Are Happy Endings Real?

     

     

  

   Happy endings are used by many people to say that fairy tales are a load of baloney, my theory on this is that in today's culture, especially here in America people confuse happiness with perfection. That joy can only be obtained through getting to goals, or not having any problems, or being the smartest one of your friend group, or something like that. While these are not bad in and of themselves, saying that something like that is the only way to be happy is by those things is where we get into trouble. You see in fairy tales the ending goes: "they lived happily ever after, not: "they lived trouble free ever after", or even: "they live together ever after," it goes: "they lived happily ever after." Let me explain with one of my favorite authors of all time: C.S. Lewis.

     Like Walt Disney, Clive Staples Lewis lived a sucky life: when he was about three or four his dog, Jacksie, died starting Lewis's life filled with death. On his father, Albert's, birthday in 1908, Lewis's mother, Flora Lewis died of cancer. This same year Lewis's grandfather and great-uncle died and Lewis was sent to a boarding school for two years. After that he was transferred to a different boarding school that he had to quit because of respiratory problems. He was than enrolled in a school near a health resort, it was at this school that Lewis gave up on Christianity. Lewis enlisted in the British army where his college roommate was killed in battle and Lewis was wounded and a year later and discharged. He continued his studies at Oxford University, where he published poems in school magazines and officially published "Death in Battle." Eventually he started teaching at Oxford for many years. Finally in 1929 Lewis's father died and Lewis became a theist and two years later. After a long talk with his friends J.R.R. Tolkien, and Hugo Dyson, Lewis became a Christian again. From that point on C.S. Lewis never had it easy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. was mocked by his friends, his married life was so stressful he wrote a book about it, and he eventually died on November 22 1963 with his grave reading a favorite Shakespeare quote of his: "men must endure their going hence."

     C. S. Lewis was a great man, and I have no doubt he died happily. Why? His life was filled with death, doubt, and diseases, these are all things that people use to justify giving up. He never gave up because he never gave in. He never gave in to the idea that to be an adult you have to be a grown up. Never gave in to blaming God for all his problems. And he never gave into the idea that happiness came through anything this world could give him. And that is the happy ending: not one of wealth, sex, power, or fun, but of contentment.

Why Fairy Tales are True

    

     Walt Disney, C.S. Lewis, Albert Einstein, and JRR Tolkien, what to they all have in common? Were they all of the same religion? No, C.S was a Christian turned atheist turned Christian, Walt and JRR where Catholic, and Albert was a Jew. Did they have similar personalities? No, Albert was mostly carefree and fun loving, JRR was somewhat of an introvert who wanted only him to work on his books, Walt was hard working and hated anything that didn't live up to his incredibly high standards and C.S was always described as being gruff and sure that he would never be remembered after he died. Then what did they have in common? They all have two things in common: they all went through hard times, and they all believed in fairy tales.

   

     Lets start with Walt Disney. At age 22 Walt started a cartoon company that barely saw any success, causing him to eat dog food just to have money to pay the rent and that went bankrupt after only a few years, leaving Walt to move to L.A. with $40 dollars, a change of clothes, and some drawing tools. After trying to start an acting career he and his brother Roy started the Disney company and received a little bit of fame. However his best selling cartoon series: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and all but one of his artists were stolen by Disney's New York distributor: Universal Studios. After designing and making Mickey Mouse famous, Walt suffered anxiety attacks about the profits of cartoons. This caused him to be forced by his coworkers to take a vacation with his wife down the Mississippi River that got canceled and they had to go on a different vacation. After Snow White and the Seven Dwarves gave them enough money, Walt and Roy had a house built for their parents that ended up with Walt's mother dead from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Right before World War Two Walt's artists went on strike because he refused to be a team player. When America declared war in 1941 Walt Disney Studios was taken over by the army and used for tank and artillery repairs; also most of his artists went to war. In 1942 Walt went to the premiere of Bambi, where during the scene where Bambi's mother was shot Bambi said "Mother, where are you Mother?" to which a teen girl in the audience shouted "Here I am Bambi," causing the audience to burst into laughter, except Walt. After the war the company was $4 million dollars in debts. And finally the day Disneyland opened people got in with forged tickets, the newly pored asphalt melted heeled shoes, and a plummer's strike meant that none of the water fountains worked.
   
     Walt Disney could have quit at any time, heck he could have gotten work at the bank or something and had a pay check every month that he didn't have to divide among anyone. Walt could have quit everything and just drank himself to death. Walt Disney could have done a million things that probably all his family and friends would deem "sensible." But Walt didn't, because he believed in fairy tales. And look where that got him: almost everybody in the free world knows his name and the Disney company, and the company continues to make movies that are genuinely good for all ages and loves by generations.
   

     Fairy tales are seen nowadays as this thing that creates a false hope about what life is, but Walt realized something that I hope we all realize: that Fairy Tales are the truest fiction we have ever had and may ever have. You see people forget that problems in the best of fairy tales aren't solved in a day, a lot actually have the protagonist go through years of hardships before they can live happily ever after.
     As much as I don't want to make this longer then one post it looks like I'll have to. So next time I well go through the life of C. S. Lewis, and reveal some lies about happily ever after.

Zelda my Zelda (Poem)

Zelda, my Zelda

I fought the supreme evil,

I traversed many lands,

I fought many battles, 

all for you. 

You are my princess,

my reason for fighting on.

I used to want to be a hero,

to never settle down,

to right all wrongs,

to meet all people,

but then wherever you aren't was pointless,

there will always be wrong in the world,

and people loss their charm after I saw you.

When you where taken from me I was lost,

But I found you.

I am dying my love,

but fear not, 

because I know

I know 

that some day, maybe years from now

we will meet again,

maybe in another lifetime,

but for now...

Goodbye, my love

 

Picture from www.fanpop.com 

My Top Ten Favorite Pokemon

     My first ever post was on my top ten favorite Mega Pokemon and you guys seem to like it a lot so today I'm going with my top ten favorite Pokemon over all. This list will include a little about their battling (if the Pokemon are any good at fighting,) but this will mostly be my opinions on each, be it from the ingame lore, what they symbolize, my memories of some, and sometimes just downright coolness.

10. Slowbro
Slowbro is one of those Pokemon that was just designed to be on the internet. The Hermit Crab Pokemon has just the derpiest look on its face and is supposedly really dumb. Ingame it is said to no longer feel pain and this makes sense as it is a Defense oriented Pokemon. Over all, this is a silly Pokemon that is getting a sillier Mega From.








9. Mawile

Mawile is one of those Pokemon that people thought was cool but never really used in battles until she got her Mega form (more on that in my past post: My Favorite Pokemon Megas.) Her Steel/Fairy typing is also one of my favorite type combinations and only has only two type weaknesses. Shes also a little sentimental to me since a Mawile was my first Steel type I had in the Pokemon Trading Card Game.









8. Furfrou
                                                                                       

                                                                           
I like dogs. I like Pokemon. Furfrou is a Pokemon dog, do I need to explain any more? And with solid stats and the Fur Coat ability that halves physical damage the Poodle Pokemon is seeing some battles and is popular because ingame you can change Furfrou's hairstyle. Seriously just Google Image search "Furfrou" if you want to know what I mean.








7. Mightyena
                                                           
                                                     
Mightyena was my original dog Pokemon, I know there was the Arcanine line in Gen 1, but Mightyena wasn't on fire and is just cooler in my humble opinion. Their Pokedex entries focuses around what I consider the most important thing to me: loyalty. His stats aren't that great though but I'm crossing by fingers for a mega evolution for him.











6. Gardevoir and Gallade
                                                             
                                                                           
I couldn't decide between the two of these Pokemon because they are both cool. These two kind of represent the princess-that-doesn't-need-saving in Gardevoir and the fearless knight in Gallade. Both are good battlers and with both having mega evolutions the mage and the knight are a force to be reckoned with.






5. Braviary
                   
                                                                              I'm an American and Braviary is pretty much the Pokemon version of the Bald Eagle. They have gained the reputation of being a terrifying enemy if its friends are attacked so they are definitely loyal and they have gained the nickname "soldiers of the sky." With a good Attack stat and the Defiant hidden ability Braviary proves that maybe some Japanese game devs know about what makes America great.





4. Vaporeon
                                                                                             
                                                                              Vaporeon is the picture I use for my profile pic so of course she would be one of my favorite Pokemon. Vaporeon is a pretty calm Pokemon that pretty much just likes to hang out on beautiful beaches. Her stats aren't that bad either, with the highest Hit Points of the eeveeluctions and a good Special Attack as well. And to me Vaporeon is the cutest of the Pokemon that can Eevee evolve into.
                                                       
                                                                               


3. Cubone
               
                                                                                 
Like Bane said: "nobody cared who I was until I put on the mask." Cubone is an interesting Pokemon; his back-story is just that his mother died and now wears her skull as a mask and every full moon, it cries for its dead mother. Just... just why Gamefreak? Why did you give this adorable Pokemon such a sad story, just why? And in another way I needed Cubone. I found one in Pokemon X and I didn't have the heart to do anything but add him to my team and he has been amazing; being both the first of my Pokemon to be fully fit with Super Training, and the first to be fully my friend with Pokemon-Amie. So I guess the Lonely Pokemon made me less lonely.    

2. Lucario


If Gallade is the Lancelot of Pokemon then Lucario is King Arthur. Lucario is just a cool Pokemon, his Fighting/Steel typing is unique to him and Cobalion and he can sense the auras of people and Pokemon miles away. This Pokemon is so well known for his connection with aura that any other Pokemon that uses the move Aura Sphere looks like its trying to be Lucario. It takes a lot of skill to make a move know to most legendary Pokemon almost a signature move, and Lucario does it.









1. Torterra

                                                                                Torterra is hands down my favorite Pokemon. My first Pokemon ever was a Turtwig named Leafy. Even without that sentimentally Torterra is a cool Pokemon and has the highest Attack of the Grass types and can learn several moves with a type advantage to his weakness, all of which are physical. And despite his terrifying appearance it lets smaller Pokemon live their whole lives on his back. So hes got great stats, a good sentimentality with me, and is one of the most chill Pokemon ever.







     I'm curious what you guy's favorite Pokemon is. Send me your favorite Pokemon to my G+ account: The Knight with #CGpokemon

Slowbro

www.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Mawile

http://www.zerochan.net/361725 by Onaki

Frufrou

DeviantArt.com by FENNEKINS

Mightyena

DeviantArt.com by sharjaw

Gardevoir and Gallade

gopixpic.com

Braviary

DeviantArt.com by DenaJarawr

Vaporeon

http://www.zerochan.net/1283241

Cubone

http://www.recantododragao.com.br/2013/06/24/a-solidao-do-cubone/

Lucario

pokemon.wiki.com

Torterra

deviantart.com by Xous54

More LoZ Wii U news and theories

     First off: Majora's Mask on 3ds baby! I am really excited for this game, Ocarina of Time 3ds is one of my favorite Zelda games and and one of only two of them to have an official sequel in Majora's Mask. Majora is also known among Zelda fans as one of the darkest and creepiest of the games so I'll definitely look for that.
   

     And now to the main part of this post: Legend of Zelda for Wii U. A video of Miyamoto and Aonuma playing a little of the game was uploaded to Nintendo's YouTube channel yesterday and both answers a few questions and raises a few more.
   
     First off Link is shown to use the buckler seen in the E3 trailer, (which I talked about in another post) instead of the Hyleain shield, whether this is through Character Customization or if the shield is just an item you get before the Hyleain Shield I don't know.
   
     This game also seems to have some aspects that have stayed in only one game up until now: Link used the Sail Cloth from Skyward Sword to glide down a cliff. He also uses something similar (though unseen) to the Hawk-eye Mask from Twilight Princess. And Miyamoto (albeit jokingly) greets Link's horse with "ah, Empona, long time no see," which could mean that this takes place in the adult Link Ocarina of Time Timeline.
   
     The world itself will also be huge, with Aonuma having to spend several minutes traveling to a location that was on the most zoomed in mode of the map. You may also be able to hunt for food, with Miyamoto saying that the whole world will be populated by animals and you can even pick and eat apples from trees. They also ran through a herd of horses so maybe you will be able to tame your own instead of an NPC giving you one.
   
     Aonuma also hinted to the fact that they have added some sort of A.I. to the horse. Now it won't run in to trees and seems to know where to go, giving you freedom enough to fight enemies with either your sword or bow. They have also added an attack seen in the E3 trailer where you leap off the horse and shoot an enemy with the bow, all in slow motion.
   
     Finally both Miyamoto and Aonuma noticed that when the enemies where hit they would make an metallic sound, so my theory on the enemies being robots seems to have more merit now.

My favorite Once Upon A Time season 1 episodes

     All of you who read my blog know I love video games but those of you who haven't met me in real life don't know that I love fairy tales as well. This love (and recommendations by many friends and family) lead me to start watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix and I have now finished season one. In honor of this I'd
like to list my Top Five Favorite Season One Episodes. Also:
With that out of the way here we go.

5.The Heart is A Lonely Hunter
 Sheriff Graham was one of the only guys to be seen as helpful and able to resist Regina's fear factor and this episode both fleshed him out and added a good bit of back-story to him in the Story world.

4.The Price of Gold
I could recommend this episode just by Jessy Schram's performance of Cinderella/Ashley Boyd, her acting was some of the most convincing I've seen and both Cinderella's and Ashley's dedication to her child was honorably even going toe to toe with Rumpelstiltskin/ Mr. Gold, even being the reason Rumple was in a cell until the curse was brought around.

3.  Dreamy
Grumpy was easily the most complex of the Dwarves and this episode helped solidify this. Born Dreamy he fell in love with a fairy named Nova, but since both are forbidden to love at all it ends very sadly for both Dreamy and Nova, leading Dreamy to break his pickax and be renamed Grumpy. In Storybrooke Leory, Grumpy's Storybrooke form, and Mary Margrette try to sell candles for local nuns, one of which is Nova's Storybrooke form. The lengths Leory goes to to impress Nova are both funny and admirable at the same time.

2. That Still Small Voice 
Dr. Hopper is still very much my favorite character in OUAT and this episode added a great back-story to his Story world counterpart: Jiminy Cricket. This episode also gives Hopper some much deserved screen time and tells a good story in both Storybrooke and Story World. In Story World Jiminy is the son of two thieves and wants out so bad that he makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin that ends up killing young Geppetto's parents by mistake. To make amends he has a fairy turn him into a cricket and become Geppetto's consonance. In Storybrooke Dr. Hopper is threatened by Regina to stop Henry's ideas about the curse or else and the following story is both interesting and marks one of the first acts of defiance towards Regina by a town member.

1. Skin Deep
Rumpelstiltskin is probably one of my favorite villains of all time and this episode is part of that reason. One of three episodes fleshing out him by placing him as the Beast from the story of Beauty and the Beast. When I was watching the first few minutes of this episode I thought this would be a bad episode where Rumpelstiltskin would just become a wuss forever but I was incredibly wrong. The relationship between both him and Belle was both growing and going so well that I was sure Rumple was playing a trick on Belle but as it turned out he was the one being tricked by the Queen and both his freak out afterwards and his beating of Moe (Belle's Storybrooke father) is both the scariest and best moments in my viewing of anything ever. To see what I mean just watch in the two links provided. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM_OPjIUorg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZOId396y9c