The author of The Lord of the Rings would have been 118 years old today (January 3, 2010).
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
“He [Bilbo Baggins] used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,’ he used to say. ‘You step onto the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'”
–Frodo, in The Fellowship of the Ring
I love LOTR sooooo much “pies” Happy Birthday Mr. Tolkien!!!
:0
First post!
I love the Hobbit! Happy b-day!
Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!
He has the same birthday as my dad.
Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!
When were the books written?
And the movies made, if you know.
Yes, yes, lmgtfy.com, but I’m lazy.
-A
Books….Not sure when, precisely, too lazy to look up.
The movies were made simultaneously I believed, but were released one year apart, 2001, 2002, 2003, all at Christmas time or thereabouts. I remember, because as I recall, the first one coincided with the first HP movie (November 2001).
Took me three years to finish reading LotR proper. I liked The Hobbit better, I guess. Well, happy birthday, and many pies to you, Mr Tolkien.
I was just thinking about that poem!
My dad got me “The Hobbit” and the LOTR trilogy when I was just a wee kid, about 7, maybe as old as 9, but I don’t think so. He thought I’d like them a lot, as I was reading a decent amount above my grade level. Suffice to say, I was not reading that much above my grade level that I would appreciate the LOTR series. I made it through “The Hobbit” just barely, and made it less than a chapter into the first LOTR book before I gave it up. But then after I watched the first movie I decided to give it another go (I was now 11, possibly as old as 12, but I don’t think I would’ve waited three months or so later to start reading them) and read them all.
Sometime a year or so later (perhaps as many as three or four) I reread “The Hobbit”, and enjoyed it significantly more than when I was a little kid.
And then, of course, spring semester my senior year of highschool I took a Tolkien literature course, in which I had to read “The Hobbit” and all the LOTR books. I liked ’em much better at 17/18 then I had even at 11…..Partly, I’m sure, due to the fact that so many, many things reminded me of the HP series, as I commented time and time again in my “Journal entries” I had to write for the course–about 20 pages or more, per book. As I recall, this was a smidge more than was required……Don’t ask. Or do. Maybe I’ll email them to myself so I ahve them on my computer and I’ll share snippets, or something. Maybe.
I read The Hobbit when I was in fifth grade and then read the Lord of the Rings trilogy each of the next three summers (fifth/sixth, sixth/seventh, seventh/eighth), once per summer. It was my Harry Potter, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and Jonathan Strange combined. (Of course, none of those other books had been written then.)
I particularly like the “From the ashes a fire shall be woken” poem.
At our house, every January 3rd, we celebrate Hobbit Day. We put on slippers (to signify hairy feet), eat second breakfast (with taters, precious), and watch the opening scene of FOTR. It’s great.
One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
————————————————
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
The strong that is old does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring.
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
————————————————-
Those were both committed and recited completely to/by memory.
I did go to a website as I forgot the [All that is gold does not glitter] line.
………………………………………………….
HOLY HOBBIT, YOU’RE 118!?
I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t read the LOTR books, not even attempted. That’s not to say I don’t plan on it! I didn’t have the motivation for a long while, and now I don’t have the time (or the books). I think I’ll start over the summer, perhaps.
However, my friend J has seen each of the movies about a million times, and we’re watching them together. We’ve seen the first two and are going to watch the third soon.
Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…Read The Books…
12-
Three rings for the Elven kings under the sky,
Seven for the Darwf lords in their halls of stone.
Nine for the mortal men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
And while we’re on the subject…
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 within his silver shield.
But long ago, he rode away
And where he dwelleth, none can say
For into darkness fell is star
In Mordor, where the shadows are.
Yes, I’m obsessed. Yes, they were both completely by memory. I have the All that is gold does not glitter down too, but that seemed redundant. ,
I’m showing off, aren’t I. Bad Errata.
For a while I could sing all of the Troll song (To the tune of ‘Fox Went Out One Stormy Night, which it goes amazingly well with.), but I don’t think I could anymore. I haven’t been obsessed with LotR in some weeks.
And yet I find myself wanting to go back and reread Silmarilion, despite having forced myself through most of it. What is wrong with me?
Besides the fact that Tolkien is amazing.
Off to bed now, before I become too random. Probably too late.
I sang it to the same tune! “Tom’s leg is game since home he came, / And his bootless foot is lasting lame…”
“But Troll don’t care, and he’s still there/With the bone he boned from its owner…
I think it was my sister who actually discovered they worked together. I’ve always wondered whether Tolkien meant that tune to work so well.
The fact that my family is not alone in noticing it does work makes me think so.
If that made any sense at all.
Not bad, Errata…..that was good. Honestly, though, All That is Gold is my favorite because Bilbo stood up and recited it at the Council of Elrond.
Yeah, and don’t worry about showing off. I do it all the time :D. We should get all the New England LOTR Museblog nerds together for a Kokon.
You should. Alas, I do not live in New England.
Well, crap. Ah, well. Hey, a plane ticket only cost what, $200 to $700 dollars these days? Oh, I’m suuuure you could fly out here with this economy. Go root through your piggy bank so we can talk Tolkien in person. Hurry! (I hope you know I’m kidding.) Stupid airline prices! And stupid….fact! If this was Douglas Adams’s world we could just trip, see something random and fly out wherever.
The line that sang to me from my first reading (somewhere between ages 12 and 14) was “in ever wood in every spring / there is a different green.” True to its own observation, that line has come back to me so many times in so many ways with so many meanings over the years. It probably sums up my view of the world as well as any single handful of words could do.
My favorite: the one Frodo recites in the Prancing Pony. The cow jumped over the moon! Loved it!
And I think everything Tom Bombadil does should be labeled “bombastic literature”.
Oh cake! My mom doesn’t know what a hot pink bunny is!!!! 8)
Three rings for the Elven kings under the sky,
Seven for the Darwf lords in their halls of stone.
Nine for the mortal men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
And while we’re on the subject…
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 within his silver shield.
But long ago, he rode away
And where he dwelleth, none can say
For into darkness fell is star
In Mordor, where the shadows are.
Is there a reason you copied my post, and reposted it?
How do you change your picture?
TreeCafe, please don’t comment on every thread you see until someone responds. The GAPAs cannot moderate every post instantaneously, and chances are someone already answered (in this case, I). This spamming becomes rather annoying for people involved in conversations.
Has anyone read The Silmarillion? I read the beginning, and it’s a lot like the Bible. It’s really, really cool.
I have.
I did. I mentioned that above. I’ve also read several other works by him… My favorite, apart from LotR itself and The Hobbit, is probably Unfinished Tales. It’s really interesting. Sort of like a collection of folk tales, or something.
I haven’t read that one that “sigh”
I want to though…
Good job with the on-topic posts; try condensing what you want to say into one post instead of two back-to-back posts, though. I hope I don’t sound too harsh! If you do these things it’s easier to get integrated into the blog culture.
Sorry! It was an after thought!
It’s OK, I used to do that ALL the time when I was a neophyte. For an example, go here and scroll down to post 35 or so.
Hey, it’s totally fine. Just keep it in mind next time