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☆ King Arthur left an ancient trail across Britain. Experts say it offers clues about the truth behind the myth
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

Today, he is best associated with Tintagel Castle, where remains of a settlement dating back to the fifth century perch strikingly on an islet off the wild coast of Cornwall. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesFor Stoyle, it’s likely that the myth of Arthur has at least its roots in fact. This Arthur was played by Clive Owen in the 2004 film, “King Arthur,” alongside Keira Knightley as Guinevere. The sixth-century “Artognou stone," discovered in 1998, has linked Tintagel with King Arthur for some scholars, though others dismiss it. Of course, medieval history writers were fast and loose with the facts.

Persons: CNN —, He’s, King Arthur, —, Arthur’s, Arthur, France —, Tintagel, Merlin, they’d, There’s, who’ve, Mark Stoyle, Brittany —, ”, Stoyle, “, Guinevere, Lancelot, Clive Owen, “ King Arthur, Keira Knightley, Gandalf, Dumbledore, Glastonbury Abby, Grant, indelibly, JFK's, Harvey Georges, Pierre Vinet, Sam Morgan Moore, Ben Birchall, Arthur . PaulMaguire, Keira Knghtley, Jonathan Hession, Gerhard Zwerger, King Arthur Prev, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Geoffrey —, Camelot —, Geoffrey, Mordred, Win Scutt, Earl Richard, Prince William . “ Earl Richard, Britain —, ” “ It’s, Arthur —, Scutt, Nicholas J, Higham, ” Higham, J.R.R, Tolkien —, laud, Gildas — “, ” Henry VIII, superfan Henry VIII, Oli Scarff, England’s King Henry VII, Richard III, he’d, –, Prince, Wales — Arthur, Henry’s, England, Henry VIII, Henry, David’s, Elizabeth I, Stuart, Arthurs, ” Scutt Organizations: CNN, Celtic, Camelot, Cornwall Glastonbury, Wales Cadbury, Glastonbury Tor, Cadbury, Glastonbury Abbey, UK’s University of Southampton, Bettmann, Disney, Cornish, Bank, Getty, Royal Mail, Walt Disney Pictures, Avalon, English Heritage, University of Manchester, Britons, Glastonbury Locations: England, Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, France, Wales, Cornwall, southwesternmost, Tintagel, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall Glastonbury Abbey , Somerset Caerleon Castle, Wyddfa, Wales Cadbury Castle , Somerset Slaughterbridge, Island, Wales Winchester Castle, Hampshire, Edinburgh, Somerset, Caerleon Castle, Camelot, Mount Snowdon, Barfog, Glastonbury, Baschurch, Shropshire, Mynydd y Gaer, Bodmin, Las Vegas, Winchester, Caerleon, Cornwall’s, Avalon, Cornish, Greece, Turkey, London, Higham, AFP, Brittany, Ludlow, St

☆ Apple's latest addition to its $5 billion campus is built into a hillside like a modern-day Hobbit hole
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Jaures Yip | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apple is showing off Apple Park Observatory, a new subterranean venue at its headquarters. The event space is designed with natural materials and built into a hillside of Apple Park. You can expect Apple to host visitors and press at the venue during its product launches and events. Design website Dezeen published the first photos of Apple Park Observatory, the company's new subterranean venue that's built into the ground, earlier this week. The event space is nestled in the hillside of Apple Park, the company's $5 billion headquarters designed by Foster + Partners in Cupertino, California.

Persons: —, Dezeen Organizations: Apple, Service, Foster + Partners, Business Locations: Apple, J.R.R, Cupertino , California

☆ New fossils could reveal origin of ancient ‘hobbit’ humans
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

More bones followed, and at first, archaeologist Thomas Sutikna and his team thought they had uncovered the ancient fossils of a child. And the newly studied fossils represent an earlier hobbit who was 2.4 inches (6.1 centimeters) shorter than the first specimen. Homo erectus was the first ancient human to migrate out of Africa about 1.9 million years ago. Together, the Homo floresiensis fossils paint a portrait of a hardy species able to adapt and thrive despite the presence of hulking Komodo dragons. Defying gravityAstronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have long outstayed a planned eight days in low-Earth orbit after traveling to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June.

Persons: Bua, Thomas Sutikna, floresiensis, Homo floresiensis, erectus, Homo erectus, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, SpaceX’s, Williams, David Brunetti, Pharaoh Djoser, NASA's, squaretail groupers, China’s Chang’e, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, International Space, NASA, Sutton, Exploration Rover, Rover, CNN Space, Science Locations: Indonesian, Flores, Africa, African, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England, Sutton, Turkey, China, India’s

☆ Opinion | JD Vance Has Right-Wing Friends in High Places
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The single most troubling thing about Senator JD Vance — his bizarre understanding of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien notwithstanding — is his close relationship with some of the most extreme elements of the American right. Yarvin has also written favorably of human bondage (slavery, he once wrote, “is a natural human relationship”) and wondered aloud if apartheid wasn’t better for Black South Africans. Take Vance’s view that the United States is in a period of Romanesque decline. “We are in a late republican period,” Vance said on a podcast in 2021.

Persons: JD Vance, Tolkien, —, Vance, Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin, provocateur, Yarvin, “, Thiel, ideologues, ” Vance Organizations: Black South Locations: United States, “, Overton

☆ Newly discovered fossils shed light on origins of curious ‘hobbit’ humans
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

An analysis of newly described Homo floresiensis fossils published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications attempts to answer some of these questions about the tiny human. Liang Bua cave is the only other place where hobbit fossils have been found. The Mata Menge humerus fragment (left) is shown at the same scale as the humerus of Homo floresiensis from Liang Bua. Overall, the research suggested that the hobbit species’ small size remained remarkably constant over a long period. “Every tiny fragment of Homo floresiensis or any other hominin is incredibly important,” Tocheri said.

Persons: floresiensis, —, Mata Menge, Flores Gerrit van den Bergh, ”, Yousuke Kaifu, Liang, Liang Bua, Yousuke, hominins, luzonensis, erectus, Gerrit van den Bergh, wristbones, habilis, Matt Tocheri, wasn’t, Flores, Tocheri, Van den Bergh, van den Bergh, hominin, ” Tocheri Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, University of Tokyo, Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Lakehead University, Smithsonian Locations: Indonesian, Flores, Africa, Java, Asia, Mata, South Africa, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Ontario

☆ Opinion | If ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Is a Cautionary Tale, It Was Lost on JD Vance
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is just my luck that the week I was on vacation also happened to be one of the most consequential weeks in recent American political history. I have a lot of thoughts about all this, but for now I want to talk about one of the minor characters in this saga — JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president. A few days after he received the nomination, Politico published a story on his deep affinity for “The Lord of the Rings,” the series of fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien that were adapted, about 20 years ago, into blockbuster fantasy epics. Vance has, according to Politico, “pointed to Tolkien’s high fantasy epics as a window into understanding his worldview.”

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Biden’s, Kamala Harris, JD Vance, Vance, Trump, J.R.R, Tolkien, “ Organizations: Republican National Convention, Republican, Politico

☆ Opinion | The Far Right Doesn’t Own ‘The Lord of the Rings’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings.”These days, however, Tolkien isn’t just relevant to nerd world. Critical factions of the new right at home and the far right in Europe have latched on to Tolkien’s work. By “new right” I mean the post-Reagan right, a movement that embraces state power as a means of fighting and winning the culture war. But they’re getting Tolkien wrong, and the way in which they are getting Tolkien wrong matters for all of us. Last month, Politico’s Adam Wren wrote an extended analysis of the way that the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy shaped JD Vance.

Persons: Tolkien, Reagan, they’re, Politico’s Adam Wren, Vance, “, ” Vance, Peter Thiel, Nancy Organizations: “ Star, Anduril Industries Locations: Europe

AdvertisementThe Thiel effectFor Vance, Thiel's influence first left its mark when he was still a student. Thiel also got a shoutout on the acknowledgments page of Vance's 2016 book, "Hillbilly Elegy." The former PayPal CEO has given $15 million to Vance's campaign, Politico reported — the largest donation ever given to one Senate candidate. AdvertisementOne of Trump's biggest donors in the 2016 presidential campaign, Thiel has re-emerged as a key player in the MAGA movement after largely sitting out the 2020 election. Thiel also appears to have pulled some of his Silicon Valley strings to advance Vance's campaign.

Persons: —, JD Vance, Peter Thiel, Vance, Donald Trump, Thiel, Palantir, Elon Musk, Thiel's, meaninglessness, Tolkien, Steve Case, Trumper, Win McNamee, MAGA, Trump, David Sacks, Musk, Sacks, Tucker Carlson, Nordin Catic, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Service, Republican National Convention, Republican, White, Business, PayPal, Trump, Bloomberg, Yale, Yale Law School, Thiel's, Mithril, Narya, Politico, Republican Party, Fox News, Cambridge University Union, Facebook, Palantir Technologies, Spotify Locations: Milwaukee, Ohio, Mithril, Mar, Cambridge, England, Airbnb

☆ New species of piranha relative is named after Sauron from ‘The Lord of the Rings’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Thousands of fish species — about 2,500 of them named — call the Amazon River home, but scientists estimate nearly half of the marine creatures lurking in the massive stretch of water remain undiscovered. The marks inspired the fish’s name, Myloplus sauron, according to a study published Monday in the journal Neotropical Ichthyology. The confusion around pacusBesides Myloplus sauron, the researchers also discovered the species Myloplus aylan, which they described as having a slightly thicker black bar on its flank. The Myloplus genus falls within the Serrasalmidae fish family, which is made up of piranha and pacu species. Researchers hope to study Myloplus sauron and Myloplus aylan further to learn more about their evolution and relation to other species, Pereira said.

Persons: Sauron, Tolkien’s “, ”, Victória Pereira, Pereira, sauron, Myloplus, Myloplus aylan, pacus, ’ ”, Matthew Kolmann, ” Kolmann, Kolmann, “ Organizations: CNN, University of Paulista, Amazon, University of Louisville Locations: São Paulo, Brazil, piranhas, Kentucky

☆ Opinion | From ‘Dune’ to Decadence (and Back)
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are three great novels that I read as an early adolescent that I would take to a desert island if I ever needed to be set up for decades of rereading: The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Watership Down” and “Dune.” I’ve written more in the past on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and even on Richard Adams’s great rabbit epic than on Frank Herbert’s magnum opus. So I can’t let the occasion of “Dune: Part Two” and its imperial command of the box office pass without some kind of comment. The first is about the story’s contemporary resonance. What’s getting less attention, and what I want to highlight, is the larger civilizational dynamic that the book sets up, and how it speaks to our own moment.

Persons: Richard Adams’s, Frank Herbert’s, Denis Villeneuve’s, What’s

☆ Opinion | Could Swifties or Trekkies Decide the Election?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Tolkien via social media for political action. But despite the good-natured skepticism, Sundberg said she understands and respects what the Working Families Party is trying to do. Social media is where many young voters live — about a third of adults under 30 regularly get news from TikTok, according to Pew Research. And turning out young voters who are otherwise not particularly politically engaged will be key to winning elections up and down the ballot in November. As Marcela Valdes explained this week for The New York Times Magazine, young voters tend to have low turnout rates.

Persons: Emily Sundberg, ”, Tolkien, What’s, Biden, Sundberg, Marcela Valdes Organizations: Working, Party, Pew Research, House, The New York Times Magazine, Center for Information, Research, Civic, Tufts University Locations: TikTok, Gen

☆ Harvard's president resigning means more drama for other universities
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-03 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at the resignation of another Ivy League president and the knock-on effect it'll have on education in the US. The big storyIvy League issuesBrian Snyder/ReutersClaudine Gay's tenure as Harvard president wasn't long, but it won't be forgotten. Alan Garber, Harvard's provost and chief academic officer, will serve as interim president, the school's board announced. Gay is the second Ivy League president to step down in less than a month, following in the footsteps of former Penn president Elizabeth Magill. Harvard president Claudine Gay Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesGay and Magill's departures highlight the tension between businesses and prestigious universities and the former's influence over the latter.

Persons: —, Bob Marley, John Wick, Brian Snyder, Claudine Gay's, wasn't, Gay, Alan Garber, Harvard's, Elizabeth Magill, Magill, Sally Kornbluth, Bill Ackman, Claudine Gay Kevin Dietsch, Business Insider's Paul Squire, Lucas Jackson, Tesla, Goldman, Tyler Le, it's, Warren Buffett, Greta Thunberg, Florence Pugh, Mel Gibson, J.R.R, Tolkien, Eli Manning, Max Willcocks, Dan DeFrancesco, Diamond Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, Hayley Hudson, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Ivy League, Business, Harvard, Ivy, Penn, Gay, MIT, GOP, Big Tech, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, Boston Consulting Group, Cushman & Wakefield, LinkedIn, SAP, Verizon Consumer Group, EV, Elon, Jiji Press, Japan Airlines, New York Locations: China, Jisoo, New York, San Diego, London, Edinburgh

☆ Now you can visit a real-life ‘Hobbit Hole’ in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Tolkien’s imagination – and therefore sadly off limits to tourists – the Hobbiton Movie Set provides a pretty good substitute. The Hobbit sets – mostly facades built into landscaped hillsides – have operated as a tourist attraction in some capacity since 2002, but until recently most of the Hobbit Holes have been out of bounds to visitors. The Hobbiton Movie Set formed the backdrop to the "Lord of the Rings" movies and the subsequent Hobbit trilogy and is now a tourist attraction. Shaun JeffersNow, two fully decorated Hobbit Holes have opened to the public for the first time. Shaun JeffersExploring the Hobbit Holes is now included as part of the Hobbiton tour experience.

Persons: J.R.R, Peter Jackson, –, Shaun Jeffers, Hobbiton, “, it’s, ”, crouch, Doom, Conor McNish, Lane, Aragorn, Gandalf, King Théoden, Rohan, ’ ”, ” CNN’s Thomas Page Organizations: CNN, Getty, CNN Travel, Mount, Sunday Locations: New Zealand, Matamata, Waikato, “, Auckland, Hobbiton, LOTR, Zealand, South, Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, London

☆ An Exhibition of Orcs and Elves Has Rome Abuzz, and Bewildered
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the opening night of Rome’s most talked-about new exhibition this week, top government ministers in sharp suits hobnobbed with Roman socialites in fur coats, and eccentric art lovers rubbed shoulders with hard-right youth group members. They all contemplated a drawing of a glam-rock Gandalf in a form-fitting wizard’s cloak, acrylic armies of orcs and other works of fan art displayed in gilded frames. Some were enthusiastic, others bewildered. But if there was any question why Italy’s Culture Ministry had staged a major retrospective dedicated to the life, academic career, and literary works of J.R.R. “I found the exhibition very beautiful,” Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, said after her personal tour of “Tolkien: Man, Professor, Author.” “As a person who knows the issue pretty well, I found many things I didn’t know.”

Persons: Frodo, Tolkien, “, ”, Giorgia Meloni Organizations: Ministry, National Gallery of Modern Locations: British

There are a lot of misconceptions about living in Alaska, and Trevor Barrett has heard them all. One of the best things about living in Alaska is the quiet life, the privacy and the summers." "I was raised with hunting and fishing and hiking and camping and all the specific and unique Alaska things," he says. Trevor Barrett with a replication of Andúril from J.R.R. Trevor Barrett and his family live in Haines, Alaska.

Persons: Trevor Barrett, Trevor, Larissa, Trevor Barrett Trevor, Samuel, Nika, Haines, you've, Alex Stock, Barrett Knives, Barrett, he's Organizations: CNBC, Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Investments, Google, Barrett, Larissa Locations: Alaska, Haines, British Columbia, Anchorage, Connecticut, Alaska One, Kenai, U.S, Larissa, Juneau , Alaska, J.R.R, Haines , Alaska

☆ Little-known life of Moomins creator Tove Jansson explored in new exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Aurore Laborie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Paris CNN —The Moomin characters may be internationally famous, but a new exhibition in Paris shows a lesser-known side to the Finnish artist who created them. The show takes an intimate look into the life of Tove Jansson, both as a prolific artist and an advocate for female independence. Courtesy The Community and Moomin Characters Ltd. Using illustrations, cartoons, photography, music, writings and letters, the exhibition shows Jansson as a multifaceted character who could — and did — make art out of almost anything. Tove Jansson's Moomin character "Little My" paper doll.

Persons: Tove Jansson, ”, Sini, ” Tove Jansson's, Jansson, “, Thomas Zambra, —, Signe Hammarsten, Viktor Jansson, Tove Jansson’s, Tove Jansson's, Summers, Hitler, Stalin, “ Garm, Lewis Carroll’s, Alice, Tuulikki Pietilä, Tuukka Laurila, Pietilä, Zambra, Tove Jansson ”, Louis Organizations: Paris CNN, CNN, des Beaux Arts, Nature, Espace Mont Locations: Paris, Finnish, Kanto, Tuukka, Stockholm, Scandinavia, Finland, “, Helsinki, Wonderland, Espace

☆ Opinion | The Subtlety of J.R.R. Tolkien
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The devil appears to some people as Lucifer the light-bringer, yes — but his darker visage finds worshipers as well. Ours is no longer the world in which Tolkien grew up, nor even the one in which he spent his last years. Tolkien himself was very careful to note that the Shire is not self-sustaining, dependent as it is on outsiders for security. I obviously endorse this point, but I think the last line undersells how much Tolkien subjected his own pastoral nostalgia to critique. Because Tolkien is a reactionary, the solution to that sickness is the return of a king of ancient lineage.

Persons: Tolkien, Soviet Union didn’t, Adolf Hitler’s, Joseph Stalin, Hitler, Lucifer, unrealism —, Tolkien’s, Philip Larkin, “, King Charles III’s, Niall Gooch, Hobbitism, Bilbo, It’s, Gondor, Anárion, that’s Organizations: Gorgoroth, Jackson Locations: Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, England, Tolkien’s, Isengard, Shire, Britain

☆ Post Malone Buys the One-Of-A-Kind ‘One Ring’ Trading Card
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A unique trading card that spawned a frenzied search and multiple seven-figure offers has been sold to pop singer and rapper Post Malone. The sale—of a one-of-a-kind card from the “Magic: The Gathering” game depicting the enchanted “One Ring” from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” epic—concludes a saga that began in earnest when the set containing the card was released in June. A New York card shop had offered $1 million to whoever found it; the owner of a store in Spain bid about twice that.

Persons: Post Malone, Tolkien’s Organizations: New Locations: J.R.R, New York, Spain

☆ Bearer of rare 'One Ring' card from 'Lord of the Rings' lore could fetch $2 million and face hefty tax bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

And the ring bearer — if they choose to sell the "precious" — may owe a hefty tax bill on the profits. Marta Iwanek | Toronto Star | Getty ImagesThe Canadian who acquired The One Ring card would most likely pay tax on half their profits. If The One Ring card were sold for 2 million euros — which appears to be the current top bid — then 1 million euros (about CA$1.46 million) would be taxable. Total Canadian tax bill is 'subjective'But what's Canada's tax rate on the profits? (In reality, the effective tax rate would be slightly lower since Canada's income tax system is progressive, as in the U.S., experts said.

Persons: Elijah Wood, Frodo, Misty, Sauron, Mount Doom, —, Roger Perzan, Marta Iwanek, Plaskett, Howard Gleckman, it's, Scott Plaskett, John Oakey, Oakey, Sir Ian McKellen, Gandalf Organizations: Coast LLC, Canadian, Toronto Star, Getty, Urban, Brookings Tax Policy Center, Total Canadian, Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, Canada Revenue Agency Locations: Rivendell, Toronto, Canada, U.S, Ontario, Scott Plaskett Toronto

☆ The Coveted ‘One Ring’ Card Has Been Found
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The card, a depiction of J.R.R. Tolkien's "One Ring" from the Hasbro tabletop game "Magic: The Gathering," has been authenticated, receiving the second-highest available rating for its condition, "Mint 9," according to grading company PSA . "We are thrilled to hear tale of a new Ring-bearer in possession of the serialized 1:1 The One Ring!" tweeted the account for Magic Friday morning. The person who found the card for now prefers to remain anonymous, according to PSA.

Organizations: Hasbro, PSA

☆ ChatGPT Secret Training Data: the Top 50 Books AI Bots Are Reading
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

To figure out what GPT-4 has read, they quizzed it on its knowledge of various books, as if it were a high-school English student. One way to answer the question is to look for information that could have come from only one place. Genre — sci-fi, mystery, romance, horror — is, broadly speaking, more interesting, partially because these books have plots where things actually happen. Bamman's GPT-4 list is a Borgesian library of episodic connections, cliffhangers, third-act complications, and characters taking arms against seas of troubles (and whales). See what a bot makes of Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun," maybe, or Sheri Tepper's "Grass."

☆ Opinion | My Fantasy Bookshelf
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

After filing last week’s newsletter comparing “Succession” to a work of “Game of Thrones”-style fantasy, I recorded a podcast episode with Razib Khan in which we talked about our shared affection for actual fantasy novels, our experience as early George R.R. It was a wide-ranging conversation, but one that stayed mostly with the big names of the genre — Martin, J.R.R. To be clear, this isn’t a list of my all-time favorites or even a list of “fantasy novels that should be adapted for TV instead of making more seasons of ‘The Rings of Power.’” It’s just me turning a glance at my bookshelf into a newsletter. You can think of this list of novels, maybe, as various inspirations for that imagined perfection. Hobb’s hero, Fitz, is one of the most successful examples of character-building and compelling interiority in recent fantasy.

☆ Amazon, Embracer strike deal to make 'Lord of the Rings' video game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Hobbiton Movie Set, a location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogy, is pictured in Matamata, New Zealand, December 27, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen MenonMay 15 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings", the companies said on Monday. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" literary trilogy written by J.R.R. Video game publisher Electronic Arts also launched its mobile game "The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth" earlier this month. Earlier in 2021, Amazon had canceled an online role-playing game based on "The Lord of the Rings", which was announced in 2019.

☆ Butterfly group named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." … It’s a very fine scientific paper.”Distinguishing a special groupThe researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. Female saurona butterflies have slightly more rounded wings than males, but are otherwise similar in pattern, the authors found. Giving newly described genera or species names drawn from pop culture can draw attention to underappreciated species, Huertas said.

☆ Hobbit houses spring up in Bosnia hills
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KRESEVO, Bosnia, May 11 (Reuters) - Four sisters are building the first Hobbit-style village in southeast Europe in the green hills of central Bosnia, hoping to attract fans of "The Lord of the Rings" books and movies as well as sharing their childhood memories. Last year Marija, a 28-year-old geology engineer, proposed to her sisters Milijana, Vedrana and Valentina that they build house in the style of the Hobbit homes in J.R.R. The sisters decided that their houses must include characteristics of the area where they live and that each sister would decorate one dwelling as she likes. [1/5] Milijana Milicevic stands in front of the hobbit house named "Lipa", in the Bosnian Hobbiton village, Rakova Noga, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 9, 2023. The other three houses, which should be completed soon, will also be named after local attractions.

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