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.
No, it's really not. I mean, the guy claims you can be self-sufficient in just a few months. Well great, but then he tells you to have 3-4 months income in reserve (gee, have I heard that before?). Mainly, it's not the type of writing I want to do.
The bigger issue tho for me is the matter of benefits. If I'm going to be self-employed I have to be very successful. With the family, I can't give up medical and retirement benefits. Right now, I can plan on "early" retirement at 55. That's an intriguing thought. But I did resolve this week that I need to look at that as my most realistic option. And, that's really okay.
I think I can be content to stay in the same system and do the creative writing on the side. It's not as "romantic." But you know, if I retired to a beach house at 55, I could get in another good 20-30 years of writing what I want to write.
I so rarely raise my voice, that when I do I don't know my own strength, so to speak...
Hey! "This Kiss" wasn't stupid! It was cute, and romantic, and, and, stuff...
Answer time!
1. While Aragorn in the book never exactly said "This is beyond my power to heal", he did indicate more than once that he couldn't fix Frodo's wound. The difference was that Frodo was actually pierced with a Morgul blade; Merry, Eowyn, and Faramir were not. Their wounds were "mundane" (a broken arm for Eowyn, an regular arrow piercing for Faramir, and no wound at all for Merry.) It was the effect of fear, despair, and the "Black Breath" of the Nazgul that was slowly killing them, not their actual wounds, and it was that effect that Aragorn used the athelas to cure. While the athelas helped Frodo, the fact that he was actually wounded with a Morgul blade made for an effect too great to be cured by just that.
2. You might have a system that's too slow/too low on memory, and that's why the Quicktime is choppy. Might be time to upgrade!
Thanks, did I mention there were lots of pints involved this week? That might have fuzzed my remembering as well. It was the Black Breath part that confuzzled me...
Might be time to upgrade!
We are well past the time to upgrade. Unfortunately that's not considered "freeware." We're planning to purchase a laptop for the Mrs. once school gets underway. Eventually I think we'll both go to laptops. And (don't tell 2JM), I think by next year the school will provide a laptop for Corin, Jr.
Heck it was good enough for Herman Melville and T. S. Elliot, and Geoffrey Chaucer, I wouldn't knock it! Welcome back! I have heard of natural baritones singing second tenor, especial Wagnerian tenors, but first tenor!! It sounds like you have the range that Julie Andrews did, although in a lower register. Of course it looks like we are short of tenors, so you will likely be stuck there at Entmoot.
mmmm, chocolate....
That's what Tolkien did until he retired.
I'm not knocking it. Just faciing the reality that I can't pay the mortgage with it (just yet)!.
As for the tenor thing, I should point out that I sing 1st tenor in the choir. I wouldn't dream of doing a 1st tenor solo. There's a lot of difference in having a good choral voice and a solo voice. Any solo I'd drop down to at least 2nd tenor if not baritone. Singing first tenor has indeed stretched my range. In college I could've hit those low notes with g'nad. I can still get close, but there's no "depth" to the sound.
Of course the difference is that he probably liked is day job...and the obvious difference that I'm nowhere near as brilliant or talented as Tolkien or the authors LCS mentioned...
I would be sooooo lost...
mmmmmmm, antioxidants....
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