Wow. Sorry guys, I guess I've been running a little low on blogging mojo. Like the rest of my life, this blog is sort of being consumed by the Avatar series(es), and, since nothing better to write about has spontaneously revealed itself to me, I guess you guys are just stuck with whatever nonsense comes to mind.
First off: The Legend of Korra season finale is TODAY! AAAAAH!
Secondly: For all you Tokka fans (Toph + Sokka) Tokka week is August 1-7! (Does Sukka have a week?Didn't think so. Not that I don't love Suki, but her main purpose in the series is a love interest, whereas Toph is much more developed.) Anyway, let the fan art commence, fellow Avatar devotees!
Also... well... hold on, gimme a sec....
Subject changing!
As of breakfast at IHOP like a month ago, I now have to start and finish a short story by the end of summer. But what IS a short story, anyway? 500 words is too short, but I don't want it to turn in to a novel, either. SIGH. So , as usual, I'm putting off the inevitable.
AND NOW- in an attempt to clear my head, I shall spew out all the random stuff that pops in (and there's quite a lot of it) until not even I can stand to read it anymore. May the faint of heart turn back now! Ready...
Dragons, wolves blueberries, cactus juice, Minecraft, sandstone, dump trucks, pancakes, chocolate, mint ice cream, black plastic, light, paper, metalbending, jerky evil people named Tarrlok and Amon, panda bears, uncle iroh, tea, koi fish, Germans, macaroni, speakers, headphones, plasma screen, Roddy St. James of Kensington, the queen of England, the tooth fairy, orange, banana pudding, Dean Winchester in a loony bin, the funny farm, chickens, McDonalds, Puss in Boots, plus signs, negative numbers, improper grammar, poster board, kiwis, yellow bunnies, pink sheep, orange cows, boomerangs, sea prunes, the fearsome foursome, Pabu, Swedish Fish, hungarian squids, more sea prunes, the color purple, cold feet, piano, arsonurderers, pineapple, teriyaki chicken, Thanksgiving, long lists of pointless things, flaming brussels sprouts, the Melon Lord, sunshine lollipops and rainbows everywhere... spontaneously bursting into song, flash mobs, dysney princesses, auto-correct is not your friend, people, dictionaries, sidewalk chalk, sudden drops, echoes, waterfalls, Pacha, Jessie Flower, Janet Varney, paintbrushes, seaweed noodles, burping, card games, lawn mowers, labels options, feedback, bolded underlines, spelling errors, fear of fangirls (they're scary, okay?), cosplay conventions, comicon, star treck, Zach Levi, Eugene Fitzherbert, Patrick, Ireland, Scottish people, Nessie, the Lagiacrus, Ludroths, Kelbi, immature sponges, grilled cheese, smoke bombs, tear gas, popcorn, movie theaters, Sherlock Holmes aaaand...
I'm done. Phew! You should try that some time!
The end.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Avatar: Legend of Korra
You'll notice that this is not a "Spotlight" post. That's because I am going to yell at fictional characters and (hopefully) not give anything away.
For those of you who have seen the most recent Korra episode (chapter 5: The Spirit of Competition) I have a few things to say. Firstly,
KORRA, YOU IDIOT, WHY???! And, while I'm at it, Mako, just pick a girl would you? I respect you being there for Bolin, but seriously dude, Asami's rich and pretty, but Korra's the AVATAR! You know, the master of all four elements and bridge between the physical and spirit world that can call upon the spirit-y powers of her past lives and kick pretty much anybody's butt... but sure, go with Asami, after all, her dad has cars.
Also, congrats for Korra's creators for once again making me infuriated with the main character while still wholly loving and supporting her.
And, to my possibly-nonexistent readers, I'm sorry if I have ruined your lives with this post, and although it may not seem like it, I really liked this episode.
For those of you who have seen the most recent Korra episode (chapter 5: The Spirit of Competition) I have a few things to say. Firstly,
KORRA, YOU IDIOT, WHY???! And, while I'm at it, Mako, just pick a girl would you? I respect you being there for Bolin, but seriously dude, Asami's rich and pretty, but Korra's the AVATAR! You know, the master of all four elements and bridge between the physical and spirit world that can call upon the spirit-y powers of her past lives and kick pretty much anybody's butt... but sure, go with Asami, after all, her dad has cars.
Also, congrats for Korra's creators for once again making me infuriated with the main character while still wholly loving and supporting her.
And, to my possibly-nonexistent readers, I'm sorry if I have ruined your lives with this post, and although it may not seem like it, I really liked this episode.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
25 things to do on Minecraft
All Minecrafters have had this sooner or later, the ...Now what? feeling. Well, here you are- 25 things for hopelessly bored Minecraftians with tons of supplies and no life.
1- Get a dog. Or a cat. Find a wolf and tame it by right-clicking on it with a bone. After that, when you right click it, it will sit, and if you attack or get attacked by something, the wolf will join in. (Cats can be tamed with raw fish, but they won't fight for you and have an annoying habbit of sitting on your stuff.)
2- Make a farm. Step 1: dig a dirt pit at least two blocks deep and fence it in, leaving a two block gap. Step 2: dig a tunnel with a door (or two) so that you can get in an out of your pen. At no time should you place a block on any part of the floor, or the animals will be able to climb on it an escape. Step 3: obtain wheat by planting seeds you find in the grass or from stealing it from villages or dungeons. If you're carying wheat, all barnyard animals (sheep, chickens, pigs & cows) will follow you as long as you don't go do fast or stop holding the wheat. Step 4: find your animals and lure them into your pit by jumping in through the gap in the fencing. Once the animals follow you in, put the wheat away and leave through your special door.
3- Give yourself a multi-floored house. You can use stairs or ladders or something creative like a water-tube elevator that you swim up or down.
4- Make a house out of trees by planting a rectangle of saplings and making them grow with bone meal. Tunnel a door or two, clear away the leaves inside and your'e golden. Install wooden doors, an awning made of leaves, glass windows, etc. You could even have flowers and grass as a carpet, although this may be annoying.
5- Do not use any torches in your house. Light using glowstone, Jack-O-Lanterns (yes, I'm aware that they have torches in them), glass lava lamps, or a huge, glass lava tube running through all of your floors. Just make sure you place the last glass block fast, or...
6- make a trash can. This can be a cactus, or a block of lava. If it's lava, make sure the outsid edges are made of something that won't catch fire, and that it's not by any trees, wool carpeting, etc. I made mine out of cobblestone and put the lava two blocks down. You could even put a "caution: molten lava" sign nearby. If it's a cactus, make sure you plant it on a sand block.
7- Make a portal to the Nether (Minecraft heck). Make a 4 block long, 5 block high rectangle of obsidian and ignite it with a flint and steel. Tada! Instant portal to heck! Then, leave your valuables at home except for a pickaxe and weaponry and go!
8- Kill a Ghast. Ghasts are those creepy jellyfish things that float around the Nether and make squeaking noises, then suddenly go berzerk and start vomiting fireballs at you. To kill one, you can shoot it with some sort of projectile (Bow and arrow, etc.) or you can rapidfire click at one of the fireballs to diflect it back and hopefully hit the ghast. Do NOT run directly away from a Ghast because it aims the fireballs slightly behind the player.
9- Kill the Ender Dragon. I really have no idea how to do this. Look it up on Minecraft Wiki.
10- Build a wolf army to annihilate your enemies.
11- Build a monster-fighting arena. Build a large building or pyramid over a natural cave, go in at night with the dificulty on hard and let the games begin.
12- Build a suit of armor and set of tools out of diamond, then run around sparkling like Edward.
13- Make snow or iron golems to protect your house.
14- Make a recreation of the Shire.
15- Make a roller coaster with a minecart and boosters.
16- Build a floating island connected to other floating islands by bridges. Build a kingdom complete with feilds, villages and a huge chateau on your floating island.
17- Build an underground civilization connected by tunnels.
18- Build an underwater castle and connected it to your underground civilization.
19- Push a chicken into lava. It's surprisingly therapudic.
20- Wear a pumpkin in place of a helmet. It has a surprising effect.
21- Barbecue meat with a fishing pole.
22- Create a squid pond in your backyard.
23- Create a park complete with fountains, stone walkways, trees, flowers, and equipment.
24- Make a house in all of the Biomes
25- Make an advanced Nether base. You could even add wheat feilds, animals and plants to the Nether. I wonder what would happen....
Enjoy your Minecraft craze!
1- Get a dog. Or a cat. Find a wolf and tame it by right-clicking on it with a bone. After that, when you right click it, it will sit, and if you attack or get attacked by something, the wolf will join in. (Cats can be tamed with raw fish, but they won't fight for you and have an annoying habbit of sitting on your stuff.)
2- Make a farm. Step 1: dig a dirt pit at least two blocks deep and fence it in, leaving a two block gap. Step 2: dig a tunnel with a door (or two) so that you can get in an out of your pen. At no time should you place a block on any part of the floor, or the animals will be able to climb on it an escape. Step 3: obtain wheat by planting seeds you find in the grass or from stealing it from villages or dungeons. If you're carying wheat, all barnyard animals (sheep, chickens, pigs & cows) will follow you as long as you don't go do fast or stop holding the wheat. Step 4: find your animals and lure them into your pit by jumping in through the gap in the fencing. Once the animals follow you in, put the wheat away and leave through your special door.
3- Give yourself a multi-floored house. You can use stairs or ladders or something creative like a water-tube elevator that you swim up or down.
4- Make a house out of trees by planting a rectangle of saplings and making them grow with bone meal. Tunnel a door or two, clear away the leaves inside and your'e golden. Install wooden doors, an awning made of leaves, glass windows, etc. You could even have flowers and grass as a carpet, although this may be annoying.
5- Do not use any torches in your house. Light using glowstone, Jack-O-Lanterns (yes, I'm aware that they have torches in them), glass lava lamps, or a huge, glass lava tube running through all of your floors. Just make sure you place the last glass block fast, or...
6- make a trash can. This can be a cactus, or a block of lava. If it's lava, make sure the outsid edges are made of something that won't catch fire, and that it's not by any trees, wool carpeting, etc. I made mine out of cobblestone and put the lava two blocks down. You could even put a "caution: molten lava" sign nearby. If it's a cactus, make sure you plant it on a sand block.
7- Make a portal to the Nether (Minecraft heck). Make a 4 block long, 5 block high rectangle of obsidian and ignite it with a flint and steel. Tada! Instant portal to heck! Then, leave your valuables at home except for a pickaxe and weaponry and go!
8- Kill a Ghast. Ghasts are those creepy jellyfish things that float around the Nether and make squeaking noises, then suddenly go berzerk and start vomiting fireballs at you. To kill one, you can shoot it with some sort of projectile (Bow and arrow, etc.) or you can rapidfire click at one of the fireballs to diflect it back and hopefully hit the ghast. Do NOT run directly away from a Ghast because it aims the fireballs slightly behind the player.
9- Kill the Ender Dragon. I really have no idea how to do this. Look it up on Minecraft Wiki.
10- Build a wolf army to annihilate your enemies.
11- Build a monster-fighting arena. Build a large building or pyramid over a natural cave, go in at night with the dificulty on hard and let the games begin.
12- Build a suit of armor and set of tools out of diamond, then run around sparkling like Edward.
13- Make snow or iron golems to protect your house.
14- Make a recreation of the Shire.
15- Make a roller coaster with a minecart and boosters.
16- Build a floating island connected to other floating islands by bridges. Build a kingdom complete with feilds, villages and a huge chateau on your floating island.
17- Build an underground civilization connected by tunnels.
18- Build an underwater castle and connected it to your underground civilization.
19- Push a chicken into lava. It's surprisingly therapudic.
20- Wear a pumpkin in place of a helmet. It has a surprising effect.
21- Barbecue meat with a fishing pole.
22- Create a squid pond in your backyard.
23- Create a park complete with fountains, stone walkways, trees, flowers, and equipment.
24- Make a house in all of the Biomes
25- Make an advanced Nether base. You could even add wheat feilds, animals and plants to the Nether. I wonder what would happen....
Enjoy your Minecraft craze!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Spotlight- Avatar: The Last Airbender
Okay, for future reference, this is about the cartoon TV series, NOT the movies. Okay? Okay. Let us proceed.
At first, I was determined not to watch this show, deeming it one of those lame little cartoons that no one really likes, but my friend really, really, really, REALLY wanted me to try it and she kept nagging me over and over, so I finally did. I admit, the first few episodes are a bit lame, but it gets SO good and has actually become a bit of an obsession of mine. Yes, it is on Netflix, and I highly, highly recommend it. Anyway, here's an overview of the universe and general premise of the show.
In Avatar, there is a country for each of the four elements: the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes (northern and southern), The Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. There are people in each country who have the ability to manipulate, or "bend", one of the elements, but one person, the Avatar, has the ability to learn to bend all four elements. The Avatar is the bridge between the mortal world and the spirit world, and each time the Avatar dies, he or she is reincarnated into the next country in the Avatar Cycle (Water, Earth, Air then Fire). The Avatar Cycle is also the order in which the Avatar must learn the elements; if the Avatar is from a Water tribe, they learn water, then earth, then fire, then air. When the series begins, the Fire Nation has been at war with all of the other countries for 100 years, and they are winning the war. The Air Nomads have been completely eradicated (except for one- the last airbender- hint, hint, nudge, nudge), all of the benders in the Southern Water Tribe have been captured, and the Earth Kingdom is under attack. The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation and restore peace to the Avatar Universe (that's what I call it; it doesn't actually have an official name).
Aang is the Avatar and the last of the airbenders. He survived the Fire Nation attack on the Air Nomads 100 years ago because, upset at the responsibility of learning he was the Avatar and saddened because he was being separated from his father figure, Monk Gyatso, he ran away on his flying bison (named Appa), got caught in a storm, and was eventually trapped in an iceberg, where he remained preserved for 100 years.
The story starts when siblings Sokka and Katara from the Southern Water Tribe unintentionally free Aang from the iceberg and take him back to their village. Sokka and Katara agree to accompany Aang to the Northern Water Tribe in search of a waterbender to teach Aang and Katara to waterbend (Katara is the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe, and has no one to teach her. Her brother, Sokka, cannot bend, but is skilled with a boomerang.)
The main bad guy in the first season is the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko. When he was thirteen years old, Zuko was challenged to an Agni Kai (a firebending duel), but when he arrived, he realized that he would be fighting his father, the Fire Lord. Taken aback, Zuko refused to fight his father. Seeing this as a sign of weakness, his father badly burned the left side of Zuko's face, giving him a permanent scar, and banished him from the Fire Nation, telling him that he could only return to regain his honor and birthright when he had captured the Avatar.
There are three seasons in the series (it first aired in 2005), and it is a fantastic show. Part of the reason I started it was to get to season two, when the character, Toph Bei Fong, is introduced (she's on my profile picture and I'll be talking more about her later). I can't make you watch it, but if you stick with it, I'm sure you'll like it. It has humor, elements of Asian culture, great characters, super awesome butt-kicking and a lot more!
For another summary, visit epictalesfromaninjasociety.blogspot.com or avatar.wikia.com. WARNING- the Wiki link has spoiler alerts so be cautious. If you have already watched Avatar, I recommend Avatar Wiki because it has many interesting facts about the show.
At first, I was determined not to watch this show, deeming it one of those lame little cartoons that no one really likes, but my friend really, really, really, REALLY wanted me to try it and she kept nagging me over and over, so I finally did. I admit, the first few episodes are a bit lame, but it gets SO good and has actually become a bit of an obsession of mine. Yes, it is on Netflix, and I highly, highly recommend it. Anyway, here's an overview of the universe and general premise of the show.
In Avatar, there is a country for each of the four elements: the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes (northern and southern), The Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. There are people in each country who have the ability to manipulate, or "bend", one of the elements, but one person, the Avatar, has the ability to learn to bend all four elements. The Avatar is the bridge between the mortal world and the spirit world, and each time the Avatar dies, he or she is reincarnated into the next country in the Avatar Cycle (Water, Earth, Air then Fire). The Avatar Cycle is also the order in which the Avatar must learn the elements; if the Avatar is from a Water tribe, they learn water, then earth, then fire, then air. When the series begins, the Fire Nation has been at war with all of the other countries for 100 years, and they are winning the war. The Air Nomads have been completely eradicated (except for one- the last airbender- hint, hint, nudge, nudge), all of the benders in the Southern Water Tribe have been captured, and the Earth Kingdom is under attack. The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation and restore peace to the Avatar Universe (that's what I call it; it doesn't actually have an official name).
Aang is the Avatar and the last of the airbenders. He survived the Fire Nation attack on the Air Nomads 100 years ago because, upset at the responsibility of learning he was the Avatar and saddened because he was being separated from his father figure, Monk Gyatso, he ran away on his flying bison (named Appa), got caught in a storm, and was eventually trapped in an iceberg, where he remained preserved for 100 years.
The story starts when siblings Sokka and Katara from the Southern Water Tribe unintentionally free Aang from the iceberg and take him back to their village. Sokka and Katara agree to accompany Aang to the Northern Water Tribe in search of a waterbender to teach Aang and Katara to waterbend (Katara is the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe, and has no one to teach her. Her brother, Sokka, cannot bend, but is skilled with a boomerang.)
The main bad guy in the first season is the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko. When he was thirteen years old, Zuko was challenged to an Agni Kai (a firebending duel), but when he arrived, he realized that he would be fighting his father, the Fire Lord. Taken aback, Zuko refused to fight his father. Seeing this as a sign of weakness, his father badly burned the left side of Zuko's face, giving him a permanent scar, and banished him from the Fire Nation, telling him that he could only return to regain his honor and birthright when he had captured the Avatar.
There are three seasons in the series (it first aired in 2005), and it is a fantastic show. Part of the reason I started it was to get to season two, when the character, Toph Bei Fong, is introduced (she's on my profile picture and I'll be talking more about her later). I can't make you watch it, but if you stick with it, I'm sure you'll like it. It has humor, elements of Asian culture, great characters, super awesome butt-kicking and a lot more!
For another summary, visit epictalesfromaninjasociety.blogspot.com or avatar.wikia.com. WARNING- the Wiki link has spoiler alerts so be cautious. If you have already watched Avatar, I recommend Avatar Wiki because it has many interesting facts about the show.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Writing tip of the day: beta readers
I was reading a manuscript a friend had given me, and one sentence said something like, "A piercing shriek tears through the clearing in which I sit like a cannon". Pretty good line; dramatic, descriptive, intriguing; only one problem: how the heck do you sit like a cannon?!
I pointed this out to her, she laughed and promptly fixed it. I bet she had read over it several times and not noticed anything was off. I had a book that I was working on that started out 1st person, then I changed it to 3rd person, and then changed it back to 1st. I had used find and replace on Microsoft Word, but had not checked the "whole words only" box. This put me in a world of hurt with Spell Check, and eventually, after reading and rereading and re-rereading, I thought I had fixed most of the mistakes, but occasionally, I still find sentences that say stuff like "I opened the door to my room and closed it quietly behind her".
Also, only send your manuscript to people you trust and who will actually critique it. "It was great" is nice to hear, but it really is no help at all. Most of the time, I don't like getting a lot of compliments on my work, because it's hard for me to know that it's not like your mom saying "it's beautiful, Honey, I'll keep it forever" just because she loves you too much to say "the head Is flat" or "red and lime green don't go together".
The best feedback is the stuff that says "I loved how you did this, such and such made me laugh, but this part didn't make sense, you spelled that wrong and the joke in paragraph 3 was a little pathetic".
And don't send it to people that will plagiarize it!! Don't post anything substantial on the Internet, and don't email it off to a complete stranger.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
For those of you with a taste for both Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I suggest Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. It is the first in an eight-book series, and it's one of my favorites. It is Middle Grade to Young Adult genre wise, but many adults will enjoy it as well.
The book follows a twelve-year-old boy genius named Artemis Fowl II. When his father disappears into the Arctic after accidentally blowing the family fortune, Artemis wants to launch a search party to locate his father. But for that he needs money, money he no longer has.
Artemis soon discovers the existence of fairies living underneath the Earth's surface, and that each fairy has a ransom fund of gold. When Artemis succeeds in capturing one of these fairies, he's about to get much more than he bargained for.
Captain Holly Short is a leprechaun. Actually, she's a Lower Elements Police (LEP) Recon officer, and the first female one to boot. When she's captured by a human, the LEP will do whatever it takes to get her back.
As one of my favorite books, Artemis Fowl is full of wit, magic, action, and technology. It is also available in audio, and the narrator, Nathaniel Parker, does a very good job.
The book follows a twelve-year-old boy genius named Artemis Fowl II. When his father disappears into the Arctic after accidentally blowing the family fortune, Artemis wants to launch a search party to locate his father. But for that he needs money, money he no longer has.
Artemis soon discovers the existence of fairies living underneath the Earth's surface, and that each fairy has a ransom fund of gold. When Artemis succeeds in capturing one of these fairies, he's about to get much more than he bargained for.
Captain Holly Short is a leprechaun. Actually, she's a Lower Elements Police (LEP) Recon officer, and the first female one to boot. When she's captured by a human, the LEP will do whatever it takes to get her back.
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