The Eightieth Roving Ranger
Life and Works
Feb 11, 2008. The Tolkien Estate (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), The Tolkien Trust (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and HarperCollins (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) file a lawsuit (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) against New Line Cinema (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and the Saul Zaentz Company (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Feb 14, 1896. Five-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) wrote a letter (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to Arthur Tolkien (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Feb 15, 1896. Arthur Tolkien (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), Tolkien's father, dies.
Feb 16, 1974. On the advice of Christopher Tolkien (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), The Tolkien Society (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) appoints J.R.R. Tolkien as Honorary President in perpetuo.
Feb 18, 1937. "Knocking at the Door (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)" is published in The Oxford Magazine.
Feb 20, 1938. Tolkien's answer (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to questions from the Observer is published (#25 in Letters.)
Feb 23, 1961. Tolkien’s reaction (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to Åke Ohlmarks' "nonsense", i.e., the Swedish LotR translation.
Research has shown that Tolkien quite often took the time out of a busy schedule to write to his avid readers and in a recent BBC Repair Shop (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) episode this again became clear. [BBC]
Events & Shows
The world's longest-running fan-based event for the Middle-earth CCG and LotR LCG, the Lure of Middle-earth (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) at Castle Stahleck in Germany, has some amazing special guests. [Feb 24-26, '23]
A Q&A with illustrator Liz Danforth is happening on Feb 10, 06:00 PM UTC+1 [use this Zoom link (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)]
BBC Evil Genius - a show you may love or dislike but they certainly did J.R.R. Tolkien (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)! [You have been warned! 😅]
The First Stage (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) rendition of The Hobbit in Milwaukee does sound intriguing. Some production photos (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) are available. [Broadway World]
(...) Frank will direct the 90-minute Greg Banks adaptation of The Hobbit with only five actors in a “a fast moving, highly theatrical show that invites audiences into the journey in a simultaneously surprising yet familiar way" (...)
Tolkien’s Middle-earth will not be conjured through CGI or techno-flash of any sort but will be set inside the war-ravaged ruins of a library.
Lewis & Tolkien, of Wardrobes & Rings is coming to Erskine College (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on March 3rd.
On a similar note, The Most Reluctant Convert (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) is now available on several streaming platforms. See the official website (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) for more info on this C.S. Lewis 'biopic'.
The BBC Mastermind episode #20 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) of the 2022/2023 season has The Lord of the Rings as a subject. [BBC, paywall]
Scholarship and Fandom
If you happen to be in the US, US dependencies or Canada you should check out Princeton University Press's sale (until Feb 14) to get yourself a copy (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) of John Garth's excellent The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien.
John Garth is always worth a listen (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) - another time as a guest with the Prancing Pony Podcast.
John D. Rateliff gives some insights on a new biography of Warnie Lewis (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Calling Robert Plan of Led Zeppelin (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) part of the fandom may sound a little odd but when asked about his choice of song for Nerdiest song for Tolkien lovers (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) the answer is not that surprising. [Vulture]
The German Tolkien Society is now offering an online regulars' table (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
If you know of other similar online meetups from Tolkien societies, smials, regulars' tables please do leave me a note in the comments below to this edition of the Roving Ranger.
What to look forward to in 2023 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) if you like Tolkien and all things Tolkienian [TheTolkienist.com]
Franchise and Merchandise
The most streamed shows of 2022 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) - overall/ Original Streaming Service Series. [NME]
Tourism in Middle-earth is a billion dollar industry and it is growing - in Wales additional 'hobbit homes (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)' have been approved for Hobbit Huts Wales (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [BBC]
The One Hobbit Home to Rule Them All is the film set of Hobbiton, of course, and it is now available for booking via AirBnB (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Brighton bin firm (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) told by Middle-earth Enterprises (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to change name. [BBC]
If you feel like reading up a little on Amazon as a company Amazon's Endgame (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) will offer some insights. [American Prospect]
It’s Time for Amazon to Embrace the Obvious (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) offers additional insights into possible future ventures. [Variety]
Kiwi Stephen Gallagher (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) has been confirmed as composer (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.
Trevor Hogg offers insights on The Massive Creative Fellowship Behind RoP (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [AWN]
Midwinter in Middle-earth (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) sale is happening with Lego and Shadows' titles until Feb 13. [Steam]
German satire magazine Postillon (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) is... weird.
Someone from Saxony travels to Middle-earth on vacation plane. [dialectal pun]
Inter alia & Back in the day
Kelly Link in Praise of Ursula K. Le Guin (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on the new edition of The Lathe of Heaven (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [LitHub]
A very lovely find on Spock: Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy explains How Television Works 1977 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [Youtube]
Avatar: The Way of Water is breaking records (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) - and at the same time shows the increasing dangers of blockbuster film-making. [Forbes]
NPR has an interview with Black Nerds Create (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on Black Magical History Month (Öffnet in neuem Fenster); do also have a listen to Tolkien Black Folks (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and their episodes on the recent series.
David L. Ulin has a bone to pick with estimated reading times (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on the internet. [L.A. Times]
As usual it is better to read things directly from the horse's mouth instead of some gossip outlets: GRRM has posted a few things on his blog (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), including a new Patreon venture.
John Scalzi is rather hilarious in reminding people 'on ze webz' about his Refresher Course On What I’m Obliged to Write About (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
WorldCon 2024 at Glasgow has delivered PR #1 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), including a look back at WorldCon 1957, the first - iirc - to have a Tolkien-inspired cosplay, a Nazgûl.
Ansible 427 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) has been published.
Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro respectively have suffered from their D&D plans (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) which have now been revoked.
What TikTok Has Done To Internet Videos (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) has me wholeheartedly agreeing. [Ryan George]
The Tolkien Quiz Book (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) was originally published Feb 13, 19179.
According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.]
If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
The Tolkienist Blog (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) : Facebook (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) : Twitter (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) : Instagram (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) : Tolkien-Discord (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [de/en]
