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.

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: 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.

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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!