“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

It’s one of literature’s most famous opening lines. The hobbit Bilbo Baggins is smoking a pipe and minding his own business when Gandalf the wizard arrives, offering adventure.

Bilbo, comfortable in his Bag End home, isn’t keen on anything remotely adventurous. But fate has other ideas. The very next day Bilbo — and without so much as a pocket handkerchief — is off on a great adventure in the company of Gandalf, and 13 dwarves keen to avenge their forefathers against the dragon, Smaug.

With Peter Jackson and his crew about to begin filming, TheOneRing.net is delighted to announce a series of book-based Hobbit chats over coming weekends that will analyse Tolkien’s text chapter-by-chapter.

Continue reading “Hall of Fire chats return with The Hobbit!”

Founder’s Day fun continues tomorrow with the 6th Annual LoTR Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon! (phew, that’s a long title!)

Join us Saturday, May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. in TORn’s chatroom “Barliman’s” as people from around the world will put their DVDs into their player and sit down at their computers with one common goal: to gather virtually with other fans to watch all three Lord of the Ring extended editions straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely. Marathon FAQ.

But that’s not all! Also on Saturday Barliman’s will be holding a special Hobbit discussion between viewings of “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.” (approx. 5:30 p.m.)

Speculation and anticipation are mounting among Lord of the Rings fans as news about the Hobbit continues to dribble out. With scripts for the two films drafted, but the project still awaiting the studio greenlight, TORn’s Hall of Fire returns to host a discussion asking “what next?” Come along, and bring your own rumours for discussion! Read more

So please join us on the TORn IRC server this Saturday for two very special events! Questions? Send them to barlimans@theonering.net .

Founder’s Day fun continues this weekend with the Sixth Annual Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon! (phew, that’s a long title!)

Join us Saturday, May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. in TORn’s chatroom “Barliman’s” as people from around the world sit down at their computers with one common goal: to virtually gather with other fans to watch all three Lord of the Ring extended editions straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely. Find all the details on our Marathon FAQ.

But that’s not all! Also on Saturday night Barliman’s will be holding a special Hobbit discussion between “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.” (approx. 5:30 p.m.):

Speculation and anticipation are mounting among Lord of the Rings fans as news about the Hobbit continues to dribble out. With scripts for the two films drafted, but the project still awaiting the studio greenlight, TORn’s Hall of Fire returns to host a discussion asking “what next?” What can we expect to see in the films? Who will take the lead role? And will it be wall-to-wall dwarves, or will there be additions and casualties? Come along, and bring your own rumours for discussion!

So please join us on the TORn IRC server this Saturday for two very special events! Read more

Today’s nearly 3 hour long chat with Alan Lee was filled with questions about Alan’s involvement with the Lord of the Rings movies, his future endeavors, and his art in general. We had an open, unmoderated chat, so I’ve edited the log for continuity and reading ease. Questions for Alan have been italicized and his answers are in bold type. We’d like to sincerely thank Alan and Houghton Mifflin for giving us this opportunity to bring another live guest chat to you, the fans of JRR Tolkien. Enjoy! Continue reading “Alan Lee Chat Log Transcript”

The question of questions. The question sages have pondered for decades. The question that has overturned book club meetings and caused riots on message boards. The Question of the Ages. No, it’s not ‘What’s the Meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything?’. Nor is it ‘Who shot JR?’. It’s not even ‘Where’s the beef?’. Instead, we are going to ponder the imponderable, ask the unanswerable, seek that which has eluded both the wise and the extremely geeky: Who is the greatest Hero of Middle-earth?

Do you have the answer? An opinion? A suggestion? Are you firmly in the camp of the Aragorn-ites or the Frodo-ians? Do you vacillate between the students of Gandalf and the worshippers of Pippin? Do your tastes tend toward the earthy- as in Eowyn, or the sublime- as in Galadriel? (yes, women CAN be heroes too!) Perhaps you look deeper into Middle-earth’s long history toward heroes such as Beren, Turin, Hurin or Elendil. Or do you just go for the bizarre and take Gollum or Sauron for you role-model?

Wherever your affections and loyalties lie, you will have the chance to explore, expand, and expound on the merits of each this weekend in #thehalloffire as we discuss Middle-earth’s Greatest Hero. But be prepared to back up your assertions, because this is going to be one heck of a debate!

Date: Saturday March 4
Time: 5.30pm EST
Place: #thehalloffire on the TORn IRC server.

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help.

America:
5.30pm EST (New York)
4.30pm CST (Chicago)
3.30pm MST (Salt Lake City)
2.30pm PST (Los Angeles)

Europe:
10.30pm GMT (London)
11.30pm CET (Paris)

Asia-Pacific:
6.30am AWST (Sunday) Perth
8.30am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
9.30am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney
11.30am NZDT (Sunday) Wellington

Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!

Where?

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our java chat client that works inside your web browser (find it here!) or choose to install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer.

To find out more about using mIRC to connect to TORn IRC server, check out these instructions.

Got a topic? Let us know your idea!

If you have a burning desire to discuss something in Hall of Fire, drop us a line with your topic at halloffire@theonering.net. If we like it, we’ll probably give it a run in the coming weeks!

Join HoF Announce!

Did you know that Hall of Fire has a mailing list? Join today and get topic announcements and news delivered regularly to your inbox!

Hof-announce@theonering.net
http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/hof-announce

TheOneRing.net and the Hall of Fire was delighted to host Cliff Broadway and Carlene Cordova for a live Q&A session about their documentary Ringers: Lord of the Fans earlier today. Here’s the chat log. Thanks to everyone who attended — HoF will now take a break and resume in early January. [More]

PS. The link should work now. Sorry about that! — Dem.