If you’re even casually interested in the languages Tolkien created, you’ll want to join us in Hall of Fire on December 11 at 5.30pm EST when we’ll be joined by Tolkien language expert David Salo for a moderated question and answer session. David was the primary language consultant for Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings. David wrote Elvish dialogue, and created Dwarvish inscriptions for Moria, as well as the inscriptions for Aragorn’s sword – Anduril – and Frodo’s sword – Sting. [More]
Category: Hall of Fire
‘Why, Sam,’ [Frodo] said, ‘to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you’ve left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted.’ “I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn’t they put in more of his talk, dad? That’s what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam, would he, dad?”
One of the most beloved characters in Tolkien’s trilogy is without question, Samwise Gamgee. That ordinary hobbit, representative of all that’s sound and sane against a background of darkness and despair, who was able to do the extraordinary, even the impossible, and live to tell the tale.
Do you see Sam as a faithful friend and kind hearted companion, or the dim-witted klutz and comic-relief, sort of Sancho Panza to Frodo’s Don Quixote? Or is he the “everyman” of Middle Earth, the character Tolkien himself said he most related to? Or is Sam the true, courageous hero of Lord of the Rings? Was Sam just an ordinary hobbit? Was he tempted by the Ring? Was he the cause of Gollum’s ultimate damnation? These questions and more will be explored as we look at this amusing, confusing and delightful character.
Come join us and our special guest moderator, SamGamgee7, this week in #thehalloffire as we discuss “Samwise Gamgee, Hobbit Hero”.
Upcoming Topics:
Sept 4-5: The Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home
Sept 11-12: Middle Earth’s Greatest Hero
Sept 18-19: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water
Sept 25-26: The Downfall of Numenor
Oct 2-3: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: The Gathering of the Clouds
Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: [here]
Chat Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm EST (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat:
8:00 pm (20:00) CET
[also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AEST = Australian East Coast
After Eru created the music that spawned his Children, he offered the creation of their home to his immortal, angelic beings known to the Elves as the Valar. After Arda’s creation, dissension erupted between the Valar who stood for goodness and beauty and the jealous, destructive Melkor, and the land became their battle ground. Eventually, the Valar retreated from Arda to their own lands in the West. Once the Elves awakened, they became the new battle ground between the two sides.
The Valar’s Intervention in ME: Adequate or Abandonment?
To protect the newly awakened Elves from Melkor, the Valar persuaded them to leave Middle Earth. What resulted was the most fruitful and enlightening time for the Elves who followed them but the darkness in their departure estranged them from the Valar. Led by Manwe, the Valar hid themselves and most discontinued their involvement with the Elves.
What was the Valar’s actual responsiblity in Middle Earth and it’s affairs? Did they abandon the Elves and Men to Melkor’s evil, or was their involvement more subtle? Why couldn’t they strike a balance in their intervention, that seemed neither too much nor too little? Who was more responsible for how the races of Middle Earth evolved through four ages, Melkor or the Valar?
Come join us this week in #thehalloffire as we discuss the Valar’s Intervention in Middle EArth.
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Upcoming topics:
Aug 28-29: Samwise Gamgee
Sept 4-5: The Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home
Sept 11-12: Middle Earth’s Greatest Hero
Sept 18-19: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water
Sept 25-26: The Downfall of Numenor
Oct 2-3: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: The Gathering of the Clouds
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Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: http://www.theonering.net/barlimans/instructions.html
===
Chat Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm EST (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat:
8:00 pm (20:00) CET
[also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AEST = Australian East Coast
This weekend in The Hall of Fire we crack open the great story to discuss chapter four of The Fellowship of the Ring, A Shortcut to Mushrooms. Details on when and where, including new times to account for Daylight Savings, here.
This weekend, 3/31 and 4/1, we’ll be tackling chapter four of The Fellowship of the Ring,
A Short Cut to Mushrooms
This is our fourth in the FotR chat series, so come on down and talk Tolkien with the us! We have three sessions to choose from, and we encourage young and old, newbies and regulars to join in on the fun at The Hall of Fire.
Time is tricky this weekend (isn’t it always though?) due to Daylight Savings, so please note that these sessions may reflect changes.
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 1:00 am Sunday (01:00) GMT and 10:00
am Sunday (10:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) GMT and 6:00 am
(06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am
(03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, for the United States
GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, for Western Europe
AET = Austrailian Eastern Time
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Further details available at The Hall of Fire homepage. Thanks to Strider and Demosthenes for hammering out the new times!
Tolkien’s Enigmas
Should things that Tolkien left enigmatic and unexplained remain mysterious? Should there even be speculation about these things?
Many’s the time I have wanted more detail and information about creatures, characters, races, places, and events in Middle-earth. After reading The Lord of the Rings the first time, I remember the sorrow and joy that came with its ending, and the longing for more. If you’ve read The History of Middle-earth, or other similar Tolkien Enterprises publications, then you have seen a bit deeper than others into the mind which spun such fantastic yarn. But perhaps it’s better not to know that Strider was first called Trotter… or what the fate of Middle-earth is in the end. Some mysteries are better left as such… What do you think?
Bring your thoughts down to our next Hall of Fire!
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm EST (19:00) [also midnight Saturday (24:00) GMT and 10:00 am Sunday (10:00) in Australia]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) in Australia [also 9:00 am (09:00) GMT and 4:00 am (04:00) EST]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) GMT [also 1:00 pm (13:00) EST and 4:00 am (04:00)Monday morning in Australia]
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to our chatroom Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire
You can be a Hall of Fire Moderator!
That’s right folks, you can run a Hall of Fire! How you ask???
Send us your topics! If we pick your idea for discussion, you will be our guest co-moderator for that weekend. You can help us run the Saturday or Sunday chat, or both! Of course, you will not be required to work the chat; this is our way of honoring those of you who take the time to put a topic together.
Questions? Topics? Send ‘em here!!