M00bies - A Community to Remember

[Voronwë_the_Steadfast]

Tex, EAL is TORN.

[Texas-hobbit]

Oh!


OH! :x:x

WHERE IS THAT MISERABLE POLTROO THESE DAYS?

[Xhen]

Gender: Male
Joined: October 2000
Age or Age Group when joined: 43
Most well known 'Title': <TOS Violation>
General Stance on PJ's LOTR: Loved it

I found TORC not too long after first hearing the films were going to be made and while searching for more information on them. I lurked for a couple of months before reading something or another that Kelannar wrote that infuriated me and caused me to jump in with both feet. Being a staunch revisionist who believed in film as an art form with its own unique storytelling requirements I strongly defended PJ's freedom to make changes from Tolkien's text. This quickly set me at odds with Kelannar and more than a few others. When I first started here TORC was known as something of a purist haven so people like me, Elrohir, Whistler and a few others were holding down the fort on behalf of the revisionists at the time. The amount of debate that took place about AATF alone before the first film was even released could fill a couple of books.

What I probably remember best from the early days were the knockdown dragout fights I had with Kelannar. Like him, I tend to treat internet debate as a full contact sport so it got a little bloody at times and we both had our share of warnings and deleted posts. Unlike Kelannar, though, I somehow managed to avoid the banning stick although I've danced on thin ice more than a few times since (hello Innocent Evil ).

After TTT came out I was satisfied that the trilogy would be seen as film classics and lost interest in debating the same issues again for the thousandth time, so I drifted over Manwe where I've become the resident conservative crank.

It's been a good ride and I'm glad I found TORC. It's a very intelligent, eclectic bunch here. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[InnocentEvil]

I somehow managed to avoid the banning stick although I've danced on thin ice more than a few times since (hello Innocent Evil ).

After TTT came out I was satisfied that the trilogy would be seen as film classics and lost interest in debating the same issues again for the thousandth time, so I drifted over Manwe where I've become the resident conservative crank.

Hello Xhen. Every site needs a resident .. something

[Tookish_Traveler]

**sigh**

I promised Rebecca I would post here if she got theduffster to visit ‘Aunties’ thread in Talk. She upheld her end of the bargain, so here I am. God knows someone has to take care of the poor child since her mother was buried by a meteor.

Gender: female
Joined: April 2002
Age or age group when joined: just right
Most well-known 'title': Tooks
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: Like it. Quite a bit actually.

Description:

I started out mainly in the Talk Forum, posting many a witty post with my good pal spd.
I also was somehow compelled to join a traveling llama band where I was a backup dancer/singer.

Other days I lurked in the m00bies Forum to glean information on the films, but never waded into the more serious discussions or the P/R wars. But I couldn’t resist the ‘fun’ threads, and greatly enjoyed ‘Kelebrating Keleborn’ month. From there I happily joined the very first MOME competition, where my champion (Gollum) set the standard for all future MOMEs.

Somewhere along the line I was accused of stalking theduffster, which is so not true. She was always the instigator! I have taken to chronicling her life (er… and the adventures of other TORCers) for future posterity. (Note the link to ‘theduffsters’ in my sig).

I have been known to swoon (a bit) for certain LOTR actors. And the occasional non-LOTR actor. What’s his name again?

I have continued to have fun in MOME every year, and usually participate in the monthly theme threads here in m00bies. I still peruse my favorite ‘Talk’ threads, and have been known to post in a few threads in ‘Other Movies’. I also lurk in Manwe for entertainment, since the debating has cooled down in m00bies
(adjusts tinfoil hat).

*ahem*

Awards:
*MOME 2002 – Sponsor of the overall winner – Gollum!!
*TORCie 2003 ‘Best Parody’ Thread – Green Eggs and Hama Month
*TORCie 2004 ‘Best On-Screen Duo’ – with theduffster

[laureanna]

Name: Laureanna (tenuous member)
AKA: annaerual, hobbituated, janus, PosterChild, EagleChild, an_alias, *annatar*, *TheOneRingChap*, eomermaid, TomsDaBomb!!!111
Date joined: June 5, 2003
Title: Chocolate Bearer
Gender: Female
Age when joined: pushing 50
Stance on the movies: Love 'em and hate 'em. Too many orcs. Not enough hobbits.
Awards: none

Profile: I was always more of a lurker than a poster. I enjoyed reading old classic threads, especially the philosophical ones. My contributions have been scant, compared to some m00bs, but these are the ones I would like to be remembered by:
META M00bie Forum A compilation of great movie threads, now maintained by TTBK.
SearchLite All different ways to find those great posts and posters, now maintained by Didi.
Frodo's disintegration, what's the attraction? and its sequel Closure
Suicide Themes in LOTR
Letter to Jonathan (Which started out as a post in Movies)

[Voronwë_the_Steadfast]

My contributions have been scant, compared to some m00bs

I beg to differ.

[Iavas_Saar]

V, can I put that as an addendum to laureanna's profile?

I really need to start doing some profiles for older members to keep the process moving forward. Or else I can try sending out a group email to everyone on the list yet to come here - but there's no way to find people's addresses on TORC is there?

[laureanna]

I'm splitting this comment out from the post above to make it more obvious:

Holby has been banned.

We probably are not allowed to say more here. My address is in my sig box. I will miss him.

[Alys]

Holbytla requested that he be banned and that request was complied with.

Please don't make this something it wasn't.

[laureanna]

I wouldn't think of it, Alys.

[oldtoby]

Iavas, maybe you could start a thread with the list of names and a request that anybody who knows how to contact someone on the list contact you or have that person contact you. Maybe even see if the mods could sticky it here and to the other forums to get the word out that you are looking for these people as much as possible.

[Wilma]

Hi I'll be posting something soon. I've been vert busy in RL so I apologize for being so late with my post.

[Sidonzo]

Hey Texas! I noticed that you mentioned me a few days ago when you were listing memorable posters. Well, I don't think I have contributed enough to leave a bio. Most people would just read it and think "Who the @#$% is Sidonzo?" and proceed to the next entry. It makes me feel good that you remember me (though I think that has to do with the fact that I have a weird name like you mentioned ). Now you, on the other hand, are worthy of rememberance. Did you leave a bio yet? I don't remember reading it.

~Sidonzo

[Iavas_Saar]

Sidonzo, you are worthy of inclusion for your wonderful Phantom sig alone (I saw the film for the 8th time today). Where does that artwork come from? (And have you posted in my Phantom thread in Movies - Other? I can't recall if you have or not).

Wilma, don't worry about taking a while to post a profile - there's plenty of time.

oldtoby, that is a good suggestion. I wonder though if one of the staff would be willing to help me by making email addresses available to me? Though I'm guessing that it won't be allowed.

[JewelSong]

Iavas, I still need to post a profile in here...but lately my head has been...other places!

Is there a deadline? (I work best under pressure!)

[Iavas_Saar]

Jewel, there's no deadline. Given the number of people on the list, it's going to take a while to even get 50% done.

That said, I expect your profile on my desk by 9am tomorrow morning.

[oldtoby]

I wonder though if one of the staff would be willing to help me by making email addresses available to me?
Though I'm guessing that it won't be allowed.

I thought of that as well, but it occured to me that probably wouldn't work from a legal standpoint. I imagine Jon and Ted would have to have explicit permission from our members to give out their emails to you (or any third party)

[prettygaladriel]

Tell me honestly, Iavas, am i a m00b?

Well, ok, scratch the "am" and make it a "was," but you do seem to have plenty of "wases" in that list. True, i never contributed to the debates.....m00bie spamming still counts, though

[Iavas_Saar]

Good point toby..

Tell me honestly, Iavas, am i a m00b?

Whether you are or were a m00b is up to you, but I can tell you that you are someone other m00bs feel is worthy of remembrance.

[Primula_Baggins]

Primula_Baggins (surviving member)

Gender: Female
Joined: 23rd July 2002
Age or age group when joined: 43
Most well-known 'title': Miz Prim
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: I love it--it's far from perfect, but I love it.

Description:
I lurked on TORC for a long time in 2001 and 2002, after being unable to make any sense of how the TORN boards worked (I was used to Usenet). In those turbulent days I never dreamed of joining and posting, but I loved what I could learn about the films here, and the personalities were fascinating.

In mid-2002, happy with FoTR and looking forward to FotR-EE and TTT, I got up the courage to sign up. I picked the name of Frodo's mother because she was a real character in the story, even if never referred to by that name. I was later very glad for that hasty but fortunate choice--being "Prim" has suited me to a T.

It was almost a month before I made my first post, on August 21, 2002, and many more months before I began to find that people responded to me. The forum was larger then, n00bs thicker on the ground (and probably thicker in general), and it was hard to be noticed at all. Lucy and Voronwe ( ) were among the first to make me feel welcome and, better, to make me feel that I could say something interesting here.

In time I found something here that I had never found in any other online community--an expectation of civility, a high standard of intelligence and wit, and the freedom to be both silly and deeply serious without risk.

Whatever happens now, I owe a great debt to TORC Movies, to TORC itself, and to the atmosphere that once nurtured (but now has ended) this rare and special community. Yet I have no doubt that something like it will arise again. Of course I hope it happens here as well, for the sake of those who remain.

Awards: A MOME award for my Sam in 2004, of which I'm very proud (my first and only RP), and a WCA nomination the same year.

[Maewyn]

Name: Maewyn (surviving member)
Date joined: 28 February 2004 (1 year ago tomorrow!)
Gender: Female
Age when joined: 51
Stance on the movies: I love them! After I saw FOTR, I read the books. I can appreciate both versions for what they are – each a masterpiece in its own right!

Profile: I found TORC after following a link to a news story. I noticed the Reading Room and spent some weeks reading through many of the fanfics found therein.

Sometime after that I discovered the Forum. I lurked in many threads for a few weeks. I decided I wanted to join in, so I became a member. However, I was so “green” that I didn’t even know how to make a post! This was my very first brush with a forum. After some experimentation, voila! my first post! I was graciously welcomed into the TORC community and have felt at home here ever since.

I’m usually to be found in Fandom, but have dipped my toe into various other Movie threads on occasion.

My most memorable experience in Movies is MOME 2004. I had the time of my life! The idea of RP was rather scary, but I soon found my way around. I love the way a story evolves with so many others contributing to the whole.

Overall, I have TORC to thank for my having made so many new friends from around the world. Thank you all. (Also, thank you Tex for putting forward my name!)



Maewyn

[Sidonzo]

Thank you for the compliment Iavas! I drew the picture myself. I have been a long time fan of Phantom of the Opera. I did post in your Phantom thread once about being excited to see the film. I did get to see it, but by that time the most people had already added their reviews. I do want to write a review (I loved it), but I only got to see it once (due to lack of time and baby-sitters).

OK, I may add a bio here in a couple of months (I'm sure this thread will still be hanging around by then) when I have done a little more posting. I plan on posting a lot in the Soundtrack thread, so at least Tennis-ball will know who I am!

~Sidonzo

[Athrabeth]

Athrabeth (surviving member)

Gender: Female
Joined: Feb. 7th, 2004
Age or age group when joined: 51
Most well-known 'title': 'Beth (thanks, holby-dear), Ath (thanks Anthy)
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: Generally, it was a wonder to me: a wonder to see and feel so many things that I truly did not think would (or could) be included; a wonder that even though parts irk me (and some of PJ's decisions even pain me), my love for the finished work remains undiminished; a wonder because it led me here.

Description:

A Tolkien-geek since my 16th birthday in 1968, I had to stifle a totally inappropriate squeal of delight at a Tech Camp (that's where technologically challenged teachers go so we can learn how to play with teh pretty computers in our rooms) where someone had downloaded the first teaser for FOTR (yes, yes.........I know........I should have been learning how to insert pics into my class newsletters...................but SQUEEEE.........it just looked so "right"!!!)

I started lurking on both TORN and TORC after TTT was released, and was both surprised and delighted that each site had room for intelligent discussion about both the book and the movies. As a matter of fact, it was talk about the HOME series in each site's Book Forum that shored up my resolve to slog through them........a quest that is still not ended.

TORC gradually came to be my site of preference. The articulate, funny, enlightening, maddening, profound, and (most often) respectful discourse on this board became, well, addictive I suppose. That, and Lidless' sig pics! But it was definitely two threads that sealed my fate and led to me signing up: Marty's Spoiler Thread........ thanks Marty.......I never told you, but I think I owe you a baby; and Jnyusa's Tolkien's Moral Universe Thread, which often made my brain hurt, but hey, it definitely needed the exercise!

Although coming late to the fold, I am so very thankful and glad that I was able to participate in threads over the past year that have introduced me to such a wide array of posters and such an amazing diversity of thought. I have learned so much from so many.

There are many here who have tutored me, have made me laugh, have reached out to me with kindness and generosity, but I must give special thanks to laureanna, holbytla and Voronwe for their gracious and warm welcomes and tender care during my first weeks at TORC..........okay, so maybe holby's care wasn't so tender, and his welcome wasn't so gracious..........but I LOVED it nonetheless..........never could have managed to work out the mysteries of sig pics without holby, now would I? Wish he could come to Tech Camp with me.

It is difficult to narrow down, to pinpoint and list the threads that I have enjoyed the most during my time here at TORC. The monthly theme threads are always wonderful, but I especially enjoyed Cute and Cuddly Month, where Anthriel and I discovered our wierdly parallel lives, and teh Beach Party thrown by Frankie and Annette last summer...........I still have that beach blanket, you know. I was proud to be part of tolkienpurist's LOTR Makes its Debut in the Horror Genre, a thread started here in Movies, but moved to Tom's, where it continued to be de-railed and re-railed in all its alphabetic and alliterative splendour. The sharpness of wit, the clever play of language, and the genuine good times found in that thread really do epitimize "the lighter side" of Movies at TORC.........even though we were kicked off the playing field, so to speak.

I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in Jny's thread The Modernization of Hope, where I continued to meet new ideas that have helped me shape my own philosophical foundation with regards to Tolkien. The thread dearest to my heart, however, has to be Teremia's "M00bies Reads the Books" (a proud and rightful winner of a WCA) because it has allowed me to rediscover a book that I have known and loved for over 35 years, and renew the wonder that it brings to me. As I stand at the Havens, looking back and looking beyond, I have that book in my hands, and somehow know that we will hear the sigh and murmur of waves on the shores of Middle-earth together.

Awards: None
Rewards: Innumerable.

[Winged_Balrog]

Great idea for a thread, Iavas. Sorry I haven't had a chance to participate earlier! So, without further ado...

Winged_Balrog (surviving member)

Gender: Male
Joined: 15th August 2001
Age when joined: 24 (:shock: I'm older than I realized!)
Nicknames: "Wingy" (most common), "Wingad_Barlog" (coined by bernil), "Winged_Bullfrog" (coined by Saranthir).
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: One word-- ecstatic.

Description: (in his own words)

I joined TORC just a few months after moving to the United States with my wife whom I had met on the fan site for another successful movie franchise (*cough*starwars*cough*). I was feeling quite depressed at the time, having left behind everything in the world that was familiar to me, and having not yet made any friends in my new home, aside from my wife and her family. I was still going through the painstaking immigration process, and had not yet received permission to work or study in the US, so I was spending a lot of time each day looking for something to do. It was at this time that I discovered TORC.

I started out mostly posting in the "Talk" and "Guild" threads. Some of the friends I made there came along at a time in my life when I really needed friendship, and I'll always remember them. I joined Crispy's donut guild, and even started my own "Drinking Guild for people with a Rugby problem", which became one of the more popular guilds, albeit for a rather short time. I posted occasionally in Movies, but I found the place a little too intimidating to really get involved.

It was in the months leading up to the release of Fellowship of the Ring that I began to participate more frequently and avidly in the discussions on the films. I became known as one of the more passionate revisionists (although I also preferred the term "pragmatist"), and was never too far away from the nearest PvR debate. Most considered me the second most extreme revisionist after Iavas, although I seem to recall an actual survey of movie changes after the first film that actually ranked me as the biggest revisionist on the boards, an accomplishment of which I continue to be proud.

I've mellowed over time, and am not quite as passionate in my defense of the films as I once was. I also don't get the opportunity to visit TORC very often anymore, though I still like to pay a visit when I get the chance. The time I spent, and the people I met, on TORC will always be precious to me, and I look forward to the day when I will have more time to spend with you all again.

Amusing fact: The way I first heard of TORC was after I posted a rather complete defense of why Arwen's role needed to be enhanced for the movies on the message boards at TORN. One of the TORN members, who was also a TORC member (I can't remember who), said he liked my argument, and asked if it would be okay for him to repost it on TORC. I said that would be fine. About a month later, I logged onto TORC for the first time to see the response to what I thought was a perfectly formulated, utterly indisputable argument (at least no one on TORN had come up with a good counterargument). And instead of seeing universal agreement, and people changing their minds, I found my argument being ruthlessly picked at and torn apart! Actually, if anyone is able to find that thread, they'd be doind me a great favor.

Awards:
None

Nominations:
Best User Name (2001)
Best Sig Pic (2001)

[akallabeth]

akallabeth (just about made it to Valinor)

Gender: Yes
Joined: Look to your left
Age when joined: 31 (that’s a prime number, btw)
Nicknames: The Downfallen (my own when I paid for it), ak, akalliwan (or something like that! Hi Mammo!), and various unprintables
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: Beautiful, often very moving, far better than anyone else would have done, and terribly disappointing as an adaptation, at times depressingly so
Awards: Graced to share the (virtual only, alas) stage for “Best Purist” with the lovely NiennaSorrowing in 2003 I think (2002?)

Description:

Well, I had found TORC first as a news site in 1999 or so when I had discovered that the films were being made, during my postdoctoral years at Yale Medical school. So between setting up experiments and tag-teaming with my biologist wife to take care of our two demanding tot-aged offspring, I would head on over with increasing frequency to TORC. Soon stumbled upon the message board, and was captivated with people who, like myself, cared enough to debate the essence of Tolkien’s stories. Cared and debate - that to me is TORC in a nutshell. Cared means that TORC had passion and a foundation far stronger than other “fanthing” sites. Debate meant that on the whole, people tried using their cerebral cortex from time to time, which, while only partly noble, was a refreshing change from most other web sites. I have always felt that Movies, of all the forums, brought out the best discussions of Tolkien’s work, because in contemplating how to adapt the stories, we had to struggle with their essence, meaning, the vital nature that makes them what they are. We all did not agree (how could we when the books are different things to each of us?), but it certainly brought many new perspectives to my mind. And the characters! Dear me, who could forget the mannerisms, the arguments, the humor, the bitterness, the love, the hatred, the intellects, the emotions, the indulgent use of smiley-faces (yes, that’s you chocolate lover!) - and that’s just debate on AATF! This being my first online community involvement, I evolved from passionate newbie to cynical elder to faded memory over the 4 years I was here. Recently I “officially” retired in some obscure thread, and this won’t change that. But heaven forbid that I let some random person write about me - they might get it right, and such must be energetically avoided! (Assuming anyone remembers me, of course. ) Along the way, made some great “virtual” friends. I would have dearly loved to have met some of you, and perhaps there is still a chance for that. You know who you are. Thanks to all that made it special.

TORC came into my life during some hard times for me, and as a parting gift (shot?), I'll repost a poem touched with imagery from Tolkien's works that got at least one positive review here a long time ago (thanks Mom!):

The Lesser Gift of Evenstar

Known well are lives which bend from burden borne
too long. The solid flesh once upright leans.
Known well are wounds which through the Wall have worn
to rend and rupture fragile minds once keen.
Less known to us the long sought remedies
to cleanse and stitch and rebuild that undone.
The years limp past as we try therapies.
Well known, no cure awaits beneath the sun.
Arwen, please! A gem of comfort by our beds!
A respite brief when we can bear no more.
A jewel to drape with silver 'round our heads
to mend the madness rooted at the core.
Instead we gaze out from these mortal shores
for ageless lights as spring in Valinor.



I'm still looking for the ageless shores, helped to get along by my friends and family. Still downfallen, but with "hopeless cheer"!

[JewelSong]

JewelSong
Gender: Female
Joined: October 2002
Age when joined: Ummm...48?
Most well-known 'title': I don't think I have a "title." Some people shorten my name to JS.
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: Loved 'em! Wonderful movies!

History:

I found TORC through a poem called "Friend of Friends" written by a former TORCer named ConnieMarie. When I emailed her about the poem, I was practically desperate to find people I could talk to about my LOTR obsession. She told me about TORC and the wonderful conversations going on.

I started out in Books, posting in "Frodo's Kitchen" with a group that was informally known as "The Kitchen Ladies." Frodo and Sam and Rosie, along with baby Elanor, kept us company and we had wonderful conversations and lots of excellent food and drink. Sometimes, we would head down the hill to "The Green Dragon" (in Tom's House) which we reserved for sillier topics.

I floated over to Movies, following Magpie from the Kitchen and found some wonderfully witty and intelligent posting goin' on! I never became part of the picayune debating or awards...but I loved the energy and the people. I was especially happy to meet some of them in person at the Gathering and later in Oxford.

TORC and the people I have met here have had an overwhelmingly positive effect on my life. I am incredibly grateful for it!

[mechtild]

Iavas, I just finished reading all of these. They are a wonderful collections of posts, and you do us all a great service. Note: I have a low-ish post count for my time as a member, but, as will be seen, I make up for it in long-windedness.


Mecthild (surviving member)

Gender: Female
Joined: 17 February 2003 (but first posted Dec. 2003)
Age or age group when joined: I am the oldest person on most threads I have been on. I am thirty years older than the actor who played my favourite character. I am so old that in the fifth grade, when we lived in Tennessee, there still were “Colored” and “White” drinking fountains. In the 6th grade, when we lived in NYC, one could still ride the subway for a dime. The Sound of Music and Camelot were still running on Broadway. In the 8th grade, my big sister (who later went to Haight Ashbury to be a hippie) took me with her to see the Beatles and the Rolling Stones -- on their first U.S. tours. And, much teased by our teenaged daughter, I have only recently been able to stop calling a DVD, a video.
Nickname(s) : "Mech”; “Auntie Mechtild”; “Naughty Auntie Mechtild”
General stance on Jackson's LOTR: Since I expected any film version of these books to stink, I adamantly refused to attend FotR when it was released. (I never went to films anymore, anyway, so I hadn’t even heard of it until it was already in theatres.) I counted LotR as my favourite book (I had an intense love affair with it during my twenties), although I actually hadn’t read it in twenty years. But when I finally saw FotR (on video) I surprised myself by becoming immediately enamoured of it. To me, these films possess true greatness -- despite their cinematic faults and infidelities to the books.
Description: (in her own words)
I did not know how to use the internet at all until late 2001, when a beloved pet’s cancer drove me to venture onto it. But nothing after that inspired me to go back to it until my unprecedented passion for these films. Seeing FotR rekindled my sleeping passion for the books, too, as well as for all of Tolkien’s other writing. When I had done with that, I went on to all the secondary literature I could find. But the internet intimidated me.

Keenly anticipating TTT, I finally girded my loins and looked up “Tolkien” on the web browser. I found TORn. I looked there daily for film news after that. I never looked at its messageboards, not knowing what messageboards were. I also found TORc, but thought the news sparse and old. Long after TTT came out, I decided to read a review there; I enjoyed reading it so much, I finally joined TORc in order to post an appreciative comment. The one dip I made into the messageboard itself, though, landed me into a spammy, chatty thread that held no interest for me.

I did not look at a thread again until November of 2003, while feverishly awaiting the release of RotK. I was too excited to resist, having no fellow-fans among my family or friends. Another random dip took me to “PJ as Eisenstein.” At that point in the thread, posters were trying to figure out why they responded the way they did to the films. It was an aesthetic sort of thread. I read there the posts of other people who were deeply moved by the films -- even when their minds were in revolt over poor or senseless choices on the part of the filmmakers. This was my own position. In spite of all my intellectual objections, my heart and my sense of aesthetic appreciation had allowed me to be transported by the films. I found the films “sublime,” even. In fact, I swooned for the films. My perspective towards the films is one of (borrowing from St. Augustine) “faith seeking understanding.” I was in love, but it wasn’t enough to be in love; I wanted to know all about my new cinematic beloved. I wanted to know why I had fallen in love. And, I wanted to gush with other lovers.

Subsequently, I found “Tolkien’s Moral Universe” and I was hooked on the Movie Forum. I lurked in many threads, all of a serious nature, but was held more by threads in which the perspective was one that sought to understand why the films worked, more than why they didn’t. Reading and posting in those threads, I learned massively more about writing, as well as about how to best comport oneself in a thread discussion. I saw some very bad behaviour, but more often saw modelled good-humoured, even hospitable behaviour, despite the strong feelings of posters.

After a strong bout of “First Viewing Syndrome” from watching the newly released RotK, I fell over the edge and became a truly-madly-deeply sort of fan of the films. I was so besotted and was such a churning mass of emotions inside, I felt compelled to better understand why that was so. What was going on in me because of these films????

At this point I found what I will call the “wounded” threads, all of which seemed to ask why these films had touched people so profoundly, especially through the themes of suffering and sacrifice. Not surprisingly, these threads tended to focus on the character of Frodo. After RotK, it was in the character of Frodo that my general swoon for the films found its most concentrated expression. After trying to maintain objectivity on even these fairly emotional, self-revealing threads (--all of which were in Movies except the often fascinating Frodo’s Kitchen), I admitted to myself that I was essentially a swooner. Swooning is an aesthetically-centered behaviour, in my opinion. More than anything else, I am a fan whose response is an aesthetic one.

I looked for the Frodo swoon thread in Fandom, but thought it mostly chatty and terribly light-weight. When I returned later, having embarrassed myself by swooning openly for the hundredth time in an intellectual thread, I stuck around for longer and discovered that swooning can be quite intellectually satisfying. (And far more naughty and amusing than on more buttoned-up threads. ) After that, except for the invaluable M00bies reads the B00ks, I have pretty much stayed in my Frodo-nook on TORc (not counting my “guest swooning” in MOME III, which was splendid fun). I would like to lurk and post more in Movies -- I was late to this party and I am not finished -- but I haven’t the time! Why? Because I am all wrapped up in a writing project of my own.

One of the things I’ve noticed about the LotR fan experience (perhaps more so in the swoon threads where people ‘fess up more about what drives them and about what they are driven to do by it), is that being a fan has been a tremendously exciting and revitalizing experience. We have not merely analyzed and admired, as watchers of the films. We have been inspired by them to be doers ourselves. For many of us, creativity that had been languishing -- dormant; even given up for dead --was sparked into a blaze by the passion for these films (and made all the hotter by our various swoons). Dulled imaginations were rekindled.

I have seen it over and over: LotR fans themselves moved by their love of the films and its characters to create – and at a time when they thought we were all washed up in the creativity department. *raises geezy hand*

Well, HA!

As Miss Jean Brodie said, “I am in my prime!”

I feel that I owe this renaissance -- this unexpected hitting of “my prime” I had despaired of -- to these films. And, perhaps just as much, I owe it to its fans, so many of whom have poured out their hearts and minds in these threads. I am massively indebted to you who have posted here. And, of course, I am in debt to the character of Frodo.

Who would have imagined Eros was lurking in Frodo Baggins, hobbit of the Shire? Not I. But, lo! I am smitten! -- pierced by a diminutive Cupid of the West Farthing.

And I just love it.

Awards: Best Swooner (or a similar title), MOME III Pageant, 2003
Nominations: Suave and Savvy Swooner, 2003

~ Mechtild

[Eruname127]

People can continue to post their profiles but Iavas won't be able to do any updating. He'll try to compile this somewhere else on the web.

[prettygaladriel]

Iavas, you sweety

Ok, so here goes.....

Prettygaladriel (surviving member)

Gender: Female
Joined: January 2002
Age or age group when joined: <TOS violation>
Most well-known 'title' or 'titles: Peeg, PG, PrettyG, "Oh, that Brat"

Description:

The only links i can claim to m00bies is that i started out here. Hapless newbie that i was, i ventured in here one day, this being the first forum that perked my interest (i loved the movies, not the books, then ) posted in a parody thread and got flamed by Radagast_the_Ruddy. Er....well, at least, i think that's how it went

For the most part of my first year on TORC i was solely in m00bies, witnessing first hand the Hama vs Iavas threads, numerous Winged Balrog discussions, and even posting frequently on the infamous Grey Havens board That last one is not something i'm particularily proud of But it did result in me making a number of wonderful friends who were also m00bs: Ateelah, Alys, Ham_the_Hamster and Iavas being the ones i remember best. Then there were the annoying ones like Mr Bunny, Bernil and Droolie....

Anyway, after that i branched out into the other forums, discovered RPing and Guilds and spamming and Adopting.....and had mostly forgotten my m00bie heritage until the end of last year, when a board inhabited by a number of m00bies reminded me of my m00bie heritage. And then Iavas started this thread, so i though i might as well add my two cents too....

I love what the m00bies was, not what it has become. I hope we can all get through this rough time safe and whole, and anyone acting unreasonably can realise their mistakes.

It's been a good journey....let's hope it ends that way too