Crowned of the Woodland- Writers Block. This is the beginning.

I was going to start with the war, but I wondered if the campaign descriptions over months and years could get boring. Then I was going to start at the end, go to bed at the end of the chapter, and have hi

Crowned of the Woodland

Chapter 1

Foster, newly crowned Thane Aiden, King of Aidah, stared over the weed-choked courtyard. Only a week ago, his armies had finally freed Aidah from two hundred years of Golt oppression. The shrill dance of pipe and violin music came from behind him. The laughter of children and lilting song of the grown mixed in with the music to create an air of exuberance. Yet Foster could not join. He had tried. During the common dinner of roast ox, domestic partridge, radishes, bread and hard cheese, he had eaten and conversed with the other revelers. But when the dancing and music started, Foster had removed himself. He had always enjoyed music, even during the long campaigns, especially during the campaigns. An Aiden folk song could lift his spirits, as well as being in defiance of Golt laws. And he wasn’t remiss to a dance or two, although only with a select few that really knew him.

A light touch on the elbow woke him from his musing, “My son, why are you not at the party? Golt is gone, our mountains and forests are safe now. No longer do our children have to fear work in the orchard and field. No longer will our cities and harbors fall in crumbling ruin. Dandy men may sing to their ladies, lovers stroll beneath the trees.”

But he suppressed the uptight feelings and allowed the trim, dark haired woman to lead him back to the happy crowd. The middle tempo dance was, admittedly, one of Foster’s favorites. He took the opportunity and led his mother on to the polished wood makeshift dance floor. The syncopated short beats thronged through him. He looked into his mothers pine eyes. They had always enthralled him, as if they held the wisdom of the ages. He knew he could not hide things from her, but he kept up a steady stream of businesslike conversation in order to keep the deeper questioning at bay.  

“Mother, you know that you could be the queen. The people of Aidah love you, and although I’m grateful to be king, well, you know more about administration and keeping order than I do. I would transfer the power to you. Take it from me! Keep me advised, but please Mother, take the reins!”

“No, my son. It is I who will be kept advised, while you are in your place as Thane. I will be there, as will your friends and countrymen. But you have led us in the war to free our country. You are not alone, but it is your responsibility to rule. Be the Thane we need now that we are free! You know what to do! Lead by example what it means to be Aiden, and then leave the people to live honest lives! Administer mercy at every turn, justice when needed. You can be a good king, Foster, it is in your blood.”

120 Questions

Being one of those sensitive days I found this list and answered these questions in my head. Maybe it only interests me but I suggest you read them and answer them in your head too, gets you thinking! They could also be used for short writing prompts.

1: Who did you last say "I love you" to?
2: Do you regret it?
3: Have you ever been depressed?
4: Do you like dinosaurs?
5: Are you insecure?
6: What is your relationship status?
7: How do you want to die?
8: What did you last eat?
9: Have you played any sports?
10: Do you have an attitude?
11: Do you like someone?
12: What is your real name?
13: Have you ever read a book?
14: Do you hate anyone at the moment?
15: Do you miss someone?
16: Twirl or cut your spaghetti?
17: Do you tan a lot? over the summer?
18: Have any pets?
19: How exactly are you feeling?
20: Ever eaten food in a car while someone or yourself is driving:
21: Good driver?
22: Are you scared of spiders?
23: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
24: Do you regret anything from your past?
25: What are your plans for this weekend?
26: Do you want to have kid?
27: Do you type fast?
28: Do you have piercings?
29: Want anymore?
30: Can you spell well?
31: Do you miss anyone from your past?
32: What are you craving right now?
33: Ever been to a bonfire party?
34: Ever had a silly band?
35: Have you ever been on a horse?
36: Have you ever broken someones heart?
37: Have you ever been cheated on?
38: Are you thinking of someone right now?
39: Would you live with someone without marrying them?
40: What should you be doing?
41: Whats irritating you right now?
42: Have you ever liked someone so much that it hurts?
43: Does somebody love you?
44: What is your favorite color?
45: Have you ever changed clothes in a car?
46: Milk chocolate or white chocolate?
47: Do you have trust issues?
48: Best friends name?
49: 2nd best friends name?
50: 3rd best friends name?
51: Who was the last person you cried in front of?
52: Do you give out second chances too easily?
53: Is it easier to forgive or forget?
54: What was your childhood nickname?
55: Favorite food?
60: Do you believe everything happens for a reason??
61: Did you have dream last night?
62: Have you ever been out of state?
63: Do you play the wii?
64: Are you listening to music right now?
65: Do you like chinese food?
66: Who are you texting right now?
67: Are you afraid of the dark?
68: Is cheating ever okay?
69: Are you mean?
70: Can you keep white shoes clean?
71: What year has been your best?
72: Do you believe in true love?
73: Favorite weather?
74: Do you like the snow?
75: Does it snow a lot where you live?
76: Do you like the outside?
77: Do you wanna get married?
78: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?
79: Are you hungry?
80: What makes you happy?
81: Would you change your name?
82: Ever been to Alaska?
83: Ever been to Hawaii?
84: Do you watch the news?
85: What's your zodiac sign?
86: Do you like subway?
87: Do you talk like your friends?
88: Have you ever seen someone you knew and purposely avoided them?
89: Do you have a friend of the opposite gender who you can act your complete self around?
100: Who was the last person of the opposite gender you talked to?
101: Do you feel good?
102: Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?
103: Can you count to one million?
104: Are your finger nails painted at the moment?
105: Favorite number?
106: If you could pick two people your own age or younger to be stuck on a stranded island with, who would it be?
107: Are you a hunter?
108: Tall or short?
109: Favorite subject in school?
110: What 5 people do you trust the most?
111: Who do you think has amazing hair?
112: Parents divorced?
113: What city do you live in?
114: Where were you born?
115: Recliner or couch?
116: What two people do you miss talking to?
117: Who will you be with this weekend?
118: City or country?
119: Water or soda?
120: Was this a waste of my time?

Help my friend Shaylor go and do charity work in Tanzania

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shaylor-goes-to-tanzania

The Mirror of Erised

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone depending on the country you got the book in) Harry stumbles upon a mirror called The Mirror of Erised while escaping from Snape and Filch. In the mirror he sees his parents and other family whom he has never met. Harry has always wanted to be reunited with his family, to really know them. He goes back three nights, once with Ron. Ron looks in the mirror after Harry's insistence. He doesn't see Harry's family though. He sees himself, older, being Head Boy of Hogwarts and winning the Quidditch Cup. Ron feels that he has been overshadowed by others his whole life, and even that he is unloved by others. (Killing Regulus' Locket?)
The third time Harry goes to sit and "be with" his family, he discovers that Professor Dumbledore has been watching him. Dumbledore explains what the Mirror of Erised does. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of them all." (213)
I was sitting at my computer staring at Facebook when I realized that the site I was on, plus many other social networking sites, could be seen as a muggle's Mirror of Erised. On Facebook we can put up whatever pictures, like any page, potentially have thousands of friends. Whatever we want our lives to be we can get. It is more powerful than the mirror in that we can project an image to other people as well.
But, as Dumbledore continues to explain, "However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." (213)
Let's break this down:
1) Neither knowledge or truth: Even if we build up these lives on Facebook for the world to see, is it real? I could claim to have a girlfriend, post myriad posts about how smart I am, or how right the President is or isn't. But in the end it does not make it the truth. I don't have a girlfriend, and at least half the country still thinks I'm wrong about my political views.
2) Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen: How much time do I spend on the computer, just HOPING somebody will write on my wall, or I'll win a prize on a page I've 'Liked?'
3) Or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible: This one hits a little to close to home. WAY too close. You know that really cute girl I liked throughout most of high school? Yeah, her. After not talking to her for over half a decade, I ran across her profile on Facebook, and promptly added her as a 'friend.' I looked in the Mirror of Erised, saw her, sat down and in effect, began staring. To me it was like the 3 years at ESHS plus 900 miles distance. Right back to when she put a heart in my yearbook, gave me her phone number, and said she'd miss me when I graduated. Except she had gone on with life, changed over the years, and had new experiences. No one is the same 5 years later. I'm not. But Facebook, the muggle's Mirror of Erised, allowed me to write on her wall, tell her she was beautiful (the truth btw) and act like we had seen each other last week. I even was brave enough to tell the computer cutie, over messaging, that I had liked her. In high school I had sincerely hoped she had no idea.
Luckily, unlike the Mirror of Erised, Facebook is more transient. The people you interact with on it do not stay on the screen, or in the mirror, for you to long for forever. Some time last year the girl of my dreams unfriended me. I'll admit that I spent some time being both angry and sad that that had happened. "After all," I told myself, "I never really thought I'd ever be able to acctually DATE her. I never even TRIED to ask her out, not one time!" Now I feel like it was good that we are not friends, even on the internet. I never said, "Will you go out with me," but it was plain that is what I would have wanted. As Dumbledore said at the end of the chapter, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." (214) That is what I was doing. Living on a dream which I could never know if it were real or even possible. Some times she is still in my dreams, though.

King George of Nashville, Tennessee

Today, April 26, 2013 marked the death of one of Country Music's legends: George Jones.

I'll admit that since I am only 28 my knowledge of George Jones has come after his charting career was over. But that doesn't mean he had no effect on my musical taste. I love his voice. There is something about George's voice, and that of many other classic country singers,  that was better than many modern singers. George had feelings in his music and lyrics. I could feel the heartache in songs like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "The Door."

I know this post is short, but believe me, it is heart felt. RIP Peace George Jones! I wish I could witness todays concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R2F9f2Cl6Y&feature=share

Newtown, Conn, Portland, OR and China

This week alone has seen 3 attacks, 2 on schoolchildren. On Tuesday, a man shot and killed two people, then took his own life at a mall in Portland, Oregon. The gun used was stolen from a friend. When his ex-girlfriend was interviewed, she said that the last time she had talked to him, Jacob Roberts had sold all of his property and bought a one way ticket to Hawaii. She went to his house to spend the night and found him depressed and unresponsive when she tried to talk to him. His everyday attitude, according to the woman, was a sunny disposition. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/13/friends-man-accused-in-ore-mall-shooting-express-shock-disbelief-over-rampage/

In Newtown, Connecticut a 20 year old man named Adam Lanza, entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed almost 30 people, 2/3 of whom were children. He reportedly killed his mother at the house before going to the school. All the news websites, Twitter, Facebook, and search engines have been reporting the latest on the shooting all day. I've heard reports that Adam Lanza had anywhere from two to four guns. His brother said that he was slightly autistic, and had some other mental difficulties.  Lanza's older brother, Ryan, was misrepresented as the shooter earlier in the day, but later news showed that he was at work in New Jersey, an entirely different state.

http://gma.yahoo.com/breaking-conn-school-district-locked-down-shooting-report-151955384--abc-news-topstories.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONNECTICUT_SCHOOL_SHOOTING_SUSPECT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-14-18-40-31

http://gma.yahoo.com/connecticut-shooter-adam-lanza-obviously-not-well-182011729--abc-news-topstories.html

In China, a man described as 'deranged' attacked an old lady with a knife and then crossed the street and attacked primary school children, 20 at last count. The children are now at a State Hospital recovering from their wounds. No deaths have been reported. Thank goodness! In China primary school is roughly analogous to elementary school, with children ages 6 to 11 attending the schools. The culprit is now in police custody. 

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-attacks-22-kids-knife-china-school-article-1.1220230

First off, I'd like to express my condolences to the victims, alive and dead. I won't ever know what it would ever be like to be a child who witnessed a shooting. I hope to never witness one as an adult. Because places involved with violent and horrific events can trigger PTSD flashbacks, part of the school in Connecticut will have to be rebuilt so that children do not have panic attacks if they repeatedly remember a man with guns blazing stepping around a corner of the building. Even that thought is hair raising. Construction should be redone on the Portland mall and the Chinese school as well. Of course physical building construction won't be enough. Counseling centers and psychology centers have stepped forward and offered mental health counseling to the survivors. 

I want to get this discussion over as fast as possible. On Twitter I saw several tweets from individuals calling for strict gun control, or even banishment of all firearms. I can't say I blame anyone for asking for that. Even though I enjoy target shooting in the desert if the banishment of guns meant the banishment of murder I would gladly find something else to do with friends on the weekend. But no guns doesn't mean no murders. http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvinco.html

This was also evidenced by the less discussed, but just as tragic attack in China. Chinese citizens are not allowed to have guns. So this guy found a knife. Attacks on all people, let alone little children will not lessen, let alone cease. 

All three of the attackers have been reported as having some degree of mental incapacity. This is in no way meant to attach the stigma of 'dangerous individuals' to those with some form of mental illness. I have diagnosed depression and anxiety. I can't imagine hurting a child. In mental health cases, these events are an exception rather than the rule. But the fact that all three attackers, as well as the Dark Knight Rises shooter from earlier this year, showed symptoms of mental illness should not be ignored. I don't mean the 'mental illness' of, "What kind of *expletive* guy would shoot kids?" that I have heard today. I mean the kind of mental illness that someone we know has: Depression, Anxiety, ADD/ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia etc. These are treatable, but for some reason were not. I don't know about China, but here in the United States there are counseling facilities, treatment centers, prescription drugs, and doctors who know how to treat these illnesses. Unless an individual has good health insurance or is at a university that offers free counseling, the cost of mental health care is quite high. This is not the time to debate the pros and cons of individual health care, Obamacare, socialized medicine, or other options. I will say that since the CEOs of several top Health Insurance and pharmaceutical companies received on average $9.2 million in pay it is pretty safe to say that they could live on a lower budget and drop their prices a bit.(http://www.healthreformwatch.com/2009/05/20/health-insurance-ceos-total-compensation-in-2008/) On economic issues I am usually rather libertarian, and I don't think that the government should go charging in and forcefully take their money. But, the heads of these companies, and those that work with them should have some common decency towards the average citizen. If these CEOs only think about money then we have an even bigger issue. Assuming that they are still human, the lowered prices would allow care to those who need it most, and hopefully incidents like these in recent months and today would lessen.

Even if there are ways to make these events happen less, they did happen today. Now we need to come together and restart the healing process. We were able to do this after 9/11. Today is no different. I saw several posts filled with anger, a legitimate emotion. After the anger fades, and it will, what are we to do? I suggest we follow the teachings of Jesus given during the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4) and through his prophet Abinadi in The Book of Mormon, "Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort . . . " (Mosiah 18:9). Pray for the families in Connecticut, Oregon, and China. Certainly not all of them are Christian, but that does not matter. Put politics and any unkind feelings we have, and pray for them to be comforted and for them to be healed. We should also remember that there is another family that lost their mother and brother in Connecticut today. The mother was killed, the brother was the killer and then was killed. That family also deserves our prayer and help just as much as any of the other victims. It may be natural for us to be angry, but as the natural man is an enemy to God we would do well to remember these words, "But I say unto you, ^aLove your ^benemies, ^cbless them that^dcurse you, do ^egood to them that ^fhate you, and ^gpray for them which despitefully use you, and ^hpersecute you." (Matthew 5:44)
Some may ask, where was God this day? He could have given the shooter in Connecticut a heart attack before he got to the school. Yes, that could have happened. And I don't know why it didn't. 

Heroes of the day:

As I can't possibly put this experience into words of my own, here are the news stories:

A teacher that put her life in danger to keep her students safe

http://gma.yahoo.com/childrens-terror-newtown-massacre-192100426--abc-news-topstories.html

The President's words

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-statement-newtown-shooting-3-15-p-m-195212145--politics.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20656617,00.html

170-130=40

For perhaps the last year to 18 months I have gained weight. Well, at least in that amount of time it became noticeable. At the beginning when I began I probably didn't notice, or if I did, I denied it would continue. After all, my whole life I was called "skinny punk" by my stepdad, and in a more congenial manner was told I could "eat anything" and that I had a fast metabolism. In high school I averaged 130 pounds. It seemed that no matter what I shoved in my mouth that didn't change. Now at 27 (almost 28) I am almost 170 pounds (166 last time I was on a scale). That's 40 pounds extra. I may not want to be a "skinny punk" again, but I don't want to be chubby like I am. And I don't think I should wait until I am 300 pounds before I get up and try and solve the problem. 40 founds is going to suck to get off, but it is infinitely better than having to lose170 pounds.
I'll admit it. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what people will say. I'm afraid of what they will think when they see me starting to exercise. Heck, I'm afraid of exercising. I've never really done it, so I'm not sure I know how to start on a program. Plus, I'm not sure it will work if I don't know how to do things correctly. I can't really ask for help since most health and athletic trainers need to be paid since it is their job. But I don't have a job or any money, so I can't do that.
What I do know is I have to do something! Yesterday I went to the Los Angeles Auto Show at the LA Convention Center. Walking around the show shouldn't have been very strenuous, the air conditioning was on, and it wasn't a hot day. Even Southern California cools down in December. But by 3:00 I was sweating and out of breath. I had a large breakfast with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law. At around 2:30 we stopped to have lunch before going to see more cars. I still wasn't very hungry, but I ordered a full meal and even tried to eat it. I ate about half of it, then felt like crap for about the next half hour. It went so far that I had to clamp my mouth shut so I didn't throw up, although I felt nauseous.
I went on Jillian Michael's website and took the free health assessment. I got some free tips, but, like other trainers, she needs to be paid as well. It isn't much, but it is more than I have right now. I did keep the email with the health link on it.
I need to reverse the last few decades of belief that I cant succeed in being healthy. I need myself to be my own incentive. I've thought, "Well if I had a girlfriend that I'd want to look good for, then I'd exercise." or, "If I had a job, then I could pay for help." It's true I should try and look my best, and a trainer or gym membership would help, but if I can't get off my behind by myself then nothing is going to work. After all I have known several attractive young women in the last 18 months and when I was in college there were free gyms at the University, so I can't use those excuses.
Now to figure out how to start and motivate myself. Anyone need an exercise buddy?