Aha, Sam. That seems right.

I wonder why they used that picture? Maybe they didn't know it was from LotR!

I wonder why they used that picture? Maybe they didn't know it was from LotR!

Lol, I hope they didn't know. Considering the site is about people who have been hurt by Christians, I'm not sure Sam is the best example of that...

~Riella

2 Days Later... (This thread is rather slow isn't it? )

I ordered the LOTR Calender with Artwork by Jef Murray (which can be found here -- http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/04 ... -calendar/ ), and it arrived in the mail today!

It's signed by him on the December page, and all of the artwork is absolutely beautiful! I especially love the pictures of Erebor and Smaug, as well as the beautiful painting used for the January page. I recommend it to anyone.

~Riella

Ooh, nice! Do you have any pictures of the, well, pictures?

Yes, I wish the thread moved faster. I check it every day for more news on The Hobbit! Haha.

Ooh, nice! Do you have any pictures of the, well, pictures?

I'd love to post pictures of the pictures! I'm just not sure if it's allowed... Is it against any copyright laws to post them?

Oh, PJ updated his Facebook. -- http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/04 ... ter-break/

Cute/Funny bit about Sean Bean and his Mordor speech.

~Riella

Huh, you know, I don't have a clue about all that copyright stuff. Maybe someone else does? Hopefully?

Woohoo! I need to remember to check his Facebook. Well, I'm "liking" it now.
Haha, that was so funny about Sean Bean. I'll have to watch that scene more closely next time I watch the movies! (I have to say though, I'm still privately disappointed Sean is pronounced Shawn and not "seen". . .)

LOL about Sean Bean!

Peter Jackson confirmed that Ian Holm is involved with The Hobbit, and says that the voice heard at the end of the first behind the scenes video is indeed Martin Freeman’s!

Here is the Link:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/04 ... he-hobbit/

(I have to say though, I'm still privately disappointed Sean is pronounced Shawn and not "seen". . .)

I used to say his name the same way! I thought I was the only one.

I used to say [Sean Bean's] name the same way!

Me three.

Ithilwen, are any of these images in your calender?

haha I love that bit about Sean's Mordor speach! it makes me want to watch the movie again!

Okay so apparently the guy who was going to play Fili has had to drop out of The Hobbit due to personal reasons. That's too bad.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/peter-jackson/fili/10150233459761558#!/notes/peter-jackson/fili/10150233459761558

While watching a documentary on World War 2, I happened to notice something about the world leaders, Churchill and, in particular, Stalin. Churchill gave memorable speeches in a deep gravelly voice that resonated, much as I see Gandalf.

Stalin's voice, or maybe it was his interpreter, was sort of quiet, honeyed and, I suppose, bluff. He argued only from the point of view that it was USSR - and himself personally - that was the victim, although it was he that had also caused much of the misery there. By the time he finished speaking you tended to forget exactly what he said, despite subtitles. People, especially his own people, tended to listen attentively and admiringly when he spoke. I can see a strong comparison with Saruman, when I heard that voice.

I wonder when Tolkien was writing LOTR, and when describing the character of Saruman, of the honeyed voice, if he had Stalin, in particular, in mind? It is a weird thought, too, that there is much else in WW2 which might have been echoed in LOTR.

I've read the LOTR "trilogy", and I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the whole Sauron/Rings/One Ring works. From what I've read and seen and heard, it sounds like --

Sauron wants to take over the world. He hands out rings to people that enslave/corrupt them (except three).
In order for Sauron to take over the world, he has to get all the rings back and unite them.
When he takes over the world, he will use the One Ring. Because the One Ring has the power to enslave the world.
The One Ring, now that it's been taken from him, must be kept from him. Because if Sauron has the One Ring, he is unstoppable.

Is that right? And if so...

1. If he needs all the rings to enslave the world, why did he hand them out in the first place?
2. The book says some rings were destroyed forever. So if Sauron needs all the rings, isn't he already doomed?
3. If The One Ring has the power to enslave the world, why does he need the other rings? Why didn't he just use The One Ring while he still had it?
4. If possesing the One Ring makes Sauron unstoppable, then how did Isildur beat him in the first place?
5. Since Isildur defeated Sauron while Sauron had the One Ring, wouldn't someone else be able to beat Sauron too if he ever got the One Ring back?

~Riella

Sauron wants to take over the world. He hands out rings to people that enslave/corrupt them (except three).
In order for Sauron to take over the world, he has to get all the rings back and unite them.
When he takes over the world, he will use the One Ring. Because the One Ring has the power to enslave the world.
The One Ring, now that it's been taken from him, must be kept from him. Because if Sauron has the One Ring, he is unstoppable.

Is that right? And if so...

I'm not sure that's why he gave the rings to the Dwarves, Elves, and Men. I think he gave them to them so that they would be under the impression that they had some sort of power, and that he was kind enough to give them these gifts, though perhaps that really only fooled the Dwarves. Anyways, I don't recall reading that he needed all the rings back to him. He just distributed them so that they would be fooled that power was evenly distributed between the races, and that Sauron himself was not the power-house of the world, which he was. And apparently, it worked! As seen my Sauron almost dominating all of Middle Earth, and the Last Alliance having to form in a desperate attempt to stop him.

I'll try to answer your last questions which are really only the ones applicable since your premise of him needing all the rings isn't necessarily true.

4. If possesing the One Ring makes Sauron unstoppable, then how did Isildur beat him in the first place?

I'm not sure it makes him "unstoppable", it just makes him incredibly powerful. Isildur was the Son of the King, heir of the throne, so he was no ordinary man defeating this Dark Lord. I suppose you could say it was predestined by Iluvatar, the Conductor of the Music?

5. Since Isildur defeated Sauron while Sauron had the One Ring, wouldn't someone else be able to beat Sauron too if he ever got the One Ring back?

I suppose one could, but Sauron's forces were much larger than before, and this time Isengard was backing him. The Ring would only make him all the more powerful, which would make him seem unstoppable indeed. It's not that The Free Peoples wanted to keep the Ring from him because it was impossible to get back, but because even if they WERE able to obtain it, much destruction would have to ensue. And chances are, they would never get it back if Sauron got his hands on it.

It says multiple times in the books that Sauron needs them all back. I've even seen parts where he tried to take them from dwarves and eleves because he needed them for it to be complete. I remember a part where Gandlaf says that he is looking for them all, except the ones that were destroyed. Even in the poem it says, "One ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."

~Riella

This is interesting!! Maybe I should read the books now... Maybe we should have a reading group...Riella, you wouldn't want to re-read them by any chance?

Lu