Hello! For my free-write, I've decided to make a list of my ten favorite bands and artists, in somewhat of an order of the extent to which I like them. I'll also write my favorite song by them.

1. The Beatles (Across the Universe/Sexy Sadie)
2. Led Zeppelin (The Ocean/The Wanton Song/Dazed and Confused)
3. The Who (Behind Blue Eyes)
4. Nirvana (Come as You Are/About a Girl)
5. Marina & the Diamonds (Teen Idle)
6. One Direction (Gotta Be You)
7. The Kinks (Victoria)
8. John Lennon (Watching the Wheels)
   
9. George Harrison (My Sweet Lord)
10. Paul McCartney & Wings (Let Me Roll It)

Good morning! I have no other ideas for a blog, so I'm going to write about something that I like for my own self-expression. Today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin.

If you didn't already know, Led Zeppelin were a British hard rock/metal band who were active from 1968 to 1980. The band was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page, a former member of the band The Yardbirds. He wanted to direct his creativity into a new project. He somehow came across vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham, and bass guitarist John Paul Jones. The band were originally called "The New Yardbirds", but Jimmy chose their final name by remembering a sentiment by The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, who said that Jimmy's idea for a supergroup would go down "like a lead zeppelin". Robert didn't want people to mispronounce the name as "LEED zeppelin", so he took out the "A".

Led Zeppelin released their first album -- accordingly titled "Led Zeppelin I", in January of 1969. Most of the material was taken from blues music and mixed with distortion, heavy drumming, and unique but not incomprehensible vocals. At the time, it was the heaviest music around, and very inventive.

The next album, which was just as heavy, was called "Led Zeppelin II". Very original, right? It was dropped in October of 1969. The third one ("Led Zeppelin III") was softer and more complex. It was released in 1970.

The fourth album (1971) took the band to a whole new level of stardom. Technically, the album is untitled, but the sleeve featured four symbols, each one representing a different member of the band. Typically it is called "Led Zeppelin IV". It features famous songs like "When the Levee Breaks", "The Battle of Evermore", "Going to California", and one of Led Zeppelin's most notorious tracks, "Stairway to Heaven".

Led Zeppelin toured for two years before releasing the next album, "Houses of the Holy", in 1973. The next one followed the same interval and "Physical Graffiti" started selling in 1975. In 1976, "Presence" was dropped. "In Through The Out Door" in 1979 was the last album before drummer John Bonham died of asphyxiation in 1980. 

Since then, Led Zeppelin has performed 2 reunions, one of which had a real studio album (1982's "Coda") and the other of which had a movie ("Celebration Day", 2007). They were also featured in a concert film titled "The Song Remains the Same" in 1979. They are still widely known and celebrated as musical pioneers of several genres.

Hello, and happy Friday! Today I've decided to tell you about my new humor specialty -- Marco Polo puns. I got the idea after we watched a video about Marco Polo in my Core class. The objective is to find a word that rhymes with "Marco" or "Polo" and make up a fake context in which Marco Polo would be called that name. Here are some greatest hits.

• If Marco Polo had swag, he would be Marco YOLO.
• If Marco Polo's entire family died and he was forced to travel the seas alone, he would be Marco Solo.
• If Marco Polo went to Computech, he would still be Marco Polo.
• If Marco Polo was a Hobbit, he would be Marco Frodo.
• If Marco Polo wore a bunny suit and predicted the end of the world, he would be Darko Polo.
• If Marco Polo was a small, cylinder-shaped, chocolate-covered and caramel-filled piece of candy, he would be Marco Rolo.
• If Marco Polo was a meme, he would be Marco Trolo.
• If Marco Polo was a fictional device from the Hunger Games trilogy that would detonate when one repeated the word "nightlock" three times to it, he would be Marco Holo.
• If Marco Polo had broken up the Beatles, he would be Marco Yoko.
• If Marco Polo was a Chinese yo-yo, he would be Marco Diabolo.

Hello! Happy Friday! Today is March 1st, aka my 13th birthday! Also in today's birthdays are Justin Bieber (19), Ke$ha (26), Ron Weasley from Harry Potter (33), Jensen Ackles (35), Roger Daltrey (69), and my friends Angelique, Kellyn, Christina (13), and Joshua (15). It seems like my birthday is more common than I thought!

I never really gave my parents specific instructions as to what I wanted for my birthday. I just told them I wanted something Beatles-related. I did, however, tell them that I wanted to go to In-N-Out for dinner if I could choose. One of my friends drew me a picture of me and another one of them is doing something similar. I'm glad I have friends and family who care so much about me.

I'm wearing a ribbon that says "Birthday Girl". So far I've gotten 2 dollars, a stick of beef jerky, a cupcake, and a Rice Krispie treat. At first I was resentful that I share my birthday with so many people, but I kind of like it now because a lot of us can celebrate together.

I don't know what else I'm going to do this weekend. Saturday is the 1-year-anniversary of my grandmother dying (R.I.P.), so my mom will probably be sad on that day. If it gets warm enough, hopefully I'll be able to go swimming. But I have a few missing assignments due in Math from the times where I was absent and I want to finish those as well as catch up on my reading.