The Life of a Star Defender

So... what is this blog for, anyways?

2006-10-10T00:14:00.000-05:00

Well, guess what. There shall finally be a purpose to this blog.

I will be using this blog as an index to all my Ditto-related characters. This includes both the Ditto Story and the Ditto Fountain.

I'm doing this because I seem to like creating lots of characters for my story. That, and instead of posting a new census every time I update, I prefer to simply edit an existing census. Because of this, this will be a quick place to grab the link to an old census post.

So... in this first post, let me give an introduction to all my characters.

The Ditto Story

Isaac: A Star Defender, and the very first Ditto character of mine. His quick reflexes, fast speeds, and high stamina keep him well out of trouble for the most part. A key member of the PATROL and worker for the Welcome Center, Isaac has a surprisingly big role in the town for someone who's only been around for a couple of months.

Nerrha: Isaac's best friend, Nerrha is a poisonous Star Defender who can be quite curt to strangers, but is kind and loving to friends. Her long claw-like nails and fang-like teeth are filled with deadly poisons but also contain valuable healing toxins. She assists Isaac in a lot of his duties.

Reese/Skyhunter: What used to be Isaac's loyal pet falcon is now a close friend, once Reese discovered that he was really a Narnian falcon named Skyhunter. He is a close friend of Nessa, the Ditto Court Songstress and Queen of Narnia.

Julius: A Minish devoted to the cause of Originality. Despite many attacks against the town, ultimately Julius fights for justice, and will always help out the town if it is in trouble. He currently resides with the Manipulator of the Mundane and her army of evil hamsters.

Jean and Claude: This young "ghastly" couple is quite the prankster team. With no visible form and intangible to whatever they wish to be intangible to, they are practically invincible, but prefer not to help out unless absolutely necessary. They are close friends with Julius and oftentimes carry him around; they also help out the Star Defenders greatly.

Brandon: Interestingly enough, the only villain I've created (with the arguable exception of Julius). He holds quite a contempt for Isaac and his faith, and seems to seek some sort of revenge on him above all things. He works through the Organization and its evil ways. He currently has no Census entry.

I have also introduced two other characters: Hannah and Amelia. More about them will come when I have census posts for them.

New Arrivals

Mazie: A bright, exuberant, and incredibly intuitive Maze Explorer. Possessing the ability to learn many incredibly useful skills, Mazie's life has been filled with adventures through hundreds, perhaps thousands of mazes. She has most recently found herself in Ditto Town.

Mike: One of Mazie's friends and fellow Maze Explorers. He unfortunately appeared in Ditto Town as a worker for a creature-catching organization, though he successfully managed to thwart their plans and escape.

Beyond the Town

Adrian: An adventurous fellow who wants to go exploring outside Ditto Town. However, he seems to find discomfort with the fact that he's the only guy in the group of six he's going with...

Laura: Half-Madcap Siren, Laura has a deep love for music. She is Adrian's childhood, sister-like friend, and is also looking forward to going outside Ditto Town to adventure.

Real Life

Frank: The one who created all the above characters, he finds himself in quite the squandry when some of his characters start showing up at his dorm room.

Characters featured in this story so far are: Isaac, Nerrha, Mazie, Julius, and Mike.

So yeah... look to the links on the right for census posts for the above characters.

What kind of person am I?

2005-11-09T18:22:00.000-06:00

I posted this on my Xanga, too, but I might edit this to go into more detail. I'm only really putting it here so that it can have its own little page all to itself.

So I took another survey. Yeah, another survey. Except this one is far different from the "random stuff about you" surveys I've posted on here before.

Oh no, I'm talking about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or the MBTI, an "instrument" used to determine the type of person you are. I shan't go into the details of the instrument right now; I'm sure you can Google it up somewhere. Anyways, I had to take it for my SAGES class, but I found the results quite fascinating; they matched who I was pretty well.

Here are the results, so you have an idea what kind of person I am.

Where I focus my attention: Extraversion (from outside people) vs. Introversion (from inside ideas)
I got Introversion. "People who prefer Introversion tend to focus their attention on the inner world of ideas and impressions."

The way I take in information: Sensing (facts) vs. Intuition (big picture)
I got Intuition. "People who prefer Intuition tend to take in information from patterns and the big picture and focus on future possibilities."

The way I make decisions: Thinking (logic) vs. Feeling (emotions)
I got Feeling. "People who prefer Feeling tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluations of person-centered concerns."

How I deal with the outer world: Judging (plan) vs. Perceiving (adapt)
I got Perceiving. "People who prefer Perceiving tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open."

These four combine to give me my type: INFP. This means I'm:
-Sensitive, concerned, and caring
-Loyal to people or a cause
-Guided by an inner core of values in decision making (or rather, God's values )
-Focused on contributing to their own and others' inner development and growth
-Committed to a strong personal belief system (Yay for Christ! )
-Likely to enjoy reading, discussing, and reflecting on possibilities for positive change
-Usually seen by others as sensitive, introspective, and complex

I'd say that's a very accurate description of me, though I think y'all are better judges of that.

"INFP types are more deeply invested in what they do than people realize. They are quiet but warm. They notice the subtle nuances behind people's words and behavior, and seek to have personal impact in whatever they do. They too easily take on more than seems possible to accomplish, but somehow get it done." Yeah, that's me. Yay for that last sentence!

Choosing a major:
-Always dreaming of new possibilities (True.)
-Want their work to contribute to a purpose beyond the paycheck, aiding human development (Very true. )
-Usually found majoring in counseling, teaching, writing, science, or psychology (Close... I do like science, have considered majoring in writing and psychology, and am considering teaching mathematics if I don't become a doctor.)

Learning style:
-Like general concepts and original or complex material (True.)
-Seek patterns among seemingly unrelated events and ideas (True.)
-Value artistic expression and the written word (Quite true. )
-Say they spend up to nine hours a week in serious nonrequired reading (Almost... I spend over nine hours a week on NarniaWeb. I could spend 9+ hours a week on reading, though.)
-Want instructors to arouse enthusiasm for learning (Very true. )

Reading, Writing, Studying:
-Need quiet to study or do serious work (True.)
-May be surprised in college because they did not have to study to achieve good grades in high school (True, unfortunately...)
-Usually interested in literature (Quite true. )
-Write best from inner inspiration, drawing ideas from diverse sources and showing conceptual links (True.)
-When revising, may need to shorten sentences, simplify overly complex ideas, get to the point more quickly, and provide factual data to illustrate points (True, for the most part, although I do try to put in factual data as well.)

Playing:
-Frequently serve on staff of campus publications (Eh... nope. Although my SAGES writing instructor said I should submit my last SAGES paper (which was actually to be an article for the campus newspaper) to the campus newspaper... )
-Very adaptable as roommates but sometimes may be oblivious of others' concern for order or possessions (True.)
-Report they don't like casual dating; want to find a long-term partner (YES!!! VINDICATION!!! )
-Often find it hard to pull themselves away from intriguing reading or projects to engage in physical recreation or play (True.)

Possible causes of stress:
-May feel a sense of inadequacy despite objective performance (True.)
-Among the least assertive of the types in college (Very true.)
-May find reality does not match their perfectionistic idealism (True.)
-May have trouble with time management and organization (Oh, how true...)
-May delay finishing projects because they never feel complete (I've had that happen before.)

Dealing with stress:
-Naturally find ways, often by writing, to express ideals (Very true. )
-Learn to trust objective evidence for performance (Perhaps.)
-Learn ways to act assertively (A very good idea. )
-Learn time management skills (But of course!)
-May need to turn project in even though it feels incomplete (Good idea.)

Well, there you have it. That's me in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed reading all that! If you want to take this test yourself, I'll see if I can find a good online version somewhere. If not, you can always "self-select" your type or something. E-mail, IM, or PM (if you're from NarniaWeb) me for details.

Parting shot: Only 4.4% of all Americans and 4.1% of American men are of my type, the INFP type.

I don't update this site a lot, do I?

2005-10-28T02:10:00.000-05:00

Nope. I'll be mainly sticking to Xanga for all my main blogging.

That doesn't mean I won't update this site at all. Oh no. For all you who still check my site for whatever reason, hoping for an update... you might get a few pleasant surprises. Namely, some posts exclusive to this site. :-D

Also, I might make more of those stardf29 quizzes, but I will only link to them here. If you didn't notice already, Quiz #3 is up! Check it out!

So, your bonus for today shall be a little Bob Phillips humor:

"A blowhard Air Force major was promoted to colonel and received a brand-new office. His first morning behind the desk, an airman knocked on the door and asked to speak to him. The colonel, feeling the urge to impress the young airman, picked up the phone and said:
'Yes, General, thank you. Yes I will pass that along to the President this afternoon. Yes, goodbye, Sir.'
Then turning to the airman, he barked, 'And what do you want?'
'Nothing important, Sir,' said the airman. 'I just came to install your telephone.'"

The Long Claw of the Law

2005-09-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

Major disclaimer: I know next to nothing about politics. And I don't generally like to talk about politics. But this is a politically-oriented post. So be nice to me, even if I don't share your views. Because you want me to be nice to you despite your views, right?

I read an editorial today in my school paper. The writer said that he thinks the Christian Conservatives have too much of an influence on the Conservatives and are evil for "forcing" their beliefs on the nation.

Now, here's something that might shock a few of ya. I do kinda agree with him. I think there is some degree to which the Chruch should avoid trying to permeate itself through the government. It could be counter-productive to our mission of bringing others to Christ. In fact, that's the main reason why Thomas Jefferson wanted a "separation of church and state": to protect the church.

Still, to think how far that term, "separation of church and state", has come. Now, we use it to attack the church, not protect it. Also, "separation" has become much more, well, separate. A lot of America just doesn't want Christianity to have anything to do with the government.

However, the truth is, it's separation of church and state, not separation of church from state. Because you can't do that. Christianity just had way too many undercurrents in the government from the start, and it's going to take a lot more than the legalization of abortion and gay marriage to change that.

I'll come back to this point later.

It seems like the editorial writer wants to make sure that no religion's beliefs--in other words, no one's beliefs at all--to be forced upon others through the government. Which seems fine and all for most people, except... why does he want to force upon others through the government his beliefs about whether others should force their beliefs upon others through the government? (Paradoxial? Yeah, I know. )

Government and law is all about morality. It's about having a set of rules, based on beliefs about how humans should behave, to run a country in the best possible way. The only way to have a no-morality, no-enforcing-beliefs government is, well, anarchy. And though there are people out there who think that anarchy is the best, I'm sure that most people who don't want the enforcing of beliefs don't want anarchy either.

True, most laws are those that most people agree upon, like no murder. Still, there are those who believe that murder isn't wrong. And remember, morality isn't decided on majority rule. The government doesn't take polls to see what the majority of America believes on a certain issue and then make laws accordingly; otherwise, I have a feeling our country would be a lot different than it is now.

Laws are based on others' morals and beliefs. That's life. If you don't like it, I hope you don't believe that suicide is wrong.

Really, we Americans should be glad that they have the privelige to vote that we have. We get to have some say as to which people get to enforce their beliefs. Of course, that means that we play a part in enforcing our beliefs on others, but hey, the other option is not to vote, and y'all know what happens then. Seriously, that's why I say that church and state can't be separated from each other: the majority of Americans are Christian or share many Christian beliefs, and as long as they're voting, Christianity's beliefs are being channeled into the government and its laws.

Heh. Come to think of it, most of the people that are going to read this are also Christians. I'm really ranting to no one inparticular. Oh well. Rant over.

Survey...

2005-09-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

Yeah, this didn't come out too well... just ignore the input boxes.

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	Frank
Birthday:	March 29 1988
Birthplace:	Shanghai, China
Current Location:	The State of Mass Confusion/Case Western Reserve University
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Black
Height:	5'3"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Right, working towards ambidexterity
Your Heritage:	Of course, my parents moved from America to China! Yeah... um no. Chinese.
The Shoes You Wore Today:	Sneakers. Without shoelaces. I hate shoelaces.
Your Weakness:	I'm Lightning/Water, so I'm quite weak to Plant.
Your Fears:	Bees, cheese, the deep-freeze
Your Perfect Pizza:	One with no cheese.
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Straight A's!
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	I see.
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Sound is alarm. Begin conscious thought processes. Open eyes.
Your Best Physical Feature:	A birthmark the shape of Alaska.
Your Bedtime:	Really, really late.
Your Most Missed Memory:	Living in China
Pepsi or Coke:	RC Cola of course! ...No preference.
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Chicken Selects or Chicken Fries? Eh, no preference again.
Single or Group Dates:	I'd rather eat a bunch of dates than just one.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Does it come in raspberry?
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Chocolate to eat, Vanilla for ice cream.
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Decaf?
Do you Smoke:	Ham.
Do you Swear:	Do words like "darn" count?
Do you Sing:	Yes. Badly? Yes.
Do you Shower Daily:	No... (I really don't like my college's bathroom's showers...)
Have you Been in Love:	Yes. With humans? Yes. With other things? Yes. With God? Yes.
Do you want to go to College:	Hold on. I'm in college... do I want to go to college? Ack! That's too hard of a question!
Do you want to get Married:	Sure.
Do you belive in yourself:	Well, if I don't believe in myself, then that means I don't believe that I exist, which would be an existential dilemma. So yes, I belive in myself.
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Unfortunately, yes. (I want to read in the car!)
Do you think you are Attractive:	Nope, my N-S domains are all over the place.
Are you a Health Freak:	I want to become a doctor... so yeah.
Do you get along with your Parents:	There's a long story behind this, but... no.
Do you like Thunderstorms:	When I'm inside, yes. When I'm outside... RUN!!!
Do you play an Instrument:	Piano and Alto Sax, baby.
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Nope. I'm a health freak, after all.
In the past month have you Smoked:	Nope. Not even ham.
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	Yes... called Lord of the Rings, Narnia, NarniaWeb, Tales of Symphonia, music, White Rabbit, Swedish Fish, and being at college.
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	It's hard to balance on those small fruits!
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	I believe so. I go there more than is healthy for a guy. But what can I say? They're so... mazelike.
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	Not yet... but once I'm finished with my Swedish Fish, that package of Double Stuf Oreos goes next.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	Yum... sushi. And yes.
In the past month have you been on Stage:	Nope, sadly... when does Drama Club start?!
In the past month have you been Dumped:	By girls? No. By garbage trucks? ...I wish.
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	Nope. And why do I see some variation of this question on EVERY survey? Geez, you're all like dirty old men or something...
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Well, in Tales of Symphonia, I used Colette to steal stuff, namely Pellets. "I'm no thief! The enemies just give me items!"
Ever been Drunk:	Nope.
Ever been called a Tease:	???
Ever been Beaten up:	Oh yes... by the Ktugach, Kilia, Magnius, Kvar, Kratos, Yggdrasill, Pronyma, Volt, Yuan and Botta, Celsius, assorted Coliseum people, Yggdrasill again, Kuchinawa, and Mithos. And I haven't even tried Abyssion...
Ever Shoplifted:	I definitely do not have the human strength to lift a shop.
How do you want to Die:	I'd like that to be a surprise.
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	A doctor... who also writes stuff.
What country would you most like to Visit:	China
*In a Boy/Girl..*
Favourite Eye Color:	Purple
Favourite Hair Color:	Light green
Short or Long Hair:	Randomly changing
Height:	Both taller and shorter than me
Weight:	She shouldn't care
Best Clothing Style:	Completely modest (I belive now you know why I will never find the perfect girl)
Number of Drugs I have taken:	See related question
Number of CDs I own:	Too many to bother counting
Number of Piercings:	Let's see... I believe I've had about 14 shots in my life.
Number of Tattoos:	Zero. Heh.
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	Too many for me to be worried about, so I didn't count.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Viruses and Hurricanes

2005-09-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

Last night, I did what was probably the stupidest thing anyone can do save jumping into a pool of lava. I decided to click on a link someone had AIM'd me, except she didn't explain what the link was.

You guessed it. It was a computer virus.

In the mayhem that followed, my computer's memory got eaten up and my audio device was disabled. I was able to partially eliminate the virus, but the damage is still there (although it looks like most of my computer's memory is back).

This got me thinking... that this virus attack was a lot like Hurricane Katrina.

A hurricane can quickly sweep in and do tons of damage, leaving shortly thereafter for those affected to deal with the results. However, the cities affected can recover. They can get rid of the virus that is the destruction of their town. (Obviously, they can't get rid of the hurricane.) They can overcome the troubles and return to something resembling normal life.

Yet the virus isn't completely gone. There will always be destruction that can't be fixed, that doesn't want to be fixed. The memories will still remain. And the people that died aren't going to come back.

This is life: to optimistically look towards the future, but also to remember the troubles of the past. On one hand, we can't just wallow in our past, to just use it as an excuse for inaction. (Tales of Symphonia fans: think Presea and Regal.) On the other hand, we can't just run away from the past, trying to just fix everything up as a cover-up. (Think Zelos, Sheena, and Kratos.) Finding the right balance between both can be difficult, but if you can do that, with God's help, you can overcome any obstacle in life.

And please... keep praying for Katrina victims. (Prayers for my computer would also be appreciated.)

Fanfics!

2005-09-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

I have an account on www.fanfiction.net now!
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/891766/

There, I have lots of ideas... few of which will actually be implemented, I shouldn't wonder...

Oh well. At any rate, keep your eyes peeled for some of my fanfics. (Narnia fanfics will probably also appear in the Guild.)

The Tale of Isaac and Nerrha

2005-08-26T23:39:00.000-05:00

This is a story about two Star Defenders: Isaac and Nerrha.

Yes, this is a boy-girl story. Except that it's probably unlike any boy-girl story you've ever read before.

This story came out of working on the Ditto Story on narniaweb.com. The background is basically that Nerrha, who secretly likes Isaac, is upset at him because she thinks that he has found another girl. Classic story. But what comes next... is the story of me and my journey to discover the secrets of love and friendship.

Read on: Click here.

The link above will lead to the first of my story posts on the story of Isaac and Nerrha. Please read through it before going on; it will help you understand the following, which is really how I fit into the story.

I can't begin to tell you how many people have opposed my view of dating. Even my mom and dad are against it. Yet, this is how I feel. I don't want to make an emotional commitment to anyone when I can't make a physical one. I would much rather just be friends with a girl--hopefully close friends--than date, break up, and then who knows what happens. I know many of you will disagree with me on this, but that is my opinion. Yes, it has been influenced by Joshua Harris's book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, but then again, dating didn't exactly appeal to me from the start, and that book just gave me some good reasons as to why. (For anyone who's reading this who secretly wants to go out with me: I'm sorry. I'm sure you are a wonderful girl, but... for the reasons above, I'm not interested in that kind of stuff. Once again, I'm sorry.)

Alas, this kind of stuff would be much easier to deal with... if it weren't for the fact that I still have those hormones and whatnot that make me attracted to a girl. I still have that side that wants to go out with someone. And with all those outside forces telling me to go along with that side... I oftentimes feel caught in the middle. Sometimes, I think that it'd all be okay if I just gave in and started dating, but I know I cannot do that. I must stand up for what I believe in, no matter what. Otherwise, I'm wandering through the maze of life without a map.

I do find that it's easier to become friends with girls as opposed to boys. Now, don't get me wrong, I have plenty of male friends, and my best friend is a guy. (That's one big difference between my life and the story.) However, generally it seems that guys want to do "guy stuff" like partying and sports and picking up girls... stuff that I'm, quite frankly, not all that interested in. I find girls to be more sensitive and understanding and the type of people I'd like to hang out with. (Actually, if anything, I like to hang out with a mixed group: guys and girls.)

Sometimes, I become particularly close friends with a girl. At this point, I start to become vulnerable to what I call "pseudo-dating". In other words, I start to get jealous when she's with another guy, I'm almost too happy to see her every day... that sort of thing. Maybe you've gone through "pseudo-dating" too, so you know what I'm talking about. It's really not healthy for me, and that's saying nothing about the girl on the other end, who oftentimes feels like I'm stalking her. Seriously. (To all the young women who've been hurt by my actions... I wish I could do more than apologize, but right now, that's all I can do... I'm sorry.) I still struggle with "pseudo-dating" these days, and I'm doing my best to overcome it... more on that later.

I guess sometimes I just want to let a girl know how special she is to me. I really should do that more often... I guess part of the problem is that I've decided to add on to my little no-dating belief system the standard that I will never say "I love you" unless it refers to family, particularly, my wife. (I know of at least one other who shares my view of this... ;-) @ alora) *sigh* This is just one of those things I'm going to have to work on...

Now to finish up the story: Part 2. Once again, please read it through as I continue to explain my place in this story.

It's going to be hard to avoid "pseudo-dating", to put my feelings for a girl aside and to relate to her solely as friends. It'd help if they were doing the same thing, but then again, usually they are. ;-)

Admittedly, oftentimes my "pseudo-dating" comes from personal insecurity. I want to know that I mean something special to someone, in this case one of my female friends, and when I don't sense that, I can start to feel, well, jealous. That's when the whole "pseudo-dating" thing comes in.

Alas, to get a friendly, non-romantic hug from a girl... is it okay to want that? Am I being too selfish in this? Does this come from a secret desire for a romantic relationship? I don't know, sadly. I'm still discovering more about the secrets of love and friendship every day.

So now you know the kind of troubles I'm going through in this area of my life. Prayers are greatly appreciated.

And now, I shall take a cue from alora and officially say: If I ever say that I "luv ya" or that I "luv y'all", it doesn't mean that I "love you" like that. (As for inanimate objects, I'll borrow from McDonalds and say that "I'm lovin' it!" :-P)

So, that said, goodbye, and I luv y'all!!!

So this is Case Western...

2005-08-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I have now settled into my room in Case Western, and I have my internet set up as well.

Classes don't start yet. First there is orientation, and then this thing called "Welcome Days". I believe classes start next week.

I'd have more to say, but... ah well, I just needed to update this thingy. I haven't done so in a long time.

The Universal Gazette Special Headline: Willy Wonka's Factory Found in State of Mass Confusion

2005-08-04T19:42:00.000-05:00

The sane majority of America is scratching their heads at a discovery that proves that nothing can be proven for sure. While on a walk through the existentially questionable State of Mass Confusion, Frank Sun was said to have found the actual factory belonging to the literally literary figure, Willy Wonka.

"He even came out, greeted me, and invited me to look around his factory," Frank said.

Reputable scholars and geography teachers argue that Frank's story is a hoax. "Neither the State of Mass Confusion, nor Oompaland where Willy Wonka supposedly found the Oompa Loompas, exist anywhere on Planet Earth," said one geography teacher, Mr. Teevee.

Some scholars proposed that the two do exist, only on shifted dimensions. Some even went as far to say that the two worlds compete with each other for delicious food, as evidenced by the shortage of delicious food in Oompaland and the bounty of such food in the State of Mass Confusion.

Other scholars say that these scholars have simply been playing too much Tales of Symphonia in their free time.

Frank has admitted to having played Tales of Symphonia a lot over the past few weeks. "I've already beaten the game once, but now I'm going through it again to pick up on all the stuff I missed out on the first time through. But aren't we getting a bit off-topic?"

Back on topic, Frank described the journey through the factory as "like walking through a fantasy world, where you know that anything and everything can happen. Except that it's not fantasy; it's pseudo-reality."

Scholars doubt that Frank's words can be trusted, because Frank has supposedly traveled through other fantasy worlds like Narnia, Middle-Earth (I need to go back there sometime, Frank said), Hogwarts, a galaxy far far away, the worlds of Kanto, Orre, and Hoenn where creatures known as Pokémon supposedly exist, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, an entire universe, and, most suspicious of all, a place called Ditto Town.

"Those places simply do not exist!" exclaimed Mr. Teevee.

"He's been playing too much Tales of Symphonia in his free time," said many scholars.

NarniaWebber shastastwin says, "[Mr. Teevee and those scholars] have NO imagination whatsoever."

NarniaWebber Violet Vale says, "Ditto."

Nevertheless, that's why Frank enjoyed his trip through the factory. "Willy Wonka's chocolate factory definitely belongs here in the State of Mass Confusion," he said.

Our reporters were close to needing to sign into an asylum, so they asked only one more question: What did Willy Wonka look like?

Frank responded, "He looked like Johnny Depp. A LOT like Johnny Depp."

Another thing you shouldn't do if you value your sanity...

2005-07-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

The story goes like this: On June 24, 2005, while at CDYC, I felt this need to re-commit my life to Christ. I just didn't feel 100% sure of my salvation. In fact, I was missing something. Something big.

Surrender.

I was missing the excitement of surrendering my life to Him.

Remember my earlier spraff on roller coasters? Well, surrendering your life to Christ is quite similar.

For one thing, the thought of it is quite scary. I was definitely scared, so to speak, of surrender. I mean, what if God wants me to do something really drastic, like give up on becoming a doctor? Then again, that fear oftentimes comes from the same things that might keep one from going on a roller coaster. We don't trust in the safety of the coaster; likewise we don't trust in the protection that God gives us. We wish to stay in our comfort zones, rather than risk a roller coaster or a change of life. Or maybe, we don't want to go on a roller coaster because there is some easier ride we'd rather go on; as such we don't surrender our lives to God because there's an easier life we'd rather have.

But, once you get in the coaster seat, you can't escape. There's no turning back.

Now, this is opinion and all, but I'm pretty sure you'd agree with me on what is the scariest part of a roller coaster: the ascent. The climb to the top right before that death-defying drop. Remember, at this point, you can't weasel out of anything. Tension builds as you approach that point before Pandora's box opens and chaos breaks free. You're not quite sure what's going to happen once you get over the peak. It's this feeling of uncertainty, tension, and panic that makes trying out new roller coasters, well, fun. (In that morbid sense.)

Likewise, I think that the toughest, scariest part of a surrendered life is choosing to obey a command of God that goes against your body's desire. After all, you don't know what's going to happen. You can only trust that God will protect you through it all, just like how you trust in the safety of the coaster.

And finally, there is one last, major similarity between roller coasters and the surrendered life: Your reward is a fun-filled, exhilerating ride!

Except there is one major difference. The roller coaster ride lasts about 30 seconds. The ride that God takes you on will last an eternity.

Alas, I still have much to learn about completely surrendering my life to Christ. Maybe that's why I'm writing this all: not just to share my thoughts on this, but also to encourage myself to surrender all my heart, all my soul, and everything else.

So, please remove loose objects, like pride and sanity, in the cubbies. Enjoy your ride.

The latest of Harry Potter

2005-07-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

Finished the 6th Harry Potter book. Sad. Very sad.

Well, there was some good news in that book.

Harry Potter saved a bunch of money on his car insurance by switching to Geico.

*audience moans*

Sorry; had to say that. ;-P

Anyways, can't wait for the next one!

The Universal Gazette 7/11/05

2005-07-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

Today's Gazette features my Reading/Playing List! It's a list of books I want to read and video games I want to play. Lists are in no particular order.

Books:

Currently In Progress:
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (~30% finished)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (~70% finished)
Dave Barry Slept Here by Dave Barry (~30% finished)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (~10% finished)
Hawaii by James A. Michener (~10% finished)

For Later:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Video Games (all in progress):
Pokemon LeafGreen
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon Colosseum
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (need to beat final boss)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution (need to beat MAX 300)
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (Mission Mode, mainly
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (need to beat final boss)
Tales of Symphonia

There we go; that should keep me busy for the next year or so. If necessary, though, I will add to the list. Tee hee.

The Universal Gazette 6/21/04

2005-06-21T23:25:00.000-05:00

I got my driver's license today! w00tium!

For those who don't know, w00tium is the chemical element form of "w00t", symbolized on the imaginary periodic table as "wt".

It does feel interesting to drive all by myself. I do get a sense of freedom, although I'm in no real rush to relish in it... although I might on impulse drive my way to the local Borders for no real reason.

Monday's episode of The Scholar was nice. I liked the part where the contestants in the final showdown all memorized that Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti by making "Djibouti!" a catch phrase. Hee hee.

I can now finish up Fellowship of the Ring! Unfortunately, the local library did not have That Hideous Strength, Restaurant at the End of the Universe, or Les Miserables...

So, some of our family friends dropped off their dog, Booger (yes, that is his name), at our house while they were off on vacation. To say the least, Booger and Sparkey do not get along. They are always fighting tooth and claw. Worse, it seems like my little brother is giving Booger all his attention, making Sparkey rather jealous. (I personally favor Sparkey. Booger likes to lick-attack me too much.)

I shall be off at the Central District Youth Convention (CDYC) in Calvin College in Michigan for the next four days or so. Fun stuff. I'll definitely have an enjoyable time there. NarniaWebbers, I probably will still miss y'all. But it won't be too long until I'm back.

After CDYC, my best friend, who normally lives in Colorado, will be visiting for a week or so. w00tium! Now that that new water park is open, we'll probably be making lots of splashes. I don't know if I can pull myself away from NarniaWeb that long, though... perhaps I'll introduce my friend to that place! Tee hee.

Piano recital this Sunday! I'm playing a concerto by Gershwin. It's difficult, but fun. Gershwin is a very amazing guy for being able to make otherwise dissonant sounds into music.

You know, I really ought to get to work on my story. I think the first chapter is drawing to a close; then I can put it up here! (If you'd like to see what I have so far, join the Narnia Writer's Guild! See the link in my sidebar.)

Wow; it seems like I've been rambling for quite a while now, but really, this one's nothing compared to some of the rambles I have going below this post! I commend anyone who can actually read through those things in one sitting!

Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy

2005-06-20T03:02:00.000-05:00

The U.S.S. Arizona memorial

Among the many destinations of my not-so-recent-anymore trip to Hawaii, the visit to Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona memorial has been perhaps the most important one. There, I got to look at the sunken remains of the ship that was blasted by a Japanese bomb 64 years ago, prematurely taking away 1,107 lives.

While I was at Hawaii, I learned more about the details behind the attack. Turns out it was a lot more complicated than just Japan's thinking that the U.S. was a threat and deciding to bomb it (or anything like that). The full story goes something like this:

Japan had been after resources in China for a long while, and army extremists took over the northern province of Manchuria in 1931, despite government policy. Such an attack angered the Americans, especially those stationed across the Pacific. Japan then continued to attack the entire country of China, as well as ally with the Nazis in World War II.

Meanwhile, the U.S. tried to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict. Aside from negotiations, the government also enforced an oil embargo on Japan. The latter action was viewed as a threat to Japan's national security, and the entire situation convinced the country to declare war on the United States.

However, the Japanese did not make their declaration aloud yet. They needed a surprise attack to weaken the American forces, for otherwise the U.S. would have an advantage with a full fleet in a lengthy sea battle. Thus the planes were sent out to bomb the ships at Pearl Harbor.

As the planes were approaching that fateful morning of December 7, 1941, some officers in a station on Hawaii were testing a new wartime device called a radar. Indeed, the incoming planes were picked up by the radar, and the two officers at the station wired another station with the news; however, the people at that station assumed that the planes were a bunch of B-17 bombers that were expected at that time, and told the other two to ignore it, even after repeated badgerings from the other two as the signal grew stronger.

The rest, as they say, is history.

While many have had many assorted feelings about that day, I can only imagine what those people at the station who told the two at the other station to ignore those radar findings had felt after the attack. A lot of guilt must have come over them for disregarding what could've been (and was) a threat. I wouldn't be surprised if they felt that the whole attack was entirely their fault.

Nowadays, in elementary (and probably even middle) schools, teachers tell students that the whole attack was the fault of the evil Japanese people. After all, these students wouldn't understand all this Sino-Japanese relations stuff, would they?

Alas, I'm trying to highlight two attitudes here: self-blame and blaming on others.

As for the latter, I can only quote Bob Phillips here: "To err is human; to blame it on the other guy is even more human." Our natural tendency is to have no part in bad events. We don't want to be guilty. Otherwise, we'd get in trouble. That's human.

Now, the example of self-blame that I gave is a natural self-blame. It comes out of that thing many call a conscience. It's that unignorable feeling that you have done something wrong. Many try to blame it on others to try to overwrite that feeling.

The thing is, it takes real strength to admit to your own faults. If blaming it on the other person is human, then to take the blame yourself is, if not divine, then superhuman. Many Americans were quick to blame the Japanese for the attack on that infamous day. But what if they had known about the U.S. embargo, or their country's business in Asia? Would they be so quick to prejudice the Japanese in their hometowns?

I have figured out the number one rule for getting along with others: It's always your fault. When one realizes his/her own contributions to the occurance of unfortunate events, he/she will be much less likely to harp on others for their faults, or at the least be much less harsh in doing so. This helps keep peace among people, and is desperately needed in today's world. We need more people less willing to blame others and more willing to blame themselves. It's not easy, but it's necessary.

This does not mean that you can obsess over your role in such events, though, or that you disregard others' roles. Especially in the case of the divorcing of parents or rape/molestation, this is unhealthy. But, as I said earlier, if you keep your faults in mind, you'll find yourself much nicer to those who may have also been at fault.

Think about how this will make others feel, especially if they have indeed played a role. They will feel much more relieved of their own guilt, yet will have a role model from which they will evaluate their own faults. This all evolves into a beautiful paradox: Because everyone will think it's his/her own fault, it becomes everyone's fault, and therefore it is no one's fault. Confusing? Maybe. Wonderful? Yes.

Now, what about things like murder, theft, or rape? Well, as I said earlier, don't obsess over your own roles. Perhaps you can learn something from the incident, though. Maybe you'll learn to lock your doors when you leave the house, or not to leave your drink glass unwatched at a party. Still, convict those who should be convicted. But maybe, looking at your own roles, it'll be easier to forgive the convict. And we all know how important forgiveness is.

Finally, I must commend three people who have shown this philosophy.

First of all, for any of you watching The Scholar, you may have seen the first episode... and thus know what I'm talking about. For those who didn't, there was a team event and a contestant named Jeremy was the leader of a team that ultimately lost the event. The host then asked Jeremy a tough question: Who on his team dragged the team down the most? Jeremy realized what he could've done better as a leader, and he said that he himself was the weakest member of the team. Such an act so impressed everyone that the Scholarship Committee nominated him as one of the two to join the winning team's leader in the final round that episode. So, because of that, I must give a hearty Conga Rats! to Jeremy.

Second, I would like to commend NarniaWebber wyntre_rose, a wonderful Reading Group leader. I won't go into details here (wyntre should know what I'm referring to), but anyways: wyntre, thanks a lot.

And last but most certainly not least, I must commend one other extraordinary human. He did absolutely nothing wrong, and yet in taking the punishment that billions of other people deserved, he basically admitted that it was all his fault. That person is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who took the blame for everyone's sins up on the cross. Thank you, Jesus, and I love you.

When one quiz just isn't enough...

2005-06-20T01:04:00.000-05:00

Introducing: the stardf29 Quizzes! These are *kinda* meant to see how well you know me. I say *kinda* because these quizzes really are not an accurate reflection of what you know about me. In fact, not all of the questions really relate to me! Heh heh... But go ahead and give them a try anyways! I have links to them on my sidebar, but here are the links to the first two right here:

Quiz #1: http://www03.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=050615090300-117928

Quiz #2: http://www03.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=050620020403-959701

I will update this site when I make more quizzes! Keep a running total of the points you get on the quiz and see how quickly you can reach some number of points! (Right now, of course, there are only 200 points available.)

-stardf29

The Universal Gazette: 6/16/05

2005-06-16T00:56:00.000-05:00

Announcing: The Universal Gazette! A weekly collection of rants and raves of the week and whatnot. Just to let you know what's going on in my universe.

So, without further ado, Issue 1: 6/16/05!

Trip to Hawai'i was great. Highlights included snorkeling amongst a reef, swimming with a dolphin, and some other fun stuff. More in-depth posts about specific highlights of the trip to come.

Got my grades. Senioritis has effectively given me... straight A-minuses. Tee hee. Well, there was one A and one B+... but all the rest were A-minueses. And a "pass" grade that, if I didn't take the class pass/fail, I would've gotten a D. Symphonic band. There was a reason I lost interest in that class... hopefully band in college will be much better. Ah well.

I am now fervently working on my story, which is the chronicle of how the Star Defenders began. It's going to be an epic tale of quite some length, but hopefully I'll have it finished before freshman year of college is over. Those of you who are members of the Narnia Writer's Guild can check out what I have so far story-wise over there... although I have a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff too.

Pokemon Leaf Green: Of the handful of Pokemon on my main team, all of them are level 25-27 or so. This is the only time I will be training all my Pokemon together; otherwise it's just too tedious. Hopefully I'll have Giovanni out of Silph Co. soon.

Got the Pokemon Emerald Player's Guide! Now I can start planning my strategy for that game...

"Mortereve" in Hawaiian: kakanalahi. Kakahiaka is morning, auinala is afternoon, and ahiahi is evening. Now, just to make sure the word doesn't have some other meaning... you never know with those Hawaiian words!

Got some bad sunburns on my shoulders. Supposedly, the kakui nut cream works wonders for such things. Maybe I'll put some on sometime. The kakui nut tree is the state tree of Hawaii, by the way.

And that's all the random ranting I have for now. Perhaps more will come later. Until then, see ya!

Site Update!

2005-06-08T12:38:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update here: I've added under "Others' planetary creations" links to the Google blogs of other NarniaWebbers. Enjoy! (I will be adding links to Xangas sometime later.)

The end... and the beginning

2005-06-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

Graduation. June 4th, 2005.

A day of happiness, and a day of sadness. A day of laughter, and a day of tears. A day of bright sunshine, and a day of vicious thunderstorms. (That last one was literal.)

Now, I look back upon that day... and back upon the three years of high-school education that I had just finished.

I had applied for the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy a year earlier than most students would. Normally, one would apply to the school while a freshman in high school; I applied as an 8th-grader. IMSA people have a special name for us early appliers who get in: "shmen".

Indeed, I was quite surprised when I got the acceptance letter from IMSA. In fact, for a good deal of time, I was unsure that I deserved the honor. Sure, I was one of the top students in my class, and I have gotten some lofty achievements, but I knew that there were better people than I out there...

Much of my first days at IMSA were spent wondering, "Do I belong here?"

Now, I look back on June 4th, diploma in hand (well, technically just the diploma cover at that time), saying my goodbyes to my fellow seniors. You know, I did belong. I had come such a long way since my entry to the school one August afternoon in 2002... making new friends, learning new stuff, losing new bits of sanity... yep, that was IMSA, folks.

What are my fondest memories of my time at this place? Was it all the classes I was in and all the new knowledge I obtained? Was it in the assorted extracurricular activities I was involved in? Was it in the friendships I made while I was there? I'd say it was in all three. While I was at IMSA, I learned how to take derivatives, how to evaluate the thermodynamics of a chemical reaction, and how to write long papers. I learned how to solve problems at a math competition, how to play assorted card games, and how to act like a fool in a drama production (assuming I was a fool). And I learned about the assorted crazy antics of my friends. IMSA was a place to learn, and what I learned is what I will remember throughout my life. Hopefully.

I'll tell you one thing, though. Sometimes, I would have regrets about certain parts of my IMSA life. I could've amounted to so much, but I let so many opportunities pass me by. I had wasted so much time on meaningless stuff. I had lost a year to do things by skipping a grade. What do I have to show for it? Report cards that aren't straight A's, rejectance letters from top schools and many scholarships, multiple arguments with my parents... I wonder what would've happened if maybe I did something differently. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have gone to IMSA.

But then, I remember one of my favorite quotes from the Chronicles of Narnia (and I'm quoting this from memory): "No one is ever told what would have happened." I find this a very comforting quote: it reminds me that though we cannot change the past, we can be assured that what has happened is part of God's plan; He will make everything okay in the end. He had put me in IMSA, and he put me there a year early, because that was part of His plan. He is sending me to Case Western Reserve University, instead of some more prestigious school, because that is part of His plan. I can only trust Him, and I must learn to trust Him.

Now, I am finally leaving this place called IMSA. I am finally leaving all the friends I have made here (save for ten who are also going to Case Western), all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) teachers here, and everything I had known to be my life for the past 3 years: math team, nasty cafeteria food, weekly card games, 10 pm curfew, painful processes for visiting the room of the opposite gender, internet shutting off at 1 am every day, etc. I will miss it all. IMSA has found a place in my heart.

Yet at the same time, I'm not holding onto my past life, reluctant to enter the new world because I love my old world too much. I rather look forward to my new life at Case Western. There are more friends to make, more knowledge to learn, more activities to join, and more sanity to be lost. How can that be anything but exciting?

My life is comprised of many adventures. I had just finished my latest one; a three-year adventure through IMSA. Now, a new venture lies ahead of me: college. I always love new adventures, but any true adventurer knows that you don't forget your old adventures. Indeed, I will never forget my IMSA adventure. There are too many good memories, even those not trapped in my assorted yearbooks and photos. I know that, in some years when there'll be a reunion, I'll see all my old friends again, and we can laugh at those memories while sharing our new lives with each other, even if it is only for a day. And when I finally go Home, I will be among several of these friends forever. Now isn't that something to look forward to?

Graduation. It is the end of an old adventure... and the beginning of a new one.

The one thing you should NEVER do if you value your sanity...

2005-06-03T15:47:00.000-05:00

...is to ride a roller coaster.

But if you don't mind losing your sanity (or if you have no sanity to lose), feel free to do so.

I'm not saying that you have to ride a roller coaster if you want to prove that you're insane. I know plenty of insane people who wouldn't want to ride a roller coaster if their lives depended on it. What I am saying is that the roller coaster is not a ride for the sane.

For good reason, too. Who in his or her right mind would go on something that zips around at fast speeds through gravity-defying tracks? I mean, that isn't safe!

Well, we know that they're safe. Physics says so. And if they weren't safe, they wouldn't exist! (Well, hopefully not, at least.) But who thinks of physics or the existence of roller coasters when he/she is on the top of a giant hill awaiting a huge drop into a loop-de-loop? What makes one so sure that a bolt doesn't come unscrewed, or that by some supernatural force, the harness doesn't suddenly disappear?

Tee hee... I could list all sorts of feasible problems with coasters, and perhaps research some statistics on coaster disasters, and make any sane person never even want to go to an amusemsent park! Bwahahaha!

So anyways, on June 2 of this year, I went with my school to an amusement park: Six Flags Great America. This park happens to be right in my hometown of Gurnee, IL, so I had been there numerous times before.

Obviously, I hadn't been there enough.

On that day, I tried six new roller coasters. SIX. I don't think I did that many new ones in one day even when I was at a place where all the coasters were new. Hehe... Anyways, my first new roller coaster was also my first upside-down experience. Prior to this, I had never really been in any roller coaster that went upside down. Then again, prior to this, I feared roller coasters. There's just something ominous about being at the top of a tall hill, ready to take off at insane speeds once machinery cuts loose and gravity reigns. And going upside-down... even if I knew that I wouldn't fall out, the idea of being put in a position contrary to gravity was not one I was in a hurry to experience.

Anyways, the roller coaster in question is called Superman. Intended to recreate flight, the ride puts the riders into the "flying position" (Oh, I'm sure you've all tried to fly at one point or another) before launching them through a coaster with a loop, multiple banking curves, and finishing with a corkscrew. Keep in mind; this will be my first experience upside-down. So I'm going up the incline, and then gravity sends the coaster on its jolly way... and suddenly, I see the loop in front of me, and I suddenly realize, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to go through a loop!" The world turns around, and gravity pushes me against the back of the seat (when it would've otherwise pulled me away from it... yeah, that was fun), and then suddenly I'm right-side-up again, except my sanity was not. (Yes, you can lose your sanity even when you have no more to lose.)

I came from that ride deciding that my time upside-down was the most fun I had ever had on a roller coaster.

But over the rest of the day, I tried several more coasters, all of which would've been way past my comfort zone before that day.

Now, I know that I have nothing to fear about coasters. I trust physics. I trust the builders and the park that put the coasters there. I trust God. That's why I can ride these coasters and enjoy them. My logical side wonders what's there to trust; for these coasters I have to ignore that side. Indeed, when my adrenaline pumps me up for those drops and loops, and I go rushing the way of the track, I feel like I've lost my sanity again. And y'all know how fun that is!

But my roller coaster adventures are not done yet! I have still more coasters to try, and more thrills to be had, and more chances to lose my sanity all over again!

So, my parting words: For those of you who love roller coasters like I do now, enjoy! Remember: you can trust the coaster.

And for those of you who still don't want to go on a coaster: that's fine. I realize these things aren't for everyone, even as far as the insane go. But if you're letting rational fear hold you back from these thrill machines, then I suggest you throw rational caution to the wind: get on a coaster, and feel the wind rushing past you take your sanity to where it will not be missed.

A Star Defender's Ship: First Floor

2005-05-31T20:28:00.000-05:00

The first floor of Isaac's ship.

I thought that, for further understanding of the Star Defenders, it's a good idea to take a look at the inside of the typical Star Defender space ship. (For you Dittotopians: Yes, this is the inside of Isaac's ship.)

Keep in mind that, from the outside, the ship looks quite small. But the inside is very spacious. This is due to special technology of altering perceptions of space. There is a second floor and a basement too.

Now for the floor plan key.

Chandelier Welcome Hall (magenta): The entrance (and exit) of the ship. Each Star Defender has his/her own chandelier hanging from the ceiling of this room.

Hallways (cyan): Just regular hallways. Nothing special about these.

Bathroom Modules (yellow): There are 17 bathroom modules on the first floor, each with a toilet and a sink. Transportation to these modules is special: Across the entire first floor are teleportation pads (indicated by yellow circles). Each is connected to a unique bathroom module. Once a person steps on one and is teleported to the module, that pad becomes inactive so that others cannot enter until the person inside the module steps on the exit pad.

Dining Room (dark red): Where Star Defenders eat, especially when one has visitors on the ship.

Kitchen (bright red): With a fridge, stove, oven, and all sorts of kitchen necessities, the Kitchen is the place to cook on-board.

Picture Hall (teal): A hallway adorned with pictures of the Star Defender's choosing.

TV Rooms (blue): Each TV room has a large TV with all sorts of video game systems available. All the rooms share an electronic database of videos, DVD's, and video games through which one can borrow one with a few touches on a touch-screen in each room.

Concert Hall (purple): Where musical and theatrical performances are held, or where rehearsals for such performances occur. The reason such a thing is on a spaceship is as such: Performers and audiences from across the universe can board a ship, which will fly to a place so that, by the time-space continuum, no time passes from wherever any given audience member's home is when he/she returns.

Private Practice Rooms (gold): Soundproof rooms for individual (or small group) music practice. Each has a piano, a tuner, a metronome, and a speaker system for playing recordings. There is also an electronic database of songs connected to the speaker system that one can play whenever he/she wishes.

Library (bright green): Much of the library is just a whole bunch of tables and comfy chairs and couches for reading and relaxation. Book borrowing is done through electronic databases. There are also several computers for internet access. The atmosphere has a special noise reducer that keeps any noise within the library very low.

Private Study Rooms (dark green): Includes a table, computer with Internet access and color printer, the electronic book database, rigid chairs, comfy chairs, and newspapers. These rooms are soundproof.

Slide Hall (dark blue): Actually, this hall can be used for whatever the Star Defender wishes. Isaac has set up a little playground novelty called Random Slides. One climbs up the ladder and then slides down, but the actual slide changes every time one uses the slide.

The rectangles on the bottom are stairways. The one on the left goes to the 2nd floor; the one on the right goes to the basement.

So, there you have it. An inside look at the inside of Isaac's ship. Coming soon: the 2nd floor!

New Link!

2005-05-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

Anti-Typo-Demon Team: A blog of the NarniaWeb Anti-Typo-Demon Team. Beware those pesky typo demons!

The Elements

2005-05-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

Here is the first in a series of posts detailing assorted stuff about the Star Defender world. (For those from Ditto Town, perhaps this will help you understand the world from which Isaac comes from better.)

So, in the Star Defender world, there are ten elements. These have been captured in the form of cards, and Star Defenders can use these cards to harness the power of these elements. Here are the elements:

Fire: Associated with heat and the consumption of material to be released as energy. When used, releases a blast of fire.

Water: Associated with the nature of liquids. When used, releases a blast of water.

Electric: Associated with electrons and their movement and transfer. When used, emits strong electricity.

Plant: Associated with biological life and earthen objects like rocks. When used, stimulates plant activity in the area.

Ice: Associated with cold and the nature of solids. When used, releases a cold blast that freezes liquids.

Poison: Associated with chemicals and good/bad health. When used, shoots out poisonous sludge.

Wind: Associated with the nature of gases. When used, releases a blast of wind.

Psychic: Associated with the mind and thinking. When used, releases damaging psychic waves.

Dark: Associated with the darker, more unpleasant parts of life. When used, enshrouds area in darkness.

Light: Associated with light and the brighter parts of life. When used, emits strong light.

Cards can also be combined. When combining cards, the Star Defender declares the combination that results; if the combination makes sense, that card will work. A common example is Movement, made by combining Wind and Psychic and used to move objects, or can be combined with Psychic again to create Teleport, which allows the Star Defender to teleport to preset checkpoints. A Star Defender can only combine cards up to a certain level (which increases as the Star Defender gets more experience using elemental cards). The level of a combination card is the total number of the basic ten element cards needed to make the card. For example, Movement is level 2 and Teleport is level 3.

There; hope that wasn't too confusing.

My Links - 05/23/05

2005-05-23T14:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, here's a bit of an introduction to all of my links.

Google News: I didn't feel like deleting this link. ;-P Check it out if you want some news.

IMSA: The official website of my high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, which I will be leaving in 12 days... It is a really cool school, so check it out!

Official Narnia Site: "The Chronicles of Narnia" have to be my favorite book series. This site contains some basic information about the series (if you look hard enough), although right now it is primarily the official site for the movie of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", coming out December 9 this year! There is a good deal of information about the upcoming movie here, and overall the site looks beautiful and is very cool.

NarniaWeb: This website is on top of things when it comes to news about upcoming Narnia movies. Not only that, but the forums are bustling with all sorts of Narnia-related (and non-Narnia-related) discussions. The forum environment is different from many other forums I've been to: it's a lot stricter and yet the people are much nicer. You get the sense that you can trust these people. Indeed, I have made many e-friends through this site. So if you wish, check it out and join the forums! (If you do, be sure to check out The Ditto Club, the place for random conversations and fun, insane stuff!)

The Ditto Story: A special place on the NarniaWeb forums, the Ditto Club includes a story that some forum members who are also "members" of The Ditto Club (although there is no real "membership" process) help write out. In this story are the adventures of Isaac, the Star Defender. No background with the Star Defenders is needed to read these parts of the story. The other members have also written very fascinating story segments in this story. Have fun reading it!

The Dittopian Thread: The official "newspaper" of Ditto Town. I will write stuff for this online paper every once in a while, so check it out if you want to find more of my writing work.

My Xanga: No longer my blog site, my Xanga is now limited to the telling of another story of mine, "The Neighbors: The Second Generation". I'll try to put in new "episodes" for this story every once in a while.

So, those are my links. Take a look at them if you wish.

Poetry: The Great Unknown

2005-05-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

Some poets can write down
Entire worlds of meaning
In four lines of poetry.
Can I ever do that?

That is a poem I came up with one day when I was thinking about poetry. It was mostly meant to be an amusing poem, but in some ways it really does show what poetry is all about. In fact, there probably are entire worlds of meaning in those four lines of poetry: the ability to do something one does not know he can do, having role models, doubting one's own capacity, etc. There are probably many more that others could come up with.

There are some questions that I had to deal with in my year of learning poetry in Dr. Goodman's Modern Poetry class. What is poetry? What is the difference between poetry and prose? How does one find meaning in poetry? How do I write poetry?

Perhaps those first two questions are the most important--and the most difficult. What is poetry, exactly? What makes a bunch of words a poem, and not a prose piece or something else? I tried to answer that question early on in my poetry class... and all I got out of it was a check-minus on a paper on the subject. Now, with the rest of the class having passed me by, I think I understand the nature of poetry better.

However, I still don't quite understand poetry. In fact, I must admit I really don't understand poetry at all. What I do know is this: Poetry is that which cannot be understood. This is not a statement coming from some bitter person who's just really frustrated that he got a B in a poetry class. If I could say anything about what poetry is, I would say that it is the description of something, somewhere, someone, or some combination of the three, written in a way so that one cannot understand it through mere reading of it. Poetry is like that planet in another galaxy, yet undiscovered, just waiting for some Star Defender to take a spaceship past its atmosphere to unearth its secrets. There is a certain je ne sais quoi to poems: what do those poems really mean? Even if you discover one layer of meaning on the surface of the planet, you dig past that only to find a whole new world underground, still waiting to be discovered.

And that's poetry. It's exploring for those new worlds, searching for new secrets. It's not like you can't learn anything from prose, though. Prose can also teach you fascinating things about life; but it does so in a more direct way. Prose is like a tour guide showing you around a new planet. Poetry plunges you into a new planet with only a towel and forces you to check things out yourself. It's more adventurous and exciting at times.

Now, I won't say that prose is always clear and direct, allowing no room for further exploration. However, I think that oftentimes, prose can become poetic at times. There is such a thing as a prose poem, after all. In fact, this all is prose, but you could probably detect some poetry-like stuff in it already.

So now I've landed on the planet of poetry, and now I'm off to explore this planet. There's just one problem: How do I go about exploring? How to read a poem is the next big question in poetry. What does a poem mean? Well, what I've learned in my poetry class is this: A poem means whatever you think it means.

I've probably learned this primarily through writing my own poetry. Once I've read my work to others in my class, the discussion of my work starts... and they start pulling all sorts of things from my poems that I had never intended to put in there! Part of me wonders if maybe my subconscious had sneaked them in there without my conscious's knowing.

One particular experience contributed greatly to my knowledge of poetic interpretation. For one assignment in my poetry class, I chose to compose a musical interpretation of some of Walt Whitman's poetry. Converting the ideas in the poem to music helped me understand that I could only convert what I understood. One can only get out of a poem what he personally gets. If a certain allegory goes over a reader's head, that reader will not understand the significance of the allegory. If a certain poetic element, unintentionally placed by the poet, gets noticed by the reader, that reader can take something from that element, even though the poet didn't. A poem may be written by the poet, but it ultimately becomes the property of the reader.

This all means that when exploring the unknown planets of poems, there is no right or wrong way to explore. One discovers what one discovers. If you ask me, that makes the exploration of the planet far more exciting, since there are no limits imposed by rules and correct answers. Donald Hall puts it best in his memoir, "Life Work": "Each human division reads the same story; each responds from an opposite place." ("Life Work", pg. 22)

Writing poetry is something special. If reading poetry is like exploring new planets, then writing poetry is like making those new planets for others to explore! Indeed, sometimes, when I write my own poems, I feel like Slartibarfast, working on the shorelines of Norway, wondering how the humans to walk those beaches will enjoy the scenery. One thing that probably makes me different from many poets is that I don't like to spend a whole bunch of time fine-tuning a poem to become just the way I want it to be. I find that my best poetry comes from when I write from the heart, pouring out the soul of God into my poems, and adding a bit of humor in it for good measure. Then, once I'm done with the poem, I call it a day. And yet, my classmates still praise me for my work. I suppose that it's not necessary to pick on a poem over and over again... although even I go back and change something I didn't like here and there every once in a while.

I wonder what would be the look on Slartibarfast's face if he were to see an Earthling, walking along one of his shorelines, suddenly discover a cave that was not put there on purpose. This is what I find to be the greatest joy of writing poetry. I set up the planets for others to explore, and then someone finds something I didn't know I even put there! Sometimes, I write a poem just to see what others can find. I am only the maker; the reader explores the planet.

Poetry really is wonderful. Reading poetry is like exploring new and unusual planets; writing it is like making new and unusual planets. My grade in my poetry class is not that important. Far more important is the lesson I learned about poetry.

Mathematics

2005-05-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

I think many of you know of my love for math. Now, I'd like to take some time to show why.

I can't say for sure what fascinated me about it when I was a wee little kid. All I remember was working out multi-digit multiplication questions in the sandbox when I was about six. (My, was I a geek!)

Something about those numbers, combining in different ways to churn out different numbers. How odd numbers are, even back then...

It was on to higher and dryer stuff. Geometry. Logic. Beginning algebra. Divisibility rules. Quick ways to multiply numbers. (Did you know that you can easily multiply a two-digit number by 11 by "splitting" the number into three digits (34 becomes 3_4 and 57 becomes 5_7) and then putting the sum of the two digits as the middle digit (adding one to the hundreds digit if the sum is greater than 10) (34 becomes 374 and 57 becomes 627)?)

Then came algebra. I think here I can explain why I liked math so much. Algebra is about finding relations to the unknown: that variable known as x. What is x? How does another variable, y, change with x? How can one find x? There was just something... mysterious about it. Something about that x... an unknown number... math held unknown territories, new tricks to discover, new formulae to learn, new mysteries to ponder over.

I must say, my high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), helped me a great deal with my love for math. Why? Because instead of just churning out a whole bunch of formulae and processes to memorize, they showed me how they work. And that allowed me to understand it all better, but it also added a sense of beauty to math. There was an entire art behind trig identities and whatnot. All this made me itching to explore more into the unknown planets of mathematics.

I could continue on and on about all this, but I think you've had enough. ;-P

Basically, the reason I like math is that it is an immense universe full of beauty and mystery, ready for the Star Defender in me to explore its planets and discover its secrets.

For those of you who don't like math: don't worry. I'm sure there are other universes for you to explore. I just wanted to explain why I like math so much... and why I would like to major in it when I go to Case Western.

Ah, so that's mathematics for me. Rather poetic, I'd say...

A short history of the Star Defenders...

2005-05-20T02:12:00.000-05:00

It all started back in... oh, 3rd grade or something.

My best friend and I have been inspired by Buzz Lightyear to go into outer space and fight aliens. In the world of my elementary school playground, we rode spaceships and blasted extraterrestrial foes.

And thus started what would eventually become the Star Defenders.

How did I get into space exploration? I think I know why. I was longing for another world.

A fantasy world.

And my best friend was interested in astronomy and space.

So the realms of outer space became my fantasy world.

Really, though, my desire for a fantasy world came from a desire for something greater than this world. In fact, through it all, what I really wanted was to go Home. And my fantasy worlds would reflect this desire to go to that great Place awaiting all of us.

Perhaps this is why I like reading--and writing--fantasy/sci-fi stuff.

Now, why I like mathematics... that's a different story.