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.
Hi all. Work continues to be very demanding lately so I will be a sporadic poster at best, but I just wanted to say:
Hey Corin! You are a right-wing-Christian-fundamentalist-extremist!
LOL! Now you know how I feel.
I agree with Corin that Saddam has to be taken out and the sooner the better. For Israel’s security if no other reason. But, surprisingly, I don’t necessarily agree that it is a war against all of Islam, yet…. I think it is a war against fundamentalist-extremist-Islam (which, admittedly, is blazing through Islam like a forest fire right now). But really our job right now is to put out that fire and attempt to reason with the remaining rational peace loving elements of Islam, helping them to move from the dark ages into the 21st century, and praying for their conversion as we go.
As Hair indicated above, this process may take quite a while. But for the security of our children and their future, I think our immediate task is clear. We must aggressively pursue the war on terrorism on all fronts, beginning with Saddam, and not ending until there is some real stability in the world. We should keep hammering down the nails that stick out the most, as it were…. And then, when we get to a point of some stability, maintaining eternal vigilance by making sure our intelligence community (CIA, FBI, etc.) is fully adequate to the task. That will be our children’s and our children’s children’s job when we will be sitting in retirement homes in Florida and Arizona enjoying discussions about the Lord of the Rings and the Christian background of Tolkien, etc….. to which subject I will turn my attention later after reading ksen’s fine post in more detail.
Thanks for listening, all…. Until later, Freep On!
I dunno. Those cloaks can be pretty concealing...
Agreed. You, you....you...fanatic!
Well only the meanest Uruk-Hai can get posts pulled in the Backroom! Although the LDS has just gotten two religious threads pulled from the Backroom!
I saw some of that coming. It was interesting to watch the Calvinists and Armenians siding together on that one. But the main LDS poster doesn't want certain things discussed.
And you wish to emulate Uruk-Hai because...?
Oh alright. Could we at least takeover Mecca? Then we could tell the Muslims, “No play nice-nice, no go on Hajj.”
We just wipe out all of them.
…………………….
But then what are we?
Safe?
We can win because we are stronger, in a Darwinist elimination, but that is a different strategy than taking out their ability to strike at us, and hoping they change from within... I don't think we are there yet.
Oohh, Darwin bad.
Iraq does not have the capability of striking us. Striking AT us yes, striking us, no.
We need to take out Iraq, probably, because he is the dude with the guns. He isn't the Religious leader, you are right... he is the guy in the smoky backroom that they go to, I think.
”Probably”, “I think”, are those valid reasons to commit our blood and treasure to bringing a guy down who may have done bad things? Are you willing to send g’nad into Baghdad on the basis of “probably” and “I think”?
I'd say the elves in the pictures 2JM pointed out to us yesterday are CERTAINLY not muslims...
I'm out of here for the afternoon folks. See you later tonite.
Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
God Bless America!
We are BAAADDD!, I mean BAAAADDDD!!!
You are right, but I think we are making a mistake going after Saddam first.
However, when our troops get involved I will toss my apprehensions away(but not TOO far away) and support our troops as best I can.
I have the luxury of not being asked to make those decisions. And that is a good point. I think we have elected pretty good people to know all the details and formulate a plan. They don't have to tell me everything! It is a dangerous and unsure business. When I say, "probably" and "I think", I am leaving the more definate language for those who not only know, but are tasked with the job. It would be presumptuous of me to pretend to know more, and hobbits are never presumptuous!
You know, it is times like this that I am glad g'nad isn't around. ;^)
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