I need a LOTR quote - anyone near a copy or have it memorized…It’s during Bilbo’s birthday speech where he says something along the lines of …“I know less than half of you more then half the amount you deserve…”
Or something like that! Damn I need the quote? Anyone know it?
“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.”
2 minutes? Nope, no geeks here. 
I would have come in at a respectable 7 minutes!
– IG
I’m going to try and bring this into a board type meeting this afternoon, I’ll check back and tell you how it went.
THANKS A BUNCH!!! 
The line after that is what always cracked me up.
As I remember it, the hobbits just kind of sat there wondering if it was an insult. After a pause, they decided to break into applause. At least that’s how I remember it.
Damn, I went to lunch at the wrong time. 
Phlosphr, I am looking forward to hearing how it is received.
Jim
A smattering of applause, but mostly they sit there trying to work it out. Bilbo continues with his speech before they can get it quite worked out. As I recall.
It is an insult right? I still get a little confused by it sometimes.
Yes, it was cautiously interpreted as a subtle insult. The guests also end up a little “grossed out”, so to speak.
Depends on how you think Bilbo felt about you. It was very insulting to the Sackville-Baggins, but not insulting at all to the ‘small’ legion of younger Hobbits that liked the old Baggins. It was also not insulting to those that were sure that others could only like them, as they would “know” that Bilbo was talking about others not them. It was far more subtle than a mere insult.
Jim
To clarify, the only insult in it is that he is specifically stating that he dislikes some people, some of them undeservedly.
Tee hee, snort! [/geeky giggle]
That really should be “FEWER than half of you”, shouldn’t it?
Very clever, robardin.
Well I got a few good laughs, I tweeked it slightly to accomodate my meaning in the meeting, but it went well.
Instead of the original : “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.”
I said to complete strangers who I am hopiong to get a grant from:
“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; but I like more than half of you half as well as you deserve.” They chuckled and in the end I got the go-ahead with the project I was seeking. Meaning I got the grant.
They probably figured that anyone clever enough to paraphrase Bilbo was worthy.
ProudFEET!
Oh. Wrong thread. Sorry.
That looks like the right post for this thread. What thread were you looking for?
Jim
Wait, so you admitted that you don’t appreciate a majority of the audience you were pitching to, and they approved your project anyway?
Easy crowd…
But how did they react when you vanished at the end of the pitch? ::wide-eyed innocent smiley::