The Lightning Thief: Monthly Review

    The Lighting Thief is a the first fantasy novel of the series written by Rick Riordan. It tells a tale of a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson, who was diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)and dyslexia and have always cause trouble and always end up getting kicked out for strange things happening around him. After discovering his true heritage and the reason behind for all the incidents involving him, a new world opens for him. Because of his father, he is being blamed by the Zeus for stealing his prized master bolt, known for blowing Kronos up into thousand pieces and it's up to him to retrieve the master bolt in order to prove his innocence and his father, Poseidon. Now as he travels west, he is a target for mythical monsters that are supposedly come from myths and encounters other mythical and godly beings. With ten days to complete his quest before an unnecessary war breaks out, he travels with a satyr named Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod (half god, half human) and daughter of Athena.

    I highly recommend reading this amazing book. It's like read The Odyssey except (personally) not like what Odysseus faced (mainly women). There were other mythical creatures that were included in from other myths such as Medusa, a chimera, and more. While reading this amazing novel, you get to learn part of the other myths such as the story of Athena being challenged in weaving, the reason how Medusa was taken away from Athena. Even if I already knew these myths, it was pretty awesome how Riordan layers his story with so much Greek mythology. He must have done some well researched work to apply so much Greek myths into his story. I personally don't think there aren't many good novels with Greek mythology and for that, I'm pretty disappointed. This is kind of offensive to the Twilight fans, but there are just way too much vampire romance stories. There isn't much originality in them because most vampire stories include a forbidden romance and a school life carrying a deadly secret. Again, it's not because I hate vampire stories, but with too many stories about them, it's tiring.Other than that, this book is so amazing, I could reread this all over again, only the book is due so I'm waiting for the next book: The Sea of Monsters. I would say the age ranges from 9-12. Honestly, I would have read another harder book, but I was way too interested in the plot that I couldn't resist. This is a great book to read and it's really easy to read so I recommend this to everyone who would love a modern version of The Odyssey. This is definitely a great starter on a series, especially for those who are now bored and into fantasy series, such as the ever-lasting legend (i think i might've exaggerated on this) of the Harry Potter series. 

Of all the quotes,I decided to pick this one, where it shows how mothers are to children.

"Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was ... a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put upwith that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

One of Sally Jackson's greatest sacrifices for Percy is marrying and living with Smelly Gabe. A mother's love shows a great affect towards the child. To sacrifice one's own future by living with such a gruesome husband who thinks of you lowly and to work to help support the family shows how much a mother really cares for her child. When Grover tells Percy this, we realize that everything Sally does is for Percy.

This quote kind of reflects on what most children who are in the same situation as Percy (before he found out about his true heritage).

"I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, ... but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe"

There are a lot of children whose father left them and their mothers when they were young and even before they were born. Children are always observing situations so they can sense between was is bad and wrong. If they see their mother/ father in miserable situation like Percy's mother was in, they would instantly blame the spouse. In this case, Percy never met his father, and seeing him not being with his mother, he felt that he and his mother were abandoned to live on their own. Anything that is bad towards him, children would instantly blame on the parent for leaving them, not coming back and support them. 

    Curious, I decided to watch the movie after I completed reading the novel. I wouldn't do so much comparisons because there were ALOT of changes, both minor and MAJOR parts. If you have read the book before watching the movie like me, you would know what I mean. Even some of the characters proven wrong from my perspective when I read the novel. For example,Grover, a satyr and Percy's guardian. I thought Grover seemed to have a timid personality, but brave at time when needed. In the movie, Grover shows none of that whatsoever, and doesn't seem to push himself to be courageous like how he is in the novel. Also, for the relationship between Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod and daughter of Athena and Percy doesn't show that kind of relationship like how it was in the novel. Annabeth's reason for her attitude with Percy was because of her mother's relationship with Percy's father, but it doesn't exactly show that in the movie other than the fact that Annabeth was slicing Percy in a fight at Camp Halfblood. There were some events where it never happened in the book such as Hades showing up in a campfire at Camp Halfblood and the Percy's journey to go look for three pearls before going to the Underworld in order to escape after rescuing his mother, and Hades's missing helm of darkness. Also, I kind of wanted the god of war, Ares to take part of the movie. Unfortunately, he wasn't and was replaced with Luke. I also think the antagonist, Luke shows more of the reason how Percy's quest was being made. In the book, there was a prophecy and that Luke was not entirely the one who started the (close) war between the gods.  If I continue even further, I don't think anyone would watch the movie, nor even understanding what I am talking about. If you did read or watch the movie, you would understand. But in either case, I'm pretty much spoiling it so I should really stop with the comparisons. However, I do I like how the actor, Logan Wade Lerman, portrayed the main character, Percy Jackson. If I was him, I would probably be just like him. He shows almost the same characteristics as Percy in the situations such as being attacked by unknown mythical creatures, countering gods, and the truth behind his heritage. Other than the fact there were scenes from the book being removed and replaced, it's packed with adventure of heroism for Percy Jackson. I still recommend reading the book first before reading the book. Unless you can't handle the fact you have to read a three hundred seventy-five page book, then just go right ahead and watch the movie, and maybe perhaps read the book after? Actually, I would highly recommend reading this novel especially for those who are in ninth grade because for me, the theme for most of the novels I had read last year was heroism. This is definitely a modern variation of The Odyssey.

The Lightning Thief pt.3

Continuing from the previous lit circle of The Lightning Thief...Once again, wow. I am absolutely in love with the series. I also love how Riordan shows how the gods' personality would be like such as Zeus's arrogance, Poseidon's patience, Ares's boldness. It definitely shows how the gods also have human emotions, yet still have their superiority over the mortals. I didn't include this, but during a sidetrack quest from Ares, it's amusing how it included the relationship between Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.  I really like how there were more than just the "Big Three" gods that were the main gods. I see that adding another god that suddenly shows up buying the three journeyers cheeseburgers and fries at some restaurant gives it an amusing scene to imagine. Other than that, from the third section of the book (sadly) concludes this novel. It tells the remainder of the main quest and the conclusion of the situation between Percy's father, Zeus and Hades (turns out he was also included in this problem). Despite of the prophecy given to Percy, it wasn't exactly finished. Even though it was said that Percy will succeeded the quest, there was the other half to be the fulfill and that would be the one who started, the lightning thief, which they revealed himself/herself after the quest was over, and it ends up with Percy's decision on whether or not he continues to stays at Camp Halfblood or goes home and returns back to the camp during the summer. I'm grateful that Riordan included a prophecy because if not, the novel could've stop right there and now. My thoughts now after I finished the book are: to watch the movie and compare and wait for the second novel. I think my group will probably regret reading this awesome book. They might've been just like me: way too excited on waiting to read the next book and watching the movie.     As for my quote, I have chosen this (with great difficulty). "You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not ... trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. Thegods are faithless. The poison is in your heart." You bring up a good point, Echidna. One of the biggest things that Percy has to learn over the course of his quest is faith: faith in himself and faith in the gods. And, boy, does he do a good job of learning this. How does faith work? Can you just say you are going to believe in the gods and then believe in them? How does Percy gain faith in himself and in the gods?

Manga: Emerging

    I think this is the first actually blog post where I'm not mentioning from something coming from a book, history,or movie. However it is a book, to be more specific, it's a manga. If you really do not know what a manga, it's basically like a comic book, mostly read from right to left, and the art is Japanese style. For some reason, unlike most people who would read the most popular one like Naruto or Bleach, I'll be blogging about the manga series Emerging. It's not popular, doesn't have many readers, and sorry for your disappointment, nor does it have a lot of chapters to read (only has sixteen chapters so far). However, it stands out in its own unique way. It was released last year in 2009 and the author and artist is Hokazono Masaya, who has known for these genres: drama, horror, and seinen (a class of manga written for an older male audience). I didn't really pay attention to the seinen part, so I continue to read the series.
    Coming from the summary from the website I was reading, it says this: Japan is a brilliant model of Asian success and obligation. But how would this country manage a large-scale sanitary crisis? What would happen in Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's biggest districts, if a man exploded in the street during broad daylight? How would the political and sanitation authorities manage such a crisis? Please consider this question as long as you can--because it's already too late for professors Onodera and Sekiguchi! Is an emerging virus slowly spreading itself into the arteries of the Japanese capital? I was intrigued with what it has to say and decided to read it. Boy was I hooked, I have idea why, but I highly doubt many people would like reading this manga, especially if it can actually be true.
The reason why I decided to blog about this series is because this type of manga should be taken seriously, or not. It shows how there is a possibility for a new unknown virus and can happen any part of the world. To those who are interested in reading this series, here's the link:
    Also, if you finish reading this series and want a similar one, here's one called Bloody Monday. It is greatly similar to Emerging, but has terrorism involved with the situation. This is the summary: A virus deal clinched in Russia on the Christmas eve. Purpose: unknown. Two clues: a mysterious lady "Maya", one of the reasons it happened, and "Bloody Monday", the keyword for the project. Then an incident happened in far-distant city of Tokyo. Fujimaru Takagi, a second year student at Mishiro Gakuin high school, is commissioned to find out the truth by the Public Security Intelligence Agency, for his great ability as a super hacker. Now, Maya approaching to Fujimaru as his high school teacher... Honestly, I really like reading this series. It's also lucky that it's completed so I won't go crazy waiting for it to update weekly (or monthly) for new releases. It you are done with BOTH series, there is still the newly released sequel of Bloody Monday, called Bloody Monday 2.

Here are the links if you are interested:
Emerging: click here
Bloody Monday: click here
Bloody Monday 2: click here

Quickwrite: The Rules of Love...?

    To guys, they would define "nice girls" as girls who gives them personal space and constantly contact them even in the middle of the night. Most guys aren't into relationships, and those who are in are usually in casual ones. They like to balance their free time with their girlfriends and for themselves. Same to girls, however, they define "nice guys" as a guys who have a gentlemen-manner. They would most likely say "I want a boyfriend who would comfort me and would always be there for me" and loves the attention to given to them by their boyfriends. What both guys and girls want are good behavior (nice personality), and trust. What "nice girls" and "nice boys" just don't do is something that can end the relationships like cheating with some other guy/girl or talk rudely about them behind their back.

    I would say the consequences for breaking their "rules" that they agreed upon, are either a break up or simply mistrust with each other. For break ups, it could be harder for girls than guys because most take relationships seriously (not all) while for few guys can take break ups hard if they were actually serious and was very committed to the relationship. As for mistrust, I think can easily switched to a break up, but I don't think relationships last long if the both the girl and guy doesn't trust with one another. To constantly worry about each other's actions behind their back and misunderstand them just because they are near the opposite gender is something no one wants to be in.

    Where do the rules come from? It's usually what the couple decide. Their rules are what sets them together, and any broken sets them apart. I would say among them are what I mainly pointed out: trust with one another. No trust, no (long lasting) relationship. All these things I been talking about are pretty much common knowledge.
 

Bánh Xèo

Once again, I am running our of ideas and my dear hero (my own mother) saved me once more. This topic will be one of Vietnamese popular dishes: Bánh xèo.   

Bánh xèo (literally "sizzling cake") are Vietnamese savoury (meaning salty, not like American ones that are usually sweet) pancakes made out of rice flour, water, (optional) chopped green onions, and turmeric powder or coconut milk  (in the Southern regions), stuffed with thin slices of fatty pork, shrimp and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Traditionally, they are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves, and stuffed with mint leaves, basil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a prepared nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce thinned with water and lemon). In the Central region, the pancake is dipped in a special 'tuong' sauce which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

Southern style Bánh xèo are larger compared to the small pan-fried versions in the Central regions. Called "banh khoai" or stuffed omelette (even though the batter doesn't include eggs), today it is one of the best known dishes from the Central region. It made with rice flour and flavoured with cumin, it is fried until deliciously crispy around the edges in pans over charcoal burners. It is filled with little mounds of pounded pork, egg, shrimps, a few bean sprouts and some mashed green beans, and then folded over. To eat it, a piece is broken off with chopsticks and wrap it in fresh mustard greens with fresh herb leaves, slices of green banana and green fig, and dip it in a sauce (called 'tuong') which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

The fresh herbs, which include the spicy, red-tinged cumin leaf, help to reduce any oiliness in the fried dish, as does the sourness of the banana and fig, which are also digestive aids.

At home, my family prepares bánh xèo in a similiar matter. However, the sauces are just a possibility for the consumer's desire on flavor. Nuoc mam is the most commonly used sauce to dipped with and and is easier to eat with other than the tuong sauce. Most people usually claim that nuoc nam is the best use because of its light flavor. Nuoc mam is has some fishy, but zesty taste to compliment the savoury aroma of bánh xèo.

This is a great dish and it is recommended to all to eat. It's also usually eaten with LOTS of greens and herbs, depending on how much flavor should be added. When making it, its best (recommended more like) to cook it without the greens. Remember, most Vietnamese eat fresh greens, so most cooked foods are usually eaten with a huge amount or fresh herbs, red lettuce leaves, etc. Some prefer cooked so it is an option on whether you wanted your greens to be cooked or not. I'm not sure about how it is in Vietnamese restaurants, but if you do order bánh xèo, it is usually cooked in Southern style.

This information is from Wikipedia : Bánh Xèo
And here's a recipe if you want to try making this at home: recipe

The Lightning Thief pt. 2

Continuing from the previous lit circle letter of The Lightning Thief...
      Wow. I was definitely surprised. There were so much going already that I can make a long list of events that happened. This is only the second part of the novel. So based on the little summary from the back of the book, Percy finds out his his true heritage, being a demi-god (again, means half god, half human), his mother being human and his father being the god of the sea, Poseidon. After that, being aware of his father's situation with his uncle, Zeus, he then goes on a journey with his guardian and best friend, a satyr named Grover Underwood, and another fellow demi-god named Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom (or what is referred in this novel, but is also goddess of civilization, strength, strategy, craft, justice, and skill in Greek mythology) With the suspicion of Hades, his other uncle's involvement of the stolen master bolt, the three of them travel across the United States with only ten days to complete the quest: retrieve the master bolt before a war between the gods begin. To me, this is definitely quite a load on Peter, especially since he doesn't know much of the world of the gods. It's like seeing him as an innocent little sheep walking into wolf's lair. In either case, he still continues onward to the heart of the Underworld, which apparently is located in L.A. (Los Angeles, very amusing) despite of being attacked by his math teacher again, Medusa (yes, the Medusa), a chimera,and being sidetracked by the ever god of warfare (I prefer god of blood lust), Ares. Surprisingly, the second section of the book packs a lot of action in just a mere one hundred- twenty five pages. I couldn't believe there how Riordan was able to squeeze that much things happening on in that short amount of pages. With such a cliffhanger at the end of the second section, I'm really tempted to read what happens at the end.
       As for my quote that I have chosen, I want to make a small comment on this.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle." "Percy, I said hello to the poodle. You say hi to the poodle."
Honestly, I was laughing a lot. After facing so many challenges that just keeps going at Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, meeting a pink poodle was just...unexpected. Apparently the pink poodle was just helping out the trio when they were a bit stuck on getting money to continue their quest towards L.A., where the Underworld lies...

Vietnamese Dessert

   I got bored and have no idea on what to blog...again. It's like writer's block but it's just the topics I'm stuck about. Luckily, mother to the rescue! With her amazing cooking skills, I decided to write about Vietnamese food once again! But I did a lot of the popular ones, so I decide to blog about Vietnamese desserts. Not hard since I eat them constantly and surprisingly, I'm not getting any cavities with the load of desserts I'm stuffing myself in. Anyways, make to the topic.
 
    Che is a Vietnamese sweet dessert soup/beverage/pudding, usually made from beans (e.g. kidney beans, mung beans, etc.) and sticky rice, served in a glass over ice and eaten with a spoon (pretty obvious). It's gelatinous and perfect for the summer. However, there are varieties where you can eat it when it's hot so it's also perfect for the winter, even though it's not exactly cold over in Vietnam, but in other locations that can be extremely cold. Personally, I think most ches include these ingredients:bananas, coconut milk, pearl tapioca, sweet yam or yucca root vermicelli and/or sugar. The most popular che that you will find every Vietnamese restaurant is Che Ba Mau, which translates to three color dessert. It consists of brown (or red) beans, yellow mung bean, and green jelly, sometimes served with coconut milk and ice, or just ice. Sometimes, it is known as Rainbow Drink/Dessert for its colors. Personally, along with Che Ba Mau, another favorite I have is called Che Dau Xanh, which translates to green bean dessert (buy really, it's mung beans). It's very simple to make, yet very delicious, and you can practically make it yourself at home (if you have the ingredients). Here's a link: Che Dau Xanh Recipe

     Other than that, there are other desserts such as Xôi, which is a sweet or savory Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and other ingredients. Although it is often served as a dessert, in many mountainous areas in Vietnam, people eat xôi as a main dish. I personally like my xôi to be savory, topped with Chinese sausage, fragrant friend onions, and dried shrimps..-drools- Xôi that are sweet are usually have a different color like it could be entirely orange or green. You see more sweet xôi rather than savory ones in markets, but there are some in Vietnamese sandwich shops. However, savory ones are usually made at home and is more easier to make than the sweet ones.
    One of the terms that can confuse people are that Vietnamese use the term bánh because it translates loosely as "cake" or "bread". Like xôi, bánh refers to a wide variety of sweet or savoury, distinct flavored cakes, buns, pastries, sandwiches, and food items from Vietnamese cuisine, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from rice or wheat flour are generally called bánh, but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes.

These Vietnamese terms can get confusing, but you understand the words after them, you would know whether or not it is savory or sweet. Even if you do make a mistake, just eat it. There are a lot of kinds of Vietnamese desserts, so it doesn't hurt to try.

The Lightning Thief pt.1

Since I was unable to convince anyone from my previous group partners to read the book, I'll read this myself.The book I am reading is The Lightning Thief written by Rick Roirdan. This is a the first fantasy novel of the series. It tells a tale of a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson, who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia and have always cause trouble and always end up getting kicked out for strange things happening around him. After discovering his true heritage and the reason behind for all the incidents involving him, a new world opens for him. Because of his father, he is being blamed by the Zeus for stealing his prized master bolt, known for blowing Kronos up into thousand pieces and it's up to him to retrieve the master bolt in order to prove his innocence and his father, Poseidon. Now as he travels west, he is a target for mythical monsters that are supposedly come from myths and encounters other mythical and godly beings. With ten days to complete his quest before an unnecessary war breaks out, he travels with a satyr named Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod (half god, half human) and daughter of Athena.




Of course, since it is the first novel, the first section of the book is the daily life of Percy Jackson. However, it was kind of unexpected that there would be some situation for Peter in the next couple of pages of reading. Also, right from the beginning there were some great use of Greek mythology and a new variation of a creature (possibly from the a Greek creature, the chimera) has been created. I am already hooked to this book and I only read one hundred-twenty five pages. What I wonder is will Percy figure out his heritage right after that situation or would he facing more dangers before that?



At the beginning, this is how Percy thinks about when he found out he was a demigod (half mortal, half god or in simple words: half-blood).

"Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways."

Percy can't choose to be half-blood. It chooses him. His mom tries to choose a normal life for him for years, but the situation is beyond her control. Percy's destiny is wrapped up in the fact that he is half-human and half-god. When he tells us that being a half-blood is dangerous, he is talking from the perspective of someone who has just returned from a quest. We're getting his perspective on the quest after he's completed it and is able to reflect on it.