contemporary

So our narcissism has bared forth an unflattering nakedness that shames our species. But this is humanity. This is our condition.

Sometimes violence is necessary to prevent even more violence,_ I concluded, almost as if it were an epiphany.

I am Not, but the Universe is my Self.

I__ not sure. But _ unless I__ struggling with the darkness within _ I like to sustain the illusion that death is actually much further from me than it really is.

Om is that God of love. Like a loving mother Om cleans us of our clutters collected through many incarnations.

Om is the things, Om is the ingredient, Om is the container and the content of this universe.

It__ not a bad thing, if you__e responsible about it. Just don__ start having boyfriends. Wait until you__e found your husband._ __nd how am I supposed to find a husband if I can__ have a boyfriend until then?_ I asked ironically.

You and your siblings are the most precious part of my life. And of all my children, you have the most potential to go anywhere you wish in this world _ your test scores and grades have always been among the highest of your peers. But it__ clear now that you cannot reach your full potential in Syria.

I am ready for battle. I am ready to fight.

Fair enough_No inhaling battery acid,_ I smirk. __e can__ breathe batteryacid, can we?

She felt the cold blast from the sterile air conditioning on her bare arms and thighs, as she ambled down the center of the shopping complex's ground floor.The scene was a swirl of candy bright lights--the Victoria's Secret fuchsia signboard, signboards which lured one to purchase "confidence," or "sexual appeal," or whatever it was that was being advertised--the fluorescent lights in each store, contrasting with the shiny, black-tiled walls and eye-catching speckled marble tiles on the ground.One could lick the floor--the tiles were spotless, clean like the fake air she was breathing in, like the atoms and cells in her that were decaying in stale neglect.

Maybe she knew some day it would become my job. My job to complete the melody she had begun.

He faced Doug. His eyes were wet. "I am not one of your tricks, Douglas.""Of course, you're not.""That's what I feel like tonight, seeing you in there with all those bodies. One of a thousand nights. One of a thousand fucks. And fuck you for making me feel this way. And fuck you again for making me say fuck in this beautiful place.

Any man's a fool who lets himself be a wage-earning slave, today.

Look, girls know when they__e cute,_ he said. __ou don__ have to tell them. All they need to do is look in the mirror. I have one friend out in New York, an attorney. She moved out there after the school year to take the bar. She doesn__ have a job. I was like, __ow are you going to get a job there in this market?_ And she__ like, ____l wink and I__l smile._ She__ a pretty girl. Whether that works despite her poor grades is yet to be seen.

Don't be tricked by the verisimilitude into forgetting this is fiction!

Honest dishonesty. That__ quite the oxymoron _ but I like the originality that you__e brought to bear in the art of rationalization. Maybe you should consider becoming a lawyer,_ he added jokingly.

From personal adversity comes great art