No, you're totally cool, dude. In fact, here at the Downs I think we have the coolest group of Tolkienites around. Go us. Personally, I myself just ooze coolness, what with my spiffy Daffy avatar and all. What you really need to make you feel like a well balanced indvidual is a cool non-Tolkien related avatar, that speaks to your own, personal coolness. Spiffin'.<P>Laughing like a lunatic,<BR>~ Diamond

If I were alone, and the people around me wouldn't think I was a raving lunatic, I would be laughing to the point of tears. But for now, I keep it to a quiet chuckle. <P>"Totally Awesome" ,<BR>Iarwain

I wouldn't mind it. For one, I'm with the Trekkies, and don't mind being labeled because I don't see it as being derogatory. And it would be great if we could have conventions and stuff! I'd show up. Of course, I don't want anything to stop others from starting to read Tolkien or anything, but think about it. Unless you went to the movie and made out during the whole thing without paying attention to a shred of the plot, no one can just write it off as geeky or nerdy. Or at least not what I qualify as geeky. To me, geeky is some cheap thing that has no effort put into it whatsoever and has no substance or meaning. Definitely not a description of LotR, the books or the movies.