Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Boy


Author's Note: As I write this piece, it feels as if I am writing in a similar fashion to that of the book I am reading.  In this piece I am trying to work on adding more connections and adding more semantic devices, like similes and metaphors.

Part 1

I walk through the door and stop. I can sense somebody watching me. I slowly turn left and right searching for the presence that I sensed. The room appears to be empty, but then I catch sight of it. A dark figure huddled in the corner, silent. Slowly I approach it, and when I reach it I see something that I never would have expected. It was him.

Two years earlier...

I'm walking to school on a normal day. As I walked past an alley I saw him, not knowing that this side wards glance would change my life forever. That day at school I kept thinking of him, sitting there in the alley staring at me, not even acknowledging everything else that was going on. I was itching to go back there and talk to him. He seemed so mysterious. After school I approached the alley tenatively, looked around the corner and gasped. The boy wasn't there.

For the next few weeks my life continued normally, school, homework, sports, but then, about ten days after I first saw him, I found him. Actually I think it would be better to say that he found me. I had just woken up and was about to get ready for school when I screamed. He was sitting in the corner of my room, staring at me. A moment later, my mother burst into the room.

"What's wrong honey?" she asked quickly. She was out of breath, probably from running up the stairs too quickly. I was about to reply to her when I looked into the corner, to see if he was still there. He wasn't.

Part 2

I had to find him. This was driving me crazy, chasing him around only to have him disappear right when I wanted to see him the most. I knew that the next time I saw him I was going to get him. But that turned out to be a lot longer than I would have liked.

Finally, one day, after waiting way too long for this to happen, I saw him. Not only did I see him, I went after him. I was riding my bike to the grocery market to do some errands for my family, and I saw him sitting on the sidewalk. I made a quick decision to stop my bike, hop off, and go after him. I approached him tentatively, and got my first good look at him. He had his hair in a short buzz cut, as if to say he was serious about life, his other features were not very unique, except for the one thing that stood out more than anything else. His eyes were as cold as ice, but he didn't look like the type of person to anger quickly. I don't know what it was about him, but his presence seemed to calm me, almost as if we belonged together. But then I snapped back into reality. I was about to start to grill him for answers, but then something very strange happened. An elderly man exited the store behind him. The boy walked up to him, raised his hand, and disappeared.

Part 3

I was scared. I didn't know what was happening. I had thought this boy was just a guy who could get away  quickly. But know I didn't know what  I was supposed to do now that I had just seen this very strange event. Should I tell my parents, or even the cops? I already knew what I had to do though. I didn't do anything.

These run-ins with the boy were getting frustrating, so I knew that next time I saw him, I would for sure get the first word in, and get it in fast. I hate to say this, but, I had to wait very long to do this. Much too long in my opinion. I look back and realize that this time away from the boy actually gave me some time to think, get my life back together, and make me more sane. I had practically forgot him, but when I saw him next, it would be an event that I would never forget.

I was returning from a long, grueling Friday at school, walking in the wastelands between town and my neighborhood. I was passing the landfill, thinking about the awesome weekend ahead of me, when I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting, leaning against a particularly large pile of garbage. I ran up to him fast, as to make sure that he didn't get away. Right when I reached him I started talking, spitting out the words at him, so he could understand I was angry. "Who are you? Why were you following me? How did you just disappear that one day in town? So, do you have any answers?". And that's when he did something that totally knocked my socks off. I will remember this for as long as I live. The boy talked.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Pendragon


Right now I'm reading a series called Pendragon. It's about a boy named Bobby Pendragon who suddenly finds out that he's destined to become Earth's Traveler. Traveler's travel through space and time through flumes to different territories to help when help is needed.

In the first book Bobby gets thrown into the middle of a civil war that's about to happen between two tribes in the territory Denduron. At first Bobby and his Uncle Press think that they need to help the weak tribe of the Milago rise up and take over the rich tribe of Bedoowan. He learns along the way that an evil Traveler, Saint Dane, is trying to make every territory fall so he can become the ruler of Halla, which is every territory, every person, every living thing, and every time. Bobby also meets Osa and Loor, Travelers from a different territory who have come to help save Denduron. Before the war even starts, Osa dies protecting Bobby and Loor.

When they first get to Denduron, Uncle Press gets captured by Bedoowan knights. Bobby goes back to Second Earth, which is what they call our Earth in the book, to get supplies to help rescue Uncle Press, even though Press said that you can't bring things unique to one territory to the next. With the stuff he gets from his friends Mark and Courtney, Bobby rescues Uncle Press.

Then, right before they go into war, Bobby, Press, and Loor figure out that the real enemy is tak, an explosive that's being mined by one of the Milago. The Milago plan to use a battery, from a flashlight that Bobby brought, to make a tak bomb and blow up the Bedoowan. Bobby, Press, and Loor know that the bomb will not only blow up the Bedoowan, it will also blow up the Milago. They rush in and stop the bomb, but Bobby and Loor find out that Saint Dane was really Figgis, the Milago mining the tak. He plans to just wait until more Milago mine the tak so Denduron can go into chaos, but Bobby blows up the mine.

The book is in the format of journals that Bobby sends back to Mark and Courtney on Second Earth. It switches between Bobby's adventure and Mark and Courtney on Second Earth.

Right now I'm on the second book, The Lost City of Faar. Bobby is in his second adventure on Cloral, a territory covered completely with water.

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Unanswered Question


Why? Why is one of the most common questions in the English language. Yet, it is often the most unanswered questions. People often ask "Why?" to religious questions, but never get one set answer or even similar answers. When children ask "Why?" to their parents, they rarely ever get a straight answer.

Eventually  in life you learn that asking "Why?" isn't important so much as "How?".Sometimes you need to be asked "Why?" because then you can get to that next level in the thought process you go through in order to answer the question. That's the reason for Academy 21, getting us to think on that next level, to really dig deep and figure out "Why?".

I think that no matter what, there really is no right answer to "Why?", which is why it is, and always will be, the unanswered question.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Picture Day

           When I look at this Go Cowboys sign, I remember that football season is just starting. Ironically, the Cowboys played the opening game of the season last night, and won. Football is a very popular sport, especially in the United States. Last year 111 million people watched the Super Bowl in the United States alone. Football is a tough sport not many people make it. There are 1,696 players on an NFL roster and only 22 per team start each week and about 30 get good playing time each week. That means that each week only 960 out of 1,696 players play a lot in the NFL each season. With the NFL season starting, that means two things. One, college football is starting which gives you more options to watch games. There is 15 games each weekend in the NFL, but there are about 50 college football games each weekend. Two, Fantasy Football is starting. Fantasy Football is a game in which you draft real players onto your own team. You score depending on how well your players do in real life. For example, if somebody on your team scores a touchdown in real life, you get six points for your fantasy team. Football is back, and I'm glad that this sign reminded me of it.







          This Tampa Bay Rays cowbell reminds me that the MLB season is wrapping up, which means it's almost time for the playoffs. The World Series is very popular. In game seven of it last year, 25 million people tuned in on their TV's to watch it. This year there's a very tight race for the AL wild card spots, with Tampa Bay right in the thick of it. They're one and a half games back from the second wild card spot, currently held by the Orioles. Just because the wild card team usually is the worst, it doesn't mean they'll do the worst. Last year the Cardinals won the wild card on the last day and went on to win the World Series. The MLB season is wrapping up, and can thank this cowbell for reminding me.



















              Parrots have been all over history. We always remember them as the sidekick on the pirate's shoulder. But they have been in other places that you might not have guessed. Queen Victoria had one that could sing "God Save the Queen". Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, had a parrot named "Pol" that was taught to curse in both English and Spanish. Martha Washington, wife of our 1st president, George Washington, owned a parrot "Polly" who George supposedly didn't like. It is said that they kept a close eye on each other when they were in the same room. Even as far back as the ancient Egyptians we see parrots. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics depict what appear to be pet birds. Parrots have appeared all over history, including this one.



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Fall DWA

Wizard vs. Wizard


Tyson was on his knees trying to conjure up one final spell to finish off the evil wizard Rashad.  Tyson thought of the perfect spell and said the magic words.
Tyson wasn’t always a crime fighting wizard. He was just an average accountant, until one day. The day he found The Flashlight. Tyson was coming home from a pretty bad day, his boss had sat down with some of the employees and went through a long boring meeting which Tyson thought was pointless. At the corner of Third and Eighth Street, one block from Tyson’s house, he looked down in the gutter, waiting for the sign to say walk, and saw it. It was a green and blue flashlight, but it seemed to be glowing. But the flashlight wasn’t on so Tyson didn’t know what was happening. Of course, out of curiosity, he picked it up.  Instantly he felt a tingling sensation.
“Of all the people I didn’t think it would be you,” Suddenly Tyson whipped around and saw a man wearing strange robes. Tyson figured it was him that spoke because no one else was around.
“Yes, it was me who spoke. I didn’t think you would be the next Protector.”
“Wait, how did you know what I was thinking. And Protector of what?” Tyson asked because this was starting to get strange.

“Because The Flashlight chose you, you are to be the next Protector of the Council. The Council of Wizards. Yes I’m wizard, that’s why I could read your mind. You have a lot of training and hard work over the next two weeks.  I am to be your instructor.  My name is Ragnar.” The man said. Johnny just stood there dumbfounded. “Come we must train,” Ragnar finally said. Out of the blue a swirling portal appeared. Ragnar ushered Tyson through. When he stepped in he was suddenly in a place full of bustling wizards.

“Welcome to Wiztopia, the secret city in the city,” Ragnar said. It was amazing, with breathtaking skyscrapers. Unfortunately, Tyson couldn’t see much because he was quickly whisked away to a beaten up one story building that said “Training Facility”. Inside  the were numerous items, most of them magic, but some things looked like they had been on the wrong end of others magic.
“Okay, lets start. First let’s see if you can destroy this vase. It is the easiest spell of them all. If you can do this, you’re on the right track to becoming the Protector,” Ragnar explained as he set a vase on an empty table.
“Right, um, how exactly do I perform a spell?” Tyson asked.
“Ha ha, I forgot that you used to be a common Citizen. You switch the Flashlight on and say the spell. The reason the Protector uses the Flashlight is because it is the most powerful wand ever created. Just focus on destroying the vase and say the spell, and watch what happens,” Ragnar replied. Tyson switched on the flashlight, said the words, and... BOOM! The vase shattered and shards flew everywhere. It sounded like (and looked like) a bomb had exploded in the room. “Nice job. . . for a beginner,” Ragnar said after the dust had settled.
“Nice job!? That’s all I get for almost destroying the room and knocking down the building. That was AWESOME!” Tyson said back, as if Ragnar didn’t know how thrilling and awesome that felt.
That’s pretty much what Tyson’s training went like. Ragnar gave him a task that he wasn’t sure Tyson could do, but Tyson did everything. Finally after a week of training, Tyson had passed all the tasks that Ragnar had given him, and Ragnar approached him.
“Since you’ve passed all the tasks I have given you in half the time I thought you would, I challenge you to a duel. Whoever can knock down the opponent first wins, but remember, we’re not trying to kill each other, ” Ragnar said, surprising Tyson. Right away, Tyson used all the spells that Ragnar had taught him, but they had no effect.
“Ha ha, I am not really Ragnar, teacher of the new Protectors, but Rashad, the evil wizard. I also gave you the Flashlight, the weakest wand ever created, but somehow you managed to master every spell, you might actually be the Protector, so I should get rid of you. With you out of the way I can take over Wiztopia finally. So let’s continue,” Ragnar, no Rashad said. Then Rashad shot down Tyson and was about to finish him off. Tyson thought of one last spell to use and said it. POOF! Suddenly Tyson was by himself. He had used the spell no one had ever used, or even tried before. The Banishing spell.
After a little bit later, some men approached him wearing robes like Rashad’s, except they were brightly colored.
“Thank you Citizen, for getting rid of Rashad. He had been causing a lot of trouble and if you wouldn’t of gotten rid of him, I’m afraid that Wiztopia might have fallen. We, the  Council of Wizards, hereby declare you, Citizen Tyson, to be our new Protector. Our old Protector Rashad but he turned corrupt and tried to take over,” The person that looked like their leader said to Tyson. “By the way, how did you get rid of Rashad?”
“I used the Banishing spell,” Tyson replied to what seemed like a silly question.
“You’re going to be one good Protector Citizen, one good Protector.”