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.
OK, you convinced me! I'll participate!
By the way, if anyone wants to post their work-in-progress and needs some webspace, I'll be happy to volunteer it. Just let me know here or via FReepmail, and we'll set it up!
Also Jen, congrats on your 'A' today!
I reckon it's a Republican from Miami, which is so overrun with refugees from the Caribbean, that it is really a "banana republic."
Lot's of (so called) conservatives don't like the Cubans (which are the actual majority here now), cause they're loud, pushy, etc. But they work hard, hate socialism, love their families and kids. I like them...alot...think they are an asset for America.
I could still wish for a Miami of the 1950's, small town U.S.A., in the "English tradition" and everything that implies, and in lots of ways, it's the (fairly recent) immigrants that made it a "big city." But all that's in the past, I believe I'm proud to be a "Banana Republican."
Hmmm, are we talking our own personal 'fan fiction' site, without participation from the 'fans', of course!
RWRF, have you made a decision? The more, the merrier!
National Novel Writing Month. Jen got us involved. She's doing it, OT's doing it and I think Bear and maybe rwrf(?). Don't know if any others have signed on yet.
Challenge - write a 50,000 word novel in one month.
Okay, here's my synopsis:
Setting: Washington, DC.
Main Character: Blake Johnson/John Blakemore
Summary: Blake Johnson works for a conservative think tank in Washington, DC. His alter ego John Blakemore works for a liberal think tank. Unknown to co-workers and friends of "both," they are the same person. He travels back and forth between the personalities through a time portal.
Things go fine for years and "both" are highly successful. But a crisis occurs when an issue goes national and both Blake and John are invited to appear on Larry King Live.
Panicking, and not knowing what else to do, he "creates" the murder/disappearance of one of his personalities.
And it logically follows that he's arrested for the murder...
-----
So, what do you think?
I disagree that having the orcs singled out on screen diminishes the horror. Lurtz is truly disgusting and terrifying, and PJ 'created' him for the movie as the one who kills Boromir in that dramatic way.
In the books, Tolkien focuses on certain Orcs when Frodo is being held captive and Sam is hunting him. This conflict between the leaders of the two bands of orcs points up the truism that their is no honor among thieves; which I think was what JRRT wanted to convey throughout the whole book. The conflict between Sauron and Saruman is just the orcs' conflict writ large.
Dittos for the MA conservatives; granted there aren't very many of us, but we're still here!
LOL! You obviously haven't been around a group of girls knocking back and having a good time!!
Aww, 'tweren't nothin'...
Actually, I sorta feel like the fella in the old Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movies who always offered up his barn for the show they would put on...
Lots of potential for conflict there!
I would definitely have to put myself in the Hobbit category. I love food, drink and lively conversation, and the bottoms of my feet are like leather! Thankfully, though, the tops are not hairy!
Since we seem to be on the subject, here's my tentative storyline:
Setting: Pittsburgh, PA; same geographic location, two alternate worlds, different location, two other worlds.
Plot: the main character is an as yet unnamed computer geek who stumbles through a dimensional rift into a generic fantasy (sword and sorcery, not Elf) world. He then proceeds through between 4 and 9 worlds, picking up companions and messing up already bad situations along the way. The finale is right back here, with at least one scene involving our local RenFest, a beautiful assassin, and an object-oriented wizard...
I probably have too...since I was about 12 years old and if you average it out. I might read a little one year and a bunch the next.
I've read the entire trilogy 7 times, The Hobbit twice, and The Silmarillion once just since the movie came out. After I finished the Trilogy this last time, I just skipped right to the Two Towers, and I'm at the Window on the West right now.
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