Magic Mirror

As I stared into the depths of the magic mirror, I saw an elaborate illusion slowly forming through the swirling misty arabesque. A stone castle with tall towers, turrets, and waving red flags filled the magical mirror. Bright green ivy snaked up the walls of the castle. The sturdy wooden drawbridge with its taut, strong rope was open, stretching across the churning waters of the moat. In the moat, a scaly green tail occasionally curled out of the water, and unblinking yellow eyes stared around the castle grounds, boring into my eyes. The colorful castle gardens surrounded the majestic fort, with white, red, yellow, blue, and pink flowers bursting into bloom before my very eyes. Giant stone fountains in different shapes were randomly placed around the flowers. The sunlight streamed through the sparkling water of the fountains, forming a hazy rainbow. Knights in shining chain mail constantly walked around the castle grounds, patrolling for any dangers.

I blinked my eyes, and the illusion vanished. I found myself staring at a polished glass mirror with a pearly frame. I stared back at my own reflection, and wondered if I would ever see the magnificent castle again.

Alaska Cruise

I recently went on an one-week Alaska cruise to visit the northernmost part of the United States of America. The cruise ship was very large and elegant, and the nature scenery in Alaska itself was quite nice, although the civilization there was quite old-fashioned and clearly behind in technology.

To see some pictures from the cruise, you can go to my website, www.priyaganesan.com.
Click on "Photo Gallery", then "August 2008 Alaska Cruise Photos" on the left side.

The Baskets

I apologize for not writing sooner; I have been a bit busy.

Here's a poem I wrote recently. I sat down and just started writing it with no sense of idea in my head- I let the poem carry me and look how it has turned out!

I sat upon a rocking chair
With two baskets at my feet
One was overflowing and full of mess;
The other one was quite neat.

The messy one was painted red
The neat one painted blue
The first one was covered with tape all over
The second with homemade glue.

I picked up the first basket
I undid the red tape
What did I find inside?
One rotten, sour grape.

I threw the grape into the fire
Dropped the red basket on the floor
But suddenly through the night I heard
A frantic knock at the door.

A tall wizard came in
He said, “I’m looking for a grape.”
“I believe it was in a basket-
All covered with red tape.”

“I’m afraid I threw it in the fire,” I said
“Just before you came.”
“But you can have the blue basket-
I daresay they’re quite the same.”

The wizard glanced at the blue basket in doubt
For it appears to be nothing like the red
He looked at me, I looked at him
And told him to go ahead.

He picked up the blue basket
He scraped off the homemade glue
Then he peered inside and gasped in wonder
For what I said was quite true.

He clasped the basket to his chest
And did a little twirl in joy
Because inside the neat blue basket were
Two rotten, sour grapes to enjoy.

Reminder

Just dropping a little reminder that all articles, writing, etc. on this blog are my own work and copyrighted.

Internet Pop-Ups and What I Think of Them

Flashing mouse cursors. Animated screen savers. The "you-won-the-jackpot--millionth-customer" deal. What do I think of these?

Absolute junk.

As a harried student is frantically trying to do research for his school paper, he/she encounters several pop-ups. He/she shuts the window quickly and tries to continue on, but once again is blocked by another pop-up. As soon as this one is shut, there is a brief period of peace. And then again, another pop-up!

This is what many people face as they try to use the internet. The "try-out-new-cursors" pop-up with flashing hearts and smiley faces and who-knows-what-else doesn't even work! Even if by some miracle it does work, who wants some distracting, flashy cursor that they have to blankly stare at every time they get on the computer? Next, the screensavers. Fine, there's a cute little doggie dancing on the screen, or dolphins jumping in the air. But doesn't the screensaver start up when the computer isn't in use for a while? If the computer isn't in use, that means that YOU AREN'T USING THE COMPUTER, so YOU'RE NOT THERE TO SEE THE SCREENSAVER! Unless, of course, you're one of those people who find entertainment in sitting in front of a dusty screen with your eyes bugging and your drooling tongue hanging out of your mouth as you watch your amazing fabulous screensaver all day! Finally, the "you-won-blah-blah" pop-up. Did the inventors of this useless idea think that people would actually fall for it? If you click on the pop-up, you are taken to a page where you are requested to fill in all your personal information. Would you really give up all that information for something you don't even know is reliable? If you do fall for it and give your name, address, phone number, etc., you'll find that someone's now using your bank account, or you're being stalked by strange people in black! Whatever happens at any rate, I doubt you'll be getting your jackpot money.

I'm sorry if I have unintentionally offended anyone in this article, but I just wanted to say that people in charge of Internet pop-ups should think twice before sending them out, because they are very annoying to most people and are almost always ignored.

Riddles

The bottom of me is as thin as a cane,
In times of need I provide shelter from rain.
I come in many sizes and shapes,
You could compare me to a warm black cape.
My spindly arms are welcoming and wide,
Under me is one of the best places you might want to hide.
What am I?

I am the cause of a damsel in distress,
I create quite a mess.
I feed off the chocolate that you eat,
To turn that into something else is a rather amazing feat.
I leave you clutching your mouth all day,
But you can get rid of me if you wish to pay.
What am I?

I have many hands, usually two or three,
If you want to know what's late or early you can just look at me.
My hands move without missing a beat,
When they've gone all around me the pattern repeats.
If I've got numbers at my edges, around all 360 degrees,
What in the world do you think I could be?

I awaken by the sun's brilliant leave,
Upon the ground I glow and the darkness I weave.
I am a dove among a sea of black silk,
As smooth and white as milk.
I get smaller and smaller as the days go by
Until I am non-existent to the human eye.
And then I slowly begin to become revealed,
Until I am once again as white as an ice field.
If as the sun comes up I wave goodbye,
What am I?

I decided not to post answers to these riddles on the blog post itself in case I spoiled someone's thinking. If you would like the know the answers, click on the comments link for this post.

Horses in the Rain

Two white horses and one tan, racing in the rain
Galloping across the grassy meadow with ease
Their manes whipping behind them
Like streamers waving in the breeze.

Their pale bodies standing out
Against the dark green of the pine trees
Their agile hooves trampling the slippery grass
Jumping over tree stumps with expertise.

The rain pours harder, lightning strikes
Thunder sounds in the distance
One white horse rears up, too frightened to go on
The other two keep racing with determination and persistence.

They reach a river, crashing against the jagged cliffs
With foamy waves and churning water
The tan horse veers sharply to the side and disappears into the fog
Knowing that crossing the river would surely be slaughter.

One lone white horse, crossing the dangerous river
Fighting its way through the waves
Finally, it reaches the other side and continues on
So tired, wanting to go home to the caves.

Suddenly, after what seems like forever
The moon comes out, a shining ball of white
The majestic horse looks up as the storm ceases
Calmed by the sight.

What Happened Yesterday

Maya and I were biking up and down the road outside the house. Since I recently got a 21-gear bike, I was fiddling with the gears, trying to work out which ones I was supposed to use. I hated the times when the bike sort of shuddered or convulsed when I changed the gear.

Maya and I were going for our last round. There were several cars parked in the road, and besides, there was some high school graduation party going on in some house down the street. All those seniors were leaving, causing the road to be extra-cluttered.

So, I was just happily riding along at top speed alongside Maya, who was trying to show off by sticking her feet in the air. Her bike swerved all over the sidewalk and she crashed into some bushes, fortunately managing to stay on her bike and continue. We were both laughing, and Maya, not paying attention again, ran right over a "Tru-Green Chem Lawn" signpost in the sidewalk, flattening it to bits.

On top of this, while coming back up the street, Maya continued to show off. She ran right into these soil patches in the sidewalk (where trees are planted) and skidded to a halt in the soil, her bike tipping over with her on it. She ended up with a scraped knee and ankle and limped back to the garage in shameful disgrace.

What a day!

Peter and the Starcatchers

By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Have you ever wished you could fly? Or meet pirates? Well if you have, then Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is the book for you. This book is the first of a trilogy, the other two books being Peter and the Shadow Thieves and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. The trilogy is a humorous fantasy story that tells what happens before the classical Peter Pan story.

The first book follows Peter, a young orphan, and his orphanage friends on a long sea voyage on a dingy ship along with a new friend, Molly Aster. However, also roaming the seas is the Sea Devil, the most-feared pirate ship commanded by the infamous Black Stache, or Captain Hook. (At this point he doesn't have his hand cut off.) The pirates are after magical treasure, and the search for the treasure leads the pirates to a picturesque island (Never Land). Peter and his friends end up on the island too, as well as some men who want the treasure to present to the Evil King Zarboff the Third. The pirates, men, and children face dangerous Mollusk warriors, clever mermaids, hairy spiders, giant crocodiles, as well as "starstuff" (a.k.a. the treasure) which gives people and animals the ability to fly. This thrilling and adventurous insight into the origins of a popular fairytale story will leave your thoughts whirling with wondrous images, you imagination spinning with fantastical tales, and your mind sighing in pure satisfaction.

Random Thoughts

Right now I am on the computer typing this (duh) as the glorious sun sets in a haze of red, purples, and yellows. No, just kidding. Right now I am on the computer typing this (duh) as the night sets in, sending a blue/black inkiness spreading across the dusky sky. Ooooh.....

My sister is strangely giggling next to me as she listens to her screechy music and types on her shiny black laptop, sucking her thumb (or so it appears). Suddenly, she leaps up shouting that it's going to snow tomorrow. Hooray. More frost and coldness. Not that I don't like snow, but...after the spring equinox, the weather has to actually act like spring, right?

My stomach is groaning as I just finished a sumptuous dinner of spaghetti, carrots, and peas. Actually, the cause of my groaning stomach might be due to some uncooked snowpeas with sharp ends cleverly hidden among the blood-red chaos of pasta and tomato sauce. I'm starting to feel a little sick as I imagine my dinner as a battlefield after the battle is over, with the carrots and peas (the two armies) laying helplessly, wounded (or stained with sauce) as a sharp, shiny pronged fork zooms toward them, ending their tragic stories and sending them to their doom.

Rain on February 29th, 2008

Happy Leap Day!
Here's a poem titled "Rainbow" to commemorate today's dreary rain.

Rain splattering on the gray sidewalk
Forming puddles,
Little pools of rainwater.
Worms wriggle out of their shelters
Taking pleasure in the water.
And little streams trickle off my dark umbrella
Wetting my boots.

Rain hammering on the roof
Wanting to get in
As I lay in bed, snug and cozy
Suddenly, the rain slackens
Pattering gently at my windowsill
Seeping down the glass
Lulling me to sleep.

The next morning, all is quiet
I look out the window
And bask in the warm sunshine.
The roads are slippery
The grass is wet
And high, high above the treetops
A glittering, colorful rainbow smiles down at me.

Short Story

This is a short story depicting an action that takes place in about 10 seconds.

Radiant, shining beams stream through the window as Sally happily prances into the room and spots a box on the table. Curiously, she picks up the colorful package, a present from her parents, and feels the sharp edges of the box, her eyes eager. As her expression softens, the girl lightly runs her hand over the elegant, satin bow and tries to peel off the bow, but her fingers finally yank at the tapered edges and undo the ribbon, which falls to the table. Moving swiftly, Sally’s hand digs into the wrapping and rips through the paper, leaving a pile of paper sitting forlornly next to the ribbon, which lies on the table. Inside the package rests a battered box, which Sally scornfully contemplates as she pulls out the lid. Sally peers inside the box apprehensively and gasps, her eyes widening and her hands shaking, for inside the box sits……….

Description of a Worn-Out Shoe

Balancing precariously upon a shabby, shadowy cart, a black, threadbare shoe gradually decays in its lonely surroundings. Its aging aglets cracking, two limp, untied shoelaces aimlessly dangle along a crumbling wall of moldered fabric. A pathetic, tattered tongue, twisting and bending, sags weakly and slowly ages. This shoe’s faded pleather lays untouched under a constantly growing layer of lightly-colored grime. Near the worn sole, the extremely severed rubber reveals a monstrous, stretching crevasse. Dusty, blackened plastic barely manages to cling onto the top of the sole, forming once-graceful, yet now peeling designs. Zigzagging treads, exhausted with overuse, crumble lethargically, evenly spaced among the sole of the shoe. Long, jagged rips span across the exterior.

The fatigued, weary interior, however, with its ragged shoelace holes, splitting and snapping stitches, and frayed edges, deteriorates just like the outside. Feeble, drooping tags, attached to the tongue, flop miserably, their small, printed words illegible. Disintegrating foam bursts eagerly out of its useless, overcrowded lining. Unrelenting, persisting lint stubbornly holds onto the sneaker’s fabric. Faint, musty smells rise from this dirty Reebokä shoe and nauseatingly pervade the air. Withered and rotted, this filthy piece of footwear apprehensively waits for its cataclysmic, catastrophic, and disastrous end.

Please Send In Comments!

I would really appreciate it if people sent in more comments about my posts. I enjoy hearing from everyone, and I always appreciate suggestions about what I should or should not post.

Thank you!

Winter Wonderland

What a fabulous joyful way to start the first day of December! It's really snowing! We have about 3 inches of snow! I'm so happy!

The weather forecast predicts wind, rain, and SNOW for tomorrow, and rain for Monday.

I hope this snow lasts for a long time so that I do not have to go to piano tomorrow and school on Monday!