Fiction with real life and Comic Con, Ironic, huh?

Time is both a scary and intersting thing. As time passes, you dont' look for the subtle changes in your life until you are forced to reflect back on your life. Last night was my five year High School reunion. It was a fascinating event to find the juicy gossip of who is married, who graduated, who has children, who is living in a one bedroom shack with other individuals, and who definitely did not follow the private school plan of graduating from college in four years but instead of joining a cult like group who likes to smoke weed at the Santa Monica pier. It's 2011, it happens.
However, while time can be a fun and fascinating thing, time can also be terrifying. Tonight I watched the Jaycee Dugard interview with Diana Sawyer and was really shocked about how truly afraid for her life she was every moment of everyday. Her will to escape from her life of being held captive by a psycho was dimished at the fear of him harming her two daughters. While this story was absolutely horrifying, she brought up an interesting point. She decide to go public with her eighteen year of captivity to give voice to those sexual abuse victims that are too afraid to speak out. This voice strongly reminds me of Veronica Mars. I am not attmepting to trivialize any experiences Jaycee Dugard endured at all. What I am saying is, is her intention of giving voice to those who are too afraid of speak aloud is one of the clearest intentions that Veronica attempts to convey. Veronica herself is drugged and raped and then becomes an advocate of those who are victims and are too afraid to stick up for themselves. She becomes a warrior in the face of injustices just as Jaycee Dugard is with her agency to help victims of sexual abuse and her indirect way of attempting to reform the California parole system that made major mistakes so badly. This example of how real life can influence pop culture is one of the reasons that television, books, and movies are so important to life. While Jaycee Dugard was discovered two years after Veroinca Mars was taken off the air, this proves that both of them are equally important to everyday life.
On much more lighter news, Comic Con is coming in just a week and a half. The schedule for all five days are out and I am having a heck of a time deciding what panel I want to go to. Obviously, the Sons of Anarchy panel is a must as well as the Joss Whedon panel, and the new preview panel of the new show on The CW the Ringer, however, I am not exaclty sure exactly what else I want to do. There are so many different panels out there of so many different things. There are not a lot of huge panels this year, but that is okay because besides Twilight and True Blood I am hoping the line for Hall H and Ballroom 20 will not be quite as psychotic as they usually are, however, lines are what make it fun, anyways so what is the difference. For all those who have never intended Comic Con or never heard of it (Where have you been?) it is a celebration of all sorts of pop culture events. The floor has tons of Movie Studios and artists and actors are just exploding to tell you all of the upcoming events that will effect movies, television shows, and graphic novels. I am sooo excited to go and cannot wait. I will blog about the real exciting things and post tons of pictures so those who have never been to Comic con, they can be able to experience it from the comforts of your own home!

I have been giving a lot of thought of how I want to conduct this blog, and I think I am going to discuss a lot of events. I have some ideas for upcoming ideas on why real life themes such as Redemption and Love are the key ingredients on what makes television great. I also have ideas on blog posts about who is the better hero, Harry Potter or Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy and to discuss why I am so excited about the new Angel and Faith Comic Book from Dark Horse. I am going to try to tie this is to Harry Potter as well. Harry Potter is only five days away! I cannot believe it. It has been 12 years since I opened the first page to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone after it was recommended it to me by an friend of mine after Confirmation class. I begged my Dad to take me to the bookstore and I grabbed it right off the shelf. I finished it in three days and had to beg my Mom to take me back to the store to pick up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I grew up with Harry Potter and have shared his adventures many, many times. I am sorry to see the movies end and hopefully, with the help of this blog, that while Harry will never die, we can explore some other horizons that may be as great as Harry Potter, or at least be a second best.
What were your first memories of reading Harry Potter? How did you get into the series? Is anyone going to Comic Con? I hope you all are well! Thanks for reading!

Life After Harry Potter

As all of you are most likely aware, fan or no fan, the last Harry Potter event is coming. The release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will take place July 14th at Midnight. It is both a happy and sad day for fans everywhere. For over ten years, people have anticipated the books and the movie releases, and while Harry Potter will never die, I do have to find something else to keep my interest. If you are like me, as much as I adore Harry Potter, I cannot read and reread Harry Potter over and over again without diverting to something else for a while. I know of individuals who pick up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone go through the entire series, and then as soon as they finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, they start up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in a continuous, unbroken cycle.  I do have to expand my horizons and find something else that I equally love. This why I thought I would start a blog. 


I have been listening to tons of podcasts lately to pass the time on my drive to work (which is at a movie theater) and felt inspired. However, since nobody wants to listen to me talk for an hour, I thought I would try to write a podcast to share with people that while Harry Potter is our favorite's there are other things out there: television shows, movies, and other books that could capture our interest as well. I imagine this as a collaborative blog, someone could share with something an item or I'll share with you an item that I am reading as well and we can discuss it or what I am watching as well. 


The first thing I would like to share with you is why I named this blog The Allegory. By definition, allegory means the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence;also : an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression. (Webster.com) I felt that this could be an exploratory blog about how fiction can resemble life. Fiction from all sorts of mediums from television, books, and movies, and we can explore how they can relate to life. My first example of an allegorical television show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, many people know the streotype of a blonde cheerleader is in charge of slaying fake demons in sometimes terrible costumes, but that is not all there is to it. Buffy explores the main elements of life such as love, loss, friendship, and the joureny of man kind. While there is a fantastical element to Buffy there is also a deep metaphorical and allegorical element to Buffy that many people have not yet realized. The first instance is while Buffy is a mythological guardian of the world to protect "individuals from the vampires and the forces of darknesses, she is the slayer" she is not only fighting real live demons, she is finding metaphorical ones as well. Through her battling with a variety of demons (her best friend, her boyfriend who turns evil after she sleeps with him, her "sister-slayer, and a hell god,) she is learning to be true to herself and realize that while she has a sacred duty to the world, she also has to realize that "going through the motions" is not what life is all about. While she slays demons, she is journeying to realize her potential and purpose in life. That is why we all are here, to find a great purpose in life. Not everyone realizes what there purpose is until later in life. That is why Buffy is such a great show. Not only is it witty with great writing, direction, and colorful characters, it is a show about finding yourself within a great sea of temptations and a crummy world around them. For those who have not seen Buffy, I really encourage you to go and watch it. Start with season two, because you will not appreciate season 1 until after you have seen the second season. For those who have watched Buffy, what do you think? What are some of your favorite episodes? 


What I am watching: Star Trek Generations and Buffy, Season 3 "Gingerbread" and my dog pacing back and forth parking at the paper towels that are blowing by the air condititioner (he is scared of wind) 
What you are reading: The Dresden Files, Book 1 
What I am listening to: A Buffy Review Podcast called The Watchercast and Randy and Wayne the "BuffCast, Season 5" 
Most Recent Soundtrack I have listened to: The X-Men First Class Soundtrack
Movie I am looking forward to watching: Transformers and Bad Teacher 
Last Movie I watched: X-Men, First Class
Last DVD/Blu-Ray I bought: X-Men


Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!