If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.- Henry David Thoreau
We all have dreams. In the book "Little Woman", Louisa May Alcott once described dreams as castles. These castles are figments of our imagine. They are things that we can only dream of, but can never seem to create ourselves. However, dreams can sometimes be granted, but you can not rely upon fate to bring those dreams into existence. A dream often takes hard work to be fulfilled.
The book summary courtesy of Brandonmull.com:
Jason Walker has often wished his life could be less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank into a strange, imperiled world. Lyrian holds dangers and challenges unlike anyplace Jason has ever known. The people all live in fear of their malicious wizard emperor, Maldor. The brave resistors who once opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.
In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.
My Review
Over the years, Brandon Mull has created magical lands within our own world through his book. In "A World Without Heroes" he takes us to a land outside of our own world. The various creatures that Jason and Rachel meet along the way are one of the most interesting parts of this book. For example, the Amar Kabal look like humans, but they are immortal because of a seed that grows when they die. Because of this seed, the Amar Kabal can be reborn. The characters are well developed and at times are hilarious. The story explores what it means to be a true hero. Imagine a world where the ruler has bent all of the heroes to his will without fighting him. The greatest swordsmen now is too stuffed with food to move. The greatest opposer to Maldor is now in the same heavenly castle as the swordsmen, as he starves himself on the addictive "Hunger Berries". There are no true heroes that will do the right thing no matter what the consequences. There is only one thing that can supposedly stop Maldor: a word of power. However, I won't dwell upon that part of the story so that you will be surprised at the end.
"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie adaptation
It's about this time of year when kids start making Easter eggs. Over the years, the eggs of my sister and I have turned into eggs that resemble pieces of art more then anything else.
The classic Easter egg
The Dark Lord Eggy
Watercolor egg
Butterfly egg
Sunny- side Up
Ooooo what's this
It's a star!
Cheese!
Ahhhh I'm falling
Zen egg
The All Natural egg
Emo egg
Now compared to those other eggs doesn't this one look boring.
Living is strife and torment, disappointment and love and sacrifice, golden sunsets and black storms. I said that some time ago, and today I do not think I would add one word. -Laurence Olivier
Life is full of ups and downs. Nothing can be done about it. However, a storm marks the time when the morals you hold are tested. When you enter a hard time, will you care about only yourself or the others around you? Saturday's Tornado's destroyed not only homes but people's lives. Here are some stories from that day:
An infant survives being blown away by the tornado
An article about a Lowe's manager who helped save lives:
My family and I had to hide in the bathroom, but thankfully the tornado passed us and no one was hurt. When we finally looked out the window we realized that our road was flooded...again.
The neighbors complained to the town for the third time, but in the end it turned out to be a good thing.
