Thursday, September 25th--Bad Mistake

At this point in time, there is only one huge mistake I can think of, and I really, really, really, really, really, don't want to talk about it. Oh, you wanted to hear about it? Well, too bad, because my lips are sealed. This is one story that none of you will never, ever know. So stop asking.
If I must write about a mistake, for the sake of my grade, then I must think of something a little more mediocre. I've made many mistakes in my lifetime, but for some reason my mind is blank right now. I have more important things on my mind right now, and I suppose, now that I think about it, I could turn this into a very large, very possible mistake.
My Grandpa, my super awesome grandpa, has been very sick lately and has developed a tumor on the front of his brain. For a while, it wasn't that big of a deal, as tumors go. He couldn't taste or smell, but besides that, he was doing pretty well. Now, with a bad case of Shingles in his eye and ear (meaning he can't read or hear very well), the tumor appears to be causing him immense amounts of pain. Right now as I'm writing this, we don't know for sure what is wrong, and we don't know how serious this is.
The point I'm trying to make is that he may be gone soon, and I will never be able to speak to him again. The mistake that I might have made is that I always took our time for granted, because he has been fairly healthy for as long as I can remember. For the last few times that I've seen him, I was too busy or involved with other problems of my own to really talk to him, and that is one of the worst things I have done. My grandpa is the one of the greatest and the wisest man I have ever known. There are many, many things that I wish I could talk to him about, and he could always make me laugh or cheer me up, because his mind is as sharp as a tack. Now, with the current circumstances, I may have lost my chance forever. And if he doesn't get better, this is one mistake I can never fix.
Moral of the story: if you still have your grandparents, spend as much time with them as you can. They will show you much about the world and about yourself, and its always worth your time to listen to them.

Wednesday, September 24th--Enduring Quality

To be frank, I have no idea what my enduring quality is. These are the kind of things that need to be asked to other people, because I will always be biased in my favor. But if I were to guess, I would say that my most lovable quality is the ability to make people laugh. Usually, I just open my mouth and I say something, and people start to laugh. Whether they're laughing at me or with me I'm not sure, but the point is I amuse people by doing practically nothing at all. I guess I have the gift to cheer anyone up, especially if they're having a bad day, or if we're all going through some tough times together. Now that I think about it, I'll do almost anything, no matter how stupid it makes me look, if it makes a sad person laugh, and I do something like this on a regular basis. If it makes them smile, then that's all that matters.

Tuesday, September 23rd--Strange Fruit

The Ranacanda Fruit is said to only grow high up the slopes of the Fret Mountains in the lands of Aton. These mountains, with their summits reaching far into the clouds, are not only located in Aton, but also across the Northern Sea where the Wild Folk live. Those tribes are the only ones who have access to this legendary fruit, and no one from our side of the sea has set eyes on one in over a hundred years.
The Ranacanda Fruit is said to look like a pink and blooming flower, which turns green when it ripens. It is said to be softer than silk, and the very skin of this fruit is almost worth its weight in gold. Some even say the Wild Folk have made fine clothes from the skin, but they are very reluctant to sell these goods across the sea. This skin is not edible; what's inside is what can be eaten.
Once the fruit has been sliced open, it releases the scents of all the finest things in this world. Some even say that it changes from person to person, depending on their preference. I would imagine that I would smell a pine woods in mid-winter, or the smell of the Western Sea. It is easy to tell when the fruit is ready to eat, for the inside will be as white as snow. If there are any black dots, then it is not ready, and some believe that it would be harmful to consume.
The inside is hard and smooth, and must be pried out with a specially built knife, a technique that was lost to our people eons ago. Once the interior is removed from the skin, you must suck on it like a candy, for it would break your teeth if you tried to bite down on it. You may say that sucking on a fruit would be a rather odd experience, but legend says that within seconds of putting it in your mouth, the fruit dissolves with a very sharp taste, almost like licking a chunk of ice from a frozen pond. It does not have the best of after-tastes, but some property of the fruit completely restores the energy of whoever eats it. It is said that you could be an inch from death, or about to collapse from complete exhaustion, and the Ranacanda Fruit would fill their body and soul with renewal. This is why it is prized above all other fruits, and the most valuable item to even come from beyond the North Sea.

Wednesday, September 17th-Alphabet Soup

A great castle stood upon the hill, mighty and majestic.
Built to withstand any attack, it was the center of power in the Mirate Kingdom
Crown of the North, the High Lord Elsinore, resided in this powerful fortress.
Death awaited all enemies of the Mirate Kingdom, for the castle could not be broken.
Everything changed one winter, when the castle stood out as an island of stone among a sea of snow.
Five kings of the south had united against the tyranny of the Crown of the North.
Gathering their combined armies, they marched to the Mirate Kingdom to declare their freedom. High Lord Elsinore saw his enemies coming, marching forward from all sides to surround his castle.
Instantly, the tyrant ordered his own army to defend his castle, but he was confident in his victory.
Just because the armies of five nation were against him did not mean his walls would fall down.
Knives, swords, axes, and all manners of weapons were raised into the air as the five armies chanted.
Loud and clear, they cried, "Death to the Crown of the North! Down with the Mirate Kingdom!"
Most of the defenders laughed, believing that they were safe behind the great walls of the castle.
None of them, not even High Lord Elsinore, expected the five armies to attack so fast.
Over the walls came countless grappling hooks, and the southern host began to climb upwards.
Placing his bowmen at the top of the walls, Elsinore ordered them to fire upon the attackers.
Quiver after quiver was fired into the attackers, but the united armies kept advancing.
Running low on arrows, the bowmen retreated just as the attackers reached the top of the wall.
Surely it was impossible! Enemy soldiers had reached the top of the walls! The castle was in danger!
The defenders who remained tried to fight, but they were heavily outnumbered by the five armies.
Undermining the castle's huge gates, the southern host poured into the snowy courtyard.
Veterans from the south cut through the pike men behind the gate, leaving only the keep left to take.
Worried greatly, the High Lord Elsinore tried to escape by a secret entrance, but was quickly caught.
Xis times the High Lord Elsinore was bound in chains and cast into the dungeons.
Yelling their victory to the sky, the armies conquered the castle that was thought to be unbreakable.
Zeal it was that overthrew the tyranny of the Crown of the North, bringing freedom to all lands that were once under the cruelty of the Mirate Kingdom.

Tuesday, September 16th- The Spoon's Perspective

I will never forget that day, no sir. It seems like so long ago, but also just yesterday at the same time. Perhaps it is because the horrors I went through that day I go through on a regular basis. But the first time is always the worst.
The Masters came and bought me and my fellow brethren from our city, known as Sears. We were brand new and shiny, ready to serve, as all our kind are called to do. We were taken to the home of our Masters, and we were separated by race. The forks were placed in one place, and the knives in the other. To my relief, I was placed with other spoons like me. Forks are okay to hang out with, but knives can be vicious and violent, and they have a nasty habit of slicing other folk. Anyway, I was with my own kind in the drawer, and we could here the forks talking the next container over, and the knives dueling in the next. I talked and made a few friends that day. I thought that this new life wasn't too bad; all we had to do was sit in a drawer all day. How wrong I was.
I few hours later, the drawer opened, and one of the Masters reached in and suddenly picked me and several others up. I closed my eyes as I was lifted high in the air; it was easily the most terrifying point in my life up to that point. I was one of the lucky ones, however, as one of the forks was dropped to the floor, a whole four feet down. To this day, I'm not sure if he made it.
What happened next was even worse. The Masters used us to shovel their food into their disgusting mouths! That experience was beyond describing, it was so horrible. The stench, and careless dropping on the table, truly awful. It rattled my brain, and I dearly wished to be back in the drawer, or even back at Sears. After the meal was finished, I thought that the Masters would put me back in the drawer, but a fork who had been with this family for a long time told me to brace myself, for we would have to be washed first. I didn't really see a fault in that. I felt filthy, and I'm sure I reeked. A bath is just what I needed. The Masters dropped all of the brethren they took out of the drawer in a basket on the inside of  a special, silver cabinet. We were all crammed together in there, especially when all the fat plates and glasses were added. One of the Masters poured some white stuff in the door, and then they closed it, placing us all in darkness.
As soon as the door was closed, all of us new ones cried out in terror, and I'm not ashamed to say that I was one of them. To make matters worse, water came flying from everywhere, getting in my eyes and mouth. Soap came next, blinding me and getting caught in my throat. I thought I was going to drown in this watery hell, but everything got even worse. Everyone was crying and choking, and I couldn't even see my friends in front of me. I was sure that everyone was going to die. Maybe one of us had angered the Masters in some way, and we were all to suffer? What had I done to deserve this? This was not a bath: it was torture.
Another hour later, the door opened again, and I think everyone was too tired or knocked out to care. We were all placed back in the drawers, and everyone who hadn't already fainted fell into an uneasy sleep. This was my new life, and I realized that then. The life of a spoon is not all fun and games. I hope the Masters appreciate our daily sacrifice.

Monday, September 15th-What the deuce?



Let's say that this woman in the front is Marie, and she's the fairest lady in all the village. She's so popular, in fact, that she has her own personal band that follows her around wherever she goes. There's a trained and posh goat who plays the cello, and then there is little boy blue who isn't playing a trumpet, but a clarinet looking thing. There's also a chicken, but everyone knows that chickens don't play instruments, so it's just there to sing. So Marie here walks around town after nightfall, because she's so fair that she actually glows. The chicken sings her praises and the goat and little boy blue play in the background. Of course, since Marie is the most attractive lady in the village, most of the men are after her. They send her flowers, friendly letters, and some have even managed to take her on picnics to the lake. No one, however, was so determined to win her hand than Tim. This guy stalked her wherever she went, sometimes jumping out of alleys and hay bales just to sniff her hair and creepily grab her. I think that's what he's supposed to be doing. Of course, this behavior frightened Marie, and she prayed to the great Fish God, who flied around on a big, red kite ringing a bell--signals his oncoming wrath--to come and save her. So, just when Tim is up to his usual stunts, the Fish God is swooping down from the sky to smite him down, while the private band plays endlessly in the background. I guess this is when Marc Chagall stumbles upon everyone, and he saw an opportunity to paint and he took it. Either he walked around the corner at the exact right time to witness the creepiness of Tim and the wrath of the Fish God, or Chagall was really high on LSD when he painted this thing. Take your pick.

Tuesday, September 9th-Film review

The movie that I will be discussing today is Hugo, and don't expect much because it was really pathetic. And this is coming from someone who only saw the trailer years ago and is currently looking at a movie poster. Basically, from what I understand it, this little kid, I would imagine that is name is Hugo, loses his dad who was some technological genius or something. Well, the dad leaves his kid some key thing that goes to one of his inventions, and I think it's some kind of robot or something, so I guess that's pretty scientific, since it's set in like 1900. The dad though doesn't tell his son where to find the robot, or at least not directly, so he has to go on some quest or something to find it. And from looking at the poster, I'm going to guess that it is in the big clock tower that the kid is hanging from. Why he is hanging from the thing, I can't imagine. There's probably some bad guy who's after the key who put him there; maybe it's the station master who's running after Hugo and some girl for like half of the whole movie trailer. But station masters don't make good villains, but then again, I think that this is supposed to be a kids movie. But yeah, Hugo meets some girl along the way, and I guess there is supposed to be some little kid love story, because they're like ten or something. They run away from the station master guy at the train station a bunch, so I guess they go on together to find this robot thing in the clock tower. Oh, so the station master dude is on the poster along with the two kids, so I guess he is the bad guy. In short, it's this little kid who is looking for his dad's robot that's hiding in a big clock tower that requires this key thing, and he meets up with this girl and they run around a train station and make the station guy all mad at them, so he continues to chase after these kids for no reason. I think it is also safe to assume that they find the robot thing in the end. This may or may not be the plot of this movie at all, and since I am not a movie critique whatsoever and haven't even seen the film, you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Wait, this is the wrong Hugo. I would imagine that the movie would have been better if they cast this guy.

See? There's the two kids, the clock tower, and the station master, so he's got to be the bad guy. I'm assuming that the old dude is Hugo's dad or something, because what other purpose would he have in this movie?

Monday, September 8th-America, Fairyville?

Isabelle darted through the trees; she was a single glowing speck that flashed by in a blur. She was off to the Garden; one of the last secret hideouts of the fairy-folk in the Western World.  She had to be quick, and she had to be careful; humans were steadily developing the woods around the Garden, and it would not be long until the safe-haven itself was breached. Isabelle tried her best not to think about the future in that aspect.
When she was young, there were very few humans in these mountains. Those that did openly knew about the existence of fairies, and both peoples had a healthy respect for each other. The humans would hunt and live peacefully in the woods, and the fairies would simply keep out of their way. But then, the invaders came, from a far distant world across the great sea. They fought the native humans, driving them off, and proceeded to cut down the forests and digging up the mountains for coal. The fairies began to lose their homes and lives, so they decided, as the last great alliance of Fairy-folk in their ancient capital of Ssenva, to fight back. Fairies, being only a few inches tall, could not physically combat the invaders. But they could attempt to drive them mad. If they found any invaders they found on the frontier, they would steal their gold, pinch them in their sleep, and cause all amounts of mischief until the invaders would leave.
It did not take long for these invading humans to strike back. Fairies were hunted in the night, found by their unmistakable glow. Those who were captured would be placed in glass jars and were used as lights, or were forced to turn dust into gold, as these fairies were able to do. The greatest blow fell when Ssenva, housed in a small grove of huge trees high in the mountains, were sought and cut down. After that, the remaining fairy-folk fled to separate hideouts, as far from the invaders as they could get.
But now, over 300 years later, there were very few fairies that still remembered the golden days of their race. Those who were alive in those days, fairies such as Isabelle, were often the leaders in the local havens. Isabelle was in charge of the Garden, and it was one of three hideouts were the fairies still fought on against the invaders.
Isabelle reached the Garden; it was a hidden pool and waterfall deep in the woods, a place that no humans had ever set foot in. There, over a hundred other fairies met with her, and they all gathered on top of the large stone that sat in the middle of the pool. There, in the growing dusk, they each told of their actions against the invaders. They would stall the humans' traveling machines, pull plugs out of walls and houses, knock down telephone poles (this was a mighty effort that required many of the fairy-folk), and taking many of the humans communication devices and other small items and dropping them into the rivers. Though this annoyed their targets greatly, the humans had forgotten entirely about the fairies that still lived in their lands; they believed that all of these misfortunes were all human errors, and had nothing to do with small, flying pixies. Being forgotten did not truly bother Isabelle and her remaining fairies at the Garden, but they were endlessly frustrated that despite their best efforts, they could not force the invaders out of their lands. All they could do was make the humans' lives miserable, and they were going to strive to do that until the time of the fairy-folk was at an end.

Friday, September 5th-Aliens in Egypt

It was the first night of King Tutankhamen's rule; a boy of only nine years, one who needed a cane to walk, sat on the throne of Egypt. In the year 1333 BC, it was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. The pyramids had already been been built for over a thousand years, and to King Tut, it symbolized a time during the Old Kingdom, when Egypt was at the height of its power.
That night, as King Tut retired to his father's old bed chambers in the city of Akhetaten, he found that there was something already waiting for him. Standing near the window with it's back to the door was a figure that must have been a God. It was a monstrous, black cat, and King Tut knew at once that if this figure was not a God himself, than he was a messenger from them. King Tut promptly fell to his knees and bowed to the ground.
"I am Zargo; the Great Cat," said the being at the window. "You are now the King of Egypt. It is your responsibility to once again bring praise to me as your God, for your fathers have changed the ways of this land into heresy."

King Tut was terrified; it seemed as if the Gods were angry. "What must I do to earn your favor?"

"You must return your court to the city of Thebes and leave this place abandoned. There, you must restore the God Amun and the old ways and rebuild the temples. For this, your people will thank you."

"I will do as you say, I will give my orders in the morning!"

"Good," Zargo said as he turned around. King Tut shrank away from the horrible red eyes. "I used to walk among the stars, but I have stayed here so that man can serve me, in replacement of their precious Gods."

King Tut was confused. "But do you not serve the Gods? Are you not a messenger from Amun?"

"No, foolish human. I am the only God that your people need, the one who came from beyond the stars with all the knowledge in the universe. However, I understand that the common folk must keep their faith of the old Gods, or they will never transition to me," Zargo spoke with a deep monotone, completely emotionless. "Build the temples in Thebes to these other false deities. But you must also build a great temple to me, so that the people will know that there is a new Chief God. If you do this, than you will be greatly rewarded. One of your predecessors understood the value in worshiping me, and I rewarded him with a great tomb, one that will stand forever on this Earth."

"The Great Pyramids? If I do as you say, then you will build me one?" King Tut said hopefully. He would like nothing more than to be encased in such a glorious place forever.

"If it is what your tiny mind desires most, then yes, if you obey me." Zargo stepped back to the window. "You will never see me again after this night, and to pursue me means death. I, however, will always me watching you, and you will be greatly rewarded if you begin a new religion in my name!" With that, the Great Cat vanished in a flash of yellow light.

Of course, King Tut did what the new God said. He immediately traveled to Thebes and began to rebuild the Gods of the older ways. But, as young boys tend to do, forgot about building a temple in the name of Zargo and worshiping his name. And so it was only within ten years that the Great Cat broke his promise, and he appeared in a flash of light in front of Tut, once again in his bedroom.

Tut was now a young man, and with his age came arrogance. He was no longer afraid of this entity that stood before him. "You did not do as I command. You have forgotten to spread my name."

"And what of it?" Tut sneered.

"Your reign and line will end. Your kingdom will fall and fail until my name is known throughout the land, and the Great, Black Cat will be the only God of this little land," Zargo droned, speaking in his emotionless tone.

"And what will you do to me?" King Tut said, clearly not taking the cat seriously.

The tip of Zargo's long tail twitched. Then, with eye-blurring speed, the cat lunged forward and grabbed the king by the throat. He forced the human's mouth open and breathed into him, transmitting to him Malaria, and other horrendous diseases. Tut tried to scream and twist out of the cat's grasp, and he felt the sickness spreading throughout his body. Then, Zargo practically threw the king out of his window, and he fell to the ground, breaking his leg and shattering his knee. He also, unfortunately, fell in the path of a passing chariot.
Zargo knew that the deed was done, and he vanished once again. He would wait for a few hundred years before returning to this superstitious land, and then his name would be spread and finally worshiped.

Wednesday, September 3rd-Newspaper Article Re-Write

Military Setbacks Rattle Synol

Tyrn, the capital city of Synol

            Military forces in Synol have recently announced that they are being forced to change their strategies in fighting the Insurrectionists. According to a military official from Tyrn, the capital city on Synol, the military is lessening off on the Insurrectionists and is preparing for an all-out invasion from the Soman Empire.  

      In recent months, the primarily human colony of Synol has been battling a growing rebellion against Soman Empire sympathizers. The Insurrectionists, as the Synol government has grown to call them, have taken over the residential capital of Carth on the planet’s southern continent. From there, they also control the colony’s second largest space-port. The colony is located in the Laret System in the Incarte Nebula, which is only a few light years away from the Soman Empire border. In fact, it is the nearest colony to the Empire, or at least until the plans for an additional colony is approved in the Syll System on the far edge of the Incarte Nebule.

            The Synol military has taken several devastating blows lately. Their forces have been entirely pushed off of the southern continent, losing their foothold into enemy territory. It has been reported that a small battle group of destroyers hammered the once government controlled cities from low orbit, forcing the Synol military to retreat. The government claims that the rebels do not have the military spaceships and the attack must have been supported by the Soman Empire itself. There have been several unconfirmed  reports that Imperial troops were spotted on the ground, and that there is a fleet of up to 400 vessels over the planet’s south pole. The Synol military has no more than fifty warships, and have not risked an attack on this rumored enemy fleet.

            As a human colony, the Synol government is appealing to the Interstellar Human Alliance (IHA) to send both a fleet and an army to help defend the planet. They claim that they are being slowly invaded by the Soman Empire, and it is an open act of war. The IHA has been slow to respond with action. Several negotiations with the Somans have taken place, but they continue to deny in taking any part in the recent actions on Synol. Also, the colony has yet to be approved and admitted under the protection under the IHA, and as a new and under-developed colony, the Alliance is debating whether or not they want to risk open war to save a planet that is not of much strategic value.  However, an Alliance ambassador has visited the rest of Synol’s neighbors in the Laret System. These other colonies are all fully under the protection of the IHA, and the ambassador has declared that no Soman forces will attack these other colonies, at risk of a full-fledged war. The IHA has also appealed to the InterGalactic Republic for assistance in case the Soman Empire ignores these warnings. However, the Republic, along with the IHA, is still rebuilding from the recent Yarrew War, and there is little that they can send to Synol in support. The Soman Empire was also our allies during the Yarrew War, and the Republic is not yet willing to return to old hostilities between the two nations.

This is the fleet rumored to have been given to Cownal to protect the Laret System

            Just yesterday, the IHA has commissioned Admiral Cownal with a fleet totaling 5000 ships to protect the Laret System in case of an invasion. The Soman Empire once again denied any involvement, but it also continues to contradict the numerous reports coming from Synol. The president of the IHA herself is planning to visit the Soman Capital to end this situation without violence. If the negotiations fail, then it will force both the IHA and the Republic to respond with action.