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.

[2Jedismom]

Hold on! I'll take a digital picture of it...

[JenB]

Hullo! I'm back from church - kidding - church was done hours ago but as I mentioned this morning, I deliver pizzas on game days. So I made $40 but I gave up an afternoon. Oh well!

Now it's time to write. This bit will be, I think, important, so best get cracking. Corin, OT, anything from the two of you?

[2Jedismom]

Ok, here it is, my actual maker:

[Overtaxed]

Well...I have a beginning more or less. The problem is that it's supposed to build suspense and suspense doesn't build very well if you jomp too soon.

[2Jedismom]

Oh you know what! It's marked on the glass cup 2 and 4 and the basket is marked 2 and 4. I guess I add that much coffee for that much water!

Now, how should the grind be? Course or fine?

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

It's a silly name, but that makes it more effective, 'cause you remember it.

Thanks for posting the link to that site by the way... I'm drooling over the hardcover books they have for sale there!

[Overtaxed]

Fine, I think. That esspresso coffee my sister gets is always ground fine.

[2Jedismom]

Ok, I'm going to try it now before it gets too late to have such a strong cup of coffee!

[HairOfTheDog]

Great....

Grind your coffee very fine.... finer than you would for a drip coffee maker

Fill the little metal cup with coffee and lightly, but only *lightly* pack it down. It should be very nearly full, not packed hard, but yet firm.

Turn the handle on "coffee thingy" till it is tight... probably 90 degrees from where you started.

Fill the back with cold water and screw the lid down tight!

The switches on it probably have a brew and steam setting. Turn it to brew and wait! It will not come right out like the ones at espresso stands... it will take a little while where it seems like nothing is happening while it heats the water and builds up pressure, then it will come dripping through.

If you want to steam the milk, wait until you have brewed all the espresso you want and stick the steam spout in the milk before you turn it on or it will blow milk all over the place. Also... the milk will grow quite a bit so don't fill the cup. If you let the espresso brew 4 cups, you may run out of steam before you can really foam the milk.... Depends on the power in your machine.

When you are done steaming, wipe the steamer with a cold wet washcloth immediately or the milk will cook on there and is hard to get off...

Then unplug it and release all the remaining steam. by letting it run out. Do not open the back or remove the coffee handle until you have released all the steam and it has cooled off! It is under pressure and it can burn you.

Easy as pie?

[HairOfTheDog]

Advice come in time? - Or learning by trial and error? ;~D

[JenB]

Coffee. Yuck. You have a recipe for Diet Dr Pepper?

[Overtaxed]

Hot Dr. Pepper with lemon.

[HairOfTheDog]

Isn't that a cool place? I am drooling over the Ranger sword... They have one with a scabbard now. I'd be drawn to the Narsil if it had a scabbard. Not at that place yet, but at another site:

[HairOfTheDog]

Love coffee... It's the American Way.

[2Jedismom]

Yep...as I sat and mulled it, I remembered alot. Still, I hid behind a chair when I ran water through it the first time! I'm brewing the cup of espresso right now.

[JenB]

I don't even like tea!

Can I have that sword?

[2Jedismom]

Mmmmmm! It turned out perfect!! I only filled the coffee to the 2 mark though and the water slightly more than the 2 mark (I filled it to the steam mark, and didn't stop it.) It made a perfect cup to the 2 line. I wonder if it means 2 ounces? It's a very small amount but just like what I had in Paris. (The people there are just rotten, but the coffee was very good!)

[2Jedismom]

I gotta go.

[HairOfTheDog]

Only $259! Plus shipping!

[HairOfTheDog]

I think it is "shots". Isn't a shot two ounces?