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
-----------------------------------------
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.
We already have a George!
Thank you...now I know my mind isn't completely shot...
Nobody came to yer aid, huh?... I'da jumped both feet knee deep into his keester if I'da seen him yell at woman... political ideology be damned... especially a cute little Smeagol...
Well, we know they don't operate on facts, so use your emotions... remember, it's not being correct, it's feeling good about yerself that counts... pardon me while I clean the vomit off'n my desk...
This is sad... all the protection she can get.
I think my brain is full.
I just saw your note, Hair. The problem we in this country have with Islam is that we don't understand that with that belief system, religion and politics are the same! The religion requires that those in charge of the government be of the faith, or there will be a price to pay. Why do you think the Saudis support the Wahhabists? They are paying 'protection money' to keep the mullahs from fomenting open rebellion in the Kingdom. It is one of the teachings of Islam that the world must be subdued to Allah's will, and that the mullahs and imams are the instruments to guide the faithful. I always thought that 'DUNE' had a very Islamic flavor in that regard!
As far as the Islamists go, there is no such thing as 'individual rights', there is only the requirement to live by the Koran or you will be punished. And the people believe that Allah is directing their leaders so there can be no opposition to those leaders or you're labeled an apostate, which is a hanging offense! Most Muslims just take it on faith that their leaders are men of Allah, so they would never lie to them or do anything that would bring to harm.
So a system like ours, in which we know that 'men are weak', developed to protect the average person from being subject to the whims of those in charge. It came from our Judeo-Christian attitudes of original sin; we know that left in an unredeemed state, man will gravitate toward evil, but if he is held in check by others, he can do less harm to them.
I hope I'm making sense, it is just an idea I've had about the differences between our system and theirs, and why we probably will NEVER be able to reconcile those differences.
We have a nebulizer with Pulmicort and Xopenex to use. But most nights it's not a problem. When we started daycare a few weeks back he was getting lots of colds, but he seems to be over that part.
I think we're at the point we need to use the nebulizer every night. But we also need to get him back to his pediatrician to see if he needs anything else. When she saw him this summer she didn't think so.
The biggest problem is trying to teach a 2 1/2 year old that crying only makes it worse...
LOL...you too, huh?... I had a jewish room mate for a year... he was surprised to have a midwestern goyim know more about Israel and be more Zionist than he was...
But for a while the only news they read was the Jerusalem Post.
I've got my Israeli flag that I bought in Jerusalem, but that was a little much...
1) Can we not once and for all do some real housecleaning with INS?
2) Where the heck is the white van?
uummmm yeah...I'm a thinkin'...
I got a family of liberal multi-culturalist secular humanists, and those few that go to church think that God won't send anyone to hell and Jesus preached peace and love and acceptance of everyone and everything... as you can imagine, the family gatherings are volatile when me and the missus are around...
g'nad has answers...
1) Can we not once and for all do some real housecleaning with INS?
I'd be happy to...
2) Where the heck is the white van?
Not involved... they were chasin' their tails I said from day one that the shooter prob'ly didn't even own a white van...
Shocked. Shocked I tell you!
I understand though. We missed the luncheon at our reunion last week and after hearing about it I was glad. My sister and two other cousins still go to the "family" church in our hometown (our uncle started it). But things went weird in the 70s. I left there in 1984 and have only been back once (and that was a mistake). My aunt wanted all the family to sing on Sunday a.m., but we didn't stay around. I told my wife that God delivered me from that church once, I didn't need to test Him and ask Him to do it again...
But my oldest cousin decided the luncheon was the time to preach, so he talked for over an hour about "memories, etc." but turned it into a sermon...
My brother's wife said she had to go out and smoke a cigarette. I told her I would have had to start...
Amen to that bro... I went to visit my sis and Bro-inlaw down in Miami... their church is creepy... it's UMC, but not lkike any UMC I've ever been in... no scripture, touchy feely, openly gay choir director, weak young pastor...
I told her I would have had to start...
heck, I would've taken up mainlinin' heroin to get outta that...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.