Beautiful Music: One Faith

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For this month's Beautiful Music I bring you One Faith, by John Michael Talbot.  

This adventurous song talks about the division of the church after Jesus's ascension.  Along with some exhilarating guitar playing, the piece's orchestral and choral accompaniment are almost cinematic in quality, evoking an excitement in the listener that is not easy to forget.  

One Faith is among my favorite songs from this artist.  If you like his style, be sure to look up his other works, which are peaceful and relaxing as well as worshipful.  In particular, the songs Hymn to the Praises of God and My Yoke is Easy are spectacular.  

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-Emmarayn Redding

(DISCLAIMER:  Music copyright John Michael Talbot.   No Copyright Infringement intended.)

Fantasy Tag: What If?

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Hey guys!  This week I'm doing the What If...?  Fantasy tag, from Sarah/Leilani Sunblade.  It looked super fun, so here we are.  I'm not tagging anyone specifically, since I wasn't technically tagged either, but should anyone see this and want to do it, by all means, go ahead!  ^_^

And now, for the tag...

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1. Your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. The cast of the most recent fantasy book you read comes to your assistance… who are they? Will they be helpful?

Actually, the closest thing to a fantasy book I just read is the cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Expanded Edition), by Jason Fry.  So though they don't really have cars in Star Wars, I'd be willing to bet that between Rey, Poe, and Rose, they could figure something for me.  Finn would be useless, so he and I could play cards while we waited.

2. You go to bed one evening and wake up in the lair of the villain of the last fairy tale you read, where are you and how do you plan to get out?

The last fairy tale I read is a little-known one called Agnete and the Sea King.  In it, a young maiden is kidnapped by a lonesome sea nymph, who takes her to his underwater kingdom and enchants her so that she cannot remember her home, only him. 

Now, as far as I could tell, the Sea King was not especially powerful, just strong as a normal man, and with a talent for enchanted song.  So first, (presuming I'm not already enchanted- which I definitely would not be, since I know better than to fraternize with handsome and hypnotic water nymphs) I would stop up my ears with kelp, then swim to the surface and hope that the enchantment to let me breath underwater lasts long enough.  From there, I run to the church and claim sanctuary, because the nymphs cannot set foot in a church.  I'll wait them out, then head home safe.

3. You are transported into a fantasy realm and given a mythical creature as a companion and best friend… which mythical creature do you get?

A dragon, I hope!  Or a Tolkien-esque elf.  :D  

Perks of one- maybe we can fly together.  Perks of the other- elves are cool, and that's that. If the elf was a man... with any luck I could find a Aegnor/Andrethh style romance!

4. In a strange series of coincidences, you end up needing to take the place of your favorite fantasy hero or heroine. Who are you? 

Well, it was a toss-up between Morgan of Melksham, from The Nine Kingdoms Trilogy, and Balsa, from Serei no Moribito- literally.  In the end, Balsa won.

So, as Balsa, I am an incredibly skilled warrior, particularly in the use of a short spear.  My task is to protect a ten-year-old prince from the people who seek to harm him, and to do that we must live in hiding.  In the mean time, I just basically have to be a mother to him, and I feel like that's actually a task I could handle.  

5. To go along with question #4, now that you are that character, is there anything you would do differently than that character, now that you are running the show?

Definitely I would take up Tanda on his offer of marriage.  In the story, Balsa loves him dearly, but refrains from committing to him because of her difficult past experiences.  But I have no such qualms, so both Tanda and I would get a happy ending.

6. If you were yourself in a fantasy novel, what role do you think you would play in the story?

Though the role of main character is appealing, I suspect I'd make a better advisor/helpmate sort of character.  I'd be right there supporting the hero emotionally and physically, but probably more from behind the scenes.  I make a pretty good friend and confidant, but I have very little ambition or drive, and depend on others for it.

7. One morning, as you are going about your daily business, you pick up an everyday item and a voice booms in your head with prophetic words about your future. What object is it, and what is your prophecy?

I pick up a newspaper on the way into work at the library.  As soon as I touch it, the wind picks up, but the rest of the world becomes muffled and visions flash through my mind.  A voice booms out "The stories have laid the path; follow the memory they leave behind.   Find what has been lost... bring back what has been forgotten."

8. You are transported into a magical realm and turned into a mythical beast… what beast/fantasy creature do you want to be?

An Elf.  Failing that, a member of the Fae.  Failing even that, a shapeshifter.

9. If you could read your way into any fantasy realm, but the catch is that you can never leave, would you? Which realm would you choose?

Honestly, as much as I love reading fantasy, there is no other place I'd rather live than here.  I'm very much in love with my home, even if I do wish we had more hills here (and less winter).    If I did leave, it would be to Rivendell, for obvious reasons.  

10.  As you are going about your normal day, you discover that you have a magical power. What is it?

I am walking outside, enjoying the feel of the wind, when I take off running.  When I reach my top speed, I jump- and suddenly discover the secret of flying!  

Now I say this, rather than some other cool powers like telekinetics or empathy, because there have been so many times when I feel like I've almost got it.  That if I just ran a little faster, breathed a little deeper or jumped a little higher, I could do it.  Just take off flying, high and free.  It always seems to work in my dreams, anyway.  

There's not a whole lot of practical value to being able to fly... but it sure would make my life fun.

  ^_^

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-Emmarayn Redding

(DISCLAIMER:  All images in this post may be subject to copyright.  I own none of them.  No copyright infringement intended.)

I Do Wonder: A Short Story

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Sometimes, in the dusky hours, I walk alone over empty plains and take in what beauty I can. So much has changed in so short a time. There are places where I once played as a child now gone forever, while others remain untouched, hidden. But wherever I walk, in the ashen light, still I see a strange sort of beauty in all of it.

You cross my mind now and then.

I think you were far more dear to me than I ever was to you. And I say this with a smile; I am not bitter. Each time we spoke, the memory of it remains fresh in my mind.

I have a good life now, nothing to want for. I have not become obsolete in this swiftly changing world as so many others have. I know that trouble moves closer by the day, and what I will do when it arrives, I don't know. But for now, all is, for me and my own, as well as can be expected. People still need me, so my work continues, dull and menial as it is. My life is rhythmic and steady, and though I can hear the distant sounds of war carried on the wind, I have already seen many of my childhood dreams achieved, so I am content.

I do wonder what became of you.

I met your mother once. Neither she nor I realized it at the time. We sat next to each other at the train station; I was returning to my family after clearing debris from the first wave of assault, and she was on her way to aid in the hospitals. We shared a cup of tea and a few sandwiches, then parted ways. It was only afterward I realized that the nickname she spoke of with such devotion was yours. In fact, it was months later, when I had again made the journey into the cities and glimpsed you up on the walls, that the connection finally dawned on me.

When you came into town yesterday I couldn't believe my eyes. You have changed a little, since last we spoke. You're older, hollower. And there is less laughter in your eyes, so the sadness I have always seen in you is more evident now.

You did not recognize me.

Now I debate whether I should go to you. I'm not sure what I would say if I did. And yet, there are things I wish to say to you, especially if the rumors of what you intend to do are true.

I can see by the look in your eyes that you do remember me. There is a question there which you do not speak, and which I cannot understand. But I think I do understand the weight this 'great destiny' has placed on you, for I can see what it has done to you. How must I look to your eyes, now? In my mind, I am unchanged: but I know I must be, for one does not become accustomed to the feel of a gun strapped the shoulder- and the knowledge that one could need it at any moment- without changing.

How different your voice has become!

For minutes or hours uncounted we sit together, speaking as we have not spoken before. My heart is poured out, imploring for you to understand. I do not speak of your mission at hand, but of what may come after, should your life be nearing its end. I want only to sleep soundly knowing I have done all I can for your soul, for beyond that it is out of my hands. I think my words take root in you, but I have my doubts whether you will heed them.

They tell me you looked strong as you walked toward the darkening horizon. When the thunder rolled I could hear it even from here.

Every now and then I look to the west. I am alright, you know. I have nothing to want for, a thing I still cannot comprehend when others have lost so much. But whatever lies ahead now, healing or pain, I am content for this moment in time.

I do wonder what became of you.

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Finé

Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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The Resistance is on the run from the First Order- with a limited fuel supply that will not last long enough for them to escape.  In a desperate move, the daring pilot Poe Dameron sends ex-Storm Trooper Finn and Rose, an engineer, on a haphazard mission to find a master code-breaker who may be able to save them.  

Meanwhile, Rey, aspiring to be a Jedi, has found Luke Skywalker and his secluded hiding place.  But convincing him to join the fight against the First Order proves more difficult than she imagined.  And as she explores her abilities in the Force, she finds herself most peculiarly and inexorably connected with the last person she could ever expect....

When the trailers said that "this isn't going to end the way that you think", they weren't lying.  Not to boast, but I'm usually pretty good with predicting where a movie's going to go.  But not so with this one!  It surprised me big time in more ways than one, which was really quite refreshing.

I seem to be one of the few people who actually really liked this movie.  If I'm honest, I don't just like it, I love it.  It's moved up to being my second favorite Star Wars movie, after Episode VI.

This is an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it.  I'll admit, the story's got some loopholes, as most Star Wars movies do.   There were somethings that maybe could have been written differently.  But the thing is... none of that really mattered to me as I watched it.  And a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that the story managed to tap into my emotions, so it won me over pretty quickly.

This movie took new characters we were introduced to in the last film and continued to develop them.  And for some, like Finn and Poe, it took them in a direction I did not expect, and I ended up liking them less for it.  Poe's lust for power and Finn's cowardice become more evident, giving them legitimate faults.  Even though I ended up admiring them less, I was alright with the development because that's how people often are too.  You meet someone and form one opinion of them, but over time their faults become more apparent, and your picture of them changes.

Rey is pretty much the same girl we met in Episode VII, but her perspective on the war is broadened throughout the course of the film.  Her talents in the Force have blossomed at an incredible rate that still falls into Mary Sue territory, but hey- you know what?  I like Rey, she's cool and nice, so I find I don't really care about that.  I wrote an article once on another blog making the case for why Mary Sues aren't always so bad, which I may or may not repost sometime.  At any rate, although I cant' deny she's a Mary Sue, I feel like she's the good kind.  

After all, when a movie character actually makes me say "Oooh!  I get to be her!", I think she deserves a little slack from me.  ;D

Kylo Ren, our antagonist/***SPOILER*** deuteragonist ***END SPOILER***  goes through some massive character development.  In Episode VII, he came off as a weak young man raging against his parents and using his idolized vision of his grandfather as a shield.  Though talented, he posed little threat as a villain due to his childish tendencies.  In The Last Jedi, this is called out by none other than his master, Supreme Leader Snoke.  And, after this reprimand, Kylo/Ben begins to show his true potential.  By the end of the film, my casual enjoyment of his character had transformed into wholehearted admiration.  He has proved himself a worthy successor in my eyes.  

As far as pacing and storytelling goes, this movie is rather long and rambling.  But it took the time it needed to tell the events that were happening, so I was okay with it.  So many times throughout this film, plans were made and then thwarted, re-worked and then thwarted again, which only amped up the suspense.  

Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, I found myself thinking, "Well, what happens next then?"  And that thought would be repeated, many, many times.  I'd make a prediction, see part of it fulfilled, and then have the rug pulled from beneath my feet once again.  

Speaking of the first fifteen minutes of the film, that brings me to the action.  I really loved the action scenes in this movie.  Well, expect for the chase scene on Canto Bight, but it wasn't so bad.  There were some cool moments in that one too.  The only reason I didn't like it was because it made me feel a little claustrophobic.  

The light saber fights were super cool, and the space battles were highly entertaining.  The visuals and computer work were quite striking, so for action fans I think this movie should satisfy.  

One thing I'll say about this story is that it is, at times, disappointing.  Luke Skywalker's current state is not only jarring, but just disagreeable.  And myself to terribly surprised by it.  Most of his actions throughout the movie had precedent in the original trilogy in some way or another.  His personality traits had just been taken to some unforeseen- but not unnatural- places.
 

 precedents in the previous films; his personality traits had been taken to some unexpected but not unnatural places.  

The battles don't end quite the way you want them to, and the characters don't always do what you want them to.  Overall, this movie sets up some expectations for you, then subverts them and it's not always comfortable.  But a wise character as much as says it in the film:  *** SPOILER***"The greatest teacher, failure is." ***END SPOILER***  

The characters do fail, often.  But sometimes, that's how life goes.  And what can we do but keep going and trying to do better next time?  Keep hoping that things will start to look up, and then do what comes next.  

And now for the pros and cons.

PROS:

Eveything I just mentione above.  Also, as an aside, the plot of this movie felt like one of my dreams.  If you're a member of that forum I frequent, and you've read the Dreams thread, you know what I mean.  Long, complicated, desperate, and emotional... it just felt like one of my many, crazy dreams.  

CONS:

There were a couple of swear words in this movie, which is odd for a Star Wars movie.   

In the casino scenes on Canto Bight there are some scantily-clad alien creatures.  

Fantasy violence throughout the film.

This being a war movie, a lot of people die, and some of their death scenes may upset sensitive viewers.  

OVERALL:  I love this movie, and I think if you give it a shot, you will too.  Unless you don't, in which case I can't help you.  ;D

Can't wait for the next film!

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-Emmarayn Redding

END NOTE

(Spoilers Ahead)

I've just got to say... this movie broke my ship from Episode VII.  But it gave me a new one!  While I can't exactly say that I ship Rey/Ben, I really, really enjoyed their interactions.  The hand-touch scene?  Come on!!  That was pretty darn romantic.  Of course, it's not a good idea for poor, innocent Rey to fall in love with Kylo Ren at this time.  But is it so wrong for me to hope that his feelings for her might move him to step on the path of redemption, even now?  

Also there's a ton of great memes for them.  

That is all, for now.