I can tell you from years of experience, the one thing that can thrive outdoors in eastern Canada…
Continue ReadingI can tell you from years of experience, the one thing that can thrive outdoors in eastern Canada in January is ice…and we’ve got plenty of it!
The folks at Scotiabank put on an ice sculpture exhibit every year in Toronto, and this year it was Lord of the Rings themed! Take a look at these amazing pics from Martin and Annette…look at Legolas’ bow! Amazing work!
Yes, there is a new Tolkien book just out, but it’s not by J. R. R. Tolkien but his grandson, Simon Tolkien, a barrister in London. It’s a legal thriller called Final Witness, published as a hardcover at $24.95.
The publisher’s blurb reads:
One summer night, two men break into an isolated manor house and kill Lady Anne Robinson. Her son, Thomas, convinces the police that his father’s beautiful personal assistant sent the killers, but Thomas is known for his overactive imagination, and he has reasons to lie.
Thomas’s father, Sir Peter Robinson, the British minister of defense, refuses to believe his son. Instead, he marries his assistant, Greta Grahame, and will be giving evidence for the defense at her trial. He will be the final witness.
Author Simon Tolkien successfully combines legal suspense and psychological tension in this sharply etched portrait of four people whose lives are changed by a murder. Alternating between the trial in London’s Central Criminal Court and private moments among the characters, Tolkien expertly describes the art of the trial, the clash between Britain’s social classes, and, most notably, the complexity of family relations.
Who is telling the truth – the new wife or the bereaved son? What will Sir Peter tell the court?
With tantalizing ambiguity, Tolkien keeps readers guessing about the true motivations of these characters until the final witness.
On the back of the book there is a personal note from Simon Tolkien which reads:
Many people may think that being related to a famous writer would make it easier to become a writer yourself, but I have found the opposite to be true. I always unconsciously felt that I would be measured against my grandfather’s huge achievement, and this kept me away from fiction for a very long time.
I have always loved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and my grandfather’s mastery of the art of storytelling remains an inspiration to me, but my novel is set in the world of criminal law–obviously an entirely different realm from my grandfather’s work. A courtroom is an extraordinary place. Witnesses often tell their own stories in the most dramatic fashion. My experiences as a criminal barrister in London have provided me with many ideas for stories, a wide experience of human nature, and an insider’s knowledge of the courts, which means I can make my fiction true to life.
Simon Tolkien was born in 1959, the only child of Faith and Christopher Tolkien. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford, and lives in London with his wife Tracy, and their two children.
For more information visit http://www.SimonTolkien.com
To purchase the book jump over to Amazon.com or your local bookstore. [Purchase at Amazon]
Here at Gaming Haven’s we often get e-mails asking for help with various elements of the Lord of the Rings Video Games. This is one such e-mail from Haveneer Joe asks us “Just how do you kill that darn Balrog!?!”
Dear Havens:
I have gotten all the way to the section where Gandalf fights the Balrog. Nothing I tried seems to work, so I checked in the book I mentioned, and they suggest hitting the Balrog a number of times with a lightning blast (not a fiery blast) and/or a staff strike; then, while the Balrog is stunned, I stab it with Glamdring (as the game itself instructs). It immediately gets up, and I have to start the whole process over again. I’ve done this up to ten or twelve times. According to the Prima Official (?) Strategy Guide, the Balrog should weaken and fall off the path; but this never seems to happen. Aragorn makes a comment “Gandalf, take this”–but I have no idea what “this” is, and when I bring Gandalf to Aragorn on the other side of the bridge, I cannot approach him and get nothing from him. I must be missing something here, since I’ve got the rhythm of restoring spirit, keeping health above fifty percent at least, casting a spell, stabbing the Balrog, backing away, and casting another spell. But the thing just won’t weaken and fall off that bridge.
Comments? Suggestions? I have spent literally two hours at least on just this one part of the game. Even following suggestions in the guide (and I have not had to do that since your comment on how to handle Old Man Tree), I get nowhere.
Thanks in advance!
Joe
Well Joe, I feel this is the second most aggravating part of the game [next to the Old Man Willow], personally I feel he shoots his fireball too soon… doesn’t give you time to heal. When Aragorn is saying “Take this” he is giving you Miruvar, the drink that gives Gandalf more magic juice, so every time you’re low on magic juice he fills you up.
The trick is to get close and staff strike, then hit him three or four times with Glamdring and run like hell. He will then shoot in a pattern of left to right. Approach and repeat about 15 times [preferably without dying]. It’s an aggravating part of the game but thats the trick, dodge… dodge… staff strike… slash slash… run… repeat. Hope this helped.
Are you stuck? Need some help? Then drop us a line here at Gaming Havens and we’ll find your answer, just drop your question into an e-mail and shoot it off to Havens@TheOneRing.net.
Q. What is the Free People’s Coalition?
A. The Free People’s Coalition [FPC] is a gaming group dedicated to the fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Similar to ‘clan’ gaming of other specific games, the FPC operates for all games involved with Middle-earth and other fantasy gaming online.
Q. Does the FPC only play Lord of the Rings titles?
A. No. While we are a Lord of the Rings Gaming Group we are not bound only to games from that series. We wouldn’t want to restrict what games our players could enjoy, and many titles out there take from Tolkien’s work anyway, so often times even in a Star Wars game you’ll find some elements of Middle-earth.
Q. What makes the FPC Different from other Gaming Groups?
A. Where other gaming groups concentrate on stats and ranks, the FPC goes a step further by offering exclusive gaming content such as Interviews, Sneak Peaks, and Sanctioned Chats for the enrichment of our users and our community.
Q. How can the FPC offer it’s exclusive content?
A. The FPC is a part of Gaming Havens at TheOneRing.net. With this we are privy to the same exclusive content and insider information as the site, and that is passed on to our players.
Q. What can I play as in the FPC?
A. The FPC is broken up into four cultures, the World of Men, the Realms of the Elves, the Kingdom of the Dwarves and the Hobbits of the Shire. Every player can choose to represent any side they choose.
Q. If I choose to be a Hobbit in the FPC, can I not be an Dwarf in Middle-earth: Online?
A. Realistically, no. But the FPC is here for fun, so if you choose to be a Hobbit in the FPC, you can still use a Dwarf in Middle-earth: Online. Although it will look odd seeing a Dwarf scream “For the Shire!”
Q. I just joined the FPC, what rank am I?
A. Depending on which culture you’ve joined, you will be the entry rank for that culture. For the World of Men the entry level rank is LEVEL 1, the Realms of the Elves entry level is LEVEL 1, the Kingdom of the Dwarves entry level rank is Guard, and for the Hobbits of the Shire the entry rank is Rascal.
Q. How do I gain rank within my Culture?
A. Ranks are given based on participation and attitude. If a Hobbit Rascal goes around making friends and helping other recruits find information, then the Hobbit Thain will notice these acts of citizenship and award that Rascal a higher rank and possibly a monthly award.
Q. What are monthly rewards?
A. On the first meeting of every month all of the Senior Officials in each Culture will gather to discuss the members of each group, during these meetings they will select members who have shown exceptional citizenship or have done great services for their culture, or the Coalition. These selected members will receive an award specific to their culture, and will be featured on the FreePeoples.net front page in the awards section. Occasionally we will have prizes for members who show exceptional citizenship, donated from one of our many affiliates.
Q. Are there Coalition Ranks?
A. With each culture often times competing for this or that, it is illogical to place a member of any one culture as a ruling member over the four, in this way there are no ‘Coalition Ranks’, however the leader of each culture is part of the ruling council who make decisions based on what is good for the Coalition, not just for their specific culture.
Q. Are there subcultures within a culture, ie are Gondor and Rohan represented, or are the does the world of men cover all regions of that race.
A. Trying to keep things as simple as possible in a difficult world, each culture represents that entire race. With this being said it is not ruled out that within a culture there will not be troops or sects within that culture like the Riders of Rohan, or the Marksman of Mirkwood, these divisions are decided on by the culture during their meetings.
Q. I’m a Guard in the world of Dwarves, and I play a game that is not yet supported by my culture, can I become a Hammer Guard [Dwarven Game Official or GO]for my game?
A. We are not currently allowing entry level ranks to hold the rank of Game Official. To become a Game Official for a new game you must first speak with your cultures Senior Officials, in this case the Dwarven OFFICIAL. From there you must show him or her that you are responsible and can organize and lead a game group, then receive two promotions from Guard to LEVEL 3. As soon as you complete these requirements then you are eligible to be a GO.
Q. What are the responsibilities of a Game Official?
A. A Game Official is responsible for organizing the players within a specific game. Lets say Hammer Guard Dorin is the Game Official for War of the Ring, he would then be responsible for organizing all players who play War of the Ring [be it not out yet] and prepare them for play within the group, and either casually or competitively against other groups. A Game Official selects a Game Executive Official, or a Game XO. The Game XO acts as the Game Officials eyes and ears when they are not available, and answers any questions on the specific game as needed.
Q. Does every culture have a Game Official for each game?
A. No. Some cultures may choose to support different games, so the World of Men may have a group that plays Diablo 2, where the Realms of the Elves might not. Members of any culture can engage in casual or competitive play with any group, they may even play on the side of another culture as it is not unheard of in Middle-earth for a handful of Hobbits, a pair of men, an Elf, a Dwarf and a Wizard to accomplish great things when together
Q. Does the FPC support a game if only one culture plays it?
A. No. On the FPC main page you will find a link to each of the different gaming stats pages, for a page to exist for a specific game, at least two cultures must support it. This way the stats are arranged by participating cultures in way of number of games, kills, victories, or levels, depending on the type of game.
Q. What role does Competition play between Cultures in the FPC?
A. The FPC exists to be a friendly place for J.R.R. Tolkien fans to gather and play games, while the community is our primary goal here in the FPC, we will also hold competitions between cultures for various games. These competitions are optional but participation can result in awards and promotions. Competitions range from deathmatches, to cooperative missions and will depend on the options given by each supported game.
Q. What are my responsibilities as a member of the FPC?
A. From the Dwarven Guard to the Elven Herald, each member of the FPC is working towards a common goal. That goal is a positive community for fans of Middle-earth to play and enjoy their time. Members are expected to help one another and treat everyone with respect and dignity regardless of culture or rank. Sometimes it’s ok to poke fun at a fellow member during role play, say an Elf mocking a Dwarf’s eating habbits, but that is where it ends. We’re all here to have fun, and keep this community strong.
Ringer Spy Celebwyn writes:
I read a very interesting interview in the most important Argentine newspaper yesterday, and I thought many others could enjoy it like me, and so I translated it to English the best I could. In this extensive interview to Viggo Mortensen talks about Argentina, how he sees Aragorn, Peter Jackson, his impressions after seeing FOTR and TTT, his expectations for ROTK, how he deals with popularity, and he also explains his attitude on Rossie’s show.You can find if you like the original interview in Argentine Spanish here.
I can’t find the original article to link directly, the translation follows below – Dem.
It’s 2 o’clock in the morning in Buenos Aires when the phone rings. On the other side of the line, the extra-Argentine voice asks: “Do the soccer players little cards still exist?”
Viggo Mortensen is in LA, the very same day that TTT, second part if the Rings Trilogy, is launched in the States. He’s been talking to Clar’n for almost two hours, but he doesn’t seem to care too much for the epic journey of his heroic Aragorn. His matters are much more earthly. “Do you remember that game where you threw cards onto a wall and the one which stayed closer to it won?”, he asks. “What was its name? It was ‘chupi’, wasn’t it?”
Viggo doesn’t seem to be in a hurry _after all, it’s 5 hours earlier in California_, and the conversation resembles more the one we could have with an exiled Argentinian who hasn’t been back for many years, than the interview to a celebrity who stars the most expected movie of the year. This is because despite his nordic name, the actor has a long relationship with Argentina: son to a Dane father and an American mother, Viggo was born in NY, but lived here (in Argentina) from the age of 2 till the age of 11 years old.
“I left in 1969, ” he tells us. “I came back one in ’70 and then I couln’t return ’till ’95. I am dying to come back, but I am never able to. I wanted so much to travel this year! But I am in the middle of a movie now and they won’t let me go. But next year I will be going, I swear to you. And I will invite you to eat a good ‘asado’ (Argentine barbeque). It’s been so long since I last ate real Argentine meat!”
He keeps most of the ‘must’ Argentine uses, which obviously include drinking ‘mate’ (a green infusion similar to tea but drunk in a very different way). “I drink it all the time. Without sugar, of course. And I make my own ‘dulce de leche’ (milk ‘marmelade’ without which no Argentine could survive…). And here in LA I can find lots of things, such as ’empanadas’, ‘membrillo’, ‘yerba’…,” he says with strong Buenos Aires accent. “There is an Italian place near my house which sells those things.”
-“Do you ever get nostalgic?”
“With certain things… I keep a good collection of old tangos, and I listen to them all the time. I also listen to some other Argentine singers of the moment. And some old ones. I play soccer too. There is a square near my place where Mexicans and Salvadorians gather to play. I know there is a league where Argentines play. I am a big fan of San Lorenzo soccer team, I follow the results, everything.”
-“Were you from Boedo (quarter of Buenos Aires suburbs where that soccer club is) ?”
“No, I was from downtown. The truth is that I can’t remember very well how I became a San Lorenzo fan, but I can recall I wore their T-shirt all day long.”
-“Do you follow the news of what is going on in the country?”
“I don’t have a too close contact with the country because I have no remaining friends there, nor family. But I do follow the news, and I get very sad when I hear what’s going on. But if you want to know what is really going on, you don’t have to read the North-American media.”
-“Do you have any strong memory of the country?”
“I remember boy-stuff. Barbeques, games, some streets, neighbourhoods … When I came back a couple of years ago I spent the time going through all those places … Recognizing them …”
-“Despite the long time that has passed, you haven’t lost your Argentine Spanish nor your Buenos Aires accent.”
“So they all say. It got stuck on me. But I am losing some vocabulary because here I don’t listen to Argentine Spanish, and the others are so extremely different! “
His Argentine side is not Viggo’s only peculiarity. This 44 y.o. actor, lives alone his 14 y.o. son Henry, paints really well, takes even better pictures, plays music with his band _this not so greatly, to be honest_, and writes poetry, many of them in Argentine Spanish. (A few are shown in the article: ‘Chaco’, ‘Parrillada’, ‘Otoño’,etc.) His friends define him with this words: “He never stops”.
This daring quota of constant discovery had lots to do with his acceptance of the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s saga. Despite his long career as an actor, Viggo was not the first actor in taking that role. He just got an urgent call one day, when the shooting had already began, to replace th Irish Stuart Townsend on that role.
“I had to take the desition that very day’, he says. “I had to accept leaving for almost two years to shoot in New Zealand leaving my son alone. I told them ‘let me think it over’. They only gave me a couple more hours. I called Henry and told him all, he knew quite a lot about the Lord of the Rings, I knew too little. He asked ‘Who would you have to play?’ ‘Aragorn’, I answered. ‘Oh, that is cool! You have to do it!’, he answered back. Henry was 11 back then. He is 14 now.”
-“It was an offer you couldn’t reject…”
“Yet, I had to think about it. I had the impression that it was a challenge and that if I didn’t take it I would regret it. I didn’t think “It’s a huge movie”. I didn’t know it was going to be such a blockbuster. But I thought it was something important. And I am very happy that I have accepted it.
-“Did you start studying Tolkien right there?”
“I took the book with me and started reading it on the plane. I started getting more and more interested in the saga, and in the things Aragorn has that differ from other heroes.”
-“Such as…”
“In general, heroes do very brave things and then they talk and sing about their deeds. But he is different. He does the things, keeps his mouth shut and then he leaves. He is more like the Lonely Rider. In the movie even more than in the book. He has every time more and more responsibility, as the enemy grows bigger.
“When I read the book I realized it was based on a mixture of different sources, mainly of nordic mithology, things I have read as a boy. I find things there even from the ‘Mart’n Fierro’ (Argentine most popular literary saga). You could take such great things out of Tolkien’s book… “
“When I saw the first movie, I had the feeling that Jackson had been able to be faithful to the book and still show his own vision. The second movie it’s more… free as an interpretation.”
-“Where you interested in the gender?”
“Not quite so. I have memories of having read the Grimm brothers when I lived in Argentina. And I liked Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.”
-“How is Peter Jackson like as a director? Is he easy to work with or is he too obssessed?”
“He let us do certain things, but always ‘inside’ his vision. I didn’t know very well how it would all suit. The day by day was rather chaotic. He seems to be a man with great self-confidence and he really enjoys doing this. But what he likes the most is post production. He did many things there. I was pretty much surprised by the first movie: what he put took out, what he added. And in the second movie, I was even more surprised. There are entire parts literally missing or that he put them somewhere else. So I don’t have a f****** idea of how the third one will turn out.”
-“We know you had to do some reshooting. Can you tell me which and why?”
“We went back this year to mend some little things Peter wanted to change. And he did other things, in addition. He was so successful with the first movie tha New Line gave him permision to spend some more money. I’m sure next year we’ll be back to to change some things of the third one.”
-“For those who haven’t read the book, what could they expect of ROTK?”
“I know what the book is, and I know what we shot, but I wouldn’t risk to say a word, for Peter always surprises me. He has said in public that the third part is his favorite, and so has Elijah. I don’t know what is their basis to say that, but I hope it will be true.”
-“Alec Guiness was fed up of people only remembering him for Star Wars. Do you fear the same could happen to you?”
“That is how things are. Two years ago I was in a movie directed by Sean Penn and there are many people who remember me only for that. And, perhaps, it will be so with this movie, but I can’t control that. I did the best I could and what happens next doesn’t depend on my anymore.”
-“Now that you are so popular, the attitude of people towards you have surely changed. Do fans ‘chase’ you more?
“There is this Japanese lady, obsessed with me, that sends me like 3 letters per day, all very nice… Fame braught me very good things, such as the protagonic role in Hidalgo, which wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for LOTR. But since I don’t get out much, I don’t know very well how things are out there. Yes, it is true that people stop me more, and look at me… But it doesn’t bother me to sign autographs and so. The problem is that sometimes you’re walking and feel a sudden need to scratch your ****, and it isn’t fun to be watched by people…”
Between fantasy and very real life
Viggo went a few weeks ago to a TV show with a T-shirt that read “No Blood for Oil”. In the militarits atmosphere that is lived today in America, that was seen almost as an offense. He explains us:
“The atmosphere in this country now (USA) is that if you make questions you are a traitor. It is a weird thing. The situation is very sad in all the world and USA is to blame for much of that. I wore that T-shirt because there are people who have compared the events in the movie, the struggle between good and evil, with the struggle of USA against ‘Evil’, and that made me very angry.”
“If we are to compare that, then the poor people sorrounded by a sea of soldiers that suffer in the movie resemble much more the whay they feel in Iraq and Afghanistan with ten thousand beasts coming to them. That people is invisible for the Norh-Americans. Here nobody sees the people who die starving due to economic blocks. That people is much more than the people who died on Sept, the 11th. I saw what happened in NY and Washington and I felt so sad… But many more died in Afghanistan and nobody was captured. Every time people suffer more. And that people cannot be happy with USA. Why didn’t we fight in Bosnia or Rwanda and we do fight in Iraq? It’s because of oil. And that attittude has nothing to do with the heroes of this movie. There are people who tell me I shouldn’t talk politics, but I don’t care.”
—
NB: The comments of Mr Mortensen are his own and may or may not not represent those of either this website or any individual staff members.
Mr Cere checks in …
While a vast majority of TORnados had great “Line Party 2002” experiences, there were some exceptions. Tulsa Oklahoma has checked in with a report that not all things went well. Those responsible have left the names of the guilty out, but the horrific details in.
With only 353 days to go until “Line Party 2003, The Return Of The Line Party” there are some lessons to be learned:
#1. GEEK POWER! Remember that line party or not, geek or not, fanatic or not, we are all consumers spending OUR money. Merchants of all kinds should be fair and honest. Those who treat us well should be rewarded, included locals who sponsor line parties. Those who don’t should be avoided. TORnados will see this movie twice, thrice or many more times and if theater managers can’t see past the price of a single ticket, well, spread the word at TORn.
#2. IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY! The world still underestimates us. In the report below it is obvious the theater was overwhelmed and had more than they could handle. Despite over $300 million in sales for Fellowship Of The Ring, despite numerous film awards, despite a film with longer box office legs than any since at least “Titanic,” despite two versions of a DVD that sells like hot cakes (the extended edition at my local Wal Mart doesn’t stay on the shelf more than a day – they “just didn’t know it would be in demand”) some folks just don’t get how popular Tolkien’s books and PJ’s movie is. Line party leaders might find theater mangers receptive RIGHT NOW when talking about “Return Of The King.” A POLITE inquiry about a particular theater’s interest in hosting a TORn event next year might be well received.
Read on in amazed horror the account as delivered to TORn staff:
TORnado Mozone wrote:
Hullo!
I wanted to mention something about overbooking causing Filmgoer Angst. I guess you could call this a “Line-Party Report” but as the party itself was great, the theatre in which we participated caused A lot O’ Angst. This is the Line Party for Tulsa, Oklahoma and I was not the coordinater, I have spoken at length with her about this (she is every bit as angry as I was). She had organized lasts year’s event and the theatre management (at the time) agreed to do it again this year.
Then on the night of the Premier, they backpeddled for whatever reason to say that the Line Party was NOT going to be admitted first (which is what had been arranged) and that it was if fact NOT “in line” for admission (this was at about 8:00pm and the ‘other’ general
admission lines were already getting long) So of course after much debate with management, they agreed to admit the first 50 members of the Line-Party (we had close to 80 members present – I know that is still small but…) So if that was the best we could get then we would
just have to compromise. But come showtime, they broke our party into three lines for three theatres. We were told that there would be 15 people admitted from each line (15+15+15 = 50??)
I was the fifteenth guy in line for the first line. They cut me (and three of my seven companions off) They said that they had 15 already from my line and that we would have to wait to be seated. We were ESCORTED to the box office and told to wait there for further instructions. The took three people out of the next line one of which was the Line Party Leader. She looked angry. I was angry. The management wasnt able or willing to figure out what they were doing well enough to seat everyone so they just decided to open general seating to ALL theatres at the same time. One of the theatres was still showing the last 30 minutes of Star Trek Nemesis.
Imagine watching a movie and then 30 minuted before the end you have a hobbit in your lap! The next day I called the theatre to speak with the manager and asked if I could recieve a refund for the poor service I had recieved. I didnt ask at 3:30 in the morning for good reason. But the assistant manager (the same one who had detained some of us in the Line Pary) said he wasnt willing to hear my complaint and that it was MY FAULT for being in the Line Party instead of the ‘Real’ line. So I spoke with his manager and got told AGAIN that I was WRONG for expecting to be seated with the Line Party and that they did NOT recognize the Line Party as having any prearranged agreement with the theatre (even though they welcomed all the free advertising on the Radio that the Line Party had generated).
He also told me that since I had seen the movie that I had no right to refund. I explained (very nicely too) that I did not wish to receive a refund for the movie, but for the shabby service I had received. He was quite rude on this point and told me to leave. That he was not going satisfy his customer. So I had to cal HIS manager. The District Manager for Dickinson theatres. He was extremely nice about it and agreed that I should not have recieved this kind of treatment. He also apologized for the Line Party not getting seated. He let me know that my ticket money would be refunded.
I have never asked for my money back before and I didnt want to ask for it back from THIS movie especially, but I felt I was right in asking for it back. I have seen the movie three times since (at another theatre) and have been both pleased with the movie AND the service. I guess theatre management at the theatre I first went to doesn’t feel obligated to do any more than shove you into a seat and tell you shut up and watch.
