The Princess Bride (abridged)

The Princess Bride (abridged)

By William Goldman, original book by S. Morgenstern

    Buttercup is a young girl living on a farm with a farm boy named Westley who always says "As you wish" at a command. She is also one of the 20 most beautiful people on Earth, but she doesn't really care about that. One day, the Count and Countess come to take a look at the supposedly high-quality cows on the farm. When she sees the Countess flirting with Westley, she is overcome with a fit of sudden jealousy and falls in love with him. She tells him so that night and is afraid she has ruined everything when Westley shows up to tell her he is leaving. He says he is going to go to America to make a new life there and will send for her when he is ready. They share a heartfelt goodbye, and from that day on, Buttercup starts to fuss over personal hygiene so much she becomes the most beautiful person alive. But one day, she receives news that his ship was captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who kills all captives. She vows never to love again.

    For the next few chapters, we learn about Prince Humperdinck, prince of Florin, Buttercup's city. He is an excellent hunter and spends lots of time in his Zoo of Death, where he keeps all sorts of creepy animals to kill. His father, King Lotharon, is getting old, and it is about time for Humperdinck to find a wife. So he invites the princess of Guilder, their rival neighbor city, but discovers that she is bald. His closest lieutenant, Count Rugen, leads him to Buttercup, whom he demands as his bride. Buttercup says she can't love him, but Humperdinck tells her there will be no love involved, so she agrees.

The New Yorker: The Crisis in the Skies of San Francisco

The New Yorker: The Crisis in The Skies of San Francisco

By Anna Wiener and my personal experience

    Over the past few days in the Bay Area and up and down the West Coast, this has been the view outside the window. A reddish haze that looks like it's out of some Martian movie. People who have lived here their entire lives say they've never seen this. It's all because of the record-breaking California fires. 

    Fires were already burning more than 2 million acres last weekend when temperatures broke records, and more fires broke out. Then, the temperature suddenly dipped again, creating what is called a marine layer - a kind of dense, humid air that usually becomes fog. The smoke from the fires was lifted on top of that, creating an odd sky but leaving the air quality moderately okay. Then, as the smoke drifted down, ash came with it. Checking the air quality became a part of everyday life, just like masks, and a grayish film dusted everything.

The Washington Post: On 9/11, a temporary pause in presidential hostilities

By Matt Viser and Philip Rucker

    Today is the 19th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Over 2,000 civilians and first responders died that day, and I wish the families who lost loved ones well.

    Both incumbent President Trump and Democratic nominee Biden visited Shanksville, Pennslyvania, where the final plane that was headed tower the Capitol was crash-landed by its brave civilian passengers. In a rare moment, the two put aside politics and exchanged greetings.

    After a ceremony and moment of silence, they consoled and talked to the small gathering of family members. The Vice President and Senator Harris also visited fire stations to commend the first responders to saved lives that day.

CNN 10 9/7/2020 ~ 9/11/2020

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for latest video

Monday, September 7,  2020

Happy Labor Day!

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Wildfires in California have prompted states of emergency in 5 different counties where 3 different fires are burning record-breaking amounts of land. Over 2 million acres have burned in the state, and the dry climate isn't helping. This weekend, temperatures also broke records, and the official wildfire season doesn't even start until October. The state of emergency will help get relief to those affected by the fires. The US election is coming up on November 3rd. There are many concerns that mail-in voting and COVID-19 concerns could delay the vote counts and keep Americans in suspense for weeks, like in the famous 2000 Florida recount. The two Voyager missions were launched in 1977, and they're still out there. They cost 2 billion dollars after calculating for inflation, and they are now farther from us than Pluto. They also carry information about human life in the 1970s should any alien species pick it up, but that isn't expected to happen.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

There is a virus coming along - and it's not the coronavirus. It's the flu. Flu season is coming up soon, and many of its symptoms are similar to that of COVID-19. The guidelines for both diseases are the same; stay at home. There are also suggestions that coronavirus safety protocols like masks and social distancing may help prevent the influenza virus from spreading. But many people have expressed concern that getting a vaccine may be unsafe. However, most hospitals and drug stores have safety measures in place, and getting the flu shot is your best bet at preventing the disease. Also due to the coronavirus, a record number of young adults are now living with their parents, 52% to be exact. The last time it was that high was during the end of the Great Depression. Scientists know that when astronauts go into space, microgravity causes muscle loss. Now, rodents with muscle enhancing drugs have been sent into orbit to determine how efficient the drugs are and if there are any adverse side effects. The mice are now back on Earth, and researchers are examining what happened. Yesterday, we talked about the heat waves scorching across California. In the Rockies, the opposite is happening. After temperatures were in the upper 90s for most of the weekend, a sudden cold jet stream from Canada dropped temperatures near freezing, leading to one of the earliest major snowstorms for the region.

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Los Angeles County has banned trick or treating. It has also banned most group activities except for those conducted from inside cars. More than 500,000 kids have been infected with COVID-19, and even though they are less affected by the virus, officials say they should still be cautious. Another age group that is less severely impacted by the coronavirus: College students. Many universities have gone virtual, but some have reopened only to close down again. 37,000 cases have resulted from in-person college learning, mostly from off-campus parties that have been banned. Many colleges have suspended or even expelled students for doing so, and officials recommend testing every 2 days. There are two types of tests. The viral test checks for active diseases, and the antigen test checks for antibodies from a previous infection. PCR, or polymerase chain reaction testing checks for the genetic material of the virus and takes a couple days to process. Rapid tests are what they sound like - they are much faster, taking just 20 minutes, but are more prone to false positives and false negatives. Mr. Trash Wheel is a trash wheel that sits in the rivers leading to the Baltimore Harbor. It cleans up to 2.5 tons of trash from the water every day.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Today is the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It all began on a clear Tuesday morning at 8:45 a.m. A plane flew into the World Trade Center's north tower. Minutes later, at 9:03, a second plane flew into the south tower. Transportation into and out of New York and New Jersey was cut off, and President George W. Bush announced that the US was under a terrorist attack, closing all airports in the US in an unprecedented move. Then at 9:43, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon's fifth corridor. Just after 10:00 a.m., the top of the north tower fell down. The Pentagon soon followed, and a fourth hijacked jetliner crashed near a Pennslyvania airport. Government officials and the UN were evacuated, and America virtually froze to watch what was happening as first responders rushed to the scene. At 10:28, the second World Trade Center fell, and the destruction was over. In the days that followed, the President condemned those who had planned and assisted the attacks, and it was revealed that Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, was behind 9/11, and that Afghanistan's Taliban government had harbored them. 2,977 people died that day, more than the number who died on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Patriot Day was established in remembrance of those deceased in a unanimous vote by both the House and Senate. Both President Trump and Democratic nominee Biden are expected to attend a memorial ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the planes crashed. There will also be memorial services where the other planes crashed. Watch the video for a tour of the National September 11th Museum.