I read and enjoyed this awesome untitled poem by Naiad over at the Fairy Tale Forum and, having enjoyed it so much, I asked for and graciously received permission from the lovely poet to share it with you all. Enjoy!
Bread in three baskets,
three baskets on his head
the baskets tumble down
and he will soon be dead
it started with a dream
it kept him up all night
he told his fellow prisoners
the nightmare aired in light
then said the new guy, Joe
I can tell you what you’ve seen
if you really want to know
I can read your dream
His old jail buddy said fine
I had a weird dream Joe
I squeezed grapes into some wine
And gave it to pharaoh
“In three days you’ll be free
The king will want you back
When you are gone remember me
In this dungeon black”
He asked of his dream too
But was met with sorry face,
Joe said this dream you’ll rue
And then began to pace
You will be brought out
In three days you’ll be dead
I’m sorry but you cannot doubt
The crows will peck your head
Bread in three baskets,
three baskets on his head
the baskets tumble down
and he will soon be dead
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 6.
Here I am again with another post full of links to wonderful/interesting blog posts I've come across this past week. Enjoy and keep blogging! ;)
Book review by Ashley over at The Epic Reader on Sir Rowan and The Camerian Conquest.
Book review by Meredith over at Austenesque Reviews.
Book review by Ruth over at Booktalk and More on Petra.
Book review by Tarissa over at In The Bookcase.
Book review by Jody over at The Corner Book Blog.
Book review by Holly over at The Bookshelf.
An interesting interview with MaryLu Tyndall by Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One.
All the writers out there better head over to Strictly Speaking; trust me, you’ll love this post!
A humorous summary of Day 1 of the Hellwigs’ vacation over at my good friend’s family blog.
Episode Two in my good friend LadySo’s epic new story!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Final Summit Book Review.
Author: Andy Andrews.
Genre: Christian, Fiction, Sequel, Humorous, Save-The-World.
Plot: David Ponder, the seventy-four-year-old protagonist, stands alone in his lofty apartment, contemplating the recent loss of his beloved wife Ellen and the past twenty-eight years since he first went on the adventure of his life. He had been at his darkest point then also. But David is about to learn that his adventures aren't over yet and his help is needed to save humanity.
Whisked away to the final summit, a gathering of travelers from all of history, David teams up with recognizable historical figures and Gabriel the archangel to solve a puzzle of a most complex nature. "What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?" is the question they must solve in a limited time frame with only five chances at guessing correctly.
The end result could save humanity and restore it to its grandeur of bygone eras.
Likes/Dislikes: This was a highly interesting book! Some people who are more into action will find people sitting around discussing such things as wisdom and character to be boring but I enjoyed it. Winston Churchill's humorous commentary had me laughing several times. However, there were some people at the summit which, I assume, takes place in heaven, that I rather doubt will be in heaven. Cleopatra particularly; knowing what I know about ancient Egypt, I rather doubt we'll have the privilege of meeting her up there. Other than that, it was wonderful!
Rating: G-10 and up for reading level.
Date Report Written: June 25, 2011.
I received this book free from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tower Challenge Seventh Submission!
This is the first chapter in an awesome new novel by one of my best friends! Hope you enjoy it. ;)
Hunting for Hair:
A Rapunzel Retelling
By Chelise Fry.
Chapter One
My parents were extremely paranoid. They never left the cottage past eight o’clock and never strayed from the road for fear of Wolfies. Even when they did go out, they always carried a freshly baked loaf of bread under their cloaks, just in case they got lost and needed to make breadcrumb trails to lead them back home. They never talked to strangers; in fact, they never even looked at strangers. In winter, my mother baked sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and chocolate shortbread, but she never once made a gingerbread man. She said it was because father didn’t like their taste, but I was always pretty certain it was because he was scared that they might come to life and start running around screaming, “You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” all over the place. I knew this because he often mumbled those words in a troubled manner between snores during his evening naps. My parents were the type of people who never got into trouble and never had any adventures. They were definitely not the type of people who concealed dark secrets about their pasts, got involved with psychotic witches, had their child stolen away, and ended up with a family curse that made their descendant’s hair grow at alarmingly ridiculous rates. Yet, somehow, they were that type of people, because that is exactly what happened to them.
♥
“Florian,” said father, wheezing as he grabbed the edge of my vest and pulled me close. His voice was grating, his eyes desperate, his breath stale and hot. Bread crumbs dribbled down his still unbearded chin, which had never seen a single hair even though he was seventy years old.
“Yes, father, I know never to talk to strangers.” I sighed, running my fingers through my short-cropped, blonde hair and staring at the ceiling as I tried not to show the annoying, hot tears that pooled in the corners of my eyes. This is worse than when mother died, I thought. Poor father, he has only me to comfort him as he goes. And I’ve no one after he’s gone. In all honesty, the thought was a bit freeing. I reproached myself sharply for my coldness and tried not to admit it to myself, but there it was.
Having been trapped inside with their paranoia for twenty years had left me somewhat cynical and bitter. My friends were imaginary, furry, or feathered, since I’d never been allowed to play with other children. The windows of our cottage were always boarded up and since we all went to bed at seven o’clock, I had never seen the stars. For a kid who spent every moment his parents weren’t looking making swords out of sticks and pretending to fight dragons and sea monsters, it was a pretty stifling lifestyle. However, I loved my parents dearly. We spent every waking moment together – fishing and gardening with father, chopping wood for mother and watching her bake – and so I had stayed, even when the other young men from the surrounding villages all went off to seek their fortunes. I stayed because I loved them. I stayed because reading about grand adventures in books was almost as good as living them (wasn’t it?). I stayed because, naturally, some of their paranoia had rubbed off on me and that meant I was under the false delusion that staying out past eight o’clock was ‘daring’. But mostly I stayed because of my secret. Because of how much trouble it would cause. Because of how mortified I would be if anyone ever found out about it. Little did I know my parents had secrets too.
“Yes, and you must never forget that wise piece of advice from your mother. If you talk to strangers, you might get eaten up. But what I really wanted to say is that you must…” he coughed again, turning white and scarlet in turns.
Taking his trembling hand in my big one, I finished his sentence for him. “Never stay out past eight o’clock, never leave the path, and always carry a loaf of bread no matter where I am going.”
“No, no, no!” he spluttered, growing irritated with his inability to finish the sentence the way he wanted. “That’s all exactly as we taught you and most wise, but that’s not what I wanted to say! I wanted to say that you must find your sister!”
“My sister?” I stared at him in bewilderment. “Find my what…I mean my who? My sister? I don’t have a sister!”
“Yes, yes you do, my son. Her name is…” he leaned forward in a violent fit of hacking and I helped support his back. “Her name is Rapunzel.”
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tower Challenge Sixth Submission!
Haha! The sixth submission for my writing challenge! Note to Ellie: I'm sorry it took me this long to get your awesome story up at my blog. I've been a bit busy lately and Blogger won't let me comment on blogs with the drop-down comment menu {see previous post}. Anyway, I loved your story! :) Oh and I did a once-over for spelling and grammar, hope you don't mind.
The Towers of the Pah'jera and the Nal'jera {Tower Challenge}
by Ellie.
“Vivacious tiki torchers!” Lezanne yelled, as was her general expression of wrathful excitation.
This phrase, while startling to some, held no sway of president over the others in the room at that moment. This phrase in and of itself needs no further description, as it only appears frequently in our story.
In fact, nobody paid attention to the aforementioned wiry blonde girl until she let out a second yelp, a word considered partially offensive in some circles and then a general screaming dance that drew the attention of Captain Nexley, who at the moment walked into the room.
“They’re all over us!” burst forth from the captain’s radio.
“Keep them back, men!” The captain’s reply was cut short by Lezanne who exclaimed:
“Sir, they’ve got two more fleets of fighters bearing down from their fleet’s left flank. The transports are moving in to land. There’s nothing our men can do. Tiki torchers!”
There was silence in the room. The captain turned back to his radio
“Men, fight to your death. We will move the people now!”
“Roger that sir.” The voice replied.
There was a long pause as all the planet’s inhabitants, poised at the ready and listening in to the intercom turned grave faces to the sky where the last of their fleet was perishing to save them.
“You’ve been good men.” The captain said hoarsely.
“Thank you sir. We die doing our duty.” The voice replied, then clicked off the channel. The captain turned to address the room.
“Execute plan 30456.” Into his radio: “Prepare for evacuation. Prep the portal. Code 22. Red squadron, keep an eye on logistics. Throw any blocks into the enemy’s path. I need the rest of the troops and able-bodied men to be ready to precede the women and children through the portal to the other side. We don’t know if the Nal’jera are still friendly. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”
The group in the room set to work, flipping a number of switches and poking a quantity of buttons and all in all descending upon the room’s interior decoration (to whit, indescribable machinery) with such verve and gravity as to astonish any modern reader.
Below, in the planet’s complex world of buildings and transport systems men and women rush hither and anon, for the most part congregating themselves and their choice of possessions in a central vertex of the city, a grand chamber directly below the great tower.
The great tower’s many levels held many things, the largest being the portal-room and the above-mentioned control room. The control room, while grand in itself, held a sense of technology and militarily so far absent from the lower level. The portal room was all begot in glowing marble, lined with gold and studded with gems. It was the holy grail of the Pah’jera people.
Lezanne and her comrades, having done all they could to deflect the enemy’s attacks, grabbed their bundles of possessions and hurried out, Major Degrass starting the auto-destruct. Missiles had begun to rocket the city sending parts of it down in flames, but once the enemy knew they were gone, they would stop their firing and try to get into the Pah’jera database. But if all went well, the people would be millions of miles away and the planet would be gone, along with the entire enemy’s fleet.
The portal hummed to life, a glowing pit of light in the middle of the room. Once it was on the captain leaned over it, switching his radio to a different channel.
“Hello. This is the Pah’jera portal, we request permission to come through.”
There was a small pause then: “Permission granted, sir”.
A squad of troopers led the way through the portal. Once on the other side they radioed back: “All’s clear sir. It does seem to be deserted, though…” The man’s slightly troubled voice trailed off into the static.
Captain Nexley motioned for the common-people to go through next. The infant children whimpered, but the older ones gasped with expressions of ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’. The people were going in a steady stream through when a huge explosion rocked the tower. Women screamed, supplies toppled, and a few fell into the portal in a very ungainly manner.
“Hurry!” Captain Nexley said. The stream of people sped to maximum capacity. Another explosion, then another rocked the city. Patches of marble began to fall from the ceiling, smashing into the floor. Loud gunfire exploded in the hallway. Everyone raced through the portal at maximum capacity. The scientists were soon the last on deck, loading the few necessary supplies through.
“Leave the ration-carts!” Nexley yelled. “If the Nal’jera are on the other side, they should be able to provide for us!”
Another huge explosion rocketed the building. Huge patches of the ceiling fell down, and then part of the tower’s wall collapsed. The smell of acid and explosions wafted into the room. Overhead the enemy’s planes circled menacingly while a few of their own held back one last area of the city.
Lezanne and her comrades turned and fled towards the portal. As Lezanne stepped into it, she heard an explosion and looked back to see the tower’s roof falling speedily towards her. Then everything was enveloped in gold light. Then she was on the other side and with a rumble and a flicker, the portal went out.
The other people looked surprised at its disappearance.
“The roof, of the tower,” Lezanne panted “Was falling down upon it, last I saw.” Captain Nexley nodded.
“So be it.”
The main group of civilians huddled together in the main room while bands of scientists and soldiers spread out through the hallways, scanning for signs for the Nal’jera. Radios softly cackled; men flitted through the shadows. The Nal’jera had always been more bonded with nature; whilst the Pah'jera had pushed their society to become the most technologically advanced in the universe. They had come close but the Krahkulhain, their deadly enemies, had discovered a new set of laser weapons and had forced the Pah’jera to evacuate their planet.
Lezanne’s group headed down a darkened hallway, it twisted and turned then went up a flight of curly stairs. At the top an open door led into a large well-lit room. Inside sat a single occupant: a young girl of about eleven. She turned and stood when the group entered. Her dress was large and ornate, made from gold and red brocade and layers of blue velvet. She had a large headdress on and her face was tattooed and painted wildly.
She bowed. “Welcome, Pah’jera.” Her voice was young, but calm and steady. “I am Sensi, the Nal’trisha of the Nal’jera. I am the tower-guardian.”
Lezanne returned: “I am Lezanne, a scientist of the tower of the Pah’jera. These are a handful of our elite soldiers.” then turned to the men behind her. “Go and get Captain Nexley, he will wish to speak with this girl.” The soldiers turned and departed, only one staying positioned outside the door. Lezanne turned to Sensi. The girl smiled.
“It is a great honor to be the first Nal’trisha to welcome the Pah’jera. The elders will be pleased. Tell me, why did you leave your world? There is not trouble on your side of the galaxy, is there?”
“Alas.” Lezanne replied, trying to speak in a more dignified manner in the girl’s presence. “The Krahkulhain, darn them, developed bigger blaster cannons and owned us. We had to scram. Tiki Torchers!”
The girl’s face saddened. “Are these all of your people?”
“Yes. The other ones got crunchified in the battle.”
There was silence as the girl stood thinking for a moment. Lezanne’s eyes wandered around the room. Captain Nexley appeared at the door. Lezanne beckoned him forward.
“Sensi, this is Captain Nexley, the leader of our people.” Sensi bowed and smiled.
“I am Sensi, the Nal’trisha of the Nal’jera, the tower-guardian. We are pleased to bid you welcome.” She smiled then glanced outside. “We must start now if we are to reach the settlement by nightfall. See, nobody lives in the tower anymore, only each year a girl is picked to be the Nal’trisha and protect the tower.”
Captain Nexley nodded in understanding. “Let us be going, then.”
The journey was not long, and led through rolling green hills converted in wildflowers while patches of evergreen dotted the valleys. As night approached, the group beheld a large city glistening on the edge of a long lake. Sensi led the way down into the center, where a golden palace gleamed. Captain Nexley took a handful of warriors and a few of his chief scientists, including Lezanne. They followed Sensi into the court.
Everything was glinting gold, red and blue. Women in ornate costume flitted about, and women guards stood at the doors. When they were admitted to the throne room, the monarch of the city was a woman, too. The group bowed. Sensi walked to the queen and quietly told her what had happened. When she had finished, the queen turned to her guests.
“I have heard the story from this Nal’trisha. Welcome, travelers. We are glad to welcome you. Sensi tells me that the portal got destroyed. So be it. The Nal’jera are ready to welcome you forever. Come; let us gather together in celebration.” She stood and everyone followed her out.
“So after years of war, we finally find a home.” Captain Nexley said to himself. He smiled. He let himself relax for the first time in… forever.
A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 5.
Hey folks, I'm back! *grins crookedly* Okay, technically I didn't go anywhere but you get the general idea. ;) So, on to the links to all the interesting blog posts I've been reading this week!
Book reviews first. I love books {obviously} and here are some intriguing reviews that caught my eye. First up is a review by Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One:
Book reviews first. I love books {obviously} and here are some intriguing reviews that caught my eye. First up is a review by Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One:
The second one is a well-done review by Noah over at Books I recommend:
The third review, which includes a cool book-trailer, can be found at Booktalk and More:
Reviews by Jane has a comical book on her shelf that looks grand:
And Mr. Darcy rides again over at Elenatintil's blog:
Of course, in the midst of book reviews, I also come across some posts containing good advice. Casey from Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One has some wise advice everyone should read and apply to their lives, especially grads:
Young Ladies Christian Fellowship has a reassuring post with some sound words of wisdom:
The folks over at Bloom! have a fun riddle/poem that will get you thinking:
And my family-friend Mr. Thorell over at Strictly Speaking has a humorous outlook on work ethics:
And, of course, what would one do without those wonderfully random but grand posts that have a category all their own? The sweet sister of one of my best friends shares her baking day adventures over at the Hellwig Family Blog:
Mr. Thorell from Strickly Speaking has a very funny but oh so thought-provoking post on our interesting English language; let's see if you get the kicker at the end:
And another of my best friends has started a blog all about one of her epic novels! Read part one of her story at Stardust and Ashes:
Until next week, my fellow Bloggers! Keep blogging folks and remember; I'm always watching, even if I don't/can't comment. ;)
Speaking of commenting: for those of you who have blogs with the comment menu set to drop down rather than open in separate window or pop-up menu, please be aware that Blogger is not letting me comment on your blogs via the drop-down menus. So even though I read your post, I can't comment. I'm trying to figure out what's up with that so I'll get back to you later if I learn anything. God bless!
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