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.
Later folkses.
Hi there, Mamzelle, the original article for the entire Hobbit Hole is a story about some guy in Australia or New Zealand (I think) who did exactly that. John Farson was the original poster of the article, and all of us just got to talking here.
Just pointing out the obvious here, but Elrond, like Galadriel, knew what would happen if he had taken the Ring! He would have become more powerful and evil than Sauron. And even with foreknowledge of the likely results of Isildur's error, murdering your ally at the end of a battle is not a very high-minded activity!
Signed, Elrond (acccording to one of those tests)
So if we check that piercam next week and see someone there wearing snowpants, that'd be you?
Uh, yeah, I guess so...
Actually, I don't. I don't dislike it, but just have never really fished. Probably wouldn't mind it if I took the time to learn (I don't hunt and don't want to).
That was the only web cam I could find near where we stay...
You know I already have enough reasons for not fishing...
I found a use for the ElfBash list!
PAT: Hello and welcome to beautiful Khazan Arena. We have an amazing match for you today as we watch happy elf bash happy elf in a fight of tasty treats which are neat to eat. Two bunkers with trenches have been erected on either side of the arena... staging areas for elf in war machines and magic makers. Live, I'm Pat Summers...JAY: And I'm Jay Peoples. Studying the staging area I must say these guys are serious. There must a hundred elves on either side! Rifles, grenades, weird little tanks, cannons, and some other things I have no idea what they are! I see the head honcho Keebler Elf is Ebeneezer giving finally orders to his troops and the Krispy Elfs - Snap, Crackle, Pop guys are hurrying along to get all their soldiers into place. This is going to be a elfin bloodbath!
PAT: And while they are warming up, let's get some viewer response.More
Trouble is, it requires dignity, ferocity, and intelligence wrapped up together.
Clint Eastwood might have pulled it off a few years ago.
Yeah, but did Hollyweird really view Clint as a "serious" actor before "Bridges of Madison County?" Wasn't he always just the good lookin' tough guy? (well, maybe I see your point). But by the time he did "Bridges" he was too old to do Aragorn.
I agree with you about the golf, but fishing and hunting both take on almost a spirituality for me, so I make time for them.
In my old age I'm trying to master drawing and painting, something I've enjoyed and aspired to most of my life, so for now, everything else takes a back seat.
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