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.
I just got a note on a Classical homeschooling message board today from a woman who attended a "Pride and Prejudice Ball". The attendees dressed in period costumes and before the ball began, learned to do some English Country dances. She said her girls and their friends had a wonderful time. There are some areas around the country which have these events. Do a Google search on English country dance and see if you find anything!
Well, if he had trees down in his yard or his Mom's, he's got his heating fuel for next year all lined up!!
There's a bunch of nice people over there, Catholics, Baptists, Charismatics, one Jewish fella, Messianic believers, and the occasional Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican.
It's kind of like over here except we get into a few more "disagreements" over there, but in the end we all like and respect each other.
So feel free to come on over....
Tee Hee! Yeah, Hair, it could be even more exciting for them than they're thinking right now, huh?
I will stop trying to squelch stuff just because I think is a bad idea or risky territory. It isn't my job. What I don't know yet is where my loyalty to my friends should kick in and how. I just put up a red flag that maybe should have been a yellow flag. Sorry. I just hope that everyone will play nice... I know everyone here are good people, and I shouldn't worry so much. I am gun shy a bit perhaps, and arguments won't necessarily become ugly here, but I fear it.
I love you all, but I don't want to feel responsible for you all getting along in my version of harmony. Never mind me... If I fail in my attempt to restrain myself and I speak up in the future, it is because I care about both sides. But I will try not to worry about a few cracked plates!
A former co-worker of mine, married 40 years, once told me of the advice his father gave him on his wedding day.
Son, always remember: You can be right, or you can be married, but you can't be both!"
I always liked that, and think it is just as applicable to wives as husbands. If both sides played by those rules, there would be no divorce. Nor troubles between friends.
I still hold to the hope that we will all get along perfectly well all the time, as we always have. But it isn't my responsibility to ensure it happens. I am not a moderator. The last thing I want is for the Hole to become a bickering mess, but if it stays the same only from forced-cheerfulness, then it is fake.
Welcome to the Hobbit Hole!
Right-click & "show picture" if everyone doesn't show up... We are a pretty picture all together like this!
Yeah, it should seem obvious, shouldn't it? But it goes further than that...the money that his employees earn working for him goes right back into the economy, creating jobs and opportunities for others who also put their money into the economy creating still more jobs and still more opportunities, and the cycle rolls over continuously, generation after generation.
But somehow, people like my cousin (actually my wife's cousin, but he likes to think of himself as both our cousin, now) seem to think that if all wealth and property were under direct control of the community (state), that everything would somehow be fairer and everyone would be somehow more prosperous and happy. Even though history has repeatedly demonstrated the opposite.
I've been having a great old time ranting and raving all morning, it seems.
Thanks ksen, I'll check it out! This isn't TNR, is it? Your and Corin's comments about it have kept me AWAY from there!!
DOH!! I meant TNS!
I'll check it out, but I think it would be wasted on my daughter and me. Neither of us are 'girly girls'! LOL!
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