Brief 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…
Dismal 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…
What 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 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…
A 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…
immanuel 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…
vanilla 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,…
steinbeck’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…
a 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 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,…
on 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…
taking 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…
thoughts 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…
a 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…
thirteen 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…
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