Modtheow reminds us that The 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies is about to take place May 13-16 in, you guessed it, Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A. The Congress is an annual gathering of over 3,000 scholars interested in Medieval Studies. Among the 600+ sessions of papers, panel discussions, round tables, workshops, and performances, the “Tolkien at Kalamazoo” group sponsors sessions specifically related to Tolkien. Modtheow was kind enough to highlight all the Tolkien-related sessions in this post on the Moots message board. The congress runs three and a half days, from Thursday morning to Sunday at noon. You can explore the entire schedule, registration fees, etc. at the official congress site here.
Category: Uncategorized
Founder’s Day fun continues tomorrow with the 6th Annual LoTR Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon! (phew, that’s a long title!)
Join us Saturday, May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. in TORn’s chatroom “Barliman’s” as people from around the world will put their DVDs into their player and sit down at their computers with one common goal: to gather virtually with other fans to watch all three Lord of the Ring extended editions straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely. Marathon FAQ.
But that’s not all! Also on Saturday Barliman’s will be holding a special Hobbit discussion between viewings of “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.” (approx. 5:30 p.m.)
Speculation and anticipation are mounting among Lord of the Rings fans as news about the Hobbit continues to dribble out. With scripts for the two films drafted, but the project still awaiting the studio greenlight, TORn’s Hall of Fire returns to host a discussion asking “what next?” Come along, and bring your own rumours for discussion! Read more
So please join us on the TORn IRC server this Saturday for two very special events! Questions? Send them to barlimans@theonering.net .
Thanks to poster Woodyend for finding this nice tidbit of news. 
Ronan Keating has apparently auditioned for a role in The Hobbit as part of his quest to move into the movie industry. There was no mention as to what role he auditioned for or when he might hear back from the producers behind the two-part Lord Of The Rings prequel.
Keating said: “I don’t think I’ll get the role of The Hobbit. But I would like to take on roles which nobody would expect. I don’t want to be reduced to love stories. I’d like to try dark, edgy roles. I need a challenge.” More.
TheOneRing.net was established eleven years ago today, on April 26, 1999. When TORn reached its 10th year in 2009, we had so much fun at the festivities it was decided to make April 26 an annual holiday for the site and call it: “Founder’s Day” in honor of the four fabulous folks who created this place. Last year, we marked our first Founder’s Day with a gala 10-year anniversary event that drew some VIP visitors. This year, things are little more low key, but there are still plenty of activities and surprises in store — so grab your party hat and join the festivities!
Some details on this year’s event:
* Party posts can be found on three of our message boards — Main, Off Topic, and Feedback. Look for “**FD” in the subject lines to spot them!
* New threads will be posted throughout the day, so check back often — and join in all through the week if you are late to the party!
* This year, we’re introducing a new logo for Founder’s Day designed by TORn members. Ainu Laire is the creator of the tree, and the two leaves (one for each Founder’s Day) were designed by Elven and OhioHobbit . A new leaf will be added every year as we celebrate Founder’s Days in the future.
Thanks to the volunteers on the Founder’s Day committee who organized today’s events!
So today is Earth Day, and that’s a fine and wonderful thing. But we are geeks, so we don’t need much of an excuse to take the celebration of a holiday to an extreme.
Wired has now invoked the spirit of geekitude and taken it to an extreme. They ask: how should Middle-earth Day be celebrated by its residents? And like The Nine rings of men, they have nine humble suggestions. Continue reading “Earth Day? Celebrate Middle-earth Day Instead”
Up until now Britain has lacked it’s own credible superhero and those looking for feats of supernatural prowess tended to turn to the United States, but Candleman may be about to change that.
Candleman’s author Glenn Dakin, who has already written for characters such as “Postman Pat” and “Spiderman,” spoke to Reuters about where the inspiration for his first original creation came from and the state of British publishing.
Q: Where did the idea for the book come from?
A: The spark for it came of The Hobbit. There’s a line in it where Gandalf the wizard has a sword that glows in the presence of danger or murder. I liked that idea. It sounded whimsical and old-fashioned, almost Victorian. It led me into writing a story about a modern-day boy who’s inherits the creepy baggage of a Victorian crime-fighter. More.