The One-hundred and fourth Roving Ranger

Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Si apre in una nuova finestra) And if you know someone who you believe to be interested in such a newsletter - here is the sign-up link (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

On my own account

The Roving Ranger gives you the best on all things Tolkienian and beyond, curated, every two weeks. However, given the fact that from this year on “Tolkien news” will explode I will be offering an additional, more up-to-date service called The Roving Ranger Plus.

Do subscribe on Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) & Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (additional channels may follow.)

Events & Shows

The major Tolkien art exhibition - probably for many years to come - is happening in beautiful Aubusson (Si apre in una nuova finestra) right now in the southwest of France. Tolkiendil have been at the final unveiling (Si apre in una nuova finestra), visited by Baillie Tolkien [Twitter]. If you do not know this project read: The day I was happy meeting three trolls: The Tolkien Tapestries at Aubusson (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [thetolkienist.com]

Digital Tolkien is offering its June 2024 update (Si apre in una nuova finestra) live via Youtube on June 28, 7pm CET.

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

Tolkien 50, the Oxford University project with a wide array of events and talks commemorating Tolkien’s passing in 1973 for one and half years now, has been publishing many videos recently, among them from Michael G. Tolkien, Eleanor Parker, and John Garth. Do subscribe! (Si apre in una nuova finestra) And look up their website (Si apre in una nuova finestra) as well as my post on Oxford University podcasts on J.R.R. Tolkien. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

A lovely piece by Verlyn Flieger: The Literary Power of Hobbits: How JRR Tolkien Shaped Modern Fantasy (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Literary Hub]

Tom Hillman has some thoughts on ‘The Politeness of Théoden and the Healing of Gandalf (Si apre in una nuova finestra).’

Stephen C. Winter has: ‘“Your Heart is Shrewd As Well As Faithful, and Saw Clearer Than Your Eyes.” Sam Gamgee Shows Us How To Make a Mess of Things and Yet To Get The Biggest Things Right (Si apre in una nuova finestra).’

Thoughts on Tolkien has: Tolkien’s Encouragement: “Lift up your hearts!” (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

Franchise and Merchandise

Now, that press and publicity work for season 2 of Rings of Power is in full swing, Empire offers (again) lenticular covers and exclusive material on the show (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and articles on the roles of Galadriel (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Sauron (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and the Undead Barrow-Wights (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (?). See also the trailer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and the first behind-the-scenes (Si apre in una nuova finestra) clip. [Youtube]

Also note: Inside Amazon Games Chief’s Strategy to Build Up a Triple-A Threat With ‘Tomb Raider,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ and Leaving Space for New IP (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Variety]

The article may be in German but Gameswirtschaft has a rather decent infographic on the split the Embracer Groupis going through right now (Si apre in una nuova finestra). And Deadline has some basic facts on the conglomerate’s financial well-being (Si apre in una nuova finestra):

“The solid earnings development was primarily driven by a notable growth for Middle-earth Enterprises within the Entertainment & Services segment (…)”

If you had any doubts left that Middle-earth as a brand has become mainstream then hop on over to UK based tile company Tile Giant and have a look how Bilbo’s foyer of Bag End would look like (Si apre in una nuova finestra)… with their tiles. [Instagram]

What you may not have known - there was a bookshop in Frankfurt, Germany, called Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Was - as it will be closed this August after more than 50 years of existence. And yes, it was specialised on all things ‘esoteric and spiritual.’

Inter alia & Back in the day

It is iconic, the cover art for ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’: “He Illustrated the ‘Harry Potter’ Cover for $650. It Just Sold for $1.92 Million (Si apre in una nuova finestra).” [New York Times; paywall (unlocked)]

And yes, global corporations are happy to wipe out any art if it suits the capitalist needs: MTV News Writers Lament Site Archives Being Pulled Down: ‘Infuriating,’ ‘Beyond Depressing’. (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [The Wrap]

An ‘AI’-powered search based on reliable, that is, library data? Try Talpa (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The winners of the Nebula Awards have been announced (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Annnecy Festival Winners have been announced (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Donald Sutherland has passed away - an obituary (Si apre in una nuova finestra) with Wertzone.

Another odd online thing - the shitstorm following the change of the birth date of a truly minor Star Wars character with Wookieepedia (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Screenrant]

According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.] Some purchase links may earn me a small commission from Blackwell's (Si apre in una nuova finestra) or Bookshop.org (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the bookshops of my personal trust.

If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
The Tolkienist Blog (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Bluesky (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Mastodon (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Xitter (Si apre in una nuova finestra)
You can support me by becoming a member with my Steady page (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

If you happen to use Feedly (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - why not subscribe to one of their most popular Tolkien blogs: thetolkienist.com ☺️

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.