Memories From Childhood, Part IV

Warriors of Virtue- 1997

While I realize that this movie is incredibly bad, at this age (I was 9 at the time), your sense of taste and what's "awesome!" aren't fully developed. This movie is basically about a kid who gets transported to this fantasy land and fights off an 'evil' warlord with five kangaroos who can use kung fu. I still like this movie for its nostalgia factor, but that's about it. The only famous person (to my knowledge) in this movie- not that it matters- is Angus Macfadyen. Doesn't sound familiar? Well, maybe you'd remember him as Robert the Bruce in Braveheart. They made a sequel to this movie (Warriors of Virtue: Return to Tao) in 2005, which was even worse.

Golden Sun- 2001

I LOVE this game! Even though it was a handheld title, it is one of my favorite (true) RPG games. This game, and even it's sequels, were amazing! Though I don't particularly care for turn-based combat, it didn't really get all that repetitive like most turn-based games are. If you haven't played it, go do so! No excuses, they have emulators for it!

Doug- 1991-1994

Doug was the a cool show at the time, and for the most part still is, though it's not on TV anymore (I think). And yes, the air dates posted above are not incorrect, for Doug only aired on Nickolodeon for 4 years, then Disney bought it and ruined the show.

Calvin & Hobbes- Bill Watterson

Calvin & Hobbes is by far my favorite comic of all time. Now-a-days I read a few web comics (Order of the Stick, Looking For Group, & Multiplex to name a few), but Calvin & Hobbes has always been and always be my #1. It's funny, it's intelligent, and people of all ages can connect to it at one level or another. Kids like Calvin; adults can relate to Calvin's parents or the babysitter; & smart-alecs like myself like Hobbes. If you haven't read any of Calvin & Hobbes, I really sincerely suggest that you do.

Favorite Literary Characters

So, my plan was to make a top 10 list of my favorite characters from books that I have read. Either chalking it up to laziness or indecisiveness, I'll just post them all in no particular order.

• Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli son of Gloin, and Peregrin Took: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien

These are my favorite characters from The Lord of the Rings. While I do admit that my opinion of these three men is slightly influenced by the movies, I already liked them before the movies even came out. I like Legolas and Gimli for their sheer awesomeness and cool fight scenes together. I like Pippin for his comedic relief, of course.

• Achilles: The Iliad, Homer

Achilles is one of the first and best bad-asses around in literature and mythology. Although I didn't particularly care for his cockiness, he technically had the right and could back it up. He was also pretty whiney about Briseis, but I think Homer was trying to convey great emotion and just missed the mark a bit. I still like his character though. Odysseus was a close second after Achilles.

• Uhtred of Bebbanburg: The Saxon series, Bernard Cornwell

I really like this book series, mainly because of the time period, but Cornwell puts a ton of great content in there too. I like Uhtred because he is a very realistic character. He's not just the invincible hero, he's not infallible, he makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences.

• Thomas of Hookton- Grail Quest trilogy, Bernard Cornwell

I like Thomas for pretty much the same reasons as I do Uhtred. I just like seeing historical characters (whether real or made up) being portrayed in realistic ways...well, as realistically as possible- we only know so much about history.

• Marvin: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Marvin is a freaking hilarious character. I mean come on, he's a depressed robot! I also love the fact that his character in the movie was voiced by Alan Rickman.

• Zeddicus "Zed" Zu'l Zorander: The Sword of Truth series, Terry Goodkind

I like Zed as a character because he is so interesting and well-rounded. You don't see a whole lot of older characters like this much anymore, it seems. Zed is powerful and wise, but is also funny and is a child at heart, and isn't too old to get some lovin'. I honestly like Zed more than I do the main characters of this series, Kahlan and Richard.

• Perrin Aybara and Matrim Cauthon: The Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan (RIP) was very very good at crafting wonderful characters. All of them are interesting, but overall, I like Perrin and Mat the most. I feel like I connect the most with Perrin, and the wolf parts of the stories are cool. Mat is one of the very few male characters who has the cahones to stand up to the very strong female characters in this series, especially Nynaeve. I also like the plot developments that are added to his character in later books quite a bit (which I won't spoil for you).

• Calvin and Hobbes: Revenge of the Baby-Sat (etc.), Bill Watterson

These two are pretty much my favorite duo ever. I love the Calvin and Hobbes comics so much. I like Calvin's high vocabulary for only being in 1st grade, and the pranks Hobbes pulls on Calvin. Even though they originally appeared in the Sunday newspaper and not in a graphic novel, Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic series of all time.