Check Mate!

I see this occasionally in a store I go through and every time, no matter HOW busy I am, I stop to stare at it in all of it's glory. It comes and goes based on who buys it and such, but it is so cool. It doesn't hurt that I have a fettish with unique chessboards. I don't quite understand the fascination quite yet, but it is most prevalent.
This particular one is of the Lamanites and the Nephites from the Book of Mormon. If you don't understand how amusing this is to me, please do educate yourself and read the Book of Mormon.

So you might be wondering, what chess set's are out there that I could possibly be compelled to want above your average kind?

Well, there's always the gigantic chess board. I had one of these at my school in the third grade :D We'd play occasionally at recess when we felt like being geeky. Or when the soccer field was too muddy to play on. One of the two. But ours was made out of paper mache so...yeah.

And of course you need to have your medieval chess board. No chess board is complete without a dragon and dragon riders! (I secretly really want this chess board, but then I'd feel like a nerd.)
Ok...so really I need to accept the fact that I am a nerd. Good. Now that we've got that out there I can show you two chess boards that I REALLY want.

Lord of the Rings version:

(and I love how Sam is the pawn's! But why is Frodo the Bishop? What the? The WHOLE story is about Frodo...he should be the king...a very short king.)

And Star Wars:



A Star Wars chess board is my dream of dreams chessboard. Oh...that I could own one. But I have to get the one where Han Solo is the knights versus Boba Fett as the opposite knights. Otherwise it's just not as good.

I do own two really cool Chess boards though...

I own a peruvian one (as seen above) except it's square...and it has Llama's for knights!!!! Mine are also not nasty blue colored...I like to call them the Conquistador's versus the Inca's even though I don't know who they represent.



Last but not least I have a crystal chess set! I asked for this for Christmas and it is glorious! I've only broken one piece so far!

Well, if you've made it this far, thanks for joining me in my geeking out on Chessboards. :D I hope you love them as much as I do! :D

Sans Rires

I missed it by one day, but I'm going to go ahead and write this anyways.

I just finished a book called The Book Thief. I am determined at this point in my life to be reading one book for enjoyment whilst also doing my school work. I picked this one up about two weeks ago and just finished it. It's a good book. I recommend it. But believe me, it will be more of an education than an enjoyment over many books you will read in your life time.

I almost don't want to tell you what the book is about if you don't already know...Perhaps have you read it akin to the first time I went to the museum of tolerance in LA. I didn't know what the museum was. I knew it existed. I knew it was educational. I didn't know I'd learn what the holocaust was that day. ALL that it entailed. If it's one thing, the museum of tolerance is thorough and poignant. Little did I know it would incite in me a fervor to never underestimate the cruelty of man ever again. I would say that I have never known a cruel thing in my life...but especially so after I was educated that day.

What have I learned from this book and it's main spur of plot? The standard quotes I suppose. Learn from the past. Don't discriminate. Always be suspicious of men who speak all too pleasantly to your ears. Your decisions matter and (I especially learned this from the book thief) you have to stand up for them no matter how much it hurts...even when you are one in a crowd that will bring you pain for it.

I've never seen someone die in front of my very eyes...nor someone almost about to die. I've seen old men who are waiting for it and I've been to funerals...but it's not the same. Sometimes I feel like I aught to know? But no one really does...foolish human curiosity. The closest I've ever gotten to it is a song by Kimya Dawson bless her soul. It's called '12/26'. I'll give you a link to a video of that song on youtube...however know it is very graphic and not for the faint of heart...at the same time I feel all should listen to it at least once. It's not about war and it's not about the holocaust...but I feel the devastation is close. -> the video.

It deserves to be mourned. It deserves the wails of despair and agony that are burgeoning out of your heart and soul to blast at the world and the forces behind it. HOW? How can we allow these things to happen? WHAT is to be done? WHO is responsible?

Sadly it depends...and often there is no answer at all.

When I've done a book review in the past I'll usually make fun of it or give my favorite quotes. I can't bring my humor to laugh at the holocaust, I apologize, but I will share my favorite quote: "I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

Oh there are cruel men out there alright. But there is good. Believe it or not, it starts with each individual. But that's all I'm going to say. Know that I am determined not to repeat the past. Yesterday was the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I hope we remember it. I'm glad I picked up this book when I did.

English AP

So I never took English AP. I never liked the idea of being forced to read books. I am a free spirit! Plus I read more than any english class ever required in high school.

But one of my dreams has always been to be in a class that assigned books to me that I WANT to read. It's like getting paid to read! Except...usually I'm paying them? Anyways, that's how it feels! But now I've been assigned 10 books that I have to read within the next 4 month period and I'm so excited!!! Why? Because I was assigned to read the following...

Pere Goriot by Balzac

I have no idea what this book is about, but in the Music Man they refer to it as an ever so scandalous book! (It's in the pick-a-little talk-a-little song) Ever since I've been DYING to know if it is or not! I mean, they said Chaucer was bad and I happen to like Chaucer...but I guess he did have some scandalous things in the Canterbury Tales...which is the only thing of his I've read of his so far.

Civilization & Its Discontents by Freud
Leviathan by Hobbes
The Communist Manifesto by Marx
Gulliver's Travels by Swift

Ok...I'm only excited for these books because I recognize their name and/or author. You know? Those books you always feel like you should read but don't cause you find other things to do?

Utopia by More

The sole reason I want to read this is because of Ever After. If it can fill her with such inexplicable joy I imagine I might like it in some degree.

The Prince by Machiavelli

I've always liked to understand manipulation and allegedly this book is the core doctrine of manipulation and political intrigue. Yay!

The other books I'm not too excited for. But 7 out of 10 books is perty good odds in my mind.