Read a banned book during Banned Books Week (September 27-October 3): The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (Sept. 28-Oct. 7). Banned from a middle school library for being "too sexual." It's definitely not appropriate for middle schoolers, so it shouldn't even been considered for their library. It was an interesting book though (and weirdly, after reading it, people kept asking for it at work haha)

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (Oct. 8). Aww, I loved Odd! He never stopped smiling, even after his father died and a tree fell on his foot and shattered it. The frost giant didn't immediately kill him because of how stupidly big his smile was haha. I try to smile as much as possible, so this little book spoke deeply to my soul <3

Penguins Have Square Eyes by Patrick Trese (Oct. 9-12)

The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey Into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future by Jon Gertner (Oct. 13-20). I love that I've seen Greenland from a plane..its ice cap is epic! I'd like to visit in person though, before the glaciers melt. The book talked about the Jakobshavn Glacier, one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world (it's thought one of its icebergs was the one that sunk the Titanic), and how fast it's retreating..but weirdly, when I Googled it, I read it had actually grown from 2016-2019! I think the ocean currents were cooler in those years..glaciers are so fascinating!

Watermelon Snow by William A. Liggett (Oct. 21-22). This book had an awesome twist at the end!

The Secret Lives of Glaciers by M. Jackson (Oct. 23-27). Ugh this book was dumb..I wanted to read about glaciers, not philosophical discourses on people's opinions and stuff, and it was super repetitive. A shame, it could have been so much more interesting!

The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex by Owen Chase (Oct. 29)

We only had 4 or 5 trick-or-treaters yesterday, but we had forgotten to turn on the light, and the house is kinda hidden from the road, plus it was in the single digits and I imagine corona didn't help either. One of the people that came was the kid who lived here before us! I showed her inside and she met my parents..I thought that was cool lol. I actually did that when I lived in Texas, but was met with hostility when I told the owner I used to live there. I told mom and she said there was drama that happened, so they didn't like us and not to mention again I used to live there..sad. Hopefully next Halloween will be better! We have lots of candy left haha

( oct. 31-nov. 1 )

👻🔮✨ spooky questions! ✨🔮👻

ghost: have you ever seen a psychic? No
witch: do you believe in heaven? I feel like there must be *something*..nothingness just terrifies me!
black cat: favorite urban legend? *shrugs*
bats: are you superstitious? I can be, especially if I'm stressed and think something bad is going to happen..
coffin: have you ever had a paranormal experience? Yeah, I saw the ghost of a logger guy at the house I used to live in in Texas, and I saw a mysterious ball of light floating across the tundra when watching the Northern Lights a few years ago..mom and I still have no idea what it was (it was completely silent, so it couldn't have been a drone or anything like that)
cauldron: strangest dream (or nightmare) you’ve had? I've had many, but one time I dreamt my brother fell off something and turned into macaroni LOL
wizard: do you believe in aliens? *shrugs* Who knows?
enchanted: what fictional character scares you most? Most horror villains lol
haunt: do you believe in haunted objects? Maybe
spells: do you believe in magic? In a way..more like illusions..
graveyard: do you believe any conspiracy theories? I HATE conspiracy theories, especially the ones about 9/11. They're annoying to me..
potion: favorite horror movie? The Sixth Sense
full moon: do you believe in reincarnation? It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure. It would be interesting to experience it though..
vampire: are you afraid of death? Yeah
pumpkin: do you believe in ghosts? Yeah
midnight: last horror move that you’ve watched? Umm..Cabin in the Woods? That's as scary as I get LOL
skeleton: what is your biggest fear? Death, spiders, etc
crystal ball: when is a time you got caught? When I was taking water out of the Jacuzzi when I was told not to as a kid..mom put me in time out and I was so not happy with that lol, but I sure learned my lesson :P
magic: have you had any near-death experiences? When I choked when I was home alone a few years ago. *shivers* That was terrifying D:
raven: favorite fairytale? Hmm..not sure if I have one, but for now I'll say The Three Little Pigs lol
ouija: have you ever played with a ouija board? No
fangs: favorite poem? The Raven, Polar Explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard, etc

( October 31: That's the Spirit! )

Today's trivia: According to ancient Roman records, tribes located in today's Germany and France traditionally wore costumes of animal heads and skins to connect to spirits of the dead

I guess it finally decided to snow haha. They're forecasting 34 for the weekend though..it may not even stay. Crazy..

Today at the bookstore kids were encouraged to dress up and get a free book..it was cool seeing all their costumes hehe (the adults too!). Tomorrow is another free kids book day since it's First Friday..they're spoiled this week ;)

28. What are you looking forward to?

Hmm..going to my parents' house tomorrow, Mike's birthday party (the Executive Director of the Literacy Council) next week..



Would you rather live in a world where nobody cleans up after their dog or everybody has to do it bare-handed? Maybe the second one..good thing I have a cat :P

Today's trivia: Blue eyes are the most sensitive to light, dark brown the least sensitive

The river is freezing overr

( more )

I'm so fascinated by everyone's reports of Hurricane Sandy! So crazy. There was also a 7.7 earthquake in Canada..I'd take that over a hurricane :P (The closest I've come was seeing the outer bands of Hurricane Rita in Texas..that was pretty awesome)

( 68. Hero )

Would you rather eat three earthworms or wear a necklace made of them on your wedding day? The necklace..it could be a bug themed wedding!

Today's trivia: If you were in a commercial airliner traveling at average speeds, it would take 2.5 hours to fly across Hurricane Sandy's diameter (thanks shesingsnow!!)

We watched a version of Macbeth in English...it was in black and white and the beginning was sooo boring. It was also very gloomy and dark and the castle looked like a ruin. When Macbeth and Macduff were swordfighting it sounded like they were hitting garbage cans...

My group is coming over to my house at around 5:30 to practice and other things..

Happy Halloween

Today's Latin: dolus vel dulce? (trick or treat?)

"In the light of the battle's way the sands of time will shade. How proud our soldiers stand, with mace and chain in hand"--"Battle Hymns," Manowar

Caitlin may sleep over this weekend! She'll ride home with me Friday and we'll go to Gravevine Mills mall and go to this place where you can build stuffed bears and name them Luca and we'll cuddle up to them whenever we're sad...LMAO. We may see Legend of Zorro too. Then we'll come home and watch Luca and majorly spaz out. Caitlin hardly knows who Luca is and she already sounds more obsessed with him than me! *everyone gasps* My dad said it's ok for her to come over so now I gotta ask my mom. And we may take pics of ourselves so you can see her lovely shiny visage! *dances with Luca in joy*...maybe she could even talk to Kathryn...that would be so cool!

It's cold. It rained. On Halloween...it's either too cold or too hot on Halloween, depending on my costume. Ah well...FREE CANDY, YAY!!

( lookie! all my lj friends came to my party! *feels loved* )

"Still the wind blows, calm and silent, carries news from a distant shore"--"And Then There was Silence," Blind Guardian

Before my aunt left yesterday, we listened to HammerFall and Iron Maiden. She also took pictures of my house and me holding my sword. Later, my brother's friend came over and we went trick or treating. It was really fun. There as also a storm in the distance, and it was cool to see the lightning flash in the cloud. If anyone would like to see pictures, I'll gladly email them to ya.

When I was walking to the library after school, a car passed me that said, "Christian Steel, Inc." I had an image of me chasing the car shouting "steeeeeeeeel!" *laughs* *falls outta chair* *headphones come unplugged*..."I'm the Nordic warrior..."

Uh...lol...*falls over again*

"Resist my fierce soldiers their vision can kill...it will test your courage...and your will to live!!!"--"The March of the Swordmaster," Rhapsody

My aunt is coming tomorrow! She's gonna sleep in my room, and I'm gonna sleep on the couch, which I don't mind doing.

Halloween is approaching! I'm gonna be a medieval warrior. *steel*

I made a survey yesterday! I filled it out, too, and I shall post it here. I was *REALLY* hyper when I made it. The answers are from last night.

( *steel* )

"A lunge and a feint, a parry too late. A cut to the chest and you're down"--"The Duellists," Iron Maiden