Movies: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Marley & Me

In my opinion, all were terrific!!!

The Batman movies, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, were both amazing, with terrific acting and awesome special effects. I personally liked Batman Begins better. It chronicled the beginning of Batman, and his fight against, and training with, the League of Shadows. The League of Shadows was a group that destroyed a city when it became to corrupt and terrible... and everyone in it. Their next target was Bruce Wayne, Batman's, home: Gotham City. It was completely run by criminals, and at their head was Carmine Falconie. Batman could have easily killed all the criminals, but was completely against killing. However, he might have to break this rule to fight the Scarecrow, the runner of an insane asylum who takes criminals and drives them insane with a hallucinogen which makes them see their worst fear. Even worse, the Scarecrow isn't Batman's biggest problem when he discovers a plot to drive all of Gotham insane. Sorry if I told too much. Got a little carried away there. Either way, it was insanely cool (literally!) I liked it more than the sequel, The Dark Night. Batman Begins had great acting, especially by the two villains, played by Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy (he was a little wierd.)

It seems that the villains are always played best. Both The Joker and... the other villain were played amazingly, by Heath Ledger, and... another person. I don't want to spoil the identity of the other villain, but I'll say his villain name: Two-Face. Both were beyond creepy. In The Dark Night, Batman is continuing his fight against crime with Liutenant Gordan and the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Their newest enemy is, of course, The Joker. His two biggest lines in the movie are, in my opinion, "Why so serious?" as he says before slicing a permanent smile into someone's face, and, the line Jacoby mentioned once, "Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push." Heath Ledger had his great, and last, proformance.

Marley & Me seems like the complete opposite of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. It was also great! Even though it was sad. I'm not a very realistic person. I want to become a bestselling author, although that isn't very realistic. I read mostly fantasy, and unless I'm suddenly in an alternate universe (which also isn't very realistic) those aren't realistic. See? Either way, I don't usually like these kinds of movies. It was hilarious, sad, and heart-warming. Owen Wilson was great in it, but there were a lot of other good actors. Like the many Marley's. The dog, Marley, was played by so many different dogs, because throughout the movie, Marley got older and older. The movie is about John Grogan's life with his new wife, his new job as a columnist, and most of all, his new dog. Marley seemed so sweet at the beginning, at the dog pound, and the couple was even more encouraged to get him with the nickname the owner gave him, clearance puppy, but things started going downhill with the line, "How are you still eating?" as Marley rolled around on the floor, licking up all of the spilled food. Now they knew why he was on sale. As it turned out, worst dog ever. Or so they thought. The movie was much better than I made it sound, considering I went on and on. I loved it, and the end was enough to make me cry. Terrific.

Hannukah in Savannah

Sorry it took me so long to write this post. When I wrote the title down, I was sitting in an airport trying to access my blog from my new iPod Touch. (Sorry if I start to brag a little. I can't brag in real life without getting punched or countered by my brother, but I can't be punched here. (Maybe countered though.))

Right now, I am on vacation for winter break in Savannah, Georgia. I flew to Atlanta on Monday, and spent the night there. Then we drove most of the next day to Savannah. I spent the first night in Savannah with my friend, Jeremy. He had to leave to go to New York yesterday, though. Today, we went to see Marley & Me in theaters. It was terrific, yet sad. I'll talk about the movie later. We spent the rest of the day cooking, arguing with Jordan, watching an Ice Age 2 marathon, and playing around with my iPod. Tomorrow is my Grandma's birthday, so we are going to a reunion like thing at one of the family farms. I miss all of my friends and family at home though, so I want to go home soon.

Now, on to Hannukah. On the first night, I got an iPod touch (it is awesome!!!) and it is awesome!!! I've been going crazy with getting apps, music, and videos for it. I've realized, that it is much better to have an iPod with a screen, than a shuffle. I've only ever had really bad shuffles, so I'm glad for a change. On the second night, my Uncle Aaron and my Aunt Jenny got us a video game, and a pellet rifle for us to shoot airsoft pellets at the beach. (Don't worry, we won't shoot anyone. And if we did, the airsoft pellets aren't that dangerous. They would sting, but not injure.) Last night, no prestents, but tonight, we got a really old board game that we haven't used yet. 4 more nights to go, and 6 more days until New Years Eve.

Well, that's all I have to talk about for now. I'll write about Marley and Me, and the two Batman movies, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, which I saw recently, soon.

Upcoming Fantasies

From now on, my other blog, Upcoming Fantasies will be deleted. I don't really write on it, an it has no real point, so it is just taking up space. Bye, bye, Upcoming Fantasies.

Snow Day!!!

Yes! Our first snow day of the year was today. We (my brothers, our friends, and I) went outside for the morning, and then went inside to play. Sadly, this morning, I had to spend a while inside working on homework. I need to learn not to procrastinate. (This isn't really how much it snowed.)

Warriors: The Power of Three: Long Shadows

I just finished reading Long Shadows, the fifth book of the third series of Warriors. I can't say it took me long. I got it after school on Tuesday, the day it came out, and started it that night. I stayed up until about 11:00 reading, and didn't put it down for more than half an hour at school the next day, and read for about two hours afterward. I finished it around 5:00 in the afternoon yesterday, and I loved it! I think that it was the best one out so far. It had so many twists, that I can't mention without spoiling the book, that made it so great, although I was surprised at how little went wrong. The first problem they solved smoothly, the second problem ended well, and only the third big part had some trouble, and I can't say it ended well.

The third series of Warriors is definitely the darkest. (Even the names sound dark. Starting with the second, there is Dark River, Outcast, Eclipse, and Long Shadows. The last was supposed to be called Cruel Seasons, but the publisher thought it was too dark and changed it to Sunrise.) However, in all of the third series, only one cat has died, and not until the fifth book. More cats died in the first book!!! And the authors say that they are always trying to think of new ways to kill the cats. I hope they puts some of those evil methods to use soon.

Either way, it was a terrific book, and I would highly recommend it. Now, I'm reading Inkspell.

The New Haircut: The Weirdest Hundredth Post Ever!

I have a positive and a negative, or, in more exact order, a negative and a positive. First, as you can see, I got a haircut. Shoot. I've had really long hair for such a long time, and now, it's all gone. Kathryn was really smug (not sure if this is the right word) about it. She has been trying to talk me into getting a haircut for months. I hate haircuts...

And on a more positive note, sort of, the only good thing about my new haircut is that, it means that this is Bookworm's 100th Post! Hooray!

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

This month is National Novel Writing Month! I found out about it yesterday and decided that this would be a good chance to get to work on a story I'm writing. If you go to the website, you can sign up for the NaNoWriMo challenge. The goal for the month on the site is to have written a 50,000 word novel by November 30. My goal, however, is 10,000 words by the end of the month. Right now, I've got a good start. I'm at 2,856 words. I think I'll be able to reach my goal, especially considering I started yesterday. I'd already had about 1000 words of it done before November, but I've gotten almost 2000 words in the past two days, so I think I can make it. If you want to find out more about my story, go to My Page on the site

Pillage

Wow. I just finished reading Pillage, Obert Skye's new book. It was a really great story, (especially the dog piling salad) until I got to the end! That was one of the worst endings that I have ever read. I mean, the boy finds out that one of his best friends is a bad guy, and it's like he's not even surprised!!! The guy turns into an ogre thing, and all he says is "You?!?" How unemotional can you get? Then the rest was the whole Star Wars thing, where the crazy uncle is actually the dad. Then they win and they all go in for cookies. Yay (Brian says in a bored voice.

Luckily, the rest of the story was great, so it wasn't a waste of time. Also, the cover looks really cool!!!

City of Ember

Wow. The City of Ember was surprisingly better than the book. Then again, the book wasn't that great. The movie was much more exciting. It's a good thing that my little brother, Jordan, hadn't read the book, else he wouldn't have wanted to see it. The book was way more boring. I think they did really well with it. My favorite character was Doon. He was pretty cool. I liked how he liked to invent stuff and take care of his giant moth. Well, it wasn't that great, so I don't have much more to talk about.

Christopher Paolini Book Signing

Awesome.

I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Christopher Paolini, at Seattle Town Hall. He is the author of Eragon, so I got Eragon, 2 copies of Eldest, and Brisingr signed. I would have gotten just one copy of Eldest signed, but one of my copies was mangled, so we got a nice, neat paperback for $5. Not only was it a book signing, but it was a big party!

When my mom and I first got there, some guys from the Seattle Knights, a group of people who were taught to do theatrical sword fights, greeted us. Then, my mom and I went over to some of the stands, a picture thing, and a "fortuneteller." Luckily, it didn't cost anything. I hope it was right (which they rarely are) and I will do well in school. Then, we went and got some cookies.

For the next part of the party, we went upstairs to watch the Seattle Knights put on a show. It was silly, but the sword-fighting was pretty cool. Afterward, Christopher Paolini came up and talked about the books. Something that he said that his favorite line that he wrote was an Urgal saying, "Die, puny human!" Afterall, what's the point of writing a fantasy novel if you can't say things like that!

After his speech, he started signing books. It took hours for us to get a turn. On each ticket, there was a letter. First, they called A's to line up, then B's, and so on. We were D's. A's took an hour. B's took 45 minutes. C's also took 45 minutes. We had to wait in line for about half an hour. Throughout the wait, we got to talk with some of the Seattle Knights. One of them had 60 pound armor on. Another we talked with talked about the Seattle Knights, training, her armor, and what kind of things like that she did. When we finally got the books signed, my mom was really peed by the wait.

It was a really cool experience, and I hope he comes back someday.

Brisingr

Wow. Brisingr, Book 3 in the Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini, was terrific, awesome, amazing. Overall, it was one of the best books that I've ever read. Two of my favorite scenes in the book were surprisingly, not ones that are spoilers, so I can describe them here!

In the first one, Roran and some of the solidiers of the Varden are attacking an army of the Empire's men who are attacking Surda. During the battle, which takes place in a raided and small Surdan village, Roran is able to find a good place to fight. There is a wall of wagons blocking off most of the allyway, so that only a few solidiers a a time can get through. There are a couple of archers on the rooves of the surrounding buildings that are helping Roran. Roran is getting beat up anyway, but the mound of Empire bodies that he is fighting on is steadily getting higher. By the end of the battle, Roran is beat up, but Carn, the spellcaster with the group heals him and tells him that overall, Roran himself killed 193 solidiers. It was such an awesome scene.

In the second scene, Rorans leadership is challenged by an Urgal that is in the group Roran is leading. The only way for them to settle the disagreement without him offending the Urgals on behalf of the Varden, is for them to wrestle for leadership. Surprisingly, Roran was able to tire him out and he won. It was a great scene.

I loved it. By the way, tonight, I get to go to the Christopher Paolini book signing. I am beyond excited.

More Bar-Mitzvah Gifts

Wow. And I thought that the gifts were done. Today, my neighbor Kathryn got me three awesome gifts. She got me this really cool bendy lamp, an awesome and really soft chair, and a book that I already had. The bendy lamp was silver and you could bend the little stems at the top. There are five stems, each with a light and a really cool light cover. I need to get the right light bulbs before I can use it though. The chair is kinda like a fold up chair, only one where you need to use a duffel bag to carry. Instead of the kind of cover a fold up chair has, it has a circular blue cover that is corduroy and very, very soft. I'm sitting in it right now!!! The book I got was a copy of "The Alchemyst" by Michael Scott. I'm probably the only person who would choose not to take it back and get a different one because its paper back and I only have hardback. That's me, the bibliophile and book collector.

Other than those gifts I got from Kathryn today, I also got $100 from my Aunt Holly and Uncle Mike!

Thank you, Holly, Mike, and Kathryn!!!

Bar-Mitzvah

Hi guys. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy with my Bar-Mitzvah and school. The Bar-Mitzvah was on Saturday, and I got a load of gifts. I got about $1800 , some gear for my bike, an awesome new Star Wars video game, a 14 karat gold Jewish star necklace, and a Seattle Sonics bobble head. I got lucky and more is coming. I especially love the necklace. The kind of necklace has been given to all members of my dad's family at their bar-mitzvah. I've wanted one for a long time.

I'm really glad that the whole thing is over. I've been practicing for months.

Over the Fence Library-Upcoming Fantasies

Hi guys. I just wanted to tell you that I've finally decided to get rid of Over the Fence Library (I never posted there anyway) and make a new site, Upcoming Fantasies. There, I'll talk about upcoming YA or MG fantasy books that I'm excited about. I'll also say when their released, and any other news I can find about them. However, after I read it, I'll post more on it here, at Bookworm.

Occasions

Wow. So much has happened in so little time. I'll go through them one by one in time order. I'm to tired to organize it in any other way.

1. We went school shopping last week, so that means that school is just around the corner. School starts for me on Tuesday, the day after I get back from here in Savannah. I'll be three hours earlier. Ugggggghhhh. Why has summer gone so fast.

2. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Biirrtthhdaaaaayyyy to Brian, Happy Birthday to me. I'm the only one here to sing it to me, so that will have to do. My Birthday was actually a few days ago. I just didn't have time (or the attention span) to post. So far, I haven't gotten many gifts, although the ones I have gotten are pretty good. I got a savings account, 100 dollars, 50 dollars, a cake, a book called Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander, and a promise for a gift that I don't know of yet. No party this year.

3. Well, the reason I am in Savannah is that my best friend, Jeremy, is having his bar-mitzvah this weekend. Plus, I get to see some of my family too. Good luck, Jeremy!

4. Last, my bar-mitzvah is coming up soon. Just 2 or 3 more weeks to go. Its a good thing I brought my torah stuff to practice with. I just hope I remember to . Else I'll end up sick, like my Uncle did on his bar-mitzvah.

Well, thats really all that I have to talk about.

Catching Up

Sorry I haven't posted in the last few days. I have just been too lazy. I have a lot to talk about though. I'll save the best for last though, so don't skip ahead.

1. The Olympics are so great to watch. I love them, and this is the first year I've paid attention to them. My favorite event to watch is fencing. The other day, the coolest thing happened in fencing. In the Woman's Individual Sabre, the three USA fencers, Mariel Zaguinis, Sada Jacobson, and Becca Ward, all one the medals, in that order. They had won the first 3 medals for the US this year.

2. Today, I went to the only amusement park in the Seattle area, Wild Waves. It was okay. There were two roller coasters that were okay. They weren't that great. Then, on one of the tube rides, I kicked a wall and made my foot bleed pretty badly.

3. This is the most important thing that's happened to me lately was getting tickets to go to a book signing from a very famous author.

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Christopher Paolini!
I saw that there were tickets or sale online. We called right away and the person that answered said that if we ordered Brisngr then, we'd get 2 free tickets. The signing is on Monday, October 1st. I am beyond excited. The signing is also a big party. There will be jousting! I cant wait.

The Bard

Wow. I just found out about The Tales of Beetle the Bard by JK Rowling. Everyone knows of it from Harry Potter 7. A few months ago, JK Rowling had auctioned the only three original copies for millions of dollars witch she gave to a charity. Now, The Tales of Beetle the Bard are coming into stores this December. I can't wait to read it.

Types of Magic

In fantasy books, there are a lot of different types of magic. Some have names, and some are just called magic. In the Harry Potter world, there are a lot of types of magic. There's potion-making, transfiguration, charms, curses, hexes, divination, apparition, and magical creatures/plants. (If I'm missing any, feel free to tell me.) Some other kinds of magic (with names) that I know of are necromancy, scrying, sorcery, summoning, and, of course, alchemy. Then, there are other types of magic without names, just called magic. There are those dealing with elements, the "will and the word", magical items, concentration/imagination, and science. (If I'm missing any, please tell me. I'm sure I am.)

I want to find out how each of them are different, what they do, and how they work. I need as much help as I can get so if you find any information on one, please email me at briantillinger @ cs.com. I'll post on a type of magic whenever I get new information on one, so please help out. (Wikipedia is actually a usable source when it comes to this kind of stuff, because none of this is really fact.)

A few that I'm most interested in learning about are necromancy, which I think is the reanimation of corpses, alchemy, and summoning. However, I want any info on any one of them.

Also, I'll post a list of the types of magic on the sidebar.

Farworld: Water Keep 2008 Blog Tour Review and Q&A

Part of the Farworld 2008 Blog Tour was to write a review and Q&A. Here is my review.

After reading Farworld: Water Keep by J Scott Savage once, I loved it so much that had to I read it again. I had been waiting for a long time to read Farworld, ever since I first found Mr. Savages blog and was hearing about it. Now that I've read it, I am hungry for four more books titled Farworld… Even though Book One hasn't officially been released.

The characters in Water Keep were really amazing, and it was awesome to learn more about the characters origins throughout the book. Marcus, a boy found crippled on the edge of a desert as a baby, had advantages as well as disadvantages. As he learned about his powers, he was able to cope with his crippled arm and leg. Things only get better for him when he goes to Farworld and finds that he can use his arm and leg more easily. Kyja, a girl without magic in a world of magic, found by the wizard Master Therapass as a baby, thinks that she is a freak and an outcast. However, she learns that her disadvantage is her advantage. While she can't throw balls of green energy at her enemies, the ones they throw bounce harmlessly off. She also learns that she has one, very important power… One that makes her special. Throughout the book these two friends discover that they are two parts of the same whole. Together, they are powerful.

The characters on a quest to save Farworld can't exist if there aren't those trying to destroy it though. The Thrathkin S'Bae, evil wizards who can turn into huge serpents are being led by Bonesplinter to kill Marcus and Kyja. Bonesplinter's evil drive for power starts with their deaths, the deaths that will bring his master's trust and power to him. To make him even more dangerous, he is determined not to fail a second time. Just as dangerous is his master's second servant, the Summoner: A creature with the power to control the living and the dead. With so many enemies, Marcus and Kyja are sure to have some road bumps on their journey.

Marcus and Kyja must find search far and wide to find the elementals, creatures that are the masters of their element. First, they search for the Water Elementals. When they do find Water Keep, they find that convincing the elementals to help them might be harder than finding them in the first place. Each elemental has a different personality, but none of them think the same way as humans do. This idea was something that I really liked about the story.

Another idea that I liked in the story was the idea of the geographic relationship between Farworld and Earth. The concept of the geography in Water Keep was something that really made the story move along. If you are standing in Farworld, jump to Earth, take one step, and jump back, you will be about one step away from where you stood before.

The characters, the plot, and the ideas of magic and worlds really made this a great story. I am itching for Land Keep before Water Keep is even out.

Now here is my Q&A.

For my Q&A, I chose to go to Disney World with Scott. We are on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad during the fireworks show.

Scott- Brian, I’ve got to say, you have excellent taste in interview spots. I mean, Splash Mountain is pretty cool too, but you can’t see the fireworks, and getting wet at night can be a bad plan. So what do you say, shall we take the front car or the back?

Brian- How long did it take you to write the first draft of Farworld: Water Keep?

Scott- You know, typically a book takes me six months or so to write, but this book came so fast it was scary sometimes. I finished the first draft in under three months. I had a great time writing it. Well the rides starting. Are we going to see if we can both keep our hands in the air, the whole time?

Brian- Will the game of trill stones play a bigger role in the later books?

Scott- Let’s just say that we haven’t seen the last of trill stones. Oh wow, that last turn was intense. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten three churros right before we got on.
Brian- How do the trees talk? Do they have mouths or do voices just seem to come from nowhere? Do their words just pop into your head?

Scott- Oh, the trees. Tough to hear over the ride. I thought you wanted to know how fleas talked. I thought that was kind of an odd question. Listening to trees talk is a little like listening to a drum beat, but slightly more musical. At least that’s what the trees in the Westland Woods sound like. Other trees have different voices. The don’t have mouths though. At least not that you can see. But they do seem to have faces if you look closely.
Brian- Can magic affect other people from Earth or is Kyja different there too?

Scott- That is a great question. I suspect that we will find out down the road. Look! There are the rattlesnakes. Glad they’re not real. I have a thing about snakes.
Brian- When will we next learn more about the leader of the Dark Circle?

Scott- Very early in the next book. Look up there’s the castle all lit up.

Brian- On the mark on Marcus's shoulder and Kyja's amulet, what is the second creature?

Scott- Sorry couldn’t hear you over the booming of the fireworks!
Brian- Is the mark on Marcus's shoulder a birthmark, or a brand?

Scott- It’s not a birthmark. It looks like a burn or brand.

Brian- Will we ever see Kathleen and Jerrick again?

Scott- It wouldn’t surprise me in the least!

Brian- Did the trill stones turn into real gems or was the pawn shop man right about them being fake? Scott- Uh, oh. There are the mountain goats. That means we’re in for a big dr-r-r-r-o-o-o-o-o-p! Wow! They were real gems. The weenie in the pawn shop was trying to steal the gem.

Brian- I thought so. I was just checking. Last question, why can only some people understand the Dawn Chimes? Scott- Whoo. What a ride! You look far too unruffled. Must be an age thing. I think that understanding the Dawn Chimes is a talent—like learning a language. But I think that anyone can improve at it if they practice. Maybe even Kyja can learn.


Brian- Thanks for answering the questions and thanks for the ARC Scott!

Scott- Thank you for taking part in the tour. And especially thanks for inviting me to Disney World. The rest of my family will be so jealous.

Brian- Thanks for coming. It was really fun.

Get Smart

Today, my little brother and I got to go and see Get Smart. Sadly, we missed the best part: The Previews. Just kidding. We both loved it. I would gladly go and see it again.

Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrel) is the best analyst CONTROL has. He is good friends with the chief and the top agent (Dwaine Johnson) and always find good information in the most unlikely ways, like from a voice clip in Russian of two suspects of being KAOS members talking about muffins. His biggest dream is to become a field agent, but after his perfect agent-test score and he is refused the job because he is the best at his current one, he is heartbroken. However, when he gets to work and finds that KAOS has broken in and found files on all current agents, a new agent is needed and Max is the only man for the job. When he is paired with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) for a very important mission, she soon finds that he is very smart and very clumsy. He has his moments, and they have to be good if he's going to make up for what happened in his last moment.

Get Smart was a really great and funny move and was completley worth $6. If you get a chance to go and see a movie and this is playing, it is a must see.

Epic: Part 2

I don't have much more to tell you about Epic, the book I read right before I went to camp. It was a really great book and the last thing I will tell you about the story is that to save New Earth and stop the Committee, Erik and his friends must find a way to destroy the laws and end Epic.

NBC Studio Tours

On our first day of the New York trip, we went to NBC Studios, near Rockefeller Center, and took the tour. First they showed us a cool video about the history of NBC. Next they took us into three studios. First, a news place for some nightly news. Second, The Conan O'Brien show studio. Last, they took us to Saturday Night Live, where we got to see where they did all of the performances. They also told us that the seats in the studio were actually old Yankee stadium seats. The next place we got to go was the makeup studio, where they showed us how the actors got into costume in less than 60 seconds. Lastly, they took us into a room where my best friend and I got to be a newscaster (Jeremy) and a weatherman (me). Every said it was really funny because I couldn't figure it out because the green screen made every backward.

NBC was a really cool stop and I had a great time. If you go, be sure to add this to your schedule.

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum was a really cool part of the New York trip. Everything there was life sized and very realistic. (As you can plainly see!) Everything was so realistic that my friend Joey put on glasses and sat on a stool very still and people actually started taking pictures of him, thinking he was wax.

The entire place was cool. Except for the Chamber of Horrors. My best friend, Jeremy, who loves horror films, refused to go in and see his two favorite horror characters, Jason and Freddy. I thought that he was being silly, not wanting to go into a room with some pieces of wax. My counselor, my friend Jordan, and I all went in at the same time. The entire time, my friend and I were clutching at my counselors arm. In the room/hallway, claws ripped through the wall as you came by, live actors dressed as horror people stood still, and then all of a sudden started moving and swung real looking machetes at you, and realistic blood stained the walls. When I got through, Jeremy told me that he'd been through it before and was freaked out. Now I know why.

They had a lot of other really cool exhibits, and I'm glad we went there. If anyone you know goes, warn them about the Chamber of Horrors.

The Lion King

As I said yesterday, one of the best parts of our trip was going to see The Lion King on Broadway. It had amazing sets and costumes. They did the songs perfectly, and they even included a new song and a song that was only in the special edition DVD. The story was nearly identical to the movie and had a lot of the same dialogue.

The thing that impressed me the most was definitely the sets. They had a very good way of showing the tall grass. They gave actors dirt colored costumes and hats with long, plastic (or rubber?) strands of grass on top. They moved around to make it seem like the lions were walking through it. The best set was the elephant graveyard. They made two separate parts that could spin around and made it look like one part connected by a bridge at the top. In the middle of the hyena scene, both of the parts disconnect and begin to spin away from each other.

The costumes were good too, but the best were the hyena costumes. The costumes for the lions were ok, and Timon and Pumba's costumes weren't original at all. Rafiki was probably the best character in the show, though. He/she (actor was a girl) was really funny in the show.

They also had a lot of good singing in the show. The song they took from the special edition DVD was called, "The Morning Report" and was sung by the character of Zazu, near the begining. It was ok. The song they created for the show, "He Lives in You," was probably my favorite. It took place right after Rafiki helped Simba see Mufasa in the water, getting him to go fight scar.

The whole play was amazing, and I would highly recomend it to anyone with the chance to see a Broadway show!

Lots to Write About

I did a lot of awesome stuff at camp that I really need to write about. Normally after camp, I wouldn't have much to say, but this year, we got to spend a week in New York City, so there are a lot of different things to write about.

The highlights of our trip were The Lion King (the broadway show), Madame Tussaud (the wax museum), a Mets game vs. the Seattle Mariners, and NBC Studios.

While I was in NYC, my group went to the Apple store on 5th Ave. There I had time to use one of the computers to moderate a comment and read a post from J Scott Savage. While there I also learned how to do a Rubix cube.

As you can see, I have a lot to talk about over the next few days... weeks... you know what I mean, so expect more than one post a day. Don't forget to enter my contest. Please.

Not Quite Home

I just got back from camp, but I'm staying in Savannah, Georgia for a week until it's time to go home! Now I'll be able to keep posting, so keep checking back!

Ezra

My brothers are beyond annoying. However, Ezra is the one that can be truly evil. He starts fights with Jordan and I, and sometimes even doesn't listen to my mom when she is trying to break up a fight or get ready for something.

He loves doing stuff just so that my brother and I can't. Here is an example: He is playing his Nintendo DS. Jordan walks up to a toy of some kind. Ezra quickly closes his DS, and picks up the toy Jordan was going to play with. He is pure evil.

One time, I was playing a computer game... in a corner... behind the couch. My brother says he wants to do his homework down there. He sat down next to me. I was being sort of noisy, and he kept telling me to shut up. I got my mom, who told him, "This is a public room. They can be noisy if they want. Go to your room to do your homework or something." You want to know what he replied...

"NO."

My mom was furious. He does stuff like this a lot. However, sometimes he can be a good brother. Usually it's when my other brother, Jordan is being a brat. We usually are on the same page when that happens. Life with siblings is topsy turvy.

Jordan

This section is about my annoying little brother, Jordan. At this very moment, he is trying to hit my pressure points. He is just as annoying as my other little brother, Ezra, and he was purposely singing an annoying song while I was reading.

In my opinion, I have the most annoying brothers on Earth.

Camp Books

Here is my list of camp books:

• Eragon by Christopher Paolini
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
• The Lost Years of Merlin by TA Barron
• Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
• Farworld: Water Keep by J Scott Savage
• Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
  

Also, I'm still finishing Epic. Today is the first day of Camp Judea.

Goodbye!!!

I am going to camp for about the next month, and they have no electronics. I will be back on July 15th. I'll post on all of the stuff at camp next month. Also, there are a few scheduled post, so keep checking back!

Bye!

Epic: Part 1

Right now, I am reading a great Science-Fiction book called Epic by Conor Kostick. I found the book at the local bookstore when I asked the lady at the counter about any new fantasy books.

On New Earth, a planet colonized about 1000 years ago when Earth was consumed by war, there is only one law: No Violence. New Earth is run by Central Allocations, and at the head of Central Allocations is the Committee. They govern the world through Epic, a computer game where conflicts are solved in the arena. Everyone has a character and if you lose in the arena, you will lose all of your wealth and you could be moved to a hard job, like one at the salt pans or the mines.

In Eric's small agricultural district, Hope, Central Allocations is neglecting the district's needs. After the Committee learns the true identity of Eric's father after a battle for the district's needs, he is exiled and Eric and his friends begin a quest through Epic to save him. In doing so, they will face enemies, allies, and they will learn secrets of the game that the Committee has been hiding for years.

So far, it is an awesome story. Since I probably won't finish until I'm gone, I'll finish posting a review after I get back from camp.

Lastly, SCHOOL'S OUT!

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. It is an old family favorite and even my little brothers love it.

The Princess Bride was based off of a book and is about Buttercup and Wesley, two people who have fallen in love. Because Wesley has no money for marriage, he goes off to work at sea, but is killed in a raid by "The Dread Pirate Roberts." Buttercup lost the will to live after hearing the news. After many years, she is chosen by Prince Humperdink to be his bride. Buttercup did not love him, but one day, when taking a ride on her horse, she is kidnapped by three oddballs, Inigo the swordsman, Fezzik the Giant, and Vizzini, a man trying to start a war between two neighboring countries. After a while, they realized that they are being chased by a man in black. After he defeats Inigo and Fezzik, he kills Vizzini in a battle of wits to save Buttercup. After killing Vizzini, he reveals himself to be Wesley, but sadly there is still Humperdink in the way of he and Buttercup's love. Watch the movie to find out how it all ends, and to laugh for about 98 minutes!

Tonight, my neighbor is coming over to watch with my brothers and I. Also, tomorrow is the last day of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm leaving for camp this Saturday.

Oops.

Sorry about those two posts disappearing. I moved them to June 20 so that my brothers wouldn't see it until I'm at camp. Check back then to see the post.

FARWORLD WRITING CONTEST

I just finished reading my ARC of Farworld: Water Keep last night and it was phenomenal. I cannot wait for book 2. Sadly, I'll have to.

Either way, now that I've finished, I'll post the rules of my contest for someone to win a copy of Farword from J Scott Savage. Starting today, I'll be having a Writing Contest. Since Farworld is a fantasy book and because I love reading fantasy, to enter, you must write a short description of any fantastical creature. It can either be one that already exists (that doesn't mean that you can copy the description out of the book that the creature's in) or it can be one that you make up (I prefer those. Much more original.) The paragraph that I like the best wins a copy of Farworld. To send me a paragraph, email it to me at briantillinger at cs dot com. (Sorry, just piece that together.) You can send me the paragraph any time between today, June 7th, and some time in early July (I'll post the exact date soon.) You get that long because I'll be at camp for most of that time. In the email, you must also include your name and your blog URL. Also, it would be helpful if you would post a comment saying that you sent the paragraph.

Also, sadly there are rules about where the ARC can be sent. It can only be sent to adresses in the US or Canada. (Those aren't my rules. Scott said that they couldn't be sent to anywhere other than the US or Canada.) Luckily, J Scott Savage also said that he would hold a contest sometime for people in other countries to win one. Well, those are all of the rules. Good Luck!

Random Stuff: June

Sorry I posted this late. I've been very busy.

1. I have decided on my list of camp books. Check back on June 16th for my list.

2. My Culture Project on James Fontaine is finally done. I know that I got at least an A- on it. My presentation was supposed to be at least 10-15 minutes. Instead, it was 19 minutes long.

3. Hooray!!! School ends one week from today. And the last day is only 20 minutes per period. The second to last day is field day.

4. Hooray!!! Again! Next Saturday, the 14th is the day when I go to sleep-away camp. Sadly, starting then, I wont be able to post until early July. :(

5. I will soon be posting on two movies I've seen recently: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls and The Princess Bride. Both are great movies!

6. My brothers have both gotten new video games. It is very distracting when your working on school projects.

7. Speaking of school projects, I have another big project for school. It is a Baseball Statistics Project for school. We were supposed to pick a player and I chose Chipper Jones from the Atlanta Braves.

8. I can't think of any thing else to say.

9. Wait, one last thing. I'm going to have my contest to win a copy of Farworld: Water Keep by J Scott Savage soon, before I go to camp. I'll announce the winner when I get back from camp. Bye!

Happy Birthday, Ezra!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EZRA!

My little brother Ezra is turning 10 today.
Double digits. Congratulations Ezra!!!

Also, Hooray!!! It is June.

Hilarious YouTube Videos

I have found two really funny YouTube videos. One of them is called "Who's Phone" and the other is called "Kids' Rock." They are both great!

Here are the links:

"Who's Phone"

"Kids' Rock"

Hope you like them!

Warriors: Eclipse: Cover

Cool!

I just found the new cover and release date for Warriors: The Power of Three: Eclipse. (As you can see from all of my Warriors posts, I really love this series.) It's set released date is on September 2, 2008. I can't wait for it!

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN! Today, Jordan is having his 7th birthday. In fact, soon Jordan will be going to sleep away camp for 5 days. Good luck Jordan!

PS- I am typing this post on April 5th on Blogger Draft. I hope this works!

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

First of all, hooray for a four-day weekend!

Now, more importantly, I have just finished Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and it was amazing! It was full of details, was very original, and was very fun to read. Fablehaven is about two siblings, Kendra and Seth, who are sent to live with their Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson while their parents are on a 17-day cruise. However, Grandma Sorenson is away, visiting a dying family member. They have plenty of things to do there, like painting, swimming, and for Kendra, trying to solve a puzzle that their Grandpa has given her. (No, I don't mean a jigsaw puzzle, although they have those to do, too.) However, Seth's weakness is the rules that Grandpa sets down, with the punishment of staying in their room for the rest of their stay. When Seth breaks the most important rule, and goes in to the forest, he sees someone that he wasn't supposed to. Luckily, when Kendra solves the puzzle, and opens their eyes to the world of Fablehaven, the rules lessen a little, although that does not stop Seth from breaking the remaining rules. Seth goes a little to far one night, and accidentally causes Grandpa to get captured by some of the more evil creatures of Fablehaven, and Kendra and Seth have to find out where Grandma really is, and save Grandpa. It really was a great book. Now I'm focusing on The Alchemyst by Micheal Scott.

The Key to Reading Two Books at Once: Part 2

To get some stuff out of the way, I went to see Prince Caspian last weekend, and it was pretty good. It had a lot more action than the first, but it wasn't quite better. It was a little rushed. My Grandma has gone back to Chicago and my brother and Dad are back. I just finished my Culture Projects rough draft this morning. (I had to miss the bus to do it, too.) I have a four day weekend and I deserve it after such a long (or short) week. That just about all going on with my life.

Right now, I am reading two books at once, and once again, I am reading one more than the other. I am reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and The Alchemyst by Micheal Scott. I think that I am reading Fablehaven more than The Alchemyst because of two reasons. For one, I started it a few days before The Alchemyst. Two, although this kind of relates to one, I am far into Fablehaven and not very far into The Alchemyst. I am, therefore, more excited to see what happens in Fablehaven. So, another tip for people trying to read two books at once, try to start at the same time and to keep a steady pace, switching of every chapter or two, or something like that. So far, I'd highly recommend Fablehaven, but I can't yet say the same with The Alchemyst, considering I'm only in chapter 2.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians: Battle of the Labyrinth

1. Sorry I haven't posted in the last week. I've been really busy with stuff. I have a culture project to do. I have Karate lessons. I have bar-mitzvah lessons. My Grandma Alice is visiting. Plus all of my normal homework.

2. Today was amazing!!!

We went to see Cirque du Soleil: Corteo. For those who don't know what Cirque is, it is a huge French circus group that does amazing stunts in a very theatrical way. It was so cool! My favorite acts were thier trapoline act, thier person in a wheel act (I don't know what it was called,) thier human trapeze act, and their juggling act. The rest of the show was still amazing!

3. Finally, today I finished Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan. It was great! Now, there is only one more book in the Percy Jackson series, which started with The Lighting Theif, which I read again 3 days ago. 2 days ago, I finished it. Yesterday, I got Battle of the Labyrinth. It was a great book, but had a really twisted ending. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I'll give a little synopsis. In the 4th book, after being chased by deamon cheerleaders, meeting an old human aquantince, and finding out that not only the lost god Pan, but the key to Kronoses victory over the gods might be hidden in the labyrinth, Percy is thrown back into the war, fighting for his life through an unsolvable maze. The gods face more betrayal and need Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover to find Deadalus, the inventor of the labyrinth before Luke does. Also, Annabeth is given a mysterious prophecy about the quest and Percy is having more dreams, about Luke and Kronos, Nico, son of Hades, and Deadalus and the truth of his past. This book is even more exciting then the other books. I can't wait for the next book!

4. Tomorrow, I am going to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

5. I hope my brother Ezra is having a great trip! He is taking a trip to Virginia to visit his best friend, Brett.

Vizu Poll

I have decided to take J Scott Savage's example and use Vizu to make a poll. It may have been a little more complicated, but it turns out much better than the Blogger polls. I did my first Vizu poll on James Dashner's "The 13th Reality." (If your making a Vizu poll, avoid using the " sign. I doesn't turn out well. I had to redo my poll to fix it.) I highly suggest using Vizu polls instead of Blogger polls. They work and look much better.

Farworld: Water Keep by J Scott Savage

Author J Scott Savage has just released the cover and 1st 2 chapters of his new book, Farworld: Water Keep on his website. Click here to visit his post. His book will be released this September. I am so excited to read the 2 chapters. Don't forget to sign up for the Farworld Blog Tour to win an ARC of Farworld: Water Keep.

Lastly, Ezra (and I) are still sick from Saturday. It's probably the Stomach Flu. That's going around here on Mercer Island. I hope we get better soon. I'm missing so much school. Catching up is going to be almost impossible.

Random Stuff: May

Sorry I'm 2 days late with this. I'll get the hang of it in a while. Either way, even though I'm having a bad day, here is this months random stuff floating around in my head.

1.) Crud. My brother just threw-up again. This time it was on the carpet. Poor Ezra! At least my dad's pulling into the driveway now. Now my mom won't have to help Ezra alone.

2.) I hope we can go and see "Iron Man" next week. We had just gotten to the big, intense scene at the end when Ezra started barfing up his Icee. (Sorry. I've been repeating my earlier post all over again.)

3.) I have finished Warriors: The Power of Three: Outcast by Erin Hunter and I'm back into The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, both of which I've/I'm enjoyed/enjoying.

4.) I need to delete my 2 polls. Then I'll need to think of a new poll to make. Do you guys think I should use Vizu polls? I hear they're pretty good.

5.) My culture project is going great! I completed the outline Thursday night. It is 2 1/2 pages long, which is way longer than anyone else's outline.

6.) OUCH!!! My cat just cut my finger. That hurt!

7.) Crud. AGAIN! Ezra threw-up again, this time in his closet. Mom and Dad are angry that they'll have to pay to replace that carpet now too. That's pretty much every carpet in the house.

8.) I can't wait for J Scott Savage, Author of the upcoming Farworld series to post the cover of Book 1: Water Keep. I especially can't wait for him to send out the ARCs.

9.) I am tired. It's been a long, bad day. I think I'll go upstairs with dad to watch a movie.

If anything else random pops into my mind, I'll post it here, but I'm to darn tired right now to continue. Good Night! Crud. I think Ezra's throwing up again. I hope he gets better.

Iron Man: Part 1

This kinda stinks. Here was my schedule for today:
1. Jon and Ben's Bar-Mitzvah
2. Go and See "Iron Man"
3. Jon and Ben's Bar-Mitzvah Party
4. Go to Bed

Now, here was how my day turned out:
1. Jon and Ben's Bar-Mitzvah
2. Go and See "Iron Man"
3. Watch my brother Ezra throw-up during the movie
4. Come home.
5. Start to feel sick.
6. Not go to Ben and Jon's Bar-Mitzvah party

I was going to post a review of Iron Man, but since I didn't see the whole think, I can't. However, my dad got passes from the manager to come and see the movie again. I think we're going next week. I'll post a review then. This stinks.

Memoirs of a Huguenot Family by James Fontaine

My Culture Project at school is going great!

I am doing my project on my great x 11 grandfather, James Fontaine. He had an amazing life and cool family history. His great great grandfather was a member of the royal court in France in the early 1500s but was assassinated after he became a protestant and resigned his position on the court. James had trouble with the French because of this and fought French Pirates to defend his home in Ireland. If you want to read what really happened with him, his book is on the web. Click Here to go to it. Some of the parts are boring, but some are really unbelievable.

I am writing a 5+ page fictional story about him, focusing on the two pirate attacks he faced. Right now, I am outlining it. The outline is due this Friday, May 2nd. I'm actually pretty confident about this project. (Okay... I'm still worried about the speech part.) This isn't one of those boring school papers. This is an exciting story about something that really happened to my own ancestor. (Okay, that sounds a lot more fun when you say it that way.) I am about halfway through the outline already and I started it today! I have a feeling that I'll do fairly well. Wish me luck!

New Warriors Books

Hooray!!!

Warriors: Outcast is finally here! I had pre-ordered it and it came yesterday, along with Warriors: Warrior's Return, Eragon, Fablehaven, and The Sword of Shannara (I know I spelled that wrong!) I read all of Warrior's Return on the drive to a Mariners game last night (they were out of Free Ichiro Bobble Heads when we got there.) I started Outcast on the drive to the ski slopes today. I am really excited. I've been waiting for a while.
I am still reading The Hobbit and I have just finished the chapter "Queer Lodgings." It was a really good chapter! I can't wait to see why the next chapter is called "Flies and Spiders." I have a pretty good idea though. I should have a post saying that I've finished Outcast (or The Hobbit) in a day or 2.

Passover and a Hobbit

Happy Passover!!!

Passover is a week long Jewish Holiday that started last night. It is one of my favorite holidays. For the first two nights, we have a Seder, which means "order." We eat all sorts traditional foods, like gefilte fish, charoset, and hard-boiled eggs. (Ok, the hard-boiled eggs aren't a traditional food.) Last night, my brother had some bitter herbs, or maror, and his face turned beat red. I was laughing my pants off. Tonight we have cousins coming and we have another cousin coming on Thursday. This is such a great holiday!

Also, the other night I started The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I had no idea the group faced the trolls that early in the book... in chapter 2! I heard that The Hobbit is a lot easier to read then LOTR. Can you guys post a comment confirming or un-confirming what I've been told? Thanks.

Future Fantasy

First of all, I have just finished Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia. The actual battle took up a lot of chapters. It was a great book.

Today, I'm going to talk about upcoming fantasy books that I am jumping out of my pants to read:

Fantasy author T.A. Barron has just released the cover and description of his upcoming trilogy, Merlin's Dragon. Merlin's Dragon is set right in-between The Lost Years of Merlin and The Great Tree of Avalon. To visit his website, Click Here. If you haven't read any of his books and you have no idea what I'm talking about, your missing out. Both The Lost Years of Merlin and The Great Tree of Avalon are amazing stories. If you have read them, post a review (if you want) here. I want to here what you think of the book. Also, if you have read The Adventures of Kate by T.A. Barron, tell me how it is. I'm thinking about reading it.It is being released in Fall of 2008.

Another fantasy book I can't wait to read is Warriors: The Power of Three: Outcast. This one is a little closer than Merlin's Dragon. It is coming out on April 22, 2008, a few days from now. This is the 3rd book in The Power of Three series. I've been waiting for it to come out ever since the 2nd book came out. On the same day, I'm pretty sure two other Erin Hunter books are being released. They are Warriors: Manga edition: Warrior's Return and Seekers: Book 1: The Journey Begins. I am a little less excited for these two. To visit the Warriors website, click here. If you've read any Warriors books, pick your favorite and post a small review here. (If you want to.)

Next, Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo is being released this Fall 2008. Jenny Nimmo has also posted the new cover recently. A lot of people haven't heard of Charlie Bone, but it is a very good series. If you have read it, once again, post a review here on your favorite. (From now on, their all if you wants.) To visit Jenny Nimmo's website, click here.

Wow!!! I just found out that Ranger's Apprentice: Book 5: Sorcerer in the North will be released in the US in November of 2008. Just a few more months! If you have read any Ranger's Apprentice books blah blah blah, blah blah. You know what I was going to say. To visit John Flanagan's site, click here. To see the cover of book 5, US edition, click here.

And then of course, there are the upcoming books we all probably know about. There's Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, and mot importantly, Farworld--Water Keep by our friend J Scott Savage. Sheesh. I just listed out almost all of the books that I'm dieing for. Maybe this wasn't the best idea.

By the way, WASL testing days: 3 down, 3 to go.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia

I have just started reading Ranger's A.... whatever, I'm just going to say the second part from now on... The Battle for Skandia. So far, I'm on page 109, and the main characters have escaped from some enemies, been captured by new enemies, almost escaped, saved by old friends, discovered a plot to take over at least 4 other countries, and have found that the enemy has already secretly moved their entire army into Skandia, one of the countries they plan to conquer. I can't wait to see what happens in the next 294 pages. By the way, in Australia, this book is actually titled "Oakleaf Bearers" instead of The Battle for Skandia. Cool huh. This is such a great series... even though it is such a mouthful. Well, I have to get ready. Writing 1 WASL today. Wish me luck!

Karate + WASLs

First of all, WASLs ARE HERE!!!! I just took the reading 1WASL today. I think I did pretty well. Here is the WASL schedule (as far as I know.): Reading 1 (done,) Writing 1, Reading 2, Writing 2, Math 1, and Math 2. Tomorrow, I have to take Writing 1! Duh duh duhhhhh. Here comes my doom, so wish me luck.

Second of all, Great job Ezra! Today, he passes his belt test (I didn't even know it was testing day) to advance to blue belt. Since Jordan and I took an extra week of karate camp, we were blue belts already, but since we weren't ready to test yet (the blue belt form is hard,) Ezra will finally be the same belt as us. Congratulations Ezra!!!

The Icebound Land + My Annoying Little Brothers

First of all, I am almost done with Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land. I have about 30 pages left. Then I can begin book four, The Battle for Skandia. There are actually 7 books, but only books 1-4 are released here in the U.S. yet. The rest are all released in Australia though, so if you ever take a trip there, take your chance and get books 5, 6, and 7.

Next, MY BROTHERS ARE SO ANNOYING. They woke me up at 6:57 AM... ON A SATURDAY!!! SO THAT THEY COULD WATCH SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS LOUD ENOUGH! Tomorrow, we're going skiing, so I won't get to in then! Now I have to wait another whole week! They are in for a rough day... and I'm in for a rougher week. WASLs!!! Oh well, at least Ezra has them too.

Poll Closed

Thank you for voting on my poll. The question was

Have you ever visited any of the links on my blog?

80% (8 people) voted for Yes, I have.
20% (2 people) voted for No, I haven't. (It was actually supposed to say, No, but I will.)

WASL Testing

Here in WA, at school, our standardized testing is called the WASL. It stands for Washington Assessment of Student Learning. I am getting kinda stressed out. I am confident in almost all of my subjects except for Writing. Ironic, huh. The kid who reads almost 24/7 and is thinking about being a writer when he grows up is not very sure of himself in writing. Usually, when it comes to school writing, I stink. However, when it comes to writing for fun, I'm actually OK. Why can't they just make school writing seem fun? Wish me luck on the testing. It starts next week.

The Icebound Land

I have just begun Ranger's Apprentice: Book 3: The Icebound Land. I am only a few pages into it and there is already a huge adventure underway. Will and his new friend, Evanlyn, are trapped on a wolf ship by some Skandians. They are now in the middle of "the mother of all storms." I can't wait to see what happens next. This is a great series.

Happy Birthday, Grandaddy!

First of all, I'd just like to say that I have just finished Ranger's Apprentice: The Burning Bridge, and I'm in the process of convincing my mom to take me to a bookstore to buy The Icebound Land. The Burning Bridge left me hanging big time.

Second and most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY (even if a few days late) TO GRANDADDY! Tonight is his party. He turned 70 on Wednesday. This party is practically a family reunion. We've already seen most of the family though. This will also be a good opportunity to get more info for the family tree. Luckily, the party is only a 3 minute walk away. I still need to shower...

Family Tree

My family tree research is going well. Last night, my grandma and I were adding more stuff into the tree and finding more stories about certain parts of the Brewton/Fontaine family. We found that there was also a book called the Memoirs of Jean de la Fontaine. It might have been Jacues de la Fontaine. Right now, a 40 something page long paper is being printed with lots of names to put into the family tree. Uh oh! It just ran out of paper.

2 minutes later...
I found the paper.

2 more minutes later...
Ok. That was a pain. I think I loaded enough paper to finish. (I hope.) Either way, the tree is really good. We have info on ancestors all the way from about the 1400s! For the project, we have to do a paper, a speech, and a visual display. I think I have the visual display covered. I'll do the time line and some pictures. I have no clue what I'll do on the other two though. Once I get the full rubric, I'll post some more info here. I have a feeling that I might need your help with thinking of ideas.

Random Stuff: April

To start off the month, I am going to get a lot of random stuff out of my head.

1.) APRIL FOOLS!!! I really am going to say a bunch of random stuff though... I guess that was one of them.

2.) I have just begun Ranger's Apprentice: Book 2: The Burning Bridge. I like it so far.

3.) I love being back here in Savvannah! It's warm. There's lots of family here. My best friend, Jeremy, lives here.

4.) Boy do I love Snow Crab! My mom and I went to a seafood restaraunt in downtown Savannah last night, and the snow crab was beyond good!

5.) I am working on a family tree/ family culture project for school. My grandma showed me a family tree she'd been working on, and it said that we had a very distant, but possible, ancestor who was in the crusades! Jon de la Fontain (I know I spelled that wrong.) How is that for cool!

6.) My other grandma said that she was working on another family tree, from a different part of my family. She says it's hard because my great great grandpa or something moved from Austria around the late 1800s so it's hard to track. However, she said that she found a relative who was on the side of the Confederates during the Civil War who was buried in a graveyard in this very city. My grandpa never even knew he existed!!!

7.) My brothers are so dang annoying!!! They always "have" to have the computer. I am beginning to wish that I had brought my laptop.

8.) The other day, my brother found a Nintendo DS game, The Sims 2: Pets, on the street! He is beyond lucky. (If only I still had my DS. 'sniff' sniff' I lost mine on a plane last summer. Oh well!

9.) I'm running out of random stuff to talk about.

10.) I can't wait to go to Camp Judea this summer in June. It's a sleepaway camp in NC where we stay for a month. Amazingly though, this will be the first time in years that I've gone to camp without having to leave school early. They've always overlapped. Sadly, there are no computers at camp for me to blog on.

11.) I really need to make a new poll.

I am completely out of random stuff to talk about. Hope everyone has a "foolish" April Fools day!

So many posts!

This will be my last post of March (or so I think.) I have reached my 29th post this year and my 47th post overall! Not really that much, but it's a lot for me!

Ranger's Apprentice: Part 1

I have just begun reading Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan.(I'm almost done!) So far it's very good. It is the story about an orphan boy, Will, who is worried that when it comes time for him to be made an apprentice in a craft, no one will want him as an apprentice. However, he is made the apprentice of Halt, the Ranger who ended the evil Morgarath's war 15 years before. However, Morgarath is gathering his Wargal (completely copying Eragon) hordes and is preparing to attack the kingdom, so Will and Halt must be ready to fight back, and to stop Morgarath's new monster, the dreadful Kalkara. So far, this has been an amazing book. Not only does it have that sort of air of destiny around Will, but it shows the aspects of Will's life. So far, it is an amazing story. I'm not even done yet and I can't wait to read the next book.

Savvanah, Georgia

Bye!!!

I am going on a plane from WA to GA tomorrow. It'll be my Grandpa's 70th birthday, and practically a family reunion. I'm also going to get to visit my best friend, Jeremy. I'll hopefully get some more up to date pictures too. I'll try to keep posting but if I can't, bye for a week!

InkDeath

Online, they have just released the cover for Inkdeath! I haven't even finished Inkspell, but I thought you ought to know. I found it while browsing on Barnes and Nobles.com. The book comes out October 7, 2008. Here it is!

Calvin and Hobbes

My favorite comic-book series ever is Calvin and Hobbes. They are about a hyper-active 6-year old, Calvin, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Throughout the book, which is more like Garfield than Spider-Man or something, Calvin imagines that Hobbes is a real tiger, and is his best friend. However, he is the only one who has such an active imagination, and whenever someone else is near by, Hobbes is just a stuffed toy tiger.Some comics show Calvin and Hobbes just talking about something sorta random, but having one of them say something at eh end to make it funny. Others include Calvin bugging his parents, waging war against his evil babysitter, Rosalyn, or playing/annoying his classmate, Susie. All of these are insanely funny.

I learned about Calvin and Hobbes from my dad. He owned a few of them as a kid, and we found them while cleaning out old boxes. I got 2 or 3 books like that, but others I found in stores. Now, I own 10, and I'm only missing one. If you ever get a chance to read or buy a Calvin and Hobbes book, you should definitely get one. Some titles there are, are Calvin and Hobbes, Something Under the Bed is Drooling, Yukon Ho!, Weirdos from Another Planet, Revenge of the Baby-Sat, Scientific Progress Goes Boink, Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, The Days are Just Packed, It's A Magical World, and There's Treasure Everywhere. They are HILARIOUS!

The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters

I finished The 13th reality on Friday night. I thought that is was amazing, and I can't wait to read The Hunt for Dark Infinity. If any one knows when it will be coming out, I need to know, because if I don't find out soon, I think I'll explode! If you start to read it, but think that it moves too slow, don't stop, because it speeds up after a few hundred pages, and the parts that are slow are still very interesting. I loved it. I think that James Dashner might post info on the sequel sometime on his website, so if you want to check, just click on the link on my site.

The Key to Reading Two Books at a Time

Just so you know, I am horrible at reading two books at a time, and don't even follow my own rules. However, I think these are fairly good ones. The biggest problem with reading 2 books at a time, in my opinion, isn't getting confused by the 2 separate story lines, but being so enveloped by one that you forget to read the other. The key, I think is to designate your own guidelines for when to read one and when to read the other. (I'd better finish this post quickly. My cat is walking on the keyboard periodically.) That way, no matter how slow or fast the other gets, you won't only start reading one. I, however, totally suck at this. I am reading The 13th Reality and the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the same time, and I am being completely sucked into The 13th Reality. I am struggling to put The 13th Reality down for a minute to get farther into The Fellowship. The side that wants to read The 13th Reality more is obviously winning. (Two nights ago I was in Chapter 10. Tonight, I'll probably go to sleep on Chapter 42.) A tip for reading two books at once, try to read books at the same difficulty level.

I Can Has Cheezburger?

Lately, my mom has been visiting this hysterical website called I Can Has Cheezburger.com. It shows pictures of cats (and some other animals) doing funny stuff. It also has captions on the photos to make the pictures seem funny. You can even post your own pictures and captions. There are new ones everyday. Visit it, and I'm sure you'll leave laughing.

The Lord of the Rings

Today, a package arrived from my dad for me. He had ordered me a huge set of Middle-Earth books. He got me a big, amazing set of The Lord of the Rings, a new copy of the Hobbit, and an awesome book called the Atlas of Middle-Earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad. It is a great set.

Aunt Laura

In a few minutes, I am going to call my Aunt Laura for a science project for school. We have to do the project on a good scientist, which is why I am doing it on her. She is a professor in the Department of Pathology at Harvard. She is researching the cure for cancer. My mom says that she is very close, even though she has no idea what Aunt Laura says most of the time. My mom has learned not to ask Laura about what she has discovered, because over half of the reply seems to be in a language that no one can understand. I'm going to have a rough phone call.

Martial Arts

Twice a week, I take Martial Arts lessons. It is really fun and it gets me active. I have just become a Blue Belt. My brothers also take lessons there and one of them, Ezra, is a Purple Stripe, while Jordan is a Blue Belt like me. The only reason we're this good is that we all took a few weeks of Karate Camp at our dojo. At the end of each week there, we were able to Belt test, so every week I went, I grew a belt level. However, now that I'm a Blue Belt, a high belt, I won't grow a belt every time I test. My brothers and I are in Leadership Club at our dojo. Unless you join either Leadership or Masters club, we are not qualified to train to be black belts. In fact, next year, I will try to become a jedo, which is one of the "student teachers" there. I will also be going 3 times a week instead. The only reason I didn't do that this year is because I had Hebrew School on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can't wait to be able to do that.
In Martial Arts, we learn respect, forms, kicks, focus and self-control, and self-defense. We learn respect, focus, and self-control through listening and meditation. We learn lots of kicks too. To do the kicks, you need lots of balance. We learn arc, ax, push, front-snap, jump front-snap, jump side, and arc-spin-jump-arc kicks. The high belts learn even more kicks. Every belt level has a form too. Low belts have three or four different forms. The masters teach a different low belt form after every belt test. Green belts and up have only one form however. Each belt up has a longer and harder form. I've only learned the first three or four steps of mine though. Every belt also has a self defense form. A partner throws a fake punch at you and you use the form to turn it against them. There are lots of things we learn at Martial Arts.
I think that it is really worth taking Martial Arts lessons. It is really fun, and I learn a lot.

Poll

BLOGGERS-
Tomorrow is the last day to vote on my poll, so if you haven't yet, please do.

Lables

I am putting labels on my posts. Now, a questions for my fellow blog readers (and fellow bookworms), what is the point of a label? If you have any clue, post a comment trying to clear this up for me.

My Shelf

Anna-
I hope you don't mind that I used that one of your ideas too. There are just so many books that I want to read, and this is the perfect place to show them. How did you find that website anyway?
-Brian

I have just installed a shelf on the sidebar of my blog. It shows books that I am either reading or want to read.

Apollo

My kitten, Apollo, is very cute, but he can be vicious. In his cute moments, he cuddles up with me while I'm reading. Problem with that is that he also cuddles up while I'm working on homework. I think that he thinks that my homework is his bed. It can be very annoying. Also, just a second ago, he was sneezing. He has these tiny little "Achoo"s. Even though he was sneezing on my hand, it was so funny. He also meows in a very sweet way. However, when he is in a vicious or playful mood, he can be dangerous. Even though he just got his claws trimmed, they still hurt. Sometimes, I lift my hand to pet him, and he'll attack it. He's teething, so it hurts even more. Also, although this is both cute and vicious, he attacks my legs while I'm walking sometimes. He is a very funny, cute, and vicious kitten.

New Story

I am going to try to write a new story, although this time, I won't post it unless I finish, and that won't be for a long time, considering that right now, I'm just writing down character descriptions.

Wonders With Wings

I have just been made into an author of my friend, Kathryn's website. You can find it in the links as Wonders With Wings.

The Wortares

The tall creature had on a dark, black robe. The long slender fingers sticking from the sleeves looked like small knifes, sharp as fangs. Inside of the hood, no face could be seen. It was a pool of blackness that looked like it could go on forever. The figure seemed to be gliding, never once touching the ground. Rumor had it that these dreadful shadow’s knife-like fingers could cut, not only through flesh, but through worlds. These creatures meant death.

The Kirels

The small water creature had bluish skin that was nearly purple around its neck. Off of the sides of its body were its legs. At the end of the Kirel’s thin legs, were four fins for hands and feet. Its tail was long and almost like that of an Orca whale. The tips of the tail were colored in a way that stood out a lot. The tips were bright green, the same color of grass when sun shines down on to it. It had a short, stubby neck at the front of its body. Its head was a very strange sight. It had two cat-like ears at the top of the head. Right below, were its large, bulging, green eyes. For its mouth, the creature had a large beak that circled part way around the sides of the head. The beak was slightly raised at the top, like the hump of a camel. The Kirel was a kind, gentle creature. Although, when threatened, could speed through the water like a torpedo.

The Traldars

The monstrous creature was terrifying. It’s leathery, bat-like wings had three, razor sharp talons, at the end of each. All three talons were the size of a large dog, and could crush a man with a single flick. The creature’s wings were powerful enough to rip through a thick tree. And that was just the beginning. At the creature’s feet, the claws could extend like a cat’s, and five times the length of one. The head of the evil figure had the muzzle of a wolf, with long fangs extending like that of a saber toothed tiger’s. It was truly a most terrible creation that many thought not fit for this world. If only the few men who lived to tell the tale knew why this sight seemed so ferocious. What had made the Traldars such angry creatures?