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
-----------------------------------------
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.
So far as I know, that will depend on both the size of your laptop screen and on whether you zoom in. On mine, it does put a black strip at the top and bottom (just like it would on a TV), but doesn't really bother me. You're still probably better off attaching it to a TV for viewing all the way through.
As for laptop recommendations, my company uses IBM, Toshiba and Dell. I wouldn't recommend the Toshibas, though they're SUPPOSED to have a great recommendation. Ours have had various problems, though they DO take care of waranteed machines. The IBMs are wonderful but very pricey, the Dells have been all around good machines. I have a Dell, and haven't had any serious issues...yet.
Unlike the Gateway desktop I'm using at work, and which I WILL destroy one of the days...grrrrrrr!
C'mon now...keep holdin' out till November...don't leave me hangin'...that's a good smeagol...
IBM if you got alot of cake...otherwise, go with Dell...ours work great...
I've played a bootleg *.avi file on my laptop either widescreen (narrow horizontal strip) or fullscreen. I can play it on the TV by using an S adapter with RCA cables.
:) I have a problem with environmental policies made ....
1. with no supporting dataIt's a scientist thing.
2. with data that has not been independently verified
3. with falsified data.....I really hate this one!
My son's 11th birthday is September 11th and I got him the VHS LOTR and some mini CD's (LOTR-not sure what's on those), and the TTT poster. (He will be thrilled-at 10 years old he read the entire trilogy and is now re-reading it). I have to restrain myself from opening and playing the movie every night when I get home. Can't wait to see it again, and again, and again....
Yeah yeah...I get it...you smart scientist...g'nad dumb jarhead...I'm with yuh...
With our freedom and the prosperity comes the LEISURE time to worry about such things! The only folks in the Third World worrying about the environment are the UN or NGO folks who are paid to fret. The average African, Indian, or someone in any other poor country is just trying to get food on the table and water to the dwelling. Forget the oceans and the polluted air; they're trying to feed their families!
I agree Hair; bashing people over the head only makes them not want to listen to what you have to say.
Awww....I didn't mean it like that! :)
Data not worth darn unless someone else can verify it!
Didn't take offense, I got your immplication...my way of sayin your hurtin' my head...
No problem! :)
Duhhh....the point I meant to make is that I like to have some provable data/observations ...whaterver before making decisions on land-use policy. I just think that the private sector is better able to do this. If they don't, the value of their land goes down, bad publicity, and so forth. The government, on the other hand, seem to make decisions that benefit special interests without regard to how it affects the land and the people on/next to the land. And if the government policy results in...say...losing whole forests to forest fires...they have no consequences to pay. All you'll get from the gubmint is "sorry!"
Okay....I'm finished ranting now.
Signed,
Data Geek
Quiet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
