As you know, we’re currently conducting our pledge drive to raise funds and keep our servers running. We also have some very exciting auctions going on over at Ebay.
There are some fabulous, exclusive pieces up for grabs – including some things which, usually, money can’t buy! Time is running out on some of our auctions too, so best check them out now. Here are just a couple that might tickle your fancy:
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the week ending September 2, 2013. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch up on the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the link 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 the fun!
Nothing official has been announced yet, but indications out of the Capital City are that things are progressing towards something Lord of the Rings fans have long desired, a museum dedicated to Middle-earth. For a more dynamic experience for visitors, it makes more sense for it to be a more general Film museum focused on all the films coming from Wingnut and WETA. That would allow for visitors to see new exhibits over time, but with a heavy focus on Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Te Papa had a very popular Lord of the Rings exhibit in 2002 and again in 2006, which turned out to be its most popular exhibit, so the market is there. Locations being looked at are somewhere along the waterfront. This would gives fans year round a second place to connect with their LOTR fandom alongside the WETA Cave, and something for them to see long after the final film is released. One of the biggest hurdles when this idea was first conceived was the licensing rights, but indications seem to imply that is less of an impediment right now.
I wanted to hightlight a few more of the awesome items that have recently gone up for order via our Light The Beacons Auction.
We recently added a couple of amazing items from our friend artist Jerry Vanderstelt covering his The Lord of the Rings Trilogy prints as well as his newest print of Dwalin the Dwarf from The Hobbit Trilogy. We’ve also added a couple of autograph items from Graham McTavish and William Kircher who play Dwalin and Bifur in The Hobbit Trilogy.
This auction offers a beautiful three-piece set of The Lord of the Rings Collector Edition Lithographs by prominent artist, Jerry VanderStelt. Best known not only for his works inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, he also captures the worlds of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and much more in the Fantasy/SciFi genre. Each Lithograph of the three-piece set has a unique Remarque or sketch drawn on the bottom left corner, signed separately from the normal signature and a certification of authenticity.
This is a new copy of TheOneRing.net’s premier magazine tribute to The Hobbit! A collaborative effort between Topix Media Lab and your friends here at TheOneRing.net, it covers everything you need to know about The Hobbit movies from a fan perspective. Side-bars and feature articles, contributed by our own volunteer staff, include interviews, a feature on book versus the movie, articles on games and collectibles, a Middle-earth timeline, and much more! The high-quality, glossy paper used for this magazine is also packed with colorful pictures of cast and crew members, locations, collectibles, gorgeous fan art and a few exclusives! One thing that makes this truly a collector’s edition is that there are only two ads in the entire 82-page magazine.
Jerry Vanderstelt is also offering the winner of this Auction the choice of the frame-ready canvas or to have the canvas Gallery Wrapped. The two images displayed with this Auction show the raw, canvas form and also how the Gallery Wrap option gives it a mounted, more dimensional look. The canvas measures 18 x 24 inches, NOT counting the border that is designed to be Gallery Wrapped. Once it is Gallery Wrapped, the canvas will measure 18 x 24 inches. Please allow 2-3 weeks for completion. The work uses the finest materials available of archival inks as well as Breathing Color’s exclusive “Lyve” canvas and “Timeless” protective finish.
This is a NEW paperback copy of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien with a movie tie-in picture from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film released in December, 2012. This copy has travelled to DragonCon 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia and has found itself autographed by two Dwarves (William Kircher and Graham McTavish) for TORn’s Fundraiser Auction.
Comic-Con 2013 brought us a look at the amazing mini-environments that capture various Hobbit Holes in the Shire. We already have #1 Bagshot Row and now via the most recent newsletter fans get to pre-order the next Hobbit Hole #40 Bagshot Row. This beautiful collectible captures some of the unique looks and personalities you will find as you roam around the shire. This Hobbit Hole comes in at $40 and will be shipping from New Zealand in early October.
Azog the Defiler In this TORn Library piece, Ringer Rud the Spud takes an in-depth look at Azog the Defiler, and how his presence played out in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
In particular, he examines whether persistent criticism of this key villain might be a result of flaws inadvertently introduced by the relatively late switch from two films to three.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the week ending September 2, 2013. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch up on the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the link 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 the fun!
I wanted to hightlight a few more of the awesome items that have recently gone up for order via our Light The Beacons Auction. 
