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.
Read this book and you will.
None Dare Call It Education by John Stormer
Now, now, we must start using the politically correct "B.C.E." and "C.E." Using "B.C." and "A.D." constitutes an establishment of religion, doncha' know. ;^)
He did, that's why we were treated to a 45+ post sneak yesterday. ;^)
Yeesh, I think I'd rather not live. ;^)
BTW, good morning to you.
You taught me well Master Obi-ksen...
Is it 4:00 yet?
*sigh* You've gone to the dark-side my young Padawan. It's not too late to come back.
A seventh grade girl hung herself in the front school yard of one of our local middle schools (not Jrs) yesterday. This is the second suicide this year at that school...this school is in an uppper middle class area.
On the way in I heard Josh McDowell speaking on Focus on the Family. He was talking about "tolerance" and said that "tolerance and justice cannot co-exist because justice requires a clear understanding of right and wrong..."
So I wonder sometimes if maybe the cave troll wasn't right and I'm not really doing all I can to fight evil...but it's a little overwhelming. The world my boys will live in as adults will be radically different than my world.
I guess all I can do is train them the best I can and pray...lots.
Sigh...
That IS all you can do, and fortunately that is also the BEST thing you can do.
I heard McDowell on Focus a few months ago and he was saying that 20 years ago the most quoted verse by Christians was "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Today the most quoted verse by "Christians" is "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Christians, especially the youth, are not being trained on how to discern right from wrong today. I think it is that inability to say, "Hey! That is wrong" that is killing us as a people and as a society.
Whoops! Where'd that soapbox come from?
IMHO, any Christian parent is going to find raising their children MUCH harder than the average parent. I know way too many moms that feel that as long as their kids don't kill anyone, they've (the parents) have done their job.
A lot of today's youth does not have a clear understanding of right and wrong, and I attribute the problem to parents who replace clear rules, discipline and education with the latest gadgets and gizmos, the "everyone-is-a-winner" self-esteem mantra, and "tolerance" for everything. My sister does the latter and I am seen as the bad aunt who scolded my nephew when he shoved my daughter to the floor for standing in front of the TV accidently when he was playing his Playstation. My nephew was stunned when I told him that only a weak man lays "bad" hands on a woman.
It's sad to see, but even worse for Christian parents whose values are so different from the mainstream that their kids are under pressure from most of their peers to not be so "weird". The Bible tells us that the last days will be tough for us and the Lord wasn't kidding.
End Soapbox.
We're also fortunate that the youth group is a strong support for him. And, we figure it's just an answer to prayer the three other boys his age in our neighborhood come from strong Christian homes. One of the most amazing things to me is that his football coach is a Christian (and I think a lay minister). He begins every game and ends every pratice with prayer.
And, in spite all of the troubles, the Richmond area is still basically conservative and you're not considered abnormal if you go to church on Sunday.
But I can't rest on that...
Or college grads (advanced degrees, even!) who can't put a decent sentence together. This is the one that gets me...I'm don't have the most perfect grammar in the universe, but I can generally get my point across. However, there are some highly educated people in this company (and other places I've worked) who can't write coherantly. At all.
I KNEW I was going to do something like that, just because of the subject matter. Darn!
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