Jim Beverly and his wife Holly Holt give a quick interview for the live broadcast of TheOneRing.net's coverage of DragonCon. A veteran of Iraq, Beverly credits J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for helping him recover after war injuries in 2003.
Enraged, his knee and hands wrecked by shrapnel from the grenade that infamously disintegrated the hand of a Time writer, the 19-year-old private Jim Beverly lay in his hospital bed.
“It was almost like it was a personal insult that a guy would throw that grenade,” Beverly said.
Teeth were missing, bandages covered wounds from minor to devastating. His Kevlar vest and helmet undoubtedly saved his life, absorbing most of the pieces of metal that would have pierced a lung and skull. He still seethed as a 2003 casualty of the war in Iraq, recovering in Kaiserslautern, Germany away from what was left of his unit being profiled as part of Time Magazine naming the American Soldier the person of the year in 2003.
ATLANTA — DragonCon 2011 marks the 11th year of involvement with the Atlanta based convention, where it has grown dramatically and yet remains true to its fan-based roots. (We dug up the earliest reports we could find, well worth a look here and featuring Karl Urban, Corvar and Calisuri.)
But this DragonCon had significant differences as well. With an over 2,500 mile journey from Los Angeles to Atlanta sponsored by War In The North, this convention featured the Fellowship of Drivers on The Road to DragonCon. They not only went there but back again with the help of Badali Jewelry and Anglotopia.net.
And on content partner Stickam.com, TORn was the most watched event for the week and the month. A special thanks to those who supported the trip with personal meetings, donations, texts, phone calls and other help.
TheOneRing.net, with major sponsor The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, is returning the Road! While DragonCon may be coming to a end today, the journey continues for our fellowship of drivers as they take the long road back from Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA. The road warriors will begin their trip at approximately Noon ET and will drive straight through over the next few days, stopping along the way to meet up with fans and see some famous places. So while we had occasional non-live elements to DragonCon, we will be back to our LIVE as much as humanly possible for the remainder of the trip. If you have not been following the news, we are on a multi-day road trip to (and from!) DragonCon and, for the first time ever, broadcasting the entire trip 24/7 LIVE via Stickam.com. You can interact with the travelers in our Barliman’s chat, as well through twitter and Facebook. And of course, you can email them atroadtrip@theonering.net. And even better, we’ve set up a special phone number so you can call and text our travelers: 970-210-6130. We have a special sub site set up to follow their progress – just follow the link. [LIVE] And don’t’ forget to support our sponsors: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Badali JewelryandAnglotopia! [Roadtrip to DragonCon Sub Site] [Support the Trip – T-Shirts]
ATLANTA – In less than an hour, the road team at TheOneRing.net will present a panel for the crowds at DragonCon but the good news for the home audience is that the entire event will be carried live online. Those wishing to participate in the question portion of the event can text in questions at 970-210-6130. We can’t promise to take them all but we would love to have the home group participate with the live audience.
Since the last panel was packed and standing room only, DragonCon has added another segment of our Hobbit panel today at 5:30pm ET. Like the one from Comic-Con, we will LIVE stream the entire panel, including any questions and audience participation. [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org]
Join us tonight for DragonCon’s ‘Evening in Bree’ celebration, taking place right now (8:30pm ET). Watch the LIVE coverage in our TheOneRing.net Live section and join in the conversation and celebration via Barliman’s Chat or Twitter (#tornlive). Tonight’s emcee is none other than our own Quickbeam and the music will be provided by TheOneRing.net’s good friends Emerald Rose! [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org] [Emerald Rose]
