I’ve been pegged to read this book by all my kids, and Christina wanted to know my thoughts. I must admit, I was pretty interested in seeing what all the hype was about. I am going to review this novel–both as a huge fan of Harry Potter and YA/Children’s books in general, and as an adult reader. I’m not going to summarize it, so read it here if you need.

Let me say this first: It was an enjoyable read. Action-packed, humorous, and engaging. It only took me two sittings to finish, and I know I laughed out loud a few times. I will probably read the sequels just to find out what happens. If you just want something fun and easy to read, it will not disappoint. I can certainly see why kids like it. But what if you’re looking for more? Hear me out and decide for yourself.

Let me get the Harry Potter stuff out of the way first. For those who are not aware, one of the biggest criticisms against the Percy Jackson series is the shameless resemblance to Harry Potter. As a loyal HP fan, I was ready to be disgusted. This one review from amazon comes to mind:

… Young demigod Percy Jackson, bedeviled by monsters, prophecies that he can’t figure out, and nasty plans laid out by fellow a demigod, the evil Draco–oops, I mean Luke, son of Hermes and co-conspirator with Voldemort–oops, I mean Kronos–who wants to destroy Hogw–yikes! I mean summer camp! Sheesh! Where the mudbloods–I mean mortals–rely on a halfblood prince–I mean heroes–who–oh, forget it! …
-James Webster “Storyteller”

Turns out, it wasn’t so bad. Most of the similarities were just age-old archetypes. Nothing new. (However, “Half-Blood Camp” and the “Houses” were pushing it.) I think the most notable resemblance is that Riordan managed to create a world parallel to ours and then explained all the reasons why we have been unaware of it until now. But Rowling wasn’t the first to do so, and so why should she be the last? It seems to be the most effective way to draw an unconventional reader into the world of fantasy without weirding them out. I have many friends turned off by the thought of reading a fantasy novel from sheer cheesy-geeky factors. Somehow once that fantasy world is introduced through the eyes of a sensible, normal, real-world character, everything is a little easier to swallow. I raised an eyebrow here and there, but for the most part, I forgive the HP resemblances.

Kids who prefer a more “hip” and action-packed book will prefer Percy to Harry, hands down. I know we can’t all have the same preferences, but it makes me sad. Personally, I like the charming and slower pace of HP. It gives the characters time to grow and develop in response to smaller, everyday situations. You really feel the characters maturing through their experience, so when that dramatic moment comes when they are tested, you are confident they will do what is right, and their motives are convincing. In that respect, I felt the Percy Jackson series sacrificed depth for action. For this reason, I think this series will not stand among the great, but fade out of popularity soon enough. But hey, at least it got some kids reading.

As an adult reader, there was one thing in particular that rubbed me the wrong way. I felt Riordan was trying way too hard to appeal to the down-trodden kid of America. Percy’s grades are average because he has dyslexia, but that’s because he’s a demigod and his brain is wired for ancient Greek. He has ADHD, but that’s just his battle instinct to notice details and keep him alive. His beloved mother is victim to a smelly and abusive step-father, but she stayed with him because she knew his scent would keep Percy hidden and safe. (Although, I’ll admit the dyslexia and ADHD were pretty clever, but the bit about his mom is weak at best.) Not that I want to crush the hopes of children everywhere with harsh realities, but c’mon you can’t shelter them forever.

But what bothers me more than the oozing pathos, is the message. Frankly, this “escapist” view of life presented to kids is a little annoying. I am compassionate and like to help, but I despise pity. Disadvantages, setbacks, and handicaps should either be embraced, or overcome. Not given pretty explanations to make us feel better, or used as excuses. It is an insult to those who have managed to succeed in spite of everything.

In a nutshell: Enjoyable, but nothing to go out of your way to read. I thought I would be turned off by the HP resemblances, but there were other things that left a greater stench in my nose.

I recommend to: Anyone who just wants an fun book to read and learn about greek mythology while they’re at it. Just hope you don’t read into like I did. It might leave you on fire with ideology rants.

I will take gratitude over money, ANYDAY.

Unless of course I really really really need money. Even then, that’s 3 really’s.

(not my picture, by the way. cool though, eh?)

If there is anything I’ve learned these past 4 years in college, it’s that pseudo-commuting SUCKS. By pseudo-commuting, I mean I have an apartment at school, but I go home every weekend to stay at my parents place.

To be honest, it didn’t always suck. The whole appeal to the system was that I could have my cake and eat it at the same time. I’m at school an hour away from home. Far enough to justify my own place where I can have the good ol’ college freedom dream. But close enough to head home anytime, do laundry for free, and stock up on food. And it was just that. I had mama’s homemade cake, and I got to eat it how I wished, whenever I liked.

And then year 3 and 4 set in. Granted years 1 and 2 made me a pro at packing light and moving myself back and forth between Dallas and Arlington. I rarely forgot anything, and usually made my whole move in just one trip to the car. Eventually I wanted to streamline my carry-alongs and next thing you know, I have 2 sets of shampoo and conditioner, 2 deoderant sticks, 2 toothbrushes, 2 libraries, 2 piles of jeans, 2 drawers full of underwear–heck, I even have 2 sets of the EXACT SAME camisoles and tanks I like to wear, just because I never know which city I’ll want to wear them in. And of course, I am a little hamster for organization, so it was never a hassle. Pajamas are color-coded. Undies are separated by brand. I know exactly which are to remain in Dallas, and which to bring to Arlington, and just like that, everything is effortlessly divied up between homes.

Fortunately toiletries and tanks are cheap. The snag comes when friends, family, and responsibilities call me to other places–and frankly, I just can’t stop by Walmart at 2:00am and pick up another Linh for them (Cool as that would be. Maybe.). And nobody wants half a friend–which is both comforting and sad at the same time. Arlington buddies who want to hang out on the weekends are telling me to cut the umbllical cord. Dallas friends don’t see me at all outside of church and work. With the exception of a few stolen moments, I’m ping-ponging back and forth before I want to leave.

The overall resulting effect is that I feel uprooted and disconnected. I’m not stressed, I’m not unhappy, there’s just something inside of me that repels this city two-timing life, and like a pimple, I just wanna pop it and make it go away. I also want to know which place I left my brown belt at… kinda wanted to wear that today. =/ I think I’ve realized it for a long time, but it’s not until now that I had the leisure to time to hash out my feelings via blogging. Fortunately these are the years I had Long around. He’s out of town no matter where I am. Which is a nice constant to have. =)

Or maybe my clock is ticking and I just wanna settle down and knit gosh dangit. But I can’t yet! Optometry school is nearing, and be it Houston or Tennessee, there will be no more pseudo-commuting. So to prepare for that time, as a new epiphany’s resolution (New Years Resolutions are SO last year), I am going to train up some young un’s *cough Hobbit, cough Ann* to take up my duties at church, so as to make a smooth exit. And let me take this moment to also apologize to everyone who has had to put up with my… disconnectedness (aka shirking my responsibilities). I will try harder (God willing). Afterall, it is my penance for having my cake and eating it at the same time.

But it really was good cake. You know, the kind that’s not too sweet, real soft and fluffy. Mmm! Or I could start to really commute. That’s a thought. Gas is getting cheap… HmmMm….

As an aside note, this whole experience made me think of those kids I knew whose parents were divorced and they were shuffled between mom and dad’s house every other week all their childhood. I used to think it was cool they had two houses. No. Not cool. Don’t EVER raise your kids that way!

As my undergraduate career in Biology progresses, I find myself being surrounded and exposed to “more serious” thoughts on evolution, religion, life, lizards–everything, really. After some heated discussions, or rather, “calm orderly discussions with underlying passion,” I feel I must make this assertion. Because after these discussions, I get the distinct impression that it is the general consensus that religion and science cannot be reconciled–and that is so very wrong. The moment it becomes apparent I am a Christian, I get that sort of condescending look that says, “Aww you poor thing, you have yet to let go of beliefs that hinder you from truth and knowledge.”

C’mon, you’d want to punch them too.

But I’m not that angry. Not really. It’s quite understanding if you consider the two groups of people running amok these days:

1) “Hardcore” Christian fundamentalist who run around spouting creation “science” without knowing anything about science. I appreciate the good intentions, but you are not impressing nor convincing anyone with your ignorance. Please stop, it’s embarrassing.

The God I know is very intelligent, and created me with a love for discovering, exploring, and learning. I seriously doubt he wants me to disregard all that so that I can following him blindly. He gave me a choice, and a brain. Obviously I am suppose to use both to make a decision.

2) “Hardcore” scientists who like to disregard everything but science, because science is the only concrete, reliable, testable, blah blah blah.

Because yeah, everything in life can be explained by science. That’s why my friends are always “searching for themselves” and trying to “find the meaning of life” or a “purpose in life.” (I am not being facetious, these are their exact words, they are serious, and it breaks my heart.) Last I checked, science has no answer to these questions, and nor does it try to. It is outside its scope, as it should be. In other words, we must look outside science. Is that so bad? Why are you allowed to disregard the spiritual just because it boggles your mind? Why cannot the “ignorant” Christians disregard science because it boggles their minds? I have no problem with atheist who have thoroughly considered everything and unbiasedly searched for the truth (like a good scientist should). They had their choice, and they used their brain.

I will close with some words I found from someone a little more eloquent than I. I don’t agree with everything he has said in his book, but this particular excerpt I like.

“A nonbeliever, of course, puts his or her trust in science and finds no value in faith. And I certainly agree that science allows believer and nonbeliever alike to investigate the natural world through a common lens of observation, experiment, and theory. The ability of science to transcend cultural, political, and even religious differences is part of its genius, part of its value as a way of knowing. What science cannot do is assign either meaning or purpose to the world it explores. This leads some to conclude that the world as seen by science is devoid of meaning and absent of purpose. It is not. What it does mean, I would suggest, is that our human tendency to assign meaning and value must transcend science and, ultimately, must come from outside it. The science that results can thus be enriched and informed from its contact with the values and principles of faith. The God of Abraham does not tell us which proteins control the cell cycle. But he does give us a reason to care, a reason to cherish that understanding, and above all, a reason to prefer the light of knowledge to the darkness of ignorance.”
-Kenneth Miller, Finding Darwin’s God 1999

Yes, you saw that right. Somewhere along the line, someone thought that abalone and chicken would make a tasty combination–for ramen noodles.

Now, I love ramen.　(ラメンが大好き！) I can eat it everyday until my face is consumed with pimples, or until my body wastes away from lack of nutrition. Whichever comes first. So one day when I got hungry and started rootin’ around the kitchen for something to eat, I came across abalone and chicken flavored ramen.

I’m well familiar with chicken, but when I see abalone, I’m thinking back to 5th grade when we had to read Island of the Blue Dolphins. And I’m like, “Dude, didn’t that girl survive by catching these things and like, dried them on the rocks before she ate them?” So already my mind is grabbing at some sort of shellfish prototype. And within the span of 2 seconds my mind has formed an equation not unlike the one above.

At this point warning bells should’ve gone off. Should’ve. But hey, I like chicken, and I like shellfish. Plus, it’s fancy noodle that came in a caddy and everything! How bad can it be? True to my ramen love, I finished the noodles, but I refuse to sip the soup. The last time I failed to sip an instant noodle dish dry, was when I tried “Creamy Tum Yum” flavored noodles with Kim. Gah, her dog wouldn’t even eat it. (Granted Puppy wouldn’t eat the veggieburger either, so I’d say that’s one smart puppy.)

And just as I was thinking, “Man, no amount of MSG could possibly induce me to like this,” I saw the fine print: Non Fried – Your Healthy Choice

I felt cheated. The big print giveth, the fine print taketh away. Healthy ramen!! What is this world coming too?! If you can sip this abaloken monstrosity dry, then you can be the Instant Noodle King or Instant Noodle Sifu. Whatever you want.

I don’t know what the point to this post was. I was just lost, confused, and hurt. Misery loves company.

I’m only 20 and already I’ve noticed signs of getting older and uncooler. Gosh I’d really hate to see how I am once I have kids. What I’d noticed was a depressing decline of creativity. That’s the double-edge of keeping all your old projects and creations: you have to face that awful comparisson of now and then. Your only consolement is perhaps a slight increase in maturity with experience. (boooring!) Nostalgic sucker that I am, I had to look through all my old web work from my Calipeaches days with Kim, and I just realized, “Man, we made some pretty neat stuff.” –almost none of which were ever seen by anyone but ourselves. (what a waste!) This makes me sad, and I never really considered myself an artist of any sort. I shared my thoughts with Kim and she wholeheartedly agreed. We both concluded it was all due to our long hiatus resulting in atrophe of that part of the brain and consequently, a loss of creativity. It’s our, “Use it or loose it” theory. (Even the theory lacks creativity…)

Anyhow, all this has made me glad I opted for Biological pursuits rather than Design ones. Perhaps now I can get down to the mystery of all this!