YEAR: Looking for our end-of-year coverage? We’re still bringing it to you, but it will be in on Friday. We’re finishing up now and will print the lists of the year’s top stories, our chronology and necrology, in the Jan. 5 edition.
TODAY: Jan. 3 is a special day for those who are fans of the stories of the Hobbits of the Shire, or Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gollum.
It’s J.R.R. Tolkien Day. Today is the anniversary of the author’s birth on Jan. 3, 1892.
The Tolkien Society asks fans to toast the author, much as in “The Lord of The Rings,” Frodo toasts his uncle Bilbo Baggins every year on his birthday.
The official society toasting phrase is “The Professor!” We’re guessing you could say what you like, or even remember the series of incredible books in all kinds of ways.
Hobbits are fans of second breakfast, so there’s an idea. Maybe listen to some Led Zeppelin songs, like “Ramble On,” or “Misty Mountain Hop” or “The Battle of Evermore,” all of which directly reference Tolkien’s masterpiece series.
Even the movie “The Avengers” contains a Tolkien reference, with Iron Man calling Hawkeye by the name Legolas.
In “Shrek 2,” there are several references, one of which is a ring. Fiona’s wedding ring lands on her finger as the ring landed on Frodo’s in The Prancing Pony in “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
In television series, there have been many references, even in off-color series like “Family Guy” and “South Park” and “The Simpsons.”
So many quotes from the series are repeated in pop culture as well: “Not all who wander are lost,” said by Bilbo Baggins. Or “You cannot pass!” as shouted by Gandalf.
