Last weekend in the Hall of Fire, bouncing off Gandalf’s famous “For I also am a steward” rejoinder…
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Last weekend in the Hall of Fire, bouncing off Gandalf’s famous “For I also am a steward” rejoinder to Denethor, we discussed exactly what made a steward in Middle-earth. For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a log.
And remember, tomorrow (July 13 at 6pm EDT (New York time)) we’ll be discussing the next chapter of The Two Towers: The Voice of Saruman. Continue reading “Hall of Fire chat log: the stewards of Middle-earth”
Sometimes things just snowball.
So, in the name of procrastination and work avoidance, here’s another (our last, honest!) Tolkien-style parody of a Taylor Swift song. This time we’re riffing off a little tune (you may have heard of it) called We are never, ever getting back together.
This parody is 90% the sterling work of Barlichatter Elanesse — particularly the quite tricky verses. I just provided the backing vocals, as it were. Continue reading “Another Taylor Swift parody: We are never ever beating Sauron together”
Several strongholds of elves and men are besieged while Frodo and Sam are trudging laboriously through Mordor to Mount Doom. In particular, Lothlórien repels three such assaults before Galadriel and Celeborn finally lead a counter-offensive against Dol Guldur.
“…the assaults were driven back; and when the Shadow passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lórien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Guldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.” Appendix B, Lord of the Rings.
That last sentence has often puzzled; people wonder exactly how Galadriel might have accomplished such a task. More, why is she doing now what ought to have been accomplished when the White Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur years before? Continue reading “Dol Guldur’s destruction. Why Galadriel succeeds where the White Council fails.”
Say hello to Sauroniops pachytholus. The name means ‘eye of Sauron’ in Greek, and it’s a newly announced species of dinosaur that was identified from a single fossil fragment of part of its upper skull found in the Kem Kem region of south-east Morocco in 2007.
As big as a Tyrannosaurus rex, the beast stalked North Africa around 95 million years ago, according to a study published recently in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
That fossil included only part the upper skull—including the eye socket, study leader Andrea Cau, of the Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini in Bologna, Italy, said by email. “The idea of a predator that is physically known only as its fierce eye reminded me of Sauron, in particular as depicted in Peter Jackson’s movies,” Cau explained. Continue reading “Say hello to Sauron the dinosaur!”
Fantasy Flight Games’ new boardgame, ‘Middle-earth Quest‘ is now shipping. The FFG web site has a PDF of the rulebook and a QuickTime trailer movie. This looks to be an interesting offering, not as heavy as the FFG ‘War of the Ring’ game, but certainly more complex than the Knizia ‘Lord of the Rings’ co-operative boardgame. [Trailer] [PDF]
The time period is sometime before the main events of LotR, with Sauron extending his power from Mordor; one player portrays Sauron, with up to three opponents portraying heroes who try to hinder his plans. The heroes win or lose against Sauron as a group.
Hopefully, when I have actually played the game, I will report on it more informatively. [Middle-earth Quest]
