Little House

There once was a small house. Surrounded by long-limbed cypresses, the house stood in idyllic seclusion. It was a little house, in soft pastel and delicately painted colors.

That house is empty now. But once, long ago, there were people. People who laughed and lived and loved. They are all gone now. But sometimes, you can still hear them.

Cleopatra

Coin depicting a likeness of Cleopatra.

One of the most enduring and least understood figures in Western history, Cleopatra VII is most remembered for her tumultuous personal life- mainly her affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. But she is so much more than that. Cleopatra's death meant the end of the Hellenistic era and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Shangguan Wan'er

One of the most fascinating figures in Chinese history, Shangguan Wan'er (664-710) was a noted literary figure and politician of the Tang Dynasty, associated with powerful women such as Wu Zetian.

Beach-from my memories of Laguna Beach(show and place)

He stared at the beach. The sun was up, had been up already for hours. There was nothing he could see but stretches of tan sand, bare as naked skin, and the sparkling sea, with waves almost beckoning him forward. There was no one here; the beach was deserted except for the seagulls and their cry. That was strange-but then he supposed everyone went home to sleep off the hangovers from last night’s party. Trash, flotsam of last night’s party- beer bottles and plastic knickknacks-were embedded in the sand, like last night’s memories were embedded in his.

Obsession with trivia

 

One thing my friends will tell you about me is that I'm a master of pop culture. Whenever we play Trivia, people always fight for me to be on their team. Because I always win.

Clearly more Americans want to be like me, because they seem to be fixated on some of the most trivial matters that can ever occur--like the Anthony Weiner affair.