Frodo and Samwise Diorama from SideshowCollectibles.comAfter reaching 200k fans on Facebook (we’re now up to 223k!!), Sideshow Collectibles‘ generously gave us one of their Sam and Frodo dioramas as a giveaway. Today we are pleased to announce the winner!

Congrats to Brenden R. hailing from the United States!

The winner’s favorite scene in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

“I can’t carry it for you – but I can carry you!”

Special thanks to all who participated and please take a moment to check out The Lord of the Rings collectibles from are contest sponsor, Sideshow Collectibles.  [View all LOTR Collectibles]

 

BilbetteFrom boingboing.net;  Michelle Nijhuis’s five year old daughter insisted that Bilbo Baggins was a girl. After arguing about it for a while, Michelle decided to read her The Hobbit, switching Bilbo’s gender-pronoun throughout. And it worked brilliantly. Bilbo is a great heroine: “tough, resourceful, humble, funny, and uses her wits to make off with a spectacular piece of jewelry. Perhaps most importantly, she never makes an issue of her gender — and neither does anyone else.”

Continue reading “Gender switched Bilbo makes The Hobbit a better read”

oakentoon_logo_by_peckishowl-d6ljafpWelcome to your latest dose of the Oakentoons 🙂

Don’t forget to check out the Oakenstills and Oakencrossovers while you’re there and to say hi to Peckish Owl.

As always just click the images to see the full size ones.  Also don’t forget to click on the images on Peckish Owls site to enlarge them there (yes I have been asked about this :-\ )

Continue reading “Oakentoon #16 – Blades of Gondolin, Oakentoon #17 – Never trust an elf, Oakentoon #18 – High Hopes”

smaug_the_hobbit_1977To celebrate the conclusion of 2013 Middle-earth’s Year of the Dragon, here are the thirteen most viewed posts of the past year.

As with most of our stories, they are submitted by fans, like you! 2014 promises to be a significant year for Tolkien fandom, please don’t hesitate to send us your news suggestions directly to spymaster@theonering.net!

TOP 13 Posts of 2013:

13. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Sneak Peek – commentary

12. Analysis: just how big is Jackson’s Smaug?

11. All the spoilery details from the 20 minutes of previously unseen footage screened at The Desolation of Smaug Fan Event

10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Scene Guide

9. Concerning Christopher – An Essay on Tolkien’s Son’s Decision to Not Allow Further Cinematic Licensing of His Work

8. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug runtime is 156 minutes?

7. Viggo ‘Turned Down’ Role as Aragorn? Not so fast…

6. TORn’s official frame-by-frame analysis of trailer two for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

5. Finally! See the human face of Beorn!

4. Analysing the role of The Necromancer in The Hobbit

3. ‘Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition’ release dates, content, pricing announced

2. Top 20 Quotes From “The Lord of the Rings”

1. Frame by Frame Analysis of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer