Bryan Simpson

The Walton family (who own Walmart) are worth over $400 billion, yet many of their employees are on SNAP.

Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.

The people who need help are not the problem.

It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.

Why do Return Of The King adaptations flinch away from its most crucial chapter? Why do Return Of The King adaptations flinch away from its most crucial chapter?

This extensive and nuanced piece of LOTR/Tolkien journalism from @gracemachine.bsky.social on A.V. Club is exceptional, and worth your time.

Goddamn @theamynicholson.bsky.social COOKED with this FRANKENSTEIN review. Bow down to one of the greats. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Members of the force's sports squad, responsible - among other tasks - for policing the 170 miles of tunnels, caves, galleries and catacombs that underlie large parts of Paris, stumbled on the complex while on a training exercise beneath the Palais de Chaillot, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. After entering the network through a drain next to the Trocadero, the officers came across a tarpaulin marked: Building site, No access. Behind that, a tunnel held a desk and a closed-circuit TV camera set to automatically record images of anyone passing. The mechanism also triggered a tape of dogs barking, "clearly designed to frighten people off," the spokesman said. Further along, the tunnel opened into a vast 400 sq metre cave some 18m underground, "like an underground amphitheatre, with terraces cut into the rock and chairs".

There the police found a full-sized cinema screen, projection equipment, and tapes of a wide variety of films, including 1950s film noir classics and more recent thrillers. None of the films were banned or even offensive, the spokesman said. A smaller cave next door had been turned into an informal restaurant and bar. "There were bottles of whisky and other spirits behind a bar, tables and chairs, a pressure-cooker for making couscous," the spokesman said. "The whole thing ran off a professionally installed electricity system and there were at least three phone lines down there." Three days later, when the police returned accompanied by experts from the French electricity board to see where the power was coming from, the phone and electricity lines had been cut and a note was lying in the middle of the floor: "Do not," it said, "try to find us."

In 2004, Parisian police were conducting a training exercise in the french catacombs and found, after moving past a desk and a tape playing audio of snarling dogs, a fully functional movie theater and bar. When they returned 3 days later, the equipment was gone, with a note: “Do not try to find us.”

You can get a regular magazine all about J.R.R. #Tolkien!

Join the Tolkien Society and get our magazine Amon Hen delivered to your letterbox, or your inbox, every 2 months! Digital and postal memberships are available - and we ship worldwide. Join at www.tolkiensociety.org/join #BookSky

There’s absolutely no difference between the man who attacked the synagogue & the men who attacked the mosque.

Extremists looking to sow hate & discord in this country - weak pathetic men who know nothing else then hate

Comic. “Measure [Twice], cut [Once]” -Carpenty Proverb. [Scatter plot with number of measurements on y axis and number of cuts on x axis. Points in a descending line on graph: surveyor, surgeon, good carpenter, careless carpenter, really bad carpenter, serial killer]

Measure Twice, Cut Once

xkcd.com/3149/

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

DRINK WATER FROM THE SKULLS OF YOUR ENEMIES! IF YOU HAVE CRUSHED THEIR SKULLS, USE A GLASS.

One Bombadil Aftir Anothir

Ardal O’Hanlon take 2. Hopefully this time it will be both the right theatre and the right evening…

Happy #HobbitDay to all!

On 22 September: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were born. As Ring-bearers, born 78 years apart, their birthdays were honoured as Cormarë, and Tolkien societies worldwide continue to commemorate. How will you celebrate? #Tolkien #BookSky

On 21 September 1937: J.R.R. #Tolkien's The Hobbit was published.

The book tells of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and his journey with thirteen dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon, Smaug. It's sold over 100 million copies and is one of the best-selling books of all time. #BookSky

Did you know it is really easy to join the #Tolkien Society and start getting our publications?

Just go to www.tolkiensociety.org/join and it takes only 1 minute. We ship worldwide and you get access to our publications right away! #BookSky

Whelp there it is. Almost 12 years since I picked up my copy I have finally finished Raising Steam. A book I have long put off reading. My journey isn't quite complete yet as I have 2 1/2 Tiffany aching books to go. Thank you @terryandrob.bsky.social for your books over the last 3 1/2 decades.

Telegraph headline this morning: ‘National Trust branded a ‘disgrace’ for tearing down flag.’

What is disgraceful about protecting the nation’s monuments from harm? They belong to past, current and future generations. They are protected from alteration and damage by law.

A pack of tuna music on a stand in front of a grandly painted hall in Greenwich

I got to play in this magnificent venue tonight in aid of HMS Oardacious. Sometimes I really love my hobbies

A swan asleep in a towpath

I didn't see much this year. A few waterbirds when running alongside the canal on Thursday morning and a red kite circling (no picture of the kite though)

I'm loving my Manwe bracelet but had to take it off for work in case it gets caught in anything. First time it's been off my wrist since Friday

Love it @podcast.athrabeth.com

JRR and Edith's grave at Wolvercote cemetery with the wreaths from the various Tolkien societies.

Another fantastic #Oxonmoot is over and the waters of Anduin have once again carried me back into the real world. Thank you to all the @tolkiensociety.org peeps who made this year so wonderful. Whether you were in the team putting it on, one of the stewards helping out or just an attendee

Seven reasons to subscribe and support the Roving Ranger Let's get this newsletter to 1,000 subscribers by Frodo's & Bilbo's Birthday - September 22, 2025.

COULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME? 😀

I would love to have my newsletter get to 1,000+ subscribers by Frodo's and Bilbo's Birthday on Sept 22...

... but for that I would need your support in sharing this and letting people know about THE ROVING RANGER.

If you need to hear a reason why... here are seven 😅

🌄 I think it's a great idea

Celebrating 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show “It’s had a profound impact on our culture, especially on people who’ve felt different and marginalized.”…

Celebrating 50 years of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which remains a significant cultural touchstone. Linus O'Brien (son of Rocky creator Richard O'Brien): "It's had a profound impact on our culture, especially on people who've felt different and marginalized." arstechnica.com/culture/2025...

And their real life counterparts in the fields

Wandering around Beamish Open Air Museum and saw a few pictures of some absolute units in the parlour

Beautiful isn't it?

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news! I had the honour of designing the official t-shirt for Oxonmoot 2025 – the annual gathering of #Tolkien fans hosted by @tolkiensociety.org in Oxford.⁠

There's a certain irony that Yvette Fielding disliked Biddy Baxter so much, yet she's the only Blue Peter presenter who can still hear from her.

A review of 'Ducks: How to Make Them Pay', which reads: 'Let me tell you I was bitterly disappointed to learn that this book is in fact an instructional guide to the profitable husbandry of ducks as a craft. There is not one silver insight about holding ducks accountable for their crimes against humanity, Earth or god'.

after sharing our book about making outdoor pigs pay, lots of people are sending us this meme: