2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,500 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Post #100: A Last Stand (Tribute To The Demicast Heroes)

Chiron here, Camp director of CHB NY. I sadly take the responsibility to write this post – I hope you’ll understand why. I will report this to the best of my ability, from what I know and what I’ve been told since. Here we go:

On the third night at Campada, Chad Bronze of Apollo supposedly got a dream with a message, from his Satyr friend, Bobby Joel, who had stayed at CHB NY after the Cabin leaders were transported to Campada. In the dream Bobby told Chad that he needed to come back ASAP – and to expect the worst.

According to the Nymphs at Campada, Chad told his friends about the dream the next morning over breakfast. He said he thinks it’s crucial that they get back to CHB NY immediately. They all agreed, knowing that Satyr-Demigod empathy links never lie.

They called up some cabs, and drove back to NY as fast as they could. They could tell something was very wrong as soon as they saw thunderbolts above the Empire State building. Zeus was mad at someone – or something.

From what I can recall, I saw them climbing over the hill at around 5:00 PM, and I can only imagine what the 13 of them, weapons in hand or slung over their backs, saw;

I was tending to a wounded Athena boy, who had almost been sliced in half. The Cabins were on fire, and not the good type, but rather destructive fire. The Big House lay in ruins, several Campers buried under its ruble.

Alex West was the first to do anything, the other too stunned to move. He unsheathed his sword, looked at the battle raging, and announced to his companions “This is where we’ll die”. And then he ran in.

Camp was invaded only a few minutes earlier, but it was clear we were losing. Campers were strewn on the battlefield, and the ground became soaked with half-divine blood. Others were clashing swords with claws, teeth, and weapons never even heard of to our kind.

Chad took aim, and with incredible accuracy fired a golden arrow into the head of a Hell Hound the size of a cement truck. It exploded into dust. Sapphire ran towards the lake, where she hoped she’d be able to use its power against the attackers, but a Drakon smashed into her, and that’s the last I saw of her.

Brittney went down soon after – fighting for her life between two Shades. One after another, I saw my heroes, the ones I trained so long fall in battle. Aria. Elizabeth, Chelsea, Dylan, Brittney…

I still ask myself, ‘Why weren’t we more prepared? Why did so many have to die?’ but I have no answers.

The last I saw Chad, he was still standing on Half-Blood Hill, firing into the attacking army. Then he went down, too. And I thought it was over. Between trying to save Campers and ducking weapons, I couldn’t fight. Mr. D was away on Olympus business, and nobody was coming to our aid.

I took the few remaining Campers I could find with me and galloped out of there as fast as I could, kicking a few monsters in the face for good measure. And I ran until I reached the Empire State building, where I took the elevator to Olympus. But I knew it would be no help. It was over.

So here we are, three days later, standing in what used to be the amphitheater. Myself and all my wild cousins, although they are quiet today. All the gods and goddesses – major, and minor, several of them crying. Nymphs, Satyrs, water-spirits, we are all gathered here to remember those who we lost. Brave heroes and heroines. Who will be remembered fondly, forever. And for what?

And with much regret, I light the fire to burn the white and gold Apollo shroud, the blue Poseidon shroud, pink Aphrodite shroud, red Ares shroud, and all the other ones. It’s all over. No more Demicast. The Demicast heroes are gone.

Update: On the 1st of September 2011, Nadine, daughter of Nyx, was pronounced dead at the Olympus Hospital at 2:41. The purple shroud shall be burnt at tonight’s campfire.

Post #99: Goodbyes

Hi everyone. I’m sitting here in the studio, which has been stripped bare of all equipment except for my laptop, and trying to figure out how I’m going to say goodbye. And you’d think that it would be easy to say goodbye to people you’ve never physically met, but me you – the readers, listeners, and contributors – we’ve got a special bond. Which is stronger than any kind of Titan magic.

We were brought together by common interests, but soon it became clear that the Demicast had a promising future, with a community in mind – the Half-Blood Community. I’ve come to respect the opinions and feedback of our friends, and I think it worked vice-versa.

I would never, ever take back every single moment I have worked on the Demicast / Demigod Radio Podcast. It was amazing, to say the least. What an amazing experience. I hope that all future podcasters and bloggers will have as much success as we had. And remember – while there will be no more posts, we will always be with you – once a Demigod, always a Demigod.

Best of wishes on all that you set out to do, whether it’s to save the world or write a blog. May the gods be with you.

- Chad Bronze, August 30th, 2011

Post #98: Top 10 Demicast Moments

1.) Recording episode #1 of the original Demicast (suggested by Sapphire King)

2.) The actor behind the voice of Apollo (suggested by Sapphire King)

3.) Recording the last episode of Demigod Radio Podcast (suggested by Sapphire King)

4.) Getting an emotional response to Chad’s interview (suggested by Chad Bronze)

5.) Originally setting up the website (suggested by Chad Bronze)

6.) Getting 180 views in a single day (suggested by Chad Bronze)

7.) The time those two Campers were playing in front of the studio while we were recording (suggested by Bobby Joel)

8.) The announcement of my Irish quest (suggested by Bobby Joel)

9.) The last episode of the Demicast (suggested by Bobby Joel)

10.) Yelling at Chad for not knowing who Ryan Dunn was (suggested by Bobby Joel)

Post #97: Demigod Radio Podcast Episode #3

Here we are!! The very last episode We hope you enjoy!!

Post #96: Camp Half-Blood Goes International 2

To say the kids from my Cabin took the news of Campada bad is a vast understatement of how things really went. I announced to them that the 13 Cabin leaders would be leaving tonight, and I’m pretty sure one of the younger girls started crying (I think she had a crush on Tyler).

By lunch time I was all packed, two suitcases and a backpack. I left them at my bare bunk and went to find Bobby – who would not be coming with us to Campada. He was my best friend, so I had to say goodbye.

I found him, like I expected, sitting at the edge of the forest, talking to his girlfriend, who I call Bobbina to annoy him. When he saw me he had this look in his eyes, and I figured somebody beat me to telling him.

I sat down on the grass next to them, and nobody said anything for a minute. “This isn’t goodbye, you know” Bobby said.

“Nah” I said. “Of course not”

He nodded. “And don’t forget about the empathy link, you hear me?”

I smiled. “I got you, Goat Boy”

Bobby asked his girlfriend if he and I could leave, and she smiled sadly and nodded, turning back into a tree. Bobby and I took a stroll through Camp – first to the Cabins that formed a U around the BBQ hearth, then the pavilion where I shared countless meals with my half brothers and sisters, then down at the lake, where I brought my girlfriend on the Fourth of July to watch the fireworks display the Heph’s Cabin put on. We walked to the benches where Sapphire and I met and introduced ourselves, then to Zeus’ Thumb, where I held the opposing team’s flag over my head dozens of times. The archery range came next, where I wondered who would take over my classes. The amphitheater brought on memories of sing-along and s’mores, and the Pegasus stables brought sadness when I said goodbye to Arrow.

The whole time Bobby and I said almost nothing – too sad to speak much. Night would be falling soon, and I’d leave, along with all of my friends. It was over. Just like that.

But then again, I knew I’d be going to Campada – which couldn’t be all bad. I’d get to meet new Half-Bloods, and face new monsters. Even listen to Revolting Radio a bit.

When night finally arrived, and we finished one last dinner with our Cabin mates, and we said our goodbyes to everyone, and Mr. D told us he wished we’d take the other brats along, it was time to go. Chiron lead us down to the road, where we boarded the Camp van, the one that smelled like strawberries, and as the engine started, we took one last longing stare towards our beloved Camp. And then we were off.

We arrived almost an entire day later – after crossing several states and the Canadian border. We had some trouble explaining why we all had dangerous weapons, but the Mist took care of that. The guard at the border said to me “Just be careful with that rubber band, you hear me?” and I nodded. How stupid could mortals be?

Campada was a pretty big surprise. We unloaded and took just our backpacks initially. As we climbed over a hill that strangely resembled the one in Long Island, we sighed when we realized this didn’t look much like the old Camp at all. There were only 4 Cabins, the rest undergoing construction, seemingly all by themselves. The hammers were hammering nails in, and wooden boards were floating into place. Instead of a Big House was a long log cabin, with a door on either side. There was a single dock, a small bonfire area, and a bunch of smaller buildings, probably for arts and crafts, the Forges, etc.

Although it certainly had a lot of work to be done, we saw promise. We could easily turn this into an even better version of what we had before. We just needed to work together.

The first night was hard, I’ll admit. We all slept in the same Cabin, and since no god or goddess has been assigned to Campada yet, we were the only ones on the property. Just before we went to sleep, I prayed to my dad “We just need a little help. How about a sunny day tomorrow?”

And I swear, I could hear my dad chuckling.

Post #95: Camp Half-Blood Goes International

It’s been several weeks since the fateful morning that Chiron posted the small yet significant piece of parchment on the bulletin board outside the Big House. Since then, the usual flow of new Demigods had stopped mostly, with any newcomers being snuck in late at night. The gods have stopped claiming their children for the purpose, but several underground rescue teams have been on the look out for any kids they think might have the potential blood-line. Just like Chiron had said, though, the gods have been thinking of a way to solve the problem. And as to be expected from powerful immortals, they created a greater problem.

This morning the head counselors of each Cabin were called into the Big House, where we grouped around the old ping-pong table (which, now that computers were allowed at Camp, was now covered in dust). While Mr. D entertained us with a lame attempt of a joke and Chiron stopped the ground angrily, we were all secretly wishing we weren’t there. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good news.

“I think it’s time, Mr. D” Chiron finally said, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over the gathered.

“My dear centaur” Mr. D said, bored. “I couldn’t care less about these brats”

“Yes, we know” Elizabeth Grace groaned. “But it wouldn’t hurt you to pretend”

I was pretty sure Mr. D would blast her into a bottle of red wine, or something just as bad, but he chuckled. “Don’t have to”

“Children” Chiron scolded. “There’s no reason to upset the Camp director. Now, let’s get to the topic of business, shall we?”

We all huddled closer, anxious to find out what he had to say. I think some of us held our breaths.

“After much consideration onOlympus” he said. “It has been decided that it would be of the very best interest to open another branch of Camp Half-Blood. InCanada”

There was a moment of shock.Canada? What did Canada have to offer Half-Bloods? Everyone knew that Medusa had a cottage there, and that the CN Tower was a broadcasting station for Revolting Radio, a show for monsters.

“Are you serious?” Brittney asked, taking her eyes off her portable mirror for once.

“Yes” Chiron said firmly. “It had come to my attention that even though the policy was set that no new Half-Bloods could enter Camp, the number of Campers has steadily rose”

Several of us turned away, and I heard Tyler Adderheart of Hermes say to Sapphire “Busted!”

“So I want you, the Cabin leaders, to announce the news to the rest of the Camp, that the new Camp, nicknamed Campada” here Chiron snickered at what he thoughts was a funny pun “Is already undergoing construction. It will be built on an island named Central Island, very near downtownToronto”

“Does that mean the policy is lifted?” I asked.

“For now, yes” Chiron nodded slowly. “But this isn’t the end of the deal. I’ve picked all 13 of you to be the first Campers in Campada”

There was stunned silence. Was he seriously talking about sending us away from the place where we’ve been most of our lives? The place we’ve fought endless times to defend?

“I hope you’ll understand” Chiron continued, starting to walk away. “I need the very best of this Camp to establish the new one. Pack your bags. You leave at nightfall”

After Chiron left and Mr. D vanished in a purple column of smoke, laughing, we all sat down quietly.

“I can’t believe this is really happening” Brittney said, tears spilling over her eyelashes.

“Oh, though love” Ares’ Dylan Castor said harshly.

“You might wanna lighten up, Castor” I said. “You’re gonna be spending a lot of time with Brittney now”

“Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do to me, make me glow?” she challenged.

I rose fast, taking hold of my bow. “Well, you can just shut your-“

“Guys!” Airlea silenced us. “Enough! I will not put up with this! I say we go talk to Chiron – I do not wish to abandon the rest of the Hunters”

I sat down. “It’s not use – he won’t change his mind”

“How am I gonna break it to my brother?” Brittney wailed.

“Chill”Tylersaid. “I can show him how to pick the lock on the Camp store – he’ll be fine.

“But, but…” she cried.

“Let’s go” I said. “I’m going to tell my Cabin – anyone want help packing, holler for the world’s best archer”

“Apollo won’t do that for even you” Dylan said.

“I was talking about me, pork-face” I said.

“Oh yeah? Well, you’re-“

I walked out of the Big House, leaving the rest of the counselors to think of their next move. Me? I knew what I had to do – I’d pack some sweaters, snowshoes, and I was going to Campada.