Fairy Tale Spotlight: Ezekiel [Book Review]

"Ezekiel" is the twenty-sixth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Ezekiel himself. I always like it when that happens. I have a personal fascination about people who write their own stuff. I like to critique their writing styles. As silly as it sounds, I especially like critiquing writers of the Bible. I feel like I am doing something both wrong and right at the same time. It makes me giggle a little. Sorry.

"Ezekiel" is the personal prophesy of one of the "doom and gloom" prophets of the Old Testament that speaks of the fall of Israel at the hands of Babylon. Like in "Jeremiah," I celebrated this because they totally had it coming. Never in my life have I seen people so stupid... Actually I've seen them other places too... sometimes in modern day.

The thing that sets "Ezekiel" apart from other prophets is his very peculiar visions of cherubim. They are these strange 4-faced creatures that attend to God personally. They look so strange that Ezekiel stumbles over himself trying so very hard to make sure that the description is correct. A lot of people struggle to imagine a proper picture of what he saw, and I guess that means that it is just something so alien that... I guess you just had to be there.

It was very clear from the writing of this book that Ezekiel was seeing a vision. This means that he was not actually in the presence of these alien creatures but merely seeing them from wherever he happened to be here on planet Earth. God chose to let him see a number of things which included an exceedingly boring man made of brass. (More on that later.) There was also a vividly described field of skeletons that have all of there muscles, sinews, and skin slowly reform on them until all the people were revived. This was a parable prophesying the return of the Jews, but damn did it sound creepy! Like awesome in its creepiness! There were some top notch CGI effects used in that one!

The writing of "Ezekiel" is extremely precise even to the point of massive redundancies. It was not as bad as Moses, but I could tell that it was very important to the prophet to make sure everything was as accurate as possible. Many of his sentences have included redundancies as a means to make things ultra clear, and I'll give him credit for doing that. There is also an awesome repetition of "And they shall know that I am the Lord!" It solidifies the anger of God towards these idiots that just won't stop doing the horrible, stupid things that they are doing.

On the latter note, God's ire has pretty much topped off. Ezekiel seems to be the conduit for his anger. I can imagine the man did a lot of yelling. I bet he had some terrifying eyes just to make God's point. It would have interesting to hear his actual voice. I bet he sounded like Alex Jones.

As to the man of brass, he introduces the reader to the final section of the book which is a redo of the Tabernacle dimensions and the laws concerning sacrifice. I had to go through all this twice in the books of Moses, and I really did not need to go through it a third time. It was a pain to read and I was glad when it was over. No real ending to this book. It just stops, and I was glad when it was finally over. All the good stuff in this book is on the first half. The final part of this book is extremely boring and redundant, although that was not the fault of the author at all. It's just a mere fact for someone reading the Bible as a whole.

All said, I do actually recommend "Ezekiel." The first half is rife with strange imagery. And the anger of God is actually rather fun and full of masculine energy. But after you get to the man of brass, I wouldn't blame you if you just moved on. Unless you have an interest in ancient carpentry, there's nothing really here for anyone.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Over-Vilification of Lucifer

I randomly mentioned the title of this blog in my last blog "Misunderstandings About the Bible." If you actually read through the Old Testament, you might not actually feel too angry with Lucifer. Most of my ire went towards the Israelites who, over many generations, proved how stupid human beings as a collective species really are. And while I am really just flabbergasted how evil and horrible these people were, I wasn't really thinking too much about Lucifer.

Even in the Garden of Eden, I wasn't really mad at Lucifer for tempting Eve. If anything he was very helpful in showing a problem that was already brewing within the human race with the very first two test subjects! Thanks Lucifer! You made very clear we've all been dumbasses from the very first! It was a public service, I guess.

Now, just to be clear, Lucifer is actually evil. He is against the way of God. And God is far more righteous than he is by dint of Him being the Creator. If you are a timeless, immaterial being, you automatically get the supreme stamp of righteousness by simply being the standard by which all things come from. Lucifer, although a great angelic being, still exists on our level. He did see himself as getting a raw deal and wanted equity with God. That's bad. He messed up. Even so, he's just one angel. Think of all the billions upon billions of humans that have done the same thing without the help of Lucifer.

Lucifer did not make Eve do what she did. He merely tempted her to prove a valid point. She could have resisted that temptation, but she didn't.... because she was stupid. Adam was stupid too. They were all very, very stupid. You live in the Garden of God, a place of happiness and perfection... and you have one job: don't eat the fruit. Just don't do it. No. Lucifer did not cause the fall of Adam and Eve; he exposed the stupidity of humanity for what it was.

Stop blaming Lucifer for everything. Take responsibility for a change. If you keep blaming an unseen entity for all your problems, what incentive do you even have for improving yourself? Rise above your own failures before you can even bother dealing with the likes of Lucifer. Maybe if you actually do bother, you might actually get his attention, but I can guarantee that the angel doesn't even know who you are. He's not whispering in your ear. He doesn't have to. Most people are perfectly capable of being stupid all on their own. And when the day comes when you have cleaned up your act, and actually have bothered to improve yourself, he might show up and whisper those things. That's the real test. It's a test almost nobody ever gets. Honestly, other than Eve, I only know of Jesus at this point.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Misunderstandings About the Bible

Number 1: The Bible was written by actual human beings. Contrary to the popular belief of most churches, it was not inspired by God, but merely a record or history of events that took place related to the acts of God. (Minus "Song of Solomon" which was garbage.) The book is subject to the respective author's opinion and sometimes that opinion can be a bit ignorant. God did not give us this book, people did. Even so, that does not make the book any less important.

Number 2: Just because someone in the Bible says something, doesn't mean it has to be Christian Law (or a church tenant.) Case in point would be the Ten Commandments, which were intended for a race of people who were so incredibly ridiculous that they needed a list of things of what not to do in order to survive. (And even still they barely even bothered to follow this list.) Number 3 will better explain this.

Number 3: Be absolutely clear who is saying what in the Bible. Are the words coming from God, Jesus, or just some guy? If you are interested in what God the Father thinks, read the words of the prophets. If you are interested in what Jesus the Son thinks, read the Gospels. Anybody else is subject to scrutiny. It doesn't mean they are wrong, but if it doesn't line up with anything God said, then it's suspect. Take it with a grain of salt.

Number 4: Every passage in the Bible has context to it related to the time that it was written. Just taking one passage and interpreting it on its own (eg. John 3:16) is a ridiculous venture that will not fully give a person an understanding of anything in that passage. You have to actually read the passages around it to understand what it actually means. In fact, the whole book that passage is in should be read and understood  in full context. Single passages used alone are not scripture. The whole book is scripture. This is a silly tradition that Christians have perpetuated for ages.

Number 5: God is clearly not subject to your opinion of Him. How you think of Him does not change who or what He is. If you want to get some vague idea of how He operates and such, you can learn much about it from this book, but you need to take everything in and shun nothing that seems inconvenient to you. The Bible has a lot of things in it about God that most churches don't like to talk about (such as the brothel scene with Samson or God repenting of evil several times) but that doesn't mean those things are irrelevant or even unrighteous. Everything about God must be fully understood without overinterpreting it.

Number 6: When many people see something in the Bible they don't understand, they often try to interpret it in a way that has meaning to them. But honestly the way you should handle this is just by saying, "I don't understand this," and move on. Maybe it will come to you later. If you try and make stuff up in your head, you are more likely to create a fiction, and that helps nobody.

Number 7: Just because someone gives you an interpretation you like, doesn't mean its true. Even pastors and priests mess this one up. The best way to read the Bible is to read it yourself and do your best to understand it. There's nothing wrong with discussing it with others, but ultimately try and learn it for yourself. Be an individual.

Conclusion: The more and more I read the Bible, the more I feel like I was undersold the book in my Christian upbringing. It feels like adults are still spinning the nice and friendly "Sunday School" version of the Biblical story and such. It is an amazing book. I'm presently 71% through it. But actually reading it has proven that the story is so much greater than any church or Christian school has bothered to tell me in all my 40 years of living. I must say that God and everything about God is only interesting in this book, and Christians have been really good at making him a boring and pointless "Nothing Creature" suited to please our own egos. (Not to mention the over-vilification of Lucifer.) If you want to know what Christianity is really about, read the book. Just read it. Stop listening to ignorant people who are just copycatting what they hear in Church.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Lamentations [Book Review]

"Lamentations" is the twenty-fifth book in the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Jeremiah himself. It is a very short book and a sad one. It's very name is all about expressing one's grief.

In the previous book, we saw Jeremiah trying so very hard to warn people that God was on the warpath and about to take vengeance on his own people. Hardly anyone really listened to him, and, because of this, the action actually took place. But it is important to understand that Jeremiah did not want any of these things to occur. He was only a messenger.

Prophets historically are treated very poorly by their own country. They often don't approve of the things they are saying, even if those things are supposedly from God. People have a tendency to only listen to people who say things they want to hear, and that is exactly what happened. More so, Jeremiah was actually punished multiple times for just saying what God was telling him.

In the end, he got wrapped up in the same punishment that his people received with the loss of his country. I imagine this was a sad and painful experience that was likely worse than what the people went through. "Lamentations" doubles as both a vent of his personal grief and a lesson to be taken by the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem and its holy temple.

Most of the book reads like a sad prayer. Two of the chapters reads like poetry. It is very short and simple. Anything longer might not have sounded very sincere. It is grief in its purest form and that is all. Jeremiah had it bad, and I am glad this particular book was included.

I recommend "Lamentations" for no other reason that you understand what Jeremiah, a prophet of God, went through. It is important to understand that prophets don't always have a good life. They tend to be the most hated of all of His servants. It is a good thing to learn, I'd say.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Jeremiah [Book Review]

"Jeremiah" is the twenty-forth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Baruch. Great book. This is pretty much the divine culmination of centuries of Jewish stupidity. God finally throws Babylon at them and tells them to just get used to the fact that the good days are over.

This book follows the prophecies of Jeremiah up until the point at which all the bad things happen. Weirdly, the last chapter of the book sounds more like one from "Kings II," even though that was written by a different author. This whole book is about prophecy and subsequent devine action based on those prophecies. It's as glorious as it is righteous. It hits hard, and it feels utterly deserved.

The ultimate sadness I felt from reading this 4 hour long book was Jeremiah himself. He's pretty much treated like shit for the entire book, because they don't like what he is saying. But what he says is ultimately true, and they are feeling it by the end of it pretty badly. But Jeremiah gets wrapped up in all of the punishment and has to see the fall of his own people as well. It sucks; there's no sugar coating it.

Despite this book being fairly long, it reads much better than Isaiah. It is the voice of God pretty much saying that He's had enough and is preparing to retaliate. You can either go with it (which is what they should have done), or you can fall victim to it and die. Great stuff. I was happy they got what was coming to them.

But the book doesn't just condemn the Jews; Jeremiah mentions why. He tells them all the things they did wrong multiple times. The chief among them being the service to false gods, with a very special mention of Moloch, to which they sacrificed their own children. Even while these prophecies were coming in, people ignored him and threw him in prison. Jeremiah never got a break.

I recommend "Jeremiah" if you want to see God at his angriest. It's a very long book, but if you understand the context of what is happening, it does not disappoint. Keep in mind that this is the same God who exists to this very day. Do you really want to piss Him off? I don't recommend it.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Headlander [Video Game Review]

"Headlander" is a side scrolling videogame released by Double Fine Games and published by Adult Swim Games. It was released in 2016. After playing it all the way through, I think I want these two companies to work together more often.

The whole idea of "Headlander" is absurd. You have a disembodied head in a jet-propelled space helmet that can suck off the heads of sentient robots, that used to be real people, and replace their heads with your own, controlling them. Apparently all the humans on earth replaced their bodies with robots and subsequently went a little insane because of it. They exist out in a space station and live for pleasure in their robot bodies, while an evil AI called Methuselah accomplishes some sort of plot against them.

Right from the get-go, the game has a very crass sense of humor. Space ships are penis-shaped, and there is a bunch of innuendo around every corner that you come across. It never ends. Also, the game has really leaned in on the 70's scifi esthetic. A lot of the rooms have shag carpet, everyone acts like they are on psychedelic drugs... and afros. Afros on the robots.

"Headlander" is a good example of bizarro fiction. There is nothing normal about this story. It is absurd in the extreme, but as you move through the game, you begin to realize just how seriously the writers are taking the story. I began to really care about the characters and even the fate of my own. By the end of it, I had a real vibe to take out the final boss. It felt like I was getting revenge, and I really wanted it.

The gameplay is entirely inspired by the Metroid series. Backtracking and map-use is a commonality. You are constantly perusing for upgrades to help you get stronger. New abilities get unlocked which allow you to fight harder and access new areas. It's entirely the same formula but done in a very unique way.

The ability to replace the heads of the various robots is a fun an engaging mechanic. Doing it to a heavily armed guard is fun, since you get to use his weapons. If you lose a body then you can just suck off the head of another and keep in the fight. It is a ridiculous yet strangely satisfying game mechanic that I never even once for tired of.

The game is very fast paced and a bit short. It took me a few hours to finish, but I was spending a lot of time looking for upgrades which is a mainstay in the Metroid-style games. It is a tried and true formula that has been used and reused in many games, and I found it very enjoyable.

If you like the 70's look and feel and are craving some off-the-wall goofy scifi with a surprisingly well-written story, look no further than "Headlander." I recommend it!

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Shore [Video Game Review]

"The Shore" is a video game created by a Greek developer called Ares Dragonis and was released in February of 2021. It's story is seated well within the world of Cthulhu created by H.P. Lovecraft. Despite this game getting very mediocre reviews, I think this may end up being the best Lovecraftian game I have ever played.

I don't think a lot of people have heard of this game. It doesn't seem to get a lot of press. The reviews for it have not been very good. When I first played it, I actually did not even know it was a Lovecraft game. I really just liked the cover art for it. It was this depiction of an old and warn lighthouse. For some reason, it just got my attention, and I sprung for it.

So now that we understand that "The Shore" takes place within the "Call of Cthulhu" universe, what type of game is it? This is actually the forth game of this story-type that I have played. The first one was a shooter, then there was an adventure game, and then I had a platformer puzzle styled game. So what is this?

"The Shore" begins as just a walking simulator. All you do is walk around and explore. There's not much to do but to listen to the narration and look at stuff. Then small puzzle elements begin to surface. And then it turns into a "run away from the monster" game. And soon after the latter is introduced, actual combat becomes the mainstay of the game. So, I guess it ended up being a lot of things.

The atmosphere of this game is the best it has to offer. Everything looks amazing, and the music is spot on. I was seriously drawn into its terrifying, moody environments as I was lead straight into the dark corridors of madness. I loved every moment of the experience.

The gameplay itself is fine. It worked well enough for what it was. I was occasionally stumped over some puzzles, but it did not bother me too much. Still, I'd say there would be room to improve. Most games hold your hand a bit to help lead your eyes to things you need to do. This game flatly does not. It's like I was actually there, and if I was actually there, I'd be walking around endlessly wondering what thing I am suppose to shove into some other thing to make a third thing start working.

There were occasional oddities that I think were unintended. A polygon in an object was missing here and there. A floating rock. A hovering seagull. It wasn't much, but they did slightly break the immersion.

The game does an amazing job representing the elder gods and the monsters of Cthulhu lore. Many of them are present, and you have to deal with them. Dagon, in particular, was a fascinating encounter. There were some, such as the Monolith, that I was not as familiar with, but their inclusion was fascinating even without knowing the original source material.

The further you play into this game, the worse the madness gets, but understand that this is not a game of choice. It is a very linier story that will always end the same way. And the ending of this one was... okay. It was satisfactory but not altogether the best thing I ever experience from these games. Nevertheless, I still consider "The Shore" to be my favorite game set in this particular universe.

Have you ever heard of "The Shore" yourself? Why not go check out the trailers for it. They are quite good, and they do a fine job selling the game. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the rather cruel reviews. A lot of them focused too much on the little mishaps from the developers and can make the game seem worse than it really is. Also they may have been for an earlier version of the game which really might have been worse than it is today.

I recommend "The Shore" to all Cthulhu lovers. This is a wonderful gem than should be played if you can. Dive into the madness!

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Berenice [Story Review]

[Spoilers]

"Berenice" is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. It was published in 1835. I almost did not write a review of it. My problem with Poe stories is that they are extremely overwritten and include important passages written in other languages with absolutely no translation at all. It's like he just assumes you know ten languages when you read his stuff.

"Berenice" can best be described as a psychological horror. It is about a man who has a condition where he is having trouble separating reality from the jumble of fiction and manias happening in his mind. The main character, Egaesus, obsesses to a very serious extent over his cousin, Berenice, to the point where things get very uncomfortable.

In particular, he obsesses over her teeth so greatly that it ultimately leads him to do something that even surprises him. I won't go too much into the grizzly details, but the main point of the story is that this character completely and utterly looses touch with reality. He literally gets disconnected with himself and the people around him.

The story refers to his problem as a Disease. Much of the story goes into extreme detail about how Egaesus' brain is malfunctioning. This extreme disconnect from reality does flow out of the story, and I think it was, to some small extent, intended to be confusing. It has much to do with man losing his ability to control his own actions, and this loss is the horror intended.

Despite the story being fairly good for a horror, I still have so many problems with Poe's writing. The man was so full of himself. I'm sorry, but he had too much of an elitist way of writing. I don't mind a little flowery language here and there for spice, but when it is the main course of the story, it can become a very taxing endeavor to engage upon. I had similar problems with Kenneth Grahame, although I think he did a better job of it. "The Wind in the Willows" is one hell of a good book.

As far as a recommendation, I can only really promote "Berenice" if you are willing to put up with this man's overly-flowery writing and random quotes in other languages. There is a good story in there... somewhere.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: MS. Found in a Bottle [Story Review]

[Spoiler alert!]

"MS. Found in a Bottle" is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, and it was first published in 1833. It is not the first Poe story I read. That would be "Metzengerstein," a story of which I had little to no compulsion to write a review for. But here we have my first very interesting Poe story!

"MS. Found in a Bottle" is about a man who goes on a rather disasters ocean journey that leads to a very surreal and spooky ending. It's not entirely clear what happens, but it seems like the ship he was on travels into some sort of otherworldly void on the brink of an abyss. Yeah, this does kind of sound like a Poe story, I guess.

A lot of Poe's writings are so flowery that it is sometimes difficult to figure out what exactly is going on. At some point, the main character does seem to transfer to a large, what could be a, ghost ship... filled with old, possibly dead, sailors. They don't seem to care that he is among them.

Honestly that's some Grade A spooky bullshit right there. I was most definitely drawn into this surreal world. I guess the best thing about this story is that nothing in it is concretely explained. It's more like some guy just found something horrible and spooky, recorded it the best that he could, and that's it! It leaves a lot up to interpretation.

I did like this story a lot, but I should think the writer did better stuff than this. It feels more like a dark afterthought than a fully realized story. A good start though! I recommend it as a good starting place for reading the works of Poe. I honestly think "Metzengerstein" is skippable, but that's just an old reader's opinion.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Addams Family [Book Review]

"The Addams Family" that I am referring to in this blog is a book written by Jack Sharkey and published in September 1965. It was a novel intended to help promote the brand new ABC sitcom of the same name. So this book is pretty obscure for what it is. It's a book based on a sitcom. So is it any good? Oh yes!

I actually did not think this book was going to be a winner, but it surpassed all my expectations. If you really want to get down to the nitty gritty with who the Addams Family are and why they act like they do, this book essentially acts like an origin story as well as a solid explanation of their way of life. All of the characters get their time in the sun [or under the moon in this case]. I had a blast reading it.

Each chapter of this book has a different focus. It's much like having a book with 9 distinct episodes which still acknowledge each other. There are actually 10 chapters, but I'll get back to that in a minute. Many of the chapters take place from the Addams' own perspective, but they sometimes switch it up and narrate from the perspective of people meeting them. This turns out to be a very good idea.

In one chapter, we see how a school teacher deals with Wednesday and Pugley. In another, we see the story of Gomez's depressed broker, who honestly was a gloomy person in his own right. We also get to see how a professional scam artist deals with Morticia.

The other chapters are more about the family itself. Gomez opens a clinic for monsters. This unfortunately ends up being the weakest story, in my own personal opinion. It was still funny though. But I think the best chapter was when Fester gets drafted. It is probably the most disturbing, because it dissembles Fester himself down to his own nakedness.

As to the final chapter of the book, I could only sigh. It was a glorified promotion for the show. When Gomez asks which network their own TV show will air on, Morticia explained that "It's as simple as A-B-C." I rolled my eyes. I guess it was a little funny, but it left me with a somewhat empty feeling. That said, the rest of the book was fantastic.

I heavily recommend this book. There are still copies of this out there in used book stores. Jack Sharkey is an amazing author. He brought the Addams Family to life with a hard-hitting narrative that doesn't let up. It explains the origins of all the characters, even Thing! Find yourself a copy and enjoy it. This one is a must read!

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: A Standard of Morality

There is one question that is very hard for me to ask people. The reason it is hard to ask is because, more often then not, it makes people angry. It angers them to even be questioned. Sadly, this question should not anger people. All they have to do is answer it, and the job is done.

The question is this: What is your standard of morality?

If you claim to have morals or do and believe things that you consider to be moral things, then I always assume that you must have a standard of morality. This standard can be just about anything that embodies the great list of things that you consider to be moral things. Let's look at four things that could be considered someone's standard:

1. A book. There could be a single piece of literature that encompasses everything that you believe is moral, and so you act morally according to the information in that book.

2. A person. You could see a person as a supreme example of what morality is. Everything that person did must be moral, so your standard would be that person and only that person.

3. A movie. You might have seen a movie that represents what you believe is an example of what morality is. You saw the film and want to model your morality after it.

4. A deity. You could subscribe to God or a god to which you believe that deity represents the whole of what is moral. You would then be expected to abide by that deity's tenets in order to be considered a moral person.

I could list other things, but you probably get the idea. A person's standard of morality is something that they choose what they consider the boundaries of morality to be. If they or anyone goes outside of those boundaries, they could say that they or those persons are considered immoral.

I've had a few people refuse to tell me what their standard is. I've also had people say they choose what is moral and what isn't (without a standard). As previously stated, I've also just made people outright angry with the query itself. Let's look at these three situations for a moment.

1. Why would someone not tell me of their standard? Are they ashamed of what it is? Are they not comfortable with it? If they are okay to say if something is moral or immoral, why can they not have the same eagerness to explain how they came to know that? I think this usually comes down to people not actually knowing what their standard is... and suddenly realizing it. You can't admit to something you aren't sure of.

2. When someone says they like to choose what is moral and what isn't, they are opening the door to everyone doing that as well. This is something called "subjective morality." Subjective morality means that you can choose morality for yourself, but if you can do it, so can any person. It assumes that anyone who claims a standard of morality is merely doing it as a matter of opinion. Therefore, if you believe that killing someone for your own survival is a moral act, you are, by the rules of subjective morality, absolutely moral to do so. By it's very nature, subjective morality dips into the realm of anarchy.

3. The anger. Why do people get angry when I ask this question? I think some people just don't want to deal with responsibility for their actions. They don't want to admit to things that they are ashamed of. A lot of people try and lean in on being mysterious or ambiguous. But when a person gets angry when I ask them this simple question, I have trouble taking their moral beliefs very seriously.

There is an odd forth case that I have run into: "I don't have a standard of morality." My friends, this is what you call sociopathy. A person without morals can kill another and not care one way or another. And I would wager that the person who said that to me did not really mean it. Sociopathy are the thoughts of demonic beings. These are the real fairies of the world. Humans who live sociopathic lives don't integrate very well. Why? Because most humans have morals whether they are following them or not. Even bad people can see when immoral things are happening most of the time.

My challenge to the world is this: If you are not sure what your standard of morality is, why not try and track it down? Look into the people you've spoken to, books you've read, TV shows you've watched, stories you've heard, and try and figure out how you came to believe in the moral laws you've come to take so seriously. Don't just blow it off by saying, "It's just moral because everyone knows it is!" Actually try. Try and figure it out. Go all the way to the beginning. Who created the morals that you now subscribe to? If you think it was your parents, then check to see where they learned it from. Go as far back as you need to... or maybe you already know.

You don't have to tell me what it is. The truth is for you and you alone. What you do with it is your business. At least for me, I was able to lock the answer down with a heck of a lot of work. I figured out what my standard is... but what's yours?

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Isaiah [Book Review]

"Isaiah" is the twenty-third book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by King Hezekiah. It contains the words of the prophet Isaiah, which, in turn, ends up being the words of God himself. That alone makes this book far more relevant than the disappointing "Song of Solomon."

Even so, my main beef with this book is that it isn't a very interesting read. It drags quite a bit and just feels overly-long. But it isn't without its positives. For one, this is the first time you hear about Jesus. The prophecy of the coming Christ is first announced within this book, and it really was quite exciting to be reading it. It kind of hits you like a brick too. You never see it coming. God just sort of dumps it on you suddenly.

Much of the book concerns the dire fates of many of the nations who turned against God. None of them are good. It usually means the mass destruction of lives and property. Such comes from the anger of a jealous God.

The book also seems to deal with post-Revelations material, such as the "New Heaven and Earth" that is made at the end of this prolific story. This was fascinating to read about within the Old Testament.

I think that if I had to take one positive from this very long book, it would be that it sounded like I was listening to the voice of the Father Himself. He's a very angry God, and I kind of like Him that way. When things piss Him off, He makes Himself heard. I liked listen to Him rant. Good stuff. Not for everybody, but I always did favor the Father over the other two.

I think recommending this book is still in play for its content, but just be mindful that it is almost a 5 hour read. If you can't handle a 5 hour God-rant, then pass it up.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Elite Dangerous [Video Game Review]

I usually won't review a game I haven't beaten, but how do you "beat" a game as big as Elite Dangerous? Can anyone really conquer a game this big? I'd like to see them try. But I digress.

Elite Dangerous is a space-flight simulation game released in 2014 for PC. It has been constantly updated since then in order to keep adding levels of realism to it. You can do just about anything you want in it: trading, combat, bounty hunting, criminal activity, exploration, as well as participation in such things as wars (civil or otherwise), local and galactic politics, an alien incursions, and even the search for life. Honestly, this lists barely scratches the surface. The game really just leaves a lot of things open to allow you to choose your own path. What did I ultimately choose? I became an explorer.

My own personal goal really had nothing at all to do with the situation in and around Earth. I wanted to travel to the center of the galaxy, and so I did. It only took me roughly 250 hours of gameplay... or about 6 months. Half way there, I met up with another explorer, and we traveled the last leg of the journey together. Although much of it was a bit boring, I did see a lot of amazing things along the way. The game does a wonderful job simulating space at any particular place in the galaxy you might find yourself in.

But did I beat the game? No. I accomplished my goal though, and that is what Elite Dangerous is all about. It's about living within a science fiction game with amazing lore, yet you just do what you want. Other games have tried doing this, such as the Elder Scrolls series, but no game has felt like it had the scale and freedom of choice as Elite Dangerous. In this game, the entire galaxy is yours to play with, even if there really isn't a lot out there to interact with.

So what did I get out of it? Tons of photographs! I saw so many wonderful things, not to mention a few really interesting black holes. I was a tourist within a game too massive for its own good, but it was perfect for me. I loved every time I landed on a distant planet and just walked around on it. For a small time, I felt like I was really out there. Being an explorer is a very relaxing experience, even fairly conducive to meditation.

I'll be flying home soon though. I was considering exploring the outer rim next which is far more difficult, but I am up to the challenge. All the stars down that way are extremely spaced out.

I highly recommend Elite Dangerous for whatever sort of scifi you happen to be into. There's so much here to play with. Just decide what you want to be and work your way there. As long as you are willing to give the game a sufficient chance, there will be something here for you. It is a great game that has only gotten greater as the years have rolled by. Play it!

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Handy Mandy in Oz [Book Review]

[This blog includes spoilers for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"Handy Mandy in Oz" is the thirty-first book in the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum. It was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson and published in 1937. The beginning of this book is extremely deceptive, but it ultimately ends up being a very charming, fast-paced Oz book.

Handy Mandy's introduction was that of a simple goat-herding girl living in a place called Mt. Mern. At first, I was wondering if this was some place in our world, but it was just a previously unseen area of Fairyland. At this point, she seems pretty normal, but an accident ends up shooting her off to the Munchkin area of Oz. Here we learn her true nature.

Handy Mandy has seven arms. All her arms are different too. She has leather arms, iron arms, and two regular ones. It's actually a little weird and sickening when it is first revealed, but you do get used to it. In fact, I ended up liking her a lot by the end of the story. A lot of this comes from the fact that she is super charming. She is far from perfect, but she is certainly "handy!"

She meets up with Nox the Royal Ox. He is essentially an Ox who gets to live the life of a king, but he is also more than meets the eye. One of his horns can unscrew and become a Horn of Plenty. Anything you wish for will gush out endlessly until the whole room is full of it. In fact, it becomes a major point to specifically mention how much of the thing you want or else it will just keep coming out. A town got flooded with water due to this issue.

The villain of the story was an extremely selfish wizard known as the Wizard of Wutz. He teams up with the Gnome King in another hilarious effort to conquer Oz proper. I like them both, but they are a bit too similar to one another. It was like seeing the Gnome King argue with a mirror. I still enjoyed them though!

I thought the Wizard of Wutz's idea of punishment to be just awful and tragic. He would "plant" people into big pots where only their heads would stick out of the soil and be given very little food each day to sustain themselves. It plays on the fact that no one can actually die in Oz, so torture can potentially last an eternity. Hilariously, he planned to "plant" all of his minions once he gained the throne, keeping all the power to himself. What an ass!

I recommend "Handy Mandy of Oz." It is a charming story, but far from the best that Ruth has done up to this point. I am eager to continue reading her Oz books, although I am swiftly running out of them. Only two left!

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Song of Solomon [Book Review]

What even happened here? I'm so confused. Let me explain: When I finished "Ecclesiastes," I was pretty comfortable with the Bible. Although I had some grief from some bad writing or slightly uninteresting stories, I did think it was a good book. However, all that stopped suddenly.

I did not even remember that there was a book called "Song of Solomon." I drilled book titles for the "Holy Bible" when I was young, so I must have hit this one before, but when I saw the title of this book, I honestly felt as if it was the first time I ever saw it. But there it was, right there as if it was going to be this mysterious, never-heard-of book of the Bible. I had no memory of anyone ever quoting it. What happened? After reading it, I figured it out. It's kind of pointless.

"Song of Solomon" is twenty-second book of the "Holy Bible." I don't know who the author or authors are, but I seriously doubt it was written by Solomon. More often then not, the author sounds feminine, but I cannot be sure.

"Song of Solomon" is a collection of absolutely gushing romantic writings. Every chapter in it is pretty much that. It just goes on like that for fifteen minutes and then stops. That's it. No wonder nobody ever quotes this book to me. It's near meaningless.

Now, to be fair, I did read up on it to see what Christians see in it. I found out that a lot of Christians see it as a way to view one's relationship with God. I'm sorry, but no. This book is obviously one human writing about love to another human. That's all it is, and it is very generic about it. That is not to say that it is written poorly. Oh, "Song of Solomon" is, in fact, extremely well written, but it isn't really about anything relevant to the Bible.

Up until this book, every book in the Bible had extreme relevance as religious literature. "Esther" is a little shaky, but it still loosely fits in with the theme. "Song of Solomon" is just humans gushing about other humans. That's it. And for these reasons, I don't really recommend the book. I'm not joking. I see it as entirely skippable unless you just want to read some random romantic writings. And if you do choose to put yourself through it, it isn't very long at all. It has to be the shortest book I've read so far. Either way, I'm pretty good to move on.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mission Impossible [Book Review]

"Mission Impossible" is the very first novel written for the popular television show of the same name. [Although the show had a colon in the title between the two words.] It was written by Walter Wager, however, he was credited in the book as John Tiger. I did my homework.

You may not have known this, but I have been a fan of the Mission: Impossible series for a long time. I have actually seen all of the episodes of both shows and the films. I was very curious to see what the first novel was like. The book I ended up with was very worn and used, but all the story was there. I think that's one of the fascinating things about books. They keep their story as long as the pages are still present and readable.

This book was written during the odd first season where Dan Briggs was still the point man of the series. I always liked him, but apparently the show was just having problems with the actor, so they had to nix him. The book does well to not only represent the original cast of the show, but it goes a little bit into why they do what they do. This is something the show really never bothered explaining.

The story is actually about how the IM Force goes after a former-Nazi living in South America who is making plans for a Forth Reich. He is developing a terrible gas called Dexon-9 which he plans to use to turn a lot of people into brainless invalids. He is extremely well-protected and the statute of limitations for his war crimes are about to come to an end. This was essentially the impossible mission they had, and it was a lot of fun seeing how they pulled it all together to get the job done. Other than that, I won't spoil how they did it.

I do recommend "Mission Impossible." There are copies of the book still floating around. I was a bit surprised at the very violent explanation of some of the harsher scenes. This was something that the show stayed away from. Either way, it was a good read, and I don't regret picking it up.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Ecclesiastes [Book Review]

"Ecclesiastes" is the twenty-first book of the "Holy Bible," and, by all reason that I have, it was written by King Solomon. The word "Ecclesiastes" is a sort of Greek translation of the Hebrew word "Koheleth" which means "Gatherer" or "Teacher" or "Preacher," just to give you an idea of why the the book has the strange name.

This book is essentially a sermon given by Solomon himself about how a lot of people just throw their short lives away on stupid, pointless, spiritually meaningless things. It is due to vanity that a lot of people do this, and I have already observed this before actually reading this book. I'll give you a brief idea of what I had considered.

I got the idea that people did not really understand how time worked and at what rate it actually was passing. When we are bored, we see time as very slow. When we are having fun, time seems to pass very quickly. This got me thinking that people really had a difficult time understand how fast time was actually moving, and this also applies to the time in which a person has to live. People are born and die in the blink of an eye, if you consider how much time has actually gone by since the Beginning. People don't really think of it, and this is likely how they tend to waste their lives without actually bothering until it's too late.

In "Ecclesiastes," Solomon bemoans that people literally throw their lives away to vain exploits. Anything and everything you own in this world will someday be owned by another. The reason for this is that the flesh ultimately breaks down and falls away, and the spirit remains immortal for eternity. Knowing that eternity is infinitely longer than what mortality gives us, it makes the lives of human seem stupidly short, and the fact that we bother with anything vain at all seems ridiculous. I don't blame Solomon for feeling depressed when he wrote this book.

I do recommend this book in the hopes that it will give you some perspective on things. I'm not holding my breath though. The entire theme of this book is that people are incredibly dense and stupid. It's true. Even I have fallen for this crap. It's one of the things that makes me feel bonkers half of the time. A small warning though: Solomon may have gotten it because he has the wisdom of God, but he ultimately fell for vanity later on in life. If Solomon fell short, what chance do any of us have? I guess at the end, there will only be a small handful who actually gets it.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Proverbs [Book Review]

"Proverbs" is the twentieth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by King Solomon. Like "Psalms," this book has no actual plot, but is a mere collection of sayings. The difference here is that they are a list of wise saying as handed out by the wisest king of the Jews before he became an idiot.

Once again, I don't have any particular verses to share. I'm not here to do that. But I will say that I was particularly pleased to read about how friendship gets prioritized above family. No doubt family is important, but friendship overrides it. If you cannot find friendship within family then you should find it elsewhere. This is something I have said for a long time. The prioritization of family over all things is overrated.

I always knew this blog would be brief, but I do want to say one more thing before I move on. In earlier books, we found that King Solomon asked of God to have His wisdom. Because he was granted this and this book was written, we can reasonably assume that this book lists out the literal wisdom of God himself. It is not a book of laws, please understand, but merely good pieces of advice you can use to take with you in life. And indeed, all the wisdom found in this book apply to modern times as well. Humans have never changed.

I do recommend this book. It mostly reads well--perhaps not as good as "Psalms" did. Some of the sayings are done using metaphors which can actually be a bit confusing. But on the whole, it is an easy enough read with great advice. Go for it.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Fairy's Pet

I have an occasional thought about the concept of being owned or being the pet of a fairy creature. The idea came to me way back when I was working on "A Wolf in My Bedroom." I imagined a passageway into Fairyland, where a group of fairy wolves would choose a child from our world and take them there to essentially take care of them... or eat them. I couldn't make up my mind on the end game.

But for this blog, I am considering the idea of the former. What would it be like to be owned or taken care of by a fairy creature? What does it mean to be a fairy's pet? If this happens, the culture of the fairy in question could be applied heavy-handedly to the human pet. The fairy would likely train the pet to act or be a certain way while under its guidance.

There is also a chance that the fairy will allow the human to act like himself but with boundaries to keep him under control. This would happen purely out of fascination of the human. Fairies like to stare at things they don't understand.

The problem with being cared for by a fairy is that it might not be so great for one's mental stability. There are some things that people should not be exposed to long term. When I try and imagine what a person might become by simply being exposed to that, I see something akin to confusion. I worry that the person would have difficulty relating to other humans after that sort of experience. I could be wrong though.

I used to have a strange fantasy about being captured by dragons to be owned by them. They kept me in a cave on a high cliff, and I would remain there while the dragons did dragon things. The more I think about it, the more I feel that it would be a psychologically damning thing for me to endure. What was worse was that not every dragon there seemed to approve of my presence. That was very worrying.

Either way, this is merely a speculative thing to consider. How do you think you would fair if you belonged to a creature of fairy origin? Could you keep your human mentality, or do you think it would degrade in some way?

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Meeting a Fairy

I spend a lot of time thinking about this. Have you ever sat down and wondered if you've gone a little crazy? Imagine what it would be like to actually meet, or worse, have a relationship with a fairy. To make matters all the more extreme, we could say that that relationship is in the modern age where such things are doubted as a rule.

I think that such relationships would not have been quite as upsetting in earlier times, but in today's day and age, I can see the conflict. Imagine meeting someone that is on an entirely different level than yourself, while still somehow existing there with you. To look into his eyes is a very sobering thing, but I think the word "sober" can be taken to an extreme... into the realm of sociopathy.

I fully believe that the strange natures of these creatures can rub off on regular folks like you and I. The more time you spend with them, the worse you'll get. You'll get more and more sober until you don't even understand what it means to be human. The worst part of it is: Just turning your back on the fairy is no easy thing. You can't just stop. You got to keep doing it because it honestly seems like the most real thing there is in the world.

There's a violent passion in there somewhere. It radiates out of the eyes and strikes us as so fascinating. I don't believe we actually have the ability to turn against it. And when curiosity is your master, a sense of duty can often spell the end when it comes to the ultimate choice that is: Will I cross that gap into the world held within that set of eyes. Will I do it? We shouldn't, I suppose. But what sort of world do we have without it? A bunch of people all walking about like zombies, ultimately going nowhere?

The human heart is fiery and strong, but it has its limits. Nevertheless, bravery and courage are still important... and life is only just so long... and eternal life is never-ending. What we do now is important. So if you have to do something that makes you crazy, maybe it isn't such a bad thing. Maybe crazy is what we were to begin with.

This blog was written on 9-30-21.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Psalms [Book Review]

"Psalms" is the nineteenth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by [deep breath] David, Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman, Jeuthun, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah. Although this list of names is very impressive, there are many who believe that they were all written by David. What do I think? Not a clue, sorry. I was only here for the book.

"Psalms" is a book consisting of prayers and poetry. It is exactly 150 of them, and they are all written fairly well. I was surprised at how easy they were to read when I think of some of the obscure language that I had to deal with in previous books. Even so, the entirety of "Psalms" was a 4 hour read, so it still took me a long time with my regular reading schedule.

I did notice that this book seems to have inspired the general way many people pray out loud in public. They seem to use a similar wording and order presented in this book. I guess that's fine. I don't think the book was trying to create a standard for prayer, but it did serve as an inspiration on how one might choose to pray. It doesn't bother me.

As far as plot... there isn't any, and this makes it a little difficult to review. There wasn't really any one prayer that got my attention. I actually really liked them all. It was a good read, but because of what it is, it just doesn't favor reviewing, unless I pick one or two put to mention specifically... and I won't be doing that.

I do, however, recommend reading it for yourself. It is good to finally hear some people in the Bible finally saying the right things, because I didn't get a whole lot of that up to this point. The Old Testament is a fairy frustrating read sadly. At least here you can hear the words of the humble few who actually bothered to see God for who he was and show some damned respect.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Alice's Adventures Under Ground [Book Review]

"Alice's Adventures Under Ground" was written by Lewis Carrol, and despite only being the the original manuscript for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," it was later later published in 1886. I found it to be an interesting read, but ultimately I may have waisted my time a bit.

I'm not really upset over it. The truth was that I do get strangely interested in rare oddities. I try not to look, but it is very hard not to. I had a feeling of what I was getting into, and I ultimately was right about all of it. "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" is merely a truncated version of the book that was ultimately published 1865. There are only minor differences in the bits that are still there.

Characters, such as the Duchess, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat, were not implemented until later. What this story actually is is something of a gift to the real Alice Liddell, who would get her own personal copy. Interestingly, he was already working on the expanded version that we all know before she even received this copy.

For what the story is, it is fine. It works without all the other character, but I think we all can agree that the version that came out was much better. Because there are not really any big differences in this version, I can't really recommend it over "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," and that really is all I can do for this review.

So I suppose I can take a moment to jabber on about why I bother. I do spend a lot of time looking for obscure gems out there. Finding "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" was like discovering a little golden nugget nobody ever really talks about. Granted, I had heard of this book before, but it's not really something anyone really promotes or talks about much.

I like obscure things like this. You'd be surprised how many unknown books are out there that are actually good. If we stick with only the well-known books, we are actually missing out in life. I'm going to continue to look for stuff like this, and I'll let you know when I find a good one. For now, it's time to go back to a place I am well familiar with: Oz.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Little One, Maid of Israel [Book Review]

I guess it is a little strange that I have read two Christian books with similar titles. I am referring to my recent review of "Small One." But these books have little else to do with one another, and I am pleased to finally be able to review this book that I haven't read since I was in middle school.

"Little One, Maid of Israel" is a book written by Bill Harvey and published in 1976. It takes place during the Old Testament, primarily centering around II Kings, Chapter 5. The story revolves around a Jewish slave girl who is taken to Syria to serve the wife of a very famous soldier known as Naaman. The only problem is that Naaman is a leper.

I am happy to say that, for a Christian book, this story was very good and even, at times, exciting. Much of it comes across as slice of life, having to do with the main character, known as Little One. It does evolve into some very startling happenings such as a plot to assassinate the Syrian king.

I didn't really feel like I was being preached to. Little One is a God-fearing girl owned by heathen masters. She does stay firm in her faith, and it feels like God chose to place her there for a reason. The author does not make out the heathens to be horrible people. King Benhadad is shown to be a very benevolent king, and I appreciate the author for recognizing that. He actually was.

The book also has a very fun encounter with the prophet Elisha, and the author's depiction of him was spot on. I always liked him! I was looking forward to his scenes, and they did not disappoint. The man was basically a grumpy hermit that God was talking really loudly to... like right in his ear. The man did everything God wanted, and I love him for it.

The book is very good and I do recommend it, but I do have two very small complaints. I think you should know of them before you set out on this journey.

1. The book is split into two parts. The first part is short and feels like it is written for young children. I felt that, at times, I was being a little patronized. When the second part hits, the book takes a very adult tone, and I no longer had that feeling. I could be wrong, but it feels like the author may have intended to write the book in a certain way... but then decided against it part of the way through. There is no way to confirm this though.

2. The big faux pas of this book is actually a pretty hilarious one. So most of this book is written in a very modern way. People talk to one another like we talk to each other today. The dialog is very modern. That is not the complaint. I liked that. The problem was that, when the book would cross paths with actual moments in the Bible, the dialog would suddenly become word-for-word what was said in the Kings James Version of the book. This sudden crossover to old English is jarring, and I feel that it was a mistake to do so. It would have likely been better to just write it in the same modern way that had been used up to that point or to pick a more modern translation as a source. This instance only happens a handful of times in the book, so it's not that big of a deal.

"Little One, Maid of Israel" is still out there. It's not completely obscure. It is one of the rare good Christian stories and well worth your time if you are up for it. Enjoy!

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Hunting of the Snark [Book Review]

[This blog spoils some aspects of the book as well as the nature of the monster.]

"The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in 8 Fits" is a short book written by Lewis Carroll. It was published in 1876. Reading this book was not my first encounter with the concept. I read a comic book version of this a while back called "Snarked" which included the addition of the Walrus and the Carpenter characters from the Alice books.

"The Hunting of the Snark," is an eight-part poem which seems nonsensical at first, but it is actually a cleverly written drama and horror story. It includes a motley crew of characters who are all designated by their profession, and every last one of those professions begin with the letter B. We have a Bellman, a Barrister (Lawyer), a Broker, a Billiard-Marker, a Banker, a Butcher, a Baker, and even a Beaver. All of these set out in search of a mysterious creature called a Snark.

The bulk of the story is really just about how the strange crew of the ship are getting along. There are some personal disputes among them. The Butcher and the Beaver had likely the most difficult problems since one was rather keen on killing the other, however, they come together and even bond as the story progresses.

The story tends to meander a bit, as if the writer sort of forgets what he is writing about, before snapping back quickly enough. I actually found these sidesteps relaxing, and it did help give you a better idea of who these people were who had come together. It did not really hurt the story at all, and it felt like it gave more length to a story which is really not that long.

The horror of the story comes from the fact that there is a chance that the Snark might not be the kind of snark you are supposed to hunt. It's either that or that it ends up being an entirely different monster called a Boojum. Encountering a Boojum means you simply disappear into thin air never to be seen again. It's a very creepy thing to think about, and the characters unfortunately have to deal with this sobering reality along the way. It's a fear that carries its way through the story and sticks with you even when the story ends.

I recommend "The Hunting of the Snark" for it's fascinating and cleverly deceptive narrative. As silly as it seems on the surface, there is a very real story here about people, relationships, and a monster. I think I rather enjoyed it more than the Alice books. Stories like this tend to stick with you. I'm glad I read it.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Alice Through the Looking-Glass [Book Review]

So I did not take a break after reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." I've been moving right along the Carroll train. "Alice Through the Looking-Glass" is a book written by Lewis Carroll, and it was published in 1871. It was the sequel to the aforementioned book. I did enjoy it, but I have to explain something here.

There is a stark difference between these two books. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" felt like a good, solid dream. There was a nice progression of travel in it. You could easily envision the path Alice was taking through Wonderland. In "Alice Through the Looking-Glass," it is much harder to do that. It seems more like a fever dream where scenes suddenly change with no explanation.

Oddly, Alice's actual path is that of a pawn on a Chess board, a straight line. Despite this, the scenes are all laid out with hard cuts from one to the next. It is very disorienting, and in some moments rather dizzying. Most of the dialog is based on literal humor and a few puns. Alice's frustrations in conversation come from people taking her words too literally. This is a theme which plays out from beginning to end.

Only a few characters in the book are really all that endearing. Most of them are throw-a-way characters. I was especially fond of the White Knight who felt like an extremely uncoordinated Don Quixote. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum were a lot of fun. I also enjoyed Humpty Dumpty who bothered to explained part of the Jabberwocky poem to her.

Other than this, the book is kind of meh. It's not bad. I even recommend it! Lewis Carroll was a brilliant mathematician, and he used this book to show off his skills in that area, and it does show. But at the end of the day, the first book is just better. I would like to say, however, that the Disney film incorporated both books into one movie, and honestly made it all much more coherent. I think it is the best manner at which to enjoy the two books together.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Silent Films

I don't watch many silent films, but I do have a fascination with them. They are often considered antiquated and obsolete since we now have movies with sound, but I'm not entirely sure of that. Watching a really old silent film is a bit like looking into someone's dream. They tend to portray scenes in brief with only the bare minimum of dialog needed, produced through text. There's a strange hybrid of movie and book happening here, but it's really hard to put my finger on.

A problem I have with a lot of silent films, but not really a problem, is that there seems to be a truncated aspect in their writing. It feels like a lot of scenes are missing, and hard cuts are the way of the world. The plot can still be followed, but much of it has to be constructed by the imagination. I use the word "constructed" because the sets often seem half built and flimsy.

I have to give them the benefit of the doubt on some things, but, in others, I have to rework some things in my head for it to make sense. That doesn't really mean they did anything wrong, but there is just something so broken about a world without sound that it turns on a rarely used mechanism in my mind that feels it needs to do something to complete the shot. I don't think this is a bad thing at all.

Although dialog is still present in these films, they only show you what you need to know. There are often many scenes where people are talking, but we don't get to know what is being said. Granted, what they are saying could be nothing more than small talk, but there are times where there are smiles, the shaking of hands, and the simultaneous movement of lips which clearly insinuate that a greeting is taking place. And maybe knowing that for sure isn't necessary when what is happening is so obvious.

Then again, there have been many times where two persons talk to each other with absolutely no context, and we are not provided text for it. I often thought that this conversation was simply not important enough to show, but my brain is still filling in the gap. I still kind of know what they are saying even though nothing was really said. It's an odd way to make a movie, especially if you consider how much extra information we get from modern movies. We hear every bit of dialog, important or not.

Regardless of the limitations of a silent movie, there does seem to be an artform to it. They had to make them in very specific ways. The surreal effect of them is fascinating. Every movie is a black and white dream where your brain if filling it with sound and dialog.

You may find it interesting that silent movies are being made to this day. I am going to wholeheartedly recommend two of them for your viewing pleasure.

The Call of Cthulhu (2005) was entirely designed, from the ground up, as the truest portrayal of the Cthulhu mythos in the time at which the story was set. This makes it very immersive. All the special effects of the time are used to make it come alive. No tricks. Only what they would have done if the movie was made in the 1920's.

The Artist (2011) is an actually good French film that was about a silent film actor that was having trouble dealing with the invention of sound. 99% of this movie is done in the classic silent filmmaking manner, with a small portion breaking from the format to a surprising effect. It drew me in and kept me.

Silent films are still a thing, and they are a different animal then any other medium. They are more than simply the result of limitations. To watch them, you have to activate certain mechanisms in your brain, and that in itself makes them worth your time.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!