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.
Rather I see Him taking our hand or holding us in His arms and saying, "I know."
BINGO! Well said.
On another subject-dog, Here is a photo of my oldest dog and Bay, taken a long time ago, that I think is just awful-darn cute. I scanned the photo awhile ago and just uploaded it to York to put on my profile. The indignities our pets will endure for us... I can see it in this dog's eyes! "You put me ON A POST? Next to a horse? And I deserve this WHY?"
"Footprints" wasn't cheesy when it was written, and the sentiment still isn't. It became cheesy when it started showing up on t-shirts and plastic "Holy Land" figurines...
BAY: Now why did you have to go and put this dumb ol' dog next to my handsome mug? I fart in your general direction!
Yeah, our pets put up with a lot. In Fiona's case, though, she'll put up with almost ANYTHING so long as there's food at the end. She's learned a number of tricks that she'll do without prompting in hopes of getting a snack. Sitting up and begging is her latest...believe me a dog that long looks funny sitting up!
Why you, you son of a motherless goat! Bwaaahahaha!
Just kidding!
I think in a way, losing someone you're that close to is like Frodo's wound. It will never fully heal, not in this life, and at times the pain is as distinct as it was at the hour they were taken. It just hurts a little less often.
Oh Baloney! I get so annoyed when people say things like that.
I think I've shared on here before that I'm a testicular cancer survivor. (thus the miracle of our youngest, but that's another story). But while I was going through my treatment I was introduced to another man at my church in a similar situation. We sort of got to know each other through the whole process, but were never really close.
He died about four years ago. The cancer came back and struck him elsewhere in his body. At his funeral so many people said so many wonderful things about him. There were aspects that I never knew, how incredibly intelligent he was, how deeply spiritual, how passionate for those things in which he believed.
And I'm sitting there wondering why this fantastic guy died and a total screw-up like me got to live.
I don't have an answer to that Hair. But I believe that what happened to both of us somehow fits into God's plan. A plan that we only get a little glimpse of.
Why it fits into His plan to let bad things happen to good people, I don't know. But I strongly, no more than that, violently reject the notion that God punishes His people with illness. We live in a broken world and bad things will happen.
It messes with some people's theology to say that God grieves when we grieve, that God weeps when we weep.
But I think that's exactly who He is.
You aren't riding a horse. You're just banging coconuts together. There aren't any coconuts around here...
I was looking for the "French" castle from Monty Python and The Holy Grail. I don't think that's the one, but it's what turned up in a search.
I need more silly pet photos! This is dog writhing in the pain of spotted dog being woken up and told to get off the couch. (Bear, don't look... Beautiful paneling and my Dad's black bear barely visible in the background! :~D)
I have no idea! She kinda locks her back feet in position, but it's not like it's cozy or anything!
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