Frisco Pigeon Mambo

It's been a week since I seriously read the newspaper now (I've only been skimming the headlines), so I'll write about a book that I have been trying to read for the last three weeks. It is called Frisco Pigeon Mambo, written by C.D. Payne (author of Youth in Revolt). I've read about 60 pages, but lately, ever since I started this gym routine, I find myself ready to fall asleep before I can finish one page. Well, anyway, the book is about pigeons that are the subject of animal testing in a lab at Berkeley. The main pigeons of the story have been given sherry to drink, cigarettes to smoke, and have been told that they are human in their lab. Some animal rights activists break into the lab and set the pigeons loose on the streets of San Francisco. The pigeons begin acquiring alcohol and cigarettes through any means necessary, often stealing cigarettes right out of the mouths of pedestrians. I know, it's silly, but it's amusing. My favorite line so far is, "Pluck out my gizzard and call it pate!", spoken by the formidable pigeon Wallace. Lately I find myself looking at the pigeons of Cambridge, Massachusetts in a whole new light.

I'll try to comment on something political soon, but this homework assignment has been a huge set back in my schedule. I don't understand why I have to spend the better part of 2 days coding (and I'm still not done!) algorithms that are already available through a simple Google search. Yes, I know, it's the learning experience (that was dripping with sarcasm in case you couldn't tell).