Kay Miller from Mint Brook Teas sent us the news that their Hobbit Tea website is now online and accepting orders! Take a look at www.hobbittea.com and place your orders! I hope to have a few samples for giveaway (and taste testing of course!). Kay writes: “If you would like to read more about our company you can go to mintbrookmeadows.com. We are a small company and do not have the cash flow for a lot of advertisement. However, we are VERY excited about promoting the Hobbit tea in whatever way we can!”
Category: Other Merchandise
As the excitement of the wonderful weekend many of us shared in New York City for the Radio City Fellowship of the Ring concerts winds down, TORn would like to officially thank the generous businesses that donated prizes for various events held throughout the weekend. Follow the links to check out their great merchandise: Royal Selangor – pewter Frodo goblet, pewter Galadriel goblet; Jens Hansen – silver chain from their LOTR collection; Impact Books – “Forging Dragons” book of dragon artwork by John Howe; author Ethan Gilsdorf – copies of his book “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks”; Fantasy Flight Games – Lord of the Rings – the Confrontation board games; artist Colleen Doran – “Gimli’s Gift” prints; Design Toscano – $25 gift certificate; Alpha Video – Christopher Lee oldies DVDs; Weta Workshop – key chains; Mythology Body – soaps; Vampirathemovie.com – temporary tattoos designed by Daniel Reeve; Shop New Zeeland – manuka honey samples; Connolly’s Pub – pens; Idaho Potato Commission – various ‘tater’ related prizes. Thank you all!
Alf Seegert writes: This week my board game BRIDGE TROLL is being released by Z-Man Games (it was released in Germany last week). I’m a huge Tolkien fan, as is the artist Ryan Laukat, and my hope is that the troll-theme of the game might appeal to other Tolkien-fans as well. (In the game players get to play bridge trolls who eat and extorts travelers who try to cross their bridges). It would be a huge honor if you found this fit to post on theonering.net! More..
Our LOTR Collector’s Edition Giveaway is officially over! As of 10 minutes ago, we’ve sent out the email to our ten lucky winners. We’d like to thank ‘The Lord of the Rings Online’ for sponsoring this special giveaway and all the fans who participated. It goes without saying, if you haven’t tried ‘The Lord of the Rings Online,’ you should! There is even a 10 day free trial period available, which makes giving a chance all the easier. Immerse yourself in Middle-earth today! [LOTRO]
A private investment group is in escrow to purchase The Shire, a hobbit-themed housing development in Bend that came to symbolize the real estate excesses of the early 2000s. Terms of the deal were not available. The original developer envisioned a community of Old English style homes. Its buildings resembled the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” complete with thatched roofs and stone accents. Construction began in 2006 but the market crashed before sales could take off. The Shire was to boast 15 luxury “cottages,” 16 townhomes and a common area including an amphitheater for community productions. After the market collapsed, the project failed. Private investors to buy The Shire (in Portland)
TORn’s 10th Anniversary bash keeps getting better and better. Our good friend Magnus from Weta just posted a birthday card to TORn from Weta on in the VIP message thread on our Feedback board:
“Dear Tehanu, Xoanon, Corvar, Calisuri and thousands of other friends, No website has provided such a platform for fandom and creativity across literature and film as TheOneRing.net and for that we salute you! Past, current and future crew at Weta will be forever spiritually connected to TORn and we are absolutely relishing the opportunity to take on future journeys together – there… and back again… naturally.
We have recorded a short tribute at http://www.wetanz.com/torn10bday/ 
Where you can also see your card in high resolution glory.”
Check out the high res version of the Weta birthday card (pictured) and the TORn tribute video at the link above. You won’t want to miss it.