| The- Long Expected Party Article Written by Jahboh This article was published in the school newspaper The Independent (www.the-independent.org) in the February Edition. Click on the image on the left to enlarge the article in the paper. Note: The editing person spelled Elvish wrong and claimed that LOTR was a trilogy. Tisk, tisk. Here below, is the original un-edited version. |
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| THE LONG-EXPECTED PARTY by Jahboh With the hype about the new Lord of the Rings movie coming out, not many have noticed the fact that the author, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's birthday was just around the corner. Tolkien, who was born on January 3, 1892 celebrated his 111th birthday this month, or rather many fans did (as Tolkien passed away in 1973). As fans of the Lord of the Rings know, this birthday is a special Hobbit birthday, as Bilbo Baggins celebrates his 111th birthday at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring. Many websites on the internet have set up projects like a Tolkien DVD project and tolkiensociety.org encouraged people to raise a glass to Tolkien at 9PM on January 3rd. Professor Tolkien is the author of the famous classics The Silmarillion (1977), The Hobbit (1937), as well as The Lord of the Rings (1955). What makes him so unique is that he created an extensive history of the place he called Middle Earth. The cultures of Middle Earth include Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Humans, Ents, Spiders and countless others. His books, although only five, take readers into a mythical world based on the Anglo-Saxon Europe as well as the Norse religion. In fact, many popular fantasy stories of today have been derived from Tolkien's works. Tolkien has captured the minds of millions of fans around the world from the average student to Tolkien scholars who can speak in Elvish. In fact, Tolkien's son published a twelve-volume set of The History of Middle Earth books from the notes Tolkien left him because many fans were demanding to know more. Even today, the pool of Tolkien fans is growing with the new Lord of the Rings movies coming out. Some JMM fans also celebrated the birthday of this renowned author. I personally baked lembas, which is an Elvish biscuit. Also, I had Hobbit food (like mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese). Then I spent the rest of the day reading Lord of the Rings. Other fans like L____ R_______, told me, "In remembrance of Tolkien's Birthday four friends of mine and I went to Two Towers. We love the books! They are full of adventure, magic, and interest." Mr. P_____, who teaches Computer Science, told me, "Actually, I threw a party and gave gifts on the 3rd. Although it was a coincidence, as the party was actually for a friend of mine's birthday. But there was much food and drink, and even a Dwarf (well, me, but yeah). And sparkly candles, which are kinda like fireworks. No disappearing Hobbits, though. And we did watch Two Towers beforehand." Some fans unfortunately were ill informed and Y___ R_____ replied, "Alas! If I would have known it was Tolkien's eleventy-first birthday, I would have done something like watch my extended Fellowship of the Rings DVD or have Hobbit food." All in all, it was fun paying tribute to the author of many famous novels that are still read widely today. If you haven't read Lord of the Rings or find them a drag, I suggest you should try the books again. After all, it took me five tries to get hooked onto the series. |
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