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.

[HairOfTheDog]

And I am going to be a person of uncertain race and ancestry, wearing my cloak and leaf clasp, bright vest like Merry's I think, brown breaches and riding boots! Folk will not be completely certain what I am!

[Sam Cree]

It's true we don't have hills and stuff, and that most of our beautiful jungle has been paved over or made into farmland, but we do still have the Everglades, Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Gulf Stream. Plus, both the Bahamas and the Florida Keys are both only 50 miles from Miami (one east, one south). And there's no doubt that South Florida skies are some of the clearest and most beautiful there are.

[HairOfTheDog]

I am also someone who needs hills and trees. Though we have few hardwoods here, we are the land of the Douglas fir and cedar. We have Oaks and Maples, but the Maples are not that common, and I think the Oaks were imported. Don't quote me on that, I only believe that because there are very specific pockets of them around here.

And I do like having four seasons, but I have to admit that now that I have horses, I don't look forward to snow. Here the snow comes in a day or two a year and is then usually followed by rain. It triples my work where the horses are concerned while the snow is here, and leads to mud and slop that I think will never dry out again when the rains come.

[RMDupree]

You're a Ranger!

[RMDupree]

That is very true, Sam.

It's so nice being able to drive less than an hour and find yourself on the beach!

And there is absolutely nothing on earth like watching the sun set in the Keys.

[RMDupree]

We used to have a real nice section here called Horse Country. It's still called that, but the small farms that used to be so prevalent are now boxed in with residential housing.

There are a few places left though. One that I love to drive by is the Guadalupe - they breed and raise the most beautiful Paso Finos there. Sometimes you can catch them practicing for competitions and that is a sight to see.

I've always wondered if that high leg trot ( the prancing ponies - lol) was natural or if the horses are taught to move like that. Do you know?

[RMDupree]

Pardon my funkle!

[RMDupree]

This is their website.

Hacienda Guadalupe

[RMDupree]

I've always wondered if that high leg trot ( the prancing ponies - lol) was natural or if the horses are taught to move like that. Do you know?

Since I'm taking liberties talking to myself. I answered my own question by trying a google search.

Yes, the gait is natural and the Paso Fino is NOT encouraged to trot. :)

[Corin Stormhands]

We have Oaks and Maples, but the Maples are not that common, and I think the Oaks were imported.

Freepmail me your street address. I have about a dozen Oaks in my yard that I'd be happy to ship to ya...

[HairOfTheDog]

The Paso Fino (and Peruvian Paso) gait is a natural gait, and is not only high stepping, but is a very specific gait other horses don't do. The pattern of footfalls that they do cannot be taught... but the high extension and action of it can be exaggerated through training, and of course, they have now been specifically bred for it.

As fast as it is, it is actually smooth to ride.

[2Jedismom]

Well, friends, I was wondering if you could say a prayer for a friend of mine? She's a homeschooling mom, 38 years old, with 4 children under the age of 12. She has cancer in her spine. Here is the update I just received:

Dear Ladies, Thank you for you continued prayers for Debbie and her precious family! Please have your Bible Studies, small groups, Sunday Schools and prayer chains continue to hold her up in prayer. They need a miracle!

I spoke to Ken yesterday about how to update all of you and neither of us could come up with clear words to print. The facts are that Debbie has stage 4 cancer. The doctors have given her pain medication and have said Chemo, radiation, surgery etc are not an option at this point. Fully relying on Jesus Christ is where they are.

There is no doubt that they are suffering and yet they are trusting in the faithfulness of God to see them through each day. They are expectant and waiting for the next move of God. They are honoring God in a way we do not often witness. You walk in their house and you know without a doubt this family knows and trusts in the One True God! Keep praying everyday and often for Debbie, Ken, Mari, Hannah, Tommy and Caleb. Hold them tightly in your prayers....
Thank you dear sisters,
Erin

[2Jedismom]

See above #43272

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't want Oaks! - I don't like the leaves! Falling leaves in a rainy climate means a wet brown slippery mat on my grass. I am surrounded by evergreens I thought... and in the fall I still get leaves in my yard. I have alders mixed in, and one Maple that I didn't even know was hiding back there until the first time the leaves appeared from nowhere and I looked for it! I prefer firs!

[Sam Cree]

Corin, thanks for the insights and history...these things are endlessly fascinating really, as well as spiritual and emotional. You clarified it for me quite a bit.

I sort of think that dancing and movies aren't in themselves evil, but they can be made that way, like all of the arts.

"I have about a dozen Oaks in my yard that I'd be happy to ship to ya..."

'Course that stuff makes great firewood...

[Corin Stormhands]

Prayers going up.

[Corin Stormhands]

I don't like the leaves!

That's why I want to get rid of 'em. I between the Oaks and the dog I have no grass in the back yard, and precious little in front. We've taken out 8 trees already. I told the Missus I wanted 'em all to go, but she doesn't like that idea. HOWEVER, she also don't rake the leaves...so I'm going for astroturf...

[John Farson]

I'm not a pacifist and I don't think those quotes argued a pacifist position.

Very often, members of the party in power support its wars -- and oppose war when the other party is in power. Remember Kosovo?

"Recently I drew up a table of atrocities during the period between 1918 and the present; there was never a year when atrocities were not occurring somewhere or other, and there was hardly a single case when the Left and the Right believed in the same stories simultaneously. And stranger yet, at any moment the situation can suddenly reverse itself and yesterday's proved-to-the-hilt atrocity story can become a ridiculous lie, merely because the political landscape has changed.
--George Orwell,
Homage to Catalonia (1938)

[Corin Stormhands]

I sort of think that dancing and movies aren't in themselves evil, but they can be made that way, like all of the arts.

There's an old joke...

Q: Why don't Baptists (or insert your favorite 'ist' group) make love standing up?

A: It might lead to dancing...

[ksen]

Praying......