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.
You should have told me earlier, JenB, I have just about memorized history!! Might be able to help out if there are any analytical ideas you want to run past me (not up on dates and things but give me a good essay question and I can run with it). I plan on looking at a certain CD tomorrow, thanks a bunch.
Looks like most of you didn't have the best weather today, other than Ksen. Down here in north central Florida we set an all time record for the date -- 97 degrees. With the lows getting down to just below 70, that would make afternoon pool temperatures around 84 degrees, think I'll go out to the community pool, after I look at the movie. Great pics from TTT, I point out that the only one without a caption is Gimli, he always gets shortchanged. The guy who wrote the captions must be running that change the TTT movie title petition.
Don't get discouraged when you first begin to play it. This is not a perfect copy, and there are some glitches in the sound at the beginning during the Prologue... The worst of the glitches are there in the prologue. All in all, it is pretty good, but you will still want to buy the real DVD.
Well, they have been put on notice, if they do it again, all we need to do is point out Jim Robinson's warning, and their violation of same, to the Admin Moderator.
I got them from The Sun I expect one of their writers came up with the captions.
Here are a couple more that I hadn't seen before:
Riders of Rohan
Wild Men
Here's a nice picture to wake up to: 
Hmm, with a name like that, who'd have guessed? Actually I do very well in history. Got a good grounding back in my homeschooled days, read a ton of historical stuff and for some reason it all just stuck. I'm actually shakiest when it comes to the period between WW2 and my birth, mostly because most teachers and authors alive today lived through that time and don't have a problem keeping it straight. Thus, they assume everyone knows what all the acroynms stand for, and who succeeded whom in the Soviet Union, and don't explain things.
Anyway, I love history, it's one of my hobbies. Next semester I'm taking a class on Rome - I think I know where to turn if I need help there!
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How come you guys don't go gaga over Galadriel?
Will wait for the guys' answer on Galadriel, but I think the whole thing about her seeing into everyone's mind would be intimidating for the guys. I bet that is why they don't go for her as much. You have to be kinda slow and brain-empty, like Celeborn, in order to survive such a relationship.
But at least if Galadriel could read their minds, then she would have no excuse for not understanding them!
Thanks again, PJ!
About our friend in the preview. I still can't be 100% sure it is Haldir, but I did notice that he has a bow with 2 curves in it (a recurve bow?) just like the Lothlorien elves. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. (226 days, 13 hours, 47 minutes)
-Kevin
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