Comments on: The Shire - Oregon Style

The Shire - Oregon Style

jonson — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 19:51:20 -0800

Attention Tolkien Fans: if this obscure recording of JRR reading (and signing) The Lord of The Rings doesn't quench your lust for all things Middle Earth, then perhaps you should consider buying a home in The Shire, a new real estate development in Bend Oregon (which oddly seems to not feature Hobbit holes, but rather looks instead like Bree, the human village nearest the Shire).

By: jonson

jonson — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 19:52:35 -0800

Truth be told, I think the developers just mean "Shire" in the quaint British "Ye Olde Village" meaning, but there's no denying the Celtic influence in their reference drawings. Now if the homes really WERE tunnelled out holes in the hillside, then maybe I'd consider it.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:07:19 -0800

no, jonson, they mean shire, as in hobbitland ... (click the very last picture on the bottom, which is captioned "this is hobbit hole #1") i am looking forward to hearing tolkien read i'm horrified at the housing ...

By: facetious

facetious — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:11:40 -0800

I checked out the part where he signed the LOTR but it was *booooring*. ASL just doesn't translate well to audio. *Badum!* That is my joke, I hope you enjoyed it.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:15:12 -0800

Bend is on the east slope of the Cascades--lovely but pretty arid, Ponderosa pine country with big views. The Shire it ain't.

By: kenko

kenko — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:21:57 -0800

I thought Bree was actually in the Shire.

By: zennie

zennie — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:23:40 -0800

Worth listening just to hear Tolkien say "poh-tay-toes." Thanks, jonson.

By: jonson

jonson — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:24:53 -0800

kenko - I bet you're right, actually.

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 21:44:00 -0800

No, Bree is just east of the Shire

By: Nelson

Nelson — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:10:29 -0800

Yeah, Bree is just east of the Shire. Idjit! (Bree in the Shire. snort snort.)

By: kaemaril

kaemaril — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 01:21:09 -0800

Nope, sorry, waaayyy too olde worlde twee for me.

By: Mur

Mur — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 02:25:54 -0800

My friends and I have been dreaming of a retirement community where we can all live, and play board games until we croak. Hmm ...

By: Hildegarde

Hildegarde — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:07:12 -0800

*scoffs* If Bree were in the Shire, MEN would live in the Shire, and that's just not right, now is it.

By: jb

jb — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 05:18:07 -0800

No self respecting hobbit would live in such square houses. Straight walls indeed!

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:19:56 -0800

I grew up in a community called "Hobbit's Glen" in Columbia, Maryland. We lived on Tooks Way. It was built in the late 1970s. It was very nice but the Hobbit analogy ended with the street names unfortunately, the houses at the Shire development look cool.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:42:04 -0800

Something about the 10ft ceilings tells me this might not be authentic.

By: jonson

jonson — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 07:17:25 -0800

This is much more authentic, and not surprisingly, made by an individual out for his own use.

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 08:43:35 -0800

Anybody see the prices on those bablies? Upwards of 1/2 mil.

By: crepeMyrtle

crepeMyrtle — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:38:00 -0800

There does appear to be a round-doored Hobbit hole type design - in the funpics section mentioned above: third column, 7th row ...

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:50:48 -0800

Oh dear. As an English person with an American wife who has family living in Bend who have a habit of informing me of any and all "Englishy" things they see as a sort of misplaced way of making me feel at home this can only bring bad things...

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:12:09 -0800

I really wish I'd known about the Shire of Bend when I posted this.

By: deborah

deborah — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:52:18 -0800

Someone *cough* jonson *cough* should work up a post concentrated on those ecohomes. Very interesting!

By: my homunculus is drowning

my homunculus is drowning — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:17:01 -0800

what's up with the CGI looking pictures in the Shire and the link Jonson posted?

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:17:50 -0800

Where house is Sauron's?

By: diddlegnome

diddlegnome — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:50:34 -0800

"This is the house of Boromir." Click No. 26, and rejoice that this son of Gondor apparently has been resurrected in scenic Central Oregon! And one of his neighbors is grumpy old Everard Proudfoot (No. 23). And homunculus, apparently Sauron hasn't moved to The Shire, but No. 17 belongs to his lackey Saruman. Y'know, I used to love the Bend area, but that was about 15 years ago. If these places are any indication, I'm thinking I might not be so crazy about it today.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 19:56:41 -0800

that's quite an indictment coming from someone named "diddlegnome."

By: nomisxid

nomisxid — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:41:26 -0800

They have a page specifically mentioning they built some hobbit holes, but only for storage/machinery, yet then alludes to the idea that someone does get to live in one of them... "The Shire contains mystery from the past in several Hobbit dwellings. These unique features imbedded in the stone serpentine garden walls of The Shire serve to house the machinery and grounds keeping tools to maintain the common areas of The Shire. But from time to time you might swear you would catch a glimpse of a little person entering his humble dwellings---or was it just your imagination?. Nash McDonald aka The Shire's own, is shown here peaking out of his new home. . . " hobbits