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.
When I typed in my maiden name, it gave me Pearl from Pincup. Not even a last name or anything. Weird, huh?
Oh, and you are very welcome for breakfast!
I'd like to see Corin's personality test. I would really LMAO if it came back that he was most like Elrond. :)
Wanna come redo mine next? That's going to be a chore...especially with the dang cast iron tub I have. I would love to get rid of that. Quaint it might be, but it's not easy to clean and I have to clean UNDER it instead of just INSIDE it!
However, it MIGHT be fun to join the write-a-cheesy-novel-in-a-month club. How did that work, you guys?
Thanks for the food as usual RM...
No time to do justice to catching up on 400+ posts, so I did a real quick speed-read from which I glean the following responses:
Corin -- Glad your son only had a sprain, hope it heals quickly. That was a rather chilling way in which you "matter of factly" stated that the game was postponed on account of "rain, snipers, etc...". Lord have mercy! What times we are living in!?!
Scott from the Left Coast -- Dude! You have got to rethink the Windy Elf gig! Think of all the fodder for the elf bash crowd. You'll be subjecting yourself to endless ridicule. Come down to earth and be a dwarf, or at least a man... ;^)
2Jedismom -- What a fabulously beautiful bathroom remodel! What a transformation! Do you make house calls? You could start a new career as a remodeling designer or something. Your partying exploits reminded me of some of my own episodes in the past (vodka in one hand, OJ in the other, etc...). I guess I haven't shared with you all that I am a "recovering alcoholic" so......no no no no I don't drink/smoke it no more, I'm tired of waking up on the floor, No thank you please it only makes me sneeze, and then it makes it hard to find the door.... I am officially substance free for 21 years now. I guess that will make me a party pooper if I can make it to entmoot, but that is still a big if for me right now....
JenB, Overtaxed, Corin Stormhands, Bear -- I cannot justify the time required to participate in NaNoWriMo this time around, but will be very interested to follow your progress. It was amusing to me that you all have themes that relate to other time dimensions, cross-reality portals, etc... These should be very fun to read! Good luck!
And now my Elf Bash Personal Complaining Whine of the Month: I may not be posting much in the next few weeks, and I have composed the following as my explanation why:
Nassssty elvish auditors arriving today and staying for 2 full weeks. Girly men in green suits bringing their 5000 watt klieg lights into our nice, tidy halls of stone. Shining bright lights everywhere…. Poking around into every nook and cranny; lording it over us with their bureaucratic maze of pronouncements, regulations, and rulings (as numerous as the leaves in their filthy forests). Digging everywhere, making mountains out of mole hills, messing up our beautiful caves…. Trying to find our secret special steel for axes, our super-secret hidden armory, our super-de-duper secret hordes of treasure. (heh heh heh - not a chance they will ever find that!). Social engineering elitists who think they know better than we do how to run and organize our mining operations, our caving methodology and architecture. Superior snoots making our lives miserable, while all the while we have to smile and say things like, “Thank you for pointing that out, your highness”, “Yes, we made a mess of it there, didn’t we?, “How would you suggest that we rectify the problem, your gloriousness?”, “If there’s anything else we can get for you, don’t hesitate to ask”, “Well, you see, the way the system was originally setup constrained us from doing things in an absolutely perfect manner, your graciousness”, “Well, if you would be so kind as to provide us with a spreadsheet like that, we would be ever so happy to destroy the one we took 4 months to build, hone, and fine tune so that it works infinitely better than your oversimplified piece of junk, but if that’s the way you want to see it, your supremity…”, “Ever so sorry to interrupt your deliberations, your eminences, but we are sorry to report we cannot locate the details pertaining to that extremely rare and unusual variance of $2.83 in the account that normally averages in the $60,000,000.00 to $90,000,000.00 range. We will, as punishment, gratefully endure your subtly haughty and ridiculing sideways glances and smirks of superiority….” And so on….and so on, etc. etc…..
So this is what I am putting up with for the next two weeks, and then it will be time for another month-end close…. Time to seriously contemplate a career change...
Have a great day, All! Will check in when I can....
Seeing your remodeled bathroom just makes me want to strangle my adjustor just so we can get the money to fix our kitchen already!!
They are still squabbling (State Farm and our attorney).
*shudder*
I should have known better than to try and hide them for lunch. Hobbits around here have extrasensory perception when it comes to mushrooms!!!
I've sauteed them in garlic and butter, and they are next to the sausage patties now.
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