The New Harry Potter Book

I love Harry Potter series. I have not read 5th and 6th. I decided to wait until 7th comes out, so I can read all the way through from 5th to 7th. That would keep me busy though the whole summer! I believe it will be released on July 21, 2007. I want to review all covers that has been out since the first Harry Potter series came out. It evolves from the beginning, seeing that Harry Potter has grown. I noticed that every cover gets better and better. I mean the illustration.

Now the new cover of the final Harry Potter book cover:

The new UK Harry Potter cover:

Now, which cover you like the best? I would say the 7th Harry Potter cover. I also notice that UK covers has better and more details in the covers than US does with the covers. Of course, Harry Potter series are originally published in UK. I also see that Harry Potter UK edition is published by Bloomsbury, while Harry Potter US edition is published by
Scholastic. I say that Bloomsbury has great vision!I will be sad to see the Harry Potter series stop. I would love to see the aftermath of Harry Potter, only if Harry lives. We don’t know what would happen in the final chapter of Harry Potter!

You can read more about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows here on Wikipedia.

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Harry Potter Final Book Goes Green!

I was stumbling upon on one of CNN’s articles. One grabbed my attention: Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter series. I have whole collection. I am waiting for the 7th and final book. This one will be a hulking 784 pages. That is almost 800 pages! Dang! It must be that GOOD! It better be!

Last month or two, they just annouced a new Harry Potter title, which is… “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” It is an interesting title. The Deathly Hallows? Did it was once mentioned in one of these books? Remember one time where Harry, Ron and his family, and Hermaine went to Quidditch World Cup. The group, very bad ones, attacked the campers. Are they the Deathly Hallows? If not, what are they? I forgot. It has been a while since I read that book. I am just curious, and wonder if that is the same group… that is all. Well, it sounds like something major will happen badly. That is a scary thought.

It said that the final Harry Potter book will be the biggest, but also the greenest! The Rainforest Alliance and Scholastic, Inc. are working on publishing on recycled papers. Would it be the first novel coming out in recycled papers? I wonder. They said that the first 12 million would be in recycled papers.

I have excerpted parts of the article below what they had agreed:

• *The paper used will contain “a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer waste (pcw) fiber.”
• *Nearly two-thirds of the 16,700 tons of paper will be approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization with a mission to “promote environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.”
• *A “deluxe” edition of the new book, which has a first printing of 100,000, will be printed on paper that contains “100 percent post-consumer waste fiber.”

You can read the article here.

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The Hills Have Eyes and Pan’s Labyrinth

I have watched The Hills Have Eyes. It is okay. It is a remake film from Wes Craven’s 1977 cult classic THE HILLS HAVE EYES. I have not see the original movie. It has an interesting story behind it. I will try my best to write a summary plot… I hope I remember correctly… It is about the family who went on road trip to CA and got lost. They asked for help and told them to detour the shortcut way, which turned out to be the vast desert out of no where. The family had an unexpected vehicle trouble been down and needed assistance. They realized no one to get help nearby. The Father had to walk back to the gas station to get help. That place had been used for atomic tests and spread radioactive fallout to the vast dessert and caused families of miners to deformed children and illness... While the father was gone, the rest of family had to wait around in the hot weather. But they realized that they were not alone… and they were fighting to get out alive from the prey ou there in the desert … I best stop now. I would not want to say no more, because it would be a spoiler if you have not seen it. I hardly remember if anyone got out alive… It has been a while since the last time I watched it.

Now there will be a sequel to the Hills Have Eyes coming out soon sometimes in 2007. I wonder what will happen now. Mmm… I would watch that sequel movie, even though the first one is okay. I hope the second movie will get better.

Lately, I have read a lot about the newly movie called Pan’s Labyrinth. It said it is on over 130 the top 10 best films of the year list. It has 6 Oscar nods: Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Forgein Language Film, Best Make-up, and Best Art Direction. I thought it has to be very good, so I check that trailer out, and it looks very intriguing … I love fantasy stories. I read alot of fantasy books myself. When I watch this trailer, it makes me want to watch the whole film RIGHT NOW! It has already been out in the theater… but I would need to watch it with subtitle or closed-caption. I would have to wait until the DVD is out. It may be 6 months later… ugh… Cannot wait. I read somewhere said that it’s kinda of a sequel to the Devil’s Backbone. It has no connection whatsoever, but one thing that has in common: it is during the Spanish War.

I have been researching a bit about this title: Pan’s Labyrinth. It is an odd title. I learned that Pan from a Greek myth. Pan is a God who is the half sheep and half man. His power: He looks after after shepherds and woods, and is a capable musician. He leads the nymphs in dances. Pan is responsible for panic. He is the son of Hermes and Penelope (a nymph), or Zeus and Hybris. It is nothing concrete true about it. It is a myth after all, right? But it is interesting to know about him though. I like Greek Mythology. In Roman mythology, they called him another name: Faunus. The image below is Pan and the nymph.

And labyrinth is a maze or a puzzle. Not only in Greek, but different other beliefs about labyrinth. I am not quite familiar with it yet. I am still learning. I believe it is some kind of secret. I am not sure. Looks like Pan has puzzles or secrets in the movie. I will know more when I watch the whole movie. I know that the little girl is believed to be a princess, but she has to do three things to prove she is royalty. I suppose, she has to do the labyrinth journey that Pan (or Faun) gave her a book. Anyone is welcome to comment on labyrinth, I would like to know more. I am still researching on it though. One says such a garden that has bushes that draw like a maze would be called a labyrinth. There are many labyrinth images. I pick one image what the Greek labyrinth looks like below:

The summary plot of that movie:

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN’S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), into the home of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), in an abandoned mill in the middle of dark, dangerous woods. Vidal is leading his team of soldiers against resistance fighters–and he will do whatever is necessary to kill every last one of them. As Vidal bosses around the pregnant Carmen, a flying creature leads Ofelia through a garden labyrinth and into an underground cave ruled by Pan (HELLBOY’s Doug Jones), who believes that Ofelia might be the lost princess of this strange yet magical place. To prove she is royalty, Ofelia must complete three tasks, each more difficult and terrifying than the previous one. Meanwhile, Vidal is becoming more and more paranoid, torturing and murdering seemingly at will. Del Toro (THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, CRONOS) creates a marvelous battle between good and evil, between heroes and villains, in both the real world aboveground and the mystical land below. Baquero gives a compelling performance as the terrorized Ofelia, who is befriended by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a woman who harbors some secrets of her own. Stellar production design, superb special effects, and a stirring score by Javier Navarrete add to the scary fun. Selected as the closing-night entry in the 2006 New York Film Festival, PAN’S LABYRINTH is a captivating story that is not for the squeamish. [RottonTomatoes]

Here is the trailer:

You can check the official site here.

Arthur and the Invisibles

There is a movie called Arthur and the Invisibles. It is part-animated and part-live action feature film adaptation. It is directed and written by Luc Besson. He wrote two books: Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City.  Both books will be based on this film. The Minimoys is the name of the African tribe. They are less-than-an-inch-tall. I believe they are currently in the theater. Luc Besson’s $85 million movie has passed the 5 million admission mark in France. It hit 5.4 million admissions over the weekend, after ticket sales in its third week rose 52%.

The plot story:

10 year-old Arthur, played by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate fame, lives in a small town with his grandmother, portrayed by Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby, The Purple Rose of Cairo). It’s the early 1960′s and Arthur, who is neglected by his parents, escapes his loneliness by hearing stories of his absent grandfather’s journeys to imaginative lands. Reality, however, is grim, as Grandpa has been missing for three years and Grandma must raise a large sum of money in 48 hours, or her land will be seized by the local authorities. Determined to save the property, Arthur sets out on a journey to the land of the Minimoys, extremely small beings who live inhis garden, in search of expensive rubies that can put an end to Grandma’s debts. From here on out the story turns CGI, as Arthur is shrinked to the size of an average Minimoy himself. On his journey, he falls in love with Princess Selenia , befriends a rastaman underground dweller named Max (Snoop Dog) and faces the evil being referred to as “M” (David Bowie). [via IMDb]

From left to right: Betameche, Arthur and Princess Selenia:

Arthur was real in person at first, then when he enters to Minimoy world, he turned into a Minimoy, less than one inch tall. He has heard so much about Minimoy stories through his grandfather. He searched to see if any stories were true…viola, he believed in his own eyes. More about him below:

Selenia is the Minimoy tribe king’s daughter. Arthur falls in love with her. Both will be in the movie a lot together. More about Selenia:

Guess who wil be voicing her?

MADONNA! That is right.

Betameche is Princess Selenia’s brother… more about him:

You can view the movie trailer below:

The official movie site is here. Another site is here. You can read the excerpt of Arthur and the Minimoys here.

One last thing: Variety.com just confirmed two sequels: Arthur the Vengenace of Malthazar (2009) and Arthur and the War of Two Worlds (2010).

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7.4.7

What is 7.4.7? It is the short version of the date. 07/04/2007. That is the day where the Transformers will have their war on our land, our own world. Realistically, no, but the Transformer movie will be released on that day.

I remember watching Transformer series on TV when I was young. I truly loved that series. I watch it whenever it is on. However, this movie is not cartoon. It is alive, sort of. I mean, not like what you see it on TV. I see a big difference from what I have seen on the TV. It is surreal. Scary, too. I would not imagine myself in this situation like that. It did make me wonder why they have the war… ahh, I found why from the plot summary at IMDb.com:

Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance.

Anyway, the teaser trailer looks very good. Check out the trailer, which was just released last month. I cannot wait and hope it is good action. It looks like there are a lot of actions in the trailer.

You can go to its official movie site here.

English to Gnommish

I just translated from English to Gnommish all the way below… It is fun. This language is created from the Artemtis Fowls series, that I have been talking for some time… I heard that there will be the 6th book. I hardly can wait. I have not read the 5th book: The Last Colony yet. I will when it comes. I have a long list of books I need to read. I am just lazy at times. I need to get motivated to read books. I am still reading books from time to time slowly, only during my rides on the Metro (bus and subway). I just finished Terry Pratchett’s ‘Eric.’ It is a bit odd. Different. A different world. I will write a bit more about Terry Pratchett and his books later. I have to collect information first. I also bought the series by him starting with ‘The Wee Free Men’ to ‘Wintersmith’. Also, I am still reading ‘Endymoin Spring.’

Anyway, here is the Gnommish language below, translating back to Engish saying: Toby Overstreet loves Artemis Fowl series.

You can translate from English to Gnommish here.

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Most Challenged Books

Book banning is so medieval.

I agree with that statement!

Some states has already banned several books. Really, what is wrong with people, especially Christians? They are fictional, for God’s sake! I like Harry Potter’s series. They are fun to read. I don’t take them seriously. It does not mean that I am a believer in magic. Some Christian think they are evil because they practice magic (or Wiccan religion). Did they read? Probably not. Yes, they do practice magic, but they are not necessary evil. See, Harry Potter is not evil. He saves people many times from evil. He is the hero. That is the good thing. He always fights against the evil/bad people. He is a great detective as well. He discovers many things to put stop to it, for his school’s own good. If it is not for Harry, the school will be a disaster. It would be taken over by the evil. What he did is a good magic. But again, it is only fiction and wildly fantasy. I enjoy many fantasy books, that got me into a different realm. I like to be into different places and explore new places that it is never existed. It is for my own good, and a relief of the stress.

I have seen some of books are attempted to be banned… like “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” and a few books of Judy Blume. Roald Dahl. Mark Twain. Madeleine L’Engle. I don’t know exactly why are they banned. But not all people hate those books, so leave them alone and let them unbanned for others to read for their entertainment. For those people (perhaps they are Christians) who want to ban them, don’t read them. That is simple. Just don’t. It is free of speech; more specifically the first Amendment. I understand that some of them, or at least most, conflict with the bible. You have to remember there are many Agnotics, Deists, Atheist, Partially Christians (or perhaps I should say Liberal) out there, that may enjoy those books, knowing it is only fictional and entertainment. It is all about how well written is in the book. It is art. Those authors have talents for it, to entertain the world of reading.

Laura Mallory is one of them who try to ban Harry Potter series. She has not read them yet. She wants them banned at their local library in GA. She went to the Board of Education (BE) and told that Harry Potter series “are an ‘evil’ attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion.” But BE lawyer said, “If schools were to remove all books containing reference towitches, they would have to ban “Macbeth” and “Cinderella.” He has the point. They has been around for years, and children love them. They did not practice Wiccan religion. When I was young, I watch ‘Wizard of Oz,’ I love that movie. It did not drive me to Wiccan religion. I think Laura is overworried that they will be obessed with it. She needs to relax!! Let the children enjoy the fantasy of the magical world. They will outgrown them and move on.

I could not help but to giggle when I read that Laura Mallory is labeled as an “Idiot of the Year” by Washington Post. The link is here. Sorry, my bad. But I am giggling, still.

You can read the link: Why are books challenged?

The Top Most Challenged books of 21 Century (2000-2005)

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier
3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
4. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
5. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
6. “Fallen Angels” by Walter Dean Myers
7. “It’s Perfectly Normal” by Robie Harris
8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz
9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
10. “Forever” by Judy Blume

The Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged books of 1990 to 2000:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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Harry Potter 7th Book Announcement

The Harry 7th Book is..

Harry Potter
and the
Deathly Hallows

I recalled once that it may come out on July 7, 2007!

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December 9, 1985

When i was a young kid, I watch that TV movie at least 5 times after the first release. It was my favorite of all the time. It made me cry. I was only ten years old when I first saw that movie. Imagine that! In some ways, i can feel connected to that story, but not so much because the story setting happens in early 1930 and late 1950. (My estimation)

The TV movie is Love is Never Silent; it was released on December 9th, 1985 on NBC. After that, it was on Hallmark a few times. Moreover, it was in the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” production. It is based by Joanne Greenberg‘s novel, “In This Sign,” which was first published in 1970. You will see two images of the novels… This first one on the left and top was in 1973 (5th printing). The second below was the reissued edition in 1984. I will buy that book and read it then I hope I can find this movie to watch again. I will never get tired of this story. Simply put, it inspired me. It is filled with sadness, happiness, and hardship. It is full of life. It also is filled with hate and love.

It was mentioned in the NY Time in 1985. You can read this article here.

The movie/book summary – my version:

It is about two deaf parents of two hearing children. The deaf parents had hardship and worked hard to stay together and raised their daughter. The unfortunate event was the loss of their son. Their son fell from, probably, 4 floors to the public sidewalk. They couldn’t afford a nice coffin; they had to get a cheap wood box. It were hard on them… Then the daughter grew up and the daughter partially gave her parents a hard time. They depend on her a lot for anything. Not only that, but also she was embarrassed to have deaf parents. She wanted to be happy. It was lonely for her. Later, she fell in love with a man who is in Army and got married without meeting her parents and for their approval. They were disappointed because they have not met him and wonder how he would think of them… At first she was heavily hesitated to tell him about her deaf parents. She did not want him to meet them that soon. But he said he accepted immediately. She was relieved. So after getting married, she and his new husband and her parents met for the first time. It was a awkward moment. As soon as she had a baby, they were still protective of their daugther while growing up and want to be there for her and her new baby. She wanted to take of herself and her new family. But everything in the end, everything was OK. Everyone was happy and got along well.

The novel’s summary version:

Abel and Janice Ryder begin their married life together with all the hopes and dreams of a young couple deeply in love. But before long they realize that their deafness stands as an immense barrier between them and the society that seems to work only for those who can hear. Inexperienced, ignorant, and bewildered, they leave the harsh environment of a school for the handicapped and enter the insensitive world of the hearing. Through years of debt and misunderstanding, hardand degrading work, the raising of a hearing daughter, common tragedies and joys, they learn that the remarkable tool of sign language enables them to survive and, indeed, to forge a love too powerful to be broken by the painful, extraordinary world into which they were born. In astory that spans four generations, we are witness to one family’s struggle to carve a place for itself out of the tides of wealth, war, and human strivings that have swept America in this century.

What is amazing is that the whole time through the movie, the LOVE is never silent. It was beautifully written and filmed. The signing of hardly missed. They focus on signing and fully body signing as well… It is a wonderful deaf movie.

My favorite character is Janice Ryder played by Phyllis Frelich. She was my inspiration. When I watch that movie, it made me realize how lucky I am today. It was hardship for her and her family back then. It was not easy. She had to be hideous and not be exposed her deafness to the public in her early years. She always had been a strong woman.

Unfortunately, it seems hard to find this movie in the rental movie, even online. Or try to buy one. I say it is a rare movie. You can take the glimpse of two movies I found on yourtube.com below. Enjoy it.

This is my most favorite of the whole movie, it is the ending of the movie below.

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300

What is 300?

300 is the title of the graphic novel, written and illustrated by Frank Miller and painted by Lynn Varney. I have read the 300 graphic book (actually in comic books – 5 individual books). My roommate has them. I got the opporunity to read them. The art work in the book was wow… but first let me explain why it called 300.

The Battle of Thermopylae on August 8-11, 480 BC; it was a famous battle. Why? There were only Leonidas I, the king of Sparta, and his 300 Spartans and 700 Boeotians were fighting against Persia’s vast army of nearly 200,000. For two days, Leonida withstood the Persian attacks, and then he told most of his troops to leave but kept his 300 Spartans to fight to the end. Finally after the third day, the Persia army engulfed them to the end. The 300 Spartan lost the battle on the third and last day in the Battle of Thermopylae.

In the comic book, it says that the Spartan army won three battles but lost 1. That is not bad for the 300 army. However it is a fiction novel. Only the truth is that the 300 Spartan did fight against a vast army of Persia for three days. The rest, I am not sure if they are true.

They are making the movie called 300, too, based on the graphic novel. The trailer looks good. There are also still photos from movie and from the graphic book after this video for your pleasure of viewing.

If you cannot get this video working, you can go here and there. The ‘there’ link is from Apple.com. It is not the same trailer you see here on my blog or the ‘here’ link above. I like the google video’s trailer better than Apple’s trailer.

The Movie will be out in theaters on March 16, 2007:

from the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley:

Other link: MySpace’s 300 site

Additional info: I forgot to mention about two movies (actually one movie already made and another one has not made yet). There is a movie called The 300 Spartan in 1962. I am going to check that out. Another movie has not been made yet. It said it is a remake of The 300 Spartan but would be called Gates of Fire. The distributor is Universal Pictures. It’s still been around for some time since 2001. It is based by a novel called Gate of Fire by Steven Pressfield. You can read the excerpt of Gates of Fire. You can read more on the film and the book here.

Correction: According to Gates of Fire novel from the official site, it said that:

‘ In 480 B.C., an invading Persian army, 2-million strong, came to the mountain pass of Thermopylae in eastern Greece. Led by King Xerxes, they were met by the finest three hundred Spartan warriors where the rocky confines were so narrow that the Persian multitudes and their cavalry would be at least partially neutralized. Here, the Greek loyalists hoped, the elite force could hold off, at least for a short while, the invading millions.’