Tag Archives: JRR Tolkien

It’s a Tom Bombadil World . . .

Posted on August 17, 2024 by awtraughber

. . . and we’re just living in it. The season two premiere of The Rings of Power is about two weeks away.  To whet the appetites of viewers, Amazon and composer Bear McCreary have released to musical track for … Continue reading →

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Return of the Rings

Posted on May 17, 2024 by awtraughber

I knew something was up a couple of weeks ago when the icon for The Rings of Power suddenly returned to the front of “Amazon Originals” on my TV (after being conspicuously absent for some time).  Earlier this week, Amazon … Continue reading →

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On Forgetting

Posted on July 10, 2023 by awtraughber

(Forced) Forgetfulness was a theme in this week’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  Here’s the trailer for the episode, which gives some hint of the price of forgetfulness. Forgetfulness (forced or otherwise) is also a key thread in The Silver … Continue reading →

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On Galadriel and Celeborn

Posted on October 13, 2022 by awtraughber

We’re just a few hours away from the season one finale of The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime.  Much of the conversation over the last couple of months has been about which character is Sauron in disguise.  Not really … Continue reading →

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Between Vigilance and Vengeance

Posted on October 5, 2022 by awtraughber

We’re two episodes away from the end of the first season of The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime.  It’s been a fun 6 episodes so far, putting to the screen characters and locations that have mostly only resided in … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Bilbo

Posted on September 22, 2022 by awtraughber

It’s that time of year again, when Bilbo Baggins’s birthday comes back around.  It’s always worth revisiting this clip from The Fellowship of the Ring: In line with this Tolkien moment, we’re halfway through the first season of The Rings … Continue reading →

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From the Mountain to the Sea

Posted on June 22, 2020 by awtraughber

Earlier this month the folks at Princeton University Press released a book by John Garth detailing the locations that likely inspired different aspects of JRR Tolkien’s imagination and writings.  Sometimes it feels like about-Tolkien books are a dime a dozen, … Continue reading →

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“The Soil for Unexpected Good”

Posted on February 20, 2020 by awtraughber

About fifty letters into The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien edited by Humphrey Carpenter we get a series of letters to Tolkien’s third son, Christopher.  The letters move back and forth wonderfully and soberingly between the events of World … Continue reading →

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Birnam, Fangorn, and Ephraim

Posted on August 19, 2019 by awtraughber

These last few days I’ve been thinking how this time of year, this time of life, would be a great time for a nice visit to Rivendell, the Last Homely House East of the Sea.  Something about deep rest, I … Continue reading →

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Tolkien, Myth, and Reality

Posted on May 8, 2019 by awtraughber

Last night I had the opportunity to catch an early showing of the new Tolkien biopic.  I’d known about the showing for a while, but wasn’t sure I would make the early showing, even though it had a 30-minute interview … Continue reading →

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