Legend of the condor heroes: A hero born (Book 1)

                One of the most popular books in China when my parents were growing up was a series of 4 novels called A Hero Born, a prequel to The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The novel is set in the Jin Dynasty, during the Jin-Song Wars, where the Jin dynasty invaded the neighboring Song empire. So far, only the first book has been translated. The story starts out with two Song Patriots, Ironheart Yang and Skyfury Guo, two expert martial artists, whose wives are pregnant. They often joke around that if their children are the same gender, then they shall be sworn siblings, but if they are the opposite gender, then they will be married. One night, everything changes for them, Ironheart and Skyfury fight, but then befriend a mysterious Taoist monk, Qiu Chuji (who in fact is an extremely advanced martial artist), promises to one day return to the village and help train their unborn children. After the Taoist leaves, however, Ironheart and Skyfury are accosted by a search party led by the traitor Justice Duan, and later are killed in the fight. Charity Bao(Ironheart's wife), is subsequently taken by the Jin prince Wanyan Honglie (who in fact ordered to attack, after becoming fascinated with Charity after she had inadvertently saved his life from Qiu Chuji), while Lily Li(Skyfury's wife) is kidnapped by Justice Duan. Qiu Chuji, after finding out about the deaths of the two patriots, fruitlessly tries to convince a martial family, the 7 freaks of the south (the seven freaks are: Ke Zhen'e (blind, but can fight based on his enhanced hearing, uses flying devilnuts, Zhu Cong, extremely fast, has extensive knowledge of opponents' acupressure points, Ryder Han, a short yet formidable fighter on horseback, Woodcutter Nan, fights with an iron-tipped shoulder pole, Zhang Asheng, fights with a butcher knife, Gilden Quan, utilizes a set of scales, and Jade Han, trained in the Yue sword).  to try to rescue the two women, being forced to fight all of them before they become aware of Duan's treachery.  Meanwhile, Duan and Lily Li keep trying to evade the 7 freaks, until they are ultimately separated, and Lily Li gives birth to Guo Jing. The seven freaks and Qiu Chuji devise a contest, Qiu Chuji will look for Charity Bao, while the seven freaks shall go find Lily Li, they will train their children.

                   For the next six(?) years, Lily Li and Guo Jing live along the countryside in peace, until fate has it that Guo Jing comes across an bloody battle with a young Genghis Khan (called Temujin in the book), that leads to Guo Jing looking after the archer Jebe, and Temujin's army searching the entire house; In the end, Jebe joins Khan, and Temujin takes in Guo Jing, and treats him as if he were his son. Meanwhile, the freaks' search for Guo Jing eventually leads them to the Mongols, who allow them to train the boy. On the night Guo Jing starts training however, the seven freaks come across a horrifying sight, a pyramid of skulls with holes punctured in them; as it turns out, this was the work of two evil martial artists, Copper Corpse, and Iron Corpse, seemingly mastering a deadly technique known as the "Nine Yin Skeleton claw".  As it turns out, the duo were responsible for the death of Ke Zhen'e's brother. During the freaks' fight against the duo, Iron corpse's head is pierced by Ke Zhen'e's devilnuts (which could serve as poetic justice, given Ke Zhen'e's brother was killed in a similar manner), however, the duo proves too powerful for the seven freaks, and many of them are severely injured in the process, Zhang Asheng being killed in the process. It is at this point that Guo Jing shows up, and although he is overpowered and about to be killed by Copper Corpse, he manages to score a lucky shot with a dagger right in Copper's gut, subsequently killing him. For the next 10 years, Guo Jing, with Temujin's consent, is trained by all *six* freaks. Though he initially has a difficult time trying to master the fighting styles of each of his Shifus, particularly with Ryder Han's whip-based combat, he meets a mysterious old man (the Taoist Ma Yu), who tells him to meet him on the top of an extremely tall mountain. Rather than teaching Guo Jing any martial arts, he teaches him meditation, neigong, which makes him much more nimble and agile, and greatly boosting his fighting skills. In this time, Temujin manages to fight off any opposition from other Northeast Asian tribes and manages to bring them them together as one massive tribe, potentially matching the power of the Jin empire.  After all those years of training Guo Jing, it is now time for the freaks to meet up with Qiu Chuji. Taking some gold ingots provided by Temujin, Guo Jing sets out to search for master eternal spring and his disciple.

                So you might be wondering at this point, where is Yang Kang? Well as it turns out, when Charity gave birth to him, Wanyan Honglie took him in as a sort of son. Unlike Guo Jing, who grew up in a desolate mountain, Yang Kang was raised as the son of prince Wanyan Honglie, growing up in luxury and comfort in the royal court of the Jin. Throughout the book, it can be heavily implied Yang Kang  spoiled by his "father", given his narcissistic, condescending attitude. Meanwhile, Guo Jing's journey has taken him to Jin territory, where he meets and befriends a mysterious beggar Lotus Huang, she is, surprisingly, also quite skilled in martial arts. After coming across a Jin prince mocking and beating a father (named Mu Yi), and his daughter (named Mercy), Guo Jing and the prince end up in a long and brutal brawl, until both men are taken to the castle and the prince is revealed to be none other than Yang Kang! In the meantime, Mu Yi and Mercy are subsequently locked up. 


                  Guo Jing and Lotus Huang eventually go to rescue Mu Yi and Mercy. During the rescue, Mu Yi alludes to having been brothers-in-arms with Guo Jing's father(sounds suspiciously like Ironheart Yang), and eventually, Mu Yi admits he is indeed Ironheart Yang! Apparently, during Duan's raid, Ironheart was wounded, and, with the Jin soldiers assuming him to be dead, Ironheart managed to escape and take on the disguise of being a traveling performer (hosting a strange tournament where people would fight a girl, and the winner would marry her). The first book ends with Ironheart, Guo Jing, and Charity Bao escaping, but before that, being forced into a confrontation with Yang Kang, who still believes his real father is the Jin prince.


                   Despite the relatively simple plot of the first book, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend reading this book, as it blends together history and fantasy, creating a sort of alternate version of ancient China. For starters, A war between the Jin and Song empires did indeed happen, and Temujin (Genghis Khan) was in fact present at the time, uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. On the other hand, the book does bring in some fantasy elements. The representation of fighting in A Hero Born is very unreal, especially considering there are characters  capable of catching, deflecting, or dodging objects in the blink of an eye. Imagine being able to climb a mountain that passes through the clouds, or being able to incapacitate opponents by hitting a certain area. This gives a sense of unpredictability and mysticism to the book. It's unfortunate that so far, only the first book has been translated into English, because I want to read further.

How to make a lego cape

Have you ever wanted to make your own lego cape, but could never do so because you don't know what sort of materials are needed? Well, today, I shall tell you how to make your very own lego cape!

Step 1: Getting the materials:

So one of the hardest steps is trying to get the right materials. Well, there happens to be a store called "Joann's fabrics" that has all sorts of these arts and crafts materials. Now, if you happen to see something labeled "100% cotton", that is the material you will need for the cape.



Step 2: Creating the template

After you have gotten the cotton, the next thing you need to do is design the shape of your cape. If you already have a lego cape, great, that will be much easier. Put it on a piece of paper, and trace it (unless you have a very steady hand or are using a black cape, I recommend you use a pencil). Then, cut out the paper.




Step 3: Softening the cape.

Afterwards, you'll want to make the cotton's texture much more stiff. To do that, add sugar to a pot of water, then boil it. Once it starts boiling, put the cotton inside the pot of water, then wait for a little bit until it is stiff enough. Then, place the cotton on a flat surface, flatten it out, then let it dry out in the sun.

Step 4: After your cape has dried up, trace your cape template onto the cotton. I would suggest that for the darker colors, you use a white colored pencil. Once you have finished tracing the cape, cut it out, then, rinse it under the sink. 

The image on the right is what I did for my cape--> 

Step 5: To soften your cape, iron it. Depending on what kind of texture you want for your cape, you can iron it for a few seconds if you want it to have a rough texture, or do it for a longer period of time if you want a softer texture, then voila! You have your new lego cape.

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Lego links

https://www.etsy.com/listing/570425353/martian-manhunter-cartoon-lego?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_e-toys_and_games-toys-dolls_and_action_figures-action_figures&utm_custom1=20183507-aa5d-4e35-8d4a-bec03d58afe0&gclid=CjwKCAjwwbHWBRBWEiwAMIV7E-0GN1CiymjzjFQbbjo3f84k46v7l_Fw5oVwdh2HI5Sxj8kfl21lnxoCO6kQAvD_BwE

What I'll need for Lego:

Need torso and x2 heads.



Need x2 heads and one minifigure












Need hair, head, and torso.



Need torso



Need legs



Will need head.

I want these people dead

 

I don't care what it takes to kill these people I want them to die slowly and painfully!

The Glass Castle

         
                    Ever had that one time where your family is moving everywhere? Never in the same school for long, and oh how you wish your family would just settle in ONE place? That is certainly like the childhood Jeanette Walls had, but I shall hazard you didn't have to face the horrors she did. Born in 1960, to Rex and Rosemary Walls, Jeanette has had a rough life. Beginning in a trailer park, she was badly burned cooking hot dogs just at the age of 3, which also happens to be the first time her family had to move with her around. While in the hospital, still recovering from her injury, her father suddenly came in and took her away, the reason being was to not let her be sent to a foster home considering everything she had told the doctors and nurses. In the early years, the family would continuously alternate between moving from California and Arizona every few months, in which her father has been shown to have a serious drinking and gambling problem. In the midst of this, her father has often talked of building a "glass castle", which should be pretty self-explanatory.

                  Despite the urges from her mother to just move in with Grandma Smith(Rosemary's side of the family), or receive financial support, her father always flatly refuses, having the tendency to have a giant argument. On many occasions, the Walls had been forced to give up various possessions, ranging from their mother's wedding ring, to even their own cat. Jeanette accidentally fell out of the car at one point, and was very worried that her own family was going to abandon her. When she was 7, her family moved to Battle Mountain, in Nevada, which was also where they finally managed to settle down for the first time. Her father got a stable job, and made a decent amount of money every so often. But, after a conflict with one of the kids Billy Deal that ends with the eldest child Lori pulling out a real gun on him, the family is forced to move once again in order to avoid trial and the possibility of losing their children.


             If you thought that their life would just become another vicious cycle of moving, you are wrong. Not long after leaving Nevada, Rosemary gets news that Grandma Smith has died, and they get her house, and later, it's also revealed Rosemary inherited a ton of land somewhere in Texas. But of course, it never lasts. Rex later comes back into contact with his parents and brother in Welch, West Virginia. While they are going to move, they still technically live in Grandma Smith's house, so, it make it seem like someone still lived there, Rosemary put dishes in the dishwasher, hung laundry, basically anything that would ward off intruders, and so the family went to Welch.

           The instant they get out the driveway, trouble has already popped up. Their car went kaput and it took around a month to get into West Virginia. And, Irma was revealed to be a rather unusual and strict person, her idea of punishment locking people into the basement, such as when Jeanette talked back to her for saying very racist things about African-Americans(well what did I expect? I'm sure Irma has been alive since the civil war, and certainly wasn't happy about the South losing). She also did enjoy drinking as much as Rex. What seemed to have been the final insult was when she tried to fix Brian(Jeanette's younger brother)'s pants, Irma was caught in the act of doing something weird to Brian, and a huge fight between Lori and Irma erupted, later causing the Walls to get kicked out of her house and having to move into a really crappy house down Little Hobart street.
Everything wrong with living in that house:
1. They had practically no electricity
2. There was the occasional rat infestation
3. Pieces of the house fell off every so often
4. The abuse Jeanette and her family often experienced focused mostly on their lifestyle
5. There wasn't an actual trash can
6. They didn't have indoor plumbing
7. Jeanette did once try to recolor the house, but by that time, everyone practically gave up on maintaining it and not even when she was half finished, the paint could no longer be used
8. Even when the family had a decent amount of money, it was spent stupidly on cars, booze, or gambling
9. It also gave their newborn child Maureen a bad experience, given how she spent much of her time over at friends' houses, and it would soon influence her to move far, far away
10. It ended any hope of the glass castle

                   Enough of that, I assume you already get the point. Anyways, the likes of a black girl named Denitia, and the local prick Ernie Goad would be the ringleaders of the pain and suffering, Denitia at least wasn't so mean, she did stop her bullying after Jeanette got her neighbor home safely, and, where Ernie tried to keep her away from the pool, Denitia did allow her to join her in the early mornings, which was just about the only time colored people were allowed in (this is 1960). This of course, would mainly focus on the children. Rosemary on the other hand, when she got the job as a teacher, she just had to be lucky enough to be driven to the school by another teacher who simply hated her guts. Every time Rosemary got off the car, that teacher would spray the seat, in fear of her ruining it. This also was in fact, something Jeanette faced when she took up writing for the school newspaper, which is something I shall get to later. You may be wondering? What kind of crap was Rex taking? In my opinion however, I am pretty sure Rex was abusing himself, being the guy who drank and smoked tons, Jeanette, who had faith in him since day 1 of his money-making schemes also considered leaving him behind.

              It might be a miracle how the Walls survived through this hell. Things turned out better when Jeanette was offered a spot in the school newspaper, and writing proved to be one of her talents. Well, that and mountain-climbing. As I had mentioned earlier, Rosemary did get a job as a teacher and came home with a decent amount of money every day, and Lori was offered to go to New York. Every time Rex sabotaged her, he always claimed it was to protect her from the "rapists, thieves, etc." This sounds coincidentally like Chicago to me. But, after much perseverance, sabotaged opportunities, and a long bus ride, Lori successfully made it to New York. Not long after Lori had gotten a decent job and place to live, Jeanette followed her. Thought she'd work for the newspaper? No. During the early days in New York, Jeanette worked at a restaurant and made around 80 dollars a week, which was an ok salary, but later, Jeanette would quit her job and work for the newspaper. In terms of living conditions, Jeanette moved into her husband Eric's apartment. Continuing on the New York cycle, Brian later moved in after living conditions back in Welch became crappier. He would marry, have a daughter, and become his dream job; a police officer. Maureen then came after Brian, and would often live with Lori, or later, the parents. The parents perhaps made the biggest scene arriving in New York via car.
1. Furniture fell out the trunk
2. While stopping to pick up the couch, one of the dogs ran out.
Rex and Rosemary lived with Brian and Lori initially, but Rex's heavy drinking issue and Rosemary's reluctance got them in the streets, searching the dumpsters for food. Funnily enough, Rosemary actually preferred this lifestyle, though the parents later moved into a run-down apartment.

        Rex's heavy drinking, smoking, gambling, and picking fights later caught up to him. While picking a fight, Rex caught a rare, incurable disease and claimed he was dying, but one of the more ridiculous aspects was that he had smoked at least 4 packs a day since HE WAS 12, and that didn't kill him. Soon enough, Rex Walls died at the age of 59, but not from the disease or his drug and alcohol abuse. He died from a simple heart attack, which was stupidly the least expected way to die. Soon after his death, Jeanette's family(minus Maureen, who was convicted of attempted murder, put in a mental institution, and moved to California) would meet on Thanksgiving and have a toast about Rex.

       You might be wondering, where does Jeanette Walls live now? She lives with her 2nd husband, John Taylor, on a farm in a countryside unlike what you've seen in New York.

My review of kyle

Nothing but a pest who wants to destroy my life.