Which culture do you think was the greatest of Middle Earth? Not an easy question considering what we’ve got to choose from. And what exactly makes a culture great? Tolkien filled Middle Earth with fascinating cultures and he gave them languages, complex histories, tragedies and triumphs. Elves, Dwarves and Men all created grand realms that would shape and change the world for good and bad. And what about the Shire? Surely not the grandest realm, but can it still not be said to have been truly great and successful?
The Noldor were mighty warriors, but they were also the most eager for learning among the Eldar. They excelled in crafts, devised languages and scripts, worked metal and carved stone and gems. Their greatest craftsman Feanor rivaled the Valar and few if any cities can match Gondolin the fair. The Noldor also contributed greatly to the making of the Rings of Power. Then we have the Sindar of Beleriand. Great makers of music and among them were created the cirth alphabet. The Sindar were also enriched by Melian the maia.
And what about the Numenoreans? The masters of the Seas who created the greatest empires to be seen. Arnor and Gondor were filled with shining cities and great labours of stone. And their armies were a long time the only thing that stopped Sauron from conquering all of Middle Earth.
Great as the Numenoreans and Noldor were though, did they ever make something to rival the splendour of Khazad-dum in its days of glory?
I’m sure we will have alot of different opinions on this subject so join us in #thehalloffire for what promises to be a really fun debate.
Suggested reading:
The Lord of the Rings – Appendices A,B and F.
Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast
Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net.
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By now, you have all seen the amazing picture of the upcoming The Two Towers Extended Edition. (Check out that Gollum statue from Sideshow/Weta Collectibles!) Today, Amazon.com is pre-ordering the Extended Edition for pretty cheap. We expect other retailers to be posting it and the boxed set for pre-order in the next few days. We’ll update this page to reflect that information.
Here is a little more information about the TTT Extended edition, compiled by Ringer staffers Maegwen and Leo:
*** Newly posted information from the Official Site: [More] ***
Features:
– DVD 4-disc set with 43 minutes of new and extended scenes added to the film (also available on VHS)
– 2 bonus discs of all-new special features
Additional scenes: (Possible Spoilers)
“I think the thing I am most excited about is the fleshing out and expansion of the Treebeard/Ent story,” Peter Jackson told the Fan Club magazine. “His story, more than any other single part of the film, was reduced for the theatrical version. Most of the Treebeard stuff is humorous. We have a great scene – which I really would have loved to put in the theatrical version – where he recites really bad poetry to the Hobbits, who are desperately trying not to fall asleep because that would be rude, and they don’t want to be rude. In addition to the Treebeard material in that storyline, we also have a really funny sequence with Merry and Pippin and the Ent-draught, which is pretty much taken right from the book. There are a lot more surprises in that extra Fangorn material.”
– Sean Bean’s Boromir, slain at the end of 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, is resurrected in a lengthy DVD flashback after brother Faramir (David Wenham) finds a boat bearing his body. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Additional scenes featuring Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, his favorite son, Boromir, and scapegoat Faramir. The scenes help explain why the noble Faramir is rather rude when he meets heroic hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin). (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Rohan horseman Eomer (Karl Urban) finds his mortally wounded cousin Theodred and brings him home, where his subsequent death goes all but unnoticed by his spell-stunned father, King Theoden (Bernard Hill). (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Eowyn (Miranda Otto), Eomer’s sister, sings a mournful dirge during Theodred’s funeral. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Additional scene expanding on Eowyn’s infatuation with Aragorn, as she watches him tame an unruly horse. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Expanded encounters between ancient Treebeard the Ent and hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan). Treebeard’s un-hasty conversation makes the two hobbits drowsy. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Eowyn serves Aragorn a vile-looking bowl of homemade stew, which he politely chokes down. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Boromir and Faramir sharing some pints, and one declares in beer-ad fashion, “Today, life is good.” (Confirmed by USA Today)
– Pippin and Merry guzzle Ent-draughts, adding inches to their wee stature. (Confirmed by USA Today)
– The Huorns at Helm’s Deep. (Speculation)
– Additional Gollum scenes.(Speculation)
– Faramir discovers Boromir’s boat, triggering the above scenes as flashbacks.(Speculation)
– Eowyn sings a dirge at Theodred’s funeral . (Speculation)
– Gandalf and Aragorn discussing the union of Two Towers, seen in the “Two Towers” video game but not the movie. (Speculation)
– Eowyn fighting to defend the women and children in the Glittering Caves.(Speculation)
– Saruman discussing how Gandalf has discovered the lost king of Gondor.(Speculation)
– More exploration of Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship. (Speculation)
– Possible reforging of Narsil. A shot has been seen of Arwen approaching the shards in Rivendell, but was not included in theatrical version.(Speculation)
– Elrond in Lothlorien. Haldir tells Theoden he ‘brings word from Elrond’ at Helm’s Deep. The ten-minute TTT preview contains a shot from a possible scene of a face-to-face discussion taking place in Galadriel’s realm.(Speculation)
We will post more information as it becomes available. And as always, pre-ordering through TheOneRing.net sponsored links will help TheOneRing.net stay online and pay our bandwidth bills coming December! Thank you in advance!
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon.com: Extended Edition OnlyCollector’s Boxed Set
LOTRShop.com: Collector’s Boxed Set
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Rxphilip writes: Well here it is, complete with Faramir’s cave, Bilbo, the Argonath, and the sign of Bag End, The Eye of Sauron tile mosaic, and the Hobbit Hole Hot tub. Hope you like it.
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Stewart writes: This summer, the award winning Tron Theatre Company will be appearing at the official Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) with the world première of a SAN DIEGO, a new play by the acclaimed Scottish writer David Greig. Surreal, comic and strangely, powerfully resonant, SAN DIEGO features an ensemble cast of eleven performers including Billy Boyd, making a cameo appearance as the playwright himself.
Preview:
The Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th August @ 8pm
EIF:
The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Friday 15th to Sunday 17th August @ 7.30pm Matinees, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th @ 2.30pm
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Greetings, Quickbeam here. Green Books kicks off the summer with another full update featuring new articles that will give mucho gusto:
— Go Out on a Limb with me in search of Middle-earth’s missing penguins, foot fungus, kitty boxes, and other unmentionables!
— Anwyn’s new Counterpoint asks if the Rings pop-culture explosion is really a good thing?
— Turgon’s Bookshelf provides a great overview of TTT movie-related books from Brian Sibley, Gary Russell, and more.
— Tookish offers diverse jokes and humor (submitted by Fans) in Ticklers!
— Moon Letters has a great selection of Fan Fiction and Poems, and even a recipe for Goldberry Tarts!
— Questions & Answers has 15 fascinating new queries including:
1. Were Balrogs the children of Morgoth?
2. Was Rohan critically depopulated?
3. Why didn’t Gollum seek the Ring in the Shire?
4. Were there two Dwarrowdelfs?
5. When was the ban on Galadriel lifted?
Want to share your views on Tolkien with an intelligent readership? You could be our Special Guest writer! Submit original article ideas to Turgon here. Join us as we continue to explore the WORDS and WORLDS of Tolkien!
Much too hasty,
Quickbeam
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The technical side of TORn is built on mod_perl. This ranges from mod_perl subs being invoked from SSI templates to fullblown Apache::Registry applications and mod_perl handlers. Whilst parts of the site are also implemented in PHP (Reviews, Line Parties), we believe that well-written mod_perl should be just as maintainable and accessible as PHP – and certainly more powerful and consistent with the overall architecture of the site.
Unfortunately, we are running low on manpower. We have many exciting new site sections which we want to get running before RoTK arrives. Unfortunately, the current team simply doesn’t have enough free time to do them all. So, if you’re a perl hacker who’s been hooked on TORn and you have time this summer to take on some of these projects and contribute back, we’d love to hear from you. In return, your work would be seen and appreciated by the hundreds of thousands of viewers that come to TORn every day – showcased on one of the largest and most exciting fan-run websites ever at the climax of its success.
The ideal skills we are looking for are:
- Strong mod_perl/apache/unix knowledge and experience – a belief that mod_perl has not been obsoleted by PHP and newer technologies. The main project will make use of a templating system for mod_perl which combines the power of pure mod_perl with the convenience of PHP templating.
- Expert knowledge of classic HTML. You don’t have to know how to make a Holy Grail 3-column CSS layout – but you do have to know that adding a <br> after a solitary <img> tag in a <td></td> table cell is needed to stop the table row height being distorted – and that <form> tags have a nasty habit of introducing spurious whitespace and have to be positioned carefully. And how to minimise obsolete <font> tags with CSS without wrecking the appearance on older browsers. And why it’s bad karma not to close <p> tags.
- Strong understanding and knowledge of SQL – we are nearing the end of a transition for all of the site’s data being stored in MySQL databases.
- Ability to work well with a team of dedicated (if perhaps slightly rabid 🙂 volunteers over IRC (and IM & e-mail)
- Familiarity with PHP.
- Passionate enthusiasm for TORn – being prepared to invest time and effort purely to ensure the continuing quality and unique position of the site, in return only for the enjoyment and unique experience of doing so. (c.f. here.)
If you’re still reading and interested, then we’d love to hear from you as soon as possible. Please mail an introduction, CV/Resumé + anything else you think might be relevant to me at arathorn@theonering.net.
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