The New Hobbit Hole

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole
Concerning Hobbits
The New Hobbit Chronicles

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.

[NewCenturions]

That's a good looking dog.

[HairOfTheDog]

She was.... she is just so old now. She is nearing the end of her days I think. Logan the Labrador is old too, 16... I will lose them both this year I think. But they have had good dog lives.

[NewCenturions]

My goodness! They both have had VERY long lives - only hope my dog makes it that long. (what do you feed them?)

[HairOfTheDog]

Most of their lives they ate Iams Eukanuba. I switched a couple years ago to a feed store brand that is also all beef/chicken and rice, no unidentified animal bydroducts. But only dry food up until now. Just today, I am adding in a good quality Beef canned food to Zulu's and the red cell to try to give her a boost. Logan is doing fine.

I am a careful label reader for emotional reasons. Eukanuba and the brand I buy now contain no animal products that do not identify the animal used. If it says Beef, its beef. If it says animal, it is horsemeat. I am horrified by the horsemeat industry. Not that horses aren't nutritious, but because the animals they buy have given a lifetime of service to man and were been betrayed at the end to a slaughter house. I hate the sellers as much as the buyers. But I digress!

[NewCenturions]

Yikes! I guess I'm an unwitting horsemeat purchaser. When I was working full time, my dog got Iams. Since I went to part-timer, he gets the dry (mostly cornmeal) junk. Sometimes I have to coax him by mixing in a little scrambled egg or oatmeal. I hope I'm not killing him with the people food/cheapo dog food combo. Occasionally, he mixes in some fresh squirrel on his own.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

I have trouble remembering who here has children and who doesn't, so I apologize if I missed anyone.

I have a question:

Have any of you, during yours (or your wife's) pregnancies, ever experienced low HCG levels?

We got the initial bloodwork back from Mrs. Hamfist's doctor (Friday), and he said her HCG levels were a bit on the low side (72). We went again today and had the same bloodwork done, and her levels did go up, slightly (100). They want us to go back on Tuesday to see how the numbers have climbed...ideally they're supposed to double every few days.

Now, they're not quite positive how far along she is, but we're estimating about 3 weeks. While low numbers like this aren't unheard of, it still must be enough for the doctor to be concerned. The bottom line is, they just don't know anything substantial, and it's too early to do an ultrasound. It could be a tubal pregnancy, which will ultimately fail, or it could just be a fluke. We just don't know, and this whole "grey-area" mentality is killing us.

For those of you who don't know, this was a hard-won pregnancy...2 years in the making. A number of surgeries, and a lot of frustration. We finally get a positive, and now it may or may not carry to term.

Any ideas/input/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[HairOfTheDog]

Most people are unwitting horsemeat purchasers... they hide it intentionally. They do have to be accurate, I think, if they do name the kind of meat, as well as I can tell. If your dog is doing well on the mixed diet and grocery stores brands, there is no health reason to switch. (my reasons are emotional, as I said). Beef and Chicken are more expensive. I am not one that is opposed to table scraps as a treat, and eggs are great for them. I will often break an egg (raw) into my dog's dishes and mix that in with kibble for a treat, they love it.

I think dogs, coming from wolves and coyotes, foxes and such, have the digestive system of a scavenger as much as a predator. They can survive on whatever they find, and I don't think dogs are more complex.

I don't think there is a digestive system in the world that can digest corn usefully, but it fills them up and binds the kibble together, and all the brands have some. I try to find foods where it is not the first or second ingredient, as I suspect it goes through their systems rather unchanged! ;~D

Check out the prices and labels of some of the feed and farm supply dog foods. You might find prices there that are as good as the grocery store brands. They have the cheap stuff too, but they also likely carry some good quality Beef Chicken or Lamb foods at a price that is much better than Iams.

[HairOfTheDog]

Prayers that everything is OK with you, your wife, and the baby Seamus. I trust someone here will know about it.

[NewCenturions]

Thanks for the dog food advice. We have no shortage of feed stores around here (conversely, the nearest movie theater is 60 miles away in another county!) My dog's breeder just said "feed him the good stuff" but I'm afraid his stomach must fit into my current budget. If that "free admission" movie ticket that came inside the extended version LOTR is valid, I will use the money I save to splurge on a good kibble.

[osagebowman]

Hair, great looking dog, we were wondering, what breed is she? Interesting name as well, avionics or movie related?

[2Jedismom]

Hair, whenever Terra (my greyhound) was had infected gums (a common problem with track dogs...they don't do tooth care at all and just feed them soft food), I would have to give her antibiotics which always gave her the runs. I gave her plain yogurt and a couple of heaps of canned pumpkin in with her food and it she loved it too...did her a world of good.

I'm still in Midland. Saw my niece be a mouse in the Nutcracker and she was fabulous.

[HairOfTheDog]

She's a cocker mix mutt. Maybe a bit of Beagle. She showed up on a Thanksgiving Day in the rain... hungry and frightened... was starved and wanted our food offering, but it took a while to catch her. A very sad case indeed. We didn't know where she came from. Once cleaned up and fed, she fell asleep on my lap, and my Dad said, "well, looks like she has a home after all". I took her to back school with me after break, and she has been with me ever since.

She was a better hunter than my well-bred labrador (I bought him later from a kennel as an adult dog). She found and scared up all the birds. She hunted hard, he walked around and peed on stuff. He didn't "turn on" until the bird was up and the shot was fired. They were a great team on pheasant. She would hunt them up, and Logan would bring them back. The picture of the dogs with a pheasant on my profile page (with the Hillary head) was one of the ones they got together. They are good friends.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hullo 2J in Midland! I never would have thought of the pumpkin filling! - They like most anything don't they? Mine even like a glop of corn oil or lard on their food. I fed that to Logan when I was showing him. It put a nice shine in his coat!

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh - and her name is Aviation-related.... I was in flight school at the time!

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Got my tickets to TTT on Fandango today. I'm going to the noon show next Saturday in Lacey.

I heard (by lurking around here) that you'd got your tickets on Fandango. This is the first time I'd done that too. We'll see how it goes, we'll probably go out and pick them up some time during the week.

[HairOfTheDog]

Very good! - Maybe I will see you there! ;~D

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Are you going to that show???

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't know! ;~D - The only shows I have tickets for are Tues. midnight and Wed. night. But I will be going many other times if I behave the way I did last time around!

[JenB]

Hi. Long day here but I now have money for Christmas shopping tomorrow night. What's up with all of you guys here?

[Scott from the Left Coast]

ROFL!

I suspect you will. My prediction is that this movie will be considered the greatest action/adventure movie of all time. Greater than Ben Hur, Spartacus, Braveheart, The Empire Strikes Back, Gladiator -- all of them (and I did love Braveheart!).

None of those others had the depth of story to work with. TTT is the perfect segment of the trilogy for a movie presentation.