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.
Do either of you know how to save images from video files being played in Windows Media Player? HOTD, I thought I remember talking to you about how to save frames as JPG images, but I can't figure out how to do it.
Where now the horse and rider? Where is the horn that was blowing....
Oh, my hands are starting to shake again! I'm going to have to go see it again, I guess!
Theoden was my favorite part.
I know! For some reason, it's branded into my brain! A very intense dramatic scene! I'm dying to see it again!
I think I need a new computer.... :( :( :(
Overtaxed: What's the web address for that website you showed us in chat the other day for motherboard bundles? I can't remember it, and I don't think I bookmarked it.
I can't wait! :)
My brother-in-law was here yesterday for Easter brunch. He is a LOTR afficionado; has read the trilogy, by his estimates, around 30 times, dating back to his late teen years.
He loves the books & has used them as his "escape" against the trials & tribulations of life.
He does not want to see the movie.
He is afraid that his perceptions of the story and the characters, carefully honed and perfected over his many readings, will be forever skewed if he gives in to, in his words "Hollywood hype".
WELL..............
I began by explaining that the movie was not filmed in Hollywood, but in New Zealand. That got his attention. Then I showed him my FOTR calendar, slowly, page by page, introducing him to each character; he was pleasantly surprised ("That's EXACTLY how I've always pictured Gimli!!", "Yeah, those Orcs are nasty!") and had only 2 negative comments: 1.) He's always pictured Galadriel as being middle-aged, and 2.) He's always pictured Aragorn as slender and BLONDE. He seemed particularly nervous about the film's interpretation of Aragorn; whether they would maintain his sense of nobility and decency, or whether he would come across as a macho, Schwartzeneggar type; I told him as best I could that the character remains intact throughout and that in spite of the fact that he is such a hottie, that one really admires him not just for his looks but also for his other sterling qualities.
Then I brought him in here, to this thread, and showed him some of the Aragorn pictures that hve been posted here; he admired the fact that the always looks like he just crawled out of the woods or out of a recent battle; no "pretty boy"-type affectations going on here.
Then I showed him one of the sites that has pictures from the 3 movies..he was fascinated.........kept saying "Yes! Yes! That's how I've always pictured it!"
Then I played the soundtrack for him. He happens to love Enya, so that helped.:)
He's still not convinced. My last argument was this: that the people I have talked with HERE have also read the books many, many more times than I have, and you all seem to have loved the movie; and that the movie-makers, and some of the actors, themselves love the trilogy and have an interested in preserving the integrity of the story.
Should I keep encouraging him to go? Or does he run the risk of losing his carefully preserved mental images forever?
You would not BELIEVE the amount of discussion this engendered yetserday.........
And I can't really give you a link, 'cause it's something I downloaded--it's only on my hard drive now.
So I can't save frames as images after all? ::sob::
I wonder....maybe the Divx player has that capability--but it won't run for me because my computer is so archaic.
Someone is stopping at the computer store on the way home today! :o
I can save frames from avi files using my pc camera software. Hehehe
One, recommend that he see the movie twice. Most people who are huge fans of the book need to get past the first viewing in order to really appreciate the way the movie handles things--you have to digest the changes, and then give it another go.
Two, perhaps it would help to tell him that each day of filming, each time they went out to film a scene, PJ would read the passage in the book that was being filmed immediately beforehand to put clearly in his mind what Tolkien's vision was of the scene being filmed.
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