Dragoncon 2012 scrapbook

So I finally finished the scrapbook I was making for dragoncon 2012. I'm very pleased with the finished product. I like that its not perfect. I'm happy with how it turned out. For the cover and pages I used an old book. I just cut the covering off of the book and ripped the pages out of the book. I then punched holes into everything and bound it all together with two binder rings. Here are some pictures of the final product.

the wheel of time

so on jan 8th the last book of the wheel of time came out, a memory of light. and i of course i got to barnes and noble and waited for it to open so i could get the book. i finished it yesterday and i have to say i thought it was great! i've been reading the series since i was in like 5th grade (i don't remember exactly when i started reading it) and it is the series that really got me into fantasy literature. i thought i would share different things about the last book of the series and just things about the series that i loved.

i love the series so much i have two tattoos that are from the books. the first tattoo i ever got is on my neck and it is a picture that is in the books. it's some leaves with vines. you can see a picture of it in my last post showing my steampunk outfit. the second tattoo i have from the series is the last tattoo i got that is on my arm. here's a picture of it. it says 'dovie'andi se tovya sagain'. which means 'it's time to toss the dice'. it's in a language from the books. sorry the picture is backwards, stupid mirror. hehe. i liked the idea that you have to take a chance if you want different things in life. and so i wanted that idea with me always. always to remind me to take chances and see where my life goes. 

needless to say i'm in the love with the series. when robert jordan died i was worried what would happen to the series, but i'm really happy with what brandon sanderson did. he once described taking over the series as if another director was making the same movie. i thought that was a good description of him taking over. i thought brandon sanderson did a great job. and i just wanted to say thank you to him for all that he did for the series.

on jan 9th i got to see brandon sanderson, harriot (robert jordan's widow) and a helper (who sadly i can't remember her name. but she she helped with the series from the beginning). it's the second time i got to see brandon sanderson. there was a book signing and that's how i got to see them. i didn't get a booked signed (i have a different book in the series signed by him) but i listened to the Q&A that was done. i always like listening to those for you get to see how different parts of the series was done. here is a picture brandon sanderson and company from that night.

the last book was wonderful (spoilers alert). i really like how not everyone lived at the end. it made it seem more real. for it is just impossible that every character is going to survive this great last battle. a battle that is for the survival of mankind. as much as i would love all the characters to survive, it just doesn't seem logical that they would. too many times in series do all the characters survive and for me it's just hard to believe. now there are main characters that survive the last battle, not everyone dies. and i'm glad for that too. i want the characters i love to survive.

i like how the book ends. it ends how every book in the series starts. in the beginning of every book robert jordan (and then brandon sanderson) started it with the wind blowing through different parts of the world. blowing around and taking the reader all over. the end of the book (the last two paragraphs) go back to the wind and have it blowing again. to me, it shows how the world continues to move on. for also at the beginning of every book it says something to the lines of: the wind was not the beginning. there are no beginnings nor endings to the turning of the wheel of time. but it was a beginning. the end of the book, the last two sentences, went right back to that. it said: 'there are no endings, and never will be endings, to the turning of the wheel of time. but it was an ending.' i thought it was a great way to end the book/series.

one of the characters in the book is named aviendha. she was a great character and one of my favorites. i've been in love with her name from when she was first introduced. i really want to name my daughter aviendha rose (rose being a family name for the child's middle name). another character in the book was matrim. my brother's name is matthew and from time to time i would call him matrim (as a side note, my brother is the person who got me into the books, so he knew what i was talking about when i called him that).

these are just some of the things that i love about the books. i'm sure i could go on forever about them, but i don't want to bore you. in the end, i love everything about the series. i'm very happy with how it ended. i'm sad that there isn't anything else that will be coming out for the world of the wheel of time. at least not any time soon. everyone should go out and read the series. it is some wonderful literature. let the dragon ride again.

filk

this is tom smith singing return of the king. it is a filk song - meaning science fiction/fantasy folk song. his song is about the lord of the rings: the return of the king.

books into tv shows/movies

so literature doesn't always translate great into movies or tv shows. but it can be done if it's done correctly.

i am a fan of the books the sword of truth novels by terry goodkind - some of them are a little like 'alright i get it, lets get a move on', but over all i liked the series. i only have one major complaint about the series, is that love drives the story. i like having a love story in a book and there is nothing wrong with having a love story in the story, but to have it be the driving force in the books, not my cup of tea. i'm not a love story kind of person. i do have one more complaint about terry goodkind, he can be very preachy. VERY. he hits you over the head with what he thinks is right or wrong. but other then that, it is good fantasy and an original world.
 - as a side note my favorite characters in the book are the mord siths. they are great. just a bad ass bunch of women.

here's an image of some people cos playing as the mord siths at dragoncon 2011. just so awesome!

now this series was made into a tv show called the legend of the seeker. it went on for 2 seasons and then was cancelled. it's on netflix and i tried to watch it twice now and just can't get into it. i can't get past the first episode. this second time i tried to watch it i get further in the episode, but still couldn't finish it. i just can't get past the things they changed from the book in the show. i understand changes will be made. and normally i am ok with the changes and understand it's a movie and not the book. but this time i just can't do it. they make richard - the main character - out to not know anything and be somewhat of a weakling. where in the books, he doesn't know everything that is going on, but he is smart and definitely not a weakling. and that's what bothers me the most - is the changes they did to richard. i just can't get over that. you can change the story a little bit but don't change a characters character.

so yeah. not a fan. i understand i haven't watched all of it and maybe it gets better. but i just can't do it right now. so it's still saved in my netflix, but i won't watch it for awhile. but what it has wanted me to do is go and read the books again to remind myself that the books are good. so that is what i'm going to do.