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.
I see we are talking about the weather, which is one of my favorite subjects.
Well, I just hope the tropical weather can continue to be as quiet as it has been so far....if we do get a hurricane in FL, I vote for it hitting Palm Beach instead of here again.
Going out to run some errands, will check in later.
OH OH...can I weigh in on this one too?!?! I have begun reading the O'Brien stories too! I knew within the first page I would like them...I was expecting to find a very dry and dull and monotonous and verbose 18th century style of writing...instead, it is very engaging and interesting. It is a bit tough getting past all the parts that describe the ship, but I love the characterizations and Aubrey seems such a lovable character.
Russell Crowe is going to be in "The Far Side of the World" which is set to come out next year. Billy Boyd is Barret Bonden, the coxswain...
What *does* a coxswain do, anyway????
best,
Alkhin
I'm going to be torn now...which will I anticipate more in 2003? Seeing The Far Side of the World with all its swashing 19th century sailors, or The Lord of the Rings with my favorite hobbit in full Gondorian regalia??????
Anyway, I'll definitely look forward to seeing it, though perhaps not as much as TT. I wonder where they'll get square rigged men of war from the early 1800's?
I have a great cookbook, based on the meals described in the novels, called Lobscouse and Spotted Dog. 2 ladies from Long Island researched how everything was cooked in the early 1800's (which is fascinating just to read) and, with O'Brian's approval, published a cookbook on just about everything his characters ate.
I made the venison pasty from it, which is just excellent. Next I may try one of the puddings, which require large quantities of suet. I know they'll taste good.
I thought the cover illustrations for the series were beautiful.
I'm still grieving over the loss of 2JM from the thread.
I've never seen "Fiddler," and asked my wife and she has never seen it either. Is it worth renting?
I've half a mind to watch FOTR again...but maybe I should wait 'til I forget some of it...which may not be likely. But I do have a copy of "Army of Darkness."
BTW, I don't really suppose this thread needs any classing up as the best folks in FR hang out here anyway, and have the greatest chitchat, I mean "thoughts."
I need to do that and follow your example. It's something of a disaster around here, regarding housekeeping.
Yes. My wife (of 28 years) is Jewish of Russian descent (Chazanof). She has these beautiful brown Slavic eyes that I've never been able to get over. Our parents were all horrified when we married accross cultures so many years ago, but it turned out to have been just a great thing to do. And my daughter is everything.
Boy, I don't remember such a slow day on the Hobbit Hole, even for a Saturday...
We're safely home. We went out this afternoon to see the movie Signs, with Mel Gibson. It's an absolutely terrific movie, IMHO, and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone (it may be scary for little kids though.) It features an alien invasion, but that isn't really what the movie's about.
We got caught in the rain coming out of the movie. The area is under a flash flood warning, so we came home earlier than we had planned. But that's ok, because we get to see the Williams sisters in the U.S. Open Tennis final.
mmmm, black lycra....
I'm not familiar with the O'Brien books, but based on the cover picture you posted it looks like they were stories of seafaring in the 1800s? If so, then you probably will enjoy the Hornblower books. They were written by C.S. Forester, and concern the adventures of British Navy man Horatio Hornblower, from his start as a teen-aged Midshipman all the way up to his later years as an Admiral. The early books are set during the 1790s and early 1800s, just before and during the Napoleanic Wars. The first book in the series is Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.
By the way, is venison pasty what I think it is? Basically, a meat and vegetable pie sort of thing? I grew up with pasties as a staple of my diet... no venison though, usually beef and pork were the meat used.
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