“Longest of all the realms of the Eldalië shall Gondolin stand against Melkor. But love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart; and remember that the true hope of the Noldor lieth in the West and cometh from the Sea.” Thus Ulmo warned Turgon at the founding of Gondolin.
This weekend, Hall of Fire resumes regular Silmarillion chats with Chapter 15 — Of the Noldor in Beleriand.
Hidden from all spying eyes, Turgon builds Gondolin as a replica of Tirion — the city lost to the Noldor in exile. Is it yearning for home? Is it hubris or defiance of the Valar or Morgoth?
And to whom does Ulmo’s warning refer? Is it the coming of Tuor from Nevrast (in the west) or a foresight of the Valar and the War of Wrath?
However, Gondolin is not protected by the enchantments of Ulmo alone. The eagles of Manwe also keep the spies of Morgoth at bay. Is this an indication that the Valar are working together in subtle ways to assist the Noldor? And how does this alter our views of the activity or inactivity of the Valar in opposing Morgoth?
We’ll also discuss events in Doriath where — slowly but inexorably — the shameful truth of the flight of the Noldor from Aman is revealed to Thingol and Melian. What impact does this have on the leaguer against Morgoth?
Is Galadriel reluctant to speak of those events out of fear or out of loyalty? Does she become complicit in events by concealing the truth? And what does it mean that Melian cannot pierce the shadows that hides Valinor?
Moreover, why does Galadriel stay in Doriath rather than with her brother Finrod? And what of Melian’s discussions with Thingol, his ditrust of the Valar and her portents about the importance of the Silmarils and warnings about the Sons of Feanor?
These are just a few of the things we’ll discuss this weekend on Sunday December 4 at 2.00pm EST in The Hall of Fire.
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help.
America:
2.00pm EST (New York)
1.00pm CST (Chicago)
12.00 midday MST (Salt Lake City)
11.00am PST (Los Angeles)
Europe:
7.00pm GMT (London)
8.00pm CET (Paris)
Asia-Pacific
3.00am (Monday) Perth
5.00am (Monday) Brisbane
6.00am (Monday) Sydney
8.00am (Monday) Wellington
Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!
Where?
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net – the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our java chat client that works inside your web browser (find it here! ) or choose to install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer.
To find out more about using mIRC to connect to TORn IRC server, check out these instructions.
Upcoming topics:
Sun December 4 – Silmarillion Ch 15: Of the Noldor in Beleriand
Sat Dec 10 – The Seven Heavenly Virtues in LoTR
Sun Dec 17 – Live Ringers Q&A
Sun Jan 8th – The Seven Heavenly Virtues in LoTR
Sat Jan 14th – Silmarillion Chapter 16: Of Maeglin
NB: Hall of Fire will take a break for Christmas and the New Year and will resume in early January.
Got a topic? Let us know your idea!
If you have a burning desire to discuss something in Hall of Fire, drop us a line with your topic at halloffire@theonering.net. If we like it, we’ll probably give it a run in the coming weeks – you might even get to guest moderate the session!
Join HoF Announce!
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Hof-announce@theonering.net
http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/hof-announce
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As time marches on, more and more victims of the horrible events in Asia are being found. Please take a moment to do what you can by helping the relief efforts. We’ve found a little better link for you at CNN.com of agencies that are providing relief to the area. [Click Here]
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People have been wondering where Xoanon has been of late — Never fear, Xo has not left us! He’s just taking a much over-due vacation. Thanks for putting up with all of us as we attempt the Herculean task of filling Xo’s shoes (it ain’t easy, I tell ya’!). He will be back soon, unless he decides to stay in his vacation paradise.
TORn Staffer Demosthenes pointed out this story earlier today. It’s a chat with Christopher Lee from earlier this month, who makes a small comment about his role in the LOTR films. [More]
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TheOneRing.net will offer four new shirt styles for the fall, three of which will be available to buy at Dragon Con in Atlanta September 3 – 6.
We don’t want to give away everything at once but the three shirts available at the fantasy convention (with its own heavy-duty Tolkien tract of programming) will have new sayings and will be in colors slightly different from what TORn has offered previously.
One has a “pretty Elf-man” joke on the back for people who have never read Tolkien’s books while another returns to TORn’s name sake and has a reference about a ring, or at least something precious.
The final shirt, which features a full seven color front and the likeness of a top-notch idol of millions is a “Thank you” note to Peter Jackson.
The fourth shirt that will be available on the web site is a polo-style collared shirt with an embroidered TheOneRing.net logo. It will be available in four colors. This shirt, because of its extra cost on TORn’s end will be ordered from the production company as it is ordered from TORn and will take longer to get to TORNados but will be well worth the wait.
The t-shirts each feature text from the recent fan-made “Aniron” font used by express permission from its creator. Restricted from commercial use, the font is available for fan use on his web site found here.
TORn still has a few of our old style shirts available but sizes and color choices are limited. Any shirts orders that cannot be filled will be refunded. We do still have a healthy stock of our “Return of the One Party” shirts available.
All our current merchandise and the new items are or will be available at our T-Shirt Store: [Click Here]
And of course buying our items not only gets you great stuff, it helps keep TheOneRing.net on line.
Images of the new shirts will be posted shortly.
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Two New Zealand projects are to benefit from an international fundraising project by fans of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) films.
The fundraising has helped kick off Wellington City Council’s commemorative tree scheme, and will also provide more than US$800 to the organ donation awareness group GiveLife.
Coordinator Stephanie Blevins, in the United States, says the fundraising was a way for LOTR fans on the website TheOneRing.net (TORN) to say thank you to Peter Jackson for creating such a successful film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book.
“We just wanted to thank Peter Jackson so much for making these films. The fans are such wonderful and giving people and they saw this as a great opportunity to show their appreciation in a tangible way.
“The response has been incredible. Fans from around the world have contributed to the fundraising, which shows you just how widely the films have touched people,” says Stephanie.
Wellington City Council’s commemorative tree scheme was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the fundraising as a salute to Professor Tolkien, who was an avowed environmentalist. Eleven kauri trees will be planted in Willowbank Park in Tawa, at 2pm on September 2 – the 11 trees comprise nine for the ‘Fellowship of the cast and crew’ of the films, and one each for Peter Jackson and Professor Tolkien (while also honouring the 11-Oscar sweep of The Return of the King).
The GiveLife foundation was chosen as Peter Jackson has publicly supported the issue of organ donation in New Zealand.
Erica Challis, the Kiwi co-founder of TORN, says the fundraising is an example of how the Internet can enable people who are widely separated by distance to collaborate on projects that are dear to their hearts, and she congratulates the fans for their initiative.
“As a Tolkien website, we’re aware of the Professor’s love of trees and his distress at the way urban development comes so often at the expense of many beautiful old trees. So there’s no question he would have approved of a tree-planting effort in his honour.
“As for organ donation, Peter Jackson has known a number of people to whom this is a life or death issue, and we applaud his efforts to help publicise the problem with low donor rates in New Zealand. It’s a problem that doesn’t need to exist, and wouldn’t exist if there were more awareness of the organ donation process.”
Says Andy Tookey of GiveLife: “I’m extremely grateful for the support and generosity that LOTR fans have contributed to the cause of helping save lives in New Zealand. With their support we have been able to advance the cause quite significantly in recent times.”
Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast says she is delighted that Wellington City Council’s commemorative tree programme was chosen as a beneficiary of the LOTR international fundraising project.
“This is a very generous gesture and we thank the fans for it. As this is the very first commemorative tree planting it is very special. It is honouring one of Wellington’s most loved sons, Peter Jackson, while at the same time commemorating Professor Tolkien. We, in Wellington, are very proud of our association with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The trees will be planted at Willowbank Park and I am sure this park will become another very popular LOTR site for tourists and residents to visit,” she says.
Since the release of the LOTR movies, fans have travelled to New Zealand to see for themselves the places where key scenes were filmed. Both Stephanie and Erica expect the kauri trees in Willowbank Park to attract fans from TORN who wish to see what their fundraising efforts have achieved.
Says Erica: “The way Tolkien wrote, the way Peter Jackson’s team made the movies, the way Lord of the Rings fandom developed, and the way TheOneRing.net was developed by enthusiasts: these are all things that were done out of a sense of fun and sheer delight in being creative. All things that people did from following their own inclinations – and yet they’ve given an enormous amount of benefit and pleasure to millions of people. One should never underestimate the power of creative joy.”
* * *
Anyone wanting to support the commemorative tree scheme should contact WCC’s Visitor Services and Events Coordinator for Parks and Gardens, Amanda White, on +64 4 472 5684 or amanda.white@wcc.govt.nz. Donations to GiveLife can be made via the website www.givelife.org.nz
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The latest newsletter is ready to go! Do you want to receive our free weekly newsletter? Packed with tons of info to keep you up to date on the latest? Plus filled with exclusives from time to time! Join the crowd of over 21 700 mailing list members! Sign up now! [More]
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