Pen in my Hand

OYAN Summer Workshop 2012

2011-12-15T06:04:00.001-06:00

For those of you who remember, this past summer I had the opportunity to go to the OYAN (One Year Adventure Novel, a writing curriculum) Summer Workshop. It was four full days of "epic epicness", definitely some of the best days of my life, where I learned about writing and fellowshipped and laughed and made evil plots with other writers. And also played ninja.

And I'm scheming to go to Workshop 2012. All I need is several thousand dollars. For what, you ask?

*ahem* Yeah. I forgot about one thing:

AN INTERNATIONAL PLANE TICKET.

Other than that, I'm set.

(If you're trying to go to the Workshop, feel free to copy the image. XD)

Jake

[Poeticisms] Part III

2011-11-11T18:18:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. I've written some poems, so why not share them?

Eh?

Be warned...they're crazy. >_>

And it should be fairly obvious to you what inspired the first poem... ;)

--

To Isengard

'Cross the fields of Rohan, a cry can be heard

Repeating, repeating, the same constant word

Calling out, shouting out, words numbered six

Jumbled into a catchy, chaotic mix.

The words repeat, the listener chuckles

Turns it up 'til the whole room buckles

The song plays, like a parody-stricken bard

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!"

Dreamworks

I look up to the starry sky

And see a sickle there

A silver curve about to die

And be reborn anew.

I look up to the starry sky

And see a sickle there

And then, bemused, I wonder why

I look up and think of Dreamworks.

(This one doesn't have that great of a rhyme/meter scheme thing, but bear with it.)

I Am The Doctor

Armies run at the mention of his name

A lonely madman with a blue box

Every star, every planet, every time;

From anywhere to everywhere he walks.

Bright and shining are his companions

Until he loses them or they leave

The lonely madman with a blue box

Alone, all he can do is grieve.

The most deadly man in the universe

Angry, nothing in the world can stop him

And whose tears fall for those he loves

And in loss—he's dangerously grim.

The lonely madman, last of his kind

The last of the ancient Time Lords

Destroyed by one of their own people

And now all that is left is but words.

And this madman with a blue box

Told this by a foe both evil and grim

"Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords,"

says, "Fear me...I've killed all of them."

The lonely man and his blue box

Traveling through time and space.

In different guises, in different clothes

Eleven times, he's worn a different face.

He says, "Who am I? Don't you know?

If you value your life, your existence,

There's one thing you never put in a trap,"

And then enemy stops and listens.

"There is one thing you never put in a trap,

This world is protected, and I'm the protector

Don't you know who I am? Listen—

Here's who I am—I am the Doctor."

The Leap

Adventure awaits, across the horizon, to the map's edge

Into the unknown, to the craggy edge of the world

I look, my cloak blowing behind me, over the ledge

It bites me hard, the wind, with icy fingers of cold

But I stand aside. I look around. Behind me is past

The sky shines a burned red, the time is nigh

Nothing is behind, everything ahead, at last

It is time to leap, it's time to fly.

Jake

The Trenchcoat

2011-11-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

Dun dun dun.

Fear me.

Yes, that is me. In a field. At the farm. In a trenchcoat. And a battered fedora.

Wow, choppy sentences...

Jake

The Difference

2011-10-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

THIS is a TARDIS:

THIS....is a blue dumpster.

I need to learn the difference, instead of shouting, "Look, look, I see the TARDIS!"

Ah, the curse of a Whovian. You see Doctor Who wherever you go...

Jake

A Doctor Who Trailer

2011-09-16T18:23:00.001-05:00

Won't be a long post, folks, just wanted to share a Doctor Who trailer with you. It's one of the best I've seen, and definitely covers it pretty well. It shows clips from the old Doctor Who (60s-80s) as well as the new Doctor Who seasons.

Watch it. It's epic.

And a little clarification: I'm not gone yet. I'll post before we actually head to Africa. :)

EDIT: There's a few moments of silence and blackness at the beginning of the video, so just wait it through.

See ya!

--
Jake

Goodbyes

2011-09-15T15:51:00.002-05:00

Some things are hard to describe. Hard to put on paper. Hard to write, even for a writer like me.

And some things need to be described anyway.

In this case, I felt I needed to put my thoughts into words. And to make things easier, I'm writing it to you, blog followers and friends. There's a reason I've never written a journal; every time I try to write to myself, or a nonspecific audience, it fails. It just doesn't work.

(And be warned, I shall be redundant and wandersome in my thoughts. My head isn't that organized.)

So here it goes.

While the move to Africa is fantastic, a new adventure that I'm excited to embark on, I also look on it with a bit of apprehension. It's not the I'm-nervous-I'm-moving-to-Africa-and-I'll-be-in-a-new-culture-and-probably-just-die-or-something sort of apprehension. It's not what's to come that bothers me the most about moving to Africa.

It's what I'll leave behind.

Sad isn't the right word for this feeling. Depressed isn't either. Vaguely sadly depressed doesn't work. Like I said, it's hard to describe.

There's a word in another language—I can't remember which—that describes this feeling. A strange emptiness, a lingering sad feeling—an ache of the heart—that you can't describe. They call it "toska".

Some part of me feels like I need to be nervous and be poetically depressed that I'm leaving all I know behind. But I'm not feeling that way either. At least, I'm not really feeling "toska" because I'm leaving my house and my church and those I know in real life behind.

In a word, I suppose, it's the goodbyes that will get to me the most. Especially the goodbyes that happen over the internet. Maybe that sounds strange, but read on.

Already I've experienced the first few tastes of what it might be like. We cut our internet earlier this month. Thus, I haven't chatted with friends on email or Facebook; I haven't talked to fellow Elves on the Underground forum; I haven't checked blogs or blogged myself. The toska sets in a little bit more.

It already feels like goodbye, even if I haven't jumped on a one-way-plane to Africa yet.

I have a lot of friends on the internet. I know fellow writers and Christ-followers who wield pens in the service of the King through the internet. They're scattered across the fifty states. Leaving the internet is like leaving them.

I'm having another hard-to-put-into-words-moment... *pauses, and then continues*

And then, I read the farewells people send me. It's actually more like a wow-that's-awesome-that-you're-going-to-Africa sort of thing, but it feels like a farewell nonetheless.

Last Friday (the ninth), I resigned from administration (the admins are called "Sentinels" there) on the Underground forum. I've been on the Sentinel team for almost a year. The posts Elves made were actually farewells this time. They encouraged me and saddened me at the same time.

....And now I feel like I'm making the whole post depressing...

Main thing is, the goodbyes are what are getting to me. I'm "leaving" friends I know really well. In many cases, I know some people over the internet alone better than others I know in real life. I've prayed for them, I've asked for prayer from them, I've debated with them, I've battled with them, I've eaten metaphorical pie with them. And I had hoped (and still hope) to one day eat real pie with them in real life.

The camaraderie that can be found over the internet alone is astounding.

However, I won't end this on a depressing note. Whisper the Spy posted a great quote in this blog post that feels very applicable here. I've been pondering and musing over it ever since I read it. Since I'm writing this without internet, I'll paraphrase it. I don't have the greatest memory, wot.

"For Christians, it's never goodbye. It's always 'see you later'." ~Anonymous

And so, to all of you out there who know me in some way or form; thank you. It's been a fantastic ride. I'm honored to know you, and I really do hope that I don't disappear off the internet entirely, for my sake at least. I might gain my sanity back if I leave. (OO) I shall miss you all.

You are all awesome. You're epic.

See you later.

Jake

Hebrews 11—No Description Needed

2011-09-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.

Another Look at Doctor Who

2011-09-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while. Seeing as I don't have a whole lot to blog about on this blog (and my Doctor Who semi-obsession continues), I thought I'd blog about Doctor Who....again. It's non-Whovian friendly, don't worry. You don't have to know anything more than what I'll tell you in the post to understand what I'll be saying.

This time, I'm going to take a look at the Doctors, their themes, and some Doctor Who soundtrack. All from the new Doctor Who seasons, of course. And my opinion on them. If you don't have much time, just read through the descriptions. There's a lot of videos. XD

First, here's the Doctor, in his various regenerations in the new Doctor Who seasons. (For those of you who don't know, the Doctor is an alien from a race called the Time Lords, and he's the last of his kind. They possess the ability to "regenerate" whenever their bodies are near death. Every cell is rewritten until the Doctor becomes a new person, complete with a new actor. He shares the same memories of the previous Doctors. Thus, each Doctor is numbered according to their number of regenerations.)

THE NINTH DOCTOR

He's the Doctor with the second-shortest run acting as the Doctor; Christopher Eccleston, the Ninth regeneration of the Doctor. He was in the new Doctor Who seasons (starting in 2005) for just one series. However, he is my personal favorite; for his accent, his trademark leather jacket, and especially because he showed the darker side of the Doctor. When he met his companion, Rose, he was a Doctor who was grim and sometimes merciless. But he grew during the seasons until he would stop at nothing to rescue those who he loved and would never let evil walk away unpunished. Here's a clip of him in "Bad Wolf"; this is one of my favorite Ninth Doctor scenes.

THE TENTH DOCTOR

David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor. Some consider him to be the greatest Doctor of all time. He's quirky and funny; he can be grim and terrible; he has the greatest emotion of all the Doctors.

He sits as a very close second to Christopher Eccleston as my favorite Doctor. Complete with a tan trench-coat, a tie, crazy hair, and an array of emotions, he's a brilliant Doctor. He ran for three full seasons and several specials, including the End of Time, where he regenerated. I consider the end of The End of Time to be one of the greatest Doctor Who scenes ever; bittersweet, emotional, and utterly poetic. It's a masterpiece of writing. However, there are too many spoilers to post it here, so I'll post two videos of Tennant; one showing his serious side and the other showing his quirky side.

It was really hard finding anything worth posting on David Tennant's run (he has so many good scenes, and a lot of them are short) so I'll settle for this one. It has spoilers for the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", so beware.

THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR

Matt Smith is the Eleventh Doctor. He's also the youngest, the silliest, and the newest Doctor. His era is also marked by a change in head writers. Steven Moffat takes over the role from Russell T. Davies; he's my favorite of the Doctor Who writers and is known for the clever and darker episodes like Silence in the Library and Blink. (If you've never heard of him, he also wrote the script for the first Tintin movie, which has yet to be released.)

He's definitely a great Doctor, but of the three, he's my least favorite. While he is certainly hilarious, he has few serious moments and has a strange lack of emotion in his role. This doesn't prevent him from being epic, however.

The following scene is right after his regeneration into the Eleventh Doctor. New tastebuds, new rules, wot.

And for the record....

Fezzes are cool. And bowties. And Stetsons.

Also, the Eleventh Doctor's most fantastic speech (also in the episode after his regeneration).

SOUNDTRACK

The Doctor's Theme

This is the theme of the Doctor. While it is not used in the Matt Smith episodes, it is often used in the earlier seasons. Here's the one used in Series One with the Ninth Doctor—a lone voice singing the song of the last of the Time Lords.

I Am the Doctor

Also known as the Eleventh Doctor's theme or Every Star Every Planet, I Am the Doctor is used a lot in series 5-6. It's epic.

The Doctor's Theme/The Tenth Doctor's Theme

The first section of this song is the The Doctor's Theme used in series 2-4, the Tenth Doctor's era. It's basically a redone version of the first Doctor's Theme. The rest of the song is from the fourth series, and the end is similar to the soundtrack from Tennant's regeneration. It makes me sad...

Doctor Who Theme 2005-2007

I originally posted the longer version of this song earlier. This is my favorite of the Doctor Who themes (used in the beginning credits). It's the perfect mixture of alien and orchestra.

Doctor Who Theme 2008-2009

Also a great theme, this brings in a different feel to the song. It's more action than the previous one, with a strong beat. I like it, but not quite as much. This one, instead of plain soundtrack, actually has the opening credits (though the credits are played over and over to continue with the soundtrack). The credits are in the Time Vortex, and you can see the TARDIS hurtling through.

Doctor Who Theme 2010-Present

With the change of Doctors, sonic screwdrivers, and head writers, it also came with a change of credits and music, and even the Doctor Who logo changed. The new version isn't as good as the previous two, and it's much more alien than them as well. However, it's still good stuff.

Well, that's all I'm going to gab for today. If you had time to look through the videos, let me know what you thought. And my next post won't be another Doctor Who rave, I promise. ;)

Jake

Doctor Who, More Soundtrack, and Saruman Singing

2011-07-29T10:47:00.000-05:00

Well, where to begin?

Life can be a fickle and flighty thing. I can be sulking one moment, and then catapulted into epicness by a simple song.

Speaking of which, I find this song insanely epic. Both versions. ;) It makes me laugh and bounce at the same time. Check it out, and enjoy.

I'm blasting this in my ears as I write this post.

Anyway, back to subject. If there is one.

I've also found this hilarious video called "Trolling Saruman" in which Saruman sings and gives me nightmares. It's another spoof, and one of the best ones—very well done.

Besides this, I've also been up to something else.

My sisters and I have recently discovered the BBC science-fiction TV show, Doctor Who. I watched several episodes at the One Year Adventure Novel Writer's Workshop, and I decided it was interesting. And when I saw it was play-it-now instant on Netflix, I thought, "Well, let's see if it's good."

And I was hooked.

Not much else to say. We're all Whovians now, as they say. We think Doctor Who is epic. We're slowly making our way through the five season available on Netflix.

Has anyone out there watched Doctor Who? If so, what'd you think?

And if you haven't watched Doctor Who, here's sort of an explanatory video for you. I don't think it quite captures it (and the actor that is in question is the newest Doctor, Matt Smith, who I have yet to watch). But it does a good job of telling you what Doctor Who is about.

LOOK AT ME, I'M A TARGET!

Oh, and one more video. Last one, I promise. ;) This one's the theme song of Doctor Who, one of my favorite soundtracks to listen to.

That's all for now. Ta-ta, folks!

Jake

When is Jake NOT a Writer?

2011-07-07T19:31:00.000-05:00

Never, I'd say.

And that's probably the reason why I've been disappearing from this blog. If I have something writerly to say (and that's usually the thing I want to say), I post it on Teenage Writer. Anything else, well, it ends up over here.

Like music. Or videos. Or randomness.

But those are often writer-related too.

Of late, I've been listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. I've never seen the movies (shame on me and all that), but the soundtrack is fantastic for writing and piratical things. And that's connected to writing too, y'know. It's quite inspiring. Which is one reason I've put it on my Writing Music station on "Pandora" (that site where you choose your own music and thumbs-up anything you like). For instance, here's a sample below. Epicness.

But honestly, I can't help being a writer. I can't get away from it.

Inspiration hit me in the shower again. He used a bar of soap this time.

I was staring at the ceiling last night—again. Story ideas brewing and all that.

I paced my room, my imagination whirring—again.

Can't get away from it.

What's some writerly habits you pick up, if you classify yourself as a writer?

So, we've established that soundtrack is awesome, and that I'm a writer.

O_o Okay, then. I guess I'm out of ideas for this post. xD Ta-ta, folks. Make some conversation to make up for my inefficiency here.

--
Jake

Yes, I'm a Useless Blogger

2011-06-21T22:36:00.002-05:00

....BUT, I think you'll find this amusing.

Jake

Mathe is Dead!

2011-06-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Mathe! 'tis the dastardly beast

A bloodthirsty creature for sure;

He stalks, he solves; you wonder

How much longer you might endure.

Mathe! himself, the one and only

Color, paper, binding and ink

A wall of mathematical death

'Tis a cup of poison to drink!

Day upon day, you try to solve

The riddles he weaves before you

Equations, squares, systems and more

And each day they weave anew.

Day upon day, the question is asked

How much longer? lingers the cry

Until Mathe is dead, finished, gone?

Any longer, and I shall die.

You struggle to last, your spirit weak

A lone soul with a failing sword

Until the fateful bugle call

Bears with it a single word.

"Dead!" rings the cry, and your soul lifts

A burden long carried is fled

Is conquered, defeated, finished!

Mathe! the dastardly beast is dead!

(Or, my math is finished for the year. Either way. But I prefer the above method of communicating.)

Jake

The Plains of Kansas

2011-05-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

A few days back, my family traveled to the family farm, deep in the center of The-Middle-of-Nowhere Kansas. Mom calls it her "Happy Place". I call it epic. Everyone else simply calls it the Farm.

The scenery of Kansas never ceases to amaze me. And I'm sure you're tired of my rantings, so I shall let the pictures speak for themselves. All of these are our own pictures. :)

Green wheat. Wait 'til it turns golden—it's even more amazing then.

Some pasture land around ten minutes from the farm.

Some cows in one of the Farm's pastures. They were really friendly folks.

A snake we found when digging through an old, abandoned garden. Anyone know if it's poisonous? ('Tis a little late now, though...)

My dad's old Datsun. It's overgrown now, and there used to be a skunk living in the hood. (He wasn't that happy about it.)

This one was taken just after a storm went through. We got stuck on the Farm for a while because of a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm warning with hail.

Another picture, this one from the window. (Taken by Yours Truly.) Magnificent, no?

And the best was for last. The storm clouds framed the sunset, and the view from Roxbury Hill (as we call it) was breathtaking. The road races on from there, wet with the rain.

All the pictures can be clicked for a bigger size.

I love Kansas. Not much more to say than that. What did you all think of the pictures?

Jake

The Narnia Theme

2011-05-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted here in a while. Things have been going crazy. Today there was thirteen tornadoes sighted in Kansas. And more in other states.

However, I came to post a video I've been listening to a lot lately. I recently discovered it, and it never gets old. The epicness never dims. It's the main Narnia theme from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Check it out. And turn the volume up. This one is known as "The Battle", and it certainly fits.

I'm off again. Farewell!

Jake

Randomness! 'Tis Thee Again!

2011-05-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

*listens to 'They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard'*

*looks up* Oh, hello! How are you? How's the family?

Once again, I've been left with the revelation that I have absolutely nothing useful to blog about. I had plugged the headphones in my ears earlier and blasted TATTHTI in my ears (such a catchy tune!) and I saw someone I recognized.

"Randomness!" I almost shouted. "'Tis Thee again!"

Yes, my old friend Randomness had stopped by. It had been a long time since I've seen his true, blazing self. I find he pops up a lot, but he's usually a bit shady.

But this time, he had that old gleam in his eye.

"Remember the Randomness Post to king all randomness posts?" he said with a grin.

"Like yesterday," I replied, and linked his post.

He listened to TATTHTI with me for a moment. "Quite a random song," he said to me. "Quite a worthy song! And the tune, the tune! I could listen to that all day." That's quite a compliment from Randomness himself.

SO, tell me, where is Gandalf? for I much desire to speak to him.

And where ARE they taking the hobbits?

Now, readers, what is your favorite memory of Randomness? Does it have to do with Ninjas? Pie? Turkeys? Hobbits?!

Also, I have *ahem* composed another random poem. Another Flow'st.

And as you read these words...remember.

This is for Random.

--

The Flow'st

Flow'st, 'tis me name, oddly grame
Snayed in the oddly blacked frame
I say, me lad, I say, that flame
Doesn't it look a bit a-kame?

I, Random, am the one you seek
The one kibbergah, nice and sleek
I slew the one thousandth gleek
Who yodeled 'cross the pleak.

I am the thousandth night (or Knight?)
Either way, I'm a nightmare fright
I gobbled down the snordy kite
And whittled on the flitting wight.

Harhar, 'tis me, the Flow'st, beware!
I could be here, there, blappabare
And die like a star-crossed applepear
The Flow'st, so Random, so bloppy fair.

Luckily, I ain't yet dead,
I'm still a-standing, my enemies fled!
Harhar, 'tis me, the Flow'st, a phed!
I'm still a-standing, my enemies dead!

Enemies, you say? Why, the bliperbop,
The sniggergnat, the flipping flop!
The incorrigible, flaky, flatfacefop
And the rabbits, those flickypop!

Aye, the rabbits, but they are yet alive
Buzzing about, in their little hive
Ah! Here they come! Now they arrive!
Flee, little plop, flee to survive!

I shall stand here yet, the Flow'st, beware!
I shall stand fast, with really cool hair,
Waving on the wind, halla, hafaire!
Beware, O Rabbits bad, beware!

--

^^He has really cool hair.

When this post is published, the fate of the poor Flow'st may be up to speculation. But, at any rate, all will agree: something must be done. The rabbits are multiplying. Tensions are high.

What shall be done? Who will stand against them and defend the Flow'st?

Who will do it?

NOTE: This post was written under the influence of the heady TATTHTI song. Writing under such influence may cause random splots and random poems, as well as bad grammar and senselessness. You have been warned.

Jake

Another Interesting Verse

2011-05-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

I was reading in Acts again, today, and I found another interesting verse I thought I'd share. Acts is an awesome book, and the last six chapters read like a condensed suspense novel. Ever noticed that? Conspiracies, attempted assassination or murder, court hearings, unfairly imprisoned characters...

Anyway, here's the verse. Acts 21:37-38.

"As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, 'May I say something to you?'

'Do you speak Greek?' he replied. 'Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?'"

Apparently the poor commander mistook Paul for an Egyptian terrorist. Oops. ^_^

--
Jake

Teleportation?!

2011-05-07T19:14:00.000-05:00

I found this verse the other day, and found it very interesting. So, seeing as it was an...interesting verse, I thought I'd show it to you and see what you readers think. The passage is Acts 10:39-40.

"When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

Teleportation.

In the Bible.

Beam me up, Jesus.

(Note: I have very little idea what that Star Trek phrase means, as I've never seen Star Trek. But it seems to fit.)

--
Jake

This Post is....Nameless

2011-05-01T19:17:00.001-05:00

The breath of the cold wind breezed into the house, slithering to my toes and biting them with its chill. My toes felt like they were freezing, and I realized why.

Someone had left the door open.

Again.

I wearily stood up, put my computer down, and closed the door, wishing my toes would warm back up. But once they froze themselves, they didn't like to warm again. Sometimes I wonder at things like this. Why in the world would they not just warm up?

I had a couple pages pulled up on my computer. The Underground. Gmail. Blogger. I didn't really feel like clicking on any of them. Nothing worthwhile was happening. I had already checked all the blogs, read some threads, and read my email.

Chattering came in from the kitchen. There weren't any doors between there and the living room, so I could hear all the conversations. We had guests over—Sunday house church.

The blog post was published. I stared blankly at the smudged computer screen. Was I forgetting to do something?

Probably not. I think.

The sun was hiding behind a couple of clouds, I noticed. It had been rainy earlier, but I could see some stretches of bluer sky in between patchy grey clouds. But I could only see some of the sky. The neighbor's house and some of her trees were blocking the view. The view out the window looked a little wavy though....The grill must be on, causing the heat.

I smelled the air appreciatively. Food! Chicken, I think. Grilled chicken—that must be why the grill is on. And tortilla chips in the kitchen. I could hear Mom pouring them in a bowl. There will probably be salsa to go with them—I hope Mom got out some homemade salsa. It's hotter than the regular stuff.

I stared at the computer screen a moment more, absentmindedly wiping some dust off the screen. Mom was calling me to come and eat. Had I forgotten anything?

Oh, yeah. I hadn't written a blog post for Pen in my Hand. Oops. I'll have to do it later.

I got up to eat. Dad brought the chicken in, so the smell was stronger.

A blast of cold air hit me. Someone had left the door open.

Again.

The Ultimate LOTR Spoof Collection

2011-04-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

Well, these LOTR spoofs seem to be running rampant around the blogosphere, so I figured I ought to post some of the more popular ones to share with you all. Check it out: it's in no particular order. Enjoy!

They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!

One of the more popular ones. And a catchy tune, eh?

Fellowship of the Vuvuzela

So funny that it has passed from "amusing" to "epic". Same tune as the above video.

Lord of the Rings in Sixty Seconds

I just recently discovered this one, but it's one of my favorites. Instant classic (which is a great oxymoron).

Gimli Destroys the Ring

Amusing. It makes a very short movie, aye?

Lord of the Rings in 5 Seconds

Surprisingly accurate. ;)

Have you seen any not included in here? Share 'em! :) This is the extent of my knowledge in LOTR spoofs, so I'd love to find some more.

--
Jake

I'm Alive!

2011-04-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hey all, greetings and hallucinations! Jake of the Sadaar here, zeroing in from the green state of Kansas! The wheat fields here are looking fantastic! Being transfixed with patriotic zeal for my glorious state, I stole my dad's iPhone and took a couple pictures.

A wee bit of a glare in this one. ^_^

Ah, yes, a field of green!

^^ That one's my favorite. :) Some of them were so long you could barely make out the trees on the far end (which always marks the end of a field, sorta like a divider). O_o

The weekend has been eventful. The following bullet list briefly summarizes the past few days:

A vandal
A run-in with a skunk
A visit to the Hesston MB church
Various fields of wheat as well as a batch of puppies
A clear sky
A cloudy sky
Cool weather
Warm weather
An egg-hunt
Copious amounts of mashed potatoes, burgers, and ham. :D
Allegebra Mathe
Procrastination
Several surprising events...
....and another holiday in which we come back home with a puppy.

Yesyes, 'tis true! The Sadaar Clan has come home with a brand new puppy by name of Beatrice. She's a cross between a Border collie and a Great Pyrenees, I believe, which means she'll get massive. Right now, she's lying like a good, sleepy puppy beneath a foot rest. She looks like the Abominable Snowdog. O_o See the pictures below! (Click for bigger size.)

^_^ Sleepy dog!

She's slowly getting used to us. :) She likes to nap under the foot rest, and chases people when she's outside. To give some comparison, she's about the size of a large cat. Playful, when she's not sleeping (though I suspect she's just sleeping off the effects of going away from her pen with all her siblings).

Well, that's about it for now. Au revoir!

--
Jake

Here again!

2011-04-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted in a long time...and since I have nothing much meaningful to offer, watch this video.

And die laughing.

Jake

10 Things on My Mind

2011-03-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

"'Cause there's something on my mind....de dum duh de de dum dum..." *cough* This tag makes me think of that song. ;) A gold star to the one who guesses the song and the artist!

Anyway, Eldra went and tagged me in the "10 Things on My Mind" tag. So, without further procrastination, let us begin.

1. Books! Novels! Bound Paper! Printed Paper! Works of literary art! Currently reading The Wormling series by Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry. VERY good books.

2. Lord of the Rings. I think about them a lot. ;) Epic movies. I'm listening to the soundtracks from the library right now. I especially love Pippin's song...rather haunting, aye?

Home is behind

The world ahead

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadow

To the edge of night

Until the stars are all alight

Mist and shadow

Cloud and shade

All shall fade

Rather hard to sing, actually. I tried once. That last 'shall' likes to punch me.

3. Writing. Duh. ;) Everyone who's done this tag has said writing. Haha. Right now I'm working on Revolution and about to rewrite some scenes into The Book of Shaldu. It's going slowly, but hopefully I'll have some time this week to write some more.

4. Spring. Kansas. 'Nuff said. (This isn't my image.)

5. Evil haircutters. Now the back of my neck itches and all character has faded from my hair.

6. Birds. >_>

7. Schoolwork. It's on my mind, but not in a good way.

8. Swords and swordfighting. Rather sharp, aye?

9. Guitar. >_> Rather fun to play, aye? I take lessons every week. [Not my image]

10. This.

I tag all the followers who have not yet done this tag. You don't have to if you don't want to--but it's fun. :)

Jake

Aged Paper

2011-03-23T20:39:00.000-05:00

Vrenith and I have embarked on an quest.

On a whim, yesterday, I searched 'how to age paper' on Google and found several sites. After all, aged paper is pretty cool, aye? It gives way to imagining treasure maps and burnt letters...

After experimenting for a while, Vren and I settled on a way to age and yellow paper, a combination of several other ideas we have found.

SUPPLIES:
-Paper
-Coffee
-Used coffee grounds (optional)
-Some sort of pan (with 'walls')

Take the paper and stick it in the pan. If wanted, crumple the paper for a different effect. Take some coffee and soak the paper in it (whether by pouring the coffee over it or otherwise). Let it soak for a bit. If wanted, take the coffee grounds and gently rub it into the paper in certain spots, AFTER the coffee has been drained. (Too much rubbing will tear the wet paper.) The amount of grounds you rub into the paper will determine how dark the paper is. If you're looking for 'age' don't rub too much into the paper. If you are looking for really old and worn paper, rub more into the paper. Don't use too much of the grounds, or else the paper will not look realistic.

After this is done, turn the oven on a low temperature and dry the paper. Another option would be to just let it sit out on a counter for a while, where it will dry naturally. It also dries fairly fast if you put it out into the sun (a personal favorite of mine). Once the paper is dry, brush off the coffee grounds. Keep in mind that the other side of the paper will not be as dark as the front side, and there will be no 'age stains' from the coffee grounds. I like to do it over again with the other side after the front is finished. (Doing it repeatedly to the same piece of paper will darken it more, so if you aren't satisfied with the color of the paper, try doing it again.)

Keep in mind that any print or writing that is on the paper should be done beforehand. If you do have printing or writing on the paper, go easy on the coffee grounds. I learned that the hard way. :P

You should try it sometime. It really does look interesting. I 'dyed' one of my maps (a copy, don't worry) and it turned out nicely. It now adorns my dresser, with a white chunk of paper partially underneath it for contrast.

Have fun. :) It really doesn't take that much work--just some leftover coffee and coffee grounds and paper. Improvise if you are lacking in some of these materials.

--
Jake

Kansas

2011-03-10T19:41:00.000-06:00

Hey all! Loving the weather here. :) It's crisp and cold still, but the sunlight is warm and Kansas is Kansas. Speaking of my lovely state...I searched some Kansas photos to share with you all (since I have an absence of my own pictures, haha).

Below is a random picture of the "Welcome to the Flint Hills" sign. I've driven past that. :)

Below is a picture of the Flint Hills.

Another picture of the Flint Hills. This one looks like it did when I last passed through the Flint Hills. Believe it or not, this picture is realistic and not a one-of-a-kind picture.

Green Kansas sometime in the spring or summer. :)

A wheat field! Mwahahaha! This one is pretty golden. O_o

A normal-looking farm somewhere out in Western Kansas.

All these pictures were found on Google search. *shrug*

I hope you enjoyed a peek into my homeland.

--
Jake

Neglect?

2011-03-05T17:08:00.000-06:00

For lack of anything better to say, I believe the general consensus of the jury is that I neglect my blog. Sentence of up to five hours in my room. Schoolwork. I'm a bad boy sometimes.

But in all seriousness, I have been seriously lacking in blogging material. Or at least the time to find some. So I've taken to taking what little I write (on my blog) and making it as clever as possible.

So...did I succeed? Or did I fail? Eh...my blogging is going stale.

Okay, all, what do you think I should blog about? I am asking YOU: the reader. The few and the mighty. The simple and the squared. The winters and the fully leaved.

What do you think I should blog about?

"Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings?"

All of the above?

Tell me what you think.

--
Jake

[Poeticisms] Part II

2011-02-23T18:51:00.000-06:00

Hey all! I have slowly collected a pile of poetry in the recent weeks...so I thought I'd share some. All of this is mentally copyrighted, and if you copy it without permission *glare* I shall hunt you down.

The Sky

The expanse of the heavens is ever veiled

By towers scraping 'neath its blue

But give me a hill, an vast, open field

And the majestic sky shall look anew.

Piano

Ivory keys to a polished gleam,

Enclosed in lacquered old wood,

Decorated by frames of cream,

On short, stubby legs it stood.

This next poem is rooted in inspiration I found in G. K. Chesterton. He writes, "A maniac is someone who has lost everything but his reason." because, "A poet is someone who wants to get his head in the heavens. A philosopher is someone who wants to get the heavens in his head. And it is his head that splits."

Madman

There was a poet, a strange man

Most call them crazy, you see;

He wrote with inky pen on paper tan

And lived on a street called Lee.

Contrary to belief, however, he was normal:

He went about his business every day

Dressed up in tie and suit, formal

And had a normal house in which to stay.

Across the street lived another man

A logician, a debater, philosopher too

He lived in a house of a normal tan,

And like to eat fish and rice stew.

This man, though, had lost all lucidity of thought:

His mind had long gone far out of season

His nerves were high, his system shot,

He had lost everything but his reason.

This example just goes to show

Those with imagination are not insane

But rather it is those who 'know'

Whose minds burst beneath mental strain.

So if you are imaginative, good job!

You'll probably last longer than most

But 'tis the logicians' minds that throb,

Not those who dance with the flow'st.

I sneaked (snuck?) a flow'st in there. ;) Mwahahaha!

Jake

Hope is Kindled

2011-02-11T14:30:00.000-06:00

(Please disregard any posts you might see via your Blogger homepage--I assure you, they do not exist.)

Hope is an interesting concept.

When I think of hope, I think of the hope we have in Christ.

When I think of hope, I think of it on par with the word 'epic'. It is an indescribable thing of great power, a stirring that you feel when Easter comes around, and you say "He is Risen!" And the thundering reply of all creation: "He is Risen indeed!"

Hope is what kept Cal-raven going when despair overwhelmed him in Raven's Ladder (by Jeffrey Overstreet). Hope fueled him. Hope held him.

When I think of hope, I think of The Lighting of the Beacons scene in The Return of the King. Do you remember it? The crashing chords of music, sweeping you away in a river of stirring emotion?

And Gandalf's words hover over it all: "Hope is Kindled."

Though I could not find a way to embed the original clip from the movie, I did make a poorly constructed Windows Movie Maker movie with the soundtrack. Crank up the stereo system and be prepared for pure epicness. And when it says Listen...listen.

In this movie, I gave you a short glimpse of the hope I see in the very word 'hope'. Do you see it?

Ponder it.

And remember the hope that we have.

Jake

Search 'Jesus' On Google

2011-01-25T12:51:00.001-06:00

Today, I searched the word 'Jesus' on Google.

The results are depressing.

First and foremost, the secular Wikipedia article on Jesus. It reads, "Jesus is the central figure of Christianity..." yada yada.

Second...a Jesus dress-up game.

Third is the C. S. Lewis based argument, "Who is Jesus? Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?"

Fourth, Jesus Christ on Twitter. Go figure.

Fifth is a site about how you can have a personal relationship today with Jesus.

Following these is a motley collection of Catholic sites, Answers.com, a celebrity called Jesus, and even a result about a guy who wrote a secular book about Jesus. "Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment." He also wrote a book on Buddha.

If someone, desperate for something, anything, to push away the black darkness of their soul, searches the name of Jesus on Google, what will they find? Wikipedia. Jesus dress-up. Secular books. And intellectually-based arguments on why you should trust Jesus as your Lord.

Something has to change. The passion of first-century Christianity has been sucked out of modern Christians. The treasure of Jesus has somehow been lost in our materialistic zeal. We have it in our heads, and not our hearts.

Now, there were several sites that looked promising. Like 'Jesus Freaks'. But how many sites is a person searching for Christ going to look at before he quits?

Today I searched Gospel Tracts. Look at what I came up with.

Gospeltract.com:

"Are you a Christian? If so, what are YOU doing to reach the lost? YOU DO understand that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us a Great Commission, right? Are YOU obeying Christ's commands to reach the lost? Jesus said that YOU show YOUR love for Him by obeying Him (John 14:15). Do YOU really believe in an eternal place of torment called Hell? Do YOU really believe that YOUR non-Christian family members, YOUR friends, YOUR co-workers and complete strangers will go there? What are YOU doing about it? If YOU love them, YOU WILL do/say something! One of the easiest ways to start is handing out Gospel Tracts."

Wow, what a great idea. Lots of cheap Gospel tracts on that website. Take a look at some of the following from Google images:

As I look through these, I encounter a problem...What about the rest of Jesus' life? Is it true that, perhaps, Christianity has been reduced to a sin-management Gospel? Jesus is your one way ticket to heaven. Pray a prayer and you're good. Fire insurance.

Now, I'm not trying to put down Gospel tracts. They can do a lot of good. But the truth is, Jesus didn't say, "Go and give Gospel tracts to all nations." He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations." This requires more than just a few words on a scrap of paper.

The problem I have with some Gospel tracts (note the 'some') is the lack of zeal for Christ. The words spoken of our Treasure have become text in a tract. You hand tracts out at an intellectual level and never reach the heart. Sometimes you don't even see the face of someone you may be giving a tract to. Like Millard said (though this was in an entirely different context), "With all these substitutive options you'd think online and textual conversations would be as rich as real ones. Maybe even more so with all these demonstrative expressions! I'm here to say--it's not. Nothing can replace the real life face time with people."

So what will we do, as the Body of Christ? Will we let intellectual pursuit of Christ overwhelm the real passion for the greatest Treasure there is? Will we content ourselves with giving Gospel-tracts that summarize the greatest epic there ever was to sin management?

What Treasure did the disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ have that they were willing to die a martyr's death? What passion drove them to cross the sea to tell of their 'Good News'?

And why would they drop everything they had for this man from Nazereth and follow Him even before He died?

There is something more to this then salvation from hell.

--
Jake

Tosse Rir

2011-01-23T13:47:00.001-06:00

So hunkere ye downe and listen ye alle,
I shalle telle ye the tale, never ye feare;
But harke! I heare the spinetingling calle
of the one and only chillinge, Tosse Rir.

--

Well, if you've talked to me lately, then you might have noticed a phrase I keep using. Tosse Rir. No, it isn't an original word composed by yours truly, but I really like the sound of it. Just try saying it: tosse rir.

So I'd bet your wondering what I mean. Or perhaps you're rolling your eyes again. "Jake's lost his marbles....again...."

Well, here's the Sadaarin definition.

Tosse rir: 1. A snorting, coughing laugh--sputtering on air. (i.e. *tosse rir*, one who is coughing, sputtering on air, in humor.) 2. literal Meaning, 'cough laugh'.

So a wee explanation. ;) Feel free to use it as ye please...it's not like I copyright these things. :)

And second...TODAY IS MANNY'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANNY! If ye want to check it out, her blog is found here. :)

--
Jake

The Controversy

2011-01-20T14:51:00.000-06:00

See that? That city right there--St. Louis--is where the controversy is.

Haven't heard? The Tribe Party #2 location is now up for debate...and vote. Elves who participated in the last tribe contest get to vote just as to where this Tribe Party may be.

At first, the votes were overwhelmingly in favor of Kansas City. For the West Coast Elves, KC is the way to go--it has the cheapest airfare. And...of course, I live there. ;) Or relatively near, that is.

But there's a lot of Elves on the East Coast too. And they are leaning for something more eastward. That, and a tempting offer from the family who actually lives in St. Louis, has proved to be enough to sway the debate. Despite Manny's pie-making wonders, St. Louis is leading the voting.

Will St. Louis win?

Will KC prevail?

Stay tuned next time for more information. ;)

--
Jake

Read These Words

2011-01-13T22:32:00.000-06:00

Hey all! I just saw this video.

It.

is.

Amazing.

Watch it. A call to mission, to war.

--
Jake

Elvish Epicness!

2010-12-30T19:03:00.001-06:00

Recently two of the Elves, Millard and Silver Angel, have made a worthy video. Watch, and be amazed. I absolutely love this, because it completely mirrors my own opinions on this subject.

And if you're not an Elf, ye may not get this. But you shall find it amusing nonetheless.

Trolls! Wipeouts! Elves! Give me liberty or give me Elves! Or better yet, just give me Elves.

Epicness.

Huzzah for Elves!

Endurance and Victory,

--
Jake

The Hall of the King of Arowdae

2010-12-28T22:38:00.000-06:00

The picture you observe there is my woeful Paint version of the Hall of the King. :) Use your imagination, and let me explain it a wee bit.

Imagine you are walking along...and you see this massive stone wall. With a golden door. :) Pretty cool, huh? If you step inside, you will see a giant, open-aired hall. On either side of you are giant pillars, and a stone walkway stretches beneath your feet. It is covered by all sorts of colored carpets and furs. On the far side of the hall is another wall, bigger than the first. There are tapestries, paintings, and banners strewn all across it. At the foot of the wall is a lacquered wooden throne of hard kieda wood. There is an assortment of furs to cushion the kings's backside laid upon the thrown. ;)

The end. ;) How did you like your miniature tour through the Hall of the King of Arowdae? Good? OK? Want more? Well, ye'll have to wait. No one is reading my novel until I have it halfway edited. ;)

Enough randomness for today. Until next time!

--
Jake

O Christmas Tree--Tis the Tag!

2010-12-23T20:10:00.000-06:00

Well, I ended up with a tag. >_> Yay. Can ye tell I am excited? ;)

Tag Rules:

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 20 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
And the questions? *drumroll*

If someone says "Are you okay?" you say...
"Caroling Medley by VeggieTales". O_o Hey, don't look at me like that. Twas a free album.

What would best describe your personality?
"Gibberish by Relient K." Scarily accurate. >_>
How would you describe yourself?
"Prologue." O_o Prologue to what?
What do you like in a guy/girl?
"Puppy Love by VeggieTales." GAH!
How do you feel today?
"Break Open the Sky by tobyMac." (OO) That is interesting...
What is your life's purpose?
"Hey Devil by tobyMac." ;) Well, actually, tis the opposite...
What's Your Motto?
"Comatose by Skillet." Hmm...well tis an interesting word, but not exactly a motto.
What do your friends think of you?
"Loud 'n Clear by tobyMac." That might be. :|

What do your parents think of you?
"Terminal B by Andrew Landers." Hm.
What do you think about very often?
"For Unto Us a Child is Born by VeggieTales." Well, I certainly do this time of year. >_>
What is 2 + 2?
"Hark the Harold Angels Sing/Angles We Have Heard on High by VeggieTales." O_o
What do you think of your best friend?
"Falling Inside the Black by Skillet." Interesting.
What do you think of the person you like?
"Its About Love by VeggieTales." I don't like anyone. :P Who picked these questions?
What is your life story?
"Christmas Sizzle Boy by VeggieTales." How did ye KNOW?! ;)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Rebirthing by Skillet." Huh.
What do you think when you see the person you like?
"Come Right Out and Say It by Relient K." Again...who picked these questions?
What will you do at your wedding?
"One World by tobyMac." <_< This is starting to get strange.
What will they play at your funeral?
"Say Goodbye by Skillet." How apt.

What is your hobby/interest?
"Start Somewhere by tobyMac." Well, ye must start somewhere to get a hobby. >_>

What is your biggest fear?
"Made to Love by tobyMac." Riiiiight.
What is your biggest secret?
"Candy Cane Blues by VeggieTales." Aye. :|
What do you want right now?
"The Friendly Beasts by VeggieTales." Bwahahaha ;)

What do you think of your friends?
"Ignition by tobyMac." FIRE!
What's the worst thing that could happen?
"City On Our Knees by tobyMac." Probably not.
What is the one thing you regret?
"Looking for Angels by Skillet." As if I ever did that. ;)
What makes you laugh?
"Yours to Hold by Skillet." Not really.

What makes you cry?
"Not in My Backyard by Andrew Landers." The message behind the song? Not exactly...but it could, one day.
Will you ever get married?
"Was He a Boy Like Me by VeggieTales." It avoided the question.
What scares you the most?
"Jingle Ka-ching by VeggieTales." GAH! *hides*

Does anyone like you?
"Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring by City of Prague Philharmonic." I like ye too LOTR. ;) But seriously...if I get another one of these questions I shall quit. :|
If you could go back in time, what would you change?
"Battling Kings by VeggieTales." I wonder...
What hurts right now?
"Iowa Song by Andrew Landers." Heh.
What would you want to say to the person who tagged you?
"Joy to the World by VeggieTales." For once this thing got it right. ;)

What will you name this post?
"O Christmas Tree by VeggieTales." Okay then. >_>

Well, it ended. :) I thought I would enjoy this...but I am not sure now. ;) I tag all of my followers! Do this if ye dare! And if ye love this so much ye want to do it...go ahead and steal it. <_<

--
Jake

The. Most. Epic. Movie. Ever.

2010-12-20T15:23:00.000-06:00

The above video is about six minutes long--basically, I think of it as the entire musical theme of LOTR crammed into six minutes.

Part of the reason for this post is that 1) I love that video, and 2) I am about to watch the most epic movie ever: Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.

The. Best. Movie. Ever. Nothing comes close. It is the most fantastic fantasy and blow-you-away epic movie ever made and one of the greatest novels of all time.

Enough of my ranting. ;) Enjoy the video!

Jake

The Amazon Kindle

2010-12-19T18:34:00.000-06:00

After many moons of saving--delayed by book-buying and gift-giving--I have finally bought the Kindle. The newest version. >_> An e-reader! Books available in one minute in over 100 countries! Ect. etc. etc.! Those on the Underground know many of the Kindle's abilities... ;) More on that later...

So I went through the tedious processes of grabbing some pictures for ye people. Now, behold! The Kindle on a field of white. ;)

Actually, that's the Kindle in its case. ;) Not the raw Kindle itself.

Here here! See the Kindle! Tis a charcoal one. Emily Dickinson is the current 'screensaver'.

The Kindle without its cover.

And what is this? It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's my novel! ;) A bit easier than printing it out, eh?

Behold! There it is again. :)

Read the title: tis the epic novel 'By Darkness Hid' on my Kindle. With my hand. >_>

My novel again. ;)

And take a look at this: it's the Underground! :D In black and white. >_>

And look--there's Millard! :)

So that's my Kindle in pictoral form. >_> What do ye think? And ye may expect a post on E-reader vs. Paper soon. Maybe, maybe not. I'm terrible at promising posts and then not posting...

Jake

The Flow'st Upon a Midnight: Christmas Edition

2010-12-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

For now, just for $0.99, you can get The Flow'st Upon a Midnight: Christmas Edition from your nearest music retailer or at Amazon.com MP3 store. This new hit features such lyrics as the original 'Flow'st' and so much more!

;)

I was singing the other day. If the glass on the car wasn't extra-strong, they would've broken, but the particular song I was singing was 'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear'. And all of a sudden....I starting singing something different. You know those weird times when you are singing one song and suddenly switch to another? That was one of those times. It was still the same tune, but the lyrics were suddenly different...

"The Flow'st Upon a Midnight Three," I sang.

Wha?!

Turns out, there's enough voice-warping available for this song, that you can set 'The Flow'st Upon a Midnight' to the 'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear' tune.

C F C
I said to him and he to me.
F D7 G7
That I had gone and ate a tree
C F C
The Flow'st upon a midnight three
F G7 C
And caused the cat to flee.

So that's my randomness for today. ;) Other things I have neglected to mention follow: Manny, my sister (older than Vrenith but younger than I) has made a blog! She actually has two, but the one I personally enjoy the most is 'It Can't Get Any Crazier Than This'. Check it out! :) Much pie and randomness etc. :)

Other things may be concerning stories. I am writing a rather 'whimsical' one right now in the spirit of Alice in Wonderland...my creativity has been shot ever since NaNoWriMo, so the other side of my brain (randomness, mwahahaha) has kicked in. The contents concern hungry cabinets, man-eating mice, cats, cows, and Eighty-five Pounds (a nearby province).

With that....I'm out. :)

--
Jake

Aye, I Have Something Up My Sleeve...

2010-12-05T17:24:00.001-06:00

Woh, it's been a fortnight since I hath posted, hm? Ten days! :O Shame on me!

Excuses first, y'know. ;) I have been very very very very busy these days, and I haven't TOUCHED my novel since I finished it... I was planning on doing alot of editing, but alas, events have conspired against me! It is now the fifth of December, and Procrastination--the hideous beast it is--is crouching at my door again. Agh! :P

But with other news, I have looked into a wonderful feature NaNoWriMo winners have available for them: the code for a free paperback copy of your own novel!! :D I am going to take advantage of this very soon...providing I can get some editing done. Perhaps a familial Christmas present?

Anyway, I have something up my sleeve. Soon, on my other blog, I plan to undertake an undertaking, an undertaking called socks. Or, more specifically, NaNoWriMo socks. Aye, I see ye know what I mean: I plan to follow in the footsteps of Millard and Whisper and write NaNoWriMo on my socks.

If ye know the story, Millard, on his blog, decided to write NaNoWriMo on his socks, so he did so and published a picture of it in his celebratory blog post.

Now, Whisper, encouraged by Millard, took up her Sharpie also and wrote NaNoWriMo on her socks as well--but she took a video of it!

So, to top it ;) I am going to write NaNoWriMo on my socks, take a video of it, and then post it on my blog! But to make it unique *mwahahaha* I am going to write with a giant BLUE sharpie! XD XD I shall treasure those socks always. :| It should be an Elvish tradition. ;)

Anyway, I just have to take up the monumental task of either finding Manny's camera for the video or finding Mom's battery-charger. And when I say monumental..I mean monumental. :| I have spent the last hour searching for them *sigh*

With that, my randomness of the day is done again! Until next time, *tips hat*

--
Jake

Y'know, I Just Realized....

2010-11-25T12:35:00.000-06:00

Two days ago, this blog turned one year old. :) Ancient, huh? It's crazy how time flies. I remember making this blog... >_> A lot has happened since then. I've finished two novels--three, perhaps? Lots of memories here. I used to make another blog like once a year, LOL. But not anymore. Remember the rabbit scare, readers? "The Thousand Year Meeting"--those were scary days. :O Epic, though.

I don't suppose any of you have followed this long enough to remember when I finished my second novel. Or began my third--or even read my synopsis. Lots have happened. There's a lot of history here. Sorta like the Underground. :) That's over a year old as well... >_>

So what do you remember of the 'old days' when blogs were young and everyone was eager to write?

And happy Thanksgiving. :)

--
Jake

To Darkness Fled Book Trailer

2010-11-23T19:40:00.001-06:00

Turns out some awesome people made a book trailer video of 'To Darkness Fled' Check this out! The 'To Darkness Fled' trailer, made by a bunch of Nightwingers. ;) Pretty awesome! Epic, in fact. *watches video again*

--
Jake

In Honor of Those Who have OWNED NaNoWriMo!

2010-11-15T12:20:00.000-06:00

I am beside myself with joy! :) I know three--yes, THREE--Elves/people that have already finished--owned--NaNoWriMo. So this post is in honor of them! :) This is in order of done-d-ness--those who finished first are first in line. :D

--

Firstly: Squeaks!

Squeaks has just finished her first novel (HALLELUJAH!), 'In the House of Ramsy Motch'. AMAZING! And what's even more epical, is that she is attempting to write the second book in the series by the end of November as well! WHOO! *applause* Good luck, Squeaks! :D And let us read it sometime. ;)

Second: EP (Elven Princess)!

This is also her first novel, the longest thing she has ever written. She finished it just behind Squeaks. :) GREAT JOB!! :D :D :D :D It amazed me the speed she was writing. :)

And thirdly (a success story), Millard! (see his post on his finished novel here)

On the eighth of November, Millard was at 10k. He hadn't written in four days, and he had frantically posted on whether or not he was going to try and catch up--or die trying. But then he did something amazing.

He wrote 40,000 words in SIX DAYS.

Believe it, readers! You want to see his stats? :D It was amazing! One of those days he actually wrote 10,000 words! One day! GO MILLARD! :D

Here is the comment I wrote on his blog:
"AGGGDKJSDJFSJDKFG!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

MILLARD YOU DID IT!!! DANCE FOR JOY MY DEAR SHINING LIGHT YOU DIIIIIIDDDDDD IIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD PRAISE ELLOS!! YOU DID IT MILLARD! Can you feel the overwhelming achievement?! I can, and I'm halfway 'cross the country! XD GOOOOO MILLLARDDDD!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS! :O Y'know, whisper is friends with socks... YOU OWN NANOWRIMO MILLARD!!! OWNAAAAGEE!!! XD

By the way ;) ye are number one. ;) ;) Moahahaha. XD"

--

So congrats NaNo OWNERS! XD You did it! Hallelujah!

And for those of us still plugging on through dragging word counts, Endurance and Victory! We can do it! Just take a look at those stories up there! :)

Over and out,

--
Jake

Despicable Characters and Some Sort of Betrayal

2010-11-14T13:05:00.000-06:00

The title has mostly nothing to do with the post. Except that it has to do with the excerpt I am going to give you...*turns red* Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell ye that yet, was I? Ah, well, the cat's out of the bag *meow* *RWEW!* *tackles cat to the ground and stuffs it into a bag*

Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Betrayal and despicable characters. Both can be summed up in this oneword: Dreadman. Or, rather, the Dreadman.

Now, as for an excerpt...aye, I can see that light in yer eyes. Tis about the Dreadman--I wrote it just last night. :) Well, tis SORT of about the Dreadman. At any rate, here it is!

--

Kyrsain was the captain of a dying city guard.

All around him, black-cloaked invaders struck strategically in places of the guard. Men fell without a sound, a wordless cry on their lips.

A man near Kyrsain gurgled and fell, and as the bloodied sword slipped out of him and whirled smoothly toward Kyrsain, he tried his best to defend himself. He struck, defended, parried, and attacked, but the man blocked every strike. Kyrsain could just see the moonlight glint on the man's eyes within the black cloak, and a smile seemed to grace the shadowed lips--or was it his imagination?

Kyrsain slipped on the stones and fell backwards. The man lunged towards him, but Kyrsain struck upward with his sword, and he felt it hit flesh. A cry came from the cloaked man, and he fell.

Kyrsain stumbled upward and glanced around the carnage.

Everywhere, men cried and struggled against cloaked men with thin swords of silvers steel. His men, Kyrsain knew. They were dying, being cut down by the hungry swords of the cloaked men.

"Trnshah!" Kyrsain shouted. The friend and warrior below, Trnshah, killed his opponent with a quick thrust, and turned back toward Kyrsain. He shouted something intelligible back, and Kyrsain yelled, "Gather the men and retreat into the city! Hurry, we must protect the palace! PULL BACK!"

The burly warrior nodded, and began relaying the cry.

The men disengaged from the tangled battle as best they could, and those that survived the furious attack pulled back into the city.

At first, Kyrsain thought they had temporarily escaped, that they would make it to the palace. But then he spotted a cloaked shadow in front of them, and the men, tearing down the streets of Tterin, stopped involuntarily.

A figure, taller than the rest, stepped out, his cloak of black blowing back behind him. "How...good of you to join us," he said, his voice a low hissing.

A bolt of fear slammed through Kyrsain, and he pushed it back. Yet he could not help but tremble inside at the inexplicable evil aurora of the man.

Quietly, more figures, shadowed by the moonlight, their faces black from their hoods, stepped beside the man. Closer they came, until the remnant of the guard were surrounded.

And then they struck.

The cloaked men moved forward, quick as lightning, and struck again and again, and the mass of men became a massacre, a battleground of blood.

Kyrsain ducked the first blow his opponent gave him and quickly beheaded him, but no more defeated him than another man took his place, engaging Kyrsain once again.

Through the din and haze of battle, Kyrsain glimpsed the leader of the men--for he deemed that is what he was--engaging Trnshah. Their blades whirled back and forth, and showers of sparks illuminated their desperate swordplay. Slowly, little by little, Kyrsain saw that Trnshah was pushed back by the skill of the other man.

"NO!" Kyrsain yelled, and he stabbed wildly at the man and drove his way through the battle, hacking, slashing, just so he could get to his friend in time.

But he was too late.

As he emerged from the massacre, he saw the man--the cloaked man--stab once, and Trnshah slumped to the ground with an anguished cry, and said no more.

Rage, anger, grief--all of these combined into Kyrsain's emotions, fueling his swordplay as he ferociously attacked the man in the black cloak, the man who had killed his friend.

The man stumbled slightly, but soon recovered. He parried once, and then drove Kyrsain backward. "Do you think you can defeat me?" the man spat, hacking away at Kyrsain's defense. "I am the Dreadman, second only to Magorth."

The Dreadman? Magorth? Kyrsain felt sick to his stomach.

"Magorth has already won your precious Tterin, and he shall conquer all of Arowdae," the man taunted, "And then, you will forever stay in our darkness, be whipped by our people, and bear the brunt of our anger, for all of time, until you die."

"No!" Kyrsain screamed, wildly stabbing at the Dreadman.

A searing pain blasted through his stomach, and darkness hovered on the edges of his eyes. Pain, oh pain! His head swam and he collapsed to the ground.

"You have already lost," the Dreadman said.

But Kyrsain brought his sword up from the ground, and slashed, one last time, at the Dreadman. He grunted in pain, holding his bleeding side.

As Kyrsain looked up at the Dreadman, his hood fell back, and his hideous face was revealed, a burned, marred face with two black eyes leering out at him. Pain overcame him, and darkness swam under his vision. The Dreadman, growling in anger, swung at Kyrsain's head. He raised his sword one last time, in weak defense...

A flash of pain and death overcame his earthly body, his life was severed.

The Dreadman spat on the corpse, and left Tterin to burn.

--

Tell me if it was too intense. O.o I may change it a bit. Tis completely unedited. :) Tell me what ye think!

--
Jake

Vrenith, Procrastination, and a Hefty Dose of Oskar's Quotes

2010-11-08T12:41:00.001-06:00

Aye, ye read the title right. >_>

Now, to start off, I am wishing Vrenith a very late birthday. It was earlier this November, and I have, alas, overcome by NaNoWriMo, neglected posting on it. So, for the record....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VRENITH!

And another thing: Vrenith, my sister, has finally made a blog. It is a motley band of topics (mainly concerning dragons and drawings), but it promises to be excellent. So do me a favor--go and flood her blog! Follow, comment, do whatever is necessary, but give her a hearty welcome into the blogosphere! :) Ye can find it here.

Procrastination.

That hated thing. The evil beast that destroys one's dreams and novelings, the creature that creeps into one's soul and blackens all creativity, the thing that must be slayed at all costs.

There! I am done. I had to get that out, readers...it was imperitive.

Now, I'd like to share some of Oskar's quotes. :) They have been rattling around in my head lately...

“I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

— Hanwyt Moor, famed shoe burgular

“Whether crushed or sheltered by the Maker’s hand, ’tis beneath it we go, from breath to death.”

— Triliban Plubius the Bruised, The Bridge, (Skree City Press)

“Ugh. Might they have thought of something else?”

— Verbichude Yay, Art: If I Like it, it’s Good, (Torborro Press)

“I’m round as the moon and just as big—ouch! That hurt!”

— Izikk the Slapped, Bandages Abound, (Humer House Publishers)
“I should’ve known.”

— Chonk

“I’ve an idea! Attend closely to me and you might find your shoes.”

— Bimm Stack, Never Do Something You’re Good at for Free, Unless You’re Nice, (Skree City Bookhouse)

*sigh* Have I mentioned lately that I love the Wingfeather Saga? *checks own blog* Aye, I have.

Farewell for now!

--
Jake

A Little Wing as Well as a Feather...

2010-10-27T17:46:00.001-05:00

(This was written several days ago, and sadly I had not the time to post it until now. Enjoy some of my musings...)

Today, I have come before you to share a poem. Yes, again. This is not one of my own keenings, however--it is the wonderful poem from the most venerable and thrice-beloved books of all time (at my house, at least): On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (henceforth referred to as OTEOTDSOD or OEDSD) by Andrew Peterson. As you can see, this is a book for the randomness lover. Even the very title promises wonderful promises. ;) The subtitle goes as follows: "Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. And the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree."

Here is a little background from the first paragraph in the book.

"The old stories tell that when the first person woke up on the first morning in the world where this tale takes place, he yawned, stretched, and said to the first thing he saw, "Well, here we are." The man's name was Dwayne, and the first thing he saw was a rock. Next to the rock, though, was a woman named Gladys, whom he would learn to get along with very well. In the many ages that followed, that first sentence was taught to children, and their children's children and their children's parents' cousins and so on until, quite by accident, all speaking creatures referred to the world around them as Aerwiar."

Anyway, I have come to share a poem from OEDSD (bless it's pages!). Tis titled 'The Carriage Comes, the Carriage Black'.

The Carriage Comes, the Carriage Black
-From "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness"
"Lo, beyond the River Blapp
The Carriage comes, the Carriage Black
By shadowed steed with shadowed tack
And shadowed driver driving

Child, pray the Maker let you sleep
When comes the Carriage down your street
Lest all your dreams be dream of teeth,
And Carriages arriving
To wrest you from your berth and bower
In deepest night and darkest hour
Across the sea to frozen tower
Where Gnag the Nameless pounds you
At Castle Throg across the span,
A world away from kith and clan
You'll weep at how your woes began
The night the shadows bound you

Away, beyond the River Blapp,
The Carriage came, the Carriage Black
By shadowed steed with shadowed tack
The night the Carriage found you."

Scary. And yes, that name was Gnag the Nameless. To quote OEDSD, "That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless."

If you haven't already read these books you must. It is practically a required read for randomness lovers and Carroll readers. Perhaps I will post more on it later. I wrote a review--actually, twas like my first Teenage Writer review ever--some time ago. I had forgotten, however, the brilliancy of OEDSD. And be sure to check out North! Or Be Eaten. All are eloquently epic. I only used 'eloquent', however, to promote alliteration. :)

Over and away,
Ere breaks the day.
"Good-by" I say,
For I cannot stay.

--
Jake

Luther

2010-10-24T15:33:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, for school, I watched the movie 'Luther'. It is, of course, a movie about Martin Luther and his life. It's about the Ninety-Five Theses, about the selling of indulgences, and about a monk named Luther who seeks a loving God.

It was for school, as I said. Required--I said I'd rather write. :) But this proved me wrong.

Joseph Fiennes stars as Martin Luther, the brilliant man of God whose defiant actions changed the world, in this epic, ravishingly beautiful film that traces Luther's extraordinary and exhilarating quest for the people's liberation. Regional princes and the powerful Church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip on 16th-century Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leaderand hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refuses to back down, sparkinga bloody revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core. [Taken from Amazon.com]

Luther was an amazing movie. There is simply no words that I can use to describe it--it's a nonfiction movie that has been dramatized, but it is...well, as I said--I have not the words to describe it.

But watch this movie. It is a moving and amazing display of faith and even now those fateful words echo in my head: "I cannot and will not recant."

Now, as for other news: my novel is over 46 thousand words. I'm getting there, but I probably need to get off now and write. :)

Flow'sts and flying potatoes,

--
Jake

On the Upside of the Aftermath: What's Going Down?

2010-10-22T22:35:00.000-05:00

NOTE: Much of this was written on different days. I have labeled them accordingly.

The 18th

If you didn't understand the title--well, don't worry. I didn't either. >_> There are quite a few things I do not understand about the world. Including my blog posts...it is a way I get to randome myself after a day of the world's rigorousness and rigidality. :)

Anyway, I came to tell you what is up (or down?) here in the wild worlds of Jake's imagination...so let's have a go.

Firstly, it rained (hallelujah!) this morning, and cleared up shortly afterward, leaving no clouds left in the sky--the perfect weather. Why? It gets colder during the day when it is cloudy, and colder still if it rains. It gets colder during the night if there are no clouds; yes, you heard me right. I once had the temperature go up five degrees overnight when it was cloudy... >_> <_< So that means maximum coldness for maximum happiness on my part. O.o The sooner wintertime comes, the better. No leaves to rake, no lawn to mow + snow=a happy Jake. 0.0 Ack, this algebra is getting to my head.

Speaking of the devil...I mean, *cough* algebra, I finished my Algebra 1 book, which deserves a hurrah for sure! On the downside...(or upside?) I have started my Algebra 2 book. >_<

As the title of this post says, I am on the upside (or downside?) of this aftermath...read the previous post for explanation. >_> On the bright side, another Tribe Party is being planned...and KC--where I live--is one of the possibilities. On the downside (or is it upside?) it is most likely going to take place--if it does take place--more or less a year from now. :P

And if you think the next item of interest is a poem...you are absolutely...right. Only, this isn't MY poem. It's a Bible passage...I dug it up today while doing some studying in Isaiah. Absolutely a gem--I'm going to paraphrase it and use it in my novel for sure.

"Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands,
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
Propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us." [Isaiah 8:9-10]

I'm going to look through a couple other versions before paraphrasing to get maximum effect, but tis pretty good, eh? Nothing like the Bible for epicness...unless, perhaps, tis a tribe party.

One more note on that verse: that last part of the last sentence is literally translated from Hebrew "Immanuel". Even cooler...

Also--in my novel--it is prophecy time. >_> Prophecies are always fun to write, but this one was fiendish for me to torture my character with. Particularly because it was utterly incomprehensible for him. <_< Very fun to write...though I am not entirely sure what this one section means yet. *scratches head questioningly* Well, I'll figure it sometime. ;)

Anyway, that's my two--three--no, three dozen and a half a baker's dozen--cents for today. >_> Hope to see ye all later.

The 19th

Heyo, the Jake person is back. :)

Today has been a strange cocktail of events. My math has been acting strange--but, then again, it IS math. >_>
My sister(s) (unsure how many wanted to do this, and how many drifted into doing it) rented a Barbie movie from Redbox. Undoubtedly the worst one-dollar investment they have ever made--but, hey, it gave me time to write. :)

On the upside (downside?) of things...my novel is going superbly. I have written many words--my count is now hovering just below 45,000. Hooray! Now, prophecies are being fulfilled, and the end is in sight: but I still have to get my protagonist through a couple of confusing events, collect the dracos for war, and then march off to a huge battle and rescue his mother. >_> I am anticipating to have the battle go on fairly long...and have a star appearance from...*cue applause* the EVIL ONE! *claps halfheartedly*
Oh, yeah: and did I mention I figuratively resurrected a major character? Woot. >_> He actually never died...but it still counts as a resurrection.

Also, to end with [Poeticisms], I have conducted a spoof of one of my poems. Observe the following verse:

"Darkness and light meet thundrous crash,
And through the carnage fly,
Dragons fierce, storm and smash,
Dragons live and dragons die."

Pretty epic...but this may be epicer. ^_^

"Darkness and light meet thundrous crash,
Dragons live and dragons die,
And then with a terrible smash,
Dragons poke me in the eye."

Done for today's wackiness. Check y'all later.
The 20th
Ack. Have I mentioned lately that math is terrible? >_>

On the upside (or is it downside?) my novel is now some hundred or so words above 45,000. I can feel the end approaching. Tis rather scary...O.o I am anticipating an epic battle soon--and I LOVE epic battles...because they are epic. >_>

But I had a part where I briefly considered finishing Sadaar and making a whole 'nother novel about the epic battle and the events afterward...but I decided against it. I simply did not have enough plot. But the last bit of the chapter DOES sound like the end of a novel.

"He began his story as a storyteller would; beginning with beginnings. "Over a year ago, I woke up one morning. Little did I know that that very day would change me and my course in life forever..."
"And so he told his story, the story of Sadaar."

Almost made me want to stop the novel then and there--it is a good ending. :) It reinforces the title, and it makes the reader feel 'déjà vu' >_> I need to be thinking up of good endings like that, however.

The 21st
This afternoon, when musing over some excellent novels I have been reading (one of them being Isle of Fire) I am almost completely sure I have struck on the solution and remedy for this lack of words two of my three novels have.

POV. I have but one POV in my novels: in my first, the point of view is Shad (except in the prologue), in my second, the POV is Jacesm (though this is in first person), and in my third, the POV is Aron. Each of these has but one POV--though two of the three are in third person.
Now, there is one story, and one storyteller in these novels. Think about this. If there were still the same story, but two storytellers, wouldn't the story be twice as long? Perhaps. But this may work out for a longer novel for me.... >_> Just so you know, Sadaar is longer because it has a long plot--exceedingly so. I go over the course of a year or two--which is one reason why Bryan Davis's book 'The Bones of Makaidos' is so big and fat. :) It goes over a long time as well as a lot of plot--and it has many POVs as well.
Today, the 22nd

Ah, today is Friday: a good day indeed. Fridays, after Thursdays (perhaps equaling them) are my favorite days of the week. ^_^ Very good days...

As for today--alas, I have not written in my novel. :P I really should write some more--I am getting close to the end and even closer to November: and NaNoWriMo. Nine days until NaNoWriMo--I need to finish my novel before then.

Ack, I might as well start on my Math early...as this is written at 9:10 A.M. >_< Well, here I go...perhaps I shall write more in this post before the day is over...

...or perhaps not.

Other things? I read Millard's post on the Tribe Party. If ye wish to hear my thoughts on the matter, check out the comments. I posted a lengthy one.

That is all for today. Checking out.

--
Jake

Aftermath

2010-10-17T17:18:00.003-05:00

The epic tribe party is over.

For those of you who don't know what the Tribe Party was, here's a summary.

For WTB and CH's book, COTSK, there was a thing they called a 'Tribe-Building Contest' where people made tribes and earned Vanadils for them. The winner of the Tribe contest--the tribe that ended with the most Vanadils--would get a variety of prizes, foremost among them a private party with both authors.

Nightwing won that contest last time, and so they got a private party. But before this, a public party--all tribes invited--was planned. Elves from the Underground forum--Swiftstormers, Silvertreers, and Nightwingers alike, to name a few tribes--were invited.

I was unable to go, as it was in Illinois.

The Tribe Party was yesterday at 2:00 central time. They set it up so that Elves that were unable to come--like me and several other people--would be able to watch it live and chat on the sidebar.

It was, in short, amazing.

WTB and CH sparred with swords, arguing all the time over heroic hair styles ("You must actually have hair in order to style it!" was one of Mr. Batson's remarks to bald Mr. Hopper). Afterwards, several readings took place, as well as a bagpipe serenade.

But the best part of the party was when Elves came up and introduced themselves to the screen. Whisper, Hark, Millard, Silver Angel, Goldarrow, Anduril--all introduced themselves. Wow...

The coolest thing? If you were unable--or didn't know that there was a party going on--to get to the streaming, it's recorded here. All of it; the entire hour.

And now I am still among the aftermath--perhaps I can go to the next Party. Ah, well...

Until next time.

E&V!

--
Jake

[Poeticisms]

2010-10-14T01:33:00.000-05:00

What would happen...if I blogged poetry?
But the real problem is...I can't rhyme with poetry.

Yup, tis time for another randomness post. Straight from Jake's imagination: I'm writing this at 11:00-11:30 PM central time. But really--don't try to rhyme with the word 'poetry' with anything. *grimaces* It doesn't work out...the choices are unsavory. :P

So, anyway: this post shall be rather long. If you wish to endure it, test your courage and read this post. There are only two results: you either like it...or die. Or you could be nonchalant about it... >_>

Recently I have been thinking about smiley faces. I have been taking a turn for the olde classe "Underground" smileys...
Anyway, back to poeticisms.

I once saw a man who ate a van,
He gave a roar and ate a store,
Can he eat the world?
Believe me, he can!

This, of course, is random poetry. A great genre of poetry established by Lewis Carroll, I believe. With poems like 'Jabberwocky' included.

Now...Hm. What to say, what to do?

Ah! *lighbulb* I shall get to something I have been trying to do for a while. I am going to formally interview my character Aron. The idea has been politely purloined from Squeaks' illustrious blog.

Now, before I get started, here is a little background info on Aron.

He is...well, that's plot I can't tell you about. Wild hair--inherited from his father Shad. He is a nice guy...but he may be a little dazzled when he comes to be interview. I won't be held responsible for whatever he might say...O.o

Anyway, on to the interview!

--

ARON: *poof* What in the world--?

ME: Hey, Aron! Welcome to my blog. I'm currently writing a book about you, called Sadaar.

ARON: *looks around* *eyes dart back and forth* Where am I? What is this place? I thought I was at the Last Summons! They were about to make a--

ME: Whoa, whoa, hold it. That's confidential plot, buddy. Best to keep quiet about your life in general.

ARON: *is confused* Then why are you interviewing me?

ME: *is puzzled as well* Well...how about a question? Ask me anything, friend. After all, I know everything about who you are and what you've done and are going to do.

ARON: You mean you wrote me?

ME: Well, yes. But ask another question, we need to keep things interes--

ARON: But only Saar can make things. Only He is omnipresent.

ME: Well...

ARON: You realize you are claiming that you are equal to Saar when you say--

ME: *hurriedly interrupts* We'll talk about this later. Ask a different question.

ARON: ~~Why did you kill my father??~~

ME: *is flustered* Whoa, wait just a second. First, I didn't...uh, this is another "talk later" question. *quickly marks out question*

ARON: *crosses arms* I need to know now.

ME: Now, now, don't get hasty. I told you, we'll talk about this later.

ARON: But--

ME: No buts!

ARON: I'm leaving.

ME: No, you aren't. I control who leaves and and who doesn't leave! I'm the author, remember?

ARON: There you go again! There's only one Author. And you aren't Him.

ME: Wait just a moment! You can't leave! I didn't say you could!

ARON: *poofs*

ME: *sigh*

--

Epic fail. On to the next poem, folks. :) (By the way, how do you pronounce 'folks'? I pronounce it with the 'l' silent. :) )

Math problems, science test,
School, school, school!
Economics is a hornet's nest,
School, school, school!

And with that, Jake is out of the building, taking his dangerous randomness with him. I wish you a fond night and delightful dreams.

NOTE: If you are wondering about my sanity level, please read this poem:

"Math, math, hurts my head,

It invades my dreams,

It disturbs my bed,

My insanity, it seems,

Is bursting at the seams!

Algebra, though, is even better,

It bashes my mind,

Making swim the letter,

And now I'm in a bind;

It invades my mind, I find.

Out goes memory fine!

Out flies my sanity thin!

I don't want ye to think I whine,

But like a shark reveals its fin,

I find my mind is caving in!

Out flies my mind, beaten,

Blowing up in glorious flash

Math, it seems, has finally eaten,

Math, is seems, has finally smashed,

My mind, which has finally crashed.

It's nice, however, to finally see,

The sky above my eyes,

My mind is finally free,

Free from Math's evil spies,

Free from Algebra's cries.

The only thing missing (besides my vanity)

That one thing that now useless seems,

My finally broken sanity;

Wild and adventurous roving dreams,

Have finally broken Sanity's seams."

--
Jake

ALERT! New Blogger Alert!

2010-10-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

Whisper the Spy has finally joined the blogosphere! *wild clapping and confetti!!*

As far as she has posted, her blog Jabberwocky promises to be a gem.

For those of you who do not know, Whisper is most commonly found on the Underground, where she is a fellow administrator (Sentinel). Here is how she describes herself in her profile:

"I am an intergalactic spy/knight/ambassador; leader of an army of invisible duck spies and arch rival of Hatshepsut and her Aztec warriors. I love chess, raspberries, caverns, blue, editing, and Lewis Carroll. I love coffee ice cream and good pirate novels and winter and Ancient Rome and creeks. I hope you find me amusing."

So here is your task; check out this blog! If I know whisper at all, it will turn out to be an amazing blog.

There was one post in particular that had me rolling on the floor laughing. You can find it here.

Until next time!

--
Jake

The Unveiling of the Flow'st

2010-10-12T12:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, the flow'st is back. :) I was rather restless, and POOF! the flow'st popped up in a poem again.

This time, I'm going to share the meaning of a flow'st. Gather 'round folks--we're going to unveil the flow'st.

A flow'st is...what you call a word when you don't know the meaning of it. O.o It is an all purpose word, really. You use it in the same way when you say 'supercalifragilisticexpeallidocious' (yes, I can spell it!); you use it when you don't really know what to say. A better and more literal definition would be; "A word that personifies randomness; a meaningless word that is used in place of meaningful words." It's a rather strange definition, I know; but the flow'st will always be a mystery. Always...

Anyway, here's another poem I cooked up. Pardon if it is a little less lighthearted than the last--things never seem to happen the same way twice, and the flow'st is no exception.

There Echoes Now

There echoes now a call to care,
There echoes now to darkness tear,
Can it be found, O now O where?
A lingering call to care?

Why in the world dost thou care?
That flow'st from here to there?
Tisn't the same, no sanity now;
That flow'st from here to there.

Not a care, nay, not a care;
Not a cheesed dollar to spare,
The flow'st dost flow from here to there;
With naught but a dollar to spare.

Darkening music with no happiness there;
Not an ounce, not a note to spare,
Fleeing on without a care,
The cat loses its hair.

Shriek and shrink; they make a pair,
Not a nice one, not quite fair,
That flow'st shall call from here to there,
And all shall stop to stare.

And echoes now from deep places fair,
A call of pain, a call of care,
It calls out from deep places there,
It echoes out so painfully fair;

"I said to him, and he to me,
That I had gone and ate a tree,
The flow'st upon a midnight three,
And caused the cat to flee."

Painfully it lingers there,
Painfully, wondrously fair,
And all the world wonders there,
The flow'st upon that midnight fair.

--
Jake

Holidays and Writing

2010-10-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

Today is a holiday. My birthday. Actually, it's Columbus day in the US...but let's just pretend it WAS a holiday.

My mom let me off of school for the entire day--and with a bar of dark chocolate--and do you know what I decided to do?

Watch a movie? Nope.

Play video games? Nada.

Eat Cheez-Its all day? Not that, either.

Think of me...think.

Can you guess what I did?

I wrote.

Yes, I wrote for my birthday. I wrote in my novel--on my birthday. I wrote ALL DAY LONG.

I'm still writing, but as of right now I have written 5,000 words. Whoa!! I went on a writing spree. Write, write, write!!!

And the coolest thing is--I absolutely enjoyed it. I spent the entire day writing, and I loved every moment of it. I love writing--plain and simple.

So, in celebration of my high-er word count, as well as my birthday (and my friend Aaron's birthday; yes, we share a birthday!), I am going to post a recent excerpt from my novel Sadaar. :)

Oh, and I'm booming TFK (Welcome to the Masquerade) while writing this; so pardon the high-intensity random stuffs. :) I'm choosing an interesting section....

*TFK echoes in the background*

From the chapter "Sons of Drakos". Unedited glory, so enjoy. :)

--

A voice interrupted his slumber. "And who might you be, boy?"

Aron awoke suddenly, and quickly stood up.

A dragon faced him. Flaming crimson scales, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight, graced his form, and white fangs jutted out from his jaw.

And yet, it seemed different than the paintings Aron had seen in Aleorendos. The jaw and snout of the dragon was more delicate, and the body was thinner and less burly than Aron had been led to believe. It had straight spines on the crest of its head, unlike any of the dragons drawn in various places Aron had seen before.

"You...you're a dragon," Aron ventured.

The dragon snorted. "You aren't a very smart human, are you? And you can understand me--something someone has never done before. When the prophesied human finally comes, he turns out to be a dimwit."

This stung. "Why do you consider me to be so stupid, dragon?" Aron asked.

The dragon rolled its eyes. "First of all, prophesied one, I am not a dragon. I am I draco."

"What's the difference?"

The dragon sighed, and then recited lines that sounded suspiciously like a child's rhyme.

"There once lived Drakos, long ago,

The First Dragon, who had two children,

One was master of elements; the draco,

And the other a fiery beast; the dragon.

"As you can see, human, dragons and dracos are two different things. You are accustomed to dragons. Dracos are different things altogether, though our kin and I share a forefather. There are four kinds of dracos; Firedrake, Waterdrake, Earthdrake, and Airdrake. Each is a master of their respective elements."

Aron quietly drank in this information. "So you are a Firedrake, then?"

The draco raised an eyebrow. "I see you have not entirely deserted your sense, prophesied one."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Unless you have more powers than the average human, I would not expect you to know about draco legend. I shall tell you, then."

"Wait," Aron said. "You mean, prophecy is coming to life in front of you, and you treat it like it is an everyday experience! Usually people in old stories are all shocked and everything when..." Aron's voice trailed off. Wow, that sounded dumb...

The firedrake snorted. "Do you take me for a petty human out of an old story? Real life works differently. Do you expect me to disbelieve my elders? The prophet said that it would come true. If it was Saar's prophecy, then it shall come true. It is not my place to disbelieve."

"So you believe in Saar?"

The draco let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes. Do you want me to tell you about the prophecy or not, human?"

Aron decided to shut his mouth. "Yes, yes, go ahead."

The firedrake cleared his throat. "Hundreds of years ago, the draco Prophet Sharddë said that a person would come, years into the future, a man unlike other men." Here he gave a pointed glance at Aron. "He would come, and be able to understand us, for no other humans can. To them, they hear growls, hissing, for they have not the ability nor the gift to speak to us. But more, they do not have the faith in Saar to hear us.

"He said that from him, Saar would do a great work. Through him, we would be introduced into the world again, and not be hunted like beasts like in the ages long past. We would be one with Saar's people, and we would again speak to our brethren, the dragons."

The draco turned gazed at Aron. The crimson-rimmed irises bore deep into his heart, his soul. "And from him shall come Saar's Anointed One, from the his line."

Aron felt his heart pound. It was the exact words from Kedus' prophecy, that one that burned into his memory like a flaming iron in his heart.

The firedrake spoke again. "Welcome to these lands, the land of Addewyd. My name is Firescale, promised one."

"Greetings, Firescale," Aron said haltingly. "My name is Aron, son of Shad. I am honored to meet you, and honored to come to Addewyd. I hope that, if I am the one spoken of, that I might live up to its prophecy."

"You are," Firescale rumbled. "I can feel it in my scales, in my bones, in my heart. You and I shall know each other well, before this is over."

"Before what is over?" Aron asked.

Firescale turned his eyes on Aron once more, drilling them deep into Aron's face. "It is also prophesied that the greatest war of this age will take place when the prophesied one comes, one in which nations far and wide shall take part in. A war like none other."

Chills ran up and down Aron's spine. The pieces were in place, he knew. Aleorendos was going to attack Paladain, and when they did, a war like none other would take place. The board was set. The game--the gamble--for the lives of both sides was beginning.

---

Ooh...perhaps it is a wee bit serious. :) Now it's Skillet singing...

Well, I should probably go before I drown you in a sea of midnight randomness....ooh, poetic...

Jake

Strange Happenings

2010-10-10T13:45:00.000-05:00

Today is 10/10/10. In fact, at 10:10 a.m. and ten seconds this morning (and it will happen again at ten tonight) the date will read (from seconds to years), 10 sec. 10:10 on 10/10/10. Woha! :)

So this makes today a day of strange happenings. At current, such things as these are happening: tropical trees bloom in my living room, my dog is getting itchy, the tree in the backyard is turning red, and my procrastination regarding writing is getting annoying.

As for other happenings, I learned about an interesting idea for a Bible translation in church today.

Turns out, we speakers of the English language have a problem--You.

What? Oh, did you think I said that YOU were the problem? LOL! No, I mean that the word 'you' is a problem. In the Bible there are different Greek words that are both translated 'you'. One is plural, and one is not. The word 'you' in English covers both.

Now, take a look at this: I am reading the Bible. "You are the light of the world," it says. Wow! Look at that. I am the light of the world. Yep. Feelin' good about myself!

That, of course, is NOT what it means. But, hey; it said 'you'.

But that's a problem we're stuck with.

But the Texans--well, that's a different story. They have it figured out.

You see, the whole idea about this special translation of the Bible (which has yet to be made)--is a great idea. It's called the 'TNIV'; Texan's New International Version.

Now, here's the TNIV translation of that same verse.

"Ya'll are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"Y'all are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."

Heh heh. :) I hoped ye enjoyed that.

Well, my musings for today has ended.

Over and out;

Jake

New Header...of Books

2010-10-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, my header has been improved and updated! It's bigger, better--and it has a lot more of my better books--On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Venom and Song, Kestrel's Midnight Song, etc. :)

I also corrected the 'thoughs' from the last header (it was supposed to be 'thoughts'), and added 'writer' to the title--as well as changed it to 'eighth grader'. :)

So what do you think of it? Better? Worse? Should I change the theme altogether?

--
Jake

Weird Poetry, Apologies, and Complaints

2010-10-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, the above title said, 'Complaints'. I'm not going to whine to you guys--but I really don't like the warm turn the Kansas weather took. :P Ah, well...I can't help it.

Now, as for apologies--yes, I haven't posted in over a week on here. It is utterly shameful and I have no excuses. :) I'll try to warn you before I take a leave of my blog, next time.

I was reading a section out of Alice in Wonderland for school yesterday (I had read 'Alice' some time before of my own accord), and I was again dazzled by Carroll's wonderful randomness and hilarity. This morning--in protest of my math--I wrote this bit of nonsense. It was inspired by Alice in Wonderland--quite catchy, if I say so myself. I've been humming it under my breath all day.

The Flow'st Upon a Midnight

I said to him, and he to me,
That I had gone and ate a tree,
The flow'st upon a midnight three,
And caused the cat to flee.

Upon a straw, upon a star,
I wished my feet would fight them far,
Around a moon, around a car,
I golfed my way to par.

I bought an egg, so dearly bought,
On the spoon the battle twas fought,
But alas and alack, twas all for nought!
A slimy fish I caught.

That twas when I said to him,
"Take my car out for a spin,"
In danger false and danger grim,
The old man gave a grin.
I said to him, and he to we,
That I had gone and found a flea
The flow'st upon a midnight tea,
And caused the gnat to see.

Why and fly I spun my lie,
And on that manger-place did cry,
"A spy, my lord! That spy!"
And took away my pie.
Then I coughed, and came out smog,
Covered the roof--and then the dog,
"Woof and meow," cried the frog,
And I called down a smelly bog.

Take a nap--take a wink,
This will go on, I think,
Over bath and under sink,
I hear a little plink.

Secret poem--yes, it be!
Secret straight from you to me.
Read it backwards, and you will see,
Read it forwards and so will we.
I said to him, and he to three,
That I had gone and ate a flea,
The flow'st upon the midnight me,
And saw the reader, see.

Before you ask, I have no idea what a flow'st is. That's the price I pay for random poetry.

--
Jake

Updates, Unicycles, and U-Turns

2010-09-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, has it really been almost a week since I last updated? Perhaps it was because I have had little to update for... :)

So I have two personal tidbits to update for. Firstly, I have begun the writing on my OYAN novel. :) Second, I have...uh, what WAS the second one? Hmm.... Oh, yes! I've been enjoying awesomely cool weather. :) Even during the day, you can get a little cold! Which is great. :) Unfortunately, it seems like California has not my luck... 110 degree weather? :P I feel sorry for them...

I've been exploring this program that several people have recommended--yWriter. And I find it very interesting...and probably very useful when actually beginning a novel. I haven't had any excuse, yet, to write something in yWriter--since all of my novels are over 25,000 words already, completed or no, it would be rather hard and useless to put them into yWriter. But I think I'm going to try out yWriter for NaNoWriMo...

U-turn! Screech around and go in the other direction! Turn your unicycle around; I'm changing course.

I have been searching for allegory ideas for my novel, and I've found a few. :) Here's a couple verses that I found. Golden stars for you if you can guess how I'm going to use them! XD

-Revelation 13:3

-Ezekiel 36

-Ezekiel 20:40
-Jeremiah 33
-Ezekiel 11:16-25

With that, I sign out.

--
Jake

They've Failed!...Again

2010-09-23T18:01:00.000-05:00

This just in! The rabbits have failed again! They've failed again! Read below for more information.

GREAT RABBIT PLOT FAILS AGAIN

Author: John Dayburg

Editor: John Playfurg

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Rabbits have failed again. The details are unclear, but it seems as if one of the kamikaze rabbit pilots had technical difficulties and crashed into an adjecent aircraft. The chain reaction continued, above the Council place. At 3:53 CT, the kamikazes crashed into the Rabbit Council and blew the place to kingdom come.

The mass of the damage was uncertain, but a great number of rabbits have been killed. Bunnies all over the world are watching with great delight.

The damage is worth an estimated $0.

We sent a reporter to inquire of the Meetingmembers, but the rabbits declined--and the reporter was not seen again.

If you want to subscribe to Everything Bad--Rabbit News, please email us at everythingbad@rabbitsaretakingovertheworld.com or search us on Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube.

As you can see, it seems that the Thousand-Year-Meeting has failed again. You can put your dogs out back now, and throw the pinecones into the backyard. :) Everything should be relatively safer now...until next year. :)

Jake

It Has Begun...

2010-09-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

The Thousand-Year-Meeting is over--and rabbits everywhere are about to launch their master plan.

Last night, right after writing my eerily prophetic post on rabbits, my mom almost got herself--and two of my sisters--into a car wreck. Because of a rabbit. No, I swear this is completely true--my mother almost ran over a rabbit, and swerved wildly, as the story goes.

So launch your dogs! And prune your pinecones--you may need them before the day is out. I'll update as soon as I have news.

~~~UPDATE!!!~~~

Kamikaze bomber rabbits have been spotted in Kansas. Be prepared.

--
Jake

PS; And by the way, thanks for putting up with this madness--I'm rather venting right now. :D

--
Jake

The Thousand Year Meeting

2010-09-22T19:12:00.002-05:00

A terrible thing is about to happen...on this dark night...or was it tomorrow?

WARNING! The rabbits are in the middle of their thousand-year-meeting as I write this. I learned this from my wonderful dog, Moby. Here's a record of our conversation.

--

ME: Moby, do ye swear you will speak the truth and nothing but the truth?

MOBY: Arf!

ME: Now, are the rabbits having a secret meeting? When?

MOBY: (sniffs) Pah hahahaha.... (panting) [TRANSLATION: Yes, they are. They have it every year on September 23--the first day of Autumn.]

ME: (gasps) You mean that they are meeting right now?

MOBY: (loud sniff) [TRANSLATION; Duh.]

ME: Do you know any of their plans? Resources? Etc.?

MOBY: Or? [TRANSLATION: Ex eat eera is hard to say in Doggish...]

ME: Stay on target! Yes or no?

MOBY: (burps) [TRANSLATION: Nope.]

ME: Then how did you know of their plans?!

MOBY: (pants loudly and repeatedly) [TRANSLATION: I heard it from a friend of mind who heard it from a second cousin twice removed on his mother's side. He heard it from his sister's son--oops, make that his nephew.]

ME: (sighs disgustedly) Never mind.

--

So there you have it! Straight from the mouth of Truth. The Thousand Year Meeting is underway--who knows where it will go? To protect yourself, arm yourself with this information; it may be to your advantage.

-Every year is a thousand to rabbits. They live to be 5000 years old or older--if one has attended five Thousand-Year-Meetings, they are considered Elders and are highly honored.
-Their meeting is tomorrow. The first day of Autumn--they'll strike then.
-Their telepathic ability goes up with years. Young headstrong rabbits--always eating and hardly ever fighting, shame on them--can barely contact others in the Rabbitdreamworld.
-Some rabbits live elsewhere and attend the meeting telepathically, using their dreamworld dealio--I'm not quite sure how it works.

If you live on the American continents, BEWARE! All rabbits are out to get humans tomorrow. They'll have some sort of devious plan planned. Suicide bombers, nukes, World War 1/2...who knows?

How should you protect yourself? There is only one known thing; have your dog lay in front of the door at all times. Since it has a unique ability to trip up humans, it may trip the rabbit(s) and provide you an extra five seconds to live. : Other than that, you're on your own.

I'll keep you updated on the developments here on my blog, provided I'm not eaten.

--
Jake

Strange Days--and Posts

2010-09-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

Today has just been an off day. It has been a day of such weird and wearisome things as;
-No rabbit sightings
-Busyness all around
-Schoolwork
-Tiredness

..and besides this, I have been writing a rather depressing chapter in my novel, which is affecting my mood, perhaps. After all, C.S. Lewis once said that 'The Screwtape Letters' was depressing to write because he was writing from inside of him. My character is going through all sorts of depressing stuff, such as...well, how about I show you?

"He forced himself upright, and continued onward through the snow. Aron could barely see the ship in front of him, with the blinding white snow obscuring his sight, but he thought he was going in the direction of the captain's cabin.

Aron's danger sense began to steadily grow. His head began buzzing furiously, and he felt dizzy and swayed for a moment. He stumbled over a drift and fell into the snow, breathing hard.

Then he looked closer--and discovered that it was no drift. It was a body."

Yep. Scary. :) And scary to write, I can assure you. I had no idea that that would happen until the second paragraph of those three. Funny how those things happen. :)

Besides this, I have been using my science to make some stuff up in my fantastical world (no pun intended). I just learned about how there are no storms in the somethingsphere, which is above the bottom somethingsphere--or at least, there are rarely storms up there. So I made up a storm--known only to me as a yarjasti storm--that cruises down from the what'shisfacesphere and generally wrecks havoc on pretty much everything. Which is what Aron, my Protagonist, is experiencing. :) He is experiencing this because he was brave enough--stupid enough would probably be a better word--to sail up the northern Great Sea (isn't that always what the great seas in novels are called?). Y'know, that place from where 'no man has ever returned', and is a 'ship grave' etc. etc. etc. That seems to be the fate of all stupidly brave Protagonists...

Oh, and did I mention that this yarjasti storm is driving Aron's ship into the open sea? No, this wasn't already open sea. The area in which Aron is traveling is like a HUGE bay--like Hudson Bay, up in Canada. The Country of Paladain is on the far eastern side, the Countries are underneath and in the middle, while Aleorendos is smack on the bottom of the map. Now, where Aron is traveling is the faaaaar north-west corner of that bay. And beyond the 'bay'? Even I don't know that. If you're still confused, examine the tidy (actually, tis rather untidy) little Paint map that I created below.

The straight blue line (it doesn't really look blue from this vantage) is their path. The squiggly line is where they are going. And the big dot? Where they were at the making of that scene. :)

So now you know the stakes--and, unfortunately, I have yet to devise a way to save my poor Protagonist from this pridicament. Moahahaha. :D

One more thing; I just had a 'twelfth of a dozen' of my mom's heavenly rolls. *sigh*

But now that I've gotten this out, I actually feel a lot better. Thanks for enduring this sarcastic torture, my faithful readers! :)

--
Jake

The Amazing Tag...With Horses???

2010-09-17T17:18:00.002-05:00

So I have recieved a tag! From Star-Dreamer over at the Pen and the Parchment. With horses. Unfortunately, like I said in a comment, I don't know horse heads from horse hooves--so I will have my 'middling' sister speak for me.

Top 5 favorite songs: (not necessarily accurate--I'm pulling off the really good ones out of my head randomly)
1) Diverse City, tobyMac
2) Tonight, tobyMac
3) Savior, Skillet
4) Welcome to the Masquerade, TFK
5) Avalanche, Manafest

Top 5 favorite colors: (yes, half of them are different shades of blue)
1) BABY BLUE!
2) Turkey color ;)
3) Sky blue
4) Deep red
5) Morning Glory-blue

Top 5 favorite animals:
1) Ooh, hard choice... Dragons. Yes, dragons. The non-sentient kind.
2) Moby, my dog! (This is tied for first, by the way)
3) Several kinds of cats
4) My sisters...What? They don't count as animals? Darn. ;) Well, I'll have to go with rabbits, then, despite their dangerousness.
5) Various fantasy beasts

Top 5 favorite horse breeds (Tis my sister speaking):
1) Appaloosa
2) American Saddlebred
3) Arabian
4) American Paint Horse
5) Morgan

Top 5 favorite :fiction: books: (WHAT?!?! HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK!?!)
1) Brisingr by Christopher Paolini--but just barely
2) The Infinite Day, by Chris Walley
3) The Return of the King, by J. R. R. Tolkien
4) The Dark Foundations, by Chris Walley
5) The Final Storm, by Wayne Thomas Batson

Keep in mind that the above list is not completely accurate. It would take hours of agonizing turmoil to compile a complete list. ;)

So...whom to tag? Well...

I tag Beorn! I'll give ya somethin' to blog about. :) And I am curious to see what your favorite horse breeds are. ;)

--
Jake

Blessed Rain, Cold Toes, and a Heap of Math

2010-09-15T17:36:00.002-05:00

...which basically summarizes my day. But that is the whole purpose of a title, of course.

The rain is, well, raining down as I speak--it has been since this morning. Temperatures are dropping (hallelujah!), and my toes are cold. Not to mention my algebra-soaked brain has taken another pounding...but if you haven't realized this by now, let me tell you a secret; I am completely overreacting to my algebra. Two lessons a day is grueling, to be sure, but it's not too bad--I get done on time, usually, despite my self-enforced quota of math. :) So don't panic.

Oh--and my toes are cold.

But if you want something useful and meaningful to take home, well...I'll think of something...There! I have it. Uh, I have decided for the sixty-ninth time that Barbie is cheesy? Wait! Let me redeem the situation...I shall rack my mind...

~~SPOILER FOR BOTB!!!~~

Well, I have just finished BOTB and realized why Valzaan could have been resurrected so 'easily'. I had a sneaking suspicion after he was resurrected, but I feel that the author--L. B. Graham--made one mistake in revealing what Valzaan was; he told me. Almost to my face. He said, "Valzaan entered Avalione again" or "It was good to be back" or something like that, and I knew, then, who he was. It rather ruined the surprise for me--maybe it was my writers instincts doing it, but I anticipated the 'Vulsultyrim's betrayal' before it happened, too.

And one other thing--I was rather disappointed that Malek didn't have more to offer in terms of battle at the end of BOTB. He was defeated easily, after the battles at the beginning of All My Holy Mountain. I just felt that it was far too easy, and I expected 'sudden disaster' and 'sudden deliverance' at the end--perhaps Graham was through with the 'suddens' at the end of Father of Dragons and the beginning of All My Holy Mountain.

So, yes--I vented what I felt. Ultimately, I really liked this series, but those things above, as well as Valzaan's resurrection, kind of dampened its awesomeness.

~~END SPOILER~~

Is that meaningful enough for you? :) Right now, I'm reading DIOM and OOF (no pun intended!) by Bryan Davis again.

Oh, and I haven't died yet today. Strange.

--
Jake

A Collection of News, Stories, Updates, and a Black Spoon

2010-09-14T16:50:00.003-05:00

Long title, eh?

Anyway, as you can see, I have updated my profile picture. :) It's of a partially wooden pen someone gave me once laying on our tile.

For other news, I have books in at the library! Whoopee! Not that it was essential for you to know that. :)

And as for the black spoon--oh, darn. I spelled it wrong. I think it's 'the Blak Spoon'. XD But he was a warrior--a Hero, in fact--in a book I read.

Speaking of warriors, my middling sister and I (the sister that is in the middle of the 'youngest sisters' group) have developed a habit of 'sparring' every day. You see, she is a die-hard Christian fantasy lover and has a remarkable word count of 15,000 words on something she is writing--and she's, what, ten? :) The only problem is that she won't let me see it--but that's all I deserve, after all. I won't let her see my writing. :)

Anyway, we spar using our arms. We literally try to smack each other in a vital place using our arms, as if they were swords. :) Yep--no joke. But it is rather interesting how they play out. I've won four times, and alas! she has beaten me (much to my dismay) twice, both yesterday.

And earlier this afternoon, we were fighting over seconds for food. She kept 'dipping in' for some more mac-and-cheese, while I warned her not to. Of course, she kept doing it--so we fought. And then she noticed something that I was using to further myself in the fight. "Hey! Not fair! You have a spoon!"

Just another normal day. ;)

--
Jake

A Question of Profile Pictures

2010-09-13T21:56:00.004-05:00

I have been contemplating the idea of getting a profile picture for some time. Should it be of me, myself, and I? Or perhaps my 'pen' picture that is slowly spreading? Or maybe something completely different, like Millard's burning keyboard picture? :)

I've especially noticed it when I post on someone else's blog; if I use my Google (Gmail) account on some blogs (which I usually don't, since I'd rather link directly to Teenage Writer than to my profile) I'm a 'Jake'...and that's all. No distinguishing feature to mark me any different than any other pictureless 'Google-Jakes' out there. Nothing, like Millard's keyboard, or Squeaks's...uh, something (I'm having a short late-night memory shortage), or Eldra's horse, or Storyteller's smiley, or...well, you get the picture. ;) (Pun intended)

So, what do you, my readers, think about this delicate subject? (For the record, I think I shall remain 'pictorally' anonymous, but I'd still like your opinion.)

--
Jake

Two Things of Note

2010-09-11T15:27:00.004-05:00

First--I have a story to share.

My oldest younger sister (I have three sisters, all younger than me) has a lock on the outside of her door. And she has a strange habit of locking herself in her room. :) I walked to her room, not thirty minutes ago, and tried the door--locked. I unlocked it, and walked in. "Alex, you locked yourself in your room again." I said. She shrugged. "I don't remember locking it. Seriously--someone must have locked me in."

I did a seriously dumb thing just then--I demonstrated. "See, look," I said to her. I walked outside the room, and closed the door behind me, locking it. "See? That's how you lock yourself in your room all the time."

But what is really dumb about what I had just done was that I had locked us both in. Score one for insanity, Jake! Yeah, sure, we were rescued in five minutes or so--after pounding on the door and laughing ourselves silly at my stupidity. The story has already been told three times--undoubtedly it will be told even more in the days to come.

Hopefully that brought a smile to your face. I'm smiling while writing it. :D

And second--today is 9/11. I can't sum this day up with simple words, so I'll let someone do it for me; Squeaks wrote a great blog post on it here.

--
Jake

Contemplation of Randomness

2010-09-10T17:13:00.002-05:00

You all know by now that you cannot violate randomness by contemplating it. Unfortunately for us. But however...What's that? I'm contemplating it right now? No, I'm doing a prelude to the randomness.

As I was saying--however, I am going to do something random. Or perhaps not. If I announce that I am doing something random and then do it, it isn't random--because randomness happens randomly.

Now--Tolkien and Purple butterflies, right? Or maybe you do not care about the spelling?

Anyway, I will start eventually. Eventually.

So, without further ado!...uh, never mind. I cannot announce the start of my randomness.

Rawr! Tigers are extremely dangerous when ravenously hungry and looking for worms to eat. Don't ask me why he--it is a he, yes--is looking for worms--I haven't the slightest idea. He? I know it is a he because I did not call him a tigress. Tigress, as you know, means a tiger that stands about as high as a female tiger and looks exactly like one.

As for the flobbits...Well, they are short. How short? "Twice as tall as half of you and half as tall as twice of you", of course! At least, that's what it seems to me--and to Bilboy. What? You cannot understand my rambling? Tis not rambling! If you had half a... Oh, excuse me. Back to business. Now, I was speaking of flobbits, yes? What's that you say? Give you a better idea of how tall a flobbit is? Must I? Well...if I must...

A flobbit is three times as tall as a floggernopper, which is half as tall as a tinycroller, which is exactly 33% plus o.5 shorter than a barnsable, which stands about as high as a full grown teelopsy.

Now, back to Central. Central what? Central time zone! What do you mean I never left Central time zone?? Of course I did! I 'zone' out when I'm writing a blog post. :P

I think a lot. Speaking of Thinkalot, that is the last name--given to him--of Doc Dolittle, I believe. Actually, 'Dolittle' was his last name--but it was taken away from him, since he did a lot more than a little.

Maps, maps maps! I enjoy making maps, for sure. For instance, the exact center of Solir is...the Northeastern corner of Aale Forst. And the center of Venin is...Eyli, which is exactly the same distance from Eyli to Rive Sivil, as to Eyli to Lak Jii--the biggest lake in known existence and the largest quantity of water that side of the Yarj Mounts.

But besides the Red Sea--wait! That reminds me of Cyrano de Bergerac. He is AWESOME. How does that remind me of the Red Sea? Find out. :D

Moby, my dog! Uh, it's kind of hard to write a pargnopper when you are nudging me. No, go find someone else to torture and make pet you.

Where was I? Oh, yes, standing on top of a lightning pole...er, I meant to say telephone pole. Which is an inside joke with my family--only, I've forgotten it. All I remember of the joke is 'telephone pole'. I was standing on one.

Storms! Lookit that! The clouds seem to be making up for their lost time this summer. Silence, wind, silence, sprinkle, and so on...

Glory mornings, they say--or morning glories, that is. But the only thing glorious to me in the mornings is the snooze button and sleep.

The Shadows is Returning...No, that isn't it. Is The Shadow Returning? No...Well, yes, but that isn't the title, I mean. The Returning Shadows? No...Oh! I've got it!...it's...uh.... Oh! I have it now! 'The Return of the Shadow'. Hobbitized Strider with wooden shoes and all that. No, really--if you've read it, this makes sense.

Oh! Oh! Oh! The 'Secret Butterfly'. Oh, no--it was 'the Chocolate Butterfly' or something like that. No, not a book title--I never do two things twice. Plus--it is 'secret'--so if you are my sister, comment if you wish, but don't tell the meaning of the butterfly.

Phew! This is exhuasting, and I must go and arm-spar with my sister and make my arm red and partially bruised. It is worth it, though--all of the banging is fun, but for the alas! humidity.

So, anyway, I hope you left here feeling drained or refreshed. And if you didn't read this, SHAME ON YOU!

Oh, and one more thing before I skedaddle off into the Blue; if anyone can tell me how tall a flobbit is compared to a teelopsy, you get a gold star for doing useless math. :D

--
Jake

WAIT!...

...Don't get eaten by rabbits.

--
Jake

Writing, Dragons, and Such

2010-09-07T16:19:00.002-05:00

I am a fantasy writer. What comes to your mind when the word, or genre, 'Fantasy' is mentioned? LOTR, dragons, etc.

In my novel, especially the first one, the presence of dwarves and dragons are noted (no, there are no Elves). They participate in the plot to a much lesser degree in my two other novels, however. Now, my question to you, my readers, is this; do you think writers (especially beginning ones) should use such species and characters like dragons, wizards, dwarves, elves, etc.?

I may post my opinion on this sometime later. For now, I'll leave that hanging in the air. :)

--
Jake

Sometimes Life is Not Fair...

2010-09-06T18:02:00.004-05:00

...And sometimes it kicks you and rubs salt into the wound.

Recently there was a concert nearby; Rock the Lights, I believe it was called. It had awesome bands like Skillet, TFK, MercyMe, etc. Unfortunately, it cost a small fortune, so I was unable to go. I really would've liked to, as TFK and Skillet are two of my favorite bands.

Now, my dad does not like Skillet at ALL. If 'Awake and Alive' comes on the radio, he turns it off. He compared that song to Chinese--he said the 'Waking-up" part had an accent.

If ANY Skillet song comes on the radio, he will reach over and nonchalantly turn it off or to a different station. Like I said; he and Skillet are like water and fire.

Now, Sunday morning comes (the Skillet part of the concert was that evening), and an Elder from our church that was organizing it (not that he was old or anything!) asked Dad to do something with security at the concert, getting a ticket for free--and he accepted.

Turns out, when he finally gets there (after buying a black T-shirt to look intimidating), he is put on crowd control. Which means he is closer to the bands than ANYONE ELSE. Oh my goodness. My sister sent me a text, after talking to Dad on the phone, that read like this;

"Dad is like this close to Skillet RIGHT NOW:
Dad Skillet"

Dad does not like Skillet. Dad gets to go to a Skillet concert and stand so close to the stage that when fire that bursts out of nowhere every time the band says 'Hero', he can feel it on the back of his neck. Dad says his ears are still ringing.

Like I said. Sometimes life is not fair...

...and sometimes lets your Dad go to a Skillet concert for free. :P Sheesh.

--
Jake

The Long-Promised Excerpt

2010-09-04T17:56:00.002-05:00

Critique it. I beg you. :)

This is a snippet from my prologue. It's still undergoing revision, but for the most part it's one of the most revised and well-written parts of my novel.

Midnight shrouded Aleorendos in its choking sleep. The moons above it were wreathed in a strange haze that strangled the light out of them like a parasite, aiding the deeds of criminals that crept through the silent city beneath.

A man, dark and shadowy, stepped cautiously from an ornate palace door, somewhere in the center of Garajid. He warily glanced around him, looking for movement. A tense, taut expression hovered on his face--pursuit felt close. He could sense it. But seeing no one, he decided to chance it. Walking down the deserted street, he kept to the shadows that the four moons cast.

"They'd better be there on time," the man muttered to himself darkly. The dim moonlight danced shadows across the man's cruel, hard face as he walked along, rendering his sinister likeness even more evil. His black cloak swirled around him in the breeze--it had a chill to it, a promise of colder weather yet to come.

The man turned down a dark alleyway. The tall buildings above him gave shadow and secrecy, veiling the moonlight. He waited impatiently.

Above him, the moons slipped in and out of the clouds, peeking down on the man like a stern judge. The man shivered. Under the gaze of the moons--and ultimately, Saar--his motives seemed cheap and worthless. Why are you doing this? the wind seemed to breathe.

Even as doubt began to creep into his blackened heart, the man hardened it. Things are set in motion that cannot be undone. I must go through with this. The man's mind wandered. And then there is...the crown. Desire gripped him again, desire that had been awakened by whispered words in the night. Words whispered by a servant of the Darkness. Words that could not be denied, once they had taken ahold of his heart and blackened it with his Master's evil.
The sound of footsteps on stone jerked the man back into the fateful night.

A hulking man stepped out in front of him, from nowhere, it seemed. Unfazed, the man stood impassively, waiting for the man to speak.

"I have the men ready, Your Majesty," said the hulking figure, moving uncomfortably under the black-cloaked man's piercing gaze.

"Do not speak the title just yet," the black-cloaked man hissed, narrowing his eyes and glaring at the man, "It is bad luck to do so before it is true." But soon it will be.

The other man bowed his head in submission. "Forgive me, my liege."

Five other men came from the various shadows, swords at their sides and a grim look in their tattooed faces. These were the thugs to do his dirty work, as promised by the Master.

The black-cloaked man silently led the men back the way he had came, a cruel smile beginning to grow on his face. His plans would soon be fulfilled, and then there would be no one to stop him from achieving his goal; the throne.

Did you like it? Feel free to post your opinion in a comment!

And here is another; the Story of the Sadaar is its name. It was spoken by the son of King Ladar. The reason I'm posting this one is because I recently reached 30,000 words on my third novel as well; and this is from 'Sadaar', my third novel.

"Long ago, when the world was yet young, Saar reached down to the earth and chose seventy-seven of his faithful followers.

"'I give you a choice,' Saar said to them. 'A choice. You may serve me, as you have been doing, on the earth among other men like you, leading your everyday lives according to My law. Or, you can choose to serve me in a greater way, forsaking the earth's ways, and become one who can see many things hidden to others. If you choose this, let it be known that you will not be in favor with the peoples of the earth. They will be afraid of you, and mock you, calling you a magician and a sorcerer. But you will also be close to Me, and I will give you words to speak. You would be my envoy to the nations, a prophetic voice to the earth. Choose. If you choose nay, you will be sent back to your homes on the earth.'

"Each and every one of the followers chose yes. They became envoys from Saar to the world. They married, and had children, each of them having the same gift of their fathers and mothers.

"In time they became known as the Sadaar. Saar enabled them to be able to sense danger, fight like a lion, and to use power, known to the peoples of the earth as magic.

"But sorrow overcame the seventy-seven. Like a raven, the Evil One of the world picked them off, one by one, using the evil peoples of the earth like a tool.

"Each of the Sadaar, before they died, were given a choice. The choice was simple; join the Evil One or die.

"And each of the Sadaar refused, trusting in Saar alone. They and their descendants were hunted down and put to death.

"In all the world, there were only six Sadaar left, they and their clans. They met together, and Saar told each of them to go in hiding, so that they might serve his purposes later on.

"Many famous, blazing prophets came from the line of the Seven, Seisa, Osloi, and Kedus to name a few.

"There now has not been a Sadaar seen in three hundred years. Most have thought that the Evil One had finally accomplished his goal, but the last prophet, Kedus, prophesied that another would come, one that would be from the direct line of the Seven.

"Kedus died at the hand of King Akkas of Paladain, saying the words, 'In the darkness of days shall come one who will shine a light before all people.' And those words the believers of Saar and the followers of the Sadaar cling to, even to this day."

--
Jake

MATH?! And I Feel Freezing

2010-09-03T21:20:00.003-05:00

As I write this, my fingers are protesting and slow, and I feel that fall is not far away. :) Lovely weather we're having in KS...

As for math...well, this poem should sum up my day. XD No, I'm not turning poet--I'm a writer first and formost when it comes to words. But I am managing to get better at random poems--spur-of-the-moment stuff especially. :)

How I Lost My Sanity

Math, math, hurts my head,
It invades my dreams,
It disturbs my bed,
My insanity, it seems,
Is bursting at the seams!

Algebra, though, is even better,
It bashes my mind,
Making swim the letter,
And now I'm in a bind;
It invades my mind, I find.

Out goes memory fine!
Out flies my sanity thin!
I don't want ye to think I whine,
But like a shark reveals its fin,
I find my mind is caving in!

Out flies my mind, beaten,
Blowing up in glorious flash
Math, it seems, has finally eaten,
Math, is seems, has finally smashed,
My mind, which has finally crashed.

It's nice, however, to finally see,
The sky above my eyes,
My mind is finally free,
Free from Math's evil spies,
Free from Algebra's cries.

The only thing missing (besides my vanity)
That one thing that now useless seems,
My finally broken sanity;
Wild and adventurous roving dreams,
Have finally broken Sanity's seams.

--
Jake

Good Weather Again! And a Lament

2010-09-02T17:55:00.002-05:00

No matter what the heat, good weather (namely, cool weather, cloudy weather, rainy weather, and wintertime) will come again! :)

And so it has. The temp has dropped dramatically, and even as I write this the first drops of rain from a windy thunderstorm begin to fall. :) I love this weather!

I'm reading two series right now, BOTB (Binding of the Blade) and...uh, I forgot what the series is called for a moment (it's the algebra that's making me lose my memory!), but I reviewed the first book on my blog, Across the Face of the World. But I have to go to the library to retrieve the last book, and I have until 9:00 Central Time to get it. :) The race has begun.

But other than personal stuff, I don't have much to discuss. I recently wrote a lament for a certain city that is going to fall in an upcoming novel (I really like to plan ahead!), so perhaps I'll share the rough draft of it with you; I'm planning to edit it later. Refine it would be a better phrase. :)

A Lament for Jiliasil
Composer; An Unknown Sadaar

Over the horizon comes the Dawn,
Bringing with it hope and light,
Over a city the azure Sky yawns,
Driving out the hanging night.

It shines over a battle's reward,
Blood-red shines the sun on over,
Jiliasil has been put to the sword,
The Golden Age of the Sadaar is over.

O for the streaming banners bright,
That had once flung their emblems high,
Jiliasil has lost its fight,
Its people are on the fly.

O for the strong walls tall!
Standing against many a might,
But yet let Jiliasil fall,
It has fallen under night.

O for the marketplaces great,
Goods and cloth and wares,
But even these have met their fate,
And Jiliasil despairs.

O for the towers tall and strong!
Shining white among the Sun,
But e'en in there sings no song,
For its people have fled and run.

O Jiliasil Great! Sadaar's stronghold,
Fallen from glory and fame are ye,
But your walls are broken, as was foretold,
And your people have left to flee.

--
Jake

Tolkien's Prophetic Poetic Proficiency

2010-09-01T16:41:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite Tolkien poems, partially because it has an aurora of mystery and age to it. It's in LOTR, referring to Aragorn.

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."

I found this on Wikipedia, since I didn't want to have to find it and then manually write it onto the computer. Interestingly enough, I found that there was an earlier version to it, though it isn't quite as flowing and mysterious.

"All that is gold does not glitter;
all that is long does not last;
All that is old does not wither;
not all that is over is past.
Not all that have fallen are vanquished;
a king may yet be without crown,
A blade that was broken be brandished;
and towers that were strong may fall down."

Here's another Tolkienish poem. In LOTR, Theóden says this just before they charge into the fray to break the siege around Minas Tirith.

"Arise, arise, Riders of Theoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"

And there's one more of my favorites. Actually, three. The major favorite and two lesser. Guess what they are and win a gold star! ;)

--
Jake

The Random Thoughts of Ejaka of the Sadaar

2010-08-30T18:13:00.002-05:00

Be warned! This is a dangerous collection of dangerous thoughts about dangerous things that is dangerously wrong. Is your head refusing to interperate the dangerouses now? Good.

THE PRICKLY FIRST SECTION

Now, this section is pure prickly. Beware.

It is about...a play on words. And wordplay. And weird excerpts.

With the the playing of the words done (what? I didn't say I'd DO wordplay; I just made the words play), I'll give you a strange excerpt from an even stranger story.

Back, long ago, long before your great-grandparents' great grandparents were born, back when dragons still roamed the earth, when people did not have guns and resorted to hacking each other to pieces with swords instead, there lived a short, bald man in a small thatch-roof cottage.

This particular man had a habit of smoking his pipe on his porch at eight o'clock sharp. He lived quite happily, except for the nuisance of the dog next door. It barked like mad every morning, always watching the smoke drift upward in a spiral. The smell, too, enticed it and drove it crazy.

Presently, at eight o'clock, the man--his name was Rilo-- sat down on his creaky old rocking chair and smoked his pipe.

"O," he said with a sigh, "Ol' Eighty. Best smoke around." Rilo was smoking it, as he considered the present day a great one indeed.

Some time back, when the honeysuckle covered every clearing in sight, he looked on
the field one day and said, "This be a fine one. The Lord has outdone himself." He marked the day, deciding to take a smoke of Ol' Eighty, his finest harvest, on that day in remembrance.
That sunshiny day was four seasons ago to the day, and Rilo had cracked open the small cask of Ol' Eighty for the first time that morn.

Rilo decided that it was his finest harvest ever.

Just then, the Dog next door began barking. "Oi! What's that smell?" he panted in Doggish. But, of course, Rilo couldn't understand Doggish, as he was a human.

The smell curled up in the Dog's nose, and he took a deep whiff. "Ah," he sighed. He stopped, his doggy mouth open in surprise. "I am speaking Humanese!" the Dog exclaimed, shaking his fur in astonishment.

Rile, too, was open-mouthed. "You a-mean that you was a Talking Dog all this time?" Rile asked.

The Dog's feelings were ruffled. "Talking Dog? Talking Dogs be the worstest Dogs there ever been! Stuck-up, just because they could make different soundses in their throats!"

Rilo was puzzled. "Then what are you, Dog?"

The Dog jumped up on the fence. "I am Sir Muffle, son of Sir Tuffle, whose grandfather fought a dragon and lived! Which he got knighted for by the Doggish Committee of Tussling."

Rilo wondered at that. "He did?"

Sir Muffle made a snorting noise. "Well... It was a baby dragon."

Rilo shrugged, and glanced at his sundial. "Tis time to break my fast. Farewell, Sir Muffle."

Sir Muffle scrabbled at the fence. "Could you share? I am hungry."

"No."

Sir Muffle whined. "Please?"

"No." Rilo's flimsy door slammed shut.

Sir Muffle, put off by Rilo's reply, curled up by the fence for a good sunbathing. After all, not only the hated Cats needed the sun.

**************

Far, far, far away, there also lived an old, strong dragon, who, incidentally, has something to do with this story.

Legend has it that when this dragon was born, he ate his eggshell, belched, and said, "More." Since then, the dragon has shown a remarkable tendency to eat everything edible, grow stronger, and hoard large quantities of gold--all admirable traits in draconic society. Also, he hasn't ever gotten a stomachache.

The cats of the known world name him 'Flame', whereas the dogs name him simply 'Eater'. Fortunately for this story, the dragons and Men alike name him much more originally; Teghaw.
Now, as it happens, on the day that old Rilo began smoking 'Ol Eighty (which was to go down in history as a historic day and marked as the beginning of the decline of dragons), Teghaw was chewing on the bone of the Patriarch of a nearby town--who managed to dig out his rusty old sword and throw it into the river before being eaten. This, however, may be too much information to the weak of heart, so let it be sufficient to say that the Patriarch died in a horribly unpleasant manner.

Presently, the great Wyrm finished his bone and went to go and lie on his bed of jewels, gold, and who else knows what. He noted, however that a gold coin and one of his favorite tiny diamonds (he had thousands of them, but he only had a dozen or so favorites) were missing and promptly flew into a towering rage.

Dragon-historians, chronologists, and general knowledgeable people all agree on the fact that the dragons know, at all times, the location of everything that belongs to them in their hoard, down to the last penny. Unfortunately, this has never been proved, as most of the brave (but obviously stupid) dracologists have been eaten.

Teghaw perceived that there was no tracks in the room and realized that the guilty thief must have been a bird, one of the annoying jackdaws most likely. So, images of death, rage, fire, and doom upon that poor, stupid jackdaw searing through Teghaw's mind, he set off to search the winds for news of his prey. Which, fortunately for the Towns nearby, and unfortunately for the dragon, eventually led to his doom.

**************

Meanwhile, Rilo was about to shoot the Dog. With a bow.

However, Rilo did not own a bow, so he let the thought go and instead shot verbal versions of the sort at the eloquent, ever-talking Sir Muffle, which had awoken from his nap.

"Shut thy trap, O Dog! Thy tongue is long as the day, and it presently grows tiresome!" Rilo waxed eloquent and kingly in his speech when in a rage worthy of a King.

Sir Muffle jumped up, setting his front paws on the fence. "Traps are bad."

Rilo very nearly screamed his frustration, and stormed into his house, violently slamming his door, where it promptly tore the hinges out of the door-frame and crashed to the deck.

A slightly muffled "Ooh..." from Sir Muffle came through the window.

Comment, if you will.

THE STINGING SECOND SECTION

This section may sting you, so if you are on a laptop that is in your lap, I'd recommend putting it on a table where it won't sting you.

I have brought to you today...a plot. Or the start of one. Feel free to steal it to make a novel/la out of it. :D

******

Single widower is at work, working late. His teenage son, who is alone at home, calls and asks him if he's coming home soon. As he's replying, a unearthly shriek sounds through the phone, and the phone line goes dead.

The man calls his son back, but instead of his son who anwers, strange words, spoken by a deep voice, greets his ear--and then hangs up. He attempts another call, but there's no answer.

The man hurries out of his work to his car--but the car is gone. No one is in sight--everyone else at the place, save for the few night-workers on the other side of the sizable building, have long since gone home.

******

THE DANGEROUS THIRD SECTION

This section is extremely dangerous. Read on at your own risk.

...Rabbits. See previous post.

--
Jake

How You Know You're a Tolkien Fanatic

2010-08-28T21:21:00.001-05:00

1. You own the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings at least, not counting the other publications. ~(Let's see, There's Book of Lost Tales I and II, The Lays of Beleriand, the Shaping of Middle-Earth, the...)

2. You own the Extended Edition of the LOTR movies. ~"Fly, you fools!"

3. You either read or watch LOTR at least once a year. ~"Eh? You want me to take the trash out? But I'm at a good part! Galadriel, who was, incidentially, one of the Noldor, who sailed across the Sea because of Feänor, the son of the King Finwë, just gave Frodo..."

4. You are constantly quoting both the books and the movies--not to mention epic spoofs. ~"Dark have been my Teenage Writer posts of late."

5. You puzzle over the LOTR Appendices. ~"Was it Arvedui who was the last King of Arthedain, or did Arthedain end before then, destroyed by the Witch-King of Angmar? I can't remember."

6. You have looked into learning Quenya. ~"Wait--consonants written twice are pronounced long??"

7. You try to get your siblings to read the books--or at least watch the movies. ~"What do you mean you want to learn Quenya with me? You haven't even read the books!"

8. You try to speak 'Tolkienish' every once and a while. ~"Lo! I cometh out of the Far West to taketh out the trash."

9. Your parents tease you about your fanaticism. ~"You know what the first sign of a Lord of the Rings fanatic is? You use L-O-T-R instead of Lord of the Rings."

10. You compare awesome things to Tolkien. ~"Wow, Mom, if J. R. R. Tolkien cooked ham, it would've tasted just like that!"

Hoped you enjoyed this little list I cooked up. XD That last quote was my Dad's.

--
Jake

The Terrible Challenge of...Rabbits

2010-08-28T16:58:00.002-05:00

Recently the rabbits in my backyard have challenged me to a duel, which I politely and firmly refused. After all, rabbits are some of the most dangerous beings that walk...er, hop, on this earth. They insulted me, but I am no King Eärnil... but these are worse than any Ringwraith.

"You'd be surprised at how many [people] die from mad rabbits these days" ~Angela the Herbalist in Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. (may be slightly paraphrased)

To quote various SPAM pop-up windows, "THIS IS NOT A JOKE", only, you aren't the 1,000,000,000th visitor to this site; you are about to be WARNED.

There are various kinds of killer rabbits.
-The 'Hoppers'--these are the kinds you often find in your backyard. Dangerous--run on sight. Or find a killer Chihuahua.
-The Alice Rabbits--only slightly dangerous. They may throw glass at you, or hit you with a book.
-The Monty Python Rabbits--if you see one of these, you're dead already. If you hear a rumor that one is nearby, move to Mexico.

In fact, it is probably best to live on a houseboat--but you must look out for killer rabbitfish.

However, if you wish to be extremely stupidly brave, here are some ways and weaknesses around killer rabbits.

1)
Watch out for their teeth and talons

Two of their weapons most deadly are the teeth and the talons. If they get close enough, they'll spring at you and gash you until you fall to the ground...and then...Never mind.

2)
Don't let them...

...lull you into a sense that they aren't dangerous...'cause they're so CUTE! Aww.... Oh, yeah. Back to topic.

3)
Their Most Deadly Weapon...

...is their breath. Men call it the Breath of Death (how poetic!), while deer call it the Carnivorous Vapors of Doom, and dogs call it the Dangerousbreathlikepoisonthatwillkillyou. Me, however? I call it... rabbit breath.

So you're trying to 'slay the rabbit'? Forget about it, and go home. Write a blog post or something... just stay away from rabbits.

--
Jake

Cool Weather and the Fickleness of Kansas Weather

2010-08-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

Well, what I can say is that Kansas weather is fickle.

Four days ago, I think it was, the weather turned rainy. And the next three days turned out to be cool and nice with a damp breeze. Wonderful.

Normally, for August Kansas, the temp is up in the 90s, if not the 100s, all month. This is almost unheard of!

Hopefully this means a good long winter--I love winter. No snow days for homeschoolers, but I love it just the same.

And the best part? I woke up this morning...cold.

--
Jake

The One Year Adventure Novel--Expansion?!

2010-08-24T20:00:00.003-05:00

Sorry to bother you again, but my fingers are trembling with excitement and I just have write this.

This just in! OYAN (One Year Adventure Novel) has come out with an expansion from the regular OYAN cirriculum--but it's completely focused on fantasy and sci-fi, something that was left out in the normal cirriculum. I have a great respect for the writing prowess of Daniel Schwabauer, OYAN's maker, and this such news to me that I just HAVE to blog about it.

So there it is! OYAN has gone fantasy. Hurray! I hope to get it ASAP... though I may have to wait until next year to do it. :)

With great excitement and fervor;

--
Jake

A Lay...?

2010-08-24T18:06:00.003-05:00

[Before this post starts, I must apologize for my long absence--so... Sorry! :D]

I am rather tired today. School has sucked the life out of me... But the writing curriculum has gone swimmingly. OYAN is officially my favorite writing curriculum...and my only writing curriculum. :D But I'm doing two lessons or more a day, and I can't believe it counts as schoolwork. :)

I can't think of anything more to say, so I will leave you with this part of a lay I am writing. With one confession--my inspiration comes from Tolkien. I love his poems. :)

Tell me what you think of it in the comments section! Does it make you chilly? Intriuged? Does it make you shiver? Does it make you wish that you could read more? Does it make you hungry? Go ahead and tell me what you think. :)

Midnight shrouds the City in sleep,
Choking from Moons their light,
Beneath their gaze in pathways deep,
A dark-cloaked man takes flight.

Through alley and across street,
Under sign and over walk,
The sinister man goes to meet,
Goes to meet a man to talk.

Five men of shadow come forth
Dark-clothed in the deeds they do,
Discarded all deeds of worth,
Hatred and bitterness inflamed anew.

The light of the moon flickers out,
As the men make their way back,
Not a whisper, not a shout,
Resists their silent attack.

Into the silent courtyard they enter,
Not delayed by drugged guard,
They whisper their way to the center,
Into the palace and out of the yard.

The fate of a King is wrought,
In that darkening, shadowed night,
The silent battle of wills is fought,
But the King is gone despite.

Clang! Sounds the bell,
The alarms loudly ring,
But it is too late, this night so fell,
They have taken the King.

--
Jake

I Write Like J. R. R. Tolkien?

2010-08-08T12:23:00.002-05:00

Well, this handy little device that analyzes one's writing and compares it to a famous author's told me a wrote most like J. R. R. Tolkien. Before, actually, with a different (and much older) piece, it told me I wrote like Frank L. Baum, but I submitted a newer piece and recieved that answer. :) So here's the official blogging thingy;

I write like
J. R. R. Tolkien

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I don't know how accurate this is, but it made my day. :)

--
Jake

30,000 Words!!

2010-08-04T14:07:00.003-05:00

Woot! I surpassed 30,000 words today on Quest for the Kingdom, my first novel! I did this while editing, and so, to celebrate, perhaps I should post an excerpt. :)

Unfortunately, I cannot post from Quest for the Kingdom, unless I did a wee bit from my prologue. So I'll put up a poll--and it's about posting an excerpt. Go ahead and vote if you want to see some more from my novel! :)

Signing out,

--
Jake

The Return of Gandosky!

2010-07-30T23:41:00.002-05:00

It all started on a Dark and Stormy Night....

Unfortunately, I am switching the subject and turning instead to a different one--theology. :D

I have been recently reading C. S. Lewis, and I am impressed at the way he reasons and gives his opinions. I read the Screwtape Letters to begin with, and I would recommend it to anyone.

For instance, in one part, Screwtape is describing how to get a Christian to have problems with church. He explains to Wormwood (his nephew demon) how to make a Christian be dissatisfied with the church he/she is in, how to get him/her fussy about the little details and such. I was struck at how this still happens today. Everyone looks for 'the right church'--but is that right? To an extent, perhaps. I wouldn't go to a Catholic church every week for Mass because I don't agree with many of they're principles, but I shouldn't skip out of a church because I don't like the way the worship pastor sings.

So that's my two cents for today, folks. :)

See ya later--and check out the Screwtape Letters. They're worth it. :)

--
Jake

Poems

2010-07-27T21:38:00.002-05:00

Lately, I have taken I liking to poems. Not reading them (though a good poem can be nice at times), but writing them. Here's a sample of the poems swirling 'round this mind of mine.

Deep and dark,
The Shadow dwelt,
In the dust and in the murk,
Whilst the Creature slept.

Slinking ever on,
In darkness and twilight,
Where one cannot see the dawn,
The Daske of Daraspite.

Until the Creature awakens,
And the Daske goes forth,
It stays forever there,
Somewhere in the North.

This was from the Prophecies of Shaldu, an idea I've been toying with. I've actually written out an outline for when I get around to it. But it all started with me making that first line--which had been completely random--and then going from there. The strangest things get you inspiration...

As you can see, the most of the words in that poem here don't completely rhyme with the ones they're supposed to--that's hard! When I'm feeling particularly un-rhyme-able, I either do this--rhyme only partially--or I only rhyme two lines out of four, like this;

Rhyme
Doesn't rhyme
Rhyme
Doesn't rhyme

And sometimes, when I'm feeling inspired, I rhyme perfectly--and it's always one of those 'rousing' songs.

Strength with humility, love without fail,
The force from who Ellos' enemies quail.
In the face of that evil, danger pale,
They are standing strong, faces hale.

That one was an excerpt from my short poem (one of my favorites) The Elves of the Underground. As you can see, it rhymed fairly well and had a good rhythm. That's why it's one of my favorites.

Now, back to business.

Why should you care about this? Well, if I managed to drag you through the first part of this, perhaps I'll get your attention now.

There were two main reasons why I started poem-ing.

1) It was fun. Really, you should try it. Making random poems is a lot more fun than one would think. And if it has to do with food, then, well, that's great. :) Double score, y'know. :D

2) I was kinda hoping to get some of this into my writing. I admire Jeffrey Overstreet's writing a lot, especially because of one thing; his writing had a kind of epic poetic flair and flavor to it. The description, though tedious at times, was breathtaking to the max. And I thought, "Well, maybe if I write some poems, I could insert that kind of flair and poetry in my writing, even if it is just a bit." I'm not sure that worked, but I'm glad I started poem-ing.

And, for fun, see what kind of a poem you can make up on the spot. Really. Just post it in a comment if you wish, or keep it to yourself. Something intriguing, something exciting. And maybe, just maybe, that poem will inspire you too.

Jake

THIS is What Happens When Your Creative Juices are Overflowing...

2010-07-22T20:58:00.002-05:00

WARNING! R RATED CONTENT INSIDE!
[R is for Randomness]

This post, put quite simply, shall be a vent to my overwhelming desire to write something completely random and crazy. Normally, I'm quite sane and rational. Just see my previous post for proof. But--Oops! I can feel it taking hold of me already. 'It' meaning, of course, randomness. But as my father once told me, "No buts." I cannot remember anything beyond that, unfortunately.

So, anyway, I was admiring Lewis Carroll [is that how it is spelt?] for his creating Wonderland--because it is quite useful when making references to randomness. Why? Well, because his entire plot was random--but I'm getting off topic. :P

What? What do you mean? What's the topic? Randomness! Are you deaf? Are you blind? Are you both? Are you an illiterate rabbit? I thought, all this time, you knew I was talking of randomness. Sheesh...

Rabbits... Very interesting creatures. Referred to in 'Alice in Wonderland', you know. And that makes them interesting all in itself. But what makes it the most interesting (or them, if you prefer not being alone--or are you not a rabbit?), is that they RUN...

So, anyway, about my sister's hat. It looks like a cowboy hat--bought it in Galveston, Texas, actually--but it's quite interesting to wear. Makes you feel courageous, for some strange reasons. But, for the record, aren't all reasons strange? Aren't all reasons just a random way to explain something? Perhaps its right--perhaps it's not. And perhaps it is just hiding under the bed and waiting to jump out at you. Which reason is that, I wonder? I would think the 'right' one--truth can be painful.

Twenty dollar bills... I'm staring at one now. The moral of this story? Always say you're working for free--before you start working. Otherwise THAT happens. But I won't explain what I mean by THAT. You can read that sentence in two ways, and they both mean the same thing; I'm not telling you.

Kindles... Kindles... Kindles... Three times is the charm, but I have no idea who or what I'm charming. Bonus points? Speaking of those, bonus points to those who know what a Kindle is--without consulting Mr. Google.

Striped pillows
Jaded in green,
They looks like willows,
For they are green,

But that's the only similarity,
Unfortunately for the cow,
I'm only writing to cause hilarity,
And it ends now.

Strangeness. It just popped out of me. Hmmm.... I like writing poems, though they feel rather unwieldy at times. Just a month or so ago I claimed that I couldn't rhyme at all--it's a strange thing, now. I can rhyme like the Jabberwocky. I don't know if he can rhyme, however... I suppose I must leave now and find out.

But the thing is; the entire reason is; what I mean to say is; well, is this; I random when I reason.

Fare well.

Signing out with randomness still coursing through my veins,

--
Jake

What's Happening to Tolkien in Modern Day

2010-07-20T18:27:00.002-05:00

Today, (yes, today, and even more, only an hour or so ago), one of my sisters said to my youngest sister, "Tolkien practically made up tall Elves." They were discussing LOTR. Although, to my utter dismay and disappointment, none of them have actually read it... most of them have seen the movies, however.

My youngest sister burst out and said, "Nuh-uh! He did NOT make it up!" (Her basis for this was Eragon, which she and all of my siblings had read--by my introduction. :D ) She was genuinely convinced that Tolkien, (she was the only one who hadn't seen the movies) must have stolen the idea from someone else--Paolini, perhaps.

I was surprised. Tolkien, in my opinion, was one of the most masterful fantasy writers that had ever lived. His plot; flawless. His worldmaking; unrivaled. His characters have lived on through the decades, read by many people young and old. It was one of the most epic fantasies of all time. If I ever wanted to write like anyone, it would be Tolkien.

Tolkien, with all of the new fantasy books of vampires and werewolves (or dragons, Elves and dwarves, for that matter), is slowly slipping away from the new generation. Most young writers like me, of course, are of the same mind; that J. R. R. Tolkien was one of the greatest fantasy writers ever. But other readers, especially those who read mostly secular books, are overlooking Tolkien, and dismissing him as another old-fashoned 'classic' that they might have to read in school.

Which brings me to another point; 'Classic' is a term used nowadays to describe old, dusty books no one can understand. In reality, classics, like LOTR, are the greatest books, books that have endured the scrutiny of generations. These are the ones that are unique, these are the ones that have laid the foundation of all plots, characters, and books in general. Without LOTR, there might not BE an Eragon.

So the main point of this entire post? Well, it was mostly for me to write my thoughts, but BESIDES that, it is this;

Remember Tolkien.

--
Jake

Why Everything is Random...Or Not

2010-07-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

NOTE; I owe the inspiration of this post to Squeaks's RANDOMNESS RULES! post. Thanks, Squeaks!

There are five reasons why everything is random--after all, lists are the BOMB when it comes to conducting a polite debate--though they are not the nuke, though I haven't the slightest idea WHY they aren't a nuke. I don't even know what the nuke is--not the nuke itself, but what the nuke IS--that is, in the same way something's the BOMB, something else is the NUKE--though I don't know what it is.

1) Most people claim nothing is random--I'll explain this later, if I get to a later. But after all, what is a later? It would come sooner if it wasn't a later, and what most people call a later never comes, so technically it's a 'never'. But I'll get to this sooner, so I'll get to it eventually, which, despite what anyone says, is NOT synonous to 'later'. It's sometime, not never. If it were never, it wouldn't exist, and it WILL exist--eventually.

2) Thousand Foot Krutch is an awesome band. Why is this saying everything is random? I'll tell you--no waiting until later... er, sooner.

By saying TFK is awesome, I am being random, therefore enforcing my idea that everything is random. After all, TFK IS awesome (and I could say that anytime), and saying it anytime I wish is what most people call 'random'. What's that you say? What do you mean that doesn't prove everything is random? I guess I'll have to go on to the next point, then....

3) Randomness is random... just because. Also, turkeys. Er, make that chickens. No, change it all to mashed potatoes with Cheez-Its on top.

4) Insults are random. Proved. If someone calls you a cakesniffer (bonus points to the one who can guess what book that's from!), you may reply "Drink nibbler!" which, of course, by the Rules of Randomness (I haven't the slightest idea what they are--they're kind of like the 'invisible line' concept), is completely, absolutely, and undoubtedly Random.

5) My strongest point; Everything is random. You see, everything is random. You may say, "That's preposterous!" but I insist.

Take, for example, the greeting 'hello'. You go up to someone, perhaps someone you know, perhaps you don't, or perhaps a rabbit with a white tie and holding a cup of green spice tea that hasn't been brewed yet, and say, "Hello." Depending on the instance, you may even introduce yourself. But isn't that random? Think about it for a moment, will you. When you say hello, you are, in fact, being random. And that's how most conversations start!

But say you are on the recieving end. Perhaps you are relative, a stranger, or perhaps you are a rabbit with a white tie holding a cup of green spice tea that hasn't been brewed yet, and the person comes to you and says hello. By saying something back like, "Hello," or "How do you do?" or running like a rabbit (for everyone knows that rabbits cannot talk--unless, of course, rabbits CAN talk--and even if they do, there's a good chance they'll run anyway instead of striking up a sociable conversation), you are continuing the random thing, therefore making it a random thread, instead of random thing. Unless, of course, you believe that threads aren't random--but if it's a random thread, then it MUST be random, and since, using the reasoning I said earlier, all threads are random, then that means you must be wrong.

But wait... Turkeys are not random! Since they are usually associated with Randomness, they cannot be random! This makes my reasoning null and void! Everything cannot be random now since TURKEYS ARE NOT RANDOM! Awwwww....

Show's over, folks. Go back to bed, back to a different blog, back to home, or back to your rabbit hole--which ever you prefer. Just don't fall down your rabbit hole, or you may end up in Wonderland.

--
Jake

Tornado?

2010-05-13T21:33:00.001-05:00

You decide. Was it a little freak F0 tornado, or just the wind?

We had a fun bit of storms a couple of days ago, with winds at 60 MPH gusts and heavy rain.

We wake up the next morning and find that the neighborhood around us looks a bit different, remarkably like a very minor tornado path. See the pictures below.

The bigger road near our neighborhood. There was a couple branches down, so they piled them by the side of the road.

Then when we turn down our street, about two blocks from our house, I see a greater amount of branches (you have to look pretty close to see the branches in this picture).

Here you can see a greater amount of fallen branches by the road close to our house.

This picture (above) is a block from our house. Wind? I'm starting to doubt.

This is only a couple houses down from us... Plenty of fallen branches, as you can see.

And here's the last one. If you look closely, you can see the big branch from the tree had been ripped off.

If you go a block either way, the lawn, trees, and everything look clean and pristine, if a little wet.

Coincidence? I don't think so. :D Looks like a tornado path to me.

So now I get to say I went through a small tornado. And my house didn't have ANY fallen branches, just a couple armfuls of sticks. How's that for a good story?

Jake

This Post Does Not Have a Title Due to Extreme Excitement

2010-04-09T12:47:00.000-05:00

Yahoo!

I have finally smacked the 100 page mark on book #1.

I've been editing... a lot. If you want to read more about my editing, you can check out my post on Teenage Writer about White-Hot Deep Clean.

Gotta go now. I've got a bunch of schoolwork to do.

Jake

Book Title

2010-03-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

Although novel #1 is still officially unnamed, I've decided on a likely title for novel #3.

Du du du du.... [DRUMROLL]

I have decided to call it... (yeah, yeah, get on with it, I know)

Sadaar. Yep, that's it.

Sadaar.

Sounds cool, right? If you want to read about how I found it, go here.

Tell me your opinion.

Jake

A Terse Post With a Rather Wordy Title

2010-03-08T18:04:00.000-06:00

I only have one* thing to say;

Page 50 (on novel #3) Accomplished. Bring it on, writer's block, 'cause you're going to find a brick wall.

Jake

*Actually, it was two

1000th Email

2010-03-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

Today, I struck the 1000th mark on the amount of non-SPAM email I've gotten. The first email I ever recieved goes as follows, from my little sister Lucy;

On Nov 29, 2007 1:13 PM, Lucy Buller <[Lucy's email adress]> wrote:

hello this is weight watchers you have a big problemo.

Oh... I get the chuckles every time I read that email.

The 1000th email I receive was a link to an article about Topeka, Kansas, unofficially changing it's name to Google (wasn't that weird?).

Anyway, that's about the only bloggable thing I have for today.

Jake

It's FINALLY Warming Up!

2010-03-05T09:38:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, spring is on the way, to save the dying grass, revive the bare trees, and bring peace and prosperity to the world in general*.

So take off your sweatshirts, and the long thermal underwear**, and bask in the 60 degree weather! .... ..... What do you mean it's supposed to get down in the 40s this week!?!? *sigh*.

Well, enjoy it while you can... ***

Jake

*Well, at least our yard.
**Who wears thermal underwear, anyway?
***Oops, looks like the temputure is down in the 40s already...

Teenage Writer

2010-03-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

Today, I made a writing blog I christened 'Teenage Writer'. It took Alex and I forever to get all these different widgets right, make a banner, make a three column, etc, but we managed to get it done. If you want to find out more about Teenage Writer, trek on over to www.teenagewritingrocks.blogspot.com. I'll actually probably be blogging there a lot more often than I'll blog here. So check it out, it's pretty awesome, if I might say so.

If you look at my sidebar, you'll even see the official 'Teenage Writer' banner. It took seven websites and numerous failures until Alex and I got it right, but we did it. It actually looks cool. Anyway, that pretty much wraps up this post.
See ya,

Jake

What's Happened

2010-03-03T16:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, I admit it... I have been avoiding my blog like the plague. Not only have I had nothing to blog about, but

Mom has been gone to Africa (See her blog for details) and
Grandma and Grandpa Buller have been keeping us busy. We went to all sorts of places. The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the Harry S. Truman Museum in Independence, Missouri, to name two.
Plus that, I've been reading a lot (THAT'S a surprise) and I've been tired. Does anyone else have trouble getting to sleep until around 12:00-1:00 AM? I think it's called the T.S. Plague (Talking Sisters).
To top things off, I've been listening to tobyMac's new album, Tonight, nonstop. It is my favorite album of all time. Seriously.
And then there's been the #3 novel. I'm doing well on it, I suppose, in terms of length, but I'm at a part in the book where my writing's getting a little stinky. I'll tell you when I get to page 50.

That's about it. Meanwhile, a book and and an album are luring me from the computer, not to mention supper. Mmmm, pre-cooked, frozen, homemade chicken, made by Mom shortly before her trip. Yippee.

Jake

Nothing

2010-02-22T13:29:00.001-06:00

I have nothing to blog about, so that's why I haven't been blogging.

Jake

(PS; Book #3 is started!!!)

Done!!!!

2010-02-15T09:42:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right, novel #2 is DONE! The grand total of pages is 83, 13 pages longer than my first novel was in rough draft. Wow, that's the longest novel I've ever written! ;)
I also did it in record time, about 5-6 months I think. It's pretty good, if I might say so, but a lot more sad than the first was.
I'm going to 'put it on the shelf ' for a month or so, and then take it out and edit it. I'm not sure when I'll start on book #3, but I'm sure it's going to be longer than the others.
I'm going to go over novel #1 a few times more, and then let my mom and dad read it, so it's all going really well. And I also have ideas for a whole 'nother series after this. Oh boy!
To make matters even better, I have books coming in at the library, and Tonight is supposed to come today!

Jake

Tonight!

2010-02-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

Yes!!! TobyMac's brand new album Tonight is here! I'll give his music video (excellent, by the way.) here, of his song Tonight, with John Cooper of Skillet. (Go Skillet, too!)

Jake

Whew!

2010-02-09T11:47:00.000-06:00

I have been working my rear end off when it comes to writing and schoolwork. Among the bashing of brains against algebra, I have had some time to write. Yesterday night, I was trying to write (I was at the MOST exciting part in the entire book #2, when whatshisface found a super secret tunnel and charged into the fray) when Daddyo said out of the blue, "Jake! It's time for bed." Ouch.
So I packed up my computer (not literally) and shut it down. Today I am venting a little of my frustration. (I promised Dad I'd tell the entire world of this OUTRAGE. ;) )
My #2 novel is now at 71 pages, longer than the #1 was when I first finished it on rough draft. And it's not done, not by a long shot.
I'm planning a third book that'll have a lot of content in it, probably making it longer than ther other two. I've even laid grounds for another series.
I said to Alex a couple minutes ago, "A problem I had when I was really young, like 8 years old, was that I had no novel ideas. I'd make a title that sounded cool, and then I'd make a story to fit to the title." Now I have novel ideas coming out of my ears. And the ironic thing is, I haven't officially named them yet. ;)

Jake

(More) Snow, and Novel News (what a NOVEL concept!)

2010-02-05T22:14:00.001-06:00

It snowed yet again, and we got three or so inches. I made an AWESOME snowfort that is about four feet tall, and twice that long. I'm planning to enlarge it and make an entrance tomorrow. It's built on the remains of my old snowfort (Yes, from Christmastime). And I did all this in ONE day, so I am exhusted.
It's amazing what I could do with my sequel once I set my mind on it. For the past five days, I have been determined to write at least one chapter a day, and I succeeded. It's now 60 pages long (and I myself am saying "Whoa!"). I started editing my first novel at 70 pages, and this one's going to be longer by A LOT. It's better than my first novel in my opinion, but I'm pretty sure that the ending to the trilogy, the third book, will be the best yet, and it'll delve a little bit more into the culture of the first two books.
So, I'm excitied, and I think my novel (#1) will be ready for 'public consumption' soon, at least as far as I can do it.

Signing out,

Jake

Novel Title (Among Other Things)

2010-02-01T10:38:00.001-06:00

Okay, so yesterday I wrote a question. If a person commented and got the answer right, then I would put a novel title possibility. Thanks, Grandma, you got it right. Reuel was the father-in-law of Moses. Actually, I named a character in my novel Reuel, and I had NO idea that the name was in the Bible when I made it up. Really.
Anyway, for the novel title (drumroll) I was at first thinking of The Tower of Bailrai for an obvious reason. The problem was that the book wasn't all about the Tower. Then, late at night while I was laying awake, when I always get my best ideas, I thought of something. (By the way, that time of night was when I first thought of my novel storyline, and when I imagined the trilogy idea). The title that I chose as the best is The Black Lord. You'll only understand the title when you read the book, and the title goes with the series.
My sequel novel is now 42 pages long (I wrote a chapter yesterday). I'm at the secondmost exciting part in it, 'cause my character is meeting some familiar faces. ;). Ahh... I love writing.
Anyway, that's about all I have to say today.

Jake

More News on Novel

2010-01-31T21:40:00.000-06:00

I'm still working on the novel, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish editing it to a state where it can be edited by someone else.
I'm also simultaneously working on a sequel to it, and that's 39 pages long already, and going smoothly. I'm getting excited about my series (not that I wasn't excited before), and I'm planning to turn my novel into a trilogy by adding two sequels. I also put in lots of hints, doodads, and other stuff in my novel that will be fulfilled in one of the later books.
By the way, if anyone wants to read that short story I mentioned earlier, remember; email me at jtbdude@gmail.com.
Um, so what else should I talk about? I could ask you [reader] a question. Let's see... Who was Reuel? (Hint; he was in the Old Testament of the Bible).
If you comment and get it right (Ah, 'the poision dart hidden in the raisin tart', Christopher Paolini in Eldest) then I will tell you what a possiblity for my novel's title would be. Happy guessing! (And Bible-searching).

Jake

Short Story

2010-01-30T14:54:00.000-06:00

The snow is MELTING.... I knew deep down that the snow would melt, but.... Well, I took the time to use the melting snow to build up my snowfort a bit. It snowed yesterday and melted today. Kansas weather. Sigh.
Anyway, I had to write a short story for school (I'm homeschooled, for those that don't know that) that starts with the sentence 'The sun beat down on the hikers as they slowly climbed higher.' I thought, Well, that's boring. So I turned it into a 13 page fantasy short story that is suspiciously linked to my novel (heh heh!). So, if you want to read it, (I'd recommend reading my novel first, but that's not up for public consumption) email me at jtbdude@gmail.com. The story's not too bad, if I might say so myself. A good story line, but too short to be a novel.
Remember!

Jake