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.
That's too bad. I wonder why he feels the need to trash conservatives? Doesn't he want them buying his books, or does he consider their money tainted?
I guess I am still an idealist at heart.
At least they could have warned us from the description on the back of the case. Instead you were smacked up side the head with it after you'd had a chance to get into the movie.
At least we didn't pay any money to see it. Well, other than the portion of our property taxes that went to fund the library which bought it.
Because he's a jerk. Being part of the Left means you want to trash not only conservatives, but also all the traditions of individual freedom on which the country was founded.
Seems unbelievable to me, yet almost the entire media (including most "creative" people) and education establishment are on this bandwagon.
Story is online here.
http://www.timesdaily.com/news/stories/21195newsstories.html
West Nile virus spreads through state
By Dennis Sherer
Staff Writer
July 18, 2002
Email this story.
Birds infected with the West Nile virus have now been found in Alabama from the Tennessee border all they way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Alabama Department of Public Health officials announced last week that a dead blue jay found in Waterloo on July 1 was infected with the disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes.
State health officials are urging Shoals residents to not panic about the virus that can be transmitted to humans. But they are asking residents to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
In rare instances, West Nile virus can be fatal in humans.
There have been no reports of humans in the Shoals being infected with the virus.
At the opposite end of the state, Mobile County health officials are urging residents there to be cautious after 11 dead blue jays tested positive for West Nile virus last week.
No humans in the Mobile area have been infected, but the latest confirmations brought to 13 the number of birds in the county to test positive for the mosquito-borne virus, which first arrived in the United States in 1999.
"The best thing to do is to take simple precautions to limit exposure to mosquitoes,'' said Dr. Bert Eichold, Mobile County health officer.
Entomologist Kelly Michar, head of the county Health Department's Vector Control Division, said the sudden sharp increase does not indicate that the danger to humans has increased by an equal amount.
"The birds are just a very, very good indication that the virus is circulating between the birds and the mosquitoes,'' Michar said.
The disease cannot be transmitted directly from birds to humans or humans to humans.
It can only be transmitted by mosquitoes.
The Tennessee Valley Authority collects mosquitoes throughout the Valley and sends them to a laboratory to be tested for West Nile virus and other diseases.
The mosquitoes are sent to TVA's Environmental Research Center in Muscle Shoals to be separated into species known to transmit diseases to humans and those that do not.
Since collection began in June, none of the mosquitoes sent from the Muscle Shoals facility have tested positive for West Nile virus or other diseases, said TVA spokesman Terry Johnson.
To cut down on the risk of infection, people were urged to remove standing water where mosquitoes breed, wear insect repellent containing DEET, halt use of perfumed and scented cosmetics and toiletries, and stay indoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Health officials said only about 1 percent of mosquitoes are infected with West Nile virus. Less than 1 percent of the people bitten by the infected mosquitoes will contract West Nile virus.
Healthy adults will probably not realize they have been infected with the virus, said TVA entomologist Ken Tennessen.
Symptoms of the virus in mild cases include body aches and could be mistaken for the flu. In serious cases, the symptoms include a headache and neck stiffness.
Alabama is not the only state where West Nile virus has been discovered. It has been found from Connecticut all the way to Texas.
A dead blue jay found in southeast Missouri was infected with the West Nile virus - the first confirmed case of the disease in Missouri this year, the state health department said Wednesday.
To date, there have been no confirmed cases of people contracting the mosquito-spread virus in Missouri, although people elsewhere have been infected.
"It just confirms what we have been expecting to see - continued expansion of the range of this disease,'' said Howard Pue, chief of communicable disease control and veterinary public health for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The virus was first discovered in the United States in 1999 in New York City. It spread west and south.
Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.
PRODUCTS WITH DEET - In commercial use since 1957, DEET is the most widely used insect repellent, estimated to have been applied to more than 5 billion people.
- It poses no significant health threat if used properly, but should not be used on children under 2, pregnant women or on children's bedding.
- Concentrations of less than 10 percent should be used on children under age 12; for adults, the maximum concentration should be no higher than 30 percent.
- Don't apply the repellent to the hands of small children, near wounds or scratches, or close to the eyes and mouth of anyone. n The chemical can be toxic if ingested, and in rare instances, people have had skin reactions ranging from blisters to nerve damage.
- Wash the repellent off with soap and water when returning indoors. If there is a suspected reaction to the chemical, wash the area quickly and seek medical attention.
Sources: Scripps Howard News Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Academy of Pediatrics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A question that could well be asked of Alec Baldwin, or any of the Hollywood crazies who insult us all at the Academy Awards. I do not remember if you were watching how LOTR did on Oscar night, but it was pretty revolting for those of us who were watching (and not just because we lost Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor, and had to watch Gandalf making a spectacle of himself in the audience.)
Finding a dead bird like that would have creeped me out.
Because of the unusual amount of rain down here, we've had more mosquitoes than usual. And, earlier in the year there were radio ads from the state Vetinary Council warning ranchers to vaccinate horses against West Nile, so it's definately present here.
Since no one else has mentioned it yet... it sounds like you had a murder of crows last night!
Well CAV, it is too late for that!
I didn't have gloves on when I picked it up. I was too surprised to see it there to think of going to get them. I did wash up real well with the bleach when I was cleaning the buckets out. If I start to develop strange symptoms, call a medic!
My horse is now afraid of the water buckets. He thinks something is going to leap out at them. Great.
As I remember it this is true of the entire crow familiy: Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays. You probably know that they are almost as good at imitating the human voice as the parrot family.
I wouldn't want to drink out of something that had had a dead body in it, either.
We've had the same warnings too.
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