Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
This is a continuation of the infamous thread New Zealander Builds Hobbit Hole originally posted on January 26, 2001 by John Farson, who at the time undoubtedly thought he had found a rather obscure article that would elicit a few replies and die out. Without knowing it, he became the founder of the Hobbit Hole. For reasons incomprehensible to some, the thread grew to over 4100 replies. It became the place for hobbits and friends of hobbits to chit chat and share LoTR news and views, hang out, and talk amongst ourselves in the comfort of familiar surroundings.
In keeping with the new posting guidelines, the thread idea is continuing here, as will the Green Dragon Inn, our more structured spin-off thread, as soon as we figure out how to move all the good discussion that has been had there. As for the Hobbit Hole, we will just start fresh, bringing only a few mathoms such as the picture above with us to make it feel like home, and perhaps a walk down memory lane:
Our discussion has been light:
It very well may be that a thread named "New Zealander builds Hobbit hole" will end up being the longest Tolkien thread of them all, with some of the best heartfelt content... Sorry John, but I would have rather it had been one with a more distinguished title!… post 252 - HairOfTheDog
However, I can still celebrate, with quiet dignity, the fact that what started as a laugh about some wacko in New Zealand has mutated and grown into a multifaceted discussion of the art, literature, and philosophy that is Tolkien. And now that I've managed to write the most pompous sentence of my entire life, I agree, Rosie… post 506 - JenB
Hah! I was number 1000!! (Elvish victory dance... wait, no; that would be too flitty) … post 1001 - BibChr
Real men don't have to be afraid of being flitty! Go for it. – post 1011 – HairOfTheDog
Seventeen years to research one mystical object seems a bit excessive… post 1007 - JenB
Okay...who's the wise guy who didn't renew Gandalf's research grant?… post 1024 – Overtaxed
To the very philosophical:
…Judas Iscariot obviously was a good man, or he wouldn't have been chosen to be one of the Apostles. He loved Jesus, like all of the Apostles, but he betrayed him. Yet without his betrayal, the Passion and Crucifixion would never have occurred, and mankind would not have been redeemed. So without his self-destruction infinite good would not have been accomplished. I certainly do not mean this to be irreverant but it seems to me that this describes the character of Gollum, in the scenes so movingly portrayed above… Lucius Cornelius Sulla
To fun but heartfelt debates about the integrity and worth of some of the characters…
…Anyone else notice how Boromir treats the hobbits? He's very fond of them but he seems to think of them as children - ruffling Frodo's hair, calls them all 'little ones'. He likes them, but I don't think he really respects them… post 1536 - JenB
Yes... Tolkien told us not to trust Boromir right off the bat when he began to laugh at Bilbo, until he realized that the Council obviously held this hobbit in high esteem. What a pompous dolt… post 1538 - HairOfTheDog
…I think almost every fault of his can be traced directly back to his blindness to anything spiritual or unseen. He considers the halflings as children, because that is what they look like. He considers the only hope of the ring to be in taking it and using it for a victory in the physical realm. He cannot see what the hobbits are truly made of, he cannot see the unseen hope of what the destruction of the ring might mean--the destruction of Sauron himself, and he cannot see the unseen danger that lies in the use of the ring itself… I just feel sorry for Boromir--he is like a blind but honorable man, trying to take the right path on the road but missing the right path entirely because he simply cannot see it… post 1548 - Penny1
Boromir isn't a jerk, he's a jock… post 2401 – Overtaxed
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Oh, I think by the time Frodo reaches the Cracks, he's not even himself anymore! I think he's not only on the brink of a dangerous place physically, he's on the brink of losing himself completely during the exchange with Gollum. But for some reason, the take-over isn't complete till he actually has to throw the Ring in. The person speaking to Gollum is not Frodo, but the "Wheel of Fire" that Sam sees. After the Ring is destroyed, Frodo not only comes back to himself, but comes back with the unbearable (to him) knowledge of what it's like to be completely without compassion. I think that's why it's so important to him to be compassionate in the Shire… post 2506 - 2Jedismom
…Regarding Frodo's compassion... it's a little too much at the end. Even Merry tells him that he's going to have to quit being so darn nice. But you're right. He's learned a lesson about evil that very few ever learn since it wasn't an external lesson but an internal one. (Those kinds of lessons have the greatest impact) Not only did he totally succumb to it, but he was rather ruthless to my little Smeagol… post 2516 - carton253
Well that Frodo was a big mean bully! (to Smeagol)… post 2519 – Overtaxed
So as you can see, everything JRR Tolkien (and Peter Jackson) is welcome here in our New Row, our soon-to-be familiar New Hobbit Hole…; philosophy, opinion, good talk and frequent silliness.
See my 16887 above. I don't know the details, but JimRob and Google.com made an agreement of some sort which limits the archiving.
Well they were mistaken and HairOfTheDog doesn't live in Bree!
True! :) But Butterbur apparently didn't think much of him... he had dirty fingernails, you know.
I'm gone... gone to Wal-Mart... will try to post of my success or failure when I get back! If y'all leave before that happens, have a good night!
So, I figured it would be fun to make a midnight run to Wal-Mart to get a copy of The DVD. I rationalized that it would be practical too, since I could save a trip Tuesday, let Rose take the car to work, and be a complete slug on my last day before returning to work. Rose demonstrated she has more sense and decided to stay home (she has to work Tuesday). I forged ahead anyway.
I arrived at Wal-Mart at 12:15 am, and parked near the entrance closest to the video section. Halfway to the entrance I discovered that it was closed and I would have to walk across the parking lot to the other entrance. Oh-kay, no problem. Went in, then walked back through the store to the video section, stopping to get a bottle of B vitamins along the way (we were nearly out).
Once in the video section I realized they probably would not have run out of copies of the video... there was a huge floor display, at least 4 feet on each side and 5 feet high, filled with row after row of VHS tapes, full-screen DVDs, and wide-screen DVDs. I walked around the display to verify that yes, all fours sides contained copies. Then I snatched a wide-screen DVD and headed for the checkout.
That's when the "fun" began. They had two checkouts open, each one with at least 6 or more people waiting in line. Oh-kay, fine. It quickly became apparent that the longest part of my trip was going to be waiting for the checkout. So while I waited, I started studying the other people in line... that's when I started wondering about people who go to Wal-Mart after midnight.
The guy in front of me had 6 boxes of cereal. Not all the same, all different... 6 different cereal brands. Plus a couple of Ziploc brand storage boxes and a 6 pack of paper towels. No milk for the cereal. The woman ahead of him had what seemed to be 48 tins of cat food (at least 4 different brands) 3 bags of cat food, a quart bottle of milk, and two small jars of baby food. The woman in front of her was buying a shovel. Who buys a shovel at 12:35 am?
Anyway, I got checked out. The widescreen DVD cost me $15.78. I made it home safe. Now I'm going to go collapse into bed and hopefully sleep in tomorrow.
Good morning!
Well my daughter opened the package and checked out the inserts, etc. But I told them they'd have to wait until tomorrow. We hit Wal-Mart at midnight, and there was a big display of the DVDs in the front of the store. I had groceries and other stuff to buy (it's a Super Center, open 24 hrs.) so we didn't even get back to the condo until 1:25 am. I finally got them into bed at 2! So I thought I'd log on and check to see who else was able to find it early!
We plan to watch it in the morning!
Pints and wings are on the house!!!
We don't want to put people off!
I'm going out a little early before lunch to pick up the DVD and drop it off at home for my little ones.
I won't be making the chat tonight, I am still working with my filtering company to allow me to get to the chat room from home.
On another note, Mrs. ksen (Tami) saw that we had some "friends" living underneath our deck outback, two racoons. I went to a feed store that rents out those "Have a Heart" traps and picked one up yesterday. I got it all set up and baited with peanut butter and Meow Mix by 8:00pm(almost trapped one of my cats before getting it inside the house ;^).
By 10:30pm our little dog (a peek-a-poo) started barking at the backdoor. We went over and looked and sure enough we had caught one of the critters. His friend was just taking off out the screendoor of the porch.
Animal Control is coming by today to empty out my trap for me. I'll try for the other racoons tonight. I was moving the trapped racoon out front and the thing was hissing and growling at me. "They may look cute and cuddly on the outside, but on the inside.......GRANITE!" (obscure movie reference).
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