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The New Hobbit Hole

Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole

Concerning Hobbits

The New Hobbit Chronicles

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

-----------------------------------------

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.


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Chit/Chat; Poetry; TV/Movies; The Hobbit Hole
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To: Penny1
He is a different hobbit, certainly from the one who said "he could not do it alone" in Lothlorien only days before.

There is a confidence and courage about him also when he is confronted by Boromir. "Your words would seem like wisdom, but for the warning in my heart" is a pretty insolent thing for a little hobbit to say to a warrior of Gondor.

I think it happened at the shoreline when he tucks the ring back in his pocket and shoves the boat out from shore. Whether the motivating words from Gandalf were a vision, or just a memory... He became his own master... and the effect seems to have been a calming one.

Without checking, I think we get more fear, doubt and increasing fatigue from Frodo at this point in the book, but I am pleased that Jackson gave us this impression that Frodo was OK with it and serene. Angst is an unsatisfying place to leave us at the end of a film!

He is no longer a shy passenger in the fellowship, looking for direction from someone else, he has become the master of his own destiny.

1,181 posted on 03/27/2002 12:14:27 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: HairOfTheDog
I think you are right about when that last change occurred in Frodo. I think more and more about what he is really wrestling with on the banks of the Anduin. It's not just about having the courage to go forward alone, but I think it's grappling with choosing to walk straight into death itself. He knows he is no match for Sauron, for Mordor, or for the ring. Once he has made his choice to surrender his own life, then the turmoil and angst evaporates.
1,182 posted on 03/27/2002 12:30:59 PM PST by Penny1
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To: Penny1
He "screws himself up", as Sam puts it. In the movie, he's sad that he's left his friends to deal with the orcs, Boromir has attacked him and now he must face Mordor alone, or so he thinks. But then he remembers Gandalf's words and "screws himself up". The change on his face is great...from sadness, to rememberance to determination.

A great scene. Still, I wish they'd shown the boat being pushed out into the water by an invisible person and Sam realizing why. . . That's a great mental picture as well.

1,183 posted on 03/27/2002 1:02:29 PM PST by 2Jedismom
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To: Overtaxed
RE: knowing anything about women, I've been happily married to the same beautiful lady for 28 years and have a 19 year old daughter that I adore, I think that may give me some, but only some, understanding of women, but even with all that, female ways of thinking and reacting still baffle me pretty often. This is a good thing I think...

Thanks for looking in the letters. I'm almost sure that in there somewhere is a passage directly related to defending the actual survival of most of the heroes. I can't seem to find it either, could I have read it somewhere else?

I'm wondering if the defense involves Tolkien's thinking that the main theme of LOTR is death, or that the background for LOTR, the Silmarillion (which I haven't read) contains so much tragedy.

1,184 posted on 03/27/2002 2:11:54 PM PST by Sam Cree
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To: Sam Cree
I'll keep looking but I'm not promising anything. :) Reading all the Letters seems to be in my immediate future.
1,185 posted on 03/27/2002 2:42:19 PM PST by Overtaxed
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To: Sam Cree
female ways of thinking and reacting still baffle me pretty often.

I feel the same way about male thinking!! Really, who puts a tie-dye in to wash with all your other nice clothes????

1,186 posted on 03/27/2002 3:47:16 PM PST by 2Jedismom
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To: 2Jedismom
LOL Maybe he just doesn't want to be stuck doing laundry in the future.
1,187 posted on 03/27/2002 4:10:44 PM PST by Overtaxed
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To: HairOfTheDog; Bibchr; 2Jedismom; JenB; Overtaxed; carton253; All
Just a word of caution, you all might want to call your local theater before you go to see the trailer on Friday, just to make sure they have it. I found out just yesterday that our Cinerama theater hadn't even heard that there was going to be a new final reel with a TT preview on it--there are several fans who are working on getting them to bring FOTR back there for a limited run and it looks promising.

I've seen some reports from people who've called theaters and been told by employees that they hadn't heard anything about the preview nor had they heard anything about getting a replacement reel with the preview on it. Just seemed like it might be a good idea to call first and make sure it'll actually be there.

This whole business isn't sounding very organized...maybe the theater chains aren't handling it very thoroughly.

On the plus side, I see that at least 2 theaters in my area that didn't show LOTR in the first release are opening with it on Friday. And a theater that hasn't had it for a while is re-releasing it on Friday. Yay!!!

1,188 posted on 03/27/2002 4:37:56 PM PST by Penny1
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To: Penny1
Well, you saved my day Penny! - I called Lacey - And after I got past the first idiot nice young kid that couldn't understand what I was talking about, they are not showing the film after tommorrow. Can you believe that? That they would have shown it up until now and quit the FRIGGING DAY BEFORE the trailer comes out? AAAAAAAARGH!

According to Fandango, two theaters in Tacoma will have it. I guess that is what I shall do! Wanna come down?

1,189 posted on 03/27/2002 5:25:36 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: Penny1,JenB, HairOfTheDog
I've been too BUSY this week to even stop in!!! But finally have some time to at least lurk a bit!!

I was so glad the sountrack won! I love the music!

I was hoping to see more cast members at the Oscars..............I thought it was a hoot that Ian McK. & Maggie Smith presented an award together, after he had just spoofed her on SNL last week.:)

I....sure....could....use...a...nice...Aragorn....pic.

1,190 posted on 03/27/2002 5:28:45 PM PST by MozartLover
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To: HairOfTheDog
Oh you poor thing!!! That is awful!

I am in the chatroom, why don't you come on by and we can figure out what to do...

1,191 posted on 03/27/2002 5:29:30 PM PST by Penny1
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To: MozartLover
You mean, one like this:




Or perhaps one like this....



1,192 posted on 03/27/2002 5:35:04 PM PST by Penny1
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To: Penny1
Oh yes. Those will do nicely.:)
1,193 posted on 03/27/2002 5:38:20 PM PST by MozartLover
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To: MozartLover
Or perhaps you'd like this one instead...




1,194 posted on 03/27/2002 5:38:52 PM PST by Penny1
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To: Penny1
Um....I think I see his nose.............
1,195 posted on 03/27/2002 5:40:07 PM PST by MozartLover
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To: MozartLover
you trying to tell me it's too dark? LOL...my monitor doesn't show images as dark as some, so it looks just fine to me...

Guess I'll have to work on those Moria shots...

1,196 posted on 03/27/2002 6:01:52 PM PST by Penny1
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To: Penny1;MozartLover
ML needs a new video card!
1,197 posted on 03/27/2002 6:03:28 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: Penny1
Well, I brightened up the screen a little and I can see his face but very dimly.......

Anyway, thanks!:) :)

1,198 posted on 03/27/2002 6:13:50 PM PST by MozartLover
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To: HairOfTheDog
Video card? O-kay.

I'm sure there's SOMONE in this house wh knows what that is.:)

1,199 posted on 03/27/2002 6:14:53 PM PST by MozartLover
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To: MozartLover
1200 posts! 12 for waiting for December!
1,200 posted on 03/27/2002 6:26:30 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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