Fairytales and Biology III

So many thanks to Mary and Rosella for your suggestions. I shall be sure to write a few more poems now based on your ideas. A little teaser- the fourth poem is tenetatively titled Adenine and Uracil- A Molecular Beanstalk/ Jack and The Giant- A Tale of DNA Replication/ Fee Fi Fo Fum- The Role of DNA Halicase
Which one of the three do you like best?
But as promised I bring you "Little Red Riding Hood and Cholera" I hope you enjoy.

There once was a girl in a cloak of red
And a silken hood with which to cover her head
A basket of delicacies hung by her side
As into the woods did Red Riding Hood stride

The reason for this was her twice monthly visit
To call in on grandma, a lady exqusite
A wrinkled old woman- with a bright kindly face
And wearing a bonnet of finest white lace

Yet whilst she was walking she happened to find
An intelligent lifeform of the nastier kind
For who wouldn't suspect her of utter delerium?
When she claimed to have talked to a cholera bacterium

But one that was almost the size of a bear
With a flagellum the length of a dining room chair
And a coating or capsule of mucilaginous slime
A creature commited to heinous crime

For the cholera cell who was called Vibrio
Full name Vibrio cholerae I happen to know
Would sneak up on his victim and unleash a protein
Both toxic and specialised to the small intestine

So Vibrio inquired of Red Riding Hood
Where was she going alone in the wood?
And the little girl pointed "Just over that hill
To vist my grandma whose feeling quite ill"

And Vibrio cholerae made a suggestion
You're not bringing flowers? That's out of the question!
For every invalid is cheered up with flowers!
Just pick some to bring her. It won't take you hours.

And off ran the cholera.
Red faced and rosy
Whilst Red Riding Hood gathered
A sweet smelling posy

And when she arrived at her grandma's abode
She took off her hood and set down her load.
But grandma looked different all tucked up in bed.
Whilst the white lacy bonnet looked small on her head.

And Red Riding Hood inquired with out further delay
Grandma how circular is your DNA!
And  grandma just smiled and mumbled and sighed
"All the better to evolve with!" she quickly replied.

But grandma! What a number of plasmids you have!
Pray! Why do you have them? Just what is their function?
"Oh they possess different genes I can add or remove
To my circular DNA, they work in conjunction

For simple DNA of the circular fashion
Is better than the chromosomes you praise with a passion
For I can change its structure at will on the slighest suspicion
That the environment will undergo an adverse condition

Yet grandma your ribsosomes are tiny and small
I barely can tell if you have them at all!
At this grandma flushed and was rumoured to announce
It's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it that counts!

And suddenly grandma transformed before her eyes
It was really Vibrio all along in cunning disguise
And he pounced upon Red Reding Hood and said with a sneer
"All the better to give you diarrhoea!"

And the toxin punched a hole in her epithelial cell
And Little Red Riding Hood didn't feel well
For whilst the cholera laughed from his podium
Into her intestine poured ions of sodium

Which happens to be
Severly detrimental
To the small intestine's
Water potential

And so water by osmosis moves
Into the intestine which the body removes
And thus Red Riding Hood's greatest fear
Dehydration through diarrhoea

Yet a passing lumberjack
Searching for his daughter
Saved the day
With a glass of water

Which he threw at the cholera
It acted like acid
You could tell that it worked
When his flagellum went flaccid

And though the cholera had melted away
The lumberjack looked on with a look of dismay
For there on the floor was the lumberjack's daughter
Killed by the cholera he happened to slaughter

But the lumberjack was filled with determination
And remembered a cure- oral rehydration
So he boiled some water and added some salt
Some sugar, a lemon and a wee dash of malt

And as the first drops passed Red Riding Hood's lips
She sat up and eagerly took a few sips
And thus ends our tale with Red Riding Hood revivied
And the outbreak of cholera never arrived

Subdue The Nations Under Her Feet And Let Us Say Amen

So today in shul (synagogue) I was browsing through some books and found a copy of the Yom Kippur Machzor (prayer book for the Day of Atonement) published in 1860 and another in 1891.

And I found the prayer for the royal family. I just love the 19th century one. SO VERY BRITISH!

*clears throat*

He who dispenseth salvation unto kings and dominion unto princes, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, who delivered His servant David from the destructive sword, who maketh a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters, may He bless, preserve, guard, assist, exalt and highly aggrandize:
Our Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria, Albert Edward Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales and all the royal family.
Subdue nations under her feet, cause her enemies to fall before her and cause her to prosper in all her undertakings. May the supreme King of Kings exalt and highly aggrandize her, and grant her long and proseperously to reign. May the supreme King of Kings in his infinite mercy, incline her heart and incline the hearts of her councellors and nobles with benevolence towards us and all Israel. In her days and in ours may Judah be saved, Israel dwell in safety and the Redemer come unto Zion.
May such be the divine will and let us say Amen.

The current version sort of omits the whole subduing nations part.

Anyway I now feel like being a 19th century gentleman.

Tally ho! Praise the Empire! God Save the Queen!

*rides away on an imaginary horse*

Biology and Fairytales Part Two

So I'm not sure if there will be a part three. I possibly have the material for it.

Either way I have a new poem and some one liners. Enjoy!

Definitions:
Hypertonic- High water potential
Hypotonic- Low water potential
Isotonic- Goldilock's water potential i.e. just right (same water potential outside the cell as inside)

N.B I am not the first to use Goldilocks to describe adequate scientific conditions. The Goldilock's Zone is the actual terminology used to describe the zone around a star where planets capable of life are found.

And now I bring you The Three Little Pigs and the Perils of Lung Disease

Three little pigs built a house of straw
With a big thatched roof
And a mud baked floor
When along came a wolf
Who was big and fierce
With a furry snout
And teeth to pierce
The hides of the pigs
He opened his mouth wide
And called out to the pigs
Who were hiding inside
"Little pigs! Little pigs! Let me come in!"
Said the pig: "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!"
"Well I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"
Yet the pigs were science pigs! Specialised in microbiology!
Another was a surgeon! And the third liked geology.
So the first pig threw a vial with tuberculosis bacteria
Which hit the wolf upon the nose and entered his interior
And when the wolf tried to exhale, it was with much despair
As his lungs were full of tubercles, scarring and tissue tear
Yet though the wolf was beaten, a sudden floating spark
Set fire to the house of straw
A glowing beacon in the dark
So the  little pigs fled and the wolf licked his lips
And they  built themselves another home made out of sticks
And when the wolf who had a son sent him to catch dinner
The pigs looked on without a hope, not even a glimmer
Yet the second pig, the surgeon, met the wolf's gaze
And released into the air a splash of elastase
And whilst the wolf coughed and spluttered
The elastin in his lungs uncoiled and cluttered
And the wolf glared angrily and made quite a din
With his "Little pigs! Little pigs! Let me come in!"
Said the pig: Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!
"Well I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"
"No we gave you emphysema and reduced the alveoli's elasticity!
So now you can't exhale efficiently!"
Well try as he might the wolf couldn't puff
And collapsed from exhaustion from lungs turned to fluff
Yet, though you may doubt me, you staunch unbelievers
Suddenly the house was eaten by a whole dam of beavers!
Who disappeared as suddenly as their random arrival
So the little pigs fled to ensure their survival
And ran into the forest so quick, quick quick
And the three little pigs built a house of brick
And the wolf, still recovering, sent out another
The terrible, horrible, Big Bad Wolf's Mother!
The mountains would tremble at the sound of her feet
And she set off to find herself something to eat!
And the three little pigs did quiver with fear
As the terrible shadow of mother drew near
Yet the third little pig who was trained in geology
Also had a passion for lupinology
So he took some fine dust,
Made of silver and stone
Threw it at the mother wolf
And let out a moan
Hid under the bed
And shook like the tide
And covered his ears
When the mother wolf cried
"Little pigs! Little pigs! Let me come in!"
Squeaked the pig: "N..not by the h..hairs on my ch..chinny chin chin!"
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"
Yet when mother wolf took in a breath
She turned quite pale and felt like death
"What have you done?" The Mother Wolf roared!
"Given you asthma!" the piggy assured.
For wolves are allergic to silver you know
And to breathe it in is a big nono.
And the Mother Wolf trembled and fell on her back
As she writhed and coughed in an asthma attack
Her bronchi constricted like the narrowest chasm
As Mother Wolf suffered from bronchospasm
And without an inhaler the Mother Wolf died
And the pigs lived in peace
With no wolves to misguide.

I hope you liked it. Next time I may possibly have "Little Red Riding Hood and Cholera". However it's rather problematic so it may not appear.

Let's Learn Biology Through Fairytales!

So a while back I wrote some poems for a friend to help remember their Biology notes.

Here is the best one.

I will post the others later when not so rushed.

N.B Ummm these may be funnier if you take Biology A Level. Nevertheless enjoy!

Hansel and Heart Disease

Hansel and Gretel were walking through the wood
Leaving behind a trail of crumbs like all good children should
When they found a little house that made them stop and stare
A house made out of sweets and cakes. A house beyond compare.
They broke and ate a windowsill and nibbled a light switch
When Hansel and Gretel were captured by a witch.
Who being sort of evil
And in the mood for a munch
She threw them in the oven
And ate them up for lunch.
Yet H and G
Were fat you see
And full of cholesterol
And also lipoproteins
Of which they contained several
And so the woman
With a horrible persona
Quickly developed an atheroma
Which lead to a thrombus
In the coronary artery
But our tale ends happily
Because the witch
That horrid bitch
She died of CHD

More to follow soon including the Three Little Pigs and the Perils of Lung Diseases

Fictional Deaths, Fallible Days

More thoughts about literature. Also a discussion on leap years.

I seem to often find myself in a position of emotional detachment from fictional characters written by other authors. I rarely cry when a fictitious character dies (with the notable exceptions of Dobby and Dumbledore). Yet I do not have the ability to kill off my own characters. I become far too attached to them. It would be paramount to murder. So I found that rather odd. I have a detatchment to chararcters of others yet an attachment to those of my own. So I admire authors for that level of bravery. Brave brave people they are indeed.

(I phrased it better in my head. It was all poetic. But then I forgot how I phrased it.)

Anyway today is the 29th of February. And since I won't have the opportunity for another four years I felt I had to post something. So having mentioned the fictional deaths let us move onto the fallible days. (Or more accurately fallible calendars). So the reason for leap days is the universe is indifferent to human attempts to measure time neatly. The orbit of the Earth around the sun and the revolution of the Earth around its axis do not match up to make nice whole numbers. Making calendars of years split up into days (i.e.  measuring the orbit of the Earth around the sun based on the number of times it spins around its axis) is the equivalent of measuring the speed of a flying chimpanzee based on the number of times my imaginary albeit adorable kitten can say the word cupcake a minute. In other words convenient but irrelevant. And in the case of my second example neither convenient or relevant. Though you may have wished for a convenient second example it just didn't work out that way. The universe is like that.
Anyway sidetracked. So to try and align the orbit of the Earth and the rotation of the Earth so they stay the same we add in a leap year. Except if the year is divisible by 100. (e.g. 1800, 1900). But if the year is divisible by 400 then it is a leap year (1600,2000 etc.). Thus by this complicated system we have ensured that the days will align with the years for the next 8000 years. But then it will be a day off again. And we shall have to invent a new calendar. Or just ignore it or something.

Also those people born on the 29th of February are known as leaplings. Does anybody know any leaplings? I know one fictional one.

My Thoughts Are Stars That I Cannot Fathom Into Constellations

So this post is just some random musings of mine. But from out of them came an idea and I decided I'd share it. Maybe some of you can relate.

So the original quote is one from The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I cannot praise it enough. Not only is it an excellent book but it has inspired so many others to excellence too.

It goes as follows.


"My thoughts are stars that I cannot fathom into constellations". My musings are as follows:

My thoughts are stars that I cannot fathom into constellations. Beautiful wonderful thoughts and ideas that just randomly appear and disappear from my brain. But I cannot strucutre them. Well a little. I can take my thoughts and make poems out of them. Yet poems are short things. The aim of story writing is one that I often feel is beyond me. I have the stars to make them but they soon peeter out when I start writing. The thing about books is they require patience. Patience and words. A lot of words. And my ideas express themselves in tiny amounts of words. They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well then the most I have ever written and completed is one solitary picture. But constellations are human constructs. Arbitrary things. And the random sprawl of the stars is one of incredible beauty like the random sprawl of thoughts in my head. Yet beautiful thoughts mean nothing if you cannot express them. And that is why we make constellations. Arbitrary doesn't mean they lack importance. And so I strive to fathom my thoughts into constellations. Maybe one day I will succeed. Maybe.
But for now I am content with my stars.

Amphigory Mumpsimus

Well here is my OC for Amphigory Mumpsimus. Also can be found on Biorama. He's so adorable. He'll be featuring in a poem some time soon. Well I hope so.
Just to get to know him here is an OC.
Enjoy!

NAME: Amphigory Mumpsimus
AGE: 104- looks 104
GENDER: Male
HAIR COLOR: Bald- but hazel-y brown back when he had hair
HAIR STYLE: Well it used to be a monastic tonsure. Now he doesn’t have one.
EYE COLOR: Green
HEIGHT: 5ft 7
WEIGHT: 168 pounds
BODY TYPE: Well I would say he has a rotund body shape.
PERSONALITY: Obstinate. Rather frail and tottery now. Ridiculously obstinate. Eccentric. His viewpoints are often nonsensical and bizarre. But he stubbornly maintains them.
WEARS: A plain brown habit consisting of a tunic, scapular, cowl and hood.
FAVORITE COLORS: Beige. Brown. Anything suitably dull and dreary.
NATIONALITY AND ACCENT: Oh British most definitely. Probably a Novocastrian.   With a rather gruff voice. And a Geordie accent.
HISTORY:  Well born in 1908. Orphaned. Taken in by the local monastery. Always a child who preferred his own company. Grew up as a monk. His bizarre religious views meant that he was often kept out of sight. Now he is old. Nothing particularly exciting. He led a life as a scribe and a pea planter devoted to God. I only really made him because he’s adorable.  
FAMILY: None. An orphan and an only child. Also a bachelor.
POWERS: Well none magical wise as he is a mortal.
FAVORITE WEAPONS: Monks? With weapons? Obviously his staff and flowerpot combination.
OTHER SKILLS: The flowerpots come in handy for growing pea plants in.
FRIENDS: Octaboona Ambrosius. Kallista Pendragon. Hestia Honeysuckle. Clarabelle.
ENEMIES: Why those dratted tomato planters. Blasphemers the lot of them! And don’t get him started on those devoted to the cauliflower. THE ONLY TRUE WAY IS THE PEA WAY!
HATES: Any vegetable that isn’t a pea. Also barley soup. And cats.
LIKES: (Can you guess?)
ADDRESS:  He still lives in the monastery. Somewhere near Newcastle.
JOB: Scribe. The pea planting is more of a hobby. Mania. Whatever.
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: His legs still serve him pretty well.
NEVER SEEN WITHOUT:  His flowerpots. His staff. And his pea seeds.
IN FIVE WORDS: Obstinate monk loves pea plants.
NOTES:  Peas. Peas. Peas. DIE YOU BELIEVERS IN THE ASPARAGUS. Peas. Peas. Peas. Peas. I am not a hedgehog. Please go away. I have peas to plant.

Sunshine and Starlight

So I was thinking about words. And how they rhyme. And how weird it is that you can take a long complicated (relatively) word such as adolescent and there are absolutely loads of words that rhyme with it (I found 15), yet for a simple little word like purple there are none to be found.
And from that this limerick was born. (And two others which are really bad because I was just cramming in words rhyming with adolsecent).
Enjoy!

Sunshine and Starlight

There once was a young adolescent

Who went by the name of Rubescent

The shadows she’d shun

For the shine of the sun

And the glow of the stars luminescent

Heartbreak

Just to give you warning. This isn't about me. I'm fine truly. This is based partly on The Fault In Our Stars but the relationship is between two fictional characters (I can't reveal who- spoilers- but those who know should be able to guess).
Anyway I hope you enjoy!

Heartbreak

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
It was a privilege to have
My heart broken by you

Though my heart is in pieces
Each piece still loves you
A choice I am happy with
A choice not thought through

You left more than footprints
You tread not with care
You took more than pictures
Now taint with despair

You claim that the fault
Lies in me, or the stars
But never in you
The fault is not yours

Yet you chose to end this
You broke my heart
You slept with another
You tore us apart

A Very Skulduggery Day Out

So last Wednesday I believe was the very first blogger union. Myself, Pyro, Venice and Gen all met up and spent an afternoon wandering around the streets of London. We eventually ended up outside Buckingham Palace. I doubt that I shall be able to describe the experience properly as I'm not really sure what to say.  We didn't actually do very much apart from a lot of walking and talking. But it was an extremely awesome experience. After meeting up at a train station- all arriving at varying degrees of lateness, we just walked around looking into some shops and eventually ending up outside Buckingham Palace. We were all wearing unusual hats except for Pyro who didn't participate. I wore a fez, and Gen and Ven wore sailor hats. Despite our best efforts we were unable to get Pyro to wear a policeman helmet. So um... yeah. We had a great time. Here be some pictures.

Pyro did eventually give in and wear the sailor hat for the photo

Our attempts at taking the photo ourselves sort of failed.

I think I forgot to explain to the tourist how to use the zoom button.

So Pyro took a photo instead. Also I look like a giraffe.



So thus concludes our Very Skulduggery Day Out. I hope to repeat the experience sometime soon. And if anyone else wants to write up a better version please feel free.

Potter Puppet Pals

*is crying with laughter and also sad tears*

I just discovered the best Potter Puppet Pals yet (in my humble opinion).

Neville's Birthday had me crying with laughter. It features everything you want in a youtube video. Cake, Naked Dumbledore, a heartfelt soliloquy of regret you name it. It even includes butternut squash and a foot with a drawing of Cedric Diggory's face on it.

And my second favourite Potter Puppet Pals is Snape's Diary. This is the one that gets me crying my sad tears. I do believe I love Snape as a character even more than I did before. My heart moves for you Snape! May you find your missing button and achieve happiness for the first time.

And since finally no post about PPP would be complete without it, here is the classic Mysterious Ticking Noise.

 My day shall now be spent singing/ quoting these vidoes. And then I shall know them by heart.

An Amphigory

So this poem belongs to a type of poem known as an amphigory.

Amphigory am'fi-ge-ree, n (French amphigouri, of unknown origin)

A nonsense verse. Specifically, a poem designed to look and sound good, but which has no meaning upon closer reading.

So that makes it sound much smarter and knowledgable than my own term 'Sound Poem'.

Sound poem? Nay! Tis an amphigory! By jove ye cynical brethren! Tis not to be understood! This be art!

So anyway here is my amphigory. Enjoy!

The aeolian popple of wurzel bassoon

The coalescent dactyl of egregious foon

The violaceous ravine of umbrous ooze

Kallista! Lacuna! Tantalise! Choose!

A mellifluous nexus of zephyr and gloam

Querciverous Jabberwocky hyacinth roam

A salivicious susurrus of silence and styx

A savage serendipity of sizzle and spit

Gruffalo grumble grail and grove

Querulous quagmire quaint quince quove

Chiaroscuro

Charcoal chink

Perilous paladin pious and pink

Xanth and Yolanda together they took

The eerie oliphant of inglenook

Glades galumphing

Amaranth swell

Ragabash rutabaga

Rabble revel

Signed Books and Pacman Fingernails

So a week ago my signed SP books from Friend Get Friend arrived. I thought I'd wait for book 6 to arrive but it hasn't yet and I just must post this now because impatience.

Tom Percival's covers are so pretty!

Signature One. Derek's signature is much more squiggly than I expected.

Signature Two. Pretty similar to signature one. But the Skulduggery doodle is a little cuter don't you think?

Signature Three. The Derek squiggle slants up the page! (It's difficult to find differences when they're all the same okay!)

Signature Four. Ummm...

Signature Five. At last. A real difference. Skuldugerry is holding a card saying hi to me!

SECRET BONUS STUFF! An awesome signed postcard

Yes that is a watch. Yes it does have the SP logo on it.

*fangirl screams*





Ahem.

Also there was a girl is school today with pacman fingernails. The thumb was pacman and each of the fingers was one of the different coloured ghosts. It was awesome.

On Physics Teachers, Lost Trainers and the Most Awesome Poster In History

Well. Firstly. Physics teachers. I have the most amazing funny teacher in the whole of the Physics teachers ever. Not only is he rather rude, picks on everyone and has a wonderful beard but he does so in a hilarious way.

Take this question as an example.

"Felicity steals Fitzgerald's putative future car keys and throws them up in the air at 25 m/s in rage at the fact that Fitzgerald is a massive "fan of Justin Bieber".
How high does it go and how long will it take to land on Felicity's car bonnet causing a massive dent?
To which someone replied. Sounds like the start of an advertisement for Viagra.
Obviously the names are not their real names.

Some stuff you may wish to know that makes this funny.

Felicity failed her driving test a few days ago. Fitzgerald and most of the other boys in the class have been teasing her mercilessly ever since. So our teacher is getting his own back on Felicity's behalf.
Also this implies that Fitzgerald is gay. Although Fitzgerald does wear rather camp clothing he hates having his masculinity questioned. Also I won't get into the whole how does being gay mean you are less masculine and not all gays like Justin Bieber etc. etc. It's just Fitzgerald's reaction was amusing  Also the fact that Felicity is in a rage at this builds on the theory our teacher has that Felicity is a supremecist assassin out to kill him and practically everyone else. I don't know how this theory started but rest assured it isn't true.

Secondly. Pyro managed to lose one of my (only pair of) trainers. I have one trainer. This has resulted in me hopping quite a lot.

Thirdly. Guess what arrived in the post today?

MY AWESOME SP POSTER FROM FRIEND GETS FRIEND

Look how the eyes melt into that gorgeous sunset

The poster is double sided

As you can maybe tell it is the front cover of Death Bringer

So I am still eagerly awaiting my signed SP books. Hopefully they shall arive soon.

Our Little Infinity

As requested my love here is another poem for you. Very heavily inspired by The Fault In Our Stars. Although no plot points are spoilt I do use several of the many inspirational ideas that TFIOS expresses. So if you don't want those ideas spoilt then DO NOT READ THIS POEM. For those who do however please enjoy!

Our Little Infinity

As I stare into your eyes

Which are so beautiful, large and wise

I fall through an endless stream of stars

And I’m ever so grateful this life is ours

For though you may not realise

You are so busy being you

That you have no idea

 How utterly unprecedented you are

The way you care for every soul

The praise and love that you extol

Your random acts both kind and mirthful

The crooked smile upon your face

Your charming laugh, ecstatic heart

Your delightful eccentricity

The way you mean so much to me

For even though love is a shout into the void

One day we’ll both return to dust

The sun will swell and burn the Earth

And all will be destroyed

Yet even though our little lives are only temporary

Your love has turned the numbered days into an infinity

Kallista Pendragon

The Thief in Black

Your physical presence

I woefully lack

Yet our words and our love and our spirits so strong

In our hearts we’re together, we’ll always belong.

May we dance by the light of an oblique moon

And watch the pale  petals rain

And taste the effervescent tang

Of lips entwined arcane

You call me the Purple Poet

The one who you gave your heart

The soul that brings you bliss and joy

The one whom you loved from the start

Yet some infinities are bigger than other infinities

And the love that we have and enthral

Is the biggest infinity of all

I hate the hurt that you endure

It cleaves my heart in twain

The thing about pain it demands to be felt

And its memories remain

Yet when your life is full of joy

And hope and ecstasy

Your happiness makes my life bliss

For you mean so much to me

And who are we as friends and lovers

Observing the elegance of the universe

To tell it that our sight is only fleeting?

For the universe it makes us

And later on it takes us

But in all the majesty of creation

It brought us two together

A splendid and opportune, always treasured meeting.

There’s a door in my heart and a cupboard in my brain

With an imperial affliction that I struggle to restrain

The thought that I might lose you

The thought I cause you pain

The thought that I have failed you

Left abandoned in the rain

And when you suffered great despair

The moment when you fall

When life just overwhelmed you

And I could do nothing at all

And the feeling when we parted

The raw anguish in my heart

The tears that cascade down my face

The agony of a new start

The moment of shock when you said you were gone

The realisation you’d flown

The constant ache where you were missing

The terrible reality of being alone

You didn’t leave because of me

But because you were ashamed

You felt that you were a grenade

That you would explode and disgust me

Despair and despise and disappoint me

But I am a fool for love and a fool for you

You’re not a grenade you’re a person too

Yet it doesn’t matter that you fall

We comfort each other together

But the fact that you got up again

Is why I’ll admire you forever

The elation when we were reunited

The constant affirming you’re there

The many declarations of our love for each other

The reassurance we both truly care

For I want to leave a legacy

A harmless fading scar

In the uncreated spaces

To live on in your heart

The choices that I make

The fault in our stars

I’m happy with my choices

I hope that you’re happy with ours

The sluttiness of time pervades

And oblivion will call

But we’ll face it as one

And chase it immortal

My faith was never stronger

And never more devout

As long as I am with you

This star will not go out

I’ll love you ‘til my final breath

I’ll never stop trying

Even though endeavour

Is a side effect of dying

I’m glad that my numbered set

Is as long as it will be

But I cannot help but wish it

Extended to infinity

For you are the one to take my breath away

You are the one to capture my gaze

You are the one who gave me a forever

Within the numbered days

Top Hat Tuesday and Highly Flammable Liquids

I had a particularly enjoyable day today. Firstly I arrived at school along with three other people all wearing top hats. I love that top hat. So comfy. We went around wearing them all day and confusing people greatly. "Top hat Tuesday? But... but today is Monday!" I hear you cry. Well yes. Yes it is. We're being alternative. Also why we named ourself the Top hat Trio. Yes there are four of us. But alliteration is more important than such trivial things as reality.

Also we had a fiery explosion in Chemistry today. We were conducting experiments on cyclohexane. It is labelled highly flammable for a very good reason. One of the experiments was combustion. It combusts very well. And if for some reason you decide to drop your burning cyclohexane into... lets say....the giant container containing the whole supply of cyclohexane... well you end up setting fire to your workbench. *shifty eyes*

But we put out the workbench quickly and then just watched the container burn. And glass can melt. Who knew?

So I do have a picture of me in the tophat. I may even upload it. But I need enough views. I want to be able to say OVER 9000! And also for someone to send me the picture first.

The Fault In Our Stars- John Green's Best Book Ever

So two days ago I recieved TFIOS. I had read it within hours. Such a fantastic book. Almost made me cry. If it was like a whole book series and you knew the characters for longer I'd definately have cried. But then after reading I've spent a long time just looking at the amazing signature (and yes smelling it too-don't judge me! Also don't smell Sharpies, I wouldn't advise it...).

So here is that signature for you all to marvel over.

Me! Published inside a book! With words and everything!

So yay! I got home today with this package just inside the door. I was like it's adressed to me! Post! YAY! And I opened it fully expecting to get my signed copy of TFIOS (The Fault In Our Stars) by John Green. Alas it wasn't. But instead it was a poetry book! WITH ONE OF MY POEMS IN IT!!!

*squees loudly*

Anyway I thought I'd share some pictures.

The book is called 'A World Verse'

Yes! It's the Loss of Hiashiness!

Page 2 happens to be sideways

Page 3! Yes that's me!

I don't know why this photo is here. Well you can see the title better.

Actually able to read the writing now! YAY!

Here are all six books that have been published with one of my poems in them. THEY BE SO PRETTY!

This is my pet skull Ebenezer. I keep changing his name. It used to be Skul-man, then Yorik, now its Ebenezer. Umm... I bought it at the Puck Fair in Kilorglin, Ireland back in August. Isn't he adorable?

Ebenezer from the side

He looks weird from the back

Ebenezer looking particularly awesome.

I did record a video of me reciting the poem but it sounds terrible so I'm not uploading it.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! TODAY IS SO AWESOME!

Poland Trailer

OK. I know I've said I'm going to make a whole post about my trip to Poland. Indeed I am working  on one. But it's huge. A really giant post. And it probably won't be ready for at least a month. Anyway I found this on Youtube today.

It's a trailer for the film being made of my trip to Poland.

I just wanted to share it with you all.

As far as I know I don't actually appear in the trailer.
Edit: Actually I appear at 0:35 seconds. See the two little kids dancing? I'm the one holding his hand. Wearing the white sweater.
So here is a brief trailer of my week in Poland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iCwcSgeKqw&context=C3d48638ADOEgsToPDskKXSm9GnDpIL65bFZzm78Nh

Ail Era

Well. Happy New Year! I wrote another poem. Not sure how it'll be recieved. Please note that I'm really not trying to preach through it. I was simply reflecting over some experiences from Poland amongst other things. There may be a moral hidden in all the tangles of words. I don't know. I hope that nonetheless you enjoy.

Ail Era

(Accepting Individuality. Loving Everyone. Respecting All.)

All men are created equal.

I disagree.

Nobody wants equality.

Who would want to be the same?

Devoid of uniqueness, your talents, your name?

You claim that everyone deserves the same rights.

Indeed this is a worthy cause, the aim of many fights.

Yet we do not want equality, this thought let me dispel

All men should not be treated equal. All men should be treated well.

We live in an era of ail

Of trouble, affliction and strife

We hang by a thread, if we fall, end up dead

As we balance on the edge of a knife.

For we all have our own preconceptions.

And we scream “Why don’t you understand?

That this item I love

(Be it book, film thereof)

Is the best thing to grace the whole land."

And for those who don’t like

The item we adore

Their opinions on matters

We start to ignore.

For they’re wrong about this.

So they’re wrong about that.

And the others of their creed

Well they also fall flat.

And thus creeps in prejudice

Bias and hate.

For a race or religion,

A nation, a state.

For we don’t recognize

That the thing that we admire

Does not necessarily others

Inspire.

And others don’t realise

This plain boring thing

Means so little to them

But for us worshiping

This book, or this film,

Or this person is standard

And those who do not

Well for us, they have slandered.

So you worship one god

I worship another

Why does this mean

My belief

You must smother?

For this path, oh this path

If we walk down it further

We end up in genocide

Holocaust,

Murder.

Yet this era of ail

Need not mean distressed

Instead we can change it

To one that means blessed.

For if we strive to accept

Each others’ individuality

And try to love everyone

Respect all personalities.

Then we take the first step

To an era of peace.

To immortal humanity

Where violence may cease.

And so it is that I can hope

That if I try and change.

To come back better than before

From this a strange yet common shore

That I’ll be part of the exchange

Of limits for perfection.

Yet is this what we really want?

Or is it but a tempting dream?

And are we always doomed to scream?

I’ll leave it to reflection.