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
-----------------------------------------
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.
Smeagol never had hushpuppies? Hushpuppies are cornmeal batter with minced onions and fried in deep fat like chipses. Would Smeagol like the recipe?
Smeagol knows hush puppies now. Smeagol doesn't like them. Yech! Ach! Worse them lemba! Smelly elf-food!
Carton, be nice and stop bashing nice elveses.
JenB... Maybe Sauron gave the ring to his brother Jauron for safekeeping?
Seriously... in the movie, when I saw poor Gollum being tortured, I felt so bad.
At this site I found the following.
http://www.daimi.aau.dk/~bouvin/tolkien/ringnumenordestroyed.html
What happened to the Ring when Númenor was destroyed?
Nothing. Sauron carried it back to Middle-earth, though there might be some question as to how he managed it. Tolkien said he did, and Tolkien should know: "Though reduced to 'a spirit of hatred borne on a dark wind', I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largely depended." (Letters, p. 280). In fact, as far as we know all the spiritual beings (Valar and Maiar) were perfectly capable of manipulating physical objects.
Interesting Tolkien FAQ at this site.
Less than a week after winning four Oscars for ''The Fellowship of the Ring,'' New Line has released a preview of December's ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.'' Tacked onto the end of the first movie, the four-minute preview features brand new footage that unlocks secrets and provides the first glimpse of a number of characters who either didn't appear or received only sparse face time in ''Fellowship.''
SPOILER WARNING: The following description of the ''Two Towers'' trailer may reveal some things you'd rather not know, so don't read on if you want to keep the mystery alive.
Gandalf the Goner?
Early in the preview there's a shot from the perspective of what appears to be an assailant sneaking up on three members of the Fellowship: Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. With his long, straight Albino hair, it looks like Saruman, but it turns out to be... Gandalf! Yes, looking far more youthful than the Gandalf we saw groan and grimace his way through ''The Fellowship,'' he's now referred to as Gandalf the White -- a livelier incarnation of Gandalf the Gray. But with Gandalf dying in the first movie, some might ask: Why spoil the surprise of his return in the preview?
A fan site for the trilogy, TheOneRing.net, recently ran a poll at director Peter Jackson's request asking fans what they wanted to see in the footage. Despite the spoiler factor, Gandalf the White was right at the top of the list. ''The ones who are going to go back again to see the extra footage are the fans -- and to them it's no spoiler [because it occurs in the book],'' says the site's Michael Regina.
Deep impact
Also prominent on that fans' list of coveted footage is a glimpse of the Battle of Helm's Deep. From the preview, it seems that Jackson's vision is everything Tolkien described, and maybe more. Nearly half the footage is committed to building up to the first war cries of Orcs and men facing off at Helm's Deep. Battle axes and staffs rhythmically stomp the rain-soaked ground. A seemingly endless wave of arrows flies in both directions. As quickly as ladders are raised to scale the defending wall, they are pushed back down, only to have 10 more ladders raised from a howling pack of invaders. Says Regina, ''Helm's Deep is the real payoff. It's the most anticipated scene for the people who have read the books.''
Gimme some tongue
The footage also offers a few glances of Grima Wormtongue, an eerie villain with oily skin and nappy hair who's twice the backstabber that his master Saruman is. ''[Actor] Brad Dourif is a pretty creepy guy in the first place, so it's no surprise that he really turned out as well as he does in the preview,'' Regina says. The preview also shows the man he turns on, a very kingly-looking Bernard Hill as Theoden.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.