Recorded on November 16, Episode 6 breezes through a lot of topics. As of this writing there are two more episodes awaiting edits and release.

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Middle-earth Talk Radio - Show 6 - November 16th, 2008
The sixth installment of Middle-earth Talk Radio.
Duration: 44:21 (44 minutes, 21 seconds).
Filesize: 81.9 MB.

Opening music: The Riders of Rohan by Mostly Autumn

Topics covered:

• Hawke's recent Tolkien-related acquisitions
• Book: The Plants of Middle-earth, Botany and Sub-creation
• Brief mention about Radio Rivendell and the favorable comments in their forums about Middle-earth Talk Radio
• Book: Roots and Branches by Thomas Shippey
• Book: J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide
• Audio CD: The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection readings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien.
• Four 60 minute DVD series by Kultur with artwork from the Brother's Hildebrant and music by Mostly Autumn: Secrets of Middle-earth: Inside Tolkien's Hobbit,Inside The Fellowship of the Ring, Inside The Two Towers, Inside the Return of the King.
• Updates on Guillermo's The Hobbit movies plans.
• NASA discovers the Eye of Sauron
• Book: Tales from the Perilous Realm
• British Tolkien Fan Movie: Born of Hope. Focuses on Arathorn and Gilrain.
• Defense attorney in murder case, makes reference to Tolkien during proceedings.
• An American priest wrote article "Why Tolkien said no to Narnia".
• New Zealand Herald article also covering the free, non-profit fan movie "Born of Hope", that will be available for download over the Internet.
• Online Fandom, Have We Gone Too Far or Not Far Enough?
• Follow up on the hunt for Gil-galad's car.
• Update on Other Minds Magazine Issue 5 delays, mention of Beowulf and Tolkien essay.

Related links:

• Mostly Autumn
• Plants, Middle-earth Botany, and Sub-Creation at Amazon
• Roots and Branches by Tom Shippey at Amazon
• Tolkien Companion Guide at Amazon
• Tolkien Audio Collection at Amazon
• Secrets of Middle-earth at Amazon
• Radio Rivendell discussion about Middle-earth Talk Radio
• Guillermo del Toro news story
• Ridiculopathy news story
• Tribune Magazine news story
• LoTR fan movie story
• News story about trial mentioning Tolkien
• 'Why Tolkien Said "No" To Narnia' article
• Article about Tolkien fan movie
• Official 'Born of Hope' fan film site
• Online fandom: Have we gone too far or not far enough?

Closing music: The Forge of Sauron (Instrumental) by Mostly Autumn

Download Middle-earth Talk Radio Show 6 here (Login required, free registration)

A few years ago the Tolkien Society initiated the Tolkien Toast tradition, whereby they encourage fans around the world to toast the Professor on his birthday (January 3).

Now, it seems to me that if you're going to observe the Professor's birthday you should do a little bit more than just raise a glass and toast his name.

So I have decided to encourage Tolkien fans to get together and share their favorite Tolkien quotes before toasting him. I imagine it would go something like this:

Fan 1: Reads a quote (not too long) and then raises glass. "The Professor".

All other fans echo the toast and they drink.

Fan 2: Reads a quote (not too long) and then raises glass. "The Professor".

All other fans echo the toast and they drink.

Now, if you're drinking alcohol and there are a lot of fans in the room, you might want to rent a van and make sure everyone gets home safely (or have a Hobbit Sleepover). Celebrate in safety.

Don't toast and drive.

The Tolkien Toast could also include tasting Hobbit food recipes (or Elvish food recipes).

I think that if you're going to observe Tolkien's birthday you should do it with friends over dinner (sort of like Frodo and his friends celebrating Frodo and Bilbo's birthday one last time before leaving the Shire).

You can download all five available episodes at http://www.middle-earthradio.com/downloads/. You must be logged in to download the files but registration is free. There is a password reminder tool if you forget your password (but if you have forgotten your login, you'll have to use the contact form).

Although we recorded the episode on November 2, it took this long to edit and upload because Hawke has been very busy with a heavy schedule. We have since recorded three more episodes. He was hopeful earlier this week of getting them all online but I'm not sure.

The intro music for this episode is pretty long (about 15-18 minutes). I'm not sure why, so don't freak out if you hear nothing but music after Hawke's disclaimer. We do eventually get to talking.

Topics covered include:

• Opening music: Echoes from Rivendell by Gnomusy
• Alan Lee, er I mean, John Howe ( ;-) ) and his blog.
• Tolkien letter auction.
• The Hobbit in 3D.
• Lembas Recipe
• Tolkien Letter #131, "Other Minds and Hands" quote - Debate over publishing LotR with The Silmarillion, and Tolkien's insistence on the interdependence of the two.
• Tolkien's attempt to create an English mythology
• Other Hands Magazine discussion
• Trying to improve the "accuracy" of Middle-earth Role Playing, 2nd Edition and even 3rd edition (unreleased).
• Other Minds Magazine discussion
• Explanation of levels of "authenticity" in Other Minds Magazine for articles: "Core", "Optional", and "House".
• Overview of content in upcoming Issue #5
• Michael Martinez Other Hands article on .....
• Michael Martinez unfinished project History of Middle-earth
• Closing music: Tinuviel by Amethystium

Links mentioned during the show (full links on the Middle-earth Radio site):

• http://www.john-howe.com
• http://www.john-howe.com/news/more.php?id=246_0_1_0_C
• http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/gaz...ngs.4647070.jp
• http://cinematic.newsbeet.com/story/...Not-Right-Now/
• http://www.merp.com/zines/other-hands-magazine/
• http://www.othermindsmagazine.com