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.
Me too.:(
Interesting indeed. I would love to have a side discussion with you about this, where we wouldn't be interupting hobbit talk or distracted by trolls. I know you believe what you wrote, so I am willing to hear you out and interested in why you feel there is hatred.
I have never smelled a whiff of the hatred you speak of, especially of Christianity. And this is after years of listening, and numerous live performances I have travelled to see. I just don't see it. When he tells stories about the folks I know so well at the church garage sales, or putting up storm windows and things, he is telling stories about my very relatives, and I see them as being told with great affection, while poking fun at their very real and very funny oddities. I don't see a lot of politics in it, and when we do, my family just casts shrugging glances at each other and it is over.
I am more of a fan of his old show than the new one... I don't dig the New York stuff as much as The News from Lake Wobegon... I mostly just tolerate the rest of the show to hear that segment, when I settle into my chair for thirty minutes and let him take me back there. I have never read much of his books. We had one around the house... short stories, but I found that his writing was not as enchanting as his voice, so I lost interest and put it down.
Yes, clearly he is liberal in his beliefs, but I guess I have gotten pretty tolerant of Democrats... I don't agree with them, I try to change their minds and influence them where I can, but they surround me and are included among my friends, employers, coworkers... so I don't discount people on that basis alone. I have converted more of them slowly by earning their trust than I have by writing them off.
I may have said too much here already, but I did want to stand up for the good side I have seen of him "publicly" because I just haven't seen evidence of what you have alledged yet. Perhaps FReepmail me? - or better yet maybe we could go to the chat room sometime and talk about it? Anytime is good for me.
I agree (German Minnesotan Catholic Minneapolis suburban roots & all:)
I think the folk he speaks of in his story are all of our relatives, and a lasting tie to those that are now gone... His stories remind me of them and make me smile. Thanks, yours might be a dangerous stance... but I appreciate it. I probably should have avoided using that quote...
As for the egroup - we do have some members that have been accepted but that have never shown up. I can't recognise them from the screen names.. what screen name did you use? FReepmail me and I will give you the instructions...
He is the host of a long running (twenty years or more) radio variety show called Prairie Home Companion. It plays on Saturday evenings on National Public Radio.
Me too.:(
As Galadriel would say: "Do not let your hearts be troubled."
God always brings good out of evil. It's from betrayals and disappointments like these that bring reform and renewal. The Church has recovered from scandal with reform for 2000+ years and will do so again. Who knows...because of this the sheeple may wake up and see the hypocrisy of the left.
We're hanging out listening to the soundtrack. I'm drinking coffee.
BTW, just as an added nyah-nyah, I work for a publisher/distributer, so we get to have the DVD a couple of weeks earlier than the stores. So, nyah-nyah. :^)
Can you get a few extra copies for all your good friends here in the FR Hobbit Hole? At a discount?? ;-)
Does that mean the Green Dragon will be open today?
I have a friend who has a pirated VCD of FOTR, but the quality is pretty bad.
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