The One hundred and sixteenth Roving Ranger
Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)
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Events & Shows
The new Tolkien documentary is now online [I am also in it].
If it is not available to you I am sorry but the public broadcasting stations behind this do not have the money to license it worldwide. I have been told there are VPN addons for all browsers that should help you with this.
https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/115010-000-A/tolkien-the-true-story-of-the-rings/ (Si apre in una nuova finestra)The Tolkien Tapestries are finally leaving Aubusson for an exhibition in Paris (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
An exhibition in Alberta (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Canada, has some lovely miniatures - and an unusual Hobbit (Si apre in una nuova finestra) one.
Do have a look at Christopher Tolkien at 100: A celebration (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by the Bodleian Libraries [Youtube]
Glasgow has GIFCon 2025: Queering the Fantastic – Call for Papers (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Celebrating 30 years of Exeter’s organ: An evening of organ music inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra), with Prof. Stuart Lee and Owen Chan [Feb 27, 2025]
For all events 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 & Fandom
The Journal of Tolkien Research has put out a call for peer reviewers (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Robin Reid has Tolkien’s ‘Absent [Female] Characters’: How Christopher Tolkien Expanded Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [part of the CJRT Centenary (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]; also Heritage Starts with HER: Women Writers Writing Back to Tolkien’s Legendarium (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [part of Tolkien as Heritage (Si apre in una nuova finestra) seminar]
John D. Rateliff has Susanna Clarke's nod to Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
https://annasmol.net/2024/12/03/how-do-you-say-bandersnatch-in-old-english/ (Si apre in una nuova finestra)The team at the Tolkien Collectors’ Guide (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has a guide to the Father Christmas Letters (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Miriam Ellis has Frogmorton and the Magic of Names on Tolkien's Maps (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and The Many Mercies of Bilbo Baggins (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
I have done a short piece on Tolkienian storm names (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
https://jefflasala.online/2024/12/01/the-brothers-hildebrandt/ (Si apre in una nuova finestra)My friend Katie, the community wizzzard over at the Prancing Pony Podcast (Si apre in una nuova finestra), is starting a newsletter of her own called Bree Crossroads (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Do subscribe and spread the word!
Merchandise & Franchise
Spotify has released its “Top 2024” figures and the “Fellowship of the Ring” audiobook is at #2 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
The Lord Of The Rings: Rings Of Power Season 3 - Confirmation, Cast, & Everything We Know (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Screen Rant] | Interview: Talking Season Two of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ With Showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Awards Radar]
Honest Trailers have done the 1977 Hobbit (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
LotR: Return of Moria is for free this week with EPIC. (Si apre in una nuova finestra) It has sold one million copies (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by now. [Business Wire]
The Creative Forces Behind ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ Reveal the Lore of Their New Take on Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Animation Magazine] | Smite & Smite 2 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - a MOBA - now make use of War of the Rohirrim (Si apre in una nuova finestra) | Warner Bros. Discovery Releases ‘Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim' Merch (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [License Global] | ‘Lord Of The Rings’: Philippa Boyens Says Ideas Exist For More Anime, Plus A Potential New Epic Trilogy (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Plist] | A ‘Lord of the Rings’ tradition turns small-scale in the anime ‘Rohirrim’ (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [AP] |
War of the Rohirrim revives everything great about Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Polygon] | The animated Lord of the Rings is a rushed money-grab (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Guardian] | A Beautiful But Off-Key Ballad (Si apre in una nuova finestra)[Den of Geek] | More Franchises Should Take This Anime Film’s Example (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [ScreenRant] | Brian Cox in a Predictably Plotted but Sumptuously Animated Prequel (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Hollywood Reporter] | Have you ever wondered why they call Helm’s Deep Helm’s Deep? No? Well, too bad! (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [IGN] | Redundant, flavourless animation (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Guardian] | The War of the Rohirrim is a soulless return to Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Verge]
Inter alia & Back in the Day
The first essay with the new Ursula K. Le Guin journal is Weavers and Deceivers: Spiders in Le Guin’s Writings (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
A Hans Zimmer live concert is available with ARTE (Si apre in una nuova finestra), including Dune, Pirates. Also Howard Shore (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
https://www.dwell.com/article/how-star-trek-helped-make-midcentury-modern-the-signature-sci-fi-aesthetic-b9dccaad (Si apre in una nuova finestra)Why George R.R. Martin Broke the “Cardinal Rule of Hollywood” for a Childhood Friend (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Hollywood Reporter]
Renga in Blue has a lovely game called Firienwood (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (1982).
Talking about a Gilmore Girls spin-off Lauren Graham said: “We’re talking about this as if it's like The Hobbit or something, which I’m not sure it is.” (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [ENews]
https://xkcd.com/3022/ (Si apre in una nuova finestra)Thinking about starting a newsletter, podcast, Patreon, Substack etc.?
Then do consider using Steady (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - it is an exceptionally easy to use option for all needs. Built originally for an independent journalists’ collective, Krautreporter (Si apre in una nuova finestra), it is run by creative minds for creative minds. Think Patreon, just better.
Do use my invite link (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and start with three months fee-free.
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According to German law I have to inform 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), Bookshop.org (Si apre in una nuova finestra), or Genialokal (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the (independent) bookshops of my personal trust (one with a Tolkien connection!)
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) : Threads (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Mastodon (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
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.
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https://steadyhq.com/en/thetolkienist/gift_plans (Si apre in una nuova finestra)