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.
lutefisk ....eeeeuugheeeeuuuugheeeeugh....
O Lutefisk, O Lutefisk, you put me in a coma.
You smell so strong, you look like glue
You taste yust like an overshoe
But Lutefisk, come Saturday
I tink I'll eat you anyvay...
Looks OK to me! Nice, clear, and nothing fussy.
What is this for, though? I'm not completely clear on the publishing stuff to the web thing...is this so we can share our stories with one another, or for submitting to NaNoWriMo for verification?
Glad you're back safe OT...
Yeah, that's what my brother says too, though at the time we were discussing the book and what Aragorn had to put up with, not the relative merits of Eowyn and Arwen as portrayed in the movie. ;-)
So whatcha think? I've got the dwarvlings sold on the idea that we can buy the DVD when it comes out, and wait to catch it free on Base...
I probably shouldn't be posting a question before reading the rest of the thread...ignore me if you answered this later!
What kind of Celtic music? Who are your favorite musicians / groups?
I like Hank, too...got a bunch of his stuff. They're among my favorite albums to put on in the car and sing along with, yodeling included. ;-) And as a guitarist, I love the fact that most of his songs are just three or four chords...and how much he could put into a song that musically is fairly simple.
I have a weird variety of stuff...everything from big band jazz, crooners from the 40s and 50s and Hank...all the way to Scottish rock (Wolfstone), traditional Irish music and opera. Don't have really any rock, though, and I know very little about 70s and 80s music (except a few country songs). That's probably the biggest hole in my knowledge of popular music.
Very cool! And St. Paul's is beautiful...I've been there. Went down to Worcester one night to go to an Anthony Kearns concert (he's one of three guys billed as the Irish Tenors, if any of you know who they are), and went to St. Paul's for Mass the next day.
Hopefully as I get further down I'll find your report...if not, you'd better post one!
I swear the deer here know when it's Sunday... saw a huge buck (by Northern VA standards) with a great rack just browsing carelessly on the shoulder of HWy 1 100 feet from the South gate onto the base...
still don't have one in the freezer yet...I've never been blanked this late into the season... I'm seein' deer, and gettin close...I just haven't had a shot yet... my buddy got a nice 9 pointer Friday... I'm happy for him... now it's my turn...
Embrace the power of the Dark Side!
I have that! Is it one of his earliest books? I found it amusing, but not really because of the story, I admit. ;-) I just thought it was funny how caught up he gets in scientific jargon and explanations. And the uncle in the story drove me crazy...didn't like him at ALL, though he's supposed to be sort of the hero! Plus my brothers and I picked apart his writing skills - there are plenty of sentences (I'm thinking of one in particular, but I'd have to look it up) that you have to read over and over to get his meaning because they are written so badly.
I've only read a few of his books (Time For the Stars is his, right?) and most of the stories are entertaining, but I have to force myself not to analyze his writing. ;-)
Ugh...I had that Saturday, which meant I accomplished almost NOTHING this weekend...Sunday is pretty much family day, so Saturday is my day to clean and work on projects around the house.
Hope you feel better today!
Believe me, he wanted to do more than that. But Mom is on the warpath and we're determined to have the league address it. That kid knew what he was doing and someone taught him to do that.
Jr. handled it pretty well though. By the time we were in the ER I was able to joke with him. Although I when reminded him that we were missing the reunion luncheon becuase of his football game he didn't really think it funny that I said I could've broken his finger for him on Friday...
g'nad - according to the ER Dr., it's a pretty serious break. It's right at the knuckle line. We're calling this a.m. to get a consult with the orthopedic doctor. But the ER Dr said to consider him out for the season.
Moving on to catch up on posts for Hair's entertainment...
I'd heard rumors... dark, disturbing rumors of the existence of a foul substance called lutefisk... then one Christmas party back in the early 90s, I came face to face with the horror...
The Norwegian exchange officer that lived on our block invited us over... when I saw the lutefisk, I said "This is some kinda joke, right? You don't really eat this crap?"... And thus evaporated any chance I had at ever working for the Diplomatic Office or State Dept...
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