The Twenty-Seventh Roving Ranger
Folks,
a warm welcome to this, the twenty-seventh Roving Ranger newsletter.
Events
The Tolkien Society has opened nominations on their awards.
Quite another kettle of fish but the Hugos also accept nominations now.
John D. Rateliff has teamed up with the Centre for Fantasy & the Fantastic to talk about D&D.
I would highly suggest to you to look up the International Tolkien Fellowship Facebook group for Tolkien-inspired events the world over.
Essays & Scholarship
As it has been making the news rounds recently I would like to link to Lindsay Ellis’ video on Tolkien’s Constructed Languages which may serve as a 15 mins introduction to the topic. Seriously interested? Check out E.L.F. Please always note that most videos you will find on Youtube have their weaknesses.
John Garth has posted a lovely theory in which Ursula K. Le Guin might have paid hommage to Tolkien.
And Tom Hillman has a few words on what constitutes an Ent.
The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction has been unveiled. And yes, Tolkien does get a few mentions.
Reviews and Book News
John Garth has updated his website on The World of J.R.R. Tolkien with reviews from readers and critics.
Franchise, merchandise and Amazon series
As musician Rod Abernethy is releasing a new album soon I stumbled over the Hobbit by Sierra game OST again. Do have a listen, it’s a fun thing.
With the upcoming Amazon series pages long posts about the film trilogies seem to be back en vogue: The Return Of The King was the last time a blockbuster could be weird, personal, and Best Picture.
Stephen Colbert is talking about Tolkien again and happily noting that Day’s dictionary could use a few corrections.
I am not sure whether to laugh or cry about this but then this certainly is an example of what Tolkien called ‘applicability’ in the foreword to LotR: ‘Gondor has no king’: pro-Trump lawsuit cites Lord of the Rings.
I have to share this post because I adore this headline: Gorn Easter Eggs are the Best Star Trek Easter Eggs.
And yes, a Captain Worf series should be interesting.
Last week’s inauguration of President Biden led to one of the biggest internet meme explosions, the #BernieMemes. I used a generator to have Bernie Sanders-Baggins sit on the Turl, waiting for #Tolkien to finish the Silmarillion.
In other news
The Financial Times may not sound like the first best publication to discuss ‘con langs’ but they do and they mention Tolkien.
In an unfortunate turn of events, i.e. COVID-19 related, the Lamb & Flag will be closing. One of the places Tolkien actually visited and always a must-go-to when in Oxford.
I am not quite convinced on the ‘LotR-ishness’ of this brick build but it certainly has won a Guinness World Record spot.
After quite a few discussions Weis and Hickman have revealed that new Dragonlance novels are in the making.
Unfortunately, Mira Furlan has passed away. Babylon 5 fans will remember her fondly in her role als Minbari Ambassador Delenn. What most people did not know was that she and her husband had to leave her home due to the radical shake-up on the Balkans following the Fall of the Wall.
The Blog Roll
These are blogs you really should be following if you’re interested in Tolkien …
Some of these, you may find, are not as active as one would hope; but even if they have not posted anything new for a long time they are repositories of great essays and research on all things Tolkienian and always worth your time. The blog roll – and this very newsletter! – has been inspired by Troels Forchammer’s Parma-kenta and his excellent Tolkien Transactions he did for seven years – they are still sorely missed!
Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, ‘Too Many Books and Never Enough’
Dimitra Fimi, ‘Dr. Dimitra Fimi’
Jason Fisher, ‘Lingwë — Musings of a Fish’
Douglas A. Anderson, ‘Tolkien and Fantasy’
John D. Rateliff — ‘Sacnoth’s Scriptorium’
John Garth, ‘John Garth’
David Bratman, ‘Kalimac’s Journal’
Jenny Dolfen, ‘Jenny’s Sketchbook’
Andrew Higgens, ‘Wotan’s Musings’
Anna Smol, ‘A Single Leaf’
Edmund Weiner, ‘Philoloblog’
Robin Anne Reid, her blog
Annalisa Palmer, her blog
Various, The Mythopoeic Society
Various (Bradford Eden, ed.) Journal of Tolkien Research (JTR)
Various, The Tolkien Society (TS)
Southfarthing Mathom
Various, The Mythopoeic Society, ‘The Horn of Rohan Redux’
Sue Bridgwater, ‘Skorn’
Tom Hilman, ‘Alas, not me’
Michael Martinez, ‘Middle-earth’
Bruce Charlton, ‘Tolkien’s The Notion Club Papers’
Various, ‘Middle-earth News’
Jeffrey R. Hawboldt, ‘Expressions of Substance’
Ryszard Viajante Derdzinski, ‘Tolknięty’
Stephen C. Winter, ‘Wisdom from The Lord of the Rings’
Troels Forchhammer, ‘Parma-kenta‘
Marcel Aubron-Bülles, ‘The Tolkienist‘
Jeremy Edmonds, ‘Tolkien Collector’s Guide‘
Aubrey, ‘Diverse Tolkien‘
Elyanna, ‘itariilles‘
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