The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a story about a boy, Santiago, and his journey to find a treasure, and ultimately learn of himself and the world he inhabits. Along the way he finds his love, an alchemist, a journeyman/apperentice alchemist, and the voice of his heart. I would suggest the story of young Santiago to those who wish for an interesting journey. It is worth picking up but the reread level of this book is a little low on my list.

Mean Older Sister

Sean had an odd dislike of our pet lizards the first time we got them. He insulted them and I got fed up with it. I punched him in the arm, hard, and then sat the lizard on top of his head. He froze, skin turning pale and eyes bulging, he looked like some sort of mutated chameleon. I loved the hysterical look on his face.

Do I regret what I did? No. I don't. But I do feel a bit sorry for him now. But he got over the incident and his dislike for my dragons. He actually thinks it was funny that he reacted that way.

People are mean to others because it makes them feel better. Others do it cause it makes them feel powerful and in control. For me it was an emotion that I didn't control very well. But it worked out okay.

Background Music

The scene where Odysseus and his crew first meet the cyclops in his cave was I scene I found interesting. Odysseus and his crew were laughing and enjoying themselves by a fire in a well stock cave when it got a bit darker and sheep bleated as they dashed into the cave.The thundering steps herald the Cyclops' arrival. The cyclops then proceeds to devour a crew member and drink unto sleep after inquiring of Odysseus' Name. Of which Odysseus responds. "I am Nobody."

It made me feel a little odd to watch the Cyclops eat the crewman much to the disgust and utter horror of his fellow men. It made me laugh when Odysseus refers to the wine as a 'secret of the world' as it is just fermented grapes. I felt a little awed at the first glimpse of the cyclops.

We all Die by Oliver Deriviere from the soundtrack of Obscure: The Aftermath. It was composed by Oliver Deriviere and performed by the Boston String Quartet from the Boston Symphony Orchestra with The Children's choir of the national Opera of Paris conducted by Gael Darchen. The track is an odd mix of Electro pop with a choir and a string quartet. There is no particular meaning but features lots of emotional instability in the song as an angelic choir sings with a light backing of the classical quartet and ripped through the center by a distorted guitar riff. The song as a whole portrays an unsuspecting victim with a lurking beast and the solitude of darkness.

A great leader

Is Odysseus a good leader? Sure why not. Compared to the rest of his forsaken crew, he actually extends his crew's lives. All would die if he hadn't been on the cyclop's island. Eaten alive by the monster. Or when they were turned into pigs, he saved what he could.No one is perfect. He might not be the best fighter but he can out think the others easily.

About my home.

It's a small, quaint little block with a dead end and rows of mix and match houses. Reds, yellows, bricks and plaster; the houses row up neatly in lines along flowing small hills by a tiny wood perserve. Things are slow as only a lone person or two can be seen walking down the street or a car trying to bypass the red light. Fighting for this small town? Sure, why not. Many people both mean and nice live here. They don't deserve any less than the others. But for my block? No. My block consists of old people being nursed even though they are half dead, the few ignorant parents who don't let their kids grow up, or drug dealers who get paid to hide the stashes in the woods so their buys have a nice Easter egg after searching. Mainly the latter exists on my dead end street. To make my block better, we need to get rid of the sky high hobos and dealers, then we will talk. Should I fight for my home? Of course. To the tooth and nail. My brother, mother, and grandparents live there along with my dogs and lizard.

Perseus was born of Zeus and princess Danae, held captive by her father who feared the prophecy of being slain by his daughter's son. Unwilling to risk angering the gods he placed the two on a small boat and let them drift in the ocean until they came upon the island of Seriphos. The fisherman Dictys took them in and helped to raise Perseus. Polydectes, Dictys' brother and king of the island, took a liking to Danae and plotted to send Perseus away so that he might court her. And so Perseus was sent to claim the head of Medusa. Medusa was the only mortal Gorgon who was vain of her beauty and deflowered by Posidon in Goddess Minerva's temple. She was then punised with hair of snakes.

For a while, Perseus wandered aimlessly without hope of accomplishing his mission when the gods Hermes, Athena and Hades came to his rescue. Hermes gave Perseus his cursed sword, Athena gifted him a polished bronze shield and from Hades, Perseus recieved the Helmet of Invisibility. He was told to seek out the three witches, also refered to as the three Fates of the Loom. Three old crones who share a single eye, of which Perseus took until they gave him directions. He traveled to the cave they foretold of and used his polished shield to view the gorgon medusa. At her decapitation, Pegasus and the golden bow sprang from her neck.

On the way back to the island, Perseus stopped at the city of Ethiopia, ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. The vain Queen who claimed ultimate beauty drew the rage of Posidon who sent his sea beast Cetus/Kraken to bring the kingdom to ruin. An oracle stepped forth to annouce that they must sacrifice the princess Andromeda to assuage the beast. Mounted on Pegasus and with head of Medusa, Perseus slew the beast, released Andromeda and claimed her in marriage.

Upon returning home to Seriphos, he slew Polydectes to stop his violent advances to Danae and made Dictys king. Persues returned his gifts to the gods of whom they belonged and gifted Medusa's head to Athena who mounted it on Zeus' Shield. Perseus did return to Argos for the games in which his grandfather was participating. His diskus throw veered and killed him, completeing the oracle.