Xenite.Org Begins Publishing Interviews with Tolkien Scholars

Ever since the new Middle-earth Website launched in July of this year I have been planning to add a section or series of articles unlike any other such series you'll find on the Tolkien fan Web. Although there are scattered interviews with Tolkien scholars around the globe, there has been no organized, systematic attempt to talk with them all (of which I am aware).

A Little Touch of Tolkien on the Web

Tolkien Studies on the Web has a new blog post, The Much Bemusing Bloggery of Online Tolkien Scholarli, which lists a couple dozen Websites either published by various Tolkien scholars or which publish the works of various Tolkien scholars. You may be surprised by some of the names that were included on the list. You may also want to read another recent article, Tolkien Geek: A Reader's Journey through Middle-earth.

Can't attend Tolkien Moot 2010? Watch it live online August 13-15

Tolkien Moot 2010 is scheduled for the weekend of August 13-15 in the city of Spokane, WA. However, people who cannot be at the event may watch the sessions live via the Internet. Tolkien Moot 2010 features three live performances (open to the public) from elvish music artist Rehtaeh (Heather Downing).

Listen to Middle-earth Talk Radio Episode 25

You can download Middle-earth Talk Radio Episode 25: May 31, 2010 here. We have already recorded Middle-earth Talk Radio Episode 26 but I've been slow in getting the announcements out for Episode 25 so there will be a short lag between announcements.

Format: MP3
Duration:56 minutes 36 seconds
Filesize:77.7 MB (81,516,322 bytes)

Opening Music: "She Walks in Beauty" from the album Elementaria
by Rehtaeh

Topics Discussed

• Thank you to all the military veterans who make it possible for us to have the freedom we have.
• Big news - Del Toro resigns as director for The Hobbit movies, now what?
• theonering.net "slashdotted" and the "slashdot effect"
• Peter Jackson's old Zombie gory spoof movie "Dead Alive"
• Are there zombies in Middle-earth in his books?
• What makes a zombie a zombie?
• The Hobbit play in Norwich Theater - Roy Marsden
• Another Hobbit play in Liverpool at the Empire
• Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" Series, "Legend of the Seeker", David Eddings Belgariad
• Books vs. eBooks vs. PDFs
• Civilization III vs. Civ IV (Michael thinks Civ IV "sucks")
• Harvard courses on Tolkien available online, Mark Zender Ph.D., how Tolkien uses language in storytelling
• British Petroleum Gulf Oil Spill
• Adventuring in the Second Age of Middle-earth
• Yahoo Fan Modules Group
• The Numenor Project
• The Numenor Project First Contact Series
• Classical civilization vs. medieval civilization for Middle-earth settings
• No Inns?
• Area later known as Andrast, peninsula in what would be far western Gondor many centuries later.
• Primitive early Men prior to the Numenoreans helping raise them from the darkness.
• Orcs and their daylight and night vision
• Story of Tal-Elmar .... Part IV of Peoples of Middle-earth
• A real palace that could be considered "Elvish" in design according to Michael (make this image for news announcements)
• How role playing games encourages research
• Second Age 1200 to 1600
• When would precursor/proto-hobbits first appear and where
  Adunaic glossary

Closing Music: "Métima Lenda (Final Journey)"from the album Elementaria
by Rehtaeh

You can download and listen to ALL episodes of Middle-earth Talk Radio at the official Middle-earth Talk Radio Website http://www.middleearthtalk.com/ (and why didn't he include "radio" in the URL? -- who knows?).

We're still planning to have some guests on the show soon -- Hawke has been working on some technical issues that seem to be mostly resolved now (I think).


____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Quick facts about "The Hobbit" movies

Guillermo del Toro finally shared some insights into the upcoming "Hobbit" movies.

Viggo Mortensen has told the press he doesn't know if he'll appear in the second "Hobbit" movie but he is sure he won't be in the first one.

Sir Ian McKellen (who co-stars in SyFy's remake of "The Prisoner" this weekend) has apparently read the script for "The Hobbit" and wants to reprise his role as Gandalf. That would be simply acceptable, totally amazing, and incredibly acceptable.

BTW -- did I mention I want McKellen to play Gandalf again?

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Support your local Tolkien theater

I have taken it upon myself to spread the word to Tolkien fans everywhere: Let's get together and support local theatrical productions of "The Hobbit".

In this weeks Hobbit News I mentioned several local theater productions for "The Hobbit" had been announced on their local news Web sites too late to really do much good. Today is the second of two days in which cast auditions for "The Hobbit" are being held in El Paso (that is a local stage production, NOT the Guillermo del Toro movies being produced in New Zealand).

Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA both staged performances of "The Hobbit" in their local community or children's theater this weekend. If you live in any of these areas, did you know about these opportunities in advance?

I'm calling upon fans of J.R.R. Tolkien (and C.S. Lewis and L. Frank Baum) to put their considerable resources together to help promote community theater when it stages science fiction and fantasy plays. These productions may not be as newsworthy as the world-wide release of a new fantasy movie, but there is no reason why fans cannot come together in their local communities and help celebrate Tolkien's fiction, Lewis' fiction, or Baum's fiction with local theater groups.

If you have a Web site you can use it to share information about your local theater season. In larger U.S. cities there may be several local theater groups. You can link to their Web sites, share their press releases, interview their cast and crews, and review their productions and offer pictures of the events.

Local fan groups can set up their own activities (like fan dinners, pre-show festivities such as costume contests, etc.). Local fan groups can also volunteer to help with these productions, or schedule events to complement (rather than compete with) the productions. Local fan groups can also contact their library systems and help organize children's (or adults) programming that focuses on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, L. Frank Baum, J.K. Rowling, Madeline L'Engle, et. al.

I think the online fan community has become insular. We'll pull together to support our own events (like line parties, after-awards events, etc.) but we virtually ignore mainstream community celebrations of the authors we love. Why? I think it's important that people reach out and connect with each other without drawing lines between "fans" and "mundanes".

There is growing widespread interest in fantasy authors because of the wild success of the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter Movies", and even the Sci Fi mini-series "Tin Man" helped revive interest in "The Wizard of Oz".

The iron is hot, and now is the time to strike, before enthusiasm for the topic cools off. Give it some thought and see what you can do to help promote your favorite authors' works in your local area.

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.