Invisible Man Prologue emulation

I never finished my emulation of Invisible Man's prologue, so I thought I would finish it, and post it on here

I am an instrumental man. No, I am not a professional like those who have played in the LA Philharmonic; nor am I a jazz musician from the Harlem Renaissance. I am a man of conviction, of meaning and structure, emotion and experience-and I might even be said to have a heart. I am instrumental, understand, simply because I express my feelings best through a tool of music. Like the various compositions you hear from motion pictures, it is as though I am the dissonance of a complex and interconnected piece. When others listen to me they hear only my thoughts, dreams, or words of encouragement that have driven me-Indeed, the empathetic skeleton that holds me together.

-Taylor H.

A letter that changed my life

Usually around this time I decide to flip through my composition book and find something random to post but I felt like I wanted to change it up this week. With great help from Jake I composed a few appeal letters and sent them out to various colleges that I got rejected from (seeminly everyone I applied to) with fingers crossed. Lo and behold i got lucky, I got the one acceptance I needed and now I am very happy, given a second chance from UCSD. Here is the letter as sent below:

6009 Burgundy Ave.

Alta Loma, Ca 91737

April 9, 2011

UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
MC 0021 La Jolla, CA 92093-0021

To Whom It May Concern:

Hello, my name is Kevin Pasma and I recently received a non-acceptance letter for the freshman class of UC San Diego 2015 for Mechanical and/or Electrical Engineering. Though I am disappointed that I was not accepted from your renowned university, I still wish to appeal for my acceptance to the school that I have found ideal.

From the moment I started looking at colleges, UC San Diego seemed like a good choice for me. I was impressed that your campus had such a well known engineering program, and I understood how important it was to have a name in the engineering community. I also was very impressed by the College of Engineering’s total overall ranking. UC San Diego offers the exact majors that I want while at the same time providing the type of atmosphere where I feel I would excel and grow as a student.

              

As an applicant, I believe that one of greatest things I can contribute to UC San Diego is my commitment to the subject that I am enamored with, namely the subjects of mathematics and science. I have a reputation at my house for taking electronic devices apart to see how they work, and what makes them click, and I seek to repair any that are broken. I was able to repair my Xbox after parts began to fail, I rebuilt my computer many times and I almost fixed my Xbox 360 but something went wrong and I’m not to sure what happened. What I am trying to say is I will find just as much if not more enjoyment in these subjects than many of the people that I know, making me a very good fit for your college.  I also come from a family of engineers – both my parents are engineers, my older brother has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and another brother is pursuing the same degree from UCLA. 

If there was ever any uncertainty about my past academic success, I feel that my senior year can prove that my devotion to education is stronger than ever. With five AP classes, my full learning potential is available to see as I continue to challenge myself with five more Advanced Placement tests. Therefore, I hope you take my current high school transcripts, including my senior year, into consideration.

I fully understand and respect your decision to not accept me, but I do hope you will reopen my file and consider this new information. All that I have seen of UC San Diego and its tremendous engineering department has made me determined that this is the school I would most like to attend.

Sincerely,

Kevin Pasma

Edward Scissor hands

I watched this movie several years back and never really understood the meaning behind the characters. I just thought it was so interesting to see a man in a movie with scissors for hands. Mrs. Elliot and almost all other teachers have said that literature changes to you as you grow and mature. I didn't really get what they meant until I watched this movie yesterday and the day before. I finally understand the meaning and literary archetypes, with help of Mrs. Elliot's class, and realize that as my knowledge expands in literature it's so much easier to connect ideas together and make an individual opinion on what the literature in front of me is all about. The character in the movie reminded me of Frankenstein, and it really helped me get where the author is going with the movie.

Food Fortunes

This week we talked about how each character in The Poisonwood Bible has a different approach to food. We discovered that you can learn a lot about their goals and mindsets by looking at what they eat, and in turn, relate this to the world as a whole. I began to wonder what our food today might say about us...

French Fries:
Now there's a mystery food! An important staple for many people in the world - turned super-fat commercialized side dish. I do believe they are an American creation, though we graciously allowed the French to take the credit (or the blame).

Lunchables:

Because every young child should learn how to work and provide for themselves. True satisfaction comes from the work of our own hands. Give me thinly sliced, nicely arranged parcels of cheese, turkey, and crackers, and you bet I can make a sandwich!

Apple Pie:

Those sweet, juicy, beautiful works of nature - dangling so delightfully just above our reach. Just let me get my hands on one! I'll drown it in sugar and surround it with butter - you'll hardly be able to recognize it. Show that apple who's boss!

Hot dogs:

No dogs harmed in the making of this product. Well phew, as long as it wasn't a dog, guess I don't care what else went in there!

Salads:

Of course we eat healthy too. Tons of that nice, crunchy lettuce - not too green though. Oh, and pass the Hidden Valley Ranch, it's not swimming yet!

Sweet tea:

We believe in natural herbs and remedies as long as you add enough sugar.

And it's not just the foods themselves:

Multicultural food experiences:

We've got it from just about anywhere around the globe. Sure we'd love to try a taste of your culture! Just please, no trans fat, little less spice, no unrecognizable animal parts, and here: how bout some butter and a new name!

Food sayings:

Finish your plate! There are starving children in China!

Because the poor really do appreciate us being willing to make ourselves fat on their behalf.

Food packaging:

Put an extra layer of cellophane on it. That will keep it from bruising as long as you are careful. And more importantly, if you say anything mean, it won't be able to hear you and have its feelings hurt.

Organic food:

If you'll pay me an extra buck, of course it is!

Food brands:

Says something about fresh farms? Ocean Spray? Glacier mountain? Keebler elves?

Must be good!

Yes, I know food can say good things too, but I do enjoy making fun! Feel free to add your own interpretations!

Solvent

Just thought I would share this poem I wrote. It's a bit rough, but interpret it as you may!

                                   Solvent
My Path is a Path others would call insignificant.
A labyrinth undefined by Daedalus, in which others would find worthless
A road less traveled and discovered, but only by few
One of which I'll take because I am a traveler
who needs to find me
or is it you?

A path to be reckoned with and a risk to take
a long road ahead but certainly one I must not dismiss.
Frustration clouds my purpose of clarity
a dream to only dream or an exception of perception?
I don't know.  I'm only a traveler of disparity.

What seems visible is not
What's right is wrong
What's real is fake
My Path is a Path in which others find invaluable
therefore, invisible?I don't know.
I am a traveler with decisions to make.

A barrier blocks my journey's completion
which reads "Don't let me knock you down"
and it's ironic. However,
such a vague message has never been so clear.

Yes My Path is a Path in which few bother to take
but my walls must fall down to pass the walls I will break.
I may only be a traveler, but disparity becomes clarity
and my aspiration is no longer a shadow, but a reflection.
My Path is a solvent.

-Taylor H

Poem/word pattern

I am a teenager. No, I am not a bro like those who partied on Skins; nor am I one of your family channel products. I am a teenager of life, of activity and of emotion. I think I have a mind. I am adolescent, understand, because people refuse to see me as grown. Like the young college fratboy it is as though i have been surrounded by waisted youth. When they approach me they see only my youth, my flaws or anything else to look down upon me - indeed everything and anything except me.
-kevin

My Religion

The reverberation of the choir
I feel it passing through
"singing, clapping
and rolling their heads"
Like a people I once knew.

I try not to listen
But it seeps into my thoughts
"whispering
another way... coaxing"
Accepted sorrows, life overwrought.

They sing of a different world
With hope, humility, and heart
"steal away,
steal away home"
But from this world, I cannot part.

I want to stand, to live
A sinner, but equal to you
Give up
"never" never "do that"
Suffer and fight is what I must do.

~*~*~

This poem, written from the perspective of Bigger Thomas, is woven through with lines from pages 237 and 238 in my text (Harper and Row, Publishers 1966)  
- Tori Greaves p.1