It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

That is the best first line of a book ever. I remember in high school, my English teacher told us that the first line of a novel is the most important part, because it sets up the entire novel and captures the reader's attention. This first line certainly got me in the right mindset for reading the rest of the book. I have had the original first line ("It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.") memorized since 7th grade, which made this one all the better.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It's infinitely better if you've read Pride and Prejudice, since it takes a lot of the original novel and then changes parts. It works surprisingly well.

I actually don't know which book I like better (I'm secretly a romantic.. sometimes). I really liked Pride and Prejudice and both of the movies, but Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has everything that a bestseller should. It appeals to everyone! It has romance for girls, zombies and ninjas for guys, and it even has literary merit for the English teachers (complete with discussion questions at the end)! It almost makes me enjoy English. Almost.

Anyway, go read it. Then we can discuss.

This is a little ironic

Vicic: The best types of brainstormers are housewives and marketers. Uneducated housewives. Educated ones know too much.

Dave: I knew there was an argument against education! I just had to get to the end of my four years at college before learning it.

Ah, the things we learn at Caltech.. ChE 110 is the best class ever.

I'm too tired to write my own blog

There's something about the nature of death that forces action. The idea of death, is probably not the nicest way to put it. But the raw fact is that we're all mortal, and some day, we will die. And so life is basically a story with a beginning and an end. These are facts, at least for now. Unless technology makes some major advancements, and we start to understand consciousness, but until then, we're all governed by the rules of how we age, and the limited time we have on this planet, in this existence.

As a 12 year-old, you have time, and so you have the luxury of playing the "does he like me, does he like me as a friend or does he like me more than that" game. But as we progress through the period of life, where these issues should have been solved, it becomes more efficient. "Are you attracted to me?" "Can I be your girlfriend?"

I'm not sure where I'm at... in life, regarding this issue. Perhaps it's time to be more direct, and to take more chances, and to wait less. You can't wait your entire life for a pair of aces. You'll end up paying the blinds, and eventually running out of money. And money, in this case, really is just time.

-Tyson's blog

In other news, there was lots of snow on Baldy this weekend:

The worst license plate ever?

A red sun rises... blood has been spilled this night.

This morning I went outside, and the sky was covered in a cloud of smoke. It looked like it was foggy everywhere, except it was all smoke. It smelled like fireworks. And then I looked up and saw the red sun.

Now it's not nearly as smoky anymore. I'm not sure how the entire sky got covered with smoke, or how it disappeared, but now it's just smoky in the north again, like it's been for the past 4 days.

I can see the smoke from my window

This is the closest I've ever been to a fire. Now the picture above doesn't look too bad, but that fire is like a couple of miles away and spreading all over the hills. The picture below is the same view as the one above:

So yeah, closest I've ever been, and closest I'd ever care to be. The air's difficult to breathe. Just walking down the street to take these pictures last night took the breath out of me... Natural disasters are the most devastating and yet beautiful things. Funny how that is.

The wise words of my brother

Over the years, I have learned so much from my older brother. I have always looked up to him and admired everything that he did. So today I decided to share some of the things he has told me, so that you too can bask in his knowledge.

Do you like pool? If so, I've got the balls if you got the rack.

You remind me of a blue ribbon bass - I don't know if i should mount you or eat you.

Wanna try an Australian kiss? It's kinda like a french kiss, except down under.

It's true that there are plenty of fish in the sea... but you're the one i want to catch and mount back at my place.