In the first half of the fourth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday<\/i>, THE JOURNEY BEGINS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO EXCITED.<\/p>\n
Alaalu<\/b><\/p>\n
Well,\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is going to be interesting, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n They never had a war on Alaalu. They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have any diseases, and the manual said there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any crime. Their climate was stable, so that natural disasters like floods and hurricanes happened only once or so every few centuries; their planet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tectonics were unbelievably leisurely, so that whole lifetimes might go by without there being even one earthquake or volcanic eruption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I was fascinated by the choice to stick Kit and Nita on a planet that seems designed to be conflict-free. This description feels like paradise, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? I mean, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not into oceans or the beach, this wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work, but guess what? I LOVE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS AND I MISS THEM DEARLY. There was a period of my life when I was much, much younger, before my family was poor, before it became exorbitant for a family to travel together, where I got to go visit Hawaii like SIX TIMES in ten years. I only vaguely remember that first time when I was four, but the place imprinted on my heart, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always had a deep-seated attachment to beaches and the ocean. So yes, this whole description calmed me. Cleared my pores. Added five years to my lifespan.<\/p>\n Which is why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so disturbing that Duane folds this cultural exchange material into Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream. It happened so suddenly, too, a clear exploitation of the comfort of the passage so that Duane could twist it into something disturbing and alarming. Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another context for my reaction: I know that you shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fuck around with Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dreams. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re rarely, if ever, meaningless. Thus, someone or something is trying to tell her something. Alaalu is in trouble, perhaps. What do the statues mean? What of the repetitive message that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything is fine,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d despite that Nita knows instinctually that\u00c2\u00a0nothing<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is fine? I trust Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perception, and that sequence scared me, you know? WHAT IS IT FOR? Has the society become static? Apolitical? WHO IS THE PERSON WHO MOVED AND TOLD HER THAT THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122D WAITED FOR NITA FOR A LONG TIME?<\/p>\n Goddamn it, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening\u00c2\u00a0already<\/i>.<\/p>\n Exchange<\/b><\/p>\n I was thrilled to get confirmation that the Callahan household was still going to host exchange students and even more excited about the fact that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be from THREE different planets: Demisiv, Rirhait, and Wellakh. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing, then, that the narrative will be split between these two stories, AND I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T WAIT. How is Harry going to react? Will these other three wizards get along? Is Dairine going to test the limits of the rules around this exchange??? (Hey, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fair question to ask, given that she openly talks about fiddling with the wizardly pup tents here. She loves to create loopholes in her words in order to avoid lying, so IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S PROBABLY GONNA HAPPEN.)<\/p>\n Preparations<\/b><\/p>\n Look, I just want an excuse to talk about packing for trips because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten SO GOOD AT IT. I have not checked a bag at the airport since I turned 20. I PROMISE YOU THAT. (Aside from one time I was forced to because a bunch of assholes with bags that were too big took up all the available overhead space on a flight where I was in the last boarding group. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still salty about that.) So, as I was reading this section, I was quietly judging Nita because YOU WON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T NEED OR WANT ANY OF THAT. I learned how to pack well back when I was touring in or with bands, and then I perfected it through all the Mark Does Stuff tours. Now, granted, I was in a unique position because I often have to consider that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be traveling to multiple locations with very little time, so my packing\u00c2\u00a0must<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0be efficient, light, and easy to reassemble in less than an hour.<\/p>\n My lifesaver?\u00c2\u00a0These motherfuckers<\/a>. I use the larger one for an extra pair of jeans\/shorts, for my running and workout gear, and for socks. The medium size fits about two stacks of six shirts each, folded and compressed. I can fit about ten days of clothing in those two bags, and the compression magic makes it so that my bag isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bulging or overflowing. Thus, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m able to travel with a backpack and a carry-on duffle. (My current love:\u00c2\u00a0this duffle<\/a>, which is sturdy, stylish, and has a separate pouch for my running shoes, making it easy for me to get them in and out of my bag without them stinking up everything else I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got.) No checking luggage, and I can get off the plane and head straight out of the airport. EVERYTHING RULES.<\/p>\n Nita is lucky in that she can return home for whatever she needs, so I still find it hilarious that she took so much stuff with her. YOU WON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T NEED IT, I PROMISE. Of course, imagine if the joke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on me and she\u00c2\u00a0does<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0need everything. WHOOPS.<\/p>\n The Journey Starts!<\/b><\/p>\n Well, apparently Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother thought along the same lines: bring literally everything for any possible permutation of reality because YOU NEVER KNOW, YOU MIGHT NEED IT. I doubt they will, but y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so ready. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so excited for this trip!!! Bring it, Diane Duane.<\/p>\n I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Dl7Ye7aOY8k<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b> In the first half of the fourth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday, THE JOURNEY BEGINS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-4104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wizards-holiday","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4104\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"