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
-----------------------------------------
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.
I like cedars. My family always used one as a Christmas tree when I was a kid growing up. You can even use them to predict weather, if they have alot of berries, you're supposed to have a bad winter. I'm wondering if the berries are related to the ones used to flavor gin, since the latin name is very similar.
The things are everywhere in central Virginia, but are beautiful and smell lovely. Once a big one got struck by lightning and split open...you'd have thought the terrorists had bombed a perfume factory, the scent from the shattered tree was unbelievably overpowering.
We had to take a cedar out one time (neighbor felled a tree on it, but that's another story.) For weeks after that the cat was always perfumed when she came in.
Most movie theater audiences suck too. Aside from the opening night enthusiasm, the crowds can really be distracting.
On the bright side ksen, you may avoid the annoying crowds after the 1st of the year -- when noisy children are back in school. :-)
I definitely want my daughters to learn to ride. I was never given that opportunity, and have longed for it always.
It's pretty costly though. Maybe for their 10th birthday(s). By then they will have reached the "I love horses" stage. I must have read Black Beauty at least a dozen times, not to mention, all of the Misty books, etc.
We lived in IN for almost a year while Sir SuziQ was teaching at Purdue. The house we rented had a huge great room; must have been 30 x 30. I told my Daddy that they could put up basketball goals at either end and play! I wasn't sure I liked it then, but I love that concept now. If we do the remodel that we really want to do, we're taking the wall out between the kitchen and den to make it one large room. I like it that way because you can visit with your guests without everyone trying to crowd into the kitchen which is where they invariably end up!
Yikes! I hope you plan to have LOTS of very cold beer available!!!
Or she WILL be there again, next summer, right? LOL!
My family moved down here when I was 6, but the yearly visits there really gave me a feel for the place. It's frighteningly cold in the winter though. They don't called it the "Windy City" for nothing! The gusts off the lake will freeze the marrow in your bones.
It's a big city, but they have block parties and in most neighborhoods, the neighbors know everybody else. It's a very close knit group in that aspect.
Not like my neighborhood, where neighbors could live next to each other for years and never speak. I know my neighbors simply because my family took the initiative.
?????????????! Try to find a picture! - The cedars here (Western Red Cedar) have no berries, unless you are talking about the very small seeds that I would say are more like small pine cones than berries.
Click the pic for close up.
Cedars are a bit of a pain, because they shed alot, and turn the surrounding soil to such an offensive PH that nothing will grow under them. Not sure now if it is too acid or too alkiline... I think it is the latter.
Oh I love ours! Light it up, and you're ready to cook in 5 minutes! In the winter, I just put on my boots, scrape the snow off the lid and I'm good to go! Nothing like red meat off the bone, or chicken, salmon, or country ribs for that matter, hot from the grill on a cold winters day!
One kid sitting next to me kept checking his cell phone for SMS messages -- it had a blindingly bright back light in the dark theater.
It makes one appreciate DVD.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.