Spider named Cetenus monaghani after Dominic Monaghan.
Dr. Peter Jäger, expert consultant to the nature television show “Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan,” discovered a new spider and named it after “Lord of the Rings” actor Monaghan. As most readers of TORn will already know, Monaghan was Merry in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel and also stars on the TV show Jäger is a consultant for (Monaghan was also narrator for our very own documentary feature RINGERS: Lord of the Fans). In a story reported by Science 2.0, the scientist explains his naming choice:
“He places nature in the foreground in a very special manner,” says Jäger, when explaining the dedication of the new spider species. The spider expert also appeared in front of the camera with the actor in a river cave when Monaghan got to meet his eight-legged namesake in its natural habitat.
As the scientist who discovered the creature, he is given the honor of naming it and he gave Monaghan the honor of lending his last name to its official scientific denotation (you’ll remember this ‘binomial nomenclature’ from your High School Science class), Ctenus monaghani, with Ctenus as the species genus with monaghani denoting Monaghan’s passion for species that may be less popular among humans. Thanks to spy Fritzi-M for bringing this to our attention.
The official citation provided by the story:
Citation: JÄGER, P. (2013) Ctenus monaghani spec. nov., a nocturnal hunter from the forest floor in Laos (Araneae: Ctenidae) — Zootaxa 3670 (1): 091–093 dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3670.1
Today we need a bigger guest couch as ROYD TOLKIEN (Great- great- grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien) joins our show along with the delightfully funny Kili & Fili (THE HAPPY HOBBITS girls) for our weekly webcast TORn TUESDAY. We have just come back from a whirlwind tour of craziness and fandom at San Diego Comic-Con! Our presentation for THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG was the only thing representing Tolkien at the entire show, and we were mustered like the Rohirrim, baby!
I promise a fantastic and off-the-cuff show today — so please bring your questions and comments to the chat!
We launch TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “Up All Night To Get Lucky” Sewell — Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!
And yes our YouTube channel will have this archived later. You can find us on www.youtube.com/the1nering
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Preview night at San Diego Comic Con is just that, a 3 hour preview of the show, with the Exhibitor’s hall open, and several sneak peeks of upcoming network Pilot shows for the Fall Season of new television. There are no panels or major presentations going on, just the room screening the pilots (no guests) and the gigantic exhibit hall. Here you see an image of the side approach to the WETA booth from a bit of a distance, just look for Gandalf watching over everyone. Continue reading “SDCC Wednesday Preview night Recap”
Further to our earlier report this week, attorney and message board member Douglas C. Kane aka Voronwë the Faithful has once again sent us a breakdown on the latest Tolkien Lawsuit.
Today join us and Kili and Fili (THE HAPPY HOBBITS girls) for our weekly webcast TORn TUESDAY, as we are on the eve of San Diego Comic-Con! We have so much to talk about to raise your spirits, even with the ironically titled THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG!
We are going to have a lot to discuss before our presentation! Bring your questions and comments to the chat!
We launch TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I’ll Read It Someday” Sewell — Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!
And yes our YouTube channel will have this archived later. You can find us on www.youtube.com/the1nering
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Follow us on Twitter: @theoneringnet
Follow Cliff Broadway: @quickbeam2000
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If you have followed all the off-screen drama related to the film adaptation of “The Hobbit,” you know that teams of lawyers have been central to the nearly unbelievable plot. There is a history of legal maneuvering that stretches back around Middle-earth movies for decades.
In the current round of court battles the Tolkien Estate brought a lawsuit in Nov. 2012 against Warner Bros. for $80 million that centered on online slot machines and digital merchandise. By March, WB and the Middle-earth Enterprises (that owns the rights purchased from J.R.R. Tolkien and grants them to Warner Bros.) filed a counter-claim saying the lawsuit had damaged them and undermined rights to the property.
The Estate, and an entity called The Fourth Age Ltd. filed to dismiss the counter suit, saying it was simply a legal move to get rid of the original suit. The victory for Warners and Middle-earth Enterprises was judge Audrey Collins stamping a “denied” against the motion to dismiss, allowing the suit to go forward. As you might guess, it is far from settled and many lawyers will collect significant money yet hashing it all out. Most of our information comes from Deadline.com where you can read more details if you wish, including the six-page decision. Kudos to Deadline for its reporting but their decision to watermark this public document is a tad silly.
Deadline’s latest story can be found here. There are others, including by bizjournals.com, while Deadline’s story about the original suit can be read here.
The judge concludes with some clear language:
“For the foregoing reasons, Fourth Age’s Motions to Dismiss Amended Counterclaims and Special Motions to Strike Amended Counterclaims (docket nos. 40, 41, 42, and 43) are DENIED
. IT IS SO ORDERED.“
Further to our 