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.
Glad you aren't dead or missing LCS... I don't know what to think when folk keep disappearing!
[stomp!] Why for can't I complain about our heat! - It was 89 degrees today and windless! Just 'cuz your weather is not fit for human habitation doesn't mean my weather is hot right now! I couldn't live there!
Just got home, and as promised, I changed into shorts and sprayed myself down with the hose. I am dripping on my keyboard.
It was 93 here today. I put on a sweater...
If you were my neighbor with that hose thing, I'd have to report you to the authorities for wasting water...
Seriously though, water rationing is not far away for us.
Count me in. I didn't do the other Green Dragon because I came in too late. But if we start a new one I can be "fresh" from the beginning.
How's your evening going?
Not bad. Got two windows and one storm window painted. Then went with the wife to our church's warehouse to pick up some props for Vacation Bible School (we do major theatrical productions at Christmas and Easter so we have a lot of Holy-Land-looking set pieces and props...)
Gonna go to bed soon though. The sooner I get to sleep the sooner I can have breakfast...
It's been a little humorous here... TV stations keep running PSA ads (all scheduled months ago, I'm sure) pushing voluntary water rationing. This would be quite normal and proper most years here... but it seems quite out of place this year, when large parts of the region are flooded from the unseasonal rains!
Oh, yeah... I guess it would be bad of me to mention what I'm eating right now, wouldn't it?
But it sure does taste good.
Nah, that's okay. After two days on this stuff, I'm not gonna blow it the last night...
People here are concerned about wells drying up. That's what concerns me. I'm not worried about being told I can't water my weeds or wash my car. I'm concerned thought about people who aren't on a municipal system to get water...
To sleep, perchance to dream of breakfast...
Then you have more will-power than I do, and I congratulate you for it! I've been "heavy" all my life, and I know how difficult it is to lose weight. You've done good so far, that's for sure!
I'm not very religious, but when they sing Amazing Grace, it always kind of breaks me up, it's a hauntingly beautiful melody. I thought it must be Baptist in origin, but my twin brother, who was also there, thinks it's Scottish. I believe I have heard it on bagpipes. Do any of you musical types know it's history? My neice thinks it's so beautiful, she's insisting it be sung at her wedding, which may raise a few eyebrows...
Took me awhile to catch up on all the posts, that Harry Potter thread had some humerous aspects.
No we will not expect you to read the whole flippin' thing! We post minor and major LoTR news and events here... and on other days we just chit chat. Bookmark it!
The Robinsons have given us a TOPIC called The Hobbit Hole (And we are on the FR main page as a "daily") You can add this topic to your sidebar if you like, and then you will know when a new LoTR thread is posted!
Other than this thread, there is one other ongoing thread at the moment:
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Movie Spy Reports and Spoilers thread) ^
Posted by HairOfTheDog
On May 19 5:01 PM with 158 comments
TheOneRing.Net (and other places) ^
Beyond this point there be spoilers! Like spoilers? – Keep reading! Don't want spoilers? – Click HERE and don't look back! Don't say we didn't warn you! Spoilers are what this thread is all about. So bring your rumors (substantiated or not!), spoilers, spy reports, and bones of contention about them here as the snippets of TTT news, photos and interviews come rolling in. I wouldn't even recommend pinging people to this thread unless you know they want to see them. There are a lot of purists out there that hate to have anything given away before the movie...
We are about to start up a chapter-by-chapter reading group for The Two Towers to help us pass time till the movie... If you are interested in reading through in a book discussion thread let me know! We did the same thing for FoTR and just finished a few weeks back (Lord of the Rings Discussion Group (The Green Dragon Inn) II)... if you want to see what the thread was like)
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