Zelda: Twilight Princess has the best story ever, right up next to FF-X. It’s the first time I’ve ever worked hard to get to the end, then wanted to do it all over again.

The first character you meet (after your friends are ripped away from you, your horse spooked, and you get turned into a wolf) is Midna, a little imp who manipulates, tricks and lies to get you to do what she wants. She is not particularly evil, she is just looking out for her own, that’s how she lives. Soon she sees the kindness of Zelda and Link and has a change of heart. By the end, she is willing to sacrifice everything to help them out.

The giant boar comes out and directly fights you. He’s a capable leader and builds up a following band easily. He’s a good fighter, but after you beat him in several different places, he finally says, “It is enough.” and helps you out. He says, “I follow the strongest. That’s all I’ve ever known” then walks off. He is not evil. He likes to fight. He doesn’t know how to be good. He is lost, so he follows whoever is strong.

Then there is Zant, who wrecked terror on the world from the beginning. It was his power that kidnapped the one princess and banished the other. And yet he wasn’t evil, he was merely a victim of his own ambition for power. He was weak, and when power came to him, the power began to control him. That is what always happens when lust for power isn’t banished from your heart, and it can happen even in our own lives, with people we know.

Ganondorf. He is a real man. Not blinded by fear, by greed, by ambition……he is not lost, he is strong. He has one desire only, to fill the world with hate and darkness. He is patient. He is evil.

Why does such a creature exist? The sages couldn’t destroy him when they tried. I suspect the reason for his existence will become a strong theme in the next game.

There is also a counterpoint to that, the good characters. Mainly recognizable because they don’t try to kill you. But there is not so much distinction between them. Maybe I will need to play again before I clearly understand that side. Not that I would mind.

little guy

nice butterfly

The Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has an indoor mini-rainforest, with trees, mist, and little animals. Here I got some pictures of a poison dart frog, and a butterfly. They also have a garden on the roof, which is pretty cool. Although frankly that garden is not very interesting.

Music, words, dance, art…………….are all just manners of expression that seek to open our minds to speak the true language of the heart that lies beneath.

808s & Heartbreak is a good one. I much advise listening to it.