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The New Hobbit Hole

Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by 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

-----------------------------------------

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.


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Chit/Chat; Poetry; TV/Movies; The Hobbit Hole
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To: HairOfTheDog
Well...this company is just now expanding into this area, so most of their clients are in southern NH rather than northern VT and NH. But she still may be able to help me. I'm not giving up on them, but I'm not going to depend on them either.
39,041 posted on 11/05/2002 8:17:31 AM PST by RosieCotton
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To: JenB
Oh so you are just changing course in the story?

It sounded like you were abandoning the project!
39,042 posted on 11/05/2002 8:18:06 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: RosieCotton
Don't read that book! It's horrible! It sucks! It was the worst book I have ever read, and I have read at least five thousand books. It was bad! It took me three weeks to read when I was 14 and it was torturous, the only thing that saved me from brain death was reading Dune at the same time.

Die Scarlett Die!

Sorry. I'm over it now. Don't mention that book again, please.

39,043 posted on 11/05/2002 8:20:28 AM PST by JenB
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To: RosieCotton
I didn't mean to pressure you, but I have great affection for those characters. The movie is a horrible portrayal of all 4 of them (Actually, Rhett comes off the best in the movie)... so, I just didn't want you not to read the book because of the movie. Even I don't like the movie.
39,044 posted on 11/05/2002 8:21:09 AM PST by carton253
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To: HairOfTheDog
I'm abandoning the current universe, that's all. The project goes on. It was supposed to be in that universe for a shorter period of time, but... I got sidetracked, ok?
39,045 posted on 11/05/2002 8:21:26 AM PST by JenB
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To: JenB
Gone With The Wind! Gone With the Wind! Gone With the Wind! Sorry, just being Gollum!
39,046 posted on 11/05/2002 8:22:26 AM PST by carton253
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To: ksen
Are you series?

I just got back. The place was filled with elderly people. I mean, it looked just like a senior citizen center. They were all sitting there hunkered over their ballots reading them like they couldn't see anything.

Bunch of old school dems no doubt too stupid (or obstinate) to see that the party has abandoned them. I don't always admire the "Greatest Generation".
39,047 posted on 11/05/2002 8:22:50 AM PST by 2Jedismom
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To: JenB
So...tell me, Jen...what did you really think of Gone With the Wind? Don't hold back, now! :-)

Sounds like you feel as strongly about it as I do about Tom Cruise. Just reminded of it because someone brought him up (can't even remember why) at dinner the other night and I reacted the way I usually do. Dad told me I should have a villain in my story that I picture as being just like Tom Cruise, 'cause then all my negative feelings would come out in the story and keep things interesting...

I can't believe I managed to type his name twice!!

39,048 posted on 11/05/2002 8:24:08 AM PST by RosieCotton
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To: JenB
As you are well aware, taste do change. At 14, I thought The Hobbit was the worst book ever written. Now, I know better. So, maybe, you should give GWTW another try. When you are rested and feel up to the challenge.
39,049 posted on 11/05/2002 8:24:10 AM PST by carton253
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To: JenB
I like the current universe, though! I want to find out what's gonna happen with the Empress' sister and that whole war there!
39,050 posted on 11/05/2002 8:25:57 AM PST by RosieCotton
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To: 2Jedismom; JenB
Sounds like a couple of hobbits forgot to take their happy pills today!
39,051 posted on 11/05/2002 8:27:31 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: carton253
Shall I not mention that I would rather have hot pokers shoved into my eyes? My tastes were, I fear, fairly set by the time I was fourteen - ie, I loved Tolkien, fantasy in general, SF, hard sf in particular... and I hate anything to do with romance, and anything with stupid or manipulative heroines. And I see Scarlett as both. Sorry, but "saving the family farm" doesn't mean it's ok to ruin other people's lives.
39,052 posted on 11/05/2002 8:34:01 AM PST by JenB
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To: carton253; JenB
Hey Smeagol, did you ever see my post to you here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/646314/posts?page=38458#38458

Just curious....

BTW, I agree wholeheartedly about tastes changing. I tried reading Moby Dick in high school and hated it. Read it a couple of summers ago, and now I think (I know) it is one of the greatest books ever written. I've never read GWTW, but might give it a try someday....

39,053 posted on 11/05/2002 8:34:27 AM PST by rightwingreligiousfanatic
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To: RosieCotton

"You're Top Gun in my book Rosie. Call me....
39,054 posted on 11/05/2002 8:34:34 AM PST by ksen
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To: HairOfTheDog
I once was registering people to vote in my church entryway. I had balloons and little pieces of candy and was chock full of happy pills. This was the year Clinton was running for a second term and I was just sure we'd defeat him. I was being totally non-partisan, though and made no comments.

Then this little "Greatest Generation" lady walked up to me and shrieked at me till someone drug her off about how great Clinton was. I am telling you her eyes were bugging out of her head.

Ever since then I've had the unshakable feeling that the "Greatest Generation" is who put Clinton into office.

Steve voted before me...he just emailed me and told me he was #1 in our precinct. I was 190th.
39,055 posted on 11/05/2002 8:35:11 AM PST by 2Jedismom
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To: HairOfTheDog
Hey, I was really quite happy until I came here and was reminded of The Worst Book Ever, and people who want me to write things I don't want to write really want to write about.
39,056 posted on 11/05/2002 8:37:31 AM PST by JenB
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To: JenB
That's okay... it's just the older I get, the more I understand Scarlett, Ashley, Melanie, and Rhett. And GWTW wasn't just about saving the family farm. There's a little bit more to it than that.

But please, don't shove hot pokers into your eyes. You may need them later in life.

39,057 posted on 11/05/2002 8:41:04 AM PST by carton253
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To: rightwingreligiousfanatic
Yes, I did. Thank you for your advice.
39,058 posted on 11/05/2002 8:43:14 AM PST by carton253
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To: carton253
The hot pokers?
39,059 posted on 11/05/2002 8:43:22 AM PST by JenB
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To: JenB
No, silly hobbit, your eyes. My fault... I wasn't clear.
39,060 posted on 11/05/2002 8:45:50 AM PST by carton253
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