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.
I love it when the horses feet are ALL off the ground!!
LOOK vulnerable, I guess...but it just bothers me that so many people define the breed by that when not all dachsies have problems. When I tell people I have a mini dachshund, often their very first response is "Oh...those seem like nice dogs. Too bad they all have back problems." THAT drives me nuts, since LOTS of breeds have various health problems but very few are stigmatized in the same way.
It's not just a "long dog" thing, either, as bassets don't have the same problems. So it may be PARTIALLY structural, but not entirely.
Wasn't that how movies were invented? Some guy trying to prove that all the horse's feet were off the ground at some point?
I know you've already gotten the primer, but can you take it back and get the folks at the paint store to tint it close to your finish color? I do that all the time now and it makes the paint job look that much richer! It's not strictly necessary, but it does look good! And depending on how well the tinted primer covers, you may be able to get by with just one coat of the finish paint! They can just use the formula of the 'Song Blue' to tint it.
That's great about how easily the wallpaper came off. And it's good news that the wall was in good shape. I'm not a wallpaper person, I'd much rather paint. Then if you get tired of it, you can just paint over it without all the rigamarole of removing one layer of wallpaper to put up another!
I probably could...but the guy at the store said I should have enough for this room and part of another (I'm doing the bedroom next), and that's going to be a different color...so I'm probably better off with plain ol' primer. I can keep that in mind for the livingroom, kitchen and bathroom, though, provided I ever GET to those!
Suzie was a mini, but I think the reason she had the problem was that she had two large litters of puppies. I think it just did her back in! She had 8 in her first litter and 6 in the second. Her little belly was almost dragging the ground, and it was difficult for her to get up the stairs when she was close to term. We'd have to pick her up and take her outside to do her thing, then wait to bring her back in.
She had some sort of teat infection with the first litter and half of the puppies died. We had to hand feed the remaining four for a few weeks. The second litter was better off, but she wasn't a very attentive mother; she paid enough attention to feed them and lick them clean some, but not much more than that!
Sounds like you need to quaff a pint before you play!!
Well that's a lot prettier than LOBELIA GRUBB!
Our Pumpkin was a tinkler! Whenever someone would come in start playing with her, she'd pee on the floor! Drove us NUTS! We had one friend who would come over and she'd always pee on his shoes.
I've lived in South Florida 28 years now, but I still just miss that so much, how it feels and everything.
OTOH, I've been out sailing all afernoon off Key Largo.
And why should she do anything more? That's what HUMANS are for!
I swear mine seems to think I exist to serve her. It's an attitude I'm still adjusting to. I had a black Lab growing up - bought her with (mostly) my own money when I was 13, and my family had her until this spring when she had to be put down. SHE always seem to be anxious that she wasn't doing things quite right and kinda asking me if she was doing OK, if I was happy with her behavior AT THIS MOMENT...sooooo different! I love Fiona very much, but she's MUCH more work, in spite of being so small!
Ha! Think that'd help? Seriously, I used to play at an open mike in a nearby town (restaurant had the sound equipment, musicians could just show up and play for five or ten minutes at a time). My first few "performances" were sooooo bad because I'd get terrified, my arms and hands would completely lock up, and I would literally be unable to play. I didn't just flub a few notes - I actually had to stop, apologize for the attempt, and leave the front because my hands were so locked up I couldn't so much as strum. After I did this a couple of times in a row (I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess...or wanted to prove I could do it), SEVERAL people offered to buy me a drink for before I tried again...
I'm much better now than I used to be...now I just think too much! I still have a tendency to play better when I'm kinda sleepy and not so worried about what I'm doing, though.
Well then you'll get no sympathy from ME! LOL!
The Keys are SO gorgeous! We went to Key West for our 25th Anniv. We went in late January, and it was their coldest in just about forever; typical! There was only one day when it was warm enough for us to wear shorts. The hot tub at the condo, however, felt wonderful on those 50 degree nights!
Ha! Think that'd help?
Seems to help my sister only it's a glass of wine or a half-pint.
But it's funny how with old age "approaching," one's thoughts often turn to where they grew up, for me, the foothills of the Blue Ridge.
Thinking about going home, I guess.
Fellow NaNoWriMo people, remember we have only three weeks before the start! I'm doing research on parallel worlds now - novel reading time!
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