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.
(There is so much happening in that fight!). I noticed for the first time how Legolas was given the opportunity of doing much of the damage to the cave troll
There is a lot going on in that scene. I'll have to view it frame by frame. Orland fighting cave troll looks so much cooler than Ian fighting the cave troll.
I missed you in chat last night. I had a heck of a time trying to find out what the final cooking temperature of rabbit should be. What temp is "until tender"?
You do have a VHS machine, right?
I think the thing that stopped me before was that I was really looking for more from the characters I loved, and so put it down because they aren't there... but now I have become interested in the histories that preceded our story and will really enjoy it.
So that would be my vote for next, but mine is a most uneducated vote, because I haven't read the Unfinished Tales, letters, or other books yet myself.
Does that mean you're going to defend Elves now? :) Sometimes I just can't help myself. Elves are such inviting targets...they're so snooty and take themselves way too seriously.
Yes! I have a VHS machine!
I'll be here all day...except for lunch. I'm going take the boys and eat lunch with my husband. But then, this evening, I'm going to try the chat...(see how this new OS does with that). Hubby is going to school to work on a paper and I'll have a little time.
Wooo hooo! It's good to be back! I still need the PC for Matthew's curriculum, but I can wait now till the income tax check comes in.
Nasty storms here last night. (Let's just say "here" is East Coast...)
After Sil, I'd suggest Unfinished Tales. Yes, they are unfinished, but they're good. Not many hobbits here, but more than in Sil! Then you can read the related works.... Book of Lost Tales 1 and 2 are the original versions of many of the stories in Silmarillion. You really have to read and enjoy Sil to 'get' Lost Tales. Some of them are bizarrely different, very few of the names are the same, it's a real interesting look at the evolution of Tolkien's mythology. One thing you will not want to miss is in Lost Tales 2 - the only complete version of the Fall of Gondolin....
The other things, like the History of Middle Earth series, are not really stories so much as writings about the stories; rough drafts here, Tolkien's notes there. It's up to you whether you find that interesting. I do highly recommend Tolkien's Letters, though. They give great insight into the man... much easier to understand after you've read LotR, though.
Hope that helps! Lovely morning here, perfect for being a hobbit!
Hehehehe. Who does she think she's talking to? Aragorn? I'm waiting for my samples to thaw now so I'll be around.
Is this the same Glorfindel that saves Frodo at the fords in the book. If he died he can't be, but I have noticed the Elves don't have too many juiors or the second or the third, probably due to their longevity. Ergo, how does a dead elf from the second(?) age save a little hobbit at the end of the third age?
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