Precious illusions

There be rules

Welcome back to the Dragon's lair. A treasure trove of twisted world views and dirty thoughts.

Beware the Dragon, who guards the ladies with tooth and claw from any knights in shiny armor. You can take the remaining pieces of those knights, though. If you can carry them.

The harem rooms are forbidden. Except if you're a delicious female wearing little more than pieces of string, obviously. Do bring your girlfriends.

Drinks can be found in the basement. Serve yourselves. Boys, you should try the green bottle with the big skull on the side. Girls, you should try the red bottle with lots of alcohol en sweetness. Kids, you should be home in bed.

The wardrobe is just down the hall. Again, this part is forbidden for male visitors. Any male visitor that accidently stumbles into rooms he's not supposed to go, will be punched, burned, fined, and thrown out -- not necessarily in that order.

Forbidden for cameras. Except for the ones owned by the Dragon, of course.

If -- when -- you hear screams, either screams of agony or screams of passion, you should:
- run back to the Dragon's bed if you're a woman;
- run away if you're not a woman;
- run into a wall if you're stupid;
- back away from the Dragon's bed if you're a guy.

These are the rules of the Dragon's lair. If you do not follow these rules, your continuing sanity and the non-burning of your eyes cannot be garanteed. And the women will smack you on the head.

So, do come in and have a drink.

Roleplaying

Yes, roleplaying.

Not the one with sex (although I'm pretty sure the limits are somewhat unclear, probably deliberately so). The one with actually playing the role of an otherwise nonexistant person.

What about this roleplaying, dear Dragon?

Well, it's fun. You should try it.

How, then, can you try this roleplaying business?

If you are a guy, find other guys that will probably like this. If you are an attractive girl, contact the Dragon for some fun.

In the latter case, fondness of dragons and an open mind are required. Clothing is optional.

Classics

Age is more than a number, apparently

Ah well. At least we've had fun on our date, yesterday.

What happened, you ask? I took her out to dinner and had a few drinks afterwards. I was thinking about going to the cinema, but it turned out she doesn't like movies much.

It was a pleasant evening. We had fun and we had somewhat serious conversation. But I just couldn't figure out what she was thinking; she was giving such ambivalent and unclear signs. Eventually I found out she "doesn't know" how she felt -- not the "I say I don't know but I really mean no" thing, but actually not knowing.

I do like her (and she knows). But the age thing is a bigger obstacle than I first imagined.

She's 18. I'm 27.

Now, I believe that this doesn't have to be a problem. But in this case, I think it is. Don't think me rude if I say this, but I feel she's still halfway into puberty. Which is fine (puberty is where most people find their identity) but doesn't exactly make for a stable relationship with a guy who's (for the most part) out of puberty for nearly a decade.

I think I'm going to go for friendship on this one. She's a nice girl and our conversation went so much smoother without the pressure.

Darn, I'll just have to keep looking for another cute girl. I hope The Powers That Be read this blog still.

A strange concept

My fellow blogger Chelsea raised the old "who am I" question on her blog (link).

It is a strange thing to ponder, this concept of 'me'. How does one define it? What makes one person different from another?

There is a part in a child's development where it learns that there is a difference between it and other people. It's fairly easy (and safe) to test with toddlers: Hide some object, let someone leave the room, hide the object somewhere else, let the person return, and ask where the person will start looking for the object. If the toddler points to the new hiding place, it has not grasped the concept of 'me versus you' (and therefore having a different knowledge of where to look for said object) yet. Most animals never get past this stage, although more do than you might think.

'Me' must be different from other people and from the world. Wherein lies that difference? What makes me 'me'?

Curiously, a person's character is not as consistent as is often thought. How one behaves or reacts changes, and it changes a lot. In fact, instead of thinking of ourselves as, for example, "being someone who enjoys cooking" does not make us cook more often, but rather it is the other way around. If someone cooks often, the mind makes up this idea that, apparently, they "are someone who enjoys cooking" (otherwise, why would they keep doing that?).

Confused yet?

Many scholars are now of the opinion that there is not, in fact, such a thing as 'free will'. What we perceive to be our own free will is, supposedly, merely a collection of genetics and experience that makes us act in one way or another.

If such a thing is true, can there truly be such a thing as 'me'?

I don't know; I don't have any answers. I just like the questions. (Or rather, I ask the questions a lot and therefore I think I like them.)

Perhaps there is no answer to this question. And perhaps there is no 'you' to ask it. But that makes this strange place called life an even more complicated, magical and wonderful thing.

The soundtrack of my current mood - with video!

A Dragon Tamed?

Alright, it appears The Powers That Be have heard or read my rant, earlier this week. The one about not having a girl I like fall in love with me.

It appears fate has send a very cute girl my way. And, miracles do happen, it seems she's into me, too. I haven't been this happy in years. I hardly remembered the feeling of butterflies, but I certainly remember now.

Alright, I might be getting ahead of myself. I've only met her once. And neither she or I have expressed our interest verbally, but some things are wordless.

Which brings me to my favorite part so far... We've got a date.

Yes, a date; that very American concept. I want to get to know her better; hell, I want to know everything about her! This dragon's maiden; this eagle girl. Cute and sweet and smart.

I know, I know. I could go on forever, but I'm sure it wouldn't be very interesting to you, dear reader. So let me just say... upsydaisy.

Why did I say that? I don't know. Don't blame me; I'm in love. :)

Nocturnal disturbances

Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand...

Alright, perhaps I've heard Thriller too many times, or read too many vampire novels. But I truly enjoy the night time. The quiet streets, the darkness draped like velvet across the landscape, the full moon a single watchful eye, the hushed movements of nocturnal animals... Night is a magical place.

It is therefore sad to notice that in a lot of places, this magical scene is disturbed. Bright artificial lights, noisy cars and loud music crash through the fragile darkness. Soon 'night' will be, for many people, just another time of day; no different from it's suntouched counterpart.

Will this be a bad thing, you ask? I believe it will, yes.

Even besides the fact that many animals that live at night will flee or die, and that people need some time and place to rest, the thing I consider to be worst, is the loss of magic, of mystery.

There is not enough magic in the world as it is.

Night is the most magical moment of any day. The expressions "things that go bump in the night" and "witching hour" are testimony that many mystique creatures awake and events happen between dusk and dawn. Full moon attracts werewolves, while vampires generally only come out when the sun can't find them. The darkness is equated with secrecy and danger.

Even if the danger are only creations of the mind, there is magic in the time of night. Reason, blessed though it is, rids the world of too many miracles already.

Let this dark mystery survive the age of reason and light.

Before time, before the light, there was darkness... and thus will it end.

Oops I did it again

Crap. I think I made this girl fall in love with me.

Don't get me wrong; I am pleased to know that I am, apparently, attractive in some way to a person of the opposite sex and of about the same age. That I am not cursed to stay alone for the rest of my lonely life, or something melodramatic like that.

No, I am not displeased to know that a girl has a crush on me. What I am displeased about, is that it is her. Not any of the ones I have some sort of interest in.

Some advice here, some good conversation, some innocent digital flirting (well, I thought it was innocent) and there she goes, head over heels. Declaring her love to some faunt she hardly knows.

Not that she is unkind or unpretty or even unfriendly. I like having her as a friend. But there is just none of the sweet fluffy love stuff, on my side of the story. Her jigsaw piece doesn't fit mine that way.

And no, I'm not a onenight guy. Yes, you were going to ask.

Drama queens

Shrink

My new rolemodel -- a.k.a. Charlie got pwned.

Na'vi sex?

Scandinavian War Song

Feud of the Piggy Family

Number two

Feeling down? Don't worry!

Book review: Dynasty of Evil

For a while, this book has been catching my eye and my interest while lying there on the shelf of the local bookstore. Almost as if calling out to me, whispering "buy me, read me, want me". Perhaps it was the Force.

Yes, I read the new Darth Bane book -- last part of the trilogy, if the author is to be believed. It's called Dynasty of Evil, and that is indeed what the story is about.

First off, allow me to state that I like the cover art way better than the computer-generated cover from the last book. Someone has been paying attention, in the right kind of way.

Probably all who read this book, have read the other two. It is not absolutely necessary, but it makes more sense that way. A lot of (sub)plots originated in the first book and I must say, I am impressed with the way the story is both complicated and logical after the events that happened before. Without telling too much, the healer Caleb from the first two books had a daughter, and once she discovers Bane to still be alive, she wants revenge for her father's death.

Fortunately, Karpyshyn knows better than to introduce far too many characters, only to keep them alive because he can't bear to see them go. People die in this book, and quite a lot of them. It's a book about the Sith, after all, and not only do they not care for other people's lives, they're also trying to kill each other.

Basically, Bane thinks his apprentice Zannah isn't suitable to be his successor and seeks to find a way to replace her. Zannah on the other hand, is about to stake her claim and challenge her master. This simple concept becomes much more when others try to take advantage of the situation -- among them, Caleb's daughter.

I'm impressed by the way Karpyshyn has grown as a writer. His stories have been pretty good throughout, but he really outdid himself on this one. The only downside is that he doesn't seem to have the same flair with words and languages that other writers possess. This makes for an exciting read, but not enough so to re-read it countless times.

All things consider, I definitely recommend reading this book -- once. See if your local library has a copy.

Yo mamma

Warning!

This is not another drill.

These are the droids you're looking for.

Imperial stormtroopers are not that precise.

You do want to sell me deathsticks.

That's not a moon.

She would not do her duty. (She would do you.)

Do not touch the glowy part.

It is a trap.

She's your sister.

You want to go home and rethink your life. (Turn to the dark side, dude.)