Dear Someone...

Dear Kim Jong Il:

We all know that you’re out there in your little cubby hole, busy scheming on how you’re going to destroy South Korea, and the entire world for that matter, but as a peace loving guy, I’ve got a few things to say to you.

First off, why are you so mad at the world? Are you evil? Are you insane? Are you craving attention because your parents didn’t give you enough when you were a boy? Or does someone just need a hug? Because simply put, no one’s out to get you. The world, just like me, wants peace between all the nations, and along with the terrorists, you’re a huge hindrance to that happening.

Secondly, seriously, you have to start treating your citizens better. You’re wondering why so many of your self-proclaimed “fans and adorers” are getting out of their as fast as they can? It’s because of their living conditions! They just want to have good, normal, healthy lifestyles, they want a life that doesn’t involve the fear of them dying if they step one foot out of line. You and your overblown communism are the reasons your citizens experience hell on earth! Even China’s less communist than you, and you got it from them! At least they let foreigners in! If I lived in North Korea, and all I saw everyday were starved, sad Koreans, I’d hop on the first airplane to “anywhere but here”! Also, at least China’s associating with other countries in things that don’t involve negotiations for nuclear shutdowns, or negotiations for peace! They delve themselves with trade, and friendly exchanges with other countries. So, why don’t you follow their example and relax, and enjoy the bonds other countries are trying to establish with you?

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say that you should really stop testing those nuclear bombs. Those will lead to nothing but trouble. It’s already causing you trouble, and you haven’t even perfected it yet! You’re destroying your relationships with other countries, and should something go wrong, you’re people are going to die. If they all die, you become a leader of nothing. So just chill out okay? Have a heart. Use your head.

Politics and the English Language

I.                    Example Essays Used

A.      Professor Harold Laski’s Freedom of Expression

B.      Professor Lancelot Hogben’s  Interglossa

C.      Essay on Psychology in Politics

D.      Essay in a Communist Pamphlet

E.       A Letter in Tribune

II.                  Respective Errors in Sample Essays

A.      uses 5 negatives in 53 words, causing vagueness

B.      wrong metaphors

C.      meaningless essay

D.      good thought, poor choice of words and phrases

E.       parted company of words and meanings

III.                Tricks of Political Language

A.      Dying Metaphors

1.       have become regular words

2.       no vividness

B.      Operators on Verbal False Limbs

1.       illusion of symmetry

2.       multiple words have same meaning as one word

C.      Pretentious Diction

1.       complicated foreign words used instead of simple English words

2.       very vague

D.      Meaningless Words

1.       lost meaning of words

2.       people’s private definitions

IV.                Questions Writers Ask Themselves

A.      What am I trying to say?

B.      What words will express it?

C.      What image or idiom will make it clearer?

D.      Is the image fresh enough to have an effect?

E.       Could I make it shorter?

F.       Have I said anything avoidably ugly?

V.                  Rules and Remedies

A.      no commonly seen similes and metaphors

B.      shorter words

C.      cut unnecessary words

D.      be active, not passive

E.       everyday words

F.       bad sentence, time to break the rules

Curiousity Killed the Ants

I’m sure most of you have heard the phrase “curiosity killed the cat” at one point of your lives or another. But in case you’ve either been living under a rock with no television or books, or somehow managed to avoid hearing or reading this phrase, I’ll tell you what it means. It simply means that being too curious about something can harm you. Well, in this story that I’m about to tell you, my curiosity hurt not only me, but actually killed something as well.

When I was about 5 years old, I was in my grandparents’ house in Valenzuela. I was a bit of an outdoorsman when I was a kid back then, riding my bike, jumping around, playing with dogs, throwing balls, helping the driver wash the car, those kinds of things. Well, one day, my ball was lost, my bike got too small, the dogs were asleep, and the car was spotless. Obviously, that left me with a whole lot of nothing to pass the time. As my boredom increased and desperation for entertainment grew, I suddenly saw an anthill filled with tiny red ants. Not the kind black ants who just tickle you when they walk on you, but the evil red ants that bite you and hurt you. Anyway, being 5, I couldn’t possibly have known that, and I was really curious about how many ants there were in the anthill. Could there possibly be 1000? 2000? A million? It was a mystery to me. So I decided to find out. I got a small grass cutter, which looks like a small sickle, and started hacking away at the anthill, sending the ants into chaos. Being so happy that I finally found something to do, I decided to start stepping on the anthill as well to send them into more chaos, which equaled more happiness for me.  The chaos I mentioned involved hundreds of ants scurrying around the sand, trying to find a place to hide. It also involved quite a lot of ants dying, some under my foot, some crushed by the grass cutter. It was really amusing! I was a crazy kid, I know. Anyway, unfortunately for me though, some ants were smart enough to know that I was the one destroying their home. So, while I watched the majority of the ants run away or die, about 7 ants, possibly more, climbed onto my feet, and bit me. I remember feeling sudden pain and itchiness on my feet, so, being a kid, I did what any normal kid would do and ran back inside and straight towards my mommy. When I got to her though, I was told off, which sort off added insult to injury.

If there was one thing I learned from the whole experience, aside from the obvious “be careful” or “don’t be too curious” lessons, it is that you definitely should not mess around with red ants, or they will hurt you. A lot. Avoid them as much as possible.

A Hanging

I.                    Setting

A.      Burma

1.       Characterized by an early morning sky.

2.       Specifically located in a prison.

B.      1920s

II.                  Characters

A.      George Orwell

B.      The prisoner

C.      Dog

D.      Hangman

E.       Policemen

F.       Francis, the head jailor

G.     Superintendent

III.                Main Parts of the Story

A.      Prisoner was brought out of his cell.

B.      The march begins.

1.       Policemen and other officials are present.

2.       A dog messes up the march.

3.       The dog is soon caught.

C.      The march continues.

1.       The prisoner avoids a puddle.

2.       The writer begins to have second thoughts.

a.       First is that the prisoner is a live, functioning human being.

b.      Second is that in only two minutes, their number would be one less.

D.      They arrive at the gallows.

1.       A rope is tied around the prisoner’s neck.

2.       The prisoner shouts “Ram!” repeatedly.

3.       The superintendent yells for the execution.

4.       The prisoner is killed.

E.       These are the events after the execution.

1.       The body is checked.

2.       They return to the central yard of the prison.

3.       They celebrate because of their relief that the execution is finished.

A Bubble of Nature

The flies on my arms, the sound of crickets and birds all around me, trees soaring high into the sky. Have I woken up in a distant land? Have I strayed into a place faraway from home? I can scarcely believe I am awake. I start to tremble, the fear beginning to set in. There are no familiar sounds, no familiar sights. I have no idea where I am. Then, a loud roar of engines startles me, and I am relieved. I am not lost; I’m still within the comforts of the city. As I start to see past the trees and the wildlife, I begin to notice the buildings, the cars, and all the people, rushing to their destinations in he hustle and bustle of the University of the Philippines. I remember that I have my own destination to rush to, but oddly enough, I feel compelled to stay within the borders of this small area of nature and simply relax. I have no desire to continue my run towards my fate. I choose to take in all the sights, the sounds, and the smells so I can admire everything that God has made, even just for a little while. Yet, even while I ignore the actual city not too far from me and watch the surroundings, I am still reminded of a city. The ants are scurrying around, looking for food, also rushing, just like us. Never stopping, always running, food on their backs, building materials for the anthill being passed around, making sure that every step they take won’t be their last.  They remind me of people in the city, struggling to support their families, helping each other with everyday jobs, making sure that each action doesn’t lead to negative consequences. The trees tower over the ants, like buildings in our own concrete jungle. As I look at the trees, I see leaves falling down from them, dried up because they served their purpose, but still beautiful nevertheless because of the way the sun shines on them, and because of the wind that helps them fall gracefully down to the ground. I believe that their deaths are not wasted. From them, new life is born and I am truly amazed at how God has designed all of these.

Of course, I can’t stay in this place forever, I have somewhere to be, and my friends remind me of that be calling my name. So unfortunately, my trance is broken, and my epiphanies ended. But as I get up, pick up my bag, and walk out of this bubble of nature, I realize that I am secretly glad, for I have seen nature in its purest form and God’s splendor is shown, even in the most random and little things.