Friday, June 12, 2009

Lisa's Video Frame Capture Library

Lisa's Video Frame Capture Library is an interesting place. She's captured still from an eclectic bunch of movies and posted them on her web site. One series is of course the Lord of the Ring's of New Line.

Easily navigated you can search by text links or thumbnails to find the movies and scenes you are looking for. There are even character galleries for individual searches as well as some unused scene caps. Upon this posting the gallery was last updated in January of 2009.

A good solid collection of screen caps can be found at the Lisa's Video Frame Capture Library.

Jerry Vanderstelt

Recently I was introduced to Jerry Vanderstelt's work. This air brush artist has taken the medium to a new level. Jerry is contracted by New Line/Warner Bros. to create collectibles for the Lord of the Ring's movies. And wow does he do a magnificent job bringing the characters to life. I highly recommend this man's work and you can visit his web site to view terrific videos and find buying information too.

Visit Vanderstelt Studio.com and enjoy!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Just a quick note



I have added a new category to the topics covered in the index. There is now a page for Fan Fiction.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Quote

Not all who wander are lost.


J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien speaks briefly about the Ring

Tolkien Art on DeviantART

There are many good artists out there who's passion is creating art inspired by Tolkien's work. And the reality is you will probably only see a small fraction of these artists make money or have the wide spread attention as their more 'famous' counterparts such as Alan Lee or John Howe receive.

DeviantART is a member driven site for artists of different mediums. On this site is one devoted to Tolkien. There are over 1000 artists belonging to this club and more are welcome to join them. It's quite a magnificent collection of work with diverse styles and all aspect of Tolkein's myths represented.

If you enjoy browsing through Tolkien inspired art from literally around the world don't miss the Tolkien Fan Community at DeviantART.

The Hall of Fire


The Hall of Fire is a very friendly message board. If you are a current member of The One Ring.net's message boards you will recognize many members at The Hall.

The folks which post are knowledgeable and some of their forums include discussions of Tolkien's letters, chapter to chapter discussions and a forum for the book Arda Reconstructed: The Creation of the Published Silmarillion written by the administrator of The Hall of Fire Douglas Charles Kane.

The Arda Reconstructed forum is open to the general public. You do not have to be a registered member for this forum. Though most forums are open to view, there are a few you will need to register to read.

Easy to follow and friendly, check out The Hall of Fire.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Peter Pracownnik

Peter Pracownik is a citizen of Britain and has been quite successful as a fantasy artist since the late 1980's. His work includes a t-shirt and poster design for the Greatfull Dead in 1993, a designer of tarot cards for various companies and various other poster projects. He also is an artist with a great deal of knowledge of mythology and lore. Peter currently runs a gallery with artist Nicola Clare Lyndon in Tintagel called Another Green World.

Peter also is an artist who paints vibrant images of Tolkien's world. You can find his website The Enchanted World of Peter Pracownik has various images of his work. View the link to the Print Bar and you'll see the categories of all his work, Tolkien among them.

Enjoy!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Council of Elrond


The Council of Elrond or as they like to be known as 'The Original' Council of Elrond is a massive site. There are pages for the New Line Cinema movies, Elrond's Library has artists, Tolkien's poetry, summeries, a book forum and 'book club'. There is a Tolkien section with biography, artwork, articles to name a few topics.

There is a humor section, media section, fonts and you can even find recipes. I have not begun to dive into CoE but I can say once you go digging it is easy to find your way home again. It's huge, informative and a delight.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Quote

His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.


J.R.R. Tolkien

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Official Lord of the Rings.net


The Official Lord of the Rings.net is New Line Cinemas official movie site for all three LoTR movies. You can still find interviews, movie stills, merchandise, videos (including behind the scenes), downloads and more.

New Line has also linked themselves to The Hobbit: The Official Movie Blog. Whether you want to take a walk down memory lane or are new to these movies this site is still helpful.

Official Lord of the Rings.net

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Science Fiction Timeline Site

The Science Fiction Timeline Site is quite cool. There is a Tolkien page. There is a The Reading Order Calculator as well as Reading Order Facts page. It's quite a challenge to read Tolkien's stories in chronological order but here they have given you the indicators to do just that. Fascinating and mind-blowing to think about it right?

The Science Fiction Timeline Site is maintained by Larry King of the University of Washington. And is contributed by various other Sci-Fi junkies.

You've got to check it out.

The Science Fiction Timeline Site

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Quote

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.


J.R.R. Tolkien

The Tolkien Trail



The Tolkien Trail is a unique site in that it's pages uses original artwork. There are games to play, a message board, fan writings and they have a Cafe Press marketplace to buy Entmoot t-shirts. There are MP3's of spoken word poetry, parodies of songs and more. One of my favorite pages is Lothlorien. Here you will find original art by fans. My favorite by far is Juan Albuerne of Spain sculptures.

For a different feel of Tolkien visit The Tolkien Trail.

Tolkien Movies.com


TolkienMovies.com founded in August of 1998 is primarily a news site for the New Line series of LoTR. They also now include news of the Hobbit and Prequel movies soon to be made. There is a message board, images and people (actors) pages as well as a store. No doubt the advertisements on this site pay for the up keep however, their news is up to date and the pages are not to messy with adds.

To find news quickly visit TolkienMovies.com.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Internet Sacred Text Archives

The Internet Sacred Text Archives is a source of sources per say. You will find sacred texts for any topic including a listing for Tolkien. The listing is made up of books which inspired the Professor to write his Middle-earth sagas. The Volsung Saga and The Mabinogion are but a few of the sources Tolkien used.

A truly interesting site on it's own and helpful for those doing research on the Professor.

The Internet Sacred Text Archives

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ambar Eldaron

Ambar Eldaron is a French Tolkien Site. There are many pages to explore at Ambar Eldaron. The easiest way to get around is the site map. There you can navigate through transcribed elvish texts, links to Elvish/French dictionaries, game pages, merchandise for sale, some art work, a message forum and more. This site primarily delves into the Elvish languages and includes interviews of some who have written books on the subject.

There is an English section (you'll find it easily on the bottom of the site map) with lot's of goodies. It's worth the exploration.

Ambar Eldaron

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Fall of Gil-galad

The Fall of Gil-galad

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,
his shining helm afar was seen;
the countless stars of heaven's field
were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
and where he dwelleth none can say;
for into darkness fell his star
in Mordor where the shadows are.


J.R.R. Tolkien

A Chronological Bibliography of Books About Tolkien

A Chronological Bibliography of Books About Tolkien compiled by Åke Bertenstam is another wonderful resource. Easily laid out and perfect for researchers this very long page is loaded with information. Though when I looked at this page it seemed to end in 2004 (no doubt when the Tolkien craze was in full swing) it still is valuable to some.

A Chronological Bibliography of Books About Tolkien compiled by Åke Bertenstam.

A Chronological Bibliography of the Writings of J.R.R. Tolkien

A Chronological Bibliography of the Writings of J.R.R. Tolkien compiled by Åke Bertenstam is exactly as the name implies.

This list not only includes Tolkien's own books but also contributions to other books, as well as contributions to periodicals too. The dating starts as early as 1910 and beyond. It's quite a list and easy to follow links for more information.

It's very well done.

A Chronological Bibliography of the Writings of J.R.R. Tolkien compiled by Åke Bertenstam.

Cambridge Tolkien Society

The Cambridge Tolkien Society was founded in 1984 and has a journal entitled the Anor published approximately three times a year. The events includes game nights, pub nights, reading and discussion nights and more. There are plenty of contact information but nothing about memberships. It certainly looks like their an active bunch.

The Cambridge Tolkien Society

Born of Hope



Born of Hope is an independent film produced by Actors at Work Productions. On this website you will learn of it's beginning, the storyline, stills, trailers and much more. This web site is well laid out and interactive as well. You can leave a question on their Q&A page and it will be answered. There is also a Diary page too.

The film looks promising.

Born of Hope

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Quote

'Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.'


J.R.R. Tolkien

Fellowship of the Word-smiths

Fellowship of the Word-smiths or Gwaith I-Phethdain is an interesting site. Created by Ryszard Igor Jerzy Derdzinski for his love of the Elvish languages, he has collected many pages of reference of the major Elvish languages, dialog from all three New Line LoTR productions, essays, compositions, links to downloads to learn these languages, message forum and more.

It's a very interesting site.

Fellowship of the Word-smiths

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Dan Smith's Fantasy Fonts


Dan Smith's Fantasy Fonts for Windows is a wonderful site if you are interested in the fonts used in Tolkien's work. Dan explains much including the history of the fonts in Middle-earth and who used them.

The topics are the historic runes used in The Hobbit, Tengwar andCirth Elvish languages. You not only can download Window versions of the fonts but he also includes amazing links to books regarding the subject and other sites for information.

It's easy, interesting and free.

Dan Smith's Fantasy Fonts

A Tolkien Dictionary

A Tolkien Dictionary created by John Ireland may be useful for those interested in Middle-earth etymology. Ireland's sources are the indexes of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

Also included on the bottom of the page is a link to a Tolkien Language List though it appears you may have to be a member of something (not quite clear as to what) in order to access the information. If anyone has information on what the List has to offer and to what you must join to access it please feel free to contact me at lasgalenarts@gmail.com. I will pass any information along in this blog.

A Tolkien Dictionary

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Council-of-Elrond

The Council-of-Elrond.com (not to be mixed up with The Council of Elrond) is a massive site. Their welcome letter says it all.

Greetings friends, from the Council-of-Elrond, the last homely house. The Council-of-Elrond was created by fans and admirers of JRR Tolkien to continue the community that had developed over the years at imladris.net when it closed.

Here you can find transcripts of all the LotR films, Middle Earth Fonts, Middle Earth Genealogy charts, Middle Earth Fan Fiction, a LotR Gallery, a large selection of Middle Earth Online Java Games, a friendly forum where you can find discussions and fun on a wealth of subjects, and a whole lot more.

All are welcome here who come in peace.


You can view the message forums and all of the other reference materials, their fan fictions sections as well as sending an e-card using their massive New Line movie stills collection (currently unavailable). All in all it's quite easy to get around and worth a look.

Council of Elrond.com

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The US Tolkien Guide



The US Tolkien Guide is very similar to TolkienBooks.net. Here is a little bit about what they are achieving.

The U.S. Tolkien archive project aims to compile the complete printing history of Tolkien books in the United States, taking factors into account that are not commonly addressed by other sources, such as cover designs, original RRP (Regular Retail Price) and other data for reprints. Not all of this information will be published in the guide.

Though all the titles published by author J.R.R. Tolkien are listed here, this isn't so much a bibliography as it is a guide to locating the many editions and variants of them.


This guide is very easy to use. For example I clicked on the link to Smith of Wootton Major and was brought to a page very easy to read and find quick information. This page also included some surprises for me as well.

There is also a related works section which must have been quite an undertaking. It includes reference and criticism titles too. There is also a small Links page which bibliophiles may enjoy.

It is uncertain if this site is kept up to date however, there is contact information available.

The US Tolkien Guide

TolkienBooks.net

This site has a wealth of information for those collecting British editions of Professor Tolkien's books. Their goal is:

TolkienBooks.net is the home of An Illustrated Tolkien Bibliography.The website aims to list all British editions of the published writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) and to illustrate changes to the texts and covers.


You are privy to a lot of information regarding editions, what the print run numbers were and much, much more. My favorite pages are from the Articles section. Here you can find the contents and more information regarding all Tolkien's Middle-earth titles and a few scholarly titles too.

This site is very easy to navigate and is kept up to date with new collectors information.

TolkienBooks.net

BBC Birmingham Features - brief biography



This is a brief biography with a few archived images of J.R.R. Tolkien. I add it here because for reference reasons there may be a need for someone who needs just quick specifics.

BBC Birmingham Features - brief bio

Friday, January 23, 2009

Quote

'I wish life was not so short,' he thought. 'Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'


J.R.R. Tolkien

Myhtopoeic Society



The Mythopoeic Society is located in Altadena, California.

The Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit organization promoting the study, discussion, and enjoyment of fantastic and mythic literature through books and periodicals, annual conferences, discussion groups, awards, and more.

We are especially interested in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams, prominent members of the informal Oxford literary circle known as the “Inklings” (1930s-1950s).


This society has much to offer to its' members including The Mythic Cycle a quarterly magazine members contribute to. There are discussion groups, members own website links page, a link page specifically housing links to other Inkling sites and there own linguistic pages including The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship and PARMA ELDALAMBERON 13.

The Mythopoeic Society

Friday, January 16, 2009

Lakeside Gallery - Roger and Linda Garland



Middle-earth
@Roger Garland

Lakeside Gallery is the gallery owned by artists Roger and Linda Garland. Their artwork leans towards subjects of mythology and fantasy including Tolkien.

Roger's work is fresh and clean. There are subjects painted from The Silmarillion such as Ulmo, Lord of the Waters and Luthien in the Woods of Neldoreth to name a few of my personal favorites.

If you enjoy art inspired by Tolkien this is a must see.

Lakeside Gallery

Quote

'It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish.'


J.R.R. Tolkien

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Thorton's Bookshop



Thorton's Bookshop located in Oxford, England can help you find out of print and rare publications of or about J.R.R. Tolkien. You can join their mailing list or if you click on their logo you get their extensive list of categories of which Tolkien is one of.

Just to experiment I checked on The Hobbit and was given 11 books. The books ranged from the story itself {the Moroccan leather bound edition for $1417.40 was tempting)to literary criticism titles.

This looks like a good place to start your collection.

Thorton's Bookshop

Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft E.V.



Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft E.V. was founded in 1997. Their website contains up to date Tolkien news, reference pages, and the group appears to be quite active. They do seem to have several events during the year and have their own publications.

Unfortunately, they do not have an English page version of their site but do promise one in the future.

Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft E.V.

Compleat Gyde to Tolkien Calendars



The Compleat Gyde to Tolkien Calendars is a well organized, informational site for those who collects calendars. It is easy to navigate and with a chronological list dating back to 1969 it is quite thorough too. The rarity scale used can help you determine if your calendar is one of value. They include an image of a calendar cover dated in 1973 the year the professor died.

The Compleat Gyde to Tolkien Calendars

Monday, January 12, 2009

Tolkien Collector - The Collectible Hobbit



Tolkien Collector - The Collectible Hobbit is specifically for those collecting Tolkien inspired items. From books, jewelry, clothing to swords you can find it there at the Collectible Hobbit. There is also a chat room and Tolkien sudoku page. So if you're in the mood to shop this is probably one of many but very easy to navigate.

Tolkien Collector - The Collectible Hobbit

Unquedor


Unquedor Tolkien Genootschap is a Dutch Tolkien society. Founded in 1981 their website indicates they're an active society.

There is an up to date news page, the society's agenda is on line, Tolkien history, links, message forum and much more. They do not however, have an English version of this website.

As they say in Dutch, "Spreek, vriend, en treed binnen".

Unquedor Tolkien Genootschap

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Rolozo Tolkien



Rolozo Tolkien (hosted by TheOneRing.net) created by Ryan Eric Lovett of California has collected quite a few images, drawings and paintings of Tolkien images on the web. The artists range in the most successful to the amateur and in itself is pretty amazing.

The gallery is quite easy to follow. It is sectioned out easily with topics ranging from book illustrations to Tolkien calendars. There is even one page for images of Tolkien himself.

It is sad however that no images have been added since 2006. But when you think of the work involved to keep such a huge site up to date it is understandable. The site is truly a gem.

Rolozo Tolkien

The Tolkienion



The Tolkienion is one of the top notch Tolkien sites out there and was created in 2001 by Steven White. It is well organized and easy on the eyes. A small image page provides links to several major artists work including the site owner Steven White himself.

Also included are a text page which includes a terrific assortment of written works by Tolkien, a lexicon and a HUGE links page.

Have fun at the The Tolkienion.

Free map of Middle-earth to down load

Not a very pretty page however, begun by Chris Taylor and now kept by Chris Guerette this down loadable map, this free gift from the Chris's is for you to take. Last updated 11.24.04 here is a message from the webmaster.

"I am the webmaster of this internet site that has the 506 KB map of Middle-earth with the annotations of source information in the upper right hand corner and ANYONE has permission to print a copy of the file image for personal use."
-Christopher Guerette


The complete map of Middle-earth

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Last Homely House


@ Alan Lee

The Last Homely House is a small site that includes an illustrations page solely of Rivendell. Not much else is Tolkien related other than a few passages from the Lord of the Rings books on the bottom of the illustrations page.

The site owner Aaron Fuegi does however have links to the artists websites on the Rivendell page. And that is worth a look.

The Last Homely House

The Tolkien Society Forodrim


The Tolkien Society Forodrim

As you will see The Tolkien Society Forodrim was created in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. Many of the pages are in Swedish however there are a few English gems in them.

Included in this blog already is the Forodrim's Mellonath Daeron, a terrific source of the Elvish language including a guide to the diacritic characters Tolkien uses for said languages and much more.

The site is small but it is a good link if you are planning to meet up with a Tolkien friend in Sweden.

The Tolkien Society Forodrim

The Tolkien Forum



The Tolkien Forum has been around for quite some time. Their vast forums cover every aspect of Middle-earth and than some. Other than the literary discussions there are forums for members art and writing, language discussions, articles written by the members in academic fashion, gaming and of course movie talk.

I said vast and that is the truth. It's large but not unmanageable and many to participate with.

The Tolkien Forum

War of the Ring



War of the Ring offers quite a lot. Starting with the New Line Cinema LoTR craze the site posted up to date news regarding the movies. Currently they still do post news Tolkien related and have an active message forum. Also included in their pages are book reviews, photo forums, a shop (includes everything from shirts to weapons), fan fic page and downloads.

They also have a large archive section for news and such prior to 2004. It's worth a look for a variety of reasons.

War of the Ring

Tolkien Estates



Tolkien Estates showed up on the scene in 2007 just prior to the release of The Children of Húrin. They promise great things from this site and what you'll see here is a start up version if you will.

Some of the subjects written about which will be included on this site wince completed are articles, the portfolio of Tolkien's artwork and an extensive F.A.Q. page. When completed it will boast at least 100 pages.

All very exciting news and I'm sure it will live up to its name hopefully soon.

Tolkien Estates.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Middle-earth Tours



Middle-earth Tours is hosted by TheOneRing.net and created by their member Kyriel. It's a lovely tour that includes images both by artists and the New Line Cinemas movies of LoTR. Included are a timeline from The Silmarillion. The images are collect from another hosted site entitled Rolozo Tolkien. It's not certain if this site has been worked on recently. Like Rolozo Tolkien I believe once the hype of New Lines LoTR movies faded so did the interest to improve on this site.

I did add it here however, because of the unique way they have covered the timeline and subjects of Tolkien's Middle-earth stories.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Mellonath Daeron



Mallonath Daeron is an amazing endeavor. I couldn't begin to tell you how I know however, I am in awe of anyone who can read and write in any of Tolkien's languages. This site is dedicated to the elvish languages in particular. Mellonath Daeron is actually a small part of the Swedish Tolkien Society Forodrim.

Besides the mechanics of the languages there is a page for Mellonath Dearon's publications and a page of members own work translated and other poems. Their links page is quite extensive and includes other sites involved in languages.

The One Ring.net



TheOneRing.net was founded in 1999 by Xoanon and Tehanu. Primarily driven for news regarding Peter Jackson/New Line Cinemas's LoTR movies they hunted for any pre-production news they could find. This site truly is one created by fans for fans and you can read about their history here.

This site has grown to an immense size even out growing it's original one which you can still view in their archive.

Besides current news on the Hobbit movie in pre-production and any news to do with Tolkien including gaming, the site also holds a message forum, Barlimans Chat, polls, a scrapbook from events, a page just for merchandise, events and much more.

It is vast, fresh and fun.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Tolkien Collectors Guide

The Tolkien Collectors Guide is a simple data base to use. With links to specific subjects you can find much of what you are looking for. With a message forum attached you can also find others looking for items you may have knowledge of. Also included is a live chat function.

This is a good place to start and converse with others of like interests. Looks quite easy to use too.

Have fun at The Tolkien Collectors Guide.

Friday, January 2, 2009

John Howe


@John Howe
Hobbiton


John Howe, along with several other artists, is a master at his craft. Having been published in books, calendars and what ever else you can find Tolkien related images he is one of the most recognized artists out there.

His website is teaming with information, images with explanations and blog like entries to linger in. Even his links page is a wealth of information. And last but not least the man even as a forum on his site.

To visualize Tolkien's world remember John Howe.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Encyclopedia of Arda

The Encyclopedia of Arda lives up to its name. This website has literally put every aspect of Arda and it's tales in alphabetical order. From races, places, flora and fauna this amazing collection of information makes it so easy to follow from all, accept for the most earlier works (due to the many inconsistencies), of Tolkien's writings regarding Middle-earth with ease.

Also included are songs, time lines and calendars. Where else could you find out quickly how long an Ent-stride was.

As the Ents travelled through Fangorn Forest, they measured the distances they travelled not in yards and miles, but in Ent-strides. The exact distance of an Ent-stride is never specified in detail, but what notes we have suggest that a single stride for Treebeard would cover approximately four feet (about 1.2m). By that approximate calculation, one mile would be equivalent to 1,320 of his Ent-strides. However, since the Ents seem to have been of varying sizes, it would seem that Ent-strides must also have varied in length from Ent to Ent.

The are only two known distances given in Ent-strides, and one of those is rather vague. The first is Treebeard's stated distance between the hill where he first encountered Merry and Pippin, and his Ent-house at Wellinghall. This journey took seventy thousand Ent-strides, corresponding to just over fifty miles. Later Pippin tried to count the Treebeard's Ent-strides as he travelled to Entmoot, but only managed to reach about three thousand: in other words, he lost count after a journey of less than two and a half miles.


One can spend hours roaming around it's pages from link to link to link. It is a vast amount of work to roam through but very easy to use.

Encyclopedia of Arda