Volume 102/Issue 6

An offer from Empire – One Expected Party supporters!TheOneRing.net is delighted to have Empire movie magazine on board as supporters at our One Expected Party on Oscars Night! For those readers who don’t yet know, British publication Empire is now available in a US edition, downloadable on iPad; and our good friends at Empire currently have a special offer of a three month iPad subscription for only $0.99! Offer expires on Feb 27th - so take this opportunity to get all the latest movie news for a bargain price! [Read more]

Happy Hobbit: Valentine’s Day Special – Episode 12
Learn how to make vanilla buttercreams as Fili prepares them for a very special someone! [Read more]

TORN Message Boards Weekly Roundup – February 11, 2013Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun! [Read more]

The Tolkien Shop supports The One Expected Party!TheOneRing.net really does have some great friends. Yesterday we told you that Empire magazine is supporting The One Expected Party, and offering you, dear reader, a great deal on a three month subscription to their downloadable US edition. Today we can share that the fabulous René, owner of The Tolkien Shop, is also supporting our party! [Read more]

Where do dwarves get their wonderful knitwear?
With an eye for attention to the minutest detail, Peter Jackson and his design team source for their movies with great care. Who could forget that wonderful fabric created by Stansborough Fibres for those magical elven cloaks in The Lord of the Rings? [Read more]

Collecting The Precious – Toy Fair 2013 Lego: The Lord of the Rings
Toy Fair 2013 also brings us goodies from Lego for fans of Middle-earth. As you all know, Lego has been creating some great sets based on events that happened during The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movies. [Read more]

Collecting The Precious – Toy Fair 2013 The Bridge Direct’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Wave 2
Toy Fair 2013 is going on right now in New York, and those who were not buried under feet of snow have gotten a chance to see just what The Bridge Direct has cooked up for us with wave 2. [Read more]

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become 'reporters' or 'scouts' for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

* tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:
Yule Pudding (Elrohir, Bilbo; rated G) by jay_of_lasgalen

* hobbitfilmfic updates:
Big Brother (Frerin, Malonna, Thrain; mentions of Bilbo/Thorin; rated PG-13) by _beetle_

* heirs_of_durin updates:
In the Halls of the Elven King (Bilbo/Thorin; rated R) by htebazytook
Big Brother (Frerin, Malonna, Thrain; mentions of Bilbo/Thorin; rated PG-13) by _beetle_

The current challenge at tolkien_weekly is Ailments: Sore Throat

From lotricons:
10 LotR icons (Aragorn, Arwen, Frodo, Legolas) by alfiri

From AO3 - Archive of Our Own:
-- TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works
-- Lord of the Rings - All Media Types-- The Hobbit - All Media Types
-- Lord of the Rings RPF
-- The Hobbit (2012) RPF

* Via the TORn forums:
Middle-Earth Wisdom
My Hobbit and I were listening to a news article about violence in video games on the way home from school today. His concluding remark on the subject really caught my attention.

He said, "Gandalf says true courage is not taking a life but knowing when to spare a life."

So my heart warmed a bit, and it got me wondering, so I'm asking my fellow TORnFolk:

What bits of wisdom from Middle Earth have you come across in your daily lives? How has Tolkien's world (in the books or through others' interpretations) influenced you?

Middle-earth Conspiracy Theories
What is the real reason for the distrust between Elves and Dwarves?

Why no Tolkien cults?
Disclaimers:
1. I am not advocating for a Tolkien cult.
2. I do not wish to create or join a cult.
3. This has nothing to do with JRR Tolkien's own religious beliefs.

My question if purely out of curiosity. There are many cults or spiritual/lifestyle movements that are created with much less material than Tolkien offers. One that comes to mind is Rastafaris, but there are plenty of others. Tolkien provided would-be cultists a highly detailed world with a long history and numerous races and individuals that could be venerated. Druid cults could claim Yavanna as one of their own, astrological cults could claim Varda as theirs, and she even comes with her own sacred verses. There could be a lifestyle movement espousing the norms of Bombadil and/or hobbits. Or Elves. It's an endless list.

There probably are Tolkien cults out there, but they are not high-profile or google-able, and I'd think all the attention in the last decade on the movies would both spawn cults and draw media attention to them.

Repeat: I'm not advocating cult worship. But can anyone explain why it it's not proliferating?

From kenazfiction:
It's time for the VALENTINE'S DAY SECRET ADMIRER EXTRAVAGANZA!!

Most of you know how it works, but here's a refresher:
1) Choose up to 10 people (negotiable upon request) from your flist. Write a sentence or two about how you feel about them. Could be as simple as "you always make me smile," or "I love your icons," or "I'm thinking of you."

2) EITHER Email your list to me at kenazfiction@gmail.com OR post a comment to THIS ENTRY. I will screen all comments and allow anonymous posting on THIS ENTRY ONLY.

3) You have until 10 PM (EST) February 13th to send them in. No exceptions.

4) On February 14, I will post a list of all the people who received comments and post all of the comments that they received...without revealing who sent them. Hopefully, lots of you will wake up on Valentine's Day to all kinds of anonymous love AND hot, steamy Elf and/or Man tales from the My Slashy Valentine exchange!

Please note that you do not have to restrict your messages to Tolkien writers only - though please make sure that their LJ name is correctly noted. Though the "posters" of such messages are restricted to the Tolkien fandom, otherwise it becomes just too unwieldy for me.

PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO "STEAL" THIS IDEA FOR YOUR OTHER FANDOMS!

PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THIS AROUND YOUR TOLKIEN FRIENDS! My flist is kept purposely small, so I'd welcome a lot more players that aren't on mine. Obviously, your chances of receiving the love increases if your own flist is involved. I'll make the final post public so that everyone can see and refer to it.

COME ON AND SPREAD THE ANONYMOUS LOVE!!

From estelanui:
An Essay on the Development of Middle-Earth Music by David J. Finnamore.
There is a great deal of music which was inspired by the Middle-earth literature of J. R. R. Tolkien. It encompasses a wide variety of styles, from folk to jazz to black metal.

Monday's BOOK question: What was the first stairway of Cirith Ungol called by Gollum?
Answer: The Straight Stair.

rakshi and answered correctly.

Today's MOVIE question contributed by estelle3974: Which great forest borders the land of Rohan?

All comments are screened so that only the mods can see the answers. Comments will be unscreened when the next edition is posted. Any comments on a different subject will be unscreened ASAP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, avanti_90!

The mods would like to wish anyone having a special day the very best. Please send your special wishes to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

(Link contributions are welcome)

From Set Phasers to LOL: