No. I was watching Fringe last night.

Sure you were. ;)

I remembered yesterday why I stopped watching Grey's after Season 2, random character changes that go unexplained and a terrible script, we're talking atrocious. Which reminds me...

If we're talking new seasons of TV shows I would assign Glee and Heroes to the Shire.

Edit: Ahh and when your Wednesdays are jammed with all the great shows of the week you want to see from 8 pm until 11:30, a DVR belongs in the Shire too. :p

I assign suits that make you look like a Russian mob boss. I love looking this way and yes I have pictures for any who are interested.

Ooh! *is interested*

I could as well assign clothes that make you look like a Fascist. And especially boots. :smokin:

*gets the fear*

You should stop listening to BWO! I fear you are under the influence of the dreaded Alexander Bard. :eek:

Ahhaha guess what I'm listening to just now! :D I save my pride! Å-å-å-åh! I save my love! Å-å-å-åh! In the night I cross the ocean to save my pride fooor looooove!

Hakon and Agan, you two seem to be entertaining a somewhat peculiar idea of the Shire, if I may say so. Or perhaps you're thinking of Sharkey's Shire?;)

I assign Facebook status updates that send one rushing to book airline tickets over Christmas holidays. :D

Seconded! Legate and I did that a few days ago and we also played the LotR board game and it was very nice, all of it. :)

How about status updates that instigate long discussions over who loves Lord of the Rings better, and who is the most dedicated Anglophile?

I wish I had a LotR board game.... But it's nice that Downers can get satisfaction and joy out of simple things like that!

If you ever come to Finland we can play it. *nudgenudge* ;)

Make your own.

It'll be a lot more fun than anything you buy at the store...

True, but it's a lot easier to buy a ready made one... projects like that tend to remain unfinished... (*remembers a not so distant plan of a game where players are nazgûls looking for the Ring and can for example meet Tom Bombadil and have tea with him* :D)

I guess it depends on how complicated it is... Three friends and I put one together in the space of three hours over the same number of days. It was simple, but it was amazing... largely because sometimes it involved doing very, very silly things like Dwarvish Victory Dances and spazzing a la film!Galadriel.

Unfortunately when we parted one another's company we had to split the pieces of the game in memory of the amazing times we had. I got the best part of all (the "action cards") but later passed it on when I knew I wouldn't be able to see anyone else in the group again.

Doesn't mean I don't remember exactly how it went and couldn't 1). instruct people or 2). make another one at any time...



Personally, though, I still want someone to come out with a Risk: Beleriand game.

Which one? We've got a few now. I enjoy the trivia based one best because I like quizzes, but the others are pretty good, plus the artwork is rather nice and they're worth having for that alone. The big War of the Ring one cannot go up though now, with The Whirlwind about and lots of little plastic figures and dice he can eat.

Errr, to keep it on topic...:D....I send Board Games to The Shire! ;)

It has a separate main storyline board and adventure boards (Moria, Helm's Deep, Shelob's Lair and Mordor), you play as a team and the artwork is by John Howe. Does that ring any bells?

And as for assignations, Leonard Cohen belongs to the Shire although I'm not sure if that'd be his favourite place.

That's one we've got too, it's a strange game but once you play, it's great fun. You can get 'expansion packs' for it too, but we've only got the Sauron one so far, the Friends and Foes one is quite hard to find.

The little individual battles games are worth having if you can find them, we've got a 'Balrog Battle' one we bought in a London games shop when we were there for a few days a couple of years ago, and ended up playing that instead of going out ;)

Tolkein-based board games definately belong in the Shire.

Lommy, you mean the LotR collaborative game, right?

Lord of the Rings

Haven't played it for a while, but it's a cracker - and most challenging (especially, I think, for two players).

The there's the War of the Ring, an absolutely fantastic game, which recreates both the Fellowship's Quest to destroy the Ring and the tactical skirmishes and battles taking place at the same time. What's more, the Battles of the Third Age expansion allows you to recreate the battles of Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields.

And then there is the latest in the set - Middle Earth Quest - a game set in the 17 year period between Bilbo's eleventy-first Birthday Party and the departure of Frodo and company on the Quest of the Ring. The characters are invented, but the situations which arise in the game are familiar. I have only played it a few times so far, but I am impressed with how well the game designers have brought to life a period which is really only referred to in the back story sections of LotR.

I should add that I do not work for Fantasy Flight Games - on the contrary, they have done well from me over the years - but it is fair to say that they are the premiere producers of Tolkien-themed board games. In consequence of which, I hereby consign them to the Shire. :)

I assign Twilight Zone Conferences to the shire. I am at one now and it is great. I got to meet some great guys and I got to meet George Clayton Johnson. I will elaborate if anyone wants me to.

I assign having enough money in the bank to buy a two way ticket to Britain.

I also assign the Uncyclopaedia article for Maxwell Edison. It makes me happy!

Yeah, that was the one. I really liked it, it's brilliant. And I think it is quite challenging for two players, at first I wondered if it's possible to get to the end at all. (Although on second try we - or Lommy Gamgee, respectively, after poor me heroically sacrificed myself to be eaten by Sauron :D - made it almost to Mount Doom - although I think in the end, it's always "almost" and even one step closer makes a big difference.)

Hmm, that actually looks very interesting. I might as well try to get my hands on that.

And well, you may not be working for the company, but maybe you could ask them to give you some small reward after such large scale advertising ;) I agree with you, though. Most importantly of all for me, the games are not just movie-based. ;)

P.S. Should we assign SpM's return to the Shire...?

Ahaha! Which leads me to assign Greyhound Bus Lines to the Shire! :D

I was actually just about to. ;)


Or we could make it more general and just assign all returns to the Downs by old members.

Just be very, very careful if you visit games shop Orc's Nest off Shaftesbury Avenue because you will have your bank manager holding his head in despair (but will probably be helping the economy, or something). Follow that with a trip to Forbidden Planet up the road and you'll be single-handedly getting us out of recession. :eek: ;)

I could definitely assign that. I'm always so happy when someone I've missed reappears - especially if I haven't been keeping in touch with them elsewhere - and lately we've got Valier, Roa and SPM back. It's just wonderful. :D

I could also assign LotR related dreams. I had a very very scary dream where I was Frodo hiding from the Nazgûl in Crickhollow and seeing the black horses walking on the edges of the yard during the day and waiting for the sunset when the Nazgûl themselves would surely appear and knowing there's no way I can run away from them... it was really cool and made me want to read LotR. (I wonder where I was? Maybe in Hollin...)

PS. If I ever have money, it looks like I'm going to buy some board games. ;)

Google
 

And Woodchuck draft cider.

Both made the process of cooking a new chili recipe far more effective, in pleasantly differing ways.

How I do adore thee, Google.

I assign my new haircut to the shire although I no longer have hobbit curls. The hair is too short.

So you'll look even more like a mobster?:D

I will post a picture on the photos page and you can be the judge.

I assign finishing a decent attempt of a paper about Islamic feminism. I know so little of the subject, as I only did my research during the past few weeks.

Also, I assign a very well-deserved sem break after a long sem's work. :cool:

I assign postcards from Lebanon

I assign receiving wonderful news from a friend. :cool: :) :smokin:

Daylight savings- an extra hour to sleep.

I assign four-day weekends - so much sleep...:D

A day with my long-time boyfriend from distant Baguio, and getting to see the famous sunset on Manila Bay with him. ;)

The simple pleasure of a nice, hot cup of tea on coming home from a walk in the fields with our dogs on a sunny but chill autumn evening.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's so wonderful.

(Although I wonder whether assigning snow to the Shire is not, in fact, something like assigning it to Mordor, because Sam actually did exactly the same on Caradhras, assigning snow to the Shire, but what he intended by it was rather closer to what we mean when we assign something to Mordor.)

When someone you love gets their heart's desire after a lot of hard work, wait and tribulation. My "baby" cousin has got a place at BRNC Dartmouth - after a near miraculous but slow recovery from an eye injury that nearly cost him his sight two years ago

Only hope there is no truth in the old saw on this occasion.... (that the only thing worse than not getting your heart's desire is getting it..).