Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

This week on LOTR Movie board we’re discussing Aragorn’s American Accent.  Did you notice it appearing and disappearing during his first scenes of FOTR?  Or were you too caught up in the magic of it all, join us here and share your views.

On Hobbit Movie board fans are discussing the news that Peter Jackson has commenced the final edit for The Unexpected Journey. The excitement is building 🙂

Over in Off Topic, Ufthak shared this video from youtube, “Wizard Gandalf Style”, what more can I say? 😀

We’ll share more topics next week and hope you can join in on the conversation!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s message boards have over 8,200 registered Tolkien fans, just like yourself.  Let your voice be heard!

If you like quests, enjoy board games and are always on the look out for family fun, we have some good news for you!  The folks at Prolific Games, designers of innovative board games, are busy making The Hirelings, a traditional game which uses a board, dice and cards to create a world of myth and mayhem!  The premise is this: ‘Deep in a dragon’s lair, the Heroes have been unceremoniously (but predictably) burnt to nothingness leaving the Hirelings to scramble their way to safety.’

Read more about the game after the break…

Continue reading “Feeling playful on Hobbit Day? Some gaming news…”

Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf in RivendellWelcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

On Main this week, Duats has given us a heads up to keep our eyes and ears open for something coming on “Hobbit Day” September 22nd.  Let the speculative fun begin 😉

The Reading Room is having an interesting discussion about when elves stop aging.  Do they age slower than mortals or do they reach a certain point in time and just stop getting any older?  So why don’t you pull up a chair and join the discussion here.

Over on hobbit movie board further speculation about the new ending for the first Hobbit film is running hot (Spoilers)

We’ll share more topics next week and hope you can join in on the conversation!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s message boards have around 8,150 registered Tolkien fans, just like yourself.  Let your voice be heard!

Welcome to our latest “Getting to know” questions that need answering. This month we’re talking to the one and only Balrog Showgirl, Nicole Roberts.The Balrog Showgirl with Richard Taylor

Hi Nicole and a very big thank you for taking part and for being so patient with me.

This first question is from Rosie-with-the-ribbons who’s latest costume for RingCon has been inspired by your Balrog Showgirl costume.

R-w-t-r: Do you make your costumes yourself?

Nicole: Rosie – that is awesome!  Yes, for the most part the costumes I’ve been running around in for the past several years have all been of my own making.  I only started sewing back in 2004, after I moved to Los Angeles and started hanging out with even more LOTR people.  The first costume I made was to wear to Comic Con that year – I was the Mumak Mahud (the guy with the black and white painted face who steers the oliphaunt in ROTK), so you could definitely say I’ve always leaned towards costumes that were a little off the beaten path!  I’ve done some costumes that were direct recreations (“Barf” from “Spaceballs”is the most well-known one), but as I’ve gotten more into the sewing, I really like doing things that are more of an original design, like the Balrog Showgirl.  As someone who is not of supermodel proportions (and seriously, those chicks look like scary walking lollipops anyway), I like to have the opportunity to design something that I think is more flattering to me, and I always like to learn how to do something new, like dyeing feathers for the showgirl headdress.

Continue reading “Getting to know Nicole Roberts”

Patrick Acton's Matchstick Minas Tirith
Patrick Acton’s Matchstick Minas Tirith

TheOneRing.net is continuing on our journey, quest, thing and we’re on the hunt for super fans. Think you have what it takes to be called an “Ultimate Fan?” Maybe you know someone who can be give that title? If so, we want to hear from you.

Do you have an awesome Tolkien tattoo. Maybe you’ve turned your home into Middle Earth! Maybe you named your children after Tolkien characters?  Artist, costumer, musician, baker, you name it — if you, or an acquaintance, have a large body of work or an ultimate super project, we want to know about it.

To tell us what makes you, or someone you know, the biggest and best of Lord of the Rings fans, use one of the links below to send us as much information as possible. We’ll need to see what your submission is all about, so please submit a URL to an image or site. Or you can upload a small photo version. (Don’t worry, right now we don’t need super-big images and we will follow up if we need more information.)

We can’t wait to see what our fellow fans are up to as we continue our quest! [Submit Yourself] [Submit a Friend]

Living in a hole in the ground and living of the earth is nothing strange for a hobbit. Now in Denmark there’s a eco-friendy spin on the concept with a Shire-like village.

About an hour and a half by train from Copenhagen the eco-village has 74 sustainably-designed highly unique houses and apartment buildings that range from hobbit-style straw bale to high design.

The site also includes seven wind turbines, an impressive 66-foot-long bin system for recycling, chickens, gardens, and acres of green space -— all serving 118 people, 60 of which are children.

[More]