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.
Rats! I couldn't find a picture of grits and red-eye gravy.
We'll do the ribs later this week...
That's O.K. OT...I shouldn't be so hard to please...thanks fer lookin'!...
It's been bad here for about three years. And they're saying it's the worst drought since the 1930s. Summers get hot and dry, but we usually make it up in the winter and spring. We didn't this year.
Amazing Grace was written by a (former) captain of a slave ship. Some say the melody was one he heard the slaves humming as they crossed. For more info: The Story of John Newton.
As for me, I have two favorite "stories" about Amazing Grace:
One is mine and really isn't that funny anymore: When I first saw Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan in the theater, I laughed when Scottie started playing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes at a Vulcan funeral...
The other is my wife's: She grew up singing and playing the piano in church. Her parents did a lot of visitation to the sick and elderly. Once, when she was an early teenager, they were visiting a woman who was like 104 years old. Mrs. Stormhands sang Amazing Grace. The woman said up and said "Oh my, that takes me back a hundred years..." which of course, for her, it did.
Corin's right on the money...I've done four winters at Quantico at different time in the past 14 years, but this last one was by far the driest...I've been out scoutin' for deer season, (starts in Oct) and most of the creekbeds are bone dry...that means there is very little ground water, and every bowhunter will be lined up on the few creeks where there is water...It's gettin bad...sky is cloudy today, they're predictin' rain, but they've done that all summer and been wrong...
We did that for Corin, Jr. when he was 9. We thought especially since he was an only child he needed a dog. And we got a big dog (Black Lab). Nobody told us how much those things shed.
Had we known that Corin III was coming along, we might have opted for a smaller dog. But "Sam" (sorry, named him before we knew ya - full name is Samuel Adams) is very gentle with the little one, and very tolerant. Still we know he's an animal, so we don't leave them alone.
But I no longer have to tell the dog to stop barking when we leave him out or ask him if he needs to go outside. The 2 1/2 year old does that for us.
We're a little concerned because we've found out the older one has allergies and the little one has asthma. So far though, we're doing okay...
I suppose I could make grits, ham, and red-eye gravy tonight, take a picture of it and post it tomorrow....
It's Corin's breakfast anyway
My Grandma Grace was the Godliest woman I've ever known...taught Sunday school for nigh 'on 60 years...At her funeral, they played Amazing Grace...she sure was, and yes it is...I still choke up when I hear it...
I drive over the "fishing part" of Jordan Lake every day. There's grass growing there now.
Thanks very much.
Actually, I had some scrambled eggses with a little cheese, some whole wheat toast, cantalope and some orange juice. I'm quite satisfied.
However, some spawn of Satan brought doughnuts to work. I can't go near the coffee pot...
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