For those of you looking to brush up on your Tolkien knowledge, don’t forget to check out this upcoming online course! Here’s the official release:

J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth and Middle-earth in Context
The Journey Begins Again in May 2011

We are delighted to announce that the UWIC MA online course J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth and Middle-earth in Context will run again during the summer semester, beginning in May 2011. The course has been designed and will be taught by Dr Dimitra Fimi (author of Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits, winner of the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies 2010).

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Sean Bean is about to star in what many think is going to be another giant step forward for fantasy in popular culture, much like Peter Jackson’s LOTR films. Based on George R.R. Martin’s series of books, HBO is bringing “A Game of Thrones,” from the printed page to the small screen and they also sent TheOneRing.net some exclusive video from Sunday’s premiere with Sean Bean in action. (Martin recently called the film trilogy his all-time favorite fantasy film and is repeatedly on record praising J.R.R. Tolkien.)

In the first video Bean, as Eddard Stark, verbally spars with the Queen’s brother Jaime Lannister known as the “Kingslayer”.

In the second clip the King arrives with his court to see Stark, the Warden of the North and his family.

Tolkien biographer Joseph Pearce and artist Jef Murray have collaborated on a new EWTN TV special on J.R.R. Tolkien that will be broadcast this week!. The production will include dozens of Jef’s illustrations of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and it will focus on the Catholicity of Tolkien’s magnum opus. Air dates for the show, which should be accessible worldwide over EWTN and online, are Wednesday, April 6 at 10pm EST, Friday, April 8 at 1pm EST, and Saturday, April 9 at 5am EST. For more information, see the EWTN website . [Click here]