History of the Dragon Queens

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book traces the history of Targaryans rule in Westeros. Using such ancient chroniclers as Mushroom, Maister Eustsce and Monke the author weaves a narrative beginning with when the House Targaryans left Valerian and settled in Westeros with a foothold on Dragonstone, an island off Westeros.

Before Aegon the Conqueror United the Seven Kingdoms, they were a warring mass of fighting petty kingdoms. He untitled them all along with his sister brides. Once they all bent the knee, they were allowed to keep their old ways but they had to pay fealty to House Targaryans.

The Targaryans were much different from the rest of the people of Westeros. For one they had the custom of marrying sister to brother.msome thing the Septons of the seven gods did not believe in and found rather sinful. Coming from Valerian they had purple eyes and platinum white hair. The Targaryans were also dragon riders, something else no one could make claim to.

Power struggle were constant. Challenges from Septons and Meisters over religious grownds was constant. They frowned upon incest. The Warriors sons and the Pour soldiers would mount fierce opposition but in the end dragon fire held sway.

Another leader that comes to mind is Maygir the cruel. Known for cruelly crushing any opposition and excessive cruelty towards foes. Under him Kings Landing was built into his royal residence. Jaharris the conciliator used peaceful means and diplomacy to rule his kingdom and co opt the opposition.

Of course during his reign, is when the seeds of civil war were sown. Two branches of the Targaryans go at it. Dragon against Dragon. leadership will change hands and justice will be dealt. Most of the dragons die which sets the stage for the Game of Thrones.

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Primer for thr Budding awitchling

The Door to Witchcraft: A New Witch's Guide to History, Traditions, and Modern-Day Spells by Tonya A. Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Definitely one of the best books to get if one is just starting out in witchcraft. In fact I would put it up there with Raymond Buckland and Scott Cunningham. The book was a breath of fresh air for me. It spoke to me. It was simple effective magic without the weight and dogma of religion. The book reminded me of things in my youth that might mark me as a witch.

One of the first things you have to know is that no one can define your witchhood for you. You define it. The book erases many lines and speaks a language of full inclusion. There are many ways to practice your craft...so long as it works for you. Does not matter if you are solitary or a coven member, does not matter you tradition or even if you are eclectic it is all valid.

Most people drawn to witchcraft have a had a different experience growing up. They may have been an outcast and usually are drawn to nature and or the horror gothic stuff. I was drawn to both. Yes I was an outcast well especially in my youth.

The book like any primer will give over view and a brief history and description of the various witchcraft traditions. This book does so along with a description of the 8 sabbath and the lunar festivals. A must have for all witches are the times for different types of magic for example what each day of the week would be good for.

The second part of the book is a formulary of spells and various potions. There are some tea recipes that I am keeping in mind for both dreaming and psychic visions. Another recipe I plan on keeping is one for flying ointment. There are various spells for wealth love and well being.

Own your witchhood . Don’t let anyone load you down with their dogma and hang ups. You are a witch and you write your own bible.

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Growing Up Persian in America

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anyone who knows anything about the Middle East knows that falafel is not Persian food but rather Arabic food. Then again what do most Americans know. This story was written by an Iranian or Persian and while it is a work of fiction it is in part autobiographical. The story is set in the Carter era, starting right before the revolution and then going through to Ronald Reagan’s election.

Zomorod is with her family in Southern California, her dad is an engineer making oil wells for a big company. For a while they were living in Compton but then they move to Newport Beach. The move to Newport Beach is not comfortable. Zomorod has no friends there and her parents are different. Zomorod does not know much about American culture. In order to better fit in she changes her name to Cindy. Incidentally the first friend she meets is named Cindy. Zomorod will call herself Cindy and her first friend Original Cindy.

Original Cindy is into herself. She likes horses and Captain and Tenil which she names her pet cats after. Zomorod does not know much about horses and she cannot follow along to the words of a song. They like to go to the pool and get a suntan. Her parents feel swimming and bicycle riding can help to make her grow taller. If she gets scratched by a cat she can lose her eye sight. These attitudes from her parents are a source of embarrassment for Zomorod.

As she starts Lincoln Junior High she goes through A socializing process. Some kids who are ignorant about Iran or Persia make racist jokes, other teacher ask her to give a report on Iran. At school she makes friends with Carolyn, Howie and Rachel. Through her friends she gets introduced to the Girl Scouts different people and different clubs. On a scout outing her dad buys everything that is on sale. The stuff that ain’t on sale and I the list of things needed for the camping trip are simply not needed.

In their condo complex they make friends and enemies with the neighbors, mostly friends though. Whenever someone comes over the mother wants to give them tea and feed them. If the family wants to say thank you they will make food and send it over. Most America’s do not follow this and to them it is different. For Zomorod it is embarrassing.

Things change when the Revolution happens and Americans are taken hostage in Iran. That is when her father looses his job, the family gets worried and stays glued to the television set. Enemies place dead hamsters on their doorstep and over load their trash can with trash thst is not theirs. But things will work out.

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Political Assassination

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All through out Israel’s existence , from the pre state days to present time, assassination has been a tool of national self defense. The purpose of assassination is to prevent a full scale military’s confrontation . The book traces the history of Israel’s use of assassination and with some examination of it’s moral relevance and effectiveness. All branches of the Israeli Defense Establishmment all the way from IDF commando groups, Aman, Mossad and Shin Bet have been involved in assassinating enemy leaders.

In the pre state days the Haganah used assassination against rival Palestinian leaders, some British and even other Jews. One of the most noted assassination in pre state time was of Jacob DeHan. Jacob was a gay Orthodox Jew who was very pro- Arab. He was murdered and the Haganah decided to frame the Irgun. The Stern Gang, radical Jewish terrorists of the time assassinated Lord Moyne in Egypt.

After the establishment of the state of Israel, the fledgling state faced numerous threats. Among them was German Scientists working for Egypt in order to develop rockets and chemical weapon to use against Israel. To stop this the Israelis would send letter bombs to the scientists. These letter bombs killed several scientists and also wounded several of them. This may have had the effect of forcing Egypt to shut down that program.

Black September occurred after the PLO took over the Israeli hotel room during the 1974 Olympics. Almost all of the Israeli athletes were murdered. This would cause Golda Meir to send assassins after the PLO terrorists responsible. To kill someone a Prime Minister must sign a red paper. While many terrorists welfare eliminated there was also diplomatic fall out as Israel assassinnate enemies on friendly European soil. The Europeans were not happy about that. Did the assassination really stop the next generation of terrorists.

During the second Intifadah when Israel was facing suicide bombings a variety of assassination techniques were used . Among them was the use of drones to shoot missiles at opponents , like with Sheik Ahmed Yassin. Or to use booby trapped cell phones like Israel used with Ayash “The Engineer” Israel used assassination to halt Iran’s nuclear program as well as Syrias. While assassination or targeted killing may have solved an initial problem sometimes it lead to an even more complicated situations. For example Sheik Yassin, the founder of Hamas absolutely refused to work with Iran. After his assassination Hamas moved closer to Hezbollah and Iran. This made Israel’s situation all the worse because the new leader chose to work with Iran. This meant that Hamas was working with Hezbollah and Iran. This gave them more of an advantage against Israel. To stop the weapons from flowing in Israel had to assassinate someone who got weapons for Hamas. This triple ring of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran would have to be combated. THE biggest threat was of Iranian nuclear weapons.

Khalid Mashal was a Hamas leader in Amman Jordan. The Israelis botched an assassination attempt against him. It soured relations between Israel and Jordan and they had to give Mashal the antidote anyways plus they had to release tons of Palestinians fighter.Does assassination work. Let’s watch the news and see what happens with the Soleimeni issue.

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The Book of Abbaddon : Become a Living God

ABADDON: The Angel of the Abyss by E.A. Koetting
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book marks the 4th in a series of books about working with arch demons. This one is about Abbaddon. He is the gate keeper of the abyss or the guy who guards the entrance and exit to Hell. This fallen angel is the one who stops the demons from leaving Hell and haunting our world. He also won’t let you in either. Abbaddon is not only identified with being the guardian to Hell, he is associated with several other entities.

Since Abbaddon determines who leaves and enters Hell, he has often been conflated with Satan himself. In the Book of Revelations he is mentioned but he is not only called Abbaddon but he is called Apollyon. This connects him to the Greek God Apollo. Abbaddon is at times called the king of locusts or plaques. Apollo can control plagues and he has some warrior aspects in common with Abbaddon. He has wolf like characteristics. Abbaddon has also been conflated with Hades the lord of the dead. In a way that is fitting. After all Abbaddon is a king of Hell as he decides who comes and goes. Abbaddon is also conflated with Bab and Hekate. Both are escorts to the realm of the dead.

Abbaddon used to be associated with a place in the underworld. Now he is a being. The book itself has rituals for initiation , cursing and other rituals connected to the deities mentioned above.

This is a left handed philosophy book and the objective is not to merge with god but rather to become a living god. The book asks for discipline and to cut away our attachments. You will like the philosophy As it is very empowering.

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On the Trail of a Jinn

Jinn Hunter: Book One: The Prism by Tahir Shah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A strange robbery takes place in the bank at New York were millions of dollars worth of gold melts away and is gone. Oliver who is a math genius can find pattens out of anything and use it to solve problems. His life is about to change. In the realm there is an upside down pyramid that houses all the rogue jinn who terrorize the world. It is guided by Morrocks. Neqsuimus is the most powerful jinn of all and he has escaped.

Right about this time people all over the world are going crazy and acting irrationally. Oliver’s uncle Sinan, owner of Ozymadias and Sons gives him a paperweight.Oliver travels through the dragons eye. In the realm of the Jinn Oliver realizes that he is part of a tribe called Jinn Hunters. Their job is to collect rogue jinn and return them to the prison but Oliver is hardly prepared.

So his training begins in the Crednta. Training is grueling but he is hardly prepared. If he accepts the job to bring down the Jinn what are his odds of surviving? Good question. Read the books and find out.

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Writing From Ursula K Leguin

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ursula is a well known fantasy / science fiction writer, this book is a collection of essay written about a variety of subjects. She is no longer among the living yet her wisdom reaches out from beyond. One of the things she tackles is this positive thinking in regards to old age. Some people like to to say that you are only as old as you think you are. Nothing could be further from the truth. Old age comes with wisdom and many times aches and pains as the body breaks down. Age is not just a number. Youth is seen as a magical time like it is a time of innocence thst had some enlightenment attached to it. It is is not a virtue to remain as a child. We grow old for a reason. We are supposed to be more mature and more responsible. We are not supposed to stay the same.

She does address her cat Pard. He is a fun trouble maker with a sense of style all his own. Not much of an outdoor cat still he likes to run out every once in a while but soon he makes his way back home. He likes to hunt Beatles and mice and he enjoys playing with them in her Oregon home. The cat does not hunt to kill but rather it is instinct and he likes to play with them like toys. He brings the author mice as a gift because that is what cats do in the wild.

Does this make cats cruel. No , in fact only humans can be cruel because they have developed enough of a brain to enjoy being cruel.

It’s is great book with common sense anecdotes. I wish there were more like it. Enjoy

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