children, families of all sizes and ages are more than welcome.

The picnic is potluck so bring something to share. RSVP by leaving a note on the Facebook Event Page, or send an email to Garfeimao@theonering.net. Please let me know how many are coming with you and what you plan to bring so I can make sure we’ve got all bases covered for a good, Hobbity meal. I will have a list of items brought and items needed on the Facebook Event page, so it will be easy for everyone to keep track.

DIRECTIONS:

From the South: Take the 5 north to the Griffith Park exit. At the first stop sign you reach, turn right onto Crystal Springs Drive and follow it into the park. When you reach the big stop sign where the road splits into Crystal Springs Drive and Griffith Park Drive, follow the road to the left (towards the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course). Stay on Griffith Park Drive past the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course. The road will fork again after the golf course at Mineral Wells. Keep on the road to the left, and you will find parking for the picnic area along the road.

From the North: Take the 5 south to Los Feliz Blvd West. At the intersection with Riverside Drive, turn right. Riverside Drive will turn into Crystal Springs Drive. Follow Crystal Springs into the park. When you reach the big stop sign where the road splits into Crystal Springs Drive and Griffith Park Drive, follow the road to the left (towards the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course). Stay on Griffith Park Drive past the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course. The road will fork again after the golf course at Mineral Wells. Keep on the road to the left, and you will find parking for the picnic area along the road.

From Hollywood/LA: Take Western Ave north. It will turn into Los Feliz Blvd. When you reach the intersection with Riverside Drive, turn left. Riverside Drive will turn into Crystal Springs Drive. Follow Crystal Springs into the park. When you reach the big stop sign where the road splits into Crystal Springs Drive and Griffith Park Drive, follow the road to the left (towards the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course). Stay on Griffith Park Drive past the Old Zoo and the Harding Golf Course. The road will fork again after the golf course at Mineral Wells. Keep on the road to the left, and you will find parking for the picnic area along the road.

Here is a Map of Griffith Park

As always, the actual location won’t be fully confirmed until the day of the party when our location scout reports from the park, but we will update the Facebook Event page on the morning of the event in case of last minute changes in location.

On the eve of a special event tomorrow at the Newport Beach Film Festival (see more here), Peter is going to screen the animated film based on his most famous book at USC tonight! We are going to sit and catch up with him a bit.

We launch TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “That There is a Bear” Sewell — Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!

And yes our YouTube channel will have this archived later.  You can find us on www.youtube.com/the1nering

————————————————-

Follow us on Twitter:  @theoneringnet

Follow Cliff Broadway:  @quickbeam2000

Follow Peter S. Beagle: @petersbeagle  /  @conlanpress

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