New Challenge: Bollywood
This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
SWG News
Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data provides insight into how comments benefit authors and which authors are most impacted by a lack of comments, with a digression on authors' perspectives one-click feedback like kudos.
A Sense of History: Passing Ships
As Tolkien's characters in various texts gaze out to the sea, what do they see? What is brought by the ships coming out of the West?
Beta-Reader List Now Available
The beta-reader list and profiles have been moved into our new system and are available again.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] No Time Have I by Flora-lass
A Silmarillion acrostic.
[Writing] I called it Fate that I should fail by AdmirableMonster
Nimruzimir, a natural philosopher recently out of his apprenticeship, hardly considers himself very important to anyone, least of all his colleagues. When his strange, prophetic fits bring him to the attention of the High Priest, however, he may find that his existence is less superfluous than…
[Writing] All of you by chrissystriped
Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.
[Writing] Lament for the Singer by daughterofshadows
A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.
[Writing] Cosmological Poems of Arda by AaronAzrael
I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
[Artwork] Map of Valinor by Aprilertuile
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Season's Greetings
Create a fanwork in which one (or several) of the holidays of Middle-earth plays a role. Read more ...
New in References
Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.
Passing Ships by Simon J. Cook
[]The arrival and departure of ships across the Great Sea carries mythic significance for the peoples of Middle-earth. The image of ships crossing out of and back into a mysterious West appears as well in Beowulf and is alluded to in Tolkien's tower analogy in his lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," where the tower allows those who climb it to observe the passage of the ships.
Fanfiction and the Serious Business of Writer's Craft by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Staging a Battle by StarSpray
[]He and Diamond were visiting, though Pippin had been disappearing every afternoon, and taking Frodo and Elanor and most other lads and lasses in the neighborhood with him—though why they couldn’t use Pippin’s own pony, Sam couldn’t imagine.
[Writing] From whose bourn no traveller returns by losselen
[]So gathered they were to Bree, what lieutenants who could be spared, from their scattered watches west and east, for their chieftain had returned from his long sojourn in lands godless and mountains strange.
Aragorn returns from the South to tells his tales. Halbarad listens.
[Writing] Sand Sorcery by StarSpray
[]It is well known that Psamathos does not leave his cove. He does not like to get his feet wet, and prefers to spend his days dozing under the sun.
Around the World and Web
Fellowship of the Fics: Summer Stories 2024
Fellowship of the Fics offers four weeks of summer-themed prompts during the month of July.
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks posted
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for July has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic challenge is: original character or unnamed canon character; the formal challenge: fixed length of multiple of 50 words. New participants welcome.
July 2024 Call for Papers and Proposals
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers and proposals in July 2024.
Teitho June/July Challenge: Mentor
The June/July prompt for the Teitho challenge is "mentor" and invites fanworks about this relationship in Tolkien's works.
The Doggerland Skull by Huinare
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The Doggerland Skull
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 05:28:04
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Actually, I tried the tea and I still couldn’t sleep. Instead I continued to pore over the data, drew up some new diagrams for the layperson, and also tripped over the cat [he’s still mad at me] and am the more convinced of my rightness.
I think I should hand my diagrams out at the next faculty meeting!
Y/N?
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 10:19:32
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
I’d reconsider that after sleeping on it (I trust you are currently sleeping now, and not lurking about in some café on your third mocha with a manic grin on your face).
Your data is intriguing, but you have very little support.
Sent from my iPhone
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 10:46:53
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
It’s only my second mocha. Give me some credit Mac.
Maybe you’re right. But you didn’t see this thing! the conclusions are very obvious, at least to an osteologist. All right so maybe what I need to do is present the data (that’s data ARE intriguing btw) at the conference, plenty of exposure so someone is bound to see the light.
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:04:08
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
Peer review. I thought you physical anthropologists were all about cruel scathing soul-rending peer review before presenting stuff.
Sent from my iPhone
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:08:22
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Yes and let’s just say it won’t pass muster because my staid and honorable peers mistake my assertions for some kind of whimsical supernaturalistic mumbo-jumbo. One anonymous reviewer said and I quote: “Laganà has been reading too many fantasy novels.”
I should just leaflet at the conference tomorrow!
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:12:00
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
NO.
Sent from my iPhone
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:12:47
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Why not
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:17:31
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
Because that will make you look precisely like the sort of crackpot you don’t wish to be construed as? Then perhaps the Museum won’t let you back to see the bones again?
For pity’s sake do get some sleep before making any decisions on this.
Sent from my iPhone
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:29:06
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
You know, you’re probably right. Not sure why you took such a keen interest in this research if you’re so eager to shut me down, but I guess someone has to do it.
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 12:37:26
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
I want to “shut you down” precisely because it’s interesting. Don’t try and do anything with it until it can be credible to others.
Sent from my iPhone
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 13:09:48
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Attachment: DOGGERLAND SKULL SUTURE CLOSURE FOR DUMMIES.PNG
Thanks, Mac, I probably wouldn’t have lasted this long if my colleagues didn’t sometimes reel me back in.
But just have a look at the simplified thing I made last night. The ramifications! I’m not rabid about this for nothing!
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 19:44:13
From: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: lagank@hinteru.edu
That’s really fascinating, Kass!
As you know, my understanding of the subject matter is pretty limited so it’s difficult for me to offer comments. However…and I’m not saying there could not have existed a long-lived species such as this! In fact, you make a compelling argument for it…however, if I understand the suture closure thing correctly, I would doubt that any of these proposed long-lived human beings would still be alive today. I mean, would the bone keep growing after the sutures were fully closed? Wouldn’t their skulls get too thick and heavy or possibly the bone would intrude on their brain? Maybe there is a reason this proposed being is evidently extinct.
In any case, I am as ever impressed by your extensive knowledge and innovative hypotheses. Please keep me updated.
Aiken Maclaren, PhD
Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
_____________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:43:27
From: lagank@hinteru.edu
Subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Doggerland Skull
To: maclaa@hinteru.edu
Thanks for having a look. An animal whose skull kept ossifying to the point of endangering its brain would be selected against obviously. So yes, either it would have died out, OR: ossification does not continue after complete suture closure. I don’t see why it would [continue]! That’s not the way it works in healthy individuals of any species that I know of.
Would you believe I slept 12 hrs? Off to class soon, I’m showing Intro that video today that at least one person inevitably gets righteously offended by. Have fun at the orchestra flash mob thingy.
Kassandra Laganà, PhD
Professor of Osteology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Hinterlands State University
Chapter End Notes
I'm not tagging the canon character, because the hints are half the fun (although readers are welcome to discuss character by name in comments).
