OOooooh, so many have written in about the “LOTR turnoff for girls” post, I thought it worth a second post. First of all, I’m a girl and I *love* LOTR, so don’t yell at me for Penguin’s poll πŸ™‚ — maegwen

To speak for all of us out there, here is another point of view: “Hello, this is Araeph, reporting to you from the Protectors of the Plot Continuum message board, which promotes the respectful treatment of the LotR plot and characters in fanfiction. The article I’m sending you contrasts directly with the “LotR a Turn-Off to Girls?” article posted recently on theonering.net. “Errr, I don’t think so” was an apt comment.

“This was published awhile ago, but I think that it may be worth a look. It stemmed from an erroneous Lord of the Rings quiz in YM. The quiz riled several of our board members when the highest quiz score meant you were branded a “fangirl.” One of the magazine’s writers responded, asking for input from more of us, and we did our best to explain our non-Lego-lusting love for LotR. The article you see is the result.” [More]

So, there!

Ringer Spy BalrogWithWings writes: Greater Union is holding a competition to win tickets to the FSF Convention on September 11th in Sydney. The convention includes talks by the special guests, question and answer times, autograph sessions, a charity auction of LOTR items and a huge range of merchandise and collectibles. [More]

This weekend all things LOTR will gather around Alexandra Palace in London, UK for what promises to be a weekend of great fun and exciting events. If you haven’t done so already: get your tickets now! If you need some more convincing, check out the latest update from the organisers and head over to www.aaaevents.co.uk! See you there!

There are only two days to go to The Fellowship Festival and while it is pretty hectic here at Festival Towers, we just wanted to give you a quick update.

We have just been informed by Karl Urban’s agent that Karl has recently won a new film role which means that Karl will only be appearing at The Fellowship Festival this year so alongside Bernard Hill, Karl is now a worldwide event exclusive. We are very honoured to have both gentlemen join us at the show both have told us that they can’t wait to meet you all.

The event schedule has now been finalised. Due to last minute changes the full programme will be available when you arrive. We have organised question and answer sessions with the cast and crew that are held throughout the day and are repeated every day so you won’t miss out on a thing.

Some of the cast will be showcasing their special talents, check the schedule for times. Come and watch them strut their stuff; they have worked really hard to offer you a really new experience, a chance for you to see them in a new light.

The Tolkien Society have worked incredibly hard to give us many workshops and seminars where you can appreciate the works of Tolkien and Peter Jackson, huge thanks go to Ian and the team for all their hard work.

We are honoured to announce that Sarah McLeod will be singing “Into the West” exclusively at The Fellowship Feast. If you haven’t already got your ticket for the most memorable night of the year, you can buy it at the show from our stand.

Gino Acevedo from Weta Workshop will be transforming a lucky visitor into an orc before your very eyes every single day. We can’t wait to see the results.

The final touches to Mark Ferguson’s new comedy play “The Lord of The Rings 4: Return of The Towering Fellowship” have been finalised and we are looking forward to seeing Mark and some of the other cast members have us in fits of laughter.

EA GAMES are bringing one of their producers to The Festival who will talk to you about how they went about making the films into a game. Essential attendance for those of you who enjoy gaming. Don’t forget that they will also be demonstrating for the very first time, their brand new LOTR games, which are not being released until November.

For those of you who enjoy collecting, you can purchase exclusive items only available at the show and no-where else in the world brought to you by our friends at Cards Inc. You can also purchase official merchandise from our many exhibitors onsite.

Don’t forget, every Festival Ticket holder will be entered into a prize draw to win a holiday for two to New Zealand courtesy of our friends at Red Carpet Tours.

There is so much more that you can do at The Fellowship Festival, we sincerely hope that you make the most of the weekend, you enjoy all the activities that have been organised and have a wonderful time. We are very proud to be involved in such an amazing experience and look forward to seeing you all.

That’s not all folks, we still have some surprises up our sleeves…

Warmest wishes

The Fellowship Festival Team

Ringer Atticus alerts us to watch VH1’s new show ‘Totally Obsessed’ for a segment on LOTR fan Melissa Duncan. The show says she’s ‘totally obsessed’ but I’m sure we ‘Ringers’ can be the judge of that! heh [Click Here]

Continuing the tradition started two years ago, TORn is pleased to announce the third edition of our Annual Baggins Birthday Picnic, which will take place on Sunday September 19th, 2004, from noon to 6pm in Griffith Park, on the picnic grounds near the Carousel (those of you who attended last year will probably remember the spot – for the newbies, we’ll post directions shortly).

As always, costuming is highly encouraged, and there will be contests, games, great prizes and lots of fun!

As this is a potluck event, please contact Arwen at arwen@theonering.net to let her know what items you will be contributing – and check the news page in the next few days for more details about the picnic. We hope to see you there!

Two days later, on Tuesday September 21st, another great fan event and celebration will take place: Bowlmoot 2004. The gathering will take place before the performance of the Lord Of The Rings Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl. For more information about Bowlmoot please visit the website at http://www.bowlmoot.net/