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.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

mmmmffffff.... good morning everyone...

Before anything else, I just want to say, staying up late while doped up on antihistamines is not recommended if you want to get up at a decent time the next morning.

Hope everyone has a good day!

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes! - Happy Anniversary! - And congratulations!

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

we did a dignified run for the triple precious, right Bear?

Well, as dignified as I can be, anyway! ;)

And a happy anniversary to you!

[RMDupree]

Morning Bear! Help yourself to the pig roast I set out earlier.

There aren't any dwarves around, so there ought to be plenty left.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hi Bear! Hope you have some coffee!

I slept in too! - Ended up staying awake through the whole movie last night!

I wish you guys could see my dog. She watches the movie with me. She is a TV addict anyway, and she started out just loving to watch animals on screen. Then she started to take an interest in people. Now she watches intently the beginning parts of the movie, because she knows good stuff is coming.

She now growls and thrashes her stuffed animal around when anyone on TV does something she interprets as aggressive or threatening. So the fight scenes in the movie send her into an absolute tiz! It would be annoying and distracting to anyone but me to have her right in front of the TV like that... I have created a monster.

[2Jedismom]

Yeah...after she is put to sleep, they are going to have her studied...she has this disorder (don't ask me what) that caused a genetic mix-up with her liver ducts or something. Then from what I understand, the vet school will cremate her and return her ashes to my folks.

She's 15 years old and she's lived years longer than she should have...but they've been good years.

Here's her picture taken when we went to that indian powwow a while back:

[HairOfTheDog]

Is the head gone on the pig roast? - I don't like to eat anything that still has a face...

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh the baby carriage is a funny and sad development LOL!

[2Jedismom]

Yeah...but it's just been recently. And the real reason is, she's too old to walk too much but they don't want to leave her alone at home with a diaper on for too long 'cause it irritates her. So they take her along so they can let her potty frequently.

[RMDupree]

Yes, yes. I carved it up before setting it out on the serving table. Only thing you'll see are pork slices.

It can be a bit discomforting if you are not accustomed to seeing the whole thing prepared. I took that into account and that is why I cooked them in the BACKyard. :)

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Help yourself to the pig roast I set out earlier.

Thank you kindly! I think I'll have a helping for breakfast... and by the time I finish that, it'll be time for lunch! mmmmmm!

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Good morning!

Hope you have some coffee!

naaahhh, I get my caffeine from chocolate... I've been munching on crispy M&Ms for the past half hour...

Your dog sounds hilarious, by the way... back when I was growing up our dog never showed any interest in the TV at all, unless it made an interesting sound (like, another dog barking). We didn't think she could see the picture!

[RMDupree]

When I worked at the vet's office, there was a lovely woman who had a gray poodle (just like that one) named Queenie.

Queenie lived to be 17 years old and when she finally passed in her sleep, her owner held a funeral, complete with viewing and had Queenie cremated. She then went to a lawyer to have it on paper that she wanted Queenie's remains to be buried with her so that they could be together forever.

There must be something about gray poodles.

Queenie had been sick for a looong time and her owner had spent THOUSANDS extending her life. It was heartbreaking for all of us when Queenie died. It was like hearing that a member of the family was gone.

[ksen]

Happy Anniversary Mr. & Mrs. SuziQ! ;^)

[HairOfTheDog]

I can imagine my cocker cross Zulu adapting to baby carriage transport! - She may even like that very much! She is my oldest 16 going on 17 in the spring, and still feeling pretty good, with arthritis medications, she still plays. Off them, she is an old dog.

I am expecting, actually, for my Logan the Labrador to be dead some morning. He is 16, and will go first. He was doing pretty well up to this year, but I see him fading fast, and when he sleeps, I absolutely can't wake him up. He is sleeping that soundly. He is deaf, but it is more than that. He doesn't wake up sometimes even when I shake him. Reaching down to pet him each morning to see if he is still breathing is having an affect. It will not be such a surprise when he goes. He has had a good life.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have never had another dog that had any interest in TV... I thought they couldn't see the picture either, or, as one TV special said once, most dogs will not recognize a shape on TV or a mirror image of themselves as anything because it doesn't have a scent.

But they are wrong, most dogs just don't study it long enough, methinks.

What is interesting to me is her ability now to interpret people who are in a threatening or aggressive posture, before they even do anything. When we watch shows like COPS, she growls and stands alert at the posture of police officers, and the presence they have when they approach a suspect. You know what I mean, the cop attitude. She can see it. And if they scuffle, she flips out. My TV always has smudges on it from her lunging at it.

And Baseball.... She barks at the batters when they are in stance... and then flips out when they bat.

[Overtaxed]

Is the head gone on the pig roast? - I don't like to eat anything that still has a face...

I'm a baaaaad hobbit.

[Overtaxed]

My cat has taken an iterest in the fireworks gif on the fundraising banner.

[HairOfTheDog]

Take the face off of it, and I could get hungry.

Actually, what are they up to there? - There is just hide left, looks like the meat is all gone.... the ribs anyway... I guess the hams are still there.

[HairOfTheDog]

Really? - There was a game developed to entertain cats that I saw once. A screensaver that was a mouse that ran around the screen... You should get her that then!

Good for when you are leaving her alone I guess, if she can't get to the keyboard or the mouse to mess it up.