OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA BE FAMOUS!

You know how I got to go to D.C. because I was one of the ten selected out of 210 out of 4,700 people to be at the grand opening of an art show that was going to tour my original artwork all over the country right? Well guess what?  I learned, just barely, on Friday when I was at Arts Adventures Teen Night that MY artwork that I was only goofing around to make was bought by a museum in SALT LAKE CITY UTAH!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!! I was so overwhelmed and happy and shocked and just plain overloaded that I just fell apart, I mean I was weeping!  I was shaking wildly, my face was bright red and I almost passed out!  I mean I'm 15, 15 and my artwork was bought and is going to have a permanent home in my hometown, Salt Lake City, Utah!  I mean, when does this kind of stuff happen to a 15 year-old???!!!???  I could not be more happy, and I am so thankful to my beloved Heavenly father for the blessings he's bestowed upon me in my life, and now, more than ever, he is helping me accomplish what I want to in my life, and not just in art, in my academics.  I have straight A+s (well, except for the Short) thanks to his help.  He is my father, and I love him so much.  I'm thankful to my parents for giving me the Gospel, and raising me as a Latter-Day-Saint.  What would I be without them?  Nothing.  My parents are a blessing in my life, and I love them more than anyone except perhaps my Father in Heaven.  The support they have offered me in my life is astronomical, and they are always pushing me on.  Sorry I'm being so sentimental, but this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me. EVER!!!!! THIS COULD MAKE ME FAMOUS!!!!!! 

Anyway, enough ranting and raving on my behalf,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

A shocking truth and a proposal of service: BEYONDERS

Maldor walks in and pours some liquid into his goblet and tells Jason its Lumbaberry juice.  Jason is so bewildered nothing happened. Maldor was still here. As if he knows what Jason's thinking, he tells Jason he got the word right.  "Well if I got the word right, why didn't it work?" Then Maldor explained that the word would unmake a different wizard, one who was dead.  In other words, the word is a fake, and Salzared, the one who wrote the book bound in human skin was his servant, and knew that the word was a fake.  He is a displacer.  The book has his eye and his skin on it, and is written in his blood.  The purpose of this was so that he could be the ultimate spy.  Jason is so lost.  How did this happen?  It was all a fake?  All of it?  Jason asks him angrily why he created the word.  Maldor tells him it was to test people and he see that his greatest fighters were so he could recruit them.  He tells Jason that he is one of the only people in the world who know about the truth of the word.  Jason asks if Galloran knows.  Maldor says he told him it was a hologram of him so he could erase the suspicion.  He tells Jason that he was surprised that he knew the whole word, because he thought Jason only knew 4 of the six syllables.  Jason tells him that Galloran broke the rules and allowed access to the syllables in other places.  Jason asks him what his second order of business is and Maldor says it's because he wishes to propose something to Jason; an offer to serve him.  Maldor tells Jason how impressed he is of him and how he is the kind of man he needs.  He points out that Jason is wise, patient, clever, witty, strong, brave, impulsive, courageous, and most of all loyal and competitive.  He indulges him even more by promising that if he works hard, he will become one of the most respected and honored of his men, and receive rare treatment.  He also states that there is no reason to keep resisting him since the word is a fake.  Jason contemplates these things and the choice held before him.  What about Rachel?  What about Tark?  What about Drake, and Jasher, and everyone else?  He had to tell Rachel the truth.  He wasn't going to let her suffer for something that isn't even real.  Maldor is evil, why should he serve him?  He will warp his mind, and make him into a bad person.  Jason shudders at the thought, although it would be much easier. Jason shakes this disturbing thought out of his mind.  "Galloran said that a real hero is willing to stand up for what is right no matter the consequence" Jason said, glaring at Maldor.  "I refuse."  Maldor shook his head. Then Jason asks him if he knows how to get back to the beyond, and Maldor says he does.  Jason asks him if he will help him get to the beyond, and Maldor says he does not help his enemies.  He gets up and leaves. (OK, honestly I'm getting tired of talking about this book in so much detail so I'm just going to sum up.)  Jason gets drugged, and thrown in prison first with a huge kind of cobra snake.  He runs away for a while and then inevitably gets bitten.  The venom makes him spill the beans of everything to his interrogators.  Then he gets drugged again and thrown in a coffin.  Then Ferrin comes and knocks out the guards and rescues him and brings him to a well in a cave.  The well will take him back to the Beyond.  Jason fights, not wanting to leave Rachel, and so Ferrin pushes Jason in the well but Jason drags him in with him.  Ferrin detaches his hand and Jason keeps a hold of it, and then he's in the beyond.  He puts the hand in his pocket and walks to a house and asks if he can use their phone.

WOW, THAT'S A LOT!

DINGBAT OUT!

Disappointment, anger, imprisonment: BEYONDERS

We left off were Jason says the word.  I mentioned how he can feel the power of the word as he screams it, yet after he screams it, nothing happens.  Maldor just sits there, perplexed and puzzled.  "Well? Is that all? Then away with you.  How unfortunate that the one word you had to say is in gibberish.  Take him away!" The guard who escorted him in takes him out with instructions to put him in a holding cell.  They walk him down to the dungeons to a holding cell with a thick iron door.  The guards open the door, and push him in.  He tries to escape, pushing two of the guards over, but he is grabbed and pushed to the floor with unnecessary force.  Then they pick him up and force him in this chair, and lock in his arms and legs and waist, and neck into place with these metal confinement rings.  Then they leave.  He can barely breathe.  He can't move.  It's dark.  He’s extremely claustrophobic.  He starts freaking out, and has to calm down.  He tries to forget that he is tied up and can't breathe.  He goes to his "happy place."  He tries to keep track of time. Where is he exactly?  What time is it?  How long has he been here?  Each minute seems to drag out for eternity.  He tries to tell how many seconds, how many minutes, how many hours he's been locked up in this chair.  It's completely dark.  He can't see a thing.  Why hadn't the word worked?  He was certain he had said it right.  He couldn't remember the syllables as promised, so what was he going to do now?  All of a sudden, after who knows how long, the door swings open, letting in blinding light that hurts his eyes.  What’s going on?  Who is it?  MALDOR.  He walks into the room alone with a silver tray holding a bottle of liquid. The door closes behind him, flooding the room with darkness once again. DUN DUN DUN!!!!!

SUSPENSE!

DINGBAT OUT!

Arriving at the City, and a Change in Plot: BEYONDERS

When we left off, Jason was captured.  They take him and they start traveling to this city.  The leader's name is Ian.  He tells Jason to brace himself for what lies ahead for him in the prisons.  They travel for two days, and then he starts seeing the peaks of the city.  He is in awe at how protected and sturdy it is.  It has never been invaded.  Jason now knows why (I mean you can't even climb up the walls without being killed).  When they arrive at the gates they settle down for the night.  They will journey inside the city tomorrow.  They go to bed.  Jason wakes up with a hand over his mouth.  It's Drake! Drake pulls him to his feet and explains that he killed the guards.  He tells Jason that in order to get in front of Maldor and say the word, he explains to him that he needs to go inside the city and bang a gong.  When the gong is banged, a law states that that person must get an audience with Maldor, but he/she cannot choose the consequences that come from the audience.  They sneak into the city at night, and Drake kills the guards so that Jason can run to the platform where the big gong hangs.  He grabs the mallet and bangs the gong three times for effect.  The one guard who survives Drake's violent attack tells him he will get his audience, and then drags him roughly to Maldor's castle.  As they walk through the halls Jason runs the word through his head: Arimfexendrapuse, Arimfexendrapuse, over and over again.  Jason wonders if he will be able to pronounce the word correctly in the presence of Maldor.  They finally arrive to some double doors that are rough and heavy.  Upon approach, the doors open loudly allowing them to pass through.  As Jason walks in, he sees this man sitting on a throne in a black robe with a scepter in his hand with a handle of a smiling skull.  Sitting around him are dozens of displacers.  Jason tells Maldor that he wishes to share only one word with him, and then belts it out: "ARIMFEXENDRAPUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  He screams.  He can feel the power of the word in his body, taste it on his tongue. 

We’ll stop here,  

DINGBAT OUT!

Departure Cont'd and the Explosion of Jasher and Capture of Jason: BEYONDERS

We left off with the borehounds are chasing these men and they kill Tristan.  They catch up to Drake and Tark too but they start slaying the dogs.  Jason does too, but they get a hold of his arm and his leg, and he finally gets them off of him and he is bleeding.  Drake is not bleeding anywhere, and has four dead dogs around him, his sword covered in blood.  The dogs were followed by men on horses; one of them Kimp.  Then Jasher comes out with Rachel, and he rides toward Kimp.  Once close enough, Kimp jumps off his horse, colliding with Jasher.  Then a bright light and clash, and Jasher and Kimp are on the ground; Jasher blown to pieces, an arm over here, a leg over there, his head on top of his charred body; Kimp’s on the ground a little farther away, on fire.  The impact of Kimp’s tackle triggered Jasher’s Oriantum causing an explosion.  Jason runs to where Jasher lay, and starts frantically looking for the seed with his companions so that they can replant it and give Jasher a new life.  Jason checks the man’s charred neck for the seed, but it is not there.  He panics, asking his friends to look harder, and the anticipation builds, while their chances of escaping are becoming slimmer and slimmer.  Finally, after what feels like ages, they find the seed and head off on the horse Rachel has.  Unfortunately, there is a group of men coming their way.   Jason gives Tark the seed, and tells him to tell Rachel that the last syllable is DRA.  One half of the group of men pursue Tark’s group while the rest stay and confiscate Jason.  He surrenders, and they tell him they are taking him to a city called….. (Oh shoot, I can’t remember.  It’s kind of important to know what it’s called huh?  Sorry ‘bout that.)   Anyway, they start heading toward their destination.

That’s enough for now,
DINGBAT OUT!

Duke Conrad duel and departure cont: BEYONDERS

When the preparations are made they gather into the Billiard room, where one of the billiard tables is filled with billiard balls.  The rules are simple:  they pick up the billiard balls and throw them at each other until one of them dies or is killed.  The match starts, and Jason soon realizes that Duke Conrad is very slow and clumsy when it comes to dodging and throwing balls.  He hits Jason with one ball, and Jason soon throws a ball that unintentionally hits him in the head. Jason was aiming for his shoulder, but Duke Conrad ducks, making his head the target instead of his shoulder.  He slumps to the ground unconscious.  His second tells Jason he has the right to kill him, but Jason declines the offer.  All he wants is to leave.  He asks if anyone wants to come with him other than Tark, and finally Drake says he will.  He says that he told himself that if Jason won he would go with him.  Also, another man, Tristan, decides to come with him; however Jason is a little concerned because Tristan is very obese, and they were going to be doing a lot of running.  He offers one last time, and then they head off on foot, all armed with their own personal weapons.  They start running and almost immediately they hear dogs behind chasing them; borehounds mostly.  So they keep running, and Tark and Drake are very fast runners, so Jason is having a hard time keeping up with them.  Tristan on the other hand is having a hard time keeping up with them, and they haven't been running very far and his face is already red.  The borehounds are running faster than they can run, and they catch up to Tristan and attack and kill him.  

More to come....

Kimp and Duke Conrad Duel: BEYONDERS

Jason waits a long time in the bathhouse and finally Kimp comes in to take a bath.  He is bulging with muscle and covered from head to toe in tattoos.  Jason enters into the large tub and tries to strike up a conversation with Kimp.  Kimp is not showing any desire to talk, and tries to explain to him that this is his "relaxation time," but then Jason brings up his tattoos and he becomes much happier and accepting of the conversation.  He starts talking to Jason about them and even turns around to show him the shark on his back.  Jason is so excited and lucky!  The 4^th and last syllable is on Kimp's shoulder blade!  He eagerly scoots closer to see.  It's DRA.  He puts the word’s syllables together to create the "all powerful" word.  The word is Arimfexendrapuse.  Finally he has the word that can destroy Maldor!  He can now leave.  He tells Tark he is going to leave, and plans to announce it at dinner.  So, at dinner, he stands up and announces that he is going to leave.  Everyone goes silent.  Duke Conrad’s face twitches.  Duke Conrad stands up infuriated; face twitching with anger.  Jason tells him that he is leaving and will not change his mind.  Duke Conrad orders a duel in the courtyard with rapiers or swords.  Jason gets scared because if he fights Duke Conrad with a rapier or sword, he will surely be sliced up into bits.  Jason tells him that he wants to choose the weapon and Duke Conrad refuses at first, stating that he is so much higher than him, considering that Jason is only a lowly lord.  He corrects him, and tells him that he is also the Chancellor of Trensincourt.  Duke Conrad argues by saying that he resigned or gave up that post, and Jason says he did nothing of the kind.  Unable to win the argument, Duke Conrad finally succumbs and lets him choose weapon.  Jason, unsure of what to say, chooses the first thing that comes to his head:  billiard balls.  Since Duke Conrad is unfamiliar with this type of duel, Jason tells him the “customs” of the fighting style, and Duke Conrad has it arranged as so.  They each pick a second, well at least Duke Conrad does.  Tark sort of volunteers himself to be Jason’s second.  Afterward Jason tells him his reasoning for picking the billiard balls.  He picked them because he can throw balls really hard and accurately, but if they were to duel with a rapier or sword he’d be cut into bits. 

Stay tuned….

Harthenham Cont'd: BEYONDERS

The next day Jason goes to the lounge to check the place out.  He sees one of the men there that he saw at his feast.  The man is eating some pie with purple berries.  There are very fat people there, and skinny hags, and all manner of miserable beings.  Trying to get away from this image, he walks over to the long black-haired man eating the pie.  The man starts talking and tells him his name is Drake, and that the pie he is eating is called Lumbaberry pie, and it is the most delicious thing in the world.  He tells him it does not provide real nourishment, but once you get hooked on it, it’s all you ever want to eat, so it gradually kills you.  Jason shudders at this thought and says that he’d rather skip the pie.  Then Drake tells him that the pie killed him three times, and that makes it obvious that Drake is a displacer.  Jason asks him how these people could do this to themselves, how Drake could do this to himself.  Drake sighs and tells him that he thought it would be good just to be ridden of all the opposition.  Jason offers to take him with him, and they can leave, but Drake turns down the offer.  The conversation ceases, and Drake tells him that Kimp, the one he knows he’s looking for, takes a bath in the bathhouse in the afternoon. 

After leaving the lounge, Jason explores the grounds a little bit more.  Jason then heads to the bathhouse in hopes that he will find Kimp there.  While walking there, he finds Tark sitting on a bench outside in the courtyard and sits down by him.  They start talking.  Jason was not expecting to see him there.  Tark tells him he was invited there because he killed some manglers, blew some stuff up, and therefore threatened Maldor.  He tells him how ashamed he is by coming here because he feels he just gave up again like last time, and it seems like that's all he's good for.  Jason tells him to come away with him because he's leaving after he gets the information he came for.  Tark's countenance changes into a look of hope and his face brightens.  Tark tells him he will go with him, and then he asks him why he's here, but Jason can't tell him.  They leave and he goes to the bathhouses in hope of finding Kimp.

That's enough for this blog, 
DINGBAT OUT!

Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Jason goes with Jasher and Rachel to Harthenham Castle where they drop him off and hide.  Jason rides and meets up with a horseman who escorts him to the castle, where he meets Duke Conrad, a very refined, clip-speaking man who wears a white uniform.  The castle is so beautiful, even beyond belief.  Duke Conrad takes Jason in and has him make the demands and orders for the welcoming feast and as to what he wants.  Jason is the guest of honor.  Jason tells Conrad that he wishes to be escorted to his room, rest a small while, and then promptly after attend the welcoming feast.  Jason goes to his room and is absolutely blown away.  He’s so drawn in that he fears it will soon become impossible to leave.  Anyway, Jason attends his feast at a big table which is strewn with guests, most of them obese.  Conrad takes his seat at one end of the table and Jason at the other.  On one side of Conrad, there is a bald man with tons of tattoos all over his head and face.  JACKPOT!  IT’S KIMP!  Servants come out with plates and platters towered high with food, sausages, etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC!!  There’s so much stuff.  Jason is soon disgusted at watching the really fat people just cram the food down their throats, dipping their hands in the clean water and wiping them and getting them dirty immediately again.  Jason tries to pace himself, eating everything in little portions, trying to look refined as the Lord of Caberton should be.  Then he notices him, it's TARK!  It’s the musician of the Giddy Nine!!!  He had no idea he was here.  Anyway, dessert finally comes and the first entree is the livers of a Wasitch.  A Wasitch is the only rodent who can eat a certain plant that is poisonous.  I can’t remember what it is.  Anyway, this makes their livers taste delectable.  Jason tastes one of the five on his plate pensively and then scarfs the rest down greedily.  The food here is the best he has ever had.  It is the best in this world.  Anyway, they finish eating and he goes off to bed.  


OK, we'll stop here.

DINGBAT OUT!

Pythoness: and Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Ok, so we left off where Rachel and Jason are going to the Pythoness's lair.  They are going through the water and it takes two days to get there.  Jasher rows all day both days.  (Big muscles - that’s hot!)  Anyway, excuse my teenage girl romance phase.  All girls go through it I expect.  I have a big crush on Jasher. 

Anyway, back to the story.  They arrive at this tree that is on a small island with a bunch of snakes on it.  It’s Jason's turn to take the risk so Rachel stands watch and he goes inside the tree.  He starts losing memory of the outside world as he gets deeper.  Why is he in a tree?  Wasn’t he supposed to be finding a word?  What word?  He couldn't remember.  What was his name?  He finally came to the end of the tunnel where he meets a girl who lives there.  She asks him who he is and he doesn't remember.  She then takes a puffball from the wall which she says is a mushroom and sticks it below his nose.  He remembers who he is, and what he's looking for, and who sent him.  She then gives him some cheese and sap and then water, and he tells about Galloran, and what he's become.  The girl said her mother was the real Pythoness, and died not long before Jason came.  Her mother had passed down the syllable to her, and she told it to him.  It was Rim.  They talked for a little bit.  He thought she was cute and liked her a lot.  She was only abou15 and had fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  She gave him some puffballs to take back so he could remember their conversation.  He starts walking out of the tree and forgets where he was.  Wasn’t he supposed to go in the tree?  Had already gone in the tree?  What happened?  Rachel asks him what happened and he sticks the puffballs to his nose and tells her.  After that, all three of them go into the tree, and none of them remember who they are.  They sleep there for the night because they don't want to have to deal again with the possibility of getting attacked by snakes.  So they sleep there for the night.  She tells them where the last syllable is.  It is at Harthenham, tattooed on Kimp's shoulder blade.  How lucky.  Jason was invited to the feast at Harthenham.  In order to get the word, they decide that Jason needs to attend the feast at Harthenham, but he must leave.  We’ll stop here.
That's a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Jasher and the Pythoness Part 1: BEYONDERS

I finished the BEYONDERS today, and I was already behind so I really am behind now.  We left off where they leave Ferrin only to be caught by another displacer.  He tells them to mount his horse if they like, but they will not escape.  So Jason and Rachel take the horse and ride out.  As promised, they are ambushed from nowhere and attacked by manglers.  They are surrounded by men with all different attire, spiked armor, lighter armor, and even no armor at all, or weapons.  Jason and Rachel have no choice but to surrender. They take their weapons, except for Rachel's Oriantum, because it is hidden in her robe.  All of a sudden, when they're about to be captured, there was a blazing flashing white light and three of the manglers and conscriptors blew apart on fire.  This man came riding in, slaughtering man after man, finding the weak points in their armor.  He had black or white hair, I can't remember.  He’s awesome!  He killed all the horsemen, and took three horses that were still alive and uninjured.  He told them his name was Jasher.  He is of the Amar Kabal, the People of the Seed.  He has a seed lodged in the back of his head and when he dies the seed dislodges from the skull and plants and hopefully grows a new Jasher.  I think he's died like 11- 14 times.  When a seed person dies, they a reborn at the same age that they first died.  In the Amar Kabal culture, there is a ceremony held at age 21, where they are killed.  This age is picked so that they can be born into adulthood, but still be very young, and have a good life ahead of them.  Also, if they feel they are getting to old, they can kill themselves or die on purpose so that they have full use of their body again. 

Jasher tells them he works for Galloran and that he's been keeping an eye on him from a distance, ever since Ferrin came aboard.  Anyway, they tell him about the word, and Rachel tells him that Malar told her that the second syllable is located in the lair of the Pythoness, and the Pythoness lies deep in the swamps, which are extremely dangerous to travel through.  Anyway, Jasher gathers up three uninjured horses, and they ride into the swamp.  Then they continue by foot.  Jasher uncovers a skiff that he has and they use it to start treading through the water.  Jasher tells Jason to watch out for green slime, which, if let on board, will eat a man until there is none left of him but his bones.  There are also a ton of poisonous snakes, mud vipers, etc.  They’re exceedingly nasty.  So anyway, let's save the whole Pythoness part for next time shall we?

That’s a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!

"CRIPPLE"

Ok, so I love sports.  I mean I absolutely love them. My favorite sport of all is basketball.  I love playing with the boys because I can show them that I'm not weak.  I'm not a girly girl in any respect.  But, being boys they can naturally be very mean to girls.  A lot of times they push me down, or trip me without knowing they did, or knowing they did, but being too rude to care.  A lot of the time, they make fun of me for falling down, which only makes me push myself harder.  A lot of the time, I'm too competitive for my own britches!!  Sometimes I push a little too hard and end up getting hurt, like today when I sprained my ankle by twisting it.  I limped in to the Quack's room to rest it so I wouldn't damage it more, and it started getting worse and worse.  I mean, come on!  I already sprained that ankle by playing ultimate Frisbee.  I didn't cry, but then again, when do I cry about receiving injuries?  I mean they don't hurt me at least.  So, the Quack gave me his "roley" chair so I could get to the front office to tell them what had happened.  Ms. Vicki took me upstairs to the nurse and she iced my ankle and put me in a wheel chair!  That was fun!  People were like "hey, I want to be in a wheel chair!!"  It was a little annoying though because everyone was like, "what happened?"  That got annoying, and then everyone was trying to help me.  That’s a no-no usually because I am extremely independent.  It was really fun though.  I popped wheelies!  My friends are really nice and caring to me.  One of them, Momo, who is very sarcastic and dorky kept calling me cripple every time he saw me.  That made me laugh because I know he meant it as a term of endearment. 

Well, that's a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Master Project!!!!

Okay, so every other Tuesday we have a master project day at my school, meaning we have a short schedule so we are able to work on master project for two hours.  My sponsor is the Barbour, and he is so dang brilliant!  I tell him my ideas once, and they're pretty complex, and he is able to get it immediately and draw a very well thought out picture.  He is able to think it out more in 5 minutes than I am in weeks.  His idea for this particular thing was different, but impressive.  Wait wait wait, hold up.  Maybe I should tell you what my master project is.  My master project is to design a prosthetic limb that is anatomically correct and hooks up to the brain.  It will have millions of robotic bionic microscopic nerve endings and nerves that will be programmed to sense pressure, heat, pain, all sensations.  It will be like spider web of wires as Mr. Barbour pointed out.  At the end of each finger there will be a hub, which is the single controller and modifier and maintainer of all those nerves.  Then all 5 of those hubs controlling the nerves in each finger will be connected to another hub, which will hold all of the arm nerves as well, and this hub connecting all the nerves together will be connected to the mother controller which will be connected to the brain.  Complex huh?  Yeah, I think so too, but that's why I want to do it.  I love it when I accomplish things well beyond my years of complexity.  It builds my character, my confidence, how I feel about myself, and in turn, how I treat others, and it helps me be grateful and appreciative that I have teachers that cheer me on, and believe in me, and genuinely care for me.  All the teachers in my school mean so much to me and are amazing, but there are a select few who mean an aweful lot to me; namely The Quack, Shimmy Dude, The Barbour, The Short Man, The Sewards Rat and the Piercing Spear.  Also, the Dragon Lady.  I didn't like her at first but now I LOVE HER!!!

Well, that's a wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!

Tim's Place

This fall break I went to a place called Tim's place with my mom.  This restaurant is unique in a very special way.  It’s owned and run by a kid with Down syndrome named Tim.  Tim is so ADORABLE!!!!  His spirit is so big and sweet.  He has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.  The philosophy there is special.  I remember we went in and his helpers opened the door for us.  You immediatlely feel right at home.  He shook our hand and walked us to our table.  The greatest thing is at the back of the menu there is his amazing story.  The motto he’s always gone by is:  "If you can dream it, you can do it."  This is so inspiring to me.  When you meet someone who has a sore trial in their life, yet they're accomplishing and doing things any "normal" person can do, it encourages you to work harder and believe in yourself.  It was so funny, we were eating and the music was playing, and he was jammin' out man!!!  It was awesome!!!  It was like he was at home, but of course; the sign in the front says "this is my happy place."  One more unique thing that no other menu has:  FREE TIM HUGS!!!!  This is the best part of Tim's place!!!  He gives the best hugs!! I don't even hug as well as he does, but then again, who does? When I hugged him, I felt his energy, his sweet calm loving happy energy which spreads like a wildfire.  It’s infectious.  My teacher Mr. G. used to say, the energy and mood that you exert affects others around you.  I mean in those few minutes we were there, I felt this special bond between him and me form.  He became my best friend.  I mean I'm almost crying.  That is how much this experience meant to me and how much he means to me.

Well, that's a wrap!!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

The Beyonders: White Lake, Betrayal, Jasher part 3

So we left off where Rachel learns Ferrin’s a spy. She tells Jason, and he gets really mad. It was all a set up!!! Ferrin admits it. He says that he is a spy sent to spy on them, but he is only an observer, so he is free to be their friend. He claims most of it was genuine. He made up a few lies in the beginning to gain their trust. He can't nor would he ever harm them, but he can understand completely why Jason thinks he's a jerk and openly says it. He tells them they should never trust him again. They tell him to switch sides, but he's never going to switch sides. He tells them to accept the feast, and live in paradise. If they do not, they will surely be killed, and he doesn't want that for his two "friends". He tells them while they are in Harthenham he will try to find a way to send them back home. After some thought, Rachel stands her ground and declines the opportunity. Jason follows her lead. They tell Ferrin to go and immediately, just as Ferrin said, they're in deep doo doo! well, I'm not going to talk about Jasher this time yet,
so
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

The Beyonders: White Lake, Betrayal, and Jasher

Ok, so when we left off, Rachel was jogging on white lake. As she jogs, it starts getting hotter and hotter as she gets closer to the island. It gets so hot so fast she starts to get exhausted almost immediately. She gets so weak that her legs feel like rubber and her whole body is on fire. She gets to the point where she tries to run but her legs won't go anymore, so she falls and she almost dies. The only thing that saves her is her quick thinking. She rolls and regains her footing. Once she reaches the mountain of rocks she collapses, unconscious. She finally awakes and finds an entrance in the mountain and walks in, and as she descends she realizes it gets cooler to her relief. She finds a head lying on the ground and it starts talking to her. It’s a displacer whose name is Asar, and all she sees of him are his head and one arm. She is startled at the sight and asks him what happened. He tells her how he betrayed Maldor and his body was put in a box except for his head and his arm. Those were smuggled out by his friend and his bodyguard, Rex. His friend escapes with his head and swims until he reaches shore. By that time he is absolutely exhausted. He brings Asar to the White Lake and leaves him there. He survives because his heart's still beating and as long as it does he remains alive. Also, he eats moss that his hand brings to him, and drinks water from his hand as well. He asks her to bring his head to the water so he can drink and she does so. He then tells her the 6th syllable of the word, which is DRA. However, the most important thing he tells her is that his friend who saved him was a displacer, and all displacers work for Maldor as his spies. Their only "real friend", Ferrin, is a displacer, so what can that mean??? NO!!!! HE'S A SPIE!!!!!

SUSPENSE BUILDS AGAIN!!!!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

The Beyonders: Betrayal, close encounter,Jasher

In the Beyonders so far, Jason goes to Court to get his title as Lord Jason of Caberton recognized and immediately after he challenges Copernum, the Chancellor, to a battle of wits.  Jason wins, where everybody else fails and takes his title as Chancellor.  Copernum tells him he will be a dead man by morning.  Because of this threat Jason sleeps under his fancy new bed, so if an attempt is made he will be safe.  He arranges pillows so that it looks like he's in the bed sleeping.  He keeps his Poniard ready to use.  Sure enough, there is someone in the room who tries to kill him.  Fooling the numerous body guards. Jason waits until he gets near and turns and he cuts severing the assassin's achilles tendon.  The man screams, and the body guard rushes in ready to protect him.  The assassin attacks him and stabs him with a knife that is covered in blood bane, a poison with no antidote. They take Jason to the Regent and they go inside the lore vault.  They talk for a while and then Jason is presented with a letter from Maldor to come attend the eternal feast, which is in Harthenham and is a place of paradise where people are offered to go who oppose Maldor.  If they're gone and out of the way, then the threat is gone.  It is truly paradise on Earth.  Jason shows genuine interest, and tells Dolan the Regent that he wants to go, and asks if he can have a carriage ready.  Dolan complies immediately and by morning Jason is at the Stumbling Stag where Ferrin is.  Soon after Rachel arrives on a horse.  Her escape was planned and aided by Nicolas himself.  Then they continue in the carriage together to a place called White Lake, where another piece of the word is hidden.  By this time Jason has decided that he does not want to accept the invitation to the eternal feast, but to continue in pursuit of the word.  They arrive in White Lake, and Jason dismisses the driver of the carriage and tells him this is their final destination.  The driver hesitantly leaves, and they go to investigate the lake.  Oddly enough, the lake is a creamy white color, and looks completely solid.  Yet when you place something inside, it sinks immediately, like suction.  Jason skips a rock across it, and it bounces nearly ten times before sinking.  Things stay afloat when pressure is applied, and it loosens when something is put gently into it.  It’s almost like running on concrete.  They need to cross the lake in order to get to the center island.  Jason experiments by hopping really hard on the lake, going some distance and then back again.  It’s really stinky and hot out on the lake.  Rachel demands that Jason keep his promise and let her take the risk.  This is much more risky because one bad step and she'll be sucked up into the lake and die.  But she insists because she's very stubborn and supports the argument by mentioning the fact that she is a conditioned runner. So she sets out on the lake.

SUSPENSE BUILDS!!!!!!
DINGBAT OUT!!

Something The Lord Made, One Of My Favorite Films!!!!

I recently discovered a film that has Alan Rickman in it called Something The Lord Made, and it is an absolutely incredible piece of work.  It is based on a true story about the first heart surgery ever performed by Doctor Alfred Blalock and Doctor Vivienne Thomas.  The events happen in a time period of about 15 years, from 1930 to 1945.  The story begins in Nashville, Tennessee, in a time when African Americans were treated less than whites in society, especially in the South.  Vivienne Thomas, an African American man who was previously working as a carpenter was offered a post as a janitor, that’s right, a janitor for Doctor Blalock.  Doctor Blalock is almost immediately impressed with his desire and interest in the human body and anatomy, so he allows him to start working with him in research.  At the time they met, Doctor Blalock was working on finding cures for shock.  In the movie, you really learn what kind of person Doctor Blalock was.  He was very committed to proving things wrong, and being the first one to accomplish the "impossible" at the time.  I love this man because he has many of the attributes and attitudes that I possess in myself.  If you ask any of my teachers, they will tell you I am always looking for big projects to do; projects that have never been done before.  I don't care how much research and work needs to be done, all I care about is the feeling I get when I accomplish something exceedingly hard, something beyond the complexity and intelligence of my years.  I seek exception.  It also helps too, perhaps, that the role of Doctor Blalock was played by an amazing Actor:  Alan Rickman.  If the character wasn't portrayed amazingly well, it wouldn't have done him justice.  Alan was nominated for Best Actor because of his outstanding performance, and now I see why.  For a Brit, he pulls of an impressive Southern Tennessee accent.  My favorite thing, or attribute the movie so expertly conveys is the unique, genuine and respectful relationship that the Doctor and Vivienne had.  He didn't accept jobs if they didn't accept his friend.  To Doctor Blalock, Vivienne was a regular person, no different from anyone else.  He deeply respected him, and considered him his superior in surgical performance.  In fact, when he was to perform the heart surgery, he personally paged Vivienne to help him and walk him through it because they wouldn’t page a black person.  That kind of trust between a black man and a white man was unseen in that time.  Anyway, the chemistry between Rickman and Mos Def (plays Vivienne Thomas) was irresistible.  The acting of all the cast was top-notch, and the story was incredible, absolutely incredible!!!! 

Well, that's all for now, 

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!

My friend Jake is so nice to me!!!  He's so thoughtful!!!!!  He knows how much I love Alan Rickman and he gave me a picture today that he drew of him.  I mean, he literally drew it for ME!!!!  I thought that was so cool.  I'm tickled pink!!!!!  It doesn't look exactly like him, but for 10 minutes (max) it's quite impressive.  Besides, it's the thought that counts.  I asked him to sign it, and he signed it in his famous signature.  I wish I could put it on here but for some stupid reason I don't have life frame so I can't take pictures!!!  But anyway, it was awesome!!!!  Here, I'll put the picture that he based his drawing on.

Dingbat out!  

Ferrin, Trensincourt, Nicolas, and Copernum- The Beyonders, Part 2

Jason and Rachel come to this town after travelling awhile and agree to eat there. However, when in the town they are immediately encountered with danger.  Jason is eating with Ferrin and Rachel and he suddenly feels a sharp pain on his side.  It turns out to be the two men from the rescue group for the Giddy Nine.  They’re holding a knife to him.  Ferrin sees this and starts attacking them.  He hits one of the men; I believe it was the tall skinny one, in the neck, on the Adam's apple, sending him crumpling to the ground, gasping for air in pain. Then the Constable of the town comes out.  Enraged, he says, "What is the meaning of all this?  What’s going on?"  So anyway Jason, Ferrin, Rachel, and the other man are taken to the dungeon/ jail.  Not long after that, word gets to the prisoners that the man Ferrin struck had died.  Ferrin said, "We have to get out of here. We will be executed."  Ferrin comes up with a plan to escape.  He is in a cell with Jason, Rachel is in a cell by herself, and so is the other man.  Ferrin tells Jason to act as if he is asleep, and start moaning, as if he is having a nightmare.  This is to attract the guard to him.  Once outside the cell, Ferrin will knock him out.  It works, and they get the guard inside the cell.  Then Ferrin pulls his hand off and throws it at the wall to where the keys hang.  He finally grabs them after a couple tries, and unlocks the door of their and Rachel's cell.  They take the weapons off the knocked out guard and open the door.  There is another guard outside and they lock him in the cell and knock him out. 

They then go and steal some horses and ride out.  Jason had not really ridden before, so it was jarring when the horse started galloping and cantering because he didn't know how to place his body.  After a while he finally got the hang of it.  So they ride for a while and then start walking until they get to Trensincourt. Ferrin is not favored in Trensincourt, so he can't go in because it's a rough city, but he tells them he will wait for two weeks at an Inn called the "something" Stag (I can't remember exactly).  He gives them a gold pellet and a silver pellet that were not stolen because they were in his shoe, and they head off to Trensincourt.  Once there, they immediately begin inquiring for Nicolas, and this little boy escorts them to where he lives which is in an alley.  They come to the door and knock, and it is answered by a woman that looks like one of those biker chicks:  really buff, and hard core.  Anyway, she doesn't let them in at first, even though Jason shows her the ring on his finger, and mentions Galloran.  She says he's ill, and cannot be disturbed.  She slams the door.  Jason knocks again, and she answers it this time with a crossbow in her hand.  She talks with Nicolas and lets them in. They find Nicolas to be a man with no legs in a harness.  He’s old and worn.  They talk for a while, and Nicolas tells him he needs to be careful in Trensincourt.  They discuss the word, and where pieces of it can be found.  Nicolas says one syllable can be found in the Lorevault, but only the Chancellor and Regent are allowed in..........

There's more I have to say, but for next time! Hehehehe!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!