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.
That is NOT what I said or meant! Brat...
I just meant his little going down the list saying "dwarves won't help you 'cause they only care about dwarves, men are weak, so of course you have to come crying to US - well, we can't help you, sorry!"
Even Tolkien couldn't create something that scary...
I kinda like Haldir.
Sellout...
The MOVIE version?
I worry about you sometimes, ksen, I really do...;-)
Oooh...what you said! You just wait 'til g'nad gets back, snoot-lover!
I thought that scene was pretty cool. You could see the tension in Legolas' face. He would have killed fellow elves for the sake of their mission.
I also noticed that the Lothlorien elves didn't seem to have the same qualms that Legolas seemed to have.
Actually, I think I like the book version better. In the book he seemed to be more on the Fellowship's side than in the movie version.
A lot about that scene didn't make sense...I mean, elves are supposed to have "super keen" (as Liv Tyler said) sight, and these elves KNEW Aragorn and also would have seen that there was a wood elf with the Company.
I can see them being wary, since the Lothlorien elves were supposed to be highly suspicious of outsiders (and most of the Company would fall into this group), but surrounding them with archers seems a bit extreme, no?
OK, you are [partially] forgiven. The book Haldir isn't a bad guy - he was basically a guard and a lot of weird stuff had been going on, so he was being extra careful.
The movie Haldir was a snoot at BEST.
and the equally arrogant treatment of Haldir turned me into an ElfBasher
Don't get me started on Haldir and Celeborn and their gang or you will turn me into one too.... LOL!
But I am resisting the temptation solely due to Legolas. This is no elf to bash:
Seemed extreme to me too. Just surrounding them should have been enough. Maybe Haldir was on some power trip.
ROFL! Too funny.... The elves aren't as bright as they think they are sometimes...
I meant that surrounding them and just standing there as opposed to pointing arrows at them.
Seemed extreme to me too
Yeah, and if Galadriel was so "all-seeing" why didn't she know they were coming and send Haldir to greet them instead of harassing them. Unless.... maybe she did and it is all a power trip in Haldir's little head (he just wanted to bash the dwarf, why....the no good....)
ooooohhhhhh.......I'm getting mad now.......
Hm...could be.
You mean there are still MORE reasons to dislike Haldir? Amazing!
They did know they were coming. Celeborn said there are only eight, where is Gandalf?
I think Haldir was just tripping.
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