Ghosts of Mesa Drive

A teacher of mine introduced this band called the Ghosts of Mesa Drive to my class. She played the song Beat for us, and I thought it was pretty catchy. It was mellow, something you could listen to over and over. As an Asian myself, I found the part where the singer said, "I'm Asian-ish" funny. Jaunty Joe was also enjoyable, with a skipping tone. Madhouse is most likely my least favorite of the songs on this site. Thanks, prof!

The Basics of the Basics of Chemistry

Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. When you think about chemistry, you think about atoms, which are the "building blocks," or smallest units of matter. Within atoms, there are the subatomic particles, electrons, neutrons, and protons.

Electrons have negative charges, protons positive charges, and neutrons no charge. These are not considered the smallest units of matter since a separate electron particle does not hold the same properties as an atom does. In addition, only the protons and neutrons are held inside the atomic nucleus, and the mass of the two particles combined is considered the mass number. The mass of an electron is so small, about one-two-thousandths the mass of a proton, so it does not really affect the mass number. On the other hand, the atomic mass is the average mass of all isotopes of a specific element.

An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances. When you see an atom, it is an atom of one of the elements. You can think of a factory, and as a toy dinosaur as an atom. What color it is painted shows which element it is. An element is distinguished by the number of protons that it has. However, an element can have varying numbers of protons. Isotopes are the different forms of a certain element. For example, you can have 12-carbon, or carbon with a mass number of 12 amu (atomic mass units, which are used in relative measurements), and 10-carbon, or carbon with a mass number of 10 amu.
Some isotopes are more unstable than others and undergo radioactive decay.

Some atoms of an element exist naturally as diatomic molecules, or molecules with two atoms. The elements are hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, bromine, chlorine and iodine. If you have trouble memorizing these atoms, which will help you in the future if you are thinking of taking chemistry classes that involve you working on chemical equations, then try this acronym: Professor Brinclhof (Buh-rih-n-kul-hof).

Substances can be divided into different categories. Pure substances can be either a compound, a substance made up of two or more atoms of different elements chemically and uniformly combined, or an element. Mixtures are combinations of two or more substances through physical means, so the substances can always be separated through physical means. For beginners, all you need to know is that there are two types: heterogeneous and homogeneous.

Lastly, ions are charged forms of an atom. Normally the number of protons are equal to the number of electrons, so an atom is neutrally charged. However, when reacting with other atoms, they can lose an electron from their electron cloud, or the space around the nucleus where electrons zoom about, and give it to another atom. An atom receives an electron when it needs one to complete its electron orbit. To put it simply, electrons occupy different energy rings around the nucleus, increasing in energy levels the farther away from the nucleus they are (in order for an electron to get farther from the nucleus, it needs to increase its energy to overcome the attraction it has to the positive nucleus). In a beginner's class, you are taught that an atom needs eight electrons on its highest orbit. An atom always wants to be balanced, so when, for example, a potassium ion has an extra electron and a chlorine ion needs one more electron, then the electron transfers. When it transfers, something called an ionic bond forms. It is a bond between ions. Usually metals and nonmetals form those because metals tend to have electrons to spare. A hint for the periodic table: When an element is closer to the left side, it usually means that it has less than four valence electrons, or electrons on its highest energy orbit. When you reach carbon's group, they have four valence electrons, so they can either lose or take electrons. The noble gases, or the last group to the right, are never expected to react because they have eight electrons already and are considered balanced. Molecules are made through covalent bonds between nonmetals because instead of transferring electrons, they share them so that electrons can complete multiple orbits without belonging to one atom specifically. It is sort of like three people huddling in one jacket. Covalent bonds are stronger than ionic bonds because of its "sharing" characteristics.

If you are interested in organic chemistry, which focuses on the study of organic compounds, or compounds containing carbon (carbon is very important in organic chemistry because, for one, of its super ability to bond, and it is seen in all known compounds and molecules concerning life), check out this link. And this one. Or this one. Or buy a book. Books are wonderful.

Hillary v.s. Trump

At six p.m. this evening, the first presidential debate between Hillary and Trump aired live on television. I heard that this was the most anticipated and watched debate ever broadcasted. For ninety minutes, the nemeses forced and parried through rhetoric, political issues, and ad hominem attacks. Clinton, or as Trump likes to call her, Secretary Clinton, often demonstrated her great composure and defense to Trump's frequent interruptions and accusations, but one must give Trump credit for his ability to beget laughter from the audience. Although his descriptions of his plans as President of the United States were nebulous, for what I remember is him opining and never going into details, as Clinton has, on her website, as both candidates mentioned, Trump seems to be gaining support from those who approve of extreme changes in this time of growing racial profiling, terrorism, gun violence, possibly dangerous immigration, and more. Many people in the United States lost hope in the current politicians who they believe have not contributed anything to improving their situation in their nation or to stopping ISIS once and for all. Trump also targeted Clinton and the politicians for not preventing the creation of ISIS in the first place. If they had taken all of the oil in Syria, then ISIS could not have gotten their economical means of survival. For more information on the ISIS part of the debate, see the link below.

Both Trump and Clinton have negative reputations. In the public's eye, Clinton is a liar who is all for smiling for the camera and putting sweet, tempting words in people's heads. Trump, on the other hand, is a loudmouthed tyrant who cannot see beyond his big head (and his big ego). During the presidential campaign, they both discuss the ever-present issues of Trump's tax returns and Clinton's email controversy. Trump concludes his defense by stating that he will go against his lawyer's judgement and release his tax returns when Hillary reveals the thousands of emails which she covered up. That sent a cheer through the audience.

I was not sure where Trump was going with his arguments. They appeared to circle around each other, and he often ended up consuming his rebuttal time giving information about his endorsements and acquaintances, which did not add much to his point. Clinton could not crack jokes with the ease Trump does, where his mouth just opens and out comes something that makes the audience chuckle, but she displayed promise as a future President with her experience, her stamina (not the lack of one, as Trump claimed), and her consideration into her campaign. One thing I hate with this year's campaign is how much facts are being questioned. I often desire to search up the facts myself, and the quotes that they insist the other declared in the past, but there are far too many. Lester sure has it tough, keeping the ball rolling on to new topics.

I think this was the first debate that I ever watched to the end. The issues that were brought up, such as taxes and debt and police brutality that were touched upon interested me. However, I have not been keeping track of politics so I do not exactly have strong ideas about our two warring candidates. I cannot exactly bring up a full-length note on this debate powered by support for a certain candidate or a certain side to an issue, or multiple issues, so what I had written are just some things that I recall (and some personal feelings). If anyone wants to comment on their views, opinions, or disagreements on the debate earlier this evening, then I would love to hear them!

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/714733/Donald-Trump-Hillary-Clinton-Presidential-debate-ISIS-website-Hofstra-University

"Change Places With Me" Short Review

The preview paragraph for the book, Change Places With Me tantalized me with a nice, psychological novel about a girl who suddenly wakes up as a new person. The plot surprises me at the end of part one, titled "Forget-Me-Not," but I was still satisfied with the conclusion. Fresh from reading it a couple hours ago, I have strong, visceral feelings about the book. This usually happens when I read a book like this, that touches on the psychological aspect of humans. The same went with The Catcher in the Rye. A small part of me is scared about the future the book depicts, where memories can be manipulated, but I still enjoyed reading about the main character, Rose's conflict with her existence.
I rate this book with five stars, mostly for the story. I loved how the author repeated many seemingly ordinary things that the main character noticed in part one and gave a little more significance to it. I also liked how she changed the noun with which she referred to the main character, depending on the personality, or "skin" she was wearing, or not wearing.
This is a story about how a girl struggles through unhappiness after her father's death, undergoing an extreme treatment for the sake of moving on. The Rose persona we meet first is the happy girl Clara, her original personality, wanted to be. She wanted to "change places" with a random girl she met on the street, who she felt was really happy with her life, and as Rose, she began changing her appearance to match that girl's. I appreciate the allusions to the Snow White tale, which she makes often as Clara, mentioning that she hid herself behind a glass case, and that she herself and her life resembled that of Snow White.

Superhero-themed Pep Rally

I sneaked some photos in during the performance by our Dance Production team.

The gymnasium divided the four classes of students to each of the four bleacher quadrants. This was my first year on the senior's side of the gym, opposite the freshmen's and sophomore's. Usually the performers face this way so for this pep rally, we don't just see their butts jumping around. It was fun, and one of my friends played as a host in the very beginning to introduce the pep rally. He did awesome! We always have some sort of theme and this year it was superheroes. So, our hosts wore superhero costumes and said some really silly hero-themed jokes. For example, "Where do superheroes like to go to for vacation?" "Cape Town." Well, aside from that, it was enjoyable. The video created by our Video Production team was better than last year's, and I found the fact that one of my old teachers acted as Mystique, the villain, hilarious. She had a full-body Mystique costume! She "steals" the results for the Homecoming King and Queen for the seniors, and if students go to the Homecoming football game tonight, then they will see the continuation of the Avengers' fight against Mystique. Live. Great advertisement. I want to know how my teacher will lose, but I don't want to pay money to not watch football. Oh well.

Under The Microscope

Ima Wizard, Because Magic.

Today is Superhero Day, so I wore my brother's old Halloween wizard cloak to school. It was from elementary school. Yet it was surprisingly warm and comfortable. And it fit me. Though the cloak was originally intended to hang all the way to the ground, and not to the knees. I do not favor any American superhero, like Flash or Spiderman. I absolutely loath Batman. So it is logical that I do not have any superhero merchandise or clothing that I could wear for this day of Spirit Week. Yesterday my mom mentioned that my brother had a cape in one of our old boxes so I was counting on that this morning. However, when I opened up the box, I found this nice cloak instead. There was a matching hat, but I didn't wear it. A magician is sort of a superhero, because in many children's stories the magicians are the ones who aid the protagonist or save them at the last minute before a deadly strike could prove fatal. They have the power to protect. They may not be your typical superhero, like Superman, but they rule the world in fantasy novels. Well, I did not really need this reasoning to wear the cloak. I really liked it.

Recently, I started my endeavor for left-handed penmanship. I began with scrawling out the alphabet like a kindergartner would in their first few months of school. I will probably continue doing this for a full month every day. I write down full sentences, concentrating on getting my lines straight and precise. This I will probably do daily until I reach a point where I can write at the same pace as my right hand and where I can focus on establishing a handwriting either mirroring my right hand (bubbly) or specific to my left (preferably sharp and thin). Whichever is best. The next step will be cursive and drawing. It is kind of funny: I remember looking back at some of my old papers from when I was in elementary school, and I have to say, the sentences that I wrote today with my left hand for practice might be equal, or even better, than my elementary-school ones in terms of handwriting.

I searched through Google the word "handwriting," and this website article came up. I thought it was interesting and cool, so I decided to share it.

I am excessively fond of cute things. My heart aches whenever I see a piece of clothing on a human being that looks fabulous, with a cute striped pattern or little pom-poms attached to it; a notebook with cute doodles on it; hair that has been braided to one side and pinned with a cute red flower; decorated cakes with cute frosting designs. Yes, I love cute things. Although you might judge this part of me as slightly creepy, I have no doubt that others have idiosyncrasies like mine. And such is the nature of human beings. To be different.

Plus, is it really weird to like cute things? Nope.

My mom gave me this beautiful pendant the night before 70s Day. I wore it yesterday and today, and am most likely going to wear it every day from now on for this entire school year.

Tomorrow is the pep rally. I will probably be taking some photos, but if I focus most of my energy in doing so, I will not get so much out of it personally. One can say the same for vacations. And anime conventions. Of course preserving memories in the form of a digital file is not a bad thing, but feeling your special moment and living in that moment is important also.

My school library is my peaceful niche. Sometimes during lunch or after school, I would walk around and browse the shelves, grabbing at any book that catches my eye. It'd been a while since I last took one of my little tours. I noticed several titles that seemed fascinating: Cinnamon Girl, A Prayer for Owen Meany, As I Lay Dying, Middlemarch, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Anansi Boys, Howards End, and Crispin: The Cross of Lead. How nice.

The evolution of the English language via the Internet makes way for the because + noun clause. In English class, my teacher had my class read an article about this emerging use of the word "because." It is interesting, and we had a class discussion about whether or not it ruins language. Check out the link if you want to know more.

Some additional stuff:

"Don't Turn Around" Short Review

Several weeks ago, I was scouring through my local library, grabbing any book that stood out to me in any way. This book, in particular, I had remembered seeing before, probably online as one in the "New Releases" or "Popular" category. Just somewhere. I never felt the urge to read this book because the synopsis was not intriguing, but since I had the chance to read this book for free, I ended up checking it out along with four other books.

The story begins with the main heroine, Nora, lying on an operating table, with absolutely no clue as to what happened to her in the past three weeks. What is she doing, in a warehouse in who-knows-where? Who are these men who enter the room soon after her awakening? Really, what happened to her?

The first chapter was the only one that I really liked, which is saying something. After Peter jumps in, with all his adolescent sulkiness and problems, I was less motivated to continue reading. Plus, the premise only fascinated me early on; as it progressed, while new developments arose and better characters are introduced, I was under the burden of boredom. Which is not a good thing, while reading a book.

My senses might have changed over the years, since I began reading more classics and old literature, as named in a previous post. I appreciate the stories of old more than what we call young adult fiction and fantasy, especially when they can be unpredictable and our modern novels the opposite. There is always romance between two people, often the first male, or female, that the protagonist meets. Shocker! Not anymore.

About this book again, I really like Nora as a person. She puts on a courageous face, has a kind and intelligent personality, and went through a lot of hardships. Although she treats her history nonchalantly at times, like when she recounts a past experience with a foster family, I still think that at the time, it must have been painful and frustrating not to have someone close by to rely on. And she finds two people in this book that she can put some faith in. I also consider her one of the more rational people, or at least, one of the people that I would be willing to befriend, in this book.

The book ends on a complete, calm-wave note. I don't know how to express it without using the word "happy," but basically everything calms down, all the main characters are alright and safe somewhere on Earth, and there are no loose ends that I noticed. I still give this book a three out of five. I am awful at rating books, so most of the books I read will either be a three, which includes most of the young adult fiction that I read nowadays, or a four, which includes most of the old literature that I read. Only when a book is explicitly lame or gross or unreasonably foolish or poorly composed or has a protagonist that just does not do anything beneficial or right, will I value it as a one or a two. Sometimes, I am stupefied when I look back at old books that I have read and given a high rating for as a middle schooler. Of course, not all of the past books are like that, but I am still appalled.

As a conclusion, I will not deter anyone's desire to read this book. After all, I am only opining after just completing the book. After some reflection some of my points might change. However, I doubt that my dislike for this kind of book will disappear after minutes of pondering.

Madame Ate vocalizes, "Good night!"

A Soft September: Clothing

My dad brought home a classy dress by Single Noble from Taiwan for me on Sunday. It is a soft pink, with a diamond pattern and satin sleeves. I find it adorable, and perfect for my NHS induction ceremony next Friday.

Two years ago, my mom took a liking to this white blouse she found in a store with mostly Korean-style clothing in Taiwan. She is letting me wear it tomorrow for my high school's 70s Day.

I did not impart this earlier, but this week is Spirit Week at school. Basically, every day of this week there is a certain theme for which a student can dress up for. Monday, or today, was Pajama Day, so I wore polka-dotted pajama bottoms, a plaid sweatshirt-styled "snuggie" (as in, a "snuggie" that is about the same length as and has a front pouch and a hoodie like a sweatshirt), and a regular, blue t-shirt under that that reads, "Out Of Control." Tomorrow, like I stated, is 70s Day. I thought that maybe this long, translucent, dark amber skirt that I have might pass as something a hippie might wear, and it could complete my outfit, but my mom ruled it out. Well, it might as well end up in this note, though the color doesn't really show well in the photo below. Wednesday is American Day. Thursday is Superhero Day. Friday is Spirit Day, so each class of students, to which you automatically belong to depending on your graduation year, wears their class colors. Also on Friday, we will have a pep rally. Fun!

Ours-de-Vent and Madame Ate (oh, and I) wishes felicity to all!

Chemistry Lab

This is a short note of frustration.
On Thursday, my AP Chemistry class started an experiment to try and find the percent of copper in a sample of brass. It was one of the most confusing labs I had ever done, so that earlier today, when I finally decided to do my homework, I could not figure out how most of my data worked together. I read the background information over and over again, but I still did not understand how the absorption of the metal ion could help me figure out the percent of copper. It frustrates me to no end! Admittedly, I might not have been paying my fullest attention that day, but I know that the role of the absorption value was not mentioned. So late into the evening, even after asking my friend for some aid on post-lab questions, my lab is not completed. How am I supposed to write a conclusion about something I don't understand? And so, I am venting on this note, while I am fuming at my last pre-lab question. This lab has wasted hours for me, so I did not get to complete some of my to-dos. I am extremely vexed! During this week, I will be trying to finish the lab I could not over this weekend by the due date, which I believe is this Thursday. Hopefully I do not have a lot of homework tomorrow.

Adventures of Cinnamon

I spy, with my little eye:

Sunglasses! My mom bought these shades the other day. They don't have temples, so you loop the chains over your ears and hope they stay!

I've had these cuties for over a year now:

A quick shot of:

La cannelle!

Oh, vitamin C supplements. A nice bottle of gummies to save the day:

I might buy calcium supplements, too.

I have a sentimental attachment to these fruit bars from Trader Joe's:

I snacked on this after school yesterday:                                      

Pops now stack nicely in my freezer. Delicious, and a perfect way to cool down on a hot-yet-autumn day!

Before I snacked on this:

One of the clubs at my high school, the Ecology Action Team (EAT), requested soil collection kits from the University of Oklahoma to aid in their research in fungi that may have medical uses, such as in curing cancer. Check out the link here if you want to participate in their citizen science collection program.

And this:

I got accepted into the National Honors Society (NHS) at my high school. I am extremely jubilant and proud of myself!

This morning, I volunteered to clean up an empty creek with the INTERACT club, a club at my high school affiliated with the San Juan Capistrano Rotary organization. I collected three bags of garbage. And I ate six hot dogs afterward. Man, was I full!

In the end, I received a cute t-shirt and a compact grocery bag to remember this event by.

My friend suggested that Hollywood should make a horror film about homework. Is anyone totally up for this? Or are there some people (like me) just a tad sorry for homework?

" "

Human proportions are difficult to get a tangible grasp of. People even take classes for them. In the beginning, usually they only think about getting the limbs on the human, not about the muscles and the actual joints. They do not compare the size of the head relative to the height of the human. And it is one of the worst feelings to have when you cannot even draw yourself without distorting your body structure. 

Today, the maids came to my house. After an awful incident once when a pair devastated my bedroom, I have been vigilant by constantly asking my mom to let me know when she schedules a cleaning service more than a day in advance and making sure they do not make any mistakes. Still, that did not prevent all problems. In all of the times I had maids clean my house, I cannot say that I was satisfied once. It pains me to see my furniture rearranged; papers once organized now a disarrayed pile at the edge of a desk; a possession of mine on the ground; a complete disregard for my space; and what I view as a major step out of line. I do not believe a maid should be allowed to clean and rearrange anything they themselves deem fit. In addition, the ones I hire do not catch the dust hidden in the corners and on the molding, nor tidy the bathroom without leaving a faint odor from their towels on the counter.

On this otherwise perfect and lazy Wednesday, I was suddenly told during the car ride home that the maids had come to our house this morning. My mom, unbeknown to me, had arranged an appointment for tomorrow, but they'd come a day early. One maid, she told me, had been sick (she was sneezing the entire time) so she kicked them out soon later. With that, I was reassured that they had not cleaned my study yet. However, returning home I saw that nothing on my work table had remained in their previous spots. My computer laid in the center, with my papers and my earbuds scattered to its left and my wooden figurine and Ours-de-Vent to its right. Ours-de-Vent! Looking around the room, I also perceived that various things I kept on my bookshelves had been disturbed. It added to the chaotic appearance of the room. Having another experience of this kind, I have come to abhor maids. It may be unreasonable, as I know it must be, but I cannot stop feeling bitter, especially when I am thinking about the sick maid. 

Moon Cake Day is almost upon us! This year it will be on Thursday. I cannot wait to taste the cakes!

The Morose, Meringue, Militant Monday

In AP Language and CoMposition class this fatigued Monday (I sure had trouble Making sure I did not stay in bed longer than ten Minutes after My alarM), we took a pop quiz through kahoot.it on current events, to test our "up-to-date-ness." I failed. Luckily, this quiz served little More than as an icebreaker for the beginning of weeks froM today on. In other words: I aM saved froM a total pluMMet to a C. Isn't that great?

On the Menu aujourd'hui, il y a three notes.

The devil fruit. The fruit of Satan. The toMato. Is it not strange how Much soMe people detest, even loathe, this cute, round, red fruit? There is even a website for toMato haters to ban together and Malign this unfortunate fruit. The toMato plant that produces this fruit coMes froM the Nightshade faMily, Solanaceae. It is indigenous in Central and South AMerica, central to the cuisine there since long ago. In addition, toMatoes, and their seeds, are known to be full of vitaMins and Minerals, and therefore are extreMely nutritious. The bottoM line is, toMatoes theMselves are not poisonous, contrary to what soMe fallaciously believe; instead, it is quite the opposite. Plus, they are tasty. One sMall negative is that one has to be careful not to squirt toMato juice all over theMselves! That happened to Me just this afternoon. For More detailed inforMation, visit the link at the bottoM of this post!

Appetizer nuMber two: CoriuM 21. A lady two weekends ago sold Me this creaM that she claiMed would cure not only My acne but My rosacea and dry skin. Honestly, the woMan scared Me a little, with her too wide, blue eyes, Messy Makeup, gaudy top, and alacrity to prove the efficacy of her product. She grabbed My hand and rubbed the lotion over it to coMpare with My other hand; I did not see any changes. The list of skin probleMs that the creaM could fix daunted Me in the forM of a long banner hung behind her. I Mean, what sort of product can be such an all-in-one? Plus, a part of Me did not want to be touching soMething that would be Mending a probleM I did not have. For one, I do not need help in the anti-aging departMent. It was kind of creepy. I even checked their website afterward and found evidence that it might be a genetically Modified product. However, My MoM supported the purchase so we got it, with a proMise that iMproveMents would be seen in as little as seven days. If we did not notice any, she ensured that we could return it within the week. I have been applying this creaM daily since then and the faint pink blush hasn't faded froM My face, nor has My acne. We had called the coMpany on Saturday; they replied with an affirMation for our refund. SoMetiMe soon, that CoriuM 21 creaM will be returned and that business will be taken care of. Sadly, or not, this Miracle creaM was not so Much of a Miracle. I attached the link to CoriuM 21's official website down below in case anyone wants to view!

Dessert druM roll: Ours-de-Vent. Obviously. He is faring well in the gray sunlight pouring in froM an eastward window. I introduced hiM to My French teacher earlier today. Cutie!

Featured IteM #1: My Mia Toro suitcase

Featured IteM #2: My clay necklace

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44

http://www.corium21cream.com/

Book Hype

"We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken" (Dostoevsky).

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is un livre that I read recently. Now, I have a problem with translated books. After all, the words that you read are not truly those of the authors, so you never get the full sense of their talents and writing style. It upsets me when I think about that. My brother would simply suggest, "Why don't you just learn all the languages then?" but bro, seriously? I would have to learn at least four languages to read half of the books that I would like to. And plus, I want to read them now, not in two or more years. I am not that patient. And plus, I am in the middle of learning French already, so adding German, Russian, Norwegian, &c. all at once will be difficult, particularly since I cannot reserve all my time to studying them. I am not a language maniac, unlike a certain someone, ahem! So for this moment, I am accepting Mr. Translations.

It is hard for me to describe my impression of this novel in words. If I do try, this note might become convoluted so it is probably a good idea not to pour my heart out on this page and unscramble the pieces into an intelligible protestation of my love. I will comment, though, that as the book progresses, I gradually became fonder and fonder of the characters, and that a few times my heart ached from the impact of a paragraph or a mere sentence. Admittedly, the ending surprised me because I was expecting an intense psychological demise, but I loved how Dostoevsky concluded it. Because I have a positive assessment of this book, I started reading The Idiot. Please no Spark Notes for this book, if you happen to want to read it!

Other awesome authors:
Don Quixote's Miguel de Cervantes
The Trial's Franz Kafka
Pride and Prejudice's Jane Austen
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea's Jules Verne
The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Victor Hugo
The Stranger's Albert Camus
1984's George Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Gray's Oscar Wilde
Brave New World's Aldous Huxley
The Catcher in the Rye's J.D. Salinger
Fahrenheit 451's Ray Bradbury
The Book Thief's Markus Zusak
Oliver Twist's Charles Dickens
The Prince's Niccolo Machiavelli
Cards on the Table's Agatha Christie
War and Peace's Leo Tolstoy

Everyone should read! Read! Read! Read!

Eulogy to A Peach

He (or she) died on the dining table, with our single ceiling light there basking him in artificial yellow light. I say that he died then not because that was when he died, but because that was when I found him in his rotting state and deemed him inedible no longer. He must have been rotten long before I discovered him to be so. Of the circumstances of his death, X was to blame. After nibbling him a total of three times, her attention strayed to her iPad, and the peach was abandoned on the table. I expected X to finish him by the end of the day, but the peach was there the next morning, on the table. I wrapped him in a napkin, and laid him on a shelf in the fridge, sure that X would find and eat him. Even after repeated reminders, the peach was uneaten. Annoyed, I took him out of the fridge and set him on the table today, in plain view, and when he still was not eaten, I unwrapped him and revealed his perished state. It had been a little more than a week since we bought him. Eventually X assumed an indifferent manner regarding him. When I informed her of his state, she laughed. The peach was a strong fruit, with gleaming skin a comfortable softness and a lovely smell. He was purchased fresh and firm in the farmer's market last weekend. Such negligence on the part of X lead to the waste of this unlucky fruit. I regret not eating him before waiting for X, or urged X more persistently to eat him. Here he rests, buried under the soil, untouched since long ago, and spoiled forever. May this peach acquire happiness and his remains bloom a new life.