• May 27, 2012

We Are Sorry John Hodgman Maybe Doesn’t Know Everything About the Hobbit World

by Ken Layne  9:46 am June 23, 2009

'I never thought this would happen to a regular guy like me ...'Author and personal-appliance salesman John Hodgman did a very witty “nerd hit” on so-called American President Barack Obama on Friday, but was it accurate, as far as the various classes and career paths of Hobbits? Today’s Email of the Day from “Madison” may answer this important question!

As a Wonkette watcher for some time now, but never before a commenter, I was forced to register today under the nickname “Tolkienista” in order to set right an egregious error in your posting of Hodgman’s video.

I would expect more from my Wonkette. In the past you have been quite precise with your hobbit-humor. But you reposted Hodgman’s video with NOT A WORD on his gross misstatement regarding the orders of hobbits.

They are Fallohide, Harfoot, and Stoor. Not Fallofide, Hardfoot, and Stoor, as Hodgman suggests. You have participated in helping Hodgman claim a nerd mantle he clearly no longer deserves. I believe a retraction is in order.

Yours,

An Elvish-speaker without a job

{ 98 comments }

Toonces June 23, 2009 at 9:49 am

Unemployed? I’m shocked!

Enturbulate June 23, 2009 at 9:49 am

Without a job!? Not possible.

imarmcandy June 23, 2009 at 9:51 am

How do you say “okaaay” in elvish?

ManchuCandidate June 23, 2009 at 9:51 am

Folks like this make Trekkies (I used to be one) feel socially well adjusted and normal.

Canuckledragger June 23, 2009 at 9:51 am

Thank Yahweh one of the most important issues facing us today has been resolved.

Mahousu June 23, 2009 at 9:51 am

[re=345081]Enturbulate[/re]: It’s all because of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Our military has been laying off all our Elvish speakers. What a disaster.

Carrie_Okie June 23, 2009 at 9:53 am

Am guessing both of Madison’s ‘rents speak fluent Klingon. Also.

Hopey dont play that game June 23, 2009 at 9:56 am

On behalf of girls and women everywhere I encourage people to rise up, much like the heroes of the US military, against the mouth rape of hobbits. Also.

Terry June 23, 2009 at 9:57 am

The letter writer dreams of a fantasy world where folks like him/her get laid.

Lorax June 23, 2009 at 9:57 am

Today, we are all Harfoots.

Manos: Hands of Fate June 23, 2009 at 9:59 am

“signing off from my mom’s basement”

Crow T. Robot June 23, 2009 at 10:00 am

Just to add a small nod of support for our letter writer: I was pissed that both Tom Bombadil & “the Scouring of the Shire” were left out of Peter Jackson’s otherwise impressive monstrosities.

Canmon (the Inadequate) June 23, 2009 at 10:03 am

Hodgman was using the Ent pronounciation.

norbizness June 23, 2009 at 10:03 am

Timothy Busfield and Robert Carradine could wipe the floor with these 21st century so-called nerds.

takes12no1 June 23, 2009 at 10:03 am

hey, give the Hodge a break. It’s hard to be funny after your boss takes half your liver.

WagTehGod June 23, 2009 at 10:03 am

If memory serves, Hardfoot was the porno name for one of the Hobbits. So he’s technically right. And unemployed. Also.

hobospacejunkie June 23, 2009 at 10:06 am

Did ‘Tolkienista’ ever stop to consider that Alpha Nerd and genius needler Hodgman purposely added the one letter onto the the one hobbit name precisely to drive simpleton LOTR obsessives like him/her/it up the proverbial wall?

charlesdegoal June 23, 2009 at 10:08 am

Madison accuses Hodgson of token Tolkienism

charlesdegoal June 23, 2009 at 10:09 am

Hodgman, I mean.

Monsieur Grumpe June 23, 2009 at 10:11 am

Dildo, Frito, Moxie, Pepsi and Spam are so proud.

nappyduggs June 23, 2009 at 10:13 am

Does this Middle Earther realize that he/she could be employed by McDonalds and be fed for FREE at break time?

Paterlanger June 23, 2009 at 10:16 am

[re=345102]hobospacejunkie[/re]: Dude, check-out the LOTR familiarity evident throughout the comments! Is Tolkienista obsessive or merely a fellow purveyor of expertly subtle snark?

hobospacejunkie June 23, 2009 at 10:19 am

[re=345099]norbizness[/re]: “Well, lets get those nerds!”

“Nerds!”

“Nerds!”

CrunchyKnee June 23, 2009 at 10:21 am

Tolkienista?!?!?! Shit, now ALL the good nicknames are taken, also too.

hobospacejunkie June 23, 2009 at 10:22 am

[re=345113]Paterlanger[/re]: I’m gonna bow out now. I’m in way over my head. Ain’t read the books nor stayed awake during the movies.

vitamins taken helmet on June 23, 2009 at 10:23 am

Uh, is all this hubbub ’cause of that stupid book with big-footed midgets smoking weed and eating 6 meals a day?

Sorry, I was never so bored that I had to prevent myself from eating my elbows by reading that one.

x111e7thst June 23, 2009 at 10:25 am

[re=345108]Monsieur Grumpe[/re]: I was going to write much the same thing but pity stayed my hand. “It’s a pity I’ve run out of bullets” I thought.

Come here a minute June 23, 2009 at 10:26 am

Tolkienista must be one of those gay elvish translators we’ve been hearing so much about.

President Beeblebrox June 23, 2009 at 10:27 am

Hodgman was too busy learning neurosurgery for his appearance on Battlestar Galactica this past spring to be bothered with such trivia as Hobbit phyla.

Grimnir June 23, 2009 at 10:28 am

Down boys, I don’t mock the biochemists when they bust out their fancy words for the contents of Viagra, don’t mock the guy who can name all the dwarves and the order in which they died in The Hobbit.

Plus, the Fellowship of the Ring without Tom Bombadil makes baby Jeebus angry.

SayItWithWookies June 23, 2009 at 10:30 am

I caught a minor pronunciation error in a listing of hobbits. Now I know exactly how the Robert Falcon Scott expedition felt, dying alone and half-crazed in the middle of nowhere.

PrairiePossum June 23, 2009 at 10:31 am

Governor Sanford – Stop fartin’ around emailin’ Wonkette and get your ass back to work.

watershed June 23, 2009 at 10:31 am

Also, the character of Tom Bombadil was sadly left out of the final cut of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Do you have any insights as to why this cinematic travesty was allowed to occur?

Signed,
Madison Proudfoot, Lothlorian Gazette

proudgrampa June 23, 2009 at 10:34 am

What’s Elvish for “Who Cares?”

Naked Bunny with a Whip June 23, 2009 at 10:37 am

Mock us furries for our perverted and frequently illegal sex lives, but at least we’re gettin’ some occasionally.

Monsieur Grumpe June 23, 2009 at 10:39 am

[re=345120]x111e7thst[/re]:
I think I kept my copy. I’ll have to read it again.

“Toes, I love hairy toes,” she moaned, forcing him down on the silvered carpet. Her tiny pink toes caressed the luxuriant fur of his instep while Frito’s nose sought out the warmth of her precious elf-navel.

Nerd porn.

ProfessorJukes June 23, 2009 at 10:40 am

[re=345085]Canuckledragger[/re]: That would be “Thank Eru Illuvatar”. Please.

McDuff June 23, 2009 at 10:41 am

Types of hobbits? Bah! A true nerd would name the six flavors of quarks and day dream of a naked Daryl Hannah while doing so.

Baseproduct June 23, 2009 at 10:41 am

Why all the “I bet she never gets laid” comments? She’s a geek girl- they’re few and far between. So she has her pick of men who have no idea how to satisfy her.

TGY June 23, 2009 at 10:43 am

“My fellow boggies,” he said, “my fellow Poops and Peristalts, Barrelgutts and Hangbellies, Needlepoints, Liverflaps, and Nosethingers.” (“Nosefingers!” corrected an irate drunk, who, true to his family name, had it jammed into his nostril to the fourth joint.)

-Bored of the Rings

jagorev June 23, 2009 at 10:45 am

WHEN WILL NOOBAMA DENOUNCE AND REJECT JOHN HODGMAN?

hobospacejunkie June 23, 2009 at 10:46 am

[re=345149]Baseproduct[/re]: Pics plz

Alldat June 23, 2009 at 10:47 am

[re=345130]watershed[/re]: Lothlórien Gazette

/spelling fixed

JamesMichaelCurley June 23, 2009 at 10:48 am

[re=345119]vitamins taken helmet on[/re]: I read the Hobbit and the trilogy in Viet Nam. After three weeks in Khe San, I thought I was in Mordor. After four weeks, you read anything; the label on your boots, the wrappers on C-Rations ( which provide a wealth of information on the process of masticating had hiding the evidence.)

shortsshortsshorts June 23, 2009 at 10:49 am

There is only one Elvis.

nappyduggs June 23, 2009 at 10:50 am

[re=345152]TGY[/re]: I laughed until my chest seized up. Thank you.

DoktorZoom June 23, 2009 at 10:51 am

This is highly offensive to me, as I live just FOUR BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE SHIRE.

bitchincamaro June 23, 2009 at 10:53 am

There’s orange Dorito dust all over my monitor after that post. And I don’t even eat them!

suchsweetthunder June 23, 2009 at 10:53 am

Sanford, is that you?

Roll Fish June 23, 2009 at 10:56 am

gosh HOW COULD YOU Wonkette you just went ahead and posted this video and said NOTHING about this nerd’s nerdy nerd thing that was a slight mispronunciation that a few people might have noticed though you probably weren’t in that crowd because really what the hell.

JadedDIssonance June 23, 2009 at 11:01 am

and here I thought it was the nerds who were employable.

I’ll be removing NERDZ R AWESOM G33KS SUCK bumpersticker today

vitamins taken helmet on June 23, 2009 at 11:08 am

[re=345159]JamesMichaelCurley[/re]: That can only be excused if you had previously read Series 1 through Series 930 Collections of the Official Department of the Army Administrative Publications. Otherwise, you gave in too soon to the temptation of pulp fiction!

AnnieGetYourFun June 23, 2009 at 11:12 am

[re=345174]Roll Fish[/re]: I was thinking that perhaps it’s just John talking in an extra nerdy accent – you know, with the stuffed up nose that causes n’s to turn into d’s. Although that still makes no sense.

sublicon June 23, 2009 at 11:14 am

dude prolly got nervous in the delivery and messed it up . . whatever yo

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 11:17 am

[re=345088]Carrie_Okie[/re]: No, they think I’m weird too.

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 11:19 am

[re=345152]TGY[/re]: Good old Legolam!

NopantsMcGee June 23, 2009 at 11:19 am

Oh, for heaven’s sake. It’s “Elven Speaker” not “Elvish Speaker”. No wonder he doesn’t have a job. Nerd.

Mithrandir in ’12!

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 11:21 am

[re=345130]watershed[/re]: That one’s a tragedy, really. But time constraints, you know. I don’t begrudge the loss.

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 11:24 am

[re=345194]NopantsMcGee[/re]: That’s where your wrong. “Elven” is an optional adjectival, used for “elven blade” or “elven home.” But it is by no means the word for a language. Although, to be precise, “Elvish” is something of a misnomer. Quenya-Sindarin is much more precise, and even that construction obscures the distinction between Quenya as a language of the Elves of Valinor and a private language of the Noldorin remnant in Middle-Earth and Sindarin as the language of Elu Thingol’s Grey Elves of Beleriand.

Also, I am totally with you. Tharkûn the Thaumaturge for President!

H_Tuttle June 23, 2009 at 11:28 am

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” LOTR

NopantsMcGee June 23, 2009 at 11:31 am

[re=345203]Tolkienista[/re]: I submit to your superior nerdly knowledge.

dijetlo June 23, 2009 at 11:35 am

[re=345098]Canmon (the Inadequate)[/re]: Don’t blame the Ents, they just picked the pronunciations up from Elrond. Like most of the worlds calamities, this one can be laid on the doorstep of those fucking surrender monkeys, the elves.
As if there was ever a doubt.

mush June 23, 2009 at 11:35 am

You guys got pwned by a freakin’ Hobbit Master!

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 11:36 am

[re=345205]H_Tuttle[/re]: Sorry, still puzzling that out to see if it comes to a compliment. [re=345208]NopantsMcGee[/re]: Thanks, but submission is so old-fashioned. Only serves to continue buttressing improper power relationships.

Norbert June 23, 2009 at 11:37 am

[re=345203]Tolkienista[/re]: it’s getting HAWT in here

Double Scorpion June 23, 2009 at 11:39 am

[re=345203]Tolkienista[/re]: Sadly, you have more knowledge than a Paultard.

proudgrampa June 23, 2009 at 12:03 pm

[re=345219]Double Scorpion[/re]: People who try to be Walking Encyclopedias should remember that reference books never get taken out…

Serious June 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Ugh he thinks that is a funny letter

Serious June 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Er, she. WHOEVER.

S.Luggo June 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm

I’m learning so much.

cal June 23, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Paging Elwyn Tinklenberg!

zenferret June 23, 2009 at 12:13 pm

I thought they only fired gay Elvish translators?

The Legend of TeaBagger Vance June 23, 2009 at 12:14 pm

I haven’t read LOTR for FIVE AND A HALF YEARS, ALLEN

may the light of Valar protect you.

Alaska Girl June 23, 2009 at 12:17 pm

This is taking multiculturalism waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too far.

The Legend of TeaBagger Vance June 23, 2009 at 12:19 pm

It’s a dangerous business, Tolkienista, going out of your mother’s basement. You step into the light of day, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing what orgy of furries you might be swept off to.

OzoneTom June 23, 2009 at 12:22 pm

[re=345142]Monsieur Grumpe[/re]: [re=345120]x111e7thst[/re]: And mustn’t forget Arrowshirt and Goodgulf…

Dashboard_Buddha June 23, 2009 at 12:22 pm

WFT? Fallohide, Harfoot, and Stoor is the firm my lawyer works for.

norbizness June 23, 2009 at 12:25 pm

As a survivor of the Great Outcast Wars of the mid-80s, let me the first to say fuck the nerds, fuck the geeks, fuck the spazzes, long live the dweebs.

Holding Out for a Hero June 23, 2009 at 12:51 pm

Tolkienista, have you met LIZ Becton?

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 12:52 pm

[re=345270]zenferret[/re]: something like that.

thefrontpage June 23, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Wait–John Hodgman is dating Liz Becton?

I thought I was dating Liz Becton!

Liz Becton, I love you! You’re beautiful! You’re one of the nicest, most thoughtful, most insightful, most introspective women in the world! You write memos like Shakespeare!

I love you, Liz Becton!

Come back to the Hill, Liz Becton, all is forgiven!

Lascauxcaveman June 23, 2009 at 1:01 pm

[re=345214]Norbert[/re]: it’s getting HAWT in here

Yah, I bet this Tolkienista chick looks just like that band-camp-nerd girl in “American Pie,” so yeah.

HOTT.

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 1:19 pm

[re=345335]Lascauxcaveman[/re]: Yes, yes, keep thinking that and I shall keep detesting “Splash.” Curses on the gender of that damn mermaid.

NopantsMcGee June 23, 2009 at 1:25 pm

[re=345353]Tolkienista[/re]: “Thanks, but submission is so old-fashioned. Only serves to continue buttressing improper power relationships.”

You said…’butt’….heheheheheh

earnestcivilservant June 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm

[re=345194]NopantsMcGee[/re]: “There are no words in Elvish, Entish or the tongues of men to describe such treachery.”

Mithrandir ’12. Also.

Paterlanger June 23, 2009 at 1:31 pm

[re=345197]Tolkienista[/re]: Tom Bombadil is to LOTR what the Book of Job is to the Bible…a brief interlude that demonstrates the mortifying absurdity of the rest of the story. Ultimately God could give a fuck about Job but “hey, Job, if it’s kids you like, have some more, no problem.” Tom just offers the Hobbits tea and cakes then send them to their deaths.

Lionel Hutz Esq. June 23, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Give poor Tolkienista a break. Can you imagine what your life would be like if your parents named you after a Daryl Hannah character.

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 1:37 pm

[re=345363]Paterlanger[/re]: Yes dear. [re=345366]Lionel Hutz Esq.[/re]: Preach it! [re=345357]NopantsMcGee[/re]: I thought it was appropriate for someone with no pants.

Youstonedorjuststupid? June 23, 2009 at 1:39 pm

I would just like to take a moment to point out another inaccuracy, in this case concerning Mr. Hodgman’s three part question. In reference to “The Water of Life” to be technically correct it comes from the drowning of a juvenile sand worm, not just any old sand worm.

I’m not sayin, I’m just sayin.

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 1:45 pm

[re=345370]Youstonedorjuststupid?[/re]: Good to know. Dune was never my specialty.

jbd June 23, 2009 at 1:53 pm

[re=345194]NopantsMcGee[/re]: Olorin 4 evah.

[re=345367]Tolkienista[/re]: I recited the Narn from memory starting with the Nirnaeth and ending with Hurin delivering the Nauglamir and only skipping Mim because that part is boring the other night and still got laid. There is still hope.

Adolf Bachmann June 23, 2009 at 2:39 pm

In Middle Earth, a Hodgman is a squat, bandy-legged and myopic servant of Sauron who undermines the forces of good by subtly mispronouncing their names. His insidious malapropisms led to the fall of kingdom of Benis and near ruin for the people of the Vagima valley, in the realm of Pudenba. He calls Ents “Aints,” Rohirrim “Brohirrim,” Gondor “Gondork,” and thinks L. Rond is the master of the Last Homo House.

NopantsMcGee June 23, 2009 at 3:28 pm

I am suprised the eternal battle over the correct plural of the surname ‘Proudfoot’ hasn’t consumed the comments section yet.

Or is there politics happening somewhere I should be reading about?

guerilla-nation June 23, 2009 at 3:30 pm

Glad to see your Paultard readership hasn’t fallen off …

ZorinZorin June 23, 2009 at 4:29 pm

DELICIOUS HOBBITSES! I WILL EAT THEM ALL, ESPECIALLY THE ORDER OF HODGEMANSES!!!

jasper f. krone June 23, 2009 at 4:35 pm

Is there any chance that Tolkienista is actually c*****wolf, back from the grave?

CollegeStudent June 23, 2009 at 4:48 pm

[re=345108]Monsieur Grumpe[/re]: What about SamWise Ganja?

Tolkienista June 23, 2009 at 8:24 pm

[re=345383]jbd[/re]: That’s pretty awesome. A man after my own heart. But the part with Mim actually has some interesting postcolonial overtones for anyone that eventually wants to turn it into a doctoral thesis. Focus specifically on the parts where Mim complains about the elves changing the names of everything once they moved into the territory occupied by others.

Also, re: [re=345536]guerilla-nation[/re], I took much of this comment section with good humor, but being called a follower of John Galt’s avatar is a bridge too far.

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