We teased it last week, and now it is finally here: The 2013 Middle-earth March Madness Tournament!
If you recall, the brave Samwise Gamgee came out as the 2012 victor after a series of amazing match-ups and votes that were decided by a single vote!
After weeks of deliberation, our Selection Committee have chosen our combatants and assigned them appropriate seeding on our 64 character/object tournament sheet. Yes, that’s right, we decided that instead of seeding the tournament with only ‘popular’ characters, we should shake things up a bit and offer a more diverse range of characters and objects that span the entire history of Middle-earth.
This year’s divisions are geographic based: The Shire, Angmar, Erebor and Mordor. Like the NCAA Tournament, being assigned into a division does not necessarily mean the character or object comes from that area.
Get ready for a few weeks of unique match-ups and non-stop excitement! Voting will start tomorrow right here on TheOneRing.net, so download your bracket today and fill it out. See if you can predict who will be our 2013 champion! [Download Bracket] [Last Year’s March Madness Results] (And of course, feel free to rant and rave against our Selection Committee in our comments – after all, that is also part of the whole March Madness experience!)
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Tournament Bracket Revealed!”
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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!
Continue reading “TORN Message Boards Weekly Roundup – March 17, 2013”
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By celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, you are also celebrating the Hobbit lifestyle. Join Kili to find out how! And if you enjoyed “Maggie in the Woods,” (found in “Pat Collin’s Fancy” on the album RANT) then be sure to check out the Wicked Tinkers. [Wicked Tinkers] [Happy Hobbit: St Patrick’s Day Special – Episode 13]
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If you are a collector of unique and distinctive Tolkien memorabilia, including signed letters and first editions, you’ll want to pay attention to Bonham’s of London auction taking place on March 19th 2013. The four lots available are:
Book – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) The Hobbit or There and Back Again… Illustrated by the Author, FIRST EDITION, second impression, dust-jacket, 1937 [Auction]
Letter – LEWIS (C.S.) Autograph letter signed (“C.S. Lewis”), to Father Dominic, concerning the success of ‘Lord of the Rings’ [Auction]
Letter – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) Autograph Letter signed, 1971 [Auction]
Letter – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) Typed letter signed, 1972 [Auction]
We’d like to thank the owner of the last lot for alerting us to these auctions! If you happen take home any of these amazing items, send us a note about it to spymaster@theonering.net!
[Auctions]
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**RESCHEDULED FOR 3/30** —The Eighth Sort-of-Annual Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon takes place in TORn’s chat room on Saturday, March 16 (Now March 30) , beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern. Read on for more details!
That morning people from around the world will sit down at their computers with one common goal: to virtually gather with other fans to watch all three films straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely.
Continue reading “Join us Saturday for our LOTR-EE Trilogy Marathon!”
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John Howe, legendary Tolkien artist and conceptual designer for THE HOBBIT and LOTR Trilogies, dropped us a note to remind us that today is the *final day* to bid on a very special piece of art that he and Alan Lee created in support of Robin’s Relief Fairy Tale Art Auction, a charity fundraiser where world-renowned fantasy artists have donated remarkable exclusive artworks to help raise hopes and raise funds for Robin Sullins’ new hands, new legs, and new life.
This artwork was created in New Zealand while the two artists were busy working on THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, but they took time out of their work schedules to craft something special for this fundraiser.
The story takes us back to the recent holidays, where Robin’s family had gathered for a long, pleasant Christmas meal that brought everyone together — but afterward, a small bite from an over-excited family dog would have strange and tragic consequences. Robin became infected with the Capnocytophaga bacteria, commonly found in cats and dogs but very rarely ever transmitted as an infection to a human, yet the devastation through her body ultimately caused the loss of both her legs and hands. More details on her courageous battle can be found here on the Robin’s Relief Fairy Tale Art Auction page.
Now, in an effort to bring light and hope to her medical struggle, world-famous fantasy artists such as Wendy Froud, Michael Parkes, Alan Lee & John Howe, Kinuko Craft and many others have donated EXCLUSIVE new artworks that will be offered on eBay through the month of March. All proceeds go directly to a Chase Bank account setup for Robin’s Relief Fund.
Unfortunately, eBay has been pursuing a policy of NOT ALLOWING the mention of a charity fundraiser anywhere on these auctions, and recently this amazing Lee/Howe original drawing of one of Tolkien’s elves discovering the most unlikely creature imaginable (at least in terms of Middle-earth) was taken down off the auction site and all the bids were lost! None to be restored… so now they have replaced the live auction and the artist greatly desires to bring some Ringers’ attention to it before it concludes later today. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY — the current bids are not as significant as they were before being taken down — SO PLEASE BID NOW — They are in the final hours of bidding on this item and every little bit helps.
Be sure to check out and bid on the auction here and find out more details on Robin’s brave struggle on their charity info site here. You can also follow updates on her surgeries and recovery on her Facebook page here. Thank you so much.
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We teased it last week, and now it is finally here: The 2013 Middle-earth March Madness Tournament!