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.
This is one of the best descriptions of homeschooling that I've seen. That's exactly it!
"School" isn't something that you do from eight to three...it's something that you incorporate into everything you do. Everything becomes a learning process.
They would've killed each other by now and I would've ended up on Jerry Springer.
We send ours to a Lutheran school (K-8) and will most likely send them to Lutheran High School as well. They love it! We love it! Just this morning I was helping my third grader with her Scripture memory work: I Peter 5:8-9: "Be alert! Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith...." It is so great to know they are getting a Christian education...
I have to go shopping. I noticed they had a free CD promotion.
They do...and I meant to grab that, too, but forgot. I should probably just leave it for once, since I'd have to pay shipping and I already spent almost thirty bucks on tapes. Sigh!
But he's solidly involved with the church youth group. And the Lord answered our prayers for friends in the neighborhood who come from Christian families. His best friend spent most of his early years in private Christian schools and the parents can simply no longer afford it.
I hope you'll consider it seriesly! No kiddin, your house will be so much more relaxed! By that time, Corin Jr. will be almost done with school, so you'll have more time with the little one as he grows.
As 2JM says, it really is an all year thing; we actually spread our Amer. History out over a year and a half. We'll start our Classical sequence in Feb. beginning with the 'Ancients'. Our daughter will continue to homeschool through high school (and yes, it can be a struggle to get her to do her work, but she's learning something all the time, even when she's just watching her Japanese anime! Our younger son will probably attend the high school our older boys attended. It is in the Classical mode, and it is a known quantity, so we may just go that route with him.
I wish now that I had had the guts to just DO IT back when our older two were small. We've actually been thinking about it for the last 18 yrs. or so. Mama just never got up the courage til last year!
The tricky part will be the money side. When the little one starts school (if we do the public school route), Corin Jr. will be a junior in high school and we'll have to be figuring out how to pay for college. I just don't have much hope for that football scholarship he's planning on. And, if he doesn't start turning in his homework, he's not even going to be up for consideration for an academic scholarship.
But, depending on how things work out, by that point we may be able to home school the little one with my wife continuing to teach part-time. Or perhaps we can even work a deal to put him in classes at the home school academy where she teaches and we can fill in the rest.
I have to admit, even though it's just three mornings a week, it's killing me to drop him off at daycare.
There[Rivendell], though Elrond had departed, his sons long remained, together with some of the High-elven folk. It is said that Celeborn went to dwell there after the departure of Galadriel: but there is no record of the day when at last he sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-Earth.
Hhmmmmm........
Uh-oh. Does this mean he could still be wandering around somewhere? Guess we better say nice things about him, just in case...
The Lord gave us these emotions for a reason, CS. Too may times we rail against our God-given instincts, because of our culture. I know this may sound a bit deep for this situation, but as the head of your home, what do you think the Helper is trying to tell you?
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