click on the images to view larger versions and don’t forget to say hi to PeckishOwl

Kelvarhin: How do you run a news site for 5+ years when there is no news?

Xoanon: Ah, the salad days. That was quite fun for me, I had the run of the place! There was very little…or actually NO news, so there was absolutely no studio politics involved. I think I mainly ran stories about the cast, DVD releases, game news etc..

It was quite amazing to see how fast the old gang came back together once news on The Hobbit began to hit and was real. Now there are so many amazing new volunteers and hardworking staff from the old days I cannot keep count!

Kelvarhin: What event, experience or situation has given you the most long-term satisfaction from TheOneRing?

Xoanon: I think the Oscar parties were the most fun for me, even though I did very little to help organize it…I did think they were tent-pole experiences in my life. There was something quite magical about each of those events, it was really fun.

I must also include my trip to New Zealand and having lunch with Peter Jackson, that was a great time for my wife and I…trip of a lifetime.

The fact that the site is still around and is still very important to many people, that gives me the greatest satisfaction.

Kelvarhin: What other fandoms are you interested in?

Xoanon: Wow, that is a long list! I am, and always have been a life-long devotee of Doctor Who since the early days in the mid to late 90s and of course the re-launch.

I am a huge film fan, and love everything from westers to sci-fi and crime dramas. But as far as established fandom? Let’s see… Star Wars, Star Trek, Supernatural, Arrow, The Hunger Games Series, anything comic related, Hellboy, Watchmen, Sherlock (Elementary too). I am currently finishing up the entire Sherlock Holmes original stories…that book is a bible! 1100+ pages, super small font!

Kelvarhin: Do you have a phobia about anything?

Xoanon: Good one, I have a very common phobia of failure…I think many people do. I am not good with rejection either. Oh and vomit…omg.

But more seriously, I suffer from mild agora phobia and social anxiety disorder. I can sometimes find it quite hard to do the simple things like get a haircut or go out to dinner. I have panic attacks on occasion. A mix of medication and relaxation techniques help me through rough patches. I actually insist on working quite far from work…forces me to get ‘out there’

Kelvarhin: What does it take to get you on the dancefloor?

Xoanon:  A great pair of legs and some alcohol…next question

Kelvarhin:  When did you become a Dr Who fan? And what’s your opinion of the Sylvester McCoy years?

Xoanon: I’ve been a fan since I was about 9 or 10..so 1987 or 1988. I love Syl’s Doctor for several reasons, first, I met him and got his autograph (!!!), but also I do love the mystery they put into the last few seasons. If they had gone through the Cartmel storyline, which was latter adapted into books, it would have been awesome.

I think Doctor Who at that time suffered from a general lack of fresh blood, ideas, and infrastructure on the part of BBC Drama. It took them almost 20 years to get things on par with some of the better American channels.

Kelvarhin: Who in your opinion would win in a Leela vs Ace smackdown?

Xoanon: Ace would use Nitro-9…but Leela would have Janus thorns…so I’d call it a tie.

Kelvarhin: Demosthenes said you should tell the story of XoanonFlash!

Xoanon: Ah XoanonFlash! There should be a link to that somewhere, I’ll try to find it for you. Essentially XoanonFlash is one of my first attempts at flash animation. I used a photo of myself and made an animation of me dancing to ‘kung fu fighting’…there are hip thrusts and music involved…a good time was had by all.

Kelvarhin:  No need, we found it  Enjoy people Xoanon Flash! :D *warning if reading this at work, turn off your sound! *

Kelvarhin: Did you get the name Xoanon from the Dr. Who episode, The Face of Evil?

Xoanon: I did indeed! But not because I have an evil face…at least I hope not. WAY back when I wanted a ‘handle’ for myself, so I grabbed my trusty Doctor Who Encyclopaedia and chose a page at random. The first word I chose was ‘Ragnarok’, but I thought that might be too confusing..so I chose Xoanon….little did I know..

Kelvarhin: As you are a DW fan from way back, what, if anything, do you think of the new series?

Xoanon: Oh I love the new series, although every season has its highs and lows. My Doctor will always be Tom Baker, but of the new Doctors it is a tie between David and Matt (we’re on a first name basis here).

I do lament the worldwide phenomenon that it has become though…I sort of liked feeling like I was the only fan in the cosmos.

Kelvarhin: And of all the DW references, why choose Xoanon, the computer suffering a major identity crisis?

Xoanon: I know, right? I think it works out in the end, I am constantly of 2 (or 3) minds of everything. So perhaps it does reflect me..maybe I didn’t choose that name…maybe it chose me… Woah!

Kelvarhin: How did you come to know the other Founders?

Xoanon: I met Erica through ICQ, I think we began talking about books and our mutual interests. We both liked Kim Stanley Robinson’s ‘Mars’ series. We just starting chatting and got onto the discussion of LOTR and off we went.

Chris and Bill (Corvar) used to play MUDs together and were friends from that, one day Chris emailed us and offered to make a website for us, one better that the free-hosting site we had.

And voilà

Kelvarhin: How long did it take you to get TORn up and running having come up with the idea?

Xoanon: It was a working progression, like I mentioned above we had a green-themed site off of a free website company way back when (xoom.com or something?). When Chris approached us to make a new site we had to choose a domain and park it there. We emulated the guys at TheForce.net and chose TheOneRing.net. I can still recall Chris showing us some design mockups and getting everything working with a CMS (Content Management System) called…newsmaker? I think? This was pre WordPress days.

I think they are on TORN version 4 or 5.0 now..we’ve come so far

Kelvarhin: What does it feel like to be one of the founders of the worlds most popular Tolkien sites?

Xoanon: It is a great feeling to have that in your life, a good feeling to know that it brings joy to so many others.

Kelvarhin: How often do you browse the boards? Do you have a favourite board?

Xoanon: To be honest I haven’t spent time on the boards, or the site, for way too long now. With a demanding job and 5 year old son, things have certainly changed in my life. I don’t know how people like Chris (2 kids) and Erica (1 kid) can do it, plus all the other amazing volunteers who have a MUCH fuller plate than me, manage to keep the site running. I wish I could spend more time on it, or just visit the boards more often than I do.

Kelvarhin: What are your favourite spots in the world?

Xoanon: Certainly New Zealand, my wife and I both felt very much at ‘home’ there, we would move there if it wasn’t too far away from our families. I love my city of Montreal, it means the world to me. I often think of places I would love to visit, Vietnam, Egypt, Prague, Moscow.

Kelvarhin: How were you first introduced to Tolkien, and how did this influence your life, in the days before TORn?

Xoanon: I was given the books as a Christmas gift when I was…16? 17? Maybe? I didn’t pick them up until I had a class in college about Tolkien and his books, so naturally I raced through them and fell in love. I think one of the best experiences I had was to begin LOTR in the fall and read it though the changes of season..I felt almost part of journey with Frodo and Sam.

The key takeaways that I bring into my life from Tolkien are the themes of responsibility and duty. I truly love Sam Gamgee, and think that without his devotion to Frodo the quest would have failed from day 1. Sam felt a duty and obligation to follow Frodo into the very heart of Mount Doom, and I think we can all take a little lead from Sam when it comes to our own responsibilities and duties, especially difficult ones.

Kelvarhin: What was your favourite cartoon when you were a fledgling, and is it still your favourite?

Xoanon: Wow, change of tune from the previous answer! I was a child of the 70’s and 80’s so growing up we watched The Flintstones, GI Joe, Transformers and He-Man, those are still my favourite to this day. I actually got my son to watch some He-Man..he was all into it!

Kelvarhin: What kind of music do you listen to?

Xoanon: Good question! I am an AVID lover of music, mind you I think Bill (Corvar) has one up on me, he is always visiting bars and small clubs listening to these really obscure bands.

I am a lover of almost all types of music, and my ipod has 1200 of the most diverse music you could imagine. Hip Cop, Celtic, Movie Scores, Rock, Classic Rock, Instrumental, you name it!

Thank you Xo, for taking the time to talk to us this month.

As always a big thank you to all our message board regulars, DanielLB, Ataahua, Brethil, elaen32,  Ziggy Stardust, dernwyn, grammaboodawg and zarabia, and Staffers, Demosthenes, MrCere and Justin for our questions this month.

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, if you don’t want to sign up to the boards just email me your questions at kelvarhin@theonering.net.

Till next time from TORn’s resident Tiger.

Kelvarhin

Join us by the hearth and enjoy!

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net
One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors. 

3 Trolls in 6 (Movie-verse)

by: The Grey Elf

#1
A stooped trio peered into a kettle
Wiped clean from licks many and spittle
“It’s empty,” observed tall one-ton
“So’s yer ‘ead” said Bert Sr.’s son
A grocery list indeed they must settle….

#2
Scabby carrion and pickled summer moss
Fungal goo drops, very pure, plus vermin dross
From rabid jaws, fresh squeezed slaver
For a blood sauce, marrow of cadaver
And gray mouse tails so they can thoroughly floss.

#3
“Me apron’s on, Tom, get yer to market”
“Kindlin’s cold, Bill, grab a flint and spark it”
“‘Where’s me purse?” cried simple Tom
Upon his face, Bert slaps a palm,
“T’were written out!” and clouts his slow target.

#4
By and by, Bill raised up from his latrine
“Did yer wash yer hands? Are they squeaky clean?”
“Did I wha’?” asked wafty Bill
“Good lad! Yer can have yer fill.”
See, Bert wasn’t all couth-less and mean.

#5
A fetid soup sat reeking before them
“Time fer grace,” Bert said, discharging some phlegm
“Give us gold, give us grog,
“Give us grub and a mad dog ” –
“Now fall in, lads, let us swill to the brim.”

#6
With bellies bulbous, three trolls digested
Their pastime was now closely contested
“Oi’d like a tale!”, “‘Oi’d like a smoke!!”
Tom piped, ” ‘ow ’bout karaōke!!!”
An all-out brawl proved what answer bested.

~~~~~

THE ELVES LAMENT

by: RangerLady23

[1st Age]

This land is beautiful
so untamed
so many lands
that have no names.
Trees to plant
and grass to grow
and other things
we’ll never know.
Songs to write
like none before
that shall be sung
forever more.
Birds and beasts
to fill the land
things to awaken
with a gentle hand.
Elven kind
so young and brave
have much to learn
but many days.
And so we danced
content with peace
knowing not
fear or grief.
The age’s end
was drawing near
we felt that good
was always here.
First age is past
and next begun
but two will be
as good as one.
Or so we thought
but we were wrong
our downfall’s sung
in many songs.

[2nd Age]

The Elves were blind
he tricked us all
and now we fear
the world shall fall.
What have we done?
Why did we trust?
His kindly words
have turned to dust.
His evil ways
were always set
and we have naught
except regret.
Seven rings
he has them all
nine for Men
obey his call.
The Elven three
are hidden well
and not an Elven
soul will tell.
The One is His
and His alone
One for the Dark Lord
on His Dark Throne.
Another age
is passing by
and very soon
the Elves will fly.
To the Havens
then set sail
and trees will die
that once were hale.
But ere we sail
to peace and calm
we’ll help the Men
to right our wrongs.

[3rd Age]

The One is lost
or so it seems
“It’s mine! “It’s mine!”
we hear him scream.
Searching near
and off away
it will return
to him one day.
Our days grow thin
our glory fades
our happiness
will pass away.
Lothlorien
and Rivendell
Mirkwood fair
but also fell.
All will pass
when we are gone
but be remembered
in our songs.
This age will fade
and fourth draw near
a King will come
in battle gear.
This age for Men
and not for Elves
we’ve saved the land
but not ourselves.
The Three are safe
and so we planned
their powers faded
from our hands.
we give our blessings
to mankind
and hope that they
will someday find.
The beauty of
this Middle-earth
the living things
and all their worth.
To the Havens
we go in haste
but do not weep
this is our fate.
So here at last
we say fare well
to Lorien
and Rivendell.

~~~~~

Son of Gondor

by: Shannon C

Son of the steward of the white city,
eldest of his father’s heirs
warrior and defender
protector of Gondor

Marshaling his garrisons
keeping Mordor’s onslaughts at bay
courage unequaled
strength to fend off the shadow

Mighty was he in strength and stature
tall and grim
the blood of Númenor ran in his veins
he bore a horn made from that of a wild ox

United with other free peoples of Middle-earth
on a quest to oppose the enemy
to hinder the ever-growing malice
he set out from the land of Imladris with eight others

Long and terrible their quest seemed
defeated by cruel Caradhras
the fall of Mithrandir in the Mines of Moria
the Orcs pursuing their company

Upon Amon Hen his will was corrupted
drawn by lust for the One Ring
seeking to use it’s power to protect the people of his city
thus it was that the Ring corrupted Boromir son of the lord Denethor

He endeavored to seize the Ring from the halfling Frodo
to snatch that which would give him power
he attempted to undo what the council at Imladris decided
he tried to take the Ring from the ring-bearer

His lust to save Minas Tirith was too great
and the Ring’s power made his lust grow
on Amon Hen he faltered
the halfling escaped his grasp

The revelation of his great mistake came ere the hour of his death
he could not find the halfling and was told to look after the halfling’s kinsmen, Meriadoc and Peregrin
upon the struggle to help the halflings, the enemy’s forces were on the move
they reached Amon Hen
they slew the mighty warrior

Upon the great ox horn he blew mightily
alas for he was not in the boundaries of his homeland,
no help came
he fended his companions as long as he could
but at last he fell
pierced with many arrows
wounded many a time
in a valiant attempt for redemption,
the great son of Gondor fell

His time in the world was ended
upon his death bed, he received redemption from Aragorn, one of his companions,
and thus did Boromir depart from Middle-earth

There was a spike of excitement on The Hobbit Discussion Board when some spoilers were found in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Annual.  Come on in and get spoiled right here.

As we are always inspired by the music of Howard Shore, the discussion on The Hobbit Board turned to sharing favorite musical moments in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Share your favorite moments here.

You should know that those of us at TORn really do have other interests.  That was displayed most enthusiastically when the Off Topic Discussion Board wondered:  “So how do you feel about Marvel movies?”  You can dive into the fun right here.

There was quite a milestone on the Message Boards when we reached 10,000 registered members!  That’s a LOT of people doing a LOT of discussing… and there’s always so much more to talk about!!

We’ll share more topics next week and hope you join in on the conversations!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s Message Boards NOW have over 10,000 registered fans, just like you.  Let your voice be heard!!

TheOneRing.net is always delighted to be out and about meeting fellow fans, so the biggest highlight of the con for us was chatting with everyone who stopped to say hi, either at our table in the Hyatt hotel or after the two panels we gave over the course of the weekend.  Thanks for coming over and sharing the Tolkien love with us!

Our two panels were on Saturday afternoon and Sunday lunchtime.  The first was The Hobbit: One book, three movies – a look at why this seemingly short story may (or may not) merit being made into three films.  On Sunday we explored The Desolation of Smaug, with much speculation on what we may see when the film hits the big screen later this year.  Both panels were very well attended, with folks lining up well in advance.  Staffers deej, greendragon and MrCere were the panelists.

TORn was also delighted to help out with the Tolkien Track’s two evening events, Friday’s An Evening at Bree and Saturday’s Middle-earth goes Retro 80s dance party!  greendragon planned the fun for Friday night, with TORn favourites Emerald Rose rocking the house, as ever, and inspiring everyone to dance the night away.  Attendees were very excited when William Kircher, Graham McTavish and Sylvester McCoy showed up to host the costume contest!  They were fabulous MCs, and the entries into the contest this year were just stunning.  Bravo to everyone who took part – the judges had a very hard time picking winners!  (Big thanks to Namadriel, Soinma, MrCere and Nicole Kircher for taking on judging duty!)  The party even included a marriage proposal, as ‘Smaug the Terrible’ knelt down and popped the question to ‘Azog the Defiler’ – both amazing costumes, and a very happy couple at the end of the night!

deej revealed why her TORn nickname has been deej for all these years, as she hosted and dj-ed the dance party on Saturday night.  It was just wonderful to see everyone getting into the spirit of things!  Many folks came in amazing ‘Middle-earth in the 1980s’ costumes, including one gal who was The Eye of Sauron - complete with ‘Venetian Blinder’ sunglass lens!  Elves, dwarves and men took to the dancefloor and strutted their stuff as Saturday turned into Sunday; eventually, soon after 1am, we had to shut the party down and everyone reluctantly headed out to seek their beds – or another party elsewhere!

What with running the table all day every day, partying in the evening, and appearing on a few panels in addition to our own two, TORn staffers were kept pretty busy throughout the weekend of DragonCon!  (MrCere was of course particularly busy, wearing his two hats of being both TORn staffer and Tolkien Track Director.)  The Roadtrip gents did an amazing job of live streaming from the event, so we could keep in touch with folks at home.  By Monday evening, everyone was exhausted – but exhilarated!  Many thanks again to all who stopped to say hello, and maybe to buy a shirt or a button, and show their support for the website.  We always love to meet you all, and it’s great to see familiar faces year after year!

TORn is in Salt Lake City just now, at Salt Lake ComicCon.  Next weekend we’ll be representing at Cincinnati Comic Expo; and then our next BIG event (and party!) will be in New York City, for NYComicCon, October 10-13.  Stay tuned for news of that – we hope to see you there!  Just need to catch up on some sleep in the meantime…

What Smaug might look like: A concept

By: Manuel Ferreira

I wanted to make an animation starring Smaug which harmonises between Peter Jackson’s films and my own imagination. But for that I needed references. Right now, we don’t have many, but the ones we have are enough for a concept – a concept that I wanted to share with you!

With The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer, we got a clear picture of Smaug’s muzzle and eyes. In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we saw Smaug diving into Erebor’s treasure, and although we cannot see Smaug himself, we do see his horns covered in gold. Assuming that Smaug’s look won’t change between the films, we know that he has four horns in each side of his head and one spike in the middle. Joining the horns to the muzzle we saw in the trailer gives us an idea of what his entire head would be like. I drew them together but took some precautions: Smaug was diving so his horns got ‘’stretched’’ and blurry during the picture (after all, he was at movement) so I gave them a shape. For his neck, I simply followed the spikes assuming they’re in some sort of sequence.

For the side of his face, I did the same thing, only picturing the horns side on.

Another body part of Smaug that we clearly see is his tail. It’s visible when he breaks the gates of Erebor, and one feature that caught my attention was that the tail is forked.

There are almost no images of Smaug’s body, but we can (just) see the proportions of his wings, neck and tail with his head. Mixing that with elements of the common adaptations of Smaug with a realistic tone gives us a really cool dragon. As for the color, I personally think that he is a really dark red with purple/dark tone, and exposing the color of the trailer’s Smaug to daylight, my thoughts were confirmed. This is a concept of what we can expect for the next films, but I honestly hope that PJ’s Smaug, is way cooler than mine!

For my animation I added Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice to this Smaug. You can see it here:

About the Author

Hi, my name is Manuel Ferreira, I’m 13 years old and live in Portugal. I’m a recent Tolkien fan, and discovered Middle-Earth trough Peter Jackson last year. Since then, I’ve started to read J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy and basically became a die-hard fan. Middle-Earth is currently my inspiration for my draws and videos.

Kumbuya connects like-minded individuals through common interests.  Join communities to share content and buy and sell products.  On Kumbuya, users join and create themed communities. Within each community, members connect over the things they love by posting topic-related media, comments, and user-generated content. Because communities are curated by the most enthusiastic fans, members get to engage in a beautiful medium that caters directly to their interests.

You may wonder if there is a community of Tolkien fans already on Kumbuya. The answer is Yes! In fact, it is run by TheOneRing.net’s own Quickbeam, aka Clifford Broadway. You can see that community right here. [Tolkien Community on Kumbuya]

TheOneRing.net would like to thank Kumbuya for their generous support and we are glad to include their logo as a corporate sponsor on our ‘Tale of Honour’ page for 2013/2014.

Did you want to support our pledge drive? Check out The Tale of Honour to see how you can show your support for TheOneRing.net and keep us online for years to come! [ The Tale of Honour]

• Contest is open to individuals worldwide, age 13 and up at the time of entry.
• To avoid duplicate submissions, please include your name and location on all entries.
• To qualify, submissions must be a minimum of 500 words and maximum of 2000 words, feature characters from The Hobbit and be in the style of the author/genre for that month’s contest. 
• All submissions should be emailed to mailto: rewrite_tolkien_contest@theonering.net with the entry in the body of the email.  No attachments.
• No posting your entry on the message boards or TORn’s Facebook page.
• No profanity. We realize that some authors’ styles require it, so if you MUST use profanity, please censor it with asterisks.
• By submitting, you are giving TORn permission to reproduce your entry on our website or other formats (Twitter, Facebook, etc…)
• You may submit as many entries as you want, but do not submit the same entry more than once.
• Contestants are only eligible to win once in a 12 month period.
• Entries that do not follow these submission guidelines will not be considered for the contest.

Vanderstelt Studio, home of the amazing artist Jerry Vanderstelt, have generously added their own pledge to TORn’s fundraising efforts.  Jerry Vanderstelt is a formidable painter who is an ardent fan of sci-fi and fantasy, and particularly of C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien.  His paintings include work inspired by The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Jerry has donated some stunning artwork to TORn’s current auction.  These pieces are exclusive prints, personally signed and with unique sketches by Jerry added to the print.  One auction item is for three Lord of the Rings pieces, and the other is for a wonderful painting of Dwalin the Dwarf.  You can find the auctions items here and here; don’t miss this chance to own some extraordinary pieces of Middle-earth art!

TheOneRing.net would like to formally thank Vanderstelt Studios for their continued support of TheOneRing.net!

[Visit Vandersteltstudio.com] [Pledge Your Support Today]

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:

EXCLUSIVE 3-piece set of Lord of the Rings Art by Jerry VanderStelt

This auction offers a beautiful 3-piece set of The Lord of the Rings Collector Edition Lithographs by prominent artist, Jerry VanderStelt. Best known not only for his works inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, he also captures the worlds of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and much more in the Fantasy/SciFi genre.

Each Lithograph of the 3-piece set has a unique Remarque or sketch drawn on the bottom left corner, signed separately from the normal signature and a certification of authenticity.

The collage of iconic images, moments from The Lord of the Rings includes:

Set 1: The Fellowship of the Ring
Set 2: The Two Towers
Set 3: The Return of the King

These Lithographs are printed on a Heidelberg press using 200 line screen for superior reproduction quality, as well as utilizing “100 year” archival inks, and an aqueous coating for a protective finish. Each litho is made with heavy 100 pound paper and measure at 24 x 30 inches each. If you purchase the 3-piece set through BUY IT NOW, Mr. Vanderstelt has offered to personalize each Lithograph. Your prize will also be shipped to you directly from the Vanderstelt Studio, which is a site you must visit to see his stunning work up close. Jerry VanderStelt’s life-like detail and style of artwork gives each of his subjects a rich depth and beauty that’s impossible to describe.

Lord of the Rings Art Auction

TORn Collector’s Ed. Hobbit Magazine signed by Dwalin, Bifur and more

This copy has found itself travelling to DragonCon 2013 where it has been signed by two of The Hobbit’s Dwarves — Dwalin; Graham McTavish and Bifur; William Kircher — for TORn’s Fundraiser! It also has two of the articles signed by their authors. A collaborative effort between Topix Media Lab and your friends here at TheOneRing.net, this tribute to The Hobbit covers everything you need to know about The Hobbit movies from a fan perspective.

Side-bars and feature articles, contributed by our own volunteer staff, include interviews, a feature on book vs. the movie, articles on games and collectibles, a Middle-earth timeline, and much more! The high-quality, glossy paper used for this magazine is also packed with colorful pictures of cast and crew members, locations, collectibles, gorgeous fan art and a few exclusives! One thing that makes this truly a collector’s edition is that there are only two ads in the entire 82-page magazine.

Signed Hobbit Magazine Auction

Paperback The Hobbit signed by Graham McTavish and William Kircher

This is a NEW paperback copy of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien with a movie tie-in picture from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film released in December, 2012.  This copy has travelled to DragonCon 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia and has found itself autographed by 2 Dwarves (William Kircher and Graham McTavish) for TORn’s Fundraiser Auction.

Signed copy of The Hobbit Book Auction

Or click here to check out all our auctions!

Well, now you can meet the talented, and oft-times crazy, volunteers, who diligently delve away in the deepest darkest caverns of Erebor to bring you TheOneRing.net.

*some of the creatures who work here are extremely shy and there is very limited information about them, beyond their names, if you’re extremely lucky you might just spot one as they scurry back into the shadows *

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!

The Four Founders

Tehanu is one of the founders of TheOneRing.net, heavily involved in setting up the site and reporting on LOTR developments as they unfolded around her in New Zealand from 1999 onwards. She contributed a series of articles called Tehanu’s Notes, some of which were published in The People’s Guide to JRR Tolkien, which she also edited. Tehanu is an orchestral musician, publicist, broadcaster and writer in Wellington.

Calisuri is co-owner and one of the original founders of TheOneRing.net. Based out of Philadelphia, PA USA, he contributes most of his free time to handling the business affairs of the website. As a result, you won’t see him that often on the boards or chat, but he is always lurking in the corner.

Corvar is the mysterious man behind the scenes. Our incredibly talented sys-admin is the one cog that’s all-important to a fully functional site — especially when the big news hits. He can sometimes be found idle in Barliman’s chat while trying to find a way to implement Calisuri’s latest crazy idea.

Xoanon is one of our four founders. Though widely believed to be a creation of the other three founders to differentiate them from the three Elven lords by younger staff members, he has, in fact, been missing since he undertook a quest to the Halls of Thranduil to investigate the rumour that this most unconventional of elves had actually employed a female Guard Captain. All attempts by TORn staff to find out his fate have, to date, failed.

TORn Senior Staff

greendragon joined TORn’s message boards back in early 2002; she became a staffer in 2007 and is now honoured to be one of TORn’s Senior Staff.  Her favourite thing about TORn is the many friends it has brought her all around the world, so she loves being involved with planning TORn’s many moots, parties, convention attendance, etc.  A Brit who is now based in the USA, greendragon’s ‘real life’ job is as a freelance stage director, performer and educator.

Alyse is a senior staff member of TORn and a long time Tolkien geek. Having met Calisuri at the Los Angeles line party for The Fellowship of the Ring, she was recruited to help organize week long line parties for The Two Towers and Return of the King. Alyse is also the de facto art curator on staff, having organized and coordinated the art shows for 3 ORCs, 2 ELFs and last February’s An Unexpected Art Show. Alyse also has another passion – building art creations out of LEGO bricks when not working on developing websites professionally.

MrCere came to TheOneRing by way of organizing Line Party events for the LOTR movies. His heart is with the message boards but since visiting the “Hobbit” set for five weeks he stays away so everybody can have fun. He attends conventions, road trips, writes and posts as much as he has time for. He is currently a film student and the Tolkien Track director for Dragon Con and a former journalist.

Demosthenes has been an incredibly nerdy member of TheOneRing.net since 2001 when Calisuri asked him if he’d like to post some stuff on the frontpage. He now helps run the TORn newsdesk and organise feature stories and fan Q&As. He also keeps the TORn chatrooms in a constant state of chaos and enjoys discussing Tolkien and LOTR every weekend in Hall of Fire.

Outside of TORn, he enjoys long walks in the forest, keeping small mutant spacegoats and live music photography. Octopuses, in his opinion, may be the most amazing living creatures ever.

Altaira discovered TheOneRing.net in 2001 and immediately fell in love with the discussion forums. She became a moderator and eventually received the honor of being asked to become a member of the site’s Sr. Staff. While moderating TORn’s sister site, KongisKing.net, she met her future husband who lived half-way around the world in Middle-earth (a.k.a, New Zealand). Together they forged new discussion forums on an updated platform which went live in 2007. As the head of the discussion boards, she currently works with an amazing team of fellow ‘Rangers,’ protecting the boundaries of the forums from trolls and wargs. In her spare time, she works as financial consultant for mid- to large-sized companies and enjoys watching movies (in IMAX 30D whenever possible) with her Kiwi better half.

 Jincey, usually mingling in Barlis chatroom as one of our eagle eyed Moderators, Jincey is currently on sabbatical.

maegwen – though normally found hanging out with TORn’s chatters in Barlis Bar, recent rumours suggest that this shy, yet mischievous creature has now migrated to the Twitterverse.

Members are eagerly watching the number of members at the top of the Message Boards as we inch closer and closer to our 10,000 member.  Membership is currently at 9,999, will you be number 10,000?

On the Main board this week, Ethel Duath continues to develop the fictional country of Tolkienia.

Whilst in the Reading Room, Rembrethil is leading us in discussing the Akallabeth.

On The Hobbit board Semper Fi is sharing their displeasure over the depiction of Bard the Bowman.

And in Off Topic Ethel Duath was shocked to discover she’d wandered onto Valinor.

We’ll share more topics next week. We hope you’ll come and join in the conversations!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s message boards has nearly 10,000 registered Tolkien fans, just like you.  Let your voice be heard!

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!