Weight Struggles

I have been struggling with my weight for about a year and a half. Most of it comes from being extremely active to sedentary almost instantly when I got my cushy desk job. That, and I kept eating 3k+ Calories a day.

Ender's Game Series Appetizer

I owe a huge thank you to my friends Ryan and Amanda for suggesting Orson Scott Card's epic fantasy, the "Ender's Game" novels. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the story as I cracked the spine on "Ender's Game". I read a telling introduction by Card himself, more here. I had also read some really good reviews and received some very high praise from my friends. Luckily for me, it was not difficult at all to fall in love with the world Card had created. There were some troubling (and extremely revealing) ideas/portrayals of humanity, however, the Sci-Fi presented a nice background for the ideas to blossom.

Perception

Perception is a terribly interesting phenomena. Wikipedia describes perception as "the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to fabricate a mental representation through the process of transduction, which sensors in the body transform signals from the environment into encoded neural signals."

Starter's Game?

This is another literature post so, please, everyone bear with me. At the behest of a long time friend and her domestic partner, a man who made my first life out of my dad's house much more bearable, I have in my possession Orson Scott Card's Sci-Fi novel "Ender's Game". But let's hold off on Ender for a bit and discuss a few prior happenings. Queue the eclecticism.

Birds Again(Movie update)

So Daisy and I saw "The Hunger Games" in theaters. I must preface this with a few facts about my preferences. I normally detest movies based on books. In my opinion, the stories told in the book are so wonderful, that a film adaptation cannot possibly live up to the legacy. Yet they try, and fail miserably. My perfect example is the Harry Potter series. I watched 1 and 2 in theaters and borrowed someones DVD of 3. I was unimpressed with them all. Since then, I haven't watched any of them due to knowing how drastically they would disappoint me.

Video Game

Its that odd time of year. The heat wave of summer if you will(very fitting considering actual US/NA temperatures lately). No new big name games are coming out. We had a fairly strong release season around Christmas 2011. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the big blockbuster I recall releasing as it is the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, TES IV:Oblivion, an open world RPG where you can do pretty much anything you want, although the focus is on adventuring/questing.

But now, with no new blockbusters coming yet, and most people out of school, Steam is hosting its Summer Sales. Huge price cuts on nearly every game in its vast library.

A Reread and a New Read

Greets BLAG readers. I come to you with another literature post. A (hopefully)spoiler free post. When I last left you, I finished "The Hunger Games" and covered "Rollback". Today I have an Old Classic previously mentioned and high praise for a thriller.

Birds Again(Part 3 of 3)

Note/Friendly Warning ::  I will attempt to limit spoilers, unfortunately though they will exist. Read at your own risk. Until I figure out how to add a spoiler tag, we will have to live with page break. You have been warned.

 I have a confession to make, I haven't wanted to draft this blag post. Why you ask? Well, once it's published, my initial experience with "The Hunger Games" will have concluded. Sure, I still have the movies to see, but I know the story. I will never again relive the first time discovery of "The Hunger Games". But
"What's comin' will come, and we'll meet it when it does." So, everyone "gather 'round the transistor, and press the ear." Or in this case gather 'round the viewing device, and read.

Whats Coming?

What is next you may be asking yourself. Well, "Rollback" rolls a few minutes ago and "The Hunger Games" goes out tonight.

And from there? I need to finish my literary upbringing(Junior and Senior years of High School for sure), at least 1 interestingly themed literature post(akin to this maybe?), Thomas Covenant, John Sandford's/Camp's Lucas Davenport saga, Crichton, and Harry Potter just for starters on the literature. Then there is television("Flashforward"), programming, fitness, hiking/backpacking/camping, frisbee, and video games to mention but a few possible(or promised) topics.

As a joke I heard once(and love) that can be applied to our situation states, "Life(this blag) is an oyster, shuck it". Join me on this crazy ride won't you?

Rollback

While I put of writing the closing part of "The Hunger Series" well, series, I want to mention "Rollback". This is not a Daniel book. The copy I had the privilege of reading belongs to Daisy. "Rollback" is a Sci-Fi novel from Robert J. Sawyer. Sawyer is better known for "Flashforward"(Novel and short-lived TV show). "Flashforward" was an amazing show(once again, we will get to this some other time). I have yet to read the book, though I doubt I would love it. I cannot wait to read it, even knowing I will enjoy it and nothing more.

Birds Again(Part 2 of 3)

Note/Friendly Warning ::  I will attempt to limit spoilers, unfortunately though they will exist. Read at your own risk. Until I figure out how to add a spoiler tag, we will have to live with page break. You have been warned.

The previous post had lots of background information as I introduced the trilogy, I will cut down on lots of that and do a much higher level recap for the rest of the trilogy. And with that, let's jump right into "Catching Fire" as there is still much to recap after "The Hunger Games".

Birds Again?(Part 1 of 3)

Note/Friendly Warning ::  I will attempt to limit spoilers, unfortunately though they will exist. Read at your own risk. Until I figure out how to add a spoiler tag, we will have to live with page break. You have been warned.

I finished the "Animoprhs" for the most part early Tuesday morning. I finished the last book to read(that I had read previously) a day or too later. It is now Sunday and I am pleased to say that I am finished with another Young Adult series, a trilogy this time. A story of world-wide fame. The movie adaptation came out 3 months ago, which Jess and I have yet to see(next weekend if I can convince her).

11 Years Late to an "Ending"

I finally finished a full read through of K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series. I have a final book to read, but I have read it multiple times before.

For those who don't know Animorphs, it is a very cute teen book about teenagers saving humanity from a secret alien invasion. It tries to be very light and full of moral quandaries. Definitely not at an adult "reading level", but I have adored(and enjoyed) the series since I started it years ago, possibly before it was even completed in 2001.

The stories were mostly written with hard themes hidden behind a light handling of them. It was sometimes difficult to read these simplistic stories.

As I have mentioned, setting is very important to me in a story and Applegate, and her many ghost writers, do a good job.

The last book of the numbered series, 54, takes everything to a new level. I would not call "The Beginning" a young teen book. It was rough emotionally to read. I can honestly say it was good and that the GIGANTIC cliff hanger ending was not terrible. I wish she would  reveal, or create and write, the rest of the story. But alas, its been ten plus years and nothing.
I mentioned in a previous blag post that endings don't always sit well with me. I wish this had ended differently but I very much enjoyed the entire series (60ish books all told). For anyone looking for a decent scifi-y fantasy should look into reading the Animorphs. The difficulty with this is finding the books. I have been half price books-ing it for half a decade or more to find all of the books. It was well worth the wait.

Please be extra forgiving with content and spelling in this blag post. It was composed on my"God" phone using Swype.

I should seriously get to sleep. Might be difficult with my brain working overtime thinking about this story. Work will be a tired affair in the morning. I promise I will get back to regular posting very soon.

Post-Publish Edit :: Spelling corrections. That darn Swype.....

In Which I Post, and Interrupt a Series

After the initial blag launch and rush to post things(nightly for 5 days?). Things have slowed down a bit. Work has been busy as usual.

But the biggest effect on my posting has been "Heroes". I just finished watching the entire 77 episode series in about 1 week.

I missed the phenomenon when it was originally released but I am thrilled that I got to enjoy the story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Drama and Sci-Fi. It was a fun journey with an anti-climactic "resolution". I used quotes because there was a finality about the shows end, and yet there was not.

Endings do not normally sit well with me. Few in fact actually do. "Heroes" is on the list of "I can't believe its over like that. Just another good show that the general public couldn't understand."

Mentioning the general public's ability to live with a show, we will at some point discuss "FlashForward". I need to re-watch it, and I want to vent about it. But that's for another day.

To tie it all together, I was buried in the wonderful story of "Heroes". Expect more of our literary walk through soon. As some form of teaser(and for points)"Good cannot be accomplished by evil means". Good luck. You will need it to earn those points.

Literature(The Old Post and a Must Read)

The title may be a bit dramatic, but its a nice teaser into "The Old Man and the Sea".

I haven't stated this with the other stories, but this one, if you haven't already, you should go read. It is a heartbreaking tale about an old Cuban fisherman. A true man versus wild(and himself) story. It is fairly short and reads quickly.

I am not terribly big on all the old, must read authors. But, in case you couldn't tell, I am a huge fan of Steinbeck, Dickens'(well at least "Great Expectations"), and Hemingway(at least "The Old Man and The Sea"). Seriously, get some culture, and experience their tales. You can send me a check later.

What's not to like about "The Old Man and the Sea"? A good v. evil "struggle(its a stretch, but its there), a man v. wild(and himself), baseball, and fishing. "the Old Man in the Sea" reads much easier than it appears, and it s a good little story, and almost an epic, even for its length. And the Old Man dreams of lions. Enjoy.

Bonus:: I forgot about "The Great  Gatsby" too. Go read it. Then go see the movie with DiCaprio in it(or Redford for that matter). I hear the ladies find him dreamy.

Literature(The Forgotten Story)

I have a confession to make. In my writing haste and because of my bad memory, I neglected to mention Charles Dicken's "Great Expectations". For this I apologize. This post shall rectify this grievous error.

"Great Expectations". I believe this was assigned Freshman year by the lovely Ms. Danford. Where to begin with "Great Expectations"? The difficulty? The time problem? Perhaps the odd English world it painted?

No, the resistance of the entire class(minus me of course) to read "Great Expectations". Boy did my class mates not want to read this. It was long, old, and difficult to say the least. Boy did I enjoy it though.Dicken's world of Old England was completely uncharted territory for me. By my Freshman year, I had been many places. The universe of Redwall. The early 1900's with The Hardy Boy's. If I am remembering correctly, I had even been introduced to England through the wizardry of Harry Potter. I had been  introduction to Middle Earth. And of course, those previously mentioned stories and a multitude of others too numerous to mention.

But I was unprepared for England as Dicken's illustrated. To be clear though, Dicken's land was hardly extra-ordinary. It was just different and unexpected in how he portrayed it. I knew history i could certainly imagine. But Dicken's, like Steinbeck(though not on par with Steinbeck, but we'll get to him), painted an amazing, realistic, world.

To recap "Great Expectations":: amazing world, class resisting(and eventually not) reading, long, old and difficulty. Ms. Danford cancelled the reading of "Great Expectations" but not before I had become determined to finish it.And finish it I did. This was such an accomplishment that 4 years later I was playing a game of Trivial Pursuit with my girlfriend. This was a Trivial Pursuit where the cards were 1 topic with 6 questions of increasing difficulty. Admitting that I don't always remember what I read is disappointing to say the least. But I answered the 5 hardest questions on that card(the answer to the easiest being "Mince Pie"). Being American and not well versed in British society, I knew the phrase, but never knew what it meant. After answering the questions my father made a comment about my dedication to finishing Dicken's classic tale. That was a proud moment. beyond the Trivial achievement was the acknowledgement of an achievement from my hero, my dad. He knew how difficult it was for me to finish the story. I heard the pride in his voice in complementing me for that feat. I will never forget that. I might need to actually channel some of that spirit again. That is a later story as well.

Back to "Great Expectations". For those who don't know, "Great Expectations" is the story of a very poor little boy who becomes the recipient of a large inheritance, his "Great Expectation", from an unknown benefactor. I don't recall many details, but the jist is the protagonist, Pip, comes to believe he is being groomed for a purpose(and the marriage of a beautiful women) only to realize that his inheritance was the result of a random act. The ending is hazy, but from what I recall Pip realize what the greatest expectation of all is. We will leave it at that shall we?

"Great Expectations" was tough to read, not necessarily because of the advanced language or literary elements(lengthy exposition anyone?) but because of the strangeness of the culture and the outdated language.

So after all that, everyone must be craving for the point. "Whats the point" you ask? Well, class, the point is the same point I have been making. "Great Expectations" conceived and stoked my desire to finish what I started and differentiate my self from others. Let's be frank shall we? Although the story here is clearly about the literature I have read and its affect on me as part of the Human Condition, there is a huge underlying piece, hidden, and mystical if you will(Please? You will, won't you?) This is about me. My short comings. My personality. My achievements. What makes me tick. That is the purpose. We are learning who Daniel; who(and how) I am, shaped by my experiences.

This blag is entitled "The Forgotten Story" because of the impact "Great Expectations" had on me. There is at least 1 other "Forgotten Story". "The Old Man and The Sea". Maybe Hemingway will get his own post, to cover the great story and its impact on me.

This is the perfect place to illustrate something touched on previously in this very post, especially since it coincides so well with the theme of "Great Expectations". My father. My hero. Many things impacted me, none quite like my Father. Without getting bogged down in details, you taught me to be a man Dad. Your tutelage will never be matched again. Thank you for all that you have(and continue) to do and teach. You are my hero.

Literature(Part 3)

Recapping my literary life has been a fair struggle to this point. Remembering that long ago has been taxing to say the least. I know 1 year isn't that big of a difference. But Freshman year to Sophomore year is a huge difference for me. There were still some short stories read my sophomore year(I think). But we also hit some big novels.

My Sophomore English/Literature teacher was Ms. McMinn. Ms. McMinn is amazing. Fun to be around and a great sense of humor. I had her towards the late morning of the day. My partners in crime in her class were Sergio and Logan. Boy did we get into things. Paper football. Joking around. And getting our work done. 3 things that went together in Ms. McMinn's class.

The summer reading she assigned us was a translation of Homer's epic poetry "The Odyssey". More than just epic poetry though, "The Odyssey" is the sequel to "The Iliad". "The Iliad" is about the Trojan War; "The Odyssey" about Ulysses's/Odysseus's long journey home. This story is the basis for much of our current stories/literature. Movies, TV, books, and others more than likely borrow from Homer. Boy was it difficult to read at the beginning at the beginning of the story though. It was a game changer. Homer expanded my boundaries and ran with my imagination. I have always loved Greek/Roman mythology. Remember those TV shows Hercules and Xena? I loved those. I recently tried to watch the entirety of Xena. Not sure what happened though, I just stopped at one point. But The Odyssey. What an adventure that was. And it would setup a very good year for reading(although I only recall a few more that we read).

The biggest novel from a Literary perspective that year was "Lord of the Flies". Another shorter book. Less than 200 pages. But oh my did it have a lot going on. All those literary device things I learned(I only held onto a handful) are present in "Lord of the Flies". Similes, metaphors, allusions, and commentary on society? In abundance. As a note some of the books/novels that I have read over my life were intended just to grant exposure to that story, that author, and how that would prepare me for the English AP tests and life in general. Some were extremely tough to read(this means you "Invisible Man" and "The Scarlett Letter"). But "Lord of the Flies" wasn't quite that extreme. From a story view point, it is excellent. I would(and will) read that story again. It might go on the "read to my kids" list.

I feel like a broken record, but that may very well be the point of this blag series, "Lord of the Flies" was another game changer. Both for my desire for compelling stories, but also for the advancement of my literary exposure. I needed more.

Now there may have been some others sprinkled in English/Literature that year. "The Pearl" by Steinbeck may have been that year. "The Pearl" is good but nowhere near Steinbeck's greatest work. In my opinion that honor belongs to "Of mice and Men" or "The Grapes of Wrath". I will reread some of Steinbeck's works and get back to you on that.

Beyond the previously mentioned books, Sophomore year had a different kind of game changer. The book that became the basis for a major motion picture that turned into a trilogy. Do you know it yet? We read the book in Ms. Lovorn's Sophomore Biology course. Still stumped? Spielberg? Dinosaurs? Crichton? Welp, if you haven't gotten it by now, you should feel bad(just a little). That book was "Jurassic Park". Oh boy did I love the movie "Jurassic Park". It is literally one of my all time favorite movies. I have watched it 4 time in 6.5 hours or so. I can quote most of the lines from the movie. But here is the clincher, Crichton's book is leaps and bounds better than the movie. I love the book. Science in a novel with a compelling story? That, my friends, that was a huge turning point in my reading career. Crichton is one of my favorite authors. He wrote so many good Sci-Fi novels. But we can chat all about that towards the end of this series.

I owe a huge thank you to Ms. Danford(whom I forgot to thank previously) as well as Ms. McMinn and Ms. Lovorn. Your impacts on my reading are profound. Without your assignments and guidance, I would not be reading that which I am today. Thank you all so much for what you did(and still do). Also, I apologize for the terrible writing. There are so many ideas that I mention, tease, and then I never take them anywhere. Have a little patience, hopefully I will refine this process and limit those to a minimum.

The end of another post...this seems shorter than the previous ones, maybe because there is no introduction needed and I am a bit more focused? It seems like I don't have much more to say than mention the books I read and how much of an impact they had on me. Maybe that is all this series is really about. Mentioning the books/novels/stories that have had the greatest impact upon my life. Doesn't seem like such a bad thing though in retrospect.

Things hinted at for the future:: More detail on Michael Crichton and Sci-Fi in general, John Steinbeck, the eventual conclusion of my high school reading career, current readings, and maybe a picture of my bookcase.

Well, I am off to watch some Netflix("Farscape", "Heroes", or any of the multitude of  "Instant Queue" items I have marked. Until next time, "Stay frosty my friends".

Literature(Part 2)

I don't remember any standout novels from the grade school years, although there must have been some. Maybe "Night"? I recall that a lot of grade school reading was short stories out of a text book. Definitely some fun stuff there but I find short stories to be an appetizer. Sure, you read it for 20 minutes, but then what? It's over? That's all I get? What about character development and an actual complex story line? Forget about getting anything beefy like that in a short story. But novels. Oh man were novels a game changer. Much like The Hardy Boy's and Redwall, novels taught me so much and intensified my affair with literature.

Although, looking back, there is not much I truly remember. Freshman year is a blur, even when I am only this far removed(less than 10 years ago). I believe my Freshman English/Literature Pre-AP teacher was Miss Danford(?), an attractive, young, and sophisticated blonde. She was smart and very passionate about reading. I learned a lot from her class; the kind of stuff that helps a freshman mature.

Come to think of it, the overwhelming majority of my English/Literature teachers were passionate about reading.

Maybe Miss Danford's class was "Night"? There were some Shakespeare plays sprinkled in there(Romeo and Juliet certainly, "Give me my long sword, ho!"). Beyond these were some "blockbusters" if you will of the literary world. But we'll get to that.

Some of my classmates read "Brave New World" while others read "Wuthering Heights". I recall reading one story with a find/partner, Alex. We each had a copy of the book and did some kind of group project on it. What that book was named, or what the main plot points were, I cannot clearly remember. Bits and pieces still stick with me though. It was a prep school. There was an "odd"(this novel was quite old) between a white male and a black male. I could be confusing facts with the sequel, but the black male broke his leg. I don't recall why, maybe the black guy was living through the white guy, but the white guy was training/running and being coached by the black guy. The scene was extremely interesting(who knew reading a scene about running could actually be engaging?). At the limits of his endurance the white guy was pushed further by the black guy, achieving a second wind. This was pretty cool to freshman Daniel, as I was running Cross Country and would have loved to learn how to reach the second wind state.

 This was the year we read "The Awakening" and one of my favorites, "To Kill a Mocking Bird". As immature as I was(still am actually) and needed to act to fit in with my male classmates, "The Awakening" was a fairly large joke. Don't get me wrong, I definitely learned from the book(I recalled enough of it to mention it here). Looking back, and ignoring my immaturity, "The Awakening" is a very deep book, especially for the length. Though, reading it 100 years after its initial publication took away from a lot of its meaning. Comparing the rights of women when I read it(and now) to the late 1800's seems preposterous considering how much things have changed.

Ah "To Kill a Mocking Bird". Now this, this reminded me why I loved reading. Expansive plot? Check. Character development? Check. Important Literary work with a moral? Check.

For me, reading a new story is equivalent to living a different life. Even in a third-person form, so much is conveyed through written word. I lived "To Kill a Mocking Bird". You won't find mention of me in the book. But my goodness was I there. I may have been a spirit, non-corporeal, but observing. Or I could have been a friend of Scout's and Jem's, or maybe even their brother. Regardless of how I was present, I was. And boy was it life changing. "To Kill a Mocking Bird" was the first "adult" book I ever read and remember liking. There may have been others I read. But TKAM was a love. So many lessons conveyed through the pages. TKAM is a story I will never forget.

It will be read(possibly in a censored version) to my children as they grow up, most likely along with The Hardy Boy's and Redwall.

Literature, The First

I have always been a reader. My father, David, read to me nearly every night as an infant(and on). Once I was able to read for myself, I almost couldn't stop. I love reading, although to be clear, I am no expert on Literature or English. Growing up, the two biggest series I remember reading were The Hardy Boy's and The Redwall Series.
The Hardy Boy's is a fun "little" series about a pair of sleuthing teenage brothers, their detective father, and their "chums". I say little, but the number of books authored by Franklin W. Dixon numbers over 200. These were difficult to read at first as I was still expanding my vocabulary and when I started. The series was about 80 years old when I first delved into it.
Amazing what a little research can do. I just learned that Franklin W. Dixon is a pseudonym for Leslie McFarlane. Also, the series was revised in the 50's to eliminate some racial stereotypes.
Bunny trails aside, The Hardy Boy's were a huge part of my childhood. They got me extremely interested in detective work. 5 points(detailed at the end of this post) to everyone who can connect that to my current job. Beyond the interest in mysteries, however, The Hardy Boy's, and by extension Franklin W. Dixon/Leslie McFarlane, hooked me on reading. This would begin a whirlwind affair that would get me in trouble, impact(and most likely aid) my introversion, and open my eyes to the power and allure of literature.
The Hardy Boy's were fairly short, large index card sized pages numbering about 160ish. Redwall, on the other hand, she was a whole new beast. I certainly did not jump from The Hardy Boy's to Redwall overnight though. There were certainly other books/series in the interim. The Boxcar Children perhaps? And numerous others that I cannot currently recall I am sure. Ah, but Redwall. Redwall was(and still is) a love. I could not number the times I read some of the entries in the series(mostly because I don't remember the number of times, but it was large, but I digress).
Redwall was at least quadruple the length of The Hardy Boy's. Smaller print, larger pages, two and a half times the number of pages, and a dust jacket! And what a universe Redwall details. For those who do not know, Redwall is not a story "Of Mice and Men". It is a story of mice, and rats, squirrels, badgers, shrews, stoats, ferrets, birds, at least one dog and one horse, and countless other small, varminty animals. The series chronicles the adventures and struggles of the good faction in its own universe filled with heroism and friendship. Just like The Hardy Boy's, however, each book follows a fairly similar script to every other entry in the series.
At some point I "outgrew" Redwall as I had "outgrown" The Hardy Boy's. Still, reading was a passion. I would read for hours on end. Tossing and turning in bed from my right side to my left, just so I wouldn't have to support the entire book.
I recall being tasked with reading novels in grade school through high school. Most were terribly short. Looking back, I think I made too much of a fuss about being forced to read and then report on what I had read. At least I enjoyed reading. I still pity my classmates who would have rather eaten dirt than read, much less do a project/report on the results.
As this has become of a decent length, at least much longer than I had anticipated chronicling, I will extract the rest and put it into a second(or more) part(s).
Some observations at the end of writing/drafting this first true blag entry(and writing a bit more for the next portion) there are a few idiosyncrasies  to notice.I am actively doing research to ensure that I don't write completely asinine sentences. This research clearly will lead to tangents(see above if you don't believe it). These tangents show I clearly don't remember my schooling very well as I am "final" drafting this on the spot instead of having a rough draft. Hopefully my teachers will forgive these shortcomings and view the final product and be proud of how I have expanded upon what they taught to me.
I am actively editing but that does not make up for the lack of a prior draft. I clearly have more to state than I initially thought. It seems as though I will be writing in parts much more often.
This writing style is completely different than anything I was ever taught. Yes, it definitely contains many elements I was graded upon, but it has others as well. Influences from the current series I am reading(for those who can't read past my facade, I think it does). Along the same lines, this blag will be lots of my thoughts directly in a textual form. There will be jokes, allusions to other things, and most definitely a lot of insights into how my mind works. One thing I would like to do, depending on the level of interest will be to award points. Obviously made up with no value what-so-ever(this definitely isn't one). So get commenting, earn those points, and more importantly, join me on this wild ride through my exposition. "Hold on to your butt's"!!!

Hello World

Hello World!!!

Welcome to my blag. The main purpose of this blag is twofold:: improve/stabilize on my writing skills and to get some of my asinine thoughts in a "physical" form.