Richard Armitage, Thorin Oakenshield, dwarven king in exile

Richard Crispin Armitage was born on 22nd August 1971 and raised in Leicestershire. At 17 he joined a circus in Budapest for 6 weeks to gain his Equity Card. Armitage returned to Britain to pursue a career in musical theater. He appeared on stage in various musicals, including Cats as Admetus and Macavity.

his first major television role was John Standring in the 2002 BBC drama Sparkhouse. “It was the first time I went to an audition in character. It was a minor role but it was something I really got my teeth into… I couldn’t go back. I knew I had to approach everything the same way.” After this he took a variety supporting roles in the TV productions of Between the Sheets, Cold Feet (series 5), and Ultimate Force (Series 2).

A few of his many roles since then include police officer Lucas North in the acclaimed series Spooks, notorious villain Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood and John Porter in Strike Back. And, of course, he’s our tragic hero Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit!

This week, Richard turns 42!

If you missed TORn’s interview with Richard last year, check out what the man himself had to say about his role as Thorin.

I looked mainly through Tolkien – I looked at all of his work, looked to mainly the dwarves, coz he writes about dwarves in general … In terms of preparation, it kind of happened by accident coz I was doing vocal work, coz I wanted him to sound a certain way. I wanted to pitch my voice lower, I wanted him to be able to speak quietly but resonantly … and I ended up using Henry V, Richard III and Macbeth as soliloquies that I could use to get some vocal production going.

But I found in all three of those characters [aspects of Thorin] … the whole idea of the rallying cry of a leader on the battlefield is very much Henry V; the self hating deformity of Richard III was sort of relevant; and also the Macbeth figure when it comes to the gold lust – this man who believes he is doing the right thing and gets corrupted by something which ultimately destroys him … I just felt that those three figures were all going to be pretty useful for me to have in my head.

Richard Armitage is Thorin Oakenshield.

John Howe, Tolkien illustrator and conceptual designer

John is, of course, one of the chief conceptual designers for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings films. Born in 1957 in Vancouver, John’s been drawing since a young age and studied at the Ecoles des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg.

He’s responsible for translating some of Tolkien’s iconic scenes and characters from prose into visual art. This week he turns 56!

Even the Weta folk are in awe of Howe’s skills, as designer Paul Tobin explained to TORn at San Diego Comic-con.

[Alan Lee and John Howe] are incredibly experienced. They’re so gifted with their pencil. I was just about to reduced to tears one morning when I was working up a design for some elven armour and John was on the same brief. We were given the brief in the morning, to come back in the afternoon and show where we were at. And this was pretty early on, I’d only ever met John very briefly.

And I showed him my work-in-progress — a digital painting. Then John unrolls this A1, poster-size pencil sketch of an elven warrior … nearly life sized. And, literally, I was nearly tearing up — I can’t compete with that. That’s the difference between me and someone like John.

Morgoth and Ungoliant before the Two Trees of Valinor by John Howe.

Alan Lee, Tolkien illustrator and conceptual designer

Alan Lee, born on August 20, 1947, is the other half of the conceptual design team on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. An English book illustrator, he was born in Middlesex, England and studied at the Ealing School of Art.

This week Alan turns 65!

Some of Alan’s most notable illustrations for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien include the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings (1991), a 1995 edition of The Hobbit, and the famous first edition of Narn i Chîn Húrin: the tale of the children of Húrin which was first released in 2007.

Aragorn and Eowyn by Alan Lee.

The Dwarves take a boat to the Lonely Mountain, but it is not yet known if they will be met on the far side by ponies to get them the rest of the way to the mountain. The scene of them sailing out of town with all the Townspeople singing them on their way is straight out of the book, but Bard’s warning that the whole town will be in jeopardy because of the Dwarves’ quest is not. Bard’s skepticism was always hinted at in the book, but it appears he get’s to play the ‘voice of reason’ in Laketown, which should give more dramatic weight to his character.

Thorin is captured by the Elves ‘with the rest of the Company’, rather than having been caught the night before while crashing an Elven party. In the book, the rest of the Company does not quite realize Thorin is gone because the forest is so dark and they soon become quite busy with giant spiders. After Bilbo frees them of the spiders and the elves capture them, they are imprisoned away from Thorin, not knowing he is there as well. This gives Thranduil an advantage when questioning Thorin since he has no idea what the fate of the rest of his Company is. By capturing them altogether in the film, this changes the dynamics when the Dwarves are brought before Thranduil. Again, this may not make a big difference in the overall story, we shall see this December.

The barrels have no lids, which means there is a higher risk of swamping, but may add a little bit of drivability for the dwarves. It also means poor Bilbo has nothing to perch on. The fact that they hit some white water rapids, it is amazing that Bilbo is still  hanging onto Kili’s barrel.

The Dwarves’ escape from the Mirkwood Elves apparently does not go unnoticed by the Elves, or Orcs for that matter. This is shown with the Elves running through the trees above the river as the barrels go by on the river. But there may well be an inside person involved in the escape, since Kili has his bow and Thorin has Orcrist. This is a much bigger change from the books than some of the previous events, we’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

Bilbo climbs the trees of Mirkwood to give the Company their bearings, and gets to see a cluster of butterflies. Martin expresses such joy on his face at the sight, this will be a nice break from the darkness of the forest.

Gandalf gets into a scuffle in Dol Guldur with what appears to be a Dwarf, presumably Thrain. This should be a flashback to how Gandalf came into possession of the Key and Map to the Secret Door.

Bilbo will be fighting the giant spiders, and he looks scared. It also appears he gets to do a bit of gymnastics in those trees, should be a rather awesome sequence of events when Bilbo leads the spiders on a merry little chase.

Beorn in bear form is ginormous. That is, if the critter busting through the door the Dwarves are trying to close is Beorn.

Gandalf and Radagast explore the Tombs where the Witch King and his cohorts were supposedly locked away forever. Radagast seems more hesitant, while Gandalf is resolute in exploring, and neither seem happy with what they find.

Tauriel tells Legolas that they should get involved, a coming fight is also their fight. We do not know entirely what she is referring to, but this appears to happen after the Elves have fought with the Orcs chasing the Dwarves down the river.

Join us for TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I Love Ham” Sewell — as we learn how this magnificent Dwarf suffered and struggled to change his family’s future — and what Peter Jackson & WETA did to help us distinguish his rough and tumble companions from each other (using more than just colored hoods). 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.!

——————————————————————-

Follow Cliff ‘Quickbeam’ Broadway on Twitter: @quickbeam2000

Cremorne Orpheum Theatre, Sydney Australia – Wednesday 1st May, 2013
Introduced by: Chris Murray (Creative Director Popcorn Taxi)
Hosted by: Oscar Hillerstrom from Popcorn Taxi
by: Deleece Cook on behalf of theOneRing.net

The cheering began as soon as Popcorn Taxi’s Chris Murray walked out on stage to open the event. There wasn’t a spare seat to be had at The Orpheum Theatre at Cremorne for the exclusive screening of The Hobbit and the live on Stage Q&A appearance with Richard Armitage.

700 smiling excited Thorin Fans were in the audience – and they had come from all over Australia for the event – this is what they had been waiting for hours to see. And it didn’t disappoint. It was a wonderful night of entertainment and surprises – Richard was a talkative guest; relaxed, smiling and laughing through the interview and he tried as best as he could to answer every question put to him from the fans, and from the host Oscar Hillerstrom.

Here’s how the night went – plenty of laughter and cheering and just a great vibe all round!…

Chris Murray: “Good Evening! Do I need to ask how you’re doing? Um, I’ve never been to an underwear sale at David Jones but I suppose this is the closest thing. Ladies and Gentlemen my name is Chris Murray and I am the Creative Director of Popcorn Taxi. It gives me no greater pleasure and enormous privilege to have you here tonight to see on the big screen The Hobbit. But not only that I know why you’re here… Richard Armitage on that seat ladies and Gentlemen”

Mad applause.

Chris Murray:  “Yes, you get the chance to ask him questions – I get the chance to curl into a small ball and rock backwards and forwards in the corner.”

More laughter… Then Chris laid down some house rules regarding soft toys and portraits not coming anywhere near the stage, but he mentioned nicely that questions were welcomed from the audience.
Then the first surprise of the night was announced…

Chris Murray: We are celebrating a fantastic film, and that film is out on Blu-ray and DVD today (mad applause)… “Yes! You should buy it! Warner Bros will love me! But, what’s not on that Blu-ray and what’s not on that DVD is what I’m about to play for you now. We have 12 minutes of a little behind the scenes that you will not see anywhere else. (lots of gasps) After that, you’ll get to meet Mr Richard Armitage.

Mad cheering!

Chris Murray: So enjoy the 12 minutes and relax – get the wetness out of the seats – whatever works for you – and I’ll be back! Please enjoy this event.

The sound of the cheering audience was amazing! Then silence. The lights lowered and the huge screen lit up… and then there was Peter…

Peter Jackson: “You want the Hobbit to be a visual experience that goes several steps beyond Lord of The Rings”

And that familiar drone of singing Dwarves speaking of “Pines and Mountains cold” echoed through the theatre – every eye was glued to the screen… it was more than 12 minutes of magic!

The film covered races and character that we see in the An Unexpected Journey – with snippets of comments from the actors and crew members. It shortly gave a brief explanation of the storyline and highlighted some of the production values and costuming as well.

In no particular order – Here are just some of the presenters on the clip, and what they had to say…
____
Peter Jackson: “When we made Lord of the Rings I was absolutely sure that was going to be a once in a lifetime experience. I never realized that ten years later I’d be doing it all over again – and we actually shot the 266 days on The Hobbit which was exactly the same number of days we shot on Lord of The Rings, so I’ve sort of done the once in a lifetime experience twice now (laughs) not a third time – there won’t be a third time”

Peter Jackson: “10 years ago it was Ian playing the character of Gandalf and no one had seen any of the movies, and now that’s an iconic figure. That’s Gandalf.”

Peter Jackson: “The same creative talent. 20 or 30 of the most senior people were Lord of The Rings veterans”

Peter Jackson: “The thing that’s so incredible about Martin is that he’s always exploring, he’s experimenting, he’s always trying to figure out where Bilbo’s truth is”

Peter Jackson: “One of the scary things about adapting The Hobbit is the fact that there’s 13 dwarves – and differentiating those characters was important.”

Philippa Boyens: “I remember the day when I knew we were back in Middle-Earth. I walked over to the costume room and there was Gandalf. And I suddenly thought… We’re Back.”

Philippa Boyens: (about Dwarves): “In the end Pete fell in love with each and every one of those characters. And as much as there is a little bit of Dwarf in Peter I think there’s a little bit of Peter in all those Dwarves.”

John Howe: “I imagine that Peter will do for Dwarves what he did for Elves because he is going to give them much more density, much more history.”

Martin Freeman: (talking about his character Bilbo) “… We join Bilbo as the book of The Hobbit does, as a home faring solitary Hobbit. …certain things struck me about him suggested a certain timidity and a lot of life…”

Elijah Wood: “You’ll get taken on an amazing ride”

Elijah Wood: “To have a chance to return, pop a wig on and feet it kind of feels like I’ve stepped into a time machine. And I get to meet all of these other actors who are coming along for the real long journey and sort of seeing in them a little bit of what we felt like when we started”

Elijah Wood: “A seed is being planted for what eventually comes the time period that we meet in Lord of The Rings”.

Christopher Lee: “Middle Earth seems to be just beginning to rumble and tumble”

Christopher Lee: “The White Council – they represent enormous power. There’s suspicion amongst all of them that there’s this building power of evil – getting stronger and stronger!”

Cate Blanchett: (on Gandalf in the film): “What makes Gandalf the most wonderful hero is the courage against popular opinion. He gets to move on into the darkness that no one else is prepared to go into.”

Hugo Weaving: “Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, they play a role in eliminating those [forces?] from the political landscape.”

Ian McKellen: (on his character Gandalf regarding the appendices) “ Gandalf in The Hobbit; he is off and away doing other business and quite what that is, is not revealed in the novel. In the films we get to see what Gandalf was up to.”

Ian McKellen: “It’s magic. It’s pure magic. And you’ll believe it.”

The sound of the Dwarves was heard and the film ended with the audience cheering and clapping once more.

Then it was time for Richard Armitage to grace the Stage…

“Yes in the book there are losses; they sustain huge losses. You know Tolkien wrote these books based on his experiences of World War I, and he lost a lot of his friends in those wars. I think taking time to really understand his characters in Bag End was really important. . . . But I think we’ve become quite impatient in the cinema. Gone are the days when you’d sit through 3 ½ hours of Gone With the Wind, and it’s a shame because it’s the director’s prerogative to tell the story that he wants to tell. But I found myself engaged from beginning to end; I find all of the characters fascinating.”

And this:

“Years ago I had visited the memorial museum in Hiroshima and I’d seen what happened, and I had a book, and I took it to New Zealand with me. And, I don’t know, just looking at pictures and getting ideas, because it’s all about sensation: just remembering what that fear was, because we were going to go shoot it. So you just have little flashes: I remember seeing a melted bicycle, and I remember thinking, “Oh yeah, the melted bicycle. A child sat on that bike.” So this is what happened at Erebor: there were women and children there that just got annihilated. I wanted to feel the fear for them.”

They cover a variety of topics including discussion of Tolkien, Peter Jackson and New Zealand. Fans of the actor, the films and the books will all likely appreciate the first installment of the interview while fans in New Zealand and Australia finally get the movie on home video. We will post part two when Tynan does, apparently consisting of Twitter questions. She was also clever enough to embed our own video of Dwarves singing in Bag End, a great way to capture emotion from the film again if you follow the link.

You can find the whole story if you click right here and we recommend you do.

“It will get more dangerous and dark as Bilbo gets further away from home and in more jeopardy,” says Andy Serkis, who, in addition to playing Gollum in the films, is Second Unit Director on the trilogy.

Will we enjoy the departure from the more lighthearted nature of Unexpected Journey? Well Richard Armitage will, at least. He says, “Obviously I favor the dark.”

[Yahoo! Movies UK: Hobbit stars on 'dark' sequel]

In the first video from IGN, cast members discuss what they know (or don’t) about the mysterious Smaug, and what we can expect to see of the dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Richard Armitage (Thorin) says, “I haven’t seen the dragon, and I begged them to show me the dragon!” And James Nesbitt (Bofur) tantalizes us, saying, “I think it will blow people away… I think it will be an important and exciting cinematic moment.”

In the second video from Yahoo! Movies, cast members address the questions why The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is quite long, and why there was a need for three full films to tell the full Hobbit story. Andy Serkis (Gollum) sums it up by saying, “Pete likes to make long films.” But Richard Armitage assures us that, “come the Battle of the Five Armies, you’re going to be glad you took the time in Bag End.”

[IGN: Hobbit Cast Talk Smaug] [Yahoo: Hobbit Stars on why it had to be long]

This month we’re asking questions of our one and only greendragon.

Thanks so much Kirsten for agreeing to take part this month

Kelvarhin: Have you done anything through TORn or your LOTR fandom that you wouldn’t have got to do otherwise?

greendragon: Oh absolutely LOADS of things!!  Where to begin…?  Of course there are the really exciting things which my work for TORn has brought me: meeting celebs, doing interviews, going to fun events, writing articles, etc.  I’m very lucky to have had all those experience; but I have to say the greatest thing which TORn has brought me is friendship.  I have SO many wonderful friends whom I would never have met without TORn.  I’ve travelled to wonderful places, either with those friends, or to visit those friends. I couldn’t say for sure that I wouldn’t have been to various places without TORn; but I certainly wouldn’t have been there in the company of such excellent and admirable fellow fans.  And THAT is a great blessing.

Kelvarhin: Did you ever imagine when you came to TORn that you’d become so involved? Traveling to NZ (more than once!), interviewing cast members, singing onstage with Emerald Rose and Beecake? What’s it been like for you… this Tolkien/TORn journey?

greendragon: Actually I’ve only been to NZ once – but one day my path will lead me back there!  Did I ever imagine I would become so involved…?  Well, I tend to throw myself 100% into anything and everything I do, so I’m not really surprised to be so wrapped up in TORn – but I am of course thrilled to be part of such an amazing group, and being senior staff is an honour.  It’s been an incredible journey – mostly because of my fellow travellers, as mentioned above. TORnados/TORnsibs are amazing people – may our roads together go ever on and on!

Kelvarhin: How were you introduced to Tolkien, and did Tolkien have any influence on how/where you first met up with the inimitable L. Ron Halfelven?

greendragon: My Dad read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to my brothers when I was little. I was far too young really, but insisted on listening in anyway! Then I was mad about the Rankin Bass Hobbit film – or rather, an LP my brother had from the film; but the Bakshi Lord of the Rings scared me!

Tolkien – or more accurately, TORn – was of course what led me to meet L.Ron Halfelven, fellow TORnado! It was in the June after Fellowship of the Ring had come out, and I discovered it was still playing in a cinema near me. I posted on the message boards to see if anyone else was local and would care to join me for a viewing; L.Ron responded, and we’ve been great friends ever since.

Kelvarhin: Have you got a favourite chapter (or paragraph etc.) from The Lord of the Rings, and why is it your favourite? If you haven’t got a favourite, why not?!

greendragon: Hmm – that’s a tricky one.  It’s very hard to pick a favourite part – there are so many wonderful lines, rich characters, moving moments…  In terms of a whole chapter, I think ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ is probably my favourite.  I’ve always enjoyed a good ghost story, and as a child, this chapter gave me delicious chills!  Wonderfully creepy.  Plus, I’m a big Tom Bombadil fan (and I adore Goldberry); so I like Tom coming to the rescue in that chapter.

Kelvarhin: What backstage gossip can you share from TORn events?

greendragon: You know, backstage is actually not all that exciting or glamorous!  Generally it’s just about work; being backstage means running around and trying to get things done!  Although, here’s a fun story from DragonCon one year: fellow staffer deej and I were meeting Sean Astin and Brad Dourif backstage before they went out for a panel. I was going to be fielding questions from the floor – so I told the gents that I would weed out anyone who wanted to ask the dreaded, ‘Can I have a hug??’ question.  Immediately, both Brad and Sean gave me a big hug.  ‘There you go,’ says Brad. ‘You’re our proxy hugger; we’ve hugged you, so now if anyone wants a hug you can pass it on to them!’

Kelvarhin: How did you come to be in the field of study you’re in, and what have been your educational experiences?

greendragon: Ah well – that’s both a direct route and a roundabout path – like all the best journeys!!  Basically I always wanted to work in theatre/performance.  When I was very young I was obsessed with ballet and started classes; this developed into my interests in dance, theatre and music . Meanwhile my love for literature grew; I just couldn’t get enough of reading and analysing text!  So I had to take a degree in English Lit, of course!  My undergrad and my first postgrad degrees were in English Lit and then English and Theatre; then I took further postgrad degrees in Voice (various different aspects of music/singing/performing!)  So it was a kind of varied background but which, in the end, all combined in what I currently do – which is directing/staging opera and theatre, performing as a singer myself, and coaching singers in areas such as successful auditioning and creating a character.

Kelvarhin: What inspires you, when it comes to singing?

greendragon: Generally the piece itself, whatever it may be, is inspiration enough. I’m a huge fan of text, as I wrote above; very little is as exciting to me as getting to grips with words, and trying to understand what the writer wanted to say. Add to that the composer’s interpretation of those words into music, and you have a pretty heady mix! It thrills me to try to communicate, in performance, something about life, about art, about being human; some emotion or an experience, whatever that may be. As a performer, you look for the message given by the writer and composer, and then reinterpret that to pass it along to an audience.

Kelvarhin: How did you find yourself working “across the Pond” in Boston, and would you be willing to recount for us your hair-pulling green card experience which culminated in your being proclaimed an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability”?

greendragon: I came to the US as a student (for my final postgrad degree) – Britain is home! I was planning on staying one year, but I was offered a job which tempted me, so I stayed – and I’m still here!

The greencard saga is too long winded (and tedious, believe me!) to go into here; suffice to say it ain’t easy, especially when one is ‘self-sponsoring’ (which requires proving that you are in the top percentage in your field). It’s also an expensive process! But it was all worth it; especially for the fun of receiving a letter from the United States government, officially declaring me an Alien of Extraordinary Ability! I was so excited when I got that letter – and amused, of course.. .Still not sure what my special alien skill is.

I always warn everyone that the questions we get can be a little on the crazy side, and the next two are probably the craziest I’ve ever seen! (I’m also a little confused, never heard of “Thrills chewing gum”)

Kelvarhin: The gown you wore to the One Party is the same colour as Thrills chewing gum… coincidence?

greendragon: Absolutely not! My appearance at the party was sponsored by Thrills gum, hence the careful choice of dress.

Kelvarhin: Have you ever tried Thrills chewing gum? If so, are you in the tastes like soap camp?

greendragon: I’ve actually never heard of Thrills gum; so my reply above might possibly be false.  Further, I have no idea what soap camp tastes like…

If anyone can help greendragon and I out on this one, reply below

Kelvarhin: Aunt Dora Baggins would like to know “When will you be making another visit to Colorado?”

greendragon: As soon as I can find the money and/or an excuse!  What a wonderful state Colorado is; L.Ron and I had a fantastic time there, enjoying the incredibly scenery AND catching up with great friends from TORn. If money and time were no object, I’d be back in a heartbeat!  This is the only drawback to all the dear friends TORn has brought me – they’re too scattered around the world!  We’ve often chatted about the fantasy of all living in a TORn commune; I think we could make it work…

Kelvarhin: Which would you rather have in your house for a week; a bunch of rowdy Dwarves, a pack of Hobbits who eat several times a day, or a group of Elves who won’t stop singing the entire time?

greendragon: Oh blimey I couldn’t stand the singing. I get enough of that at work!! And I cannot bear people being vulgar – I just hate anything like belching or farting. So the elves and the dwarves are out.  But I do LOVE to cook, especially when I have people for whom to do it – so it would have to be the hobbits, no contest.

Kelvarhin: What was your favourite cartoon when you were growing up?

greendragon: Battle of the Planets.  My Dad made me a little cap with a plastic beak so I could pretend to be Keyop (who, by the way, I had assumed was actually ‘Cheops’ – I though his name had something to do with the Great Pyramid!!) I never wanted to be Princess – male characters are generally more interesting! But I was obsessed with that show.  When I was about seven I had a best mate with whom I used to act out scenes from Battle of the Planets – either that or scenes from Star Wars (when I always wanted to be Luke, but was usually made to be Leia!!)

The fortunate greendragon with Richard Armitage

Kelvarhin: Finally, a question that has nothing to do with gowns or chewing gum: what was it like meeting Richard Armitage?

greendragon: I’ve now had the great pleasure of meeting Mr Armitage twice. He is, as you would expect, a charming gent; warm, friendly, erudite and generous with his time, and I’m very lucky to have spent time chatting with him.

One thing I’d like to say on the topic of meeting celebs – sometimes I think fans tend to forget that they’re just people. Talented, generous people (most of them – certainly all the ones I’ve met through TORn!) it is true; but still just people. The only time I’ve ever been overwhelmed when meeting a celebrity was when I was sixteen and I met Kenneth Branagh for the first time – I was a bit of a babbling idiot then! Soon after that, I started working at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, and I quickly realised that these actors were really no different from anyone else. So, when people ask me, ‘How do you talk to Richard Armitage without being overcome?’ the simple answer is, as delightful as he is, Mr Armitage is, in the end, another human being. He works in the arts and so do I (though clearly he is rather more talented and successful!!) So I enjoy chatting with him as I would with anyone else who explores this fascinating business of creating characters.

Though it has to be said – he looks better in leather trousers than most people… *grin*
I’m sure many of us would agree with this

As always thanks to all our message board regulars, Ataahua, DanielLB, SirDennisC, ryouko, AuntDoraBaggins, grammaboodawg and dernwyn, for this months’ questions.

If you would like to ask any questions yourself, just head over to our Message Boards, the sign up process is pretty painless. A lead post for questions is made at the beginning of each month on the Main board. Or you can just check Main for this months interviewee and email me your questions at kelvarhin@theonering.net.

Till next time from TORn’s resident Tiger.

Kelvarhin.