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.
Boy I can't think of a better way to describe it!
Here's a tale of Liberal Idiocy - yes, I know, that's redundant - for you. As I was at dinner with my friends and their friends, one of the friends' friends' mother sat with us. She was a liberal born in East Germany, which means she clearly had no right to talk about politics, but she did anyway.
So the conversation drifts to resource utilization, with her and the tree-huggers - hey, it's college, ok? - whining about depletion, and forcing me to adopt a "Earth First" attitude. (We'll strip mine the other planets later...) I bring out the fact that nuclear power is cleaner, more efficient, cheaper, and safer than any other real source of power. The ex-German counters with "We'll build it next to your house then." Not wishing to make a snide comment about how it would kill all the trees and bunnies and deer on our rather-woody lot, I said we'd put it in orbit. The waste could then be disposed of safely into space.
Well. After shooting down the "our alien neighbors in another galaxy will yell at us for polluting their systems" by pointing out that it'll take a gazillion years for anything to escape our system, I suggested we aim it for the sun. She and her daughter then insisted that A. it would cause the sun to explode B. the radiation would poison the sun or C. it might cause solar flares. When I pointed out that by the laws of physics all these things are impossible, they insisted that "physics aren't really an exact science". Huh?!!
I realized that about halfway thru. I figured I'd get about a 20-post funkle...and I'm still catching up. Had to do a taxi-run to football practice.
The field was okay. But I'm really annoyed 'cause the person that set up our exhibit did a lousy job. It's a long story, but she needs to be fired. Her job position should require at least a Bachelor's (and probably a Master's) but she didn't even graduate high school (she has her GED). She came to our agency about 10 years ago, when she was sleeping with the Director...He's long gone, but she's still here. That's another long story, but I think she may finally be on her way out...
/end of that rant. I have another one building up...
The little one has it on in the living room. I tried Rugrats, Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Big Bird and even Psalty the Singing Song Book. But he wanted Star Wars...
(don't worry, he's not really watching it)
I thought Episode II was a stinker.
I've responded to that somewhere. Had to run my son and two neighborhood boys to football practice. Have to stop here in a minute and feed the little one. He's currently emptying all the videos out of the cabinet...
One of my favorite bumper stickers: Screw the Planet. Save Yourself.
hehehehe - I don't like nuclear power, but then I haven't grown up with it nearby... Just Hanford (which is a biggie) but there is a big mountain range between me and that, and prevailing winds that blow away from me. On this side of the mountains, nuclear power represents (in my minds-eye) cajillions of dollars spent on big cement structures that don't do anything. None of ours ever became operational.
But I don't like the idea of the waste being basically very bad to be around for millions of years. Much longer than the life of our containment systems. We are creating a big problem for someone else here... I am surprised your friend's friend's mother didn't jump on the chance to at least blast it into space... I am sure money is no object with her... But unfortunately making ET mad is. So what can we do?
No no! - Let it out! - Not good to let those thing build up! - Before we could know it, you are roaming the streets with a bag full of guns and some poor shop-keeper pushes you over the edge because he wouldn't give you change for the telephone!
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.