Lord of the Rings Legos Available Now!

The Battle of Helm's Deep Lego Set

You can now buy Lord of the Rings Lego sets.  Sets available now include Gandalf Arrives ($12.99), Shelob Attacks($19.99), Uruk-hai Army ($29.99), Attack on Weathertop ($59.99), The Mines of Moria ($79.99), The Battle of Helm's Deep ($129.99), and The Orc Forge ($39.99).  You can also play with an interactive map of Middle Earth which is very cool.  It looks as though there will be more sets on their way as the map has many empty spots.  You can find the interactive map here:
http://thelordoftherings.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx?icmp=COUS22HomeWN1LOTRNewWebsite

My Favorite Tolkien Inspired Sites

I have been browsing the web for some time in search of Middle Earth inspired treasures.  You could say I am an "expert treasure hunter."  Here is a list of some of my favorite Tolkienish (is that a word) sites.

Badali Jewelry  : Officially licensed to sell The One Ring and many other jewels of the realm.
Medieval Bridal Fashions  :  Here you can find the type of circlets worn by Galadriel.  Amazing metalwork.
Medieval Collectibles :  The largest online distributor of Medieval and Renaissance items.
Haldir's Elven Archers : An Elven armor costume tutorial website.
Alley Cat Scratch Costume : An absolutely wonderful costume research site.  They already have a page for The Hobbit.
Tolkien Library :  A descriptive and illustrated guide to collecting Tolkien books.
Fair Lady of Rohan : An Eowyn/ Rohirrim Fansite.  Wonderful background music too.
The Hobbit Hunter : 400 covers of The Hobbit in 59 languages.
Planet Tolkien : A UK site devoted to literature discussion and fan information.
The Tolkien Society : A site devoted to Tolkien and his works and life.
The One Ring.net : A fan website, and a very good one!
Daniel Reeve : Best know for his calligraphy and cartography on the film trilogy Lord of the Rings.

I hope you visit some of these very interesting and fun sites.  If you have any more that should be added, leave me a comment!

New Hobbit Video

Peter Jackson has released a new production video that highlights the locations where the second part of The Hobbit was shot.  The video contains really stunning terrain from New Zealand not unlike Lord of the Rings.  There are very different locations for The Hobbit, however.  I really enjoyed watching this new video.  The scenery is just exquisite and some of the characters are funny as well.    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes to theaters  December 14,  2012.  The second part will be released in 2013.  Check the video out here:

The Hobbit Crossword Ch. 1-3

I decided to create a  free crossword for Chapters 1-3  after having so much success with my other Hobbit crossword.  This crossword has three pages; a full color page, a plain page without a picture, and an answer sheet.  It was created at puzzle-maker.com for use commercially.  Enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Hobbit-Crossword-Chapters-1-3

Lego to Build LotR and Hobbit Construction Sets

Lego has officially released that it will create construction sets for The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.  Lego had great success with the Harry Potter and Batman sets, and I personally can't wait to see what they dream up for Tolkien's tales!  These Lego sets are due out in the summer of 2012.  Read more here.

The Hobbit Trailer

Well here it is, the official trailer from The Hobbit which comes to theaters December, 2012.  I hope you like it.

Arwen and Pippin

Okay, Arwen and Pippin aren't in The Hobbit. You probably didn't know that Pippin has a thing for Arwen either.  No, we aren't talking about the real characters!  We are talking yet again about my cats for (I promise) the last time.  As you may remember, Pippin was a stray that I adopted, or abducted depending on if you take mine or Pippin's point of view.  In any case, Pippin was very lonely and needed a lot of attention.  He literally used me as a tree when he was bored. I was beginning to reconsider his name.  Maybe shrapnel would have been better. *snort*

Arwen was specifically  adopted for Pippin.  We had to find a zippy kitty and so we spent most of an afternoon at the Humane Society looking for just that.  Arwen is a little skinny black and white kitten who met the criteria very well.  After a little hissing and growling they were fast friends.  Just look at them! I like to call this pic (above)  the yin yang of cats.

licky, licky, bitey, bitey