War Horse Review

So if you don't know of what I'm talking about, here is the War Horse trailer:

So overall, I would say that this is a good movie. It's definitely more of a family film than a blockbuster or date movie (unless your significant other really likes horses- like my girlfriend). Directed by Steven Spielberg and soundtrack by John Williams (definitely a good reason to go see it!).

The character stories in this movie were amazing- you really cared about the people. Unfortunately, at least for me, is where the problem lies. The movie makes you care about the people, and not so much about the horse...and it's a movie about a horse. I'm not totally uncaring though, as there's definitely one scene that made me cringe and feel bad for Joey (won't spoil the details for those of you who have not seen it yet), but I feel like I cared more about Emilie, the German brothers (Gunther and Friedrich were their names, I believe), or the Narracott family, but not Joey.

I feel like in a way, this movie is like Pearl Harbor (the 2001 movie with Ben Affleck). By that I mean that they tried to combine two movie genres that don't usually work well together (not all the time, there are some that did work out). Pearl Harbor was a war movie that had a romance plot shoved in, and War Horse is a war movie that had what I call a "horse movie" plot shoved in.

Even though the entire experience wasn't all that enjoyable (an older lady tripped and fell on top of me walking up the steps of the theater, spilling a full soda onto my brand new argyle sweater I had just gotten for Christmas earlier that day), it was still a good movie despite my personal preferences. I would  definitely recommend you go see it.

I would rate it 4 stars out of 5

And if you want to read a real movie review blog, check out a blog written by a friend of mine here: Puzzle Noggin Paradoxes

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer

Further Fantasy Reading

This was originally going to be the "Advanced" guide to fantasy, but I feel like people wouldn't necessarily agree with my choices. The great thing is that people all read at different levels. I read The Lord of the Rings when I was in junior high, but someone else could have read it earlier, or later. This list is for either books with more mature content or ones I have left out in my other lists (see here: Beginner's Guide to Fantasy & Intermediate Guide to Fantasy). Note that I have not read all of the books on this list, nor necessarily enjoyed them myself (I hated Jonathan Strange), but they come highly recommended by lots of other people. I hope you enjoy these books if you ever get the opportunity to! These are in no particular order.


The Silmarillion- J.R.R. Tolkien

Wizard's First Rule- Terry Goodkind

The Eye of the World- Robert Jordan

A Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin

Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kay

Gardens of the Moon- Steven Erikson

Mistborn- Brandon Sanderson

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell- Susanna Clarke

The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

Sabriel- Garth Nix

The Dragonborn Comes by Malukah

Dinkleberg!

Save Community!

Twilight Moms...*shudder*

Yeah... Me Too.

Story of my Life

Hunger Games Trailer

Book Art

This is awesome!! Would be even better if the book was the Sturlinga Saga, Prose Edda, or Beowulf!

e.e. cummings

here are some of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings. 


i love you much(most beautiful darling) more than anyone on the earth and i like you better than everything in the sky -sunlight and singing welcome your coming although winter may be everywhere with such a silence and such a darkness noone can quite begin to guess (except my life)the true time of year- and if what calls itself a world should have the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such sunlight as will leap higher than high through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each nearness)everyone certainly would(my most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love

yes is a pleasant country:
if's wintry
(my lovely)
let's open the year

both is the very weather
(not either)
my treasure,
when violets appear

love is a deeper season
than reason;
my sweet one
(and april's where we're)

this is the garden:colours come and go, 
              frail azures fluttering from night's outer wing 
              strong silent greens silently lingering, 
              absolute lights like baths of golden snow. 
              This is the garden:pursed lips do blow 
              upon cool flutes within wide glooms,and sing 
              (of harps celestial to the quivering string) 
              invisible faces hauntingly and slow. 

              This is the garden.   Time shall surely reap 
              and on Death's blade lie many a flower curled, 
              in other lands where other songs be sung; 
              yet stand They here enraptured,as among 
              the slow deep trees perpetual of sleep 
              some silver-fingered fountain steals the world.

to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best, 

night and day, to make you everybody else

means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight;

and never stop fighting

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

I want to play as a Turian Soldier or an Asari Vanguard! What about you?

Skyrim Tour

If you're not excited for this game, then something's definitely wrong with you!

Exclusive Skyrim Preview

This Kid Is Freaking Brilliant!

Khajiit Armorer

Skyrim Live-Action Trailer

Elder Scrolls Q&A #4

The final countd- ...I mean, questionnaire! :)

76. Have you found the two hidden Lord of the Rings references yet?

Yup

77. Do you blog about The Elder Scrolls?

Uhhh...duh

78. Have you ever had contact with someone from the Elder Scrolls team?

No, but I wish

79. Complete the sentence: Todd Howard is …?

A friggin' genius

80. Why you actually started playing The Elder Scrolls.

It looked cool

81. Complete the sentence: TES would be nothing without …?

Complete customization

82. What did you do with that map of Cyrodiil that was included in the package?

Put it up on my wall

83. Do you use UESPWiki?

Every once & a while

84. Would it be cool if you could connect Skyrim with Oblivion so you could just go from Cyrodiil to Skyrim and take all your items with you?

Heck yeah!

85. Scariest moment.

Umm, none. TES wasn't that scary to me. If you want to be scared, go play Bioshock

86. Your “opinion” on TES newbies? Would you help them?

Help them, and make sure they make less stupid decisions

87. Should there be something like TESOnline?

Eh, I don't know. MMO's tend to ruin things for me

88. Frostcrag Spire, Battlehorn Castle, the Thieves Den or Deepscorn Hollow?

Depends on the character...Mage= Frostcrag, Fighter= Battlehorn, Thief= Thieves Den, & Assassin= Deepscorn

89. Am I the only one who always wondered why it’s totally okay for your character to run around in the Jerall mountains without any clothes?

Probably

90. How did you feel when you heard TES V will take place in Skyrim?

I was really really excited! I was hoping for either Skyrim or Valenwood.

93. Does the Grey Fox exist? Or the Thieves Guild? ;)

Yes

94. Character(s) in TES you’d marry?

I have no idea, I usually don't think about that kind of thing when I play

95. Are you the only one of your friends who plays The Elder Scrolls?

I know only of two other people who play it. Others might, but they don't talk about it.

An Intermediate Guide to Fantasy

Here's another list of fantasy novels, but ones I feel would be better suited for advanced junior high or high school students (and older, of course).




Pawn of Prophecy- David Eddings

The Fellowship of the Ring- J.R.R. Tolkien

First King of Shannara- Terry Brooks

Homeland- R.A. Salvatore

Dragonflight- Anne McCaffrey

Talon of the Silver Hawk- Raymond E. Feist

The Legend of Huma- Richard A. Knaak

Shapechanger's Song- Jennifer Roberson

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone- J.K. Rowling

Elder Scrolls Q&A #3

Third time's a charm! :)

51. Should there be children in TES?

Yes, it feels weird/less realistic without people of all ages

52. Favorite add-on.

Probably Frostcrag Spire

53. Favorite quote.

 "I heard a rumor that you're an idiot, there any truth to that?" -Owyn 

54. Are you afraid of zombies?

Nope

55. Were you happy when Uriel Septim got killed?

Didn't really care

56. Do you listen to other music while playing TES?

No

57. Did you need help with some quests?

Not that I remember...

58. Complete the sentence: Sheogorath is …?

A Hoopy Frood

59. If you could mix TES with any other game series, it would be …?

Jokingly? Minecraft ...seriously? probably Dragon Age

60. Did you install any mods?

Heck yeah! Installed Adonnay's Elven Weaponry, Complete Armamentarium, Arena Alive, Clocks of Cyrodiil, Better Benirus Manor, & Dall's Skyrim Nords among others.

61. Complete the sentence: I would never enter a dungeon without …?

A source of light (Torch, Light Spell, or NightEye)

62. Have you ever been to Arkved’s Tower? If yes, what do you think of it?

Passed by it, never went inside though

63. Most beautiful place.

Mania at night, Dive Rock (when it's not foggy), and the waterfalls west of Cheydinhal

64. Complete the sentence: If I could live in any NPC’s house, I’d choose …?

I don't know, I'm fine with the ones the player gets to own like Benirus Manor, Frostcrag Spire, & Battlehorn Castle

65. Most useful spell.

Open Hard Lock, Beast of Burden, Immolating Blast, Daylight, & Cloak

66. Have you ever played Arena or Daggerfall?

Nope

67. Would you like to?

Maybe, I don't know

68. Do you actually count the days till 11-11-11?

No...I'm really excited for the game, but that's a bit overboard

69. A funny easter-egg or reference.

There's a reference to Frodo Baggins/Lord of the Rings in the Macabre Manifest, which is apart of the quest "Unfriendly Competition"

70. Weirdest bug.

Out of this world death physics/siezures

71. Show your TES fan art.

Don't have any

72. Most expensive item you own.

My contralto clarinet

73. Item you’d like to own but can’t have.

A vehicle

74. Complete the sentence: Cheating …?

Fair game if you have the PC version

75. Do you actually pray?

In real life, yes

A Beginner's Guide to Fantasy

I know that I've put up a lot of video game oriented stuff lately, so in order to get back to the BOOK part of The Book Wyrm, I thought I'd do a list of recommendations of fantasy books. This is for those of you who are new to fantasy and aren't really sure where to start. All of these books are fantastic, but are really targeted to young adult. That doesn't mean older people can't enjoy them though! I'm not going to rank them, since the quality of a book is really everyone's personal opinion. You might think some of these books suck, and you're entitled to have that view. Anyway, here are my recommendations:

The Hobbit- J.R.R. Tolkien

Eragon- Christopher Paolini

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis

Redwall- Brian Jacques

The Ruins of Gorlan- John Flanagan

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

The Lightning Thief- Rick Riordan

The Golden Compass- Philip Pullman

The Furies of Calderon- Jim Butcher

Artemis Fowl- Eoin Colfer

Variations on A Starry Night

 

Elder Scrolls Q&A Part 2

Part Deux!

26. Are you a vampire?

Nope

27. Your views on Necromancy.

Fun enemies to fight, but not as a PC (Player Character) option

28. Alchemy – cool or useless?

As of now, kind of useless, since all you can do is make potions, but it's a cool idea

29. Do you like the game’s soundtrack?

Heck yes!

30. Nirn or Oblivion?

Not sure I understand the question, so uhhhh...Oblivion?

31. Highest level you’ve ever reached?

30

32. Funniest moment.

Sheogorath's Daedra quest

33. Spells or weapons?

Depends on the character. Most of the time I choose weapons though

34. Scariest dungeon.

None of them...stupid leveled enemies system.

35. Your reaction when you get killed.

Dang it! I haven't saved for at least an hour, and now I have to do all that crap over again!

36. Your in-game name(s).

Ragnar Thorolf (Nord), Tarathiel Duurwen (Wood Elf), Lamothiel Naurwen (Dark Elf), Rhajj Stormcrow (Khajiit), & Krom gro-Nargg (Orc)

37. TES3 or 4?

TES4. They're both good, I just like 4 a little better

38. If you could change something about TES, you would …?

Mounted combat, no leveled enemies/dungeons, more variety in caves/dungeons, & weapon crafting

39. Do you know any Ayleid language?

Nope

40. Are you excited for the dragons in Skyrim?

YES!

41. Favorite shop.

Not including mods, probably The Best Defense

42. Should there be a TES movie?

It would be a cool idea, but it would end up getting ruined (*cough*like dungeon siege*cough*)

43. Did you ride the unicorn?

No

44. Worst enemy / monster?

Mud Crabs= least intimidating "monster" ever

45. Favorite weapon.

It depends on the character, but I usually tend to gravitate to claymores and bows

46. Least favorite kind(s) of weapons.

Daggers

47. What do you do when you get bored?

Dark Brotherhood quests

48. Do you own any TES merch?

Not that I know of, other than the games

49. Hardest quest.

Any quest where you have to make sure X stays alive, and X inevitably bull rushes into combat and gets themselves killed

50. What do you think about marriage in Tamriel?

Cool idea

Memories From Childhood, Part VI

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)

I remember watching this at a friends house (before I'd seen anything else by Terry Gilliam) and really enjoying it. It hada lot of famous actors for being a relatively unnoticed film, such as John Neville , Robin Williams, Uma Thurman, Eric Idle, Oliver Reed, & Johnathan Pryce. It was a very nice mix of fantasy, history (a very small part), and comedy. Fun for children and adults (at least the ones that can catch the innuendos, etc.). Definitely a recommended film!

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001)

This is one of my favorite Zelda games, other than Ocarina of Time and Link's Awakening. Paired with Oracle of Ages...not sure if they had been planning this for a while, or if they were following GameFreak's model with the Pokemon games. I think they pulled it off, since my brother and best friends got different versions and played together. Spent many an hour playing this, and enjoyed every minute of it. Still not as good as Link's Awakening, but most handheld versions aren't- especially with the direction they're going now with games like Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks. 

Transformers: Beast Wars (1996-1999)

Didn't watch this show very much, but it sticks in my memory as one of the few iterations of Transformers I actually like (other than Michael Bay's first Transformers movie). I'm pretty sure the reason why I liked it was because they transformed into animals instead of lame things like trucks and such. Remember that the voice acting wasn't that great...then again, most animated kid's shows don't have very good voice acting (with some exceptions... like Scooby Doo & Spongebob).

The Redwall series- Brian Jacques

I really love this book series. One of the best fantasy children's series out there. Period. It's too bad that Brian Jacques passed away earlier this year. Most of my favorite authors are dead now (J.R.R.Tolkien, Michael Crichton, Brian Jacques, Robert Jordan, & C.S. Lewis)... the only ones left are Terry Goodkind, R.A. Salvatore, & Anne McCaffrey! At this point, I've read all but 4 of them (Eulalia!, Doomwyte, The Sable Queen, & The Rogue Crew), and there hasn't been one yet that I haven't liked. There are definitely ones I prefer over others, but all of them are good. I really like Lord Brocktree, Rakkety Tam, Salamandastron, High Rhulain, and The Pearls of Lutra (Badgers and Otters are my favorites). My all-time favorite would have to be Lord Brocktree though. You have to let your kids read these books! Just be prepared for them to be hungry after reading them-  Jacques goes all-out when describing meals and feasts! :)

Link's Rings

Link's Rings from "The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages"- by Brother Brain

Elder Scrolls Q&A Part 1

So to keep myself from going insane until The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim comes out, I thought I'd answer a few questions about the games. Haven't really done anything on my blog in a while anyway. Enjoy! ...or not. I decided that instead of posting 10 posts of 10 questions each, I'd just post 4 with 25 questions each. To make it a little easier to read, I put all of my answers in red.

1. First time you played an Elder Scrolls game.

Around 2000 or 2001 Had never heard of the game before, but I'm glad I picked it up.

2. When you got into The Elder Scrolls.

Junior High, although it might have been 6th grade

3. First Elder Scrolls game you knew.

Morrowind

4. Your favorite Elder Scrolls game.

Oblivion

5. Current amount of saves.

5 on the PC version and 4 on the Xbox360

6. Favorite platform to play The Elder Scrolls on.

PC

7. Favorite race.

Nord

8. Least favorite race. (racism?)

Imperials. Not because of "racism", but because they're useless in terms of race abilities- at least for the way I play

9. First skill you became a Master in.

Blade

10. Skill you don’t get at all.

Athletics

11. Favorite school of Magic.

Destruction, hands down.

12. Least favorite school of Magic.

Conjuration...never caught my interest. Hopefully Skyrim will change that.

13. What you do first after starting a new game.

Get a full set of armor and a better weapon. In Oblivion, I always explore Vilverin first.

14. Favorite province.

Bruma...or Cheydinhal. Can't decide.

15. Where should The Elder Scrolls VI take place?

Elsweyr or Valenwood!! High Rock would be interesting plot-wise as well...hmmm

16. Last time you’ve played an Elder Scrolls game.

Yesterday night :)

17. Favorite city.

Bruma

18. Least favorite city.

Bravil

19. Complete the sentence: If I could have a pet, it would be …?

A wolf or mountain lion

20. Favorite Daedric Prince.

Sheogorath. I mean, come on, who doesn't like cheese?

21. Favorite Daedra quest.

In terms of loot, Nocturnal or Clavicus Vile, but for enjoyment of quest, probably Sheogorath or Mephala
22. Favorite NPC.
Baurus and Gogron gro-Bolmog
23. Least favorite NPC.
Adoring Fan and Glarthir
24. Worst Oblivion Gate.
Any with the multiple tower gates
25. Favorite guild / brotherhood.
Dark Brotherhood

How to React When...

Not All Men

Memories From Childhood, Part V

The Princess Bride (1987)

This movie is (apart from Monty Python & the Holy Grail) one of the most quoted/quotable movies of all time. I love this movie, and NO it's not a chick flick! There's something for both men and women, so everyone enjoys it. Bought the book as well, and it was just as good as the movie, if not better. Humor was very close to Douglas Adams' in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". You need to see this movie.

..."Anybody want a peanut?"  =D

Harvest Moon GB (1997)

You might think that this game is stupid or girly, but hey, I enjoyed it. So there. Harvest Moon is a farm sim game that kicks the pants off of FarmVille. Fun game to dink around on, but not one I would play for long periods of time. Honestly, it's better for younger kids anyway.

Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-1998)

I learned a lot from this show. I wish it was still on the air, but alas, it is not. I still get the seasons song stuck in my head from time to time. Sunrise, sunset...

The Swiss Family Robinson- Johann David Wyss

I read this book in junior high, I believe. Really liked it- it's one of my favorite Classics. Yeah, it's not technically a classic, but I consider it as one. The Disney live-action movie wasn't that great, but I enjoyed both as a kid. Definitely a recommended read.