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.
Sure, I use Hippie 98. It's $39.95 for a single license, but it's shareware, so you can download it and try it out for free first. Then if you don't like it you're out nothing; if you do like it, just pay your money and they email you the registration key.
How does it feel to want? ;-)
Yeah, I could use some new fixtures, too...my bathtub is an old claw footed thing, which at LEAST needs paint (someone painted the outside kind of a goldenrod color!), and since I'm not exactly Martha Stewart, I'd almost rather just have a normal modern tub (with a real shower!).
Then I want a screened porch and a new deck....landscaping....this is getting expensive!
No big deal!
There are some other insights to changes... Rather than the hiding place behine the falls, it looks like the Hobbits are taken to Osgiliath according to the caption with this pic:
Faramir takes the hobbits to the besieged city of Osgiliath.
(FYI, everyone who doesn't know, our founder John Farson got in trouble and can't post, but we can ping him!)
You brought up something interesting in the Yahoo Hole that I want to share here!
John Farson said:
I've been lurking on the Hobbit Hole threads like I usually do. :)The trailer is impressive -- even at such a low bitrate. I can't wait until the higher quality Quicktime versions are available.
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AICN talkback: "Those CGI Mountains look soooooo fake! Howard Shore's score sounds like MIDI on a Commodore 64! New Zealand is a hoax! The whole country is CGI! How embarrassing!" --Jaguart
First of, Jaguart is a moron ;~D, but secondly, there was a little blurb over at TORN that explained the music in the trailer... It was not all from the actual Howard Shore score...
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Trailer Score Details!
9/30/02, 8:02 am EST - leo
Robert from the Italian LOTR-site Caltanet.it emailed us with the information that the second part of the music used in the new trailer is the main theme of Requiem for a Dream soundtrack, composed by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet. So it's not from Howard Shore's new soundtrack for TTT, just so you know...
Which reminds me....get Fancy Feast for the kitty....or else!
Ruh, roh!! That's the problem with beginning to remodel; it's hard to know when to stop!!
LOL When the money runs out!
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