The Children of Aulë: A Depressing Illustration of the Forced Migrations of the Dwarves

So I've put together geneological charts for both the elves and men of Middle-earth, and I was really looking forward to doing the same for the dwarves––they've always been my favorite anyways. However, I have to admit that after doing the work and the research to make this chart . . . I'm mostly just depressed. Those dwarfs had a crappy history. No, I'm being serious. You probably don't even want to hear about it. It was that bad.

If you don't believe me . . . well, just jump past the break and you'll see:

JRR Tolkien Sings "That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates"

I always enjoy hearing the songs of Middle-earth out of the Maker's own mouth. Enjoy!

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:

I Wish Thorin Looked More Like This:

This is my (unskilled) attempt to craft a Thorin that is more in keeping with the book. There are a lot of things I like about movie Thorin, but at the risk of offending a lot of Richard Armitage fans out there, I'm goint to admit that there are also a number of issues I have with him. Mainly, I just think he's too young, his beard isn't long enough, and his face doesn't look "dwarfy" enough.

So here is my own version of Thorin. What do you think?

And yes, I stole Gloin's beard to lengthen Thorin's. Big deal.

Fridays at the Mathom-House:

Happy Friday! I meant to get this posted up last week . . . but didn't. This week's Mathom-House will be featuring the amazing illustrations of Sceithailm, who has a gallery full of amazing stuff over at deviantart.com. All of her work is great, but to me, her depictions of Middle-earth are the cream of the crop. The texturing she works into the fabrics and skin of her characters is amazing.

Jump past the break to enjoy a feast for the eyes!

Learning to Love Azog

Now, I'll be the first to admit that Azog isn't exactly my favorite character in the first Hobbit movie. Not because I think he was poorly done or anything; I just don't understand why Bolg couldn't have been used in exactly the same way. But I really don't get why people are pouring so much hate on the Pale Orc. I mean, he wasn't that bad, was he?

Well, John Ruddy over at theonering.net seems to think so. He writes a good, well-reasoned argument and you should definitely take a look at it; but for me at least, his logic fails on a few points. So I've decided to play devil's (or is it "orc's"?) advocate and jot down my own thoughts on everyone's (least) favorite orc, in an unabashed effort to get you, faithful reader, to not hate the poor guy so much.

Jump past the break to read on!

Desolation of Smaug Photos and Plot Spoilers

So after a long drought of Desolation of Smaug info, the internet seems like its been raining and pouring Hobbit-related pictures, mostly from the Hobbit Annual. Additionally, the Annual has provided some (limited) insight into the plot of the Desolation of Smaug. If you're into spoilers, click here. If you just wanna see the pics, jump past the break!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Sneak Peek!

AWESOMENESS! Here is our first glimpse of some of the bonus material that will be in the TH:AUJ Extended Edition. I love this little interaction between Elrond and Bilbo . . . and the scene manages to sneak in a couple of classic lines from Fellowship of the Ring to boot!

Enjoy!

Friday at the Mathom-House: Nick Keller

Nick Keller is one of the concept artists that worked on TH:AUJ, and he has posted some of his Hobbit work (along with a lot of other great stuff) over at his website nickkellerart.com and shared it with folks at ComicBook Movie. Jump past the break to see some awesome artwork of warg riders, dwarves and lots of weapons and armor:

Desolation of Smaug vLog!

An update from Mr. Jackson himself! Here is the first official video blog for the Desolation of Smaug (the eleventh vlog in total, if you keep track of that kind of thin). What things was I excited to see? Jump past the break to find out!