The Eightieth Roving Ranger

Life and Works

Feb 11, 2008. The Tolkien Estate (Si apre in una nuova finestra), The Tolkien Trust (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and HarperCollins (Si apre in una nuova finestra) file a lawsuit (Si apre in una nuova finestra) against New Line Cinema (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and the Saul Zaentz Company (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Feb 14, 1896. Five-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) wrote a letter (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to Arthur Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Feb 15, 1896. Arthur Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Tolkien's father, dies.
Feb 16, 1974. On the advice of Christopher Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra), The Tolkien Society (Si apre in una nuova finestra) appoints J.R.R. Tolkien as Honorary President in perpetuo.
Feb 18, 1937. "Knocking at the Door (Si apre in una nuova finestra)" is published in The Oxford Magazine.
Feb 20, 1938. Tolkien's answer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to questions from the Observer is published (#25 in Letters.)
Feb 23, 1961. Tolkien’s reaction (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

BBC Evil Genius - a show you may love or dislike but they certainly did J.R.R. Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra)! [You have been warned! 😅]

The First Stage (Si apre in una nuova finestra) rendition of The Hobbit in Milwaukee does sound intriguing. Some production photos (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on March 3rd.

On a similar note, The Most Reluctant Convert (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is now available on several streaming platforms. See the official website (Si apre in una nuova finestra) for more info on this C.S. Lewis 'biopic'.

The BBC Mastermind episode #20 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) of John Garth's excellent The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien.

• John Garth is always worth a listen (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - another time as a guest with the Prancing Pony Podcast.

John D. Rateliff gives some insights on a new biography of Warnie Lewis (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Calling Robert Plan of Led Zeppelin (Si apre in una nuova finestra) part of the fandom may sound a little odd but when asked about his choice of song for Nerdiest song for Tolkien lovers (Si apre in una nuova finestra) the answer is not that surprising. [Vulture]

The German Tolkien Society is now offering an online regulars' table (Si apre in una nuova finestra). 

• 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) if you like Tolkien and all things Tolkienian [TheTolkienist.com]

Franchise and Merchandise

The most streamed shows of 2022 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - overall/ Original Streaming Service Series. [NME]

Tourism in Middle-earth is a billion dollar industry and it is growing - in Wales additional 'hobbit homes (Si apre in una nuova finestra)' have been approved for Hobbit Huts Wales (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra). 

Brighton bin firm (Si apre in una nuova finestra) told by Middle-earth Enterprises (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to change name. [BBC]

If you feel like reading up a little on Amazon as a company Amazon's Endgame (Si apre in una nuova finestra) will offer some insights. [American Prospect]

It’s Time for Amazon to Embrace the Obvious (Si apre in una nuova finestra) offers additional insights into possible future ventures. [Variety]

Kiwi Stephen Gallagher (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has been confirmed as composer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.

Trevor Hogg offers insights on The Massive Creative Fellowship Behind RoP (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [AWN]

Midwinter in Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) sale is happening with Lego and Shadows' titles until Feb 13. [Steam]

German satire magazine Postillon (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on the new edition of The Lathe of Heaven (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [LitHub]

A very lovely find on Spock: Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy explains How Television Works 1977 (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Youtube]

Avatar: The Way of Water is breaking records (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - and at the same time shows the increasing dangers of blockbuster film-making. [Forbes]

NPR has an interview with Black Nerds Create (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on Black Magical History Month (Si apre in una nuova finestra); do also have a listen to Tolkien Black Folks (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and their episodes on the recent series.

David L. Ulin has a bone to pick with estimated reading times (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

WorldCon 2024 at Glasgow has delivered PR #1 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), including a look back at WorldCon 1957, the first - iirc - to have a Tolkien-inspired cosplay, a Nazgûl.

Ansible 427 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has been published.

Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro respectively have suffered from their D&D plans (Si apre in una nuova finestra) which have now been revoked.

What TikTok Has Done To Internet Videos (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has me wholeheartedly agreeing. [Ryan George]

The Tolkien Quiz Book (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Twitter (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Tolkien-Discord (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [de/en]