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 went to Sam's last night and bought a gallon of Mrs. Butterworths! I'm fixin' to make some pancakes, here in a minute.
It's a sparkling clear day out there. I plan to sit out in the backyard and practice my whistle while the kids play. I have several new songs that I'm working on...I think my husband will leave me if I continue playing Rakes of Mallow over and over.
"In this phial," she said, "is caught the light of Eärendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror!"
I had an extra blueberry pancake, and I contemplated it...but I just didn't have any room!
Have a nice day, friends. I hope to be back this evening to talk, but if not I've probably found another good webcomic to read.
A lot of people complain about Galadriel in the movie, but I thought she was great ( yeah, even the Dark Queen He-Man-esque moment ). I really like the way she delivered her lines. Wonderful, wonderful voice...totally captivating.
I guess I am in the "not totally thrilled" with Galadriel crowd... But only for the Halloween outburst. I think she did just fine for the rest.
I also love the lines you and ecurbh have quoted this morning... Such a wonderful way to send them off on their way, a light for a dark journey. Really looking forward to the full gift scene in the extended version!
You know what, that line I quoted, when I heard it first I knew that it was placed and said with such conviction just so us, the readers, could in our heads point to the time when that light will be used, in Shelob's lair which I have no doubt will be very scarey stuff indeed!.
PJ is a superb director, but if there's one thing above all else that he's good at, it's making things very scarey.
I nearly had a heart attack a couple of times during FOTR. First, when Gandalf reached for the ring and saw the Eye, second in Rivendell when Bilbo turns Gollumish.
Yes, when she gave the light to Frodo... I knew that it would be very needed someday! And I can remember still, reading through it when I did not know how it would end, feeling hope... Sam's gift of the seed and soil was, I think, Tolkien's way of telling us, OK... this story is going to get very scary and dark... but they will make it through this and go home again.
And on PJ... there are a few spots where he made things very scary. I still giggle at the woman who was next to me who jumped nearly out of her skin and screamed "NOOOO!" when the Nazgul stabbed the beds at Bree. That was a dirty trick PJ played on the newbies that didn't know the story!
And I was prepped for the Bilbo change. The movie had been out a week when I went (waiting for a chance when my brother and I could go together) so I had already heard all about it here! - There was lots of talk about Bilbo suddenly lunging at Frodo and becoming Gollum-like. So I was ready, gripping my chair, waiting, and I still jumped! hehehe
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