The New Hobbit Hole

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole
Concerning Hobbits
The New Hobbit Chronicles

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.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Nice picture!

Have a good night!

[Overtaxed]

Yes....that must be the Elf-centric version of the story.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Yum! Had a grilled cheddar-and-turkey sandwich for lunch here, with french fries...

Actually, had a pretty good day all in all. Got a lot of errands done, and went to see the movie "XXX", which is a super-spy action movie. Was kind of a stupid-fun movie, IMHO.

[2Jedismom]

I meant to tell you...my headache went away finally! I still had it this morning but just barely and after coffee it was gone.

Must have been a migraine. It was persistent, but relatively mild. I had one in 1997 that was so bad I lost the vision in my right eye! Now that is pretty scary! I thought I was having a stroke! I didn't have any pain, and then my vision came back and then I got an incapacitating migraine.

I rarely have them, though.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

By the way, Casablanca is about to start on Turner Classic Movie channel... just missed The Maltese Falcon.

[Overtaxed]

Cool! Uhh.....'night all! :) Wait! I can use the laptop!

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

my headache went away finally!

I'm glad you're feeling better! Migraines are no fun at all.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

You know, Peter Lorre was a heck of an actor.

Well, I think I've wasted enough bandwidth tonight... good night all!

[Overtaxed]

'Night!

[HairOfTheDog]

Hi - Just got back about an hour ago now from my trail ride... Had a minor mishap... Bay fell down and skinned his knees.

I posted a thread to see if there is advice on what to do that I haven't done... 2J - as a nurse, you may even know. Their knees aren't a whole lot different than ours. Horse First Aid? [vanity]

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Their knees aren't a whole lot different than ours.

I thought that their knees are more or less the equivalent of the knuckles on our fingers?

[HairOfTheDog]

I would equate them to our knees... What I mean by the same is that they bend, and there is basically just skin covering bone and ligament... they are hard and bony like our knees, as opposed to, I suppose, a dog or a cat that has more soft tissue over their knees...

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Well I can be no help with your horse. They last time I even rode a horse was around the time Eisenhower was inaugurated! Good luck with her/him.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think he will be fine, but I wish I knew if I should be doing something more... I think what happens immediately is the most help. Tommorrow will not make as much difference, if there is a difference to be made.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I wish I knew if I should be doing something more..

Aren't there some horse medical websites?

[HairOfTheDog]

It is funny... I am looking, and couldn't find anything good yet.

Google on "Horse first aid" and "Horse injury" - brought up websites for products, first aid kits and medicines and such... not practical advice.

I am looking for horse forums... but I am lost in the layout of the first one clicked on... about to get out of there. and try a different one.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Have you tried this one yet: http://www.leg-injuries-in-horses.com/ . I found it on Yahoo!

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, that one would be the right type of site.... at least it is an information site.... But they are covering much more serious injuries, like bowed tendons, torn ligaments, broken bones and serious lamenesses... They don't have anything there for fleshwounds and surface injuries...

I think I would know by now if he had chipped a bone in his knees - it would be swelling and his aren't. I am not getting any bites on the thread I posted... the few horsepeople I know here are all in bed.

My guess is this will heal without a lot of treatment... may be a bit slow to heal, as bony areas like their lower legs do not have much blood supply. It will scar, I have seen horses with scarred knees, but at 22, he isn't going in any horse shows...

I am starting to worry that the bigger problem will be the bruising he has on his back hip. I maybe should have iced that. I didn't even notice it on the trail... was too focused on the knees, but it is a bit swollen now. I think that will be stiff tommorrow, but it is a soft tissue injury and pretty self-healing with time. Not much you can do for them.

Thanks for bein' here... I was frustrated when I got home and didn't really know what to do for him, I do love him so, and don't have anyone to call at this hour if my vet isn't gonna call me back.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Thanks for bein' here... I was frustrated when I got home and didn't really know what to do for him, I do love him so, and don't have anyone to call at this hour if my vet isn't gonna call me back.

No problem! I take it there are no 24 hour veternarians that treat large animals around your area? We have some even in a town as small as Ocala for small animals, and there are hundreds of horse farms around here. Some of the large animal vets have pools for doing horsie physical therapy!

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh - all the large animals vets are on all the time, but they screen through an answering service the serious calls from the "I can call them tomorrow" type of after-hours calls - in fact, my vet finally called back between that post and this one and we just hung up.

He recommended leaving them unwrapped. Wrapping knees and getting the wraps to stay on is a challenge because their leg tapers down from the knee and they slip off unless you wrap the whole leg - and they may not benefit much.

He thought I had used the right antibiotic goop, and just keep slathering that on. They are gonna swell some... when I went out to the barn with the vet on the phone they are a little puffy now I think, but that didn't overly worry the vet.

His back hip is gonna be stiff. I can tell that it is swelling. Dr. said he would come by Monday if I was worried after tomorrow that things were worse than they appear now and that I should go ahead and turn him out in the morning so he keeps moving.

I am gonna go to bed now... I am pooped. The vet told me to ice my own ankle (LOL!) but I think it is too late now. I will put it up on some pillows and call it good.