The New Hobbit Hole

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole
Concerning Hobbits
The New Hobbit Chronicles

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.

[RosieCotton]

we had this long argument over whether whatsername - Elanor? - for Sense and Sensability should have married Brandon or Willoughby. (I was on the winning side and said that Austen got it right).

Willoughby didn't deserve to marry anyone, as I remember. He was a slimeball. Bleah.

However, if they'd only seen the movie, where they have her marry Hugh Grant (*gag* *cough* *sputter*), I could see their point.

[Corin Stormhands]

did they catch them somewhere with the death penalty?

Caught them in MD which does not have the death penalty. But some of the murders were committed in Virginia which does have the death penalty. Not sure all the legal aspects.

If they don't fry them, I think even the sheeple will gather the torches and pitchforks...

[JenB]

Oh, wait, I'm confusing the daughters. It was Marianne who had the choice between the skank and the old guy. I'd forgotten someone let Grant into the movie - right, he should have had to marry the first fiance instead of the nice girl.

[JenB]

Yah. Alone. Sure. Man, I'm no tinfoilhat fan, but it sure does seem like a conspiracy act.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Then you'll have to cut down the tallest tree in the forest with...a HERRING!

[HairOfTheDog]

They could be charged on Federal charges if they don't like the jurisdiction..

And I am not one, at the moment to definitively argue these guys actually have ties to anyone. They are Jihadists, certainly, but I don't think their organization or their behavior necessarily points directly to foriegn guidance. I don't think I would be shocked either way. They sent the code message to someone.

[RosieCotton]

I thought Marianne ended up with the perfect guy. Yeah, he was older...but a sweetheart, and just what she needed.

[Corin Stormhands]

but it sure does seem like a conspiracy act.

Glenn Beck is convinced this is part of a larger terrorist threat. He says 50 U.S. cities have been on alert for sniper warnings.

I agree. Be happy we got this one. But it ain't over.

[RMDupree]

Yes, my daughter has juvenile asthma, as well as, allergies and takes several prescription medications.

Sorry it took me so long to get in here today. I'm so busy my head is spinning! Be back later.

[RosieCotton]

Be happy we got this one. But it ain't over.

Unfortunately, I think you're probably right. But for the moment I'll hope for the best...

[JenB]

I thought Marianne ended up with the perfect guy. Yeah, he was older...but a sweetheart, and just what she needed.

I agree completely.

[RosieCotton]

It doesn't happen very often. :)

Really? I would have thought...well...I mean...

hmmm...maybe you're right.

[Overtaxed]

If they don't fry them, I think even the sheeple will gather the torches and pitchforks...

I was hoping someone would beat them to the perps and we could see some very gratifying live TV.

[Corin Stormhands]

And I am not one, at the moment to definitively argue these guys actually have ties to anyone.

Maybe. Maybe not. If they aren't part of a larger conspiracy, they are part of the radical islamist mentality.

We're at war with radical Islam. It's time Americans realized that. It's time our media addressed that. And it's time our President said that.

It is time that we realized that Islam does not want to co-exhist with Christianity, Judaism or anyone else. They want us all gone.

If we don't wake up, tolerance, diversity and political correctness will be our doom.

[Corin Stormhands]

I've been saying since Oklahoma City that scum like this should be drawn and quartered on Pay-Per-View.

I'm trying to find a Christlike attitude in there, but I'm probably missing the mark...

[JenB]

Yeah, you're off the mark. I'd say you have the right time frame, right area of the world - but that's more of a Roman-gladiatorial-sport attitude.

Then again, I agree with you. I wouldn't watch it but I do agree with you...

[Corin Stormhands]

Yeah, you're off the mark.

Can't we file it under "Blessed are the Peacemakers?"

[JenB]

You're talking about making pieces, not peace.

[HairOfTheDog]

True...

I think where we get caught up is on TWO concepts.

One is the basic incompatibility of Islam with anyone else. "We" are not dealing with that well... Not the media, and not our government. The implications are too big. I don't know if it is possible to consider Islam as separable from political goals, ever. Their spiritual leadership would have to do that, if they wish to. Right now... it is all mixed together and it is not my job to separate it.

But the other concept is the definition of Terrorist. I do see a difference between an organized campaign with someone giving orders, like the suicide bombers in Isreal or the 9-11 hijackers, and a lone nut like the guy that went with a gun into LAX. Even if he was an Islamic lone nut, lone nuts are a different animal, with a different solution, than organized groups.

So I don't know which category these guys are in yet, and I don't know if we want to call them the same thing. They could be organized with a few others here in this country or abroad, or they could be acting on their own mission. I think they are talking to someone with the duck in the noose business. We might not have a word yet for what they are.

[Corin Stormhands]

You're talking about making pieces, not peace.

Semantics.