The Life Of Sohum

Hello and welcome back to random words strung together in an order that seemingly makes sense. Pineapples? Pineapples. In an ode to failure man, I am writing this at 11:79 PM. Pineapples are meant to be deep-fried before consumption. How does this relate? Yes. Another example: I like potatoes.  Potatoes taste good. Potatoes eat sunlight. I like potatoes. I am potato. Now I'd like to pose a question in response: But are you throughout heaven and earth I alone am the kagurabachi because your nah I'd win or are you nah I'd win because your stand proud you are strong? If you stick a fork into an outlet, you get shocked. Don't trust me? I dare you to try.  I hope at this point you're as confused as I am. Stick with me here, watch as I somehow BS my way into connecting this with the Stranger. I'd like to share with you another poem. It's short and has plenty of meaning. I watched as my grade plummeted as Mrs. Liamini read this blog post. Her mind was racing in an ...

Schadenfreude - (noun) pleasure derived by another's misfortune. Often seen in comedies such as those YouTube compilations in which people get hurt in unfortunate accidents or even in Home Alone in which the bad guys fail at every turn, Schadenfreude often plays a pivotal role in how humor is perceived. As one of the few means of humor that impacts all generations equally, it can provide a bridge to connect the gen Alphas with their skibidi toilets with older generations who grew up watching Tom and Jerry. Not all humor can bridge gaps and transcend generational boundaries but the hilarity of experiencing others' pain and suffering is one of the few shared experiences. For example, Hajra's horrific screw-up at the Orchestra's Spooktacular will be a tale for generations. It could even be the collective screw-up of everyone in Physics C this year on the latest test. Maybe (just maybe) it might be enough for Mr. Glynn to consider adding additional curves to all future test...

     Things are not always black and white. A true writer writes in ways that create different subjective experiences for each reader. Characters can do the right action for the wrong reasons or the improper action for the right reason. Of these two characters, who is justifiable? Is it neither? Is it both? Or does it depend?      In the case of Oedipus Rex, a case can be made for both arguments. Oedipus can either be seen as either a victim of fate or as one in control of his fate. From the perspective of a reader who believes that fate is strict and unchangeable, Oedipus may be alleviated from the blame of his actions. Yet, from another perspective, Oedipus can be seen as not doing enough to avoid his tragic fate and derailing the prophecy. No matter what anyone says, the facts are there: Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The only question is whether he is to blame. There is no right answer, and there is no wrong answer.    ...

 (Inspired by Steven Li)      A Night in Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie - arguably Dizzy’s most recognizable piece.      Dizzy Gillespie, known for his effortless yet blazing solos, through his contributions to pieces like A Night in Tunisia, Dizzy was able to bring in a new era of jazz: bebop. Alongside Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, Dizzy helped bring the new generation of complex, faster, and interactive music to the forefront of the jazz community. His unique approach to the piece’s structure made this standard a turning point in jazz music. Using bebop language, Dizzy leaves the listener wondering: “What’s coming next?”      This confusion created through tension and release is a standard device for writers and musicians. Arundhati Roy’s novel “The God of Small Things” also plays into this. Roy’s use of non-linear narratives that shift between several periods and perspectives leaves the readers guessing as they try to piece togethe...

      When I say “Physics C is fun,” people look at me like I’m some sort of crazy masochist who enjoys suffering. While they may be right, I still feel like I have a firm grasp of Physics C and can make connections to real life.       For example, Physics has a loose connection to the concept of “fate.” According to Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. You could say this also applies to life. In Oedipus Rex, when Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother, albeit unknowingly, he too must pay the price for his actions through the suffering of his people. I swear I’m not going crazy.       In Physics C, we are stuck with challenging problems that make us want to either give up on Physics for the rest of our lives and never touch a textbook again or straight up jump off a cliff to calculate the final velocity of our falling bodies. I believe it is reasonable to surmise that Oe...

I often tell people that I hate my instrument. It's true! Even though I consider myself good at it, I do hate the trumpet. It's not uncommon for me to look back and think, "I wish I never picked this stupid instrument back in fifth grade." Most non-instrument players believe that "it just has three valves and only 27 combinations, how hard could it be?" Well, you're wrong. Out of those 27 combinations, only 7 are used. “Shouldn’t that make it even easier?” It’s quite the opposite, to get access to the full range of the instrument (over 40 distinct pitches), the trumpet utilizes a system called partials which allows for many notes to be hit with a single combination. In addition, most notes can be hit with different combinations of keys (an A in the staff can be played with the combinations 12 or 3). This problem gets even worse the higher you go with notes being only a half step apart (the smallest possible distance between notes) and able to be played w...

Through Bryan Stevenson's introduction of his book, Just Mercy, we see how Bryan chose the path of a Lawyer and how he fell deeply in love with his work. We learn of a Henry who seems so regretful of whatever crime he did to put him on death row. Bryan humanizes the initial thoughts he had when going to meet a presumably violent inmate and shows how the man is by no means a murderous person and seems "like everyone [he'd] grown up with." Now, is this man deserving of his current situation of living with the fear of death looming overhead with no knowledge of when it is coming? While I don't know the situation of the crime, I think most would assume that Henry, a seemingly sane man with a family to take care of, would not commit a violent crime without reason. Since Henry does not seem like he would commit a crime again and neither does he seem dangerous, would it not be reasonable to say that the purpose of prison has succeeded without the need for any additional ...