Poetry Friday (8)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.


Genevieve

I tell you

I love you

I mean it

I do

In the same

haunting way

that “somehow

everything I own

smells of you”

everywhere I go

you follow

filling my head

with memories

and happy wishes.

When you smile

it makes me cry

and it makes me laugh

but most of all

it reminds me

of the day i

held your hand

of the day i

first kissed you

of every time

I told you

I loved you

I meant it

I still do

Later guys,

Adam

A Picture is worth 1,000 words

To whom it may concern:

I felt lazy today, so I decided to write a 4,000 word novella... get it, four pictures, a picture is worth a thousand .... ok you get it. Yes, I know its not that funny.













For the inquisitive people out there--- All of these pictures were taken by me or my girlfriend. I think that they are an interesting look at parts of my life. Maybe I'll put up some more later.

Write more later,

Adam

Poetry Friday (7)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.

What Happened on Wednesday

Like all storms, calm before.

Then heat behind the eyes,

the brewing bile boils in the

cold chambers of the heart.

I hear it. The growling at

the mouth of it's bitter-black den.

Blood pushes through tightened veins.

So fall the floodgates.

A fury-red hell-borne thunder-breaking rage

the roaring-vortex tunnel-vision hate

froth-at-the-tongue burning-world

charred-love-soul-eating holocaust.

NO!

Fie! Fie! I defy you wrath!

You vile tempter, you black incubus!

The hollow fruit in hand, I defy you!

But lost.

Free-wrought by open tongues of flame,

the copper taste still poisoning my teeth,

I have, inebriated, lain waste to all I love.

And now stare on this desolate plain,

still miraged by swirling madness,

thrown off from embers cast by this

malignant tempest.

It rumbles; not yet lost over the horizon.

Leave me Wrath... Begone...

Realization. Sadness. Embitterment. Acceptance.

Nothing.

Emptiness.

Like a calm before a storm.

Later guys,

Adam

Paper Towns review

To whom it may concern:

Hi everybody.

Well I thought I would pop in a review before bed. But first I wanted to share an important piece of my life. My sister was watching Must Love Dogs tonight on TV, and I occasionally poked my head in to see what was going on. I gleaned two important thoughts from what I saw of Must Love Dogs, number one: TV movies are destructive to brain cells, an number two: dogs are awesome. So instead of frying my brain trying to understand the plot connections of TV movie writers, I played with my pooches. And then I dug up some pictures of them to share with all of you.

Aren't they cute?

Anyway, tonight I am reviewing Paper Towns, by the one and only John Green, our Nerdfighters figurehead.

Paper Towns by John Green

Summary form Barnes & Noble:

"When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night-dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge-he follows her. Margo's always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she's always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they're for Q."

Here's my take on it:

So, I will tell you right off the bat that I went into reading this book with expectations. I had some definite preconceived notions for what it would be like, thanks to Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. I must say, I wasn't disappointed.

Paper Towns was fantastic. It was another book that, like John Green's other two, somehow magically glue themselves to your hands, you just can't put it down until the very last page. And also like Alaska and Katherines, Paper Towns was like a philosophy class in a book. The breadth and depth of the thematic elements, and the remarkable realistic way that the characters deal with them, is inspirational and compelling. It really is like philosophy in a can, just add water (don't actually add water. Water damages books.)

I give Paper Towns a whopping 4 stars. I would give it a full 5 if I hadn't read Looking for Alaska first, and as it is it probably deserves a 4 ½ . Unfortunately half a star is just an irregular hexagon.

One star: Margo Roth Spiegelman. Another fictional woman that I now have a crush on. Thank you John Green, you make my fantasies so much more ... fantastical.

One star: Florida. The armpit of the USA, and yet, by the end of the book, you actually like it, kudos to John Green, only he could make a place like Florida appealing.

One star: The idea of paper towns, paper people working paper jobs, in paper buildings. Creepy, deep, awesome. Also, the actual definition of a paper town, quite cool as well. Trust mapmakers to do crazy stuff like that.

One star: The road trip. Funny, so true, well written. Makes me wish gas was less expensive.

An invisible ½ a star: The feeling you have right after finishing the book, usually summed up in this exclamation: Woah.

Alright, with that, I am calling it a night. I'll go give my dogs a pat on the head for all of you.

Until next I write,

Adam

Poetry Friday (6)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.


A Bus Ride...

I stare behind the windows, hand on chin

but for all the world cannot remember

what is blurring by so fast.

I am a thought mummy, wrapped in my mind

and dead to the rest of the world.

I have found two paths diverging

and I would take the one less traveled by

if I could see which one it was

through my open blinded eyes.

We come to stop and again doors open

I step out and leave myself behind.

eyes in the ground, I walk my weighted steps

to nowhere, and with nothing there to find.

promises I could never keep wander

between empty ears and blank expressions.

I am being pulled apart, and amazed,

see that I am the stranger tearing at my limbs.

These thoughts are sweated out of me like rain

across my very skin, refugees of a tortured mind.

How long it has been, can not be forever.

But for the fraying at my thoughts

it has been infinity and back again.

Later guys,

Adam

Poetry Friday (5)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.

Potential

A billion stars in the corona of the mind

Is but a second in the deadly span.

A thousand leagues on every side

Leaves a wayfarer searching for the path.

Ten million strings are woven by the Fates

But not a one is longer than Lachesis' whim.

Six hundred coiled knots confound each birthing cord

But never more than one sees the other end.

There are a trillion forks in the path

Each with a hundred billion branches.

Sixty beats a minute tick the rhythm of our day

Until the halting shuttering stop of the last hand.

You could be anything,

Do that intangible wonder,

Or steer a smile in a sea of tears

But you only have one chance.

Later,
Adam

Spring Break

To whom it may concern:


It is now officially spring break. Since it is my break, I am going to take a break from posting here during that time. Although, I do have a Poetry Friday scheduled so you have that to look forward to. I hope that you enjoy your own spring break as I hope to enjoy mine.

Until I write,

Adam

Poetry Friday (4)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.


A Tribute of Words

I was not a religious man

but the heart's cathedral adorned

with rubied glances, have opened my

eyes: a new childhood, to learn the world

again.

A priceless relic in the sand

washes my impurities with a true

and unconditional corona. I am newly

swaddled in the heart, my years melt to this

moment.

A goddess rises like the sun

but over both horizons, humbling

all the titans, and refracting her golden

light off the dark waves like a clear midnight

moon.

All heralds at her coming

light their signal fires, engulfing

my newborn heart in ceaseless flames.

Now steps lead me to a hallow to cry to the

heavens.

From the darkened halls

of Minos, to the crystal cascades

of Niagara, the world will know that she

has come, and intangible Elysium will be mine

forever.

You entered my life, love,

like a Venus upon sea foam, and

now I am forever changed for the better.

You have granted me the greatest wish there is:

love.

Until next I write,
Adam

I am Camad Arysil

To whom it may concern:

Hey all.

So, I was having an interesting conversation today, and I thought I would share. So my friend noticed that some people, for one reason or another, are first name and last name people.

Think about it.

Ok. Done?

It's weird isn't it? For example, I would never refer to John Green as John, nor would I call him Green, or even Mr. Green. He is John Green, almost like it's one word: Johngreen. Or me, for instance. I have a more flexible name. Some people call me by my first name, some use both, and some just call me by my last.

I can think of some more examples:

First name only people: Jesus, William, Cleopatra, Alexander, Barney, etc.

Last name only people: Obama, Reagan, Hearst, and others.

First and Last name together people: Adolf Hitler, Bill Clinton, Jack Black, Chuck Norris, etc.

Also a sub-conversation about names spawned from this one. One of my friends went on a long tangent about how to find your Star Wars name:

Take the first three letters from the name of the town you were born in, add to that the first two letters of your first name. Thats you Star Wars first name. Then you take the last three letters of your mothers name and add to that the first three letters of your favorite color.

My Star Wars name: Camad Arysil

My brother's name: Madal Aryred

My Girlfriend's name: Sange Ldapur

Cool, huh?

Anyway, I'm off, but I have something planned to talk about soon, so, until then, best wishes.

Adam

Poetry Friday (3)

To whom it may concern:

It's Friday and that means that I get to show you guys another one of my poems. Critics are always welcomed.



Sycophant to your own Arrogance

Hide

behind the open door.

Watch the purple lights,

wish they were green.

Walk the drunken line,

but only in your head.

Make an angel in the grass,

it will spring to shape again;

sand and snow remain,

until the wind writes both

Away.

Plans

burn and peel in the sun.

Dancers only in the iris,

put you on your head.

Shadows hang the open time,

With arms of doubt.

There she is eternal.

On the inside, but never

Together.

Later guys,

Adam

Graceling review

To whom it may concern:

Hello all. How are you? Do you like being asked rhetorical questions? Do my pathetic attempts at humor bore you? My apologies, one more piece of evidence in the growing case file for why I should not write late at night. But on to more important things.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Summary from Amazon.com:

"Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.

Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be."


Here's my take on it:

Fantasy is my favorite genre, and when I read a book like this it reminds me why. Graceling was a riveting read that I finished in the same session as I started. It was a deep yet engrossing journey of self discovery in a world where our problems seem trivial. It has the well deserved place amongst a very select group of books that I have laughed out loud and also teared up at while reading.

However, I must admit (since it can't be all sunshine and daisies) that it did take me awhile to get involved in the lives of the characters, because the names used (for both people and places) were, in a word, horrible. I found myself unable to take many of the characters seriously when they were laden with names like Po, Randa, or Bitterblue. Luckily the book was so good, that by the end most of the tragically odd names had become endearing, though I still found myself snickering at the expense of poor Bitterblue's name. On the plus side, if ... odd ... naming choices in a book I wrote were my largest concern, I would be quite happy with that. So, Kudos Kristin Cashore, and thank you for a great book.

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. Fantastic book. I give it four very magical stars. Heres why:

Two stars: A beautiful rich fantasy world that is painted for you in a way that only the imagination can provide. The idea behind the world is ingenious, a refreshing step away from the normal elements of fantasy, and it is carried out with an elegance and precision that should make any writer proud.

One star: A charming cast of characters that you quickly fall in love with. The kind of characters you can cry with, laugh with, and go on daring adventures with.

One star: A compelling, heartening story that never goes into the ridiculous, or tries too hard to entertain, and yet, manages to be surprising, exciting, and mostly free of the storybook cliches which haunt too many books.

Later guys,

Adam

Poetry Friday (2)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.

Midnight Poet

Twelve hours from twelve

the ink dips the quill

and the words paint on parchment

of a blank white computer screen.

Half past halfway to two
Miracles scatter from a fraying mind

dance in circles on the squeaky swivel chair

and go their separate ways.

Ten half dozen minutes to three

a tired heart quickly pounds the beat

to noteless songs and ballads,

keeping time with the metronome cursor.

A quarter to a quarter on the clock

an cast of ideas and a crew of images

work their acts and scenes

into life, on a stage of metered lines.

Half a day before noon

the midnight poet scratches away

with his metaphor quill, and imagery ink,

while the handless clock ticks away in his mind.

Later guys,

Adam

Poetry Friday (1)

To whom it may concern:

I was thinking the other day that I should post some of my poems. I'm in this creative writing class at school and we've been writing a lot of poetry. Critics are always welcomed!



Earth

I saw three men
far out on the starry sea,
riding tattered sails
and broken hulls;
they did not notice
the tempest fury.
they only wrapped themselves
in each other's words,
back and forth
frothing mouths spitting
hate.

Their blue-green boat
pitched and bucked them,
to shake them from their wrath,
but the men just took a tighter grip,
and then fought that much harder.
They yawned the cords,
and dragged the ropes,
but not to hold the course.
They fought to break her hull to splinters,
and bury each other's bones.
Each would sink the boat for all,
if he could not take the wheel,
back and again,
the blue boat and the men
fighting

One man had gold
one man had god
the third had envy
for the other two.
And the blue boat
pitched and rocked,
as the fearsome battle raged.
One fell to another
one fell to himself
the last was helpless,
taken by the boat,
as she sunk in the starry sea,
forgotten.


Later guys,

Adam

Brisingr review

To whom it may concern:

So most everyone has heard of the up and coming writer Christopher Paolini, his book Eragon. His talent for storytelling shook the literary community, as readers and authors alike wondered at a book of Eragon's caliber from such a young author. After Eragon, Paolini released Eldest, it's sequel and second in his intended trilogy. However, soon into writing the third installment our young author realized that his work would require an additional book to be given the series the coverage it needed. So, in the spirit of the American super-size, Christopher Paolini expanded his Trilogy into a Quartet, and released Brisingr the third book in the story.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Summary from Barnes & Noble.com:

“OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?”

Here's my take on it:

If you give enough computers to young people across the world, eventually one of them will write something passable as a novel. However, if you allow that author continued access to said computer he or she will most likely end up disappointing their newly formed fan base. Not that Brisingr was a complete disappointment, it was simply less than the level of it's predecessors. Now, don't get me wrong, the book had some great moments, moments of humor, moments of sadness, and moments of magic induced butt-kicking. What it did not have was moments of surprise. The entirety of the book seemed to revolve around Eragon going back and doing all the things fans wanted him to do in the second book. There were even a few cliched moments of “dragons can breathe fire” slapstick. The only part of the book I didn't see coming from four blocks away was the great revelation behind Galbatorix's power.

Ok, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. The book was still an enjoyable read. I put it down at the end with mixed feelings towards where the plot was going (and where it has been for that matter), but still had a sense of enjoyment at having read it. It definitely felt like it was a piece of a whole, that although it may not, on its own be the best book I have ever read, it continued the story line of the series, much like the most recent Bond movie. In the new set of Bond movies Casino Royale blew everyones socks off (Bond can be Blonde?!) and the hype for Quantum of Solace was even more than that of Casino, so all those people who had fallen for Daniel Craig in the first one got their hopes way way up. Unfortunately Quantum of Solace was not at all what they made it out to be, it actually it kind of sucked. But it set up the plot for number 3 really nicely. The same is true of Brisingr. Plenty of exciting plot lines just ready to by used in number four, not as many exciting twists and turns.

3 stars. One star for the *Spoiler* (see below). One star for the writing and story line. And one very sheepish star in the hopes that the next one will be better.

SPOILER--

One star for: The death of Oromis. Had to be done, you can't have the Heroes wise and elderly mentor hanging around all the time. He needs to impart his wisdom about the secret powerful artifacts that make the dark lord powerful, and then he has worn out his literary usefulness. Once his usefulness is gone he should be disposed of in some pathetic way, like blown of a tower by Avada Kad--- wait a minute, am I the only one who sees similarities here???

--END SPOILER

Okay. Well that's all folks, sorry for the mind-numbingly long post, until next time.

Later guys,

Adam

Hey, I'm Adam

To whom it may concern:

I'm Adam. I'm a 19 year old college student that lives in Southern CA and loves to read. I like a wide range of books, fantasy is my favorite genre. Also, I enjoy writing poetry and the occasional short story. You'll probably get the chance to read more than one example of my work.

I am currently a sociology major with a possible minor in theatre (which I have been doing for 12 years). My interests include, but are not limited to :

• Reading (of course)
• Social gatherings with friends
• Medieval weaponry and fantasy stories
• World cultures and traveling around the globe
• languages
  
• video games (maybe I'll put up a few game review blogs)

For a while I never saw the point of blogging, but after observing some of my friends (and my girlfriend) participating, I've realized that online blogging can be a great outlet for some of your ideas amongst a community of people who share similar interests. Basically, it's like hanging out with people over the internet.

I have a wide range of varying interests, so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the blog yet. I've been reading a lot of books lately, so I'll start there. I hope that I find people who share my interests and that will like this blog. So here's to the beginning of something new!

Until I write,

Adam