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.

[Corin Stormhands]

People can't go to Marketing school and end up that stupid can they?

If those things actually sold, I don't think it would be the marketers that I would call stupid...

[Rebelbase]

Me Precious!

[ksen]

Or the part where people are quoting Moses while Tevye is trying to talk to Starsky(or was he Hutch?).

Tevye finally says about Moses, "For a man who was slow of tongue, he sure did talk a lot!" ;^)

[2Jedismom]

I just got Matthew's school day all organized and set up and was going in to put Joshua down for his nap. I opened the door to find Matthew piled up in the bottom bunk with Joshua reading a book out loud to him!

School can wait a few more minutes, don't you think?

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's something: from RollingStone.com: News: Fall Movie Preview - Headlined at TORN: (Others on the list excerpted... click the lind to read full article)

Fall Movie Preview

The ten best films that actually might be good

If you're stoked about the fall flicks hyping more of Harry Potter, Hannibal Lecter, James Bond, Captain Picard and Tim Allen as Santa Claus, go somewhere else. And if you really think it's an encouraging sign that Madonna, Tom Green and that Italian tool Roberto Benigni are back in the acting game this fall, jeez, are you in the wrong place.

This admittedly selective fall preview will focus on those movies that might actually be good. Based on seeing all or part (sometimes just a glimmer) of the ten fall films that follow, I can say that all are made by directors and screenwriters not yet thoroughly corrupted by the Hollywood system. As for the stars, even previous sellouts such as Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler give the persuasive impression that they're in it for more than cash and ego. Summer really is over. And so here are the ten biggies, with a nod toward six smaller films, that will make fall filmgoing less than the black hole into which you might have expected to drop.

1) Gangs of New York
Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis
Directed by Martin Scorsese

An indisputably great director takes a swing at his own Godfather-size epic. Who'd want to miss that?...

2) 8 Mile
Eminem, Brittany Murphy
Directed by Curtis Hanson

The jackals are waiting for Em to fall on his ass in his big-screen dramatic debut. Won't they be surprised...

3) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Elijah Wood, Miranda Otto
Directed by Peter Jackson

The middle chapter in the saga that was robbed of last year's Oscar -- can you believe A Beautiful Mind won?

Peter Jackson, the New Zealand director of all three Rings films, worries that the middle chapters of movie trilogies don't impact audiences as much, what with the lack of a beginning and an ending. Hey, Pete, check out the first Star Wars trilogy: The Empire Strikes Back has it all over its bookends. And The Godfather, Part II is a classic.

From the looks of The Two Towers -- ten minutes of this beauty is available on the just-released DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring -- all is well, although not for Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his hobbit, elf and human buddies. It seems the evil Sauron and Saruman (each lives in his own tower) are dragging our heroes to the dark side. You may need help following the new characters with the unpronounceable names (Miranda Otto as Eowyn, puh-leze!), but those battle scenes drop your jaw. Sign me up.

4) Chicago
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere
Directed by Rob Marshall

Forget Moulin Rouge, this jazz baby may really revive musicals...

5) Punch-Drunk Love
Adam Sandler, Emily Watson
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Sandler brings grit and grace to a funny, touching, scary romance...

6) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts
Directed by George Clooney

Chuck Barris: Gong Show host or CIA assassin? You be the judge...

7) Catch Me If You Can
Leonardo DiCaprio,Tom Hanks
Directed by Steven Spielberg

FBI agent (Hanks) tracks a skirt-chasing criminal teenager (DiCaprio) who passes himself off as everything from a prof to a pilot. True story...

8) Adaptation
Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep
Directed by Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, of Being John Malkovich, do something else weird and wonderful...

9) About Schmidt
Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates
Directed by Alexander Payne

Payne and screenwriter Jim Taylor, of Election, team up for something else you'd never expect. And Jack kicks ass...

10) Solaris
George Clooney
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Sex, shrinks and suicide in space...

So there's the competition this year. They could film Tom Hanks sleeping and he would win an award, and we also have a Jack Nickolson film. So a major award this year will be a tough battle, even if the other films are not memorable.

[weikel]

ROTFLMAO u mean they don't have Hobbit sized Elf size Uruk size and Troll size.

[HairOfTheDog]

HAAHAHA - I always think the same thing when the "Starsky or Hutch" character comes on! No I don't know which is which. I think it is interesting that he is the only actor that I recognize or that went on to do other films or work I have seen. They used a lot of foreign actors, and also many who were primarily stage actors.

[Corin Stormhands]

So a major award this year will be a tough battle, even if the other films are not memorable.

I think we all know TTT will win at the box office, if not at the Oscars.

[Corin Stormhands]

Paul Michael Glaser was "Starsky." (I had to look it up)

[SuziQ]

kids notice if you don't make time for them...

SO TRUE, g'nad! I worked at a Day Care Center while in college. I wasn't there for drop off, but at pick up, most parents blew in, hurried their child, never looked at anything the kids had done during the day, and blew back out grumbling about how little time they had to get stuff done.

Before we got married, we made the decision that when little ones came along, I'd 'retire' to stay home with them. I've never regretted that decision for these 23 years since our first of four was born. And with the decision to homeschool the last two, ALL our time is spent with them. We've become very close, and the teenage daughter and son don't spend all day bickering with each other; they genuinely like each other!

If you're gonna have kids, you should at least take enough time with them to get to KNOW them!

[HairOfTheDog]

There is an interesting feature on the Fiddler DVD, that I haven't watched all the way through yet, because I wanted to watch the film last night.

They have a running commentary of the whole film you can turn on, that has the movie running at half-volume, and voice-over explanations describing the making of the scenes, stories about filming that part, etc... by Norman Jewison (Director/Producer) and Topol (Tevye). It is kindof like watching the film with them in the room "talking shop" during the movie. They told some interesting stories!

[ksen]

I think we all know TTT will win at the box office, if not at the Oscars.

I suppose if all three films get snubbed by the Academy then after our Entmoot we can go pull an Entbash on the Academy the same way Treebeard and his buddies did to Orthanc.

[Corin Stormhands]

They told some interesting stories!

Sounds like I need to get the DVD and not the VHS...

[Corin Stormhands]

we can go pull an Entbash on the Academy

I think I'd rather go camping in Moria...

[SuziQ]

I opened the door to find Matthew piled up in the bottom bunk with Joshua reading a book out loud to him!

Sounds like school had begun without you Mom! That is so sweet, Matthew reading to his little brother! They will always be close, you know, and that is the best reward for homeschooling that I know!

I had the schedule all laid out for the 7th grader; he's going over the pre-Alg. with Sir SuziQ who is home for lunch. Then he'll just get his schedule and go right through the rest of his assignments, complaining all the way! LOL!

Our(almost)15 yo dd crawled out of bed at the crack of NOON, and is working on Geometry. Then she and I are going to sit and arrange her schedule for the year. She's old enough to be involved in this planning, and if she helps plan it, she can't groan about it later!

Good luck to you and your boys in this 'new school year', though your schooling goes year round like ours, doesn't it?

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I predict that TTT will win many of the artistic awards again this year... I guess none of our boys would be competing against Nickolson and Hanks, because they will not be in the "actor" race, but the "supporting actor" race. Have to see how that plays out. We don't know if Eowyn will be central or good enough to be nominated for a supporting actress award, and she might be competing against Roberts, Kathy Bates, and Merryl Streep. And I still think if there is to be a Best Picture award, it will not go to the middle movie. My expectations are still to wait until RoTK to get my hopes up.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes... I think you will want the DVD.... There are deleted songs on it too! - Haven't watched them yet.

[SuziQ]

ROTFLMAO u mean they don't have Hobbit sized Elf size Uruk size and Troll size.

Might be like the "Bungee Condoms", every package says 'Extra-Large'!

[g'nad]

I think I'd rather go camping in Moria...

Either way, me thinks t'would be a bloody affair...

[SuziQ]

I LOVE Director's Commentaries!! If you get the chance, watch the commentaries with "Das Boot" (Wolfgang Petersen, and "Return to Me" (Bonnie Hunt). Bonnie Hunt is especially funny because she is joined by her writing partner who played the guy in the film who had also had a 'transplant'. FUNNY!