New Divide, Linkin Park

One of my friends showed me this song, and it's now my new favorite song (or one of them, anyway).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0

Dragons

Hi. I hate to have you guys do this, but would you click on my dragons to help them grow up? They would really appreciate it, I'm sure.

Thanks for clicking!

Now, on to other, more interesting things.

Anyone know any good books about dragons? Should I start a theme of the month? I think I might do that instead of Book of the Month. Anyway, some good books on dragons are Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr, all by Christopher Paolini. There's also Dragonology, written by Dr. Ernest Drake. Dragonology is all about the study of dragons, or dragonology. There are numerous facts about all of the different dragon species, as well as samples of a dragon's wing membrane and dragondust. Dragonology is part of the 'Ology series, which includes Pirateology, Egyptology, Spyology, Mythology, Dragonology, Wizardology, Oceanology, and Monsterology. There's also a children's book I read, Dragon's Egg by Sarah L. Thomson, about two children who go on a search to find the hatching place for a dragon's egg. Also, there's The Fire Within and Icefire by Chris d'Lacey, both of which are about clay dragons that can come to life.

A little bit about me (I should probably change the title)

I figure I should probably talk a bit about myself. I play the flute in our school band, and I like almost every kind of music (unless it's bad :). My favorite instruments are the flute (obviously), the piano (which my brother plays), and the violin (which, apparently, my dentist's niece? plays, and which I'd also like to play)

I love roses. In fact, I've been trying to draw a good rose for months.

A rose I drew.

My favorite books are the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, any book by James Patterson, ect., ect.

I love frogs, penguins, and cheese. Ever heard of the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne? My favorite one is Eve of the Emperor Penguins. Can you imagine an entire icy "ballroom" filled with dancing penguins? And that there's a penguin king?

Wise-looking froggy.

My favorite authors are James Patterson, J.K. Rowling, and Brian Jacques.

Well, since I've run out of things to say, I should probably stop. Or not. I'm not sure. Should I stop? Or should I just continue to ramble on and on and on and on and on....

Beatboxing Flute Player

Have any of you ever heard of Greg Patello? He's this amazing flute player who can beatbox and play the flute at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0

Drawings I made at 1:00 in the morning

I'm a big fan of drawing. I love to draw. I draw on white lined paper, blank paper, homework, school work, post-its, sticky notes, scraps of paper, tracing paper, ect. I like drawing on tracing paper the best because when you erase, there's almost no trace of the things you erased.

Last night (or this morning, depending on how you look at it), I started doodling, since I was bored and I couldn't go to sleep. These are the "finished products" of those doodles.

And now, "artsy" pictures of those doodles.

A picture of them all together, plus another doodle-in-the-works that you can see through the tracing paper.

Books and authors of the month

Hey everyone! Next month (2.5 days from now), I'm gonna start doing the Book of the Month and the Author of the Month. The books will be from the month before or ones I've read in the past (you know, before the month before), and the authors might be famous, or they might not be. With the books I read, you've probably never even heard of some of them. (I should probably start with Twilight, get it out of the way...)

Classics

Hi peoples! I've started to continue reading some of the world's classics. Right now I'm reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (not a classic, I know), The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (normally two separate books, I got them together in one book), and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I also started reading The Arabian Nights a while ago.

Will someone give me a list of classics? I think I have a lot of them, but I never know which ones are real classics and which ones are just really old, good stories. I own the books mentioned in the previous paragraph, as well as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London, and The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

There's this website, http://www.forgottenbooks.org/, that has hundreds of online, free copies of books from writers like Shakespeare and Plato, as well as well-know stories like Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, legends and fables like Aesop's Fables, and books I've never even heard of (though I'm sure at least one of you have) like Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by A.M. Sellar and Keep a True Lent by Charles Fillmore. I bought a bound copy of The Arabian Nights that was published by Forgotten Books. Entire books can be found on this website. The only bad thing is that you have to remember to scroll down. :)

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Matthias is a young apprentice in Redwall Abbey. He idolizes Martin the Warrior, who once protected the abbey at its time of need years and years ago. Now another time of need has come, and it's Matthias's turn to save his abbey. Cluny the Scourge has put Redwall under siege, and it's up to Matthias to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior and put a stop to Cluny once and for all.

Redwall is a fast-paced book based on the universal theme of a kingdom under siege and a hero who must rescue it. Brian Jacques is an excellent author. His book makes you feel as though you are right next to Matthias and Log-a-Log as they battle the deadly adder Asmodeus. Every scene is painted in meticulous detail in front of your eyes as you read about Matthias's stay in the Sparra court.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Jonas lives in a utopian society where everything is the same. He is about to get his assignment (job) in December. When the time comes, Jonas is chosen to become the next Receiver of Memory. The new memories that the previous Receiver of Memory (now The Giver) gives to Jonas open up his heart and his eyes. He realizes that the community needs to experience the memories, so he and The Giver hatch a plan for Jonas to escape. But will it work?

The Giver is a futuristic book about what life would be like in a "perfect" community. This book goes at a relaxed, unhurried pace. It tells its story one event at a time.

Montmorency on the Rocks by Eleanor Updale

London is under siege. Two bombs have gone off in two train stations across London. Lord George Fox-Selwyn and Montmorency are the only two people who have the skills to stop the bomber before another train station goes up in flames. But Montmorency is now an addict, and the only way to cure his addiction is to bring him out into the country for some fresh air, away from London. Eventually, he gets better, but is it in time to save London?

Montmorency on the Rocks is the sequel to Montmorency. It's a story about a man with double identities. This book constantly keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next. Just when you think that this is how the book will end, it takes a dramatic turn in a completely different direction.

The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis

Digory and Polly are playing in a tunnel above their neighborhood of houses when they open the wrong door and end up in Digory's Uncle Andrew's study. Suddenly, Digory and Polly find themselves in the ruins of Charn, where they meet a great and magical queen. But appearances aren't everything, and when Digory and Polly accidentally bring her back into their world, chaos reigns.

The Magician's Nephew comes before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in The Chronicles of Narnia. It tells of the beginning of Narnia, and how the White Witch came into it. This book has a light-hearted, almost casual kind of story, the kind that parents read to their children as a bedtime story.

The Hound of Rowan by Henry H. Neff

Max McDaniels is an ordinary kid living in Chicago. One day, Max and his dad visit the Art Institute. Max wanders off and stumbles upon a tapestry depicting the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Soon after, Max finds himself at a fantastical school, where hags and ogres cook the meals and the mansion decides what furnishings are in your room. But not all is well at Rowan Academy. Someone is kidnapping future students, and rash of thefts have left art museums searching for missing paintings. What does it all mean? Is there someone out there who's trying to reawaken a powerful evil? An evil that will seek to control Rowan Academy and everyone in it?


The Hound of Rowan is new twist on the ancient battle of Good vs. Evil. It is imbedded with ancient Celtic myths and laugh-out-loud humor. The book is serious when it needs to be, but not so serious that it borders on being boring.

Among the Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Luke Garner is free. Well, sort of. He now has a fake ID, and is attending Hendricks School for Boys, but he has a rough start. Luke can never find any of his classes, the boys in his dormitory make fun of him and push him around every night, and can't seem to fit in. Then, Luke finds a door, which leads to a small scattering of trees and wilderness. Finally, Luke has found a place where he belongs. But there's something going on in those woods that Luke should be terrified of, because no third child in Hendricks School for Boys is safe, including Luke.

Among the Imposters is the sequel to Among the Hidden, and like Among the Hidden, it takes a while to get to the really exciting part. However, it's one of those books that forces the reader to keep reading, even when it's 2 o'clock in the morning.

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Luke is an illegal third child who lives in the woods with his farming family. When construction crews invade the forest and start to destroy it, Luke must hide inside all day, as his family goes about their daily lives as though he wasn't there. But one day when everyone is at school or at work, Luke is peering out of a hole in his attic room and sees a curtain in a neighboring house shut. He starts to wonder: Who was the person in the house? Was it another third child? Like him? Luke soon gets up the nerve to steal across his lawn to the Baron's house. But what will he find when he gets in...?

This is an exciting book when you get about 100 pages in. The beginning is a bit slow, when it's talking about Luke's life in his house. It does get more exciting in the last half of the book, but when it get's exciting, it gets really exciting.

The Great Shark Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens are going to Florida to help out at Ocean Adventure Park! While they're there, they get to come face to face with a great white shark. Everyone loves the shark. Well, not everyone. Does someone want the shark dead? And why? Will the Aldens be able to save the shark before that someone gets what they want?

This is a really good book as far as Boxcar Children books go. It's one of the more surprising ones. It kind of keeps you guessing as to who's responsible.