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Tag Archives: john flanagan
Archivist of Selay'uu's Journal: Fourth Of July Shenanigans
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized
avengers, because food, brian jacques, c.s. forester, cressida cowell, doctor who, enthusiasm, fireflies, fireworks, food, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, humor, i have been neglecting my fandoms, independence day, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, marvel, novels, ranger's apprentice, redwall, selay'uu, shame on me, shoes, star wars, taysee is the goddess of mischief and loki is jealous, the lord of the rings, writing, YEAH!
The Selay'uu Mansion has never seen such a hubbub since its founding. Not even at Christmas were things this mad (well, especially given that, on Christmas, the Doctor was probably off saving the world again; Obi-Wan was trying to arrange the New Year's Ball on Coruscant–I swear that someone in the Senate must hate him, since it's not protocol for a Jedi to be named Master of Ceremonies–when he wasn't trying to restore order to the Jedi Order; Will, Gilan and Halt were celebrating in Araluen with Pauline, Alyss, and the now-royal family {Duncan, Evanlyn, and Horace}; Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship were celebrating at Sam and Rosie's; and just about everyone else went home to celebrate with their families. I actually invited Horatio home to celebrate with us and pretended he was my date when going to some college-sponsored thing. It was all good fun.)
And the reason?
Not one, but two, of our friends' birthdays were coming up, on the Fourth of July. Of course, one of those birthdays is pretty obvious (Steve Rogers'), but the other might surprise you.
Horatio Hornblower was born on the exact same day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Ever since Alex, Siri, Rose and I had come to that conclusion, we had concluded there was only one thing to do–naturally, to hold a combined double birthday party and Independence Day celebration!
Of course, Gandalf was in charge of most of the fireworks, but other than that, it was up to us. Siri attacked the kitchen with gusto, explaining American staples such as potato salad to Rose with grave attention. Alex showed her artistic side with her inventively gorgeous decorations.
But now–this morning–the morning of the Fourth of July–we were into the last-minute crunch zone, and we still weren't ready.
I was in charge of the cakes and had a corner of the kitchen to myself. Chocolate ganache was cooling on the stove, as was a coconut and pecan concoction in another pan. When in doubt, go with German chocolate and strawberry shortcake. The shortcake and strawberry sauce were already hiding in the refrigerator, Bucky was making short work of the whipped cream (with nothing other than his metal arm), and Obi-Wan, who we had taken into confidence, was outside working at the grill with Connor and Nat, who was trying to teach Connor the finer points of lighting a grill with no fluid.
I poured the last of my concoction onto the cake, shouted at Bucky that if he made a mess he'd have to clean it up himself and then make more, and heard a hiss. I whirled around and almost burst into tears as I saw the pudding I had attempted emitting black smoke. It had burned on. Hurriedly, Siri grabbed the pot and rushed it to the sink. "Boiled dry," she said.
"I guess I'll just have to do custard, then," I said in defeat.
The Doctor finally brought Steve back from wherever it was they had gone, and Horatio was back from buying new shoes with Archie (we wear out an awful lot of shoes around here–mostly, I blame the Doctor). Both the Doctor and Archie were in on the surprise, so they delayed the two birthday boys outside until Bucky texted Archie to tell them that we were ready. Then they guided them inside. Bucky bulled into Steve in a tackling hug and Archie put his hand on Horatio's shoulder as everyone shouted in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Then it was chaos.
Tony Stark produced a pie tin filled with whipped cream out of nowhere and smashed it into Steve's face– "a little white to go with your red and blue!" Horatio tried to escape, but Bush caught him–and hugged him. Steve caught Tony around the waist and picked him up, threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and then sat him firmly down on the sofa next to a laughing Pepper. Will jumped on Steve from the rafters and gave him a hug. Someone started tickling Taysee, the resident youngling and purveyor of pranks and mischief, and the resulting shrieks of laughter threatened to deafen everyone. Obi-Wan clapped Horatio on the shoulder and then got tackled by Siri.
Dinner was no calmer. I pulled the pot roast out of the oven, and we put together our tremendous buffet. Fortunately, there was more than enough food for everyone. Clint Barton stuffed a whole bread roll in his mouth just to prove a point, to a chorus of "Ewws" from the girly-girls who were mostly marginalized. Calypso got over-excited and did a handstand on the table, nearly falling into the over-sized punch bowl full of lemonade. Sandy demonstrated a complex flip over the table, somehow not destroying anything as she went. Meg had expressed a desire to eat nothing but ice cream for dinner, but we convinced her to at least eat a roll first.
And then it was time for presents. Tony (of course) insisted that they open his presents first, to which everyone responded with an eyeroll and a "Sure, Tony." But he had gotten them both lovely warm scarves, so we all chorused "Awwww", deliberately, to embarrass him.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut had given them both incomprehensible drawings. Hiccup had entirely redesigned Steve's gear harness with a more secure clip for the shield and a loop that would prevent it from shifting around when he did backflips. Will presented Horatio with a new pair of socks and forever debunked the myth that knitting is unmanly. The Doctor, who had recently taken apart Horatio's watch in an attempt to fix something else, presented him with a new one, fitted with miniaturized navigational equipment, as an apology. Matthias gave Steve an IOU for lessons on how to better use his shield against opponents with bladed weapons. Everyone had come up with useful and fun things to give them. (I had knitted them each a throw, over a long stretch of time and with no little difficulty.)
At the end of the night, there was not much incident with the fireworks, except that there was a Dragon Incident (as always.) This time, though, it was not Merry and Pippin–who behaved themselves and limited themselves to setting off fountains–but the twins.
At last, we all had s'mores, even though it was a second (or even third) dessert for most of us, but who cares? S'mores don't count, because there are always more of them.
At the end of the night, Horatio had a pocket full of fireflies and Steve had to carry Obi-Wan inside–I guess I've been working him too hard lately.
All in all, it was a lovely Fourth of July, and went off with surprisingly little fuss. I suppose that should make me worry about the future, but for now, I think I'll just enjoy the moment.
Archivist of Selay'uu's Journal: Summer, Day Eleven
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard
avengers, c.s. forester, captain america: the winter soldier, horatio hornblower, humor, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, marvel, novels, ranger's apprentice, selay'uu, spider-man
"Seriously, I don't even know."
"It wasn't me."
The low murmur outside my door was too much for my curiosity. I left my study, to see something I'd never have expected. (Selay'uu has a tendency of showing me the unexpected, but even so…)
Connor, Peter Parker, Winter, Gilan, and Steve were standing in the hallway. Horatio had been thrown over Steve's shoulder and was apologizing profusely.
"I am so sorry. I didn't know it was going to… and then… I swear I will never touch a portal again!"
"Especially not when you're tipsy," Sam Wilson added, appearing behind everyone covered in mud and walking Bucky, who was wearing a pair of broken sunglasses, toward them.
"How did that happen?" I asked. As one, all the men turned slowly to look at me and answered in a ragged chorus.
I looked them over again. Horatio looked a little green, while Connor seemed somewhat dazed, and had lipstick on both his collar, chin, and in his hair. Gilan looked as if he had gotten into a fight with Shelob and lost–there were spider webs in his hair. But from Peter's guilty look and shuffling feet, I thought I could tell where the spider webs really came from. Winter was looking as silent, aloof and mysterious as usual, but the effect was somewhat marred by the fact that he was too obviously wearing an outfit that was mostly Bucky's, with one of Steve's jackets thrown over it.
"What happened to you?" I blurted out. Sam decisively took control.
"I think we can all agree that we should never speak of this again."
"All of you lost me partway between the leprechaun that insisted he'd known Steven's parents… and the dragon." Horatio mumbled, slipping out of Steve's grip and crumpling into a boneless heap on the floor.
"What did you do?" I gasped.
"And another thing we can agree on," Winter continued, "is that if you see the Winter Soldier dressed up in a pink tutu you should run like…"
"Language," Steve interrupted tiredly.
I never did find out what had happened to them.
Archivist of Selay'uu's Journal: Summer, Day One
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard
avengers, bbc merlin, big hero six, coruscantbookshelf, doctor who, generations, horatio hornblower, humor, john flanagan, loyalties, marvel, novels, ranger's apprentice, selay'uu, star wars, summer
It's pretty normal for people to run, whooping, through the Selay'uu Mansion. However, normally I'm in my room, writing, when it happens. This time, though, I was leading the charge.
I had just finished my spring semester classes, which means I have no classes for a couple of months until my summer ones start. Which means an excess of energy and a lot of excited screaming.
And, unfortunately, an excess of energy leads to foolish decisions, such as the one to challenge Captain America to a ping pong tournament.
That was a humiliating fifteen minutes.
Anyway, once that supremely humiliating so-called "tournament" was over, I calmed down a little–just enough to invite Rosalie over to work on realizing a few plot elements in one story. I'm good with theory, but actually bringing something to paper takes chemistry sometimes, and she's much better at that than I am. Of course, we had Bruce Banner as well, but we kicked Tony out, because he wasn't doing anything but make unhelpful comments.
In the middle of what we were working on, we got called out to a crisis. Harry Potter and friends had invaded Percy Jackson's world without permission, and as a result it was raining golems on Telos. Never a boring day…
And when we got back, it was chaos.
Tony Stark had already built another Iron Man suit, but the programming was malfunctioning and it was flying in circles around Winter, who was threatening to destroy it, as it had "kidnapped" his apprentice, Will was trying to turn the curtain rod into gold and Halt was making unhelpful comments about alchemy (who put them up to that? If anyone has any information, please tell me. Because starting Will on "alchemy" was Not. Funny. It was probably Tony Stark–I have Gilan and Natasha Romanoff investigating, but no positive proof yet.), and Fred from the Big Hero Six had glued poor Peter Parker to the wall with Rosalie's and my unfinished polymer. We had to invent a new solvent and abandon what we were originally working on and it took us five hours. In the meanwhile, Steve (God bless you, Steve) tackled the malfunctioning Iron Man suit and freed Elian, Will had figured out that alchemy wasn't real, and Mordred had to turn Morgana into a potato (there is no magic in potatoes, and she was having an Evil Day and freaking everyone out, including Bucky, who broke a window and nearly killed her–the potato spell worked just in time!)
Six hours after that, the kids were in bed (I don't know how Melilana and Steve managed that, but thank you all), Morgana was back from being a potato, Bucky had calmed down somewhat (thank you, Rosalie!), and the golems on Telos had all been put to sleep ("swefn" is a very powerful spell, but for some reason Winter had to say it, because I was tongue-tied. And he's the one who doesn't use magic!)
Fortunately for Horatio, he got back after all the hubbub was over. (I wonder how he'll react when he finds out that we planned a combined birthday party for him and Steve. Oh well. That's not for a few months yet.)
So, as I write this, things are somewhat calmer. (Obi-Wan had to avert some crisis on a far world–maybe he went to Gallifrey.) Bucky is falling asleep on my lap and I'm not willing to disturb him, not after Rosalie's good work in getting him calmed down (I think Sam Wilson went with Obi-Wan.)
It's certainly time for bed now… how else am I supposed to get up and do it all over again tomorrow morning!?
Character Reactions Save Space
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized
characterization, characters, iron man, john flanagan, marvel, ranger's apprentice, story dynamics, writing
Yes, I know that sounds like a slogan, but I couldn't think of a better title.
Also, they do.
When we don't have the space for show, don't tell, due to the fact that books have tight confines and it's hard to hold the audience's attention for more than five hundred pages, then we can show by, rather than showing the audience a character's trait, reveal them using the reactions of the characters around them to their actions.
I realized this while watching Iron Man 3. Early in the movie, we catch the idea that Happy has, post his promotion to Head of Security, been rather over-zealous at his job, irritating both Tony and Pepper at times (Tony, why are you putting your phone in the fridge? That thing can not be cheap by any stretch of the imagination!)
And how do we learn this?
Well, mostly from how Tony and Pepper react to it. We don't actually see Happy's over-zealousness in action, but we do see Tony and Pepper's reaction to it.
The way characters react to other characters is a valuable tool to show how the first character normally acts.
This is also done in the first Ranger's Apprentice book, The Ruins of Gorlan. We don't know much about Gilan, though we find out more about him as the series progresses (he's the son of a knight who is also the battlemaster of another fief, etc.) When we first meet him, we learn the most about him by the way Halt treats him–with some (veiled) affection, and humor.
If there's not time to introduce a second character properly, you can simply have them be already acquainted with another character who's already a "party member", and then show what kind of person they are, not just through their actions, but through the way their friend reacts to them.
Not hard at all. 😉
Ummm… a little help here? Please?
alex/connor, c.s. forester, captain america: the first avenger, catholic culture, christian fiction, christianity, colorblind, dee henderson, horatio hornblower, irene hannon, john flanagan, louisa may alcott, marvel, novels, ranger's apprentice, romance, star wars, the clone wars
I just realized that I'm in deep, probably in over my head, in hotter water than I guessed before, probably because they turned the temperature up while I was in it.
I've been a shipper ever since I picked up one of my mom's romance novels. Marcus/Shari. Dave/Kate. I could go on (thank you, Dee Henderson!)
Then I went through a stage where I didn't like romance at all. I think I was just bored with sexual tension, whatever they call it these days… anyway, I thought everyone was just being stupid. I didn't have time for that sort of thing. I was in high school.
And now… I'm shipping again. I think it started slow, with Obi-Wan/Siri–Siriwan, as it's often called. I thought I was a Obitine (Obi-Wan/Satine) shipper, but then I realized, nope, Siriwan to the core. They're a better contrast and they fit together better. (Though I think the whole arc with Satine back in Season Two was excellently done and very much in character for Obi-Wan, which is sadly a thing–there's a whole subgenre of Out-Of-Character Syndrome dedicated to Obi-Wan shippings.) And then came Steve and Peggy (how could I not love these two?! His crush on her was just so precious.), and Pepperony (I probably love that ship name way too much…) I also ship Halt/Pauline and Horace/Evanlyn. Though for some reason, I don't ship Will/Alyss much, but that's probably because I haven't finished reading the series yet. (I think the Will/Alyss angle was a bit rushed in the first book, to be honest.)
I also (maybe?) ship Horatio/duty or Horatio/his ship.
(That was a very sad attempt at a joke. I'm sorry. I will refrain from joking again throughout the rest of this post.)
And now, for the first time, I'm trying to write a ship of my own.
What am I getting myself into?!
I know I can't write romance. I am no good at writing romance. I could not write romance to save my life. Apart from the casual background Pepperony, I always end up writing Siriwan more platonic. (Which works well, because as well as being the adorable lovebirds we know they are, they're also BFFs 4 life!)
It'll be fun, I said. Back it up with suspense and action and you'll be fine, I said. What are you so worried about?! I said.
I. Am. Toast.
I'm so scared I'm going to mess it up. I love these two, I really do, but… I don't know if I can write them in a relationship. I've tried writing background romance before and it never felt right. I can write about two people who are already in love, who love each other very much–that's easy. But two people falling in love?
That's outside my experience. And I frankly don't know where to start. (No, stop thinking about setting me up on dates. And, for that matter, please do not diagnose me, even in the privacy of your minds, as asexual–I think that I'm just waiting for the right partner. In fact, please don't diagnose me at all. I don't like being diagnosed. Even if having a legit ADHD diagnosis would make college easier–much easier… Or anything, really. I don't need it, honestly. I can handle this. Let's save it for people who actually need it, please.)
I know how my parents show that they love each other. That's easy. But I'm not sure how to show people falling in love.
I guess that, looking back, it's all up to Louisa May Alcott: writing romantic love is nearly impossible if you've been single all your life, and either totally understated or overstated, depending on who is doing the reading.
I noticed a few things about my romance reading habits, too:
It had to be by one of a specific few authors (mostly Dee Henderson and Irene Hannon.)
I couldn't sit through a novel that was all romance, either. It had to have suspense or action/adventure in it, too.
Never could stand so-called "sexual tension", for some reason. If there was physical attraction, it couldn't be just lust. And I much preferred the people who fell in love with others because of their personalities.
I suppose I just need help. Even if I knew the answer to this riddle, I'd need help.
So this is a shoutout: Can I get a couple of beta readers to help me write the scenes with Alex/Connor in them? Because if you'd read those scenes for me and help me out, I'd be in your debt forever.
Thanks for reading, and God Bless.
P.S. Umm, I probably don't have to say this, but… CHRISTIAN FICTION FOREVER!!! (Sorry, just felt like shouting it from the rooftops… and yes, this is Christian near-future sci-fi/action/psychological thriller/suspense. It's not preachy, though. Christian in atmosphere, no reading between the lines required 🙂 )
For Brothers
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales of a Wandering Bard
brian jacques, c.s. forester, captain america: the first avenger, horatio hornblower, john flanagan, marvel, poetry, ranger's apprentice, redwall, star wars, the avengers, thor
For all brothers everywhere
On the front lines and back home
There is not one heartstring tied
That will ever come undone.
For every laugh you share
For every smile you try to hide
Every time you stood up straight
And told the other guy "step aside."
For all brothers separate
By death or cruel fate
For every tear you drop alone,
For every hour you wait.
You feel each other's every pain,
You know each other's heart.
For every one who lieth slain,
For the lives that didn't start.
For all brothers bound by curse
To nightmare deep and dark
For every tear you shed awake,
And to the silence hark.
The elder can not sway his hand,
The younger named a traitor's stand,
Pray destiny the wheel may turn
And take you back to your homeland.
To all brothers far from home
Alone, on watch, tonight
I hang a prayer on every star
To pierce the sky with light.
Until the Watch-Star leads us home
From all the trials of war
We shall tell the tales and carve them in stone
Of all you who've gone before.
This poem is dedicated to all brothers everywhere, whether by blood or in spirit, and especially our boys in the military. I pray every night that God will keep them safe.
Obi-Wan and Anakin
Steve and Bucky
Martin and Gonff
Thor and Loki
Will and Gilan
Horatio and Archie
Brothers not by blood, but by heart.
Remember them.
Archivist of Selay'uu's Journal: Sledding
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Uncategorized
c.s. forester, colorblind, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, john flanagan, ranger's apprentice, selay'uu, star trek, star wars, the avengers, unnamed
Oh, sorry. It's been so long since I made a journal entry, I'd almost forgotten what they look like…
That was a joke, by the way.
So, to recap:
I saw The Avengers.
Will and Horace went out to celebrate Horatio's twentieth birthday along with Connor, Gervaise, and some of the other guys. (Yes, our intrepid commander just turned twenty! In the mind palace, that is. Timelines seem to get all muddled here.)
Obi-Wan has been away for a while, due to (I think) copyright conflicts. No, wait, it was family stuff. Sorry. (That was sort of a bad Disney joke. I think.)
The Avengers have mostly taken up permanent residence in the mind palace.
Tony Stark tried to get Hiccup and Steve Rogers drunk. He didn't succeed. (Which is surprising, since according to Astrid, Hiccup can't take an awful lot of alcohol, but Hiccup's clever; I'm sure he and Steve had Steve distract Tony while Hiccup only pretended to actually drink.)
As a result, I (acting deputy for Mistress El'ye) made it official: Tony's "adult rights" are officially revoked, since he acts like a toddler.
Kirk flirted with Natasha. He woke up tied up in Obi-Wan's room (this was while Obi-Wan was gone) with me interrogating him. It was such fun…
This morning, since it snowed, I woke up early. Well, it's kind of hard to stay asleep when you have Dibbuns bouncing all over you, screaming, "IT SNOWED! IT SNOWED!" And guess what? It did snow.
And more than two inches.
No, the snow was deep enough to require the use of nice, high boots.
Naturally Obi-Wan, Horatio, Will and I got into our snow gear and went off to shovel our walks. We snowballed Loki when we saw him, and I taunted Loki (bad idea, in hindsight) that he looked like Horatio when he was in snow gear.
I ended up with an icicle down my back, but at least I got to sit on Loki until he surrendered. Though he promptly got up when I let him up and threw me in a snowbank. Cheater.
Horatio went to get cocoa while Obi-Wan and I finished clearing the walkways. Once we were done, Obi-Wan went to start a fire in the fire pit (outdoors), while I spent a while sliding down one of the banks in the garden on my front. I already had snow up and down both my back and my front. What was a little more?
Then Siri, Natasha, Pepper, and Evanlyn came out of the side door, all bundled up. I can only describe them by saying that Siri PWNS floppy hats with pompoms, while I'm bewildered by how anyone can look that good in a Parka. (Because apparently, Pepper can. I'm not quite sure what Natasha was wearing, but it looked like she'd semi-permanently-borrowed it from Clint. Evanlyn was wearing a similar outfit.
Pepper went back inside to see what was taking Horatio so long with the hot drinks, while Natasha headed toward the kitchen gardens to see if any of the late vegetables were still salvageable. That left myself, Siri, and Evanlyn alone. Bad idea.
I'm not quite sure how it happened, but somehow, Siri and I cooked up the idea of stealing Cap's shield to use as a sled. So we did, aided and abetted by Evanlyn.
Turns out, vibranium can really enhance a slide. Some of that ride was hair-raising. And I still have no idea how we managed to fit all three of us onto one saucer.
But the absolute best part, other than the adrenaline, whooping, and screaming, was Cap's face as three girls whizzed by, riding on his shield through the snow.
And then we crashed, but who cares? We convinced poor Steve (really, shouldn't he know better than to listen to us by now?!) to try it next.
I love my life.
Making Humor Work
05 Wednesday Nov 2014
Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Uncategorized
brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america: the first avenger, creative writing, cressida cowell, editing, harping on an eyesore syndrome, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, kung fu panda, looney tunes: back in action, marvel, marvel superheroes, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month, oocs, out of character syndrome, perelandra, ranger's apprentice, redwall, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, the avengers, the chronicles of narnia, the lego movie, the space trilogy, who framed roger rabbit, writing
I know, I know, it's been forever. :-S Sorry about the long hiatus. I really have no excuse.
On to the post…
I don't like some animated movies.
Yeah, I know. BIG surprise. But seriously, I don't. Why?
Because the humor doesn't work. Well, at least not for me. (My dad tends to laugh in these movies, so maybe it's really a subjective thing…? Anyway, I don't find them awfully funny.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is probably the best example of this. The humor doesn't work. (And who among us wasn't completely mentally scarred by that stupid movie in early childhood, anyway?!) It's a mixture of slapstick, poking fun at the characters, and innuendo. Even without the innuendo, to me it would be offensive. I much prefer the wry humor Halt uses in the Ranger's Apprentice books. And the fun word-play and occasional mild slapstick that appears in the Redwall books.
When a movie does that, I like to call it Harping On An Eyesore Syndrome.
Some movies are, to me, a mix of playful and painful. Normally the ones that are the least painful also have the most heart, probably because they're the ones that the filmmakers either 1) actually love or 2) know what they're doing with.
In Kung Fu Panda, I found myself actually laughing at some of the gags, though some of them still got a blank stare from me. Brave and Tangled, the same, though I think Tangled really takes itself a bit too seriously. (Come on, Disney! You can't have it both ways. Either keep your trademark irreverent humor, or make a "serious movie".) Cars… do not even get me started on this movie.
The Lego Movie? I thought it would be totally stupid, but win.
How To Train Your Dragon? Absolute win.
Loony Tunes: Back in Action? Okay movie. Not my favorite. It was a blatant rip-off of spy movies and Indiana Jones, but unlike The Lego Movie, it didn't click. I think it was trying to do too much.
Prince of Egypt? Okay, some of the humor slipped up, but mostly it was good.
So, why does some humor work but other humor doesn't?
I think that there are a number of factors.
First of all, does the movie have "heart"? What do I mean by this? Well, in my opinion, I think this means are the characters really relatable? They can't be just punching bags (unlike Jar Jar Binks… seriously, guys, the reason you and/or other people hate on him? It's because he has no character development. He's a talking, walking cardboard-or-rubber-or-both stand-up. And yes, that was pun intended.)
This leads well into my first point. The humor must be acknowledged by the characters. They must reply realistically to it, whether it's in hurt, gamely taking the hit, or pretending not to respond while inwardly being cut deeply by the jab, even if it wasn't intended to be insulting.
Secondly, if the humor helps to acknowledge a point of the plot, so much the better. It helps it mesh better with the rest of the story, and doesn't poke out like an eyesore.
Some of the humor in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: The First Avenger is like this. It acknowledges the pure sucking-ness of the main character before they become awesome. However, it should never be overdone, because then instead of being humorous, the result is laughable. They make too light of a matter that's all too serious for the main character and lose the audience while they're at it. (The First Avenger did a marvelous job using this type of humor; it made us want to both laugh and cry at the same time. Perfection.)
Thirdly, humor can be a character's lifeline. Rather than going stark raving insane… um, was that an unintentional Avengers pun? Never mind. Anyway. Rather than losing it, entirely and permanently, they can deal with it by making a joke. Some of these jokes are sad, but some can be pretty darn witty. (The First Avenger again. Also How To Train Your Dragon–though that's more sarcasm than actual humor–and Kung Fu Panda, which also made me want to cry in parts.)
Finally, sometimes the characters will just make a joke unintentionally, or crack one on the aside, to keep a plot moving, so the audience doesn't get bored. (The First Avenger. Par excellence.) My absolute favorite line in Perelandra is when Dr. Ransom slips up:
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, here goes–I mean, Amen!
So, bottom line?
1. Humor can help keep characters sane.
2. Humor meshes well if it's used to acknowledge something (as in lampshading a plot oversight and making it into a joke) in most cases, but don't overdo it. (Cars. 'Nough said.)
3. Do not poke fun at your main characters for no reason, or you may end up sacrificing character development and making your entire book into a bad joke.
4. Absolutely no spontaneous expedient character defamation or out of character syndrome. Because that is not funny. Most of the time, not even in what is referred to as "crackfic."
5. Some characters are just pretty darn funny (like Halt, Major Montgomery, Bucky, Cap, Arven, Gobber, Gonff, Edmund Pevensie, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and Sir Percy Blakeney) without even trying.
So, that's my post on humor and how to and how not to use it. Good luck, Nanoers. 😉
Thanks for reading, God bless, and have a great day. 😀
TCWT: Beginnings and Endings (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILBO AND FRODO!)
a swiftly tilting planet, a wind in the door, a wrinkle in time, beginnings, book reviews, brian jaques, c.s. lewis, castaways of the flying dutchman, catholic culture, creative writing, endings, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, ranger's apprentice, reading, redwall, reviews, robert louis stevenson, star wars, the chronicles of narnia, the hobbit, time quintet, treasure island, writing
Now, before I get into the TCWT post, I want to just make one little announcement.
Today is the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! *confetti flies everywhere* Happy birthday to the Ringbearers!
Okay, now that I've said that… 😉
Beginnings and endings. Now this reminds me of a paper I wrote in high school! Which will never see the light of day until it gets a boatload of revising. So don't ask. Or you can ask, but be prepared for it to not happen for a very, very long time.
Specifically, my favorite beginnings and endings.
Let's do this by series.
First of all, favorite beginnings and endings for The Chronicles of Narnia.
The Magician's Nephew, both as a beginning to the series, and its own beginning and ending. This. Book. Rocked.
First of all, we have the story of how Diggory and Polly met, and the fact that they were sent into Narnia by a ruthless pseudo-scientist/magician who was also partly insane (wouldn't any number of YA authors just love to try their hand at a plot this juicy nowadays?!), but it's not just that that makes the book great. It foreshadows World War II and people like Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler. (I would not be surprised to hear that Lewis did not approve of the US's alliance with the USSR. Good grief, I don't approve of it. And I'm American.)
*cough* Anyway…
Well, this book as a whole is the beginning of Narnia and the Chronicles of Narnia series. But its opening, while modest, is no less of a favorite for me. And its ending! The hiding of the magic rings (we'll get to Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings later, I promise!), the cure of Diggory's mother, and the promise of hope.
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The book that began it all. Seriously. Was ever story so well encapsulated? It wraps itself up very well, and smaller elements that were included (especially the Professor, who is–guess who? Diggory Kirk [yes, that is really his last name!], all grown up! and Susan's horn, which becomes a major point in the plot of Prince Caspian.)
The Horse and His Boy. Unlike the rest of the Narnia stories, this one actually does not have anything to do with "our world", unless you count the presence of the Pevensies (SPOILER! 😛 Who cares, anyway?! Most of you have already read all of the Chronicles of Narnia!) The ending is good, okay, but it's the ending I really love. This is the one Narnia book that describes Archenland, and it tells us about the people of Archenland, and gives a very satisfying ending.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Okay, yes, I love pretty much all of the Narnia series, but Dawn Treader stands out among the Narnia books. Again, the beginning is not nearly as euphoria-inducing as the ending is. It appears that Lewis may have been playing with the idea of the Seven Friends of Narnia at this point–of course, though, at this point only Lion, Witch, Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Dawn Treader were written, which means that Diggory was only a flight of imagination, and Polly probably hadn't ever (in Lewis' mind) come into Narnia at all yet. The three aforementioned books were intended to be a trilogy, complete in themselves, and it seems that Lewis didn't plan to write any more books. However, step back and take the series as a whole. If you read them in Narnian-time order, not writing order, then by the end of Dawn Treader there are seven friends of Narnia. (Susan hasn't left the group yet, remember.) And Dawn Treader and The Last Battle are the most similar in style, and ending as well. Coincidence? Most likely not.
The Last Battle. If I have to pick one favorite Narnia book, it is this one. (Dawn Treader is a close second.) First of all, the opening is riveting. An impostor Aslan? Narnia's King captured? WHAT?! IT DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN IN "OUR WORLD"?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! *squees*
Seriously, though. ❤
This Narnia book raises the stakes like no other. (I plan on making a list of the top villains who made an impression on me, to show you what I mean.) However, this book is also probably the one which is hardest for a child to read. (You've been warned.) It is both heartbreaking, exciting with its call to war, the rage against the lies… It is a true emotional rollercoaster. This one, more than any other of Lewis's books, made me understand what "passion" really meant. More than any other book, really.
And now, for the ending. While some people are upset that Susan didn't get to the "True Narnia" in Aslan's Country at the end of the series (read more about that here, and I highly recommend the rest of his blog for thought-provoking stuff on theology and popular culture!), I was both saddened by the fact that Susan had made herself not to believe in Narnia (which was, by the way, a recurring theme throughout the book–which is why, now, whenever I hear anyone say anything REMOTELY smacking of "We're out for ourselves!" [*cough cough* "The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs!"], I always throw a fit and demolish their argument in a blaze of righteous flurry and the occasional lightsaber-to-their-newspaper), and gladdened by the fact that by the very fact of her leaving the Friends of Narnia she was given a second chance. The problem, really, that we're talking about here, is the bland/blase reaction of the remaining Friends of Narnia to her exclusion. But you'll just have to read Malcolm's post, linked in above, if you want to know what Lewis's thoughts on the whole "Problem with Susan" issue was. I'm not giving it away to you! You wouldn't go find his completely awesome blog otherwise!
Anyway, back to the ending, proper. It is, in my opinion, a very satisfying close to the series. It was a blissful, happy, euphoric ending. It echoed the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse to Tridentine Rite lovers like me). In fact, I am thinking about making myself a T-Shirt that says "The Rapture only happens to people who loved The Last Battle!" (DISCLAIMER: The author of this post does not believe in the Rapture as preached by certain Christian sects. She does, however, believe that reading The Last Battle will bring you pretty freaking close!)
Sadly, I have not read Lewis's Space Trilogy often enough to include it in the runners. I haven't even finished it. :'-( Still, enjoy my dear friend Rosalie's description of Dr. Ransom here. ;-P *notices some people in the crowd gawking at the picture* *bangs them on the head with a newspaper* READ THE DESCRIPTION! NO GAWKING AT THE PHOTO!!! (I don't care HOW attractive you may find Ewan McGregor, keep the fawning off my blog!)
Next up: Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet!
A Wrinkle in Time begins with the cliche beginning "It was a dark and stormy night." It doesn't stop there, though. It makes it its own. And in the end, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which vanish in a gust of wind.
However, A Wind in the Door gets the top place on this list, I think. It begins with "There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden." and ends with the unforgettable:
"You were gone long enough. Did you count the stars or something?"
"We don't have to count them," Meg said. "They just need to be known by Name." Calvin's eyes met hers for a long moment and held her gaze, not speaking, not kything, simply being.
Then she went up to Charles Wallace.
Seriously! BEST. ENDING. EVER!
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, both beginning and ending, is tied up in Mrs. L'Engle's adaption of St. Patrick's Breastplate, called "Patrick's Rune" in the story:
In this fateful hour
I place all heaven with its power
And the sun with its brightness
And the snow with its whiteness
And the fire with all the strength it hath
And the lightning with its rapid wrathAnd the winds with their swiftness along their path
And the sea with its deepness
And the rocks with their steepness
And the earth with its starkness,
All these I place
By God's almighty help and grace
Between myself and all the powers of darkness.
Does that give you goosebumps? It does to me!
And finally, for the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books. Now, I think that, while LotR's beginning was interesting enough, it's not quite the same as Hobbit's. "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." How's that for a great opening? It certainly gets questions started as to what a Hobbit is and why it lives in the ground! However, since Hobbit is the prequel to LotR, it makes a lot of sense that way. Frankly, though Hobbit's ending is satisfying enough, LotR's is, in my opinion, the stronger of the two. Both bring about great changes in the world of Middle-Earth. Hobbit sees the return of the King Under the Mountain and the cities of Dale and Esgaroth, while LotR has no less than the return of the King Elessar to both Gondor and Arnor, and the destruction of the One Ring and the overthrowing of Sauron to boot!
In Hobbit, it was Bilbo's poem that made the greatest impression on me.
Roads go ever on and on
Over rock, and under tree
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass, and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever on and on,
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that have a-wandering gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows greenAnd trees and hills they long have known.
And in LotR, Frodo sums it up best: "We set out to save the Shire, Sam, and it has been saved; but not for me."
In the end, both the Bagginses go into the West with the Elves, in search of Valinor, and Sam returns home to his wife and children. "Well, I'm back."
Note to Ranger's Apprentice fans:
I am so sorry, but RA is not eligible to run. Like the Space Trilogy, I haven't read it enough to know the beginnings and endings very well.
Now for Brian Jaques' work.
I especially love Mariel of Redwall for its beginning and ending. The book begins with an amnesiac Mariel arriving on the coast of Mossflower country, promising (as Liam would say) the search for the truth about her past. And it closes with the defeat of Gabool and the departure of Mariel and Dandin to go in search of adventure. However, The Legend of Luke and Martin the Warrior, not to mention Mossflower, were close seconds: Legend of Luke for its opening and closing sequences, detailing the building of Redwall Abbey, Martin the Warrior for its description of Martin's barely-existent childhood and (SPOILER ALERT!) the cheek to kill off a character we really loved to drive Martin southward, toward Mossflower Country, and Mossflower for the arrival of Martin at Kotir in Mossflower and the closing defeat of Tsarmina, who had enslaved the woodlanders.
And as you're probably already tired of this, I think I will stop after just one more.
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy.
WHY MR. JACQUES!? WHY!? *bursts into tears*
Each of these books is complex, detailed, involves a much intenser battle between good and evil (sometimes more openly manifested!) than the Redwall books, and remains vivid in the imagination for days and years afterward. (Why do you think I keep on forgetting and naming yet another protagonist "Ben"?! Hint: It's not just Obi-Wan's doing! *Obi-Wan shoots an annoyed glance in my direction*) It's like… gah! I don't know what to compare it to! Think Jedi Apprentice (Melida-Daan specifically), only little Obi-Wan has a dog and his destiny is tied to the sea, and gaaah the feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelsss…. *breaks down crying* *Obi-Wan relents and comes over to pat me on the back*
Okay, bad comparison. Let's see. I think the closest I can get is it's a bit like Treasure Island (which had a marvelous ending in its own rite,) a bit like what Star Wars would have been if the story centered around Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had survived to train Anakin, and the sorrows the Elves must face when the younger Children of Illuvatar die. It also has strong resonances with Ranger's Apprentice (shut it with the whatever-apprentice similes, Erin, before you burst into tears again!) It's the only series with a 'young' protagonist (SPOILER the protagonist is eternally fourteen) I've ever read where the hero had no permanent mentor. Sure, he has a mentor/father figure who dies, but after that other people mentor him as well… sort of.
The thing about these books is that the endings are always both sweet, and at the same time, heartbreaking, since Ben and Ned (that's Ben's telepathic friend, the dog) must wander the world constantly, helping those they come across, and they can't let anyone know that they're immortal. I just want to give them both a great big hug.
*sigh* Excuse me, please. I just wanted to make myself reread all those books. (Dare I say, oops?)
Thanks for reading (and especially for sticking through until the end!), and God Bless!
Archivist of Selay'uu's Journal: …oops?
advanced burglary, c.s. forester, cressida cowell, french, frightening foreigners, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, ranger's apprentice, selay'uu, star wars, writing
I beg your pardon, my readers. I know it's been too long since I posted. Sadly, this update is not from Camelot. Rather, it's from one of my weekends back at Selay'uu.
Just before it started to rain on Saturday night, I was out, wandering through the woods of the estate, practicing my sneakery skills. Camicazi had beaten me in the last Burglary&Sneakery&Escapery contest, and I wanted to boost my skills before the next one. (Don't be afraid, readers–I never participate in Burglary outside of the contest. And Hiccup always starts speaking Gallican whenever he competes. I think it's a bad habit that Gobber sort-of pushed him into.) I had asked Gilan for lessons, but he was out at the moment.
I was almost at the border of the estate when I heard a whoop. Naturally, thinking someone might be in trouble, I turned right back around and ran for the wind-breaker tree line behind me, and as soon as I'm past the trees, I see it.
Will Treaty has somehow fallen through the roof of an ill-maintained outbuilding on the Selay'uu estate. (I should really talk to Mistress El'ye about taking care of the thatch.)
The rest of the day, naturally, was spent in trying to rescue him. And then it started to rain. Again. And we all got soaking wet, as Obi-Wan, Horatio, Halt, Winter, Isaac and I all tried to get him out of there…
At least we all got a good laugh out of it… sort of…
Thanks for coming by, as always, and don't forget to offer Horatio and Isaac your condolences (they both have colds!) God Bless, and have a great day!


text:
Hayley Atwell Casts Doubt on MCU Return
Marvel Studios has been on a roll this year with their new entries to The Multiverse Saga. The studio released projects like Moon Knight, Mrs. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverduck Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in which the laughter of the bunch pushed their new narrative forward. Multiverse of Madness utilized the multiverse plot device and brought back Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier and even introduced us to the live action version of Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell). While the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems set in stone, with the studio revealing their plans for the next two phases, you would think that the people who play these characters would know if they have an upcoming appearance. During a new interview with Digital Spy, Atwell cast doubt on a future appearance in the MCU.
"It's so funny, because, you know, I did that 10 years ago, and I love her because I love the people, and you never know [if there could be more]," Atwell told the site. "It depends on what Marvel, and what the audiences, want… I'm a custodian of her. Compared to the rest of my career and everything I've done or my stage work and doing Mission: Impossible now and all the diversity of roles I've played, and the diversity that I get to explore, and to be able to play more complex roles and villains and lots of different things — she is not mine anymore. She lives in the world of people who have taken her into their hearts. And that's beautiful. But it's kind of like: yeah, you can't control the impact a particular role has on the rest of the world."
The studio unveiled their plans for the next three years, with two new ones Avengers movies being announced. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty spirit Avengers: Secret Wars will both make their way into theaters in 2025. One thing that wasn't announced on the slate was a third Black Panther movie. Even though it's all but guaranteed that fans will receive a third Black Panther movie, Marvel producer Nate Moore revealed during a recent interview that the studio and Ryan Coogler both want to see the fan response to the highly-anticipated sequel before agreeing to do a third film in the franchise.
"That's a great question. To be honest, this is not me trying not to answer the question," Moore said. "We really want to see how audiences receive the film, and I think Ryan's really interested to see how the film plays before we decide. There are certainly ideas we've floated around of what a third film could be if we get to make it . But until the movie comes out, we're a bit superstitious in that way. We don't want to count our chickens, because you never know what's going to happen."
The most recent Marvel Studios film to hit theaters was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the sequel, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. It has yet to be seen where the Midnight Angels tie into the story.
Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominque Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is exclusively in theaters now!
Do you want to see the actress return? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!
Captain Carter (Character)Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madnessHayley Atwellmarvel studiosmcu
DC Comics Sneak Preview for January 31, 2023: The Lazarus Rains Continue To Awaken & Restore Both Heroes And Villains Long Forgotten in LAZARUS PLANET: LEGENDS REBORN #1

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Shift in Centre of Mass When certain mass is Removed
If a certain mass from the system is removed, center of mass obviously changes from its existing position. When some mass of the system is removed, new center of mass shifts towards the heavier part of the system.
We know that center of mass of a system is a point of a system that represents the actual motion of a system when some external force is applied on the system.For a geometrically symmetric body, center of mass is at its geometrical center and it even coincides with center of gravity.
We can use the basic principle of center of mass in solving this conceptual problem to derive a mathematical equation. We know that the algebraic sum of moments about center of mass of the system is always equal to zero. It means the moments of the system about one direction is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the moments of the same system in the opposite direction.
Let the original center of mass of the system is at O. Let a small mass is removed from the system whose center of mass is at one point and the remaining portion of the system has center of mass at some other point. We can equate the moment of the system that has two masses. They are removed mass and remaining mass.
By simplifying the above equation, as shown in the below video lesson, we can the location of new center of mass of the system. We can find the shift in the center of mass as the product of mass removed and the distance between original center of mass and removed center of mass divided by the mass of the remaining portion.
Center of Mass Representation of Translatory Motion an Introduction
Centre of Mass Mathematical Derivation
Coordinates of Center of Mass Vector Form
Velocity and Acceleration of Centre of Mass
Internal Forces effect on Motion of Centre of Mass
Center of Mass Problem and Solution Three Particles at Three Corners of Triangle
Centre of Mass of Identical Spheres in Contact Problems and Solutions
Shift in Centre of Mass when a new mass added
Shift in Center of Mass When a Portion Removed Problem and Solution
Labels: center of mass, Problems and Solutions
Nyc class sir
Aditya August 13, 2021 at 8:47 PM


Join us for worship, prayer and teaching led by Karoly and Sue. This week we start a new short series looking at the Bible as a whole story, connecting Old Testament and New Testament with Jesus as part of it as well as its fulfilment.
Alison leads tonight's service – 'Looking at Jesus'.
This meeting will have a community focus. Between 6.30pm and 7.30pm there will be time for prayer and reflection as we explore some of life's issues and concerns. The service is followed by free refreshments and a chance to discuss. Everyone is welcome.


Amflo is part of the Plews & edelmann group. Plews manufacturing and sales Corporation was originally founded by R.G. Plews in 1927. At that time, the railroad industry was the primary focus for the company's extensive line of oil cans. As the Transportation industry went from trains to passenger cars and trucks, Plews shifted their focus to developing the tools necessary to service this new mode of Transportation. Fast forward 90 years and Plews has become part of Plews & edelman. Today, Plews & edelmann is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of a broad range of automotive parts and tools sold to the vast majority of mass merchant, retail auto parts stores and wholesale automotive parts and industrial distribution outlets, worldwide.
If you have any questions about this product by Amflo, contact us by completing and submitting the form below. If you are looking for a specif part number, please include it with your message.


text:
Title 37. PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES
Chapter 17. MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS
Section 905. Reserve officers of the Navy or Marine Corps not on the active-duty list: effective date of pay and allowances
37 U.S. Code § 905. Reserve officers of the Navy or Marine Corps not on the active-duty list: effective date of pay and allowances
A reserve officer who is promoted under chapter 1405 of title 10 to a grade above lieutenant (junior grade) in the Navy Reserve or above first lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve is entitled to the pay and allowances of the grade to which promoted for duty performed from the date on which he becomes eligible for promotion to that grade.
A reserve officer who is promoted under section 14308(b) of title 10 to the grade of lieutenant (junior grade) in the Navy Reserve or first lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve is entitled to the pay and allowances of the higher grade for duty performed from the date given him as his date of rank.
(Pub. L. 87–649, Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 488; Pub. L. 95–377, § 9, Sept. 19, 1978, 92 Stat. 721; Pub. L. 96–513, title IV, § 403(b), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2904; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1676(b)(3), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3019; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 515(d)(1)(F), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3236.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section
Source (U.S. Code)
Source (Statutes at Large)
905(a)
10:6141.
[None.]
10:5908(a) (last sentence).
905(d)
10:5788(c).
905(e)
10:5787b(c).
905(f)
905(g)
10:5597(h) (last sentence).
10:5597(i) (last 21 words).
905(h)
10:5787(g) (last 21 words).
2006—Pub. L. 109–163 substituted "Navy Reserve" for "Naval Reserve" in two places.
1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–337, § 1676(b)(3)(A), substituted "chapter 1405" for "chapter 549".
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–337, § 1676(b)(3)(B), substituted "section 14308(b)" for "section 5908".
1980—Pub. L. 96–513 substituted "Reserve officers of the Navy or Marine Corps not on the active-duty list: effective date of pay and allowances" for "Officers of Navy or Marine Corps not covered by section 904 of this title: effective date of beginning of pay and allowances" in section catchline, and generally revised and restructured section, and as part of such restructuring struck out former subsec. (a), redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as subsecs. (a) and (b), respectively, and, in subsec. (a) as so redesignated, struck out second sentence which related to establishment of an officer's professional and moral qualifications, and struck out former subsecs. (d) to (h).
1978—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95–377 inserted reference to section 5787d.
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–337 effective Dec. 1, 1994, except as otherwise provided, see section 1691 of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as an Effective Date note under section 10001 of Title 10, Armed Forces.
Amendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under the amendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 10, Armed Forces.
Transition Provisions Under Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
For provisions to prevent extinction or premature termination of rights, duties, penalties, or proceedings that existed or were begun prior to the effective date of Pub. L. 96–513, and otherwise to allow for an orderly transition to the system of officer personnel management put in place under Pub. L. 96–513, see section 601 et seq. of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 611 of Title 10, Armed Forces.


text:
using System;
using System.Linq; // For the array solution.

class MinMaxSumAverageOfNumbers
{
    static void Main()
    {
        /* Write a program that reads from the console a sequence of n integer numbers and returns the minimal, the maximal number, the sum and the average of all numbers (displayed with 2 digits after the decimal point).
          The input starts by the number n (alone in a line) followed by n lines, each holding an integer number.
          The output is like in the examples below. */

        Console.Write("Enter positive integer number and press ENTER: ");
        int n = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
        int minimum = int.MaxValue;
        int maximum = int.MinValue;
        int sum = 0;
        int count = 0;
        while (count < n)
        {
            Console.Write("Enter an integer number and press ENTER: ");
            int number = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
            if (number <= minimum)
            {
                minimum = number;
            }
            if (number >= maximum)
            {
                maximum = number;
            }
            sum += number;
            count++;
        }
        double average = (double)sum / n;
        Console.WriteLine("min = {0}", minimum);
        Console.WriteLine("max = {0}", maximum);
        Console.WriteLine("sum = {0}", sum);
        Console.WriteLine("avg = {0:F2}", average);

        //int[] numbers = new int[n];
        //int i = 0;
        //do
        //{
        //    Console.Write("Enter an integer number: ");
        //    numbers[i] = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
        //    i++;
        //} while ( i < n);

        //int maxValue = numbers.Max();
        //int minValue = numbers.Min();
        //double sum = (double)numbers.Sum();
        //double avg = sum / n;

        //Console.WriteLine("min = {0}",minValue);
        //Console.WriteLine("max = {0}",maxValue);
        //Console.WriteLine("sum = {0}",sum);
        //Console.WriteLine("avg = {0:F2}",avg);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Land Area: 16.43 square miles
Median Family Income: $172,750
2021 Property Tax Rate: $14.39 per $1,000 assessed
Lexington is well known for its rich history. As home to many historical sites, monuments, parks, and buildings, Lexington, MA, is bursting with American history. Today, as a popular Boston suburb, Lexington provides all the comforts of a smaller community including, movie theaters, multiple high-end supermarkets, great shopping, and restaurants.
Lexington's current population is around 33,727. The Lexington school district is among the highest-ranked in Massachusetts and nationally. The school system includes six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Young families and those with kids in school looking to buy a home in Lexington can feel at ease sending their kids to some of Massachusetts' best schools. Lexington also boasts extremely low crime rates, along with diverse and inclusive town life.
If you are selling a home in Lexington, MA, our expert team of Lexington brokers will guide you throughout the process-- from staging your home to marketing it to the right crowd. We live and breathe Boston suburbs, and nobody is as qualified to sell a home in Lexington than the Coleman Group.
Search Properties in Lexington
Within Lexington, there are six public elementary schools, two public middle schools, and one public high school, collectively serving around 7000 students. As stated in its guiding principles, the purpose of education in the Lexington Public Schools is to provide a well-rounded education for all students, one that promotes civic engagement, respect for all, rich academic and cultural experiences, critical thinking skills, habits and dispositions for learning, and the social and emotional development of every child. Lexington is a member of the Minuteman Regional School District, which runs a vocational technical school, with a newly rebuilt campus located in Lexington.
There are a number or preschool options in Lexington, including:
Lexington Playcare Center: A full day child care center with flexible scheduling options
Lexington Children's Place: A district wide preschool program run out of the Harrington School
Bright Horizons: A child care center and preschool
The LEAP School: A preschool/daycare with locations in multiple towns including Lexington
French for Kids: Children 3-5 years old attend class Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 12:30.
First Circle Learning Center: An independently owned program for early childhood education
The Children's Center of Lexington: full-time center providing a preschool program and extended care for children from 15 months through 6 years of age
Hancock Nursery School: Provides nursery school through Pre-K
The Curriculum is consistent across Lexington's six elementary schools. All schools teach a language arts, math, science and social studies curriculum that exceeds the Massachusetts' Curriculum Frameworks and its expectations. In addition, art instruction, including instrumental music starting in grade four and physical and health education are offered.
• Bowman
• Bridge
• Estabrook
• Fiske
• Hastings
• 8:45 AM: 3:15 PM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
• 8:45 AM: 12:15 PM Thursday
Assignment: School assignment used to be flexible, based on student enrollment and school capacity due to a period of sustained and rapid enrollment growth. Following expansions and modular additions to a number of the schools, the School Committee approved a redistricting plan in December 2019 that is based on geography.
Middle Schools are run using an instructional team approach. All students are assigned to learning teams during the summer that they learn with throughout the year. These teams are not ability based, with the exception of 7th and 8th grade math and 8th grade foreign language. Homework is a big part of the middle school curriculum and though people learn at different rates the school has a target of 1 hour per night in 6th grade, an hour and a half in 7th, and two hours in 8th grade.
• Clarke
• Diamond
• 8:00 AM: 11:45 AM Thursday
Lexington High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. While all courses at LHS are designed as college prep courses, many courses have assigned ability levels. LHS courses are offered in a block schedule and while there is much freedom for students to explore their interests, there are certain required courses and prerequisite courses required. Lexington High School offers students support through a "house plan" in which students are assigned to a dean, guidance counselor, homeroom teacher, house secretary and support personnel.
LEXINGTON SCHOOL STATS:
2019-2020 Enrollment: 2,275
• 2019 Four year adjusted cohort graduation rate: 100%
There are a number of private schools in Lexington, including:
Lexington Christian Academy (grades 6–12)
Lexington Montessori (grades PK, K-8)
Meadowridge Pelham Academy (girls, grades 6–12)
The Tremont School (grades)
Waldorf School of Lexington (preschool + grades K-8)
DRIVING ACCESSIBILITY
Lexington is located 11 miles northwest of Boston. Under light traffic conditions, the commute is approximately 30 minutes into Boston. There are two major commuter routes bordering Lexington; Interstate 95 / Route128 and Route 2. Read more about major driving routes here (link to our blog on transport).
MBTA Bus Lines: The MBTA bus services Lexington with two bus routes, the 76 and 62. Both lines end at Alewife Station, where there is a connection to the MBTA Red Line into Cambridge and Boston.
Privately Run Shuttle: The 128 Business Council provides express shuttle service between Alewife Station and the Hayden Avenue and Hartwell Avenue business districts. The REV shuttle includes a stop in Lexington Center for any Lexington commuter in need of express service to/from Alewife Station.
Minibus: The Lexpress is a neighborhood minibus with 6 different routes. Each route runs once per hour and takes approximately 20 minutes. Once outside of Lexington Center the bus stops on demand. The Lexpress connects to the following transportation lines: The MBTA, The Burlington B-Line and the Lowell Regional Transit.
Bike: The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway is a 10-mile-long bike path that runs from Cambridge through Arlington, Lexington and Bedford. Built in the early 1990s on an inactive railroad corridor, the bikeway provides an easy way for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel to subway and bus lines. The bikeway is one of the most popular and successful rail trails in the U.S., enjoyed year-round for healthy recreation and transportation, and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy inducted it into its Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2008.
ACROSS Lexington, a project of the Greenways Corridor Committee, is a network of marked trails and paths for walkers, runners and trail bikers. The routes use existing public ways to connect the town center with various historic sites, schools and conservation areas. A map of the network routes and links is available here.
Minuteman National Park extends through Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord. It contains numerous historical sites from the opening battle of the Revolution, including the Old North Bridge, Wayside and The Battle Road Trail, which extends 5 miles from Meriam's Corner in Concord to the Eastern boundary of the park in Lexington. The Parks offer a wide range of special events as well as guided tours.
The Town of Lexington Recreation Department runs seasonal and year-round passive and active recreation programs, and wellness and leisure activities for residents of all ages. For adults, programs include classes such as aerobics, yoga, tennis, boots camps, swimming, ballroom dance, self defense, gardening classes, online education courses and more. For pre-school, youth and teens the department offers a wide variety of programs, classes and clinics throughout the school year and activities during the summer months. Available programs range from crafts to soccer, chess to skiing, archery, tennis, science, drama and more.
The Hayden Centre is a privately endowed, non-profit corporation that offers a variety of recreational, social and athletic programs to Lexington youth and adults who live and/or work in Lexington. The Centre has two facilities, a full-size ice skating rink in the John Chase Skating Facility and the Recreation Centre which houses a swimming pool, auditorium, gymnasium, weight training room, ten different activity rooms and an athletic field. The centre offers many programs including free skate and open gym times, dance, gymnastics, skating programs, arts and crafts programs, after school programs, preschool programs, summer programs and more. You can also rent out different areas of the Centre for birthday parties.
Willard Woods Conservation Area is 100 acres of conservation land with 3 miles of walking trails and a short bicycle path. Two streams cross conservation where walkers and runners can see a wide variety of plants and wildlife. Many residents walk their dogs through this conservation area.
Pine Meadows Golf Club, owned by the town of Lexington, is a professionally managed 9 hole public golf course. Monday through Friday resident, 9 hole Greens Fees are $19, Non residents are $22. For weekends and holidays, greens fees are $21 for residents and $24 for non residents. With a resident ID card residents are able to make tee times before the general public.
Library, Museum & Arts
Cary Memorial Library, renovated in 2004, offers a wide range of services including museum passes, interlibrary loans, meeting and study rooms and access to technology. Programs run through the library include: Preschooler programs, night and weekend programs such as Pajama Story Time, Explore, Learn and Create programs for elementary and middle schoolers which can be anything from learning to cook to hands on science programs. The Cary Library also offers programs for Teens, such as open mic night, movies and gaming events all run with the help of a group of 9th-12th graders on the Teen Advisory Board.
The Munroe Center for the Arts community arts center teaches visual and performing arts education classes, offers low cost studio space for local artists, operates a gallery, and helps the town organize different arts related events. There are five schools within the center including: ArtSpan, The Dance Inn, Elite Freestyle Karate, Lexington Music School, Lexington School of Ballet, and The Lexington Players. Monroe also has a free program called Munroe Saturday Nights: a free preforming art series showcasing a variety of performance. Check their website for upcoming shows and more information.
The Museum of our National Heritage, now the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, has exhibitions, programs, and collections with emphasis on American history and Freemasonry. The Library's two main areas of collection are American History and Freemasonry and Masonic history. Exhibits feature general interest galleries with changing exhibits about Massachusetts and American history and culture.
Local Agriculture
The Lexington Farmer's Market is located at the corner of Woburn Street and Mass Ave every Tuesday from May into the late Fall. The market features local farmers, vendors and artisans. For more information about farmer's market participants and available products please visit the Market's website at lexingtonfarmersmarket.org.
Lexington Community Farms is a project of LexFarm. It is about 7.5 acres with a small farm stand and green house. The mission of this organization is to preserve historic farm land while offering residents hands-on education, volunteer and recreation programs. Educational opportunities include workshops and a "Learning Garden" where all age groups can come and receive an authentic "on farm" experience. They also sell CSA shares and offer "pick your own" programs.
Lexington CSA (Community Aupported Agriculture) is a model in which farmer's sell shares in their harvest directly to local community members. Lexington's CSA is offered by LexFarm and Wilsons Farm. The CSA at LexFarm has members sign up for a pick up day at the beginning of harvest season. How much produce members receive depends on the harvest as the season progresses. Lexfarm also offers Flower Share.
Shops & Cafe's
• Crafty Yankee
• Revolve
• Jack Rabbit
• Catch a Falling Stars
• Gaim
In Town:
• Stop n' Shop Wilson's Farm
• Wilson's Farm: Lexington
Nearby Grocery Stores:
• Trader Joes' (Arlington)
• Whole Foods (Bedford and Woburn) Wegmen's (Burlington)
• H Mart (Burlington)
• BTONE
• Lexington Fitness Center
• Lexington Power Yoga
• Tree of Life Yoga Dance
• Boston Sports Club (Bedford)
• Gold's Gym (Arlington)
• Lifetime (Burlington)
• Orange Theory (Burlington)
• Wonder Yoga (Arlington)
Hit Abbott's for fresh frozen custard after a ride on the Minuteman Bike Path. Go off-piste for a beautiful walk, hike or bird watching in Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.