Words associated with Christianity and British history taken out of children’s dictionary Instead, words such as ‘MP3 player’, ‘voicemail’ and ‘attachment’ have been included. Oxford University Press has removed words like “aisle”, “bishop”, “chapel”, “empire” and “monarch” from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like “blog”, “broadband” and “celebrity”. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.
The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society. More…
Also removed: Dwarf, elf, goblin
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term “sci-fi,” has died. He was 92. Ackerman died Thursday of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, said Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman’s estate. Although only marginally known to readers of mainstream literature, Ackerman was legendary in science-fiction circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He was also the owner of a huge private collection of science-fiction movie and literary memorabilia that for years filled every nook and cranny of a hillside mansion overlooking Los Angeles.
“He became the Pied Piper, the spiritual leader, of everything science fiction, fantasy and horror,” Burns said Friday.
Every Saturday morning that he was home, Ackerman would open up the house to anyone who wanted to view his treasures. He sold some pieces and gave others away when he moved to a smaller house in 2002, but he continued to let people visit him every Saturday for as long as his health permitted.
“My wife used to say, ‘How can you let strangers into our home?’ But what’s the point of having a collection like this if you can’t let people enjoy it?” an exuberant Ackerman told The Associated Press as he conducted a spirited tour of the mansion on his 85th birthday. More…
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November 23, 2008 is when the Celebrity Millennium will set sail with a group of your fellow Ringers for the Cruise to Middle-earth. One set of our Fellowship are already down in New Zealand right now doing a pre-cruise tour as part of the Wizard’s Journey. They are currently in Queenstown and will then transition to Wellington in the next day or two. The rest of us, on the Hobbit’s Journey, will join them this weekend. TORn’s own Tehanu is leading the Wizard’s Journey, showing everyone Rohan and Amon Hen, Rivendell and Ithilien, among other locations. I leave the US tomorrow evening and will make the occasional post from the ship so you will know what our Fellowship is up to. And yes, there will be pictures too.
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Check out this great prank at the University of Illinois. Eye of Sauron
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New Hampshire Ringers interested in learning more about the sources of Tolkien’s inspiration should check out the Poetry Society of NH’s celebration of the Kalevala on October 11. There’ll be poetry, music from the Maine Kantele, and Runeberg’s tarts and other Finnish pastries. It’s at 6PM at Artstream, 56 North Main Street, Rochester, NH. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact poetrysocietyofnh@gmail.com
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Today is Ian Holm’s birthday! Sir Ian Holm was born on September 12th, 1931 in Essex, England. That makes him 77 years old today! Happy Birthday Ian!
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