Sheldon goes geek again with ‘Reginald: The Widdlest Balgrog’. Check it out at sheldoncomics.com
Category: Books Publications
“What business does an Elf, a Ranger and a Ninja have in the Riddermark? – Speak quickly!” Is this a play on the famous meeting of Ẻomer and Aragon or in fact a question that rings out a connection that has never been looked at before? Is there a connection between an Elf, a Ranger of the North and the historical Ninja of feudal Japan? Indeed there is, more than most people realise.
When looking at Tolkien’s view of an Elf, especially in The Children of Húrin, we see the Elf as a silent scout, a “man” who treads where others can not and goes unseen by all, creeping, hiding and being invisible. But then so is a Ranger, Legolas and Strider are companions of skill and share their ability to journey unseen, to the comic underplay of the “clunking dwarf”. Thus, enter the Ninja! First, forget anything you know, ignore the figures screaming in black as they jump through screens and get cut down by the heroic Samurai, this is all media misunderstanding, the real and very historical Ninja of Japan were the real life Elves and Rangers of the East.
Continue reading “Guest Article: Elves, Rangers and The Ninja”
J.W. Braun is back with another trivia question and a review of The Art of the Lord of the Rings book series by Gary Russell. If you like Braun’s reviews, be sure to check out his new facebook page.
Nuradar writes: Harper-Collins Canada has announced the winner of its 2011 March Madness book contest. This year’s winner is THE HOBBIT! It beat out Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to win the top place as best book of all time. hccmarchmadness.ca
[See below for info on two upcoming events with TORN blogger Ethan Gilsdorf]
I recently had a conversation with a man who scoffed at gaming and fantasy. The guy was a sports fan. So was I. But we didn’t see eye to eye. “That isn’t reality,” he said of my years reading J.R.R. Tolkien, playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and my other interests in so-called “escapist” hobbies.
Fantasy and gaming are pointless, he said. Useless. What’s the point in playing them? Waste of time. But he’s wrong. Continue reading “When a Fantasy (Game) Is Better Than Reality (Baseball)”
Harper Collins Canada has been running their own version of March Madness over the past month and they are down to two finalists: The Hobbit vs. Murder on the Orient Express. We had NO idea this was taking place until today, but boy are we glad we found out for the finals. What better way to start the week then to overwhelm a poll. Not that we are trying to influence your vote or anything *wink*. [Vote Today]