Once upon a time, there was … okay, wrong story – Tolkien doesn’t use such hackneyed clichés to introduce his history of Middle Earth. But there is a beginning, and even in the dim, starlit ages before time, forces are at work in Arda which will one day lead a weary, wounded hobbit to the brink of Mount Doom.
The events of this ageless past, dealing primarily with the shaping and re-shaping of the world, as well as the war of Melkor against the Valar, and its results, laid the groundwork for all that later occurs in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. By looking at this history, we can gain a much better appreciation of the depth and richness of Tolkien’s work, as well as a greater understanding of the timeless themes which he espoused.
What did the Valar do right in their shaping of middle Earth, and what were their mistakes? How did the advent of the Firstborn affect the course of history? And what of the Gift of Ilúvatar ? Join us this weekend in #thehalloffire as we continue our study of The Silmarillion with Quenta Silmarillion; The History of the Silmarils (chapt. 1).
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Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: http://www.theonering.net/barlimans/instructions.html
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Chat Times: Saturday Chat: 5:30pm EST (17:30) [also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) CET [also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe AEST = Australian East Coast
_______________________________________________ Hof-announce mailing list Hof-announce@theonering.net http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/hof-announce
Hello Ringers! Emerald Rose would like to say thanks to all the folks we saw at the ORC convention last week in Pasadena. We had a really great time and met some new friends. Hats off to TORn and Creation Enterprises – it was a well run convention, with interesting displays, workshops and entertainment. Highlights for us included seeing the incredible Sideshow/Weta display – it was stunning, recreating scenes from the movies with the collectible figures. We also really enjoyed trying and buying leather from the cool folks at Ravenswood Leather. They were kind to let Clyde and myself model some of their fantastic “Aragorn-style” coats during the con. I ended up falling under the spell of a kilt-length waistcoat, which should arrive any day now.
We enjoyed meeting many new friends, and finally having the chance to hang out with some of our old friends from TORn. Mr.Cere and the folks from Creation made it really easy and fun to perform onstage. Cliff (Quickbeam) is one of the best hosts we have ever worked with…even though he looks different every time I see him! Our special thanks to all those hobbits and elves who hung out to dance until the morning hours. We always enjoy playing for Shirefolk, but this audience was one of the best! If you were there that night, check out the pictures we took – you just might see yourself in the crowd!
We were especially honored to learn from Carlene Cordova that our band had shown up in “Ringers” (we’re telling everybody) and that they had used our song “Come to the Dance” in the backing score. I put a “Ringers” sticker on my guitar case right away!
Thanks to the Billy Boyd fans who gave us the wee scarvies. The scarvies will live in our guitar, bass and drum cases. Remember to tell Kunga “hello” for us! A personal highlight for me came at the end of the convention when author and fellow guitar enthusiast Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn) played my green Ovation guitar, which I now call “Second Breakfast”, (since Billy
Boyd played it at the last two Oscar parties). We had been swapping guitar stories all weekend, and he had seen me play it at the Oscar parties, and again at Mythic Journeys. He entertained us with some great fingerstyle playing, sang a couple of songs and told stories with us for half an hour as the con was starting to drift toward the end.
It was a really cool weekend – great weather, California food (we live and eat in North Georgia), and the chance to meet some new friends. Special thanks to Corvair, Calisuri, Xoanon, Mr.Cere, Quickbeam, Carlene, Erica and Susi and all the TORn and Creation staff – working with you folks was a blast!
Photos from the weekend can be found below. Thanks to Donna Governor and Ashley Carter for use of their photos. Galler 1 and [Gallery 2]
TORN staffer Garfeimao writes: We had two separate activities going on at ORC to help the American Red Cross.
Firstly, the folks at Tolkien Forever housed the fish bowl that acted as a collection point for monetary donations. The end total, including what was collected by Sean Astin during his signing, came to just over $2000. The included picture shows Nicole and Kristi handing over the money box to Diane Drolet of the American Red Cross San Gabriel Valley office.
Secondly, we had a blood drive on Sunday at the Sheraton next door to the Pasadena Center. We had 21 people turn up to donate blood, no deferrals, 2 people were unable to complete their donations, so the Red Cross walked away with 19 productive units of blood. One pint of blood can save up to 3 people, so this means that up to 57 people can be helped with this blood drive.
On a separate note, I received an urgent request from the American Red Cross today for further blood donations in the Southern California region. This is due to that terrible train crash in Glendale that resulted in 10 dead and over 200 injured. I’ve included the Press Release from the Red Cross so people can see just how dire the emergency is. BTW, people can donate in other parts of the country, since the blizzard on the East Coast creates a need for blood there as well.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 26, 2005
Blood Donors Needed In Wake Of Train Derailment
(Los Angeles) — The American Red Cross is issuing an urgent appeal for blood as it responds to the needs of those injured in this morning’s train derailment in Glendale. The Red Cross is responding to a fatal Metrolink commuter accident with multiple deaths and injuries.
The Red Cross has rushed 60 units of blood to Glendale Memorial Hospital and is on standby with Glendale Adventist, Providence St. Joseph, Huntington Memorial, and LA County-USC Medical Center.
There are less than 50 units of O- blood on the shelves of the Southern California American Red Cross, so there is an urgent need for blood donations. Blood donations are urgently needed to replace the large amount of blood being sent to hospitals to respond to this incident.
“We have met the immediate blood needs of local hospitals and now need to replenish the blood used,” American Red Cross Blood Services, Southern California Chief Executive Officer Charles Wilcox stated. “Type O blood is especially needed because it is the universal blood type. In an emergency, such as this incident, O negative blood is given when a patient’s blood type is not known and the patient needs an immediate transfusion.”
The blood center is asking all eligible individuals to donate blood now. Those involved in auto and train accidents often need to up to 50 units of blood to help treat their injuries.
Over 40 percent of the blood used by Southern California residents is imported from out-of-state blood centers. However, many blood centers on the east coasts have declared a state of emergency due to the recent blizzards, and blood shipments to Southern California are often not reliable at this time of the year.
Blood donors are urgently needed to replace the large amount of blood being sent to hospitals to respond to this incident. People who can donate blood should call 1.800.GIVE.LIFE to schedule an appointment at a nearby donor center.
“RINGERS: Lord of the Fans” will play its final time at the Slamdance Film Festival Thursday at 9 p.m.. This will be the final time for Utah audiences to demonstrate to movie studios that fans want to see this film in wide release.
The Utah fans (and Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada among others) bear the responsibility of seeing this film Thursday so that Ringers all over the world will have the same chance.
Festivals like Slamdance, which runs concurrently with the more famous Sundance Film Festival, is a showcase for independent films where studios can gather and purchase select films and give them distribution so they can be seen by a wider audience.
Last year documentaries like “Super Size Me” and Metallica’s “Some Kind of Monster” played in Park City and Salt Lake City before finding a wider theatrical audience and both are now available on DVD. Studio cheifs and members of the media will be attending Thursday’s showing.
Through TheOneRing.net’s own Line Party database, a costume contest and line party is being planned for Thursday’s events. Many fans will be awarded RINGERS and TheOneRing.net t-shirts, hats and books. Tickets can be purchased before the 9 p.m. start time. For ticket details call 801-548-116. Do NOT call this number to express suport for the film as the box office workers have no influence about the distribution of the film and are busy with a job to do.
RINGERS: Lord of the Fans documents 50 years of fandom of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The Murray Theater, located just a few miles from downtown Salt Lake City (4945 So. State Street), changed its marquee Tuesday to reflect the high interest in the RINGERS film. The theater also hosts a number of other Slamdance selections and seats over 400 viewers in comfort.
The Coolidge Corner Theatre presents THE COMPLETE LORD OF THE RINGS!
Fri-Sat Jan 28-29 @ midnite
Special FREE screening! THE HOBBIT
Before Peter Jackson tackled J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic story of Middle Earth, the television animation team of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass (known for their classic stop-motion holiday specials like RUDOLPH, FROSTY and MAD MONSTER PARTY) took a stab at THE HOBBIT – and produced a cel-animated version that is a certified classic. Featuring the voices of Orson Bean, Otto Preminger, and John Huston as the first great version of Gandalf, the film also terrified many a 9-year-old’s psyche with a truly creepy lizard-like Gollum (voiced by the legendary comedian Brother Theodore). And let us not forget that final battle with the evil dragon Smaug. “I am strong, Strong, STRONG!”
Special 11pm shows in February Peter Jackson’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS (showtime subject to change based on our other features, please check week before show to confirm)
Fri-Sat Feb 4-5 – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING Fri-Sat Feb 11-12 – THE TWO TOWERS Fri-Sat Feb 18-19 – THE RETURN OF THE KING
All shows $6
Or buy special 3-pack of tickets, one for each film, for only $12! Includes first seating at all shows!
Oh sure, you know THE LORD OF THE RINGS films by now – they’re only the biggest phenomenon in popular film since, oh, STAR WARS (and they are better, too). And while you may have worn out those special edition DVDs (we have), there’s still nothing like seeing these stunning cinematic epics ON THE BIG SCREEN! Don’t miss another chance to live the riveting, exciting, and amazingly lush (thank you New Zealand! You are the perfect Middle Earth) adventures of Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry & Pipin, as they form an unbreakable fellowship with one mission: to destroy the one true ring before it falls into the hands of the uber-evil Dark Lord Sauron – or gets snatched away by the lovably treacherous Gollum, perhaps the best CGI character to yet grace the screen (take that Jar Jar!). Sure, it may be three epic films, but as Gimli says “It still only counts as one”, and this is one you must see once again on the GIANT screen! Come in costume for free popcorn and a chance to enter our prize drawing for collectable Tolkien stuff! (note: films are showing in original theatrical versions)
The Coolidge Corner Theatre is located at 290 Harvard St. in Brookline, Massachusetts. For more information about the theatre, visit coolidge.org
