The Lord of The Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings has fascinated and intriqued me since I was first given a hard copy set of the books around 1980. Being at least bilingual (German and English, with laughable smidgeons of Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian thrown in) linguistics has been a field of interest of mine for longer than that. In particular I am always intrigued by the interpretation of language in the context of individual experience and learning.

J.R.R. Tolkien's enormous story reaches back into the distant past of our primal consciousness; That very depth from which the Bible was drawn, and Beowulf, and the Edda, and a thousand and one faery tales the globe over. In the same way that J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5 draws upon humanity's archetypical memory, so does J.R.R. Tolkien invoke a story that has passed beyond recall and become the very essence of our understanding of our selves and the world in which we live.

Other LoTR bits. . .

Barbara Remington's ``Wilderness Poster''

Barbara Remington painted a huge(!) poster for Ballantine Books. This poster has become rare and desired over the years. I've pictures of it, taken from the one I've on my wall.

National Lampoon's ``Bored of The Rings

Some regard this book as boring, poorly conceived, or just plain offensive. I have rarely laughed so hard, so loud, or so consistently. Your mileage may vary, but if Tolkien's genius does not inspire you to blind adulation you may want to check out this irreverent work. . .

External Resources

• Lord of the Rings Movie News and Rumors
• Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
• Ardalambion
• The Encyclopedia of Arda
• Steuard's Tolkien Pages
• Peter Jackson Interview #1 and Interview #2 (Ain't It Cool News)