junior literary – Literary Arts Blogspace

Who is Aphrodite?

Aphrodite, her name meaning “from the seafoam”, is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, passion, pleasure, lust, among other things. She is a fiercely protective deity, a majority of her myths relating to protecting her children and guiding them.

As you can probably guess, her birth was from seafoam. I believe everyone has seen “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, a painting in which a beautiful woman rises nude from a seashell.

Well, yep. This is the birth of Venus, Aphrodite’s Roman variant. The birth story, and overall creation myth, is typically the same between the two groups. No standing on chairs or shedding genuine tears this week, guys.

Aphrodite’s birth is one that I enjoy a lot, but it has quite a bit of misconception around it. In Hesiod’s account, Aphrodite was born when Kronos castrated his father, Uranus. There was this whole thing with the Titans holding the primordial beings’ legs and arms, while taking a scythe and yada yada yada. Not important. What is important is that when they were done doing the do Kronos, this big genius, threw the separated bits into the ocean. The blood of a primordial being (and in some version other excretions as well) mixed with seafoam and ocean water and boom! We got a goddess of beauty!

(This I really like, because literal BEAUTY and LOVE came from a guy’s junk being cut off. More specifically blood from a violent, necessary act mixing with another primordial force.. Greek Mythology is so chaotic and then such good things, like the mother of eros, THE god of love, come out of it.)

Well, we technically got her a long time after that. Some myths suggest that she was actually residing in the ocean for a long time, which would make sense. She needs time to mature, because like she was still born at some point, just like the goddess Athena (though where Athena got her armor is beyond me). She was born during the time in which Kronos overthrew his father, but there is a long time between that and Zeus throwing over his father. Theres a lot of dads eating their kids in Greek mythology. Seriously. Like it happens a LOT.

Aphrodite actually spent a long time in the ocean, even after the Olympian gods were like.. coming into power??? Question mark question mark question mark??? Look I never claimed to be an expert (don’t listen to anything Nick says). There is a myth around the early days of the Olympian gods’ rule, before they became the Olympians, that goes something like Poseidon had a lover Nerites, a young sea-god. He was also known as Poseidon’s charioteer, or the guy that drove him around. In other versions of his myth he was a lover of Aphrodite (potentially he was both), who refused to go with her when she was invited to Olympus. Which, she only really rose from the seafoam WHEN she was invited. Both versions of Nerites’ myth ends with him being turned in to THE first shellfish, though in his myth where he is the lover of Poseidon (because the gods were raging bisexuals, the lot of them) the god of requited love was actually born from.. their love. I guess. In other myths Anteros, the God of requited love and avenger of unrequited love, is a child of Aphrodite and Ares.

(This is like THE statue of Poseidon btw)

Nerite Snails: Your Guide To Lifespan, Care, And Reproduction | SnailPedia

(NERITEs was turned into a NERITE snail i actually havent ever seen any pictures of the snail he was turned into this is great)

While, yes, she did rise fully grown from the seafoam (it would be weird if the incarnation of pleasure and sex rose from the ocean as a child, would it not?) she actually spent quite a bit of time in the sea, and there are several myths involving her IN the sea. Love my girl. Aphrodite you mean so much to me. That’s this week’s blog, I SWEAR I’ll get back to the ATLA blogs soon guys I miss them Greek mythology is driving me insane

A Different Experience; Blog from your phone.

It’s exactly as the title states. For this blog, I decided to take a break from The Witcher and instead do a small breather so I thought it would be fun to try and blog from my phone. Needless to say, it’s really weird. BUT! You can upload more media from your phone this way.

The screens a little cramped and the words a lot bigger and easier to see. But what may throw some of you for a loop is the navigation to get to this page to start a blog. It took me a moment but I figured it out. (Clearly)

another thing is that the big edit box is just dangling above your screen the whole time instead of you having to scroll up on your desktop or laptop to click italics or bold something, you get the idea.

The biggest issue I can see with this is the fast typing. I type way faster on my phone than I do any computer or device. So I’m trying to be real careful of grammar and spelling mistakes, but thankfully auto correct seems to like me today.

(This may not have been the longest blog, but since we had to listen to the play, I decided to just go ahead and use my phone that way I’m not alternating between devices-)

I honestly recommend trying it out once, it’s kinda neat.

Greek Mythology (again) and acceptable ways to get into it through different medias!!

Greek mythology is my special interest, and I’m okay to admit that now. I remember when I first heard about it, I was probably six or seven and had just watched that horrendous Percy Jackson movie with my mom. I then, somehow, got my grubby little paws on a device and googled the only name I really remembered: Athena.

This opened a whole world for me to explore, with things that happened over two thousand years ago that I never thought could exist! There were multiple gods that I was introduced to, hundred of stories and names and places and even animals to learn about and experience and I was excited. I then remember my teacher, Mrs. Young from East Flora, asking my pathways class “what do you want to learn about?”

I had the conscious thought, then. “I can’t teach this to myself.” I knew that I would need to have someone else guide me and tell me who, what, when, where, etc. So, I suggested we learn about Greek Mythology. She loved the idea, and so for the next two months we studied different (age appropriate) myths, built The Parthenon out of toilet paper rolls and masking tape, learned names and correlations, we even looked a little bit into the stars and constellations!

I’m extremely thankful to my teacher, then. I’m glad there was an adult who asked what I wanted to learn, instead of teaching me what she was told to. I had an amazing gateway to Greek Mythology, even if the original source wasn’t so good. So today I want to talk about good, acceptable sources for younger kids to get into Greek mythology, and a few good ways I’ve expanded my knowledge of it as I’ve gotten older.

First and foremost: Percy Jackson

When talking about Greek Mythology in media, Percy Jackson is the first place my brain goes to. It has wonderful modern adaptations of the Gods into an easy to digest, true-to-myth form. The intepretaions of each god that Rick portrays is almost always interesting, fun, and doesn’t take away from the original concept of each god. While in the first series Rick does make some.. choice mistakes, especially regarding the myth of Medusa, he manages to fix his mistakes in a way that doesn’t completely override any horrible storyline.

Percy Jackon, a young boy and the demigod son of Poseidon, is ~~being hunted by~~ called by Mount Olympus and the Olympian Gods, as Zeus’ weapon, the lightning bolt, is missing; They believe he is the thief, when he didn’t even know that he was a demigod until, like, a week before. This book, and the following books, explores Percy’s story in navigating familiar and unfamiliar myths (Some I hadn’t even heard of until I read the books when I was fourteen!)

Overall, the series is one of my favorites. As a gateway into further interest in Greek Mythology all one has to do is consider that his is a children’s book and has to be dumbed down or explained differently for entertainment purposes. 10/10.

Second: The Song of Achillies (And other works by Madeline Miller)

Madeline Miller is such a talented author, from her writing style to how well she captures the parts of myths that we don’t really see. It’s true that we have little, if any, information on Circe besides what is gathered within the Odyssey, even though she is a recurring figure throughout several myths. Consider Madeline Miller’s work as a sort of in-between, and an amazing one at that. Her storytelling with the upbringing of Patroclus is so beautifully told, especially since he is a figure often overlooked despite being so pivotal for Achillies’ story in the Iliad. With both of her books being a kind of in-between, it is entirely possible to read them and get into Greek Mythology that way, by exploring three characters deeply then going into the much broader myths.. even if the ending of Circe is quite odd. Her books are such a creative take on the Iliad and a telling of Circe’s story that I will always ALWAYS recommend these books to people. 10/10

Third: EPIC THE MUSICAL

Just like the last section, Epic the Musical is written and directed (? I’m not sure, I don’t know musicals or music in general) Jorge Rivera-Herrans, which released over two years, each song coming out one at a time from 2022 through to 2024. The musical follows Odysseus, using wonderful modern storytelling to re-tell the odyssey in way it’s meant to be told. I genuinely have no words for how good this musical is. The only complaint I have about it is that, well, Odysseus does cheat on his wife. Sorry not sorry. Greeks had much different standards than we do today.

That being said, I have NOT touched on some of the.. worse ways people have gotten into greek mythology cough Lore Olympus cough cough really bad webtoon cough cough ANYWAYS!!!!!

This is the end of the blog!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! If anyone else likes Greek mythology, how did you discover it? and let me know if you’d want to learn anything about Greek mythology because I know TOO much!!! Blog ideas are welcomed because I need them, lol.

Talking about my Sona

This is a silly little post about my fursona, Gyphe the Hyena!

So, I needed to talk about something that makes me happy. I haven’t been feeling the greatest lately…so I thought: hey! Why not write about my favorite creation? Unfortunately, this will be a shorter blog, but hey, we all need a brain break! He brings me joy, so today I will be talking about my original character and fursona, Gyphe the Hyena!

So, as we can see, Gyphe (pronounced gif) is a blue, pink, and white hyena. He has a purple nose, tongue, and big smile! He also has gold accents in the sense of his eyes. He has gauges and a second piercing above the gauges on each side. He also had two hoops on his outer cartilage. I can never stick to a tail size, as some sizes are more aesthetically pleasing for different artworks. I know I’m biased because he’s my Sona, but I love Gyphe to bits. He’s so colorful and fun

He doesn’t have any lore outside of being a fluffy personification of me. I’m actually having a wearable head of him made! It should be done before my birthday, and I’m so excited. I’ve had him as a sona for about 4 years now, and he’s been through a lot of changes. I refuse to show the old art, though, because it is BAD.

I also have been doing art commissions lately, and here are some of my most recent works! They were really fun to work on, and the customers were so kind and patient. I always get so happy when my customers tell me how excited they are and how much they love the artwork!!! I really love doing art for folks, and plus, it allows me to spend more money on yarn! !>:D

Anywho, that’s it!!! Thank you for checking this silly blog out. I really appreciate it.

The Path, Wicther Lore part 1. The life of a Witcher.

If you remember in my first blog that I said I was currently collecting all the books, well I still am. So since the books slowly ease into the Witcher Three, the best “lore” I can give you is background knowledge on who he is, what he is, what he does, and all other characters related to him.

Who and What is Geralt of Rivia?

As you have heard me explain time and time again, Geralt is a hunter monster/humans. Taking on various contracts from his travels or also known as The Path. Where young witchers graduate from their selected schools and finally fly solo after gruesome years of rigorous and very deadly training. Often times a lot of people ask how they first become a Witcher or how they arrive to the schools in the first place.

Geralt, like many other young boys, were either taken or GIVEN to the passing Witchers masters who had graduated their latest trained Witchers to find the new generation train. Before Geralt’s time, the Witcher recruitment was not ideal. On many occasions it wasn’t up to the families whether or not they get to keep their son, they simply would take him and if the boys parents got in the way they’d not hesitate homicide and take the boy.

This is what lead to the ruining of the Witcher brand. Anyone who was Witcher was seen as an immediate killer and shunned by the populace of city’s and small towns but are smiled upon if they’re really doing their jobs and not lying for coin..sadly there were some who did this…. What’s even worse, is that those families who were murdered, and if their son became a Witcher, it was more likely for that boy to do the same to another family.

How Geralt became a Witcher starts as a boy. Actually, he wasn’t taken as boy but given to the Witchers within the mountain fortress Kaer Morhen (care-more-hen) The witchers home to the School of the Wolf where he would train along side many other boys under the teachings of the great Witcher Vesemir. Vesemir wasn’t the typical, stoic Witcher, but a more humorous one at that. He had his moments though.

Vesemir taught these boys traditionally and in his own way. The two “brothers” Geralt trained beside were Lambert and Eskel. (I’d put pictures but my laptops acting up rn-)

Vesemir would become a well respected father figure to those who’ve read the Witcher books and definitely played the games. The relationship he has with these three boys was as deep as it emotionally could get. And I mean that literally.

The process in which takes place from boy to Witcher is an extremely dangerous one if not done correctly or if the boy is too weak enough. The brutal and very life threatening training these boys go through is not for nothing. The mutation completely alters the anatomy and biology of the young kids as well as emotionally.

Witchers loose their emotions almost entirely. Or so some thought. Geralt’s really a compassionate guy, he is a step-father after all. (That’s for part 2 tho.)

Witchers are also STERILE meaning they cant have biological children and uhm…for Geralt’s case that’s a good thing…

Geralt’s overall past is pretty well hidden behind closed doors for me right now because I am DYING to read the books so bad but I don’t have them all yet!!!!

Its sad times ladies and gentlemen…sad times…

Greek vs. Roman Mythology

Okay, I lied. I said in my last blog post that I was going to continue my incoherent ramblings about Katara and Avatar: The Last Airbender as a whole, but I’ve decided that i need to get something out of the way instead, which is how i feel about Greek Mythology and Roman Mythology.

Anyone who’s had more than one conversation with me might be aware of how passionate I get over a certain empire, which starts with R and ends with oman. I’ve been known to yell, hit things, stand in chairs, and leave groupchats in the past. Is it that serious? No. Do i care? Also no!!

(There is, quite literally, a running gag between my friends to randomly text me “The Romans” and watch to see how mad I get — it has been described as a trigger word of mine multiple times)

Roman Mythology and Greek Mythology are often used interchangeably, like they are counterparts or equals. Now, do not get me wrong. Roman mythology (though i know nothing about it besides the creation myth) is just as complex, but in the end, they ARE separate things. This is just information off of the top of my head, mostly from my understanding of greek mythology and how it differs from roman mythology in those big ways that MEAN something. Even though they were adjacent (watch me make myself mad) they are NOT the same, most importantly in how they portray certain gods.

Am i going to start talking about myths? No! I dont know anything about them, and if i refuse to learn more than what is absolutely necessary (Read: I’m too lazy.) I do, however, know about the pantheon itself.

The Greek pantheon was very heavily focused on “Hey, you guys are messed up, but we’re MORE messed up, so be scared of us.” The Greeks, with what their pantheon represented, was very arts and emotions focused. They interpret things like hubris, defiance against the gods, lust, ect. Hubris is a big one, most commonly portrayed with Achillies. He believed that he could live, and deny the fate which was set out for him, if he avoided following his whole prophecy “ur gonna die bro” thing. The gods didn’t like that!!

The greeks were very insistent on their idea of fate, which is what most myths follow. Gods deliver a prophecy, the guy who’s the butt of the joke in the prophecy tries to avoid prophecy, ends up butt of the joke. (Seriously, you think they’d stop warning them, right?)

The romans are different. Extremely different. Again, this is my throwaway “here’s what i think 🤓☝️!!!” because i admit that i do not know that much about roman mythology, entirely because it makes me so upset. Many myths from Greek times are so Romanized we get left with our current version of Medusa, who, in the original myth, was born a gorgon. Or Achillies, who, in his original myth, never had invulnerability. He was just quick yall..

The romans were very victory, war, order and rule-based, rather than the emotional and theatrical Greeks. This is best portrayed by their goddess of love, Venus. She represented, obviously, love; beauty; prosperity; fertility; and VICTORY. She also mothered Aeneas, who is a direct ancestor of the founders of rome. Romans held her in such a high regard because of this. They had a goddess literally named victory and they still worshiped her and prayed to her in hopes of a victory in battle. Her greek counterpart(??? cousin. They’re cousins now.) Her greek cousin, Aphrodite, more so represents Beauty, (beauty over love, that’s important) Love, PLEASURE, and procreation. See how those differ? Similar, but important differences.

None of this is even mentioning MYCENEAN Greece (dear gods, Mycenean Greece :/) which had nearly *checks notes* 600 years of a nearly entirely different pantheon that the Classical greek pantheon is based on, plus those 200 or so years of the greek dark ages? There’s just so much more rich, complex history behind the greek pantheon. And, yes, the romans were heavily influenced; And, yes, they carry a lot of similarities. However, the romans were after, with influence from more places than the greeks had. It’s kind of like when you take a character from a show and change him so much that he’s pretty much an OC now and you could write your own story with it and no one would ever notice.

Okay, this is getting long but i am also talking about my special interest (greek mythology) and my special dislike (roman mythology) and i haven’t gotten up and screamed from the rooftops yet, so i’m doing better than i normally would. She’s getting long, so i’ll see you next week!!!! I will (likely) either be speaking on the same topic or going back to Avatar.. undecided. Kiss kiss!! Byee!!

Disability and Media

Here today we talk about disability, how it is portrayed in the media, and why we should care.

While July is the official Disability Awareness Month, disabilities affect people all months of year, and we need to talk about it. Especially the representation in the media of people with different disabilities. Or shall I say, the lack thereof.

The disabled Flag represents the different types of disabilities and shows pride and support for those with disabilities.

Disabilities are varied and wide spectrum. We have broad categories for them, being physical, sensory, developmental, and psychiatric. Physical disabilities affect your mobility or motor functions. Cerebral Palsy, spinal injuries, and arthritis are common examples of physical disabilities. Developmental disabilities, like intellectual disability or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, affect cognitive functions, especially at a younger age. Psychiatric disorders are psychological conditions, like PTSD or bipolar or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Though these can get tricky, as the way they debilitate a person is not very well documented or taken seriously. Neurological disabilities affect the brain and nervous system, like a traumatic brain injury. Neurodevelopmental disabilities are commonly represented by ADHD and ADD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder). Finally, we have sensory and learning disabilities. Sensory disorders consist of a disability that affects some sort of sense, such as blindness or deafness. Learning disorders, like dyslexia (reading difficulties) and dyscalculia (math difficulties) affect your learning process.

We’d think that, if we have so many different types of disabilities and disorders, we would have a better understanding of and acceptance towards disabled people. Unfortunately, due to negative stereotypes and ableist history, we still have so many misconceptions about those who are disabled. For example, not everyone who uses a wheelchair is paraplegic. While the statistics are inconclusive currently, it has been reported that up to 1/3 of wheelchair users are ambulatory. This means they still can move and walk with less assistance. Another misconception is that people who use canes or walkers are old, or that you can only develop physical disabilities later in life. Disabilities can be developed at any time in one’s life, and mobility aids can be needed at any point. So why do we depict disabilities as this rare, scary, and sad thing?

That’s another thing. The extreme depictions of disabilities. Either people who are disabled are depicted as hopeless and wish they weren’t disabled, or they’re a superhero and an inspiration. We are normal people. We have our good days, and our bad ones. We shouldn’t be reduced to one emotion because we are people with a wide and diverse variety of emotions. Or the extremities of psychiatric disorders. People with schizophrenia are considered dangerous and “insane”, people with bipolar disorder are “unstable and something you should fear”, or OCD is being the “neat freak”. These depictions are useless at best and harmful at worst because these disorders are a spectrum. We do not all depict disabilities the same way, just as no two people are alike. We need to start depicting disabled people and characters as what they are: people.

It also sucks, as someone who uses mobility aids, to have little to no accessibility in your daily life. Schools have barely any accommodation, and if they do have the occasional wheelchair ramp, it’s on the other side of the school. So, it gets to a point where it feels like the 1950s, where folks with mobility issues need to be “hidden from public view”. But with all systemic issues, the rights and support for people with disabilities are still new. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed in 1990 by President Bush. That’s only 34 years ago. So, architecture and medical information are still outdated and unavailable to people with disabilities. That’s also not to mention the discrimination against queer, afab, and people of color in disability spaces.

Disability affects about 1 in 6 people. Whether it be in the mind, body, or both, we all deserve respect and accommodation for our disabilities. We deserve to feel safe and comfortable in our bodies and shouldn’t be treated like we’re incompetent or a burden. Disabled people are still people and deserve to access quality medical care. So what could you do to help people around you with disabilities? The best thing you can do is ask what help they need. It can be nice to help them put something away or offer advice, but you need to always ask what would make the disabled person feel most welcome. If you’re holding events, please try to make them accessible. If someone has sensory disorders, make sure to add accommodations so they can experience everything too. I think people often think we want “special treatment”, but in reality, we want what everyone else wants: to be able to function and enjoy life.

Just remember that, if someone around you is disabled, treat them with respect and kindness. Treat others how you want to be treated, and please, for the love of God, do not push wheelchairs without asking.

Let’s Get to the Bloody Point.

Periods are a natural occurrence for 1.8 billion people. So why is it so stigmatized and repulsive? Let’s talk about that…

^{A discussion (well, rant) about feminine hygiene and the stigma around it.}

Periods. The natural occurrence of shedding the endometrium. It is reported that over 1.8 billion people menstruate monthly. So why is the discussion around this topic so stigmatized? Any and all reasons stem from one real reason: the hatred of people who were born with uteruses.

Let’s look back in time, turn back a few pages of the history book. One of the oldest written menstrual stigmas was in the Bible. Leviticus chapter 15, verses 19-33 states (in layman’s terms) that women, and anything they rest upon, become “unclean”. If menstrual blood touches anything, it too becomes unclean. This passage led to a constant mindset throughout male scholars in history that anyone who bled and everything around them was corrupt and dirty. An example of this mindset early on was from Pliny the Elder (AD70) that menstruation “is productive of the most monstrous effects”, that crops will “wither and die”, and bees “will forsake their hive if touched by a menstruous woman”. These quotes are disturbing to think about. Imagine how much abuse stemmed from these types of mindsets. Even in 1694, women were compared to cockatrices, mythical beasts that had venomous breath, all because they were bleeding (according to James McMath, M.D).

Alright, stepping forward some, let’s look at the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1950, Good Housekeeping (THE magazine for women), advertised sanitary towels as “So skillfully shaped not to look like a napkin box” and so “that the sharpest eyes couldn’t guess what’s inside the wrapping”. This, even in “modern ages”, made periods seem like something that people should be embarrassed about and ashamed of. A monthly function to regulate your body is shameful. Wow. What about the 2020 Tampax criticism, where they advertised tampons that “open silently for full discretion”? More recent studies in the medical history of menstruation contain euphemisms such as “the curse”, “dirty red”, and more (from as recent as 1975) contribute to the unclean stigma of periods and feminine hygiene.

Now, we talked mostly about women throughout history, but they aren’t the only people who bleed monthly. AFAB people, or assigned female at birth, struggle with these stigmas and frequent transphobia due to this natural phenomenon. Period discussions and products are tailored for women. Pad wrappers that say “Strong Like a Girl” create an isolating barrier for transgender and gender non-conforming folks. When we also look at the prices of menstrual products, things get worse. The average price for 36 tampons can easily cost $12 a box. The federal wage is $7.25 an hour. So why does this hit trans individuals harder? The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey stated that transgender people are twice as likely to live in poverty and three times as likely to be unemployed compared to the general population. Now, ten years later, times for the working class have been ever harder. We also need to think about those who prefer gender-affirming bathrooms, such as a transgender male using the men’s room. They will rarely have access to period products when they’re needed most. Along with bathrooms, opening a crinkly, plastic wrapper in the men’s room can lead to a sense of fear and lack of safety, especially in a time when transphobia and violent hate crimes are rising.

Now, the bloody point of this article was centered around the menstrual hygiene stigma in the United States, but there is so much discrimination for people who bleed monthly across the world. There are also discussions about people not having certain healthcare rights due to the assumption “all women want to or should bear children”. There’s also discussion around other feminine reproductive issues, like the age for hysterectomies and abortion, or even the effects of birth control, or how the medical system is very anti-AFAB people. But that, my friends, is all we have time for today. I really hope this gave you a better perspective on menstrual hygiene and why it is so important. Please read the linked articles for more information if you can.

^{Articles used for reference:}

^{https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/why-stigma-prevents-treating-menstrual-hygiene-essential}

^{https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/stigmas-toll-sexual-and-reproductive-health}

^{https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/transgender-men-pain-menstruation-more-just-physical-n1113961}

^{https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Executive-Summary-Dec17.pdf}

^{https://theconversation.com/dirty-red-how-periods-have-been-stigmatised-through-history-to-the-modern-day-206967}

^{https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/B26427.0001.001?view=toc}

Nirvana Deep Dive: Bleach

This series of blog posts is about the instrumentation behind All four of Nirvanas albums the three studio albums in Bleach, Nevermind and In Utero and the compilation album Incestiscide and depending on the reception of the series Unplugged will get a nod.

The Bleach era (1988-1989) featured Guitarist Jason Everman, Drummer Chad Channing (and occasionally Dale Crover of The Melvins), Bassist Krist Novoselic, lead guitarist and Singer Kurt Cobain. Oddly Jason Everman doesn’t appear once on Bleach recording. He paid to produce the album thus getting him a writer’s credit. The trio of Kurt Krist and Dale Crover would hit the studio in late 1988 to start work on Bleach with producer Jack Endino the songs Downer, Papercuts and Floyd The Barber would be completed and though an attempt to rerecord with Chad Channing came about the three ultimately decided to leave Dales original tracks as is. Every other song has Chad Channing in full force playing away.

The odd sound of Bleach comes from the cheap recording equipment used. The band was taped on a eight track and played every song live overdubbing in the post stages (which Kurt hated with passion). The setup for Bleach’s studio recording is as follows: Track one Chads Kick Drum Track two his snare and hi-hat recorded on an overhead place on a boom arm about 5-10 feet above the actual drumkit. Track Three has his floor tom with the microphone passing under the drum’s resonator head on the bottom. Track Four a mic for his tom 1 drum directly attached. Track Five was Krist’s bass and mic up of his amp placed in the same room as the other instruments and at times you can hear blead through from other things happening in the room. Track Six was Kurt’s vocal then track seven was Kurt’s guitar and Track Eight was free for either one vocal or guitar overdub which most times would be a rhythm guitar part that Jason Everman would play live. This in turn is also due to Nirvanas style being very noise rock adjacent at the time.

Bleach had a troubling process to begin the record label Nirvana was signed to at the time Sub-Pop was trying hard to stay afloat and thus couldn’t afford to pay the studio time necessary to record Bleach. So, Jason Everman the newest member of the band after Chad paid the entirety of the money necessary to produce and publish the Album. Granted he would tour with the band for the duration of their North American tour before being fired and joining Soundgarden.

“Blew” A more sludge metal take with the growly low distorted bass and aggressive guitar dives creates a song that invokes a sense of violence almost. Plus, Chad Channing delivers a impressive triplet groove that slides around the kit and makes it poppy. The bass growls on the opening track as well creating a heavy mosh sound.

“Floyd the Barber” is a heavier sludgy song through and through. Aggressive distortion meets bad production equipment. A lot of bleach is punk rock and the lead off track starts us right, Kurt uses a mixture of guitars most importantly a Mosrite guitar with two large humbuckers in the neck and bridge position. Which creates loud and almost oscillating tones.

“About a girl” Kurts Beatles song. Growing up Kurt Cobain was quite a Beatles friend and even as he got older and rowdier he found solace in Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper even so much as so constantly playing the song in Tracy Marander’s apartment to whom the song is about. The song is played with a very clean Strat sounding guitar with distortion on the solo. Alternatively, Chad Channing’s drum part is very rhythmic and matches the bass line.

“School” is a noise rock song and seemingly uses a fuzz effect as when I attempt to recreate the sound whenever I play my fuzz pedal does better than my distortion box. Also, the rhythm guitar part fills out the main chord progression of the song under the lead part a clever and very subtle use of that elusive Eighth track available to record with.

“Love Buzz” is well a burst of sound the guitars are tuned up a half step higher than normal and for a band that typically drop tunes a weird, distorted sound comes out. Kurt’s guitar almost sounds metallic clanking together, while the Bass seems uncharacteristically low and eerie. The drumming is fantastic as the pace of the song is fast and hard to miss. The guitar solo features the rhythmic strums of a A major chord.

“Paper Cuts” this track is heavy dark gloomy and scratchy it fits a certain aura that is just the right amount of painful noisy rock mixed with a slight cleanliness of production plus Dale Crover leads a hard and powerful drum track for the ages. Kurt did overdub with a feedback noise with his guitar close to his amp.

“Negative Creep” is a song mostly composed of power slides, a technique where one strums an open string grab said string and slides up or down the fret board. This technique creates slight dissonance and harmonic screeches. Which happens whether accidentally or attentionally.

My top listens are.

Downer

Negative Creep

Love Buzz

Blew

Please leave music recommendations in the comments.

Katara: A Character Study

Katara: A Character Study (Likely pt. 1)

It is 12:47am on 8/25/25 and I am exactly 16:00 minutes into “The Avatar Returns” from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had an entire blog post typed up about Katara and her character and how some choices made by writers and how they chose to continue her story in later series (Ex: The Legend of Korra) doesn’t make sense with where they took her development in the original series. That, however, was lost between the three computers I’ve signed in on because my Microsoft account hates me, so I’m restarting. This is gonna get really (really) hypothetical and I’m gonna sound insane, but I chugged a monster from like 3pm to 4pm and im not sleeping until at least tomorrow night and I have things to say about pretty girl. (Correction: I fell asleep at 2:45)

Katara is the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, which (allegedly) used to be much bigger, much more lively, and much better as a whole before the hundred-year war began. That, however, kind of a little bit, was not the case in the state we find the Southern Water Tribe. The state we find her in is a few tents, a shoddy wall made of packed ice, and a (likely) hastily built watch tower with poor structural integrity. The Southern Water Tribe is made up of women and young children, the only “suitable” warrior being a 16 year old motherless boy with an ego issue. So, honestly, not a lot. A far cry from the assumed prestige one of the two water tribes may have had, especially considering how it is seen in the next series and compared to the Northern Water Tribe. I don’t care to explain the tribe in further detail, so I’m going to carry on with my study.

Before

after

The story follows along with brother and sister Sokka, the 16 year old with an ego issue, and Katara after they discover a boy frozen in an iceberg. In the first episode this boy, Aang, is revealed to be destined to save the world or.. something. Don’t ask me, I’ve only seen it four (five-ish) times.

In the first episode Katara, who is the voice narrating the opening, is set up very early to have a major supporting role within the show. (Since this is not a summary of the show as a whole, I’m going to not talk about the show anymore or else I will be renaming this blog to “How Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cinematic masterpiece and can do no wrong.”) Katara is depicted as dominantly motherly throughout the series, but she is also warm, deeply responsible, stubborn with a deep desire to be independet, and overall compassionate.

(Not at all bringing up later characterizations throughout the series, where she becomes so fiercely protective of team avatar, even vengeful at some point. Pictured above is her dressed as The Painted Lady, arguably one of her most compassionate moments throughout the series)

Katara, set up from the very beginning is more compasionate than Sokka. He’s expressed as paranoid, misogynistic, self-absorbed, practical – overall someone, upon first meeting, you’d assume is pretty reasonable. I, however, would not trust him with my drink. Not like he’d do anything bad but he’d straight forget who’s drink it was and chug it on his own. He’s stubborn, he’s selfish, out for his own self-interest, and a few other words I may not be able to post to my blog. Compassion, if i had to name HER character trait, would be the first thing to come to mind.

She takes the place of her mother at such a young age, essentially becoming that in Sokka’s eyes. There are dozens of times that she puts someone else before herself, even if she’s being manipulated or believes she can’t do it. She is single-handedly holding team avatar together in the desert. And, hear me out, just like waterbending. “Woah!! Danny’s pointing out something they don’t shut up about in the show (they never bring it up in THIS series, let me cook (the kitchen is burning))!!” I can go on forever about how each of the benders and even non-benders have a personality that perfectly represents them and their bending technique… so I will!! That’s why I have a blog!! (Look out for me yelling about how scrappy and resourceful Sokka is in like a week or so)

Waterbending is very insistent on the ebb and flow of things. Two fish circling each other, Yin and Yang, pushing and pulling, high tide and low tide, even the moon and the waves. They’re all waterbending, all the original sources of it. Humans were taught waterbending by the moon, inspired by the way she pushed and pulled at the ocean. This sounds peaceful, but where there is good there must be something disruptive. This is perfectly displayed in Katara’s character, because just like she is motherly and helpful and compassionate she’s also got a temper, she’s stubborn, and she’s determined. I sound insane. Don’t make me backtrack again, decent outline danny. (Little does no outline danny know, decent outline danny is rocking back and forth, waiting to be let out of circus jail. He will not be let out of circus jail. Why am I talking to myself???)

Waterbending is dependent on grabbing energy and not so much controlling it but shifting it. Thinks something similar to a scale, like the one lady justice holds. You want the water to go here so you shift your entire body with it, right? Kind of like a literal push and pull. Anyone who’s seen The Northern Water Tribe parts 1 & 2 know what I’m talking about. If you don’t just nod and pretend you do. The fact Katara is a waterbender does shape her personality, just like it does with Toph and Aang, and even the fact that Sokka isnt a bender. She reasons but, ultimately, chooses her emotions over rational or “i can’t do it” thoughts.

There are two events where i think Katara shows the most compassion, and all three relate to Firebenders. She hates firebenders. One killed her mother and she believes them, for a long time, to be the cause of all of her problems. (which.. yeah) But she still recognizes when people need help. She, as the painted lady, aids a village of sickly and starving fire nation civilians by liberating them from a nearby metals factory. This threw them off by days, could have made them late, and they barely even had the supplies to feed themselves; however, people needed her help and she couldn’t abandon them.

The next event is when she, wracked by grief over her late mother, searches for and finds the fire nation officer who killed her with the help of zuko. That’s a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but in the end she decides to spare his life.

Okay, I’m getting off track. I’m also getting to long. I’m going to end this here and leave my actually organized notes on the benders and how their personalities are in relation to that for next week. Hmmmm. Hmmmmmm. Hmmmmm. (This got deleted halfway though writing it and only like half of it got saved so this is gibberish and I’m SO sorry)

I’m going to try and break up any further blogs on her into arcs, even if it’s just an arc explored over a single episode (Jet, for example) then probably follow it with my favs in order (SOKKA THEN ZUKO RAAAAGGHHHHH)