1. "Before me, the world had transformed into something obscenely beautiful: an exquisite sunset. The light of soft pink and magenta danced in the pools of tidal water and lingered on the fringes of the wavy sand." (Kira Salak, "The longest stretch of beach without sharks")2. In Hells Angels, a supposedly nonfiction account of the strange and dangerous world of the motorcycle gang, Hunter S. Thompson describes a typical gathering of motorcycle clubs across the state. In the heat of a late afternoon, the Gypsy Jokers arrive from Oakland, three dozen of the most notorious outlaw bikers to ever roar down California's highways. Once the dust had settled and the beers had opened, the Jokers stood by their bikes and looked with disgust at the smaller, less notorious clubs that were arriving; the Bakersfield Presidents, the San Diego Road Rats, the Oakland Lost Souls. On the morning of the Monterey Labor Day bike race, a tradition for bikers since the 1930s, the Jokers woke up angry and ready to fight. The evening before; in a bar that no one remembered entering or leaving, one of their new members had been severely beaten by the East Side Boys, a rival gang from East Oakland. There must have been violence and chaos before breakfast; just the way the Jokers like it. Adapted from Hells Angels, Hunter S. Thompson3. “For a few minutes the roof of the bus remains visible among the stunted trees, a small white glow in a growing wild green sea, and then it disappears.” (Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild)4. The best advice I've ever heard on punctuation is a simple statement from Sheridan Baker, a well-known prose stylist; 'Use the semi-co...... middle of paper ......da alerted his boss. Fearing his sponsors' reaction to such raw blues, Sullivan insisted that his guest not play his own material, but rather a cover of a traditional country tune "Sixteen Tons", a song already made popular by the singer white country Tennessee Ernie Ford. Legend has it that the young blues player accepted the change, but when the cameras turned on him, he unleashed a storm of southern blues and rock that bore his name "Bo Diddley." Sullivan was of course outraged; he threatened to end the singer's career. What Bo Diddley understood, however, was the genius of rock & roll, once released, it could never be put back in the bottle. A few months later, Sullivan had signed Little Richard, another fiery young black rocker, soon after Elvis and, ultimately, the Beatles.8. "I always know the end, that's where I start."