Today is Mother’s Day in the US – and here at TheOneRing.net we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the importance mothers and motherhood play in our everyday lives. We honor those maternal bonds that are everlasting – bonds that time and distance can never truly break. To this end, we thought it might be a bit geeky to list out the names of the highlighted Mother’s from the Silmarillion, Index of Names. If you have not read the Silmarillion, or are not familiar with Middle-earth history, there will be some spoilers ahead!
Elwing – Daughter of Dior, who escaping from Doriath with the Silmaril wedded Earendil at the Mouths of Sirion and went with him to Vali-nor; mother of Elrond and Elros. The name means ‘Star-spray’ ; see Lanthir Lamath. [Elwing by Moon-blossom]
Emeldir – Called the Man-hearted; wife of Barahir and mother of Beren; led the women and children of the House of Beor from Dorthonion after the Dagor Bragollach. (She was herself also a descendant of Beor the Old, and her father’s name was Beren; this is not stated in the text.)
Yesterday we heard that, later this year, The Hobbit will be published in Latin, and you will remember that we reported a while back about the Irish language version of Tolkien’s book. Ringer spy Ealbhchara (‘Elf-friend’ in Irish Gaelic) was at the official launch of the new translation, in Dublin, and he sent along a report. Though Ealbhchara has nothing to do with the translation and publication, he prefaces his report with a confession: ‘I hope you will forgive me if my report sounds promotional – in a way it is: I am keenly interested in promoting the Irish language (currently a minority language) and the publication of TheHobbit raises the status of the language significantly. Not to mention that I want An Hobad to sell well enough so that they’ll translate The Lord Of the Rings next!’
Ealbhchara’s full report follows after the break – it’s a fascinating read! Many thanks to him for sending it along!
Some TORn followers will be familiar with TORn’s friend The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, and his great podcasts and lectures. This summer, he and the Mythgard Institute have some fabulous courses lined up – if you are anxiously awaiting The Hobbit movies (and who isn’t?!), maybe you can pass the time with a few explorations into fantasy and literature!
The Mythgard Institute is offering three classes this semester. Olsen will be teaching a class called Modern Fantasy, looking at the works of six major fantasy authors of the last fifty years. One of these authors, Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn, will be joining Olsen for a live discussion during the class!
In addition, Verlyn Flieger, one of the top Tolkien scholars in the world, will be teaching a class called The Story of Arthur, on Arthurian Literature. Mythgard are also offering their first language class ever: An Introduction to Latin – just in time for you to read The Hobbit when it is published in Latin in September!
Combined information on all the courses is here. Registration is closing SOON, so hurry along and see what’s on offer!
The stars are aligned for today’s *live* webcast TORn TUESDAY, where viewers can be part of the show and ask questions directly to our celebrity guests! Today we are joined by the creative team behind the wildly popular “FELLOWSHIP! The Musical” — an award winning stage production that rips on the first book of Tolkien’s trilogy! I’ve seen it a few times and it’s hysterically good (check out TORn’s previous podcast interview here). Our special guests today include Comedy Central’s RENO 911! star CEDRIC YARBROUGH (who plays Gandalf) and composer ALLEN SIMPSON! There will be mischief aplenty as we also turn our attention to WETA Costume Contest winner NICOLE ROBERTS, who recently completed her trip to New Zealand and has great stories and surprise photos to share. Tune into our show TORn TUESDAY, hosted by Clifford Broadway (Quickbeam), by clicking to our Live Event page. As always, you can participate starting at 5:00pm PDT — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)
From our own message boards comes this excellent report of Ian McKellen’s one-man show that is raising money for a theater damaged by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch. The actor is (of course) in New Zealand for filming of both parts of “The Hobbit,” a Peter Jackson adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book. Thanks to del girl for sharing her experience on our boards and sending it to our Spymaster@TheOneRing.net adress. She also provided links to another report of the show.
“I have just come back from seeing the first one-man show in Sir Ian’s tour of New Zealand, which is a fundraiser for repairing the earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch (were he last played Waiting for Godot).
We just wanted to take a brief moment to remind you to share your thoughts about our upcoming ‘The One Expected Party,’ taking place Feb 24th 2013 in Hollywood, CA. In the early 2000s, we were privileged enough to host three memorable events in Los Angeles: 2002’s ‘The One Party;’ 2003’s ‘Two Towers One Party;’ and 2004’s ‘The Return of the One Party.’ The last party, which corresponded with The Return of the King winning 11 Academy Awards, was such a success the LA Times called it ‘The hottest bash in town’ on Oscar Night. [LA Times] After the break, you can see a video of some highlights from that event. [Video] ‘The One Expected Party‘ is a fan-centered celebration of all things Middle-earth, so we are looking for your help and input. If you have any interest in the party, please take a couple of minutes and submit the form below. Thank you for your participation and we will be updating you along the way as prepare for Oscar night 2013. Continue reading “Don’t forget to share your thoughts about ‘The One Expected Party’ 2013”
