2014 News Archive

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News added by month, more or less.

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Dec. 31, 2014
May your New Year be full of joy!


Dec. 29, 2014
  Tolkien Site / Art:
    New art from the Bohemian Weasel-(T) in the Haldir section:
       "Haldir" "We live now amid many perils, and our hands are more often upon the bowstring than the harp". This painting was shown at the 2014 Calgary Expo, and is now on the Valar Guild's index rotating pictures. The Haldir section is also in our Tolkien Encyclopedia under Haldir/Images.


Dec. 28, 2014

Tolkien Site / Art:
    New section with new art from The Bohemian Weasel-(T):
       Bard:
          "Bard the Bowman"
    On our art site, new thumbnails are being added all the time to pictures that were previously larger, to allow shorter loading times. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see the large picture.

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, PallandoValar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Games Site
    Tolkien Site: Art
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: Speaking of celebrations or holidays, can we name a few things related to that from Middle-earth, from any of the books?
After-meeting:
    A couple of Hobbit movie reviews
    Gaming


Dec. 25, 2014
Merry Christmas!
Bilbo and the butterflies of Mirkwood



Dec. 21, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Elladan-(V)/Scott92027, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Elladan's "few words"
Web:
    Games Site
Tolkien:
    Topic: How does the Hobbit manage to lead into the LotR, in the books? (No movie spoilers in this book chat.)
After-meeting:
    Gaming, then general chat.


Dec. 16, 2014
    Welcome to the Valar Guild, Elladan-(V)!
He's 41,  from Florida in the USA, so he's in the EST. He's read the H, LotR, and started the Sil. He enjoys drawing although he hasn't done it in some time. He said the most outstanding character to him was Tom Bombadil, for his carefree attitude, being jolly and singing.


Dec. 15, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Update 15.1 goes live. Expected server downtime 7:00AM-12:00PM Eastern. Patch notes will be available during the wait.


Dec. 14, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5):
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Gwaihir Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    The new Games Site is up.
Gaming:
    Games Site
    WoW
    LotRO
    Diablo 3
    Hearthstone
    Heroes of the Storm
Tolkien:
    Topic 1: Was the One Ring a character rather than a mere trinket in the stories? What makes you think so?
    Topic 2: New videos and stills ahead of the last Hobbit movie.
After-meeting:
    flashgaming
    WoW
    Hearthstone
    WoW continued


Dec. 12, 2014
       Interview with Smaug
by Colbert. Thanks to Gorlim-(V) for the link. (Just get past the ad and enjoy.)

       Gaming / LoTRO:
          Announcement from the LotRO launcher:
Scheduled Server Downtime: 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-5 GMT) Monday, December 15th

The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, December 15th from 7:00AM - 12:00PM Eastern (-5 GMT) to launch Update 15.1. Patch notes will be available during the downtime. Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!


Dec. 11, 2014
    Games Site:
       The new version of the Games Site went live today, programmed by the illustrious Eonwe-(Valar). Enjoy!


Dec. 10, 2014
    Tolkien:

       Thank you to Pallando-(Valar) for the link to this article: "Interview with Benjamin Harff, upcoming Tolkien illustrator and creator of the Edel-Silmarillion"


Dec. 7, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Nar-(V), PallandoValar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    New art
Gaming:
Tolkien:
    Topic: Elven rulers and leaders: who were they and how did they affect history?
After-meeting:
    Continued chat topic.
    More gaming news.


Dec. 6, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
          Umbar (new section and art)"
             "The Ships of Umbar"
          Weathertop (new section and art):
              "This was once the Watch-tower of Amon Sûl".


Dec. 1, 2014
    Membership:
       Don't forget to let Varda know that you want to be included as being associated with the Valar Guild for 2015 (and/or beyond).
          varda.elentari (AT) gmail (dot) com
          AIM: VardaValar1

    Gaming / LotRO:
       For Lifers, your 500 points may help you become a Beorning this month. Don't forget the friend channel, the who filter, or popping into the kin with a normal character to find an inviter. The usual culprits on this week that can invite you are Fangorn, Gorlim, and Varda, sometimes Arien or Eonwe at odd hours. Also, folks can email Varda to pick a date and time (name helps) to be invited into any of the various branches; she's usually in LotRO in the evenings, often drops into WoW a short time during or after meetings, and can drop into SWTOR and Diablo 3, or we call on a branch leader such as Pallando in EVE, Eonwe in WoW, or Sauron in SWToR.

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Nov. 30, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Buried and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien-(Valar)/AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, PallandoValar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    WoW
       WoW (After-meeting) Pilgrim's Bounty, guild garrisons
    LotRO
    SWToR
    EVE
    Hearthstone (After), Hearthstone more (After)
    flashgaming (After)
       Rob_Almighty/battle-beavers
       liquid-measure-2
Tolkien:
    Topic: What are Beorn and the Beornings like in the books? What difference is there between that and the movies and LotRO?
    Forum RP story discussion (After)


Nov. 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!


Nov. 21, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (3)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Tolkien Site/ Art: new art
Gaming:
    Inviting Beorning alts into our LotRO kin on Landroval.
    Dropped into WoW looking for Celebrian and Elrond, but missed. Howdies to others though. Don't forget to re-enter the channel after updates.
Tolkien:
    PJ's farewell to the LotR and H movies.
    Speculation on our part on handling movie-making of the Sil.
    A quick bit on Beornings, planning on having something meatier next weekend.
After-meeting:
    More gaming news
    Still looking for some of the members that asked for invites to branches in WoW or LotRO.

Nov. 21, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art
       Cave of DeepGroover-(T):
          "Werewolf 2014": full figure model from three views. Includes links to his other werewolf models.


Nov. 16, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (3)
    AriehnV(presiding), ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25
Web:
    Tolkien Site/ Art: new art this week, comments.
Gaming:
    WoW queues in Argent Dawn (Europe)
    LotRO:
       Beorning starter area
       Hotfixes
       More on Beornings in the After-meeting
    WoW:
        Queues in Argent Dawn server
        Warlords of Draenor now live. First-hand account of the opening event.
        Links for new areas and patches, Iron Garrison's blog.    
    Hearthstone
       New info. More Hearthstone in the After-meeting
Tolkien:
    Books
    Tolkien Moment and discussion: the dwarves introduction to Beorn.
After-meeting:
    Hearthstone
    LotRO Beornings after trying them in live.
    flashgames: Run 3, Rogue Soul 2
    WoW some of the new stuff


Nov. 16, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
      Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
         Paths of the Dead (new section with new art):
            "Door"  ‘He shall pass the door to the Paths of the Dead.’

Nov. 9, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV(presiding), ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar
Gaming:
    Blizzcon
    Diablo 3
    Hearthstone
    SC2: Legacy of the Void
    Overwatch
    WoW:
       WarCraft Movie
       10th Anniversary of WarCraft documentary
       WoW: Warlords of Draenor
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    RP forum story
    Trailer for  third Hobbit movie
    Tolkien trivia game
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming
    WoW

Nov. 5, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Update 15 Notes. Forum notes.
            The servers are expected to be down 7am to noon Eastern for the update, and patches are expected to polish the update.
            New class of Beorning.
            Three new regions of Central Gondor: Ringló Vale, Dor-en-Ernil, and Lebennin.
            New epic battle "Retaking Pelargir" in Lebennin. Solo and duo available, fellowship option will come later.
            Volume 4, Book 2 "The Dawnless Day" begins in Dol Amroth, speaking with Lothriel.
            Relic removal scrolls now also remove crafted relics.
             New character chat restriction: All new free characters must wait 3 hours of in-game time before they will be able to use world chat and all user created chat channels (such as glff). All other channels will be available to them. Once players have reached this three hour time limit, they will need to relog in order to then join the chat channels. Please note: This change ONLY affects free players and all times and restrictions are subject to change.


Nov. 4, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Last day of the Harvest Festival


Nov. 2, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Now making the 2015 Membership page. Please contact Varda if you wish to maintain your association with the Valar Guild's Tolkien fan club and gaming group, especially if you have not been recently active.
Web:
    Games Site
    Tolkien Site / Art
       New section for Bree, containing two new paintings from the Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming:
    The Eonwe Report on Gaming:
       StarCraft 2
       Hearthstone
       World of WarCraft
    LotRO
       Harvestmath ends Nov. 4
       Update 15 begins Nov. 5 Wednesday, adding Central Gondor and the Beornings.
    (more gaming news during Tolkien and After-meeting)
    Ventrilo now on a new server, usable on any of our games or to chat. Info in your LotROmail or email Varda.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Rewards and payback for good or evil deeds, as seen in Middle-earth.

    The Indis Report on LotRO:
        The new stuff comes out in Wednesday's update 15, with polishing to be done in following patches.
        Beorning (she's playing the new class on the test server) and Central Gondor
        Her visit along with the rest of the Player Council to Turbine.
After-meeting:
   The Phar Report on Gaming:
        Diablo 3
        Flashgaming; 3 games
        Hearthstone
        WoW
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Oct. 28, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:

       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
          Bree (new section with two new paintings):
             "The Town of Bree"
             "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony"


Oct. 26, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Gwaihir Valar, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Daylight Savings time shift
Web:
    Games Site
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: In the time of the War of the Rings, where would we find elven children?
After-meeting:
    More gaming news
    Time zones


Oct. 19, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Ar-Pharazon may be absent next meeting, isp change-over.
Web:
    Games Site: news
    Tolkien Site: article
Gaming:
    WoW
    Shadows of Mordor reviews of the new game
    LotRO review after playing some of the new Beorning class in beta
Tolkien:
    Event timeline
After-meeting:
    Gaming:
       flashgaming
       Hearthstone
       Diablo
       WoW
    "A Boy, A Girl, and A Dog"


Oct. 18, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:

   Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
    Witch-king:
       "Citadel of the Witch-king". Gollum, Frodo, Watching-stones. New art.
    Gollum: new section
    Mordor:
       "Signal of Mordor"  new art
    Arwen:
       "Ford of Rivendell" crossing (movie). Frodo, nazgul
       "Bruinen" defiance. (movie). Frodo, nazgul.
    Meduseld:
       "Meduseld"
       "Éomer and Éowyn before Théoden". Éomer, Éowyn, Théoden, and Grima
       "The Golden Hall of Meduseld"
       "The Standard of Rohan"


Oct. 12, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Arien (in After-meeting)
Web:
    Games Site: news
    Tolkien Site: article
Gaming:
    WoW
    SWToR
    SC2
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Topic: We need to study up the Beorning book lore, as the LotRO game is about to mess with our heads. (Part of this is in the Gaming section.)
    Topic: Merits of both electronic and paper book copies. (Partly in the Gaming section)
    Topic: RP forum group story
    Topic: Avari elves
After-meeting:
    General gaming news mixed with personal gaming news.
       Hearthstone
        flashgaming: "Hook"
       WoW
       Diablo 3
       My Little Pony mobile game (review)
    Discussion about Facebook starting towards the end of the above MLP mobile review.


Oct. 9, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Articles:
       "Food in the Shire" by Arien-(Valar) for the 17th anniversary. Up a bit late due to Varda's being out of town for a few days after the anniversary.


Oct. 5, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Voted on the picture contest. Congratulations to Elwing-(V) for tying herself! Link and link.
    Both are also being used to help kick off the new project: of illustrating Tolkien's books with game screenies (current ones might be changed for a stricter interpretation later), as well as our more "normal" illustrations for articles. Since articles also go into a timeline, everything is tied together. The project of the Kings is part of the timeline, as it tells the events and people during the reign.


Oct. 4, 2014
Happy 17th Anniversary to the Valar Guild!
    Thank you all for making it happen. :)
    The AIM chat room continues to remain open, with hope of not only chat but perhaps coordinating us across game platforms.
    In Diablo 3, a new community (not clan) was formed this morning, called "The Valar Guild", invitation-only. Unfortunately the friend has to be online to be invited, so we will work on that over time.
    In WoW Euro, Ar-Pharazon shot off fireworks early in the morning (if he'd been in EST that is) and the screenshot is posted on the Anniversary Page.
    In SWTOR in the afternoon, the Light Side gamers made new characters to play together. For the screenshots, we stood in front of the Jedi Temple where we shot fireworks and danced. One image from Varda is already up on the Anniversary Page (good shot of the Jedi Temple, a bit dark on the dancers), and more have come in (better ones, fortunately).
    LotRO had a fireworks run at 8pm Eastern starting in Bree, then on to Michel Delving, Thorin's Hall, Rivendell, and Dol Amroth. Screenies will be posted.
    The Tolkien Site will continue to take anniversary writing and art through the end of October if it is marked as an anniversary contribution.
    Contest Screenshots for Valar comaraderie, preferably with a Hobbit book/movie theme, will be accepted until the meeting begins on Sunday.


Oct. 3, 2014
    Anniversary stuff happening:
       AIM chat marathon in progress, ending with the regular Sunday AIM meeting. Some of us will probably keep it going afterwards.
       Forum thread to say happy anniversary.
       For fun forum thread "Sauron's Evil Overlord in Retrospect List".
       Email your art, article, story, humor, language stuff marked that it's for the anniversary, to be included on the anniversary page as well as the Tolkien Site.
       Eonwe's annual report on the State of Valar Gaming, made from your 2014 information, is now online.
       The 17th Anniversary page is up, collecting the various anniversary activities in one place. Your contribution is welcome.
     Anniversary stuff upcoming:
       Shoot off fireworks in some major cities in your MMO. More fun with friends. Feel free to send in a celebratory screenie for your MMO!
       LotRO: 8pm Eastern starting at Bree: fireworks! We can do a fireworks run around noon if folks show up for one at that time unable to come in the evening.
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Sept. 30, 2014
    Be sure to send in your game screenie to Varda for the contest. Themes: companionship, Hobbit book. Guidelines are mentioned in the Meeting Transcript under Tolkien on Sept. 14 at this link .


Sept. 29, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Articles:
       "Who Are the Elven-wise?" by Varda-(Valar). Written for the 17th anniversary of the Valar Guild.

    Tolkien Site / Art:
        Cave of Aerandir-(V):
           Aerandir's personal site has been frozen, to which we were linking directly from the caves for his photos. This quick site is now up by Varda to preserve the photos of his crafted work, to be improved upon later with thumbnails linking to the large shots.


Sept. 28, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Pallando Valar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Games Site news
    Tolkiet Site/ Art news
Gaming:
    WoW
    Hearthstone
    D3
    SC2
    SWTOR
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Discussion: What defines a monster as we see in Tolkien's works?
After-meeting:
    Personal gaming
       D3
       Hearthstone
       flashgaming
       WoW


Sept. 26, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel:
       
"Fangorn" section:
           "The Ents flood Isengard". Also under Isengard.
        "Isengard" section:
           "Feed the engines night and day".
        "Witch-king" section:
           "Citadel of the Witch-king"


Sept. 22, 2014
Happy Birthday to Bilbo and Frodo! (books)
    For your enjoyment, some of the members joined together to give you pictures from that party (screenshots).
    Participants were Celebrian-(V), Elwing-(V), Fangorn-(Valar), Sauron-(Valar), and Varda-(Valar).  Some made hobbits especially for these photos.
    The pictures! Now found at this convenient link. More are incoming.


Sept. 21, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Games Site news
Gaming:
    WoW
    LotRO
    Archmage: game review given in After-meeting
Tolkien:
    Game: Use only one word to describe something at Bilbo and Frodo's birthday party.
    Screenshots from in-game (and other media) are requested for the Birthday, and for the Books project. Please email to Varda.
After-meeting:
    This and the Before-meeting will be used for personal info, non-gaming branch news, and quick game reviews (although game reviews for grouping games should be emailed to Eonwe for the Games Site). Gaming branch news relates to gaming information affecting games where we have an official branch, and group things done by Valarite members. This should cut some of the time problems we've been having in trying to start the Tolkien section, but still let us do the other fun things.  Branch news needs to be pre-typed reports that can be quickly put into the meeting.
    Official current gaming branches: WoW Lothar, WoW Uldaman, LotRO Landroval, SWTOR Ebon Hawk, and EVE.  Guild Wars 2? We also have a gathering spot on Steam, although not exactly a guild branch. We have members gaming across mulitiple games who keep track of each other, but without an official branch.
    Archmage game review, by Arien.


Sept. 19, 2014
    Talk like a Pirate Day:
       For linguistics fun (and some definitions we might not have known), try this link inside the official Talk Like A Pirate's Day site.
       In LotRO, the official gaming area for this one-day gaming starts near the Brandywine Bridge.
       In LotRO, unofficially, your job today is to slay at least 10 Corsairs, the competition to our Pirates. Bandits are fair game if your character hasn't reached the Corsairs yet.


Sept. 18, 2014

    Sept 19, tomorrow, is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Corsairs beware!

    Sept 22 is the double birthday of Bilbo and Frodo. I'd like to get together with some folks to do some screenshots to put up for that day. Art or other fun stuff is also welcome.


Sept. 14, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, PallandoValar, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Pallando's back
    Games Site Mass Update
    17th Anniversary of the Valar Guild upcoming.
Web:
    Games Site
    Tolkien Site: New art by The Bohemian Weasel-(T) and DeepGroover-(T)
Gaming:
    SC2
    SWTOR
    Hearthstone
    D3
    flashgaming: oO
    LoL (League of Legends): lot of info
    EVE Online, more in the After-meeting
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Topic: Pallando's resurrection of an epic! "A Boy, A Girl, & A Dog" by Philosopher At Large. (Beren, Luthien, and Huan). Help would be welcome, see the meeting transcript.
    Topic: Anniversary competition kick-off for a new guild-wide project.
After-meeting:
    Eve Online chat


Sept. 11, 2014
    Gaming / LotrO:
       The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, September 15 from 6:00 AM – 1:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to launch update 14.2. Patch notes will be available during the downtime.


Sept. 10, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Cave of DeepGroover-(T):
          "Dorf" Please click the image to enlarge.

       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
        "Gandalf":
           "Gandalf Rides" Gandalf the White rides Shadowfax to Minas Tirith. Also under Gondor.
        "Gondor":
           "Hope is rekindled"  Beacon lit.
           "On the wallFaramir and Eowyn on the wall as the One Ring is destroyed.
        "Oathbreakers":
           "Army of the Dead in Minas Tirith". The army of the dead comes to Minas Tirith with Aragorn. (Movie only)
        "Trolls": (new) section with new art. Please click the image of the trolls to enlarge.
           "Any more?" Trolls campfire -  "Are there any more of you little fellas 'iding where you shouldn't?'  From The Hobbit. Also under Bilbo.



Sept. 9, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Cave of DeepGroover-(T):
          "Heavy is the crown..." Please click the images to see the full model. Your web person is experimenting with versions of thumbnailing again. *cough*. Almost all images in the Glittering Caves are clickable, giving a larger, more complete, or solo image.


Sept. 7, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Games Site Mass Update
    17 Anniversary of the Valar Guild is upcoming Oct. 4. Please send in articles, stories, poems, art, humor, languages info, music, etc for the Tolkien section, and screenshots of anniversary events, and for places in your game(s) fitting into the theme this year. Also taking suggestions for a theme (ex. last year was Light).
Web:
    New art this past week by The Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming:
    D3
    Hearthstone
    flashgaming
       Race the Sun
    SWTOR server The Ebon Hawk
    SCBW
    EQ2
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Discussion: What carried over from the Hobbit to inform the LotR? (books)
After-meeting:
    Question about whether or not the way we currently take articles etc for the Tolkien Site is ok.
    Ar-Pharazon's WoW picture puzzle game.


Sept. 3, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
    Some thumbnailing started.
    Pippin: (new section)
       "Lost in Gondor"
    Oathbreakers: new art added:
       "King of the Dead" green sketch card with thumbnail. Previously only had the thumbnail and wasn't put online.
       "King of the Dead" black and white sketch card
       "Sword of the King"  Aragorn with Anduril. Also under Aragorn.
    Witch-king: new art added:
       "The Witch-king of Angmar leads Sauron's army to war." Also placed on the Valar Guild's rotating images on the opening page.
       "Challenge of the Witch-king"
    Mordor: new art:
       "When the One Ring is destroyed."
       "The Fall of Barad-dur"


Sept. 2, 2014
    Games Site Mass Update!
       All gaming information has been removed for the yearly clean-up.
Please email Eonwe using <deneltir@hotmail.com> with a list of the games you are actively playing this year.
        Here's Eonwe's letter for those who were unable to receive it, with a correction on the SWTOR server:

Hail to all members of the Valar Guild!
 
It is I, Eonwë, and it is that time once again! The Games Site Mass-Update is here! All gaming info will be stripped from the Games Site and you are requested to fill it in by sending in your most recent gaming info by September 30th. Why? So that members can find eachother in the games they play, of course! You do want to find other polite, courteous people to game with in the games you play, don't you? :}

Gaming is one of our common interests, and there's plenty going on in the major games we play.
 
Lord of the Rings Online had an update not long ago that brought its current maximum level to 100 and added Dol Amroth as a new zone. A future update will be bringing a new class: the Beorning. See www.lotro.com for more information on the game.
 
Interested in joining us there? We play on Landroval server. Contact Varda about joining our guild branch there. LotRO is free-to-play if you're looking into just giving it a try.
 
World of Warcraft is heading towards its tenth anniversary and its fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, both coming in November. Blizzard has announced that for the tenth anniversary, there's going to be a max-level (that will be level 100 since it comes after the expansion launches) 40-player Looking for Raid version of Molten Core coming, that will reward a mount for those able to defeat Ragnaros. There will also be a battleground of Tarren Mill vs Southshore to relive the nostalgia of the PvP battle that went on there back in the early days of WoW. Those logging in during the anniversary will get a Molten Corgi pet. These are limited time events, so if you want to be in on them, you'll not want to wait too long after Warlords of Draenor launches to get started. Speaking of which, changes are coming to stats, including a stat squish, so get ready to see numbers with reasonable* values. This will come with the 6.0 pre-patch, which will also include the pre-expansion event. See http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ for more info on WoW.
*Your mileage may vary for what is a "reasonable" number :}
 
Interested in joining us in WoW? We play primarily on US Lothar server, Alliance. We also have a Horde branch on US Uldaman. You can contact me about joining us either place.
 
For those who play StarCraft 2 and would like to be able to find other Valar Guild members, we have a presence on battle.net in the form of both a Clan and a Group.
 
We also have guild branches in Star Wars: The Old Republic on The Ebon Hawk server, both Republic and Empire.
 
As you already know, gaming isn't all we do :}
 
We continue to hold our weekly Sunday meetings at 5pm US East Coast time on AIM. To join us at the meeting, you can download AOL Instant Messenger at http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.
 
We also have a forum where you can chat about Tolkien, gaming, try to set up gaming times with other members, or just say hi :} You'll find it at http://valarguild.proboards.com/.
 
Legends speak of a place on the internet where one can see what the Valar Guild is doing, and even contribute with Tolkien-inspired art, stories, poetry, research articles and papers on Tolkien subjects, as well as Game Reviews, game tips, and more! ....
OK, not so much "legends" as me telling you right now :} Go to our home on the web at www.valarguild.org and you'll be able to find a lot of information and a multitude of ways to contribute to the Valar Guild :} You can also catch the meeting minutes on the News page if you're not able to make it to the weekly meeting.
 
Lastly, don't forget that the Valar Guild's 17th Anniversary is October 4th! That's right, 17! Got ideas for how to celebrate? Want to contribute a story, poem, piece of art or something else in celebration of the Anniversary? Contact Varda, our general Guild contact and Tolkien Site/Community Site webmaster (I'm sure you've all met her :}), for more information. Email Varda at <varda.elentari@gmail.com>
 
Thus concludes this year's GSMU letter. Remember:
 
1.) Send in your gaming info by September 30th!
2.) Get together with each other in the games you play and have fun!
3.) Read more Tolkien :} or at least read :}
4.) Happy early anniversary!
 
Take care and may the stars shine upon your faces!
Eonwë

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Aug. 31, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
   New art by The Bohemian Weasel-(T) this week:
    Tolkien Site / Art:
    Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
       "Fangorn": New art section with new art, including both the character aka "Treebeard" and the forest named after Fangorn.
          "Safe"  "I told Gandalf I would keep you safe, and safe is where I’ll keep you.". Treebeard, Merry, and Pippin
          "Friends"  "Many of these trees were my friends, gentle creatures that I knew from nut and acorn…’ Treebeard, Merry, and Pippin.
          "Merry, lost in Fangorn Forest". Also previously under "Merry", so it's not new to the site.
          "HoomHoom"  Pippin and Treebeard.
          "Ent waters"  Pippin in Fangorn forest by the water with an ent-draught.
       Merry:
          "Saruman's Storeroom" with Pippin.
       Hobbits:
          "Weep" I will not say 'do not weep'.
       Pippin: (section not yet made)
          "Fool of a Took!" with Gandalf in Moria
          "Looking Towards Mordor"
Gaming:
    Heroes of the Storm (WoW)
    Diablo 3
    StarCraft 2
    Hearthstone
    flashgaming
    World of Warcraft
    Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
    Discussion: From the Silmarillion, what would be some books we'd like to see come from it, maybe to be turned into movies? Could be short mentions as well as long.
After-meeting:
    http://www.thehobbitfancontest.com/ is now open



Aug. 29, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Extra experience for the three-day weekend.


Aug. 24, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    New art by The Bohemian Weasel-(T) on the Tolkien Site
    New gaming news on the Games Site
    New "WoW Publication Timeline" by Ar-Pharazon on the Forum: link
Gaming:
    Diablo 3
    Hearthstone
    flashgames
    WoW
       Ar-Phrazon's WoW Timeline went up on the Forum during the meeting
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Discussion: In the LotR, what problem question is set up in the beginning and answered in the ending? What complicated doing this during the middle?


Aug. 22, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
     Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
      New art added:
       Boromir:
          "Hobbit Attack"  also for Merry and Pippin.
          "Hold on, Hobbits!"  also for Merry and Pippin.
          "Wandering"
          "Bravery"
          "Boromir in Gondor"
          "Horn of Gondor"
        Elrond:
          "Elrond, Last Alliance of Men and Elves"
          "Council of Elrond"
       Éowyn:
          "Éowyn in Simbelmynë" 2014
       Fellowship:
          Image of the blessing is now here as well as in the Frodo section.
          "EnteringCarasGaladhon"
       Thranduil:
          "Thranduil the Elvenking"
       Galadriel:
          "Galadriel in Rivendell" The vision of Galdriel in Rivendell, during the Hobbit. (Movie).
       Gandalf:
          "Dawn leave-taking" Dawn ends the White Council, Galadriel takes leave of Gandalf. Also in the Galadriel section.
          "Gandalf the wanderer"
          "Farewell, Dear Bilbo"
          "Which way?"  Mordor, is it right or left? Added here, already in the Frodo section.
          "A light in the dark"
          "SpeaksInRiddles" Gandalf the White listens to Aragorn's comment.
       Gimli:
          "DrinkingGame" in Rohan
          "Oops".  Gimli "accidentally" kills a Corsair.
       Grima Wormtongue:
          "Troubled mind"
          "LateIsTheHour"
          "NoDawn"
       Haldir:
          "Debt"
          "Fire"
       Frodo and Sam:
          "Frodo and Sam leaving the Shire"
          "Into Mordor"  Sam and Frodo looking out over the Emyn Muil.
       Merry and Pippin:
          "Get the big one!"
          "I don't think he knows about second breakfast"



Aug. 21, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Good luck to the Bohemian Weasel-(T)!
She's exhibiting her artwork at the Tolkien Society exhibition this year with Ted Nasmith among others.
        At the request of the Bohemian Weasel-(T), a large number of art pieces are being removed from our site and replaced with newer pieces. If you're seeing weirdness in the links in her cave, that's what's happening.
      Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T) new paintings:  Some of these are so new that they haven't even gone up on her own page yet.
       "The wanderer in the wilderness" Gandalf in the LotR.
       "At the end of all things" Frodo and Sam
       "Gil-galad"
       "Haldir"
       "Sam" after the fall of Gandalf
       "Arwen"
       "Bilbo" bewildered and bewuthered
       "Bilbo" going on an adventure. New.
       "Bilbo" arrives in Rivendell. New.
       "Bibo" What has it got in its pocketses?"
       "Bilbo" LotR: pocketed Ring.



Aug. 17, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
        Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T): paintings
            "Dawn take you all!". Gandalf.
       Cave of DeepGroover-(T): models
             "Wild Man".

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AriehnV (presiding WoW, LotRO, Tolkien), ArPharazonV, Gelmir-(V)/Shaggyjoe, GwaihirValar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding Business)
Membership:
    Indis (during Web)
Web:
    New art by The Bohemian Weasel-(T) and DeepGroover-(T).
Gaming:
    various
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Discussion: The differences in the way that good and evil fight in Tolkien's works.


Aug. 10, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (3)
    AriehnV (presiding), ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25
Web:
    Newthis week: chapter 50 by Nightwing
Gaming:
    Hearthstone
    Diablo 3
    Legends of Equestria
    flashgaming:
       Tyrant
       Duck: Think Outside the Flock
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Trivia game:
        1. Frodo's and Sam encounter with human battle was enhanced by something momentous.. something that make Sam wonder and gape at in the midst of onslaught .. when and where and what?
        2. In Mordor, losing hope, Frodo and Sam saw something that was a sign, getting their hopes up. What was it?
        3. Somebody else had that with something battle related signifying hope .. what was that who?


Aug. 5, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
       "To See A World" by Nightwing: chapter 50 is now online for this novel in progress.


Aug. 4, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Servers down for maintenance around 6-10am Eastern.


Aug. 3, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    New art this week by The Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming:
    various:
       StarCraft 2
       SCBW
       Hearthstone
        flashgaming:
            Decision: Medieval
            Legend of Kalevala
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Discussion: We find a person who does one role, called a "type", like a ruler, then see which character does a similar role for the opposite side, called an "anti-type". Then see how they do their differenct approaches making them them the good or bad guys.



Aug. 2, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
      Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):  paintings
       "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many." Gandalf.
       "Boromir's last standBoromir, Merry, Pippin
       "Boromir's fallBoromir, Merry, Pippin.



Aug. 1, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Monday servers will be down from about 6-10am Eastern for maintenance.

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July 28, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
      
Servers down from around 7 to 11 am Eastern for Patch 14.1 . Since it's kind of a long download, you  have time to make a sandwich and enjoy the picture below from PJ"s Facebook. Click for a larger version.

Smaug


July 27, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       New art from the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
          "Sam, Wood Elves!" showing Sam and Frodo.

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Tolkien course being taken by some members.
Web:
    New art by The Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming:
    various
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    PJ's Facebook - win a trip to Wellington
    LARP report by Arien
    Discussion: Why elves went to Valinor.
After-meeting:
    Lego Smaug and other fun shared surfing, some of which was unavailable the next day, so enjoy this copy saved on our site.



July 25, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Monday morning the servers will be down from approximately 7 to 11 am Eastern  for patch Update 14.1. Check out Sapience's note on "Soon" under General.


July 20, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       For those wondering, the trait cap is at 19, level cap is 100.
 
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (3)
    ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming
Tolkien:
    RP forum story postings
    Discussion: How were language and future events affected by the Kinslaying at Alqualonde?


July 17, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       The new quests "First of the Heirs" and "Search for Abedic" cannot be completed, so both have been locked. The fixes should come out with Update 14.1 later this month.


July 16, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Tentative schedule of Dev-planned summer events, by Sapience.


July 14, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Update 14: "Paths of the Dead" is live. Release notes and known issues. Special note is made of suggestions taken from the Player Council, all looking good.
    An online course begins today for studies on Tolkien (mainly) and how his works have been shifted in content to be usable in different media, including some time spent in LotRO. It's by Coursera and is called "Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative". Thanks to Indis-(V) for letting us know about this. There is a free version with no credit but nifty anyway, and the work can be turned in during the week.


July 13, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript: sent by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Ioreth-(V)/LizMarr, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Ioreth-(V): doing a lot of original writing
    Arien-(Valar): missing next meeting for a road trip and LARP
Web:
    Forum subtly prettied, thanks to Eonwe.
    Art added
    Games Site updates every weekend
Gaming:
    various
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    LoTR puzzle picture, found by Ar-Pharazon-(V)
    Trivia game - LotR:
       How many days were spent in Moria?
       What was the name of the son of King Brego that Aragorn and friends found in the Paths of the Dead? And what was his condition?
       The turning tide of the Battle on the fields of Pelennor were two events .. both contained good and evil .. can you rememer what both good and evil of each respective event was?



July 10, 2014
    Tolkien / Art:
       Cave of DeepGroover-(T):
          "Dwarf" model.  Final name and name plate not yet revealed.



July 7, 2014
    June 2014 news has been moved to the News Archives for faster loading of the current News.


July 6, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Ioreth-(V)/LizMarr (briefly in After-meeting), VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Paintings.
Gaming:
    Ventrilo has been reactivated, usable for any Valar chat or gaming branch. It is currently 25-man but can be upgraded if we see the need. Downloadable at the Ventrilo website. If you need the Ventrilo info, contact Varda or Miriel by email, in-game, or in AIM.
Tolkien:
    Chat: How Beornings can be included in a game and keep inside lore.



July 5, 2014 Saturday
    Gaming / LotRO:
       9pm EDT (/servertime): planned BG run with Remnant, level 95.

    Tolkien Site / Art:
           Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
             "Frodo" section:  new art:
               "Blessings" from Elrond as they set out on their journey. (also to go on Aragorn, Pippin)
               "Which way?" Frodo asking Gandalf which way to go outside of Rivendell. (Also to go on Gandalf)
               "Mithril shirt" Frodo reveals the mithril shirt that saved him in Moria.
               "Decision" Frodo decides to leave the Fellowship. Topps sketch card.


July 4, 2014
Happy July 4th!

Merry and Pippin fireworks


July 1, 2014
    Gaming:
       Ventrilo server:
for those who would like to help defray costs for the Ventrilo server, a PayPal account under Irmo-(Valar)'s care is available at his site at this link. This is usable across all our games or to just chat.

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June 30, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
      
Servers for gaming and accounts will be down for maintenance from about 6am to 3pm Eastern.


June 29, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (7)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Fladrifv, Gilraen-(V)/Iryenth, GwaihirValar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership
Web
Gaming
Tolkien
    Chat: What skills and other help did each Fellowship member bring to the team? Boromir's section is in the After-meeting.
After-meeting


June 27, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Monday, the servers for gaming and the account will be down for maintenance approximately from 6am to 3pm Eastern time.


June 26, 2014 Thursday
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Down for maintenance, around 8am-1pm.


June 23, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Down for maintenance. Unfortunately when the servers came back up, the maintenance resulted in increased lag especially for storage. This will require a later hot-fix.


June 22, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership
Web
Gaming:
Tolkien:
    Chat: In the time of the War of the Ring, some groups of elves tried very hard to keep what they considered their Golden Age continuing inside of special preserves; others did not. Why the different approaches? Rivendell, Lorien, Grey Havens, Mirkwood, and eventually Ithilien.



June 20, 2014  Friday
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Monday morning downtime 6am - 11am:
            "The LOTRO Game Servers and http://myaccount.turbine.com will be offline for maintenance on Monday, June 23rd from 6:00 to 11:00 Eastern (-4 GMT). The forums will remain up, but players may not be able to log in. Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!"


June 15, 2014
Happy Father's Day!
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Side chat not shown with Luthien-(T) who has continued with her art and has had contact with Fladrif-(V).
Membership:
    Brony convention link from Ar-Pharazon-(V)
    Father's Day
Web:
    Games Site:
       New Diablo 3 patch.
    Tolkien Site / Art (newly added during After-meeting):
       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
         New sections and art:
        "Bilbo" new section, three new pieces of art:
           "‘Good Morning!’ said Bilbo"
           "Meeting Elrond Half-elven" (also on Elrond)
           "Bilbo’s storytelling"      
        "Gimli" new section, two new pieces of art:
           "‘Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria’"
           "‘All who look upon her fall under her spell…’" (to be added to Frodo, Sam)     
        "Smaug" new section, new piece of art:
           "Smaug the Magnificent, and the Arkenstone"
Gaming:
    D3
    EQ2
    SWTOR
    SCBW
    Hearthstone
    flashgaming: Elephant Quest
    WoW
    LotRO (delayed until after Tolkien) Dev chat link from Indis-(V).
Tolkien:
    Chat topic:  Beregond was unusual in the Lord of the Rings and in JRRT's books in general because he was given a good bit of book time even though he wasn't royalty. Why was that? What did we see of him in the books?
After-meeting:
    More chat, news as the art links went up.



June 9, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
      
LotRO will be down in the morning to work on the launcher, 7-noon Eastern.


June 8, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Fladrifv (After-meeting), Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Art
    Games Site
    Forum (during After-meeting)
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Chat topic: JRRT made a number of types of races and characters that became such staples of other stories and games that sometimes we forget they came from him directly or indirectly. Can you name such a one and a game or story they were carried off to?


June 5, 2014

    News page:
       
Previous months for this year and last year are now on the appropriate News Archves at the bottom of this page. This should improve loading time for the current News.

    Tolkien Site / Art:
    Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
       New art::
            "The Ford of Rivendell". Arwen and Frodo on Asfaloth lure the Nine into the Ford of Bruinen. In section Rivendell. (to be added to Arwen, Frodo)


June 4, 2014

    Tolkien Site / Art:
    Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
       New art::
            "Thranduil's History" . In secton Thranduil.
            "The way to the Last Homely House". In section Rivendell.
            "Rivendell" looking down into the valley. In section Rivendell.
            "Bilbo meets Elrond Helf-elven" in Rivendell. In section Rivendell. (to be added to Bilbo, Elrond)
            "Moon runes". Elrond, Gandalf, Bilbo, Thorin, Balin. In section Rivendell. (to be added to those character sections)
            "The parting of father and daughter". Elrond and Arwen. In section Rivendell. (to be added to Elrond, Arwen)


June 3, 2014

    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T): (improved links below to go directly)
          New artwork:
             Dwalin: new section with new art "Hobbit Illumination - Dwalin", detail from that painting.
            "Frodo and Sam in the Shire", pulling a bucket up onto a bridge. In sections for Frodo, Sam, and The Shire.
            "Gil-galad was an Elven-king" finished version; and an early sketch of this signed by Mark Ferguson who played Gil-galad in the LotR movie. In section Gil-galad.
            "Legolas and the cave troll", in section Legolas.
            Thorin: new section with three new pieces of art: "Hobbit Illumination - Thorin Oakenshield", detail from that painting, "Thorin with Thror's map telling of the dragon" including Bilbo.
            Thorin's Company: new section with new art "An Unexpected Party".
            Thranduil: new section with "Hobbit Illumination - Thranduil", work in progress sketches.
             Hobbit ‘Illuminations’: with European medieval illuminations and bookplates as an inspiration, this was an experiment to create illustrations that might look like they came from the books of Middle-earth itself.


June 1, 2014

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    Hearthstone
    flashgames: Pixelo, indestructible tank
    EverQuest2
    Pathfinders board game
    SWTOR
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    forum rp discussion, posting again.
top


May 27, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Servers down for maintenance around 6am to 1pm Eastern.


May 25, 2014
    Happy Birthay, Fangorn-(Valar)!
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (7)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Fladrifv (After-meeting), Gilraen-(V)/Iryenth,  Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Ioreth-(V)/LizMarr, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    SC2
    EQ2
    SCBW
    flashgames
       Pixelo
    Hearthstone
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    Festival Art and Books - Tolkien
    Forum rp
    Gaming rp story for all Valarites doable at all times and places.
After-meeting:
    and there was more.


May 19, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Gaming and account servers down for maintenance, approximately from 6am-10am Eastern.
    Membership:
        Varda's back in Texas tonight.
May 18, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Welcome to the Valar Guild, Gildor Inglorion-(V)!
Web:
    New navigation aid on the index page, by clicking the picture.
    New chapter 49 now up for "To See A World" by Nightwing. The story is still in progress.
Gaming:
Tolkien:
    rp
    Humor in the LotR.


May 12, 2014
    Welcome to the Valar Guild, Gildor Inglorion-(V)!
Gildor is 14 and comes from a family that enjoys Tolkien. He read LotR when he was eight, and has read the H, Sil, Lost Tales, CoH, and Return of the Shadow. He isn't able to come to Sunday meetings due to the time, but made a character to join the LotRO kin on Landroval, Adovocar.  The character from LotR that he chose as most interesting is Glorfindel for first showing the elvish nature being on another plane, as seen by Frodo while wearing the Ring. He tested with Varda for a perfect 5/5 score. He plays SWTOR, RS, and formed his own kin in LotRO on the Evernight server called The Followers of Light. He found us through a LotRO forum post by Maedhros-(V) as the Gneech.


May 11, 2014
Happy Mother's Day!
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    To pick up the same version of AIM that we use, go to http://www.aim.com/legacydownloads.  The web browser chat version cannot enter our chat room.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Durin (V), Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Mother's Day (in Before-meeting and After-meeting)
    Durin-(V)'s first meeting and his "few words" speech, one of the shortest ever. In Phar's transcript, Durin's name shows up as his email, but his display name is Durin (V) so we've replaced that as Phar requested.
    Varda
Web:
    AIM (under Before-meeting and Gaming)
Gaming:
    flashgaming: Pixelo
    Hearthstone, more including a card strategy url in After-meeting
    My Little Investigations
    WoW
    LotRO
       Podcast about last year's Player Council on MMO Reporter, passed on by Indis-(V) (in Tolkien chat).
Tolkien:
    Named legendary weapons in Middle-earth, not restricted to H and LotR.
After-meeting:
    Naming the silver hammer.
    more Mother's Day
    Ballad of Aiglos by LotRO's Lonely Mountain Band
    Hearthstone tips


May 8, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       The Hobnangians game is back highly upgraded from May 9 - 11.

May 5, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Update 13.1.  Gaming servers are up, with a longish update. Release notes. Not just fixes, but some new things like auto-fellow (automatically fellowship with this player). Dev diary.


May 4, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Nar-(V)/mcioutpost, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Ar-Pharazon
Web:
    Games Site
Gaming:
    Hearthstone
    Pixelo
    I Love Traffic
    Elder Scrolls Online
    The Visitor: Massacre at Camp Happy
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    RP
    Chat topic: Some critics say JRRT didn't show character personality.
After-meeting:
    Balrog: sentient or animal?

May 2, 2014  Friday
    Gaming / LotRO:
   
   Monday update 13.1. Servers should be down for the update from approximately  7:00 am until noon Eastern time.
top


April 27, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Need artists for forum and articles.
Gaming:
    My Little Investigations
    Hearthstone
    flashgaming: Pixelo
    Elder Scrolls Online
    World of WarCraft
    Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
    The Hobbit movie
    Beorn
    Chat topic:  What was the breadth of each of the Fellowship member's world-view? Do we see changes over the course of the journey?

April 26, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Congratulations to Indis-(V) for making it onto the LotRO Players' Council! Here's the listing. Due to the strict NDA (non-disclosure agreement), she can't share much, but players can take their concerns to her to help her represent the views of the player base.


April 20, 2014
Happy Easter!
Enjoy a favorite treat!

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Finrod-(V)/TH0R0NGIL, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    Fladrif
    Varda, Faramir, Eowyn
Web:
    New art
Gaming:
    Elder Scrolls Online
    flashgaming: Lab of the Dead (zombie game)
    Hearthstone
    Legends of Equestria
    My Little Investigations
    World  of WarCraft
    Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
    RP
    Chat topic: To me, the main difference between the two opposing groups thoughout the books has been freedom of choice. Agree or disagree, and can you show examples?
After-meeting:
    More on the chat topic.
    More on Elder Scrolls.

April 19, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       From the Cave of DeepGroover-(T): "Dwarf with mohawk, aka Gort the Red". Enjoy!

    Nifty:
       Ioreth-(V) was in the featured band with the Vanimor kinship tonight and lit up the sky.
      

April 15, 2014
    Gaming / Elder Scrolls Online:
       The new mmo, based on the single-players, has launched, for Elder Scrolls Online. Check with Finrod-(V) (joseph.brooks5 AT gmail D O T com) about joining together to play with fellow Valarites in either a shadow guild or a full branch if we have enough people. The group can get together on our forum to work out which server.
       Welcome back to Finrod who, as of three months ago, has returned from military service in real life.:)

    Gaming / LotRO:
       Seventh Year Anniversary Festival


April 14, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Update 13 "The Breaking of Isengard" is up. Release notes.

April 13, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharzon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Gilraen-(V)/Iryenth, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    Pathfinder
    Hearthstone
    My Little Pony
    World of WarCraft
    Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
    Tolkien game

April 12, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:

        "The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, April 14 from 7:00AM - 12:00PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to launch Update 13: The Breaking of Isengard.Patch notes will be available during the downtime."

April 10, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       News on Update 13 The Breaking of Isengard

April 6, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5) Europe and Eastern time are back in sync.
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    flashgaming:  Cookie Clicker
    Hearthstone
    Star Trek Online
    WoW
    LotRO
Tolkien:
    rp postings
    See also the Games Site for WoW news about the next expansion, Warlords of Draenor, in alpha now.
top


March 30, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5) Europe and Eastern time are back in sync.
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Nar-(V)/mcioutpost, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Gaming:
    Hearthstone
    flashgaming: Wooden Path
    Tera Rising
    Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
    LotRO
    WoW
Tolkien:
    rp postings start the chat and break in here and there during the main chat.
    Tolkien's Beowulf
    Chat topic: Things that happened to JRRT in real life having to do with family sometimes bled over into his writing (and the reverse). Can you think of some of these? (The chat breaks up and starts again.)
After-meeting:
    Tolkien chat continues. RP posting.

March 23,2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    The AIM version most of us use may be found at this link under Windows.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Tolkien:
    Chat topic: The first family of sorts would be Eru's. He had four sets of children after a fashion. What four were those and what were their differences?
   

March 21, 2014 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
       Announcement:
Apply for the 2014 LOTRO Players Council
Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:26:54 +0000
Starting Today,  March 21st, 2014, we invite players to apply for the LOTRO Player’s Council. Don’t want to join yourself? Recommend a fellow player you feel will be a positive addition to the council.


March 20, 2014 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
       Lootbox weekend begins today: Increased drop rates through-out Middle-earth! March 20th-23rd
March 17, 2014
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

    Gaming / LotRO:
       Forgotten Treasury 7pm Eastern (Valar time) (UT or GMT-5).
            To translate for some of our other time zones: London, Dublin, Scotland (GMT) midnight, Central (GMT-6) 6pm , Mountain (GMT-7) 5pm, Pacific (GMT-8)  4pm, Norway CET (GMT+1) 1am.
            Pick up quests at the Deep Descent in Moria: Dark Defilers, Depleted Crystals, Skum and Urauth, Relics and Coins.
            Load up with fear and wound potions.
            Never been there before: here's one of the guides, but be sure to read the comments. Another.  More guides are available.
                Ran successfully by Ioreth, Hamson, and Varda, completing the instance, quests, and some deeds. Hamson has a talent for catching the order of the statue turns.
          Wednesday high level run planned, maybe Helm's Deep.
          Spontaneous anytime runs always welcome.


March 16, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5) (GMT-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
    Attending: (4)
        AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Tolkien:
       Speculation on what barely mentioned type in the books would be the next LotRO class. Started into topic for next meeting on Tolkien and families in his books.

March 14, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       100% bonus experience this weekend through March 17.

       New class announced by Executive Producer Aaron Campbell. "He did state that he had a conversation with Tolkien Enterprises and it's within the lore of the trilogy He said that it was mentioned in the books several times."
March 13, 2014
    Membership:
Welcome to the Valar Guild,Durin-(V)!
Durin researched kinships and picked ours. We are honored,thank you.
He's 50, from Vancouver, Canada, so he's in PDT for the West Coast.
He games in Puzzle Pirates and LotRO.
He's read the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings,and Silmarillion.
A character interesting to him is Tom Bombadil. "Here was someone whose origins defied Tolkien's mythos ("before the first raindrop fell, Tom was here"). He epitomizes the whole idea of music, which was central to Tolkien's word in how it was used in battles between good and evil. And yet, while Tom B grasps the nature of the incredible conflict going on around him, he still seems aloof from it all. Was Tolkien trying to make him the face of nature perhaps? He wasn't as simple 'here's a guy who can help the quest' like most other characters.'"

March 11, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Since a number of us were away or unaware, the 2nd weekend kin AH continued into the week. Be sure to check for anything you might like to have! [Clarification: kin Auction House is once a month on the second weekend.]


March 9, 2014

Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EDT (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1 or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Membership:
    Thank you to Arien-(Valar) for chairing the meeting. Eonwe is workind and Varda returned after meeting time.
    Daylight Savings Time hit Eastern next today, so meetings are an hour earlier.
Tolkien:
    Chat topic: Tolkien loved to be playful .. a lot of his characters were. Do you have examples of playful characters?



March 6, 2014 Thursday

    Membership:
        Elwing-(V)'s and DeepGroover-(T)'s  father passed away last night. He was a good friend to Varda's family. In the guild art section, he took the photos for many of DeepGroover's models, some of which are used in the rotating picture on the Valar Guild's home page.

    Gaming / LotRO:
      
Join Sapience on the Arkenstone server, Friday, March 7, at 6:30PM Eastern (-5GMT) or watch it live on the LotRO Twitch Channel.
Did you miss something? Read the transcripts!


March 4, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "More Things in Heaven and Earth". Prologue and first six chapters by Mirabella-(V). Incomplete but still worth reading.  "In the winter after the Ring War, a hidden threat to the White City draws a wanderer back to his home. Boromir, Faramir"



March 2, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1, Eonwe Valar, or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Membership:
    Eonwe's work schedule is changing so he won't be able to come to regular meetings for some time.
    Daylight Savings Time hits Eastern next week, so meetings are an hour earlier.
Tolkien:
    Trivia game
top



Feb.27, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Kin AH: considering doing a Valar Guild kin auction house every 2nd weekend as a habit. To do this, go to the AH and click the option for kin only, then make it cheap. One character can only put a limited number of items in, but we have lots of alts to help get around that problem.  A regular kin AH may help us clear some space as well as helping the kin. Feel free to put stuff on the regular AH as well to help offset posting prices. Let's get in the habit and check for goodies that your main or alts could use.

       Message from LotRO Executive Producer Aaron Campbell aka Rowan:
Here's the message:
Hello all! I’m Aaron “Rowan” Campbell, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online.*

Update 13 (and LOTRO’s 7th Anniversary) are coming up soon (He said it! Not me!- Sapience). There is a long list of new features with U13, but I want to highlight some of the key items and the great folks that are working on them.

Epic Book: We’re going to Flooded Isengard! MadeofLions has put together an epic experience, where you finally get to experience life as an Ent.

North Downs: This is a vast and classic region. Budgeford is digging in to modernize and improve the space, much like she’s done in the past with Moria.

Fangorn Forest: Quickbeam needs your help! JWBarry has led the charge to build out new quests in Southern Fangorn, including a special friend you might earn.

In addition, mail will now support multiple attachments. VIPs will be able to open mail in the wilderness through your mail alert. Inventory is getting entirely new management options. And we have a new prototype of Hobnangians that we expect to release later this year.

As Kate mentioned, we’re pressing forward to Gondor! We’re digging in deep (but not too deep) to continue the journey through Middle-earth. I look forward to telling you more about our plans for 2014 and into 2015 in the near future.

Rowan

*For those that remember me, I’ve been with LOTRO since 2006. I stepped away over the last year to run Dungeons and Dragons Online. Now I’m back in Middle-earth and thrilled to be working with the LOTRO team again.

Feb. 26,2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Solving some common gaming tech problems by +Tiggs+.


Feb. 25, 2014
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Turbine's Mirthgar of Customer Support requests that we remove  the Pando Media Booster from our computers. Link.
Here's the message:
If you still have Pando Media Booster installed please uninstall it via “Uninstall a Program” in the control panel (Add/Remove Programs on XP)*. If you need to download the game please utilize the Play Instantly downloads on the page here or via Steam.

Alternate download options will be made available in the near future.

* Mac users that may still have it installed can uninstall via its removal in Applications through Finder.

Feb. 24, 2014
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
       
Two new chapters by Jay of Lasgalen for "A Series of Culinary Disasters", previously titled "His Mother's Recipe Book:"
           Ch. 4 Mulled Wine
           Ch. 5 Haggi
    Membership page 2014 - being updated. If your name is in black instead of green, please email or otherwise contact Varda to show that you still want to be associated with the Valar Guild Tolkien Fan Club and Gamers Group.

Feb. 23,  2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1, Eonwe Valar, or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
    Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
    Attending: (6)
        AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Web:
       News and transcripts going again, thanks to a lot of program downloading and password changing.
    Tolkien:
       RP discussion


Feb. 21, 2014
    Faramir-(init) took a bad fall from a ladder. He has a compound fracture of the leg and a dislocated shoulder on the same side so that he can't use a crutch. I (Varda) am staying with the family for possibly two extra months from the original going home time.
    Fortunately after some finagling, the website can now be reached and worked with. Please feel free to email information for the News page to Varda; it would be most welcome.  See Contact or the Membership page for email and other contact information.  The backlog of transcripts are now added on their proper days, starting with Jan. 12.


Feb. 16, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Menelvagor Valar, VardaValar1
Web:
    Forum changes. (Sign in as usual, probably only need to confirm email.)
Tolkien:
    RP discussion
    Language discussion: How much would the Silvan tongue differ from the old days before the trek from Cuivienen to Aman?


Feb. 9, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), VardaValar1 (After-meeting)
Tolkien:
    Chat topic: Tom Bombadil: Why not give him the Ring, put him on the back of an eagle, and fly him to Mount Doom to throw the Ring in?
After-meeting:
    Chat topic: Tom Bombadil: Why a bright blue jacket with yellow boots? Wouldn't orange boots go better with blue?
    Chat topic: What material can be found near Tom Bombadil to construct his rocket boots?


Feb. 2, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), Gilraen-(V)/Iryenth, GwaihirValar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25
Membership:
    Luthien-(V) - may Valinor treat you well. Obituary.
Tolkien:
    Chat topic: The Eagles: why not just send a flock of them to pluck Pharazon and his army off their ships and put them back down on Numenor?
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Jan. 26, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), Indis-(V)/karakedi25
Tolkien:
    Name game
   

Jan. 19, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (8)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, EonweValar (presiding), Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Ioreth-(V)/LizMarr, Menelvagor Valar (After-meeting), VardaValar1 (After-meeting)
Tolkien:
    Five degrees of separation


Jan. 12, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask Eonwe Valar or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AriehnV (presiding), ArPharazonV, EonweValar (After-meeting), Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Menelvagor Valar (After-meeting)
Tolkien:
    Trivia
    Tolkien Moment


Jan. 7, 2014
    Eowyn-(V) and Faramir-(init) have just brought another potential gamer into the world! He's a boy, 5 pounds and 11 ounces and has lots of brown hair. Fangorn and Varda are very happy grandparents, Sauron and Bilbo are now uncles, and Merry is a great-uncle. Now that's a family tree!


Jan. 5, 2014
Sunday Meeting: 5 pm EST (UTC-5)
    The meeting is held in the AIM room named Valar Guild Meetingplace. Come on in, or ask VardaValar1, Eonwe Valar, or ArPharazonV for an invitation.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (7)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, EonweValar, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Menelvagor Valar (After-meeting), Nar-V/mcioutpost, VardaValar1(presiding)
Gaming
Tolkien:
    What kind of survival skills did each member of the Fellowship of the Ring bring to the party?


Jan. 3, 2014
    Today is the 122nd birthday of John Ronald Reul Tolkien!
Who?

Jan. 1, 2014
Happy New Year!


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