Shakedown Social

Michael Martinez :verified:I've uploaded a new Middle-earth Blog podcast to YouTube. I've made some changes to the format but this will be the last episode where AI generates most of the content.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/entertainment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#entertainment</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/literature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#literature</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/magic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#magic</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npf8K_p8Gzk" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npf8K_p8Gzk</a>

Michael MartinezQ: Does Nienna Have A Personality?ANSWER: I have never written anything about Nienna, the Vala. I received this question about Nienna in September 2024:Is Nienna a person suffering from depression or a personification of “grief”?When you read articles on Nienna, it is all about grief and pity and nothing else. She has her own Hall to grieve in, her music brought grief into the world, […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/does-nienna-have-a-personality/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/does-nienna-have-a-personality/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New podcast episode posted on YouTube earlier today: "Beleriand's Fate: A War Of Wrath Reckoning" (Cf. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhWdpDO4hM" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhWdpDO4hM</a> ). It's based on an article I wrote years ago titled "How Was Beleriand Destroyed In the War Of Wrath?"<a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/youtube" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#youtube</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/silmarillion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#silmarillion</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a>

JonBad middle earth humor. <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/webcomic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#webcomic</a> <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a>

Michael MartinezA Q: Questions About GaladrielANSWER: I see many questions about Galadriel in the search referrals for this Website. While I’m sure many of those questions are answered by various articles here, it’s not clear people are finding what they’re looking for. If you search for Galadriel on this site you’ll find a lot of articles.So here are some of the most common questions about Galadriel […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/questions-about-galadriel/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/questions-about-galadriel/</a>

Michael MartinezQ: Why Doesn’t Galadriel Fight In Lord Of The Rings?ANSWER: People have been asking this question for years. It’s connected to similar questions like “is Galadriel a warrior,” “did Galadriel fight,” and “why was Galadriel weak in Dol Guldur?” It’s not clear to me, in looking at the sources I compiled for this article, whether these people are asking about Galadriel’s role in the movies, the […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/why-doesnt-galadriel-fight-in-lord-of-the-rings/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/why-doesnt-galadriel-fight-in-lord-of-the-rings/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:One of the most popular stories in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology is the tale of the Two Trees of the Valar from their creation to their deaths and the creation of the Sun and Moon.This episode of the Middle-earth Blog podcast on YouTube discusses my article about the sources Tolkien used to construct this story.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/silmarillion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#silmarillion</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/entertainment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#entertainment</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/literature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#literature</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/mythology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#mythology</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXE2uu_a5io" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXE2uu_a5io</a>

Michael MartinezQ: How Were The Istari Supposed To Help Defeat Sauron?ANSWER: The Istari (Wizards) were the emissaries of the Valar, sent to Middle-earth to help Elves and Men (and Dwarves and Hobbits) resist Sauron. But what, exactly, was the plan? I received the following question in October 2024:During the Third Age, when the Istari were dispatched by the Valar to Middle Earth, their initial strategy […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/how-were-the-istari-supposed-to-help-defeat-sauron/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/how-were-the-istari-supposed-to-help-defeat-sauron/</a>

𝕽𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖙 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞I'd like to make a clever comment or evangelize somehow, but, uh, I'm too busy admiring my own hair. Dang, those are some lustrous locks there. <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/costume?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#costume</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/costuming?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#costuming</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/costumer?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#costumer</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/costumewip?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#costumewip</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/wip?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wip</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/workinprogress?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#workinprogress</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/fantasy?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/fantasycharacter?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasycharacter</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/fantasyoc?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasyoc</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/ranger?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ranger</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/lotr?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/lotrcosplay?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotrcosplay</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/bushcraft?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bushcraft</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/aesthetic?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#aesthetic</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/forest?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#forest</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/forestlovers?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#forestlovers</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hiking?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hiking</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hike?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hike</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hiker?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hiker</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hobbit?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hobbit</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/ithilien?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ithilien</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/renaissancefestival?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#renaissancefestival</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/renfaire?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#renfaire</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/middleearth?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/middleearthrangers?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearthrangers</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/rangersofthewilds?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#rangersofthewilds</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hair?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hair</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hairstyles?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hairstyles</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/longhair?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#longhair</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/pipe?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#pipe</a>

Michael MartinezQ: Did Dale Have A More Advanced Culture Than Rohan?ANSWER: The city of Dale has fascinated Tolkien fans for decades. I’ve answered several questions about Dale through the years. And in February 2025 I received the following questions:Why is Dale depicted as so much more sophisticated and wealthy than Rohan? Is this just because of its proximity to Erebor, or is there more to this?Also […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-dale-have-a-more-advanced-culture-than-rohan/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-dale-have-a-more-advanced-culture-than-rohan/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New podcast episode uploaded to YouTube: "Members Of Tolkien's White Council". I finally got the AI-hosts to pronounce some Elvish names correctly.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lotr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lordoftherings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lordoftherings</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/thehobbit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#thehobbit</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cniiJ_Fxhc" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cniiJ_Fxhc</a>

Michael MartinezQ: Did Tolkien Hobbits Really Have Big Feet?ANSWER: I received a somewhat lengthy inquiry in February 2025 about Hobbit feet (and ears):Analogous to the question already answered as to whether elves have pointed ears (thank you for the confirmation [Michael’s note: That they do NOT have pointy ears]), I have been wondering for some time why Hobbits are always and exclusively depicted with […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-tolkien-hobbits-really-have-big-feet/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-tolkien-hobbits-really-have-big-feet/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New Middle-earth Blog podcast episode on YouTube: "The Enigma Of Khand's Variags"For this episode I fed two articles to NotebookLM to see how it would do. Both articles dealt with the same topic, and there was information overlap between them, but I'm impressed with how well the AI summarized the content.<a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lotr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lordoftherings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lordoftherings</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGLQvL3G0s" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGLQvL3G0s</a>

Tabletop Bellhop (Moe T)Review: The One Ring Roleplaying in the world of The Lord of the Rings from Free League PublishingMany people consider this to be the best Middle-Earth inspired RPG ever published. Do we think it lives up to the hype?Watch to find out: <a href="https://youtu.be/6dWN5VcTdEQ" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/6dWN5VcTdEQ</a><a href="https://dice.camp/tags/TheOneRing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#TheOneRing</a> <a href="https://dice.camp/tags/MiddleEarth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#MiddleEarth</a> <a href="https://dice.camp/tags/TTRPG" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#TTRPG</a> <a href="https://dice.camp/tags/Tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Tolkien</a> <a href="https://dice.camp/tags/LotR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LotR</a>

Michael MartinezQ: What Was Gandalf’s Plan For Getting The Ring Into The Fire?ANSWER: This question has come up a few times in the past 75-ish years. And I received this iteration of it in October 2024:You’ve probably gotten this one a hundred times, but I was wondering what Gandalf’s plan might have been for getting the Ring into the Fire? I haven’t read past The Treason of Isengard yet (took a side […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/what-was-gandalfs-plan-for-getting-the-ring-into-the-fire/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/what-was-gandalfs-plan-for-getting-the-ring-into-the-fire/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New podcast from the Middle-earth Blog channel on YouTube. This episode features an AI-generated discussion of my article "What Were The Honey-cakes Of The Beornings?"As I mention in the introduction, the AI hosts mispronounce "Beorn" and "Beornings". They apparently follow the pronunciation in the movies, which is wrong.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/thehobbit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#thehobbit</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/honeycakes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#honeycakes</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/recipe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#recipe</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppn1WknJU8k" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppn1WknJU8k</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New podcast episode for the Middle-earth Blog channel on YouTube: "Was Dorwinion An Elf Kingdom?" The AI-generated hosts continue to mispronounce Elvish names but they got some of them right.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lotr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/thehobbit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#thehobbit</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uyN0bBEqyE" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uyN0bBEqyE</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:Time for a little controversy in Middle-earth (well, as far as the YouTube channel is concerned)."How Does Tolkien Depict Women In Middle-earth?"I wrote the article in 2011. NotebookLM took a stab at discussing it.<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lotr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/hobbit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hobbit</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/literature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#literature</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/women" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#women</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ai</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHrMnNNObtU" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHrMnNNObtU</a>

Michael Martinez[caption id="attachment_17866" align="aligncenter" width="720"] For more than a century scientists have known that much of the seafloor of the North Sea was once dry land connecting Britain to continental Europe. The region has been named Doggerland and it has inspired numerous articles and books in recent decades. But fans wonder if J.R.R. Tolkien was also inspired by this undersea remnant […]<a href="https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-j-r-r-tolkien-model-beleriand-on-doggerland/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://middle-earth.xenite.org/did-j-r-r-tolkien-model-beleriand-on-doggerland/</a>

Michael Martinez :verified:New podcast episode: "How Much Did Tolkien Write About The Fourth Age?"<a href="https://c.im/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#podcast</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/entertainment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#entertainment</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/middleearth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#middleearth</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/tolkien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tolkien</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lotr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lotr</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/lordoftherings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lordoftherings</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgpj43mi1iI" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgpj43mi1iI</a>

Recent searches

Search options

Administered by:

Server stats:

#middleearth