Hey, you're more or less in my neighbourhood! I'm near Simmern/Hunsrück. Well met, welcome to the Downs, enjoy being dead!

Greetings
 

Hello! (Or to the nerds, of which I am one: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!)
My name is Alasse Estel. I am a new member. I really like all things Middle Earth, and that is why I am here. I don't suppose anyone shall see this, for, like so many other forums, The Barrow-Downs appears to be a ghost town. And not just because of the wights. But I try to always be optomistic, and I hope there yet remain active members. If so, hopefully I shall make some friends.

We can at least claim to be a haunted ghost town--the spirits are here, watching.

And, when The Rings of Power is airing, also judging.

Perhaps even welcoming, when given the occasion.

There ARE many a weed tumbling through these streets, but the ghosts are happy to see you.

Hurrah! There ARE other people here! I am very pleased to meet you, sir.

If I didn't control myself, I would be doing only heckling of that "Rings of Power". However, I shall try to see it's high points despite myself. But no promises...

Mae govannen! :) A ghost town with talking ghosts for sure. ^.^ We're here in the background, quietly hovering, but throw in a bit of excitement, and all of a sudden you'll get a flurry of activity. Welcome to the Downs! If you find a thread that interests you, give it a shot - chances are someone will awake from slumber. And certainly people (myself included) would take interest in reading new posts, even if we might not have a lot to reply. So go for it! :)

Welcome Alasse Estel! There are still a few of us haunting the shadows.

Cold be hand and heart and bone,
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till-- oh hi there Alassë Estel! It's always nice to see someone new.

hS

Hello, everyone! I see I was quite mistaken in thinking that none would be here. I am very glad to meet you all!

Welcome! Always great to see a new face!

Thanks very much!

Hello
 

Hello Everyone!
I am Mae (which I realize is one of the most boring non Tolkien names on here)
I am not the most knowlegable person in silmarillion things and stuff but I love The Hobbit and LOTR books and I'm looking forward to learning more!
This is actually the first time I have posted on any forum ever so I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm excited to be here!

Hello Mae, and welcome to the Downs! Mae is a lovely name, and nothing boring about it. :) There's lots to be said about LOTR and The Hobbit. See if a thread strikes your fancy, and leave a post. Or make one of your own if you don't see an existing topic. Enjoy romping around the Downs! ;)

Welcome Mae! I have only just recently joined myself, so we can be "new" together :). Forums are easy, so don't worry about that. Also, you should definitely read The Silmarillion ;)

Welcome to the Barrow-Downs!

Mae govannen...ummm....Mae.

Haha
Well played!


Thanks for the warm welcome everybody!

Hello, I am new here. I've been a Tolkien fan to varying degrees for several decades. Tolkien is partly a family affair, and somewhat of an heirloom. It is a family affair in the sense that "My precious!" was a family joke that I didn't have context for. Later I was taken to see a showing of the animated Hobbit film when I was really little, probably because of the connection. My first attempt to read The Hobbit was a partial success, I got halfway through and thought it was great (but maybe also a little overwhelming).

Later on during a Thanksgiving we were watching the animated LotR, which I was young enough to enjoy without being critical about it. I loved it, but we had to stop watching in the middle somewhere. My father said, "Don't worry, I'll show you something when we get home." And he showed me the hardcover set he had of LotR. I made two failed attempts to start reading; getting a little further each time.

Eventually in middle school I buckled down and read the whole story; the third attempt was a success!

Now I'm making my way through The Silmarillion for the second time, with that book supplimented by materials from The History of Middle-earth. THoMe I haven't been able to get into until now; The Silmarillion has worked well as a road-map for reading across the History volumes to see alternative or expanded versions of the narratives, and explore the essays that elaborate on what Tolkien had in mind. I've now reached The Fall of Gondolin.

It's vaguely on my mind to read through the material covering the Second and Third Ages (including from the Appendices) before returning to The Hobbit and LotR once more.

I read many other fantasy and science fiction as well. A favorite from my youth is Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain. I also really like Dune by Frank Herbert.

Welcome to the Downs, Kris! Always lovely to have new people joining! :) Kick back, enjoy, and make use of this cozy place for all your Tolkien needs. ;)

It's fascinating to hear about your family "heirloom". Did you have an AHA moment when you first saw the "my precious" source material?

Thanks for the welcome! :)

I was pretty young, but when I watched The Hobbit animated movie, and saw the character Gollum and heard him saying "Precious" and "My precious" I asked about it and knew after that that the joke came from that story. And I vaguely understood when introduced to LotR that they were connected, The Hobbit first followed by LotR.

I was so young though, The Hobbit was epic and daunting! Even after being shown the bulky hardcover box set of LotR, which was even more intimidating. I wondered how the story could go on and on to fill all those pages with all those words.

But yeah, I understood that the character Gollum in both stories was the origin of a shared joke in my family, when I saw the animated films. That shared family joke is why Tolkien's work kind of feels like part of the family, or inheritance. Something that bonded us, that I could explore in my own way when I was ready.

Welcome, Desert Kris! :)
It's really nice to hear about your experience with Tolkien's great works!
The books were at first quite intimidating to my younger self too.

Oh, and I also really enjoyed reading The Prydain Chronicles!

Thank you for the welcome! :)

The Chronicles of Prydain are special to me in a different way, for several reasons. For one thing, they served as a surrogate for LotR until I was ready. So I was fortunate to experience The High King before Return of the King, and wasn't put off by the similar endings, didn't judge it too harshly.

Also, it was one of those rare books/series that I knew I was looking for but didn't realize it until I found it, the right kind of fantasy that I knew I wanted but didn't know how to look for.

The final thing with Prydain is it is something I discovered on my own, through my own reader's journey. I can only ever find people online who know those books, I hardly ever meet anyone in life who has ever heard of them or read them. So in life, they are kind of a hidden, secret series that know one else seems to know about. I am happy and relieved that I found them where so few other have, and been one of the few people who experienced their story come alive in my mind!

Welcome Desert Kris!

I will admit that I taped (audio) the animated Hobbit movie. That, of course, was decades before streaming and videotape was rare or non-existent. I saw the Bakshi LoTR film in the theater, and I had the poster of Gandalf with Glamdring, on my wall for several years.

I know just how that feels!
And it is a wonderful feeling when one finally finds it.

I still have a set of 8 theater placards from Bakshi's LoTR purloined by a friend who worked at the local theater. He had the presence of mind to lift them after the movie's run ended there (they would have been otherwise destroyed). They've been a prized possession these past 45 years.

Bakshi's LR was the first and IIRC only movie I ever watched in the old 12" analog Laserdisc format.

Incidentally, the intro to the videogame South Park: The Stick of Truth is a loving pastiche of the Bakshi movie.

Greetings everyone!

I go by Rune - short for Rune of Doom, which is my general tabletop and online gaming forum handle.

I'm a lifelong Tolkien fan - which means since the 70s. My parents read me The Hobbit as a child, and then a year or so later I saw the Rankin-Bass animation which, Narya-like, kindled a flame that has never gone out.

I just now stumbled over this fine place while doing a little online research for my tabletop D&D game about Trolls in Tolkien and found Bilbo's essay on them from over a score of years ago and knew immediately that I simply must create an account.

I'm currently reading The Nature of Middle-Earth by Carl Hostetter, received as a gift for Christmas from family members who know me. I look forward to carefully exploring the fascinating depths that appear beneath the ancient (by Internet standards) standing stones.

Hello, Rune! And welcome! :)

It's wonderful to have you!

The Downs is indeed a hidden gem of the Internet, and well-worth the exploration, for those who are interested.

I hope I'll be seeing you around soon!

Welcome Rune!

Enjoy The Nature of Middle Earth (NoME). It reveals what Tolkien was thinking about after the publication of the LoTR. It can be repetitive, but has some great nuggets.

Welcome, Rune! You will find others here who get excited about NoME and other very niche Tolkien things. :)

Thank you everyone for the kind greetings! I look forward to seeing all of you around.

Wel this could get confusing...

Anyways, welcome among the dead. I hope you find the barrow-downs a fitting resting place.

:smokin: