The Eightieth Roving Ranger
Life and Works
Feb 11, 2008. The Tolkien Estate (Abre numa nova janela), The Tolkien Trust (Abre numa nova janela) and HarperCollins (Abre numa nova janela) file a lawsuit (Abre numa nova janela) against New Line Cinema (Abre numa nova janela) and the Saul Zaentz Company (Abre numa nova janela).
Feb 14, 1896. Five-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela) wrote a letter (Abre numa nova janela) to Arthur Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela).
Feb 15, 1896. Arthur Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela), Tolkien's father, dies.
Feb 16, 1974. On the advice of Christopher Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela), The Tolkien Society (Abre numa nova janela) appoints J.R.R. Tolkien as Honorary President in perpetuo.
Feb 18, 1937. "Knocking at the Door (Abre numa nova janela)" is published in The Oxford Magazine.
Feb 20, 1938. Tolkien's answer (Abre numa nova janela) to questions from the Observer is published (#25 in Letters.)
Feb 23, 1961. Tolkien’s reaction (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela)]
BBC Evil Genius - a show you may love or dislike but they certainly did J.R.R. Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela)! [You have been warned! 😅]
The First Stage (Abre numa nova janela) rendition of The Hobbit in Milwaukee does sound intriguing. Some production photos (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) on March 3rd.
On a similar note, The Most Reluctant Convert (Abre numa nova janela) is now available on several streaming platforms. See the official website (Abre numa nova janela) for more info on this C.S. Lewis 'biopic'.
The BBC Mastermind episode #20 (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) of John Garth's excellent The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien.
John Garth is always worth a listen (Abre numa nova janela) - another time as a guest with the Prancing Pony Podcast.
John D. Rateliff gives some insights on a new biography of Warnie Lewis (Abre numa nova janela).
Calling Robert Plan of Led Zeppelin (Abre numa nova janela) part of the fandom may sound a little odd but when asked about his choice of song for Nerdiest song for Tolkien lovers (Abre numa nova janela) the answer is not that surprising. [Vulture]
The German Tolkien Society is now offering an online regulars' table (Abre numa nova janela).
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 (Abre numa nova janela) if you like Tolkien and all things Tolkienian [TheTolkienist.com]
Franchise and Merchandise
The most streamed shows of 2022 (Abre numa nova janela) - overall/ Original Streaming Service Series. [NME]
Tourism in Middle-earth is a billion dollar industry and it is growing - in Wales additional 'hobbit homes (Abre numa nova janela)' have been approved for Hobbit Huts Wales (Abre numa nova janela). [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 (Abre numa nova janela).
Brighton bin firm (Abre numa nova janela) told by Middle-earth Enterprises (Abre numa nova janela) to change name. [BBC]
If you feel like reading up a little on Amazon as a company Amazon's Endgame (Abre numa nova janela) will offer some insights. [American Prospect]
It’s Time for Amazon to Embrace the Obvious (Abre numa nova janela) offers additional insights into possible future ventures. [Variety]
Kiwi Stephen Gallagher (Abre numa nova janela) has been confirmed as composer (Abre numa nova janela) to Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.
Trevor Hogg offers insights on The Massive Creative Fellowship Behind RoP (Abre numa nova janela) [AWN]
Midwinter in Middle-earth (Abre numa nova janela) sale is happening with Lego and Shadows' titles until Feb 13. [Steam]
German satire magazine Postillon (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) on the new edition of The Lathe of Heaven (Abre numa nova janela). [LitHub]
A very lovely find on Spock: Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy explains How Television Works 1977 (Abre numa nova janela). [Youtube]
Avatar: The Way of Water is breaking records (Abre numa nova janela) - and at the same time shows the increasing dangers of blockbuster film-making. [Forbes]
NPR has an interview with Black Nerds Create (Abre numa nova janela) on Black Magical History Month (Abre numa nova janela); do also have a listen to Tolkien Black Folks (Abre numa nova janela) and their episodes on the recent series.
David L. Ulin has a bone to pick with estimated reading times (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela), 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 (Abre numa nova janela).
WorldCon 2024 at Glasgow has delivered PR #1 (Abre numa nova janela), including a look back at WorldCon 1957, the first - iirc - to have a Tolkien-inspired cosplay, a Nazgûl.
Ansible 427 (Abre numa nova janela) has been published.
Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro respectively have suffered from their D&D plans (Abre numa nova janela) which have now been revoked.
What TikTok Has Done To Internet Videos (Abre numa nova janela) has me wholeheartedly agreeing. [Ryan George]
The Tolkien Quiz Book (Abre numa nova janela) 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 (Abre numa nova janela) : Facebook (Abre numa nova janela) : Twitter (Abre numa nova janela) : Instagram (Abre numa nova janela) : Tolkien-Discord (Abre numa nova janela) [de/en]
