Queen of Sorcery

Queen of Sorcery is the second book in the series The Belgariad. In this book, Garion discovers that he is a sorcerer, or in other words, he discovers his ability with the will and the word. In this fantasy world, the way people use sorcery is through the will and the word. If they want something to happen, they build up their will, and then speak the action they wanted to happen. Like if Belgarath, one of the best sorcerers in the world, wants to move a rock, he would gather his will, and then speak something like ‘move’. If he had enough will focused on moving the rock, it would move.
The first time he uses the will and the word on purpose is when a Grolim named Chamdar slaps Aunt Pol, Garion’s guardian, across the face. Garion was filled with so much anger that he ran over and slapped Chamdar. It might not of seemed like a bad thing, but he had poured all of his will into making Chamdar catch fire. He then spoke the word ‘burn’ and Chamdar’s face burst into flames. Garion hated to watch Chamdar burn, and wanted to stop it. Aunt Pol told him to stay at it, because if he didn’t, Chamdar would kill Garion as soon as he stopped. After he had died, Garion promised that he would never use sorcery again. Aunt Pol kept telling Garion that he couldn’t stop using sorcery, because once it’s out, you can’t bring it back in. Throughout the rest of the book, Garion tries to deny that he is a sorcerer. Everyone keeps telling him that he needs to learn how to control it, but he doesn’t listen.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, and doesn’t mind gore. I think that this book is perfect for a person like me. I absolutely loved reading this book, and am very excited to read the next one.

Graphic Design

One of the projects that I'm doing is copying magazine covers using photoshop. This is the first one I did. This exercise teaches me a few things. One. How to use photoshop. Two. Design principles 101. I'm sure that there are other things I'm learning as well. This is a picture we took while camping on Molokai.

Magician's Gambit

Magician’s Gambit is the 3rd book in the series The Belgariad. In this book, Garion, the main character, finally accepts the fact that he is a sorcerer, and that he needs to learn how to control his power. Garion and his group leave Ce’Nedra with the Ulgos to go into Cthol Murgos to retrieve the orb of Aldur. Before they leave, they add one more person to the group. His name is Relg. Relg is very religious to his god UL, and has a hard time leaving Ulgos. At first, the group had to stop often to let him pray. You could say that he is a little too caught up in his religion. When they get to Cthol Murgos, they start to look for the magician Ctuchik. Ctuchik is an enemy of Belgarath’s. They have been trying to kill each other for a long time. Later in the book, they have a duel. If you want to find out who wins, your going to have to read the book.
Many parts in this book are kind of gory, and creepy. I don’t think it’s for people who don’t do well with gore. I personally loved this book. Every sentence I read held me in. This book is like a roller coaster, because at some points it’s calm, and then incredibly intense in others. As always, I loved reading this book, and I’m dying to read the next one.

Ender's Game

I've been reading a lot lately, and just finished Ender’s Game. I've heard it's being made into a movie. Ender's Game is written by Orson Scott Card. It has won a Hugo, a Nebula and is on the New York Times Bestselling list. It is about a small boy named Ender who is sent to a battle school at the age of 6. In this school, they play a game. The object of the game is to freeze all of your opponent’s team members. Then you open your enemies gate, and walk through it. In this game, Ender learns how to strategize and lead. After about 4 years in battle school, he is put into commanding school. There he learns about the bugger war.
There are many great parts in this book, but I think that one of my favorite
parts is when Ender sends out a message to everyone saying ‘I LOVE YOUR BUTT. LET ME KISS IT. -BERNARD’. Bernard is, or was, a bully to everyone, especially Ender, so he wrote that to make Bernard look like some weird, dumb kid.
I absolutely loved reading this book and could barely put it down. A ton of people say that it’s probably the best science-fiction book ever written. I definitely agree with them. Everything that happens is described in immense detail. Every part of the story is needed. There isn’t anything that could, or should be cut out. The book can be very funny, but can also be packed with intensity. I would recommend this book to anyone, and especially people that like adventuresome, science-fiction books where anything could happen.

Moorchild

I read a book called Moorchild. It is written by Eloise McGraw and has won a Newberry Award. It’s about a moor folk girl named Moql, who’s half human and half folk. The moor folk think of her as a threat, because she can’t wink out, or in other words disappear, and can’t shape shift. So they send her to live with the humans. As a human, her name is changed to Saaski. When she turns 11, she starts to remember her life in the mound. As she remembers more, she discovers that her human parent’s real daughter is living in the mound. She decides to rescue their child.
Moql, or Saaski, is very mischievous, and loves to go out onto the moor. Everyone in her village picks on her because she’s different. Her eyes change color with her moods, and she loves to play the bagpipes. I think that the author did an amazing job describing Moql.
One of my favorite parts in the book is when Moql learns about being a Folk, and is going home to tell her parents. On her way home, all the people in the village attack her and throw salt and metal at her. Because she is half folk, the salt burns, and the metal makes her small and feel sick. When the author describes this part, he uses words that pull you into Moql’s situation. You can see the blurry images and feel the burning of salt, and the sickness from the metal.
I recommend this book to everyone. It’s a calm book, but holds you in, and is incredibly descriptive. I can see, hear, and smell all that’s happening when I’m reading it. This book is perfect for someone who likes page-turning fantasy books. I couldn’t put it down until I had finished.

Getting Up

Typically, this is how my morning goes. My mom comes down. She turns on the light, and says,“Time to get up.” I pull the blanket over my head and try to fall back asleep. 10 minutes later... she comes back down. "Get up guys!" Nani throws a fit. Because of the screaming and the light in my face, Mia and I get up. I hate the light.

Sometimes I think about taking out the lightbulb, but that's out of the question. I’ll probably just get a sleeping mask and some earplugs.

The Cat

It was a family gathering. All us kids were outside playing. About an hour passed, and we were tired. As we headed inside, I thought I saw something moving behind the rose bushes. I decided to check it out and Mia and my cousin Joe followed.

It was a kitten. He was orange, and very small. He seemed to like us and he let me pick him up. I wanted to show my dad. Maybe he would let us keep him. We knocked on the door, and Uncle Goose answered. We showed him the cat. He told us that it was probably a stray, because it didn't have a collar. We checked around the neighborhood, but Nobody seemed to know who the cat belonged to. We went back to the house. The little kids wanted to pet the cat, so I put him down on the porch. The cat wanted to get inside, and he crouched near the door. Every time the door opened, he would stand up and try to squeeze in. I told my uncle to keep the door cracked, but he opened it too far, and the cat dashed in.

I yelled. "There's a cat in the house!" The cat made his way into the kitchen. Pandemonium proceeded. Mom went ballistic. She hates cats, or anything with fur. Amidst the chasing and screaming, the cat didn't want to stick around. My dad was not happy. So I guess, no kitty for me.

My mom says we can’t get a cat right now, but maybe in a few years. When I first heard that, I was very excited. Then she added, “...when you start college.”