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.
Oh when I was growing up we all had chores! My mom went to work outside the home when I was in the 9th grade, so the cooking on several nights fell to my sister and me. We loved it. On Saturdays, my mother was like a slave driver, but we'd clean because we knew we were going to have hot dogs and chili! A stupid reason, but hey, it worked like a charm! I just didn't inherit the gene for keeping clean, picked up, etc. I sound a lot like your wife g'nad!
I DO need to get more organized, but it just never seems to happen. Of course sitting here chatting on line instead of cleaning and getting ready for Christmas doesn't help either! ;o)
Will do!
How do you think you did on your finals?
Wish I could, but we already have tickets to the movie... at home eating a quick dinner before heading out!
Anyway – here is my news. I have a close source who tells me that when Ebert and Roeper taped their weekly show yesterday at WLS here in Chicago, they both gave The Two Towers a thumbs up. Roeper explained that he enjoyed it, but that it did not make him change his mind about not liking FOTR, and he wondered if all of the emphasis on fighting was in the true spirit of Tolkien's work (he commented that since he didn't know the books, he did not know the answer). Ebert said (when he gave it a thumbs up) that he was really looking forward to the ROTK, and that when all three are completed that they will be a major achievement in the history of motion pictures. They also talked about how TTT was a whisper away from being rated R because of the violence. On a lighter note, my source tells me that they had trouble pronouncing all of the characters names, especially Eowyn's.A thumbs-up won't change my opinion of Roeper's intelligence (or lack thereof), but its another good review. If it's true, that is...
I think I got As in both classes. I needed a 75 on one test and a 65 on the other, not too very hard to do, to get an A. If I figured everything correctly, that is.
Plus I really need to impress this professor, he's our main comp sci guy and I'll need his help to do anything unusual, like filling all my "free credits" with CS.
1. It was much like all the other ST movies. A generally shallow plot- made for light entertainment. Compared to LoTR, this was a made-for-TV-movie. Adjust expectations accordingly.
2. There was no Rodenberry Time Travel Twists in the plot. THANK HEAVENS!!!! (so stale, they should copyright it)
3. I still have a problem with the Romulan brows. They haven't been separated from the Vulcans long enough to 'evolve' such a thing. Don't get me started on those freakish things from Remus.
4. I really wish the writers would read the series of books about the ST universe. Many of the well-established details about the Romulan system were completely ignored. ie: in the books, the two planets are binary- hence the names Remus and Romulus. But in the movie, they're not. Grrrr. Details, people! Details! (PJ sure has spoiled me!)
5. I was hoping for a tougher baddie, someone in the same league as Q or the Borg. This guy was weeeeeak, but he was intriguing to look at.
6. The Romulan ship was darn cool (so was the new Enterprise) and I enjoyed the space battle.
7. Deanna finally got to do something significant! None of this "I sense pain.... suffering... < clings to Riker >". Yeah girl, on the offense!
8. Quasi-spoiler: The 'near-disaster-sparks-peace-and-understanding-between-old-enemies' thing has been done before. See Klingons.
Anyhoo, I'm going to sign off for the evening and try to finish a quilt before Christmas. Be well!
I think that would be really nice. I am very much looking forward to meeting (in RL) everyone I have met here. This whole thing (this thread, and the folks I've met here) has been a bright spot in my life. And I have had a very good life.
It had 1)a swooping fell-beast, 2) Faramir speaks, and 3) Theoden says "So it begins!" Ooooooh I can't wait!
I'll pop in when I can.
Good luck Corin. Everything will work out great and then it will finally be over and done with. I hope plenty of souls are brought to Christ through all of your hard work (and that of the others). Jewels for the crown, doncha know! ;)
See you soon!
Thanks John. I am rather happy about it myself! I'll have to pop in and make a quick report before I head out on Wednesday to see it again! :)
Oh the burden I bear! LOL!
I am a bit concerned that neither of them have popped in. Oh wait! Hair posted somethig from Rosie so that's OK. But where's Vim??!!!
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