Percy Jackson

     Finally! A blog post about Percy Jackson. More specifically, the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. In this installment, I'll be telling you about the characters and their camps. 

     First off, their are two camps. One Roman. One Greek. All filled with children or legacies of the Greek/Roman gods. They each value different things, just like Greece and Rome in the ancient times. 

     The Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, is also known as the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. It means "Twelfth Legion, armed with lightning." They are strict, militaristic Romans who hold tightly to the values of old Rome, while they, themselves, live in New Rome. They are permitted to retire to the city after twelve years of service to the legion. 

     The other camp is Camp Half-Blood. This is the Greek camp. It's a much more laid back, relaxed place. Though, they still do lots of fighting. Including capture the flag and chariot racing! 

     So, we'll go by order of appearance in the pictures above. The first is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. He's headstrong and usually doesn't think before he acts. That's where Annabeth comes in, but we'll get to her later. He has a sword made of a Celestial Bronze called Anaklusmos. (Greek for Riptide.) Celestial Bronze is a special kind of metal that can only kill monsters. It was designed by Haphaestus, one of the twelve Olympians. The Romans use Imperial Gold, also from Haphaestus. Annabeth calls Percy "Seaweed Brain."

     The second pictured is Leo, and adorable guy who hides the pain of losing his mother with jokes and humor. His best friend is Jason and he's from the Greek camp. One of my favorite characters. I like that he's friends with everyone, and uses humor as a defense mechanism. 

     The second picture is Jason grace, a Roman with a strong sense of duty and loyalty. He's brothers one of the characters we encounter in the original Percy Jackson series, and a son of Zeus. He's intelligent and brave, and almost always at odds with Percy. But, in the end, they're bros. 

     The fourth picture is my favorite character of all time, Nico di Angelo. He was born in the 1940s, but, in a strange twist of fate, was placed in a building that stopped his growth. He reentered the main time period in the first series of Percy Jackson books. He's troubled, dark, and always sad. Oh, and gay. Had a huge crush on Percy, but has since gotten over it. He's a Greek and a son of Hades. His brooding manner doesn't really get him any friends or allies, but he survives well on his own. His weapon of choice is a sword made of Stygian iron, from the River Styx. 

     The fifth photograph is of Nico's sister, Hazel Levesque. She's a Roman, but kind and caring. She's dating Frank Zhang, who we will talk about in the next one. Hazel, two, is a child from another era. She adjusted well when she was brought back to life by Nico and placed in Camp Jupiter to join the Twelfth Legion. She carries a golden cavalry sword. 

     In the sixth photograph, we meet Annabeth Chase. A bold, daring, incredibly intelligent young woman, that keeps Percy Jackson in line and basically carries the whole quest on her shoulders. So, pretty much the weight of the world. She's a child of Athena, and rightly so. Her brilliance constantly saves the lives of the other seven. For her weapon, she is at her wits and a dagger made of celestial bronze. 

     Piper McLean is probably my least favorite character in the whole of the Percy Jackson series. She's a child of Aphrodite, and kind of useless. Her charmspeak doesn't come into play very often, and she's almost always the damsel in distress. Not a very strong character, and not a very good backstory. She's Jason's girlfriend, and I think they go well together. But they are still my least favorite characters. 

     Last, but certainly not least is Frank Zhang. He's cute, cuddly, and a child of Ares. Those things don't really go together, but Frank is a super sweet teddy bear who loves Hazel very much. He would do anything to defend her, as well as the rest of the seven. Pretty much everyone on the quest likes him, and he likes all of them as well. 

     Overall, Percy Jackson is a great series and I would recommend it to anybody that has eyes. I love Greek mythology, the characters are amazing, the plot has so many twists and turns that keep you right at the edge of your seat, and it's just a great series overall.

     

Feminism and Advertisement

     Feminism means "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." These advertisements are, well, not showing that. They portray sexism in it's worst forms. Let's go through them one at a time. 

     The first one is from PETA. A company I don't like because of their many, many sexist ads. This one portrays a woman as a literal piece of meat. This infuriates me. Not only me, but feminists everywhere! Just because they're an animal rights group absolutely DOES NOT give them permission to portray women as said animals. Do you want to know a secret? Women are people. With emotions. And dreams. And hopes, ambitions, feelings, relationships, and bodies. 

     The second ad is technically not an ad. But it does say some things I don't like. First thing: Women are not dogs. They do not need to be controlled or disciplined. They are people, with hopes, dreams, ideas, and goals. As for being put in their place, women know their place. It's 10 stories above misogynistic, disgusting people like whoever searches these things. 

     The third. Women in the kitchen jokes? Really? Not only does this bring back memories of the 1950s, but is also tasteless, tactless, and just plain sexist. Plenty of women want to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, CEOs, businesswomen, government officials, etc. And plenty of women want to stay home and be mothers, housewives. There's nothing wrong with any of these things. Women can be what they want to be. The only thing holding them back is how far they can stretch their ambition, and how willing they are to work for it. Same with men. 

     Domestic abuse! Ha ha! How funny! Let's use it for an advertising campaign, and belittle women who are abused every day by their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers! One third of women all over the world are abused every day by someone of the male gender, and usually someone very close to them. So I never, ever want to see a joke made out of this ever again. And if you make domestic violence jokes, or belittle women who are abused in anyway, never talk to me. Ever. I may just punch your face in. 

My Chemical Romance: Frank Iero

     As I said in a previous blog, I'll go through all the members of this band. Today, I had Frank Anthony Thomas Iero on my mind, because I didn't get to go to his concert last night. (Be sad for me.) Currently, Frank Iero is thirty-two, and will be thirty-three on Halloween, hence the "HALLOWEEN" tattoo on his knuckles. 

     Before MCR, Frank was in several bands playing rhythm or lead guitar. The main one was Pencey Prep. When MCR was in the studio, Frank would listen to them play. Pencey Prep didn't last long. Once it was over the boys in the band offered Frank the spot of rhythm guitarist. He eventually accepted, but at the time it was said that he was "too high to get off the couch." Don't worry, though. All the boys are clean and sober now. 

     They went through all of "Revenge Era" getting high and drunk, but it was Gerard's suicidalness that cleared Frank's head. He didn't want his best friend to die. He promised to help him get clean, and Iero followed through. 

This is the early legacy of Frank Iero. 

Supernatural: Beginning

Supernatural is a popular Horror/Drama show that was created in 2005 by Eric Kripke. It stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, who play Dean and Sam Whichester, two brothers in their 20s, who travel around the country hunting ghosts, demons, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night. Throughout the so-far nine season show, many unfortunate events befall the Winchester brothers, and they die several times, only be brought back to life by several different species. Two of which include Angels and Demons. There's a third character added by the name of Castiel, who is an angel. He assists the Winchester brothers in their quest to save the world. At the end of the ninth season, we are left with Dean is a demon, Sam trying to find a way to save him, and Castillo, not uncommonly, caught between a decision of right and wrong. Season 10 airs in just four days. So then, we'll find out exactly what fate has in store for the Winchester brothers. I'm so excited!

My Chemical Romance: Gerard Way

     Ah, yes. My Chemical Romance. My favorite band! Well, let's see. I'll make a lot of posts about them.  For now, I'll tell you about the lead singer in the beginning. 

     Gerard Arthur Way, born April 9, 1977, is an American musician and former frontman of the popular rock band, My Chemical Romance. We're going back farther than that. He was born in Summit, New Jersey and worked in theatre during elementary/middle school. In high school, he stopped, not wanting to be known as the "emo theatre kid" and be ridiculed. One of his more famous quotes is, "I was never bullied in high school- I was just ignored." 

     After high school, Gerard went to art school played in several small punk-rock bands, trying to play guitar. In no uncertain terms, he sucked at it. Finally, in 2001, he witnessed the horrible tragedy of the Twin Towers falling, and people jumping from the buildings. It made him realize that he needed to effect lives, instead of follow the current. This led to him going home and writing the first song My Chemical Romance ever played- Skylines and Turnstiles. 

     He called up his friends, Ray Toro and Matt Pelissier. Together, they started working on what is now known as "the attic demos," which were tracks recorded in Matt's attic, along with Gerard's little brother, Mikey, who played bass. Mikey also came up with the name, but that is a later post. 

     Gerard, in the early years of the band, was suicidal. Starting the band made that go away, but he developed a drinking problem during their next album. Frank Iero joined the band at Gerard's request, and he helped him through that. But, yes. 

That is the early legacy of Gerard Way. 

American Horror Story: Coven

American Horror Story: Coven is the third installment in a series of television shows set in different time periods, with different stories, that all invoke terror. Coven itself is set in modern-day New Orleans where a small coven of teenage witches train to stay hidden from mortals and learn how to use their power safely. Of course, something has to go wrong. Well, MANY things go wrong. I've only just started watching the season, and already five or six problems have occurred for the girls, the supreme, and the teacher of their little coven. All of them have a special power to, some of which I won't go into. (They get a little freaky.) So far, they've managed to raise an evil witch from the dead, have one of their coven members killed, and one girl has killed two men. One on accident, one on purpose. Oh, and did I mention the boy they brought back from the dead? Yeah, he killed his mother. Not that he didn't have a good reason... All in all, it's a very entertaining series so far. I rate it 10 out of 13 ghosts, in honor of Halloween, and in honor of the zombies they brought back from the dead on their Halloween.