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http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/a/arda.html

It's a very appropriate name, though I don't know why the people who did this would want to identify themselves with Saruman, one of the major villains of The Lord of the Rings. Either they didn't read it or thought he was actually a hero.

Something a bit like this?

http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/

The history is a little more complex than that: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/s/sauron.html

Using this illustration and my trusty piece of paper straight edge, I estimate the long axis of the orbit to be 21000 AU and the minor axis to be 16000 AU. Using Ramunjan's Approximation for the circumference of the elliptical orbit and converting to light years, I guesstimate the circumference of the orbit to be ~1.99 (call it 2) light years.

For a 12 year orbital period this means that the orbiting black hole is AVERAGING 1/6c (~49965km/sec, call it 50k km/sec)... meaning at periquaserion it's really booking! Much faster than The Dash!

Tom.

claiming we are living in the end of the third age (the age of man), that the elves went off to the gray haven,

The last of the four ages chronicled by Tolkien, and the one about which least is known (including its length). The Fourth Age was held to have begun with the passing of the Ring-bearers over the sea from Mithlond on 29 September 3021 (Third Age), though in Gondor it was reckoned as beginning on 25 March of the same year (the second anniversary of the Downfall of Barad-dûr).

No, the Scouring of the Shire was not filmed at all (apart from the few scenes Frodo sees in the Mirror of Galadriel). Christopher Lee was pissed because in the regular release (i.e. non-Extended Edition on DVD) all of his already little screen time was cut, which covered Grima murdering Saruman in Isengard when the Fellowship (or what's left of it) visit him after the Ents attacked.

http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/returnoftheking.html

"The Last as he was the First" (Rings, 1:279)

From Who Is Tom Bombadil

Linked from Glyphweb. Their Arda Encyclopedia is the best source, IMO, for Tolkien:

Note the, "Nothing would be left for him in the world of Sauron,".

I think the point here isn't that Tom would be conquered. He simply would be done with the world and move on. Tom is, indeed, powerful. He is, most assuredly, the most powerful being in ME. Some argue that he is Eru himself....

And were all the Wizards (I can only remember Saruman and Radagast, besides Gandalf) Istari or were some Maia?

Alatar and Pallando arrived in Middle-earth dressed in sea-blue. For this reason, they were together given the name Ithryn Luin, the Blue Wizards. With Saruman, they journeyed into the far east of Middle-earth, but while Saruman returned to the west, Alatar and Pallando did not. Of their fate, we know almost nothing.

And were all the Wizards (I can only remember Saruman and Radagast, besides Gandalf) Istari or were some Maia?

Alatar and Pallando arrived in Middle-earth dressed in sea-blue. For this reason, they were together given the name Ithryn Luin, the Blue Wizards. With Saruman, they journeyed into the far east of Middle-earth, but while Saruman returned to the west, Alatar and Pallando did not. Of their fate, we know almost nothing.

The closest they get is HD 10307. The entire list is:

Tau Ceti, 11.9 light years
Alpha Centauri B, 4.35 light years
Epsilon Eridani, 10.5 light-years
Epsilon Indi A, 11.8 light-years
http://www.glyphweb.com/esky/stars/keid.html">Omic ron 2 Eridani, 16 light years
Beta Canum Venaticorum - 27.31 light years
HD 10307, 41.2 light years
HD 211415>/a>, 44.4 light years
18 Scorpii, 45.7 light years
51 Pegasus, 40 light years

There is also a top 50 list

Hmm, and yet I thought the finite speed of light was primarily an empirical fact, and perhaps secondarily a way to prevent silly violations of causality, id est to prevent everything from happening at once. And, that the Lorentz transformation was less a postulate to be applied so much as a consequence to be derived from the more fundamental notion that c should be constant in all reference frames.

Alas, I sure hope I've not been laboring under a misapprehension. I would be forced to mod myself down to -1, Doofus. Although if someone has already modded me down to -1, Offtopic or -1, Blithering, I suppose I would be modding myself more across than down -- the topology of /. modspace being kind of unclear.

I do know of people who fuss about relativistic corrections to core electron energies, but they seem a clannish, chthonic lot of Stoors, much given to muttering darkly under their caffeinated breath. I avoid 'em. Now, to me the most interesting bold-as-brass entry of relativity into ordinary (e.g. valence-shell) atomic physics is through magnetic fields. Add a pinch of vector potential to your kinetic energy operator, expand, stir, simmer, season lightly -- and, presto, fine-structure constants everywhere. Like toadstools after a good rain.

At which point the sober theorist sits back and looks quite thoughtfully at the trailing Coulumb energy term, with its implicit infinite value of c...

Uh, sorry -- what was it you were saying?

Sure, but Jackson and co have already created the brand recognition and mass market. There are a lot of people who loved the LOTR films who hadn't read the books, but would probably enjoy another foray into Middle Earth. The fact that the Silmarillion is virtually unreadable would not necessarily be an impediment to making a good film - there are some great stories in there, so the trick would be to take the book as a starting point, pick one or two of the stories and rewrite them into a coherent script, not try to film the whole thing.

The Hobbit would be much easier to write, film and market, of course. But I'd love to see Anacalagon breaking mountains as he fell ...

Actually, I'd rather enjoy chips named after characters and events in the LOTR world. Intel could name its next chips after the fell creatures of Morgoth; AMD could name its chips after various humans; IBM could take Elvish names. Then we could read better flame wars, in which fanboys posit that, since Fingolfin rode alone and scarred Morgoth, IBM PPC rules; meanwhile, Intel fanboys could counter that, since Fingolfin ended up dead, that might not be such a wise comparison.

Actually, I'd rather enjoy chips named after characters and events in the LOTR world. Intel could name its next chips after the fell creatures of Morgoth; AMD could name its chips after various humans; IBM could take Elvish names. Then we could read better flame wars, in which fanboys posit that, since Fingolfin rode alone and scarred Morgoth, IBM PPC rules; meanwhile, Intel fanboys could counter that, since Fingolfin ended up dead, that might not be such a wise comparison.

Check out the Movie-Goer's Guides at The Encyclopedia of Arda for an excellent treatment of the differences between the books and the movies.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. Main source.

Last I heard, not to be included.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. Main source.

Last I heard, not to be included.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. Main source.

Last I heard, not to be included.

I think its possible to get past most of the problems you expressed. If they manage to capture the mood and the style of Middle Earth properly everything else will not be a problem.

Most of the offical Middle earth lore is ambiguous and debatable in all kinds of details. For example its hotly debated as to whether Balrogs have wings or not. http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/b/balrogs.html

The wizards were Maiar. There are lots of these in middle earth and they take all kinds of forms and sometimes change form (though it might not be easy) and range in power from mighty to weak. They could also breed with other races. Mostly their form reflects their personalities. I see options for a playable character/race class here though having 35 of them hanging out in Bree would seem weird.

Elves are much older and much stonger than humans but its easy to argue that only the older elves are very strong and that maby elves strengthen with age. Legolas is not very strong at all. He's much weaker in the book than in the movie. Elves also sometimes have magic powers like the Maiar.

Its not clear what the magic system of Middle earth is. Some magic users do perform it as an art with natural tallent and Gandalf does seem to draw power from within but anyone that talks about magic always uses knowledge based terms. Gandalf said he once knew every spell but had forgotten them. All the wizards spent most of their time doing research and trying to become wize. Saruman used some kind of pyrotechnics to attack Helms Deep. I forget whether it was gunpower related or a meteor. Dwarves did cast spells on stone and make magic weapons.

The middle earth roleplaying game was set about 500 years before the war of the ring.

I'd rather spend my time on *this* `middle earth online': Encyclopedia of Arda

Crack of Doom

To extrapolite a little more geekily:

First there was Ilúvatar:

"The name among Elves of Eru, the One, from whom the Ainur had their being. Through the Music of the Ainur, Ilúvatar created the World and the beings who inhabit it, and only he fully knows its fate."

Then the Ainur:

The primordial spirits, who existed with Ilúvatar, and with Him created the world through the Music of the Ainur. After the creation of Arda, many of the Ainur descended into it to guide and order its growth; of these there were fifteen more powerful than the rest. Fourteen of these great Ainur became the Valar, or Powers of Arda. The fifteenth, Melkor, turned aside from that path and became the first Dark Lord. The many lesser Ainur that accompanied the Valar into Arda are known as Maiar.

"'Valar' is the name given to the fourteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda after its creation to give order to the world and combat the evils of Melkor. They dwelt originally on the Isle of Almaren, but after its destruction long ages before the Awakening of the Elves they removed to Aman and there founded the realm of Valinor."

On the Maiar:

"Of the many spirits that descended into Arda at its beginning, those of lesser stature than the Valar, though they were still powerful, were known as Maiar. Each of the Maiar was attached to the 'people' of a particular Vala. So, for example, the Maia Ossë, as a spirit of the sea, belonged to the people of Ulmo, while Curumo, the Maia who came to Middle-earth as Saruman, belonged to the people of Aulë the Smith.

In the Third Age, there were still Maiar in physical form to be found in Middle-earth. The most important of these were Saruman, Sauron (originally also of Aulë's people), and Olórin, known as Gandalf, who belonged to the people of Manwë and Varda. " (Manwë and Varda are, in essense, the King and Queen of Arda; Arda being Elder Speech for the world and all taht is in it)

Notably speaking of Gandalf:

"In origin a Maia of Manwë and Varda, Gandalf came to the northwest of Middle-earth after a thousand years of the Third Age had passed, with four others of his order. At the Grey Havens, Círdan entrusted him with the Red Ring, Narya, to aid him in contesting the will of Sauron.

Gandalf wandered widely in Middle-earth, and learned much of its races and peoples. Unlike his fellow Wizards Saruman and Radagast, he never settled in a single place. He was instrumental in the victory of the War of the Ring, but during that conflict he battled with a Balrog, and though he was ultimately victorious, his spirit left his body, but was sent back to Middle-earth to complete his task.

Gandalf finally left Middle-earth in 3021 (Third Age), when he departed over the sea with the Ring-bearers."

And no, I didn't memorize all this, but everyone who is curious about the twisty, turny, more-involved than any sane fiction should be world of Middle Earth should check out The Encyclopedia of Arda

Elrond was born in Middle Earth at the end of the First Age, the son of Earendil the Mariner and Elwing, granddaughter of Beren and Luthien.

Perhaps you might enjoy The Encyclopedia of Arda. It has quite a good discussion of who / what TB was.

This is correct. During the time of LotR Aragorn is 87, and lives for a grand total of 210 years, well over the average lifespan of men. This is because he is part of Dunedain in Middle-earth, probably also the most pure-blooded one of them. Everyone of this people is bound to live longer than the average folk, and Aragorn in his 80s is just middle-aged. Note that people of higher order in Gondor also still had some dunedain characteristics, especially the Stewards' house.

"In the language of the Elder Days, 'Arda' signified the World and all that is in it." -- from The Encyclopedia of Arda

I guess it's a suitably ambitious acronym for the project.

There's also the Encyclopedia of Arda "Movie-Goer's Guides."

From the article: 69. Saruman enjoys the pipeweed of the Halflings (ROTK p.324). Jackson has Saruman tell Gandalf that his wits have been dulled by Halfling leaf as if he doesn't smoke it himself and, it might be added, even though there is pipeweed amongst the flotsam and jetsam of Isengard.

If I'm not mistaken, this line was actually lifted from Unfinished Tales, the rambling colletion of bits and pieces that Tokien never hammered into stories worthy of publication. I recall this line being spoken by Saruman to Gandalf in the presence of the other members of the Council of the Wise when they were meeting to discuss the matter of the Rings of Power.

From The Encyclopedia of Arda: When the Council debated the Rings of Power, Saruman claimed that his researches showed that the One Ring had been lost forever. It was later shown that he did not believe this, however, and was searching for it himself, having secretly rebelled against the Council.

Saruman was attempting to discredit Gandalf (they were in disagreement on this matter) by exposing his affinity for hobbits. The quotation was something like: "Your wits have been dulled by your love of the halflings' leaf."

I might be wrong about the timing, but I'm pretty sure I had read the line before I heard it delivered in FOTR. In the end, it ended up being one of my favourite lines :)

If you are really interested check out the encyclopedia of arda. It's invaluable resource, you can lose yourself for hours in that thing.

Oh, I think this is a very needless amount of work because it had already been done. Look at the Encyclopedia of Arda!! That already has a well compiled list of things that were differences between the books and the movies.

BTW - if you are a Tolkien fan, this site is for you. A great resource for the Tolkien books.

• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King

• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King

• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King

Encyclopedia of Arda: Movie Goer's Guides

Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

Return of the King

Encyclopedia of Arda: Movie Goer's Guides

Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

Return of the King

Encyclopedia of Arda: Movie Goer's Guides

Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

Return of the King

I think the Silmarillion could be done as a movie or a couple movies if you focused mostly on the tale of Beren and Luthien. You could do a 20-minute intro with the waking of the elves and Feanor creating the Silmarils, followed by the exile of the Noldor. That should be quick and get us to Beren. There's plenty of material for what happened to him before he wandered through the girdle of Melian. Then of course Beren and Luthian making their way into Angband. We never really got to see Sauron in Jackson's LOTR, but we could see Morgoth!

Anyway, I still think it'd be quite a challenge to make it palatable and understandable to a mainstream audience, but I think the only way to get the Silmarillion on screen would be to focus on Beren and Luthien, arguably Tolkein's favorite story.

For a bit on Beren, go here. For a better outline and more info on Luthien go here.

The issues here is not whether the Silmarillion is as good as LOTR, (I think the stories are fantastic.) but of getting a good deal of the Silmarillion into the mainstream. I think Beren and Luthien could be the vehicle for that.

I think the Silmarillion could be done as a movie or a couple movies if you focused mostly on the tale of Beren and Luthien. You could do a 20-minute intro with the waking of the elves and Feanor creating the Silmarils, followed by the exile of the Noldor. That should be quick and get us to Beren. There's plenty of material for what happened to him before he wandered through the girdle of Melian. Then of course Beren and Luthian making their way into Angband. We never really got to see Sauron in Jackson's LOTR, but we could see Morgoth!

Anyway, I still think it'd be quite a challenge to make it palatable and understandable to a mainstream audience, but I think the only way to get the Silmarillion on screen would be to focus on Beren and Luthien, arguably Tolkein's favorite story.

For a bit on Beren, go here. For a better outline and more info on Luthien go here.

The issues here is not whether the Silmarillion is as good as LOTR, (I think the stories are fantastic.) but of getting a good deal of the Silmarillion into the mainstream. I think Beren and Luthien could be the vehicle for that.

I know I shouldn't be replying to something that is totally offtopic, and since you're an Anonymous Coward you'll likely never see this reply. However, Dernhelm complaint. Eowyn indeed was called Dernhelm. It is the name she took up after disobeying her uncle, disguising herself in the armor, and going to war. The Encyclopedia of Arda can answer any and all Tolkien questions or issues you might ever have.

I know I shouldn't be replying to something that is totally offtopic, and since you're an Anonymous Coward you'll likely never see this reply. However, Dernhelm complaint. Eowyn indeed was called Dernhelm. It is the name she took up after disobeying her uncle, disguising herself in the armor, and going to war. The Encyclopedia of Arda can answer any and all Tolkien questions or issues you might ever have.

There are some hints that Gandalf invoked some pretty funky magic using the Sun to overcome the Uruks at Helm's Deep. The Sun itself was the last fruit of Laurelin - one of the 2 trees which had provided the light for Valinor, the home of the Gods.

Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and two other wizards were sent by the Gods to Middle Earth to keep Sauron in check. This was the first demonstration of Gandalf the White's new powers after being sent back by the Gods.

Encyclopedia of Arda: Sun

Now that I think about it - were the elephants real?

Probably not, because those were oliphaunts you were seeing. Say it with me now--"oh-liff-fonts". Derived from an old German word for camel.

On the subject of Middle Earth being the same planet as ours, take a look at this Map of Arda interpolated from Tolkien's maps and geographical descriptions. You can clearly see the emerging formations of Europe and Africa, clearly seperated by the Mediterranean.

On the subject of Middle Earth being the same planet as ours, take a look at this Map of Arda interpolated from Tolkien's maps and geographical descriptions. You can clearly see the emerging formations of Europe and Africa, clearly seperated by the Mediterranean.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor was set to burn himself and his son, Faramir, on a funeral pyre. While Pippin ran to get help from Gandalf, Beregond, a Guard of Gondor, prevented Denethor's servants (killed 1, wounded 2 I believe) from giving him a torch to set himself and his son ablaze. When Gandalf arrived, he pulled Faramir from the pile of oil-soaked wood. Denethor then revealed a palantir, grabbed a torch and set himself afire. The palantir would then only show two aged, burning hands to anyone who would use it.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor was set to burn himself and his son, Faramir, on a funeral pyre. While Pippin ran to get help from Gandalf, Beregond, a Guard of Gondor, prevented Denethor's servants (killed 1, wounded 2 I believe) from giving him a torch to set himself and his son ablaze. When Gandalf arrived, he pulled Faramir from the pile of oil-soaked wood. Denethor then revealed a palantir, grabbed a torch and set himself afire. The palantir would then only show two aged, burning hands to anyone who would use it.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor was set to burn himself and his son, Faramir, on a funeral pyre. While Pippin ran to get help from Gandalf, Beregond, a Guard of Gondor, prevented Denethor's servants (killed 1, wounded 2 I believe) from giving him a torch to set himself and his son ablaze. When Gandalf arrived, he pulled Faramir from the pile of oil-soaked wood. Denethor then revealed a palantir, grabbed a torch and set himself afire. The palantir would then only show two aged, burning hands to anyone who would use it.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor was set to burn himself and his son, Faramir, on a funeral pyre. While Pippin ran to get help from Gandalf, Beregond, a Guard of Gondor, prevented Denethor's servants (killed 1, wounded 2 I believe) from giving him a torch to set himself and his son ablaze. When Gandalf arrived, he pulled Faramir from the pile of oil-soaked wood. Denethor then revealed a palantir, grabbed a torch and set himself afire. The palantir would then only show two aged, burning hands to anyone who would use it.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor was set to burn himself and his son, Faramir, on a funeral pyre. While Pippin ran to get help from Gandalf, Beregond, a Guard of Gondor, prevented Denethor's servants (killed 1, wounded 2 I believe) from giving him a torch to set himself and his son ablaze. When Gandalf arrived, he pulled Faramir from the pile of oil-soaked wood. Denethor then revealed a palantir, grabbed a torch and set himself afire. The palantir would then only show two aged, burning hands to anyone who would use it.