grabs Merry as the options whiz by. Why? Because, when I first read LOTR, Merry's name was like my name and he was kind of the quiet one and I had a thing for the quiet ones.

Reading LOTR a gazillion years later, (okay... 35 years later), I was terribly affected by Frodo's state of mind at the end.

throws the lever as Fingon and Maedhros whiz by.

I love how Fingon goes for Maedhros when the latter is imprisoned on Thangorodrim and I really love how, when all hope is lost that he will find his cousin, he sings... and it is the song that finds him. I love the singing in Tolkien's writings but I especially like it when the singing changes the course of events.

I also love how Maedhros' name has that funky spelling and pronunciation influenced by the Welsh language. And it means "glitter of metal" and what magpie doesn't love something shiny.

And finally, I stumbled across a series of fan fic stories involving the sons of Feanor and I especially liked the stories of Feanor and Maedhros. I know those aren't Tolkien stories but the way in which the stories of the Silmarillion fall short for me are the way they're told. In that dry, detached way. I want more heart... more meat of the story and motivations and what people are thinking. When fan fic gives me that, I kind of bank it and use it to help me flesh out the stories in my mind when I read Tolkien's writings.

More with the favorite! yikes. I need to find that gene in me that lets me do favorites. Options whizzing .... pushes pause on Legolas.

Why. Because he was an Elf. He was tall and I didn't know it yet but I loved tall men. And when I met my man in 1973, I looked up at him and said, You look like an Elf from LOTR. He grew old with me but Eru gave me Orlando to stand in for my lovely Elf 30 years later. And I crushed on him just like I had crushed on my very own tall Elf man.

But, as my TORn profile says, if a conversation is what I seek, one can do no better than talking about Boromir.

They know how to throw a party!

I think the thing that I'm most fascinated about is what I sense about the inner workings of the man from what he writes. My father was a veteran of WWII and I grew up with his stories and what I sensed about him. Then my classmates and friends went off to Vietnam and were killed, maimed, or left shells of men. War and what it does to people was a part of my life and although Tolkien doesn't address it directly very much... I think his experiences infuse his works. And I examine and ponder his works to help me understand the dynamic of war experience for those who serve.

I am also fascinated with Tolkien's concepts of hope when all seems lost, every little action and every insignificant character can affect the outcome of great events, even in the darkest times there are signs of light and times for light-heartedness, and life contains both pain and delight.

If I could presume to invite myself, it would be Rivendell. Singing and music - sourced from the living room and pubs and community halls (as opposed to the record player or stage) have been part of my life since I was young. To be able to experience this would be a dream (if I were lucky, literally):

Frodo was left to himself for a while, for Sam had fallen asleep. He was alone and felt rather forlorn, although all about him the folk of Rivendell were gathered. But those near him were silent, intent upon the music of the voices and the instruments. and they gave no heed to anything else. Frodo began to listen.

At first the beauty of the melodies and of the interwoven words in elven-tongues, even though he understood them little, held him in a spell, as soon as he began to attend to them. Almost it seemed that the words took shape, and visions of far lands and bright things that he had never yet imagined opened out before him; and the firelit hall became like a golden mist above seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world. Then the enchantment became more and more dreamlike, until he felt that an endless river of swelling gold and silver was flowing over him, too multitudinous for its pattern to be comprehended; it became part of the throbbing air about him, and it drenched and drowned him. Swiftly he sank under its shining weight into a deep realm of sleep.

LOTR; BOOK II – CHAPTER I; MANY MEETINGS

Want Hobbit Movie News? Hobbit Headlines of the Week!

• Bilbo: I laugh whenever I read his parts of the story ... never gets old.
• Pippin: I laugh as well (but sometimes I cry, too - but maybe all tears are not an evil).
• Frodo: In the book Frodo came off a bit bossy to my taste but PJ/Elijah's version really warmed my heart

• The Hobbit: I have read this one the most and I think I might have more copies of this one than all my other Tolkien books combined - or close. It is so uplifting and it does a good job of bringing the mysterious and wild faery world to light
• Silmarillion: Just the beginning with the music and all the fascinating mythological/metaphysical stuff (the rest was surely interesting but I don't care for the power politics and intense drama)
  
• Tolkien's Essay On Fairy Stories: This was a big shaping influence on my ideas about Faery stories
  
• This one chapter in ... I think the Lost Road or something like that ... where there are eagles that appear in the clouds and dreams about an Atlantis-like catastrophe and things of that nature - and then I think that the world of faery and the real world collide (at least this is how I remember interpreting it)
  

• I like Bilbo (see above).

• Bilbo: mirth
• Frodo: soulful

• I was first inspired by his membership and contribution in the workings of the Inklings

• I wouldn't. Not unless I had a strong connection (which I felt confident to be able to maintain indefinitely) to someone like Bilbo, Elrond, Thingol, Galadriel, or Aragorn or the like. I am firmly convinced that our modern life is much better for the majority of people than was life for the majority of people in Middle Earth. For members of the upper class, we see adventures / jewels / the making of leading decisions in major events - including lots of wars. For most everyone else we see lots of sorrow without the balance of the exquisite beauty. We see lots of following orders, including those that we may not agree with - no one asks and that the very thought of asking seems highly unexpected. Yes, in modern times we have our problems and there are plenty of people who struggle in life. But they don't struggle under a demonic overlord that turns them into monsters and cannonfodder. Neither do we have to first solve the problem of hordes of dangerous monsters attacking our infrastructures and civilizations before getting around to any other possible problems we might want to think about solving in between bouts of war that threaten the very existence of humanity ... I could continue (ahem ... don't let me get started on being a woman in middle earth *cough*)

Want a The Hobbit cover of your own for World Hobbit Day? Click Here
Thank you Magpie!

Who is your favorite hobbit and why?

Bilbo, always related to him, his story and his sensibilities, such a loveable character. Huge impact, and yet such small beginnings as the new trailer reminds us

What is your favorite story from Middle Earth: The Hobbit, or Lord of the Rings, or the Silmarillion, or (another choice)?

Well, outside of LOTR, I think it has to be the Children of Húrin, it has amazing depth, and is so tragic. Wonderful achievement of Tolkien.

Who is your favorite Tolkien character and why?

Character(s). Alatar and Pallando the Blue Wizards. Probably two of the least described characters ever, but I just love the enigma, and the tantalising possibility that their deeds in the East/South proved important to the fall of Sauron.

Bilbo and Frodo were the central characters of two of the tales that we are here to celebrate . . . what is the first thing that comes to mind about one (or both) of our birthday boys (first thing! Quick!)?

Hobbity Clothes. ... lol.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a soldier, an education, an expert on languages and a best-selling writer. (Ah, what a life) What most inspires you about the life of JRR Tolkien?

That he strived eternally to sub-create, as he dubbed it. He dedicated his life to things that serve only to entertain, inspire and touch others; the things that he achieved were indeed awe-inspiring, and will have lasting ripples on us.

Bonus Question!
If the opportunity arose to settle down . . . anywhere, anytime . . . in the realm of Middle Earth . . . where would you make a home

I think it'd have to be in the heart of Mordor. . . . . jokes. Probably in Dol Amroth. Sounds like a wonderful place.

Thanks Tom!

Join us over at Barliman's chat especially for the Trailer Chat Party on Wed at 15:00 GMT!!

________________________________________________