Have you ever played "Kill this Thread?" You say you're against all forms of killing? I SO agree…uh, except for this game. Uh, and except for when I find a spider on my bathroom floor. Okay, back on topic.
Kill this thread works like this:
1. Comment on this post.
2. Be the last person to post a comment before the thread "Dies."
How does the thread die? Easy, all that has to happen is for NO ONE to post a comment for one single day. Every time you post a comment, you prolong the thread's life 24 more hours and put yourself in the potential winner's seat!
So, say Biff posts a comment at 3pm today. If no one posts another comment by 3pm tomorrow, then Biff wins the prize. But, if Zelda posts a comment at 2:59pm tomorrow, BOOM, the thread lives on 24 more hours.
Now I've seen this done a number of ways, but one thing I hate is that the comments posted are too quick and very boring. So I'm adding one more REQUIREMENT:
3. Make your comment something meaningful. Give us one of your favorite quotes. Tell us why you like it. Give us something from God's word to munch on. Talk about your hopes and dreams. Encourage someone you care about. Talk about a new band you "discovered." Tell people why they should buy my books--you know, anything meaningful like that! :-D
Oh, and what's the prize? How about a PreRelease Advanced Reader Copy of Book 2 of the Berinfell Prophecies series: Venom and Song--autographed by BOTH authors (CH and Me!)
Sound good?
Post away! Kill this Thread!
1,749 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1001 – 1200 of 1749 Newer› Newest»Bah! If anyone thinks this thread will ever die...remember that Squeaks has eyes on this post forever and ever and if anything suggests death I’m going to be sniffing my way to the finish line! (err...that did sound a bit morbid...don’t give me that look okay, I’m not morbid, I just thought the image of sniffing was adorable. Besides, that’s what squirrels do...they sniff, at least the squirrels I see sniff). Well chums, remember you’re not the only ones here! Squeaks is always watching. [note: if you ask me a question please ask on my blog because I won’t answer you on here, I’m too busy to write a thousand responses]
Signed with Fervour...the one and only,
Squeaks.
1,000th comment?? Cool! I hope its me!
My quote for the day (my sister accuses my often of doing the same)- Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
daughteroflight
WOW I think we might be at 1000!!! thats a lot of comments!!!
ok my meaningful piece of the day. Mr. Batson sir PLEASE write more books!!!!!!:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
@ Nathaniel: You want something to read? :) Oh, you shouldn't have said that! Now I'm going to post a very long post and you're probably going to read it. And I hope it's up to your standard of "meaningful".
For those of you who are wondering, this is the second chapter in the first book of "The Star Chronicles". The book is titled "Eldrei" and the chapter is titled "Shadow's Threat". Enjoy! :)
Dark dreams hovered on the edge of Tibain’s consciousness. Shadows danced in his mind, twisting and untwisting like tendrils of a fire’s smoke. As sleep took him in its clutches, the shadows grew claws and fangs, pursuing him through the dark and vacant corridors of forgotten dreams.
He ran.
The tunnels twisted before him like the coils of a snake, treacherous passageways linking consciousness and unconsciousness. Red eyes darted around a corner. A set of gleaming teeth snapped at him from an empty doorframe. Claws snatched at his clothing accompanied by eerie wails.
Go away!
Tibain darted through another doorway and up a deserted flight of stairs. The shadows raced after him like wolves on the scent of blood. He ducked through a low recess in a crumbling stone wall and found himself standing on a high cliff. Below him, a raging sea licked hungrily at the eroding earth and sharp rocks jutted up from the waves like dragons’ teeth. He could hear the calls of the shades behind him.
“Arrrooooooh!”
Hounds of death.
Is that it then? Am I just going to die here? The question burned its way through his mind. There’s no other way out; none but down, and that’s not a way at all!
He looked over the edge of the cliff. The sea looked a frigid grave, waves opening to except him and then crashing down again as if to seal his doom. Voices called from the waves… “Come! There is still time; you can escape them! Jump now; we will catch you. Jump or you’ll be torn apart!” Tibain imagined he saw clawed fingers reaching up out of the water, beckoning frantically to him. “You must jump or die!”
“Arrrooooooh!”
He looked behind. The wolves paced the cliff top, monsters of shade and shadow. Their flaming eyes glowed like molten coals and tongues of flame licked about their maws.
“Only water can quench flame,” called the waves. “We can help you!” The clawed fingers were growing. They no longer looked like fingers; now they were spiked tentacles swaying in the wind of a tempest.
Tibain backed away from the cliff. “No!” he cried. He could hear the shadow-wolves padded paws slapping against the stone. Very soon they would be on him; he could almost feel their blackened teeth ripping his flesh from his bones.
The waves grew larger, smashing the cliff with such ferocity that the ground shook and swayed. “Then you have chosen death!” The tentacles shot over the cliff’s edge and seized Tibain about the waist. He struggled against them, but his efforts were in vain. They tossed him through the air as if he weighed nothing at all. Each time he landed, new pain lanced through his body inflicted by the tentacles’ monstrous spikes.
“Arrrooooooh!”
The wolves stood on the cliff side above him, watching, their red eyes gleaming with anger in the sullen dark. They paced, eying him hungrily and snarling, but they wouldn’t touch the water…
And then darkness.
Tibain closed his eyes and opened them again, but there was no change. It was frigid cold. He curled up to keep himself warm, and discovered that he was floating. There was no bottom to the darkness, nor was there a top or walls; it was infinity.
And in infinity, red, fiery eyes stared at him like the gates of death.
Tibain jolted upright in bed, his heart leaping in his chest. Moonlight filtered through the cracks of his shutters throwing shadows on the walls, but these were normal shadows and he knew they wouldn’t hurt him. He breathed, allowing his heart to calm.
It was just a dream! I can hardly believe it…
Something moved outside his window. A shadow blocked the light, throwing his room in total black. The air grew strangely chill. His heart leapt to his throat again.
What is that?!
Then the moment passed. The shadow slipped beyond the window, allowing light to sift in again. The air warmed.
Keeping his movements as silent as possible, Tibain slid a dagger out from under his mattress and slipped from beneath his covers. The floor was cold on his bare feet; he ignored it, stepping over to the window and drawing the shutters open a crack.
Outside the night was black. Clouds scuttled across the sky, hiding the stars from view. The moon’s ghostly light shone through them, piercing them with silver. The land lay beneath it, cast in a spectral glow.
A Dark figure stood in the yard. Tibain figured it to be several feet taller than Dakore and it was completely black. Shadows darkened the ground around it and no moonlight fell where they were. No moonlight fell on the figure either; it repelled the light like an oil-skin repels water. The shadows stretched towards it, eerie fingers reaching. Tibain shivered.
The figure turned, eyes searching the night for something. Its gaze landed on the house. Tibain gasped.
It’s eyes glowed red!
My dream!
He slammed the shutters closed and tried to breath, but he could feel its eyes on him even through the shutters. It knows I’m here! A probe of fear stabbed Tibain’s mind. In a flash of remembrance, he felt himself thrown high in the air on a tempest wind. Red eyes glowed at him from above, and below, long, spiked tentacles groped for his mangled body.
We have to get out!
Tibain hurried over to Dakore’s bed and shook him roughly by the shoulders. “Wake up,” he whispered. The words came out in a harsh rasp. “Dakore, wake up!” Dakore shot up in bed, dagger in hand. At the sight of Tibain, his hand lowered.
“What is it?” he asked, rubbing his hands over his face.
“There’s something in the yard.”
Dakore sighed and stifled a yawn. “It’s probably just an animal, Tibain. You should try and sleep.”
Tibain grasped the man’s hand with all his strength. “Trust me, this is no animal!” His voice trembled.
Dakore glanced up at him. “Then it is a man?”
Tibain shook his head. His eyes darted to the window and back. “It’s not a man. I don’t know what it is… but it’s evil. I knew when it looked at me.”
Dakore growled and thrust his legs out of bed, shoving them into his boots. He gripped the dagger tightly in one hand as he strode towards the window. Cracking the shutter open, he peered into the gloom beyond.
Tibain waited, breath caught in his throat.
“Arghah,” Dakore cursed, and banged the shutter closed again. He grabbed Tibain by the hand and hurried him out of the room. Tibain listened to his dark mutters as they went.
“I should have gotten word before this. How on earth did they find us? They’re getting too close… way too close. Curse me for not watching more carefully!”
They burst into Arien’s room without knocking. She was sleeping soundly in her bed. Dakore thrust a hand over her mouth and yanked her up. She stumbled to her feet trying to scream.
“Stop that!” Dakore hissed in her ear. She stopped struggling, eyes wide with fear. Dakore motioned with a finger for her to stay silent and pulled his hand away from her mouth.
“No noise,” he whispered, “None at all. We’re leaving. Now.” He crept to her window, looked out, and came back to them. His dark eyes darted nervously about the room, searching every corner, every shadow. With a glance back at the window, he motioned for them to follow and crept out.
“What is going on?” Arien hissed at Tibain. “Why are we leaving?”
“Don’t ask; just hurry!” He yanked her arm, pulling her towards the door.
Dakore waited for them by the back entrance, his dark form pressed flat against the frame of the door as he peered out through a narrow crack. A sack swung from one shoulder; it looked sorely empty. His sword was belted around his waist and in one hand he had Tibain’s bow and quiver.
Tibain reached out and touched him on the arm. Dakore spun around, wrenching the hand away, then stopped when he saw who it was.
“Don’t do that!” he hissed, “I’m jumpy enough as it is!” He thrust Tibain’s weapons at him and turned back to the crack. “They’re not around this side of the house yet so, when I tell you, we’re going to make for the field. You’re to stay behind me at all times! We don’t know what else is out there; they could have brought hounds with them, for all we know. Let’s hope they didn’t; we’re dead, otherwise.”
“What are they?” Arien asked.
Dakore didn’t answer. He slid the door open until he could fit through, and crept out.
Tibain followed Dakore through the narrow opening and out into the night. He felt a tug on his hand as Arien slipped through behind him. More clouds had shifted to cover the moon, dimming the light from eerie silver to grey. The yard stretched before them looking empty and forsaken. Beyond it, Tibain thought he could just make out the tall, dark shadows of Arien’s compass plants marking the edge of the field.
Dakore stood at the corner of the house, peering around the side. He looked back, shook his head at Tibain’s questioning glance, and started towards the field watching every place he put his foot. He turned back once, motioned for them to follow, then continued across the yard.
Tibain stepped out from the shadow of the house. Dead twigs littered the ground, shaken free of the Oak tree by past winds. He tried to step around these, but it was hard to avoid them all. Every time his foot snapped a twig, his heart sped up and he had to fight every muscle in his body to keep from breaking into a panicked run.
Calm down, he thought, trying to breathe, Calm down! The shadows are in the front yard right now; there’s no possible way they could hear a twig snapping way back here.
But then again, I don’t know what they’re capable of. He stepped around another twig, looking up to see how close they were to the field’s edge.
A howl lifted into the air behind them.
Tibain missed his step and fell, twigs snapping beneath his sudden weight. He heard Arien’s sharp gasp and felt her hand slip out of his as she struggled to keep from following him.
The howl sounded again, much nearer this time. It was the closest thing to death Tibain had ever heard. The air grew chill around him; the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
“Blast it all, they did bring the hounds! Tibain, get out of there!” Dakore was already at the first compass plants, pushing them apart to make way for his tall form. “Run!” he shouted. “Stealth doesn’t matter anymore; they already have our scent. Run!”
Tibain scrambled to his feet as the first howl was joined with another, and then a third. He grabbed Arien’s hand and ran.
An unearthly shriek rent the air, turning Tibain’s blood to ice. He ran harder, forcing his legs to go faster than they ever had before.
Have… to get… to the field!
The sound of heavy paws slapping the earth echoed behind them in the dark.
They reached the edge of the field and Dakore thrust them through the compass plants and into the tall grass. “Run!” he urged.
Tibain didn’t need urging; he had no plans to stop any time soon, and he doubted Arien did either. Her hair streamed out behind her and her simple shift was torn in several places, but her feet pounded the earth in fury, keeping pace with his. Her eyes were wide. Dakore followed behind them. Tibain heard thrashing sounds, but he didn’t dare look back to see what the older man was doing.
Tibain had crossed that very field hundreds of times before from the house to the sparring grounds and back again. Walking, it took a good thirty minutes to traverse. He had never tried it at a dead run. Now every knoll, every plant, every depression in the earth became a stumbling block, turning the field into a maze. Every minute dragged into an hour. His legs hurt, his arms hurt, and pain blossomed in his chest. Each breath raked his throat with coarse talons, sending new waves of pain through his body. Dakore’s thrashing never ceased; it became a monotonous rhythm for Tibain’s feet to follow.
At last they reached the end of the field and burst out onto the sparring grounds. Tibain collapsed to the earth in a heap. Arien fell down next to him, gold hair tumbling down to hide her face. Her shoulders jerked as she gasped pitifully and vomited all over the ground. Tibain reached out a shaking arm and placed it round her shoulder.
“We can’t stay here long. They’ll work through my obstacles in another fifteen minutes, and we have to be long gone by then.” Dakore glanced back over his shoulder at the field they’d just crossed.
Tibain looked up through bleary eyes. Dakore seemed untouched by the difficult run; he wasn’t even breathing hard. A fierce gleam shone in his dark eyes. For a moment Tibain thought Dakore was glowing; silver light seemed to shine around him, forcing the shadows back into the night.
But he can’t really be glowing, Tibain thought, closing his eyes for a few seconds. That’s impossible!
When he opened them again, the silver light was gone.
Dakore reached down to help him up. “We’d better leave now,” he said, stretching down with his other hand for Arien. “I hope you two can breathe. It’s going to take a lot of walking and plenty of work to make our trail confusing enough to leave them behind. Trust me, they are very good trackers.”
“And how… would… you know that?” Arien gasped out. She was holding her stomach as if unsure if she would retch again. Her face had a slightly green pallor.
Dakore frowned. “Let’s just say I know and leave it at that. Now come on.”
He glanced over his shoulder again, then turned west and started jogging down the shallow rise. Arien and Tibain were forced to jog too in order to keep up with him.
***
“I’m telling you, the time is now!” Dakore banged the table with a fist.
They were at Quinn’s house. Dakore sat at the table, while Arien and Tibain sat on a low wooden bench against the wall. The room was lit with only one candle sitting in the middle of the table and all the shutters were closed. Quinn leaned back in his chair, arms crossed imposingly over his chest, watching Dakore from beneath dark eyebrows. Around him, a small group of labor-hardened men grumbled at Dakore’s words.
Quinn raised one of this folded hands to silence them. “And what on earth made you change your mind, hmmm?” he asked, bending forward in his chair. “Just last evening you insisted we leave soon but not yet. Now you burst through my door in the wee hours of the mornin’, scarin’ my wife and wakin’ the children, and you say it’s time to go.”
Lauring, Quinn’s wife, came up behind her husband and placed her hands on his shoulders. Some of his tension eased out of him at her touch.
Dakore’s eyes were dark and serious. Tibain knew that look; it was the dangerous one, the one he used when he was trying to hold his anger in check. But Tibain guessed there was more than anger behind it all; a sense of urgency had fallen over Dakore since they left their farm behind. It was worrying. In all the years they’d lived under Dakore’s protection, the older man had never shown fear for any one thing. Now he almost seemed driven by it. His voice was low as he said, “You weren’t so hesitant last evening, Quinn. Why do you falter now?”
“It’s two o’clock in the mornin’, for pity’s sake! You can’t just come bargin’ into people’s houses at two o’clock in the mornin’, call a meetin’, and demand everyone leave their homes at once; it’s just not done!”
“But I’m doing it.” Dakore’s fingers tapped the table, pounding a staccato rhythm into the wood. “The time has come. I will not stay in Iban any longer, and neither will my charges. We leave in two days. You should know, we won’t wait for you or anyone else to catch up.”
Quinn scowled. “Is that a threat? You think it wise to come into my own house and threaten me?”
Dakore shook his head. “I’m not threatening; I’m stating. You were waiting for my word, now I’ve given it. We leave two days from now. That should be enough for you and the others to gather what you’ll need.” He stood, pushed back his chair, and turned towards the door. Without any spoken orders, Arien and Tibain got up to follow him.
At the door, Dakore turned back. “Oh, and make sure everyone brings plenty of water; it’s going to be hot and dry out there.” He closed the door behind him, leaving Quinn and the other farmers to decide what must be done.
“Do you think they’ll come?” Arien asked when they stood beneath the eaves, the solid door at their back. She glanced up at Dakore.
He nodded. “They’ll come.”
“Where do we go now?” Tibain wrapped his arms around his shoulders to ward off the chill night air.
Dakore stepped away from the door and out into the yard. “Away from here,” he said, and turned south towards the city of Iban.
(Ok guys, there it is... it's the chapter I'm rewriting in "Eldrei". What I have posted above is actually the rough draft: the rewrite is much better and the writing is tighter, but since I'm not done with it I decided to go ahead and post the rough draft. Let me know what you think.)
I am the 1,000th poster!!!!!
Elizabeth: Thanks so much for the advice! I'm def. going to be using that! =D
Yes, Cyrano is the main character in a play called Cyrano de Bergarec, I think. It's a great play. =)
Mr. Batson, of course! I think we all love this contest and we love your books!
Hoping I'm the 1,000th comment!! There's only 999!
Oh, I want to write the 1000th comment!
Haha, Jake, yes I'm afraid you're not the only one! I've read all the comments on here as well.
Well, so I would be interested to discover how everyone's writing is doing? I'm debating whether to keep plugging away at a current story, or set it aside for a bit and work on a new idea. I always have two or three (or four or five) stories running at the same time! Writers ADD, I'm afraid! ;)
So, who here likes the author Robert Louis Stevenson? Haha, he's always been another of my favorites (I think I forgot to mention him in my list...) since I was a little kid and my older sister introduced me to Treasure Island! I discovered his other books for myself.
Oh... and that reminded me (I haven't the faintest clue why!) of another book. Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham! Haha, I love that book! And the difference between the style of Farmer Giles of Ham and the LOTR is so great, but they're both amazing... and both sound like Tolkien!
Well, I've got to run now! Somehow the LOTR always crops up in my comments... lol
over 1000 wow, i knew this day would come.
Okay our family laptop broke down, so i'm on one of my dad's business computers, (he doesn't know about this time, but he has let me do it before). i have track meet tomorrow at school, do any of you guys like track?
i just got word that our school is doing Grease for a musical. i don't know what to do. it is a school copy of the movie, there is no rizzo pregnacy thing, it's not even mentioned. still, that movie doesn't have very good values, even though it was an amazing production. everyone in my small town school know what i stand for, but my mom was given the script to read over, she will probably ask that i am taken out of one of the songs, but i think that she will leave the choice up to me. i would really like to be in it, but am just not sure. any advise? i think i will probably ask for a part that has nothing against what i believe in, so that i can still be in it, but not any of the 'bad' parts.
my quote for the day. - a man who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne Budd
@ Nathanael Beekman - You've said that several times . . . what's your definition of "meaningful"? *wink* Only (as you said) "COM[M]ENTING ON THINGS I MIGHT WANT TO READ"? ; ) --that seems quite subjective, no? Almost like, well . . . judgmental --oh, I don't know. E.g. I'm not the greatest "Lord of the Rings" fan who's been commenting here, but there are a lot of other bloggers here who are, and have been asking obscure "LotR" trivia only the committed LotR fans would know and have been having LotR based conversations with each other. Should I say that those conversations aren't meaningful because I don't care for "LotR" as much as they do? Maybe they find it meaningful --maybe this is the first time they've been able to carry on a deep conversation with someone who loves "LotR" as much as they do . . . just another perspective for you. : ) LOL, don't get me started about the second amendment . . . I dream of the day when my state allows concealed carry. : )
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - "Dragons in our Midst" isn't too bad . . . but his writing has really improved since then (that was his first book series). Are you on Bryan Davis's forum/message board? Your username seems familiar . . . I'm not really allowed to post on message boards, but I "lurk" there . . . reading the posts for about --wow . . . maybe three years? I haven't looked at the site in months though . . .
@ Celebrilomiel - Wow, very nice . . . it almost seems "Ted Dekker-ish" . . . : )
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - That would be nice . . . but considering that maybe 100 different people must have commented here . . . that might be pretty expensive.
@ Star-Dreamer - Wow! I wish I found a signed copy of one of Mr. Davis's books. I had an experience similar to yours . . . a couple of years ago, I found a first ed. paperback of "Mossflower" by Brian Jacques at a library book sale --it was signed to a girl named Leanna. LOL, it made me curious about who the girl was, if she had grown up and decided to sell it --why did she decide to get rid of it, etc. : D
Star Dreamer: That is soooo cool!!!! I remember on Christmas I got the last 2 Door Within books. I opened "Rise of the Wyrm Lord" and saw it was SIGNED!!! And we got it off of amazon!!! I was sooooo excited!!!! I also tend to like book series and that have more than 1 book. :)
Daughteroflight: I like the DIOM books. I think that some of the books are better than others.
Celebomial: Sorry if I spelled that wrong...Anyway I LOVe that excerpt! I would love to hear more!
Gillian: I will have to check that out as soon as I can!!
I am thinking that this thread will probably die in the summer because people will be gone on vacation and won't be able to post. But then again it could never die......
ok heres my quote:
"The Land of Mary? Never heard of it."
I love Falon:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Congrats, Eldra, you were the 1000th commenter!!! :D
Star-Dreamer; Wow!!!! Awesome excerpt! I loved it... What's it from again?
I was the 1002th commenter. :D I'm going to make this short, I have to finish up some schoolwork.
See ya!
Ha everyone,
I finally have enough time to comment, these past weeks have been crazy.
LadyDragonKeeper; I do have plans for thise summer. Well one me and my sister are going to begin writing our book full time. I have a cabin and me and my family are going to do a little construction on it, so that we can do a little summer cooking and there's mantaining tha garden, ecpecualy my herb bed. That's not all what I'm going to do sommer. But that's some of it.
Celebrilomiel; Loved the excerpt!! I'm wondering what's going to happen.
I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I live on a farm. I have two Quarter horses, four dogs (two Australien Shepereds and two Pickenies), nine chickens, three ducks, and one cat. I have the must wonderful sunsets, sun goes through this course; it goes down between the branches of the enormous tree next door and then it's just above the horizen. That is when you want to take the picture, when the sky is lit up by dazzling lights of orange, pink, purple,and blue miwed together and just plane beautiful.
Does anyone else have thoughs sunsets? And does anyone else live on a Farm?
Well that's all I can comment for now, here is a scripture; Revalation 6:12 (if there is no such thing as a 6:12 then look up psalm 62:1)
Be Blessed:)
Oh and
Anonymous; My favorite character in Curse of The Spider King is Eldera Galdarro.
Okay now I realy need to go.
Be Blessed:)
I rise today
with the power of God to pilot me,
God's strength to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look ahead for me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to protect me,
God's way before me,
God's shield to defend me,
God's host to deliver me,
from snares of devils,
from evil temptations,
from nature's failings,
from all who wish to harm me,
far or near,
alone and in a crowd.
—"Saint Patrick's Breastplate,"
Old Irish, eighth-century prayer.
Star-Dreamer: I'm looking forward to reading the excerpt you posted! It would indeed be neat if you pursue a prequel and sequel; I know once I've come up with a main character, its hard not to put them in every story b/c I like them so much! Lol Keep us posted when you ink a contract!
Anonymous-Elizabeth: Agreed! Wouldn't that be awesome if Mr. Batson went with your idea! ;)
Please don't tell me that it is over. i commented 30 hours ago and it still hasen't been posted. and i am sure that a dedicated group like you wouldn't all stop on the same day. not after we've commented over 1000 times.
Have any of you ever done the 30 hour famine? i have. i think that it is such a cool idea. i wasn't even very hungry aroung the 20 hour mark. it was the 10 and the 30 that was hard, you get hungry, but then you get so hungry that you can't even tell that you're hungry.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
Since the number of comments still say 1014, I guess they haven't been updated since Tuesday . . . so, I thought I'd ask you all if you have any tips for cleaning your room (or, should I say organizing). I'm doing my spring cleaning since I'm done with school . . . and it took me a whole afternoon to organize my desk. : ) I'm trying to tackle parts of my room so I don't get overwhelmed, but if any of you have advice, I'd love to hear it! : )
Hope everyone's having a great week!
Not much going on here cept school is REALLY crazy! Teachers deciding to dump tons of stuff on you at the end of the year! Not fun!:( (no offence Mr. Batson cause I know you teach:) ah well I guess I will get through it! Yep actually I know I will cause God will help me!:)
a quote....Why can I never think of them when I want to write one?? Drives me nuts...ok...uuumm....uuhhh....AH hA!
"He said he knows the faun."
"He's a beaver, he shouldn't be saying anything!"
Favorite line in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Hey, this just in: Nominations have begun for the 2nd Annual Clive Staples Fantasy Fiction Award. If any of you liked Curse of the Spider King enough, please consider a nomination:
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/clive-staples-award-2010-accepting-nominations/
Thanks Jake! It was actually kind of funny how that worked out. I went to our desktop and popped up the comments while I waited for the laptop to turn on (that's where I do most of my computer stuff). When I saw that nothing had been updated, I shifted to the laptop and checked my normal "first ten" sites, which include "Enter The Door Within." The comments had jumped from 978 or whatever they were at to 999. I instantly commented and looks like I ended up 1000!! Random, but cool.
And if some of you haven't checked out Jake's blog "Teenage Writer" recently, go do it. He's posting an 8-part short story and it's starting to get rather intriguing.
~Never Alone~
I totally agree with Jake about DIOM and OoF! I LOVED "Bones of Makaidos"!
Squeaks you are really funny!
Star Dreamer: I LOVE that excerpt!!! You have GOT to get published!!! I will totally read your books!!
That's really cool that you live on a farm Archer! I would love to!
Patrick: I LOVE St. Patrick's Breastplate! And that is one of my favorite parts in it!
my quote:
"With God all things are possible, unless he decides to not have you do things, then it's impossible:)"
I like to make up quotes:) I hope that's not cheating too much!
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
@Squeaks: actually, the sniffing makes me think of the Nazgul in LOTR. That would sort of be appropriate, wouldn't it? Not that you are like a Nazgul or anything...
@Annonymous: I know! I was sooo excited when I found it. It was totally unexpected.
Oh when will finals be over? My brain can only take so much! And with that said, I have to go study... C U L8er all! :)
@Archer: I live on a farm too. 1 quarter horse, 1 arabian, three dogs, umpteen-million cats, and a bunch of chickens. We used to have goats and rabbits, but we decided to sell them at 4-H last year.
@Jake: glad you liked it. :)
Oh, and mr. Batson? I have to agree that you should just give us all a copy of the book... then the thread would die and everyone would be happy. Otherwise I'm not going to let this thread die until I'm the last one who's posted for 24hrs. (He,he! :D)
Gillian; I've read Farmer Giles too! It's awesome. :D
Have you read Tolkien's Roverandum (I'm not sure if that's how it's spelled)? It's pretty good as well!
Lady DragonKeeper; Wow, that's pretty deep. :D Lot's of things are subjective, unfortunately for scientists. The weather, for example. And the rate of fossilazation (quite a contraversial subject for evolutionists vs. creationists).
And while you're on the subject of forums; Are you on the Underground? WTB and CH's BP forum? I just joined a couple days ago...
@WTB
I LOVE COTSK ENOUGH!!!! I'm pasting the link as we speak....
Gotta go.
Lady DragonKeeper- I'm not on Mr. Davis's forum, though I'll check it out! The only reason I'm reading any of Mr. Davis's books at all is because a good friend is letting me borrow them!! (I'm sad to say that they're not at our library! Nuts!) :)
Hmm... good cleaning advice? I'll have to say that the best way that I clean is with music. Most of the time it's upbeat Christian music that will keep me going, though sometimes I just put on some Broadway tunes! I get a little too sidetracked if I listen to Adventures in Odyssey or Father Gilbert or something like that, but it might work for you. (Ha! I'll do a little promo for Mr. Batson and Mr. Hopper!! lol) You could also try COSK if you want to! I also take 10-minute breaks for cookies or a glass of iced sweet tea ('cause I'm from the SOUTH!!!).
There's my two cents. Hope it helps!!
BTW, thanks everyone who responded to what I put about DIOM. I'll check up on his other books.
daughteroflight
PS: Rsessie- slang for what we're going through right now in our economy. lol!!!
My mom is letting me audition for Grease. there is one girl that she doesn't want me to play, but besides that she has okayed the script:) i am exsited, but nervous. i am really good at acting, but i'm not the greatest singer:( i am sort of worried, but my voice isn't that bad, and there aren't lots of people interested in drama, but it will probably be different with this musical
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
"I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller"
GK Chesterton
Hope everyone is doing well! Tomorrow will be a week for me since my classes let out; woot! Isn't summer awesome?
LadyDragonkeeper: As I look around my room, it could definitely benefit from a clean-up too! Lol Your idea of tacking it part by part is a good one!
Unfortunately I have to make this short . . . I have a lot of library books to finish. :)
@ Jolayne - I like Grease as a musical, but I agree with you about the values thing . . . like how Sandy changed at the end of the movie to be more like the "Pink Ladies" type of girls --but I think they were trying to say that they (Sandy and Danny) both were willing to change for the sake of the other, but it still felt like Sandy was compromising her values (even if they were "goody goody") to do so . . . I don't know. I think you could be one of the random high schoolers and be okay . . . but I don't know about the main characters . . . probably not? What's the song that your mom is worried about?
@ Archer - Awesome, that sounds great! (About your summer plans and your (family's) farm --it sounds so beautiful there . . . ) :D
Ha ya'll
I was thinking since we've been doing LOTR quizes, how about we sart giving quizes from Mr. Batson's books.
So, the is from 'Curse of the Spider King'
Were did Johnny and Autumn run to, when hey were fighting over the book given to them?
When Tommy looked at the table of contents in the book, there were dates missing, what were the dates when it stoped and when it picked back up again?
What was the name of the chapter the Mrs. Galdarro warned about?
This is sort of easy and sort of not.
I can't wait to get out of school. I get out on the twenty-fifth. Does anyone else get out then?
Be Blessed:)
Jolayne, that's a really hard situation. I think, the best solution, is to just pray and do what you think is right, even if it's not popular, or if you feel stupid. =) That always works. =)
Honestly, to find a book already signed by the author, to me, is one of the most amazing things on earth. Hahaha - I think I will be going to a lot more library sales. =)
Patrick, that was an amazing poem! Totally incredible!
And, Mr. Batson, I think that could most definitely happen. ;D
Mmm. Sunshine. . . good. Anyone else glad that it's finally warm enough to really enjoy the sun?
Since the comments haven't been updated in a while, I'll have to actually think of something on my own to say. . .
Yesterday, my sister and I hung out on the back deck. I first went out there to try and come up with a map for one of my stories. Then my sister came out with a pad of grid paper and began drawing a cool weapon design (a four-pointed star blade), then did another half dozen drawings of different things in my novel. We will be posting them on our collab blog once she gets done editing them, since she did them on grid paper. It's awesome having a sister who's talented enough to draw just about anything I can dream up!
~Never Alone~
hey i was womdering if i could get some openions on some thing.if you saw one of these sumarys on the back of a book witch would you read.
1. As the hand of Charon, stretches through the world of Allrication, King Aaron sends in a warrior to save the day. Will the warrior be able to help or will she fall to evil? Young April brown has been chosen to save the people of Allrication from evil. But Charon has other plans in the book A Light in the Cave.
2. What would you do if you fell into another world where mythical creatures live and evil wizards rule. Where a king is never seen and a great power was atonable by only one. What if you found out that you where gifted with this power and because of it you are hunted. What if you find out this power is uncontrollable and dangerous. What would you do. This is the situation April brown finds her self-in, in the book A Light in the Cave
But the proconsul urged him and said, 'Swear, and I will release thee; curse the Christ.' And Polycarp said, 'Eighty and six years have I served him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?'"
—The Martyrdom of Polycarp
Awesome quote that reminds me of Aidan's stand before Paragor in The Final Storm
I have a feeling this is still going on even though it still says 1027 comments . . . ugh, it's really late, so just a quote from . . . I don't know who, but I've loved it ever since I first heard it (I hope this wasn't posted here before):
"A woman's heart should be so close to God that a man must seek Him to find her." ~ Unknown
Does anyone know who said this? I was told it was C.S. Lewis, but I didn't turn up anything when I tried searching for it.
WOW school has been crazy! Wish I could post more but I just don't have the time!
quote:
"There's some good in the world Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for!"
You are so right Sam:) Who is one of my favorite characters:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
I shall take this time to post a favorite qoute from Iron Man 2:
"If you try to leave, I'll taze you and watch Super Nanny while you uncontrollable drool into the carpet."
LOL. ah, man, that has funny...
Good morning y'all... it's been a little while since I've commented.
@ Archer: Yes, we have amazing sunsets too! They are so beautiful. When you sit and look at awesome sunsets, aren't you reminded of the awesome God we serve? Because something like that couldn't simply have happened by chance, there had to have been a Creator!
Well, I know it's been a while since other comments were uploaded... but I've been in here long enough that I don't think it's the end yet! lol
Psalms 15:
"Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe
against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken."
Quite a list for us to strive for, thankfully, we are not forced to strive on our own! Christ is with us, and in our weakness, He is strong!
"Faith is the 'yes' of the heart, a conviction on which one stakes one's life."
—Martin Luther
Whoa, it's been a long time since this was updated. So my random fact for the day is: Don't step off your deck onto the grass in the dark, because you may just tear the ligaments in your foot. Trust me on this one.
~Never Alone~
A new day and still 1027 comments, LOL. Yesterday I just found out my job interview for student helper at our local library is this Monday. I've never had a "real" job interview before, so I'm pretty nervous. Have any of you had jobs before? Do you have any suggestions for the job interview? I know about the dress code, but I'm really nervous about the questions . . . :)
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Woah!! I don't know if my comment posted or not, but I posted about 48 hours ago and it still hasn't showed up yet... Wonder if I won...?
These are awesome videos!!! (See the following link.) Their real names are Rhett and Link, and a lot of their videos are on YouTube, and they're really funny!! http://www.jellytelly.com/bentley-brothers
Check it out!!
daughteroflight
"Farewell we call to hearth and hall!
Though wind may blow and rain may fall,
We must away ere break of day
Far over wood and mountain tall...
We must away! We must away!
We ride before the break of day!"
(Guess what this is from... the LOTR of course, lol)
Well, farewell to all! I must away, and so I am forced to leave this merry contest to the rest of you... alas and alack! Good luck to all! I hope you all have an awesome summer!
~ Gillian
Beautiful day and beautiful church service:)
I have to say I love "Tale of Two Cities". It really shows that revenge is not a good thing and it also shows that a fair trial is a really good thing. If you have not read that book, I would recommend it, but I would say it is a little hard to understand so if you are not that big of reader maybe you should listen to it on tape. But the best thing about it was that it really showed the power of God, Love, and Sacrifice.
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Whoa? Where is everybody? This hasn't been updated in forever! Or maybe it's the computer... *glares at the screen suspiciously*
Since I have no comments to reply to, here's a verse that I really like.
John 21:25
"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that not even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."
That's a LOT of books! :D
kristin - Hmm. I would probably rather read the second one. It seems more mysterious and exciting!
Jake - It's not your computer!
Star-Dreamer: What color are your horses and what do you use them for? Competitions? Pleasure?
VW: stall - mispelling of Staal, as in, the four Staal brothers! (sorry, couldn't help that one!)
~Never Alone~
Thank you to everyone who. gave me advise for Grease. the script doesnt highlight the changing values thing, it just states that sandy and danny love each other. i don't think that i have to worry about getting one of the main parts, i am no that good. i have prayed about it. i asked God to let my mother decide, and she said yes. i think that it is all write, if any of you have any major objections please let me know.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
Aha! Mr. Batson decided to update...
Kristin; I'd pick Number two. Sounds intruiging!
Eldra; Seriously, talking about my blog is- Hey! You have a collab. blog! *follows* :D
Lady DragonKeeper; lol, that quote has been said like a dozen times. :D And I can't help you when it comes to job interviews. I'm not expecting to have to do one for several years yet, or never at all if I manage to get published before I go to college (which isn't likely, but I can always hope!).
I just finished my eight-part story on my blog, for those aching to know, so you can check it out if you want! (shameless self-advertising... what am I coming to? lol.)
Wow now this is insane! Over 1000 comments!
Well, it has been a while since I have posted, sorry about that.
But I have news, I got my church library to get CH's books. :D
I'm only on page 187 of Rise of the Dibor, but so far very good.
It is cool to see both of CH's and WTB styles in CotSK.
Goldarrow
Wow now this is insane! Over 1000 comments!
Well, it has been a while since I have posted, sorry about that.
But I have news, I got my church library to get CH's books. :D
I'm only on page 187 of Rise of the Dibor, but so far very good.
It is cool to see both of CH's and WTB styles in CotSK.
Goldarrow
Wow, thanks for the praise, guys! When I finish it, I'll be posting the rest on my blog. (melodyofthemiscellaneous.blogspot.com)
And now for one of my all-time favorite quotes:
"Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself." - Ron from Dandelion Fire by N. D. Wilson
It profits a book nothing to gain the whole circulating library, and lose its own soul.- Dorothy Sayers
@ Jake - That is true . . . I haven't taken science classes at my school (yet) but I will have to eventually and I'm not looking forward to it. I've already got a plan though, if I have a question about something like evolution, I'm just going to put: "According to our textbook . . . " hahaha. I've "lurked" at the "official" Berinfell Prophecies message boards, but its the same situation as Bryan Davis' one --I've been busy with school, so I haven't checked it recently (most of the posts were about the tribe building contest last time I read the forums) and I'm not sure if my parents would want me joining one yet.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - Ahhh, okay. My mistake, LOL. From what I've seen, Bryan Davis has a well moderated forum, so you don't have to worry about bad language or anything like that. Thanks for the advice! I'm about halfway done right now . . . love the ten minute break idea. ;-)
@ jolayne - Hey, good luck with the audition! Let us know how it goes . . . I wouldn't worry a ton about the singing, "Grease" doesn't seem like there are a lot of difficult vocals (except maybe for the bigger, main roles) but I've only seen the 1977 movie version with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (I also have the soundtrack). Is there any particular part you're auditioning for?
@ Archer - Ooh, I haven't read "CotSK" since I first got it last year . . . but I'll give it a shot. Off the top of my head: 1. - They went to the cave? 2. I don't remember . . . 3. Ugh, I don't recall that either . . . something about a battle?
@ kristin - Hmm . . . I'm leaning toward the 2nd one . . . but I'd suggest you grammar check the summary before you publish it. It sounds pretty interesting though! :-)
@ Gillian - Enjoy your summer as well!
Well, I'll be off to my job interview in the afternoon (still nervous, but God's will be done, right?) . . . I better get some sleep. Have a great day everyone!
Wow, ok, this has finally been updated. Now I don't feel lost while trying to post.
Reading Eternity's Edge right now. Awesome book! I'm really enjoying it, and I'm finding it totally inspiring.
I'm also totally lost on which project to work on next. I decided to switch back and finish some of my older work, but then I started getting some new ideas that I would really like to work on as well. *sighs* it is so tough, having writers' ADD. I just can't figure out which to work on first. Right now I'm switching between windows, but that's no fun. *pouts* Oh! Which one should I work on?!
But, my writing problems aside, I'm really excited about school being out! Yeah! That means more time to write! More time to work (oh, wait... I didn't mean that last one. Well, maybe I did; money is always good.) More time to feel less like a mechanical robotic monkey with little thimbles hooked to my hands, and more like a human being. All in all, I think I'm going to enjoy this summer very much. :)
Two more weeks of school for me!!! YES! I end on the 28:) But I have exams that last week and it won't be very fun:( ah well
Archer: OMGOSH!! I am soooo mad at myself!! I can only answer one of these! (and I refuse to look it up!) The answer to the first one is the cave in the woods (and that is only I think:) yikes! I think I need to read that book again.. *mentally put on book list in head*
Kristen: I definitely like the second quote better for a back of a book:)
Patrick: I love that! It reminded me of this Russian young man who wouldn't convert to Islam and he was beheaded. He was only 19 and it only happened sometime in the 1990's. It's a pretty awesome story and if you want to look it up his name was Evgeny.
LadyDragonKeeper: Probably by the time you get this you will have already had it but for the future. Smile! Smile a lot and act natural. Try not to say things like um, uh, etc. I have not actually interviewed for a job but they had interviews to get on Junior Fair Board for 4-H and I had to do them.
Giilian: That is one of my favorite poems from LOTR!!! I will miss you Gillian:(
Haha Jake I thought the same thing when I first read that!
Ok quote and I have to say that I was wrong about that other Narnia quote....this one is definitely my favorite!!!
"Peter said get out of here!"
"Peter's not king yet!!"
I love that! Edmund has to be one of my favorites:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Lady DragonKeeper- That quote is by C.S. Lewis. I saw it on someone's blog a little while ago and posted it here a few weeks ago. (It's great that you posted it again- I just went to a wedding yesterday where the bride and groom both wrote their vows and it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I'm not one to get emotional, but when the groom started saying his vows, I just started tearing up like crazy, thinking, 'THAT'S what I want!!')
One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies:
"Then... do I have your blessing?"
"Do you NEED my blessing?"
"No... but I should like to know I have it all the same."
"Then get to it, man!"
(After he rides off...)
"Saddle my horse- at once! Quick, man!!"
daughteroflight
"You only loose, when you stop believing you can do it." I forgot who said this or it might be that a paraphrased it:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
oops I hit the submit button and realized that I had a typo! I meant "or *I* might have paraphrased it":)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
One of my favorite quotes is: The best joys in life are the ones shared.-Anonymus
Sorry for double post, but Jake I love that verse too!
ha i love it jake
"the lord is my shepard"
favorite line when im scared i just remimber that
I thought this was a really neat quote by scientist Louis Pasteur:
"The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator."
@ Jake - I love that Bible verse --John 21:25. Being a book fanatic, when you realize what that means when John says the entire world wouldn't have enough room for the books that would have to be written to record all of what Jesus did . . . it just amazes me. :)
@ jolayne - Good luck for try outs!
@ Goldarrow - Ooh, I so want to try Christopher Hopper's "White Lion Chronicles" . . . if I get the part time student helper position, I'm definitely going to consider just buying it blind. I'm a weird type of person who likes to read books before I buy them if I haven't read the author's work before . . . technically I've read Mr. Hopper's work in CotSK, but I don't know which is Mr. Batson's and which is Mr. Hopper's. :)
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - Thanks for the tips! LOL, I did actually already have the interview by the time your comments showed up, but thank you for taking the time to write them. A huge praise, I was chatting with a friend and she actually had a job interview at her local library before, so she kind of talked about her experience and because of what she told me, I was totally prepared when they asked me to sort some books on the spot and stuff. The question/answer part, I was a bit nervous --I still think I could have done better, but it was alright. We'll see what happens, I'm sort of worried about having to balance school and work (its 19 hours a week), but if God allows me to be chosen, I'm sure he'll give me the means to handle it . . .
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - Aw, how sweet! I love weddings (LOL, the "girly-girl" side of me). =D Yeah, as I mentioned, I had heard it was by C.S. Lewis, I was just wondering if there was a source where they got the quote from --even if he just said it . . . but no matter, it's still an awesome quote.
If you all could pray for my four siblings for the next couple days, they have SAT testing (we use it to submit as a progress report as home-schooling regulations in our state require) so they start today and end on Thursday . . . pray that they won't be nervous and remember what they've learned throughout the year and score well. Thank you!
I am so sorry for my horible spelling in my last few comments. i have been so busy. i am out of books to read again, any suggestionis? i am only writing now because my bus called and said that it would be half an hour late.
Here is my quote for the day.
"You are the brightes tool in the cookie jar" -my best friend (well it was pretty halarious when she said it to my sister).
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
Patrick: I love both quotes:)
Daughter of light: I KNOW that quote I just can not for the life of me remember what movie!! Can you tell me?
You know what I think Mr. Batson is doing?? I think that he is not posting the comments right away so that people will see that there are no comments and not post as much. That is my theory:)
ok my quote will come from my book:
"Sometimes I just don’t understand how people can be so prejudice. We’re all a race of either, people, light or dark, elves or dwarves. I just don’t understand it. I like all people, light or dark, elves, dwarves, wizards even. I don’t understand it.”
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Star-Dreamer- I'm having writer's ADD too!!! Do I edit the story I just sent someone for criticism, finish the second one, or start Chapter Three of my AWESOME Historical/Fantasy book?!?!?!?!! Too many choices!!
Lady DragonKeeper- You're so welcome!! (I like the 10-minute break, too!! lol) My room is a mess right now; I might have to use some of my own advice and get it cleaned up... Oh, well. At least I have a reasonable excuse. lol
P&P quote... Which one? If only I could choose one. I'll narrow it down to 2.
Oh, sit up straight, Jane! Pull your shoulders back! A man could go a long way without seeing a figure like yours, if you could only make the most of it! (HA!!!)
An unhappy alternative lies before you. Your mother will never see you again if you do *not* marry Mr Collins, and *I* will never see you again if you *do*.
daughteroflight
Hi there :) Just wanted to make sure the thread died on my watch ;) Went to fencing today that was cool.
Favorite verse: 2 Timothy 2:22
This is so cool! Okay, so I just finished the first book in the Berinfell Prophecies and I am all ready driving my mother crazy telling her how much I can't wait til the next one comes out! lol.
One of my all time favorite qoutes is from C.S. Lewis. Fantasy is my favorite so you could say this qoute adds to the fire all ready burning in me...
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."
Anyone read the comic strip "Garfield"? Because the weather I'm having right now makes me think of the of the strips where Jon takes a look at the rain out the window. (Garfield's just sitting there looking outside.) Jon says, "Rain." Garfield begins smacking his head against the wall. (It's the February 12, 2005 strip) Don't ask why I like it, I just do.
On a not-so-silly note: has anyone ever read Eli by Bill Meyers?
~Never Alone~
I posted a comment but I cannot see it, I'm not sure why, but I would love if someone could tell me what happened. Thanks!
~Endurance and Victory~
Ha ya'll
Gillian; I know what you mean, you could only think (if you could think in that moment) that there can only be a creator, because only a creator could make not that beautiful scene but make it were it can capture you in this state of serenity. Do you get that feeling of serenity, and you just can't think?
Star-Dreamer; Ya we used to have goats but we had to sell them off. Isn't it so cute when a baby goat runs to you. They run sideways. Let just let you know in around 2002-2004 we had at least 25 cats if not more. Did you ever get pind between the fence and and a male goat, with him pushing you into the fence?
Well I've got to go.
Be Blessed:)
@ jolayne - Hmm, well, I think I've posted a list of books . . . anything by WTB, Donita K. Paul, Bryan Davis, etc. . . . "Starlighter" from Bryan Davis's new series came out last month . . . I actually have it, and need to read it . . . :D My siblings who are into Christian Fantasy have already read it, so they're waiting for me to start it. :)
So . . . are there any movies you all are looking forward to? (Other than "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (coming out this December) and "The Hobbit" (coming out . . . in 2011?)
'nother rejection 5/18/10. That makes 3. Hmmm... I wonder which agency will be the first to send for a partial? I'll probably try Marcher Lord Press before too much longer...
Wow. Who would have guessed when this started that the thread is still going on over a month later? And, if I'm not mistaken, we're beginning to run out of topics. Just an observation.
~Never Alone~
That is great news Millard!
heheh are you sore after your first day of fencing?
what was your favorite move you learned?
I was wondering if you would ever try it! :D
Goldarrow
I'm only going to reply to a few comments, I'm in a hurry...
Star-Dreamer; I LOVE Marcher Lord Press! They're awesome. :D
Eldra; How's the book goin'?
Star-Dreamer again; I'm almost done with my short story for the C. S. Lewis contest, so hang on! :D
Did anyone else go to Jacob R. Parker's party? He's rescheduling because of stormy weather, for those who might wish to come but couldn't last time. :D It was rather exciting. :D
I told you it'd be brief. :D
Doing my best to win here, so would you all take it easy on me and be so kind as to not post for 24 hours? Thanks! LOL XD
Ha ya'll
Star-Dreamer; Here is a question....well a couple, do you live in America? And if you do then I found this web site called "publishamerica.com" and it is supposed to be a free way for you to publish your. It was mentioned on the news channel.
LadyDragonKeeper and Anonymous Elizabeth; So close yet not quite there. Keep trying!!
got to go there is a beautiful sunst coming up I have to go.
Be Blessed:)
Star Dreamer: Keep going!! I know you can do it!!!
LadyDragonkeeper: I can't think oh any other movies like that coming out at the top of my head but then again I am not one to see movies in the theater first anyway...unless I really like the story and then that would be Narnia and "The Hobbit':)
Ok I realized I needed to read "CotSK" again cause I didn't remember it. ok to answer the question what was the chapter that Mrs. Galdarro told Tommy to skip...that was Red Dusk. (and yes I looked this up so sorry if that was cheating but I still can't remember the dates and won't look them up;)
Here is one of my favorite quotes from there:)
"Cool," said Tommy. "You have some kind of Magic mirror, crystal ball, or like a pet owl or something?"
"Yes I have just the thing." Mrs. Galdarro frowned and reached into her pocket. "It's called a cell phone." :)
I CAN NOT WAIT until VaS (ooh did I just make that up? just kidding:) comes out!!!!!!
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Star-Dreamer: That would be awesome if you could get on with Marcher Lord Press! Have you read Summa Elvetica? Another one they've published, "By Darkness Hid" looks good as well. Likewise Jeff Gerke's Where the Map Ends site is a treasure trove of writing-craft lore! Have you started up another story-project in the meantime?
Anonymous-Elizabeth: Awesome quote from your book! (and awesome Narnia movie quote also!)
"Since it is so likely that [young people] will meet cruel enemies, let them at
least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."
- C. S. Lewis
Hmm, not a lot of comments updated yet . . . anyway.
I've officially crossed the line to "Star Wars fangirl" --On Sunday, I bought my first Star Wars action figures: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Jacen+Solo&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AJacen+Solo&page=1 Jaina and Jacen Solo (book characters, so it's super rare/amazing that Hasbro made them) . . . so I'm a collector now. O_0 I started looking on ebay and they're basically ripping people off, like the amazon.com shops/sellers, but since these two figures can only be found in Toys R Us stores, I called the nearest one, and they reserved one of each for me . . . and when I got there, it turned out they were on sale, so it was $2 off each one. :D So . . . I guess that's not really meaningful, but . . . um, please keep praying for my younger siblings SATs --Thursday is their last testing day, and hopefully I'll be hearing back from our library about my job interview for the part time student position at the end of next week or the beginning of the next . . . I've started to get worried if I do get the job . . . if I'll successfully juggle work and school and still maintain a high GPA for honors and everything . . . so, whatever God decides. He won't give you more than you can handle right?
I have a music blog, if anyone wants to check it out. The theme for this week and the next is hymns. http://theepictune.blogspot.com
I am also hosting a book giveaway at http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/2010/05/giveaway-underway.html
So...am I the only one who likes Dragons in our midst better than Oracles of Fire? :)
Probably not Anonymous. I haven't decided which one I like better because I like books from both series. :)
Ok I HATE being in an online school sometimes!! I have exams next week and the site is DOWN!!! That is sooo not fair!! I can't even study very well cause the stuff is all on the site! ok sorry for the vent, but I kind of am mad:( I know I am a geek, I love school!
i'll post a quote later:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Hey everybody! This is possibly the longest comment thread ever. lol. Hey, I'm working on a girls blog, and I currently have no viewers.... here's the link - check it out and tell me what you think! http://littleglassslippers.blogspot.com/
Jake - Well. . . okay, I guess. I actually managed to get some stuff typed out last night. And thanks for the advice. For now, I'm going to leave the core in, but I may eventually have to take it out. I really don't want to, though. It adds a neat dimension to the story.
~Never Alone~
"Anonymous said...
So...am I the only one who likes Dragons in our midst better than Oracles of Fire? :)"
Not true, I like DIOM better the OoF.
They are good books but CotSK, TDW and the rest of WTB's books are better I think.
Goldarrow
WAHOO!!! It's not dead yet!!
Anonymous Elizabeth- Sorry, I didn't see your post when I posted last. The quote is from Pride and Prejudice- the 1995 version.
Lady DragonKeeper- The wedding we went to was in a barn, and everyone in the wedding party wore brown cowboy boots- even the Bride!! It was so cool!!
I can't wait to see VDT!! Everyone who's seen the trailer says that it's going to be REALLY good- almost better than the first two, although I don't know if they can be BETTER than LWW... that was plain awesomeness. I also can't wait to see a movie by HeuMoore Productions, Ace Wonder: Message from a Dead Man (www.acewondermovie.com). The Widow's Might was great, and AW looks almost better- in quite a few different ways.
Conversation-starter: Who agrees with me that the new one stinks and the old one rocks?! lol
Endurance and VICTORY!!!!! lol
daughteroflight
Rachel; The comment probably wasn't 'moderated' yet. That means he hadn't published it yet. :D
Anonymous; Haha, I think you're alone on that one. :D
Okay, gotta go. Books to read, blogs to check, and blogging to be done. Whew...
Thanks everyone for the feed back.
Mr.Batson i was wondeing, whats going to happen if this never ends?
Lady-Dragonkeeper: Awesome about the Star Wars action figures!
two more qoutes...
“I’m as old as everything I’ve done. I’m as young as everything I want to do.”
“The heart is not measured by how much you love, but by how much you are loved.”
(continued)
Daymond crouched down next to me, still keeping the blade to my throat. Our eyes met and I felt as though my thoughts were being invaded. He smiled, but it was an empty smile, without mirth, not did it touch his deep blue eyes. Guessing at his thoughts, a chill raced down my back. "I don't think so," he said, his voice a threatening hiss as he brought his face closer to mine. "I'm not going to deprive you the chance to surrender."
A flush of anger warmed my cheeks. Instead of letting the emotion take over, I gathered the energy it produced in my hands and used it to tug the sword from Daymond's grasp. It flipped end over end, then clattered to the ground, next to my lightwhip. Daymond swore as he flung his arms behind him to keep his balance, giving me the opportunity to roll away from him. Knowing he would be up in a moment, I scrambled to push myself to my feet but he recovered quicker than I anticipated. Before I could fully rise, he had flung his arms around my waist and slammed his shoulder into my stomach. We fell heavily to the ground. Trapped in his iron hold, I had nowhere to go as the majority of his weight landed squarely on my ribcage.
The sickening sound of bones breaking was instantly drowned out by my screams of pain.
I'll post the next part soon.
~Never Alone~
Wow. Passed 1100 comments!!!! What should the goal be? 2000 comments? 3000? I think we'll win the award for the most people to comment on one post. . .
Yesterday I went back and read through some of the old comments and noticed that most people have dropped out. Either they found something better to do or we're too scary for them. (Just kidding!)
Since nobody's posted anything from their writing recently, I think I'll post something.
Note: I had to completely rewrite major sections of what I'd previously posted, so this won't tie in exactly.
(...) means I've skipped a portion
Pressing my advantage, I brought my arm back in preparation to strike, then hesitated. The malicious part of my mind screamed at me to kill him, to finally finish it. Beneath that, a quiet voice begged me to stop this madness. Before I could stop it, a loathing that ran so deep it almost made me choke drowned out the small voice and I swung my arm forward.
But that brief moment of hesitation was the only advantage my opponent desired. He rolled sideways, snatched up his fallen sword and got to his feet in one fluid motion. The energy reappeared, a deeper orange this time.
"So you wanna play rough?" my opponent asked in a condescending voice, his eyes shifting to a mixture of yellow and dark gray.
"You should know better than anyone that's how I play," I retorted, matching his tone.
We stared at each other for long seconds, both with disgusted looks on our faces. Then, on some unspoken agreement, we rushed forward.
(...)
The blade color had changed again and now glinted a deep menacing red, almost the color of blood. Desperate, I threw my left hand up in a feeble attempt to block the sword.
A terrible crash followed as the wide blade glanced off the metal gauntlet around my left wrist, driving me backward. Ears ringing and my entire arm throbbing from the blow, I hit the ground hard, all the air driven from my lungs at the impact.
Breaking heavily, my attacker stepped forward and placed his blade against my neck. A dizzying nausea sent my head spinning and the only thing that kept the sensation from growing was the anger that flamed in my chest. Some distant portion of my mind noticed that the soft hum had disappeared, then realized that he'd powered it down.
"I win again," he smirked, irises all yellow. "Now, yield."
Furious at his condescending tone, I went to push myself up into a sitting position but stopped when the tip of the sword broke through the tender skin on my throat. Warm blood trickled down my neck but I scarcely noticed. Rage blurred my vision as I stared at the amber blade. Rage at my opponent, but also rage at myself and how easily I let him defeat me.
The sword cut deeper. "Yield."
"Forget it, Daymond!" I retorted hotly, then, with a narrowly focused effort, blocked out my anger and pain before either spun out of control. If he won't play by the rules, then neither will I.
(If you want to know what happens during the part I skipped, go back and read my other comments.)
~Never Alone~
how are all of you?
i hope you are doing well.
i am about to go to camp with my family to a gosspil music jambory. i stayed home from school to help my mom. the only problem was that is sometimes my sibilings and i fight.
Please pray for patients, it will be a long weekend, but i'm looking forward, to the time away, with Godly music.
Endruance and Victory
Jolayne
It's raining- again. I like the rain. It makes me feel cool.
What's going to happen if this never stops? It will never stop. lol
daughteroflight
Haven't posted in quite a while. . . . I guess since Mr. Thread is still breathing and putting up a firm fight, I should contribute with another quote that I recently picked up:
"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere."
~Frank Howard Clark
~ElizabethMarieKauffman~
Patrik, I haven't read Summa Elvetica yet, but I really, really want to! I also want to get "By Darkness Hid". I have "Hero Second Class". It was my christmas present last year, and I love it, and to make things even better, I found the author on the Nanowrimo site last year and added him as a friend! Apperently he's working on the sequal. I'm also a member of the forum "where the map ends"; that's really a great place to go discuss writing, isn't it?
Currently, I'm working on an older novel titled "Eldrie". That's the one the latest excerpt was from. :)
Jake: lol! You don't have to worry! You have several days left and a mercy date! But I'm hanging on...
Archer: Yeah, I've heard of Publish America, but I think they're a vanity press. I realy wouldn't look into getting published by them if I were you: if you look them up online, a lot of websites vote against them. Writers digest even had an article about it, and I think PA was not very reccomended on the site "Preditors and Editors" (which, for those of you wondering, is a very good site to check if an agent/publisher is true or a fraud.)
And btw, yeah I did get pinned between the fence and a male goat! He was something else I tell you! But he was so cute! When we first got him, he fit in a sock! :)
Matthew: awesome quotes:)
daughteroflight: Was that the 6 hour one? Probably not but thats the only one I've seen and it has the exact same quote:)
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" Yes I can get through exam week because I am NEVER ALONE:):) Mr. Batson I just want to thank you for emphasising (sp?) that in your books! It really helps me when I remember that to get through the trials in my life! Please keep writing and telling people about God!!:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Has anyone else read BOTB? I just read Beyond the Summerland, and I'm about to write a review on it. Does anyone besides me hate the ending and think it's totally unneccesary and cruel? *scowls* Seriously... I have to hand it to him, I didn't expect it.
Eldra; That's good! I think the core adds a neat demension too... Although I'd probably rephrase that as 'cool' demension just to keep my originality. :D Sorry, kinda random.
Wow, 1100 comments... I'm getting worried. I don't have enough money to buy V & S, and if my sister decides to... Well, let's just say that things will get ugly. :|
Well, to end this on a cheery note... Um, I don't have one. That ending of BTS left me rather sad.
So is this contest still going on? One of my favorite quotes is actually a motto: Never give up, never back down, never lose faith. -John Force Racing (JFR) team motto.
-Siri Tachi
“Official Christianity...has been having what is known as a bad press. We are constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine...The fact is the precise opposite...The Christian faith is the most...exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man...and the dogma is the drama.” - Dorothy Sayers (British detective novelist/apologist and acquaintance of CS Lewis)
@ The Girl in the Glass Slipper – I love your blog concept . . . I think it’s off to a good start. Sorry I can’t “follow” your site . . . I don’t have a google account or anything.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) – Wow, that sounds like one neat wedding! ;-) You know people who have seen the “VDT” (I have a weird way of abbreviating this book/movie “VotDT” since I started doing it before seeing it abbreviated online, LOL) trailer? Cool . . . I’ve been resisting the urge to look online for spoilers . . . I did that for “PC” –looking for trailers/movie clips etc. and I think I missed the feeling of being surprised like I was in “LWW” (I didn’t really access the internet back then . . .) Better than “LWW”? Wow . . . well, we’ll see . . . “VDT” is sort of in the middle of my “list of Narnia books in order starting from your favorite.” I’ve never heard of those other movies . . . I’ll have to look them up later.
About you conversation-starter: What are you talking about? =D Narnia or the other movies or Pride & Prejudice movies? *is “confuzzled”* ;-)
@ Patrick - =D Thanks! Re-reading my post . . . I think I sounded a little hyper, but I was really excited about it, LOL.
Wow! I am thinking this might end soon. Boy I am going to miss everyone:( Do any of you guys have blogs where we can still read books excerpts and things?
StarDreamer: I can not wait until you get published:)
ok quote:
"I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again."
That's from "Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl" I love this excerpt because it is still something we can think about now with all the wars and things going on. It also gives you hope that the darkness will not prevail.
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
My comment hasn't shown up yet- wonder why...? Oh, well. I understand. Mr. Batson's a very busy man.
When I mentioned what movies I was excited about, I forgot to mention 'Courageous!' I'm really mad at myself... lol It looks so good!!
daughteroflight
I have a question.
Does any one like Group 1 Crew?
They are Christian rap/hip hop and I think they are very good.
Goldarrow
If no one posts by 11:35 tonight, the thread will die! Oops, whispers...the thread will die.
I'm posting! I'm posting!
Hehe! I just spent all of yesterday out in the rain, getting muddy, swinging on a massive swing and falling into trees. What did you guys do?
~Never Alone~
Jake - Yes, I've read Beyond The Summerland. And I agree that the ending is so totally not cool! I was so mad I instantly went and requested the next book from the library. Now I'm part way through Shadow of the Deep and mostly enjoying it. The only thing that bothers me is that Malek doesn't seem to be an "evil" enough bad guy. I've never felt a sense of threat or danger when he's mentioned or in a scene. Other then that, I'm loving it!
~Never Alone~
Ha ya'll
Goldarrow; I like Group one Crew too! I like the hiphop in it. I think the sound and the way they play, sounds like Tobymac. What does the music remind you of?
The answers to 'CoTSK' quize questions are
1. The Barn
2. Red Dusk
3. 5807-7252
I hope I can put more quizes down later, but I have to go.
Be Blessed:)
Finally, they reached the throne, and set the chest down outside the ring of light.
“What do you s’pose we should do now?” The man on the left asked. His voice was low and gruff, and cracked in many places. “Should we leave?”
The other man considered him for a moment and answered slowly. His voiced was quiet and smooth, like a snake slithering over grass. It seemed to coil around the room, echoing. “We wait… if the chest is somehow stolen, the Queen will show no mercy… She never does, and you should know that. And you know perfectly well that no man can destroy us when we are together, Sarlith, so you have nothing to fear.”
Sarlith began to protest, but the other man waved it away. The two men sat in the dark cavern for a long time. Neither of them moved. The only sound was water dripping and sizzling onto the floor from the huge stalactites above.
And then, all of a sudden, a fine silver mist took the place of the thin smoke, filling the chamber with the smell of sulfur. A moment later, a resounding CRACK rang through the air. Both men winced at the sound, but immediately composed themselves when the figure of the Dark Queen filled the throne. The air got colder, and the dripping water slowed as all of the water turned to ice.
The Queen was completely clothed in black, gleaming armor, with little of her body showing. Some supposed that was because she wasn’t human. Others presumed it was just an extra precaution, even though anyone foolish enough to attack the Queen was likely to be killed anyway. Only her eyes showed, and they were a poisonous color of green, glowing in the darkness. She slowly considered the two men, as if trying to figure out if they would leave the room alive. After a minute or so of complete silence, she spoke.
“Iss it in the chessst?” Her voice was quiet but menacing, and the men could hear the power in it. As she spoke, all the cold silver mist grew thicker. The Queen literally breathed magic.
Sarlith began to speak, but the other man cut him off. “Yes. We are the only men left that you sent to capture the final, unfound Key. Yet we found it.”
The Queen surveyed him, knowing that he had spoken the truth, but not letting him know it. “Bring it inside the circle,” She hissed. The men glanced at each other uncertainly, and then, picking up the chest, they walked into the silver glow that made a circle around the throne. As soon as they stepped into it, the temperature dropped. Their breath fogged up, making white clouds billow around them as they panted with the effort of heaving the chest. The men shivered even more as they set down the box at the Queen’s feet. The bottom of the chest seemed to melt into the marble floor, and the men knew that if they tried to move it, they would find it glued to the floor
“Open it,” the Queen commanded silkily.
Trembling, Sarlith pulled an intricate golden key out of his backpack and fitted it into the chest. He turned it, and the box clicked open. A cloud of golden mist escaped out of the chest, making the air considerably warmer, but it was quickly dispelled. The Queen peered into the box, contemplating the object within. She murmured a quiet spell, and after a second, gave a scream of fury. The very air around the two men turned to ice, and before they could do anything, before they could even make a sound, they fell to the floor, shattering into little shards of ice.
PICK ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
I'll give a little excerpt, I guess.
Prologue
Prank, Pain, and Power
The black marble doors swung open, thudding softly against the opposite wall. Two burly, black-clothed men walked through the opening, carrying a huge black chest adorned intricately with golden patterns. However tough the two men appeared, they seemed to be putting a great deal of effort into carrying the chest. The man on the left grunted that he needed to take a break, but the other man refused, stating flatly that they were almost finished with their job.
The men looked around the room. They had never been inside the Crescent Cave, the cavern that hosted the Dark Queen and it made... them uncomfortable. The air itself seemed to have a weight to it. Thick black smoke made it nearly impossible to see more than five feet away from them. However, they could see white veins pulsing through what they thought must be the walls, literally pulsing, as if the rock was alive.
Slowly, as the two men continued walking, the smoke began to clear, revealing a large cavern, which could easily fit at least two full-sized mansions inside. Colossal stalactites hung from the ceiling, drops of green liquid dripped from the tips of the spears, dissolving and sizzling as they hit the ground. And at the end of the cave, circled by a ring of bright silvery light, was a black throne, made out of the same marble of the walls, except that the pulsing veins were golden, not silver. At the moment, the throne was empty, so they didn’t know what to do, but they continued nevertheless.
Well, this may be the last time I'm able to comment on the thread, since I'm going to be at church this evening. That is, if the thread dies. Guess we'll know when we know.
~Never Alone~
Oh my goodness! This thread cannot die so quickly! Mr. Batson, I can hardly believe it!
I've just spent an amazing week in Washington DC. It was an incredible experience, and I cried at more than a few memorials.
I've never known anyone who has ever died, and though I often think about it, I've never really grasped the concept of death until I saw the 911 memorial. The youngest person died when he was 4 years old. But, what really got me, is that the second youngest would have graduated this year. Our neighbor had her graduation today. Can you imagine the family member out there thinking, "They could have graduated this month." It really moved me. We all spread out and started praying over benches. It was just one of the most moving experiences of my life. The 911 Memorial at the Pentagon and the Vietnam Wall are absolute necessities if you ever are fortunate enough to travel to our capital. =)
Also, Goldarrow, I LOVE Group 1 Crew!!!! I love "Can't Go On!" So my favorite! They're such an incredible band! =D
Great excerpt, Eldra! Looks great! =D
Star-Dreamer: Summa Elvetica is quite good; I got a big kick out of it since the story blended fantasy with a church history atmosphere. I've read many of the writing tips on Where The Map Ends, but I'll need to investigate their forum; sounds like a great treasure-trove of writing savvy!
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
I love this opening stanza from Poe's "The Raven"
So, this thing isn't dead yet.
Now I'm trying to decide whether to read book four of The Binding Of The Blade series or whether to start book one of the Viking Quest books (already read books three, four and five). Ohhh, that's a hard one.
~Never Alone~
@ Eldra – Nice excerpts. I wish I could write stories . . . well, technically I’ve never really tried a lot, so maybe if I have time this summer I’ll try a short fanfic . . .
@ jolayne – I hope you enjoy your time at camp! I’m going to go to a meeting tomorrow for the counselors at our Merit Camp for Awana clubbers . . . I’m so excited –camp’s next month! :-D
@ ElizabethMarieKauffman – Hey, “long time no see” –heheh. I like that quote –thanks for sharing.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - "Courageous" . . . that's they one the makers of "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof" are doing right? Cool. "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is my number one must see movie of the year. I liked the original '80's "Karate Kid" and though I cringed when I heard they were going to re-make it with a middle schooler (the original was high schoolers) but I just saw the trailer on YouTube and it actually looks pretty "family friendly" (though I think they should have kept the title as "The Kung-Fu Kid") so . . . I'd like to see it later. Also later this year, Walden Media is adapting one of Beverly Cleary's "Ramona books" --"Ramona and Beezus" comes out this summer . . . I like the books for sentimental reasons --they were some of the first "long chapter books" I read in 3rd/4th grade. I also cringed when I heard that teen queen Selena Gomez was going to play Ramona's older sister Beezus (Beatrice) but I saw the first trailer, and it doesn't look too bad either . . . Some movies that have been/are in theater that I'd like to see: "To Save a Life" (it's supposed to be "Christian"), "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (I heard that they took some liberties and "aged up the characters" from 12 to 17 'cause they wanted to attract "older audiences" . . . I hope it doesn't mean what I think that means though) so that's just a few of the movies I'd like to see . . . for most of it though, we'll have to wait for the DVD --I'm sure many of you are in the same situation: the cost of the DVD is less than paying for tickets for the entire family to go watch the movie in theaters . . . plus DVDs have extras!
am I too late?! please... no!! *fingers crossed*
I guess I should put something other than that... heehee, "other" reminded me of the LOST finale last night, so I'll put one of the sent-in "transmissions" from it:
"Roses are red, violets are blue,
4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42"
makes no sense to anyone who doesn't know LOST... muahahahahaha! :)
No! Don't die thread! Please!
LOL
I'm giving away a signed copy of Isle of Fire at my website hornspoon .com. Check it out!
Aw, c'mon Eldra! That's mean of you... :D Awesomely awesome excerpt...
Uhh... I'm posting!!! :D
As for quotes, anything by C. S. Lewis is awesome... Especially 'Mere Christianity'. :D
"Mankind invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain."
:D
I don't believe that mankind 'invented' language, actually, but I think the quote is accurate in other respects. :D
Please don't tell me that the thread is dead. i wouldn't be able to stand defeat. that is one of the problems with vacations without internet.
i went to a gosspil jambery it was amazing. i was not so sure at the begening, but now, i am so pumped. i am already starting to practice my music, so i can use it to honour God.
it is such a great ministry.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
But I won't let it.
Phew! I'm glad this thread has not yet fallen! I wonder if Mr. Batson will do something like this for Sword in the Stars?
A favorite LOTR quote; I love the imagery it invokes of ancient stone at the depths of Middle-Earth and the cataclysmic warfare occurring between Gandalf and the Balrog: "Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone."
ha, I can only be on here for a minute.
Here are some more quizes,
1. what was the name of the elf that was killed and impersonated in the fall of Berinfell.
(hint) Flet Marshall _______ Fought him.
2.What was the name of the castle, were Jimmy Lewis Gresham bumped into Kiri Lee Yuen?
3.How was it that injured Autumn and with what weapon did she get hurt with.
I hope you like these. May the quizing............. BEGIN!!!!!
Be Blessed:)
Hehe!!
Jake - I know, I'm mean. I promise I'll post something again soon. I've been so busy the past couple of days and now I'm getting ready to go to Alberta for YC!!!!!!! Don't know if I'll be able to post too often, but I'll try.
Also, I'll put up the rest of my chapter soon, as in the "next couple of hours" soon, though I doubt this comment will be let through by then.
~Never Alone~
Okay, here's the next portion of the chapter. Enjoy!
^ at the beginning and ending of a sentence means it's in italic (thought)
^Block it! Now!^ The words formed in my mind but I couldn't focus long enough to barricade myself from the torrent of pain that flooded my senses. Darkness fluttered at the edge of my vision.
Aware that he had the upper hand, Daymond lifted his weight off me only long enough to clasp my shoulder with one hand; the other he pressed lightly against my abdomen. That brief moment of release granted me just enough time to block out most of the anguish.
"Ready to admit defeat?" Daymond asked, his words coming in breathy gasps as he gently applied pressure with his lower hand.
"You cant. . . do this, Daymond," I stated, again fighting off a swirling mixture of dizziness and rage. I struggled against the unrelenting hold he hand on me. ^Have to get him off,^ I thought desperately. ^He must not win.^
"Sure I can. We both agreed that there were no limits." He leaned harder on my abdomen. The pain blocks in my mind kept me from feeling what ordinarily would have caused me to block out in seconds. When I didn't react, Daymond's eyes went red as he realized what I had done and he shifted his right hand until it closed around my throat.
My lips parted slightly in shock. ^Does he mean to strangle me?^ I wondered, risking a quick surface access to test the strength of his emotions. The level of malice within him staggered me and I hastily withdrew my presence before his emotions influenced mine.
^Too late.^
Part two coming up
~Never Alone~
Part two
Aware that I had accessed his mind, Daymond did something unexpected: he shifted, brought one knee down on my already shattered ribs and cruelly transferred his weight onto my chest. In spite of the blocked nerves, I inhaled sharply and the muscles in my chest contracted painfully.
Not knowing what else to do, I sent a tendril of energy in the direction of my lightwhip and felt the smooth hilt land solidly in my palm. Daymond's hand tightened about my neck and it became harder to draw air into my lungs. That didn't keep me from speaking. "This is only . . . going to end with . . . one of us dead. . ." I vowed, rage making my blood boil as I activated the sleek weapon, ready to flick the now-shorter cable at Daymond's head. It would probably kill him but I was behind caring.
"Eldra! Stop!"
My hand froze in midair. The cord of energy, however, didn't. It struck Daymond's left temple with enough force to send him sprawling, though not before all of his weight drove into my ribs. The pressure only lasted a moment before it vanished.
No longer pinned down, I rolled over and push myself to my knees. Beside me, Daymond didn't move.
Looking down at him lying helpless before me, I felt an overwhelming urge to lash out with my whip and strike him until he no longer drew breath.
Almost without realizing what I was doing, my hand rose into the air.
Since I'm cruel, I'm going to leave off there. If some of that seems familiar, it's because I've kept certain parts the same as my old version, way, wwwaaayy back on this thread.
Also, check out my secondary blog for sketches relating to this story.
Oh, and I meant to type Shadow In The Deep, not Shadow Of The Deep. Oops!
And last but not least: Does anyone else find that pickles make you act crazy?
~Never Alone~
I totally think we don't have to over-react. This thread will probably be around when "Venom and Song" is released, then the thread will only die when everyone but one person has read and/or purchased it. Simple, LOL. =D
@ Goldarrow - Group 1 Crew is awesome! I love that they fill in a genre that . . . well, I don't hear of a lot of Christian artists (but I usually just listen to the Air1 radio station). Sort of like the Christian alternative of . . . not quite the Black Eyed Peas, but some hip-hop group like that. I really want to get their CDs or download some MP3s of their songs --I gotta save up, LOL.
@ thelastolympian - Just curious . . . did you get your username from the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series? That's one of my favorite "secular" book series . . . =D
@ mermaidgirl45 - Wow, I'd love to go to Washington D.C. someday . . . thanks for sharing some of your experiences there!
@ Eldra - That reminds me . . . I have to read the "Viking Quest" series. :) My sisters bought the series last year, so . . . haha, I need to finish the library books I have before they're due.
Thelasolypiam: I Love that excerpt!!! I can't wait to hear more!!!
Yikes Mr. Batson!!! I didn't mean let the thread die!!! I'm soooo busy with exams this week that I really don't want it to die!!! So don't yet;)
Here's my quote, it's from PC:) Oh and by the way, I don't think that there is a VDT trailer out cause I always check this website called narniaweb and they don't have anything yet. I hope they get one soon though!!! *fingers crossed*
"Your your a mouse!"
"You people have NO imagination!"
Well I hope he wasn't talking about writers cause I want to have a really good imagination;)
Oh and Mr. Batson, I saw on your facebook that you don't get out until June 23rd. I am soooo sorry for you:( But I know you'll make it!!
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Everyone who posted as a reply to my comment- thanks!! I read all of them. All of the movies y'all said sounded good, and I really want to see "To Save a Life." Don't look up the trailer for VDT!!! It hasn't come out yet, and all of the 'trailers' online are FAKES!!!!
Yes, Pride and Prejudice against ALL other movies.
Goldarrow–Group 1 Crew is great! :) I only have one of their cds, but I love it!!
Lady DragonKeeper–haha! :) Thanks! lol.
"The outer conditions of a person’s life
will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs."
– James Allen
~ElizabethMarieKauffman~
Archer:
I think that Group 1 Crew is unique. I was at one of their concerts recently, I was great!
Blanca and Manwell gave their testimonies. It was so good!
Toby Mac is good to! I love Tonight with John Copper.
Do you shoot archery like your name says?
Goldarrow
Jolayne: You got it! I'll be praying! Having an awesome time at camp! =D
LadyDragonKeeper: I lo0ve the Dawn Treader! I'm probably going to camp out the night before to see it when it releases! I'm a passionate Narnia fan!
Also, concerning Percy Jackson: I have not seen it yet. But, personally, I think it might not be a great movie. I'm pretty sure it's appropriate, but it's so incredibly different from the book, and not in a positive way, like Prince Caspian was.
The entire book centers, literally, the entire plot, dialogue, setting, everything, centers on the fact that when Percy turns sixteen, he will either totally destroy or save the modern world. In the book, he's already 18, and the prophecy comes when's he's 21. I guess it could work, but I was so upset about it when I first heard. The book was changed so drastically. I know it can still be good, but from what I've heard, and the trailers, my instinct, as a fan, is that it's going to stink.
Sorry to go berserk, but I absolutely love these books. =)
Archer: Hmm... Not sure about one and two, but I know three. =) Autumn was speeding around the battle, and doing a great job but ran into the spikes of a drefid.
Not Really Sure Who Brought It Up: *squeal of delight* I love !! I, honestly, just watched the movie last night. It's the 2005 version. Has anyone seen it? I'm learning to play one of those songs.
Signing off!
~mermaidgirl45~
Speaking of, does anyone here own or play the piano? I have a very small keyboard. I think it has 56 keys and a 2 track recording. =) I'm thinking I might need a new one, and was wondering if anyone had any tips. I'm afraid I can't keep up a real piano, but I'm thinking about Yamaha's YPG 235. =D
Alas commenting is fun :) I figure somebody will win at some point! Though, hehe, I am so forgetful prolly not me :P
Millardthemk
Yep, this thread is definitely getting old. In human terms, it's probably somewhere like two hundred years old or so. Take care with it.
Lookin' forward to YC!! *hums happily to self* Gonna see most of my favorite bands! *continues humming* Anyone else going?
WV: rapid - well, I think we all know what that means, right? It's what happens to a little kid's mouth when they have too much sugar.
~Never Alone~
I agree Anonymous i always forget to coment.
Jhon 3:16
LOOK IT UP
Wow, Last Olympian, great excerpt.
Eldraaaaaa!! Seriously?? C'mon... You are REALLY mean. I was ENJOYING that... Nice inner tormoil in there, BTW. Love it. :D
Hullo, Millard! Do you enjoy commenting in different forms? [e. thru Blogger, Anonymous, etc. :D]
Okay, excerpt up on my blog from my novel!!! An entire chapter. :D
Click on my name to check it out. :D
and now for song lyrics...
"I wanna be in the light,
as You are in the light,
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens,
oh Lord be my light,
and be my salvation,
all I want is to be in the light."
love that song...
Eldra: Awesome excerpt! What a cliffhanger!
Being an avid Church History buff, I love this quote from Martin Luther:
"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason(for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other.May God help me. Amen." - Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
Do any of you have a favorite figure, quote, or event from Christian history?
Glad you guys enjoyed it! Oh, and I won't be able to post any more of my chapter in the next week for several different reasons, a big one being that it isn't finished yet! Psychological scenes are hard to write. . .
Jake - Yes, I'm extremely cruel when it comes to leaving cliffhangers. It's in my nature. Or maybe it's just a bad habit. . .
Also, what is your favorite character in The Binding Of The Blade? I really like Joraiem (of course, you know what happened about that!), though Aljeron has grown on me. Also, I like Benjiah, mostly for sentimental reasons. And my least favorite character so far is Synoki. Something about him just bugs me. Still, I haven't read books four or five yet, so don't give me any spoilers!
Archer - To pick up where we last left off, have you heard of these bands: This Fires Embrace, Silverline, Rob Rock, Planetshakers or Ivoryline?
VW: relent - probably something I need to do with my writing. . .
~Never Alone~
Patrick: I love that poem!!!! In fact, if you look at the address for my blog, you'll find that it's named after that poem. :) I can't help it: I just love it! That, and the Jabberwocky. That's a great one too!
thelastolympian: great excerpt! As I was reading it, I was enthralled. I am very curious as to what happens next.
Eldra: Your excerpt was awesome too! Wow... the suspense! I think I need to go write now... I'm starting to shiver just thinking about it!
Oh, why are none of these books published yet?!?!?!
On another note, I have some exciting news: I just submitted to Marcher Lord Press! Mr. Gerke told me it may be around a year before he can actually look at my submission, but I guess I'll just have to wait and in the meantime, keep querying.
I think I'm going to post an excerpt again, just because I haven't in a while. This is from "Song of the Daystar" in chapter 7: it's where Curron meets... well, let's just say a miniature gaurdian.
(sorry this took a little longer to start posting than I thought it would. I'm going to use Eldra's example and if you see [] around a post, it means it's in italic)
[Scritch, scritch…]
The sound filtered in through Curron’s dreams. He jerked upright in bed and peered into the darkness around. It was no use; the lantern had been put out and the only light peeked through a curtain that hung across the doorframe. He couldn’t even see the floor, but he thought he might be able to stumble across to the curtain. If he pulled it back, there was a chance he could see what was making the sound.
[Scritch, scritch…]
He threw back the blankets and placed his feet on the floor. The floor was dirt and cold; the chill slipped in through his feet and made him shiver. Why didn’t I notice the floor before? But it hardly mattered now. Two steps and he was at the curtain. He pulled it back and turned back to his room, searching it with his eyes.
[Nothing. How odd. I was sure I heard—]
[Scritch, scritch!]
Curron jumped and spun around. The sound didn’t come from his room; it was coming from the church and…
[Scritch, scritch!]
…it was coming from behind the pulpit.
[What on earth?]
He crept up onto the dais. A passing thought that the wood of the dais floor might creak and give him away, made him pause and check his footing. But the floor was solid and made no sound. He tiptoed over to the pulpit and peered around it.
The creature hadn’t heard him yet. It was a small thing, round, and completely covered with long mottled fur except for its arms and legs which had bare, black skin. Its fur spiked on the top of its head as if it had two little horns.
Curron could only see the back of it, but it certainly didn’t look dangerous. Looks could be deceiving though, especially considering what he’d found out about Broxe. All the same, it made him think of the stable cat he used to feed scraps to, and the cat’s kittens that he’d found in the loft one time.
The creature sniffed at something on the floor. Every few seconds it would scratch at the place as if trying to dig through the floorboards.
[So that’s what was making the noise,] Curron thought. [But what on earth is it trying to get at?] He leaned closer for a better look.
Suddenly it turned and stared at him. Curron stumbled back. Its eyes were huge! They took up most of its face. It had a small, pig-like nose, and its mouth slanted down from its nose much like a cat’s. Its thin lips were black against its pale mottled fur. It stared at him for another moment or two, then went back to its sniffing.
Curron crept close again. After all, if it meant me any harm, it would have attacked. The creature seemed too interested in what it was doing to take any second notice of a boy and his curiosity. Curron sat and watched it. Every few minutes it would move to a new spot on the floor and start its tedious task of sniffing and scratching all over again. He couldn’t help but wonder if there really was something under the floor that it was trying to get at; after all, what sort of creature would continuously sniff and scratch at floorboards if there was nothing it was after? He was just wondering if there was any way he could help it, when a voice interrupted his thoughts.
“I hope you’re not going to sit there and stare at me all night.”
“What?” Curron glanced around. The candles left in the sanctuary were just stubs in puddles of wax. He’d been so enthralled with the creature and his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the fading light.
“Who said that?”
“I did, and I meant it. It’s very disconcerting to have someone constantly staring at you while you work.”
Curron looked down. The creature stood watching him again. It blinked its eyes lazily, one lid and then the other, and sat down on the floor. When it sat, its hind legs went straight out in front of it. It curled its front paws in its lap as if trying to find patience with a particularly dim-witted student. “Well, are you just going to sit there and gawk or what? If you have questions, ask them now. I’m very busy, as you can see, and you’ve just interrupted my work.”
Suddenly conscious that his mouth was hanging open, Curron snapped it shut. (Questions? What sort of questions? Am I supposed to ask it questions?) His mouth flapped like a dying fish’s, but no words came out.
The creature sighed. “I suppose,” it said, “that at this moment you are stunned into silence by my absolute magnificence. I’m so wonderful a creature that you can’t even speak.” It stood and struck a theatrical pose, one scrawny little black arm on its furry, round hip and the other stretched out as if reaching for something. The spiked fur on the top of its head, which Curron now realized were its two ears, folded flat, and it closed its giant eyes dramatically.
Curron covered his mouth to hide a giggle.
The thing opened one eye to a slit. “What was that? Was that laughter I heard?” Curron shook his head emphatically, but the creature just smiled, and when it did, its mouth seemed to split its face in two. “Wonderful! At least I know you’re not mute. I’d hate to have to work for a master who couldn’t talk; then I’d have to guess at just about everything you said, and I’d never be sure if you’re actually listening when I’m talking or not.” It turned back around and started sniffing the floor again.
Curron suddenly found his voice. “Master?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” The creature looked up. It really was disturbing to have such extremely large eyes looking at him, especially since the light in the sanctuary had dimmed so much, and since the creature’s eyes seemed to glow yellow-green in the dark. Curron tried not to think too much about it as it waddled over and placed its front paws on his knee. “You’re my new master. I’m supposed to look after you and make sure you don’t get into any trouble. Although I don’t think that will be much of a problem, as you seem to be the sort who’s afraid of everything and tends not to get into trouble in the first place.” It smiled again, baring two miniature white fangs, each about the size of a bone needle.
“Well, I don’t just go looking for trouble,” Curron said defensively.
“Oh, that’s perfectly alright,” said the creature. “I prefer not to have to get you out of any scrapes anyway.”
Curron stifled a laugh at the thought of a little round furry thing coming to his rescue.
“And don’t think I couldn’t save you either,” said the creature. It gave a sly smile and went back to work on the floorboards. “It just so happens I was at the top of my class in rescuing people.”
Curron hid his smile behind a hand and watched the creature work. Whatever it was doing, it sure seemed intent on finishing the job. Tiny scratch marks covered the floor under the pulpit, but there seemed no recognizable pattern to them. After a few silent minutes, Curron felt he had to ask.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Mice,” said the creature without looking up.
“What?”
“Mice,” it said again. “There’s a family of nice, plump mice living under here and a fat mouseling makes a delicious meal. But these floorboards are fit together so tightly, I just can’t get at them!”
“You eat mice?” Curron asked tentatively. He swallowed a lump that suddenly rose in his throat.
“Sure. Mice, rats, bugs… kittens sometimes, if I can get my hands on them.”
Curron wanted to whump the creature right there, but forced himself to hold back. He remembered the night one of the kittens in the stable had gone up missing; he’d searched everywhere for it, but had never found a single trace. The mother cat had yowled night and day for a week, looking for the poor thing. Curron had felt so sorry for her.
The creature looked up as if sensing his thoughts. “Don’t worry,” it said, “I never ate any of the kittens at the fort. Rats did, though, but we usually found them, and ate them instead.”
“We?” Curron felt silly. Of course there was more than one of them. But where on earth had they been hiding and how many where there? He’d never seen any before.
“Yes, we,” said the creature. “There are lots of us; lots and lots. We’re all over the place, in fact. I followed you from the fort, but there are others who were already here and they’ve told me all about that weird stone you have, and the elders, and the horses, and… well, just about everything. I even know that you’re planning to go to Marratow.”
“Well, that’s no secret,” Curron muttered.
“Certainly not!” said the creature. “I knew it before you did!” It looked down at the floor boards and then back up at Curron. “Umm… do you think you could…”
Curron shook his head. “No,” he said. After he’d learned about the kittens, he decided he’d let the poor family of mice be. “You’ll have to figure out something else.”
The creature shrugged. “Suit yourself. I was going to share some with you, but if you’d rather not…”
Curron tried not to gag, but it came out before he could stifle it. Eating mice? What a horrible thought! I suppose if I was practically starving, but… He shivered and scrunched his eyes shut. “No thank you,” he managed, and covered his mouth with his hand.
A small paw on his knee made him open his eyes again. The creature climbed into his lap and then up to his shoulder. “By the way,” it said, hanging on his ear for balance. “I never introduced myself. I’m called Ahji, and I already know that you’re Curron. We Ingas know just about everything there is to know.”
“So you’ve said,” Curron mumbled.
The Inga shrugged. “Can’t really help it,” it said. “It’s just the way we are. I suppose I should probably mention that I’ll be tagging along with you on your way to the capital city.”
“Oh no, you don’t!” Curron said, picking the creature up and setting it back on the floor. “I don’t need another talking nuisance arguing with me all the way there; I already have a pony to do that, and I think he’ll do the job just fine. The last thing I need is a little ball of fur getting in the way.”
“Was that supposed to be an insult?” It blinked. “Ah well, I suppose it was meant to be, but when you are a little ball of fur, it doesn’t really make much difference, does it? You can’t stop me though; I followed you all the way here from the fort, and I’ll follow you all the way to Marratow if I have to. I’d rather ride with you, but if you’re going to be stubborn about it, then I guess you give me no other choice.” It turned back to the floorboards. “Now if you’re just going to sit there and stare at me, you might as well go back to bed. You’ll have a lot to do in the morning and I expect you’ll be tired without much rest.”
Curron thought of saying something more, but there seemed nothing more to say. The creature seemed as stubborn as Broxe, although not quite as insulting. Perhaps this was only a dream anyway and the creature would be gone in the morning forever. Then what did he have to worry about?
He got up to return to his bed. The candle stubs were now so small that their flames were just little blue specks of light, but there were enough of them that he could still just see the way back to his room. He was halfway there, when a voice from behind stopped him.
“I should probably tell you, you’ll might or might not see me sometime tomorrow. I won’t come out very often, but I’ll never be very far away. If you need something – even if you’d just like to be a nuisance and ask lots of stupid questions – just call out.”
Curron nodded without turning around and went back into the dark comfort of his little room, trying to convince himself that the creature was only a dream. He was soon asleep again, but he didn’t sleep well. His dreams were filled with lost kittens, yowling alley cats, and a little furry monster with great big teeth that hid in the shadows and bit him when he wasn’t looking.
@ mermaidgirl45 -
About "PJatO" --I know! I keep hearing people say stuff like, "Oh, the movie? It was . . . different (and/or they say 'interesting')." *sigh* I love the series too . . . they're pretty clean for the most part and it seems like the movie's like, "t.v. teen drama" or something . . . I hope not --now that I'll probably have enough money for the DVD whenever it comes out I'm still trying to decide if I should buy it. I totally agree with you about the "age issue" --if I were the director of the PJatO: tLT movie, and if I HAD to change the main characters ages, I would have made Percy and co. 14 and have the prophecy at 18. That way, you avoid the potentially awkward situations of having to do those horrible college type movies, by keeping them in high school. So many advantages . . . you could make Luke in college and still have the "Percy looks up to Luke" type of relationship (and with Annabeth too).
I did a journal entry in which I elaborated my thoughts about the book vs. the movie and what I think is wrong with changing the age from 12 to 17--I'll post part of it (not to worry, THIS is kind of berserk/crazy fangirl sounding . . . maybe. You be the judge. *wink*) =)
**SPOILERS for the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series**
One of my Awana leaders actually told us about the series in 2008, right before "Battle of the Labyrinth" (book 4) came out. So we borrowed the first three books from the library and then reserved the 4th one (I think we were 77th or something). So when I saw her at our Awana camp in the summer, I was like, "Mrs. Alison, you should have told us the 4th one came out in May!" and told her how many holds there were in the library for it and then the next day, she brought her copy of the book for me to borrow (on condition that I didn't read it at camp, LOL). So I became a fan of the series right before it got "semi-super-popular" when they started filming the movie. I've never really been "into" Greek mythology, but have you read the "What your (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) grader needs to know" books (they have a tree on it)? LOL, the Greek myths section in the 3rd, and 4th grade ones (I believe) were my favorite parts. So I knew most of the myths that are mentioned or given a spin on in the "PJatO" (that's how my siblings and I abbreviate it) series. I love the humor (Percy's first person narrative is awesome, so hilarious!) and the storyline --Greek mythology with a modern twist? Genius! I also like the fact that the books are pretty clean and I enjoy the series even though (like one of my other fave "secular" series, "Redwall") it's aimed at upper elementary/middle schoolers (and aimed a bit more to the boys' side). Let's face it, most of the books aimed at teen girls are "romance/teen drama fiction" ala "Twilight," "Gossip Girl," "The Clique," etc. that from what I've heard and read in the summaries . . . don't sound too appropriate. Rick Riordan totally has the tween/teenage boy down (or at least, to me as a teen girl with two youngers, it seems that way) . . . very believable. Haha, if you can't tell, Percy's my favorite character, but Annabeth comes in as a really close second.
"Will the movie be anything like the book?" I don't know, based on the trailers I've seen, it seems like it will be a "Prince Caspian" sort of adaptation. Some scenes are added, some things switched around, characters descriptions changed (like Caspian was blond and 12-13 in the book; dark haired, 20-something in the movie). E.g. The Hydra is seen in the PJatO movie (as evidenced by a promotional clip released), but they don't battle the Hydra until "The Sea of Monsters (book 2) and
(To be continued).
*Cont. Spoilers*
I think I remember hearing something like that they switched the St. Louis Arch scene from the book and replaced it with the Hydra instead.
I don't mind the some of the physical characteristics that have been changed, like Annabeth being a instead of as long as Alexandra Daddario is a good actress, that will make up for it. Ditto for Grover and Brandon T. Jackson...though I think the klutzy, slightly timid, comic relief thing Grover is in the book is sort of out of place with him being African-American in the movie (the actor sort of seems "too cool looking" at times...to me anyway, LOL), but I understand that they probably wanted to diversify the cast, and besides, I'm pretty sure that in the books, Grover's always been mentioned as having brown hair, nothing specific about his skin color (though, the "Grover's Caucasian" is assumed because of traditional depictions of satyrs as "white" and I still think of him as Caucasian when I read the books). However, it seems like they're emphasizing Grover's role as (not a watcher/observer) but the protector side, so that may have something to do with it --his character might be slightly changed.
An interesting thing I heard is that some fans are disappointed that it seems they're changing the Athena Cabin to brown/dark haired kids/teens and the Aphrodite Cabin to blondes (which some say emphasizes the "stereotypical dumb-blonde")...in the books, the blond haired, gray eyed ones were the smart ones (Athena), I never thought about it that way...I'm kind of disappointed that the actress playing Silena is blond and the one playing Aphrodite has dark hair and blue eyes which is PERFECT for Silena! I really hope IMDB just made a typo...(based on looks) their roles should be switched.
The biggest/pretty much only problem I have with the movie is that they aged up the main characters from 12 to 17, this will probably age the "prophecy" from 16 to 21, but worse than that, what about future sequels? Sure it might look cool now, as teens saving the world, but almost all the books start out with Percy ending his school year...and one of the things I loved was that they were younger, an "innocent" series for me to read, as compared to the "fiction" that's typically aimed at teen girls like me (think "Gossip Girl" and stuff)...I don't need that. Remember the beginning of book 3 ("The Titan's Curse) was at a middle school dance? If they make a third movie, Percy and co. will be 19 --college, great. So now where will they be, a frat (fraternity) party? *shudders at the thought* I'm interested to see how the movie makers will take it ...what their angle, their vision is...I mean, a lot of the plots are sort of going to be "messed up" now, even if you just take "The Lightning Thief"
--First off, near the end of the book it is implied that Percy realized then, that Gabe, his stepfather beat or abused Sally (Percy's mom) when he was drunk. I think a 17 year old guy would have to be really dense not to know or do anything about that (especially if it was your mother...) but having never been in a situation like that, I don't know...that's just my thoughts.
Another big thing is that Luke's relationship with Percy and Annabeth are changed. In the book, Annabeth seems to have a little crush on Luke (who's seven years older) and more importantly, Percy sort of looks up to Luke and thought he was cool: "an older guy like him --even if he was a counselor-- should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me" (tLT pp. 101). In the movie, Luke, Annabeth, and Percy all look like they're around the same age --don't get me started on how this is going to mess up the whole thing with Thalia too.
Clarisse hasn't been casted, which...well, think about it, a bully in middle school is fine, but I'm pretty sure that a high school
(to be cont.)
**cont. spoilers for PJatO series**
female bullying high school boys like that is rare . . . but Clarisse had a bigger role in the later books, so the question is, how will they do that if they do sequels.
If they're 17, what's the big deal about getting to California from New York? Can you say, "Road Trip?!" Just kidding, but you get my drift, for 12 year olds, (like in the book) they had to take the bus, walk, take the amtrak, hitch a ride, etc. to get there . . . so I'm curious as to how the quest will be, how they will capture the sense of urgency, will they make it less time until the solar solstice? Another thing, if you've seen the previews . . . because they're older . . . Percy seems to "like-like" Annabeth *cringes, "This is not going to be the O.C., this is not going to be a ABC Family teen soap, this isn't, isn't, isn't." keep repeating to myself* LOL, I don't know about you, but I liked that *spoilers for book 1* Percy and Annabeth in the first book still had the boys/girls are annoying thing going on . . . they were tweens. Making them older . . . ugh, we should be super-thankful that the "PJatO" book series was aimed at kids, so the movies are practically guaranteed to be relatively kid-friendly, as compared to say, the "Twilight Saga" --that was aimed at teens, so the movies can have more older, um . . . how do I say this . . . it "can be" PG-13. If "PJatO" ever gets a PG-13 rating, it would only be for violence, I’d think.
Smaller things kind of seem annoying, like it's mentioned multiple times in the books that Percy is . . . well poor, or low-middle class "ish" (e.g. when he compares himself with Rachel), but when you look at the movie, I bet you that those clothes he's wearing designer duds, or you know, department store stuff (think Macy's, Neiman Marcus, etc.) they sure look like it, if not . . . Percy from the book would probably shop at Wal-Mart or Savers or something . . . and what about the iPod? --Yes, it could be Grover's (he has the iPhone [?] he was taking pictures with) but you can see the earbuds Percy's wearing in the Museum. Why would Gabe let Percy (or Sally) buy an iPod (or the cool clothes)? He'd use the money for his "games" . . . Anyway, despite my rant, I'm really excited about the movie, and I'd watch it now if I had the money . . . I'll probably ask my aunt to get us the DVD for Christmas or something . . . Basically, I'm not happy with most of the changes, but I'm not going to judge the movie until I see it for myself. If it's like Prince Caspian in terms of changes, I'll be okay . . . I think. Believe me, I've seen worse adaptations (e.g. a character who never dies in the book series or sequel series dies in movie five and then another --who also never dies-- in movie seven!)
**END SPOILERS**
Well, guys, looks like this is going to be the last comment I'll be able to do for a while, maybe even a week! How will this thing live wihtout me??
~Never Alone~
Mermaidgirl45- Do you mean Pride and Prejudice?? I play the piano, but we have an old one...
I just watched Phantom, the movie, last night for the first time... Think I like the musical better.
daughteroflight
Mermaidgirl: I haven't read the Percy Jackson books yet but I know exactly what you mean about the movies. I remember when I saw Eragon the for the first time. I was sooo disappointed that it was nothing like the book! And Narnia doesn't bother me as much either (I guess cause Prince Caspian is such a boring book in my opinion) and I am totally a Narnia Fanatic! I think that if they ever make movies of The Door Within (and boy do I hope they do!) and if they changed it too much I think I would just DIE!! Well maybe not that but I would be terribly disappointed and mad:(
Eldra: I love cliffhangers:)
Star-Dreamer: I really want to hear more!!!! I can't wait until everyone on here gets published because it will be soo cool to have more fantasy books to read!! (and good ones at that!!)
1 more exam on Friday and then I'm done for the summer!!:)
quote:
"Oh my gosh, he's so cute!"
"Who said that??"
"Sorry"
"Oh your majesty! I do believe courageous, courteous, or chilvarous might more befit a knight of Narnia!"
I love Reep:) Oh and did you hear that they are having someone else voice his character in VDT?? I am not happy about that:( And the Telemarines and Caspian lost their Spanish accents:(
WV: realr- a misspelling of realer.
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
so... does anyone other than Mr. Batson read EVERY comment?
I discovered something interesting the other day while reading the Old Testament laws. There was one that struck me as really random. It's unlawful to wear cloth made of wool and linen mixed together.
Now... Why would that be? I started thinking. I know from the fiber class I teach at the college that animal fiber (like wool, human hair, etc.) stays strong when it is slightly acidic. Plant fibers, on the other hand, like to be alkaline. So if you mixed the acidic wool and the alkaline linen together, they would weaken each other via chemical reaction and your garment would fall apart much sooner.
I thought that was interesting. A practical rule that is most definitely valid today!
Ok so I was looking at some quotes and I thought these were just too funny!
"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun."
Thomas A. Edison
I was that was my case!
"If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf."
Bob Hope
I'm not a golf person I guess. :D
Goldarrow
Star-Dreamer: I love it as well; Edgar Allan Poe's writing was a master of mood and atmosphere in his tales; have you read his short story "Masque of the Red Death"? I'll check out your site!
Here are two more stanzas from "The Raven"
"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more..."
Okay, so I do have Internet access, for the next day and a half, at least! Then I'm going up to Edmonton and I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen then.
And the highlight of my day is. . . GOING TO MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT EVERY!!!! If you're ever in the Calgary area and you like Vietnamese food, go to the restaurant Quynh. It's been my family's favorite for the last couple of years. Yeah!!!
~Never Alone~
wow, mr. batson was almost hopeful that the thread would end. you wouldn't want that, would you? well, unless i am the last one to comment:)
How are all of you?
Have any of you heard of the band casting crowns. i've listened to them for about a year, and their songs are so meaningful. some of my favorites are... does anybody hear her?, and voice of truth, also the song how many kings by down here.
i think i might sing one of those for my audition for grease. i really hope i get in. i never realized how much it meant to me to be in a drama production, but now that i acually have compation it is frightening. i know that i shouldn't care, but i do, it is so much a part of my life. problem is that it is hard to keep my focus on God when my life is being torn into five different directions. there is YC (By the way please pray for that, it is this weekend in Edmonton.) there is Paris and Tunisa, where i will be going in 2012, it is about 4grand, so i'm fundraising like crazy, as i am to young for a driver's lisence and live out of town. then my grade 6 piano exam in june, i am really stressed out about that, i also have finals and then drama. drama includes the barnplayhouse, and hopefully grease (i really really hope so.)
Please pray for me in general, i feel like i am falling apart.
@thank you mirmaidgirl for your prayer, it really was an amazing weekend.
JUST BECAUSE I AM CURIOUS, EVERYONE WHO READ THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING PLEASE IN BRAKETS PUT @2574. I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE READ ALL THE POSTS. I TRY TO, BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TIME.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
@ mermaidgirl45 - I just went to "The Wardrobe Door" --narniaweb.com's costume site and they've finally updated it! I cannot wait for the trailer. I've actually been pretty lucky . . . I've won tickets to LWW and PC from a local radio station --so I was able to see both Narnia movies early or the day it was released. If I can't win tickets this time, I'm SO going to buy them . . . LOL.
I love Jane Austen's books! For P&P . . . I saw part of the BBC miniseries as I was reading the book, then saw the 2005 movie. I eventually saw the whole BBC version, but I do prefer the 2005 one --even though, yes, the characters do sometimes seem to act in a "too modern for the time" way. An advantage of the BBC version is that since it's like, six hours --you can have a lot more things that were in the book. Although, what is with the fascination/excitement about Colin Firth/Mr. Darcy's rescue/water scene? Is it 'cause it wasn't in the book? I kept hearing about it and when I finally saw it, I didn't get what everyone was so . . . excited about. Did they (fans, whatever) think he looked "cute/hot" or something? *shrug*
@ Patrick - Off the top of my head, one of my favorite figures from Christian history would have to be C.S. Lewis --one of my goals this summer is to read "Mere Christianity" (finally) and some of his other non-fiction works. If you've read any of his non-fic works, do you have any suggestions or "must reads" of his?
@ Star-Dreamer - It almost feels a bit "Narnia-ish" with the talking creature --the inga. =) I like it!
@ Eldra - Have a wonderful vacation!
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - Hopefully the guy they got for Reep's voice in "VotDT" sounds close to Eddie Izzard --he did an awesome job with Reepicheep in "PC." I don't mind Caspian loosing his "Telmarine accent" --it makes sense, him being the King of Narnia for 3-5 years, but for all of the Telmarines to loose their accent . . . I don't know about that. I don't think it's going to be that jarring that it'll ruin the movie or anything though . . . we'll see.
@ Cora - That is interesting! I guess that makes sense, because the Israelites were wandering in the desert for forty years . . . it's so neat when we find out things today that "validate" what the Bible says. =)
Eldra!!! Bye:( post when you can!!
Matthew I skim every comment:) If there's one I like then I read it.
Cora: Thats really interesting!
argh...another headache! I hate migranes:( at least I don't have school today! But I have one more exam tomorrow afternoon:( But then on Monday I get to see Bryan Davis sooo I am very happy!!:)
If you are an avid Narnia fan and you know someone who is an avid Narnia fan and they call you answer the phone like this:
"I believe you called."
They'll get it:) Now I'll finish the quote:
"Yes, but I thought you'd be older!"
"Well If you like we could come back in a few years."
"No! No thats alright, you're just not exactly what I expected!"
I don't know why but I love that scene! I guess maybe because it has so many good lines!
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Ooh, thanks, Cora!! That's really interesting! (Just for refrence, where is that verse in the Bible?)
I accompanied my choir at church last night on the piano. It was really nervewracking, and I was really scared and didn't do the best I had at home because my hands were shaking, but a lot of people said I did a good job. Whew!!
daughteroflight
Eldra; I've only read BTS so far. I'm trying to get it at the library, but no library in ALL OF KANSAS CITY KANSAS has it. Seriously... But it was Joriaem up untill.. You know.
Star-Dreamer; Amazing excerpt, and hilarious as well. If you don't get Song of the Daystar published, I'm--- Arg! I want to read it SO badly...
Matthew; I have read every one of the so-far 1163 comments. And replied to a tenth of them. :D
Actually, that's an exaggeration. ;)
Awesome stuff going on in the World of Alcryion, a forum for world-making and writing! I encourage you to check it out;
http://alcryion.forumotion.com/
okay, he still hasn't posted from, last time, so just incase something happened i better post again.
just to let all of you know...
i may not post as often as you, but i am just as determind. i do this, until, well tommorow when i go to YC i am so exsited!!!
two of my friends are coming with me. PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD IS WORKING THOUGH YC THIS WEEKEND. there is going to be about 16 000 people there, and not all of them are saved. Please pray.
thank you all for supporting me in my desisions and offering advies, i really appersiate it.
Endurance and Victory
Jolayne
Hmmm... I think the comments are going to overlap, but I'll post anyway. =D
Eldra: Don't worry, we'll keep it alive for you! =D
DaughterofFlight: Yes! I love that movie... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCXi0qF-Q9k
That's the link to the piano music on YouTube (It's a clean video). It's incredible. The first time I heard it, my heart dropped. It was just so beautiful. =)
Elizabeth: I love Eragon!! It was so incredible, and creative, under the circumstances. And, yes!! A fellow Narnia fan as well! I love Lewis' books! What are your favorites? I love The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle and The Dawn Treader! And, again, I have to agree - They can't do a bad job on The Door Within, or they're going to have a 100 raving fans, me included. =D But, I think one song they absolutely HAVE to put in their is "Beautiful Ending" by BarlowGirl, a great band. It's about giving your life for Jesus, and how it's just so beautiful. To me, I can't imagine a better song. They also did a song called, "Never Alone." Both have to go. I found "Beautiful Ending" the very night I finished reading The Final Storm and it was just such a God-Moment, you know? I can't listen to that song without thinking of the ending of that book. The absolute second I get my hands on footage of that movie, I'm making a music video. I've had it planned out for months. =D Hahaha
Anyway, Reepicheep is the best character ever!! SO very different from how I pictured him in the books, but they definitely got his character. =) I'm going to be camping out, in a tent, to get in for The Dawn Treader, I promise. =D
Matthew: I try to, but I'm afraid sometimes I just can't. =) Recently, I've been doing a much better job, though. =D
Cora: That's so cool! There's a book called None of These Diseases. I, personally, have not read it, but I've heard it's really good. For example, when God says that people shouldn't eat meat and dairy products, it's because that the enzymes in your stomach that break them each down neutralize each other, causing indigestion sometimes. I just think it's so awesome that the Jewish people would just be like, "Okay, that sounds kinda strange, but whatever you say, God." In this day and age, we put it under a microscope and then be like, "Oh okay, you're right, God. I guess we'll do what you say." =) Not that science is bad, and everything. Didn't mean it like that. =D
Good night, guys! Jesus totally loves you! =D
Hmmm... I think the comments are going to overlap, but I'll post anyway. =D
Eldra: Don't worry, we'll keep it alive for you! =D
DaughterofFlight: Yes! I love that movie... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCXi0qF-Q9k
That's the link to the piano music on YouTube (It's a clean video). It's incredible. The first time I heard it, my heart dropped. It was just so beautiful. =)
Elizabeth: I love Eragon!! It was so incredible, and creative, under the circumstances. And, yes!! A fellow Narnia fan as well! I love Lewis' books! What are your favorites? I love The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle and The Dawn Treader! And, again, I have to agree - They can't do a bad job on The Door Within, or they're going to have a 100 raving fans, me included. =D But, I think one song they absolutely HAVE to put in their is "Beautiful Ending" by BarlowGirl, a great band. It's about giving your life for Jesus, and how it's just so beautiful. To me, I can't imagine a better song. They also did a song called, "Never Alone." Both have to go. I found "Beautiful Ending" the very night I finished reading The Final Storm and it was just such a God-Moment, you know? I can't listen to that song without thinking of the ending of that book. The absolute second I get my hands on footage of that movie, I'm making a music video. I've had it planned out for months. =D Hahaha
Anyway, Reepicheep is the best character ever!! SO very different from how I pictured him in the books, but they definitely got his character. =) I'm going to be camping out, in a tent, to get in for The Dawn Treader, I promise. =D
Matthew: I try to, but I'm afraid sometimes I just can't. =) Recently, I've been doing a much better job, though. =D
Cora: That's so cool! There's a book called None of These Diseases. I, personally, have not read it, but I've heard it's really good. For example, when God says that people shouldn't eat meat and dairy products, it's because that the enzymes in your stomach that break them each down neutralize each other, causing indigestion sometimes. I just think it's so awesome that the Jewish people would just be like, "Okay, that sounds kinda strange, but whatever you say, God." In this day and age, we put it under a microscope and then be like, "Oh okay, you're right, God. I guess we'll do what you say." =) Not that science is bad, and everything. Didn't mean it like that. =D
Good night, guys! Jesus totally loves you! =D
@2574
Thanks guys! I agree with jolayne; there's going to be some amazing stuff at YC this weekend!! The only downside is that there's a snowfall warning for southern Alberta. A SNOWFALL WARNING!!! IT'S... WHAT?? THE END OF MAY??? ALMOST THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER?? THIS IS CRAZY???
Actually, it's not that crazy. I lived here for 11 years and I've seen snow in August and tank top weather one Christmas Day. You just never know.
~Never Alone~
Sorry, my last comment was kinda rushed. See, I had just come back from the hotel pool and was waiting for the shower, so I decided to comment. So let's retry.
First, I meant to have exclamations marks after crazy, not question marks.
Second, was anyone else raised as a fish? I practically grew up in a pool and therefore love swimming. Only pools, mind you. Lakes and the ocean just don't interest me.
Cora - That's interesting. I had wondered about that verse as well.
Jake - Ooow. I feel for you. Oh, and when you do find BoS, be prepared for a whole slew of new characters, plus it takes places 17 years after BtS.
I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!!
Sorry, swimming gets me hyper.
~Never Alone~
@ Matthew - I've read every single post since I started posting here . . .
@ Patrick - Nice . . . last month, I went to a poetry slam/reading for the first time for a school assignment and one of the speakers performed Poe's poem "Annabel Lee."
@ jolayne - Aw, it's no fun to get stressed out . . . I hope everything works out for you --I'll be praying as well. *Didn't understand the last part of your message, sorry.*
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - You're going to meet Bryan Davis?! *shakes head* Way to make a girl jealous . . . =) / =P Just kidding . . . I hope you have an awesome time.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - Well, the more you get onstage/perform in public, the more you get used to it . . . or that's what my speech/debate friends tell me. "I'm not a public speaker! You guys are so good!" I say and they answer, "No, it's just that we've had more practice." ;-)
@Jolayne; [@2574] Haha, I've read them all...
@Jake; Hay fever... Whoa, this must be getting to my head!! I'm telling myself about my hay fever... *puts head in hands*
Okay, I have to get off and take meds for this hay fever of mine... I just got it the day before yesterday.
LadyDragonKeeper: Yep you do have a point with Caspian being in Narnia for that long! And I really hope Reep sounds the same! I really hope that they come out with a trailer soon!!
Ok I don't have that much time cause I need to clean but heres my bit of info for the day:
I am now done with school and I AM A SOPHOMORE NOW!!! :)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
Grr... sorry everyone, but for something weird has been happening to my posts. It's been really frusturating, but I promise I'm not ignoring you. =)
Stardreamer, that's incredible news!! I'm so excited!! I know it'll take a while, but still, that's so great!!
Lady DragonKeeper, that's exactly it! =D And, also, it just doesn't appeal to the age range. No 12 year old is going to see a movie really about 21 year olds, and no college student is going to see a movie based on a children's series, in general.
Lady DragonKeeper, I am in total awe of your 3-post analysis. I'm so glad to have found a fellow fan!!! =D
Now, my rant: =D
Also,
Jolayne: I love Casting Crowns! They're one of the best Christian bands ever! Have you heard their new one, "Until the Whole World Hears?" It's got such an incredible story behind it, too, besides its powerful message! "Lord, let your sleeping giant rise. Catch the demons by surprise. Holy nation, sanctified, let this be our battle cry." LOVE IT!!
{@2547} Also, I'll pray for you. I know how hard it is with all that stuff. Sometimes, I lose touch with God, too. But, the best part is that He's still there, waiting. =D I love You, God...
Also, isn't that cool that both you and Eldra are going to Edmonton? Do you guys live in the same town? And, sorry - I was just wondering...
And, Lady DragonKeeper, that's so cool that you've won tickets twice! I've never been that lucky, but I'm going to see that movie! And, I'll have to check out that site! I've never heard of it!
Also, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. =D I think I've seen the BBC movie at my friend's house (She's as obsessed as I am)! I've read the books a few times, a while ago, and I don't quite remember a Colin Firth. And, I'm afraid I definitely don't remember Mr. Darcy jumping into a lake.
Also, I heard that PC got a lot of bad rap because the accents were so clearly Mediterranean, and the costumes, some people thought it was racist, and some people thought it just wasn't creative enough. So, I think it was because of all the criticism they got it.
Also, in the Caspian movie, what did you guys think of the Peter/Caspian rivalry and the Susan/Caspian romance?
Anyway, sorry for all the crazy posts. =D
My little brother is always looking for new series, and he is the one who introduced me to the PJatO series. =D I totally fell in love. The real reason was before, we had a colossal book called "D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Mythology," I think. It had beautiful illustrations on every single page, and named every single god and story in the book. So, I already loved Greek Mythology, and read it at least five times before the series. =)
Anyway, you're totally right! I love how he incorporates every detail to fit exactly into our culture! It's amazing, when you think about it! (Of course, quite obviously, it's all fiction. =) But, I love how just the most incredible details are like, Whoa! I can't believe that! It's just so cool!
Also, I agree with you about the age range. I'm 15, a bit old, maybe, but I still love it passionately! Also, there aren't any really great books out there (fantasy-wise) for teens. Well, you know what I mean. =)
And, GROVER!! I was shocked! I have absolutely nothing against African American people, I completely promise, but I'm just not sure it fits his personality. One, because in the trailer, it shows his taking a picture of a female statue... I can say that didn't happen in the book... But, I always thought Grover as a really nerdy, dorky, but super loyal best friend. =D
I heard something about them trying to combine Clarisse AND Silena AND Annabeth!! I'm shaking in fear. But, in the trailer, it does show Annabeth as a more I'm-going-to-kick-your-rear kinda girl, like Clarisse. They just can't do that though. Silena has such a vital role, and so do all the characters... separately.
And, again, I love the whole Annabeth-Luke thing. It added so much to the book, and I just don't see it in the movie. And, I love the "seaweed brain" thing. That was just so sweet! But, they took that out, and just did the classic boy-meets-girl thing, instead of watching the character's getting to know each other.
And, you're totally and completely right about Gabe, the driving, the iPod everything. It just doesn't work. Gabe is a total scum ball, and there's no way. Also, I've never been in that situation before either, but I think that for a 17 year old, Percy really should pick up on that.
Also, another huge thing I have a thing against is just the theme of the book. Percy is just a 12 year old kid who's still trying to figure out good and bad. He struggled so many times with moral decisions, and it was really, really great, because it was interesting and you could empathize. I don't see that in the movie either.
I'm going to try to see it too. I must admit, I have the poster in my room, and so does my brother. =D But, I just think they could have done a bit better of a job.
http://percyjackson.wikia.com/wiki/Percy_Jackson_book_to_movie_differences
This is a link from the Percy Jackson wikia that compares all the differences. =) It's really good.
Anyway, I understand the reason for adapting the movie, because it's like, "What if this happened instead?" but I do think you have to be careful not to ruin it. I'm afraid we'll have another Eragon. But, of course, I'll still see it. =) It could still be good.
Also, have you read the Kane Chronicles? It's very different from Percy Jackson...
Lady-Dragonkeeper: C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors from Christian history as well, because of his written works and his life's story as well. I'll post some recommendations in the next post! I'll have to check out Poe's "Annabel Lee" poem; thanks for the recommendation!
@ mermaidgirl45 - I don't know about having BarlowGirl songs in a "Door Within" movie . . . I'd like soundtrack type of music, like in "Lord of the Rings" . . . maybe in the credits? I love BarlowGirl though, they're one of my favorite bands and I agree about those two songs fitting the story. =)
LOL, I'm glad no one freaked out (I think no one did anyway . . . ) =) About the PJatO book/movie age thing . . . I totally think it depends . . . I've browsed on livejournal.com a bit since I don't have an account, but there are quite a few "college aged or older" PJatO book fans . . . some also have "grown up" with the series, sort of like "Harry Potter" fans. On the other hand, some pre-teen kids read books like "the Twilight Saga" or "Gossip Girl" and watch the shows (they're not college aged characters, as far as I know, but the content is kind of sketchy for me personally . . . from what I've heard, I would NOT let 6th-7th graders read them o_0).
I don't think you're too old . . . I consider the age of Percy (12-16) the target age of the series: upper elementary/middle school mainly but some lower and upper grades from that base point as well, so that'd fit 9th-10th graders too. I agree about Grover . . . like I said, the actor they got for Grover looks a bit too "cool" to be Grover . . .
I think it's okay that Annabeth gets more "fight/action scenes" but they need to show her using her brains/logic too, because that's what Annabeth did in the books, though she IS a good fighter and can always hold her own. (That was a long run-on sentence, LOL). I thought Silena was casted . . . but if you mean being flirty or something, I can see a bit of that from the trailers/clips . . . ugh. I'm sure if they make "The Sea of Monsters" they'll cast Clarisse, but they're going to have to do major character introductions and stuff if they're going to follow the storyline . . . they should have introduced her as an antagonist already in this movie. I was disappointed with the movie poster . . . they could have put a lot more characters on there, but if I get my hands on a poster, I would totally keep it. =) Thanks for the wiki link ... I'm trying to keep myself from spoilers right now, but I'll look as soon as I see the movie. We (my siblings and I) reserved "The Red Pyramid" from our state library system . . . there were 30something holds when we put our names on the list --I just checked, and there are 70 holds now, but there are about a dozen copies in circulation, so we should be getting it in a couple of weeks. The annual library summer reading program is starting next week, so I'm sure it'll get even more holds. =)
About the BBC "Pride & Prejudice" I think Colin Firth was the name of the character who played Mr. Darcy . . .
I'm running out of time today, but I also have a thing I wrote about "Suspian" (Susan/Caspian in the movie) and the change of Peter's characterization . . . I'll post it next time. =) Have a great weekend everyone!
mermaidgirl: My favorite Narnia books are: "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "Horse and His Boy" I absolutely LOVE "Beautiful Ending" by Barlow Girl!!! It's my FAVORITE song by them!!! "Never Alone" is my second favorite song:) I sooooo want to see them in concert!!! And I totally know what you mean about God moments!! I had one of those at the end of Final Storm and thats why I love it sooo much!!! :)
Eldra: I LOVE CHOCOLATE TOO!!! (and I am really hyper:)
Also mermaidgirl: The Caspian/Susan romance was totally NOT necessary!! Caspian ends up with Ramandu's daughter (oh and by the way does anyone else have a problem with her not having a name???) NOT Susan!!! Sorry but that was just too much Disney. The Caspian/Peter rivalry was.....well you kind of have to understand it. I don't like it very but I an understand why they put it in there. Peter was hurting because he was a king but everyone just treated him as a kid, which he is in England. Also he was so used to being the one who people listen to so it was hard to give that up. He also wanted to prove himself to Aslan by leading the people right except that's not what Aslan wanted so it went wrong. Peter didn't want to take the blame even thought he knew it was his fault so he blamed it on the Caspian whom he didn't really think could lead Narnia. I think it's just a whole teenager thing and thats what they were trying to show maybe?? I don't know and those are just my thoughts. I still don't think that was necessary though.
Ok I saw that they are having another tribe building thingy. How can I become a part of it???? How do find a tribe??? I REALLY want to but I just don't know how!!!!:(:(
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
LadyDragonKeeper: I believe you are right about Mr. Darcy. Is that the 6 hour one?? Cause thats the one I watched and I loved it!
Ok i figured out which site you go on to get into a tribe and now I am just trying to figure out which one to join:)
Elizabeth:)
Never Alone!!
WOOT WOOT!!! I can't wait to get on a tribe or co-lead one!!
THANKS WTB for doing this!!!
Lady DragonKeeper: Now that I think about it, you're totally right. But, maybe on the soundtracks? =D I'm obsessed with orchestra music, and I passionately love the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack, especially #23 Coming Back Around. I'm still obsessing, I know. But, when I listen to this one part, it just feels, like epic. I always get goosebumps. =)
I haven't really read GossipGirl or Twilight, but I've heard a lot about that, too. I don't think I'll be reading it.
And, that's okay, it was a good run-on sentence. =) I have to agree about both Silena and Clarisse.
And, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about spoilers! Ack! I'm really sorry...
Also, about Red Pyramid... It was very... interesting. Extremely different from Percy Jackson. Definitely for older age group. I don't want to give away spoilers. =) It's very good, but just so, so different.
And, oh, okay - hahaha sorry. I'm a little slow sometimes. =D Colin Firth was Mr. Darcy...
See you guys! =D
This has been going on forever now...
I don't even know if it's done yet!
Oh well....here's a quote!
"Failure is the path of least persistence."
Taken from a fortune cookie xD
Mermaidgirl45- Isn't it awesome?! I'm making it a requirement that my husband watch it before we get married. (I'm not engaged right now- lol.) What's the link for? I think the Peter/ PC rivalry was a bit much, and the Susan/ PC thing was WAAAAAAAAAY too much!! That so, TOTALLY did NOT happen in the book!!
LadyDragonkeeper- Thanks for the advice! I've played in front of a crowd before, just not with a choir. If I messed up... it would have been chaos. Esp. since half of the people didn't show up! I think I did okay- some people that heard me play and were in the choir came over to our house today and clapped. It was cool.
Prizes for the Tribe members- sweet!! I can't wait for the unpublished short story!!!! Is anybody going to do it again?
daughteroflight
Lady Dragonkeeper: I'm also hoping to read Mere Christianity over the summer. Here's the list of C. S. Lewis' non-fiction books that I mentioned last night that I'd post. Regarding literature and story, he wrote nearly as prolifically as he did in his apologetic writing. On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature is an awesome compilation of his literary essays that explore his thoughts on stories. Three of my favorite essays from the book are "On Stories", "On Three Ways of Writing For Children", "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said" which explore his thoughts specifically on fantasy. The book even includes his review of Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings among other inclusions.
Another excellent book I'm just beginning to explore is another book of essays entitled God In The Dock features a lot his essays on various doctrinal issues and apologetics. One favorite from that book is "On The Reading Of Old Books", where Lewis imparts the importance of reading classic Christian books from the past.
Also, Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship is an excellent joint biography of both Lewis and Tolkien that explores the deep friendship they shared and their mutual impact on one-anothers' writings and Christian faith.
I'll list some others tomorrow evening; hope this helps!
Obviously, I don't think "Suspian" should have been in there since it wasn't in -or hinted at -in the books (and I think most Narnia fans would agree). However it does kinda shows the beginnings perhaps of the state of her character in "The Last Battle." After all, in that book and I think one of the other books ("The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"?), it seems to indicate that Susan was getting interested in guys and stuff like that. It doesn't justify it, but it's kind of believable (and, dare I say, it was pretty "tame" -with "Hollywood" it could have been worse). I think it will confuse people though, I mean, if Susan fell in love with Caspian, why would she "fall away" from Narnia? Is it that she becomes "bitter" at Aslan or something because she can't come beck? I think it would still work that she thought that it was foolish and a children's game -that she didn't believe in Narnia anymore, but now you have those other "possibilities". The only thing I'm worried about is that people now think that Caspian and Susan should have gotten married (which is totally "not canon", it doesn't happen in the books).
I was more "upset" with how they changed Peter. While it is an understandable "theory" (Peter was High King and then he was a kid again, etc.) it never happened in the book quite to the extent it did in the movie. He was fine with Caspian, not fighting with him. But I suppose it is because they don't run into Aslan until the end in the movie (in the book, Aslan meets them in the middle of the story)... again, as I mentioned earlier, I'm just glad it wasn't worse.
"Confession time" Though I wasn't too thrilled with the Susan/Caspian romance, it did give me some hope for "The Horse and His Boy" and Jill/Eustace (you never thought that?) What I mean is, if they (Hollywood, script writers, directors) put in a "romance" between two characters that was never hinted at, maybe they will put in a little for Aravis/Shasta (Prince Cor) in my fave Narnia book? The only thing is, I think that they're supposed to be fourteen or so . . . At the very least, we can have them when they're older (show the wedding please?) like it says in the last chapter. About Jill/Eustace...I'm not the only girl who thinks that they would've made a good couple, right? I don't know why, but I've thought that ever since the first time I read "The Silver Chair".
Actually, Susan and Caspian are both 13 in the book "Prince Caspian" see here: (the second one is a little easier to read).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnian_timeline
http://members.lycos.co.uk/Jonathan_Gregory76/history.htm
Susan was born in 1928 and was 13 by the time they returned to Narnia in 1941. Caspian X was born in 2290 (Narnian Years) and the events in "Prince Caspian" occured 2303 ("NY") making him 13 as well. Though I haven't read "PC" in awhile, I think that Caspian did seem like he was around Edmund's age (or at least, younger than Susan), but I can't think of any specific reasons.
I'd love it if they used the Walden/Disney/Fox movie actors (William Mosley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley). I can't picture anyone else as "the Pevensies." They seemed like they could have been siblings in real life! If the Narnia movies were as popular as Star Wars, I'd want them to re-shoot the ending from "LWW" (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), just so in the end we could see the same kids as young adults (they could actually do that in a couple years). But alas, we do not have George Lucas's money, (he re-did parts of the SW trilogy, better effects, etc. and replaced the "Force Ghost" of Anakin Skywalker in "Return of the Jedi" with the Prequel actor), so I doubt that would happen (it would be so neat though...)
As promised, here are some excerpts from several "back & forth" discussions I had with some of my friends about the Narnia "books vs. movies." It's a bit long...
I actually have two favorite books out of the series: "The Horse and His Boy" and "The Silver Chair" which is probably because my favorite characters, Shasta (I could never call him Cor), Aravis, and Jill are in them. My favorite Pevensie however, is Peter. He's a little bit like me and I can relate to him as I am also the oldest in my family.
The new movies I have to say are so much better than the BBC version, I think. Actually I've only seen the LWW (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) one and that was right after I saw the 2005 LWW. I wanted to see "The Silver Chair", but thought it would be better to watch the BBC ones in order, hence LWW. It was so "awful" I didn't want to see what they did to "The Silver Chair"! I love both of the new movies (although I'm not quite as happy with "Prince Caspian"). While they did change some aspects of the movie, the only one I was really upset with how they changed Peter. While it is understandable (Peter was High King and then he was a kid again), it never happened in the book quite to the extent it did in the movie. He was fine with Caspian, not fighting with him. But I suppose it is because they don't run into Aslan until the end in the movie. I'm a little more okay with the "Susan/Caspian crush". After all, in"The Last Battle" and I think one of the other books, it seems to indicate that Susan was intrested in guys and stuff like that. The only thing I'm worried about is that people now think that Caspian and Susan should have gotten married (which is totally "not canon", it doesn't happen in the books). However, I'm just thankful that they didn't totally go overboard (changing everything). If you've watched the t.v. movies based on Janette Oke's "Love Comes Softly" series, you know what I mean. The first several movies were pretty close to the books, but then the later one's are basically like an "alternate universe". Let's just say someone who NEVER dies in the books (or in the sequel series) gets killed off in the 5th movie. Even though I still like the movies, they do not follow the books.
@Fire Phoenix: I love fortune cookies! =D Have you ever had the Christian ones with the Bible verses in them? =D
@Duaghter of Flight: Hahahaha - That's so funny! I am too!! Wow, great minds think alike. He also has to at least be a tolerable dancer. ;D But, then again, whatever works, God...
The link is to a chart that compares the differences between the new Percy Jackson movie to the books, and it has quite a bit of spoilers. =)
Glad you did okay in your concert! =D
Have to go now, but I'm definitely in on the Tribe Building contest! =D
Just join Swiftstorm, Elizabeth! ;) JK. I'm a member of Swiftstorm. :)
Again, I am hyperexcited about the tribe contest!! WOOT! I've joined Swiftstorm... Swiftstorm all the way!
I had wondered if things here would slack off becuase of the contest, but my hopes were dashed. "Dash it all!" "Oh, cheese..." "Blast!"
;D
I have no idea why I did that. :) I wonder if Mr. Batson reads all of these comments...
I can't wait for Venom and song to come out!
And Sword in the Stars....
And I have to say that you are a great author WTB! and CH!
Keep up the great work!
Goldarrow
WOW. Lots of comments. 0.0
I'm SwiftStorm! I didn't really do anything last year (we were moving most of that time :( ) But this year I really want to do more! Which means I should probably read that Facebook email that Seth sent me... LOL.
Elizabeth: Like Jake said, you can join Swiftstorm. It's the only one up and running so far-though we haven't quite met the 14 member mark yet. To join simply email me at smr411@gmail.com or you can go to http://heedtheprophecies.com/theunderground and get more information of possible tribes being created soon.
Okay, guys!!!! I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!
And guess what??????
SKILLET RAWKED MY FACE OFF!!!!!!!!!
John Cooper is a peanut!!!!!!
Sorry, really hyper!!!!!!! I officially love RED, Disciple, Skillet, TFK!!!!!! (Yeah!!!!!!!!) and Manafest!!!!
I'll post more when I have time.
Actually, I think I'll do a whole post on my blog tomorrow evening, if possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Never Alone~
Wow... there is so much going on here! I read this, and my brain start's to go crazy! :)
I've seen Red Pyramid in stores but haven't bought it yet. I've heard it's good though. Percy Jackson was awesome, but I was a little let down by the movie... in my oppinion, it detered from the book too much and closed up a lot of oppertunities to continue with sequels on screen. :(
Sorry, but I have to go now. It seems like I can only ever catch a few minutes at a time to get on and post! It's kinda crazy, but I can't help it, so I guess I'll just go with what I have.
Glad you guys liked the excerpt! :) C U!
Comments left over from the weekend:
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - Yeah, I saw part of the BBC miniseries first, read the book, then saw the 2005 movie version and then finally saw the whole BBC miniseries on YouTube of all places. =) I like the BBC version because more of the book can be incorporated, but as a whole I loved the 2005 version, even though some of their mannerisms/actions were "too modern" (or that's what my friend's mom says). ;-)
@ mermaidgirl45 - Yeah --I meant on the soundtrack as well . . . sort of like how Switchfoot's "This is Home" is played in the "Prince Caspian" credits and is on the soundtrack too. =) "How to Train Your Dragon" sounds sort of cute/funny . . . maybe my family can rent it later.
I would SO not be allowed to read "Gossip Girl" or the "Twilight Saga" either --I should have said "based on what I've heard about those book series" or something . . . sorry about the confusion. :-)
No worries! It wasn't really a spoiler ... no movie plot details or anything. After all, I did read the book, I just don't want to know what they kept/changed although I have seen some stuff from the trailers/clips. =D
Ooh, now I really want to read it --I've read the excerpt they have on the website . . . =) Typical about home-schoolers in books though. --In general, pretty much every time a book character is home-schooled, it's because of the plot or for convenience (e.g. they and their parents travel a lot or something). Just a little thing I've noticed with all the books I've read. I heard that there's going to be at least a sequel to "The Red Pyramid" --I can't wait to read it, but I'm way more excited about the next series "The Heroes of Olympus" . . . "The Last Hero" is the first book and comes out this October, I believe.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - You mean make him watch "Pride & Prejudice"? LOL, that's awesome! The BBC miniseries (the 6 hour one) or the 2005 version or one of the older ones? XD
@ Patrick - Ooh, thank you so much! I definitely want to check those out. :-)
I'm severely tempted to participate in the tribebuilding contest, but my parents would never allow me to e-mail someone I haven't met in real life . . . :-(
Comments left over from the weekend:
@ Anonymous (Elizabeth) - Yeah, I saw part of the BBC miniseries first, read the book, then saw the 2005 movie version and then finally saw the whole BBC miniseries on YouTube of all places. =) I like the BBC version because more of the book can be incorporated, but as a whole I loved the 2005 version, even though some of their mannerisms/actions were "too modern" (or that's what my friend's mom says). ;-)
@ mermaidgirl45 - Yeah --I meant on the soundtrack as well . . . sort of like how Switchfoot's "This is Home" is played in the "Prince Caspian" credits and is on the soundtrack too. =) "How to Train Your Dragon" sounds sort of cute/funny . . . maybe my family can rent it later.
I would SO not be allowed to read "Gossip Girl" or the "Twilight Saga" either --I should have said "based on what I've heard about those book series" or something . . . sorry about the confusion. :-)
No worries! It wasn't really a spoiler ... no movie plot details or anything. After all, I did read the book, I just don't want to know what they kept/changed although I have seen some stuff from the trailers/clips. =D
Ooh, now I really want to read it --I've read the excerpt they have on the website . . . =) Typical about home-schoolers in books though. --In general, pretty much every time a book character is home-schooled, it's because of the plot or for convenience (e.g. they and their parents travel a lot or something). Just a little thing I've noticed with all the books I've read. I heard that there's going to be at least a sequel to "The Red Pyramid" --I can't wait to read it, but I'm way more excited about the next series "The Heroes of Olympus" . . . "The Last Hero" is the first book and comes out this October, I believe.
@ Anonymous (daughteroflight) - You mean make him watch "Pride & Prejudice"? LOL, that's awesome! The BBC miniseries (the 6 hour one) or the 2005 version or one of the older ones? XD
@ Patrick - Ooh, thank you so much! I definitely want to check those out. :-)
I'm severely tempted to participate in the tribebuilding contest, but my parents would never allow me to e-mail someone I haven't met in real life . . . :-(
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