The One-hundred and second Roving Ranger

Life and Works

June 1, 2018. Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and Tolkien: Treasures are published, accompanying the exhibition "Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra)."
June 4, 1938. Tolkien writes Letter 28 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), stating on the early LotR chapters: “The trouble is that 'hobbit talk' amuses me privately (and to a certain degree also my boy Christopher) more than adventures…”
June 5, 1959. Tolkien delivers the Valedictory Address to the University of Oxford (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
June 8, 1961. Tolkien writes Letter 230 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), explaining: “Mae govannen means 'well met.'“
June 14, 1973. Tolkien writes a letter to Bruce Charlton (Si apre in una nuova finestra), stating:

THE SILMARILLION is far from complete and I have not looked at it for some considerable time. Therefore I regret that I cannot predict when it will see the light of day.

We have reached the point where bidding on a first edition Hobbit starts at $100K (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [William A. Strutz library, (Si apre in una nuova finestra)Heritage Auctions (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Coming up soon - the catalogue on the exceptional tapestries (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

All dates are taken from Tolkien Gateway (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Events & Shows

Neil Gaiman will give this year’s Tolkien Lecture (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in Oxford [tickets sold out; waitlist. June 12th]

The long gone Middle-earth Festival (formerly held at Sarehole Mill, Birmingham) even gets an Ansible 443 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) mention as there will not be a 2024 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) return event, either. [Facebook]

If you can’t make it in person the Tolkien Society Hybrid Seminar 2024 – Tolkien’s Romantic Resonances (Si apre in una nuova finestra) offers you online choices. [July 6th]

A Tolkien Mini Film Festival (Si apre in una nuova finestra) will happen June 1st in Billings, MT, run by the Council of Westmarch (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Symbol or Substance (Si apre in una nuova finestra) will be shown in Akron, OH, in June: A dramatic reading of a dialog on the eucharist between Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, by Peter Kreeft.

Mythmoot XI (Si apre in una nuova finestra) will happen in June, including Tom Shippey and Donato Giancola.

The Swedish Tolkien Society Forodrim has issued an invitation for its 54 year jubilee (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in 2026.

The New York Tolkien Conference (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is on at June 15, with Baruch College, NYC.

The Dutch Tolkien Society, Unquendor, has its Slotfeest in June (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

For all events (Si apre in una nuova finestra) check out the International Tolkien Fellowship (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [FB] and the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Scholarship and Fandom

Wayne Hammand and Christina Scull have bindings and boxes on Collected Poems (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Stephen C. Winter has another piece: “We Are a Failing People, a Springless Autumn.” Faramir Tells Frodo and Sam of The History of Gondor and of His Loss of Hope. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

John D. Rateliff has an interesting note on Tolkien - who did not like to read books repeatedly (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Robin Reid has some excellent thoughts on adaptations of Tolkien’s works (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Kevin Corcoran does a quick comparison: Asimov and Tolkein - Intelligence vs Wisdom (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Yes, I love the Tolkein in the title!]

Some people might argue that Mr. Bean in Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is a most excellent ‘adaptation’. [Youtube]

Franchise and Merchandise

Some people in New Zealand are asking the question: Is a return to Lord of the Rings the best or worst thing for Wellington? (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [NZ Herald]

A new bakery is coming to Brunswick, Maine: Elevenses. [Website (Si apre in una nuova finestra); Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

A comment: Embracer's talk about The Lord of the Rings says one thing: 'Fly, you fools!' (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [PC Gamer]; Variety gives insights into Embracer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) profits.

A recent Kickstarter on a new documentary was successful: THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF CHRISTOPHER LEE (Si apre in una nuova finestra). TORn invited the director for a chat (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Guardian offers this opinion: Hol (Si apre in una nuova finestra)lywood should look beyond Star Wars and Lord of the Rings retreads for sequels (Si apre in una nuova finestra), including this line:

“…a feature length adaptation of The Scouring of the Shire (the amusing but slightly superfluous bit at the end where the Hobbits return to the Shire and banish a diminished Saruman from Bag End). It goes without saying that there’s a reason this stuff was left out of the movies.”

LotR: RoP will bring Tom Bombadil into the second season (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Vanity Fair] | [TheOneRing.net (Si apre in una nuova finestra) reaction]

George R.R. Martin’s comments in a recent blog post touch on the ‘adaptation’ issue - noting the only good example he’s seen recently is SHOGUN:

No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it. [Source: Not a Blog (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Podcasts really have come into their own - being financially successful - so you can book your Theology Camp: The Return of the God-Pods (Si apre in una nuova finestra) ticket for October. [Eventbrite]

EA has shut down LotR: Heroes of Middle-earth on May 25 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) after only a year of operation. [GameRant]

Viggo Mortensen mentioned the fact (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in a recent GQ interview that Andúril has made it into another film - and that, depending on the script, he might consider returning for LotR: Hunt for Gollum. Let’s keep in mind: the ‘original’ Hunt for Gollum (Si apre in una nuova finestra) was blocked for a day thanks to Warner Bros. [Variety]

Inter alia & Back in the day

Did you know that the truly ubiquitous Schrödinger’s cat (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is only that popular thanks to Ursula K. Le Guin (Si apre in una nuova finestra)? [Physics World] And do have a look at UKL’s answer to How to Become a Writer (Si apre in una nuova finestra)[LitHub]

First photos and info on Momo (Si apre in una nuova finestra), another adaptation of Michael Ende’s classic. [Deadline] Please note that there was a very succesful German adaptation (Si apre in una nuova finestra) of it in 1986.

William Shatner Has Questions for Neil deGrasse Tyson (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube]

Peter S. Beagle on his new novel (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the hero's journey, and why villains talk so much [NPR]

The Youtube channel Frosty’s Kitchen has several Cozy Hobbit Houses on a Rainy Day (Si apre in una nuova finestra), should you wish to relax. And this seems to be a thing now, given the Hobbit Infinity Pool (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [both Youtube]

People has this: Carrie Fisher Faced 'Pressure to Be Thin' for Star Wars Before Her Death, Says James Blunt: She Was 'Mistreating Her Body' (Si apre in una nuova finestra). George Lucas has been outspoken in his criticism on Disney’s treatment of Star Wars (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Hollywood Reporter]. 25 years after its premiere, Disney recently published Star Wars: The Phantom Menace | Remastered Trailer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube]. And there is more on the failed Star Wars hotel (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Polygon]. Do watch the 4-hrs-YT-doc (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on this, it is hilarious.

“Once you've done themed environments, themed food, themed clothing, the only way to take it further is to move all the way into LARP (Si apre in una nuova finestra).”

Star Trek: Discovery is coming to an end and this is the trailer (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Youtube] Jonathan Frakes has many thoughts on this (Si apre in una nuova finestra) with [Indiewire].

I am always wary when sharing “X of all time” lists but here you are: The 30 Greatest Dystopian Books Of All Time (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Forbes] Oddly enough, the New Scientist published Our writers pick their favourite science fiction books of all time (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at about the same time.

John Scalzi truly writes the essential posts: How to Make a Schadenfreude Pie (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

A scathing criticism: Grinding our bums, flashing our boobs: the internet is making juveniles of us all (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Guardian]

If you feel like owning the first ever HUGO to be awarded (Si apre in una nuova finestra)… [Hindman Auctions]

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As this is 2024 I would like to note that this newsletter is 100% human-made, curated by me, Marcel R. Bülles. This also holds true for everything I write with my blog and here at Steady. Also, the average time of curating this newsletter ranges from 12-16 hours.