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.
"Deer" is a religion of peace...
Ours left after we put on the vinyl siding...
How about Iowa?...
Not that I would want to forget though!!! NEVER!!! But it was something I will reach for everytime I am asked by my daughter why we are fighting.
Only trouble is is she keeps asking 'why do they hate us?'...how can you explain to an 8 yr old just how ugly the world can be? And how so much has led up to this.
The best I could manage was to make sure that Clinton's legacy is never forgotten. I told her...This was Clinton's fault.
Anyway...not to change the subject, but I came in here to announce two LOTR websites I have been working on:
Midgewater Marsh Tolkien Society
and
A Day in the Life of the Dark Lordess
The second one is still very much in development, but cant help but show it off. I am really excited about both of them. Our 'Tolkien Society' is not a 'real' one. We dont know any actual members...and its a bit TOO scholarly for our tastes. My friends and I have some rather warped senses of humor, so we would probably tick off the 'real' society-mavens.
Best regards,
Alkhin
Thanks, AM
ARGH!
are dimwits like that really worth it? He said it was miscast! Is he the same one who said that Aragorn should have been played by Roger Dalton of James Bond fame??? People with that poor sense of talent will never understand it when they see it, so what's the use.
We know Peter Jackson did a brilliant job. He'll be left behind when all the elves and hobbits AND dwarves have gone away.
*sheesh* what a maroon.
ARGH!
are dimwits like that really worth it? He said it was miscast! Is he the same one who said that Aragorn should have been played by Roger Dalton of James Bond fame??? People with that poor sense of talent will never understand it when they see it, so what's the use.
We know Peter Jackson did a brilliant job. He'll be left behind when all the elves and hobbits AND dwarves have gone away.
*sheesh* what a maroon.
ARGH!
are dimwits like that really worth it? He said it was miscast! Is he the same one who said that Aragorn should have been played by Roger Dalton of James Bond fame??? People with that poor sense of talent will never understand it when they see it, so what's the use.
We know Peter Jackson did a brilliant job. He'll be left behind when all the elves and hobbits AND dwarves have gone away.
*sheesh* what a maroon.
and my links were denied by FR's server so here they are without the html:
www.geocities.com/midgewatermarsh/index.html
www.geocities.com/myswtbaraddur/index.html
I wasn't plugging it for that reason, Corin, but because it is my bounden duty as a citizen of the state. If you must know, I wouldn't vote for entmoot here in winter myself. Bring on Orlando, baby! But summer? That's another story....
(FYI: I am a native Californian, but I have lived here more than half my life now, so I have adopted many of the native customs/affectations, the primary one of which is a massive inferiority complex about Minnesota. We are all afraid that no one else likes or respects us or our state and we feel compelled to talk about how great it is at every possible opportunity and brag about how tough we are in the winters, how well the Twins are doing, trading insults with Wisconsinites, etc., etc.)
So if you catch me falling into that mode, just smile, nod your head, and say to yourself, "there he goes again", but know that underneath we are just Americans like you (and there are a lot of fine ones here). See, there I go again....
Boy, did I ever learn THAT the hard way...
I am soooo sorry! I didn't know that the capability to switch pictures like that even existed...g'nad didn't upset me, but THAT sure did...I pinged the moderator and they're gone now, but still...
I'll just crawl back under my rock for awhile...my hands are shaking so it's hard to type, anyway.
They are just adventure stories for kids, harmless IMO. Any child that is old enough to read them will know they are fiction, not fact.
Yes, they are very lightweight compared to Tolkien and probably Lewis (I haven't read Narnia), but they are still good and lots of fun. They do, actually, champion good in a struggle against evil.
IMHO, also, the folks who are horrified at the magic are the same ones who were horrified with Galileo. If kids can't handle stories with magic in them, they just haven't been brought up right. These thoughts would get me crucified on some threads.
It's not too much trouble to read one if you want to check.
You could ask JenB, for sure.
Are you trying to replace 2JM? :)
I've read all four Potter books. We own the movie. I also re-read the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings this summer (and listed to The Hobbit). I would compare Rowling to Lewis in Tolkien only far enough to say that the "magic" is make believe. There's no depth to Harry Potter it's entertainment. And it's also harmless.
But the above statement is just wrong. There is a clear distinction between good and evil in the books. Granted, in some cases those that turn out to be good, once gave the appearance of evil, and vice versa. And there are those who strive to be good who are drawn to evil. Sounds like real life to me.
Harmful deeds are committed to bring about positive results...
Oh the horrors! Bad things happen that turn out to be for the good.
You know. Like the crucifixion...
That's not to spiritualize Potter, because you can't and because I don't believe Rowling intended to. She wrote fantasy stories to tell her daughter and ended up making big bucks. That's all.
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