The New Hobbit Hole

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole
Concerning Hobbits
The New Hobbit Chronicles

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.

[Corin Stormhands]

Everybody's going to bed and their's a triple precious just around the corner...hmmmm....

[Wordsmith]

That's a negative.

Well, to be fair to the Elves, if we are going to have social engineers I can think of a lot worse candidates than virtuous immortals!

However I agree with someone who posted earlier, you have a beautiful family.

Thank you, and I apologize for my elf bashing! Was so inspired by Hobbit Holing today that I watched the second half of the movie tonight with my family. My wife thinks Haldir is very attractive, and that his band are definitely males. And Haldir seems a lot less effeminate than I was thinking.

I still cry at the end. Sniff.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Yes, I noticed that... I'm posting in an altered state of consciousness myself.

Tylenol Allergy Sinus... good stuff man!

[Corin Stormhands]

I apologize for my elf bashing!

Now, now. There's no need for that...

[Corin Stormhands]

I still cry at the end.

I always tear up at "Don't you lose him Samwise Gamgee. And I don't mean to..."

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

By the way, I forgot to thank you this afternoon for posting the snow-on-trees winter picture! It was beautiful! (Looked just like home!)

[Corin Stormhands]

I'm posting in an altered state of consciousness myself.

Well, I'm just being silly for staying up this late. But I'm a little wired from rehearsal and then from watching ER. I'll regret it in the morning.

Corin, Jr. hurt his ankle at football practice tonite. Not sure how bad it is. They taped it up and iced it down. He's still limping, but it didn't look swollen. We'll see in the a.m. May need to take him to the dr. anyway...

[Wordsmith]

I am not worthy! I'm still working on the Silmarillion, for the first time. Have read the trilogy maybe 4 times in its entirety over 20 years (first read it at about 13) and pieces here and there. And read a lot of Tolkien-related commentary and supplementaries.

[Corin Stormhands]

I forgot to thank you this afternoon for posting the snow-on-trees winter picture! It was beautiful!

I don't mind pictures like that...

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Hmm, I can't think of any part of the movie that brings tears to my eyes.

Some other movies do, though.

[Wordsmith]

Elves as socialists was tongue in cheek, but I was thinking of an ordered society of equals run by the intelligentsia. Not very ostentatious, the leaders on equal footing with the "laborers" and such. But I bet Galadriel never had to sleep in a flet.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Corin, Jr. hurt his ankle at football practice tonite.

Hope it's just a simple sprain and heals quickly!

You're East Coast and everything, so really late for you... not so bad here on Central time. Plus, I can sleep in tomorrow if I have to.

Watched ER earlier here too... watching the rebroadcast of Brit Hume now...

[Corin Stormhands]

watching the rebroadcast of Brit Hume now...

I need to re-work my set-up to have a tv near the computer.

Hey. On ER, the mom who pulled the plug on her son. What do I know that actress from. Was she the farmer's wife in Babe? Or am I just confused?

[2Jedismom]

So I guess you're what? 33 years old? Well, that explains it! I've been reading it for 7 years longer than you! LOL

Really though...I love this story. Nobody loves it as much as I do...well, ok, JenB loves it more than me.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

From what I've read in the Silmarillion et. al., Elf society seemed positively medieval... Kings, Lords owing fealty, all that stuff. Although the Kingship got to move around a lot when they started getting killed off in the First Age wars with Morgoth...

[Wordsmith]

Yep, that's the part! And Boromir, on his knees, as the orcs go running by him. Failure. He tried for the Ring, and failed. He tried to redeem himself in battle, and failed. I wonder. Did Aragorn really mean what he said to Boromir at his death about his fighting well, and having his honor, or was he comforting him? Being honest, I suppose. He tried to beat the orcs. And his succumbing to the temptation of the Ring was out of a desire to serve his people (with a bit of "look at me, ruler of Gondor!" pride thrown in).

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

What do I know that actress from

She looked familiar to me too, but I couldn't place her. Haven't seen Babe, so couldn't say. But, it seems to me I remember her as a younger actress from some movie!

[Corin Stormhands]

Did Aragorn really mean what he said to Boromir at his death about his fighting well, and having his honor, or was he comforting him?

I think he meant it. And I think that's where we see that Aragorn accepts his destiny.

[Wordsmith]

Yep, 34. Tolkien was the first really great work of literature I ever read, and was probably one of the primary reasons I major in English Lit in college.

I was heavily into Dungeons and Dragons as a teen, and spent lots of time with JRR then. I drifted away from it during college, went through a phase where I was a wretched misguided liberal snot who disdained anything associated with Western Civilization.

Over the past few years, after becoming a Christian and a conservative, and as my boys have grown, I've rediscovered him - thank God! It really kicked in for me when I started seeing the first mentions of the movie, and read Shippey's book "Author of the Century". Now the Silmarillion has the place of honor next to my bed, on top of my Bible.

[Wordsmith]

Indeed. The gauntlets. PJ is so great at telling the story through the actors' eyes. Aragorn has seen so much evil, and so much good. "My brother, my captain, my king."

Off to surf the news sites, and then to go cuddle with my lovely lady. G'night!