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 dunno...would elves stoop to eating FRIED foods?
Supposedly 9 of the 13 servers were down for an hour.
Breakfast is on! I overheard your requests and the table is laden with fresh buttermilk biscuits. Next to them on several platters are heaps of bacon, country ham and sausage patties. I've also prepared a mountain of scrambled eggs and sauteed mushrooms to stuff your breakfast sandwiches with. Strong coffee and delicious orange juice are on the sideboard with the condiments. ENJOY!
g'nad - Stay safe, be careful and know my prayers are with you today.
Only because their home burned down. They have property and a new home that volunteers are helping them get into livable condition. Is living in a homeless shelter reason to take children away from their parents?
They abandoned a bunch of animals (they were rescued) on a little one-acre piece of land they own which is a junk heap of demolished buildings.
They didn’t “abandon” any animals. They made the trip everyday to feed them and check on them. Some busybodies from the Humane Society decided the animals needed “rescuing” so they went and got the town council to give them the ok.
They were in the process of clearing the land up to make room for their new home and to make shelters for their animals.
Again, are these reasons to take the parents’ children away from them?
She has no source of income that I heard about.
You’re right, we didn’t hear about any her having any income in that story. However it did mention they had some sort of budget so the husband must have been making something.
She is only in jail now because she refuses completely to cooperate in any way, including being fingerprinted or photographed in connection with criminal charges.
She stood up for her civil rights. Could she have done so in a different way? Probably, but I don’t see where her civil disobedience provides sufficient cause to take her children away.
I don't see things in terms of whether she, or Vermont, own her kids.
That’s because you are a normal person. ;^)
Unfortunately the public school system and the gov’t of VT have shown that they think otherwise.
She is a train wreck who happens to home school, and the arguments are too twisted when it centers on a crazy.
We don’t know that she is a “train wreck”. She may have been a wonderful homeschooling mother. The story even said that one of the complaints against her was that her expectations for her children were “too high”. That doesn’t sound like a complaint that would be levelled at someone who is blowing off their kid’s schooling.
Maybe your perspective would change if you had children. I cannot see the state taking children away from their parents unless they were in danger of physical injury. Who is to say that the children are better off as wards of the state? Here in Florida there is a scandal going on about our foster care system. There are a large number of children missing and they are considered to be in great danger.
I know this story has made me want to make sure that I am paying dues to HSLDA (Homeschooling Legal Defense Assocation).
(Rosie, I'm pinging you in case you may have heard more about this particular case in your local media and can shed a little more light on the subject.)
Supposedly they were 9 of the 13 servers that control the global internet.
I'm just trying to figure out if I need to put on my tin foil hat...
Her kids could actually READ in kindergarden! Her expectations are much too high, take them away from her! ;^)
On a serious note, if I had had your phone number Saturday night, I would have called you to make sure all the Corinses were safe.
Suppose I bake them first, then fry.....
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