It makes sense to pay attention NEW YORK (AP) — Viggo Mortensen is looking out the window. Across the street from his Manhattan hotel, he notices a man on a balcony and wonders aloud what the man is doing, what his life is. The moment makes him ponder, “What does that mean?” “Basically, I think life is relatively short,” Mortensen concludes. “We’re not here that long and I think we’re lucky to be here. “And it makes sense to pay attention.”

‘It makes sense to pay attention’

Exploring Middle-earth – Whitfurrows
Vanessa “Saffron” Price, Online Community Representative for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, writes: On your next visit to the Shire, be sure to tour the quiet and charming village of Whitfurrows. In true Hobbit fashion, it’s a pleasant place to meet and share tales (and second and third breakfasts!).

Exploring Middle-earth – Whitfurrows Discuss

Pop Sensation AJ Michalka Cast In Jackson’s ‘Lovely Bones’ She’s best known as one half of a powerhouse duo, but AJ Michalka is about to go solo in a big way, the 16-year-old singer beamed, revealing that she’s set to appear in Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” follow-up, “The Lovely Bones.” “It’s like a dream role,” she enthused, nearly jumping up and down with excitement. “I’m playing the best friend of the girl who gets murdered. I was flipping out [when I heard I won the part]. I’m really, really stoked.”

Pop Sensation AJ Michalka Cast In Jackson’s ‘Lovely Bones’

Henry Gee, the author of The Science of Middle-earth (which began life here on Green Books) has taken over the editor’s chair at Mallorn, the Journal of the Tolkien Society. Mallorn is usually published annually and takes reviews, fiction, criticism and artwork of interest to Tolkien aficionadoes. But Henry wants to ramp up the journal’s visibility, with a new design, more frequent publication and a change of focus. “Tom Shippey wrote that Tolkien was the Author of the (20th) Century”, says Henry. “But that was then, and Mallorn will be there to chart Tolkien’s evolving influence into the 21st”. He can be reached at mallorn@tolkiensociety.org