The Men of Dale and Laketown, and the Beornings too: A Brief History of Beorn and Bard, and other Men

So have you ever wondered how a bunch of Men ended up in Dale, Laketown and the eaves of Mirkwood, surrounded by dwarves, elves, goblins and dragons and miles of wilderness? It's actually quite an interesting story that involves a lot of migrations, wars and possibly some inbreeding . . . I'm not really sure. Anyways, jump past the break to read more:

Friday at the Mathom-House: Jian Gou

 It's a long time since we've had a good Friday at the Mathom-House around these parts, but I came across some of these amazing stained-glass illustrations by Jian Gou on theonering.net, and I couldn't resist tracking down all them and showing them off. In terms of awesome-ness, they pretty much speak for themselves, don't you agree? Read on past the break for more.