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.
JenB's little story was nice, also.
Nice going on the 12 lbs, too.
12 lbs. down...$%#&*@# to go....
The problem with that is that Saabs are ugly. At least Elves have better taste than that.
LOL! Now I have a mental picture of Gandalf tearing down the highway in a red Lamborghini.
That much, huh? Keep it up bro...I'm pullin' for yuh...
Thanks.
(for a brief moment last night I thought if my toe was broken at least I wouldn't have to work the meet...)
Yeah, well my Dodge 2500 Ram, it's pretty :-)
...I don't think I'm looking forward to next week.
Well, I never would have said anything, but dwarves aren't particularly known for their grace!
You made the commitment, so I say yuh need to be there...but you asked:
I find that "I ain't gonna be there, I'm busy. You got a problem wit' that?" usually works pretty well for me...It works even better with people who know and understand you are capable of extreme violence...
Well, now that you mention it...yeah...
See y'all later!
Corin, don't go near the water.
But I rarely say yes to anything! I find people who volunteer all the time and who slough their kids off on the church childcare at every opportunity disgusting. I mean, for cryin' out loud, most these people have their kids in school all day long and then they have them in church all the time and it just makes me sick. Go home and sit down on the couch and eat a bowl of ice cream or something with your kids and quit throwing them at someone else to take care of.
Now, I only allow this to happen with me one time a year. I put my kids in VBS. I love it when they go to VBS because I have 3 hours a day for 5 days in a row just to do anything I want. Usually I come home and sit around. But I adamately will not work VBS. I have had other mom's try to shame me into working, but it does no good. I just say nope, not gonna do it. These are the same moms that can't wait for summer to be over so they can get their kids back into school.
At no other time do I push my kids off on the church (and rarely even my own parents) just so I can do my own thing. I want them with me, I like having them around. When they go to activities at the church, I wait for them. It's how I got started working in the church library...waiting for my kids to be out. When Awanas was over, I quit working in the library on Wednesday nights. My friend that I work with (that is at the church every time the door opens) was just shocked that I would just quit working, instead of coming in anyway. I told her, "No, I'm not working in the library if I don't have to already be here." She was scandalized. But hey, that library was doing fine before I started working there and the librarian knew I was only there because my kids were in class.
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