Writing for HS, AM (Scalice, '07)
Elliot Lee
Posted by ELee at 2007/07/08 14:00:19 PDT
Response

Here is a speech given by V, from "V for Vendetta," and anyone who reads it will appreciate the valor and beef of it all.

"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security, the familiar, the tranquility, repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us tospeak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and depression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot."

I believe what he believes. I believe that we live our lives, day after day, doing the same things-- and we feel good about it. "Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and depression." And although this is Parliament, and although what Sir Thomas More deemed as Utopia in 1515, this "ideal society" has lost its meaning in our world. What we call unfortunate events and inadequacy is exactly what the author, in this so called "rant," is talking about in his second premise of his worldview. "How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror."

This, "ideal society," is no more than a fragment of our imagination. Not because it's too far out of our reach, but because we're too far out of it's reach. This idea never changed, this feeling never changed, the only thing that changed was us; and it was for the worse. We allowed ourselves to believe that our government was going to put band aids on our every mistake, and that we had this mindset that whatever we did was meaningless. All the government wanted was our, "silent, obedient consent," in return for "peace" and "order". And that was our fatal flaw in the logic of libertarianism.


Posted by ELee at 2007/07/05 11:54:35 PDT
Word play

Undescriptive word: skinnier

Uncle Tony, the skinnier, Asian-version of Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, would make ribs.

Revised: Uncle Tony, the lanky and lean Asian-version of Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, would make ribs.

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Tangible nouns:
world, cake, pie, trees, anchor, glasses, mike and ike candy, light, Godzilla, trucker hat, cellphone, cookies

Intangible nouns:
wisdom, fear, hate, love, sadness, dreams, truth, thoughts, compassion, justice, religion, somber, feelings

Metaphors:
A cake of love
An anchor of hate
A light of religion
A Godzilla of dreams
A tree of fear
A pie of compassion
A glass of wisdom
A light of truth
A world of thoughts

Forms:
A anchor of hate
Hate is an anchor
Hate's anchor

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Yellow:

Yellow is the color of new journies. The color of a new day in the brisk dawn of defeat. Yellow is the beginning, the end, and the start of all things imaginable. Light's yellow brings wantons light of heart. Versatility and agility..... :[

Chocolate:

Chocolate is the color of new journies. The color of a new day in the brisk dawn of defeat. Chocolate is the beginning, the end, and the start of all things imaginable. Chocolate's happiness brings wantons light of heart.

revisions: journies looks funny. strangely, it flows really well.

Water:

Water is the color of new journies. The color of a new day in the brisk dawn of defeat. Water is the beginning, the end, and the start of the flow of life. Water's effusion brings wantons light of heart. Versaility and agility able water to uniqueness and elusiveness.

Yellow/Chocolate/Water:

Fun is what connects these three things together. Water is fun. Chocolate is fun. Yellow seems fun. And yet, all these three things take different forms.

New words:

Red is the color of new journies. The color of the end of a harsh day in the brisk dawn of defeat, and the beginning to a new yellow. A new yellow brings wantons light of heart.


Posted by ELee at 2007/07/01 21:55:11 PDT
Descriptive Essay

I remember the old, abandoned tire swing in the backyard. It swayed like a gigantic pendulum in the faint wind from the stable, yet seemingly undependable, branch that it hung from. Behind the wooden fence of their backyard, swam lush grass over the voluptuous hills that ended with finely cut houses. In the same faint wind, blows the sea with unison and uniform of green for miles.

I remember a rusted, charcoal black barbecue that sat next to the tire swing. It was only used on family reunions and other special occasions. Uncle Tony, the skinnier, Asian-version of Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, would make ribs. After being forced to try new variations of Tony’s different barbecue sauce, his family would be sickened until it was perfect. He would accumulate many different items and chuck them all together in a big stirring pot and wooden spatula. In the end, no matter what things he did or did not add to the pot, is what made the sauce special. They all mixed into something that was flawless in a certain way.

I remember my aunt’s laugh. It sounded like the death of a squirrel being pummeled by a truck. My cousins and I used to lock eyes at each other before cracking up the moment we heard it. She had bright, crimson red hair that deviated from most Asians’, and wore ruby pink lipstick to compliment.

I remember an old, wooden, grand piano that sat in the living room. Every key, no matter in what combination, sounded congenial with the acoustics of a tall ceiling. My cousins were geniuses and how they would improvise piano songs conveyed through many different tunes. On the couch that faced the same direction as the piano, we would just listen, think, or in some cases, sleep, as they continued throughout their harmonic melody.

I remember my cousin’s house.


Posted by ELee at 2007/06/28 10:24:34 PDT
Edited at 2007/07/01 21:56:21 PDT
Descriptive Essay

Messed up

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