Dear Chaos: January 2013

If blogging were a piggy bank, I’d owe it a long post, followed by a continually compounded interest rate of words upon sentences upon paragraphs. In other words, I’m long overdue for writing some thoughts here. Apologies!

However, in lieu of one super long post, I am leaving a series of short reflections. Some may be humorous, others amusing, but all of it based true stories.

J’apprends une langue!

If French were a programming language, I would have never passed that Intermédiarie Français class. Instead, every grammatically incorrect statement would have led my French TA (au fait, il s’appelle Clément) to morph into Agent Smith, Matrix-style. Eventually, a swarm of Agent Smiths would build up to alter the definition of baguette and “pam-pleh-mousse” for some evil purpose. Yes, this is what I picture happening when typing a flawed line of code while practicing Visual Basics. No, I’m pretty sure the Chosen One is someone else.

A Real-Life Matrix Experience

To continue on the Matrix theme, I recently finished a book that reads like the film trilogy (in about 300 pages, give or take). The crazy part is it’s a real-life account. The crazier part is it’s written about financial industries while being a page-turner. 

Titled Dark Pools, author Scott Patterson provides an electrifying tale of how stocks became increasingly traded between algorithm-filled machines in the millionths and billionths of seconds. In less than an eye’s blink, trillions of dollars switch hands across the United States. Trillions! For anyone interested in equities and stock markets, this is a must-read. If you enjoyed the Matrix movies, I would also recommend this book.

Okay, I’ll stop making that reference now.

An Almost Love Poem

Can you write love poems without being in love? Is it like finding rain without clouds? Is that an entirely over-used parallel?

The following poem started out as a belated Christmas gift for a friend, in a sarcastic, inside-joke, kind of way. But it made me wonder how perspectives are shaped on poetry or art in general.

For example, while my friend “enjoyed” my poem, she also wrote “That’s it?” in response to a Neruda line: I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees. But that was before I told her who had written those words.

Before I ramble on, here was my poem. Be warned, it probably won’t be submitted for a Pulitzer Prize.

After-dark

And what of love

In my mind, in the after-dark,

But morning dew before yellow hues.

She holds her form, the only shimmer

That dots the blackened figure.

And what sparks shine upon lights

But that of love,

In my mind, in the after-dark.

So what did you think? And do you have any advice on learning French or computer languages? Better yet, do you have any good books to recommend? A curious mind would like to know.