The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[JenB]

Um, no. The knife fights in Dune are much more what I'm aiming for. But, er, thanks for the thought...

[Corin Stormhands]

Just trying to help!

[JenB]

Suuure you are....

[Corin Stormhands]

How 'bout this?

[JenB]

Er. I think I'm not going to use that as inspiration, thanks.

Actually I'm ok with the knife scene now, I think, but the kid's inspirational speech needs work. (See, he kills the man who took his father's place as king/warleader so that he can make all the other clans unite to throw out the invaders... but he's seventeen years old so why should anyone follow him? ARGH! Fantasy writing is hard!)

[Corin Stormhands]

Well, I'm all out of ideas. Best of luck writing.

g'nite

[HairOfTheDog]

Article about the horses and trainers in LoTR!

http://www.horsecity.com/stories/010903/gen_lordofrings_HB.shtml

[HairOfTheDog]

Trying to remember who the horse people are.... see above article...

[Sam Cree]

I hesitate to ask, but would you mind elaborating on the virtues(?) of yew for bows. I think the trees are very pretty.

[Sam Cree]

"It looks like a pretty wicked double-handed kind a knife/sword, eh?"

I believe it could double nicely as a barbeque tool as well.

[osagebowman]

Bear: good eye and memory, I remember the scene well, guess I was mesmerized by the overall scene and forgot to focus on details, well, guess I'll just have to watch it again. :-)

I don't recall any other elf carrying a mamluke or sabre type blade, just Arwen. It was interesting to see the Rohimm short swords, looked almost like a Roman sword, shorter than I would have expected from a horse mounted people. Guess I have been accustomed to seeing sabres for cavalry and and broadswords etc. for infantry.

[Sam Cree]

I noticed that somewhere in disc 3, bureaucrats were (delightfully) compared to the ringwraiths. Was it Peter Jackson that did that?

[HairOfTheDog]

It was that one Tolkien scholar guy....

I don't remember his name... The one that went into the origin and meaning of the word wraith...

He said that the true nature of evil in the LoTR was the loss of free will, that by turning to evil they became servants of it, no longer powerful, but slaves to the machine, just bureaucrats.... or something like that!

[300winmag]

I believe it could double nicely as a barbeque tool as well.

ROFL! I knew I've seen those long handles somewhere, and you just put your finger on it!

[Sam Cree]

Yeah, that's right, Tom Shippey, I like that guy alot.

[Sam Cree]

"Yes, that's when they are up in the tower. Sam has found Frodo, after hearing him singing in reply...then finds him absolutely naked with his skin glowing red in the light of the fire.

I don't know if Hair is going to be able to live through it."

Hmmm, perhaps they need a similar scene with Arwen, or maybe Galadriel.

[osagebowman]

Sam: Yew has a lot going for it, works easily, has excellent 'cast' or elasticity, can be made in 'war bow' weights (100-125 lbs pull) that are able to handle a heavy arrow. Not much call for them now as mounted armoured knights are passe. But in both target and hunting weights are extremely handy. It is extremely slow growing and very few yews are suitable for bows, too many knots. 80 rings per inch is about right, only high altitude Pacific Northwest is suitable. Little if any remains in England or Europe. The sapwood is creamy white and the heartwood dark red, a striking color combination. Both are necessary for the bow to work right, the right combination of tension and compression strength. I'll post the names of a couple good books on the subject later on.

[Sam Cree]

Seems to me like yew also provides some sort of important medicine. Is it native to the Pacific northwest?

[HairOfTheDog]

As begged and pleaded for by 2J, I have posted the:

LoTR: Return of the King - Pictures, spy reports and spoilers thread (ongoing)

...So that we will have a place to start compiling spy reports and spoilers all in one place. I have already pinged the old Two Towers Spoilers Ping list to the thread. If you are not on that list and want to be, let me know! I will not ping people to spoilers unless they want to see them!

[SuziQ]

Seems to me like yew also provides some sort of important medicine.

I thought it was the source for Tamoxifen (sp) a breast cancer drug. My aunt had to take it (maybe still does) I think that's was it is. Y'all can surely correct me if I'm wrong, now!