Sunday, January 19, 2014

Well haven't post in ages... mostly posting crap on my i, g33k u blog but thought I put my opinion of Ender's Game here from my facebook page.

Ender's Game was ok for a children's Sci-Fi. The tactics and strategies will never stand in real life or even in any RTS game. The motivations of the characters were weak. I do appreciate the emotional blackmail at the end of the final battle. But it will never make it unto the Sci-Fi classic club I am afraid.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Wheel of Time short story incomplete.

Haven't posted anything up for a long time so I thought I post this up, was writing this little story on 16/05/1999. So it is quite old :P Corrected some of the grammar :/       

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He stood on the pass’s rocky side; its huge cliff sides casting a shadow over the entire road. Black coat almost hiding him in the cliff’s shadows he squint against the wind, scanning ahead.  The wind tore at his cloak, slapping the tail of it towards the men lower at the pass as to beacon them, like a black hand, to him. His long blond hair, tied with a leather bond, flattered a good two feet behind him. Cold, dark blue eyes shaped like jagged almonds, resigned at the sight before him.
            Ahead hundreds of big black dots rushed towards him. He reached and grabbed that bright light only a few unfortunates could see. Saidin filled his inner being, from his toes to the tips of his hairs. Big black dots became little black spots and they themselves transforming into hideous, animal faced men. Forming and shouting, they ran on foot. Their frenzied paced furthered by black clothed men on horseback. How can they be so organized in such a state was beyond his comprehension. Perhaps there is order in chaos, he wondered. But he was not here to ponder on such thoughts. The black men, Faceless, Eyeless as they are commonly know worry him. If was that he had to come to close combat he would not think he would survive.
            The sounds of loose stones caused him to turn his head.  An Asha ‘man came towards him. Thalandor, a man of average height and built, had shoulder length blond hair and light blue eyes. Drekker turned his head back to approaching mass, momentary distracted.  A hand rested oh his left shoulder.
            “ Quite a bunch of characters are they? “ He quipped.
            “ Not like you, eh? “ Drekker replied.
            “ Well, his Lord Dragon wishes to inform you that it will require him thirty minutes march through this pass. And has requested that you hold for forty. “
            “ My that’s awful thoughtful of him. Why not just ask me to joggle mountains while I am it? “ Drekker never took his eyes of the approaching horde.
            “ If the Lord Dragon didn’t choose you for your skill then would have for your wit. “ Thanlandor said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Drekker, Saidin filling his being.
            “ Well, you had better go and tell his Lord Dragon that our guests will be here in about six minutes. And that he had better get going. “
            “ I’m still amazed at your ability to estimate time in minutes. “
“ Yes, well, “ Drekker said as he slided down the side, stones racing him to the bottom. “ A lot of good that going to do for me. “
            “ Then I’m off, to make your job quicker off course. “ Thalandor said with a bow and a run.
            “ Off course, “ Drekker said under his smile.
            “ Pikemen! “ He shouted. “ I want this pass studded from side to side with long, sharp and hopefully deadly spikes! “
            The Pikemen, gwuffed at his joke, closed ranks. Drekker began to weave strands water, air and sprit. First he formed one hundred water like creatures, attaching thin tread of Saidin to all of them. Energy for life, he mused. They moved in a protective circle around him while he finished his weaving. He then formed things of air that had what look like that form of a wispily woman. Fifty strong, they took to the air above him. He added threads of Saidin to them too. For without the threads both creatures dissolve back into water and air. He conserved his strength and noticed the others starting their channelling. 


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Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Legend of Korra - Endgame

Korra is really the Avatar. Unfortunately, the ending although touching is an indication that the creators fear that may not be a second season of the Legend of Korra so they stacked the story just in case.

Amon identity was a interesting twist, it is probably the best part of the whole end act of LoK.

Korra now can Spirit Bend and got back all her powers so she can now be a world trotter and have all sorts of crazy adventures.

After they persecute and prosecute the Equalists.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Prometheus: The Eluded Truth?


Was thinking about Prometheus's story I figured the first Engineer belongs to a religious division that seeded Earth. A possibility the warrior division may wipe their race out with the bio-weapons one day. So they seeded planets just in case, to ensure that their race survives in one form or another. They also visited the seeded worlds to check on how things are going.

Point of reasons for this: Saucer ship vs Doughnut ship. Military uniforms vs Religious robe. Religious ritual at the beginning. Tech used for death vs tech used for life. The warrior class was engaged that a cheap clone of race is on Earth and decides to end it.

Another thought is that in Prometheus, the bio-weapon was originally created for planet seeding and later went into weapon use. They then decided to wipe out all the seeded worlds especially Earth maybe due to human evolution i.e. in Prometheus humans already can space travel to another system in a relatively short time 2089. Since, they seeded Earth about 250,000 years the Engineers' technology has seems to have made little progress but humans have jumped by leaps and bounds that they predicted that we will be the alpha race as opposed to them in the area of space they controlled.

The Legend of Korra - Korra is not the Avatar. Updated 12/06/2012

The Legend of Korra - Korra is not the Avatar.

I think there are a lot of tell tale signs in the show that shows Korra is quite possibly not the avatar at all. But before I go into that I'll have to explain my understanding on how the Spirit World works in Avatar and how I think the person to be the Avatar chosen.

First off, I believe the Avatar is a parasite spirit, lacks actual intelligence but it feeds off the ability of a bender by allowing them to break the one element per bender rule.

Sokka's mentions in the flash of the trial there highly talented benders like Tolph that can break the limitations of their element, I call them hyper talents. Metal and Blood bending is refinement of their main elemental ability. But I believe there is another type of hyper talent benders that I call multi-talents. These benders can only use one element still but have the talent to have been able to use another element just as easily but due to genetics, luck, etc.  they ended up with the current one they are using.

These muli-talents are super rare and what I think is the Avatar Spirit looks for the strongest one to inhabitant so it can feed off it. This occurred enough times that scholars concluded that can be only one such multi-bender that can use all the elements so they created a protocol that allowed them to nurture that individual so he or she can act as a protector that balances the political/military powers of other nations.

The spirits in an attempted to control this rogue spirit help foster this belief either through a Spirit Bender or the Avatar himself.

With that said let's get back to Korra in areas where it shows she may not be the Avatar. Let's start with the title, The Legend of Korra reads to me as the legend of someone who was no one special until certain events. Meaning, that she was no one special and if she was the Avatar isn't that special enough?

Next, when entering the Spirit World, Aang's eye always flashed white because he enters the Avatar to do that. Korra did not which leads me to believe that what she did was open up her mind enough for a spirit to transmit the information to her.

But the most damning evidence is not that Korra is or isn't the Avatar but who is actually acting more like the Avatar. This happens to be Amon, yeah, pull you mouths up. Amon, deplays abilities similar to the Avatar like bending resistance (Blood Bending), the ability to see what is going to be bended and of course permanently blocking a person's bending power (he has not completely removed the bending ability because that needs him to be in full Avatar state, a lot of focus and a big light show).

Other important foreshadowing is Equalists/Equalise mean to balance and the Avatar brings balance. And one more thing to sleep on: at the last episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang says, "... I learn there is another to defeat him and restore balance. I took his bending away."

Update 12/06/2012:

In the intro of Korra it is said "That only the Avatar CAN MASTER ALL FOUR ELEMENTS." Benders like Torph and Katara who can metal and blood are possibly dual benders. To bend metal you need to extract the metal ore from the stone then 'bend' it. Which should need fire to heat the metal so it can form. Better example is Blood Bending, is the Water Bender bending the water in the blood? Which then they can do it on any day or do they also bend the iron in the red cells which means they may need to have a full moon.

My sister mentions that Amon has air streams around him when he jumped through the snow mist after Korra's ice attack which indicates Air Bending.

A thought on the Book naming for Korra's seasons. Air is this season represents her main element's weakness to Air, her inability to learn Air Bending so far and the fact that Amon probably is an Air Bender. The next book so be about her relationship with her close friends like Bolin and how resentment or something else can turn them against her. This would be called the book of Earth. The last book should be the book of Fire where her romance finally kicks off Mako and she just have to accept how life has turned out for her.

And finally, I think there is a fifth element; Spirit Bending. Which I believe is the ability to communicate by your own will to spirits, enter the Spirit World and even compel spirits to do your bidding.

- The discussion goes on with my sister and I; if Korra is not the Avatar, she loses her powers in this seasons finds out she is not the Avatar and journeys to find the real to restore her power. Or Korra is the Avatar, loses her powers and is screwed and have to solve the problems with her wits.