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.
Make sure Ninja Hobbit stays alert.
If you see Middle-Eastern looking horses conducting some sort of combat training out in your fields, call the FBI and skeedaddle over to Ramius' or your Dad's place.
Yeah I know...I'm a sucker for a pretty face and looong legs... truth be told, she chose me... no accounting for elvish taste...(I could say somethin' here but I don't want to jeopardize our "G" rating...)
My adventures in the Holy Wars were short lived...for that very reason...
That's exactly my story too.... And I'm sticking to it ;^)
Hopefully we've put that issue...uh...to bed?
Okay, I'm in. Now what the heck am I going to write about?
To me right now it is more important to learn to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in my daily life, and know what that means and feels like in the nitty gritty of the daily grind. Winning an intellectual battle at the cost of losing my peace of mind would be a hollow victory indeed....
Well put RWRF.... If I may ramble a bit, I think your have put it closer to what I have wanted to express but have not been able to put into words before.
Your post clarifies what feels so foul to me about the relgious debate on FR... I personally have more questions than answers, but I know what feels fair, and I know what feels foul. The nastiness over there does not speak well to convince me I need to be more doctrinal.
I feel very spiritual, but not very doctrinal right now. I have been more devout in the past than I am now, and yet less Christian in my behavior. Righteous and judgmental, but less Christian. I just don't think there is anyone alive who really knows... Those that claim to and get angry at any question lose their credibility with me. Like my friend who is willing to argue to the point of anger with me while I tend my bleeding horse, that God is trying to send me a message by tripping my horse on the trail. She not only believes that God has a message in everything, she believes she personally understands the message fully. I actually stood in the middle of the trail and yelled at her "If God is trying to reach me, then he should know me well enough to not pick on my horse! - I love this horse, and right now, he needs help, now stop it!". They, like my wacked out friend, seem to suck the joy right out of it for me... and that is too bad, because it would be nice to discuss the questions.
It is all in the abstract, and I trust my gut more than those folk. And when I hear some of them, my gut twists into a knot. And not because I think they have got me.... because I think they have not got it at all.
Naw...I wish...I gooned up the first one...shootin' time is 0640...
18 hours and 12 minutes till bow season!!!!
Will do!
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