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.
Warning, kind of gross pic on post #9.
Sniper attacks not yet leading to hunting restrictions in Virginia
When my brother (he's 20) decided to start his own sandwich shop and had to take out a business loan and all that, my Dad joked that even if he completely fails, he will learn as much or more about running a business as he would have through college, and it'll be cheaper. ;-) Sounds like about what your husband was saying!
Democratic "Get Out the Vote" campaign
I'll agree with you wholeheartedly thre, Corin. I have seen materials used in 'Christian' homeschooling, and some are decidedly inferior. Even though we are devout Catholics, I don't use just 'Catholic' materials for our kids' education. We use some Catholic texts for Religious education, and our kids are using a Catholic Amer. History book which they read along with the secular text. It gives a good perspective on the way the Church progressed through the history of the US. But I would never DREAM of using that book exclusively and think the kids were getting a well rounded education.
There are a lot of kids who don't do well in schools because they are bored with what it being taught, or 'get it' the first time, and are bored with having to sit there while the teacher continues to go through it with the other kids. Some kids just do better learning things on their own!
Our kids are kinda quirky, but with parents like Sir SuziQ and me, they never had a chance, LOL!! But they like stuff that most kids in their classes were never into very much; astronomy, Dungeons and Dragons, computer programming, anime, science, math. The older two did ok, though I think our second oldest would have enjoyed homeschooling immensely. After h/sing three years, our youngest son will probably go to the same high school our older two sons attended. It is an all boys Catholic school which is sort of in the Classical mode in that they study a lot of the classical literature and really emphasize learning for learning's sake. Our daughter, on the other hand, is content to stay at home. I gave her the option of going back to school this year, to begin high school, and she said that sitting in class all day would be too boring, she'd rather do the work at home. She's more of the literary, artistic type, so I don't know what she would want to major in in College. Sir SuziQ is trying to convince her to become a Paralegal. Even if she didn't want to do that full time, she'd have a great skill to get part time work while in college and during the summers. Apparently they make good money. We'll see. But I can't see forcing her into a school situation in which she would be bored all day, then have to come home and spend all evening on homework which should have been covered in class, but wasn't. Plus she's not a really social person, so the whole social scene would be a drag for her unless she lucked up on kids who shared her interests.
Sir SuziQ HATED high school, mainly because many of the kids made life hell for the smart kids, so he had only a few friends, who he's still friends with today, though they rarely see each other.
Actually, that's not technically inaccurate. The phrase "United Nations" was used quite a lot in reference to the Allied Forces in Europe. Quoting from the Combined Chiefs of Staff Directive for Operation Overlord found at this website here, "2. Task. You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces." If you scan further down that document, you find "United Nations" turning up again and again. If I recall correctly, the radio address which announced the invasion referred to "United Nations forces". So, the phrase was in active use long before the actual formation of that (hack, ptui) august body.
Almost enough to make one invest in tinfoil, eh what?
Now if I can only get down the choreography! Gondor might not need a choreographer, but Camelot does....'tis a silly place.
I saw your response after I'd posted to Hair. I usually just read through and respond as I read the posts, then will see in a few posts that someone else had said something similar!
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