The group met at the Embassy Cinema today, and although our intentions were to discuss the set theme of Reality vs Metaphor (were Bilbo's Rock Giants real or were they a metaphor for something entirely different?), in the end we kinda never got around to it. The discussion went a lot of different ways instead, everything from politics (VERY briefly), various educational models around the world, Bela Lugosi's role in early horror films, and yes, some Middle-earth.
The group was pretty relaxed about it all. Coffee was drunk, cake was demolished. Last week was Armageddon, so that was a nice catch-up since most people had been to it - Wellington's annual Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention at the Westpac Stadium. And speaking of Sci-Fi, the Wellington Sci-Fi group came and sat beside us in the cafe and started their monthly meeting as well. Looks like a good place to hold these things, I guess.
We'll be meeting again in a few months, perhaps we'll get around to the theme then! The silver lining of today's meeting - it's great to see that this is such a social event, and I hope it always stays that way.
Till next time!
Welcome to Welly-moot - the official blog of the Wellington Tolkien Smial.
Showing posts with label Moot Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moot Report. Show all posts
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Welly-moot #6.2 report - Eowyn's Choices
The second Welly-moot meeting was held at Embassy café today. Alongside of regular members, we have new visitors; Maria and Logan, both are big fans of Tolkien’s world.
First, we started with updates and news around the table – the upcoming charity event with Royd Tolkien on April 12 (http://www.welly-moot.com/2017/03/royd-tolkien-coming-to-wellington-at.html), news about Wellington Movie Museum (ie, no news, more delays), and new movies; especially “Ghost in the Shell” with both Jack and Alex as Extras.
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Today’s theme was "Eowyn's Choices" - a theme we received from Astrid from Austrian Tirol Tolkien Smial. Astrid is asking different groups some Tolkien themed questions, and is collecting answers, possibly to be published at a later stage. We'll keep you updated!
In The Return Of The King, Theoden King had laid the faith of their people into Eowyn's hands. However, she secretly fought alongside with Kind and her brother and she could have easily died.
Questions;
(1) What is she now? – Is she a traitor, a rogue, just a huge egoist, irresponsible or what?
(2) Is she a great heroine of her time, after all?
(3) To WHOM did she pass on her responsibility for the Rohirrim? Especially as it had to be operated in secret? Any optional leader at hand was to join Theoden's army, after all.
We had a great discussions about Eowyn today and it was so much fun. We have decided to have this kind of discussion with different themes and topics for future meetings. If you have any ideas, topics, or questions you want to ask Welly-mooters to discuss about it, please email to Jack (jack@wellymoot.com). We welcome anyones’ participation.
Finally we had an announcement. Jack and Alex have decided to remain at the helm Welly-moot and we are having a new committee member, Kay who has attended all meetings since last year and been supporting us. Jack will lead us as the President of Welly-moot, and Kristi, Alex, Cinnamon, Daniel, and now Kay will support him and the group as Committee members.
The next meeting is on Sunday 4 June. See you there.
Jack & Alex
First, we started with updates and news around the table – the upcoming charity event with Royd Tolkien on April 12 (http://www.welly-moot.com/2017/03/royd-tolkien-coming-to-wellington-at.html), news about Wellington Movie Museum (ie, no news, more delays), and new movies; especially “Ghost in the Shell” with both Jack and Alex as Extras.
--
Today’s theme was "Eowyn's Choices" - a theme we received from Astrid from Austrian Tirol Tolkien Smial. Astrid is asking different groups some Tolkien themed questions, and is collecting answers, possibly to be published at a later stage. We'll keep you updated!
In The Return Of The King, Theoden King had laid the faith of their people into Eowyn's hands. However, she secretly fought alongside with Kind and her brother and she could have easily died.
Questions;
(1) What is she now? – Is she a traitor, a rogue, just a huge egoist, irresponsible or what?
We all agreed that she is none of them, and certainly not a traitor. Ryan and Kay spotted the excellent point - if Eowyn was a male, King Theoden would have asked to stay at home? It is obviously not because all men were expected to fight with the King.
As everyone knew that the fight had no hope to win and everyone was expected to die during the battle. If everyone died in the battle, then all women and children who were left behind would be killed by Sauron anyway, so there was no point to remain as the successor. Eowyn chose to die alongside with the King and her brother to try to protect the world and people. Maybe she betrayed her King but not her people.
Alex brought a more romantic answer; because Eowyn was heart-broken by being rejected by Aragorn, she lost her hope to live and she chose to die.
An interesting question members pointed out – “Was it irresponsible of her to take Merry with her to the battle?” After some discussion, we concluded that it was not irresponsible. She was going to be left behind and so was Merry who both wanted to fight for their love ones.
A quotation from the movie, when Aragorn asked her what she was afraid of, then she answered “a cage”. If she did as King asked, she was like being a cage without freedom or her own will.
(2) Is she a great heroine of her time, after all?
We all agreed “Yes”. However she had to disguise herself to be in the battle and killed the Nazgul. She is a heroine and a fighter. She did far more good in the battle than she would have if she'd followed the king's orders.
(3) To WHOM did she pass on her responsibility for the Rohirrim? Especially as it had to be operated in secret? Any optional leader at hand was to join Theoden's army, after all.
As like other stories, there is always someone to inherit the throne; maybe descendant of Hamma or Gamling, or second/third cousin of Eomer and Eowyn.
We had a great discussions about Eowyn today and it was so much fun. We have decided to have this kind of discussion with different themes and topics for future meetings. If you have any ideas, topics, or questions you want to ask Welly-mooters to discuss about it, please email to Jack (jack@wellymoot.com). We welcome anyones’ participation.
Finally we had an announcement. Jack and Alex have decided to remain at the helm Welly-moot and we are having a new committee member, Kay who has attended all meetings since last year and been supporting us. Jack will lead us as the President of Welly-moot, and Kristi, Alex, Cinnamon, Daniel, and now Kay will support him and the group as Committee members.
The next meeting is on Sunday 4 June. See you there.
Jack & Alex
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Moot Report: Welly-moot #6.1 - Picnic at Rivendell
The first Welly-moot meeting in 2017 was held today at
Rivendell. We had a bit of wind but otherwise very summery weather for our picnic, with
plenty of sunshine. We enjoyed meeting up with friends and families along with
Welly-mooters. Kay was the first to arrive, and she had brought a lovely Hobbittish basket full of
food. Thanks Kay! And since everyone else did the same, there certainly was plenty to go around!
After
we enjoyed sharing in everyone's scrumptious treats and conversation, and singing with guitar by Daniel, we
took off for a mini-tour of Rivendell, guided by Jack. We enjoyed the summery
afternoon with sunshine which we hadn’t had for a long time in
Wellington.
Meanwhile, check out the photos!
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| Always beautiful at Rivendell |
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| Food looking good, ladies! Also: Food! Looking good, ladies! |
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| Heroically sucking in my stomach |
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| Just a quiet cup of coffee, and a nice spot to drink it |
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| Ever the tourguide |
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| Through the sun shimmering - a vision, as a mirage, appeared at the gates of Rivendell. Lo, it was the lady Arwen herself! |
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| We moved the tables back into the shade a number of times. |
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| Always nice to have a bit of live music, guys! Thanks for bringing the guitar! |
Friday, November 18, 2016
Sad news - the picnic is cancelled. :(
Really didn't want it to come to this, but we're cancelling the picnic this Sunday.
After the week we've all had, with earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, floods, tornadoes, and an uncertain weather forecast for Sunday, and a still-soaking-wet picnic ground around Rivendell, we've decided to call it off. It's not something we do lightly.
So, to repeat - the picnic is cancelled. We will announce a new date later, but expect it to be no earlier than January.
My apologies if you had a bunch of stuff planned - I know we were all really looking forward to it all.
There will be another day!
- Jack
After the week we've all had, with earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, floods, tornadoes, and an uncertain weather forecast for Sunday, and a still-soaking-wet picnic ground around Rivendell, we've decided to call it off. It's not something we do lightly.
So, to repeat - the picnic is cancelled. We will announce a new date later, but expect it to be no earlier than January.
My apologies if you had a bunch of stuff planned - I know we were all really looking forward to it all.
There will be another day!
- Jack
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Moot Report - Welly-moot #5.5 (September 25, 2016)
We had a fun meeting on Sunday the 25th of September. It was the start of Daylight Savings Time, but it seemed everyone remembered it in time, and no one was too late at the meeting because of it.
We started off with the usual greetings, and caught up with news and updates from everyone, with a quick chat as usual. Mooter Sarah had recently visited England's Oxford and visited Tolkien's favourite pub The Eagle and Child for a meal, and brought back a few souvenir postcards by Andrew Manson. Andrew, who was the Artist in Residence at the pub, had a writeup in the Oxfordshire magazine recently, which is available as a pdf file here.
--
The theme for this meeting was "the diverse landscapes of Middle-earth". Everyone brought their books, tablets or their knowledge of Middle Earth. We talked about landscapes, forests, and mountains. We enjoyed sharing our ideas and thoughts.
Alex was particularly interested in the “stone-giants” from The Hobbit; there is not much explanation in Tolkien’s books and the ambiguousness of their existence; are they from Bilbo's dreams, or are they real? Kris found some good photos with rock falls, where it is believed that Tolkien got the idea of the “rock-giants” and found an article why they play games by throwing rocks, and risking their lives.
--
Next Welly-moot meeting will be the last meeting this year already. It will also be the last meeting hosted by Jack and Alex. As it was announced on the last post, we will be stepping down from being the main hosts of the meetings. We have a few Welly-mooters who have have got their hands up, to take over from us. But don’t worry, we won’t disappear. We will still be attending Welly-moots.
Before we go though, we decided to have a picnic lunch on Sunday 20 November at Rivendell in Kaitoke Park in Upper Hutt. We will try to have some attractions on the day as well - maybe a swords demonstration, a guided forest walk, best costume competition, or whatever. Come and join us! We will post the details when it is closer.
- Alex & Jack
PS - please note the new date for next meeting - it was originally set for November 27th, but it's now November 20th
We started off with the usual greetings, and caught up with news and updates from everyone, with a quick chat as usual. Mooter Sarah had recently visited England's Oxford and visited Tolkien's favourite pub The Eagle and Child for a meal, and brought back a few souvenir postcards by Andrew Manson. Andrew, who was the Artist in Residence at the pub, had a writeup in the Oxfordshire magazine recently, which is available as a pdf file here.
--
The theme for this meeting was "the diverse landscapes of Middle-earth". Everyone brought their books, tablets or their knowledge of Middle Earth. We talked about landscapes, forests, and mountains. We enjoyed sharing our ideas and thoughts.
Alex was particularly interested in the “stone-giants” from The Hobbit; there is not much explanation in Tolkien’s books and the ambiguousness of their existence; are they from Bilbo's dreams, or are they real? Kris found some good photos with rock falls, where it is believed that Tolkien got the idea of the “rock-giants” and found an article why they play games by throwing rocks, and risking their lives.
--
Next Welly-moot meeting will be the last meeting this year already. It will also be the last meeting hosted by Jack and Alex. As it was announced on the last post, we will be stepping down from being the main hosts of the meetings. We have a few Welly-mooters who have have got their hands up, to take over from us. But don’t worry, we won’t disappear. We will still be attending Welly-moots.
Before we go though, we decided to have a picnic lunch on Sunday 20 November at Rivendell in Kaitoke Park in Upper Hutt. We will try to have some attractions on the day as well - maybe a swords demonstration, a guided forest walk, best costume competition, or whatever. Come and join us! We will post the details when it is closer.
- Alex & Jack
PS - please note the new date for next meeting - it was originally set for November 27th, but it's now November 20th
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Welly-moot 5.4 report (brief), plus an announcement
On July 31st, we held the fourth Welly-moot of 2016, which ended up being a very pleasant afternoon. The theme of the day was the nature of life and death in Middle-earth, which ended up being a very lively discussion, and the coffee flowed freely.
I also announced my intentions to step down as the defacto president of the group by the end of the year. I've been running the show for the last six years (counting the Noldor days, aka the First Age). In that time we've organised a good number of events, had a lot of fun, and we have got a good little group going on. I'm taking a new direction in my life and want to step away from quite so much of the "All Tolkien, All The Time" that I've been doing for the last 13 or so years.
Don't get me wrong; I'll still be running LOTR tours at Rover Tours and Flat Earth Tours, and I'll still be attending Welly-moots - I just won't be involving myself so much in the running of it; the blogging, the event organising, and the networking. I'm also not extending the collection of LOTR Cool Stuff quite so much.
I'm feeling very positive about the changes ahead, and I know the Welly-moot will fare well without me at the helm.
There are various tasks that could be handed over. At the moot, Daniel offered to take some of them, and I suspect he could do with a helping hand in a few places. If you're keen to get involved, let me know, I'm sure many hands will make light work, and two heads are better than one, etc.
Anyway, more details on all this when it actually happens (end of the year!), in the meantime, it's time I announced the next meeting (next week Sunday!).
- Jack
I also announced my intentions to step down as the defacto president of the group by the end of the year. I've been running the show for the last six years (counting the Noldor days, aka the First Age). In that time we've organised a good number of events, had a lot of fun, and we have got a good little group going on. I'm taking a new direction in my life and want to step away from quite so much of the "All Tolkien, All The Time" that I've been doing for the last 13 or so years.
Don't get me wrong; I'll still be running LOTR tours at Rover Tours and Flat Earth Tours, and I'll still be attending Welly-moots - I just won't be involving myself so much in the running of it; the blogging, the event organising, and the networking. I'm also not extending the collection of LOTR Cool Stuff quite so much.
I'm feeling very positive about the changes ahead, and I know the Welly-moot will fare well without me at the helm.
There are various tasks that could be handed over. At the moot, Daniel offered to take some of them, and I suspect he could do with a helping hand in a few places. If you're keen to get involved, let me know, I'm sure many hands will make light work, and two heads are better than one, etc.
Anyway, more details on all this when it actually happens (end of the year!), in the meantime, it's time I announced the next meeting (next week Sunday!).
- Jack
Sunday, March 27, 2016
That was one successful marathon!
It's finished. It's done. We came, we watched, we survived (most of us). All six extended Middle-earth movies in a row, in a single sitting. Truly, the end of all things.
I hope everyone enjoyed the event as much as we did! Everything went right, from the chosen date of Good Friday, March 25th (which won't happen again until the year 2157!), to the fantastic venue The Roxy Cinema. Thank you again for hosting this for us, you were marvelous!
In fact, a few thank you's are in order.
Thank you first and most importantly of all, to the Roxy Cinema for all their support, and in particular to Alice, who helped so much the whole way through; to Phil and Valentina for supporting it throughout the planning and preparation stages; and to Richard for keeping things flowing at the event itself! And of course to the other, invisible, behind-the-scenes staff who set up, cooked, and cleaned up afterwards for us. You all did a great job!
Thank you to the Roxy also for the amazing prizepacks both before as well as during the event. And of course congratulations to the prizewinners!
Thank you to the Miramar Events Trust, for you support, and assistance talking to the media.
Thank you to the Weta Workshop, and in particular to Tania Rodger, for setting up the venue in true Weta style.
Thanks to Daniel Tararo and Kris McMeans who blogged, tweeted, facebook, and most importantly, periscoped their way through the event, with live interviews for the world to watch.
Thanks to Erica, Wilson and Luke for recording the event for your documentary. Let me know when it's available to watch somewhere!
Thank you to Chewy from Wellington Rover Tours for supplying the courtesy shuttle, for getting people There And Back Again, and also for printing the much appreciated Survivor's Certificates. They will make great reminders of this mega event.
Also thank you to Mojo Coffee for making sure there was enough caffeine to go around for the fans!
A HUGE thank you to all the special guests who came and honoured us with their presence - Jamie Selkirk (with Oscar!), Daniel Reeve, Daniel Falconer, Peter Hambleton, Sanit Klamchanuan, Kim and Warren Beaton, and Sadwyn Brophy. You made yourself so very available to the fans, with conversation, photos, autographs, and (to Daniel Reeve in particular) with your amazing skills.
A special thank you to Jed Brophy for being there right throughout the event, and getting just as tired as the rest of us! Your dedication is amazing!
A HUGE thank you from me (Jack) to the rest of the Welly-moot committee - Cinnamon, Alex, and Kris. Cinnamon, I forgot to mention you in the speech before the first movie - but I couldn't have done it without you. Alex, you were always by my side. And Kris, my costume looks amazing, thanks to you!
And last, but not least, thank you so much to the amazing fans we managed to convince to part with a not-insignificant amount of money, some who came dressed up, some who flew from halfway across the world, and at least one who walked about 40kms to get to the cinema on time. Your dedication to these films is always amazing, and knowing that support existed made the efforts to organise this so much easier.
Thank you all - I for one, enjoyed this event immensely! I trust everyone else did also!
- Jack Machiela
I hope everyone enjoyed the event as much as we did! Everything went right, from the chosen date of Good Friday, March 25th (which won't happen again until the year 2157!), to the fantastic venue The Roxy Cinema. Thank you again for hosting this for us, you were marvelous!
In fact, a few thank you's are in order.
Thank you first and most importantly of all, to the Roxy Cinema for all their support, and in particular to Alice, who helped so much the whole way through; to Phil and Valentina for supporting it throughout the planning and preparation stages; and to Richard for keeping things flowing at the event itself! And of course to the other, invisible, behind-the-scenes staff who set up, cooked, and cleaned up afterwards for us. You all did a great job!
Thank you to the Roxy also for the amazing prizepacks both before as well as during the event. And of course congratulations to the prizewinners!
 |
| Anna receives her prize. |
Thank you to the Miramar Events Trust, for you support, and assistance talking to the media.
Thank you to the Weta Workshop, and in particular to Tania Rodger, for setting up the venue in true Weta style.
Thanks to Daniel Tararo and Kris McMeans who blogged, tweeted, facebook, and most importantly, periscoped their way through the event, with live interviews for the world to watch.
Thanks to Erica, Wilson and Luke for recording the event for your documentary. Let me know when it's available to watch somewhere!
Thank you to Chewy from Wellington Rover Tours for supplying the courtesy shuttle, for getting people There And Back Again, and also for printing the much appreciated Survivor's Certificates. They will make great reminders of this mega event.
 |
| We lived! |
Also thank you to Mojo Coffee for making sure there was enough caffeine to go around for the fans!
A HUGE thank you to all the special guests who came and honoured us with their presence - Jamie Selkirk (with Oscar!), Daniel Reeve, Daniel Falconer, Peter Hambleton, Sanit Klamchanuan, Kim and Warren Beaton, and Sadwyn Brophy. You made yourself so very available to the fans, with conversation, photos, autographs, and (to Daniel Reeve in particular) with your amazing skills.
A special thank you to Jed Brophy for being there right throughout the event, and getting just as tired as the rest of us! Your dedication is amazing!
A HUGE thank you from me (Jack) to the rest of the Welly-moot committee - Cinnamon, Alex, and Kris. Cinnamon, I forgot to mention you in the speech before the first movie - but I couldn't have done it without you. Alex, you were always by my side. And Kris, my costume looks amazing, thanks to you!
And last, but not least, thank you so much to the amazing fans we managed to convince to part with a not-insignificant amount of money, some who came dressed up, some who flew from halfway across the world, and at least one who walked about 40kms to get to the cinema on time. Your dedication to these films is always amazing, and knowing that support existed made the efforts to organise this so much easier.
Thank you all - I for one, enjoyed this event immensely! I trust everyone else did also!
- Jack Machiela
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Welly-moot #5.1 Report - ("Faramir & Eowyn")
The Welly-moot group met today at the Embassy Cinema, to discuss another aspect of Tolkien's world - the relationship between Faramir and Eowyn.
It was a lively discussion, with all sorts of wonderful points being raised. Did Faramir think he would be the reigning Steward (until Aragorn showed up), and how far was Eowyn from taking up the mantel thrust upon her by King Theoden, before they both met?
The group, which consisted of thirteen committed members, had a great cultural variety amongst us - New Zealand, England, Scandinavia, USA, Japan, Germany, Polynesia, to name a few backgrounds. We talked about child-naming traditions for Middle-earth, and how they relate to the real world, as well as the stranglehold that misogyny has over Eowyn, and how it affected her life choices. From there we somehow covered the subject of hair-cutting traditions on Rarotonga, and how that was also reflected in some ways in the reverence Gimli held over the locks of Galadriel's hair. From the real world to Middle-earth, and straight back again indeed.
In the group today were a number of members who return to us after long absences, including Ryan, Jennifer, and Hawk - welcome back guys! One particularly long absence was from Jens Goetz from the German Tolkien group. Jens has been to the moot once before, way back in 2012, dressed as our German Gandalf! As before, he brought a song for us!
Today he was in "normal" clothes, but tomorrow I have the honour of driving him around the Middle-earth locations of Wellington in my other job as a LOTR tourguide. Looking forward to it, Jens!
Apart from the theme of the day, we also of course had a big excited discussion about our huge event, The End Of All Things; the Ultimate Middle-earth Marathon. Since we have the green light, we know that tickets are selling rapidly, so if you're thinking of attending, please buy tickets as soon as possible. If you leave things too late, you may end up missing out. Please get in touch with either Cinnamon or myself if you need any assistance in any way. We're on facebook, email, blog messages, texts, phones, etc, so no excuses! :)
It very much looks like this event will be an awesome one. Every announcement today was exciting. We're getting sponsored by Mojo Coffee, who will be providing bottomless brewed coffee throughout the event. There will be VIP guests - one has been confirmed, and possible more as well. I will be announcing things as soon as they firm up 100%. It looks very much like Weta is dressing up the Roxy Cinema, possibly with original props. We're doing it in style!
More information to come soon. In the meantime, to book a ticket, please go to...:
http://www.roxycinema.co.nz/page-event-3.php
- Jack
It was a lively discussion, with all sorts of wonderful points being raised. Did Faramir think he would be the reigning Steward (until Aragorn showed up), and how far was Eowyn from taking up the mantel thrust upon her by King Theoden, before they both met?
The group, which consisted of thirteen committed members, had a great cultural variety amongst us - New Zealand, England, Scandinavia, USA, Japan, Germany, Polynesia, to name a few backgrounds. We talked about child-naming traditions for Middle-earth, and how they relate to the real world, as well as the stranglehold that misogyny has over Eowyn, and how it affected her life choices. From there we somehow covered the subject of hair-cutting traditions on Rarotonga, and how that was also reflected in some ways in the reverence Gimli held over the locks of Galadriel's hair. From the real world to Middle-earth, and straight back again indeed.
In the group today were a number of members who return to us after long absences, including Ryan, Jennifer, and Hawk - welcome back guys! One particularly long absence was from Jens Goetz from the German Tolkien group. Jens has been to the moot once before, way back in 2012, dressed as our German Gandalf! As before, he brought a song for us!
 |
| "What really happened in the Green Dragon" -by Jens Goetz |
Today he was in "normal" clothes, but tomorrow I have the honour of driving him around the Middle-earth locations of Wellington in my other job as a LOTR tourguide. Looking forward to it, Jens!
Apart from the theme of the day, we also of course had a big excited discussion about our huge event, The End Of All Things; the Ultimate Middle-earth Marathon. Since we have the green light, we know that tickets are selling rapidly, so if you're thinking of attending, please buy tickets as soon as possible. If you leave things too late, you may end up missing out. Please get in touch with either Cinnamon or myself if you need any assistance in any way. We're on facebook, email, blog messages, texts, phones, etc, so no excuses! :)
It very much looks like this event will be an awesome one. Every announcement today was exciting. We're getting sponsored by Mojo Coffee, who will be providing bottomless brewed coffee throughout the event. There will be VIP guests - one has been confirmed, and possible more as well. I will be announcing things as soon as they firm up 100%. It looks very much like Weta is dressing up the Roxy Cinema, possibly with original props. We're doing it in style!
More information to come soon. In the meantime, to book a ticket, please go to...:
http://www.roxycinema.co.nz/page-event-3.php
 |
| Roxy Cinema Events booking |
- Jack
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Welly-moot #4.6, Report - Galadriel's Gifts
The last Welly-moot of 2015, moot #4.6, was held on Sunday the 29th of November at the Embassy Theatre.
We started with an ‘OMG’ announcement for Welly-mooters. We will post it on this website shortly so keep eye on it. It's pretty awesome, but we have to get the details right before we can announce it properly. Expect something pretty exciting in the next week!
Today though, three new Welly-mooters joined us - Tara & Chad, and Jade. Apart from her many creative skills, Jade also works as a guide at Weta Cave, and turns out to be very knowledgable on all matters Tolkien. Tara and Chad are travelling fans, and are currently visiting (more than a) few Middle-earth locations around New Zealand. Once they were introduced, we continued with the roundtable introductions and some general updates as usual. Great news are Sinead’s new job at Weta Degital, and new documentary project related with Tolkien from Will & Erica - looking forward to offering our assistance when the time comes closer!
The moot's theme was "The gifts from Galadriel". We are sure you know all the gifts, but here is a friendly reminder for you just in case.
Before the parting, the Fellowship members were given Lembas, Elven cloaks, Elven brooches, Elven ropes, and boats.
At the parting, Galadriel presented specific gifts to each member of the Fellowship.
There followed some interesting discussions;
It was suggested that in the movie, perhaps Galadriel doesn't give Boromir any personal gifts because with her foresight, she knew that he was portrayed by Sean Bean (who always dies). A good theory!
One sad item of news - one of our longest Welly-moot members, Annabelle, is moving to Hamilton with her two Hobbits. We would like to thank Annabelle for all your contribution to our little group, we will miss you. We wish you the best in your new life and hope we will meet again soon. Remember, you're a member for life!
Our next meeting will be on Sunday 31st January 2016. Keep checking our website for an exciting announcement! Talk to you soon.
- Alex
We started with an ‘OMG’ announcement for Welly-mooters. We will post it on this website shortly so keep eye on it. It's pretty awesome, but we have to get the details right before we can announce it properly. Expect something pretty exciting in the next week!
Today though, three new Welly-mooters joined us - Tara & Chad, and Jade. Apart from her many creative skills, Jade also works as a guide at Weta Cave, and turns out to be very knowledgable on all matters Tolkien. Tara and Chad are travelling fans, and are currently visiting (more than a) few Middle-earth locations around New Zealand. Once they were introduced, we continued with the roundtable introductions and some general updates as usual. Great news are Sinead’s new job at Weta Degital, and new documentary project related with Tolkien from Will & Erica - looking forward to offering our assistance when the time comes closer!
The moot's theme was "The gifts from Galadriel". We are sure you know all the gifts, but here is a friendly reminder for you just in case.
Before the parting, the Fellowship members were given Lembas, Elven cloaks, Elven brooches, Elven ropes, and boats.
At the parting, Galadriel presented specific gifts to each member of the Fellowship.
- Aragorn – Elfstone and a sheath for Anduril
- Boromir – his golden belt
- Merry & Pippin – Silver belts
- Legolas – Galadhrim bow with elven hair string, and plenty of arrows
- Sam – a box marked with a silver rune "G for Galadriel". Inside the box was some earth from Galadriel's orchard and a silver nut from a Mallorn tree.
- Gimli – Three strands of Galadriel’s hair
- Frodo - Phial of Galadriel
There followed some interesting discussions;
- Based on the history of the relationship between Elves and Dwarves, Galadriel’s offer to Gimli is unique and remarkable.
- Galadriel had the foresight and so she prepared very special gifts which would be useful on their journey later on.
- The gift from Galadriel who is high-elf, to Legolas who is low(er)-elf.
- How Boromir’s gold belt and Merry & Pippin’s silver belts were used on the story.
It was suggested that in the movie, perhaps Galadriel doesn't give Boromir any personal gifts because with her foresight, she knew that he was portrayed by Sean Bean (who always dies). A good theory!
One sad item of news - one of our longest Welly-moot members, Annabelle, is moving to Hamilton with her two Hobbits. We would like to thank Annabelle for all your contribution to our little group, we will miss you. We wish you the best in your new life and hope we will meet again soon. Remember, you're a member for life!
Our next meeting will be on Sunday 31st January 2016. Keep checking our website for an exciting announcement! Talk to you soon.
- Alex
Monday, September 28, 2015
Welly-moot #4.5, Elrond - report
Our Welly-moot #4.5 meeting was held last Sunday, 27 September at Embassy Theatre.
We started with a roundtable introduction for the new Welly-mooters; Elanor, Ayumi, and Noriko, and longtime absent but now returned Welly-mooter, Ryan. After some general updates from Jack and shared updates, we started talking about today’s theme "Elrond".
Gladly most of members had done some homework of researching about Elrond and we shared what we found. Jack started by presenting a short biography about Elrond; when he was born, his early life, his adult life, and his children. Especially interesting was that Elrond is not exactly half-Elf and half-Human but 9/16 Elf, 3/8 Human, and 1/16 Maiar.
The discussion continued about his parents and his children, especially Arwen about, and how she met Aragorn, and how Elrond felt about it.
The ultimate question posed was “Do you choose mortal life or immortal life? “ Elrond was given a choice and remained as an Elf but his brother Elros became a man.
Everyone had different views and opinions, and so the discussion was going on and on. We had good robust moot, indeed!
Sad news is one of our active members Seiko is leaving Wellington and going back to Japan. We originally met her at the Archway Opening Ceremony at Rivendell this year. We enjoyed having her with us, sharing her passion for Middle Earth. We will miss you, Seiko.
Good news is Ryan has come back to Wellington. He had left almost 3 years ago. Ryan, welcome back to New Zealand and we are happy to have you back. Let's hope it is permanent this time!
Next meeting is on Sunday 29th November. We are hoping to have a special guest for the last Welly-moot meeting this year. We will announce as soon as we can.
Keep checking our website. Talk to you soon.
- Alex
We started with a roundtable introduction for the new Welly-mooters; Elanor, Ayumi, and Noriko, and longtime absent but now returned Welly-mooter, Ryan. After some general updates from Jack and shared updates, we started talking about today’s theme "Elrond".
Gladly most of members had done some homework of researching about Elrond and we shared what we found. Jack started by presenting a short biography about Elrond; when he was born, his early life, his adult life, and his children. Especially interesting was that Elrond is not exactly half-Elf and half-Human but 9/16 Elf, 3/8 Human, and 1/16 Maiar.
The discussion continued about his parents and his children, especially Arwen about, and how she met Aragorn, and how Elrond felt about it.
The ultimate question posed was “Do you choose mortal life or immortal life? “ Elrond was given a choice and remained as an Elf but his brother Elros became a man.
Everyone had different views and opinions, and so the discussion was going on and on. We had good robust moot, indeed!
Sad news is one of our active members Seiko is leaving Wellington and going back to Japan. We originally met her at the Archway Opening Ceremony at Rivendell this year. We enjoyed having her with us, sharing her passion for Middle Earth. We will miss you, Seiko.
Good news is Ryan has come back to Wellington. He had left almost 3 years ago. Ryan, welcome back to New Zealand and we are happy to have you back. Let's hope it is permanent this time!
Next meeting is on Sunday 29th November. We are hoping to have a special guest for the last Welly-moot meeting this year. We will announce as soon as we can.
Keep checking our website. Talk to you soon.
- Alex
Friday, July 31, 2015
Welly-moot #4.4 Mid-Year Christmas
On Sunday the 26th of July, the Welly-moot was held at the home of myself & Alex. I didn't mention this at the moot, but it was our 30th Tolkien get-together! Rather than a "proper" Tolkien-related theme, it was more of a purely social gathering this time, for existing members to get together and enjoy spending a very pleasant afternoon in each other's company.
Not much to report really; the food was excellent - thank you everyone for your contributions - and the conversation flowed well. A very special thank you to Cathy from Canada (not present at the moot, unfortunately) for providing the most excellent Maple flavoured coffee - I'd been saving it for a special occasion. :)
We all had an opportunity to meet with some of the regular members' less regular partners, which was really nice. I also had a chance to show off some of the more precious things in my collection, which seemed to be enjoyed by the group.
No real news to report this month. I'm still in talks with the relevant people about our special upcoming event (!), and I'm hoping to finally be able to go public on that soon. Keep watching this space!
One item - you may have noticed that the official Welly-moot pins, designed by our own member Annabel, are no longer available in Silver, just in the Bronze. If you don't have yours yet, order one soon! They look fantastic. To place an order, just click the "Add to Cart" button on the right hand side of the Welly-moot.com site.
For the people who had contacted me wanting to join this meeting but where not yet members - the next Welly-moot will be held as a normal meeting, with new members accepted again. Details are on our Calendar page.
I think the last meeting of this year, in November, will be a special one - it will mark the 5th anniversary of the existence of the group. Might have to have some prizedraws for that one!
Also: I'm taking suggestions for our September Welly-moot theme! Email/facebook message me!
- Jack
Not much to report really; the food was excellent - thank you everyone for your contributions - and the conversation flowed well. A very special thank you to Cathy from Canada (not present at the moot, unfortunately) for providing the most excellent Maple flavoured coffee - I'd been saving it for a special occasion. :)
We all had an opportunity to meet with some of the regular members' less regular partners, which was really nice. I also had a chance to show off some of the more precious things in my collection, which seemed to be enjoyed by the group.
No real news to report this month. I'm still in talks with the relevant people about our special upcoming event (!), and I'm hoping to finally be able to go public on that soon. Keep watching this space!
One item - you may have noticed that the official Welly-moot pins, designed by our own member Annabel, are no longer available in Silver, just in the Bronze. If you don't have yours yet, order one soon! They look fantastic. To place an order, just click the "Add to Cart" button on the right hand side of the Welly-moot.com site.
For the people who had contacted me wanting to join this meeting but where not yet members - the next Welly-moot will be held as a normal meeting, with new members accepted again. Details are on our Calendar page.
I think the last meeting of this year, in November, will be a special one - it will mark the 5th anniversary of the existence of the group. Might have to have some prizedraws for that one!
Also: I'm taking suggestions for our September Welly-moot theme! Email/facebook message me!
- Jack
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Welly-moot #4.3 report ("Gandalf")
Welly-moot 4.3 meeting was held last Sunday, 31 May at Embassy Theatre.
We started with Jack’s greeting and updates with some projects as usual. There were some exciting updates for the members. We promise that we will post them here on the Welly-moot site as soon as we are able to announce it officially. It won’t be too long so keep your eyes out for it.
Next, we took a moment to remember Andrew Lesnie, who passed away at the end of April. As fans of Sir Peter Jackson’s movies, especially ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, we all know of Andrew’s contribution and passion for movies. You will be remembered, Andrew.
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The theme of the day was “Gandalf” – What are your favourite passages in Tolkien's writings that describe Gandalf's wisdom, humour, and personality?
The most popular and famous one was this one:
There are some phrases from Gandalf are applied in our world as well. The phrase which Gandalf says to Denethor, Steward Gondor, when Denethor refuses to listen to Gandalf's advice on ruling the city. Denethor says "the rule of Gondor [...] is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should come again". Gandalf responds with:
Then there's the phrase from Gandalf to Frodo:
Jack pointed a slightly different character of Gandalf in the book The Unfinished Tales. Gandalf appears to have known all along about Saruman's visits the the Shire, and about his secret addiction to the Halfling's weed. At the Great Council meeting held in 2851, Gandalf appears to have smoked for the first time in front of the council, and defended its use a a way to clear his mind. He recommends it to Saruman (actually knowing full well that he already uses it). Jack's quote isn't a quote as such, but a description of Gandalf's last response to Saruman, as the meeting come to an end:
As we all know that the common idea or image of Gandalf is ‘father’ figure. When Gandalf is saying good-bye to Hobbits, he says:
Gandalf is one of the most important and centre characters in Middle Earth. We think because of these characters we are enchanted by the stories of Tolkien’s.
--
All in all, a good meeting, and a terrific discussion. We're looking forward to the next one!
We started with Jack’s greeting and updates with some projects as usual. There were some exciting updates for the members. We promise that we will post them here on the Welly-moot site as soon as we are able to announce it officially. It won’t be too long so keep your eyes out for it.
Next, we took a moment to remember Andrew Lesnie, who passed away at the end of April. As fans of Sir Peter Jackson’s movies, especially ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, we all know of Andrew’s contribution and passion for movies. You will be remembered, Andrew.
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| [Picture] Andrew Lesnie (1956–2015) |
--
The theme of the day was “Gandalf” – What are your favourite passages in Tolkien's writings that describe Gandalf's wisdom, humour, and personality?
The most popular and famous one was this one:
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”Alex shared her memory with Ian McKellen and her story why she came to New Zealand. She is not the only one to choose this quote, some other Welly-mooters from overseas have been inspired by this phrase also, and that is why they are in Wellington now.
There are some phrases from Gandalf are applied in our world as well. The phrase which Gandalf says to Denethor, Steward Gondor, when Denethor refuses to listen to Gandalf's advice on ruling the city. Denethor says "the rule of Gondor [...] is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should come again". Gandalf responds with:
"Unless the king should come again? Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom still against that event, which few now look to see. In that task you shall have all the aid that you are pleased to ask for. But I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?"Gandalf is alone amongst the five wizards (or at least amongst the three we know) that he tries to own nothing, and rule nothing, and have no house of his own. Middle-earth is his terrain, and he keeps his eye on the larger picture.
Then there's the phrase from Gandalf to Frodo:
Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."This applies our world as well. No one has the right to make judgement for any lives to live or die.
Jack pointed a slightly different character of Gandalf in the book The Unfinished Tales. Gandalf appears to have known all along about Saruman's visits the the Shire, and about his secret addiction to the Halfling's weed. At the Great Council meeting held in 2851, Gandalf appears to have smoked for the first time in front of the council, and defended its use a a way to clear his mind. He recommends it to Saruman (actually knowing full well that he already uses it). Jack's quote isn't a quote as such, but a description of Gandalf's last response to Saruman, as the meeting come to an end:
Gandalf did not laugh again; and he did not answer, but looking keenly at Saruman he drew on his pipe and sent out a great ring of smoke with many smaller rings that followed it. Then he put up his hand, as if to grasp them, and they vanished. With that he got up and left Saruman without another word; but Saruman stood for some time silent, and his face was dark with doubt and displeasure.Subtle as a brick, is our Gandalf.
As we all know that the common idea or image of Gandalf is ‘father’ figure. When Gandalf is saying good-bye to Hobbits, he says:
You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now. I have no longer any fear at all for any of you.Here it goes. Not only people but Hobbits, Dwarves, and even Elves rely on him. Gandalf has such heavy responsibility (or burden) on his shoulder in the Middle Earth.
Gandalf is one of the most important and centre characters in Middle Earth. We think because of these characters we are enchanted by the stories of Tolkien’s.
--
All in all, a good meeting, and a terrific discussion. We're looking forward to the next one!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Welly-moot #4.2 was today - good fun meeting
This year's Tolkien Reading Day was celebrated on its usual date of March 25th, but we delayed it until our scheduled Moot day of March 29th, which was today. The Tolkien Society (UK) had announced that the theme for this year's day was to be "friendship".
The meeting began at the usual 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema, and the regulars and a few new faces enjoyed a cup of coffee over the introductions, and joined in a recap of the excellent event last month of the opening of the Rivendell Archway at the Kaitoke Regional Park. Since most of the members present had actually attended the event, it took a little while to recount everyone's experiences. All in all, we agreed that the Archway had been opened in style.
The discussion began soon afterwards. A number of battered (and pristine!) copies of various Middle-earth books appeared on the table, and everyone read out their favourite sections. The friendships between Frodo and Sam, and between Gimli and Legolas were mentioned a number of times, as well as those between Gandalf and Frodo, and Bilbo and Frodo's special status as "Elf Friend". Also, the very equal-status friendship between Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry the River Daughter stood out to some.
All too soon, our time came to an end. I wanted to broach one other subject - this week saw the introduction of the last Hobbit movie in its theatrical edition, as well as the first Hobbit boxed sets on DVD and BluRay, so that leaves one final edition to go - the last Hobbit movie in its Extended form. We briefly speculated some of the scenes we may yet see in that - hoped for are Thorin's funeral scene properly, and we may yet see Thranduil receive his white bejewelled necklace.
However, we all agreed enthusiastically that we would like to see the last release marked with a special event - perhaps we can convince a cinema somewhere to release it with an Extended Ultra Marathon - all six movies, back-to-back, in a single sitting.
I will start talking to the appropriate people soon! [NB - if you're one of the appropriate people, drop me a line!]
Looking forward to the next meeting in a few months!
- Jack
The meeting began at the usual 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema, and the regulars and a few new faces enjoyed a cup of coffee over the introductions, and joined in a recap of the excellent event last month of the opening of the Rivendell Archway at the Kaitoke Regional Park. Since most of the members present had actually attended the event, it took a little while to recount everyone's experiences. All in all, we agreed that the Archway had been opened in style.
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| [Picture] The fellowship returns from a quest. (c) 2015 Jack Machiela |
The discussion began soon afterwards. A number of battered (and pristine!) copies of various Middle-earth books appeared on the table, and everyone read out their favourite sections. The friendships between Frodo and Sam, and between Gimli and Legolas were mentioned a number of times, as well as those between Gandalf and Frodo, and Bilbo and Frodo's special status as "Elf Friend". Also, the very equal-status friendship between Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry the River Daughter stood out to some.
All too soon, our time came to an end. I wanted to broach one other subject - this week saw the introduction of the last Hobbit movie in its theatrical edition, as well as the first Hobbit boxed sets on DVD and BluRay, so that leaves one final edition to go - the last Hobbit movie in its Extended form. We briefly speculated some of the scenes we may yet see in that - hoped for are Thorin's funeral scene properly, and we may yet see Thranduil receive his white bejewelled necklace.
However, we all agreed enthusiastically that we would like to see the last release marked with a special event - perhaps we can convince a cinema somewhere to release it with an Extended Ultra Marathon - all six movies, back-to-back, in a single sitting.
I will start talking to the appropriate people soon! [NB - if you're one of the appropriate people, drop me a line!]
Looking forward to the next meeting in a few months!
- Jack
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Report: Welly-moot #4.1 was held last Sunday
We had a good number of people turning up, including a few new members. It was a very good meeting, I thought - lot of fun, most people got involved in the discussion, and those that didn't, seemed to be listening intently.
We discussed two main things - briefly I talked about Rivendell (Kaitoke Regional Park), where the Elven Archway is now a permanent and beautiful addition. The official opening will be held on March 7th, and very soon I will be making formal announcements and sending out invitations.
The main event though, was the big discussion of the events immediately following The Hobbit book (and movies), right up to the start of The Lord Of The Rings books (and movies). Most of the afternoon was taken up with a leisurely reading of ROTK Appendix B, The Tale Of Years (from T.A. 2941 through to T.A. 3018). Everyone added extra information as it came to mind, and we diverged on more than a few tangents.
I've written up the main events in a tabular format - it may be useful if you're doing your own investigations.
Some of the sidetracks we took involved things like when does the writing "Sting is my name, I am the spider's Bane" appear on Bilbo's sword - presumably it happens in Rivendell but when? We couldn't find any reference in any of the books brought in (and there was a veritable library brought in by our members), so it appears that was simply a movie invention then.
The time flew by - before anyone realised, it was close to 5:00pm, and buses were leaving and cars were in danger of being ticketed, so we called the meeting to an end.
Total turnout was 16 people, a good start to the new year! A big welcome to our new members, Sam, and Wilson and Erica. We hope you enjoyed it enough to return - we certainly enjoyed your company!
- Jack
(*) - The spreadsheet link is an experiment using Google Docs - I'd love to get feedback to say if it works or not?
The link, again, is here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11VfP3zrPnLM_hxqhHOie-BWVascQEG5gAP_kzD0lCzw/edit?usp=sharing
We discussed two main things - briefly I talked about Rivendell (Kaitoke Regional Park), where the Elven Archway is now a permanent and beautiful addition. The official opening will be held on March 7th, and very soon I will be making formal announcements and sending out invitations.
The main event though, was the big discussion of the events immediately following The Hobbit book (and movies), right up to the start of The Lord Of The Rings books (and movies). Most of the afternoon was taken up with a leisurely reading of ROTK Appendix B, The Tale Of Years (from T.A. 2941 through to T.A. 3018). Everyone added extra information as it came to mind, and we diverged on more than a few tangents.
I've written up the main events in a tabular format - it may be useful if you're doing your own investigations.
Some of the sidetracks we took involved things like when does the writing "Sting is my name, I am the spider's Bane" appear on Bilbo's sword - presumably it happens in Rivendell but when? We couldn't find any reference in any of the books brought in (and there was a veritable library brought in by our members), so it appears that was simply a movie invention then.
The time flew by - before anyone realised, it was close to 5:00pm, and buses were leaving and cars were in danger of being ticketed, so we called the meeting to an end.
Total turnout was 16 people, a good start to the new year! A big welcome to our new members, Sam, and Wilson and Erica. We hope you enjoyed it enough to return - we certainly enjoyed your company!
- Jack
(*) - The spreadsheet link is an experiment using Google Docs - I'd love to get feedback to say if it works or not?
The link, again, is here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11VfP3zrPnLM_hxqhHOie-BWVascQEG5gAP_kzD0lCzw/edit?usp=sharing
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Welly-moot Event - Hobbit Costume Trail
A small group of Welly-mooters had a great day today - we managed to start and complete the Wellington Hobbit Costume Trail. Originally we thought we could do it in a few hours, that proved to be more like 5 hours instead, mostly because we were pretty relaxed about life in general.
The day started at 11:00am, in front of the Wellington Railway Station. From there we walked to the Rydges Hotel, for Thorin's costume.Rather than walking you through the whole day (should have joined us!), I'll let the photos tell the story.
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| Daniel, Jack, Cinnamon, Sarah, Alex, and Alistair posing in front of a display at Te Papa. |
The day started at 11:00am, in front of the Wellington Railway Station. From there we walked to the Rydges Hotel, for Thorin's costume.Rather than walking you through the whole day (should have joined us!), I'll let the photos tell the story.
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| Thorin at the Rydges Hotel |
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| Gloin at the Ibis Hotel |
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| Bilbo at the Kircaldie & Stains shopping complex |
%2B%5BP1040590%5D.JPG) |
| Bilbo's Mithril coat |
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| Dwalin at the James Cook Hotel |
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| Gandalf at the Intercontinental Hotel |
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| Gandalf's staff, with some secret marks |
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| Tauriel at the iSite Information Centre |
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| Balin at the Westplaza Hotel |
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| Legolas at Wharewaka Boathouse |
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| Azog at Te Papa Museum |
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| Elf Lieutenant at Te Papa Museum |
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| Elf Soldier at Te Papa Museum |
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| Radagast at the Museum Hotel |
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| Radagast's got two mismatched shoes |
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| Oin at the CQ Hotel |
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| Oin's warm knitted gloves |
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| Bombur at the Embassy Cinema |
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| Bifur at the Embassy Cinema |
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| Bofur at the Embassy Cinema |
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| Bard at the Copthorne Oriental Hotel |
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| Kili (& scale Kili) at the Airport |
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| Fili at the Airport |
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| Gandalf on an eagle at the Airport |
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| Gollum at the Airport |
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| Smaug at the Airport |
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| Dori at the Roxy Cinema |
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| Nori at the Roxy Cinema |
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| Ori at the Roxy Cinema |
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| Weapons on the wall at the Roxy Cinema |
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| Dale Market Flags at the Roxy Cinema |
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Hobbit 3 Premiere Attendance
The Welly-moot was present at the Hobbit 3 Premiere event at The Roxy last week, and Dianne sent me a copy of a great group shot. Thought I'd share it here for the group!
(If you can't see the picture, click on the link to get out of facebook - the blog has the pics)
- Jack
(If you can't see the picture, click on the link to get out of facebook - the blog has the pics)
- Jack
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Welly-moot #3.5 report (from October 26)
Another two months, and another meeting has been held, once again at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington's Miramar suburb. It was well attended, we ended up having to shift to another part of the building to accommodate everyone, and then bring in more seats as well, so that was good.
Jack and Alex opened the meeting, and there were introductions all round. Jack had some updates also on other business.
Other points:
On a related note, two days before the meeting, a number of leaked photos were posted to TheOneRing.net, probably from the new Brian Sibley "Making of Hobbit 3" book due out in the next month or so. The photos were pulled from the site within 24 hours, but one of the mooters managed to take copies before they were removed. After checking with everyone if potential spoilers would be acceptable, they were shown briefly. If anything, they just made us want to watch the movie even more! And no, they won't be posted here.
[I will give one detail though - ominously, a pre-battle Thorin appears to be wearing a RED SHIRT. Not good. Just sayin'.]
All too soon, it was time to pack up again. By the time of the next moot, we will (hopefully!) all have seen the movie, and we will no doubt have a lot of new information to digest!
As seems to have become a Welly-moot tradition, Jack & Alex are planning on having another post-christmas moot/party at their house, but full details will be announced in due time.
Jack and Alex opened the meeting, and there were introductions all round. Jack had some updates also on other business.
- The Rivendell Archway is now completed, at the Kaitoke Regional Park in the filming locations, exactly where the original stood. All the building work has been completed, and the paint has been applied. Only two things remain - we are waiting for the end of summer so we can apply a layer of weather-dependent artificial yogurt-mould, and in the next three months we're expecting an official opening ceremony from the Wellington Great Regional Council. Jack will update the group when this takes place.
- The Hobbit 3 - The Battle Of The Five Armies will open early in December for general release, the exact date will probably be December 11th or thereabouts. The World-Premiere red carpet event will be held in London, as expected. A few functions have already been announced; a (more) complete list will be posted later.
- Welly-mooter Emily (aka 'Sadie von Scrumtious') has announced that there will be another Middle-earth themed Burlesque Cabaret to celebrate the last Hobbit movie. The event will be held in Wellington at The Fringe Bar on December 5th and 6th (Friday and Saturday). Both nights will feature a costume competition for the audience, so prepare to get involved! The event has an R18 rating (for adult themed naughtiness!), and tickets will be around $25. I'll post more details on our facebook page at a later date.
- Welly-mooter Kumiko has won the Student Prize at the end of her three year Weltec course’s Graduation Exhibition, to loud applause from her peers and the rest of the audience. Well done Kumi!
- The Stansborough Prizedraw is in full swing, so if you want to win a full-sized Gandalf Hat, make sure you're in to win!
- Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit Fan Competition has finished, and the winners selected - of the 150 biggest fans around the world, three of them are Welly-mooters! Ash and Cinnamon managed to snag a seat to New Zealand (ok, not far to fly!), and on the names list, I noticed that Nicolas Gonzalez, formerly of Milford Sound but recently returned to Spain, is also returning to Middle-earth. Well done, all of you, and also to all those who tried and weren't successful. On the Welly-moot facebook page we'll be following their adventures through screenshots taken from the New Zealand 100% Pure YouTube videos. Follow us there!
Theme: Hobbit 3 BOFTA - What's The Story?
Finally, we got around to the theme of the day - what will be in the final Hobbit installment. Peter Jackson's last Hobbit film will includes plenty of sword-clashing and arrow-flying action for your dollar, but there’s also a lot of story materials. We spent a large part of the afternoon covering these points (and more!)- Smaug, having left his treasure-filled nest, will wreak havoc on Laketown
- Thorin has yet to actually retake the Lonely Mountain for his people
- Bard’s quest for redemption needs closure
- Four Dwarves have been left in Laketown (Kili, Fili, Bofur & Ori) – what will their roles be in Laketown?
- The relationship between Tauriel and Kili
- Amidala will get pregnant with twins, while Anakin will turn to the dark side
- The movie needs to carve out screen-time for Bilbo (Martin Freeman), so that his story may actually be brought to a proper concluding point; after all, he's the main link between Hobbit and LOTR
- Setting up other developments that transpire in the Lord of the Rings films
Other points:
- According to the predicted synopsis posted on TheOneRing.net, Thorin will get obsessed with the treasure in the mountain and will refuse to share it --- remember that Thorin's grandfather grew mad with his obsession with gold in the previous movies
- Smaug is not the only danger faced by the Dwarves. The Necromancer has sent legions of Orcs to attack the Lonely Mountain. In the second movie Gandalf was the amongst the first to discover the Necromancer's return in Dol Guldur. He also witnessed the march of his armies.
- A difficult question in Hobbit 3 is posed to all the races in Middle-earth. Elves, Dwarves and Men will have to decide whether they will stand together against the forces of Sauron or die fighting between themselves. So far, there appears to be no good relationships among them.
On a related note, two days before the meeting, a number of leaked photos were posted to TheOneRing.net, probably from the new Brian Sibley "Making of Hobbit 3" book due out in the next month or so. The photos were pulled from the site within 24 hours, but one of the mooters managed to take copies before they were removed. After checking with everyone if potential spoilers would be acceptable, they were shown briefly. If anything, they just made us want to watch the movie even more! And no, they won't be posted here.
[I will give one detail though - ominously, a pre-battle Thorin appears to be wearing a RED SHIRT. Not good. Just sayin'.]
All too soon, it was time to pack up again. By the time of the next moot, we will (hopefully!) all have seen the movie, and we will no doubt have a lot of new information to digest!
As seems to have become a Welly-moot tradition, Jack & Alex are planning on having another post-christmas moot/party at their house, but full details will be announced in due time.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Report: Welly-moot #3.4 - All about Dain Ironfoot
Our meeting on August 31st was a very active one, and full of passion. In all, eight people turned up, and we all took active roles in the discussion; the history of Dain Ironfoot. In attendance were Alex and Jack, Cinnamon and Ash, Sinead and Luke, Miranda, and Wayne.
As usual we started with Jack opening the meeting, and some general updates. First, some news about the Rivendell Archway in Kaitoke Park showing the recent photos. It looks quite beautiful and is nearing completion. The official opening is planned to be on October 11th, which is also the 15th anniversary of Day 1 of filming of LOTR. Hopefully Welly-moot will be invited.
The current hot topic is Peter Jackson's new Biggest Hobbit Fan Contest, and some of the Welly-mooters have applied already. Of course, of any of us win, we won't need to be flown to Wellington!
Cinnamon showed off a new keyring with the key of Erebor. It looked pretty cool. We talked about collections and different kinds of "collectors". Some display everything on shelves (like Jack), while others don’t open their items but keep them in the original boxes and just keep them for their own happiness (like Ash). Some do both.
The main activity was Dain Ironfoot aka Dain II. Most of us did some homework and we had active discussion about this mysterious Dwarf Warrior. Cinnamon brought her reference book The Complete Guide To Middle-earth (by Robert Foster), and read the section on Dain II. This set up some general information about him, and we started bringing any additional background.
Jack brought a couple of Tolkien books as well - The Return of the King, The Hobbit, and The Unfinished Tales - and also added a family tree taken from the excellent LOTR Project site by Emil Johansson. If you haven't checked out this site, you're missing out. Our gratitude to Emil for creating this amazing reference site!
An unexpected controversy, and a highlight discussion of the afternoon was "What are the Five Armies?". Obviously, the first four are Human, Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins, but what of the fifth???? Wargs? Sinead and Miranda suggested that it might be Eagles. It is possible. Cinnamon checked her book and it says the fifth one is Eagles. However some of us were not totally convinced. Maybe Orcs? Jack checked The Hobbit, and found that Goblins and Orcs are same kind of creature.
Alex suggested that maybe it was Beorn. Did he came with some other bears? Wayne checked his beautiful two-part Hobbit book and found the Beorn’s entrance at the battle, “In that last hour Beorn himself had appeared – no one knew how or from where. He came alone.”
The Hobbit book is quite clear about the fifth army - it's the Wargs. However, given the lack of importance given to the Wargs in the movie (other than beasts of burden), we must wait to find out Peter Jackson’s decision about the fifth army in the next movie.
The discussion moved on to the actor who will play Dain, Billy Connery. Ash used his iPad, and read out an interview with Connoly. Apparently Billy has never read the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings and he thinks people who read them are weird. :)
Here is a Yoube link to a similar interview from him. Be warned - it goes slightly NSFW after a while, but given that it's Billy Connoly, that's not too surprising.
After wrapping up the discussion, we moved on to some other business. Jack has been working in the background about a new feature for the Welly-moot, an email-list. We agreed that a mailing list will be useful and easy to receive timely notification of updates on the Welly-moot website. When the work is completed, Jack will send a single email to all past and present Welly-mooters - please REPLY to that if you want to be on the Welly-moot mailing list. New Zealand has very strict anti-spam laws (gladly!), so we have to have an opt-in list rather than an opt-out one.
The Hobbit 3 is coming in three months, so we are expecting more information about any events in Wellington, and we are trying to organise a Hobbit movie marathon at Roxy in December. We will keep everyone informed on this website if there is any update.
Next Welly-moot 3.5 meeting is October. We are thinking of having it at the Rivendell site in the Kaitoke forest. The area has been updated with some new poles, paved paths, new signs, and of course the new Archway. Let’s explore Rivendell!
Also Jack will take a Hobbit location tour of Trollshaw's Forest in Piopio (near Waitomo), as well as the new night tour at Matamata's Hobbiton including dinner at Green Dragon. He will report them with photos at next meeting in October!
Till then!
 |
| From left, clock-wise around the table: Cinnamon, Ash, Luke, Sinead, Jack, Wayne, Miranda. Missing (photographer): Alex. |
As usual we started with Jack opening the meeting, and some general updates. First, some news about the Rivendell Archway in Kaitoke Park showing the recent photos. It looks quite beautiful and is nearing completion. The official opening is planned to be on October 11th, which is also the 15th anniversary of Day 1 of filming of LOTR. Hopefully Welly-moot will be invited.
The current hot topic is Peter Jackson's new Biggest Hobbit Fan Contest, and some of the Welly-mooters have applied already. Of course, of any of us win, we won't need to be flown to Wellington!
Cinnamon showed off a new keyring with the key of Erebor. It looked pretty cool. We talked about collections and different kinds of "collectors". Some display everything on shelves (like Jack), while others don’t open their items but keep them in the original boxes and just keep them for their own happiness (like Ash). Some do both.
The main activity was Dain Ironfoot aka Dain II. Most of us did some homework and we had active discussion about this mysterious Dwarf Warrior. Cinnamon brought her reference book The Complete Guide To Middle-earth (by Robert Foster), and read the section on Dain II. This set up some general information about him, and we started bringing any additional background.
Jack brought a couple of Tolkien books as well - The Return of the King, The Hobbit, and The Unfinished Tales - and also added a family tree taken from the excellent LOTR Project site by Emil Johansson. If you haven't checked out this site, you're missing out. Our gratitude to Emil for creating this amazing reference site!
 |
| Dwarves, dwarves everywhere (click for larger version). Source: www.lotrproject.com |
An unexpected controversy, and a highlight discussion of the afternoon was "What are the Five Armies?". Obviously, the first four are Human, Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins, but what of the fifth???? Wargs? Sinead and Miranda suggested that it might be Eagles. It is possible. Cinnamon checked her book and it says the fifth one is Eagles. However some of us were not totally convinced. Maybe Orcs? Jack checked The Hobbit, and found that Goblins and Orcs are same kind of creature.
"[...] Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kind) [...]" - The Hobbit (prologue), JRR Tolkien
Alex suggested that maybe it was Beorn. Did he came with some other bears? Wayne checked his beautiful two-part Hobbit book and found the Beorn’s entrance at the battle, “In that last hour Beorn himself had appeared – no one knew how or from where. He came alone.”
 |
| Jack & Alex. Alex is winning the argument. |
The Hobbit book is quite clear about the fifth army - it's the Wargs. However, given the lack of importance given to the Wargs in the movie (other than beasts of burden), we must wait to find out Peter Jackson’s decision about the fifth army in the next movie.
The discussion moved on to the actor who will play Dain, Billy Connery. Ash used his iPad, and read out an interview with Connoly. Apparently Billy has never read the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings and he thinks people who read them are weird. :)
Here is a Yoube link to a similar interview from him. Be warned - it goes slightly NSFW after a while, but given that it's Billy Connoly, that's not too surprising.
After wrapping up the discussion, we moved on to some other business. Jack has been working in the background about a new feature for the Welly-moot, an email-list. We agreed that a mailing list will be useful and easy to receive timely notification of updates on the Welly-moot website. When the work is completed, Jack will send a single email to all past and present Welly-mooters - please REPLY to that if you want to be on the Welly-moot mailing list. New Zealand has very strict anti-spam laws (gladly!), so we have to have an opt-in list rather than an opt-out one.
The Hobbit 3 is coming in three months, so we are expecting more information about any events in Wellington, and we are trying to organise a Hobbit movie marathon at Roxy in December. We will keep everyone informed on this website if there is any update.
Next Welly-moot 3.5 meeting is October. We are thinking of having it at the Rivendell site in the Kaitoke forest. The area has been updated with some new poles, paved paths, new signs, and of course the new Archway. Let’s explore Rivendell!
Also Jack will take a Hobbit location tour of Trollshaw's Forest in Piopio (near Waitomo), as well as the new night tour at Matamata's Hobbiton including dinner at Green Dragon. He will report them with photos at next meeting in October!
Till then!
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