I Slam, Therefore I Am

Tonight was one of the most enjoyable nights I've had in a while up here at school.  We had a poetry slam: a few guys from the ward put together an amazing stage with lights, microphone, and music.  It was well attended and poems read ranged from the silly to the humorous to the deeply profound.  Rudyard Kipling, Invictus, Shel Silverstein - the gamut of emotions was arrayed there.  We had a rousing performance of a wardmember using the lyrics of a popular song.  He it was, in fact, who won the best performance.

What other collection of youth in the world would organically put together such an event?  They had some books of poetry lying around and I found one I'd never heard before called "Regarding a Door" and read that.  Overall a great night.

First duplicate snowflake found!

PROVO, UT -- The frozen theory of snowflake uniqueness was shattered today as local Provo resident Harvey Bright announced that he has found a snowflake that he has definitely seen before.

"I swear I saw this same design on Monday!" he shouted Wednesday evening as glittery flakes filled the night sky and his car-driving neighbor slid into a poplar tree due to the slushy road.  Further discovery was abruptly brought to an end as Harvey hurried to extract his friend from the wreckage.  By the time Harvey was again available for comment, the snowflake had melted.

Ever since the study of what are scientifically called "snow crystals" started in 1611 with Johannes Kepler's treatise On the Six-Cornered Snowflake, scientists and laypeople alike have maintained that every snowflake's crystal structure is unrepeatable.  Even about.com, a respected scientific knowledgebase, admits that "no two snowflakes are exactly identical."

"Duplicity of snow crystals is so highly unlikely that it is equivalent to the possibility of finding a penguin tied to a rocket orbiting the moon in the 1930s.  It just isn't feasible," advocated a BYU spokesperson from the Department of Cold-Weather Research as recently as 2010.  Harvey's discovery will be shocking news to a community that has long considered the uniqueness of snow crystals to be as much of a scientific law as Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

"This certainly will have long-reaching impact," a city official publicly stated in a press conference held this morning at the courthouse.  "Provo city is considering the purchase of a new 'Welcome to Provo' sign with this discovery highlighted at the bottom."

Tourism is expected to increase dramatically as word of this discovery reaches all of America and eventually, all the world.

Ski resorts in the mountains surrounding Provo are hoping to capitalize as well.  Sherry Youd, who asked to remain anonymous, is the marketing director of one of Provo's premiere ski resorts.  She excitedly commented, "What has long been hailed as the greatest snow on earth now takes on a whole new meaning.  'The Greatest Snow on Earth...Twice' or 'Snowflake Found its Snowmate: So Can You' . . . possibilities of catch-phrases are endless.  This could be the biggest advertising campaign yet!"

The history of snow crystal research is long and varied, with famous names like Wilson Bentley photographing snowflakes in 1931 and Ukichiro Nakaya performing systematic snow crystal research in 1954.  Harvey truly has been standing on the "shoulders of giants" in this discovery.

According to a new city ordinance, local residents are expected to assess their coat sleeves periodically while it snows in hopes of confirming Harvey's discovery.

More info about snowflakes from about.com
More info about snowflake history