Baggage
Anonymous, ’24. Nonfiction / Essay. I travel light. The only things I would ever need on almost any trip would be mywallet, my necklace, my phone, and of course a couple changes of clothes. But that’sbasically it. Granted I don’t travel a lot, but when I do, I never end up using thecountless leisure items stashed away in my suitcase or backpack. Obviously having afew more items would make my life easier, but if I had to get on a plane right now, those3 would be the first things I’d be sure to grab.My wallet has a sentimental value…
Keep readingThe Fall
Anonymous, ’24. Nonfiction / Essay. The second he ducked around the trees and saw what was below, my grandfather knew he was in trouble. James Reilley was a lieutenant colonel in the army; he spent four years in Vietnam during the war. Luckily, he survived, and when he finished his duty, he went on to work as a paratrooper instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He was a large man, a former tight end at William and Mary. I mostly remember him wearing jeans and flannel shirts. His hearty laugh could fill up an entire room. And…
Keep readingMyself
Agnese DelVecchio, ’25. Vignette. The secret to my success was always quite simple – be yourself. For me, that meant being a confident, easy-going, hard-working, smart young lady. That meant laughing too loud and too quickly at dad jokes. It meant talking to people sitting quietly alone, whether they wanted to talk to me or not, and playing with my siblings on trampolines. It meant raising my hand to answer, despite my hatred of being put on the spot, just so a teacher won’t have to repeat the question. It meant reading while walking and jumping whenever anyone shouted…
Keep readingBaggage
By Anonymous, ’24. Essay. I travel light. The only things I would ever need on almost any trip would be my wallet, my necklace, my phone, and of course a couple changes of clothes. But that’s basically it. Granted I don’t travel a lot, but when I do, I never end up using the countless leisure items stashed away in my suitcase or backpack. Obviously having a few more items would make my life easier, but if I had to get on a plane right now, those 3 would be the first things I’d be sure to grab. My…
Keep readingBrief Thoughts on a Few Books
By Senior Contributing Editor, Andrew Ng, ’22 Hello readers! As part of Red Ink’s new series of reviews and criticism, I’m offering my brief thoughts on a few works of fiction I’ve read recently. More reviews—of music, art, food, literature, and other areas—will be coming soon from myself and other Red Ink contributors! The Castle and The Metamorphosis: People need to realize that Kafka is funny. Not Stephen Colbert or “The Office” in-your-face-this-is-humor funny, but satirical in his own way. Similar (though different at the same time) to Vonnegut’s dark humor. But people tend to recognize Vonnegut’s humor more…
Keep readingDismal Propaganda
A book review by Senior Contributing Editor Andrew Ng, ’22 Naked Economics is a strange book. On one hand, it offers a somewhat useful and interesting introduction to basic economic concepts. But on the other hand, it is no more than a propaganda piece; like a bad sponsored Youtube video, except it’s capitalism and not Raycon earbuds sponsoring. Wheelan’s lies range from awful strawmen of alternatives to capitalism to a typical glorification of Bill Gates. Some readers might overlook these as simply par for the course for the classical economic establishment. But the real problem with Naked Economics lies…
Keep readingWhat Is to Be Done
An essay by Senior Contributing Editor Andrew Ng, ’22 Vladimir: Nothing you can do about it. Estragon: No use struggling. Vladimir: One is what one is. Estragon: No use wriggling. Vladimir: The essential doesn’t change. Estragon: Nothing to be done. – Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot Vladimir and Estragon experience the Absurd, facing up against the purposelessness of life and the hopelessness of the world. The Absurd is, as Camus worded it, the “divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting.” The question of life – the question of living – bears heavily on the absurd man…
Keep readingThe Universality of Bad Foreign Policy
A book review by Senior Contributing Editor Andrew Ng, ’22. Chomsky’s best-selling Hegemony or Survival is a masterful dissection of US foreign policy from the 2nd World War up to the US invasion of Iraq. While his acerbic tone may not be for everyone, I personally enjoyed Chomsky’s heavy dose of sarcasm and biting criticism of the US government, a welcome relief after my traversal of Piketty’s incredibly dry Capital and Ideology (review here). Chomsky frequently points out the blatant hypocrisy of government statements and policy, emphasizing the “logical illogicalities” to great effect. For example, one of my favorite…
Keep readingA Review of Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology
A review by Andrew Ng, Senior Contributing Editor Although it is uneven, long, and at times dry and unconvincing, Piketty’s second major book remains an interesting analysis of the inequality through history and of our present-day politics. The scope of the book is incredibly ambitious, reaching from pre-revolution French inequality to modern-day Brazilian politics. But that ambition comes at a cost: the multitude of historical examples Piketty explains can feel unnecessarily long and sometimes makes the writing feel boring and repetitive. Capital in the 21st Century, Piketty’s first book, was primarily an economics text, focusing on a detailed analysis…
Keep readingimmanuel kant’s utilitarian earbuds
an essay by Jacob Landau, ’22 The lovely sheer of the alloys in her ear overwhelm the natural brightness of her blue eyes popping out of the mysterious shadows in her eyes. Her skin is of a pale rosy color, and yet instead the optic nerve is compelled to observe where the vestibule meets her cochlea and where the devil’s unfortunate return manifests itself in the auditory prowess of mammals. Sometimes the smallest things are the most welcoming— a warm welcome from a friend, a butterfly struggling to lift herself off the ground or a slight quirk in the…
Keep readingvanilla pudding
a recipe from Inara Parini, ’19 Packaged pudding often contains too many artificial flavors and colors. Not this one! The color and flavor naturally come from the egg in the pudding. The recipe is simple, easy and quick. It’s the perfect way to end a meal! Top a bowl off with fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate chips, sprinkles or even crushed pretzels. To serve chilled, place the pudding in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1/2 cup of white sugar (This can vary depending on how sweet you like it) 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch 1/8 teaspoon…
Keep readingsteinbeck’s genesis
thoughtsharing* by Rebecca Eneyni, ’19 I strongly recommend reading the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck, which I recently read as part of my author thesis project. East of Eden follows the story of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, as their lives intersect across generations. John Steinbeck reenacts the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry between Cain and Abel. As generations of the family fall into the pitfalls of their ancestors, East of Eden proves the phrase, “History repeats itself.” In describing the two families, Steinbeck explores the power of jealousy and the moral conflicts…
Keep readinga transformers movie review
a thoughtsharing* by Owen Conway, ’20 I personally love the new Transformers movies. I can never understand why critics seem to hate all of the new remakes, especially considering the fact that the movie is about giant alien robots, and it has said giant alien robots. I never truly liked the generality of the third movie; it was good, but it was not as good as all the other three because it seemed to have too many coincidences and/or plot holes. Just some background info on the new remakes; they are directed by Michael Bay, who is…
Keep readingthe written word
prose by Corynne Stollerman, ’19 — winner of our winter contest! When you’re little, you always practice your signature. What if I become famous someday? you ask yourself, scrawling the letters over and over again on any old piece of scrap paper you can find. You decide to experiment: an extra curl here, a flourish there, maybe even a circle over the I if you feel super confident that day. Like so many kids, I too went through this practice in my younger days. I imagined myself sitting at a table in some convention…
Keep readingon writing a novel in a month
thoughtsharing* by Ramya Yandava, ’17 November is National Novel Writing Month, which means I am subjecting myself to the same torture for the fourth year in a row. Why I am, I don’t know; I have never managed to actually win NaNoWriMo (i.e. write 50,000 words in a month), although every year, I begin with a sort of foolish optimism, telling myself that of course this’ll be the year and that I can totally manage to write 50,000 words in between schoolwork, studying, extracurriculars, and college applications. The first of my NaNo problems is that I have…
Keep readingtaking a moment to look up
thoughtsharing* by Arianna Baffa, ’20 Have you ever wondered how you would survive if you were born decades ago, when you couldn’t call you mom at a moment’s notice to pick you up or when Netflix didn’t even exist yet? I definitely can’t. But I’ve also come to notice the addiction people have with technology. People have come to feel like social media is an adequate replacement for real interactions with your friends or family. On one half day, I was walking into Dunkin’ Donuts with my friend and I noticed some boys sitting at a…
Keep readingthoughts on books
thoughtsharing* by Bianca Falcone, ’20 There are so many books in the world. It is amazing to think about all the unknown voices that could fill your head, all the unknown stories out there that could break your heart. It is so upsetting that so many kids dislike reading. Reading is taught to you as boring school work when it should been seen and taught as an amazing experience. It is a way to lose yourself in another world. The words leap off the pages and spring to your head, making the characters and plot come to life. Some…
Keep readinga modern lenten tradition
thoughtsharing* by Caterina Baffa, ’17 I haven’t watched a youtube video or gone on Buzzfeed since Wednesday, February 10th. Every spring, Catholics across the globe celebrate a Church season called Lent. “Lent” means spring; just as spring represents rebirth and new life, Lent is the season which prepares people for the new life to come at Easter. Many people abstain from a particular food, practice, or item for the forty days of Lent in recognition of this preparatory season. This year, just I have the past few years, I have abstained from going on the internet for fun. Now,…
Keep readingthirteen ways of looking at my writer’s block
confession by Rachel Landau, ’16 1. People should pursue the pleasure of writing about their interests. For example, I would love to write an essay about painted doors, and loud music, and loneliness. Note that Mrs. Dalloway does not make this short list of acceptable subjects. 2. Assignment sheets represent the inevitable doom of the written word. 3. In order for something to be known, it must be justified, true, and believed. It must also possess some fourth trait, currently unknown despite the many philosophers devoted to its discovery. That’s right, folks: We don’t know anything at all. Not even…
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