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.
We're using Saxon Math for our 7th grader. We started him last year (6th) in Saxon 76, then went right to Saxon Alg. 1/2. He'll be done with that in a few weeks, then we'll start him in Jacob's Elementary Algebra.
Some folks don't like Saxon because they consider it drill and kill, but I like the way each lesson builds on the last, so that when the kids are done with the book they KNOW the concepts and operations needed to move on.
Saxon has a website with a 'placement test' on it to see where your child falls in their curriculum. I'll look it up and post it in a minute or two.
Sir Suzi Q created a worksheet for our ds. There is room on it for all 30 problems. He just looks at the book, reads the problem, then does the work and writes the answer in the block with the corresponding number on the answer/work sheet. I posted it to a homeschool website, I'll give you that too when I give you the Saxon site addy.
I have "The Cat of Bubastes" for when they start their Classical sequence with the "Ancients" in February.
Apathy and laziness is no reason to overhaul the system. So, when he asks what I would do to make the system more fair and democractic... my answer is that I'm not going to do anything.
Give me good news or my hair is going to start falling out.
Tell the liberal you would eliminate voter fraud and give the right to vote only to people who aren't on public assistance. Listen to him/her howl!
He's spouting the liberal party line. You are right on in your idea. In this country, no one is holding guns and turning folks away from the voting booth. Every properly registered voter has the right to go in the booth and cast a vote for whomeover that person wishes. If voters are too lazy to check from time to time to make sure their voter registration is up to date, that's their problem. If you move, register in your new town. If you don't know who the candidates are or anything about them, buy a newspaper or read one at the library.
This is the freest nation in the world with regard to voting, and has one of the lowest turnout rates for elections.
The libs lament this because they believe that every new voter is SURE to vote for them. If someone doesn't take the time to learn the issues and show up to vote, that means they are not interested, and I'll not spend any time worrying why.
Turn him from the Dark Side!
And I actually made a decent grade in the class.
Story here.
Man, those Iraqis really know how to vote. Of the nearly 11.8 million eligible voters in Iraq, every single one managed to vote "yes" to a resolution to keep Iraqi dictator/president Saddam Hussein in charge for another seven years. Not only that, but every paper ballot was counted before the end of the day! Meanwhile, here in America, columnist Jonathan Alter grouses, "Turnouts in American elections are routinely under 50 percent of eligible voters," and for the upcoming November elections "the numbers could get worse." And you can bet the voters aren't all going to agree on whom to vote for.
No thanks, honey; been there, done that, and got the degree 28 yrs. ago! You've got the same ideas, though, so get writing!
Here's the basis of my paper. If low tournout at the polls is not due to govermental interference, or voters not being able to access the polls, but rather due to citizens choosing not to vote, then the election process is fair and democratic. Those who choose not to go to the polls can vote if they want to. They have chosen not to. This distinction must be made. What citizens choose to do or not do defines the citizenry and not the system. The system is sound, fair, and democratic.
Does that make sense?
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