Volume 102/Issue 1

[caras_galadhon]

Volume 102/Issue 1

Circulation: One thousand, one hundred and thirty-three. Welcome all!

Note from the Mods: Please encourage friends on your friends list to join and send their news. If you have an announcement you would like to make, a fic you'd like to promote, a question you'd like to ask, we invite you to simply format it according to the rules on the info page and email it to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com. You do not have to be a member to post but we are an open community and encourage everyone to join now. Only the mods may initiate new posts but comments are encouraged.

MEDIA NEWS:

• From TheOneRing.net:

~Collecting The Precious -- Weta Workshop's Orcrist Master Swordsmith's Edition
Tonight a new item from Weta Workshop has been made available for order: Orcrist, Master Swordsmith's Edition. If you're a fan of what you've seen on-screen, and want to own an item that is truly as close to what was used in the film as possible, then this item is for you. [More]

~THE HOBBIT Nearly Missed Its Special-Effects Oscar Nomination
Today Variety has revealed that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey nearly didn't get nominated for an Oscar in the special-effects category. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences keeps pushing the nominating process to earlier dates, films released late in the year sometimes can't be seen by those in charge of voting on which ones will make the final cut to compete for the Oscars. [More]

COMMUNITY NEWS:

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:

Ask of the North Wind News of Them (Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn; G) by azalaisdep

Job Done (Legolas; G) by curiouswombat

• hobbitfilmfic updates:

Timshel (Dís/Dwalin, Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Balin, Gloin, Gloin's wife, Gimli; T) by grav_ity

Forty-One Days (Bilbo/Bofur, Bifur, Bombur; R) by _beetle_

The Lord of the Valley (Bilbo, Elrond; G) by shirebound

• sons_of_gondor updates from co-mod., caras_galadhon:
Friday, Jan. 25 through Thursday, Jan. 31 inclusive.

Interlude (Part 1) by rubyelf
(Faramir, Legolas, Berendir, Osbon; NC-17; Berendir is hanging around Minas Tirith, keeping an eye on his dragon and starting to get bored. Faramir and Legolas have been thinking and are fairly sure they have a solution.)

monologues for two (Part 7/?) by noalinnea and evocates
(Viggo Mortensen/Sean Bean; G; Sean is stuck in a landslide. Viggo is not helping. Sean is in a helicopter. Viggo is helping.)

While these are the LotR FPF and RPF fics/art that have been posted to sons_of_gondor this week, the mods would like to remind everyone that the comm also carries other FPF/RPF featuring the Gondorian actors in non-LotR roles.

CHALLENGES/WORKSHOPS/AWARDS:

Your friendly middleearthnews mods are constantly on the lookout for all things LotR-related, from fics to fandom events, comics to current news. Make them happy by emailing them at middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

FIC/ART NEWS:

• The Circles of Power Book Five: Through the Valley of Death by angmar-elfhild (Epic AU; Rated Mature) Chapter 19 of Book Five of the epic AU series, The Circles, has just been posted to the Library of Minas Morgul. The twins fall victim to the seducing effects of music and drugged wine.

• lotricons updates:

24 LOTR & 1 The Hobbit icons in a multifandom post (Legolas, Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Eomer, Gandalf, Galadriel, Theoden, Eowyn, Arwen, Bilbo, Thorin) by aeris_eledhwen

DISCUSSIONS OF INTEREST:

• From Tor.com:

~The Hobbit Reread: Chapter 11, "On the Doorstep"
It's been a while since I thought the dwarves were strangely unprepared and incompetent, and I'm not glad for it to come back. I really can't make sense of this at all; the only explanation I can think of is that it was just a way to create unnecessary tension and suspense. And that is really unfortunate because it warps the characterizations. Otherwise I would think a certain amount of reluctance and frustration was understandable, given the stakes and the possibility of the dwarves finding out that they are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. But a specific future date ought to be what they plan everything around, once they fail to open the door the ordinary way.

CLASSIFIED:

Your friendly middleearthnews mods are constantly on the lookout for all things LotR-related, from fics to fandom events, comics to current news. Make them happy by emailing them at middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

RESEARCH AIDS:

• From estelanui:

~Write Your Name in Elvish in Ten Minutes
You want to write your name in Elvish, but every place you go seems to make it harder than it ought to be. Here's the alphabet.

TRIVIA:

• Wednesday's MOVIE question: Who carries a whetstone on the road to keep his blade keen?

Answer: Aragorn.

capra_maritimus, frolijahfan, and namarielorien all answered correctly (although leianora and frolijahfan quite rightly pointed out that Boromir and Legolas likely carried them too).

More next week!

SEND MATHOMS:

• HAPPY BIRTHDAY, cressida0201 and edrys!

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.

COMICS:
(Link contributions are welcome)

• From Big Nate via Barbara R.:


That's it for this edition. Please send your formatted post for Monday's edition by 8:00 a.m. Monday (Eastern time) to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com. Thanks for joining us and tell your friends!