LoTR: Destiny

    Finally, back on Blogger, ready to inform my loyal followers of the happenings in the domain of Mr. Kain and his English class. Destiny is calling me to blog about it, therefore, I MUST!! As Mr. Kain alluded to in his blog post, Strider is drawn away from the life he desires. Why? Is it destiny?
    The belief that destiny controls everything one does in their life is just silly. A person makes their decisions based on free will, not some guiding force that decides your every movement. If everyone believed that destiny was indeed the one to rule them all, many more people would be dead, and many more criminals would be walking away free. "Sorry officer, I had to kill 7 people, it was my destiny." <-- GARBAGE.
    Strider does not make his decision solely on free will however, he is pushed by everyone around him to fulfill the prophecy and lead the land of Middle Earth out of the darkness and into the light. He is not destined to be the hero, he is told that he is the hero and that if he does not accept this role, all will be lost. That is a tough burden and title to say no to. Strider makes his decision to keep on keeping on with the fellowship not just to save Middle Earth, but to allow him a chance to live the life he ever so desires once the evil is disposed of.
    The only thing in LoTR: Fellowship of the Ring that could even be considered some sort of guiding force is the ring. The ring influences decisions of all who hold and surround it. Frodo tries so dearly to keep the ring off of his finger, but when the Black Riders come calling, it seems to slip on without fail. The ring being on Frodo's finger gives the Black Riders an innate ability to see him; I feel the ring doesn't slip on by accident in those situations. Destiny may only play a small role in the book, free will ultimately rules.

Sometimes shooting someone, is just shooting someone.

The Thousand Orcs, Quatre

Meeting the man/woman who invented the vile race that we know today as the orcs, the typical fantasy bad guys, would be quite the meeting. This person had to be quite twisted in order to form such a masterpiece in the world of evil. Orcs are usually described as green, big, savage, and quite stupid. They are also referred to as very short-tempered and bloodthirsty. For our adventurers, killing orcs is what they enjoy doing. They really enjoy killing most things, but orcs seem to be the hands down favorites.

When facing an orc opponent, one must remember three things:

 1) Avoid battles with orcs at all costs.

 2) You are smarter than him. Use it to your advantage.

 3) He has no problem with killing you, so why are you not following rule #1?

 The Orcs that Drizzt and his band face are a special type of orc. They have a leader who is smart enough to get some frost giants and bring them to battle. A cowardly move, yes, but also a genius strategy maneuver. The frost giants are large, and feel like they are better than any other race around. The way to beat a frost giant is to essentially tell them that you are better than them, and send them into a fit of rage. Watch out for their quickly thrown boulders and large feet, because now, you're the bug.

Sometimes shooting someone, is just shooting someone.

The Thousand Orcs, La Troisième Etage

The city of Mirabar, a place where dwarves and humans dwell together in harmony. Or is that just how it seems to the passer-by? Mirabar is a mining city, a place where the main export is armor and weapons created from the ore that they have mined. The only problem that Mirabar faces is King Breunor Battlehammer and his land, Mithral Hall. Mithral Hall has the greatest ore and techniques in armor making ever known, Mirabar has begun to lose trade because of Mithral Hall's resurgence, and they are not going down without a fight.

The heads of Mithral Hall are mostly human, so they have no deep ties with the dwarves of Mithral Hall, but the dwarven inhabitants of Mirabar do. Once King Breunor comes knocking at the gates of Mirabar, the city can finally put a face on their unknown enemy. Most of the dwarven population grows fond of King Breunor and his merry band of travelers, and they begin talk for Mithral Hall in place of their previous thoughts of hatred. What will happen next?

Sometimes shooting someone, is just shooting someone.

The Thousand Orcs, Part Deux

As one ventures deeper into the world of Drizzt Do'Urden and his jolly dwarven companions, the real companions of the drow are revealed. Catti-Brie and Wulfgar, Drizzt's long-time friends, along with King Bruenor, fuel the fire for adventure that constantly burns in Drizzt's belly. Wulfgar is torn between his family, and the thrill of a good wholesome adventure alongside his companions. Wulfgar does not want to leave his wife's side, for he is afraid of going on an adventure and not coming back. Or worse, leaving his family vulnerable for an attack while he is off adventuring.
    The thrill of adventure cannot be smothered, just as the group and the dwarven army reaches their home in Mithral Hall, Bruenor catches wind of orcs and giants raiding and pillaging the countryside. At first, Bruenor selects just a group of his finest dwarven warriors, but, with the suggestion of his companions, decides to take along Drizzt and his merry band as well. The question is, will Wulfgar join the band? If so, will he survive to see his family again?

Sometimes shooting someone, is just shooting someone.

Drizzt Do'Urden

    A dark elf, with a panther. What gets better than that? The Thousand Orcs by R.A. Salvatore is a description of the adventures of this said "elf" and his friends. The Thousand Orcs is a fantastic book, even though it is not the easiest read. When the dwarves are fighting orcs and frost giants, and the ghosts of past battles are stealing people in the night, it is easy to find one entranced in the words of the author.
    Drizzt Do'Urden and his feline companion, Guenhwyvar, roam the land on their way to Mithral Hall, home of the new dwarven king, Bruenor Battlehammer. Drizzt has been traveling alongside the new king for years, and according to the king, he won't be leaving his side anytime soon. What will happen next? Will Drizzt and his companions make it to Mithral Hall?

Sometimes shooting someone, is just shooting someone.

Sherlock Holmes and Christopher Boone

    In the eyes of many, Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest mystery solvers of all time. How could a child like Christopher, one with the mental disabilities that he has, be compared to the great Holmes? A fairly simple comparison can be made here; Christopher can only think rationally, there are no irrational thoughts floating around in his head. Holmes chooses to only think rationally, blocking out all of the irrational thoughts of everyday life. You could say that makes Christopher Boone just like Sherlock Holmes.
    If one were to say that, one would be dreadfully wrong in their assumption. It is Christopher's inability to think irrationally that separates him from Holmes. Sherlock Holmes can think irrationally, he just chooses not to. This puts him at an advantage when solving crimes. Not all crimes are committed based on rational reasoning, so Holmes has an edge because he can first eliminate all possible rational reasons, and then, when there are no options left, begin to think irrationally. Christopher however, cannot. If a crime were to be committed for immoral and irrational reasons, Christopher would not be able to understand the crime, nor be able to solve it.

Sometimes shooting somebody is just shooting somebody.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was a good and easy read. The book did have some sections and chapters that were quite hard to follow, but one could work through them. The author does many things well throughout the book, for example, when the book comes to a point where most readers would become quite confused, Haddon takes the time to explain what is going on in Christopher's head. That makes this book much easier to read.
    The book was quite eye-opening. Before reading this, a reader goes in expecting a book about a dog-murderer. Half-way through the book, it takes a twist and becomes a story about a boy trying to find his mother. Going through the journey that Christopher takes on his way to London makes the reader question the reactions of the people who observe Christopher doing his, odd acts. Would you react the same?
    This book also questions the morality and hearts of Christopher's parents. How does Christopher's mother just pack up and leave her disabled son? She just leaves with the next door neighbor like its nothing. Christopher's father is not free of charge though. He hides letters from Christopher that could actually help him better understand the real-world. Instead Christopher's father decides to hide the truth from his disabled son, eventually losing his son to the mother that he lied about for years. Overall, a pretty good book.