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.
Ever since the theatrical trailer to The Two Towers showed up, a lot of fans have been oooh-ing and aaah-ing over the usage of the music from "Requiem for a Dream" in the last half of the preview, as all kinds of sh*t blew up, got stabbed, shanked and killed. It seemed very appropriate. But since that version of the Requiem Overture was created just for the trailer and was not available anywhere, frantic fans searching p2p networks, websites and mIRC rooms had to make do with 2 minute soundclips from the actual "Requiem for a Dream" soundtrack, which, unfortunately, sounded almost nothing like the raw, thumping orchestral music that just kicked them in their pointy, Tolkien-obsessed heads. Still, that's better than it was for "Fellowship" -- The stirring music in that trailer has still never seen release.
Then somehow, some kids at a site called ajaxproject managed to sneak a file out called "The Requiem Remix" or "The Requiem for the Rings" that actually managed to incorporate the 3 or 4 bits of re-created orchestral goodness from the trailer. But it still wasn't all good: They had the right idea in arranging the music into a concert piece, but they muffed it by making the intro a pretentious mess, sticking atonal wailing over every note in an effort to make it all "Gothic" and using offbeat drumming to "anchor" the intro. To make matters worse, the Orchestral pieces were there, they were just chopped to hell and kind of slapped together. And then, shortly after TheWarOfTheRings.com got a hold of it, it was asked to be removed by the deadly "Unnamed Record Company" and not a note of the trailer music has been heard since.
But now, OpSom has a piece of @ss-kicking, drum-pounding, choir-screaming Orchestral Requiem Goodness available to you, in a 6 minute concert piece edit. Get it while you can--your ears will reward you. Never has music written for smack-addicts to hit rock bottom to ever sounded so uplifting. Amazing what some string effects, a lot of drums and association with Hobbits will do to your perception. Enjoy the @ss-kicking.
Please don't sue me, I'm only trying to get people excited about your movie.
What a sweet Daddy!!
Here I go Hair, making MY way through the posts since this morning!!
With the appearance of Eomer and the men of the Riddermark, Shore introduces a new theme, a theme for the hardened people of Rohan. It begins quite subtly, with noble, medieval-sounding strings. It then moves on to a stirring brass fanfare, triumphant yet with an underlying melancholy. In the hands of a lesser composer, the Rohan motif might have become a rather vacant, faux-mythic affair. But Maestro Shore leads his second reading of the theme with a Norwegian fiddle called a hardanger, reminding us that these are not empty heroes but a struggling people of the earth. The impact is palpable. The theme is amazing. And we're only on track three, folks.
So you were right on the hardanger - good ear!
Yes! I'm looking forward to A Feast for Crows even more than these movies. He posted a message his website concerning the delay last month.
aFfC was scheduled to be published in Fall '02 -- now late Spring '03. However, Martin insists no one knows when it will be finished.
I just hope he doesn't die before he finishes the series.
You have one, ksen, and we're happy to be a part of it!!
By the way, it also goes well with the tune "Little Beggarman", also known as "Red Haired Boy", if you know those. Or I can point you to it! That's the one my brother and I sing it to...
That was a good year, my twin brother was born then also! Your Mom must be pretty.
Uhm, well, he's Texas country, which is different than Nashville country. You can sample some of his songs right here. My favorite is "Carry On".
Do have some "Asleep At The Wheel", but I can't remember if they're considered Texas swing or something else!
Yes, they do a lot of Texas swing. Ricky Calmbach is very new, no big contract yet. Here's his website; you can hear samples of his music too. (Ain't the web wonderful?)
Which Tim McGraw song didn't you like? His CD "Everywhere" was from a few years ago, now. Have you heard any of Alan Jackson's songs? His latest CD "Drive" is really good!
I like old timey country & bluegrass best of all, although I'm more familiar with country than bluegrass...
Why, you could say I'm positively steeped in old-timey!
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