2017 News Archive

Happy New Year's Eve!

Meeting Transcript by Varda

Merry Christmas!

Meeting Transcript by Varda

Meeting Transcript by Varda

We have decided to temporarily make the Abyss of Mordath raid inaccessible, to give us time to correct several issues found over the weekend. This also allows players to compete for the Original Challenge title when the raid is first opened to the public. We will have more information about the raid�s opening soon. Additionally, the new raid Barter Vendors will not provide their services until the new raid opens to the public.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Happy Halloween!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda. Summary below.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (8)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Gil-galad, Varda
    LotRO: Frodo, Hamson, Melilot, Varda
Web:
    Anniversary page has new art header and screenshots.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic 1: Odd juxtopositions of Tolkien characters due to our guildmates' real life relationships.
    Topic 2: Medicine in Middle-earth.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Friday, October 13th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 21.2.1. Click here for the Release Notes. Thank you for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (9)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Elladan, Thranduil, Miriel, Varda
    LotRO: Arien, Fangorn, Elwing, Varda
Membership:
    The chat marathon ends with this meeting! This is being held on AIM and on Discord; pick your favorite or be in both, when you can. At least say hi so others can tell you were there; the list of known participants goes on the Anniversary page.
Web:
    New screenshots on the Anniversary page.
    New story by Arien-(Valar)
    State of Valar Gaming, now linked to the Anniversary page.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic: Tolkien Moments. The first three relate to the Entmoot. The last two are from the Silmarillion.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

AIM will be shutting down December 15th.
Their message:

AOL System Msg
Hi there! We wanted to let you know that AIM will be going away on December 15, 2017. Until then, you can continue to use AIM normally, but as of December 15, AIM will be discontinued and you will no longer have access.
Thank you for being an AIM user - we loved working on this product for you. Learn more here: https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued.

Please download Discord if you haven't already, so we can help each other with it on AIM before it's gone. We will not be using the browser Discord, but the download version.
If you're in LotRO, please feel free to ask for help there too.
Norton Antivirus may block Discord, so an exception may need to be set up for it.
More articles:
    Link given by Gil-galad, from avclub.
    Link in Tumbler.

Happy 20th Anniversary, Valar Guild!

Fireworks runs for groups:
    LotRO noon EST/ 11 am Central; 5pm EST/ 4 pm Central. (Meet at West Bree)
    WoW 8 pm EST/ 7 pm Central.
Gamer screenshots for the anniversary (solo or group fireworks runs). Please email your favorite to Varda, just one or to show each place visited.
Gamer screenshots for the anniversary theme of "perseverance or triumph over adversity" may be emailed to Varda to put on the Anniversary page.
Chat marathon continues in both AIM and Discord, through Oct 8's Sunday meeting. Please at least say hello so we can credit you with assisting in keeping the rooms open.
The Tolkien Site will continue taking anniversary presents to the guild through all of October, linked from the Anniversary page as well as the regular Tolkien Site set-up, as in art, poetry, stories, articles, humor, languages, etc.
Forum salutations.
Anniversary Page

Taking a screenshot in LotRO:
    N to toggle the names over people and things.
    F12 to remove the UI, that shows bags, radar, skill slots, etc.
    F11 to take the screenshot.
    The screenie goes to a folder on your computer: Documents / The Lord of the Rings Online
       Be sure to notice "The" at the start of the folder.

Taking a screenshot in WoW:
    Click Printscreen on your keyboard. The image goes into the game folder under Screenshots.

First LotRO run at noon went off! Thank you for the fun. The celebrants were Arien, Dis, Fangorn, Irmo, Miriel, Nerdanel, and Varda. We started at West Bree, moving on to Michel Delving, Thorin's Hall, and Rivendell.
 The 5 pm run still had the same people from the noon run, so we fellowshipped and ran in Mordor together for hours. When one left, another joined up, so it was quite a run. More people came on, joining into the Mordor run or grouping up as High Elves.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Membership:
  THE 20th ANNIVERSARY is coming fast! Here's some of what's going on:
    The chat marathon for the 20th Anniversary this year begins at the meeting on Oct 1 and goes through the meeting on Oct 8. Help hold the channel open. This is being held on AIM and on Discord (Harbor text is our usual in Discord, but for this, use meeting_place); pick your favorite or be in both, when you can. At least say hi so others can tell you were there; the list of known participants goes on the Anniversary page including which program you favored with your presence.
    Please email Varda your 20th Anniversary screenshots, art, poetry, humor, articles, stories, music or whatever your creative minds come up with, marked that they are in honor of that. The suggested theme is "persevernce or triumph over adversity" set in Tolkien's world. Varda's email is on the Membership and Contacts pages; so is Eonwe's. Anniversary goodies will be added from September through all of October, although preferred to be in in time for Oct 4.
    Please email Eonwe with your updated information for the Games Site, as all old information has been wiped. This updated site will aid in the State of Valar Gaming report given with the Anniversary.
    For gamers that have games with towns: Oct 4, a Wednesday, is the day to ride to landmarks in major towns, set off fireworks, and yell "Happy 20th Anniversary, Valar Guild!" preferably with fellow guild mates. In LotRO, you might also be able to make music and dance, /drink, /eat, and hand around drinks, food, or other items. WoW can do a lot too, as can others, maybe using special effects of magic or explosions to simulate fireworks. Feel free to email Varda your best / favorite screenshots and/or a written tale of the event, perhaps from your own, or your character's or even guild character's perspective; short is just fine and goes nicely to caption screenshots, although all lengths are taken happily.
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       New art today by the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
            "Smaug, the Unassessably Wealthy", under Smaug. Just the character to keep Bilbo busy.
            "The Lonely Mountain" on the new page Lonely Mountain. Put up by the Bohemian Weasel-(T) in time for Bilbo's birthday, and added into our website retroactively today.
Gaming:
    Report on general gaming news by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: In the books, what did Bilbo and Frodo's birthday have to do with the main storyline?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Happy Birthday to Bilbo and Frodo!

"The Lonely Mountain"
by The Bohemian Weasel-(T)
made for Bilbo's Birthday!

    Cave of The Bohemian Weasel-(T):
       "Old Forest". New page.
          "The Old Forest".
          detail from The Old Forest: "Merry laughs at Frodo" (book).

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe (presiding), Varda
    Discord: Arien, Gorlim, Varda.
Membership:
    Thank you to those who replied to the GSMU! These folks are also updated on the Membership page as active for 2018. The Games Site Mass Update is still in progress. If you did not receive an email, which is also a yearly gaming newsletter, please email your info to Eonwe, or Varda if your email is confidential.
Web:
    New art this week: "Gandalf" by DeepGroover-(T)
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: New game invented by Eonwe: "Book or Movie?" We took turns to suggest a scene that was only found in the books or movies (included Extended version), and the others said which it was.
After-meeting:
    Continued Tolkien game.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Gorlim, Varda.
    LotRO: Maedhros, Varda
Membership:

Sept. 22 is the double birthday of book Bilbo and Frodo.
Games Site Mass Update now underway, to allow the update of the Games Site by anniversary time.
Oct. 4 is the Valar Guild's 20th Anniversary.

Web
Gaming:
    Very special interview link with the astronaut, Daniel Barry, who took a StarCraft game disk with him into space, including his struggle to become an astronaut. You can watch the video and/or read the transcript below.
    General gaming report (including the above link) by Eonwe.
    LotRO has a Community Rules Update especially for Standing Stone.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman could not make new life, but they could change existing life to make types better suited to their purposes. To start, they did great propaganda to bring beings to their side, offering power, abilities, whatever worked, mostly not what we consider appealing to their better side. What were some of these changed beings, and what was the advantage?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

My stories will be removed from Valar Guild, but do not be alarmed, I am in no way upset with this site. It is by far the best for the wonderful works by authors who are fans of J.R.R Tolkien. 

Perhaps I will return someday to this world of fanfiction, I pray this is the case. But for now, for me, I need to take a complete break away from my writing. 

Thank you to all. 

Little Jewel.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Varda. Gil-galad attempted. Lenwe gave an After-meeting howdy.
Membership:
    We have a surprising number of members impacted by Hurricane Harvey in the Texas area. Good luck to all!
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Stories (see Aug 24 below)
Gaming:
    General gaming report
Tolkien:
    Topic:  Odd weather in Middle-earth: Mount Caradhras, Weathertop, Moria, Rivendell and Lothlorien
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Varda
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic:  The Palantiri: what do we know about them, numbers and their fate?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

  Mon, 14 Aug 2017 21:28:41 +0000
  This quest has been temporarily closed due to a bug preventing completion. This issue will be fixed in the near future.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending (5)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda
    Discord: Arien, Irmo, Varda
Web:
    Cave of the Bohemian Weasel-(T) new paintings shared today:
       *Elf of the House of Gil-galad; face detail (under the Gil-galad section)
       *original sepia version of F�anor; face detail. (under the  F�anor section)
       *Nienor N�niel; face detail (new section for Nienor N�niel)
    Cave of DeepGroover-(T) new model shared today:
       *Beginning a new model project showing us a sneak preview of what he's about to paint: Baerkrom.
Gaming:
    General gaming news report by Eonwe.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Who were some of the characters who were not all that "good" but were on the good side, at least more or less?
After-meeting:
    Tolkien chat tangent: dragons
    Tolkien chat tangent: entwives
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Varda
Attending: (8)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Irm/Irmo, Hurin, Maha/Miriel, Varda. Fangorn (After-meeting).
    LotRO: Hurin, Varda present but didn't need relay.

Membership News:
    We are considering Discord for our across-platform meetings, if we get enough members using it. Where you show up and say hi for the meeting is your vote. Right now we put both up at the same time to see where members appear or prefer to appear.
    Current vote is being done by showing up for at least one meeting (be in the meeting channel and say something, at least hello, to show you are present). Often have some in both places. AIM 7, Discord 7. The old regulars in AIM still show up there regularly. Discord is not yet a habit and is still being discovered. Data below is from May 14 to last week.
    AIM: Arien (11), Ar-Pharazon (12), Elladan (8), Eonwe (9), Falco (1), Lenwe (1), Varda (12). (Used for meetings and general chat between times.)
    Discord: Arien (5), Elladan (1), Falco (1), Gil-galad (3), Lenwe (1), Miriel (1), Varda (11). (Used in gaming, general chat between times, and hopefully meetings.)
    LotRO folk sometimes relay comments to the other meeting groups through Varda.
Gaming Report:
    General news given by Eonwe.
Tolkien:
    Topic 1:  Ways into Mordor.  (From Arien)
    Topic 2:  What were the main jobs of the Aratar Valar? (From Varda)
    Topic 3:  Is there any clue in the books how the famous songs were handed down other than hearing/memory? (From Miriel and Irmo)
After-meeting:
    More Tolkien chat on poetry and music.
    Flashgaming Review by Ar-Pharazon.

Meeting Transcript by Varda
Attending: (4)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Varda
    LotRO: Varda
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
    New game coming out: Legends of Equestria. Report by Ar-Pharazon
     LotRO:
          From the forum:

We are as excited as many of you to get into Mordor, but we have some unfortunate news: we have to adjust the release date. While preparing over the weekend to release the expansion on Monday, we discovered an issue in the build that impacted the ability of monsters and NPCs to move around correctly. This problem was specifically identified in older content.

While correcting this issue is not a problem, the process to correct it takes too long to be able to release Mordor on Monday. So, we have to adjust the release date. We will have more info on the release date soon. We will know a lot more in the next 24 hours or so, and will pass along the info as soon as we can.

Sev~

Tolkien:
    Topic: How did the elven Rings affect the elves' development?
After-meeting:
    More Tolkien chat
    Flashgaming Review by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Arien, Ar-Pharazon, and Varda
Attending: (7)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan (After-meeting), Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Miriel, Varda
    LotRO: Hurin, Irmo, Maha/Miriel, Varda
Web:
    Tolkien Site: painting by the Bohemian Weasel-(T) (see July 20)
Gaming:
    General gaming report
Tolkien:
    Topic:  Differences between Elves and Man.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Gil-galad, Varda
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       New art:
          "Dragon and Hoard" model assembled and painted by Elwing-(V).
Gaming:
    Gaming reports
       A new one mentioned: Ark
Tolkien:
    Game
After-meeting:
    Game continued
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe (Before-meeting), Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Varda
Web
Gaming Report
Tolkien:
    Nifty urls
    Topic: Surveillance in Middle-earth
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Happy Independence Day!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Gil-galad, Varda
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       New article: "Almaren" by Varda-(Valar)
       Updated Timeline tables. All major events now in, more article links. More events to come. Articles requested that relate specifically to the Timeline project mentions.
       Kings project also looking for more articles.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic: What was the main trait bringing on evil in Tolkien's world?
After-meeting:
    Personal gaming by Arien
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/13-jellyfish/
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/pizzarino
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/esthetix/the-gatekeeper
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Varda
Web:
    Tolkien Site: Timeline updated for navigation links and content for Third Age, Great Years.
    Games Site: tweaks ongoing
Gaming:
    General gaming report
Tolkien:
    Topic: What would have happened in the book world to Mordor after the One Ring was destroyed?
After-meeting:
     Are tentacles cuddly? Continued.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/692571 Orange Revenge
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/tiny_frontier_saga
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/krangGAMES/beloved

Happy Father's Day!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Arien, Varda
Membership
    Ar-Pharazon goes on vacation tomorrow. Have fun!
Web:
    Tolkien Site: Work being done on the Great Years for the Timeline.
    Games Site: Now being updated during the week, not just Sunday. Reports and requests welcome, mail to Eonwe.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Dragons, continued from last week.
After-meeting:
    Tolkien chat continues. Because dragons.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/gelf/
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/turboNuke/formula-racer-2012
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/justwo/home-story-1971

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    AIM: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord: Varda
Membership:
    Ar-Pharazon will not be able to stay as long as usual next week; transcripting take notice. Enjoy your vacation, Phar!
Web:
    Games Site. Please help locate the elusive bug; find a problem and email Eonwe.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Dragons, some types, abilities such as flying or non-flying, Voice, relation to industry.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/particolo
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/Awoke/diepix-arena-2
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/Edmund/aether
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    AIM:
        Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
    Discord:
        Arien, Lenwe, Varda. (Falco and Gil-galad present but not responding.)
Web:
    Tolkien Site: Timeline work on the Great Years.
    Games Site: update in progress. (Final version went up early the next morning!)
Gaming:
    General gaming reports by Eonwe and others.
    Review of DotA (Defense of the Ancients) by Lenwe.
    LotRO gaming:
        Music:
           Weatherstock is July 22.
        LotRO news on the LotRO Beacon, by Cordovan.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Who were the raft-elves and what did they do?
After-meeting:
    More raft-elf discussion.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/chengt4/shadow-swap
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/tsunamithief/the-great-tsunami-thief
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/honey_home
    Blizzard gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending:
    AIM:
        Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda
    Discord:
        Varda
Membership:
    Arien is on vacation. Have fun!
Web:
    Games Site: Transition problems being repaired, old version remains up for use.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Different races in Tolkien: how they were differentiated, what special abilities do they have, and what went into the Fellowship.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/bontegames/yellow
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/dungeon_in_a_bottle
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/kekgames/iceberg

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending:
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Falco, Varda (presiding)
Membership
    Arien will be away next meeting to attend a wedding.
Web:
    The Games Site changes! (Under Gaming.)
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
       New game Destiny 2.
    Eonwe reprogrammed the Games Site, rolling out soon.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Return of the... lots of things!
    RP plans for the next batch of posts (our forum group story).
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon, for:
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/scriptwelder/dont-escape-2
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/falling_circles
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/tbiz5270/idle-tower-defense
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Happy Mother's Day!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, and Varda (presiding)
    Gil-galad by relay from LotRO concerning Discord program.
Membership
Web:
    Discord program possibly taking the place of both our AIM and Ventrilo in the future. Downloads now being tried.
       If you need to get a new password and use Firefox, you may need to unblock gmail pop-ups to see more than just the picture of a key.
       Varda#7923 and the Valar Guild (aka VG server on the ID on the left side) were created back in 2015 when Discord was in alpha; the room and ID are still there for you.
            Ask Varda for an invite once you have Discord.
Gaming:
    General gaming report
    Who was in-game reports
Tolkien:
    Topic: Tolkien showed a wide variety of relationships between couples. We go over a few of these.
After-meeting:
    Flash-gaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/doodle_history
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/mathsweeper
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/transcube

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending (and at least said something making them visible): (5)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, and Varda (presiding)
Membership
Web:
    Timeline: Great Years started.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Some characters had similar roles, yet they were very different personalities and filled them differently even when doing just as well in their own ways.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda (to be put up)
Attending: (6)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Lenwe, and Varda (presiding)
Membership
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Articles: 
        More work done today on the Timeline for the Third Age.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic: Strategies and tactics in Gandalf vs Sauron, focusing on the Return of the King.
After-meeting:
    More on the Tolkien topic
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon for:
        http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/ccatch
        http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/balloon_frvr
        http://www.kongregate.com/games/camaleonyco/moby-dick-2

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien,  Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Gilraen, Varda (presiding)
Membership
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Timeline: the Fourth Age bare bones table info is now online.
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe with others adding in.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Main events of the Fellowship of the Ring and of the Two Towers. Started RotK but time ran out, so that's next week's topic.
After-meeting:
    Flash-gaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon of:
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/targaciej/swipe-stop
       http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/the_raccon_who_lost_their_shape
       http://www.kongregate.com/games/nerdook/monster-legions
    Blizzard gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Happy Easter!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda. New, with timestamps by Ar-Pharazon.
Attending (and at least said something making them visible): (5)
    Arien-(Valar), ArPharazon-(V), Elladan-(V), Eonwe-(Valar), Varda-(Valar) (presiding)
Membership
Web
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Ar-Pharazon and others
Tolkien:
    Topic: What brings joy to the various races in Middle-earth? We started with Orcs.
After-meeting:
    Tolkien topic continues
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming report by Ar-Pharazon
    Joining into actual gaming by members in LotRO

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6):
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and several members.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Terraforming in Tolkien
    RP forum story discussion
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon and Arien

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Membership:
    The 20th Anniversary of the Valar Guild is coming up in October. What would you like to do for it? Feel free to tell us at an AIM meeting, email Varda, or talk in-game.
Web:
    Poetry: "Kiera's Desire" by Arien-(Valar). Rogue in World of WarCraft goes Tolkienesque.
    Previous news for this year is now in the 2017 archives, so the News should load up faster, yay! All previous news archives should now be updated to show the 2017 archives. Lets make some new news!
Gaming:
    LotRO: Spring Festival extended to April 9
    General gaming report by Eonwe and several members.
Additional Stuff:
    Gilraen's suggested link for a crocheted scale-mail hood.
    This October will be the 20th Anniversary of the Valar Guild. Time to think ahead.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Theme: It's not giving in to the belief that there's no way you can win, even giving your life for it, that the attempt to win is still worth it.
After-meeting:
    Link to audio book of "Children of Hurin" read by Christopher Lee.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon and Arien
    Tee-shirts
    Headed into games.

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending (3):
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, and Eonwe (presiding)
Membership:
    Varda's internet was cut. Temporary late night fix allowing News page updates, main repair should be on Monday.
Web
Gaming:
    General report by Eonwe, additions from others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Discuss whether the Elves who had not been to Valinor but had descended from those who did, would be counted as high elves? This is a question brought up by controversy over an upcoming class in LotRO. Who are some of those elves that we know of?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon and Arien

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending (4):
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
Membership:
    New member: Mithrellas-(V) (see March 18, 2017)
Web::
    Updated some community pages.
Gaming:
    General gaming report, including, as usual, kinmates seen this past week.
Tolkien:
    Topic: The name is not used in the LotR (Mithrellas) but the character is mentioned. Any idea who that is and how she figured into the background tales?
    Articles requestd from the membership: Amroth, Mithrellas, Nimrodel
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon and Arien

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien, ArPharazon, Eonwe, Erkenbrand, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
    LotRO and WoW gaming talk going on in this between spot
    AIM experiments. Some continue during the meeting.
Membership:
    AIM: Eonwe reported main findings.
    Firefox dropping Java and Unity; workaround for Kongregate gamers.
    Nar-(V) news in After-meeting.
Web:
    Tolkien Site/ Encyclopedia:
        Timeline work continues
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic: What contributed to the treachery of Saruman, and what treacherous acts can we come up with?
After-meeting:
    Merry Pippins joke turns out to be a thing on the internet.
    Newsweek special edition on Tolkien, brought to our attention by Lenwe. Article links.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Story Tell Cafe is finally back! Aneluki is feeling better, so come sing a song, tell a tale, visit our kinhouse and take a break from the good fight! It will take place on sundays March 5th and 19th, 1pm, at our kinhouse (Tol Lochul island, Pel Caun, Belfalas homestead). Contact Aneluki and we'll find a way to summon you! :D

-As usual, we're holding our weekly RT raids on every saturday, 3:30pm servertime. We meet up at west bree gate, regions change from week to week. Come get your FA weapon! Contact Ibelyron/Arvithar.

-If we played our cards right, Alliance should host "Exploring The Lord of the Rings" on tuesday march 28th! Dr. Corey Olsen, known as the Professor, will be giving a book lecture and having a discussion about Fellowship of the Ring. This will be happening at 9pm, at the new Scholar's Hall in Bree! (30.1s 52.1w)

That's all for us this month! :D

Rhanti, Alliance ambassador

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien (presiding Tolkien), Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe (presiding Business), Lenwe (After-meeting), Varda (After-meeting)
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Stories (see Feb 22)
    Lenwe-(V)'s Lord of the Rings website
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: What are the grievances between Elves and Dwarves, that we are privied to in the history of Arda, such that the level of incivility of Legolas towards Gloin would be warranted in someone's eyes?
After-meeting:
    Personal gaming by Arien.
    LotRO: link aid with "Old Roots" quest.
    Personal gaming by Lenwe.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending:  (8)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Erkenbrand, Gilraen, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
Membership
Web:
    Story
    Tolkien Site / Timeline:
       Slight updates on the Second Age links; more event additions to the Third Age.
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: The barrow-wights were not all that far from Bree. What effect might they have had on the lives around them, if any?
After-meeting:
    Cows. Yep, cows.
    Tolkien chat: weapons of the enemy.
    Keeping the chat room open during the week for chat and gaming contacts. Lenwe offered his lower-powered computer to keep it going.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (4)
    Arien (presiding), Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eru
Membership
    Where Varda disappeared to temporarily.
Web
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: the name game.
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Eru, Lenwe (After-meeting), Varda (presiding)
Membership:
    Dis and her husband are out of the hospital today.
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Stories
       New story chapter11 this last week by Little Jewel-(T).posted Feb 1
Gaming:
    Games report by Eonwe
Tolkien:
    Topic: Similarities one might find between Willow and LotR, be it books or movies
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (7)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Erkendan, Eru, and Varda (presiding)
[Note: Actual names showing in the original transcript for two members and one that showed the email are edited in the published transcript for their privacy. It's a quick, easy find all and replace. Phar's AIM is an old version that doesn't see names quite like some of the others, but otherwise has a very clean copy that we appreciate, easily fixed.]
Web:
    Tolkien Site / Art::
       New art by the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
          Image link: Words of comfort by Gandalf to Frodo. Extra info on pages for Frodo or for Gandalf. Put online today.
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
       Chapter 10 is now online for "Learning to Smile" by Little Jewel-(T). Put up Jan 23.
Gaming:
    Report by Eonwe. Supplemented by others.
Tolkien:
    Topic: Gandalf and his changing technique in aiding the free people of Middle-earth, as Olorin, the Grey, and the White.
After-meeting:
    Tolkien chat continues.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (6)
    Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Eru, Gilraen, Varda (presiding)
Web:
    Timeline work ongoing. Request for more articles to link to it relating to places, events, and characters with only stubs for entries.
Gaming:
    Eonwe's general report on Gaming news.
    LotRO events schedule with links to player-run events listed at LotRO Artists and at LotRO Players.
       Tuesday the 24th, the Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, of Mythgard Institute, lectures again at 9:30 p.m. in LotRO "Exploring the Lord of the Rings". Twitter.  YouTube episode 1.
Tolkien:
    Forum rp story
    LotR: guild entry question suggestions
After-meeting:
    More question suggestions
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (8)
    Arien-(Valar), Ar-Pharazon-(V), Eonwe-(Valar), Erkenbrand-(V), Eru-(Valar), Gilraen-(V), Lenwe-(V), Varda-(Valar) (presiding)
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       Stories: Learning to Smile (chapter 9 posted Jan 11)
       Articles: Timeline: Second Age updated, navigation on the Timeline updated, started on Third Age.
    Knitting a Tolkienesque scarf link..
    Beren and Luthien book from Christopher Tolkien coming out in 2017.
    Chit-chat about movies for Middle-earth past and present.
Gaming:
    movie trivia
    Eonwe gives the Games report
Tolkien:
    Topic 1: Tolkien's creation myth for England and John Campbell's 4-question test of a creation myth.
    Topic 2: Who is Eru?
    Topic 3 Hobbits and the strange things passing through. Includes entwife topic..
After-meeting:
    More on Topic 1, with perhaps more clarity.
    Group got together for LotRO gaming here.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming Ar-Pharazon

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (5)
    Arien V/AriehnV, Ar-Pharazon-V/ArPharazonV, FladrifV, Lenwe-V/perseid28, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       Stories: Learning to Smile ch. 8 (Saturday)
       Articles: Timeline: Second Age (today)
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: What was the importance of the Numenorean lady, Silmarien? (Also, article requested.)
    Topic 2: What plants are mentioned in LotR and the Hobbit? What do we know about them and their usage?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming Ar-Pharazon

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

We were honored to have had the chance to enjoy the world of your imagination that lives on after your departure..

Happy New Year!

We will handle fireworks responsibly, as always...

Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon the Golden and Varda
Attending: (7)
    Arien V/AriehnV, Ar-Pharazon-V/ArPharazonV, Elladan-V/Scott92027, Eonwe Valar, Gilraen-V/Iryenth, Lenwe-V/perseid28 (After), VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership
Web
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: Sam: "Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles." Eucatastrophe, the joyous turn.
After-meeting:
    New Year's at home chat.
    WoW chat.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming Ar-Pharazon
    Lenwe shares a game
    Heroes of the Storm co-op getting together