Christmas Post

Well, today has been incredible. I got an iPod nano!! And, even though we had trouble loading the songs, it worked out. I also got The Beatles's #1 hits CD! And since I was down south I got to go on a 2 mile run, and I feel great. First real exertion I've had since the weather got cold! And now to Sagery! I just wanted to write a story, so I think I'll do something Christmasy, and, just to make it interesting, I'm going to listen to my music while I write.


Once upon a time there was a man. But this wasn't just any ordinary man! He was a rich man. He had everything. Power. Wealth. Fame. Power. However, he still wasn't happy. He was actually a rather dismal fellow, who hated Christmas. It always made him feel insufficient, because, somehow, so many people who had so much less than he did seemes to have something that he didn't at this time of year. It made him mad. And to be frank, when he was mad, he was not a very nice person. Of course, he wasn't a very nice person anyways, but that is beside the point.

So anyways, it happened that one week before Christmas he was working in his corner office when his secretary buzzed him on the intercom.
"Mr. Kruger," She said sweetly over the speaker.
"What is it Elaine?" He snapped back. "I really don't have time for interuptions right now!"
"Well, it's just corporate calling." His secretary replied.
"Oh, very well, patch them through."
"Yes Mr. Kruger."
"Hello"
"Is this Dan Kruger?" Said a gruff man on the other side of the phone.
"Um, yes it is."
"Well, this is Harry Watergate from human recources. I just wanted to let you know that profits are down, and you're fired with no severance package." There was then a sharp click as the man on the other end of the phone hung up.
"Uh, Elaine, you sure that was corporate?" Mr. Kruger said over the intercom. There was silence on the other end of the line. "Where has she gone?" Kruger left his office, and went to his secretary's desk, to find it empty, with a note on it. The note read:
Since you're not my boss anymore, I went home early today.
Merry Christmas Mr. Kruger,
Elaine

Just then three men walked in. One was tall, thin, and clean-shaven, one was shorter and muscular, and one looked like a cross between all The Beatles.
"Are you Dan Kruger?" Said the tall one.
"Yes, I am." He replied.
"Well, since you've just lost your job, we'd like to inform you that we are in need of your unique services."
"Wait," Kruger replied, spluttering. "You don't understand, I've just lost my job!"
"Well," said the man who looked like a Beatle "If you come with us, you won't be walking down Penny Lane."
"What kind of services?" Kruger replied.
"If you come with us to dinner, we'll set our entire proposal before you." The muscular man said.
"Well, where are we going, seeing as I'm unemployed-"
"Don't worry, it's our treat."
"Well, what have I got to lose?" Dan huffed, and he followed the men out.

-To be Continued


Well, that kind of got outa hand. Not so much Christmas, huh? I think that'll be a new feture to my blog though, the Adventures of Dan Kruger. Well That's it for now. So long folks! Merry Christmas,
It's 7:45, and you are loved!

21st of Christmas

Well, I was talking this morning and I said, "what day is it? The 21st of Christmas." It seems like it's been Christmas all month, what with the advertising and Babes In Toyland, and all. But, I'm really glad this year. I've really come to realize and understand the joy of Christmas. I always used to be depressed this time of year. But I have had a very joyous Advent, and now, Christmas is almost here! I'm so excited. I get to go dancing this evening, and then go see National Treasure 2. And to think, the poor kids are in school as I write this. Poor people. We got a skiff of fresh snow last night to. All things are bright and beautiful.

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a beautiful feeling,
Everythin's goin my way!

Bum ba lum

Well, yesterday Role Playing went very well. Everyone liked it and we all had a good time. That's really all have to say, seeing as I am kind of selphinereded today. Actually I'm not. I made thatword up! hehehe. Man, the kids watched the Wiggles Adventure the other day, I watch a bit of it, but mostly I listened while I was on the computor. Now that movie, when you stop and think about it, is really really really, strange and random. I mean, BRRRRRRRRRRR Street? What's with that. Oh well. That's it for now.

The Nightime Sage

Well, here I am, up late, and barely tired, well more like extremely hyper. And I'm making a blog post! I have incredibly varied tastes in music. I bought three songs off iTunes, one was a 70s rock song (Sister Golden Hair, America), one was a techno one hit wonder from the 90s (Blue (Da Ba Dee), Eiffel 65), and the third was from a soundtrack (Little Wonders, Rob Thomas). It was just kindof funny. Also, I'm gearing up for some serious roleplaying on Wednesday. I spend like an hour and a half on it this evening.

I remember when, I remember
I remember when I lost my mind.
There was something so pleasant about that place.

Yeah. But now I'm listening to blue. I like it. The lyrics are a bit depressing, but the tune inspires me. Techno dance tune. Gotta love it. Actually, the lyrics make me laugh.

Yo listen up
Heres the story about a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue like him
Indside and outside
Blue his house with the blue little window and a blue corvette
And everything is blue for him and his-self
And everybody around cuz he aint got nobody to listen.

And that's all I'm going to subject you to. I like the part about the corvette. It makes me laugh. Blue his house. Lol. Actually, I don't know why I like it. It doesn't reflect how I'm feeling. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm such a night owl. I'm still awake. Wonder why.

"Maybe he's in love!"
...
"My, my, what's going on here?"
"Harry hit me!"
"Ron invaded my personal bubble!"
"Methinks some serious punishment is in order..."

Anyways, that was random. Tomorrow I'll be gone. I'm not sure where yet, but After I've been there, you can be sure that I'll tell you all about it. I really need to stop blogging while listening to music. Blue his house with the little blue window, and a blue Corvette...

We Leave Her Again

Well, it was another Final performance today. It was not so bitter, and a little more sweet for me this time. Not sure why. We ended on a good note. Aye. It was nice. Many fond memories of this run of this play. As always, we will miss her terribly, until another comes and sits on her throne again.

On a bit less poetic note, I made a new highscore on expert minesweeper, 228 Seconds. And I forgot to take a stinking screenshot!!! I just realized that. Oh well. That's it for tonight. I have much to do, and less time to do it in.

Thomas the Master Firelighter

Well, I had a title for this post, but I forgot it. And now it's really really bugging me. Oh well. Anyways...

Nothing can ruin one's mood like a lukewarm shower. It's cold enough to be uncomfortable, yet warm enough to give you a glimmer of hope it might turn to hot. Oh well.
Anyways...

I saw "Meet the Robinsons" today. I liked it. It was pretty funny. "I had A brilliant plan, and Dorris's plan was, well, let's just say we went with Dorris's." Yeah. But there were paradoxes galore. It was fun anyways. We had to watch it in B&W though. Oh well.
Anyways...

This post is getting long and haven't much else to say tonight. I wish I did. Oh well.
Any~ 'Boom!' cshhh (Temporal Anomaly)



So, for this post, I just wanted to congratulate Thomas For his master Fire building skills. He is just one skilled guy. I mean, like, the people with bow staff skills, and karate skills, and skateboarding skills got nothin on this guy. He is the best of the best. YES! Sorry That this post is so short, but yeah it is. Ki Adi Mundi is Assyrian. Just wanted to throw that out there. And Thomas built a raging fire downstairs. In the fireplace. He's not a master arsonist. He's a good guy. Well, I guess that's it for tonight. So long and thanks for all the fish!

Sledding

Well, it was sledding yesterday, and blimey if it don't look like sledding tomorrow! Man, yesterday we had this intertube run with a jump at the bottom. Well, I went down it, the tube went one way, I went the other. Man, I've had the wind knocked out of me before, but this time it was SLAMMED out of me. And now my ribs hurt. And my neck was sore today too. Once that run became deadly we tied an intertube on a long rope and tied that to a saddle horn, and man, what a ride! My face was completely plastered in the white stuff. My hair was white! It was as good as disneyland. Anyways, that's about it. I need to be a scurrying off to bed. Man, I had something to say too, but I forgot about it. A song line maybe. That wasn't it. I'll do one anyways.

You can tell the sun,
In his jealous sky,
That we walked in fields of gold.

Goodnight. Oh, I put on Thomas's newsboy hat and I my trench coat and I looked like a Scotsman. Well goodbye.

In the House of Stone and Light

Well, let's see. It's good to be back. I know it's still my first day back, but it's the second post, so oh well. My current theme song is In the House of Stone and Light By Martin someonewhoIcantremember. Page, actualy. Martin Page. Cool name. Anyways, that's my theme song. Currently. It kindof sums up the mood I'm in these days. Cool tune, wierd lyrics somewhat indicitive of personal discovery. It reminds me of the SHHE camp out this year, because I sang it when I was rowing single handed across the lake at twilight. Ooh, very poetic. Something that's very sagey to do. Rowing alone on a lake at twilight. And singing too. Especially that song. Here's the lyrics:

O Mount Kailas
Uncover me
Come my restoration
Wash my body clean
I've been walking
Along a crooked path
Where the walls have fallen
And broken me in half

I'm telling you
I will not rest till I lay down my head
I'm gonna go
In the house of stone and light
I shall not cry for the blindman I leave behind
When I go
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light

Holy lady
Show me my soul
Tell me of the place
Where I must surely go
Old man waiting
At the gates for me
Give me the wisdom
Give me the key

I'm telling you
I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light
I make my way O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light
O In the house of stone and light

(scat bridge)

Let me in
Beneath my skin
In the house of stone and light

It's been too long
My spirit's been at war Havasupai Shaman
Let me be reborn
And I will embrace the sun upon my face
Come the day I awake the child inside
In the house of stone and light
And when I go I will op - op- open my eyes
In the house of stone and light
I will see you
In the house of stone and light

(scat bridge)

I'm looking in beneath my skin
In The House Of Stone And Light (end of official lyrics. The rest is what I think it is by ear)
I'm going inside,
In the House Of Stone and Light
Lookin for the child
In the House Of Stone and Light
She my soul go searching for shelter
In the House Of Stone and Light
In the House of Stone and Light
I'm gonna let this child come and wash the world
In the House of Stone and Light
He's speakin softly to me
I must go there to Find my soul yeah
I can see so clearly now
I will go there to find my soul yeah
O keep on a knockin on my door
I must go there, to find my soul there
I will go there, to find my sould yeah
I must go there, to find my soul yeah

Anyways, that's how I'm doin these days. Among the other song I really like right now are 1973 by James Blunt, 100 Years By Five for Fighting(I'm hoping you all knew that) and That's All by Genesis. Also I'm thinking I should go back and mark all my posts with tags. I'm not sure it'd be worth the effort though. If my readers think I should then I will. That's all the news from the Highlands. Until next time then:

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the rain fall softly on your fields,
And may the Good Lord hold you in the palm of his hand,
Until we meet again.

The Return of the Highland Sage

Well, I'm definately back to stay. What with it being winter now, I'm spending a lot more time indoors, and thus, a lot more time on the computor. So, the way I see it, it's time I started with my regular posts again, so I'm back! Snow is incredible. And the stuff justs keeps coming down around here. Seriously, there must be some sort of stationary front or something. That's just hearsay, of course, I rarely check the weather section of the paper. Actually, I usually only check it when I'm going somewhere and I need to know what to pack. And now, to use one of my favorite words, anyways...

I think that the transition word I use the most on this blog is "anyways". I mean, I was looking through old posts yesterday, and it's in almost every post. It usually gets me out of a digresssion and back into an actual topic, which is usually shorter than the opening digression. Kind of ironic. I think I'm going to email you all and tell you I'm posting again, because otherwise you probably won't check it. Well, this is the one and only Highland Sage, signing out.

-End Transmission

My Motto

Well, I don't know if anyone even checks this anymore, but I just wanted to tell everyone my motto:

Life is good, even when it's not.

I think I just need to remind myself more then anyone. It's 10:20, and you are loved.

For the Heck of it.

Just thought I'd say that this blog is kinda out for awhile. I've been very busy lately, and yeah, our internet access has been unreliable. Anyways, if you want to know how I'm doing or what I'm thinking, call me or something! You all know my number...

Political Talking

I just thought I'd share a little bit about a thought I had the other day. It was after I listened to the Libertarian Chairman here in the county give a talk on Libertarians. I realized what I don't like about them, aside from thier wishy-washyness. It's that their whole philosophy is much to induvidualistic and relative overall. They think that whatever is good for you is fine, as long as it doesn't violate other people's rights. It would work fine if everybody had thier own 40 achres and heard from all the other people once every quarter. The fact is though, that as humans we are communal, social beings, and we need leaders, because people don't always do what's in thier own best interest. The fact of the matter is that there is absolute morality, and sadly a lot of it has to be legislated. I'm probably gonna edit this post later, if I think of something more I want to say.

The Fall of Fred

Dateline: Kalulula, Capitol world of Fred's Domineering Empire

Over the last 24 hours the government of the FDE has fallen and they have lost all interstellar communications. Acording to the last report Fred had been executed by crazed revolutionaries. A short timeline fo the last hours:

G.Y. 22

01:46- A Call to arise is sent to the general population by a group of revolutionaries that had been long plotting the fall of the government.

02:01- Massive crowds stage riots in all major cities. Fred barricades himself in his office at the central goverment compound.

02:19- Protesters are warned by mass broadcast that martial law has been instituted over the whole planet. They are given 03:00 as a dispersal deadline.

02:57- Huge crowd overwhelms the perimeter at the central government compound. Fred's office is surrounded.

03:01- Military is mobilized. Bombers attack all major riot areas.

03:10- Revolutionaries sieze Fred. They demand cesation of martial law and institution of a people's government.

03:11- Military ceases fire. Tense standoff ensues

04:32- Fred gives a general adress to the people, and says that some "consesions" will be granted to the people.

05:24- Military surrounds government compound. They are ordered to disband and surrender by 06:00.

05:51- By this time revolutionaries had siezed key power and supply facilities. The military is given a final warning.

05:59- Military leaders give order to storm compound.

06:02- Revolutionaries striking from secret bases begin full scale assault on FDE military forces.

06:15- Military comandoes break into Fred's office to find him dead. Widespread battles erupt on the 3 major continents. General panic and anarchy.

07:23- Final transmission from Loyal forces on Kalulula: "They have destroyed all the space docks. Half the world is without power. Anarchy in the streets. 'BOOM'! Shoot. I guess we'll see you in-"

As the galaxy mourns this unfortunate turn of events, there are those that are plotting now, and we shall see in the following years how the void in galactic power is filled by the remaining empires.

Krugenhiem

T Man's bunch was up here this weekend. We made a movie, and there was a land mine, which was probably the absolute special effects triumph of my home movie career. I haven't really much else to say. I'm reading C.S. Lewis' space trilogy. I've finished "Out of the Silent Planet", and I liked it a lot. Anyways, not much else is happening round here. I made a very strange game, and I have a group of people playing it, so it's pretty cool. We're on turn 13. Here's a link to the rules if you want to read them. And if you actually understand them and want to join give me an email! They're at: http://www.kplanet.net/galaxy.htm

That's it for tonight. Well goodnight.

Well...

I'm so sorry sir, 's sabbatical! Anyways...

Sorry I went away people, but now I'm back by popular demand. I haven't really got anything to say, except that I had Honey Oats and Flakes for breakfast. Yeah, it's a Honey Bunches of Oats rip off. So what? It was 10 for 10!

Another Play Bites the Dust

Well, we finished the last performance of the play last night. It's too bad. There were some really cool actors and I found out one of the families (of cool people) lives only a couple miles from our house. I look forward to playing smash bros. (melee) with them. I'm always sad when a show is over though

It ain't easy to say goodbye, darlin please,
don't start to cry,
cause girl you know I've got to go,
o, and lord, I wish it wasn't so.

Yes, the show is done, we will all miss her, until another one comes and takes her place in all our minds and hearts.

Grand Canyon

Well, we went to Grand Canyon again yesterday, and it was spectacular as ever! "The Big Ditch" (as my grandpa once called it) is as big and incredible as it was last time. I actually think I was able to appreciate it more this time than last time, mostly because it was much balmier. wow, I don't believe that's how its spelled. "Balmier". Who woulda thunk it. Anyways...

We have more performances this weekend, starting tonight. I better eat a good dinner. And that'll be all for now. Thanks and goodnight. Or good morning, as it may be.

Axis & Allies 2

Well, just thought I'd make a note here, we played A&A again today, I was Japan, and Axis won. Barely. The game really came down to the wire, with Russia falling early, then Britain taking emptied Germany, and being immediately repulsed. It was wild. Anyways, first weekend of the play went well. Also we think that the Japanese emperor was some short tan oriental guy with Harry Potter glasses. And so we think he's cool and weird. Also there's this one part in the play where there's supposed to be party noise in the background, and on Sunday evening's performance they played "Can't Touch This" low over the sound system and somebody yelled "Yea Verily!" from offstage. It was hilarious. It was all I could do to keep from breaking down laughing. Heartily. And that's all for tonight.

Mr. Mushroom Man

Some Kid at 4-H was calling me Mr. Mushroom Man, and I really like it! I think that's my new thing now. And I'll put the sword pic on tomorrow. Yeah. Hopefully. Maybe. Verily. Yeah. I go forth to do something of a currently unknown nature!

Busy Week

Well, I have been really busy since last friday, and in fact Thom is here right now, but he's in the shower so I'm making this post now. Anyways, last weekend I had the priveledge of going to the Stubenville West Youth conference, and it was incredible. It was just what I need to really pump some life back into my daily faith walk. And then, when got home, Michael Z. was here until Tuesday, which was really great. On wednsday I went to cell phone hill, which was exhausting and fun. Then on Friday we went to the homeschool conference, and I got to hang with Michael K. and Caleb some. I bought this sweet sword, I'll post a picture of it ASAP. Then over the weekend family friends from Arkansas were here, and so that was really great. And yeah, I've been busy. "You want to go home and rethink your life." Um, I think I'll go home and rethink my life now. Or maybe I'll go for a hike.

Life, Sagery, The Usual

Well, It's about time I made a post! Sorry for my overly long absence, I've been playing a ton of Civ3 since I got it from Thom, on, wow, it was only Saturday. Ok, anyways, now for something sagey!

It's amazing how much the heat can sap one's strength. On Sunday and Monday I did 6 miles hiking/jogging each day, under a cloud cover. Then, yesterday, I went out and could barely do 2 miles at the same pace in the 4 o'clock sun. Odd, if you ask me. I also got the game "LotR: 3rd Age" at the family birthdays. It is really cool, even though you don't even get to use the characters from the books. The graphics are neat, but what I really like is the turn-based combat system, which is a great throwback to the D&D style RPG era. I also worked at Saint Vincent de Paul yesterday, and I got to test an electric typewriter! It helped me to finally figure out why they call it the "shift key". It's because when you push it on a typewriter, the whole letter apparatus thing shifts up to a different set of letters. Given that on the typewriter the "Caps Lock" was called "Shift Lock", I think it's only a matter of time before they rename the "Shift" key the "Cap" key. And then it'll make a lot more sense, and I won't have to go off on wild tangents like this anymore. Thank you, and goodnight.

Borgathon Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday! I had Michael, Mark, and Jordy over and we had a TNG Borgathon! It was pretty cool, and once we finished (at like 2:20) we played super smash bros. We were finally in bed at about 3. We also played a lot of Mafia yesterday evening. It was great. I got Rogue Squadron from Jordy, which I'm looking forward to playing. And I'm done for now, my eyes hurt.

Proclamation!

Effective immediately! The hours of the afternoon from 12 to 4 are officially dubbed the Wii hours of the afternoon, as it is too hot to exercise outdoors, so everyone who is exercising should be doing it inside on their Wii. Thank you, and goodnight.

Trail's End

Wrote this story earlier this year. Hope you like it.

Trail's End
By Dominic B.
“Hurry up guys!” I called back over my shoulder to Oslack the Mighty and Fin Urland as I approached the inn. “This is it guys, I’m sure of it.”
“It had better be!” grumbled Oslack, “I’m sick of this trail, and so far we’ve seen nary a thing!” he spoke the truth, we had been on the trail for months, and we hadn’t seen any sign of Garn. We had just run into clue after clue after clue.
“Trust me, this is the place, I’m positive. If he‘s not here, then the rumor was false, he hasn‘t returned yet.” I responded assuredly, though I wasn‘t really sure. With that I went through the door of the inn, and surveyed my surroundings. It was a pretty typical inn, dusty, the usual burly fixtures laughing at the bar, and the usual mysterious cloaked stranger, sitting alone at the corner table.
“What now Durmund?” whispered Fin. “There’s no place in here big enough to fit a 20 foot demon!”
“You two spread out and search the rooms for secret doors, I’ll cover this area.” I whispered back.
“Right on it” replied Oslack, as he moved toward a large set of wooden double doors near the back of the bar area. As Fin moved off, I began to look under the tables. As I moved from table to table, crawling on my hands and knees, looking for a button or knothole or something, the bartender began to watch me. As I came out from under one of the tables, I looked up and the bartender was right in front of me, staring at me.
“Can I help you?” he said sternly.
“Er, uh no sir, I’m looking for, uh, something.” I stammered.
“Well, what is it, you’re scaring the customers.” he replied. Then I heard Fin calling from the next room.
“IN HERE! I FOUND IT!” I scrambled to my feet as Oslack burst from the wing he was searching and charged across the bar. We went through the door Fin had gone through, and there, in the hall in front of Fin was a huge black door that had emerged from the ground. On it was a relief sculpture in silver of a skull with two arrows crossed behind it.
“What’s all this?” the bartender asked, flustered.
“That’s the right symbol; Garn has to be in there.” I said in a determined tone.
“Wait who’s garn?” the bartender said timidly.
“YES! We finally found it!” Oslack exclaimed, brushing off bartender’s question and grabbing a torch from a bracket in the wall. “What are we waiting for? Let’s hunt some demon!”
“We can’t just charge into a labyrinth entrance you fool. It could be a trap!” said Fin. “I’ll check the door.” Then he began feeling the crack of the door and the sides of the entrance. When he was done, he stood up and spoke to Oslack and I “Ok, its fine.” he said.
“Good then, I’ll go first.” I said, and drew my sword. Then I stepped up and kicked in the door. As we peered in, we saw a shadowy staircase descending into the gloom. “Ready?” Fin asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I mumbled, and I stepped down into the shadow. As we began to descend, the bartender yelled after us.
“Wait who are you? What is this ent-” And his voice faded beyond the limits of our hearing. When we reached the bottom of the stairs we emerged into a small room, roughly ten feet by ten feet. On each of the three walls that we hadn’t come from was a door, each in a different color. I dug in my pack and brought out the map that had lead us to this point.
“Which way?” Oslack asked. I looked at the map. It was unclear; the only thing written was a riddle.
“There’s only a riddle. It says: ‘The door of least resistance is the one of many hues, the door of the great matches morning dew, as for the third and final door, I haven’t a clue.’ I suppose that the door of morning dew is the blue one then.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” exclaimed Oslack. “That’s the door for us!”
“Wait just a minute Oslack.” Fin retorted. “How do we know that this ‘door of the great’ isn’t swarming with monsters? I say we take the door of least resistance, which is obviously the striped one!”
“Look guys, arguing doesn’t get us anywhere, and the longer we stay in one place the more likely we are to get caught. Let’s just take the white door on the left there and be done with it.”
“Fine, fine” grumbled Oslack.
“I guess that would be all right” mumbled Fin.
“Good then,” I said, and I walked over and kicked in the white door. As the torchlight filtered into the next room we saw that it was a long rectangular room, with a door on the far side. And between us and the door, on the far end of the room, were five goblins. They were interesting little creatures, about waist high and all green skin and blue armor. The second they noticed us, three charged and two took out tiny bows.
“We got company guys!” I said taking a step back.
“Finally, a fight!” Oslack yelled, and he took out his battle axe from the sling on his back and ran at the little goblins.
“Hmm, always the foolish one.” Fin said with slight amusement as he knocked an arrow in his bow. Then a goblin arrow whizzed past my face, barely missing me. I hurried to join Oslack and ran at the goblins as well. A moment later an arrow flew from behind me and hit one of the goblin archers square in the nose, instantly killing it and splattering purple blood on the dungeon wall.
“Good shot!” I called back at Fin, as Oslack and the three goblin warriors collided just ahead of me. I saw one get knocked to the ground as they hit, and as I reached Oslack’s side he cleanly cut one of the goblins in half. Then another goblin arrow glanced off the dungeon wall and caught Oslack’s cheek, giving him a nasty cut. As if in answer Fin’s bow sang out behind us, and the goblin that had hit Oslack was dead on the ground. Then the other two goblin warriors stabbed at me, and I easily parried both thrusts. I then speedily struck back at the one to my right. My blow hit home, going right through a seem in the goblin’s armor and coming out the back. I instantly pulled my sword out, and from the corner of my eye saw the last goblin taken down by an arrow. As Fin ran up behind me I turned to look at Oslack’s wound. “Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.
“Yeh, I’m fine, it’s not very deep.” he replied huskily. “You think those goblins have buddies around here?”
“I don’t know,” said Fin, “but either way, we better do something with these bodies or get out of here.”
“Let’s leave ‘em for the cave crawlers, and hurry and go through the door on the far end.” I suggested.
“Right then, lead on.” said Fin. As we approached the door and examined it further, we saw that it had some batter marks on it, as if the goblins had been trying to get through. “Not very strong, are they?” remarked Fin.
“No, but I’m sure it’s not too hard to get through.” I replied confidently. I stepped up and tried to kick the door open, just I had done to a hundred others before it. But this time when the door should have given way, I bounced off it like a pebble, and slammed on the cold stone floor.
“OW!” I shouted loudly.
“SHHH!” Oslack and Fin both replied.
“Sorry,” I murmured back, as I got up. “Um, Oslack, why don’t you do the honors this time?”
“Be glad to.” said Oslack, stepping up with his axe. He took a mighty swing that should have shattered any normal door, but this door barely moved. In slumped slightly on its hinges, and then we saw why I wasn’t able to kick it in. On the other side of the door was solid stone, the door was fake.
“A dead end!” spat Oslack.
“Not quite,” said Fin, who both of us had forgotten.
“What do you mean?” asked Oslack in disgust, as he turned toward Fin, who was fiddling with something in one of the corners. Suddenly we heard a crack, and beside the fake door the stone slid aside, revealing a bare passageway.
“That’s what I mean.” said Fin smugly.
“Oh” said Oslack. We all started walking down the passageway, and as we got further in we began to feel an evil presence, so thick in the air it was almost palpable.
“This has to be it.” Fin whispered almost inaudibly. Then, as we rounded a corner, we entered a room and saw the reason for the presence we had felt. The room was a large domed room, hexagonal in shape, with all sorts of strange mystical markings on the walls. And standing in the middle of this room, looking huge and menacing, was the thing we had been hunting for months, the towering demon Garn. He was about 20 feet tall, and his skin was a deep leathery red. He had two heads, each with 8 eyes clumped at the top, giving him a complete range of vision. In one hand he wielded a huge black serrated blade, and in the other he had a goblet full of black liquid.
“Are you the Demon Garn?” I yelled out loudly and surely.
“Yes.” It replied in an otherworldly tone that sounded like a hundred voices wheezing and gasping.
“I order you to return to the plain of Tartarus immediately, or face destruction!” I replied loudly.
“By whose authority do you command me?” He replied, and I realized for the first time he had no mouth to speak out of. “What mortal can give me a command? Who are you!?”
“Who am I!?!” I replied, raising my voice to an exasperated note. The tone I talked in was critical, if I sounded the least bit frightened I could ruin all we had worked for. “I am the famous demon slayer Durmund the Intrepid, wielder of the great sword Storm Parry, Bringer of Justice, and you will obey my command!”
“I will not be deposed.” Garn replied forcefully.
“If you will not take his word then listen to mine!!” Oslack yelled, stepping forward.
“And who are you, but another mere mortal?” Garn replied coolly.
“Who am I!?! I am Oslack the Mighty of the Northern Tribes, son of Sigmund the Daring, and wielder of the Amulet of Darksbane! You will retreat or be destroyed!”
“I will not.” Garn spat, beginning to waver slightly.
“You shall!” shouted Fin, stepping forward.
“Yet another mortal?” Garn questioned, amused.
“Not just any mortal, you fool! I am Fin Urland, keeper of the Elf Star of the West, and wielder of the Bow of Drendelon‘s Light! You will flee or be destroyed!!”
“I WILL NOT!” Garn raged, and with that he flung the black liquid out of his cup, and it landed in three puddles. Then out of each puddle rose a black demon, the size of a man, but skinny and starved in figure, each with a spiny tail and a trident.
“Zang Grata Et Flama Yudik!” I shouted, and as I did, my sword leapt to life with swirling flames, and tiny lightning bolts leapt in and out of it. The three demons ran at me, and with one smooth motion of almost superhuman speed I cut one in half, decapitated the other, and shot a bolt of lighting at the third. All three disintegrated and winked out of existence the second my sword left them. Garn roared with fury, and as he raised his sword a bolt of shadow leapt out of it towards me. Just as it was about to hit me and turn me into shadow dust, Oslack put his hand out and shot a bolt of brilliant light out of the amulet he was now holding. A look of dismay crossed the demon’s face, if it could be called that, as the light intercepted the shadow. The light instantly traveled up the length of the shadow beam, until it hit the dark sword, which shattered instantly.
“NOOOO!” bellowed Garn. “I WILL NOT BE DEPOSED!!” And out of the corner of my eye I saw Fin knocking an arrow, which began to glow with the power of his mystic bow.
“I SHALL NOT RETURN TO TARTARUS. I SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED!” The demon shrilled, as it took a step toward us. Then Fin loosed his arrow. It shot through the air and hit the demon square in the left shoulder.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Garn bellowed in despair. Then, the demon began to glow from the inside, and suddenly, in a thousand points of brilliant light, it exploded, and we slowly heard its dying shout dissipating into the dim light.
“We‘ve done it guys. Well done. We followed the path, and the demon is destroyed,” I said softly, victory and satisfaction in my voice. “Good has triumphed again, and at last, the trail is at its end."

Stuff, Items, Thingamabobs, Etc.

Ello poppets! Well, last Thursday I bought an air soft gun, and it broke promptly on me after about 20 rounds. But we brought it back to Big 5, and they gave me a replacement, which was the last of it's kind in the store. Actually it was the one they had in the display counter. But that one works great, dad and I shot a piece of paper earlier, and it worked well. Of course, it did jam up a bit, but that was our fault for not cocking it fast enough. Anyways, Happy Father's day to all you Dads, especially my own!!! Don't even know if he reads this actually. Anyways. Em, hm. Splunge, haven't got anything sagey to say. I'll probably post one of my stories sometime in the next week or so. That's about it. Goodnight poppets.

Axis & Allies

I would have posted a post like this very one yesterday, but I was disinclined to, as by the time I remembered I was wanting to post a post like this one, the computer was off, and I didn't want to wait for it to boot. But ok, anyways, to the post!

I finally got to play Axis & Allies for the first time yesterday!!(I've had it for a year and a half!) The Allies were: Noah was the Soviets, Mark was UK and Jordy was US. And on the Axis side I was Germany and Michael was Japan. Axis dominated most of the game. There was a turn or two when it looked like all my work on the Russian front was about to collapse, but, thanks to attrition I won in the end. Michael wasn't able to take LA, though he blockaded it for a good third of the game. It was a very good game overall, challenging, and lots of fun. We're hoping to play again, with Michael and I on different sides. That'll make quite a bit of difference I think.

Drink Up Me Hearties, Yo Ho!

Ahoy! I've watched at least some Pirates of the Caribbean every day this week, and I think it may be going to my head! I be, like, on total pirate overload. I'm even starting to dream up a pirate role playing game. Also I got a part in the next play as the bartender! Good part for me, eh? I'm just hoping there's plenty of root beer! Or rum. Heh Heh Heh. We got the chickens today. They're small and cute. I would post a picture, but I'm too lazy. I'm all hyper right now too. Must be the rum. Drink up me hearties, yo ho! (I didn't actually have any rum, incase you're wondering)

Back At Last

Well, I'm finally back. Been on vacation at DISNEYLAND!!! It was really fun. All the rides were totally awesome. I went on California Screamin 4 times in a row!(I was a bit queasy afterwards) I think my favorite rides were Matterhorn and Pirates. But Space and Thunder mountains were pretty darn sweet too. I also had quite a few Churros. Those things are addicting! Anyways, it was great and relaxing. I also watched this interesting Sci Fi movie in the hotel room one of the days. It was called "Impostor". It was about this guy who had been replaced by an alien clone replica, except, the replica was made so much like the guy that once it found out what it was, it couldn't live with itself, much less complete it's mission. Well, kinda, it was a little confusing. We also spent an afternoon at the beach, which was really fun. I got to swim in the ocean, which was great. That reminds me, I probably walked somewhere around 25 miles in the past week. (just a rough guess) We got to eat at the Rain Forest Cafe, which was pretty neat. I also got this great mug at the Lego shop that has various mini figures and my name on it. It's totally cool!! Well, that's a quick summary, and I haven't really got anything else to say about now. Later folks.

One of the Dangers of Being Human...

I find that the more I worry about and plan for the future, the less I am able to enjoy the moment. And then, I often find myself under too much pressure from myself when the time comes to fulfill the plans I made. Of course, if I did the opposite, and didn't plan enough, and lived completely in the moment, the results would be disastrous. I guess it's just one of the hazards of being human. And so I plunge bravely on in this adventure, hoping for the best, planning for the worst, and learning from my mistakes. And trying, trying to live as well as one can. God help me.

May a Moody Baby Doom a Yam

Well, things are very mundane lately, I think the rising temperatures may be stifling my sagey thoughts. Anyways...

Cap'n Kirk is not a jerk
I may change my name to Crumple Dirk
This idea just really doesn't work

Sorry about the tacky poetry folks, but I got a little carried away with the rhyme scheme. So, some lord of the rings commercials we thought up:
1. For Bottled Water- Legolas is walking on top of the snow on the frozen mountain. He then finds in the snow a bottle of water, which he takes and then drinks.

2. For Dr. Pepper- So the Nazgul are all lined up at the ford of Bruinen, with Arawen on the other side. Then one of the Nazguls whips out a can of doctor pepper and says "I'll trade you for the halfling, she elf." Then Arawen says: "Sure. Sweet!"

3. For Sierra Mist- So the leader Uruk Hia is standing there in front of Borromir with the arrows in his chest, and he takes out a can of Sierra Mist. As he's about to open it, Aragorn comes running up, knocks him down, kills him, and then drinks the Sierra Mist.

Ok, you're all probably on weirdness overload now, so this is the one and only Highland Sage, signing out. (again, I apologize for my bad Tolkien spellings.)

2 LOTR Goofs

Sorry I haven't posted very much lately people, but I haven't really had any random thoughts. But anyways, to the post.

So Katie and Rachel and I were watching Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring last night, and we noticed two major goofs. One was when Legolas is explaining lembas bread. He says: "One small bite is enough to fill a growned man." Funny, huh? The other was after Aragorn slays the leader Uruk Hia. (sorry that I'm not brushed up on my Tolkien spellings) So when Aragorn is running past all the dead orcs towards Boromier, as he runs past one of the orcs lifts his head up and looks at Aragorn! It's funny! In other news I beat Alpha Centari and got 137% score. And I dressed up earlier and I had a trench coat on and my hair slicked back. Actually, it's still slicked back, so I'm gonna go wash it now. Until next time, this is the Highland Sage, signing out.

-End Transmission

P.S. some of the spell checking suggesttions on the LOTR words are really funny. (or cs for orcs, legals for Legolas, etc. you get the point.)

I Need to Go to Bed

I should go to bed now. But I'm making a post, so I hope you all read it. I got my hair cut today, and I have to say, as far as cuts go, this is the best I've looked in a long time. I finally branched out from my near buzz cut. Uuuum, we're ordering 4 Modelled Cochin Bantams. (puffy small green chickens) And, that's about it. Except, not. I'm glad the weather is finally getting nice. I can barely stand to be indoors all day. I honestly can't think of anything sagey tonight, so I guess I really should go to bed. O, I've found a theme song for the highland sages, it's "Wherever We Go" by the newsboys. so here it is:

Wherever we go, the bluebirds sing
And the flowers bloom
And the grass gets green
It's a curious thing
But it's just our thing

Wherever we go, the bees behave
In the treetops, squirrels smile and wave
It's a curious thing
And it's humbling

Where we go, little glow-worms glow
Little roadrunners run ahead
Gonna tell their friends
Little mice, little men
Get 'em all excited
All invited

HANDS UP HOLLER BACK HERE
LET'S THROW THIS PARTY IN GEAR
WE BROUGHT THE WELCOME MAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT
HANDS UP HOLLER BACK NOW
WE DON'T CLAIM ANY KNOW-HOW
WE’RE GIVING GOD ALL THAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT

Wherever we go, the dumb get wise
And the crime rates drop
And the markets rise
It's a curious thing
But it's just our thing

Bullies make nice, crooks repent
And the ozone layer shows improvement
It's a curious thing
And it's humbling

Wherever we're led
All the Living Dead
Wanna leave their Zombie Mob
It's a touching scene when they all come clean
God help us, we just love our job

HANDS UP HOLLER BACK HERE
LET'S THROW THIS PARTY IN GEAR
WE BROUGHT THE WELCOME MAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT
HANDS UP HOLLER BACK NOW
WE DON'T CLAIM ANY KNOW-HOW
WE’RE GIVING GOD ALL THAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT

High, throw your hands up,
throw your hands up high,
high, throw your hands up,
throw your hands up high

this is a message we spread
bringing life to the dead
this is a gospel exposed
follows where ever we go

this is a message we spread
bringing life to the dead
this is a good news exposed
follows where ever we go

HANDS UP HOLLER BACK HERE
LET'S THROW THIS PARTY IN GEAR
WE BROUGHT THE WELCOME MAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT
HANDS UP HOLLER BACK NOW
WE DON'T CLAIM ANY KNOW-HOW
WE’RE GIVING GOD ALL THAT
WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT

Yo My Homies!

Well, sorry I haven't posted in so long, but our security on the network main computer is down, and it wasn't until Thursday that someone thought of turning off that computer and letting the Internet through to this one. Oh well. Anyways, um, lessee...

Well today Michael came over and we played a bunch of board games. Age of Mythology, My Spaceship Game, Some Game Cube, and last but not least, LOTR Risk. It was a lot of fun. In other local news...

I've been reading starship troopers the past week or so, and I had a dream where I was a starship trooper, so that was pretty cool. The odd part is that it happened at the same part of the story that I had a dream about it last time I read the book. (if that made any sense at all) Also last night we watched "The Best of Both Worlds: Part II", and we think we've discovered the most classic Worf line. So he and Commander Riker are talking about what they can use against the Borg, and what their advantage, (if any) is. Then Worf says: "The Borg have neither Courage nor Honor. That is our greatest advantage." ROTFL!! This from the guy that can barely restrain the 55 year old captain as a Borg!! Haha. I better be getting to bed now. It's 11:11, and you are loved.

May I Have Your Attention Please! O Wait, Nevermind...

Actually I haven't got anything to say. I went down south this weekend, and it was really hot. And some homeless person asked me for change or a couple dollars outside the mall, so I gave em five bucks. And it was really hot. And for lunch on Saturday I had a really good brisket sandwich. I saw Mike's play on Friday, which was quite good. Um, lessee, nothing much else to say, except I'm really glad you all enjoyed my last post. And also at least 8 people told me over the weekend that I'm too tall. I wish that I had a delicious cup of Earl Grey tea right about now, so I guess I'll go make one. But first, I may as well go off on a sagey digression.

Um, hmmm, lemme think. Mancala is an odd game. Um, no, that ain't gonna work. I listened to "That's Your Horoscope for Today" by Weird Al Yankovic at least 10 times this weekend, and I have to tell you, that is too much for one weekend! Well, I really want that tea. Someone should write a song about that. It could go a little li- oh what's that? I've already done this before? Really? Oh, yeah, I do remember. Could I do a different song? No? Please? Ok, fine, I'll do something else.

Oh yeah, I got to play networked Age of Empires 2 with Alex and Daniel. We got wiped out both times though. gtg
Later

Despicably Desperate Dirge of Dalquain

Okay, So not much happening around here, except I'm convinced our neighborhood has a bubble above it that keeps rain from falling on us. Yeah, anyways...

I haven't really got anything to say, so I'll tell you about the Despicably Desperate Dirge of Dalquain. A long time ago there was a country named Dalquain. All the people there were terrible bored, so they

Public Service Announcement

The Public Communications Authority has decided to interrupt this post to bring a special warning to the readers of this blog. Do to a general lack of any content of useful contribution to civilized men, we hereby issue the following warning:

This blog "Random Thoughts from a Highland Sage" has been rated "XX" on the weirdness scale implemented for all public mediums at the Copenhagen conference of control of rampant abnormality of 1987. We hereby recommend all readers to either (a) be completely insane before reading, (b) slowly build up their endurance to like reading by small doses of such things as

"Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", (c) Follow up reading with a dose of fine literature such as Shakespeare or Twain, or (d) just don't expect too much.

We now return to the post in progress:

And then the Glanglious Garfugs all decided to bounce up and down in a snowstorm, leaving, of course, the desperate Dalquainians to eventually stop complaining when they realized no one was listening to them wine anymore. The End.

I guess that's about it for tonight, so till next time this is the Highland Sage, signing out

-End Transmission

Spam, Eggs, Bacon, and Spam

Well, I haven't got anything to say really. Had cream soda this evening that looked like a rum. It was perfectly clear, and all the packaging is gray, black, and white. It was funny actually. That reminds me, I went wandering Friday afternoon, farther than ever before, and I climbed a couple of the hills nearby. When I was at the top of one of them I was walking over some rocks, and they were looser then I thought, and as I walked over them they began to rock and move. I thought I heard gravel or something shifting below, but, when I got off the rocks, it didn't stop. Then I realized it was far too regular for falling gravel. It was a rattlesnake! Well, I high tailed it out of there pretty quick. (no, I didn't leave back over the same rocks) And yeah, I guess my guardian angel put in a little overtime. Well that's all the news from my corner of the highlands, so I'll be signing out. It's 10:03, and you are loved!

Amazing Grace

I saw the movie amazing grace today. It was good. Not much else goin down in this hood. Ooh! I'm a poet and I didn't even know it. The movie is about the guy who fought for abolition of the slave trade in Britain. I can't remember his name gosh darn it! But, overall, the movie was very well done. The aging makeup in particular. 8 of 10 overall. And the comic relief was good too.

What The-!!

The strangest thing happened when I was out walking in the forest half an hour ago. A grasshopper flew up in the air and, just, hit me on the shoulder out of the blue. It was strange. There's nothing quite like being suddenly pelted by a grasshopper. Just thought I'd say that.

My Play is Done

My play is done. It ended yesterday. Always bittersweet, that last performance. I personally did great, except during the readers theatre a whole page, and basically the conclusion, got cut out do to a reading error!Not mine though. It was still a blerg! Anyways, I did awesome on my song and dance, except I dropped my hat, but oh well.

I do like earl grey tea. Someone should write a song about that. It could go a little like this:

I like Earl Grey tea, oh de da dee dee,
It's the only drink for me, oh de da dee dee, etc.

My shoe is off, my foot is cold, I have a fish I like to hold. That's true, except for the part about being cold, and having a fish. I think I'll go watch a TNG now. My play is done, it was fun, and now I think I'll make a pun. That's about right, except for the pun part. My tea is about done now, so till next time, it's 10:10, and you are loved!

-End Transmission

2300

Well, the computer clock says 11:00. Actually it says 11:01. And the microwave clock says 10:55. And I don't have anything sagey to say so I'll bore you with my life.

We went to the 100th anniversary dinner of the local Knights of Columbus circle. It was quite pleasant. And it was steak. I had a performance today. And I beat Age of Empires 2 about 15 minutes ago. And now the computer clock says 11:03. (I should switch it to military)

Galen got her black belt today! WAY TO GO GALEN!!! I've never done martial arts, though form how many of my friends do it you'd think I would. And, yeah, I can't think of anything else to say. The microwave clock says 11:00, or as they say in the military, 2300. I should change it to military. Well, whether it's 11:00 or 2300, you are loved, and I'm signing out!

-End Transmission

Random Wierdness

Where Have All the Comments Gone?

What's happened to the comments? Have I not said anything worth commenting on lately? Are you there? It seemed like I used to get more, but it could be me. Anyways...

I said something really stupid in the car on the way home. Mom said how she didn't like caviar, and then I said "But, rich Russians like caviar, so it must mean, they, er, like it!". Yeah, I know, smooth of me. Only 3 more shows and we're done with it all! And I have a presentation to write tomorrow morning. And anyways...

Also on the way home we were talking about why so many people like being menacing. It was interesting. I found that I think I prefer being Charismatic and Flamboyant. And that was that. But who doesn't like being charismatic. Anyways...

That's about all I have to say about that.

Let's Not Kill Paul

Um, I had a performance this evening, and I did the best I have yet done on my song & dance number. And things are pretty dandy round here. And I had something to say, but I forgot it. o well. Let's not kill Paul, he's good for opening the door and letting us shoot out. Or giving a good example and being to bed at a decent hour of the night. Unlike us Highland Sages that are up till all hour of the night and then complain when we have to wake up at 8:30. And I use we in the sense of Highland Sages as a group, not that there's more of us. Or me. Or whatever. If "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", then I suppose late to bed and late to rise makes a man strange, odd, and, er, me? that doesn't work. How about this one: Late to bed, early to rise makes a man tired. Speaking of which I better be turning in myself...

What is Going on With My Head!?!

It's so strange, I can't concentrate, I mean, I can, but not on anything useful! By brain feels like a big dust bunny. My thought are cycling through a thousand a second.(well, not quite, but you get the picture) I can barely get my work done these days, and in general I'm feeling distracted, but there's nothing to distract me. And on top of it I've been hyper. I think maybe I don't care enough to concentrate on anything useful maybe, but I dunno.

Is this a radical phase
A problematical age
That keeps me running
From all that I used to be

I may be going crazy. Or I could just be out of sorts for some big reason which I've failed to realize. But don't despair; it'll pass, and no doubt more quickly than it should.

Kyrie -Mr. Mister

The wind blows hard against this mountainside
Across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide
Setting my feet upon the road

My heart is old it holds my memories
My body burns a gemlike flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine
Is where I find myself again

Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison
Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison
Where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie Eleison
On a highway in the light

When I was young I thought of growing old
Of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road
Or only wished what I could be

Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison
Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison
Where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie Eleison
On a highway in the light

Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison
Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison
Where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie Eleison
On a highway in the light

(2 more choruses omitted by me)

Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel

Note: If you don't know "Kyrie Eleison" means "Lord have mercy" in Greek.

Blog of Zog

Well, we got the Blog of Zog running again!

www.blogofzog.blogspot.com

Check it out!

The Derned Mascara!

That derned mascara!!! The stuff doesn't come off well enough! Apart from that I love theatre! Today was opening night(Friday the 13th, crazy eh?). It went okay, except that one of the dances fell to pieces and one of the main characters in the scene wasn't ready in time, so they had to stall for like 2 minutes. Apart from that things went pretty well. Except my derned mascara won't come off and I look goth!! Well, not really. It is pretty funny looking though...

Anyways, we learned tonight that you should never ever ever listen to the "Winnie the Pooh" theme song and think about the Jedi Counsel. Hahahaha!!! I got you! Funny though, isn't it. I can just see Ki Adi Mundi(tall head guy) swinging his head from side to side to the music. Then Boss Nass comes up and says "Meesa just loves eatin thisun hunny!". That's just funny. Also on the way home we were making up the acronyms for the 3 letters on the licence plates of other other cars, and I did this one for DSB. Disturbingly Sober Barbarians. I bowled today too. And my bowling nemesis(Jordy) came out even with me, we each beat the other in two games. Oh, and Galen, you left one! (hehehehe)

-End Transmission

Normal? What is this Normal?

Sorry I haven't been posting regularly people, but I've been busy what with Easter and my play. Anyways, I'm posting now, so aren't you happy? Makes me wanna do a jig, except I'm sitting at a desk, so that could hurt right now. Ooh, my bagel is done, brb. (I know I didn't have to put this, but oh well) I'm back now, with my bagel. Don't you just love plain bagels with cream cheese? I do, this is my 3rd today(I had 2 at breakfast).

Anyways, I guess that digression was a bit abnormal. But, what might I ask is normal? I think normality is an illusion created by the perceived ideal of those that control the media and other major influences. However, since humans are always wanting more, they can never attain their supposed personal "Norm". Unless of course a girl marries a guy named Norm, then she has her own personal Norm, but that's beside the point. The point is that God made everyone unique and the expectations of others for us to be "normal" often end up limiting how much one can be the person they were made to be. It all seems rather silly to me. Well, in closing, it has been said that we come into this world unique,so why should leave it a copy? Just a thought. It's 10:20, and you are loved.

"How to Save a Life" and The Apostles

After Mass this evening I was in adoration, and was thinking of the Apostles and Jesus in the garden, and how the Apostles kept falling asleep. And the one thing that kept popping into my head was the chorus of "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. And it actually does fit. Here's the lyrics:

Where did I go wrong,
I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

It does fit actually, from the perspective of the Apostles. Yeah, that hit me hard. I really can feel what they must have felt, seeing Jesus dead on the cross. They must have felt dead, in despair, hopeless. They didn't know Jesus would rise, they thought he was gone. They had devoted their lives to him, and he was dead. They must have felt purposeless. It's just a hopeless feeling. And they hadn't even been able to stay up in their last hours with him. That must have just killed them inside. It's horrible. That's about all I came up with on that. Also, a friend of mine is having some hard times right now, so could you all please pray for them? Thanks. That's it for now. It's 10:13 and you are loved!

-End Transmission

On the Effects of a Frigid Shower...

Well, our hot water heater is busted, and the earliest we can replace it is 2 weeks, so I thought I'd tell you how odd a truly frigid shower is. It's a bit like laughing gas. You get hyper ventilated and then you can't stop laughing. Yeah. It's quite invigorating actually. I felt sleepy, before I showered, but afterwards I was giddy and super hyper for nearly 20 minutes. (not that anyone noticed) The downside, (aside from getting light headed and then numb and laughing your head off and feeling giddy and hyper, if you don't like that sort of thing, though I like it) is that when you're drying off it's problematic because you can't tell whether your feet are wet or not. But o well, serah serah. Also I noticed that it says that my posts are posted an hour later then they actually are posted, and I don't know why it does that. I should see about fixing that. No matter, you've all been a wonderful audience tonight. Or wonderful readers, as it may be, but it's late now, so this is the one and only Highland Sage, signing out.

-End Transmission

A Cold Glass of Coca-Cola

Sorry I didn't post much last week people, I was sick and then I wasn't around. I am currently sitting at my computer making this entry and have in front of me a cold glass of Coca-Cola. What more could someone ask for at this hour than to be blogging and drinking Coke? That's really odd, why is it called Coca-Cola, but you Spell it Coke instead of Coce. Oh, I think I just answered my own question. Anyways, not much has happened to me (that is relevant), so I'll take this in a completely different direction. I won't actually. Anyways, my Coke is in a green plastic cup with five ice cubes. And now for something completely different.

In my profile, you know how it says I don't use weapons, I am a weapon? Well, I've figured out what kind of weapon I am. I'm a weapon of mass distraction!! Punny of me, eh? Well, I haven't much else to say. I'm gonna go watch a Bob Newhart now, so g'night to you all, may you have pleasant dreams, and may you never awaken to the sound of a ravenous Bugbladder Beast of Traal in your hall. Thank you, and goodnight.

Return of the Highland Sage

Ok, I'm back!!! Aren't you happy to see me? O, uh what's that, where have I been? I've been visiting friends! What, I have to make a post now? Ok, fine, I do have something prepared though...



Well, I've been away the past week visiting friends, it was most fun! I walked a good six miles in the rain with Michael, just because I could! It's funny, but why is it that when one person is walking in the rain, it's depressing, but when several people are walking in the rain, it's nice to see. I thought that was interesting. The stupid antiques roadshow is playing in the background and making it hard to think strait. Oi. People in the rain. Yeah, it's interesting. While we walked we talked a little about "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and how the guy is lonely, and he wishes someone would come, but he is willing to wait until they find him. Kinda like in life when you are powerless to change where you are, but you hope someone will move towards you. I dunno. I may edit this in the morning, the stupid TV, I can't think! O well, if you can't beat em, join em. Until next time, this is the Highland Sage, Signing out.

The Life of Dom According to Music

Ok, I came up with something good for a post. So here it is:

You play all your songs on Shuffle, and answer the questions according to the song, its kind of funny

How are you feeling today?
Crazy- Knarles Barkley
yeah, that sounds right

Will you get far in life?
Fly Like an Eagle- Steve Miller Band
I'll take that as a big yes

How do your friends see you?
Blue Clear Sky- George Strait
really?

Will you get married?
Say the Words(Now)- DC Talk
I guess that's a yes?

What is your best friend's theme song?
Dust On the Bottle- David Lee Murphy
wow. That's pretty accurate

What is the story of your life?
Bob- "Weird Al" Yankovic
what more can I say?

What was high school like?
You Can Call Me Al- Paul Simon
wow. That's just odd

How can you get ahead in life?
Superman(It's Not Easy)- Five For Fighting
wow. I guess I have to find the good things in me or something?

What is the best thing about your friends?
River of Dreams- Billy Joel
oooookay. whatever that means

What is in store for this weekend?
Love's Divine- Seal
what the heck?

To describe your grandparents?
Good Riddance(Time of Your Life)- Green Day
whoa. that's interesting

How is your life going?
Who Says You Can't Go Home- Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles
interesting again

What song will they play at your funeral?
Should've Been a Cowboy- Toby Keith
that speaks for itself

How does the world see you?
Collide- Howie Day
I have no idea what that means

Will you have a happy life?
Home- Michael Buble
I suppose that's a no

What do your friends really think of you?
The Riddle- Five For Fighting
whoa. am i that perplexing?

Do people secretly lust after you?
In the Light- DC Talk
I'm not gonna say anything

How can I make myself happy?
Rhythm of My Heart- Rod Stewart
go to sea I suppose?

What should you do with your life?
Africa- Toto
does that mean I should be a missionary? Or maybe join the Peace Corp.?

Will you ever have children?
Romulan Ale- S.P.O.C.K.
!?!?!

I hope this doesn't make you think I'm more crazy then I already am...

UFO Tofu

Well, I don't really have much to say today. Yeh. Except that yesterday I saw the best movie. The acting wasn't spectacular. But it was just the best movie. It's called "Facing the Giants". And I also downloaded some more songs from Itunes. Yah. I'll have to put my playlists up when I have more time so you can see what sort of songs I like. That's about it.

I'm a Monopoly Shark

Well, I just won Monopoly for a second time in a row. Got the reds each time. I guess that makes me a Monopoly Shark. But I wouldn't want to play again right now. I think three times in two days is a little pushing it. But, I am on a roll. And I'm ready to rock, oh, I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I, forget that um sorry. Yeah, that's about it.

Live Long and Prosper. (or)
Die Fast Imposter.

Your pick.

The Highland Sage Strikes Again!

Well, I did something rather sagey today. When we went into Safeway to buy some various items I talked in a Scottish accent the whole time. And people took me seriously! It was great. Well, I think people took me seriously. Anyways, I've always thought that a good Scottish Brogue can make anything sound deftly serious and outrageously funny at the same time. Like the phrase, "It must be burnt!". Imagine a Scottish person saying that! It's just funny if you say it fast, but say it a bit slower it sounds so incredibly serious that you laugh. I shouldn't pick on the Scots though, they rock. I love the Scots! For the clans! Raise the colors! Fix bayonets! Highland Charge!!!! Ok, I'm over it. And now for something comepletely different, a quote from a song I like:

I should've been a Cowboy
I should've learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter, riding by pony on a cattle drive
Stealing a young girl's heart
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
Oh I should've been a cowboy!

Well, I've done the camp fire songs. And the stealing of hearts. Well, not really actually. At least for the hearts. But o well. Sages don't have time for emotions. Well, in acuallity we do, but nevermind. Funny, Highland Sages are sometimes indecisive. Or maybe not... Er, wait no yes, um, I'm awesome! Yes. Exactly. Okay. Moving on. Actually, this post is long enough. Or is it...

Pippin/Phantasms

Ok, this post is firstly about my bunny, secondly, about a TNG I watched last night. Firstly, the bunny:

Basically, I have a bunny whose name is Pippin. Galen thought I should have named him Charmont. Cary thinks he's evil. Katie thinks he's cute. And I think he's dumb.(as in intelligence, I like him a lot though) And that's the deal with Pippin the bunny. Ya, that was random, ok, moving right along...

Also, I watched the TNG episode called Phantasms last night. Here's a link to a synopsis: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68622.html
Even thought this episode is slightly on the creepy side, it is one of my favorites. There are also some very good and memorable parts. For instance when Data meets Dr. Sigmund Freud on the holodeck and Dr. Freud says that Data has an unrestrained urge to inflict violence. He then procedes to recommend Data for full psicollogical analysis and says he can fit him in next Tuesday. But this episode got me on thinking, imagining how weird it would be if you could watch other people's dreams by plugging them into a wall and having them sleep. I think that would be cool, though it would be a little creepy too. Especially if you were watching someone's nightmare(but that goes without saying, nightmares are creepy). I wonder who's dreams I'd want to see first...(muahahaha) uh, ya anyways, I guess that's about it ya'll. So until next time, this is the one and only Highland Sage, signing out.

10th Post

Well, this is my 10th post!!!!!!!! WooHoo!!!!! Now what should it be about? Ooh, I know! Or, no. Ah yes, that's an idea! Ok. Here's 10 things that I've done that are decidedly things only sages would do:

I've introduced myself as Alex. (this doesn't count if your name is Alex!)

I've convinced someone my name was Alex. (nor does this one!)

I've composed a song about entitled "The Sea Faring Lassies".

I've attempted to comendeer a boat on a lake not 1 mile wide.

I've acted like an alien field researcher, and people thought I was! (roughly)

I've seen every single episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I've hiked to a hill five miles from my house, climbed it, and came back. (and got lost along the way!)

I've had a half hour long discussion on what would've happened if Darth Maul had killed Obi Wan in episode 1.

I've greeted people at a christmas party will a hearty "Meelad, Majeed!".

I've discussed philosophy for light dinner conversation.

And there you have it! 10 sagey things! yes. Boy, what'll I do when post 100 rolls around? oh boy, I better start now...

Could You Please Direct Me to the Nuclear Wessels?

Well, thing have been pretty average for me in the past few days. Aside from finally burning my Itunes songs to CD and going to a family event(not in any particular order), things have been really normal. Yup, normal normal normal up here in the highlands. Which leads me to ask the question, "Could you please direct me to the nuclear wessels?" It's not that I really want to see one, it's just that I'd like to see something out of the ordinary, and that would be! Aside from that sort of thing, I've also made an important discovery in the past several days. Climbing moderately tall trees and sitting looking down on the world sure can help the mental attitude. Granted, if you haven't got any large climbable trees near by you could probably sit on your roof and get somewhat the same effect. Or maybe not. A dog, a panic, in a pagoda! That's about all I have to say about that.

Nothing

This is the post about nothing. I don't know why I'm posting it, as it has no purpose, though I might think of some use for it. Yub nub. Maybe it's a metaphor for times in your life when nothing is happening and yet things are happening, just not to you. And when nothing happens to you, and you're bored out of your skull, you end up making posts on your blog about nothing. Ya, that must be it. Or maybe not. Boy, that sure boggled the mind.

The Trick to Staying Strange

Just thought I'd say, to be a Sage it takes some modicum of weirdness, an overall strangeness of attitude. And the trick to maintaining this without letting people get you down by calling you names is to take everything as a complement! Whenever someone says "You're weird" you just have to say "Why thank you". Or when they say you need mental help you say "I will take that as a complement". (thanks Galen!) Yep, that's the secret to not losing your marbles. Or maybe not finding them, as it may be! And now an excerpt that just stuck out at me from a song I'm listening to:

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

No idea why that part stuck out at me. But I like it anyways.

Edit: I just realized what it is that stuck out about this part! It's like a metaphor for trying to find faith!! Something so undefined is God, and he can only be seen by those who are blind to the world!! O ya, inspiration of the Holy Spirit! Also the in the middle of the night is like walking in darkness!! Wow. That's totally awesome. I feel like singing a hymn now. Anyways, glad I figured that out. Wow. This song means a whole lot more now. I need to listen to it again. Maybe I'll dissect the metaphors in an upcoming post. That would be cool.

Nathan is a Bit Oblivious...

There have been several incidents of Nathan being totally oblivious and making everybody laugh in the past few days, so I thought I'd tell them. So I was sitting the car and was commenting on the had plastic piece in front of me that I would surely hit in an accident. "Man, this is bad," I said, "if we get in an accident I'm toast." After a 2 second pause or so Nathan erupts in the the chorus of "Celebrate Good Times". And I replied with a disgruntled "Well, excuse me!" Then he realized what he had just said and keeled over laughing. The other incident was earlier today when I was discussing cooking with Katie. We were talking about her strange experiments(which I don't care for) and I said "Well at least I never make anything disgusting!". Then Nathan, from downstairs yelled "YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA BOOM!" And then I cracked up. Hope you just have too =)

Drat Backgammon!

I just got completely walloped twice in backgammon! What a stupid game! Whatever happened to beginner's luck!? I rolled 3 and 1 four times in a row!! I mean seriously, what's with that? O well. Worse things have happened. Sages prefer chess anyways. I'd like to see him beat me at chess. I bet I'd win. So there. And for the record I'll probably continue playing backgammon until I'm better then my opponent. But when you get bad rolls, you can't do anything. I wonder how hard it is to weight dice... Just kidding. Actually, the bit about bad rolls is kind of a metaphor for life really. When you keep getting walloped, the only thing to do is keep playing and hope you get better rolls. Wow, that's cool. I'm pleasant, o ya. And hopefully I'll be more pleasant next time I play backgammon...

MARCH FORTH!!!

Ah, March fourth, the most commanding day of the year. such a good day for ordering troops, or just bossing your minions around. Not to mention you can basically tell someone the date and to go away at the same time! And who hasn't wanted to do that? I mean, really! C'mon, fess up! Fine, fine, be stubborn, you know you want to though. Don't you? I can see that smug little grin, don't think I can't! Oh, sorry, got a bit side tracked. And now, for something completely different, a limerick:

There once was a strange dude named Zach,
Who would constantly sit on a tack,
Then one day he thought,
"What a rotten lot I got",
So instead he sat on a mat.

Okay, so I'm not a Robert Frost or anything, but pretty good for 5 minutes, eh? And with that in mind, I bid you all to take the spirit of that day to heart and MARCH FO(U)RTH!!

Ghost Story

I received this in an email awhile back, and since it has been a main part of my joke and story repertoire.

An out of state traveler was on the side of a road in the bayou of Louisiana, hitchhiking on a real dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by. It was raining so hard he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. Suddenly he saw a car moving slowly, approaching and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.Wanting a ride real bad, the guy jumped in the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel, and no sound of the engine to be heard over the rain. Again the car crept slowly forward and guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and beg for his life. He was sure the ghost car would go off the road and into the bayou and he would surely drown! But just before the curve a shadowy figure appeared at the driver's window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the hitchhiker was alone again. Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally the guy, scared to near death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran to town. Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and voice quavering ,ordered two shots of whiskey, then told everybody about his supernatural experience. A silence enveloped and everybody got goose bumps when they realized the guy was telling the truth (and not just some drunk.) About half an hour later two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other, "Look Boudreaux, der's dat idiot what rode in our car when we wuz pushin it in da rain."

Actually, It Could Be the Skates.

Well, I was thinking about ice skating, today,(mostly because I had the opportunity to do some) and the following thought came to my mind. Why, when you fall down, do you blame the ice? It could be the skates. Or it could be the Fred trying to pull your glove out of your pocket and being very adamant in resisting your attempts to get him off of you. (And yes, that did happen to me.) But Freds aside, is it really the fault of the ice or the skate that you fall down? Granted, there may be a crack in the ice that makes you stumble, but you are riding on the skate, and that is what goes out of control when you hit the crack. It's rather curious, and I tend to believe that it is actually the fault of your feet more than the fault of the skates or the ice. But then again, if your feet are responsible, what does that mean for your legs?

Either way you will end up falling when you lose your balance, so I suppose it's one of those things in life where you never know what it's caused by, but it happens anyways, and you just have to overcome it and try again. In life there are three kinds of people, the kind that, when learning to skate fall and get up and try again, the kind that, when learning to skate fall and leave the ice, and the kind that sit on the sidelines laughing at these amateurs falling all over the place. I consider myself to be in all three categories.

Highland Sages Often Tend To Ramble...

Well, hello there little fellow! Actually since I can't see you and don't know who the heck you are I retract that statement. I tend to do that often, talk before I think. Aye, talking can sometimes just come out of the mouth, like a swarm of crazed swamp shrimp startled from the abyss of the swamp. (Where else do you find swamp shrimp might I ask?) Anyways, my name is Dominic, and I'm sure that in time you will come to view me as either a wise guy or a smart alec. This is the place I have designated to put my various thoughts, ideas, opinions, perhaps some book or movie reviews, and maybe even some of the short stories I write to pass the time.
I am, as the name of the blog implies, a self styled highland sage, which means I live somewhere on high land(which, in considering, could be anywhere, as all land is higher then the sea.) and that I often have good things to say, which is the main mark of any good sage. From time to time highland sages are known to ramble, though since I am the first I've met I cannot confirm this with any empirical data. I guess I'll just have to see whether or not that statement is true. So, I hope you will join me for this epic log of not so epic proportions. Or is it a grand tome of minuscule proportions? I can't decide. Perhaps it's a bunch of randomly assembled words. Well no matter! Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it.