Happy Halloween

This is the poem that first introduced me to the world of Poe.

Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe

Picture by Gerard Kelly

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old -

This knight so bold -

And o'er his heart a shadow

Fell as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength

Failed him at length,

He met a pilgrim shadow -

"Shadow," said he,

"Where can it be -

This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied -

"If you seek for Eldorado!"

LOTR-Extended Edition

After months of wanting nothing more than to see the Lord of the Rings extended edition...
I finally did.

It took all of Saturday to watch the first two (which are a good 4 hours each!) and I still haven't made it to The Return of the King. But it was everything I hoped for, with more action, songs, scenes, and more closley related to the book. But if you plan to watch it, here's a list of must-haves:

LOTR EXTENDED SURVIVAL KIT
1 lg bag Reees's
1 lg. bag M&M's
Ben & Jerry's
Paper and pencil for the taking of awesome notes
Large comfy pillows
Pineapple-orange juice
A lot of time on your hands

Of course, there was new music (!) Is there a Extended soundtrack? I hope so. Anyhow, here are but a few of the extended edition songs.

Martin the Warrior Quotes

Picture by cybercatmania
"Well well, you're not short of nerve, mouse. What's your name?" The answer was loud and fearless. "I am called Martin, son of Luke the warrior!"

"I am a warrior! Martin son of Luke! I will live, I will not give in and die up here! Do you hear me, Badrang? I will live to take back my father's sword and slay you one day! Badraaaaaaaanngg!"


Felldoh sat listening to the soft snores of his companions. "Oh yes, let's think of something later," he chuckled lightly to himself. "How to sprout wings, and defeat Badrang and his horde with outside help from a mole and a mousemaid. By my brush, why didn't I think of those two good ideas before?"

"Silence, wot a lovely word."
"It'd sound better if you shut yer gob an' gave it a chance."

"Oh Grumm, you're a dear!" The mole made his way back to the tunnel, murmuring to cover his embarrassment, "Oi bain't no deer, oi be a mole, an' doant 'ee fergit it, mizzy!"

"Go to sleep, you filthy bunch. /I'd love to lay you all out with a punch. /How'd you win a mother's heart /With a squiggly trunk like an eel's back part? /Is that awful smell the reason? /You haven't washed all season. /So go to sleep in your scruffy beds. /May nightmares enter your beastly heads, /And when sunlight heralds new daybreak /May you wake with a tummy ache."

Felldoh was completely lost for words. He turned away from the cart and started breaking some driftwood up for the fire. Celadine dabbed at her brow with a dainty lace square. "Oh my, oh my. I'd be all season just trying to break one teensy piece of that wood with an axe, and look at you, sir, snapping it in those great paws of yours like it was dead grass!" Trefoil the other squirrelmaid unceremoniously bundled a pile of tunics at Celadine. "Here, missy, get your paws wet washing those through and leave that poor fellow alone before he turns into a beetroot!" The temptress flounced off in a huff, laden with dirty washing. Trefoil began snapping wood alongside Felldoh. "Take no notice of her, friend. I've seen her fluttering her eyelashes at dragonflies."

"Oi know lots o' things but oi doant know why oi knows 'em."

"The old earth gently turns as the seasons change / Slowly. /All the flowers and leaves born to wane. /Hear my song o'er the lea, like wind soft and /Lowly. /Oh, please come back to Noonvale again."

"Never. I would rather die!"
"Hoho, missy, that kin be arranged."

"Harr, the murderin' scoundrels, 'ooever they are."

Pallum could not resist doing a comical impression of the warden. Strutting stiff-legged, he glared at Grumm and spoke sharply. "I am the law. These are my marshes. I am the law!" Both the hedgehog and the mole burst into subdued chuckles. The warden turned and glared at them. "Make fun of the law, and I deal with you. I am the law!"

"He seems to know the country well enough." "Oh yes, and do you know why that is?" Martin smiled knowingly. Leaning close he whispered into Rose's ear so that the warden could not hear. "Because he is the law!"

"O fie on you, O great disgrace, /Look at that sad unhappy face, /I'll not walk with you, /Not one pace, /You're not the one I love."

"What can I say except, break a leg!" Felldoh looked puzzled until Ballaw explained. "In the actin' game it's our way of sayin' good luck to a chap." The baby Fuffle waved his wooden spoon. "Break bofe legs!" There was laughter and applause for the infant's wisdom.

"Yurr am oi, Malcumm, completely disgusted, /'Stead o' water oi bin drownded in custed!"

"You Rambling Rosehip Players, you seem to make a joke of everything. Don't you realize we're in the middle of a battle, fighting for our lives?" Ballaw patted his head with a bandaged paw. "What d'you want us to do then, laddie buck? Break down an' weep? Make the best of the situation, m'boy."

"Don't think about what you could have done, concentrate on what you plan to do; it is more useful."

"I'll just go back to buryin' yer dead an' wait fer you to turn up as a customer."

Rose stared at Martin; it was as if she were looking at a strange creature. He was still as a rock, the blood rising behind his eyes as his paw whitened with the furious grip he had on his sword handle. The blade rose above his head and fell in a straight line, pointing at Badrang's hated fortress. The horde went silent, staring up at the Warrior mouse, waiting as the word rolled from his lips like steel striking stone. "Chaaaarge!!!"

He was trying to force himself to stab and slay the foebeast when the rat whined out pleadingly, "It's me, matey, Wulpp. Don't kill me!" Brome gasped. It was Wulpp, the searat whose injured paw he had treated when, disguised as a corsair, he had gained entry to Marshank. Brome thrust the javelin into the sea close to Wulpp's neck. Leaning down, he muttered to the terrified rat, "Lie still. When we're gone take off south down the beach. I never want to see you again. Good luck!"

"I'm arf a stoat an' arf a mole, /An' I'll bury youse all in a nice deep 'ole, /Down, down where it's still an' cold, /An' y'never live to get old!"

"I was never in a war, is it always this complicated?" Rose shrugged as she twirled a sling. "Your guess is as good as mine, Pallum. I was never in one either!"

"But furr all seasons everybeast shall amember thoi name, Marthen 'ee wurrier!"

Amulet 2 by Kazu Kibuishi

Be Prepared...

to pity a villian

to meet a bounty hunter

to harness the stone's power

to join a rebellion

to save your family

to fight a wolf

to defeat a monster...

Be prepared...

FOR AMULET 2

Have The Best Day You've Ever Had

This is from Michael Bublé's new CD.
Makes me laugh every time!

Battle for Terra

Battle for Terra is a thrill ride for the senses, a truly beautiful and emotional masterpiece.

So why has no one heard of it before?

Because it didn't have enough advertising. People will only see a movie if they've seen a TV spot for it, or if the trailer plays countless times. Here's a newsflash for ya: We will only see it if we know about it. Same scenario with The Dark is Rising. It was an amazing movie, with spectacular acting and a fast-paced storyline. But people just didn't know about it.

But other than that, Battle for Terra was a genius film, breathtaking and seemed to be morphed from the brainchild of Kazu Kibuishi & Shaun Tan.

It just didn't advertise.

Edit: This was after briefly seeing the film. After re-watching it, I discovered that Battle for Terra had far too many tree-hugger themes.

LOTR is funnier than you think

I half died laughing when I first saw these!
Gandalf the Chipmunk Dies


Lord of the Rings could have been shorter

Salamandastron Quotes

Picture by cybercatmania
It was cold. But not as cold as the smile on the face of Ferahgo the Assassin.

"Oh, they're fierce fighters, sure enough, but they lack cunning and suffer from silly little things, like honor and conscience."

"Let's see if this vermin can die like a warrior!"

"I never done nothin', smartstoat, it was you!"
"Oh, stow the gab. It was both of us then. Does that make yer feel better?"
"No."

"You're an absolute bounder, Stinkee. D'you hear me? If I could get out of this confounded shrimp net I'd raise a blister on your noggin that wouldn't go down in a season!"

"But while there's life there's hope, eh. At least we'll be given food for awhile." "And then jolly well served up at a party." Pikkle gulped. "What a nice suprise. Makes a chap feel wanted, wot, wot?"

"Now you git t' sleep an' stop gabbin'."
"I go t' sleep now. G'night Mista Thugg."
"Good Night!"
"See you inna mornin'."
"Aye, now be quiet!"
"I quiet now. Dumble quiet."
"Well, I should 'ope you are!"
"Oh I are."
"Be quiet, d'you 'ear me. Be quiet!"
"Dumble quiet. You de one makin' alla noise, Mista Thugg."

Dumble's eyes widened, then he turned them ahead again, this time singing in a low urgent voice: "O Mista Thugg, don't turn around, /And don't you cause a fuss. /There's four ol' foxes wiv big sticks- /I fink they're followin' us!"

The foxes exchanged knowing smiles. One stepped forward. "Top o' the summer to ye, yer 'onner. What's in the 'avvysack?" Thrugg grinned cheerfully at the raggedy fox. "Four unconscious foxes with their tails chopped off who tried stealin' our vittles. Why do you ask?" "Hee hee, we've got a funny un 'ere, mates!" One of the foxes sniggered. Another fox drew his sword, testing the edge with his paw. "Yeh, wonder if 'e's tough as 'e's funny?" Thrugg twirled his sling ominously. "Why don't you come an' find out, mudface?" The first fox saw that the big otter was no easy proposition, so he adopted a whining tone. "Now be reasonable, friend. We're not lookin' fer trouble. You wouldn't begrudge four starvin' creatures a bite, would yer?" Thrugg took a step toward him. "Begrudge a starvin' creature a bite? Not me, matey. You come 'ere an' I'll bite you anytime."

"Ye've got a lot to learn, laddie. There's no magic in any weapon. That sword may be used for good or evil; it all depends on the creature who wields it."

"A paddle's me son an' a boat's me wife, /An' the open water is me life."

Forgrin pawed the blade of his sword, grinning at the rat. "I've sent many a beast to sleep wi' this liddle beauty. None of them ever woke up."

"Now what happens, do you kill a weasel, or do I kill a fox?" Terror had robbed Forgrin of his power of speech. A gurgling noise escaped his throat as he turned and ran along the beach. Ferahgo could throw a knife better than any creature. The long skinning knife took Forgrin between the shoulder blades before he had got thirty paces. His eyes were glazing over for the last time as the Assassin retrieved the knife. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," Ferahgo whispered close to his ear, "this game ends with the weasel killing the fox. Sweet dreams, Forgrin."

"You'm a mad ol' feller, but you'm moi best matey."

"So you don't want to be slain by murderers, eh?" Urthstripe roared with laughter as he went after the Assassin.

The sounds of yelling, chanting vermin stamping about inside the mountain was growing louder. Big Oxeye threw a paw around Lingfur's trembling shoulders and chuckled. "Noisy old lot, aren't they?"

"Goo on, Sanken, urr hurr. Make Redwall proud of 'ee!"

"We'm not behoind 'ee, young un. Us'ns are with 'ee!" Oxeye stifled a laugh as he shook paws with the molemaid. "Well, thank goodness for that. I'd hate to face a warrior like you, young molemaid." Arula wrinkled her nose. "Thankee koindly, zurr."

Flourishing the hat elegantly, Thrugg kissed his sister's paws affectionately, declaring aloud, tongue in cheek, to the whole of Redwall: "You was never out o' my thoughts, sister dear, an' all the time I was freezin' in the mountains, battlin' crows an' livin' lower than a lame toad, there was one question that I made me way back here to ask yer." Thruggan sniffed slightly, and asked in an apologetically tender voice, "What was that, brother o' mine?"
"What's fer tea? Me an' me mates is fair famished!" The four falcons joined the crowd of Redwallers who had flooded out to greet them, laughing uproariously as they watched Thrugg fleeing across the abbey grounds with Thruggan hard on his heels, swinging a twig broom. "You bottlenosed rogue, I'll give yer tea. You'll get a taste of this when I catch up with ye!"

"Heroes, Samkin-we were never short of them: Thrugg, little Dumble, Arula and yourself, brave creatures all! What more could an old one like me desire than to rest here with Redwallers enjoying themselves in good health, peace and happiness..."

Gotta Love Pixar