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.
That is an interesting reference, especially if you remember Sam's desire to 'see' an 'Oliphant' in Return of the King, and his mixed terror and joy when he did see it. I wonder if this is a coincidence or not?
But, you already knew that...;-)
Hate to post and run but I got an invite to watch the hokey game tonight.
You put the precious in. You put the precious out...
To me, 300winmag is a hunting round, is there a military application that I'm unaware of? I like .270 for whitetail.
The place is called "The Metro Cinema Cafe & Bogart's Lounge" (have any idea yet what it might have been like?). I took my five year old son, eleven year old daughter and sixteen year old sister. We walk into the place and the front part of it is a bar. There were also a couple of pool tables, a jukebox and a couple of tv's turned on to the horse race.
There were two "theatres", one on each side of the bar. You enter them through these short, little hallways and through a pair of double-doors. Each theatre looks like it has seating for about a hundred people. The seats are not your typical movie theatre seats. Inside the theatre there were a number of small round tables set up. Each table had two high-backed chairs. The chairs were pretty comfy, the back had some give and there was adequate padding where it needed to be.
We went in and commandeered two of the front tables. The screen was about the size you'd find in any of the smaller theatres that you would find inside of a modern 16 - 24 screen megaplex. After we sat down our waitress, that's right, our waitress, came and took our orders. They had drinks ranging from soda and pink lemonade to a full liquor bar. They also served all sorts of different foods, they had hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, and even a surf and turf. The food prices weren't that bad. I ended up paying about $2.95 for two hot dogs and some chips. We ordered two of those and a couple pitchers of soda.
Get this, they even allowed smoking inside of the theatre, not that I smoke mind you.
The quality of the picture was about what you would expect for a bit of film that has been played now for going on seven months. The only real complaint I had, other than having to bring my family through a real bar to get to the theatre, was the quality of the sound. It sounded like there was a channel missing. Another way to describe it would be that it sounded like you were listening to something in mono that should have been in stereo. For example, when Bilbo and Gandalf were in Bilbo's living room discussing what Bilbo should do with the Ring, the fire in the fireplace was one of the loudest noises, it was like the background noises were clearer than the main sound.
All in all it was an interesting experience. Right now I would say that I won't be going back, at least not with my kids. We'll see what next June brings when it is the only place still showing The Two Towers.
-Kevin
And if you do not believe in God or the effectiveness of prayer, he could still use your words of encouragement.
Thank you.
-Kevin
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