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I've got a seemingly-legitimate invite to Google Wave. (All the links are proper, and the invite is an https site.) Apparently some dude sent it to me because we have the same last name.
Anyone want it?
In other news, I've been using Windows 7 for only a couple of hours now, but I can say with certainty that it is a dramatic improvement over Vista.Dojo Master's Current Mood:  hungry The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Long Distance Runaround - Yes |
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::Scotty beams Kirk and Spock into what he assumes is Nero's cargo bay::
WIFE: "Cargo bay my ass!"
ME: "Don't hold it against Scotty. Little did he know the cargo bay had been retrofitted... for evil."Dojo Master's Current Mood:  geeky The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Xanadu - Rush |
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We'll make it quick and multitiered. Why not?
---ANIME---
So I've borrowed a couple of anime series recently to watch, but don't really have much to say yet. I liked Code Geass (season 1), and it marks one of the very rare occasions that my favorite character is a clear protagonist.
The other one is The Story of Saiunkoku. I haven't given up on it yet, but so far... well, I hate it. Nonetheless, there are a small handful of really cool characters (not quite awesome, because to be awesome you need a good antagonist, and one has not yet appeared in 30 episodes) that carry a very weak story requiring MASSIVE suspension of disbelief. Regardless, I haven't yet given up on it. *shrug*
---STAR TREK---
Picked it up on Blu-Ray yesterday for cheaper than the DVD. ^_^
It's every bit as good as I remember it being, and Karl Urban has the finest nuances of Leonard McCoy's mannerisms perfect. ^_^
---WRITING---
I'm way behind on my round of Storm Heart revisions, but I have to take 4 days off work before the end of December or I lose a bunch of saved-up vacation time, so I hope to use those days to catapult that workload forward.
I've begun chapter two of my new project. I've shown the first draft of chapter one to a few people, and the limited feedback I've gotten on it thus far is fairly positive. I think I've got a promising premise.
---KINGDOM OF LOATHING---
Whoo, boy.
So after months of doing nothing but Hardcore ascensions, I finally get all the shinies I want on my main (Joringel) and go back into Softcore for the first time in months. At this point, I'm just aiming for 8 days, since I'm out of practice in the SC arena.
Then, all of a sudden it's day 3 and I'm in the castle. A sub-ronin run was starting to look more and more like a possibility. In the end, I ended up with 6 days, 1099 tuns. I came within about 10 adventures of a 5-day run, and broke Ronin on Day 5. The sad thing is, I could have made it if I had actually stocked Hagnk's properly, but I didn't think my run would be nearly as fast as it was.
One thing stopped me from having that 5-day run: blowing 60 adventures in the Palindome trying to get that frackin' Ketchup Hound. If only I had one in Hagnks...
So, I make a big, long list of stuff to stock Hagnk's with before ascending. Excited by the prospect of my first sub-ronin ascension, I go into After-After-Life Al's...
...and realize that I forgot to actually *acquire* any of the items on my list. So, in addition to appropriate food and booze, I'm without a meat maid, dungeon keys, or a chefstaff to bridge the gap between "Blood and Pudding" and "Black Kettle."
So I'm hoping that this run will be in the single digits. Hoping, at this point. But at least I've got a gawddamn Ketchup Hound. :pDojo Master's Current Mood:  *headdesk* The Monks Are Currently Chanting: If Looks Could Kill - Heart |
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Business Week has rated the top 15 metro economies in the U.S., and done a little slide show. It can be found here.
Texas cities compose HALF the top ten. Numbers one, two, five, nine, and ten, specifically. Then we've got one more in the top 15, at number 12.
Fascinating.Dojo Master's Current Mood:  curious The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Gemini Dream - Moody Blues |
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Wow, it's been a while since I updated, hasn't it? [Insert something witty about multi-tiered updates here.]
---KINGDOM OF LOATHING---
Still playing Kingdom of Loathing. Done a couple Hobopolis runs with B&E, and have made it down to level 500 of the basement for the first time for my telescope.
I've been looking at doing a couple 100% familiar runs now that I've pretty much gotten all the plexiglass and brimstone equipment I want. Well, I wondered whether anyone had ever been crazy/stupid enough to attempt a Hardcore Oxygenarian 100% Black Cat run. So I checked the ascension records. It turns out that ten such runs have been made...
...six of them by the same guy. That's right, there was a single crazy asshole who did SIX 100% Oxycat runs. To make it even more insane, he did it once WITH EACH CLASS. Admittedly, once you've got a crapload of ascensions completed, class starts to matter less and less, but consider he did this as a mysticality class twice. That means no malus for making wads, and no pickpocket to acquire needed items before the gawddamn cat bats it into the sewer.
To date, there have been no 100% Hardcore Oxygenarian teddy bear runs. I might be the first. :p
---STORM HEART AND MY NEW PROJECT---
I have, for various reasons, decided to delay the writing of Storm Heart's sequel so I can develop some of my other projects. I still continue to refine Storm Heart, but I've pretty much given up on having it sold before my 30th birthday.
My new project, I think, suits my style of writing a lot better than Storm Heart did. For one, it's not epic fantasy, it's humorous. Two, it's far more dialogue-heavy, and the characters aren't bound by the harsh realism of the Storm Heart setting. I don't think it's as good a story as Storm Heart,, but it's been a hell of a lot more fun to write.
I don't want to spoil anything, because Chapter One should be finished by the end of the week, and I intend to put it in the hands of a couple of people, and see if they think it's as funny as I do. The working title of the project is "Dating Dragons."
---OTHER STUFF---
I've been forcing myself to sit down on occasion and play Final Fantasy IX, hoping to actually finish it like I wanted to. I had forgotten how much I hated Freya. :p
Speaking of Final Fantasy, I have high hopes for Final Fantasy XIV Online. It looks like they've taken all the things that didn't work about Final Fantasy XI (particularly the fact that the *entire game* is one level grind after another to hit 70 on all jobs) and fixed them. In fact, they're introducing some pretty revolutionary concepts to the MMORPG world. Their aim is to eliminate the level grind while offering a full gaming experience to those who favor solo play, while at the same time making grouping with others for mutual benefit much easier, as players who are on completely different quests can achieve their goals without detriment to their party members.
I can't wait to play a tarutaru again. ^_^ When Mr. and Mrs. Locke are slinging the white and black magic from a pair of cute midgets, the world better look out. :pDojo Master's Current Mood:  hopeful The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Piano Concerto No. 19 - Mozart |
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I don't use this word often, but I believe it applies.
A Boy and His Blob for Wii is pure SQUEE. ^_^
Cuteness overload + deceptively challenging puzzle game + nostalgia bombs (the original skyline from the old game recreated with Wii-level graphics, getting to ride on a bouncing ball, etc.) makes this game totally worth using the Best Buy gift card I've had since July worth it. ^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  nostalgic The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Champagne Supernova - Oasis |
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Query
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Oct. 15th, 2009 @ 11:48 am
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Does anyone know if A Boy and His Blob for Wii is any good or not? The original holds a special place for me. ^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood: hopeful The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Sarabande - Bach |
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...and I still don't really have anything to say today. Just a bit of linkspam:
The Reality of Running Away from Stuff, a somewhat old website comparing hollywood stunts to the fastest human record for running (as of 2002).
Long story short, I am screwed if a kangaroo ever gets pissed off at me.
Also, my wife can now take some comfort in the fact she recently was chased down by a certain animal on the list. :p
I've been reading the Protector of the Small quartet from Tamora Pierce. I really like the protagonist, and I love Tortall, her fantasy world. I'm almost at the end of book three, and will probably try to get ahold of the Song of the Lioness quartet once I'm finished. I strongly disagree with the classification of the Small quartet as 'juvenile literature,' and I'm starting to think that I can add her to my very small list of fantasy authors I really enjoy reading.Dojo Master's Current Mood:  complacent The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Zireenz vs. Saint Rush - Shine on Me |
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It seems to be official...
There shall be a sequel to Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog.
Squee. ^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  excited The Monks Are Currently Chanting: On the Rise - From Doctor Horrible, Act II |
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From the awesome people who brought you Jones Cola..
Dungeons and Dragons Limited Edition Sodas.
I'm particularly fond of Bigby's Crushing Thirst Destroyer. ^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  pleased The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Dance Op. 65 Pt 2 - Carl Maria Von Weber |
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Overheard from next door:
"See, this is why I just don't understand women. If a woman spends a whole hour curling her hair, you can bet she'll be pissed if you don't notice her hair. But if that same woman walks up to you wearing a halter top and pushup bra? You can bet she'll be pissed if you actually notice her chest."
^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  amused The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Wong Chia Chi's Theme - Alexandre Desplat (Lust Caution) |
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So TF2 has a system whereby different weapons randomly drop while you're playing the game. I've been wanting an Ubersaw practically since I started playing. I finally got an Ubersaw today.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that this was my FORTIETH drop, and these things don't drop frequently. For those playing at home, the following items dropped before the Ubersaw:
5 Killing Gloves of Boxing (Heavy)
5 Force-a-Natures (Scout)
5 Blutsaugers (Medic)
4 Natashas (Heavy)
3 Flare Guns (Pyro)
3 Bonk! Atomic Punch (Scout)
3 Sandviches (Heavy)
3 Kritzkrieg (Medic)
2 Backburners (Pyro)
2 Jarate (Sniper)
2 Razorbacks (Sniper)
2 Huntsmen (Sniper)
1 Cloak and Dagger (Spy)
I *never* play Sniper, because the ONLY thing that class does is the one thing I'm worst at. So that's 6 items for a class I never play. I *rarely* play Heavy, because I just don't get the class. So that's 12 items for a class I'll play only under threat of violence. I *rarely* play Scout, mostly because I'm not yet good enough to make a good offensive scout, so that's another 8 items for a class I really have no business playing.
IRONICALLY, the one Scout item I want, the Sandman bat, has not yet dropped for me.
So, of these 40 items, 26 belong to a class I never play. (The Cloak and Dagger is a special exception, because I never played Spy until I got the item, then suddenly I'm a hell of a lot better spy.)
Also, there are only 13 unique items here, so the 27 duplicate items are doing nothing for me but taking up space in my backpack. We keep getting promises of item trading systems, and crafting systems to actually do something with your duplicates, but nothing has materialized to that effect yet.
Oh, and the only hat I've gotten is the halo everybody who didn't use a third-party idler got.
Does this sound like a working system to anyone?Dojo Master's Current Mood:  cynical The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Symphony No 3. Mvmt. 2 - Camille Saint Saens |
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El fin de semana empieza hoy!
*sigh*
I had to repair my shorts with duct-tape today.
...
It's been that kind of week.Dojo Master's Current Mood:  drained The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Forest Gump - End Credits |
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EDIT: So apparently this isn't an unprecidented event after all. According to the Washington Post, the first President Bush made a similar address. Strange that I don't remember it, I'd have been 11 at the time. (Then again, that was the period after the divorce where I was skipping school for weeks at a time, so that might have had something to do with it.)
*shrug* I don't think it really changes anything though. After all, I'd feel the same way if Reagan did it (though perhaps maybe just a little less since it would likely have been part of a legislative-branch-backed program. After all, "Just Say No" was Nancy Reagan's pet cause.) Bush-1 was no Reagan.
So I'm torn on this whole "President Obama is going to directly address our nation's schoolchildren" thing.
It's not really the speech itself that bothers me. The speech, according to the Department of Education, is going to be about taking responsibility for one's education, setting educational goals, and working on those educational goals. I don't have a problem with the subject matter at all, and yet I still feel uneasy about it.
I asked myself the following question, "If Ronald Reagan were delivering the same speech, would I still feel uneasy about this thing?"
Yes, honestly, I would.
For a while, I couldn't put my finger on why, outside of the emotional "this sort of thing happens in North Korea (or soviet Russia, or Nazi Germany, or what have you), not America" feeling. My biggest complaint with collegiate philosophy was the "captive audience" aspect of the scenario, exacerbated by the issue that if you disagreed with the professor, you would be punished for expressing that disagreement in any manner. You've got to take certain classes to graduate, and it's like you're paying for your own indoctrination. (A feeling I got to relive again thanks to the festering craphole of ideology that Cultural Anthropology has become since I last went to college a decade ago.) In these scenarios, you have ideas forced upon you which, for lack of a better expression, cannot compete in the marketplace of ideas, and so you have to accept (or at least pay lip service to) them, or suffer the consequences of dissent.
Such a scenario is un-American, as it goes against free expression and the free exchange of ideas. As such, it survives in only two places: Cults, where the flow of information is tightly controlled, and the world of education, whereby your audience is largely captive (public education) or is attending specifically for the indoctrination (private/religious/what have you).
The DoE materials that originally accompanied the speech threw fuel on that particular fire. In the same link listed above is a couple of PDFs for "classroom activities" that center around the speech. I suppose there's been some sort of outcry in recent days, because the activities have been changed. The 7-12 activities have a discussion section, and the original questions were far more troubling. They were on the ilk of "What has President Obama inspired me to do?" and "How can I help the president?"
Egad. Imagine being the one kid who tries to say in that discussion, "I think the president is wrong."
Nevertheless, I thought I was overthinking it. After all, it's just one gawddamn speech on a partisan-neutral issue. For whatever reason, President Obama is popular with the schoolchildren, and by using that popularity to speak on educational responsibility, I must concede that in the overall balance between good and evil, between help and harm, this speech is a force for good.
And then I read this telling quote from the Superintendent of Schools in Tempe Elementary School District #3 in Arizona:
"I have directed principals to have students and teachers view the president's message on Tuesday," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Arthur Tate Jr. said in a statement Thursday. "In some cases, where technology will not permit access to the White House Web site, DVDs will be provided to classes on subsequent days. I am not permitting parents to opt out students from viewing the president's message, since this is a purely educational event."
o_o
Wow, seriously? YOU will not PERMIT PARENTS to make educational choices for THEIR children? Just who the fuck do you think you are, Superintendent Tate? Who the fuck do you think YOU WORK FOR?
._.
In a properly-functioning free society, that superintendent would not have a job after the next election cycle. But like so many in academia (and this goes both ways, *particularly* in religious schools), they know better than you do what's best for you and your children.
I don't know, I've had this nagging feeling ever since having to take my first Advanced Ethics course in college, and having Peter Singer's self-contradictory horseshit shoved down my throat for an entire semester. Perhaps this event is just bringing those feelings to the surface.
Feel free to comment if you share my uneasiness, or if you (wonderfully) dissent from it. As always, keep everything respectful, and remember my only real rule on this LJ: "Profanity is perfectly fine, but vulgarity is verboten."Dojo Master's Current Mood: cynical The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Symphony No. 9 - Beethoven |
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I have at last completed my first Hardcore Oxygenarian run, with 3 permed skills (Cannonoli Cocoon, Torso Awaregness, and Superadvanced Meatsmithing).
It took 28 days and 1702 adventures. ^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  accomplished The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Emma - Closing Theme |
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EDIT: Update now has THREE folds! That's like getting 50% more! :p
---GAMING---
Gawddamnit, I was *this* close to finishing my very first hardcore oxy run in 27 days. Alas, I got reamed hard *again* by the RNG. I reached the tower with 30 adventures, and every single tower item except for one. I stayed in the Black Forest long enough to get 10 blackberries for my combat boots, but never had a single black pepper drop for me.
So wouldn't you know it? Tower monster number five is the gawddamn Giant Fried Egg.
So I ended the day having fought four black widow spiders, but not a single picnic basket dropped. x_x
With 51 adventures tomorrow, I *should* be able to finish out my oxy run. *Should.*
---WRITING---
I was hoping to find a literary agent in Texas that specialized in my genre, but if there is one, they're not currently accepting new clients. So I'm going to have to look out-of-state, which I suppose is fine, because a huge percentage of the publishing world resides in New York anyway.
On the upside, the promised turnaround for query letters and manuscripts is much swifter than I initially thought before researching it. The corresponding downside to this is that I'm going to have to wait a little longer to send out my query letters, because I don't want to be asked for a full manuscript before I'm ready to present it. The corresponding upside to that? I'll have more time to work on a whiz-bang query letter. The downside to that is... well, we could do this all day. :p
---QnD LOL---
Found on one of my favorite sites to browse when I'm bored off my ass, There, I Fixed It...
I honestly have no idea which would be more painful at the bottom... Having my tailbone shattered by running it over nineteen ladder rungs, or digging splinters out of my ass from sliding in the same direction as the grain for a good eight to ten feet. o_oDojo Master's Current Mood:  busy The Monks Are Currently Chanting: The Valkyries - Richard Wagner |
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I have just now found the page of Searchable Ascension Stats for Kingdom of Loathing. ^_^
An interesting item of note, however. Looking at my two most recent ascensions:
Bad Moon, Disco Bandit, 100% Cat Run: 18 days, 2071 turns
Bad Moon, Pastamancer: 17 days, 2031 turns
Now I thought I had a pretty good pastamancer run last ascension, but it was only 50 turns less than my 100% Black Cat run. Perhaps that's because I was comparing it to Doublenickel's Pastamancer Hardcore-NoClover run, which took 23 days and 2728 turns. Then again, that was my first-ever Hardcore run.
Or maybe it's just that I had a better Black Cat run than I thought. :p
*shrug*
EDIT: Huh. Well, Joringel finished his Seal Clubber BM run today, and it appears I did better than I thought. It took only 16 days, but in those 16 days I had only 1716 adventures, as opposed to the 2031 adventures I had in my pastamancer run. I suppose I'm getting better at adventure management. Then again, I cut this one *close.* I ended up beating the sorceress today with a mere TWO adventures to spare.
I was really debating whether or not to ascend today, because I still haven't learned Joringel's greed demon name. The only reason I chose to go ahead and ascend is because I'm starting an Oxy run with him next, and I want to maximize adventures banked for Moxie day tomorrow.Dojo Master's Current Mood:  sleepy The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Symphony No. 9 - Schubert |
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---LULZ OF THE DAY---
I don't know why I find this lolcaption so hilarious. I just do. ^_^
---WRITING UPDATE---
After consulting with a couple members of my peer review board, I've decided to do some rearranging on Storm Heart. I've done most of the major re-writing that will be required to make it happen, and will probably send out the new edited chapters with instructions to the remainder of my review group by the middle of the week.
As a bizarre (and slightly ironic) sidenote, this means that both Storm Heart and Redemption Spirit will begin with the same character. ^_^
---GAMING UPDATE---
I don't want to be a good pyro (TF2). I want to be a good engineer. I don't know why how the hell I'm a good pyro, but somehow I've just seemed to instinctively figure out the finer points of spychecking, reflecting rockets, and setting d00ds on fire then getting the heck out of Dodge. For some odd reason, I can't switch weapons quickly with ANY other class (which is why I played spy for all of two minutes and said, "screw THAT noise"), but when I see an enemy pyro, the shotgun comes out and I start plugging away. Pyro is now my #3 overall class for playtime, but it's the class for which I have completed the most accomplishments, and it's my most effective class when I'm playing on servers with people who are better at FPS games than I could ever hope to be.
*shrug*
Anywho, there is a fair chance that I might actually finish my very first Hardcore Oxy run in a single month, depending on how Moxie day turns out in a couple of days. Not bad for taking only three HC-perm skills with me. The success of this run is in no small part thanks to the Brimstone Bludgeon. Good gawd that's a nasty beating stick. ^_^
On the other hand, I've followed up a good Bad Moon pastamancer run with Joringel with a terrible Seal Clubber BM run. Good night, I've lost THREE semi-rares so far to BM adventures, and yet I can't get the BM adventures I actually need. (It took me 22 adventures to hit the anticheese in the desert, and I've spent a total of around 30 off-and-on in the conservatory (mostly to kill debuffs and such) without finding the potato sprout. I can't even FATHOM how many turns I've blown in the Hidden Temple without coming across the loaded dice. The worst RNG hate came today, however. When I hit level 12, I usually try to get the war started and quit early so that I can begin the next day with more adventures to clean the filthworm infestation. I do this so I can maximize adventure returns from plum/pear/peach food and drinks in my run. It is a program which has, until today, worked out very well for me.
Today, I went into the organic orchard with 54 adventures, a 20-pound gravy fairy, Baron's monocle, lucky rabbit's foot, and utilizing knob goblin eyedrops plus the Styx Pixie buff. Fifty-four adventures later, I've been to the guard chamber THREE TIMES without a guard scent gland dropping. So, I'm forced to eat a bunch of White Citadel Burgers. Twenty-seven adventures later, I'm forced to drink a bunch of strawberry daiquiris. When I FINALLY get to the filthworm queen's chamber, I have all of SIX adventures left in the day, with 15 fullness and 19 drunkenness. I've spent less adventures in Sonofa Beach, for chrissakes.Dojo Master's Current Mood: sleepy The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Invaders From Mars - End Credits |
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PSA
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Aug. 20th, 2009 @ 09:31 pm
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My second novel, Redemption Spirit, is going to be as good, if not better, than Storm Heart.
^_^Dojo Master's Current Mood:  optimistic The Monks Are Currently Chanting: One World - Celtic Woman |
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Seriously, the surprise I got today when I used my Entangling Noodles for the first time in my most recent Pastamancer run (against Baron Von Ratsworth, no less) is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. CRITICAL NOODLE!!!! ^_^
Anywho...
I am now officially finished with Draft Three of Storm Heart. All twenty-two chapters and 110,170 words of it.
And yet, there's still so much to do as I wait for my Peer Editing Board to catch up with me. Gotta start drafting query letters, researching agents, and outlining my next novel. ^_^
I'm gonna take it a little easier now, though. Maybe go back and start studying French again, get some more reading done, finish up some veedio games I haven't had the chance to complete yet (FF9, Wii Punch-Out, and too many to count).
You know, now that I think about it, I've consumed a LOT of books since January. Here's the list to the best of my recollection:
- All 3 books from Lord of the Rings
- All 6 books of the Alvin Maker saga
- All 13 books from A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Atlas Shrugged
- A Wizard of Earthsea
- 1984
- So You Want to Be a Wizard
- First Test (Book 1 of the Protector of the Small Quartet)
- Urchin of the Riding Stars (Book 1 of the Mistmantle Chronicles)
That's all I can recall presently, but damn that's a lot of words consumed... o_oDojo Master's Current Mood:  tired The Monks Are Currently Chanting: Speed - Main Theme |
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