Mermaids

I love art, and today I thought that I would share some of my favorite pieces -- mermaid pieces that is.


This Picture makes me think of a sculpture carefully chiseling our his master piece when before he knows it, the carving begins taking on a life of its own.

This image has always intrigued me by its nearly seamless transition from a lady into water and sky. How the folds of her sleeves morph into clouds astounds me.

This picture makes me think of endless caverns and mysterious places long forgotten in the deep.

I love her tail in this parchment sketch. The touching scene of the human and the mermaid reminds me of The Little Mermaid but something is a little different. Perhaps it is that determined look in here eye.

A lonely mermaid, resting against a purple sky. Perhaps someone will sneak up on her when she is not looking...

Manu by Sarah B. Seiter makes me think of an attendant of the Lady of the Lake, or perhaps a mermaid that has raided a sunken ship or two (by that gold hoop in her "ear").

Inkheart

Title: Inkheart

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 4 there were a couple d--n's and perhaps a few hell's

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 3, the only morality problem I have with the book is the excess of lying (I think ANY lying is excess.) The characters are constantly lying to each other (especially the father to the daughter and vise versa) because they think it's for their "best".

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 2, there is no out and out bloody violence. There is a chase scene, but no gore.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 2, there was nothing satanic in the book. The main characters have the ability to read things and people out of books (which I consider more like a "super power" rather than sorcery).

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 6, I think the book could have been a bit more "exciting" -- more action I mean. The writer takes time to go into everyone's thoughts and describes in great detail the scenes and people.

Plot Summary: Meggie discovers that her father can read people out of books, and unfortunately, he has read one of the most evil villains of all -- Capricorn -- into our world. Meggie and her father, Mo, set out to discover a way to defeat this evil and perhaps find her long lost mother.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Wondrous Strange

I thought I'd try my hand at writing a book review, so here it goes!

Wondrous Strange by Leslie Livingston was a book I decided to try reaading when I was at my local library. Leslie Livingston is "a professor" in faeriology and Shakespeare and her book shows it. Her novel is about a 17-year-old girl, Kelley, living in Manhattan who is trying to make it in a theater play of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The play ends up coming to life when she meets a young changeling by the name of Sonny. He shows her that characters of the play (Oberon, Titania and Puck) are actually REAL. Wrapped up in a giant faerie conspiracy to reawaken a faerie death hunt against humans, Kelley and Sonny must use what they know of faeries to their advantage...

The book itself is VERY well written with 50/50 perspectives from both Sonny and Kelley (making this a both girls and guys book.) There's a touch of romance, with the sum total of about 2 kisses, and lots of semi-graphic battle scenes (blood is spilled, but I wouldn't label it "gory"). The BIGGEST problem I have with the book is its language issues. The book uses the "B-word" and "S-word" at least once and "D---it" is used well over a dozen times.

From a secular point of view it's a very good book -- however! -- because there is so much perverse language, I would NOT suggest reading it.

Dragons!

So I didn't get all of my fantasy bug out (I never will :) on that first fantasy post so I thought I'd do another of my favorites: Dragons!

Dragons come in many forms, even more than fairies! The main catagories would be:

• Eastern Dragon
• Western (or Heraldic) Dragon
• Metallic Dragon
• Coloric Dragon
• Habitatual Dragon

Once again there are far too many to put in just one post, and the variations within the categories are astounding!








Western Dragons are by far the most famous and popular. They are the bat-winged, fire breathing menaces that eat beautiful damsels and hoard mountains of treasure. Never keep dragon treasure in your possession for extended periods of time, so much of the dragon's personality has been pored into his valuble that (if kept too long) will rub off you -- sometimes to the point where you become a dragon yourself. Western Dragons are vain and proud, but they cannot resist a good riddle. Their pride will not allow them to leave a question unanswered. Here are some of my favorite riddles:










(1)
Only one color but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm and feeling no pain.


(2)
What force and strength cannot get through
I with a gentle touch can do.
And many in the street would stand
Were I not a friend at hand.











(3)
In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple does appear.
No doors are there to this stronghold-
Yet thieves break in and steel the gold.












(4)
You throw away the outside and cook the inside;
Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside.
What am I?


(5)
It occurs once in every minute
Twice in every moment
And yet never in one hundred thousand years.










(6)
What walks on 4 legs in the morning
2 legs in the afternoon
3 legs at night?


(7)
What has roots that nobody sees,
Is taller than trees.
Up, up is goes
And yet never grows?

(The answers will be posted in the comments below!)








Asian Dragons are not as "evil" as Western Dragons, but they are certainly wily! They will do nearly anything to accomplish their means. They are snobbish and think of us humans as being savage animals not worthy of their time.


Metalic Dragons are by far the most noble of the dragons. They are the secret preservers of peace and secret do-gooders. Both Metallic and Coloric dragons have the ability to change into a human form. This is how Metallic dragons can mingle with humans un-noticed.
















Coloric Dragons are, without a doubt, the most evil, selfish, vile and devious of the dragons. They vary from cowardly evil to the devil's son. These dragons are born with one thought planted in their head, "How do I get what I want with out loosing my power?" All dragons have a thirst for freedom. The freedom of not having alliances, the freedom to go wherever they want, whenever they want without having to worry about anything. Coloric dragons want this freedom in a very self-serving way. They will promise their allegiance to your face to get ahead, then when you call upon them, they will desert!

Habitatual Dragons are great animals. Most cannot speak and are merely eating machines with a touch of the "magpie flu". They pillage and plunder to get to the fattest cows or tastiest children. If they get into a water system they water will gain a burning acidic taste. Some can breath fire, some can fly, some can do neither. These are the easiest dragons to deal with for although they can be tricky and sly, they do not have the same intelect as the other, "higher" species of dragon.

Fairy!

Okay! Since I finished that FOREVER long post on Love Languages, I decided to celebrate by doing a completely random post on my favorite topic: FAIRIES!





There are so many kinds of "Fairies" I could devote an entire blog to just describing them... The basic categories are:

• Fairies
• Sprites
• Pixies

I could go crazy with how many other fairies there are that are a category all by themselves: undines, sylphs, and the Selie Court to name a few.









My personal favorites of the fairies are forest fairies. They are wise and mysterious, and they live in my favorite place... the forest. These forest fairies are the makers of fairy rings. They have a great feast at the threshold of each season and never forget a kindness done to them...









Water fairies are just behind forest fairies. They are very fast and are often mistaken for dragonflies. Water fairies aren't as mischievous as pixies, but do tend to prank passers by. They are, after all, fairies.




















So those are my top for normal (if anything faerie is "normal) fairies. Of coarse there are warriors in faerie land. As odd as it sounds, they do ride horses into battle, but fairies NEVER carry iron or steel (this includes swords.) Fairy weaponry is very unique. The "swords" are made of some special alloy unknown to humans and are thoroughly encrusted with magic. A test to weather or not the "fairy" you are up against is a fairy or an elf is to find their reaction to iron. Elves are one of the few faeries that iron does not affect.








As I think of more things I'll probably update this post, but the easiest thing to remember when determining the strength of a fairy is

1. Likeness to an insect: the more "human-ish" the more powerful.
   
2. Size: the larger the fairy the more powerful.
3. Wings: if the fairy does NOT have wings, odds are it is part of the Selie Court. These fairies are THE MOST POWERFUL fairies. Do not even think of trying to trick them -- It will most certainly mean your doom.

I know this is supposed to be about fairies, but I just have to throw in... I'm an elf. You heard me right, Christine Ericson is an Elf. Want to see my picture? I am currently under apprenticeship to be a healer and am the Lady of Hanalith.