Hungarian Poem

Saltier are the tears here
And the pains hurt more
The Magyar Messiahs are Messiahs
A thousand times, and more

They die a thousand deaths,
But their crosses bring no salvation,
For they could do nothing,
They were condemned to achieve nothing.

-Endre Ady

The Cursive Q

Recently I wrote the letters "QFE" on my whiteboard; they have some meaning, but it is irrelevant. The relevant point is that, out of boredom, I wrote the Q in cursive. None of my coworkers with offices near me recognized it, except for one, who said he thought he might have learned it at some point. Most said it looked like a 2. Which, of course, it does, only, a lower-case L is quite the same with one.

Later that day, none of them knew Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale." I waxen sad.

Samoas are the best girl scout cookies

This is one of those indisputable truths, like the complimentary nature of tomatoes and red pepper, or the superiority of waffles. Trefoils have a great name, and are delicious with tea. You can't argue with the peanut buttery goodness of Tagalogs or Do-Si-Dos, but Samoas are by far the best. I don't even have the slightest understanding of why anyone would begin to suspect that Thin Mints are worthy of mention or merit. They are an irrelevant snack, only suitable as a palate cleanser. Too sweet to be enjoyed, too pedestrain to be an indulgence, and notably inferior in comparison to the alternatives.

A tragic discovery

I purchased an excellent Everyman's Library edition of Democracy in America a week or so ago. Today, as my mom continues to ship me my books from Chicago, I found that I had been given a very nice paperback printing of the same. I am so sad. I could have bought one of the nice editions of Austen instead! Calamitous