O Holy Night - the awesome version

This is, personally, the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. ^_^

Please listen to it all the way through. If you can't make it to the end, I understand. It's OK. Those brave souls who forge onward to the epic climax are generally scarred for life, and some have even had to go through traumatic therapy. But I advise hearing it through to the bitter end. It builds gloriously.

murry christmus,

-whisper

Three Little Pigs in Old English

Be charmed... be charmed. *chuckles* Ah, me. The beauties of Olde English. I wish we still talked like this.

Lo,
-whisper

100 For Justice

*waves* Greetings, all! I have a Something to tell you about.

My friend, Noelle, proprietor of the blog Seeing Beauty, has launched a project she calls

100 For Justice

Noelle is undertaking the daunting task of running 100 miles this September and October; hoping that others will join her in this act of support for a worthy organization: International Justice Mission.


Perhaps you've heard of IJM. It is an organization working in several counties (including India, Cambodia, and the Philippines) collaborating with the local police forces to enforce justice. They expose hidden evils, rescue the abused, and uphold the rights of the voiceless. IJM's work is multi-fold:

- They perform undercover operations, investigating cases of injustice
- They actively free the enslaved and trafficked and arrest their oppressors
- They take the persecutors to court and legally prosecute them.
- They train and equip local police forces to be more effective.
- They provide aftercare, job training, and counseling for the former victims

The International Justice Mission battles to protect those who have been unjustly arrested, defends those whose property has been illegally seized, rescues the trafficked, and frees the slaves.


http://www.ijm.org/ < please click, if you are interested.

Also, I recommend a video telling the story of a former slave. She is Suhanna, captured and enslaved twice before being rescued by IJM. Here is the video, but I advice caution: it contains sad realities of trafficking that are not for youngsters' eyes and ears, if y'know what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nytkBRQ0qZI&feature=youtube_gdata

Noelle has a passion to combat this. As she runs 100 for justice, giving up her time and strength, please consider if you can give up a few dollars.

for justice,

-whisper

The Dragon's Tooth -or- N. D. Wilson Writes Again -or- Welcome to Ashtown

I couldn't decide on a fitting title for this post. I answered the dilemma of choice in my typical fashion - choosing 'em all.

But enough of that. Have you heard of the 100 Cupboards Trilogy?

They are worthy of all ranting. I should have done this long ago! I should have hollered their praises and pounded my fist upon their blessed pages and shouted down your ear about them! (metaphorically speaking, of course; as I am far too polite an individual to really shout in your ear. Unless its about something important. Like Twix candy bars. Or this series.)

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDtmwprjW49RLLYUxkeTCXuRM18VPLHBLE5sQWxxpsHOcMzRxNnogM6zoIq-UxRfZBB1BPVNflzlHJEp2fdcO2J3_lJtVCAK_XhLWCG12fvDNH1MtlsqLs8jxKIT_BviuNYbCJaBlIc3d/s1600/100+cupboards+trilogy.JPG

These books are... Epic. Stunning. Amazing.

Fantastic in every sense of the word.

The 100 Cupboards trilogy is one of my favorite favoritefuls series (you know it's good if it includes a book called Dandelion Fire); third only to the Wingfeather Saga and the Chronicles of Narnia. And, happily, they're rather clean; there were a few minor weirdnesses and perhaps two or three swear words throughout the trilogy, but aside from that I they were clean, like so many bars of soap. Personally, methought that the series' goods far outweighed the bads.

They tell the story of a kid named Henry who wakes up one night because plaster has fallen on his head. He looks up and sees two door knobs poking out of his bedroom wall. After chipping away all the plaster, he finds behind his wall 99 cupboards of varying shape, size, and color. Inside one door he can smell wood and rain and when he sticks his hand through he feels moss and worms. Through the glass door of another, he can see a yellow post office (and starts receiving some very odd letters). And then there's the cold, sucking black door that hides nightmarish creatures. And the ship... and the haunted ballroom... *shivers with delight* Fantastic books about Henry's exploration of the cupboard worlds and his war against the evils of Endor.

The books have an amazing premise, and they succeed where so many promising books fail: they actually execute the idea well. A revolutionary concept, I know. >_> The author, N. D. Wilson, is brilliant - he is a master of description and character and worldbuilding.

As if all this isn't incentive enough to read it, rumor has it that the movie is coming out sometime this year. And don't you just love that wise feeling you experience when a new movie is coming out and all your friends are talking about it and trying to describe it to you but you can cut them off smugly and say, "Oh, I already know what it's about. I read the book." *smirk* Heehee. I savor the satisfaction of knowing everything about a movie before everyone else does. Ah, the bookish joys of being the one to explain the Eragon and the I Am Number Four and The Series of Unfortunate Events trailers to one's bewildered and excited acquaintances! (Come to think of it, I never saw any of those movies. o.o I heard they were all lame. And for the record, so far as my humble opinion goes, I Am Number Four is a profoundly dumb book.)

SO. With that established. Hop on your bike right now and pedal like mad to the library and snatch 100 Cupboards off the shelf (it is adviseable to bowl over any kids in your way in the process, but you didn't hear it from me). Stuff it furtively in your book bag and flee for your life with it! (checking it out is optional.)

No! Wait! Stop! Halt! Desist! Hold everything! Before you do that, we must come back to the original point of this point:

The Dragon Tooth.

N. D. Wilson writes again.

Welcome to Ashtown.

As you may have guessed and/or heard by now, Wilson is starting a new series, the first book of which is coming out August 23rd - in 14.0002 days. The series is called The Ashtown Burials, and book one is The Dragon Tooth.

Best of all, there is a trailer - a book trailer - a professional trailer - an epic trailer - a trailer that makes me shiver with delight every time I watch it.

Watch. You must.

http://vimeo.com/27156974 <- I can't get the video window to show up here, so just follow the link. And if this link is acting weird, as it did for me...

http://www.hornspoon.com/2011/08/dragons-tooth-book-trailer.html <- ... then try this one, linking to the blog of my noble friend Cson. The video is in his post.


Welcome to Ashtown,
-whisper

The Dad Life

Here's to awesome Dads.

Mine is one of them.

I am very, very proud of him.

He's a superhero.

He is my hero.



I love you, Daddy.

Happy Father's Day.

Julian Smith

We of the spy clan are fans - ardent fans - of Julian Smith. Doubtless many of you have already discovered this guy on Youtube; he has a large and (in our opinion) vastly entertaining collection of short videos, many of which we know by heart and quote often. And (double brownie points for Julian) he's homeschooled!

With the arrival of summer, the retreat of schoolwork, and the sudden abundance of free time for reading, this one is most particularly fitting. I'm sure many of you can relate to it. It is entitled "I'm Reading a Book."

Enjoy.



If you need a laugh and you have the time (be careful; his videos sucked me in for literally hours) check out some of his other videos. I would in particular recommend "Hot Kool Aid", "Pre-Blessed Food", and "UMove" (it's all I can do to stop myself from piling on more recommendations. I'm getting off now. Quickly. Truly. Now.)

Fan,
-whisper

Lord of the Rings in 60 Seconds

Some of you might recall a previous LOTR spoof video I once showed; here is another excellent one that was brought to my attention by Chayal.

It's the story of LOTR compressed into 60 seconds. :| Enjoy.




Chortling,
-whisper

Spatula

Because I haven't posted a video in a while,
and because I have no time to write a proper blog post,
and because I never claimed that this would be most intellectual blog on the blogsphere,
and because I have never been the most sophisticated bulb in the box,
and because this made me alternately laugh and tremble in fear,
and because I hope it will make you do the same,
and because Frank the Uneatable commanded that I do this,

I'm going to post this video, entitled Spatula. My Underground friends, THIS is the Frank we know and fear. Watch if you dare.


(note of clarification: In case there was any doubt; I did not make this video, nor do I know the person who did.)


Cowering,
-whisper

Post Scriptum: If you have no idea who Frank is, let it suffice to say that he is The Great Spatula, revered and feared among all the known world. He devours his enemies like tic-tacs. Only the Yodeling Dwarf has ever lived to tell the tale. Frank is Uneatable and absolutely and unquestionably Undefeatable.

What Former Tribe Leaders Do

Silver Angel (former leader of Shadowtear) and Millard (former co-leader of Swiftstorm) created a splendid video concerning What Tribe Leaders Do When the Tribe-Building Contest Is Over. Enjoy. :)




(please watch full-screen for best effect)

NaNoWriMo

So. It is finished. I am through.

I have completed NaNoWriMo.

At 50,663 words, it - that infamous novel that has diligently plagued me all throughout the long November month - sits without a name. I only recently realized this problem. Hm. Titles I contemplate are "Wilderwood King" or "Rebel's Cause."

Because I enjoy listing elements of stories, I shall do so now for mine. My tale contains/concerns:

1. Knights
2. Slavers
3. Nuns
   
4. A peasant uprising
5. Wolves
   
6. Quartz
7. A steep cliff
8. A bonfire
   
9. Waterfall
10. Blood. Lots of blood. My poor characters suffered much. >_>
    

I freely admit that it is a poor story. Perhaps some characters, scenes, or threads of plot will be salvageable, but on the whole I have little affection for it. Yet I am still content. I did not jump into NaNo with the intention of coming out with a worthy story; I wanted to do it for the sheer challenge and adventure; to be able to say that I have done it! Here in prosperous America, I do not have many chances for true adventures, but I try to take what I can get. :) NaNoWriMo was not terribly adventurous or thrilling, but it was a challenge, a task, a quest - one that I have successfully completed. I am content. I can now say that I have done NaNoWriMo; 50,000 words, 30 days.

Thanks to Millard for the many word wars and vigorous encouragements! I think I would have lost strength and motivation and tossed the whole project without his help. :) You can read Millard's ominous story of his dreadful experience with NaNoWriMo here.

Millard was ALSO the one who, upon the completion of my novel, convinced me to - against my better judgment - write "NaNoWriMo" on my socks with a Sharpie, as he himself did. And (heheh) I took a video of the event. If you're truly so bored that you'd care to see -




And, finally, I shall close with a quote from the book "No Plot, No Problem!" written by Chris Baty, the man who created NaNoWriMo (and consequentially became the man whose name is alternately cursed and blessed by aspiring authors more than any other appellation). The following narrates his method of celebrating a NaNoWriMo victory:

“I tend to celebrate crossing over with a meditative ceremony where I print the book out and neatly stack the pages on the floor. When everything has been properly laid out, I take a few steps back from the work, close my eyes, and offer up my thanks to the writing powers for another bountiful harvest. At which point, I get a running start and dive headlong into my wordpile, rolling around and snorting like a pig.

"And then I fall asleep for three days."

Over and out.
The triumphant,
-whisper

Trailer

Attention, please! A most worthy and amazing book trailer has been recently released. It was created by some friends of mine and is very easily the best book trailer I have ever seen. Turn up the volume and brace yourself for extreme epicness. >_>

Artificial Beauty

"My lady's eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her skin is dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks,
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my lady reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My lady when she treads the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."

This is Shakespeare's 130th sonnet (though I have edited it a bit to make it more family-friendly, if y'know what I mean). I and my classmates studied this poem in a literature class some time ago.

While this poem paints a rather unpretty picture of a lady, I like it. Shakespeare wrote this poem tongue-in-cheek; he jibes at other poets who describe their lovely ladies in exaggerated terms. For instance, in the fifth and six lines Shakespeare proclaims he has seen (heard of) red and white roses in the cheeks of other maidens, but they are not in his lady's. He's heard other lovestruck poets declare that their loves have eyes like the sun, but Shakespeare bluntly states that his lady's do not compare to that celestial orb. In short, to paraphrase what my good friend Noelle so wonderfully put it, "It's as though Shakespeare's saying, 'Quite frankly, I've never seen a woman with roses in her cheeks, snow-white skin, breath like perfume, etc.'"

I like that. The exaggerated, otherwordly beauty found in poetry (and, nowadays, in magazines and commercials) doesn't exist in real life. Yet Shakespeare wrote that though music sounded better than her voice, he still loved to hear her speak. He was content with her, a flawed mortal.

Furthermore,



...a short video that goes to show what Shakespeare was insinuating: that ethereal, supermodel beauty is, almost always, artificial.

And lastly, please check out Noelle's blog, Seeing Beauty. I think I can honestly say hers is my favorite blog (and I've seen a lot.) Short, random, beautiful, well-written, frequent posts; all of which inspire me very, very much. 'Tis well worth your time to stop by!

The Fellowship of the Vuvuzela

Highly amusing. :)