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.
Don't like to be nasty about someone with such low self-esteem, but since he seemed to think the world was a conspiracy especially designed to 'get' him, I would say 'good riddance'.
I think I am having a debate the great eye right now. He claims to not blink.
I took the boys to a park with a pond and we caught little sunfish all afternoon! Then Steve met us there after he got off work and we grilled burgers and then fished some more till it got dark. Even Josh caught several little fish (2-3"). We just tossed them back, but it was a whole lot of fun. I got to practice my whistle for a while, too!
Sounds like an idyllic afternoon. You will look back with happiness on days like today all of your life.
That's okay...obviously you've never had them wipe out your entire crop before. :)
There are lots of squirrels here, I really don't mind them, they stay in the trees pretty much and never bother my crops, I have 5 dogs that always keep a wary eye out for trouble. They do get most of our guavas though (the squirrels, not the dogs), which is annoying, they can access those without touching ground. When we were kids, deer were more trouble, though they are certainly beautiful animals. Strangely, my dogs like mangos, when they eat too many, they get sick.
I like the wildlife, though I do view some of the exotic and large lizards with a jaundiced eye. Also most of the spiders I could do without, esp. widows.
Outside of "in the belfry" I have some roosting in my attic vent. :) (There's a screen there so they don't get into the attic)
I wouldn't mind the squirrels if they didn't get every nut on the tree. I mean...they cut down every nut! We were okay on the apple tree. There were always enough apples for us, the squirrels, and the neighbors. We were feuding with the squirrels over the corn until I started letting catnip grow between the rows and our adopted stray plus the other neighbor cats keep the squirrels out of there.
The deer are more a problem with ornamentals and I don't get quite as upset. (I pity the fool who comes between me and my food!) They like to munch my varigated hostas (they leave the blue ones alone) and impatiens. In my vegetable garden they usually nibble the tops of beans and peas maybe once or twice a season and they may trample something, but that's it. Maybe deer don't like catnip!
We had a bat living in our attic vent. We'd see her hanging there when we went up to the attic, but it was on the side with no flooring, so we couldn't get a close look. We called her "Aunt Batty."
A couple of months ago, I moved some things to that side of the attic and got a close look at "Aunt Batty." She was dead.
She was also a leaf.
Morning All!
Speaking of food,I wonder if you or 2JM can answer a question about BBQ. Why do you parboil ribs? Is it to make the meat come off the bone easy?
I just recently (8 months ago) quit trying to follow a low fat regime and am now glorying in all this kind of food. Did some ribs last night, but has been so long since I tried anything like it that I was a little unsure how to proceed. Any advice will be appreciated.
*groan* heh heh.
Did you break it to your kids?
-Kevin
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