My Tolkien Obsession no1

I thought I'd write a regular Tolkien-themed post that collects all the related links I find. I will try to attribute credit where I can.



My 40th birthday is 8 months away ... but still, if I were to receive a cake like this ... I would be smiling like Leonard Nimoy in the top pic ... may even do my hair like his for the occasion.

I don't know who you are DARRYN but I know your 24th will have rocked with a cake like that!

----------



Next up is a gift I received from my dear wife: "The Hobbit" as told on Jackanory ... read by Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, Jan Francis and David Wood.



I love audiobooks and podcasts ... I listen to more than just music ... and it really does take me back. Bernard Cribbins, in particular, is brilliant as Bilbo! This is a joy from start to finish ... and highly recommended.

Oh and I particularly like the illustrations of Bilbo and Smaug's tail by Jemima Caitlin:



My thanks to Kevin Lyons for the original tip.

----------



Next up we have some tremendous Tolkien-themed Facebook cover images from Artist and Writer Otis Framton >> LINK <<



Framton's artwork is utterly beautiful and I love seeing (L to R) Bofur, Thorin, Balin, Bilbo & Dwalin on my Facebook profile ... along with a pic of my dear wife and I ( and yes, I am on the church's platform and Olly isn't ).

There are 17 images to choose from ... for free ... over on his site.

Thanks to Ben Steed for the tip.

----------



My thanks to John LaSalla and Brad Ross-MacLeod for both giving me a tip to this wonderful sculpture >> LINK <<

As DeviantArtist FarTooManyIdeas says:

Made this before the movie came out, though after watching the trailer many many times. That one clip, where we first got a good glimpse of him, is what inspired this "pose". The sculpture was going to happen anyways (since I love the story, the book itself for it, and I love making sculptures), but the trailer gave me this specific idea. By the way, that movie was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The actors, animators, and concept artists really gave us something to behold.

Wonderful ... I can only dream of having something like that in my house.

----------



Thanks to Brad Ross-MacLeod for the heads-up to The Silmarillion Project ... where the intention of artist Dresden Codak is to  illustrate every chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion. I particularly applaud their motivation:

It’s a side project I do in my free time to create a painted illustration to accompany every chapter in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion, as well as provide supplementary illustrations to round out the characters and world in general. My motivation is to create a Middle-Earth visually unique from the style of the Peter Jackson films. I like the movies, but I miss the days when there was more diversity and interpretation to Tolkien illustrations.

I know what they mean ... I guess that's why I collect the books - seeing the different artwork helps to create a broader view of Middle-Earth and her inhabitants.
----------



Lastly, the creators of a 'Lord of the Rings Read-Along Blog' has started the quest to read LotRs between now and June.

Its a fascinating resource and there are some wonderful insights to be had ... and its never too late to join, as they say:

If you just arrived, feel free to join in now! Like wizards, Tolkien fans are never late.

----------

That's me for now ... except for one last thing: a collection of gifs with each cameo Peter Jackson has made in The Lord of the Rings and the two Hobbit films.



Enjoy.

Tx