tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48532310728057284632024-03-13T09:26:23.376-07:00The Modern SynthesisAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-20616143893125202942012-06-07T06:07:00.000-07:002012-06-07T06:31:01.498-07:00Fantasy<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Okay, so since I haven't been posting in like, just about forever, I have worked up a little something that is extra special for today!<br /><br />It is a list of Fantasy novels that should be thoroughly perused and even investigated before one may consider oneself a true "connoisseur" of the Fantasy genre. I will start with the obvious masterpieces, and work my way down to the less-than-obvious titles.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. <b><u><span style="color: #6aa84f;">The Hobbit</span></u></b>, J.R.R. Tolkein (1937)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The first of the great J.R.R. Tolkein's works, </span><i style="line-height: 20px;">The Hobbit</i><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">follows the quest of home-loving</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Hobbit">hobbit</a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilbo_Baggins" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Bilbo Baggins">Bilbo Baggins</a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon,</span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smaug" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Smaug">Smaug</a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom.</span><span style="line-height: 13px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">The story reaches its climax in the</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><i style="line-height: 20px;">Battle of Five Armies</i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Personal growth and forms of heroism are central themes of the story. Along with motifs of warfare, these themes have led critics to cite Tolkien's own experiences during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="World War I"><span style="color: orange;">World War I</span></a><span style="color: white;"> </span>as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_literature" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Anglo-Saxon literature"><span style="color: orange;">Anglo-Saxon literature</span></a> and interest in <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tales" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Fairy tales"><span style="color: orange;">fairy tales</span></a> are also often noted as influences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, I place <u style="font-weight: bold;">The Hobbit</u> first and foremost because it really, truly is the first work of "High" or "Epic" Fantasy to be published in the modern age, and really must be read as a predecessor to the larger epic work, <u style="font-weight: bold;">The Lord of the Rings</u>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">2. <b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Lord of the Rings</span></u></b>, J.R.R. Tolkein (1954-55)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b><br />The Lord of the Rings</b></i> is an <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_(genre)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Epic (genre)">epic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fantasy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="High fantasy">high fantasy</a></span> novel written by English <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Philology"><span style="color: orange;">philologist</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oxford" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="University of Oxford"><span style="color: orange;">University of Oxford</span></a> professor <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.R.R._Tolkien" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="J.R.R. Tolkien"><span style="color: orange;">J.R.R. Tolkien</span></a>. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Hobbit"><span style="color: orange;">The Hobbit</span></a></i> (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="World War II"><span style="color: orange;">World War II</span></a>. It is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="List of best-selling books"><span style="color: orange;">third best-selling novel ever written</span></a>, with over 150 million copies sold.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s3.favim.com/orig/38/book-fantasy-illustration-the-lord-of-the-rings-Favim.com-310945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://s3.favim.com/orig/38/book-fantasy-illustration-the-lord-of-the-rings-Favim.com-310945.jpg" width="244" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The title of the novel refers to the story's main <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antagonist" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Antagonist"><span style="color: orange;">antagonist</span></a>, the Dark Lord <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Sauron"><span style="color: orange;">Sauron</span></a>, who had in an earlier age <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron#The_Rings_of_Power" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Sauron"><span style="color: orange;">created the One Ring</span></a> to rule the other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Power" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Rings of Power"><span style="color: orange;">Rings of Power</span></a> as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Middle-earth"><span style="color: orange;">Middle-earth</span></a>. From quiet beginnings in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shire_(Middle-earth)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Shire (Middle-earth)"><span style="color: orange;">Shire</span></a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Hobbit"><span style="color: orange;">Hobbit</span></a>-land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across north-west Middle-earth, following the course of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Ring" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="War of the Ring"><span style="color: orange;">War of the Ring</span></a> through the eyes of its characters, notably the hobbits <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frodo_Baggins" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Frodo Baggins"><span style="color: orange;">Frodo Baggins</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samwise_Gamgee" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Samwise Gamgee"><span style="color: orange;">Samwise "Sam" Gamgee</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriadoc_Brandybuck" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Meriadoc Brandybuck"><span style="color: orange;">Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrin_Took" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Peregrin Took"><span style="color: orange;">Peregrin "Pippin" Took</span></a>, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragorn" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Aragorn"><span style="color: orange;">Aragorn</span></a>, a Human <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangers_of_the_North" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Rangers of the North"><span style="color: orange;">Ranger</span></a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boromir" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Boromir"><span style="color: orange;">Boromir</span></a>, a man from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondor" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Gondor"><span style="color: orange;">Gondor</span></a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_(Middle-earth)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Gimli (Middle-earth)"><span style="color: orange;">Gimli</span></a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_(Middle-earth)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dwarf (Middle-earth)"><span style="color: orange;">Dwarf</span></a> warrior; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legolas" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Legolas"><span style="color: orange;">Legolas</span></a>, an Elven prince; and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandalf" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Gandalf"><span style="color: orange;">Gandalf</span></a>, a Wizard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, with the other being <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silmarillion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Silmarillion"><span style="color: orange;">The Silmarillion</span></a></i>, but this idea was dismissed by his publisher. It was decided for economic reasons to publish <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> as three volumes over the course of a year from 21 July 1954 to October 1955, thus creating the now familiar <i>Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy. The three volumes were entitled <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Fellowship of the Ring"><span style="color: orange;">The Fellowship of the Ring</span></a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Towers" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Two Towers"><span style="color: orange;">The Two Towers</span></a></i>, and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_King" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Return of the King"><span style="color: orange;">The Return of the King</span></a></i>. Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>has since been reprinted numerous times and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translations_of_the_Lord_of_the_Rings" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Translations of the Lord of the Rings"><span style="color: orange;">translated into many languages</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tolkien's work has been the subject of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themes_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Themes of The Lord of the Rings"><span style="color: orange;">extensive analysis of its themes</span></a> and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917, in a process he described as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythopoeia_(genre)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Mythopoeia (genre)"><span style="color: orange;">mythopoeia</span></a></i>. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrialization" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Industrialization"><span style="color: orange;">industrialization</span></a>, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="World War I"><span style="color: orange;">World War I</span></a>. <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The enduring popularity of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> has led to numerous references in popular culture, and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_inspired_by_J._R._R._Tolkien" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien"><span style="color: orange;">inspired</span></a>, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_in_video_games" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Middle-earth in video games"><span style="color: orange;">video games</span></a>, and subsequent literature. Award-winning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptations_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings"><span style="color: orange;">adaptations of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i></span></a> have been made for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1981_radio_series)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)"><span style="color: orange;">radio</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings_(musical)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Lord of the Rings (musical)"><span style="color: orange;">theatre</span></a>, and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Lord of the Rings film trilogy"><span style="color: orange;">film</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">3. <b><u><span style="color: #ffd966;">The Chronicles of Narnia</span></u></b>, C.S. Lewis (1950-56)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>The Chronicles of Narnia</b></i> is a series of seven high fantasy novels by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="C. S. Lewis"><span style="color: orange;">C. S. Lewis</span></a>. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Baynes" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Pauline Baynes"><span style="color: orange;">Pauline Baynes</span></a> and originally published in London between October 1950 and March 1956, <i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> has been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptations_of_The_Chronicles_of_Narnia" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia"><span style="color: orange;">adapted several times</span></a>, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Set in the fictional realm of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnia_(world)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Narnia (world)"><span style="color: orange;">Narnia</span></a>, a place where animals talk, magic is common, and good battles evil, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. Except in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horse_and_His_Boy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Horse and His Boy"><span style="color: orange;">The Horse and His Boy</span></a></i>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protagonist" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Protagonist"><span style="color: orange;">protagonists</span></a> are all children from the real world magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Aslan"><span style="color: orange;">Aslan</span></a> to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magician%27s_Nephew" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Magician's Nephew"><span style="color: orange;">The Magician's Nephew</span></a></i>, to its eventual destruction in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Last Battle"><span style="color: orange;">The Last Battle</span></a></i>. Inspiration for the series is taken from multiple sources; in addition to numerous traditional Christian themes, characters and ideas are freely borrowed from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Greek mythology"><span style="color: orange;">Greek</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Aslan"><span style="color: orange;">Turkish</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_mythology" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Roman mythology"><span style="color: orange;">Roman mythology</span></a>, as well as from traditional British and Irish fairy tales. The books have profoundly influenced adult and children's fantasy literature written since World War II. Lewis' exploration of themes not usually present in children's literature, such as religion as well as the book's perceived treatment of issues including race and gender, has caused some controversy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Series includes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magician%27s_Nephew" style="background-image: none;" title="The Magician's Nephew"><span style="color: orange;">The Magician's Nephew</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1955)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion,_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe" style="background-image: none;" title="The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"><span style="color: orange;">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1950)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horse_and_His_Boy" style="background-image: none;" title="The Horse and His Boy"><span style="color: orange;">The Horse and His Boy</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1954)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Caspian" style="background-image: none;" title="Prince Caspian"><span style="color: orange;">Prince Caspian</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1951)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Dawn_Treader" style="background-image: none;" title="The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"><span style="color: orange;">The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1952)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair" style="background-image: none;" title="The Silver Chair"><span style="color: orange;">The Silver Chair</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1953)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. <i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle" style="background-image: none;" title="The Last Battle"><span style="color: orange;">The Last Battle</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 20px;">(1956)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Sword in the Stone</span></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (<u><b>The Once and Future King</b></u>), T.H. White (1938; 1939-1958)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="line-height: 20px;"><b>The Sword in the Stone </b></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">was initially </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">published in 1938 </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">as a stand-alone work but now the first part of a tetralogy </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Once_and_Future_King" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Once and Future King"><span style="color: orange;">The Once and Future King</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">. A fantasy of the boyhood of King Arthur, it is a </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sui_generis" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Sui generis"><span style="color: orange;">sui generis</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;"> work which combines elements of legend, history, fantasy and comedy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of all England."</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The premise is that Arthur's youth, not dealt with in </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Thomas_Malory" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Sir Thomas Malory"><span style="color: orange;">Malory</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">, was a time when he was tutored by Merlyn to prepare him for the use of power and royal life. Merlyn magically turns Wart into various animals at times. He also has more human adventures, at one point meeting the outlaw </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Robin Hood"><span style="color: orange;">Robin Hood</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">, (who is referred to in the novel as Robin Wood). The setting is loosely based on </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_England" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Medieval England"><span style="color: orange;">medieval England</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">, and in places it incorporates White's considerable knowledge of medieval culture (as in relation to hunting, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconry" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Falconry"><span style="color: orange;">falconry</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Jousting"><span style="color: orange;">jousting</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">). However it makes no attempt at consistent historical accuracy, and incorporates some obvious </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anachronism" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Anachronism"><span style="color: orange;">anachronisms</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> (aided by the concept that Merlyn lives backwards in time rather than forwards, unlike everyone else).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>The Once and Future King </b></i>was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The title comes from the inscription that, according to <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Le Morte d'Arthur"><span style="color: orange;">Le Morte d'Arthur</span></a></i>, was said by "many men" to be written upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="King Arthur"><span style="color: orange;">King Arthur</span></a>'s tomb: the <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_rhyme" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Internal rhyme">internally rhymed</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexameter" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Hexameter">hexameter</a></span> <i>Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus</i> — "Here lies Arthur, king once, and king to be".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of the book "takes place on the isle of Gramarye", and it chronicles the raising and educating of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="King Arthur"><span style="color: orange;">King Arthur</span></a>, his rule as a king, and the romance between Sir <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Lancelot"><span style="color: orange;">Lancelot</span></a> and Queen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinevere" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Guinevere"><span style="color: orange;">Guenever</span></a>. It ends immediately before Arthur's final battle against his illegitimate son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordred" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Mordred"><span style="color: orange;">Mordred</span></a>. Though White admits his book's source material is loosely derived from <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malory" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Thomas Malory">Sir Thomas Malory's</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Le Morte d'Arthur">Le Morte d'Arthur</a></i></span> (<i>The Death of Arthur</i>), he reinterprets the epic events, filling them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Second World War"><span style="color: orange;">Second World War</span></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The book is divided into four parts:</span></div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_in_the_Stone" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Sword in the Stone"><span style="color: orange;">The Sword in the Stone</span></a></i> (1938)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Air_and_Darkness" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Queen of Air and Darkness"><span style="color: orange;">The Queen of Air and Darkness</span></a></i> (1939) (published separately in somewhat different form as <i>The Witch in the Wood</i>)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ill-Made_Knight" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Ill-Made Knight"><span style="color: orange;">The Ill-Made Knight</span></a></i> (1940) (which is the longest book and focuses mostly on the character Lancelot)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Candle_in_the_Wind" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Candle in the Wind"><span style="color: orange;">The Candle in the Wind</span></a></i> (First published in the composite edition, 1958)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">5. <u style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">The Belgariad</span></u>, David Eddings (1982-84)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>The Belgariad</b></i> is a five-book fantasy epic written by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eddings" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="David Eddings"><span style="color: orange;">David Eddings</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The series tells the story of the recovery of the Orb of Aldur and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_age" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Coming of age"><span style="color: orange;">coming of age</span></a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgarion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Belgarion"><span style="color: orange;">Garion</span></a>, an orphaned farmboy. Garion is accompanied by his aunt <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polgara_the_Sorceress" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Polgara the Sorceress"><span style="color: orange;">Polgara</span></a> and grandfather <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgarath_the_Sorcerer" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Belgarath the Sorcerer"><span style="color: orange;">Belgarath</span></a> as they try to fulfill an ancient prophecy that will decide the fate of the universe. Along the way, various "instruments", or helpers, of the prophecy join their quest to recover the orb, and Garion discovers his true identity and destiny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Volumes include:</span></div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad#Pawn_of_Prophecy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Belgariad"><span style="color: orange;">Pawn of Prophecy</span></a></i> (1982)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad#Queen_of_Sorcery" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Belgariad"><span style="color: orange;">Queen of Sorcery</span></a></i> (1982)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad#Magician.27s_Gambit" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Belgariad"><span style="color: orange;">Magician's Gambit</span></a></i> (1983)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad#Castle_of_Wizardry" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Belgariad"><span style="color: orange;">Castle of Wizardry</span></a></i> (1984)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad#Enchanters.27_End_Game" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Belgariad"><span style="color: orange;">Enchanters' End Game</span></a></i> (1984)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The title of each book combines a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Chess"><span style="color: orange;">chess</span></a> term with a fantasy term. The concept of a Game of Destiny is a significant <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(literature)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Motif (literature)"><span style="color: orange;">motif</span></a> in the story. The series has been reprinted as a two-volume set, titled <i>The Belgariad Volume One</i>, containing the first three books of the series, and <i>The Belgariad Volume Two</i>, which contains the last two books. This does not include the original map in <i>Pawn of Prophecy</i> by Chris Barbieri, but only Shelly Shapiro's map.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malloreon" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Malloreon"><span style="color: orange;">The Malloreon</span></a></i> is a five-book sequel that continues the story started in the <i>Belgariad</i>. <span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgarath_the_Sorcerer" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Belgarath the Sorcerer">Belgarath the Sorcerer</a></i> </span>(1995) and <span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polgara_the_Sorceress" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Polgara the Sorceress">Polgara the Sorceress</a></i> </span>(1997) are prequels that share the setting and most characters. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivan_Codex" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Rivan Codex"><span style="color: orange;">The Rivan Codex</span></a></i> (1998) features annotated background material.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">6. <u style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">The Enchanted Forest Chronicles</span></u>, Patricia C. Wrede (1985-1993)</span></span><br />
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<span class="textstyle3" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The </span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b>Enchanted Forest Chronicles</b></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> is a series of four young adult fantasy novels by<span style="color: orange;"> </span></span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_C._Wrede" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Patricia C. Wrede"><span style="color: orange;">Patricia C. Wrede</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> titled </span><span style="color: orange; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealing_with_Dragons" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dealing with Dragons"><i>Dealing with Dragons</i></a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">, </span><span style="color: orange; line-height: 20px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searching_for_Dragons" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Searching for Dragons"><i>Searching for Dragons</i></a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">, </span><span style="color: orange; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calling_on_Dragons" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Calling on Dragons"><i>Calling on Dragons</i></a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">, and </span><span style="color: orange; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_to_Dragons" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Talking to Dragons"><i>Talking to Dragons</i></a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">. Additionally, the </span><span style="color: orange; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enchantments" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Book of Enchantments">Book of Enchantments</a></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> includes one short story titled </span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><i>Utensile Strength</i></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="textstyle3" style="font-style: italic; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealing_with_Dragons" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px;" title="Dealing with Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">Dealing with Dragons</span></a> </span><span class="textstyle3" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">began as a short story, "The Improper Princess," and was expanded to novel length at the insistence of Patricia's editor at Harcourt. It, and the subsequent two books, tell the story of Cimorene, a fairy-tale princess of the kingdom of Linderwall who finds her expected duties too boring and confining, and therefore runs away to become the "captive" princess of the dragon Kazul.<span style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"> </span>Princess Cimorene discovers and subsequently dissolves a plot by the wizards to take control of the King of the Dragons. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">In </span></span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searching_for_Dragons" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" title="Searching for Dragons"><i><span style="color: orange;">Searching for Dragons</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">,<span style="text-align: left;"> Cimorene meets the King of the Enchanted Forest, Mendanbar. With their new friends, they collaborate to rescue Kazul—now the King of the Dragons—from the wizards who have captured her in the Enchanted Forest. </span></span><span class="textstyle2" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">In </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calling_on_Dragons" style="background-image: none; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;" title="Calling on Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">Calling on Dragons</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, Morwen discovers that the wizards have stolen Mendanbar's sword, which keeps them from stealing the Enchanted Forest's magic, and works with Cimorene to retrieve it. </span></span><span class="textstyle2" style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_to_Dragons" style="background-image: none; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;" title="Talking to Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">Talking to Dragons</span></a> is told from the viewpoint of Daystar, Cimorene's son, as he sets off on his own adventures </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">with his father's sword</span><span style="text-align: left;"> and tries to piece together the past his mother hasn't told him about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">7. <b><u><span style="color: #45818e;">Sabriel</span></u></b>, Garth Nix (1995)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Sabriel_Book_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Sabriel_Book_Cover.jpg" width="192" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>Sabriel</i></b> is a young-adult fantasy novel
by Australian author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Nix" title="Garth Nix"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Garth
Nix</span></a>, first published in 1995. It is
the first in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Kingdom_trilogy" title="Old Kingdom trilogy"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Old Kingdom trilogy</span></a>, and is followed by<span style="color: orange;"> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lirael" title="Lirael"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Lirael</span></a></i></span> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhorsen" title="Abhorsen"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Abhorsen</span></a></i>. The
novel is set in two neighbouring fictional countries: To the south lies <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancelstierre" title="Ancelstierre"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Ancelstierre</span></a>, which has a technology level and society similar to
that of early-20th century <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">England</span></a>, and to the north lies the Old Kingdom, where magic
works and dangerous spirits roam the land — a fact officially denied by the
government of Ancelstierre and disbelieved by most of Ancelstierre's
inhabitants. (Those who live near the border know the truth of it, especially
on days when the wind is blowing out of the Old Kingdom.) These dangerous
spirits range from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undead" title="Undead"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">undead</span></a> corpses known as
Dead Hands to supernatural beings known as Free Magic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementals" title="Elementals"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">elementals</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These living Dead are raised by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necromancers" title="Necromancers"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Necromancers</span></a>,
or black magicians, who roam the Old Kingdom or live in Death, using Hands to
do their bidding. To remedy the problem of dangerous, living dead, there is
always a sorcerer with the title of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhorsen" title="Abhorsen"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Abhorsen</span></a>,
who is essentially a Necromancer himself (or herself), only in the reverse; he
puts the dead to rest. At the time of Sabriel, it is her father, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terciel" title="Terciel"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Terciel</span></a>,
who has the job of controlling the endless dead creatures doing evil deeds
around the Wall, especially difficult since a new evil seems to be rising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When the current
Abhorsen is overcome by one such evil, he sends his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_(Old_Kingdom_Series)" title="The Bells (Old Kingdom Series)"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">bells</span></a> (the primary tools of a
necromancer and used in various ways to control the Dead) and sword to his
daughter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabriel_(character)" title="Sabriel (character)"><span style="color: orange; text-decoration: none;">Sabriel</span></a>, who is being raised in an Ancelstierre
school, out of reach of those who might try to strike at her father through
her. She must return to the Old Kingdom to rescue her father and prevent the
evil's return.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">8. <b><u><span style="color: #6aa84f;">The Chronicles of Prydain</span></u></b> (<b><u>The Black Cauldron</u></b> et. al), Lloyd Alexander, (1964-68)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="line-height: 15pt;"><b>The Chronicles of Prydain</b></i><span style="line-height: 15pt;"> is a series of five children's </span>fantasy<span style="line-height: 15pt;"> novels by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Alexander" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Lloyd Alexander"><span style="color: orange;">Lloyd Alexander</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-medal_1-0" style="line-height: 1em;"> </sup><span style="line-height: 15pt;">The five novels may be considered a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildungsroman" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Bildungsroman"><span style="color: orange;">bildungsroman</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">, for they follow one </span>protagonist<span style="line-height: 15pt;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taran_(character)" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Taran (character)"><span style="color: orange;">Taran</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;"> from youth to maturity, most overtly in the fourth book, </span><i style="line-height: 15pt;">Taran Wanderer</i><span style="line-height: 15pt;">.</span><span style="line-height: 15pt;"> Taran has the title Assistant Pig-Keeper at </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caer_Dallben" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Caer Dallben"><span style="color: orange;">Caer Dallben</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;"> but initially dreams of being a grand hero. His most important companions in adventure are </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Eilonwy" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Princess Eilonwy"><span style="color: orange;">Princess Eilonwy</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">, a girl his age; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fflewddur_Fflam" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Fflewddur Fflam"><span style="color: orange;">Fflewddur Fflam</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">, a wandering </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bard" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Bard"><span style="color: orange;">bard</span></a> <span style="line-height: 15pt;">and minor king; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurgi" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Gurgi"><span style="color: orange;">Gurgi</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">, a wild </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominid" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Hominid">c</a>reature<span style="line-height: 15pt;"> between animal and man; and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doli_(fictional_character)" style="background-image: none; line-height: 15pt; text-decoration: none;" title="Doli (fictional character)"><span style="color: orange;">Doli</span></a><span style="line-height: 15pt;">, a dwarf.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://images.wikia.com/prydain/images/0/01/The_black_cauldron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.wikia.com/prydain/images/0/01/The_black_cauldron.jpg" width="197" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thematically the novels draw upon <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Wales">Welsh</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_mythology" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Welsh mythology">mythology</a></span>, particularly the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Mabinogion"><span style="color: orange;">Mabinogion</span></a></i>. The novels are not, however, retellings of those myths, a point Alexander himself makes in an author's note for <i>The Book of Three</i>: stories have been conflated, and characters have been changed in both role and motive, so a student of Welsh culture should be prepared as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arawn" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Arawn"><span style="color: orange;">Arawn</span></a> becomes the books' dark archenemy and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwydion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Gwydion"><span style="color: orange;">Gwydion</span></a>'s negative traits are replaced with unclouded heroism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Appropriately, the author's note also reveals the geography is ultimately derived from Wales, though Alexander notes that Prydain is separate from Wales both in physical geography and history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Always interested in mythology", Alexander received army combat intelligence training in Wales during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="World War II"><span style="color: orange;">World War II</span></a>. That exposed him to its castles, scenery, and language, which became "part of the raw material for the Prydain books". Originally he "planned to write one or two – three at the very most".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At one point they planned a trilogy with titles <i>The Battle of the Trees</i>, <i>The Lion with the Steady Hand</i>, and <i>Little Gwion</i>. In Welsh mythology the former features the sons of Don led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwydion#The_Battle_of_the_Trees" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Gwydion"><span style="color: orange;">Gwydion against the forces of Arawn</span></a>, and the legend of Gwion concerns the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin#The_legendary_account_of_his_life" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Taliesin"><span style="color: orange;">bard Taliesin as a boy</span></a>. Later, a four-volume series would conclude with <i>The High King</i>. The editor felt that something was missing between third and fourth volumes, so <i>Taran Wanderer</i> was written one month after <i>The Castle of Llyr</i> was published, making it a five-volume series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">9. </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Earthsea</span></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">, Ursula K. Le Guin (1964-2001) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="line-height: 20px;">Earthsea</b><span style="line-height: 20px;"> is a </span>fictional realm<span style="line-height: 20px;"> originally created by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Ursula K. Le Guin"><span style="color: orange;">Ursula K. Le Guin</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> for her short story "</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Word_of_Unbinding" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="The Word of Unbinding"><span style="color: orange;">The Word of Unbinding</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further </span>six books<span style="line-height: 20px;">, beginning with </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard_of_Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="A Wizard of Earthsea"><span style="color: orange;">A Wizard of Earthsea</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, first published in 1968, and continuing with </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs_of_Atuan" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Tombs of Atuan"><span style="color: orange;">The Tombs of Atuan</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farthest_Shore" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Farthest Shore"><span style="color: orange;">The Farthest Shore</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehanu" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Tehanu"><span style="color: orange;">Tehanu</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Tales from Earthsea"><span style="color: orange;">Tales from Earthsea</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;"> and </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Wind" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Other Wind"><span style="color: orange;">The Other Wind</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">. All are set in the world of Earthsea, as are (to date) seven short stories by Le Guin, two of which are not collected in any of these books. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Earthsea_Trilogy.jpg/350px-Earthsea_Trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Earthsea_Trilogy.jpg/350px-Earthsea_Trilogy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard_of_Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="A Wizard of Earthsea"><span style="color: orange;">A Wizard of Earthsea</span></a> </i>was the first novel set in the fictional <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archipelago" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Archipelago">archipelago</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Earthsea">Earthsea</a></span> and it inaugurated the so-called Earthsea Trilogy (1968 to 1972). It features the adventures of a budding young wizard named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ged_(Earthsea)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Ged (Earthsea)"><span style="color: orange;">Ged</span></a>. The tale of Ged's growth and development as he travels across Earthsea continues in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs_of_Atuan" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Tombs of Atuan"><span style="color: orange;">The Tombs of Atuan</span></a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farthest_Shore" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Farthest Shore"><span style="color: orange;">The Farthest Shore</span></a></i>, set a few years and about two decades later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In 1987, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_(magazine)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Locus (magazine)"><span style="color: orange;">Locus</span></a></i> ranked <i>The Wizard of Earthsea</i> number three among the 33 "All-Time Best Fantasy Novels", based on a poll of subscribers.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Earthsea Canon</u></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>Short Stories:</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Seven short stories appear in two collections of Le Guin's work (and some have been reissued elsewhere). Two seminal stories were originally published in 1964 and were collected in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind%27s_Twelve_Quarters" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Wind's Twelve Quarters"><span style="color: orange;">The Wind's Twelve Quarters</span></a></i> (Harper & Row, 1975). Five much later stories were collected in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Tales from Earthsea"><span style="color: orange;">Tales from Earthsea</span></a></i> (Harcourt, 2001), where three were original.</span></div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Word_of_Unbinding" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Word of Unbinding"><span style="color: orange;">The Word of Unbinding</span></a>", <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Stories_of_Imagination" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Fantastic Stories of Imagination"><span style="color: orange;">Fantastic Stories of Imagination</span></a></i>, January 1964</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rule_of_Names" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Rule of Names"><span style="color: orange;">The Rule of Names</span></a>", <i>Fantastic Stories of Imagination</i>, April 1964</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Dragonfly", <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends:_Short_Novels_by_the_Masters_of_Modern_Fantasy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy"><span style="color: orange;">Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy</span></a></i>, Tor Books, 1998</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Darkrose and Diamond", <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magazine_of_Fantasy_%26_Science_Fiction" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction"><span style="color: orange;">The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction</span></a></i>, Oct-Nov 1999</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The Bones of the Earth" (2001), original to <i>Tales from Earthsea</i></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The Finder" (2001), original to <i>Tales from Earthsea</i></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"On The High Marsh" (2001), original to <i>Tales from Earthsea</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Tales from Earthsea</i> also includes about thirty pages of fictional reference material titled "A Description of Earthsea" (2001) and catalogued as short fiction by ISFDB.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Novels:</span></u></b></div>
<ul style="list-style-image: url(data:image/png; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard_of_Earthsea" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="A Wizard of Earthsea"><span style="color: orange;">A Wizard of Earthsea</span></a></i> (Parnassus Press, 1968)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs_of_Atuan" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Tombs of Atuan"><span style="color: orange;">The Tombs of Atuan</span></a></i> (Atheneum Books, 1971)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farthest_Shore" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Farthest Shore"><span style="color: orange;">The Farthest Shore</span></a></i> (Atheneum Books, 1972)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehanu" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Tehanu"><span style="color: orange;">Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea</span></a></i> (Atheneum Books, 1990)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Wind" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Other Wind"><span style="color: orange;">The Other Wind</span></a></i> (Harcourt, 2001)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">10. <b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Wheel of Time</span></u></b>, Robert Jordan (1990-2013) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="line-height: 20px;"><b>The Wheel of Time</b></i><span style="line-height: 20px;"> (abbreviated by fans to </span><b style="line-height: 20px;">WoT</b><span style="line-height: 20px;">) is a series of </span>epic fantasy<span style="line-height: 20px;"> novels written by </span>American<span style="line-height: 20px;"> author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the </span>pen name<span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jordan" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Robert Jordan"><span style="color: orange;">Robert Jordan</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">. Originally planned as a six-book series, the length was increased by increments; at the time of Rigney's death, he expected it to be 12, but it will actually run 14. There is also a prequel novel and a companion book available. Rigney began writing the first volume, </span><i style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_World" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Eye of the World"><span style="color: orange;">The Eye of the World</span></a></i><span style="line-height: 20px;">, in 1984 and it was published in January 1990.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Hinduism"><span style="color: orange;">Hinduism</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Buddhism"><span style="color: orange;">Buddhism</span></a>, the concepts of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_(metaphysics)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Balance (metaphysics)"><span style="color: orange;">balance</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dualism"><span style="color: orange;">duality</span></a>, a matter-of-fact respect for nature found in <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoism" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Daoism"><span style="color: orange;">Daoism</span></a>, as well as a creation story paralleling that of Christianity in "The Creator" (Light) and "The Dark One". It was also partly inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Leo Tolstoy"><span style="color: orange;">Leo Tolstoy</span></a>'s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_Peace" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="War and Peace"><span style="color: orange;">War and Peace</span></a></i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The Wheel of Time</i> is notable for its length, its detailed imaginary world, its well-developed magic system and a large <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wheel_of_Time_characters" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Category:Wheel of Time characters"><span style="color: orange;">cast of characters</span></a>. As of August 12, 2008 the series has sold over 44 million copies worldwide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the dawn of time a deity known as the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Creator" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Creator">Creator</a> forged the universe and the the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Wheel_of_Time" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Wheel of Time">Wheel of Time</a>, which spins the Pattern of the Ages using the lives of men and women as its threads. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it is rotated by the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/One_Power" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="One Power">One Power</a>, which flows from the True Source. The One Power is divided into male and female halves, <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Saidin" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Saidin">saidin</a></i> and <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Saidar" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Saidar">saidar</a></i>, which work in opposition and in unison to drive the Wheel. Those humans who can use this power are known as channelers; the principal organization of such channelers in the books is called the <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Aes_Sedai" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Aes Sedai">Aes Sedai</a></i> or 'Servants of All' in the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Old_Tongue" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Old Tongue">Old Tongue</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Creator imprisoned its antithesis, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Shai%27tan" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Shai'tan">Shai'tan</a>, the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_One" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Dark One">Dark One</a>, at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel. However, in a time called the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Age_of_Legends" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Age of Legends">Age of Legends</a>, an Aes Sedai experiment inadvertantly breached the Dark One's prison, allowing his influence to seep back into the world. He rallied the powerful, the corrupt and the ambitious to his cause and these servants began an effort to free the Dark One fully from his prison, so he might remake time and reality in his own image. In response to this threat, the Wheel spun out the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Dragon">Dragon</a>, a channeler of immense power, to be a champion for the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Light" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Light">Light</a>. In the Age of Legends the Dragon was a man named <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Lews_Therin_Telamon" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Lews Therin Telamon">Lews Therin Telamon</a>, who eventually rose to command the Aes Sedai and their allies in the struggle against the Dark One's forces. After a gruelling ten-year war, Telamon led his forces to victory in a daring assault on the volcano of <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Shayol_Ghul" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Shayol Ghul">Shayol Ghul</a> (the site of the earthly link to the Dark One's prison), and was able to seal off the Dark One's prison. However, at the moment of victory the Dark One was able to taint <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">saidin</i>, driving male channellers of the One Power insane. Lews Therin killed his friends and family and then himself. The other male channellers <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Breaking_of_the_World" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Breaking of the World">devastated the world</a> with the One Power, unleashing earthquakes and tidal waves that reshaped the world. Eventually, the last male channeller was killed or cut off from the One Power, leaving the human race all but destroyed and only women able to wield the One Power safely. The Aes Sedai reconstituted and guided humanity out of this dark time. Mankind now lived under the shadow of a prophecy that the Dark One would break free from his prison and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Reborn" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Dragon Reborn">Dragon would be Reborn</a> to fight him once more, and although he is humanity's only hope to suceed against the Dark One, he would devastate the world a second time in the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over the next three and a half thousand years, the human race returns to a level of technology roughly comparable to that of the Middle Ages, with the difference that women enjoy full equality with men in most societies, and are superior in some. This is put down to the power and influence of the female-only Aes Sedai spilling over into everyday life. Several major wars have ravaged the main continent since the defeat of the Dark One, such as the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Trolloc_Wars" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Trolloc Wars">Trolloc Wars</a>, when the surviving servants of the Dark One tried to destroy civilization once more but were defeated by an alliance of nations led by the Aes Sedai; and the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/War_of_the_Hundred_Years" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="War of the Hundred Years">War of the Hundred Years</a>, a devastating civil war that followed the fall of a continent-spanning empire ruled by the High King, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Artur_Hawkwing" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Artur Hawkwing">Artur Hawkwing</a>. These wars have prevented the human race from regaining the power and high technology of the Age of Legends, and also left humanity divided. Even the prestige of the Aes Sedai has fallen, with their shrinking numbers and the emergence of organisations such as the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Children_of_the_Light" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Children of the Light">Children of the Light</a>, a military order who hold that all who dabble with the One Power are servants of the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Shadow">Shadow</a>. The nations of the modern era are able to unite against the warrior-clans of the <a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Aiel" style="border: 0px; color: #fff39f; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Aiel">Aiel</a>, who cross into the western kingdoms on a mission of vengeance after they suffer a grievous insult, but are too divided to work effectively together in other areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">11. <b><u><span style="color: #a64d79;">A Song of Ice and Fire</span></u></b>, George R. R. Martin (1996-?) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>A Song of Ice and Fire</b></i> is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American novelist and screenwriter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="George R. R. Martin"><span style="color: orange;">George R. R. Martin</span></a>. Martin began the series in 1991 in response to the limitation of television production and published the first volume, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="A Game of Thrones"><span style="color: orange;">A Game of Thrones</span></a></i>, in 1996. Martin gradually extended the originally planned trilogy into four, six and eventually seven volumes. The fifth installment, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dance_with_Dragons" style="background-image: none;" title="A Dance with Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">A Dance with Dragons</span></a></i>, was published in 2011; the sixth book, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winds_of_Winter" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Winds of Winter"><span style="color: orange;">The Winds of Winter</span></a></i> is currently being written.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The story of <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> takes place on the fictional continents <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westeros" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Westeros"><span style="color: orange;">Westeros</span></a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essos" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Essos"><span style="color: orange;">Essos</span></a>, with a history of thousands of years. The series is told in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-person_narrative" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Third-person narrative"><span style="color: orange;">third person</span></a> by 31 <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_view_(literature)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Point of view (literature)"><span style="color: orange;">point of view</span></a> characters. Three stories become interwoven: the chronicling of a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the dormant cold supernatural <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Others_(A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Others (A Song of Ice and Fire)"><span style="color: orange;">Others</span></a> dwelling beyond an immense wall of ice on Westeros' northern border and the ambition of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daenerys_Targaryen" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Daenerys Targaryen"><span style="color: orange;">Daenerys Targaryen</span></a>, the exiled daughter and only remaining heir of a king murdered 15 years earlier in a civil war, to return to Westeros with her fire-breathing <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">dragons</span></a> and claim her rightful throne.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The fantasy series has been praised for its realism; it subdues magic in favor of battles and political intrigue. Drawing inspiration from historical events, Martin deliberately defied the conventions of the fantasy genre and frequently displayed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Violence"><span style="color: orange;">violence</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sexuality" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Human sexuality"><span style="color: orange;">sexuality</span></a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_ambiguity" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Moral ambiguity"><span style="color: orange;">moral ambiguity</span></a>. Main characters are killed off, indicating that the supposed heroes may not come through unscathed and readers are left to decide which characters are good or evil. <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> also received critical commentary for its portrayal of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Feminism"><span style="color: orange;">women</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Religion"><span style="color: orange;">religion</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Food"><span style="color: orange;">food</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Originally published without much publicity, the books in the series have now sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and have been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translations_of_A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Translations of A Song of Ice and Fire"><span style="color: orange;">translated into more than 20 languages</span></a>. The fourth and fifth volumes, which both took Martin over five years to write, reached the top of <i>The New York Times </i>Best Seller lists upon their releases. Among the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_based_on_A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Works based on A Song of Ice and Fire"><span style="color: orange;">many derived works</span></a> are three <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Dunk_and_Egg" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Tales of Dunk and Egg"><span style="color: orange;">prequel novellas</span></a>, the HBO TV series <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(TV_series)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Game of Thrones (TV series)"><span style="color: orange;">Game of Thrones</span></a></i>, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones_(comics)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="A Game of Thrones (comics)"><span style="color: orange;">comic book adaptation</span></a>.</span></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Series includes:</span></b></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. <span style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones" style="background-image: none; font-style: italic;" title="A Game of Thrones"><span style="color: orange;">A Game of Thrones</span></a> (1996)<br />2. </span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clash_of_Kings" style="background-image: none;" title="A Clash of Kings"><span style="color: orange;">A Clash of Kings</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(1999)</span><br /><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">3.</span><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"> </span></span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Storm_of_Swords" style="background-image: none;" title="A Storm of Swords"><span style="color: orange;">A Storm of Swords</span></a> </i>(2000)<br />4. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Feast_for_Crows" style="background-image: none;" title="A Feast for Crows"><span style="color: orange;">A Feast for Crows</span></a> </i>(2005)<br />5. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dance_with_Dragons" style="background-image: none;" title="A Dance with Dragons"><span style="color: orange;">A Dance with Dragons</span></a> </i>(2011)<br />6. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winds_of_Winter" style="background-image: none;" title="The Winds of Winter"><span style="color: orange;">The Winds of Winter</span></a> </i>(forthcoming)<br />7. <i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dream_of_Spring" style="background-image: none;" title="A Dream of Spring"><span style="color: orange;">A Dream of Spring</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(forthcoming)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">12. </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"><u><span style="color: #45818e;">Dragonriders of Pern</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">, Anne McCaffrey (1967-?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The series (as of June 2011) comprises 22 novels and several short stories. Most of the short fiction has been collected in two volumes or incorporated in one of the novels, so <i>Dragonriders of Pern</i> is sometimes identified with the 24 books. Beginning in 2003, her middle child <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_McCaffrey" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Todd McCaffrey"><span style="color: orange;">Todd McCaffrey</span></a> has also written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />Life on</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pern" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Pern"><span style="color: orange;">Pern</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as presented in the novels resembles a</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-industrial_society" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Pre-industrial society"><span style="color: orange;">pre-industrial society</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">with lords, holds, harpers (musicians, entertainers, and teachers), and dragons, with the occasional examples of higher technology (like flamethrowers, telegraphi, chemical fertilizers, and powerful microscopes and telescopes).</span></div>
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<a href="http://pmcmovieline.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/dragonriders300.jpg?w=300&h=300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://pmcmovieline.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/dragonriders300.jpg?w=300&h=300" width="201" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pernese people are described as belonging to four basic groups: Weyrfolk (including Dragonriders) who live in the Weyrs, the Holders who live in the Holds (cities, towns and farms), the crafters who live in Crafthalls (or are assigned to work their crafts in certain Holds), and the Holdless who have no permanent home (including traders, displaced Holders, and brigands).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the main threats to Pernese civilization in the series is <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(Pern)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Thread (Pern)"><span style="color: orange;">Thread</span></a>, which is described as a<span style="color: orange;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Mycorrhiza">mycorrhizoid</a></span> spore that periodically rains down on the planet due to the orbit of the Red Star. The <b>Red Star</b> is set out to be a rogue planet in the <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Sagittarii" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Alpha Sagittarii">Rukbat</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_system" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Planetary system">system</a></span>. The Red Star, characterized as a "<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedna_(planetoid)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Sedna (planetoid)"><span style="color: orange;">Sedna</span></a>-class inner Oort cloud object", has a 250 Turn (or Pernese year) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Elliptic orbit"><span style="color: orange;">elliptic orbit</span></a> around its sun. <span style="color: orange;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(Pern)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Thread (Pern)">Thread</a> </span>can reach the planet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pern" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Pern"><span style="color: orange;">Pern</span></a> for about 50 Turns while the Red Star is at <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perihelion" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Perihelion"><span style="color: orange;">perihelion</span></a>. Thread is described in this series as an agent that consumes organic material at a voracious rate, including crops, animals, and any humans in its path.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Pernese use intelligent firebreathing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_(Pern)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragons (Pern)"><span style="color: orange;">dragons</span></a> and their riders to fight <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(Pern)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Thread (Pern)"><span style="color: orange;">Thread</span></a>. The riders have a telepathic bond with their dragons, formed by<span style="color: orange;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression_(Dragonriders_of_Pern)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Impression (Dragonriders of Pern)">Impression</a></span> at the dragon's hatching. Later books deal with the initial colonization of Pern and the creation of the dragons through genetic manipulation. The lengthy (over two millennia) time period covered by the series as a whole allows room for new stories and characters, explored by each new novel released by the authors.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Original Trilogy:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These stories take place immediately before and during the Ninth Pass, about 2500 years after landing (AL).</span></div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonflight" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragonflight"><span style="color: orange;">Dragonflight</span></a></i> (1968; composed in part of McCaffrey's first two Pern novellas, <i>Weyr Search</i> and <i>Dragonrider</i>, originally published in 1967)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonquest" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragonquest">Dragonquest</a></i> </span>(1970)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Dragon" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The White Dragon">The White Dragon</a></i> </span>(1978; although published prior to <i>Dragondrums</i>, <i>The White Dragon</i> continues the adventures of certain <i>Dragondrums</i> characters; McCaffrey recommends reading <i>Dragonsong,</i> <i>Dragonsinger</i> and <i>Dragondrums</i> before <i>The White Dragon</i>; <i>The White Dragon</i> incorporates McCaffrey's story "A Time When")</span></li>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Harper Hall Trilogy:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These stories take place immediately prior to and concurrently with those depicted in <i>Dragonquest</i> and <i>The White Dragon</i>.</span></div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonsong" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragonsong">Dragonsong</a></i> </span>(1976)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonsinger" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragonsinger">Dragonsinger</a></i> </span>(1977)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragondrums" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Dragondrums">Dragondrums</a></i> </span>(1979)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Harper Hall trilogy was released in 1984.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">13. </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"><u><span style="color: #f1c232;">The Original Shannara Trilogy</span><span style="color: #a64d79;"> </span><span style="color: #e69138;">(& The Heritage of Shannara Tetralogy)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">, Terry Brooks (1977-1993)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Original Shannara Trilogy</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <i><b>Original Shannara Trilogy</b></i> consists of the first three <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">Shannara</span></a></i> novels (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Sword of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Sword of Shannara</span></a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elfstones_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Elfstones of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Elfstones of Shannara</span></a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wishsong_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Wishsong of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Wishsong of Shannara</span></a></i>) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Brooks" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Terry Brooks"><span style="color: orange;">Terry Brooks</span></a>. Though not originally written as a trilogy, the novels were published as <i>The Sword of Shannara Trilogy</i> by Del Rey; however, Terry Brooks' official website lists the books as <i>The Original Shannara Trilogy</i>. The series blends magic and primitive technology and the books are set in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Lands" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Four Lands"><span style="color: orange;">Four Lands</span></a> which in some books is identified as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Earth"><span style="color: orange;">Earth</span></a> long after civilization as we know it was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wars" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Great Wars"><span style="color: orange;">Great Wars</span></a>. By the time of the prequel <i>First King of Shannara</i>, the world has now reverted to a medieval state and magic has re-emerged to supplement science as humans and other races live in a place known as the Four Lands, which is a future North America. Further into the novels science starts to become more advanced.</span></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Sword_of_shannara_hardcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Sword_of_shannara_hardcover.jpg" width="214" /></a><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Sword_of_Shannara"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Sword of Shannara</span></u></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><u><br /></u></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The first novel of </span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Original Shannara Trilogy</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> chronicles the adventures of the brothers </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Shea Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Shea</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flick_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Flick Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Flick Ohmsford</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in their quest to retrieve the Sword of Shannara to defeat the Warlock Lord and once-Druid Brona who threatens the Four Lands. The novel interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Lands" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="The Four Lands"><span style="color: orange;">Four Lands</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. One follows the protagonist </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Shea Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Shea Ohmsford</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> on his quest to obtain the </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara_artifacts#The_Sword_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Shannara artifacts"><span style="color: orange;">Sword of Shannara</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and with it confront the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlock_Lord" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Warlock Lord"><span style="color: orange;">Warlock Lord</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, the antagonist, while the other shadows Prince </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinor_Buckhannah" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Balinor Buckhannah"><span style="color: orange;">Balinor Buckhannah</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'s attempt to oust his insane brother </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palance_Buckhannah" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Palance Buckhannah"><span style="color: orange;">Palance</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> from the throne of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callahorn" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Callahorn"><span style="color: orange;">Callahorn</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> while the country and its capital, </span><a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_locations_in_Shannara&action=edit&redlink=1" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="List of locations in Shannara (page does not exist)"><span style="color: orange;">Tyrsis</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, come under attack from overwhelming armies of the Warlock Lord. Throughout the novel, underlying themes of mundane heroism and nuclear holocaust appear.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /><br />The novel has received derision from critics who believe that Brooks derived too much of the novel from </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The Lord of the Rings</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">. Some have accused him of lifting the entire plot and many of his characters directly from </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">; others have regarded the book more favorably, and say that new writers, including Brooks, often start by copying the style of established writers.</span></h3>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Elfstones_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Elfstones of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The second novel of </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Original Shannara Trilogy</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> follows Shea's grandson, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wil_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Wil Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Wil Ohmsford</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> as he aids the endangered </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elves_(Shannara)" style="background-image: none; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" title="Elves (Shannara)"><span style="color: orange;">Elven</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> nation, helping it survive a horde of demons coming through from their sealed off dimension, the Forbidding. The rift is eventually closed when the magic tree that guards it, the Erlcrys, is renewed.</span></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Wishsong_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Wishsong of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The final novel of <i>The Original Shannara Trilogy</i> details the quest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jair_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Jair Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Jair</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brin_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Brin Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Brin Ohmsford</span></a>, the children of Wil, to save the Four Lands from the evil magic within a tome called the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ildatch" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Ildatch"><span style="color: orange;">Ildatch</span></a>.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b><br />
<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The Heritage of Shannara</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next four books, known as <i>The Heritage of Shannara</i>, are set 300 years after <i>The Original Shannara Trilogy</i>. This series consists of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scions_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Scions of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Scions of Shannara</span></a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Druid_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Druid of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Druid of Shannara</span></a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_Queen_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Elf Queen of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Elf Queen of Shannara</span></a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talismans_of_Shannara" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="The Talismans of Shannara"><span style="color: orange;">The Talismans of Shannara</span></a></i>. They follow four of Shea Ohmsford's descendants: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Boh" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Walker Boh"><span style="color: orange;">Walker Boh</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Par Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Par Ohmsford</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coll_Ohmsford" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Coll Ohmsford"><span style="color: orange;">Coll Ohmsford</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wren_Elessedil" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Wren Elessedil"><span style="color: orange;">Wren Elessedil</span></a>. Unlike the original trilogy, however, this series is all one, cohesive story, in contrast to the three isolated stories of the originals. It is set in a future Four Lands in which the Federation of the Southland has driven off the Elves, enslaved the Dwarves, and outlawed magic. Only the rebel Free-born, led by Padishar Creel, dare to resist. The series begins with <i>The Scions of Shannara</i>, when the Ohmsford descendants are summoned by the shade of the Druid Allanon to combat the Shadowen that have been poisoning the land.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.alitheia.org/shannarafiles/images/Cover_Scions.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.alitheia.org/shannarafiles/images/Cover_Scions.gif" width="188" /></a></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Scions_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Scions of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first novel in <i>The Heritage of Shannara</i> reveals the gathering of the chosen Ohmsfords to meet with the shade of Allanon, then focuses on Par and Coll Ohmsford as they attempt to retrieve the Sword of Shannara.</span></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Druid_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Druid of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The second novel follows Walker Boh, as he reluctantly searches for the Black Elfstone, which has the power to restore the Druids and their keep, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranor" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Paranor"><span style="color: orange;">Paranor</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Elf_Queen_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Elf Queen of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The third novel chronicles Wren Ohmsford's travels beyond the shores of the Westland in search of the lost Elven race.</span></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="The_Talismans_of_Shannara"><i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Talismans of Shannara</u></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The last novel details the final conflict between the Ohmsfords and the Shadowen monsters that have overtaken the Four Lands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">14. <b><u><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Fablehaven</span></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">, Brandon Mull (2006-2010)</span></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Fablehaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Fablehaven.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fablehaven is a secret nature preserve protecting beings of myth and legend from the outside world. The current caretaker, Stan Sorenson, describes it as "a refuge for mystical creatures". Those who live in this large sanctuary, mortal and magical, must abide by a treaty of rules. The most common rules are focused upon "the law of the harvest" or "the law of retribution" meaning, you reap what you sow. It is described in the book as, "mischief for mischief, trouble for trouble, magic for magic." If this law in the treaty is broken, you lose the magical protection it provides, allowing for retaliation, which is essentially what drives the plot through the first book. There also exist magical borders that keep most mystical creatures within the preserve, but out of certain domains. The caretaker's house and grounds are within one of these protective boundaries. However, some of these borders dissolve on certain nights, allowing frightening creatures to roam free on the grounds, one of which - <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_Eve" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Midsummer Eve"><span style="color: orange;">Midsummer Eve</span></a> - occurs in the first book.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jrw8dau4mnE/TDPUJ3YRqsI/AAAAAAAAAD0/l6G6Xj2CKd4/s1600/fablehaven+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jrw8dau4mnE/TDPUJ3YRqsI/AAAAAAAAAD0/l6G6Xj2CKd4/s320/fablehaven+3.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The series begins as 13-year-old Kendra and 11-year-old Seth Sorenson are traveling to their Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson's house while their parents are away on a 17-day Scandinavian cruise. When they get there, they also meet Dale, the groundskeeper, and Lena, the housekeeper. Grandma Sorenson is "mysteriously" missing. Grandpa Sorenson does not tell Kendra and Seth about Fablehaven being a secret preserve for magical creatures at first, but instead sets up a rather complex puzzle involving six keys and a locked journal for Kendra to solve. Once Kendra unlocks the mostly blank journal, she discovers the words "drink the milk". She and Seth drink the magical milk which opens their eyes to see a whole new, mystical world full of the magical beings of Fablehaven. Now Kendra and Seth must face challenges such as defeating an evil witch and a powerful demon, defending the preserve from an evil society, stopping a plague that changes creatures of light into creatures of darkness, and ultimately, protecting the world from a hoard of imprisoned demons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u><br />Series Includes:</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. <i style=""><span style="color: orange;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablehaven_(book)" style="background-image: none;" title="Fablehaven (book)"><span style="color: orange;">Fablehaven</span></a> </span></i><span style="">(2006)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="">2. </span><i style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablehaven:_Rise_of_the_Evening_Star" style="background-image: none;" title="Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star"><span style="color: orange;">Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star</span></a> </i><span style="">(2007)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="">3. </span><i style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablehaven:_Grip_of_the_Shadow_Plague" style="background-image: none;" title="Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague"><span style="color: orange;">Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague</span></a> </i><span style="">(2008)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="">4. </span><i style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablehaven:_Secrets_of_the_Dragon_Sanctuary" style="background-image: none;" title="Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary"><span style="color: orange;">Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary</span></a> </i><span style="">(2009)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="">5. </span><i style=""><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablehaven:_Keys_to_the_Demon_Prison" style="background-image: none;" title="Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison"><span style="color: orange;">Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison</span></a> </span></i><span style="">(2010)</span></span></div>
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</br><span style=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since I have gone ahead and put <u style="font-weight: bold;">Fablehaven</u> in, it is only fair to include <b><u>Harry Potter</u></b>, though both are less "High" or "Epic" Fantasy as they are young-adult Fantasy. However, both incorporate a great deal of in-realm mythology, unique creatures and magic, and a rich writing style that makes them worthy to be counted among the other masters of the Fantasy genre.</span></span></div></br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">15. <b><u><span style="color: purple;">Harry Potter</span></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">, J.K. Rowling (1997-2007)</span></div>
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<a href="http://img3.ranker.com/list_img/1/351632/full/parallel-universe-books-list.jpg?version=1318928442000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img3.ranker.com/list_img/1/351632/full/parallel-universe-books-list.jpg?version=1318928442000" width="209" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just in case you live in a cave completely cut off from the outside world, <i><b>Harry Potter</b></i> is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="J. K. Rowling"><span style="color: orange;">J. K. Rowling</span></a>. The books chronicle the adventures of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magician_(fantasy)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Magician (fantasy)"><span style="color: orange;">wizard</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_(character)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Harry Potter (character)"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter</span></a> and his friends <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Weasley" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Ron Weasley"><span style="color: orange;">Ronald Weasley</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_Granger" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Hermione Granger"><span style="color: orange;">Hermione Granger</span></a>, all of whom are students at <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogwarts_School_of_Witchcraft_and_Wizardry" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"><span style="color: orange;">Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry</span></a>. The main story arc concerns Harry's quest to overcome the Dark wizard <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Voldemort" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Lord Voldemort"><span style="color: orange;">Lord Voldemort</span></a>, whose aims are to become immortal, conquer the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_universe" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Harry Potter universe"><span style="color: orange;">wizarding world</span></a>, subjugate non-magical people, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />A series of many </span>genres<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, including </span>fantasy<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span>coming of age<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (with elements of </span>mystery<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span>thriller<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span>adventure<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and </span>romance<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">), it has many cultural meanings and references.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> According to Rowling, the main </span>theme<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is death,</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> although it is primarily considered to be a work of children's literature. There are also many other themes in the series, such as prejudice and corruption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers at the age of eleven that he is a wizard, living within the ordinary world of non-magical, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Muggle"><span style="color: orange;">Muggle</span></a>, people.</span></span><span style="line-height: 10px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">His ability is inborn and such children are invited to attend a school that teaches the necessary skills to succeed in the </span>wizarding world<span style="line-height: 20px;">.</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> Harry becomes a student at </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogwarts" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Hogwarts"><span style="color: orange;">Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> and it is in here where most of the novels' events take place. As Harry develops through his adolescence, he learns to overcome the problems that face him: magical, social and emotional, including ordinary teenage challenges such as friendships and exams, and the greater test of preparing himself for the confrontation that lies ahead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life with the main narrative being set in the years 1991–98.</span><span style="line-height: 10px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">The books also contain many </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(narrative)" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Flashback (narrative)"><span style="color: orange;">flashbacks</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">, which are frequently experienced by Harry viewing the memories of other characters in a device called a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Pensieve" style="background-image: none; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title="Magical objects in Harry Potter"><span style="color: orange;">Pensieve</span></a><span style="line-height: 20px;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The environment J. K. Rowling created is completely separate from reality yet intimately connected to it. While the fantasy land of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnia_(world)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Narnia (world)"><span style="color: orange;">Narnia</span></a> is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_universe_(fiction)" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Parallel universe (fiction)"><span style="color: orange;">alternative universe</span></a> and the <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Lord of the Rings"><span style="color: orange;">Lord of the Rings</span></a>'</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Middle-earth"><span style="color: orange;">Middle-earth</span></a> a mythic past, the wizarding world of <i>Harry Potter</i> exists in parallel within the real world and this is how Potter's world contains magical elements similar to things in everyday life. Many of its institutions and locations are recognisable, such as London.</span><span style="line-height: 10px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">It comprises a fragmented collection of overlooked hidden streets, ancient pubs, lonely country manors and secluded castles that remain invisible to the Muggle population.</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><u>Series Includes:</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. <i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</span></a> </span></i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(1997)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">2. </span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Secrets" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(1998)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">3. </span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaban" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(1999)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">4. </span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(2000)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">5. </span</span>><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(2003)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">6. </span></span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(2005)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">7. </span><i style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows" style="background-image: none;" title="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"><span style="color: orange;">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</span></span></a> </i><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: center;">(2007)</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-20783051910679940832012-05-07T20:09:00.002-07:002012-05-07T20:16:26.590-07:00Consolidation<span style="color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What could be more important than an awareness of the sources of our families’ daily info and entertainment diets? Today, almost 90% of our media is controlled by one of six companies.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://frugaldad.com/2011/11/22/media-consolidation-infographic/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Media Consolidation Infographic" border="0" src="http://frugaldad.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IllusionofChoice.jpg" title="" /></a>
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Source: <a href="http://frugaldad.com/">Frugal dad</a><br />
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Peace and love,<br />
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WildCoyoteAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-35448570918318030212012-02-15T23:49:00.000-08:002012-02-15T23:49:55.628-08:00Knowing<br />
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The internet shows the messy truth about knowledge</h1>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://www.newscientist.com/img/icon/icon_arrow.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">15 February 2012 by <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/search?rbauthors=David+Weinberger" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #34a3d1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><b style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">David Weinberger</b></a></li>
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<i style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Books and formal papers make knowledge look finite, knowable. By embracing the unfinished, unfinishable forms of the web we are truer to the spirit of enquiry – and to the world we live in</i></div>
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IN RECENT years, controversies over issues ranging from the possibility of faster-than-light neutrinos to the wisdom of routine screening for prostate cancer have increasingly raged outside the boundaries of peer-reviewed journals, and involved experts, know-nothings and everyone in between. The resulting messiness is not the opposite of knowledge. In the internet age it is what knowledge looks like, and it is something to regret for a moment, but then embrace and celebrate. Knowledge is fast reshaping itself around its new, networked medium - thereby becoming closer to what it truly was all along.</div>
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Our old idea of knowledge shaped itself around the strengths and limitations of its old medium, paper. We all understand those strengths: paper is cheap, displays text and graphics, lasts a lot longer than hard drives, and no technology is needed to make it work. But there's a price: paper doesn't scale or link, which has made knowledge and science both what they are and less than they could be.</div>
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Paper fails to scale in two directions. First, there are limits on what can be published: if it is not considered important enough, even good science is rejected. That is a reasonable response to the cost of journal printing and shelf space but it is far from the ideal of science, where all data and all hypotheses are welcome. With such limitations, regimes emerge to dole out the scarce resource. Second, printed articles rarely contain all the data on which their conclusions are based, and literature reviews are kept to a reasonable length - reasonable being dictated by the economics of atoms.</div>
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The other limitation has an arguably greater effect: printed matter does not link. Each book is its own thing. The references to other books don't work, no matter how hard you click them. That means the author has to cram everything the reader needs into one volume, summarising references to other books in a single paragraph, and pulling sentences out of their rich context.</div>
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Printed books are also disconnected from the discussions that appropriate them into the culture - and that correct them. Authors must anticipate objections because once published, books cannot be altered. In the Age of Paper, knowledge looks like that which is settled, or settled enough to be committed to paper.</div>
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These limitations led to the typical rhythm of scientific discourse. Do your research. When you're as sure of it as you're going to be, make it public. Only then is it officially yours. If someone publishes before you, you lose. And once it is public, it becomes hard - and often embarrassing - to change even a word.</div>
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Science's new medium overcomes both limitations. We have scarcely plumbed its capacity, and it is so hyperlinked that if digital content is not linked, it is essentially unpublished. This fundamentally changes the understanding of the nature of knowledge and science prevailing in the west for the past 2500 years: to know X was to know its essence, its place in the rational order. That order consisted of a set of coordinated definitions based on essential differences and similarities. That's one reason Charles Darwin spent seven years discovering whether barnacles were molluscs, as Linnaeus said, or crustaceans. The result was a two-volume work to establish a single fact: they are crustaceans.</div>
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These days we don't care nearly as much, in part because we recognise that how we classify things depends on our interests. Studying the evolution of marine creatures? Classify them based on their genetic history. Studying how to keep hulls smooth? Then lump barnacles with rust. The internet has decisively moved us from belief in a knowledge of universal essences because it has made plain two facts: we don't agree, and we can't let that stop us.</div>
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For example, at the online Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), you can look up an organism by any name you want, and obtain information about it within any of the taxonomies it supports. So two scientists who disagree can collaborate because they know they are both talking about the creature on the same page of the EOL. This is an example of "namespaces"; domains that bestow a set of unique identifiers on their objects. These names can be mapped so we can work together without having to agree. The result is a sloppy mess with names and categorisations overlapping unevenly. But the different schemes add information and meaning: so long as we can map them, we are better off not waiting for resolution.</div>
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We see the same approach with another promising development: the rise of "big data". Organisations are releasing gigantic clouds of data for public access. Since these are too voluminous for cranial processing, the data is increasingly released in the linked data format recommended by Tim Berners-Lee. In this format, data consists of "triples": subject, object and a relationship connecting them.</div>
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This might look like a further atomisation of facts and information, but it is the opposite since each element of a triple should ideally consist of a link pointing to some spot on the web. For example, in the triple "barnacles have shells", the word "barnacle" might link to an EOL entry, "have" to a site that explains how creatures can have components, while "shell" might point to the relevant Wikipedia entry. This technique helps computers see that the triple "Cirripedia are crustaceans" refers to the same thing as triples calling them "barnacles". Linked data are facts literally consisting of links. The resulting tangle of pointers is quite unlike our old view of facts as well-defined building blocks.</div>
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And these clouds of data are being released without being thoroughly vetted. For example, the US government website, <a href="http://data.gov/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #34a3d1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="nsarticle">Data.gov</a>, says that the data it has gathered from federal agencies is raw. We might prefer tidy, vetted data, but that doesn't scale; we do better to have lots of data, even if it's not perfectly structured or completely reliable. Messiness is the price of scaling.</div>
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Further, rather than working in private and publishing to a select group, we are finding tremendous value in posting early on non-peer-reviewed sites, and letting everyone chime in. We saw this when the scientists who discovered what might be faster-than-light neutrinos posted their work at <a href="http://arxiv.org/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #34a3d1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="nsarticle">arxiv.org</a>, the pre-print site. The discussion sprawled across the internet, with amateurs and professionals weighing in, with kind-hearted experts explaining it to lay people, with insightful and pointless ideas stirred together - and all without prior peer review and outside the standard journals.</div>
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The result was that if you wanted to see where the knowledge about neutrinos "lived", you wouldn't go to the library or online versions of the standard journals. The knowledge lived in the loose web of discussion and debate. All this happened faster, wider and deeper than if science had stayed in its paper comfort zone. Even after the question is settled, the knowledge will live not in the final article but in that web of discussion, debate, elucidation and disagreement. It's messy, but messiness is how you scale knowledge.</div>
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Knowledge has inherited many other of the web's properties. It is now linked across all boundaries, it is unsettled, it never comes fully to rest or agreement, and we can see that it is bigger than any of us could ever traverse. But doesn't that make internet-based knowledge and science more like the very human world into which we have been thrown?</div>
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<i style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">David Weinberger</b> is a senior researcher at Harvard University's Berkman Center for the Internet and Society. This essay is based on his new book,<i style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Too Big to Know</i> (Basic Books)</i></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-48339099618721454842012-01-18T15:48:00.000-08:002012-01-18T15:50:16.076-08:00Piracy<div style="text-align: center;">
via <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="http://theoatmeal.com/">theOatmeal</a></span></div>
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Please write your Senators and Reps, America. At LEAST sign a few petitions.</div>
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Free INTERNETZ 4 EVAA!<br />
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Also, don't steal someone else's shit and market it as your own. That's called Piracy (also Plagiarism), and that's why we're in this mess in the first place.<br />
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-36946858611114348942012-01-10T16:59:00.001-08:002012-01-10T16:59:12.955-08:00Censorship<div><p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/story/2012-01-10/supreme-court-broadcast-indecency/52482854/1">Top court grapples with cursing,</a><br>
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/story/2012-01-10/supreme-court-broadcast-indecency/52482854/1"> nudity on air – USATODAY.com</a><br>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-73071853871135727712011-12-26T10:00:00.000-08:002011-12-26T02:27:49.137-08:00Enlightened<div style="text-align: center;">
via <span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;"><a href="http://cybergata.blogspot.com/2010/11/buddha-kittehs.html">Budda Kittehs</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxa_fMRvcYA/TvhLzUTG6kI/AAAAAAAAEvs/3E84BVUvkwE/s1600/Budda+Kitteh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxa_fMRvcYA/TvhLzUTG6kI/AAAAAAAAEvs/3E84BVUvkwE/s640/Budda+Kitteh.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-16378744195408087072011-12-24T19:59:00.001-08:002011-12-24T20:00:17.729-08:00How Beer Saved the World!Did you know that beer was critical to the birth of civilization?<br />
<br />
That’s right – beer.<br />
<br />
Scientists and historians line up to tell the amazing, untold story of how beer helped create math, poetry, pyramids, modern medicine, labor laws, and America.<br />
<br />
If you think beer is just something cold and filling to drink during sporting matches or in the kind of bars that you probably shouldn’t order wine in, then, boy, are you ever in the dark.
It turns out beer is responsible for, like, all the greatest things on earth.<br />
<br />
Learn more about what beer did for you!<br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UC8SdkufNBo" width="640"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-22355437265108124442011-11-26T10:00:00.000-08:002011-11-26T10:00:00.897-08:00Parachute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.deviantart.com/download/208501151/the_mind_is_like_a_parachute_by_karesthetic-d3g4win.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://www.deviantart.com/download/208501151/the_mind_is_like_a_parachute_by_karesthetic-d3g4win.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-1592890133609001692011-11-24T00:56:00.001-08:002011-11-24T01:21:31.557-08:00Theocracy<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong style="background-color: none; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Christian Theocracy: How Newt Gingrich and the GOP Would Abolish Courts and Legislate Morality</a></span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">via </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_.html">Slate</a></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">by <a href="http://twitter.com/Saletan">William Saletan</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_/124002711.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_/124002711.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Is the United States sliding toward theocracy? That’s what <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2010/08/muslims_keep_out.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Republican presidential candidates</a> have <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2011/07/christian_terrorism.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">told us</a> for <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2010/09/creep_the_faith.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">more than a year</a>. Radical Islam, they’ve <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2011/06/colored_judgment.single.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">argued</a>, is on the verge of <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2010/08/mosque_uprising.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">taking over our country</a> through <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2010/08/sheikh_your_newtie.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Sharia law</a>. But this weekend, at an Iowa forum sparsely covered by the press, the candidates made clear that they don’t mind theocracy—in fact, they’d like to impose it—as long as it’s Christian.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can find video of Saturday’s “</span><a href="http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.7874067/k.746D/Thanksgiving_Family_Forum.htm" style="color: #006699; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Thanksgiving Family Forum</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">” on the Web sites of two organizations that sponsored it: </span><a href="http://www.citizenlink.com/2011/11/19/thanksgiving-family-forum-complete-video/" style="color: #006699; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CitizenLink</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.thefamilyleader.com/thanksgiving-family-forum" style="color: #006699; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Family Leader</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Here are highlights of the candidates’ remarks.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /><br /><b><br />1. Religious Americans must fight back against nonbelievers. </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To quote Herman Cain: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What we are seeing is a wider gap between people of faith and people of nonfaith. … Those of us that are people of faith and strong faith have allowed the nonfaith element to intimidate us into not fighting back. I believe we’ve been too passive. We have maybe <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pushed </em>back, but as people of faith, we have not <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">fought</em> back.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. The religious values we must fight for are Judeo-Christian.</span> </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rick Perry warned:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Somebody’s values are going to decide what the Congress votes on or what the president of the United States is going to deal with. And the question is: Whose values? And let me tell you, it needs to be <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">our</em> values—values and virtues that this country was based upon in Judeo-Christian founding fathers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Our laws and our national identity are Judeo-Christian.</span> </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michele Bachmann explained:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">American exceptionalism is grounded on the Judeo-Christian ethic, which is really based upon the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments were the foundation for our law. That’s what Blackstone said—the English jurist—and our founders looked to Blackstone for the foundation of our law. That’s our law.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>4. No religion but Christianity will suffice. </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perry declared, “In every person’s heart, in every person’s soul, there is a hole that can only be filled by the Lord Jesus Christ.”</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>5. God created our government.</b></span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bachmann told the audience:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have a biblical worldview. And I think, going back to the Declaration of Independence, the fact that it’s God who created us—if He created us, He created government. And the government is on His shoulders, as the book of Isaiah says.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. U.S. law should follow God’s law.</span> </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As Rick Santorum put it:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unlike Islam, where the higher law and the civil law are the same, in our case, we have civil laws. But our civil laws have to comport with the higher law. … As long as abortion is legal—at least according to the Supreme Court—legal in this country, we will never have rest, because that law does not comport with God’s law.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>7. Anything that’s immoral by religious standards should be outlawed.</b></span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Santorum again:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God gave us rights, but He also gave us laws upon which to exercise those rights, and that’s what you ought to do. And, by the way, the law should comport—the laws of this country should comport with that moral vision. Why? Because the law is a teacher. If something is illegal in this country because it is immoral and it is wrong and it is harmful to society, saying that it is illegal and putting a law in place teaches. It’s not just—laws cannot be neutral. There is no neutral, Ron. There is only moral and immoral. And the law has to reflect what is right and good and just for our society.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>8. The federal government should impose this morality on the states.</b></span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Santorum once more:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The idea that the only things that the states are prevented from doing are only things specifically established in the Constitution is wrong. Our country is based on a moral enterprise. Gay marriage is wrong. As Abraham Lincoln said, the states do not have the right to do wrong. … As a president, I will get involved, because the states do not have the right to undermine the basic, fundamental values that hold this country together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9. Congress should erase the judiciary’s power to review moral laws.</span> </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Newt Gingrich suggested:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am intrigued with something which Robby George at Princeton has come up with, which is an interpretation of the 14<sup style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> Amendment, in which it says that Congress shall define personhood. That’s very clearly in the 14th Amendment. And part of what I would like to explore is whether or not you could get the Congress to pass a law which simply says: Personhood begins at conception. And therefore—and you could, in the same law, block the court and just say, ‘This will not be subject to review,’ which we have precedent for. You would therefore not have to have a constitutional amendment, because the Congress would have exercised its authority under the 14<sup style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> Amendment to define life, and to therefore undo all of <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Roe vs. Wade</em>, for the entire country, in one legislative action.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gingrich said the same strategy could secure the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and protects the right of states to disregard same-sex marriages performed in other states. In his words, “You could repass DOMA and make it not appealable to the court, period.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br /></span><b>10. Courts that get in the way should be abolished.</b></span><b> Gingrich again:</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The simplest first step which I would take is to propose—and I hope this will be a significant part of the campaign next year—I have proposed to abolish the court of Judge Biery in San Antonio, who on June 1 issued an order that said, not only could students not pray at their graduation, they couldn’t use the word benediction, the could not say the word prayer, they could not say the word God, they could not ask people to stand for a moment of silence, they couldn’t use the word invocation, and if he broke any of those, he would put their superintendent in jail. I regard that as such a ruthless anti-American statement that he should not be on the court, and I would move to literally abolish his court, so that he could go back to private practice, as a signal to the courts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Biery’s order <a href="http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/opinions/cases/Schultz_SA09CV422.pdf" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">was an overreach</a>. In fact, it was <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-valedictorian-can-pray-at-graduation-appeals-court-rules-50834/" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">overturned two days later by an appeals court</a>. But he’s only the first target of the anti-judicial purge. The next words after Gingrich’s threat came from Santorum, who said: “I agree with a lot of what has just been said here. I would go farther—one step farther, Newt. I would abolish the entire Ninth Circuit.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /><b>11. The purge of judges should be based on public opinion. </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gingrich once more:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Part of the purpose of singling out Judge Biery and eliminating his job is to communicate the standard that the two elected branches have the power and the authority to educate the judiciary when it deviates too far from the American people. And I think you would probably take that approach.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>12. Freedom means obeying morality.</b></span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Santorum concluded, “Our founders understood liberty is not what you </span><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">want</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to do, but what you </span><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ought</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to do. That’s what liberty really is about.”</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There was one voice of dissent among the candidates. Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman from Texas, argued that people should be allowed to make bad decisions, that freedom of choice in religious matters should extend to atheists, and that powers not reserved to the federal government should be left to the states. But in a field of candidates bent on legislating Christian morality and purging uncooperative judges, Paul stood alone. Protecting America is too important to let the Constitution get in the way.</span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-3281998571790198862011-11-20T10:24:00.001-08:002011-11-24T01:20:14.318-08:00ResignationOpen Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi<br />
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Linda P.B. Katehi,</div>
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I am a junior faculty member at UC Davis. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, and I teach in the Program in Critical Theory and in Science & Technology Studies. I have a strong record of research, teaching, and service. I am currently a Board Member of the Davis Faculty Association. I have also taken an active role in supporting the student movement to defend public education on our campus and throughout the UC system. In a word: I am the sort of young faculty member, like many of my colleagues, this campus needs. I am an asset to the University of California at Davis.</div>
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You are not.</div>
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I write to you and to my colleagues for three reasons:</div>
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1) to express my outrage at the police brutality which occurred against students engaged in peaceful protest on the UC Davis campus today</div>
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2) to hold you accountable for this police brutality</div>
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3) to demand your immediate resignation</div>
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Today you ordered police onto our campus to clear student protesters from the quad. These were protesters who participated in a rally speaking out against tuition increases and police brutality on UC campuses on Tuesday—a rally that I organized, and which was endorsed by the Davis Faculty Association. These students attended that rally in response to a call for solidarity from <span class="s1"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQw7wSGrfYk&feature=related">students and faculty who were bludgeoned with batons,</a> </span>hospitalized, and arrested at UC Berkeley last week. In the highest tradition of non-violent civil disobedience, those protesters had linked arms and held their ground in defense of tents they set up beside Sproul Hall. In a gesture of solidarity with those students and faculty, and in solidarity with the national Occupy movement, students at UC Davis set up tents on the main quad. When you ordered police outfitted with riot helmets, brandishing batons and teargas guns to remove their tents today, those students sat down on the ground in a circle and linked arms to protect them.</div>
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<span class="s2"><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/media-post/ucd-police-remove-occupy-uc-davis-tents/attachment/occupyucd3/">What happened next?</a></span></div>
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Without any provocation whatsoever, other than the bodies of these students sitting where they were on the ground, with their arms linked, <span class="s1"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmJmmnMkuEM">police pepper-sprayed students.</a> </span>Students remained on the ground, now writhing in pain, with their arms linked.</div>
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What happened next?</div>
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Police used batons to try to push the students apart. Those they could separate, they arrested, kneeling on their bodies and pushing their heads into the ground. Those they could not separate, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxaLKsFdcjk&feature=share"><span class="s1">they pepper-sprayed directly in the face,</span></a> holding these students as they did so. When students covered their eyes with their clothing, police forced open their mouths and pepper-sprayed down their throats. Several of these students were hospitalized. Others are seriously injured. One of them, forty-five minutes after being pepper-sprayed down his throat, was still coughing up blood.</div>
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This is what happened. You are responsible for it.</div>
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You are responsible for it because this is what happens when UC Chancellors order police onto our campuses to disperse peaceful protesters through the use of force: students get hurt. Faculty get hurt. </div>
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One of the most inspiring things (inspiring for those of us who care about students who assert their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly) about the demonstration in Berkeley on November 9 is that UC Berkeley faculty stood together with students, their arms linked together. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNHXuf6qJas&feature=related"><span class="s1">Associate Professor of English Celeste Langan was grabbed by her hair, thrown on the ground, and arrested.</span></a> Associate Professor Geoffrey O’Brien was injured by baton blows. Professor Robert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, was also struck with a baton. </div>
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These faculty stood together with students in solidarity, and they too were beaten and arrested by the police. In writing this letter, I stand together with those faculty and with the students they supported.</div>
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One week after this happened at UC Berkeley, you ordered police to clear tents from the quad at UC Davis. When students responded in the same way—linking arms and holding their ground—police also responded in the same way: with violent force. The fact is: the administration of UC campuses systematically uses police brutality to terrorize students and faculty, to crush political dissent on our campuses, and to suppress free speech and peaceful assembly. Many people know this. Many more people are learning it very quickly.</div>
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You are responsible for the police violence directed against students on the UC Davis quad on November 18, 2011. As I said, I am writing to hold you responsible and to demand your immediate resignation on these grounds.</div>
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On Wednesday November 16, you issued a letter by email to the campus community. In this letter, you discussed a hate crime which occurred at UC Davis on Sunday November 13. In this letter, you express concern about the safety of our students. You write, “it is particularly disturbing that such an act of intolerance should occur at a time when the campus community is working to create a safe and inviting space for all our students.” You write, “while these are turbulent economic times, as a campus community, we must all be committed to a safe, welcoming environment that advances our efforts to diversity and excellence at UC Davis.”</div>
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I will leave it to my colleagues and every reader of this letter to decide what poses a greater threat to “a safe and inviting space for all our students” or “a safe, welcoming environment” at UC Davis: 1) Setting up tents on the quad in solidarity with faculty and students brutalized by police at UC Berkeley? or 2) Sending in riot police to disperse students with batons, pepper-spray, and tear-gas guns, while those students sit peacefully on the ground with their arms linked? Is this what you have in mind when you refer to creating “a safe and inviting space?” Is this what you have in mind when you express commitment to “a safe, welcoming environment?”</div>
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I am writing to tell you in no uncertain terms that there must be space for protest on our campus. There must be space for political dissent on our campus. There must be space for civil disobedience on our campus. There must be space for students to assert their right to decide on the form of their protest, their dissent, and their civil disobedience—including the simple act of setting up tents in solidarity with other students who have done so. There must be space for protest and dissent, especially, when the object of protest and dissent is police brutality itself. <i>You may not</i> order police to forcefully disperse student protesters peacefully protesting police brutality. You may not do so. It is not an option available to you as the Chancellor of a UC campus. That is why I am calling for your immediate resignation.</div>
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Your <i>words</i> express concern for the safety of our students. Your <i>actions</i> express no concern whatsoever for the safety of our students. I deduce from this discrepancy that you are not, in fact, concerned about the safety of our students. Your actions directly threaten the safety of our students. </div>
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And I want you to know that this is clear. It is clear to anyone who reads your campus emails concerning our “Principles of Community” and who also takes the time to inform themselves about your actions. You should bear in mind that when you send emails to the UC Davis community, you address a body of faculty and students who are well trained to see through rhetoric that evinces care for students while implicitly threatening them. I see through your rhetoric very clearly. You also write to a campus community that knows how to speak truth to power. That is what I am doing.</div>
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I call for your resignation because you are unfit to do your job. You are unfit to ensure the safety of students at UC Davis. In fact: you are the primary threat to the safety of students at UC Davis. As such, </div>
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I call upon you to resign immediately.</div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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Nathan Brown<br />
Assistant Professor<br />
Department of English<br />
Program in Critical Theory<br />
University of California at Davis</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-46556787696577471372011-10-22T17:28:00.000-07:002011-10-22T17:28:18.885-07:00Injustice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/303742_2561735203937_1270770017_3102754_1837010685_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/303742_2561735203937_1270770017_3102754_1837010685_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-28980594186878489462011-10-19T20:56:00.000-07:002011-10-19T20:57:15.361-07:00Helmsman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Mexico_765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Mexico_765.jpg" width="395" /></a></div>
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Francisco Eppens, <i>Timonel (Helmsman)</i>, Mexico, 1940</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-59085959767101849762011-10-17T21:38:00.000-07:002011-10-17T21:38:58.521-07:00Logos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rXPyKLWKQrs/Tp0CZE8Y-DI/AAAAAAAAEjI/dH09f6RzhYk/s1600/ScivsFaith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rXPyKLWKQrs/Tp0CZE8Y-DI/AAAAAAAAEjI/dH09f6RzhYk/s400/ScivsFaith.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-21305553662514480652011-08-27T20:37:00.000-07:002011-08-27T20:37:43.787-07:00Irene<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/338293/HURRICANE-IRENE-PATH-2011-NOAA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/338293/HURRICANE-IRENE-PATH-2011-NOAA.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-68914254176401827302011-08-16T21:33:00.000-07:002011-08-16T21:33:38.611-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">Hark, A Vagrant!</span></a>:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/history/orwellfinal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.harkavagrant.com/history/orwellfinal.png" /></a></span></span></div><br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=theant06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0156186004&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=theant06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003ZX868W&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=theant06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0156033070&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=theant06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1849025940&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-33503935304189213582011-04-07T18:27:00.000-07:002011-04-07T18:27:14.339-07:00Lyrics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Model Rail</u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">via</span> <a href="http://xkcd.com/878/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">XKCD</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/model_rail.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/model_rail.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uvvf43tOIno/TZ5jjXkBkUI/AAAAAAAAEgg/ldSlFNzwfSQ/s1600/155316_10150355505870525_678925524_16285643_4600570_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uvvf43tOIno/TZ5jjXkBkUI/AAAAAAAAEgg/ldSlFNzwfSQ/s640/155316_10150355505870525_678925524_16285643_4600570_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wilcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-35271198844370838622011-03-21T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-21T10:00:04.493-07:00Dowry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.explosm.net/db/files/Comics/Kris/marriage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="http://www.explosm.net/db/files/Comics/Kris/marriage.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">______________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6JX13LwnZss" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">via </span><a href="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/">Toothpast for Dinner</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/031911/is-this-about-my-work.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/031911/is-this-about-my-work.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">wildcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-25362004548537639892011-03-20T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-20T10:00:01.958-07:00I am very salty.<div class="p1">I am very salty. You know, salt-of-the-Earth kind of person. And I can't help but to keep thinking of the Way the Universe works. You know, the Tao and all that. It also helps, of course, to have a good deal of common sense. I imagine how there may be other life on other planets as we steadily gain the opportunity to perceive it. I imagine what they will be like compared to humanity. And I find myself hoping that they really aren't like us at all.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">Humanity. Human beings. <i>Homo sapiens</i>. We sure don't know a hell of a whole lot for being so damn sapient. I mean, about existence, about balance, about the cycles of things, and how to live a life in harmony and stasis in the environment around you. All you have to do is observe the modern media, politics, or visit to your local Mega Mart to realize that a great deal of humanity is completely ignorant.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">Blatantly ignorant, what's more. Oh, that's not to say they're apathetic, however. They <i>care </i>about these things, but not enough to make a real change; not enough to change how they behave, live, <i>think</i>. Change is inconvenient. It interferes with their busy little personalities and business schedules. It interferes with their marriages and their television programs. But they care in a "oh, that's terrible but there's really nothing I can do about it," kind-of-way. Well keep using up all your planet's resources to live your expensive, important little lives. One day it will all just be burned up, consumed by the Sun: nothing more than vapor and plasma. </div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">But long before that happens, our gorgeous, special planet Earth will be a used-up, wasted little husk of post-humanity trash and carnage. And this--because of blatantly ignorant people like these and their addiction to the talking heads on television--will be our grand, human legacy to the Universe. There are nearly 7 BILLION people on the planet. I believe there was a phrase intended to convey the particular sentiment of this very statistic: It is called, "What The Fuck?"</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">How can anyone honestly believe that we can just zip around to the Mall and the Grocery Store when this is our present reality? Just use something and throw it away. Well, let me tell you how long it takes landfills to decompose. Some of it virtually <i>never</i> does. Let me also tell you how quickly they fill up. These giant lakes and oceans of trash can be seen from SPACE. And they grow like festering wounds, giant boils of human filth and refuse upon the face of our Mother Earth.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">But I care. I really, REALLY genuinely care about these things. Because, in understand the Way, you must come to understand the How, the What, the When, and the Why. Well, in coming to understand these things, I have come to some pretty pathetic, embarrassing conclusions. And I find myself unable to do anything about all of this nonsense because of the strains and bonds that modern society has placed upon me. Needing cars and cellular phones and all other manner of our pretentious technology, that is "making a better world." All of these virtually pointless, precocious little things that one simply can't live without. Well guess what? Our world was just fine until humans somehow developed the clever idea that you could Boss People Around. Then, we decided that in order to Boss People Around, you had to really make them afraid of you for some reason. The Power of Deities. Satan and his fiery inferno called Hell. Death and disease and starvation. Infidels, heretics, and blasphemers. Losing all your hard-earned money. Secret agents. Nuclear warheads. Total economic collapse. Natural disasters and catastrophes. We also decided to sell them things, investing all our collective faith in the grand idea of monetary, arbitrary value. You need these things, you do! You simply couldn't bear to live without them. You surely couldn't survive without them, could you?</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">So when I am out working in my garden, riding my bicycle, swimming in the river, studying and wondering over Nature in her incredible majesty and infinite mystery, and busily trying to understand the Way Everything Works, I think about these people and it makes my Soul, my secret self, burn with anger. And (thanks to Yoda) we know what anger leads to: hate. And Hate leads to suffering.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">But it's all so unfair! Why should I suffer this burden, when no one cares enough to do anything about it? HOW CAN THEY JUST SIT THERE AND NOT GIVE A DAMN?!</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">We are on a bullet train toward the brink of self-annihilation and people are too busy drinking double-tall, white mocha creme latte with little brown sprinkles and reading magazines to observe or care.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">Self-important, bellicose, materialistic little bastards! I think that's what life on another planet would think of us when they got to know us even just a little bit.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">And this is the grand legacy of our species. TA-DAAaaaAA!</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">I told you I was feeling rather salty.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-36909713754550803512011-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-25T18:43:13.236-07:00Monster<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><u>In recent News...</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">via <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Los Angeles Times</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Christopher Knight</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/03/palin-trashes-national-endowment-for-the-arts.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2bF9p7ucPvA/TYR5X5SKEKI/AAAAAAAAEgI/qJPnMlyZ6ag/s1600/culture+monster.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">______________________</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Let's take a look at the <b>real</b> Federal budget, shall we?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Are we safe yet?</u></b></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">______________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/un-orders-air-strikes-against-gaddafi-2245407.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v7qpmTiUGO8/TYR6Ysxmr2I/AAAAAAAAEgM/Lb4nbGQQmzI/s1600/StrikeQadaffi.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gaddafi, you have already lost, you just don't know it yet.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-7160335283941150882011-03-18T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-18T10:00:04.478-07:00Varieties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The Very Many Varieties of BEER!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/poster_beer_1300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/poster_beer_1300.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the image above to get the high-res version!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-81158850438869138982011-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-17T23:04:54.778-07:00Manatee<style type="text/css">
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<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today's Tip: GO check out Miss <a href="http://themurkymanatee.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Manatee</span></a>!</span></div><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://anthonyuu.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/taoism-and-the-sweetness-of-life/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://anthonyuu.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/vinegar-tasters.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Vinegar Tasters (</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">嘗醋翁)</span> [<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_tasters">Lao Tzu, Buddha, and Confucius as the Three Sours</a></span>]<br />
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(excerpt from, <i>The Butterfly)</i></div><blockquote>Nothing that gets posted matters anymore. There is so much information, none of it matters. Everyone knows that terrible things are happening in the world, so why read about it? "Because it's history!" Well guess what, someday I'll be dead and I won't remember human history and I don't care. I don't care to inundate my consciousness with tragedy and mania in the name of being "plugged in." And someday humans are gonna be extinct, and later the Earth is gonna get swallowed up by the Sun, and everything we've ever thought up or built or cried over or wasted our money on will all just be vapor and plasma. </blockquote><blockquote>I'm info-tigued. TIRED OF INFORMATION! And so are you. What the fuck are you doing here anyway? Nobody reads this blog, don't you know that? </blockquote><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://themurkymanatee.blogspot.com/2011/02/butterfly.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">[read on...]</span></a></div><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">______________________</span></div><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">and if you should wish to learn all there is to learn about the<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://mermaidsandmermen.blogspot.com/">Manatees</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">: the mermaid's ambassadors</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.itsnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/manatee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://www.itsnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/manatee.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>you may click on the picture or link above :)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">also worthy of mention due to potential hilarity are</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.regretsy.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pgtYaRhNnrw/TX3svKDqPaI/AAAAAAAAEf0/mK7dUWQH4SE/s1600/regretsy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iHKdXM5R2hs/TX3vcWkq77I/AAAAAAAAEf4/yIQVtKN82-o/s1600/winning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iHKdXM5R2hs/TX3vcWkq77I/AAAAAAAAEf4/yIQVtKN82-o/s1600/winning.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">______________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">winning at blogging.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-79739157321633114642011-03-16T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-17T23:01:56.037-07:00If<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>If</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rudyard Kipling</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">(written in 1910 for his 12-year-old son, John)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you can keep your head when all about you</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;">If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,</div><div style="text-align: center;"> But make allowance for their doubting too;</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Or being hated don't give way to hating</div><div style="text-align: center;"> And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;">If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster</div><div style="text-align: center;"> And treat those two imposters just the same;</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,</div><div style="text-align: center;"> And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you can make one heap of all your winnings</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;">And lose, and start again at your beginnings</div><div style="text-align: center;"> And never breathe a word about your loss;</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew</div><div style="text-align: center;"> To serve your turn long after they are gone,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And hold on when there is nothing in you</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you can talk with cowards and keep your virtue,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;">If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,</div><div style="text-align: center;"> If all men count with you, but none too much;</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you can fill the unforgiving minute</div><div style="text-align: center;"> With sixty seconds worth of distance run</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,</div><div style="text-align: center;"> And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!</div></span></span></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_______________</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-48419785789880505342011-03-15T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-15T10:00:01.281-07:00Narnia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170634563l/65636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170634563l/65636.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Probably one of the best works of children's fiction ever written.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I highly recommend you try it! Read it to your kids, even!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Love,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-19878991018828501522011-03-14T15:42:00.000-07:002011-03-14T15:49:50.645-07:00Enzymes<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Enzymes</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">by</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.freelancewhales.com/history/">Freelance Whales</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xGz0dqimlww" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_______________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">also, go check out</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> <a href="http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Active_Child/track/Im_In_Your_Church_at_Night"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Active Child</b></span></a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">@</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">RCRDLBL.com</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_______________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Human Planet</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">via </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00llpvp">BBC</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2HiUMlOz4UQ" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">_______________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wildcoyote</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4853231072805728463.post-70135025516358239892011-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:002011-03-13T10:00:00.262-07:00Rango<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="360" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xh7tmy"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xh7tmy" width="480" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017085110309825625noreply@blogger.com0