Tolkien/LOTR Tribe....

[MommytoMJM]

Come one come all to the Lovers of Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings tribe, let the chatting begin...I'll be back to post more after I X-post this to get us some members...... :

[owensmom]

Hello, my name is Owensmom, and I have the burning desire to continually discuss these books and films.

[alexisyael]

I'm here!

[JessicaS]

ubergeek over here.

*once got banned from Tolkien board during heated "Do balrogs have wings" debate* :

[alexisyael]

Oooohhhh... I'd never thought of that before (OK, I'm not as geeky as some! But I *strive* to be ubergeeky, does that count?)

Anyway, my immediate thought would be no, balrogs don't have wings (why would they need them? Aesthetics? Bah!) But I'm open to being schooled, if they do have them! (And really, I should just be looking for textural evidence, but I'm willing to let you tell me instead of having to trek *all the way over* to the bookshelf! :LOL I guess I'm just a lazy-geek )

[owensmom]

First off, Abimommy, I'm not worthy.

Secondly, I was JUST perusing this set of online comics and ran across this one, titled "film adaptation sell-out".
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space...-the-Ring/ss14

[MommytoMJM]

OK, since we're doing the how geeky are we, I'll contribute....

I first read LOTR and The Hobbit in the 4th grade....I resisted seeing the movies until just a few moths ago because I was sooo scared of what they would do to them....Sigh...

I am reading Sean Astin's Book There and Back again right now, rereading LOTR, using the Complete Guide to Middle Earth, Middle Earth for Dummies and Atals of Middle Earth as references while I read. It is really helpful to be able to look stuff up, so if you come across something you want to know, let me know and I will look it up for ya!

BTW, there is a great site called the Encyclopedia of Arda ,,,here's the url for EoA http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/ they offer a CD so you can have it on disc...I want it...Waaaahhhh

Oh....and my daughter's bunnies are named.......



Wait for it.........






Merry and Pippin

[AJP]

Oo, oooo, mememe! I've read LOTR at least yearly since I was 10 or 11. Sometimes I'd start it again right after I finished. I was so apprehensive when I heard they were making movies out of it, but, even with the changes they had to make in order to allow it to be translated into films and not be 100 hours long, I adore the movies. The book was formative for me in terms of how I view storytelling, fantasy, mythology, so many things, so if they had blown it with the films, I would have been pissed. But I think Peter Jackson is a freakin' genius, and watching the "making of" extras on the DVDs, it seems to me that everyone poured themselves into it, from the director on down to the people making the props, and were careful about keeping true to the spirit of the book (even when it wouldn't work to directly translate something to film). It was synergistic, and IMO it worked beautifully. I don't think it could have happened in Hollywood.

In the book, the Balrog has wings: "It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall," although it's a little ambiguous because two paragraphs previous it says "His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings." (Yes, ultra-geek here, too - I actually go look things up.)

[littleaugustbaby]

subscribing

[darlindeliasmom]

count me in...I love the extras on the DVDs; they were a great resource with my dd, talking about what makes a culture...the attention to details CREATES the very different cultures of Gondor and Rohan, as well as things like the elves and the Harradrim.

They got it...I'm reading the section on the siege of Gondor now for the first time since watching the films, and man, Pippin in his knight's garb is just so accurate!

I'm actually reading the book 2x now, once for me, and once with my 8 yr old dd. With her, the three are almost to Fangorn. (which is fine by her, since she really is only interested if her darling Legolas is in the scene. The blonde hair just did her in!!!).
Me, I'm just waiting on Mithrandir.

[tinybutterfly]

Present.

[kiwiming]

Me too...

Just watched the extras from the "return of the King" DVD yesterday. I am very proud to say that I am from NZ and wished I had enough dosh to buy up all the sets, props and costumes, move back there and open a musuem!

[MommytoMJM]

Ok, so what should we do with this thread.....discussions? Set up a LOTR chat at mommychats, trivia challenges? Any ideas?

[monkaha]

Oh I am so in!! These have been my favorite books forEVER!! I've read them a bazillion times! Did any of you see the animated movie of it made a long time ago? It was HORRIBLE!! I was so afraid that the recent movies would be as bad, and pleasantly surprised that they were, for the most part, just how I pictured things in the book.

: Ok, don't tell DH that I'm in this thread-he already calls them "Dorks of the Rings." LOL

[Elowyn]

I'm here! Have been reading them for 15 years at least, and !

Proud to be a geek!

Oh yes, and I Aragorn. Always have, always will.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by AJP

In the book, the Balrog has wings: "It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall," although it's a little ambiguous because two paragraphs previous it says "His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings." (Yes, ultra-geek here, too - I actually go look things up.)

I agree, I was on the pro-wing side. Heh..that cartoon is hilarious! Although I disagree about the Wings comment.

Our dog we got when I was a toddler was named Frodo, my parents were geeky too. :LOL

[owensmom]

If we had another kid, I totally would want to make Peregrin it's middle name... dh would never go for it.... he thinks I like the movies because of Orlando Bloom, which is totally unfair, I didn't even pay attention to him, or even know who he was! in the movies, I fell in love with him in PotC. So there.

Anyway, I'd prefer not to chat, just discuss in threads in whatever way everyone wishes... jmo.

[bluenail]

Oh yeah - I'm in.

I read the books at least once every two years or so. Love the movies. (Had a marathon movie session - all three extended DVDs back to back - over the holidays).

Was lucky enough to be able to go and see the props and costumes from the first two movies in museum exhibits that came through Toronto. The costumes, swords, props (basically EVERYTHING) were beautiful and truly substantial, for lack of a better word. (I touched Aragorn's outfit - I couldn't resist...) :LOL

By coincidence, my ds is named Sam. (And if he had been born with red hair, he would have been Gimli - according to my dh.)

[MommytoMJM]

So, DH is turning 40 in May.......

I was going to do the typical Over The Hill party....but it seemed so trite....so I was thinking, he is a huge Lord of the Rings fan.....what do you all think about an.....

Under the Hill party fashioned after Khazad-Dum and the caves of Moria?

Stupid? Brilliant? Somewhere in between? Ideas on how to pull it off?

[darlindeliasmom]

I for one would not be ambitious enough to try for the mines of Moria in my little house LOL (although the invites could be nice, with the door, which is one of the beautiful images from JRRR's mind).

What about a 'Mr. Under-the-Hill" party, as in Frodo's badly remembered alias in Bree? Then you could do a party like Bilbo's, with fireworks and lights in the trees...

either way, fun.