The New Hobbit Hole

[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

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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.

[MozartLover]

So who do you think is hotter, Aragorn or Legolas?????

[HairOfTheDog]

Of course our hobbits know maps better than most! - Proved by the fact that many have found their way here already! Glad you made it.

[HairOfTheDog]

He is wearing a ring, (clearly shown in the goodbye scene at Amon Hen) but it is not a ring of power. I can understand how it would raise some eyebrows, but it must be just a simple ring, for Aragorn is not a ring-bearer and I trust Jackson to not try to pull something like that. If it has significance in the story, I don't know what it is.

[MozartLover]

Okay, that's what I figured.

Hubby's other big thing is the fact that the whole "Tom Bombadil" sequence of events (which I am not familiar with because I haven't gotten that far in the book) is totally omitted in the movie. A matter of length, I suppose? Or not necessary to the plot?

[another cricket]

Nice place you have here. Very cosy. May I come in and sit a while?

a. cricket

[HairOfTheDog]

And if I can but in with my answer to your "hotter" question also, the answer is definately Aragorn.

Aragorn is all sex appeal. He is the knight. Rough around the edges, would make my father nervous, but clearly the man.

Legolas captivates me, and I am mesmorized by his grace and elegance, but he seems quite above and beyond sex.

[allthatisgolddoesnotglitter]

The decision to leave out Tom Bombadil (if I may answer your question) was a matter of length, according to Peter Jackson. They only had time for mostly essenstial events. Otherwise the movie would have been, like, five hours long.:)

[JenB]

The ring Aragorn wears is the Ring of Barahir, a human hero of the first age. Finrod Felagund, Friend-of-Men, gave the ring to Barahir as a symbol of the friendship between Elves and Edain. Barahir gave the ring to his son Beren, and so it passed down the line to, eventually, Aragorn.

Oh, and Aragorn is much hotter than Legolas. No question at all.

[GretchenEE]

Thank you for doing the footwork on setting up this new thread, and for flagging me.

I am waiting for The Two Towers to arrive; ordered it online a few days ago.

[HairOfTheDog]

Or ten hours.

I agree. And, I am sure Bombadil will an interesting part of our discussion at the Green Dragon tomorrow too, so I don't want to spend my whole wad now. I am a Bombadil fan, but his existance and importance even in the books is more controversial than you may think.

[MozartLover]

I agree totally.

When we bought our LOTR calendar I threatened to leave it open to "August" for all 12 months.:)

My daughter (22) and a young friend (18) from church both think Legolas is the hottie.

We were able to get two of the Burger King goblets (we're hopeless, I know) and the only 2 they had left were Arwen & ARAGORN, which was fine with me!

Boromir's not bad either; in fact, the first time I saw the movie I kept getting Boromir & Aragorn mixed up.

[HairOfTheDog]

[bows low] I almost pinged you to that question when I said I didn't know if it had significance. I knew if it did have meaning, you would know what it was!

[MozartLover]

Okay, that makes sense. I suppose there are those for whom 5 hours would have been too long.:)

Not me!!!

[allthatisgolddoesnotglitter]

The non-Tolkien fans don't have an attention span that long for something they aren't familiar with, they had to make it accessable to the general public. I could have sat through a 10 hour movie! No LOTR film is too long!

[HairOfTheDog]

Gretchen... glad you found us over here... I see you have gotten through the yahoo process for the egroup, but I haven't seen you in there yet - at least when I have been there. Have you checked it out?

A Cricket, glad you found us! Have a pint and a mug and settle in!

[MozartLover]

Thanks! I'll pass that along to hubby. (The ring part, that is, not the "Aragorn is hotter" part.:)

[JenB]

That's me, knower of Tolkien trivia! I was quite impressed with Jackson's including of the ring, a detail which he could easily have left out or overlooked. Somebody knows his Silmarillion! It's the little things that mean so much to me, like the ring of Barahir, and the fireworks. They just add depth to the already great movie.

MozartLover, you are not the only married lady who won't pass the general Aragorn comments on to her husband! Some of us enjoy teasing 2Jedismom, when she's around, though she's nowhere near as bad as most of us single gals!

[HairOfTheDog]

There is something very important missing in this discussion. Do you know what it is? - I do.

[JenB]

Ok, that should settle the question once and for all. Surely no one could deny that Aragorn is - that he's just - that he so very?

[MozartLover]

Ah yes, a most excellent addition to the discussion.

Here's what Legolas looks like when he's not being Legolas.:)