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.
Get some rest.
My vegetable garden is at my folks house.... My house is in the woods and they don't have shade-tolerant vegetables!
Either that or he's Tom Bombadil!
The whistle was in Greensboro last time I looked so I'll be getting it on Monday.
Just checking in. It was about 90 degrees here today. I got an inflatable pool set up for the kids. It's pretty neat. There's a ring (no, not a Ring) around the top that is inflated and as the pool fills up the ring floats on top keeping the water in. It is 12' in diameter and about 3' deep, it even has its own little filter. The kids loved it and played in it all afternoon.
My irish complexion did not mix well with the Florida sun and I got a sunburn on my back. That's all right though, I figure it was for a good cause.
Sorry to hear that you aren't feeling so good today Jen. ;^( Just ignore my post until you feel well enough to read it.
Oh yeah, went to the theatre again last night. I was talking to my wife about what she wanted to do after dinner. She said "I don't know." So, kidding around, I said "Guess what's still playing at the theatre." To my surprise she said that she would like to go see LOTR again. So we did.
The theatre was about 75% full. I think a lot of people came to see Spiderman, but the shows were sold out so they came to see LOTR. I find it hard to believe that there was still that much pent up demand to see LOTR in the theatre 6 months, almost, after it was released.
Someone told me that FOTR has already earned what it took make all three episodes. Does anyone know if that is true? If so, then New Line and everyone else are going to be rolling in dough once they are finished releasing the rest of the installments.
Well, sorry to ramble on. I hope everyone has a good night. Don't forget that tomorrow is Mother's Day Happy Mother's Day 2JM!
I think 2JM is the only mom on the thread. If not, then I wish the rest of the mom's here a Happy Mother's Day.
Nighty-night all!
-Kevin
I still noticed new things. We had probably the best sound I've ever had watching it, and for the first time noticed that the ring whispers to Frodo when he's being tempted to put it on when they are hiding under the tree root. I'd never heard it whisper to him there before, I think it said the same thing that it said at Weathertop.
While we were killing time at the bookstore waiting it to be time to go to the theater, I skimmed a couple of paragraphs of The Fall of Gondolin. I was reading the account of Glorifindel's battle with the Balrog--Gandalf's fall in Moria sounds very similar. Is there a parallel between what happens to Gandalf and what happened to Glorfindel? After all, Glorfindel is sent back to ME to help in LOTR, just like Gandalf is sent back after his fall.
Haven't been around much lately although I do check in as often as possible and try to keep up. What with things getting busier at w*rk and preparing for the move (job search, apartment hunting, etc.) I am pretty swamped.
We are still waiting for summer up here in this neck of the woods - cold and rainy again today. And I had to spend all afternoon cleaning up after slobby roommates. Again! Arrggh.
Kevin, the total worldwide gross for FotR as of last weekend is $833,800,000 (including about $308,000,000 domestically). The budget was somewhere around $300,00,000 for all threee movies. Not a bad return on the investment, eh? Check out Box Office Mojo for an incredibly detailed breakdown of the box office reciepts. There are also some fascinating charts comparing the reciepts of FotR, Harry Potter, Phantom Menace and Titanic on a week-by-week basis. Good stuff.
Hope you get better Jen!
Congratulations!
My brother and I just finished watching the movie too... guess there was something whispering to many of us!
And....
CONGRATULATIONS HTUR_75!!!!!
My brother and I just finished watching the movie too... guess there was something whispering to many of us!
Hair, guess what my sister and I watched during dinner last night....FOTR! Hehehe although she doesn't like the part where Aragorn just lets him go at the end
Happy Mother's Day, 2JM! My own mother likes spending Mother's Day somewhere else, and letting us, her poor innocent children, deal with her mother, so if I don't post for a few days, it's because my grandmother blew all the logical circuits in my brain and I'm a babbling moron.
Oh, and congrats to htur_75!
Brother and I are hanging out this morning... As soon as we have had a little more coffee he will help me install a new piece of software on my computer that I need for work. If you don't hear from me for awhile it is because my machine melted down.
Just finished putting in marigolds and herbs. I'll be heading back to my house in a few minutes and see what I can do there....or maybe just chill with the cat!
Oh...glad you're feeling better Elf-friend!
Hope the install goes well, Hair.
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.