The Labyrinth's visitor

The Labyrinth’s visitor is a book written by the Spanish writer Rafael Abalos. I got this book in Spain when I visited Europe this last summer. I was reading the 30 dollar film school (Review coming soon), I finished it and I wanted something to read for the road and I saw this book. To be honest it called my attention for the cover ( Go Marketing people!) and the abstract on the back. I bought it and I think that on the road from Barcelona to Madrid I read it completely.

I know I always say this about the books I read but it is true about all the ones I’ve written reviews of. They get you as soon as you begin to read them. I guess is just part of almost every writer, to intrigue you since the very beginning, otherwise you wouldn’t keep on reading it.

You might think this is Fantasy story. That’s what I thought when I read the back of the book. But it it’s not Fantasy at all. There’s some fantasy elements, but the book and the story doesn’t happen in a fantasy environment as other books do.

It is a story of self discovery ; a prince that is about to be king on the quest of his life, where He’ll have to learn what it takes to be king starting with finding his name. The answer when you try to understand the why of things is not always what you expected it would be. There’s a lot of philosophic elements in the story that really makes you think and wonder in comparison to your life. The author mentions topics as friendship, courage, bravery and success. Success; I like how he touches this theme giving an example of someone successful, someone everybody remembers, then the main character meets him and see the reality of the topic.

I really should have written this review months ago, because now I don’t remember many things to discus them. I would describe this book as fantasy for grown ups, it has all the elements but at the same time, is like they’re not there.

Stoneheart

When I finished reading the Twilight series, as I mentioned before, I felt empty…just kidding, I did feel sad the story was over, but it was time to move on my reading and start involving in another story. It wasn’t hard to do it. There’s a lot of books waiting out there for me to read them. This one, in particular, called my attention for the cover, because it had a sticker saying “ Movie coming soon” Fantasy, bestseller and a movie coming soon? My golden dream…So I bought it.

The story gets you as soon as u start reading the first chapters and makes you wonder many things. The main idea of the book is that all the statues out there based on something or on someone, have a life, they are impregnated with the essence of that being in who they are base on. There are good statues called “ Vitratos “ ( I don’t know the word in English as I read the book in Spanish) and bad ones called “ Maculas”. They all have life, but almost nobody can see them. So it makes you wonder why this boy called George can? And even more interesting why, he can just see them suddenly when before he couldn’t do it. Why are the macula’s chasing him?... I like and believe in the idea of life in a parallel dimension…hove you ever felt somebody is watching you? You feel that tickling on your back of a sight, and then turn around and there’s nothing there? And Even when you see and know there’s nobody there you still feel there’s someone or something staring at you?...Is someone in another parallel dimension.

I would call this “Light” reading, as it is easy to read and to comprehend. I like the fact of the chapters being short because I don’t like to stop in the middle of a chapter and continue after; I always finish one chapter before stop reading.

I really can’t wait to see this book turned into a movie. It has action from beginning to end. It is adventurous and meaningful. It left me wanting to read the 2 following parts but they are not out in Mexico yet, so I’ll have to wait until I move to most consuming country: USA.
The story happens in London, so if you’ve been there before you’d be familiar with all the places and the actual statues as they really exist there.
On a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London, a 12-year-old loner named George is banished for something he didn't do. Angry, he lashes out and breaks off a dragon's head carved onto the wall of the museum. Next thing he knows, a pterodactyl carving comes to life and begins to chase him. From Gunner, a walking, talking statue, George learns that he has entered another layer of reality, and that his arrival has started a new war between good spits (statues that are imbued with a soullike essence by their inspired makers) and evil taints (soulless carvings). With the advice of various spits, and the companionship of a girl named Edie, George seeks answers from two Sphinx statues, whose enigmatic clues lead the pair into a terrifying adventure. Creatively building on the plentiful gargoyles and other creepy stonework of its urban setting, this lengthy novel, the first in a planned trilogy, will draw capable readers for its suspenseful chase scenes, scary creatures, and highly original premise. Tixier Herald, Diana

Students life: the new beginning.

Every beginning has an ending and College isn’t the exception. It came to an end. I still can’t believe it. I feel like I’m on winter break and that I will return next year but I won’t. I won’t even step on college again. It is over, but studying will never end. We keep on learning during out whole life…

As We go on, we remember, we will remember out student life forever, as perhaps, the easiest part of our life’s. My parents told me I would miss school, but to be honest I still haven’t missed it, may because I’ll keep studying for the next two years, but anyway, I think you get tired of exams, homework, projects and attending useless classes, school should be more hands on.
By the end of College, you start realizing how much your life is going to change when you are done with your studies and begin to be on your own. Some start working earlier, some later, but we all eventually have to work and know how hard life is when you are no longer under your parent’s wings or in your parent’s nest. Your whole life will change. I haven’t’ experienced it myself yet, but I’ve seen people that have. In college, when you start seeing you classmates all dressed up for class, either they dress really nice or they have started working. I go more for the second option. Jeans and t-shirts are no longer part of your everyday outfits. Snickers? Are u kidding? You have to wear casual shoes! It doesn’t matter if you have to be walking from one side to another…comfortable clothes are only for weekends when you don’t have to work, opposite to how it used to be.

Wait there’s also a good side from starting your new life; instead of paying to attend something you don’t like to go, You’ll get paid! The bad side, if you don’t like your job it is going to be a hell and a pain in the ass too.

I really can’t believe I’m done with this. I got my Bachelor’s Degree diploma, I hold it, stared at it and thought: “This is it…four and a half years to get this piece of paper” But it isn’t just a piece of paper it is a complete set of knowledge represented in that piece of paper.

As I’ve written before, school gives you knowledge in many different topics, but more important, it teaches you lessons for life in the most important subjects, where you neither fail or pass, which are : Love and friendship. School teaches you the basics, life will give you the advance.
College is the end of a stage of life, “after college life” is the beginning of a whole new adventure….Nobody knows what it will bring, although we would like to know, but there again, it wouldn’t be as surprising…Life is going to be very different now and all I have to say is that I’m ready for the first day of my new life...

Student life: College

When I started college my father told me that now I was going to get real education, that I was going to learn stuff with really great value for life. No more biology things or how plants turn Co2 into Oxygen. I wasn’t really convinced to n start College. First because I would have to wait 4 years and a half to study what I really wanted to study. ( My dad told me that if I studied Business management He would pay the film School for me…And so I did) I knew or well…I expected that College wouldn’t be as fun as High School. Things were going to get really serious now. If I felt like a grown up in High School, I felt completely grown up when I started College. I remember my first week, I went to a party on a weekday. I didn’t get home until 11 pm and I hadn’t started my homework, I had a quiz the following day and I had to read 3 full chapters for a random oral quiz. I didn’t care. “I’m in College now. I can to go bed really late and wake up really early the following day. Can’t I? “ I was just 17 when I started College. I really don’t know why I felt like that. I see pictures of my first year of college and I look like a baby (Not that I look like the age I am now…but still).

Everything you didn’t do before , You will do it in college. EVERYTHING…if you don’t, then You’ll never do it. If you hadn’t get drunk before, you will do in College, if You heart hasn’t been broken before, It will be broken in College, if you’re lucky, just once, if not…well… As in High School you’d meet life time friends in College. A different type of friends. Friends that may not go out with you and party every weekend , and you may not see them in weeks or months, but friends that You know they’ll be there when you need them, even if you call them 4 am in the morning and they have a terrible hang over.

My dad was right, I learned a lot during College, but even more than business related stuff, I learned a lot from life. It was during College When I did the Filmmaking workshop back in 2005, also during college I finished my third book and published my first one. I studied a year abroad, but from that I will write in many more entries.

At the beginning, the first year of College, may be the first too, seemed to me like a continuation of High School, obviously with different topics to study, but then It got more complicated. Specially in my major, there’s lot of numbers involved. We learned lots of procedures that I hope not to use. I don’t see myself in front of a computer working 8 hours a day on the same thing for the rest of my life.

There’s a lot of good memories I take from college, but I wouldn’t do it again. I’m done with it! I’ll always remember “our taco day” where We had to set up a Taco Store just for one night, or the Speeches contest where I was chosen to participate ( I really don’t know how I did it) Or my book presentation…lots of memories….

The next step is different for everybody, I would write College is just the ending of the students life, but the beginning of a whole new adventure…

Student life: High School...

High School. You have 3 years to decide what You want to do with your life, in case You don’t know already. 3 years seem like a very long time, but BELIEVE Me they fly as if they were just only 3 months. I knew what I wanted since the beginning, but other had no clue and even now that We are in College, they don’t know if what we’ are about to graduate of, is what they wanted to study at the first place.

High School, I remember it as one of the best parts of my life. I had so much fun. I remember someone told me that it is high school were you meet some of your best friends for life and He was true. I met unforgettable people. I learned the true meaning of friendship. I have so many good memories from High School. If someone told me I could go back in time and High School would be the same it was as when I studied it, I would totally do it over again.

It was High School when I started writing. I changed a lot during the 3 years of High School and I bet a lot of people do change during that period.

Many will share this opinion with me, High School is so much fun. You learn more things outside the class room than in it. Some get their hearts broken an learn how to put it back together again, some will suffer from friends disappointments and betrayals…but at the end, You will be ok. That is what life is made of.

I remember that when I was in High School I felt like an all grown-up. Well...I wasn’t even close to that.

Many of us, try out first alcoholic drink during High School, just for trying, to know what it feels. It just wasn’t my thing. I didn’t start drinking until college, but I must admit that first time I drank was a fun night out…Talking about night outs, You start partying, You no longer have afternoon outs, but night outs.

Dates? OMG…I remember how nervous I was during my first date with a girl and when I had my first girlfriend I didn’t know how to act, how to behave, it all was very new to me.

As everything in life, High school has an ending too and the time came where Everybody took a different path, and my friends community broke apart knowing that when we needed each other, We would be there to give us support…

Quote of the Week

"Faith, is to keep believing with your heart, even when your head tells you not to"
"Fe, es creer con el corazón, aun cuando tu cabeza te diga lo contrario"

I was going through my third book and I found this line. To be honest I didn't even remember to have written it, but then when I read it. It gave me hope...

Santa Claus is coming to town..

Wow….The last month of the year has arrived. I love December. It is my favorite month. I love to set up the Christmas three and decorate the house. I love Christmas carols, I love the Christmas Spirit. There are just 30 days for this year to be over and for the year 2009 to begin .
I love the December vibe everywhere. It is something magical. Since I was a kid, I’ve like this month so much. I was one of those kids that believed in Santa Claus Faithfully, I loved to gather with my family on Christmas eve and then open up my presents the following day while listening to “Santa Claus is coming to town” or “ I’m dreaming of the white Christmas”….The only thing missing was the snow and that’s because here in Mexico we don’t get any, or almost any.
In my plans, there is to write a Christmas novel and also remake my all time favorite Christmas movie. It is an old Mexican movie called “Santa Claus”…but don’t’ be deceived. It is really different to what We’ve seen before. It is a fight between good and evil in a cleverly fun way. I really hope to get to remake it someday…
Well, the main reason of this post is to share with you a music video I made with my sister 2 years ago. ( She really didn’t want me to share this, because She said She was too fat back then) Here it is…hope you like it.