Deviantartist darkwater-pirate and her group in her Graphic Arts class created this post-it note mural of J.R.R. Tolkien. “We were allowed to only use a pallet of up to 10 different post-it colors,” she said. “We’ve used nine colors (the white was the hardest to find!). We decided on a portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien because of the location of the window facing Mt. Pilchuck and the forests beyond the industrial city of Everett, of which nature and technology was a common theme in Tolkien’s writings. That, and we all agreed that J.R.R Tolkien (and his pipe) is awesome in general.” She addded, “Since this has been up, I’ve scribbled several quotes from his books and caricatures of his characters all over the notes in the hope that more Tolkien fans would follow suite.” (Myla)
Our friends at ThorinOakenshield.net have started posting a series on the weapons of the dwarves in The Hobbit. (The author, Kingfisher, also runs the Gloin, Son of Gróin Facebook page, where the series began.) If you love weapons, dwarves, or the films’ production design–or all three–you’ll want to start with Weapons of a King – Thorin Oakenshield, and follow it up with Fili: Twice as Fierce – or – “The One-Dwarf Walking Arsenal”. (Lily Milos)
Elijah Wood, best known to fans here for his portrayal of Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, has teamed up with Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Grado Labs to release limited edition headphones made from whiskey barrel wood. The timing seems appropriate, given the association with barrels and the most recent Hobbit film! The Bushmills x Grado Labs Headphones can be purchased for $395 from turntablelab.com. (Evie Bowman)
Ever want to channel Bilbo Baggins’ wardrobe, but feel you might draw too much attention walking around in a patchwork bathrobe? Etsy shop WhiskeyFoxtrot has you covered with these Hobbit/Bilbo Baggins inspired shoes! Even though Bilbo doesn’t wear shoes himself, we’re sure he would approve. (Myla)
Dr. Dan Lunt, an expert on historical climate change, decided to use Tolkien’s detailed maps to create a climate model of Middle-earth. The model represents roughly 70 years in Middle-earth during the Third Age, but Lunt points out, “It is important to realise that the vegetation model does not take account of disturbance of vegetation from its ‘natural’ state (such as forest fires caused (inadvertently or otherwise) by dragons, deforestation by dwarves, the growing of pipe-weed by hobbits, or the wanton destruction by orcs).” You can read the entire paper here (written under the pen name of Radagast the Brown), though dwarves and elves may prefer to read the paper in their own languages. (Maria)
The official website for The Hobbit films has released a new browser game for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Barrel Escape has you floating down a river as Kili, dodging rapids and orc arrows, and generally, just trying to stay alive. There are a number of achievements for assisting comrades, distance traveled, and, you know, not dying, that encourage players to keep coming back for more. (Myla)
Third Dart Studios is running an Indiegogo campaign for their film Jack & Tollers that is based on the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The campaign ends on January 3 (Tolkien’s birthday), so if you think it is a worthwhile project, show them your support! (Lily Milos)
Every week, our Middle-earth News reporters seek out Tolkien/Hobbit/LOTR goodness and tag their finds with their names. If you have something to contribute, please submit it using the Got News Precious link at the bottom of the page.
