What the AP Biology Textbook Has to Say

I've decided to give those readers out there who have not taken this class a taster of what the rest of us biology students learn in class. Mind you, these are just some facts I found slightly more interesting than others. As for the people who have or are taking AP Bio, can't you just wait until this brute memorization is over? I definitely don't hate this class, but it's occasionally frustrating to have an unreliable teacher paired with certain hard to understand concepts. Anyways, here they are:
1. Have you ever wondered what a Gram Stain is? Probably not, but just for your information, it's a test developed by Hans Gram who discovered a way to distinguish certain kinds of bacteria from each other. After the cells are washed, they are stained with dye and the ones with peptidoglycan as their cell wall are Gram positive and the ones with a thinner layer are Gram negative. Which is more dangerous? Gram negative.
2. Charles Darwin is not the only person in his lifetime to develop the theory of Natural Selection! Although in the 1840s he had indeed been working on this idea in London, he was quite reluctant to publish his findings. However, his buddy Charles Lyell urged him, otherwise "someone else might soon". Lo and behold, along comes Alfred Wallace who sends Darwin a manuscript of his own similar theory of natural selection! Darwin was not going to have years of hard work to go to waste, so he immediately piblished The Origin of Species and Wallace ended up agreeing that Darwin had a better developed theory.
3. Mitochondria and chloroplasts are the only cell organelles with their own DNA and ribosomes.
4. Plants go through cellular respiration in addition to photosynthesis.
5. Three steps in cellular respiration: Glycolysis, Citic Acid Cycle, and Electron Transport Chain. Two steps in photosynthesis: Light Reactions and Calvin Cycle.
6. History of animals can be 1,000,000,000+ years old! 99% of all animal species could ne extinct.
7. The above can be divided into eras: Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.
That's all I'm saying for now, if you're not bored already! I just happen to be studying for a test and felt like writing about what I know. Next post will most likely be travel related (London, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv...perhaps?) Wait and see!
Stay classy everyone and March Madness is here!

Some Recommendations

This post will be a book recommendation. Now I'm sure you've all probably read or at least skimmed through various great works of literature in your busy lives, but the following three books are a must-read for people of all ages. Night and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and The Help. Ok, so I agree that younger kids are a little young for these, but I think any mature person above age 11 can read these (even if they aren't bookworms). I first read Night a couple years ago as part of a "trilogy" series from Elie Wiesel.

This was before I was in high school, so I had not yet realized the significance and depth of this 120 page novel. Now, after my class had nearly analyzed the book to shreds (I'm sure all of us have earned the official status as "Certified Night Interpreter"), I highly recommend this book to others wishing to read something else besides works from the monotonous murder mystery/romance novel/chick-lit craze people of the 21st century are currently going through. Take this book, if you haven't already. This isn't just a story about a teen's experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, but also about how one can lose hope in their faith yet gain a deeper understanding of it, and some of the true horrors of humanity. (Sorry if I sound like an English teacher, as you can tell, we really interpreted it.).

On that happy note, let's move on to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire.

Not to be a hypocrite or anything, but I first came in contact with and read this book in 7th grade. But hey, booklovers can't be stopped just because of imaginary age limits! All I could say after reading this novel was: "Wow, Gregory Maguire is a genius!" Then I pleaded with my parents to buy tickets to see Wicked: The Musical. Well, the cajoling wasn't successful that time, but I promised myself to see it sometime. Soon. Anyways, what I love about this book is the magical world of Oz created by Maguire, with only part of it inspired by the Wizard of Oz. I realize that many of us loved Harry Potter so much that we decided to write sequels of the books not yet published, like the 4th, 5th, and 6th (the 7th is untouchable; only J.K. Rowling knows how it ends. And we would probably destroy the story :) I thought it was so creative how the author made the people/Animals/animals a cross between medieval style and 18th-19th century style. Not to mention Elphaba and Glinda! What was originally the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch now become college roommates at Shiz University. Who could have thought of that?! So, what happens when two people from opposite backgrounds are forced to be roommates and a young Prince sweeps in? Oh, and did I mention Elphaba has green skin? If you have questions, read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Last, but certainly not least, let me introduce one of my newest favorite books: The Help by Kathryn Stockett! I swear I didn't read it after the movie came out. I actually read this last year, and became engrossed after reading the first two pages. Obviously, the movie was just fantasitc, but I highly recommend reading the book before watching the film, no matter how much you have heard about the infamous "Minny's Chocolate Pie" scene! The Help is about a white lady who recently graduated from the University of Mississppi and two maids living in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. Clearly, the Civil Rights Movements are play a tremendous role in the backdrop of this book, but I also believe that a novel like this needed to be written sooner or later. Even though the characters are fictional, Stockett states that she uses her childhood in Jackson as the inspiration of this story, so the readers know most of these characters' experiences were very real. It was slightly depressing at times to see the wretched Hilly Holbrook and other white ladies use their silent force to dominate white and black society, but it was also hilarious at certain parts, especially when the loud-mouthed, sassy maid Minny narrates. Just as it says on the cover, this book is a phenomenal read and readers of all ages can enjoy seeing the lives of these three different women cross paths to reveal the atrocities of racial segregation in 1960s America. Read it. You won't regret it.

Enjoy and be sure to drink hot chocolate with marshmallows to fully relax and forget about everything else!

Student is Back From Midterms!

Hey everyone!! Anticipating Valentine's Day?
We all just finished midterms this week so it'll be great to get some free time back. Now's the perfect time to catch up on reading (Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice) and sit back and relax...well, as much as one can in addition to homework and other things. I'm just ecstatic that finals are over because it's just an awesome feeling to get those off my back and I'm sure every student agrees! I might talk about some National Forensics League things, since Quals are fast approaching. By the way, I'm mostly a Public Forum debater so if anyone wants to for a discussion group online, along with the millions of other discussion groups, just let me know! Hopefully I can turn this into a book, entertainment, student life, and debate blog one day, but that will take sometime, so we'll see. Just wanted to let you all know that I, as well as many others, are thankfully still alice after those late-night study sessions for 1 1/2 weeks. Enjoy the rest of January; it's a great month, so don't let it slip through you fingers that fast!! More posts to follow soon!

First Post of the Year!

Hey everyone! Hope 2012 is going great!
A student confession: There's nothing better to start the first month of the new year prepping for midterms...not! As always, there is going to be various things to study, especially when your teacher continues to disperse new material until 3 days before finals. Sorry, but posts this month are going to be sparse, because if you don't want to fail, then you better start cracking open those textbooks...assuming you already did :) So the fun begins after the third week of January. Hopefully snow will come to the Northeast again...miss the cold, powdery goodness already! Just as a present for all those late night study times.

Bye for now!

Last Post of the Year!

Hey! For lack of anything else to say, and not wanting to jinx things,

Happy New Year!!
Hope 2012 is a great year for everyone :)
And if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch the New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City Times Square!
Stay classy, because this will be a BIG year!

As the Year Winds Down...

This'll be a short post. But I just wanted to look back on what's happened the past year:         
           1. Aced all the finals. Otherwise, I worked my butt off for nothing.
           2. The Royal Wedding. (Ok, this wasn't my accomplishment, but it's the Diana wedding of this century!)
           3. Took part and became an ambassador of this Thai Exchange my school does.
           4. Had an amazingly productive and un-boring summer. Which consisted of: Summer Gym  (blah, but so glad I got it over with!), Volunteering at a local hospital and senior citizens' place, which I still do, Took tennis lessons and played every other day, read various books of my own choosing, seeing Harry Potter 7 Part 2-Sad but fantastic, and traveling to Great Britain (more on that later). And actually hung out with and saw friends for once this summer.
 After my astoundingly great summer, the school year had to start again. So here's what else that happened in a nutshell:
           5. Took a terrible school picture, as usual.
           6. "Enjoying" AP Biology, and all the other classes.
           7. Won at a debate competition, first time! Way to go National Forensic League :)
           8. Became co-captain of field hockey team!
           9. Had a great Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (3 in a row!). Scored amazing deals at Black Friday shopping.
           10. Became a judge at a local math competition. So much fun!
           11. Anticipating the coming of 2012! Post will follow.

Thoughts on The Nutcracker

It's December 28th and here I am, writing about The Nutcracker. It seems a like a belated post, but I mean, who isn't captivated by this family classic, even after seeing it 3 times before? The last time I had seen this fantastic ballet was around 4 years ago. Now that I'm just a year or two short of finishing high school, it was about time to see it again! Under the agreement with my parents this "would be the last time before graduation", I finally secured two pretty top-notch seats.
         We live in the suburbs around 20 minutes from the city, so I relish rare occasions when I see the nightlife. All I can say is, I'm not the only person to think of getting Starbucks before seeing a show. The air around us was misted with steam from my gingerbread latte and other people's holiday delights in a cup. This is what happens when you're tied down with schoolwork, field hockey, and soccer: you forget your city's cultural life. Use your imaginations, people. A theatre lobby, with elaborate embellishments adorned all around the ceiling and walls, with shiny glass mirrors running from top to bottom. The chandeliers are slightly dim, giving off that rich glow, with people laughing and bustling around you, with Christmas decorations in all the right places. In the huge theatre, groups of elegantly dressed people are taking their seats, calmly flipping through programs with an enormous chandelier hanging above. (This isn't the Paris Opera House, by the way)......
        And the lights dim...the Nutcracker Overture starts. The curtains open, and the dancers pretend like there's no large audience watching them. I finally feel Christmas cheer. The rest of the show can't be put into words, because it is a holiday classic and any summarization from would just take its novelty away. Enjoy the rest of winter!