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
-----------------------------------------
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.
I'd keep only lobster
Mmmmm! My stomach is growling!
I know! If I were wealthy, I'd have what is described in the FOTR as "a table with a high reputation"!
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/print.cgi?2002-04/19/12.30.film
9:00am ET, 19-April-02
Hill Reigns In Rings Sequels
Bernard Hill, who plays King Theoden in the second and third Lord of the Rings films, told SCI FI Wire that he feels the films make Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien's profound themes more accessible to audiences. "What's wonderful about the films is that, for all the depth [of the stories]--and the books are a bit profound indeed--I think people would get confused going that deep into books and that kind of literary area," Hill said in an interview. "What the films have done is taken the deep essences of the books and made them work and kept true to them, at the same time being true to the film process. So you go and watch a film and not a documentary about the books, which is a tricky line to follow. I think the second one is better than the first one, because it deals with the world of man, so you've got a lot of emotions the public will identify with more."
Hill explained how Theoden joins the men of the Fellowship. "They need him and his army to fight Saruman and Sauron, but he's under the influence of Saruman, so they have to wake him up and exorcise a spirit. That sets him off on a growth, [because] he's just given up. The kingdom is in disarray, everything's falling down, so he kind of builds himself up. He's full of self-doubt and insecurities and gradually pulls himself back together and becomes the fighting king he was before."
On bringing the literary character to life, Hill said, "I tried to stay as true to my character as everybody else did to theirs." The second Rings film, The Two Towers, opens in December, and the third film, The Return of the King, hits theaters in December 2003.
Whew! Got all the cooking done so I'm well-provisioned for the week ahead. Are you back from church, Penny?
I actually didn't notice the lights in Galadriel's eyes myself. I read about it on another message board, so then when I watched the movie the next time I new to look for it. Pretty cool, huh? I love the fact that they used Christmas lights for that--funny the everyday things movie-makers find for the most unexpected uses.
By any chance, have you been taking any medication containing ibuprofen in large quantities lately? Or have you had a cold and were taking Sudafed? I ask because a few years ago I was having trouble with my left shoulder; doctor thought it may have been an ingury from doing some muscle building excercises with the stretchy band thingy. So he told me to take 3 Advil, 3 times a day for a couple of weeks to reduce the swelling. By the end of the second week I had developed serious heart palpitations. Called the doc and went out immediately, they did an EKG and it was all over the place! I was fixing to travel down South, so we planned to do the 24 hr monitor the following week. I had stopped the Advil the day I got the palpitations, and never got them again after that. When they did the monitor, everything was normal. I told the Doc I thought it might be the Advil, but he said he didn't think so(Hah!) I had talked to a friend on the day I had the monitor and told him what had happened. He said the same thing happened to him, but after having taken Sudafed.
To make a short story long, that's why I asked about those two. And lowering the caffeine intake wouldn't hurt either. When I make coffee in the morning, I use 2 scoops of regular and 4 scoops of decaf for a 12 cup pot of coffee. It makes 8 'vats o coffee'; we don't use cups! LOL!
Tolkien for Dummies? Seriously though, it is quite true. Hubby and the kid are both reading the Trilogy, and neither of them would have had it not been for the movie.
I'm sorry to hear (read?) that you are having health problems. I hope they are easily fixed and you're back in top form quickly.
Since this happened, I've started taking my Centrum faithfully and the doc put me on a baby aspirin and iron. Seriously, I think I just got overexcited about the Two Towers preview! LOL
Hey I can certainly understand THAT! I got an e-mail from someone at the Hobbit Hole last week with a TTT preview. I immediately called my daughter to come see it. We must have watched it 10 times that day, and when Sir SuziQ came home from work, we showed it to him. He hadn't been with us when we had seen the movie the 4th time, simply because we wanted to see that preview!!
A mathmatical correction from my previous post. Oour 12 cup coffeepot make 4 'vats o coffee'. (not 8 as I typed before-they wouldnt' be vats then would they?)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.