From Geek Dad Matt Blum on Wired.com: Some questions have such clear answers that you know your answer the moment you hear or read it. These are of the “Who was the better James Bond: Connery or Dalton?” sort. You might even blink a few times to make sure you read the question correctly. This is not what the Great Geek Debates are all about. They are about the deep, soul-searching, tough questions — not quite Sophie’s Choice-tough, but nearly so. They challenge you to determine, once and for all, what kind of geek you truly are. More..

DragonCon 2008Friday is the official kick-off to the annual sci-fi and fantasy fest known as DragonCon in Atlanta and as it has for the last decade, TheOneRing.net will be there to celebrate everything Tolkien and bring you the goings-on to the best of our ability. We will have new Lake Town Archery Club shirts as well as the continuation of the themed shirts introduced at Comic-Con this year. TORn also has a panel about the very latest news on “The Hobbit,” on Friday morning and Sunday. As fast as news is changing, they may even be completely different.
The latest DCon news is Brad Dourif(television and film legend and of course Grima Wormtongue) has just been announced as a late addition-guest to the four-day convention. He will join Craig Parker and Peter Beagle as this year’s celebrities that add to a whole four-day track of Tolkien programming. Continue reading “DragonCon: Dourif! Parker! TORn!”

Byzantine Fresco Tolkien Art Jay writes: My name is Jay and I’m a designer and managing partner of a marketing agency in Newcastle in the North of England. I’ve been a Tolkien fan since my teens and have been collecting his books since college. These illustrations are a personal love and hobby and have never been seen before either in print or on the net. The concept for the style came from Tolkien himself. My understanding is he tried to convince people that The Hobbit was originally a translated manuscript such as Beowulf. More..

Benjamin Harff's Edel-SilmarillionAnne Marie writes: It is always good to know some extra languages, especially when you are interested into Tolkien. The works by J.R.R. Tolkien have long been translated in many languages and are being read and loved all over the planet. Once in a while I read Tolkien related books or website articles in other languages – because outside the English speaking realm there are many fans who are active in there local area. On one of my wanderings around the internet I stumbled upon the article “Edel-Silmarillion als Diplomarbeit”. As by chance I discovered the most beautiful copy of The Silmarillion I had ever seen. More..

J.R.R. TolkienWe have been sitting on some spectacular news that we can finally share with the world! The Literary manuscripts from Marquette University’s renowned J.R.R. Tolkien Collection, the Holy Grail of Tolkien artifacts, will be on display in New York City to coincide exactly with the “Fellowship of the Ring,” screening and concert at Radio City Music Hall on October 9 and 10. There are other Middle-earth themed programming events planned in Midtown with more details to come.

The exhibit, “The Beginnings of a Masterpiece: Original Manuscripts from The Fellowship of the Ring,” will be held at Fordham’s Gerald M. Quinn Library at Lincoln Center, located conveniently close to the history Radio City location, October 5 through November 19. Continue reading “Tolkien manuscript exhibit to coincide with ‘Fellowship’ concert and screening at Radio City”

LeiLani Hinds, Associate Professor of English at Honolulu Community College writes: I am an English professor who has been a huge Tolkien fan since 1967, who loves the films, and who has been a daily visitor to theonering.net since 2002. Almost three years ago you allowed me to announce on The One Ring that I would be teaching a course on Tolkien for the first time at my college, Honolulu Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. Continue reading “Tolkien Course in Honolulu This Fall”