Ensimmäinen Suomenkielinen Blogikirjoitukseni

Kauan sitten kaukaisessa galaksissa...


... Actually it was just the other day.... and only in the kitchen that I wrote this. It was written for my Finnish class as a short speech to practice my Finnish. I did have some help with it so I can't take all the credit but I'm just glad I finished it. Excuse any punctuation errors. I try to avoid them but may have made some.

 ~~~

Australia on iso ja kaunis maa. Sydney on isoin kaupunki, mutta se ei ole pääkaupunki. Pääkaupunki on Canberra.

Sydney on noin kaksitoistatuhatta neliökilometriä (12,000 km²) ja koko Australia on noin seitsemänmiljoonaaseitsemänsataatuhatta neliökilometriä (7,700,000 km²). Vertailuna Suomi on noin kolmesataaneljäkymmentätuhatta neliökilometriä (340,000 km²).

Minulle tärkeät asiat Australiassa on kesä, ranta ja metsä. Me kutsutaan sanalla "bush".

Pidän kesästä koska se on kuuma. Aurinko paistaa ja käymme paljon ranalla. Kiekka on pehmeää ja valkoista. Merivesi on niin ihanan virkistävä. Me pelaamme krikettiä ja uimme paljon. Kirjoitin runon Australian kesästä:

They dance across the burning sand,
and cool their feet in the wide ocean.
Sandcastles, cricket and volleyball;
These are the children of summer.

Meidän metsöt on lehtimetsiä. Siella on paljon eucalyptus puita ja ne ovat aina vihreitä. Meillä elää paljon eläimiä metsissä kuten koalia, kangarooita, wombateja, possumeja, ja joitain lintuja, jotka elävät vain Australiassa. Meillä on myös krokotiileja, haita, käärmeitä ja hämähäkkejä. Sydneyssä meidän täytyy olla varoa käärmeitä ja hämähäkkejä, koska osa niistä on myrkyllisiä. Lisäksi meidän täytyy varoa että metäpaloja ei sytyyisi, koska ne on niin vaikea saada sammumaan. Elaimet, ihmiset ja luonto ovat metsäpalon syttyessä suuressa vaarassa.



~~~ Random Logic ~~~

Star Wars Episode VII: The Little Mermaid.....

So the last thing I ever thought I would be blogging about is the fact that the almighty George Lucas, creator and Supreme Overlord of Star Wars has SOLD his company, Lucasfilm Ltd.... to DISNEY!

You can read more here or just do a quick google search, but the basics of the deal are for a total of $4.05 Billion in cash and stocks George Lucas has sold his 100% share of Lucasfilm Ltd to Disney who are planning a new movie- reportedly Episode VII- for release in 2015.

Now this to me is something I never, EVER contemplated happening. It just seemed obvious that Lucas wouldn't reliquish the control he has over Star Wars, especially not to a major studio, but thinking about it in hindsight of this news... it was kind of inevitable to happen. He won't live forever and I think he is one of those people who would hate to think that what he created would just die out with him. He wants it to continue(whether for altruistic reasons or otherwise).

So my question now is what sort of new stuff apart from this film can we expect as a result of this? Also I really want to know what the new film will be about. I'm nervous and excited for the future of Star Wars all at once!

Also... what silly names can you think of for Star Wars Episode VII?


~~ Random Logic ~~

Books... You Are What You [Read]

So I was looking at the Book List Challenges app on Facebook tonight and I was looking through some of the lists and one thought kept repeating. Seriously? Those book are really favourites or a must reads for that many people?

It's not the first time I have had thoughts like this either. I love to read, but whenever I look at these lists of top 100 books I have to wonder how many people actually have read the books they say they have read and how many just say they have read the books because they are ashamed that they haven't read said book. Or maybe a better question is how many people say they have read a book when they read three chapters and put it down never to even dream of touching the book again?

Last year I did a list in two parts of books I think people should read. I will probably post it here at some stage, but I just had a look at it now and I think I may even revise, the list and expand it to add more books onto it.

But I guess a big part of this post is the fact that I absolutely love to read. If I get free time then a good portion of that free time is spent reading. I am a member of about 6 different libraries across two countries and I don't think I am a snobby reader either as I will read most genres. What I resent though is people who sneer or stare at me in disbelief when I say I haven't some novel that some people say is one of the greatest novels of all time. It annoys me. Do I look at you and sneer when you tell me you haven't read any Star Wars novels or John Marsden? What gives them the right to think they are better than me because of their apparent reading choices.

Another part is that I really wish I could find a list on one of these book list challenges or some such that is full of books that people like me read and not just books that fall onto some top 100 list, because I'm pretty sure that even if I had read all of the books on the BBC top 100 list that I probably wouldn't list even half of them in my favourites and as books that I think others should read.

Does anyone else feel this way? Or am I just some strange anomaly in the realm of book lovers and readers?

~~ Random Logic ~~

Out and About in Finland.

This weekend, as I mentioned in my last post, my cousin came to visit Finland from London where she has been living. It was fantastic!

She arrived Saturday and after a picnic lunch next to the river we started the touristy stuff with the Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova Museum which is a museum of history and contemporary art. The history side is the main part that I love and I visited several times when I was last in Finland. It has changed a little since then though. You are able to walk through the streets and remains of buildings of medieval Turku which is all enclosed within the building itself and maintained in the condition in which it was found. In addition they do continuing archaeological excavations on the buildings and area and are actually currently in the process or removing all the built up dirt and soil from within one of the 6 buildings within the museum.

After that we wandered down along the river to Turun Linna (Turku Castle) which is another of my favourite place to visit. It dates back to 1280 when construction started on the castle. It was in use for a long time before it fell into ruins. Since World War Two, it has been fully restored and is now used as a museum.

Dinner yesterday was reindeer steak with a lingonberry-red wine sauce and we followed it with some sampling of cider including a blueberry cider... Om nom nom nom!

Today we went for a drive with one of my friends to the archipelago near Turku. We briefly visited the ruins of a castle on one of the islands first off then we went to a town called Nauvo which is not very big. There are lots of summer cottages in that area and it's pretty tourist oriented feeling but they whole area is gorgeous. It was nice and even the wait for the ferry to get back from the island wasn't any issue.

I think the highlight of today was probably our very Finnish dinner. We had smoked salmon we bought on one of the islands on the way back, as well as makkara(Finnish sausage), potato(can't go without potoato!), and karjalanpiirakka. It was delicious.

So all in all an awesome weekend. I loved seeing my cousin. I loved showing off the country I love and I just had an all around good time.


~~Random Logic~~

Excitement!!!!

My cousin is coming to visit me from where she has been living in the UK this weekend. I am excited. It is her first trip to Finland and I get to show her around some of the stuff I love here. Also I haven't seen her in over a year. YAY! I hope to take a decent amount of photos this weekend, hopefully I will get a chance to upload them as well.

The Joys of Reading!

If you know me, then chances are you know that I love to read. It doesn't even really take you knowing me well to know that fact. It isn't something that I even try to hide.

I recently started working here in Finland. I am working as an au pair for a family with three children. The oldest two are girls(ages twelve and eight) and the youngest is a boy(aged four). One of the first things they discovered about me was that I love to read. When I moved in with the family I had with me a bag of library books which I then proceeded to finish reading over the next week at a rate of about one book every two days.

Now the parents love the fact that I read. I am setting a good example for their children with the reading and the fact that I clearly enjoy it. The girls however are not so enthusiastic about it, and I think they don't really understand how someone can love reading so much because they are always asking me why I like reading.

The eight year old doesn't mind reading too much though, and she has even read some of english books to me and she is pretty good at reading them. The oldest however really dislikes reading. To me this is a challenge, and it is a challenge I intend to take on and hopefully she will eventually want to read the books she has to read or at least she will read ones she wants when she wants and read the ones for school without too much complaining.

So far I have started with getting her to read one chapter of a book at a time. I sit there reading my own book next to her and she gets a chance to play with my Nintendo DS when she has read at least a chapter, and this has been working. But I don't think this solves the issue with why she doesn't want to read. So today I went to the library with her and got her to borrow two books- one in Finnish and one in English. I will read at least a chapter of the English book to her each day and hopefully she will enjoy it. And I think we hit on a winner. She got home today and read a chapter of the Finnish book (Hannah Montanta) without complaining. Her mum was extremely happy. Then when she went to bed I read her a chapter of the English book (Sabrina the Teenage Witch). The best thing about ti is she enjoyed it! She wanted me to keep reading but she was almost asleep already so I will read more on another night.

But I am so happy. Already I am making a change in her reading habits. She complains less and hopefully with some better chosen books, then she will choose to read without being told to read her book. Fingers crossed that this reading continues. I know I will continue to read as much as I can and maybe one day she will enjoy reading even half as much as I do.

In the meantime I need to think up more variety of rewards for reading than just playing with my Nintendo DS. Maybe some kind of reading sticker chart or something with a bigger reward once she gets so many stickers.

Anyone got any other thoughts on ideas to encourage reading or ways to encourage reading?

Also I have been slack in updating since I got to Finland(something pointed out by a friend), but I haven't been online so much and have been pretty busy. I do have a half written post about Estonia that I need to finish and put up and will try to make more regular posts now I am getting a bit more settled. Maybe I will do another one this weekend.


~~ Random Logic ~~

Pack, Pack, Packing....

So... first blog from Finland. I have been here two weeks now and have been having a pretty awesome time. Also this particular post will most likely be somewhat random and rambling.

It's currently heading towards 3am and I still haven't finished packing for my trip to Estonia. I have to be on a bus at 6am to Helsinki, and then catch the boat from there at 10am.... really should go pack. After this blog I will.

So two weeks in Finland and I was met at the airport by two of my friends. Between them they had one sign and multiple chocolate bars- to get me started. I love Fazer chocolate. We had lunch and then I continued my journey onwards.

When I finally got off the bus in Turku I was greeted by two more friends. One is the friend I am currently staying with and the other is a German friend who I met when she was doing exchange at the same time as me. They also greeted me with chocolate and a sign. I love my friends!

I attended Ruisrock music festival which was three days of amazing fun and I got to catch up with a few more friends at that and see plenty of awesome bands. Still not sure how Snoop Dog fits into a rock festival though.

Since Ruisrock I have caught up with more friends, eaten plenty of chocolate, done a bit of shopping, and generally been relaxing and having fun.

Now onto more packing and Estonia! I figure I don't need sleep tonight... I have plenty of time to sleep on the bus, boat and in the car today...

~~ Random Logic ~~

Oh god, oh god, we're all going to die...

Well not really... I just have that particular line from Firefly stuck in my head at the moment.

So today marks 7 days left until I leave this sunburnt country for a land of ice and snow. I finished work a week ago now and have been packing frantically to move out of where I'm living. 4 days of the last week have been spent essentially in transit to and from where my belongings are being stored. My dad and brother spent today moving another load.

All that's left to move now are basically the things I will be taking with me to Finland.

As I started packing my suitcase today it kind of hit me what I am doing. This is a major move. It's a one way ticket. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. I'm freaking excited!

But at the same time I'm kinda scared.

I won't be able to just call my parents up at any time or even just jump on a bus to go visit them. I won't be able to just call up some of my best friends and ask them if they want to hang out and catch a movie or anything like that.

And then I balance it against what I am doing.

I am moving to a country I love.

I am going to be doing something that 10 years ago wouldn't have even crossed my mind.

I am going to be catching up with friends  haven't seen in 5 years. I can call them up if I want to hang out.

I am putting myself out there.

Talking to a friend tonight I asked her if she felt the same thing when she moved to the centre of Australia for a job. She did, but she settled and I know she loves what she does. I guess it's just a matter of getting settled into my job in Finland and back into the country as well. I guess the best thing about it is that I will be in an area that whilst I am not entirely familiar with it, I am familiar with the region and I have friends around who can help me if I need it and who I can just chill with if I need it.

I guess the biggest motivation behind all of this move is the fact that I felt a little bit stuck in a rut. I love Australia for sure, and I have made so many amazing friends here over the past couple of years, but it's something beyond friends and family. I have had a couple of jobs since I finished high school and my youth exchange. I never seem to stick in the same kind of industry either. The only constant is that all jobs have been administration based... something which I do not want to be doing for the rest of my life unless it is in a position that I absolutely love and adore.

I'm looking forward to this more than it scares me and I think that is the best thing possible when all is said and done. I know I will have an amazing time and the experience of a lifetime.

So I will go back to packing secure in the thought that life goes nowhere unless one is willing to a take a chance, and we are all in charge of our own future even when it seems like we aren't.


~~Random Logic~~

Sydnova 2012!

IT'S SYDNOVA TIME ONCE MORE!

For many people in Australia who are massive fans of science fiction, fantasy, anime, comics, and various other fandoms that fall under the general pop-culture banner, Supanova Pop Culture Convention is the go-to event of the year. It travels around and 5-6 of the major cities/population centres of Australia get a taste of Supanova throughout the year.

For those that don't know what Supanova is- It is basically an entire weekend(Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday) devoted to anything you would commonly attribute to geeks. From computer games to books to movies, comics and tv shows. If it is in the category where it can get a massive following then it is generally represented. The main events of the weekend are special guest stars, with photo and autograph sessions as well as individual panels. The next major thing of the weekend is cosplay(costuming up as a favourite character from a particular fandom or even just in something original). Hundreds of people come in costume to these conventions and there is a massive cosplay competition for people who choose to cosplay and many people start planning their cosplay for the following year as soon as one convention is finished or they build on a cosplay and just improve it again and again each year.

Anyway this weekend was the weekend for Sydney Supanova... or Sydnova for short. It is probably one of the most attended of all of the Supanova events being that it is in the centre of Sydney and people do travel from far and wide to attend, even interstate.

I attended Sydnova for the third year in a row this year. I've only ever attended one day of the event but have been getting more and more into the spirit each year. The first year I went as myself, last year I went as a pirate in a generic pirate costume I bought at a costume shop, and this year... this year I went as Vala Mal Doran from Stargate SG-1.

It started with a friend introducing me to someone via Facebook... we got talking about Stargate and Supanova and then I mentioned I was thinking of going as a Stargate character. Someone else chimed in saying I should go as Vala. I agreed as long as someone went as Daniel Jackson and then someone volunteered to make the costume for me and we went from there. This occured back in March. So over the past few months the costume was in the works and I got more and more excited. It was made without using any specific costume patterns, she basically created it from scratch with the dvd's for reference.

It turned out fantastically! She is a genius!

I was recognised by a few different people over the course of the day and took many photos... mostly with Star Wars cosplayers(Darth Vader photobombed my photo with the Emperor!) and I guess that was mostly by choice of my own. I am a self confessed Star Wars fan. There was a harem of Slave Leias and they were all amazing! They had made their costumes from scratch and planned it out together and they had heaps and heaps of attention. Somehow I got roped into a whole bunch of photos (not that I am complaining) and it was pretty entertaining.

The other big thing for me this year was getting some of my hundreds of books signed by their authors. The 2 big drawcards to the Dymock's stand this year were Christopher Paolini who wrote the Eragon series and Matthew Reilly who has written several series including Scarecrow and Seven Ancient Wonders. The other author drawcard for me was Garth Nix who is the author of the Old Kingdom Trilogy of Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen.

I waited in line for about an hour to get 4 of my Matthew Reilly books signed, I accidentally left one at home meaning I now have only one of his books which remains unsigned. I also managed to get a photo with him and some of the Slave Leia harem later on in the day.

I got my brother's Eragon series signed for him and then I got my own Garth Nix novels signed as well. I have been wanting to get a chance to meet Garth Nix for several years now but somehow any book signing he has had in Sydney has always been when I haven't known or been able to attend if I have known. It was awesome and he was a really nice guy. I also went to his and Matthew Reilly's panels which were both fairly interesting. Garth Nix certainly had some good advice for budding authors.

There is only one thing that threw me off today. I was on my way home and at one of the train stations when a guy asked if he could get a pic of me. I said sure and then he decided to tell me I was pretty 'hot' for a cosplayer... I am not sure what world he is living on or maybe I am just modest but I definitely think he may not have been seeing the same people I saw at Sydnova today... good looks are not lacking in the female cosplayers, and many of them are much better looking than myself!

Overall the day was fantastic, and fun. Probably went the quickest of any of the Sydnova days I have attended thus far and definitely something I look forward to in the future. In the meantime I will keep an eye out for any photos lurking about of myself from this year. I know there are sure to be quite a few with the Leia harem... it's just a matter of tracking them down.

~~Random Logic~~

Goodreads

So I'm packing my books, and one night I decide I will just randomly browse the Market on my android phone... and I discovered the Goodreads app... I was already a member on there from earlier this year so I decided why not download it.

Then I discovered it has a barcode reader on it. YAY! Now I can just scan my books onto my shelves on the site... unfortunately I'd already packed 4 boxes or so. Now I'm unpacking just to scan and repack. I think I'm a sucker for punishment.

So here's to the next few weeks of scanning and packing the hundreds of books I own into Goodreads.

~~ Random Logic ~~

Let's Talk About [Books], Baby!

Books! LET'S TALK ABOUT BOOKS!

I've posted before about books... including my long delayed 30 Day Book Challenge posts... I really need to get up to date on those... woops!(it's even worse because I do have some typed up already), but today I am bringing up the topic of books for a different reason.

Today I am packing- my books that is. The hundreds of books with thousands of pages between them are going into storage because I will be moving overseas for a while. As a result all of my books(with the exception of 5- my friends put a limit on how many books I may take with me) will be boxed up and placed in storage in my parents garage. 

It's not so much the packing of the books that makes it difficult. I love my books but I have had to pack them before so that I could move- It is the fact that I will not be accessing these books for a significant period of time, and therein lies the problem.

With previous moves, I have just packed the books into boxes, got on with it, moved and unpacked. As such the only order in packing my books came as a matter of:

- what size books fit effectively in this size box?

   and

- How can I minimise the space required for storage.

This time my problem is how to effectively pack these books in such a manner that if I decide I really want to take a particular book with me and I have packed it away, I can quickly locate it and access it. I am also trying to keep my book series together. I read a lot of series and am fans of particular authors work whether as part of a series or otherwise, as such I have probably 10+ authors where I have 5 or more books by that author. Not to mention the few such as Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Clive Cussler, John Marsden, Tamora Pierce, and Patricia Cornwell of whose books combined could fill a box alone. This makes it a challenge to pack my books, especially when I have both hardcovers as well as soft covers for a few of these authors.

As such I have come up with a plan. 

- I will label boxes(I never label boxes) with the authors name

- I will put as many series in a box as possible in order to minimise the amoutn of boxes I may find myself raiding in the next 5 weeks.

- I will try to leave certain books until last. If not because I want to take them with me, but because Garth Nix and Matthew Reilly are both going to be at Supanova this June and I haven't got all my Matthew Reilly books signed or any of my Garth Nix books signed.

In the meantime I shall drink my Kossu and try to not get to too depressed over the packing away of books, after all- It's just temporary and it's a sign of change in my life. Bring on Finland!

~~Random Logic~~

Castle Season 4 Finale Time!

So today was the much awaited, highly anticipated, finale of season 4 of Castle. The episode is titled Always and there has been much speculation amongst fans about this episode over the past few weeks.... Maybe even months. And it ends what has proven to be a season that has left many on edge at various stages throughout.

---- WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW ----

Season 4 started with Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) being rushed into surgery after having been shot in the season 3 finale. Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) had ended that season for us with the three words we had been wanting to hear him say to Beckett forever. He told her he loved her as she lay bleeding on the ground. She later told him she didn't remember anything about being shot and we find out she did indeed know.

Season 4 was full of tension. There were many moments where I, and I'm sure other fans thought that Beckett would reveal her feelings to Castle (4x07: Cops and Robbers) only to be cut off or distracted by something else. But we had to wait, and finally in this finale, we get what we have been waiting for.

This episode had, I think, some of the most brilliant acting I have seen throughout the entire series. Whilst Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion never fail to deliver in any episode, it will be hard to top this most recent one. We have in impassioned declaration by Fillion as Castle openly declares his love for Beckett and begs her not to pursue the current case, a case which has ties back to her own shooting as well as the murder of her mother. His secrets are revealed and she shoots him down. He declares that he is walking away, refusing to watch her let herself be killed. Both had tears in their eyes through this scene, and I must admit so did I.

We also get to see some other brilliant acting from Beckett. The confrontation between herself and the man who shot her (Tamoh Penikett), who we finally have a name and a face for, even if that name- Cole Maddox - is most likely just an alias. That showdown was great, and although his part was just small I'm looking forward to seeing him back in Season 5. The best part of that showdown however, was the end. Beckett hanging by her fingertips from a building and facing her own mortality once again as her shooter gets away. Someone calls her name, she thinks it's Castle coming, turns out it's just Ryan, and some other cops all geared up. Oh, and Captain 'Iron' Gates.

The unsuprising result of this is that Javier Esposito and Kate Beckett get put on administrative leave by the no-nonsense Gates. The suprising thing- Kate resigns.

The episode definitely ends fantastically as well. Alexis is graduating High School and giving her speech at the ceremony, this is intespersed with scenes of Kate as she packs her desk and the chilliness of the bromance gone sour between Esposito and Ryan who were at odds from the moment the case was revealed to be linked to Beckett's shooting.

I think one of my favourite parts of the ending is with Beckett sitting on the swing in the rain. You can just see her processing what has happened and where she wants to be as well as remembering the conversation with Castle in the first episode of the season where she talks about the brick wall she has built up around herself.

But by far my favourite scene and the one we have all been waiting for waiting for was the very final scene between Beckett and Castle. She turns up at his loft, soaked, and with a tear stained face to apologise and tell him she wants him. Fantastic.... and FINALLY!

So what will next season hold? I have no idea!

As things stand at the moment:

• Beckett and Castle are finally together .
• Beckett has resigned.
• Esposito is on administrative leave.
• Ryan is getting the cold shoulder from Esposito for going to Gates.
• The mysterious Mr Smith, one of Montgomery's friends, is facing the end of his blackmail on those who tried to kill Beckett.
• There is most definitely still a hit out on Beckett and she will have to face that again next season.

I do hope we get a bit more on Castle's father next season. This season touched on the fact that he may have been a CIA agent... whether there is truth in this we are yet to see. I also hope to see Beckett's mother's murder finally wrapped up. This finale has shown that while it's definitely still a driving force behind why she does what she does it is no longer the be all and end all for her. I think to drag it on for much longer would be just a little much even if all of the related episodes have been simply brilliant.

So here's to Andrew Marlowe, his brilliant creation and all those who make this show what it is. Let's hope season 5 starts off with a bang!

~~ Random Logic ~~

Joss Whedon is God!

So it's almost midnight here in Sydney, and I just got home not long ago from watching The Avengers.

This movie is BRILLIANT!

I have to say I'm not the first person to go out and watch the latest movie based off comic books or cartoons be it superhero or not. Spiderman, Superman and Batman have never really done anything for me for the most part. I've never seen a Hulk film and I hadn't seen the first Iron Man movie until the second had been and gone from the cinema. I had however watched Thor when it came out at the cinema, and then Captain America when it too came out. I enjoyed them both and the trailers for the Avengers had me wanting to see it from the first moment I saw them.

They do not disappoint.

 

Joss Whedon(Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog) has done amazing things with this movie. He is known for having a cult following for his tv shows, which brilliant as I, and many of his other fans think they are, always seem to get cancelled.With The Avengers he hits all the right spots. The dialogue wasn't forced, the interaction between characters was fantastic and the whole thing was just thoroughly entertaining. I posted on my facebook page he is god and had a friend comment that she read somewhere that this film is a giant "F*** YOU!" to anyone who had ever cancelled a Joss Whedon show. I would have to agree. He inserts humour without it being over the top and makes it all enjoyable. The movie is never dull and there is no over-emphasis on any one character which is something that could have happened considering the fact that you have six superheroes in one film.

This film will, I daresay, go down as having been the best film of the year. It's definitely the best one I have seen this year and probably even last year and I only hope they keep Whedon on if they make a sequel. They'd be stupid not to!

~~ Random Logic ~~

Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!

So, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Friends make the moments... even when there aren't moments they still make the non-moments into moments.

And on today I felt it rather appropriate to write another post celebrating the friendships I have created with people from all around the world.

You rock. All of you.

Hyvää ystävänpäivää to every single one of my friends around the world. If I could I would message you all individually with a little message of awesomeness and thanks for the friendship we have.

I really think that Finns have this Valentines Day thing right. Sure it's great to celebrate the loves in our life but too often people forget to celebrate those friends that make life possible.

“A journey is rather measured by friends than miles”

A friend posted this on her Facebook status just now and I couldn't help but be struck by the truth of this. Without friends what is a journey? They make life better. They make life fulfilling. And I'm not talking about the type of friends on facebook who you only have on there for a game or because they added you because you went to school together and barely spoke to each other in that time. I'm talking about true friends. Friends with whom you can talk on all sorts of subject matter. Friends with whom you can share your thoughts, worries, and joys. People who when you think of them you can't help but think of then with a smile on your face. Friends who even though you may never have met each other in person have struck and stuck to your life in some manner.

So here is my message to my friends:

 I love you guys.

You make life worth living. 

 

You make happiness from nothing.

You make experiences worth having

You make the journey worth sharing.

Thank you.

~~Random Logic~~

30 Day Book Challenge- Day 4

I did say I would have another one up in a couple of days... and here it is!

Day 4: Book That Makes You Cry. 

This is a book that is written by my favourite author, John Marsden. It is the first book in the Ellie Chronicles which is a continuation on the end of the Tomorrow Series. It is set after the events of the Tomorrow Series as the country is piecing itself back together. I chose this book out of several I could have chosen from for this category because the first time I read it, and many times since it has made me cry within the first few pages with deaths occurring that set the tone for the series and greatly affect the mental state of the main character. John Marsden is not an author to pull punches to appease his readers and I think that for this reason he is such a successful and loved author for young adults around the world. I only hope that between his other endeavours that he has in his life that he continues to write and produce these fantastic stories for younger people.

If you haven't read the Tomorrow Series or any other John Marsden books I suggest you do. Fantastic reads no matter your age.

~~~

That is all for today. More again tomorrow... or in a few days. You never know with these things and it is the weekend after all.

~~Random Logic~~

30 Day Book Challenge- Day 3

Okay, so I'm months behind on this and it's appalling. I'm ashamed of myself but as I'm on a train for the next 6 hours I figured I would give myself time to write out some of these blog posts.

Day 3: Book That Makes You Laugh.

This book is part of a series I love a lot. It's the fifth book of the series and definitely not the only one to make me laugh but it is the one that makes me laugh the most. It introduces a whole host of new characters from diverse backgrounds ranging from a former child actor to a Gamorrean pilot into the series. These characters chosen for their piloting skills second behind other skills which combined make them ideal for infiltration missions somehow mesh together and with a notorious prankster in their midst they get up to all sorts of mischief and pranking of not only each other but their enemies too. One of the most memorable involves Ewok humour and continues through into later books.

All in all it is a fantastically written book by Aaron Allston who continues the series in such a way as to be worthy of the preceding books as well as with more humour than any of those books.

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And that is all for Day 3. I will have another post up hopefully tomorrow or later this week. I do have several that need to be typed up first.