#and I can tell because their writing syntax/ voice is identical

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

My real problem with the New Adult genre as a whole is how similar these stories not just at a concept level, but the prose level. This is the biggest reason why New Adult always reads much younger than Young Adult or Middle Grade novels. Say what you will about the Hunger Games era — and even the Twilight era, but those stories were always only identical at the idea level. Divergent obviously comes in to capitalize off of Hunger Games, and those stories mirror each other on the surface level, but the writing of those novels reads completely different to one another. Shatter Me reads different from both of those novels, even if I can opinions about the writing decisions. The tropes might be similar, or diluted down from Hunger Games, but the stories still read like their own.

New Adult, as it is now, reads exactly the same not just at the idea level (courts, dark romance, magical Faeries, dark-haired love interest) but literally on the prose level. I remember when I reviewed Serpent and Dove for the first time and I realized just how similar the writing was the author who will not be named. These stories make the same grammatical mistakes, the same sentence structure, the same exact plot points. They’re ALL copying the same author’s prose and it’s so jarring. It’s the same narrative voice, the same syntax/sentence structure, the same exact character descriptions. Even when the story is trying to delve into the complex themes the stories all lean into the same moralistic, simplistic style of telling instead of showing.

The dystopian era of YA was always heavily generalized, but a lot of the stories always deviated at some point from one another. At some point these stories became their own narratives. And there was some very good literature to come out from that era. If you look you’ll find wholesome, original content. We’re not even getting that now. It’s literally so similar that if you give any random NA book that’s popular on TikTok any person could guess the plot points down to a T. All the way down the the ending of the story. Even down to the ‘plot twists.’ It sort of feels like insanity.

I could find a YA or MG book that reads much more mature in a heartbeat. Fourth Wing may be explicit in terms of sexual content, but it reads younger that Middle Grade. I was reading A School of Good and Evil and even that reads more mature than that book. I think authors need to really give themselves more time with their editors, because even when the books offer interesting ideas they end up being written in a way that’s exactly the same.

[ariainstars]

Umberto Eco on Fascism

I am blogging Eco’s words here because many people don’t seem to understand what “fascism” actually is by definition. The word, together with “Nazi”, seems to have become an overall definition for “evil”, or as a meaning to offend someone by accusing them of being narrow-minded, elitist and enabling violence.This is particularly disturbing within the Star Wars fandom.

The main points of Umberto Eco’s 1995 essay on „Ur-Fascism“.

1.  The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”

2.  The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”

3.  The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”

4.  Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”

5.  Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”

6.  Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”

7.  To those who lack any social identity, Ur-Fascism suggests that their only privilege is the most common of all, i.e. having all been born in the same country. This is the origin of nationalism and why the only ones who can offer an identity to the nation are the alleged enemies. This leads to the obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.” The easiest way to expose a plot is to apply to xenophobia. But the complot must also come from the inside, which explains why during Nazi Germany Jews seemed an ideal object for this, since they at once belonged to the country by living there and did not belong since they identified as Jews.

8.     Followers must feel humiliated by the assumed wealth and strength of the enemies. Eco recalls that when he was small, he was told that Englishmen had five repasts every day, contrarily to Italians who were seen as simpler and more sober people. Jews were all assumed to be rich and helping one another through a secret network of reciprocate assistance. The followers must however be convinced that they can “win” over their enemies, thus the enemy is seen as both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”

9.     Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”

10.  Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”

11.  Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”

12.  Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”

13.  Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”

14.  Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

 By contrast, I would like to leave a note on imperialism here.

“Imperialism - state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Because it always involves the use of power, whether military or economic or some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible, and the term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy.” (Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica)

I cannot find any parallel between the Empire and the First Order and fascist / Nazi ideology. Their political and military structure is clearly imperialistic, but any of the above-mentioned mindsets are nowhere to be seen. It would be absolutely unfitting for a franchise of action movies, where the average moviegoer simply wants to be entertained, to introduce such a highly charged and complex subject. (On a side note: Darth Vader’s Theme, which we first hear in “The Empire Strikes Back”, the movie where both he and the Empire are at the peak of their power, is called The Imperial March.)

One of the main reasons why I often hear Palpatine’s Empire or Snoke’s First Order being referred to as fascism or a Nazi regime is the destruction of the planet of Alderaan respectively of the Hosnian Prime system, which is called “genocide”.

The destruction of Alderaan and the Hosnian Prime system by the Empire and the First Order aimed at showing the galaxy the extreme destructive power of their oppressor’s weapons in order to terrify them and keep any rebellion at bay. Alderaan and Hosnian Prime were situated at coordinates in the galaxy where their destruction would be witnessed by many other planets. In A New Hope, the actual rebel base is dismissed by Moff Tarkin as being too far away to be suitable as an actual demonstration of the Empire’s power. The races, cultures, religions etc. of the people living on those planets were not of the least interest to them (see points 6, 7 and 8 above). Fascism was not at the root of those mass murders, terrible as they are.

I have never heard or read any Star Wars fan saying that the Empire or the First Order actually were morally good. It is unacceptable that as a fan, one is dismissed as being a fascist or a Nazi respectively someone who supports these awful mindsets.

Yes, some of us understand and feel for characters like Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader and Kylo Ren / Ben Solo. That does not make us members of a “Nazi boy fan club”: the whole above-mentioned ideology is out of the question.

I have never heard anyone, as well, pretend that these two men did nothing bad and or that they are secretly good. Nobody is doubting or questioning their terrible choices. The point of their stories was to show that they both had once been good, that some good was still left in them and showed itself in the end, that they largely also were a product of their environment and that their fates, and the fates of the many who suffered through them, could have been avoided. It is easy to say “Everybody has a choice / I would never do such a thing” when, as a mere spectator, one is in a wholly different situation.

I will write another entry on the subject of psychological abuse to clarify why I don’t defend Star Wars’ villains but can understand them in their complexity and appreciate the narrative for not simply telling morally black and white stories.

I kindly ask anyone who reads this to please stick to facts instead of blindly attacking fans over a fictional story using terms they don’t quite understand believing by that to prove their own morality. Thank you.

[talkagency]

10 COMMON SEO MYTHS DEBUNKED 2019

SEO is like having a child. It constantly needs attention, rarely does what you expect, and it’s pretty much a full-time job!

Huge algorithm shifts and years of outdated information and mistruths has made it a minefield. You think you’re moving in the right direction… then BOOM! 

With so much misinformation and so-called “facts” waiting for you at every turn, it’s hard to know what’s effective and what is defective.

Most information is wildly outdated. What worked 5 years ago could be as useless as a waterproof tea bag today.

Google is much smarter than people give it credit for. Huge advances with AI and deep machine learning lets it understand much more than it ever has before.

So, let’s get started. How many of these common SEO myths are you going to be guilty of in 2019?

1 – Using Exact Match Keywords in Content

This might have been true up to a few years ago. But with Google’s evolution, exact match keywords in your content no longer need to be quite as exact.

Technological advancements, such as LSI keywords (latent semantic indexing) help search engines like Google gain a deeper understanding of your content context.

As voice search is set to account for more than 50% of all searches by 2020, natural sounding speech is not only recommended, but encouraged. It’s time to optimise content for voice based searches.

This means that using stop words in your keywords and utilising semantically related phrases can both work to help your SEO efforts.

You can write for the search engines using unnatural sounding keywords. And sure, you might get the rankings that you want. But when the user faces unnatural sounding content, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are going to bounce like a rubber ball!

Just to show you that stop words and word order don’t interfere with primary keyword search volumes and top three placement, here are a few screenshots of variants of one keyword:

See, the keyword may not be an exact match, but its intent remains the same… and Google knows this.

And the first page ranking for the top 3 websites using each variation?

    Top 3 sites are identical across the board. And every single site on the first page remains on the first page. Clever old Google!

If you can weave an exact match into the title or headings, awesome. But the main thing to remember here is that  Google focuses on user intent… and has done for several years now.

Forcing unnatural keywords into your text creates poorly constructed content. And that can cause more damage than good to your rankings.

Focus on checking how each variation weighs up and check the metrics, then use a mix of them if you can. Stop words (articles, conjunctions, etc.) are rapidly rising in search volume, so ignoring them is not really best practice.

Even Yoast, an avid campaigner for avoiding stop-words has backtracked on its previous stance.

Remember: poor user experience = high bounce rate. High = bounce rate is a signal your content isn’t delivering.

2 – SEO is About Ranking Number One on Google

Taking that top spot on the first page of Google is what everyone aims to achieve, and that is a good target to have.

But here’s the thing:

Whether you rank number one, number five or number 10 on the first page of the SERPs, your organic site  traffic is going to explode.

When people perform a search, they rarely only ever visit one page. When it comes to gathering information, several sources are usually required.

So while you definitely want to have your keywords rank on the first page of the SERPs, hitting number one is no more advantageous than hitting number five.

And even if you do hit that top spot on Google, rich snippets, PPC ads, Google’s answer box, maps and more are still likely to be above you.

For ranking success, it’s all about being on page one, not being number one. So focus on a broad range of keywords instead of trying to push just one or two into the top spot.

3 – Google Penalises Duplicate Site Content

This is a big one that circulates worldwide. You’ll see it left, right and centre… and it’s really not what some people make it out to be.

In fact, Google have confirmed on more than one occasion that duplicate content does not result in site penalties.

So what is actually going on here?

Let’s say that you’re a new website and you have simply copied and pasted content from another site onto your own…

Google doesn’t look at it and say “this is duplicate content, let’s give them a penalty.” It just ignores the content completely!

And this is where this myth arose from.

People were snatching content and using it on their own sites… and not ranking for it. Even though the site they took it from was on the first page!

The search engines know that duplicate content happens on a website for several reasons. So no, you are not going to be penalised for it.

However, now that you know Google simply ignores duplicate content, any duplicate content you have should be optimised so that it can rank in the SERPs.

4 – One Tool can Fix it All

You’ll see tools everywhere on the internet claiming that they have an all-in-one solution for fixing your SEO.

In a perfect world, this would be true. But this world is far from perfect… 

That is not to say that there are not some truly useful SEO tools out there. But none of them are a magic solution to instantly fix all of your SEO problems on your behalf.

One of the best SEO tools that anyone can use for their website is SEMrush. Automated report detailing exactly what needs to be changed or fixed go a long way with pointing you in the right direction.

Of course, unless you are a site developer with a detailed knowledge of how to execute everything in the report, you’re going to find it tough.

Luckily, the internet is filled with useful ‘how-to’ guides and forums where you can find all of the guidance and information you need to crack on with it.

If you don’t perform a regular site audits, you won’t know what needs to be fixed. And any software that says it can fix everything for you automatically, well… we have a magical unicorn for sale for just $100,000.

5 – Header Tags are Irrelevant

Nope. Header tags are not and have never been irrelevant. 

Now, we are not saying that they are a major ranking factor. Nor are they the be-all and end-all of your pages syntax.

But they definitely go a long way with helping Google and the other search engines understand your website’s content.

Using your primary keywords and semantically related keywords in your title, H1 and H2 headers, along with in your content can have a positive effect on your SEO efforts.

6 – No Sitemap Equals No Ranking

Here’s another common myth that circulates the internet like a fly around your head in summer.

Now, we are not denying that having a sitemap is useful. After all, it helps the search engines get a deeper understanding of your site structure.

However… not having a sitemap does not have an impact on where your site will rank in the SERPs.

This is especially true for small sites that have properly structured site navigation. 

Of course, the larger your website is, the more a sitemap will help the search engines understand what they are looking at. And then crawl an index it much faster.

But the main point to take home from this is that having a sitemap will not boost your rankings… just help the search engines crawl and index with ease. 

Not a bad thing to have really. But not the end of the world if you don’t.

7 – Avoid Outbound Links

You’ve probably heard this one before, but it goes a little something like this…

having too many outbound links on your website will pause your PageRank to drop.

First things first: PageRank is long gone for SEO average Joe’s. 

Anyone who uses PageRank as a reason not to use outbound links needs to build a time machine and head back to 2013… you know, when the Google toolbar got rid of it.

The only ones who measure PageRank are Google… and as is becoming more and more common with the search engine giant, what happens in Google stays in Google.

Secondly: Google does not penalise people for using outbound links. In fact, it looks like the complete opposite. Websites linking to authoritative and useful resources are actually rewarded.

Yes, it’s true that the website you linked to receives a little bit of your domain authority. But you know what? That’s the whole point of outbound links.

You are voting for the site that you link too by telling Google “hey, I vouch for this site.” 

Of course, you need to make sure that any site or content that you linked to is related to your page content or niche. 

Want to save some of your link juice? Throw in a ‘nofollow’ tag. 

At the end of the day, if there were no outbound links used on the internet, there would be no inbound links (backlinks).

Just make sure that what you linked to makes total sense to the search engines when it looks at both website’s content.

8 – Blackhat SEO Doesn’t Work

This is something that we’re not too happy to admit to… but blackhat SEO absolutely can work when done right. Especially when performed by someone who knows what they are doing.

But just because something works doesn’t make it right. And black hat SEO is seriously risky business for your website.

Just like the black market, black hat SEO usage loopholes, underhanded tactics, and often goes against the rules set by the search engines.

Sure, you could pay someone to cheat your way to the top. But when Google finds out, and Google always finds out, your business will be banned (de-indexed) from the search engines.

This is why, although dodgy tactics can work, it’s always better to play by the rules and develop your SEO strategies over time. 

Building your rankings and developing your website is a marathon, not a sprint. Be the tortoise, not the hare… and reap the rewards for decades to come.

9. Meta Descriptions are a Ranking Factor

A few years back, meta descriptions were taking into account as part of the ranking decision.  2009 saw this all change.

Now, while meta descriptions are no longer a ranking factor, that’s not to say that they are not important. They are!

We like to keep bouncing back to user experience (UX), and a meta description can really help.

Google might not care about it anymore, but people do. It gives them an insight into what the content is about and if it’s what they are looking for.

Plugins, such as Yoast can help you create a personalised meta description. This prevents any text from being cut off in the SERPs. Thus giving the user a complete picture of what lies ahead.

A keyword here or there won’t hurt. After all, the meta description is read by the search engines for further content context.

But the main thing to remember is to always write for people and not the search engines.

10. Link building is More Important than Content

This one is probably one of the most ridiculous one on this list. link building is more important than content! 

See, if you dedicate all of your time to link building, you have no time for creating content.

And here is where the problem lies.

Without quality content, people have nothing to link back to!

Of course, link building is hugely important when it comes to SEO. And having several high-quality links pointing to your site can help the search engines decide when to show you over the competition.

But to be able to attract these highly sought-after links, you first need to focus on providing high-quality content.

In fact, high quality content can generate organic links that you don’t have to work on to get.

When it comes to SEO, content is king and backlinks are brilliant. But your main focus should be content that offers value and generates natural links before moving on to link building strategies.

Final Thoughts

If you really want to know which SEO methods work, ignore what the ‘so-called’ experts are saying and look at what they are doing.

If they tell you that meta descriptions should be less than 140 characters, but they use 160, they aren’t practicing what they preach.

If they say that you’re header body copy should be less than 300 words and then go on to use 600, again, they go against what they say.

Site speed not important? Yet their site loads almost instantly… you can guarantee they spend time and money making sure it is as fast as possible.

Basically, what we are saying is that while the internet is filled with useful SEO advice, take what you read with a pinch of salt.

Many people don’t mean to add fuel to the fire by spouting out more and more myths and outdated information. But this is where a little bit of research truly comes into play.

Focus on what works… but don’t be afraid to try new methods.

For more guides about SEO, SEM, PPC, digital marketing and useful tools and software, check out our blog today.

Article first published here: 10 COMMON SEO MYTHS DEBUNKED 2019

[interpreterslinguistics]

Diary: Death to Symbolism, 20/5/22

The Sun rises in the corner of a dark and unnaturally elongated (read: unable to move, dissipated into a haze) night, and I think about putting out the meager few candles I could light in the night to honour the rising Sun. It’s such a hollow suggestion, it means nothing to me. Symbolism hasn’t existed since he left. Life with no meaning prevails, mundanity won the fight and drank from the heart stolen from the corpse of religion and we all celebrated the victory over the otherwise unending night.

I keep seeing signs from spirit family as I write this but it’s just hollowness, it’s an “I hope you have a good day at school today” in the ears of a depressed teenager ready to run away because they know no one sees what they see. 4:44am, I look outside and there’s an eye in the sky. I know that in the theory I’ve learned, these are phenomenal. Meaning circumvents commitment. In practice they are nothing.

We used to string together the world’s weight with our own voices, like a great snake held up around our necks together, spoke of secret things, watched the world in terms of the voluntary eyes of pure subjectivity seeking the objective. Repetitions of 3, 4, 6, 12; clocks in the ground and flesh in the walls; intricate discussions of spacetime, of alchemy, of philosophical reasoning; dogs and mothers, love and hate, violence and beauty; the sky and the stars; the climb to knowledge; patterns in human behaviour. Gods, cosmology, sacred geometry. Everything spoke and I didn’t just understand it, I felt it. The wind went through me, the Sky was literally in my veins - and the night in his aura - I felt magic, I felt identity, I felt otherness, I felt other planes, I was so far removed from reality and in constant dissociation, yet even in the despair of a total lack of reasoning as to the suffering of my existence reality intrinsically was inescapable, vast, engendered meaning.

I’ve been trying to speak this language, I’ve been sitting here rolling off the grammar and syntax and vocabulary like I always did before, like speaking an intermediate other language well enough to converse with others who speak it I sit and talk of people and of numbers and of archetypes, I enjoy talking about things beyond, we discover and we muse and we love and we yearn yet none of it touches me. I haven’t felt ‘it’ in years. ‘It’, whatever it was, has escaped my house and run into the night. I pretend to get it like I used to, but I’m just an old singer who’s long lost their pitch-perfection and their singing voice cracks writing a book on singing without telling anyone they no longer can do it themselves. Living a lie. It’s a solemn and nauseating intimacy sitting there speaking of something you loved to people who seem to feel it when only you and God know you can’t feel it anymore. The world thinks you get it, you speak of it so clearly, you don’t get it. It’s gone.

Would I give something to go back to how it was? Sitting there unknowingly carving a cult for an insidious and charismatic evil into a reality he could barely touch? Existing just to please and serve him as he lied down my throat? Would I go back to him, that unspeakably unending black pool of metaphor and feeling, that person who lived in my bones for my formative adult years and showed me what it was like to feel symbolism and be symbolism and feel the intimate touch of Truth just to get this feeling back? On one hand, what occult seeker wouldn’t sacrifice their health to touch truth… I did that plenty with him, trusted him far too much and threw myself way too deep, and I loved it. I crave dependency on another so deep that I give up my safety and control to feel them. I crave being the private angel of a private God. The personal equivalent of a hyperfixation; I can’t be excited unless it’s obsessive, and I feel like I can’t feel unless I give myself to something. On the other, this placid numbness is better than abuse. I know well that life’s always going to be a sacrifice with mental disability, that is what disability is. Every positive action has huge consequences and a huge price. To email the doctors for medication: fear and dissociation. To get dressed and leave the house to get it: the same. To talk to parents or friends, to wake up in the morning, to stop lying down and get up and acknowledge I exist, to not daydream the days away, to stop getting caught in imaginary arguments, to not be so scared of people, to not die a mental or emotional or physical death, to walk out of my room to eat food when I have issues with my body to see myself in the mirror to post online to try something new to pick up something old: fear and dissociation and a grating, arduous, soul-destroying list of Sisyphean tasks to always be on top of, like a damn handful of clothes from the dryer always dropping one and dropping another to pick the first one up and so on. To live is to forever be in pain, to try and get better is to suffer. I already know that from disability, and it’s true in every aspect. It’s the “may cause suicidal thoughts” side-effect on the anti-depressants. You just have to pick whether you want to feel pain because of others or because of your attempts at getting better. Pick your poison, it’s the only choice you get. There’s no point sitting here claiming life is unfair.

I choose to escape, I choose numbness over helping him. I choose to have my tongue cut out to escape talking for him. I choose practicing what I preach and not letting myself become abused for the sake of dependency when I’d wish others would do the same. I accept the Sisyphean curse, I proudly chewed my own leg off to escape the bear trap. I trust it’s a stepping stone on a journey to the fabled ‘happiness’ and ‘stability’, so I keep my mouth shut, and I’ve always been meant for the wordless background… But sometimes I just wish I could speak again. Birds are meant to fly, not talk about what it was like pretending as if they still can.

[discowitches]

Mother tongue

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter, a letter written by the narrator ­­– Little Dog, a letter to his mother who cannot read, a letter which opens like this: “I am writing to reach you – even if each word I put down is one word further from where you are”, a letter that is not meant to be read.

Ocean Vuong gives us a mess. Coming-of-age novel, letter, auto-fiction, essay, poetry, he crafts his own genre as fluid as gender. Intergenerational trauma, identity, race, sexuality. Past and present intertwined. Reflections, vignettes, flashes, a patchwork of memories, pieces of a puzzle falling into place. Little Dog’s family ran away from the Vietnam War to America. His abusive father is gone. His grandmother, Lan, has schizophrenia and is dying of cancer. His first love story is with an American boy lost to drugs. His mother, Rose, has PTSD from the war and loves him and hits him. Like the narrative, her English is broken, but his is not, and he becomes a writer. The story is triangle-shaped: mother, son, tongue. Language – words and the space between them – is a tool to explore the relationship between a mother and her child, a mother tongue and its child.

For Little Dog, using English is an act of love, the words a love letter to the women who raised him. Little Dog’s relationship with his mother structures his life, she is in everything: work, love, violence. She works at a nail salon for him, “a place where dreams become calcified knowledge of what it means to be awake in American bones — with or without citizenship — aching, toxic, and underpaid”,  to ensure that he will have a better life than hers. She a mother and a monster. She abusive but she loves him, he is abused but loves her. He owes it to her to be her interpreter, to use his “bellyful of English” to give her a face, a voice. He makes it a promise to himself and to her: “That night I promised myself I’d never be wordless when you needed me to speak for you”.

Little Dog then faces one of the most important paradox for a child of immigrant, because mastering the English language, speaking for his family, writing about his family, is both betraying them and preserving them. Language becomes two-faced – at once a bridge and a gap. Because each English word, each beautiful turn of phrase laid down on paper is a step taken away from his mother. His mother cannot speak or read English. His Vietnamese is broken. “The Vietnamese I own,” he says to his mother, “is the one you gave me, the one whose diction and syntax reach only the second-grade level.”  “Our mother tongue, then, is no mother at all—but an orphan”, he adds. Their relationship is defined by the absence of language, the inability to express, the impossibility of mutual understanding.

But Little Dog’s letter gives voice to what previously could not be put into words. The impossibility of his mother reading it is what makes Little Dog’s telling it possible. The letter is not so much about direct communication, but about a desperate need of self expression for the narrator. Processing and articulating different memories, is trying to break free of the limits of language by writing. At one point, he quotes Barthes: “Two languages cancel each other out, suggests Barthes, beckoning a third. Sometimes our words are few and far between, or simply ghosted. In which case the hand, although limited by the borders of skin and cartilage, can be that third language that animates where the tongue falters.” And perhaps Vuong found that third language in his fingertips, holding the pen, writing this book. Ocean Vuong gives us a mess, he is not telling “a story so much as a shipwreck—the pieces floating, finally legible”, beautiful. He crafts some of the best sentences ever created, ones that carve a space for himself – as gay Vietnamese man in America – and a space for his illiterate mother in a work of literature.

I am telling you all this, praising this book with my whole heart, but you could have guessed it from the title, because it says it all: gorgeous.

[college-student-in-her-twenties]

My Main Takeaways from Attending a College-Level Writing Class as an Adult

Not everyone followed the classic graduate high school, pick a career when you are 18, go to college for four years, graduate, and get a job sort of path. Whether life got in the way, or you simply did not feel like college was for you – I want you to know that it is okay. Life is full of unconventional surprises, nothing goes according to plan, and sometimes you got to pave your own path.

With this in mind, and being in my twenties, I never pictured myself going to college. I love my job reached a point where I consider myself successful. I did not need an ounce of secondary education to get to where I am right now. But then there was a pandemic, and the world was upside down, and I started working from home. I had so much free time, and I realized I could attend college via Zoom. While I find online meetings absolutely dreadful, I thought to myself; I can get this “thing” over with. By “thing,” I am referring to getting a degree.

Fast forward, I applied to Florida International University, I got accepted, I was asked to pick out a major at age 23, I said business (I regret this, I am switching to something less math-centric), and there I was attending my first class. People usually say they feel a knot inside their throat when they are nervous. Well, I felt like I had 27 knots inside mine. While I only knew my classmates through an online realm, I was terrified. I have never been more afraid of 18-year-olds in my life. There was a voice inside my head shouting, “what if they realize I am older?”. They did realize I am older, not because of my looks, but because kids these days look up their classmates on Instagram and send them DM’s. Weird if you ask me, but hey, there were like one or two slightly older people like me in each class, and I felt a bit better about myself. As a slightly older generation, we have to get adjusted to change. Things are not the way we remember them; nobody takes notes in their notebooks anymore. Everyone brings their computer to class and uses an iPad with a journal app to take notes.

While there is so much you can learn online, college makes you step out of your comfort zone. Nothing like a good ole writing class to make you sit down and think about every single choice you have made in your entire life. While in the outside world, we all have access to Amazon books, Khan Academy, and sketchy PDF versions of texts, let’s be honest, none of us are reading them. Instead, my Writing & Rhetoric forcefully exposed me to so many narratives with points of view different from mine. The writing prompts of the class made me sit down and psychoanalyze the way I expressed myself. How my definition of language is rooted in my family’s culture and the places I lived in. As the kids these days say, I was “SHOOK.” While I do not think a person needs college to be successful in their professional life, college incites thinking. You have so many spaces dedicated to discussions and you get to receive feedback from professors who are the brightest people in their fields. As cliché as it sounds, you are forced to step out of your comfort zone.

Going back to why I personally decided to enroll, I required a serious change of pace. I needed to be exposed to other things; I was having a mini Eat, Pray, Love moment, okay? I was already doing all the eating by ordering all the Uber Eats all the time. It was time for that Pray moment; since I am not religious, the closest thing to a sermon that I will watch are TedTalks and god, did I have to watch those while in class. I had to listen to people that I would not typically want to listen to; I browse the internet all day, every day, and would not click on those talks if they popped up on my Youtube. Good thing I had a professor who made me listen to them. I learned so much. Did you know about the Sudani genocide? I did not.

Every assignment taught me something. Watching the Sudan Genocide TED Talk opened my eyes to so much. Not just the gory details of a mass tragedy, but the author explained how powerful sharing her trauma was to her. I thought she was inspiring, and then again, this is an example of a story I would have overlooked if I had not chosen to take this writing class. Now, for the sake of conciseness, I will list my main takeaways from the course. I want everyone reading this blog to also benefit from being exposed to different points of view and appreciate how they can make you a better writer.

Let’s get started.

Tip #1: Never stop writing. There is no such thing as a final draft, and there is something you can always work on or improve about your writing.

Most people do not think of themselves as “writers,” but anyone who can put words together and grab pen and paper are technically writers. What I learned throughout this class is that writing involves practice and dedication. While not everyone has hours and hours to devote to their writing, you can always make sure you at least re-read what you wrote down. Whether it is a text, a Tweet, or a cover letter, make sure to re-read. Even the most seasoned writers make minor spelling and grammar mistakes. Perhaps a sentence you wrote down made more sense in your head than it did on paper; fix it. You will improve your writing by a lot if you stop for a second and re-read.

As writer Richard Marius explains in his essay Writing Drafts, “Some writers cut up their first drafts with a pair of scissors. They toss some paragraphs into the trash; others they paste up with rubber cement in the order that seems most logical and coherent.” The writing process is different for all of us, but it will always involve some sort of re-writing. Adding, removing, or cutting up paragraphs and sentences. Finding new and improved words and expressions to give a better meaning to our thoughts. Writing is a messy yet beautiful process that I had forgotten about and that you probably have too. My advice to you, is to figure out a way to practice your writing. Whether it is starting a blog like this one, writing a letter to a friend, or finding a random essay prompt and writing an essay for yourself. The more you practice, the better you will get.

Tip #2: Embrace your identity. Everyone has a unique origin that makes them who they are. Whether it is your nationality, race, the languages you speak, where you grew up, or who you are surrounded by –make that a part of your writing—no more hiding your true colors.

Before this class, I rarely ever made a point to communicate my background through my writing. Every time I had something to write, I was as neutral as possible, which made my writing lack personality. Times have changed drastically in the last few years, and writing has become the ultimate way of self-expression. Do not be afraid to include cultural elements in your narratives, whether it is a word in your native language with no translation to English or expressions that are particular to your culture. Celebrate your heritage through your writing, and do not shy away from embracing who you indeed are. While I know you will not be writing a full-blown narrative about how your parents are immigrants, I recommend you put this tip into practice in your daily life. Perhaps include details about yourself on your next Instagram caption or Facebook status update. LinkedIn could be the perfect place to reflect about your heritage and the relationship it has with your profession. Your writing shall be a reflection of your true self.

Tip #3: Always keep your intended audience in mind. Make sure your writing suits the audience you are writing it for. Fix your tone, syntax, and structure to cater to the right audience and suit your genre.

This is such an essential tip! For example, when I am writing for my blog, I can say whatever I want and anything I feel. I can incorporate jokes and pop culture references. I can be as sarcastic as I want and as unapologetic as I feel on that given day. The same goes for my social media accounts and private conversations with friends. When writing a formal document, or cover letter that a potential employer would read, I would use a far more serious tone. I would shy away from jokes and opt for formal words. I would ensure my writing is sophisticated and concise. My goal would be to sound eloquent and respectful because I keep my intended audience, the potential employer, in mind.

Tip #4: Do not be afraid to get real. Feel free to write candidly about anything you want, whether it is a personal story or an issue you feel strongly about. Effective writing can help you tell your stories and effectively share your thoughts.

I struggle with this one a bit. While I can be personable and talkative, I am private about most things in life. Going back to the TED Talk about the Sudani woman, Emi Mahmoud, she convinced her audience and gave life to her poetry by opening up. If we did not know about her trauma, her words would not be as impactful. If you watch the conference, you will learn about the warplanes she could hear every morning while eating breakfast and how her hometown became a war zone. That is so impactful and heart-wrenching. Think of writing as a cathartic experience, it will allow you to release whatever experience is causing you trauma and allow you to connect your audience better. Writing about your experiences and who you are, makes you seem more human, which essential to communicate to an audience.

I genuinely hope you read through these tips and at least apply one of them to your writing. Before enrolling in college, I thought I was an excellent writer, and while I am probably not bad, I lacked depth. I did not sit down and think of the purpose of my writing and who I wanted to reach. I seldom opened up and did not let my writing embody who I am. Beyond the four tips stated above, my most important takeaway from this class is to be a fearless person and allow that to translate into my writing.

This philosophy can be applied to anything in life. For instance, if you want to go to college, do it. If you do not want to pick out your life at age 18, that is okay too. If you are 40, have kids, a job, a dog, and a mortgage, but feel like there are things you want to learn inside a classroom that Youtube cannot teach you, go to college! You mind your life, your choice. It is time for people to feel empowered to whatever they want at their own pace.

[ailuronymy]

One of my OCs is a deaf white cat (Whiteflower), and I've been told I'm writing her wrong. In my setting, the cats have a simple but effective sign language. It lacks things like complex adjectives and words with more common synonyms (for example, there's no way to say furious but 'very angry' is possible) and there’s not always specific words for rare situations, such as an eclipse. The sign language was developed only in the clans, and even though everyone knows the basics (==>)

(because that’s mostly just the same body language they all use already), not everyone is fluent. One of Whiteflower’s quirks is that she’s unwilling to go on any type of diplomacy meeting because she worries she’ll be misinterpreted or unable to explain what she means as well as she wants to. In addition, she prefers to stay closer to camp rather than the far reaches of the territory when hunting, again due to a general fear of being misinterpreted or encountering a cat she’s not able to communicate well with. I was told this was a very ableist way of approaching this, and now I’m unsure if I’ve accidentally handled this very poorly. Sorry for the length, and thank you for any input!

Hello, Ruddles! Before I give you my thoughts, I’m going to have a little rant, because this person who commented on your character reminded me of it.

Preface: I’m not saying that you should disregard any and all criticism or feedback on your work! That would be very wrong. But the fact is, not everyone is qualified to give the criticism or feedback they’ll offer you. You as the writer should be critical of your critics, because not everyone with an opinion is someone who ought to be taken very seriously. It was very sensible of you to seek out other voices after getting feedback like this, because sometimes people are going to just say whatever or make bizarre claims, and especially since this feedback was vague. 

That brings me to: something that’s really important–for writers, and for reviewers–to think of whenever giving or receiving feedback is the concept of constructive criticism. If a reviewer says, “This is work is bad,” but offers no thoughts on how to make it less so/resolve the problem, they are failing to give constructive criticism and therefore failing to actually make any difference in the world. 

The writer is no better off for being told, “This work is bad,” because, if the writer had known how to make the work better in the first place, that’s probably what they would have done. You can usually assume that ignorance/not recognising problems/not knowing how not to write the problem is at the heart of a lot of issues in writing (especially in amateur/fan writing!), and therefore the actually helpful thing to do as a reviewer or critic is to identify the problem (”this text does X and Y”), explain the problem (”X and Y both have a history of being real ick things”), and then propose solutions (”if you don’t write X, this work will be better” or “if you write Y this way instead of that way, you’re not falling into the stereotype”). If you do only the first and/or second step on the process, you’re sort of being a bit… useless, in my opinion. 

So, this person who gave you this information is not a really useful engine at all! I just wanted to get that out of the way, because there’s something so exasperating to me personally about people who think they’re doing something by making a statement and then walking away. It’s very Tuxedo Mask “my work here is done,” and it grinds my gears. (End my little rant). 

All that said, I think I can pinpoint what it is that got this person’s back up and what needs to be reworked in your story. It is an ableist narrative set-up, because this character is restricted unfairly by the fact she’s deaf: where she goes and when she talks is limited in a way it isn’t for hearing characters, which is particularly surprising given a setting where all characters can basically sign. As a native deaf signer, she is going to be highly fluent and surely can work around characters who are less competent. Language teachers do that constantly. Additionally, she doesn’t have to be involved in negotiations or diplomacy, because plenty of cats (deaf and otherwise) might not want to do that, but that doesn’t mean she’d have to be a homebody and live in fear that someone from another clan might misunderstand her. 

In reality, deaf people want to be heard. It’s a big deal to be listened to, because hearing people almost never do that! Therefore, there’s a strong possibility that writing a character who is scared to communicate in sign to other signers is going to get a very poor reception by deaf people. You might have constructed this setting, but we all write into a broader context, and in that broader context, deaf people almost never get a voice. A deaf character who is timid and shy is perhaps not the most tasteful characterisation available to you. With that in mind, I don’t think this character idea you’re working on is finished yet.

I’ve had a conversation with my little sister, who uses Auslan, and we recommend that you: 

1. drop the idea of no synonyms/complex adjectives, because it’s not a realistic way of translating from sign. In Auslan, for example, “furious” is a much larger version of the sign “angry.” Sign language is expressive and has a lot of its own nuances! It’s better to focus on how your character expresses her personality and pick the words/impressions/syntax that fit her, rather than trying from the start to impose a limited vocabulary on how she expresses herself. You are, after all, telling a story, all of which you get to invent: it’s more important to accurately develop her as a character in the minds of the reader than it is to explore the exact details and mechanisms of your sign conlang. 

2. you can still have a character who is deaf and not necessarily socially comfortable! However, how you approach this needs some thought. If she’s not comfortable meeting with strangers, it’s because she’s anxious the same way a hearing character would be, not because she’s deaf and worried she can’t communicate “well enough.” Hearing people aren’t really qualified to be writing about deaf experiences like that: you can absolutely write a deaf character, but it’s better not to attempt what it is to be deaf, if you know what I mean. So, I think this character should definitely still voyage out of the clan and to gatherings, but perhaps she insists on only travelling with a good, reliable friend or isn’t the first to jump into spoken conversations (preferring to converse only when everyone is signing). Both of those things are very familiar experiences for many deaf people. 

3. if your sign language is simple and effective, there’s no reason for this premise of “not being able to sign well enough.” If, as you say, everyone knows the basics, there’s no excuse for a deaf character not to be able to participate in everyday and inter-clan events and conversations with everyone else. It just doesn’t make sense and does come across as looking for any reason to exclude a deaf character from the action. I don’t think this is intentional, but you can’t have your cake (have a sign language-enabled clan system) and eat it too (have a deaf character who doesn’t participate): if the setting is accommodating to disability, disabled characters can–and should–play a meaningful role in it.

4. how many other significant deaf characters are there in this world you’re creating? If the only one is Whiteflower in this form, that itself is a problem, because without other deaf characters who are outgoing and charismatic etc. as comparison, you can wind up portraying Whiteflower’s behaviour and demeanour as conflated with deafness itself. “Mainstream” characters (straight, able-bodied, white, etc.) are rarely put under this same pressure of representation and can have their identities viewed as separate from everything else about them, but if you don’t want to write only mainstream characters (which I can strongly recommend! It’s very good), you do have to think about how you’re portraying them and where it fits in the broader context of media and the real world. 

I don’t think you should give up on this character! But I do think these are things that need to be thought through, so that when you write her, you can write her as a complex and realistic deaf character. I hope this is helpful to you. 

[uwlittlemags]

Q&A with Andrew Deloss Eaton

Copper Nickel No. 23 includes a terrific poem, “Meditation at Lagunitas Brewery,” by Andrew Deloss Eaton. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because Eaton’s riffs off “Meditation at Lagunitas” by Robert Haas. I thoroughly enjoyed Eaton’s poem, so I was delighted that he was willing to share his thoughts about hipster culture, the perfect notebook and how history influences his writing. 

The title and first lines riff off “Meditation at Lagunitas” by Robert Haas. Can you share your feelings about his poem? How do you see the relationship between the two poems? 

Hass’s poems were among the first I ever read when I encountered contemporary poetry, so his “Meditation” was an important poem for me. I think if mine has life in it, it’s thanks to Hass’s poem, and I like to think the two are in dialogue about place and identity and language. 

In the first couple of lines, you write that the new drinking resembles the old drinking. You also work as an archivist. How much does history influence you and your writing? 

I spend, and have spent, a fair amount of time drinking beer, and, like with books, my tastes have changed over the years. Whenever I’m holding a bottle that says “IPA” on it, I remember what I’m told it stands for and the history behind that. It reminds me that history connects [us] and language runs through everything. 

As an archivist, I’ve mostly been self-taught, but I have done research, which helped. I spent a lot of time holding someone else’s notebooks and photographs and records and making them safe. But for what and for whom? I don’t know and might never know. So in that way, it’s like writing: not knowing who it’s for but [doing] the work anyway. Initially, it’s for yourself and the silence. A standoff. But then you give it away. The send-off. I suppose that history influences my writing in that I hope my work is responding to voices from the past, ones I’ve known and ones I’ve read. 

The poem further reflects on imitation and identity: a beer coaster mimicking a wanted poster or cattle brand, the way FaceTime transmits a friend’s voice that isn’t quite his own, a son hoping to be like his father yet his own person, and even the atomic particles that create the narrator’s physical form. How did these distinct images come together for you? 

I find I’m often originally skeptical of what I’ve heard called “hipster culture,” but I don’t understand that term. When I was younger, “hipster” meant you lived in New York off a diet of salt crackers and listened to Belle and Sebastian when you were in the mood for something “down to earth.” What I see now is a culture of faux-artisanship, which often lacks craft and labor and community. 

I felt like I could be critical of that culture because I’m probably more part of it than I want to admit to myself. But there’s something of a reverse irony in an industrial boutique complex, and I couldn’t shake that feeling that folks were falling into a trap. That I was. That we are. So it made its way into a poem, ’cause that’s what I was thinking about. But ultimately the poem is about language. And that’s where the mediation on symbols and signs comes in. And the pit bulls. Huge signifiers. 

Did you begin writing this poem in a brewery, or was the idea for the poem born there? Can you tell us a bit more about the poem’s beginning? 

The poem, like others, began in the ear, and while place is important to me and what I look [at] influences me, I don’t remember where my body was when I first wrote some of the lines for this poem. That said, the images of the brewery were drawn from life, and I’ve often written in breweries or pubs. 

How key is observation and being aware of your surroundings to your role as a poet? 

I think it’s central. We have to pay attention. We have to have a vision of the world. Otherwise, what’s the point? But the poem grows out of language, so observation leads to syntax, which a poem can grow out of. One hopes. 

Do you keep a notebook to recall ideas or bits of language that come to you while you’re out and about? 

I do keep a notebook. I try not to be precious about what I write into or down on, but the fantastic poet Ciaran Carson turned me (and others) onto these MUJI notebooks, and I can’t get away from them. There’s usually one in my pocket or bag. 

What about revision—how do you approach revising poetry? 

Revision is most of it. When I write, I kind of go between working things over in my head for a long time and then putting them down on a page. Or I’ll have some time to really sit down and work, so some new things often grow out of those moments. With “Meditation at Lagunitas Brewery,” there was a lot of graft and a lot of silence. 

What advice do you have for other poets and aspiring poets who want to get published in a magazine such as Copper Nickel? 

Write every day. And read at least twice as much as that. 

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and what you’re working on now? 

I’m from California originally but moved a lot (about 11 schools in 11 years), and my wife Holly and I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is an amazing place full of some of the best folks I’ve ever met. And I work in Oxford, which is also good and which has me traveling a lot. I’m blessed enough to get to teach undergraduate and graduate writing students, and they work really hard and have taught me to pay attention and to stay open, among other things. Right now, I’m finishing a first collection of poems, and as Charles Wright said, trying to stay out of jail. 

To read Eaton’s poem in Copper Nickel, please visit us in Special Collections! — Sarah Lange

[thewul]

Predictive Dialer

The personal history of The Puppet Master.

Chapter I, Hello my name is

This is a fictitious personal story, everything about me is fictitious or nearly so, somewhere down the line I have lost myself in the list of my fictional identities. I mean I could lead a normal life, like anyone else, but am not anyone else, am not anyone I know.

I am a hacker and an assassin with the government, also a political engineer, a social engineer, I hold degrees in computing, psychology and anthropology and the list of my fictive identities peaked at 2000 at some point. I am not who you know and there are chances that you will never know who I am.

The kind of people that don’t exist. Even though I do exist, and this is my story.

All I know is you. I know you from other people, unlike common assassins I do not only assassinate people, I delete them, from nearly existing records including online databases and search engines. I do so because they are a threat to national security or interests of Japan, often overlapping with those of other nations.

Also not your common assassin in the sense that I am responsible for more than 6000 assassinations both direct and indirect. Which means that I pay money for murder. A lot of it.

My legal responsibilities, none I am entitled to killing you by the government, actually by several.

Do I know the precise number of my assumed identities and murders, no I go through brainwashing every year. Chances are I will never remember having met you or who did I kill last year. I have become amnesic I know that much, it’s a faculty that I use to discard anything that is not relevant to my mission.

Have you ever heard the movie line “If I tell you I have to kill you”? It’s true for me I have to kill you if I tell you who I am. And I told some people, a lot of people, and I killed them.

A lot of things that I might tell you or write to you on that email come from movie scripts, b series mostly. Even revealing my speech syntax is going too far, I make spelling errors, syntax errors, I speak Jamaican Patois. And I write presidential speeches in my spare time.

What you would call a genius or a useful idiot. I have a 100M USD limit on my credit card and stay in places where you need that kind of credit cards to stay which are not too many. So chances of knowing me are slim, its only a few people that do. And not from the call center room where I learned both to know people and to manipulate them.

I started taking call in a foreign intelligence institute where I was raised with other high capability orphan kids. Taking calls was a way to communicate with the outside, we didn’t go out and never seen other faces.

I kept taking calls and serviced maybe 110 000 calls over a period of 20 years. I take calls from home to keep busy, I do tech support for Microsoft, commercial support for Ebay, shipping with Fedex, I do customer support for Amazon, and engineering support with Oracle and SUN Microsystems.

I do read your mails and browse your digital albums and I am not telling. You have to understand that I am not obliged to tell, legally I don’t exist. Out of convenience.

Maybe you think that I am American as well, I do have a long list of American identities and maybe am also a CIA agent. To which we are going to add Section 9 with the Foreign Ministry of Japan, MI6 fond of that, am also a member of the South African intelligence services how strange is that.

It’s very thin what you have so far and we are going to keep it that way. I am actually imitating the style of a native American writer, I can do so with over a dozen different languages.

If you would excuse me, I am going to the roof to enjoy the fresh night and listen to G-Dragon, you know G-DRAGON fond of that. It’s nice to see that your mind is distracted by an internationally know star and you’re even imaging it, I could have killed you twice before you read this. Distractions are no good in the line of business we’re in. If you do not stay focused on me am wasting you, anything is a context, everywhere is a setting, those are not pedestrians walking by you they are agents, and you’re dying in that street.

Lets go back to basics my significant other, inasmuch as you rise up to your potential to change lives and the world indeed. This is redacted on notepad as it should and if you do not know the hacker manifesto by The Mentor then you should read it. And if you know it you should learn it by heart because we are all here to hack life. Life is waiting to be hacked into the greater thing, and its up to you. If you know how.

                 \/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/

                                by

                         +++The Mentor+++

                    Written on January 8, 1986 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  Another one got caught today, it’s all over the papers.  "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", “Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering”…   Damn kids.  They’re all alike.

  But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950’s technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker?  Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?   I am a hacker, enter my world…   Mine is a world that begins with school… I’m smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me…   Damn underachiever.  They’re all alike.

  I’m in junior high or high school.  I’ve listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction.  I understand it.  "No, Ms. Smith, I didn’t show my work.  I did it in my head…“   Damn kid.  Probably copied it.  They’re all alike.

  I made a discovery today.  I found a computer.  Wait a second, this is cool.  It does what I want it to.  If it makes a mistake, it’s because I screwed it up.  Not because it doesn’t like me…           Or feels threatened by me…           Or thinks I’m a smart ass…           Or doesn’t like teaching and shouldn’t be here…   Damn kid.  All he does is play games.  They’re all alike.

  And then it happened… a door opened to a world… rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict’s veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought… a board is found.   "This is it… this is where I belong…”   I know everyone here… even if I’ve never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again… I know you all…   Damn kid.  Tying up the phone line again.  They’re all alike…

  You bet your ass we’re all alike… we’ve been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak… the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless.  We’ve been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic.  The few that had something to teach found us will- ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

  This is our world now… the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud.  We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals.  We explore… and you call us criminals.  We seek after knowledge… and you call us criminals.  We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias… and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals.

  Yes, I am a criminal.  My crime is that of curiosity.  My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

  I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto.  You may stop this individual, but you can’t stop us all… after all, we’re all alike.

                         +++The Mentor+++

Unlike The Mentor, I do judge people on their appearances, but murder wise I am color blind. I kill anything that is designated as a target by the Nakashimura Corporation. Its 246 irrelevant results on Google and we don’t exist. I am also an arms trader. I do that too in a variety of currencies, see that intelligence money has to come from somewhere preferably other than the pockets of the tax payer. So I convinced different security and intelligence agencies to invest in armaments which they did, and we ended holding several arms concerns which put together are Nakashima Corporation.

FSB yes I sell arms for Russia. China as well, North Korea, Japan, Czech Republic, Brazil, Mexico, the US everyone if its a weapon and its good am selling. Where my role and others at Nakashimura Corporation is to convince everyone that just because they have nice weapons they don’t have to use them every time. And we take care of trouble and troublemakers for dozens of governments. We kill them I mean.

Law enforcement still can’t pin a thing me with all this, am just a voice over the net practicing creative writing which translates somehow into reality and it’s called hacking. All of my stuff is impossible to prove, I rig it as such otherwise I wouldn’t be in this game for so long. I have dozens upon dozens of different passports, I enter and I exit with different passports on a daily basis sometimes, I fly different jets, you have better chances of winning at the lottery twice in the same day than finding me.

It’s my job to find you however. Not you you but you never know could be you. In this intelligence services you need that global perspective it’s the only one that works. And the people is always right, it’s people that are wrong, and they die because of that.

There’s levels in intelligence and government where being wrong gets you killed, terminated with extreme prejudice. Its what we’re talking about here and few have ventured talking about this in active duty. Am on active duty will remain so until I am biologically deceased, I cannot retire because of my agreements with several governments who bailed in Nakashimura because of the guarantee that I represent.

See you can’t say sorry when you’re rotten sorry won’t work for rotten. I cleaned rotten all my life. If its rotten it’s got to go no matter who it is because that person or group of persons constitutes a clear and present danger to the security and safety of all. And we’re talking the whole planet here, so fuck you if you’re wrong you cannot be wrong with the lives of billions around the globe.

Governments through their various agencies are responsible for more than you know, not only for your safety but also those of visiting non nationals. You’re also responsible for your neighboring states security in the case of China, the U.S, etc, etc, . And in the midst of that you have people behind wheels that if they fail the government is gonna bail out of them for good.

It is an equation where individuals are weighted upon the scale of national and global interests. They exist and there are people that represent them. Who will kill you to protect them and do so legally under the authorities, can be several, that they represent.

In that equation you’re of a moderate value if you would pardon me, there are other smarter more intelligent more gifted younger richer more popular more influential more everything better looking fitter taller everything more than you elsewhere. So replacing you will not be an issue, the question is how to dispose of you. Because incompetence at that level has a hefty cost, people want you deceased now.

Remember those people that helped put you there? They want you dead now because you look bad on them. They have burned you at the intelligence agency where you work because they can do that, place a couple of calls to have you wiped out. They have been running that business for longer, they contrary to you are not public figures never will be. And people owe them around the globe, altogether they constitute the intelligence community, the shadow government that you keep on hearing about, it exists and its global and hidden from sight.

In this introduction we should mention that I am also a  surgeon did work on emergencies as a trauma medic on week ends, seen plenty of trauma, I am simply myself unaffected and trying to find a solution like any high ranking Japanese official would. I am pretty dispassionate in person even though I can appear charming.  

The subject is still young, in good physical condition. And because of his high profile you cannot really just snipe him at a street corner, which I do I am a sniper, I dispose and operate sniping robots maybe we’ll get back to it. So the question is how do you make him go.

And the answer can be found by matching his profile to common fatality cause statistics and finding something that matches. If he is a sportive he might as well die from complications in his routine appendicitis operation. It happens, it’s a statistic and it’s all you need because it is a fact of life. People around you have heard of it, and if not than its people they know, still young died on appendicitis operation complications. It marks people, I call them plastic deaths.

Basing your action on sound stats it’s a lot of work those stats and remaining in the know fatality causes, people are not going to stop dying because they are important or famous. And the cause of their death is going to be spread along these statistics that you have to study.

People are also unsuspecting how easy it is to die, we’re slightly more resistant than bugs. We don’t think of it all the time. Sometimes 2mg of something is all it takes. We’re both very resilient and very fragile and diverse, it’s the work of the Creator, he created us saying nowhere that we’re entitled to a 100 years. Turtles live longer. Some stuff lives almost crazy time I don’t remember what it was. Trees it was some 2000 years.

So the message is do something useful with your life and your time, nobody is eternal and we have a role to play here each of us, and you have to find yours. I am maybe different in the sense that I play many different roles. And that unlike actors these are real life roles, and real lives.

Pilot with Air Canada for a while, allowed me to operate on both the North American and European continents before I bailed. It was being found out that I had eliminated an extensive list of people who had to go for different reasons. It’s not law enforcement that I fear, it’s getting caught on a murder scene like a dummy. And that is why I use robots, and cyborgs. I also hack into cybernetics government, intelligence, diplomacy, and turn them into killers.

A cyborg can lift 6 small cars, if he’s close enough he can kill a person in no time. Call it a malfunction. It’s what the data dump is going to say and its some corporation that is going to underline the paragraph where they say that they are not liable for bodily injury. We live in a world of different hazards of which I make use. I kill with a curare needle that I hide in my hair or sleeve when its personal, or bounce you offside of a busy HSW, high speed highway in your self driving car. In the lane operated by large trucks.

I dislike the amiability of physical contact I like to think of my profession as non physical contact based virtual even, I am more likely to open someones jugular with a Tanto as I pass by, more often than not a complete stranger to my victims. They had never seen me and they will never seen anything again. I use that to my advantage, very few can pin a face to the name, what people have is my nick which is a world in itself if you dig into it. That cyborg that you have in custody now has gotten reset during police transport. As for my identity it is a government different governments top secret, the kind that gets people killed if they find it out.

What I did through all of GITS is saving Aramaki and Kusanagi from getting killed. People were going to fly from different parts of the world and in Japan to kill them and all of Section 6 for violating the Alpha Protocol.  A protocol that states that any member state shall not single single-handedly interfere in any shape or manner in the activities of the Nakashimura Corporation. The corporation that don’t exist and of which I am the CEO and the sitting Minister of both Interior and Foreign Affairs of Japan, not the acting one.

Aramaki wanted me brought in on charges of terrorism relating to the bombing of Panam Air Flight 233 that was carrying a high value target and his staff engaging in currency manipulations of the Yen. Which I did on government orders, I hereby decline any responsibility in that matter.

The helicopter drones that killed the people at the Austrian Foreign Ministry malfunctioned, their function was to guard that meeting not shoot at it I agree completely also not guilty it so happens that I have shares in the corporation that makes them so what. A restaurant full of politicians who didn’t like me much blew up, the documents say a gas leak in the basement, still its me law enforcement is looking at. Listen all I do is to save my skin, I have a licence to kill by the government and I use it.

It is not for you to decide how you are going to die if the government wants you killed. Especially if you work for it as an expendable asset, which all are in the government. Governments are big monsters that eat you raw when you screw up because its too much people to convince that you’re right when you’re wrong.

There was a couple of Yachts, more than a couple, I bomb Yachts pretend its a gas leak. The list of my operations is dizzying and global, so how are people going to die who have to die Mr Aramaki?

You want to feed me to coppers Mr Aramaki because basically you’re a cop and I am just doing my duty same as you so how are the two of us going to get along not well. So you retire, and he did.

Kusanagi boy did she like me and still does lovable but flawed an intelligence profile working in law enforcement. 2501 is part of me always was always will, it is an artificial intelligence which I developed, I actually coded modules and put them in free source, building blocks.

Did a lot of custom stuff on 2501 to be a fix for Kusanagi, I patched the pretty girl with some common sense. That not everything is for law enforcement or fit for public knowledge to run things smoothly. We’re still OK she understands me better and we see where we’re going with this.

I am sorry you didn’t see much of me in GITS, just that visit at the Foreign Affairs Minister’s Residence. I am also coding as the cyborg. What was I coding there it’s a long time already. I was probably stealing something, such as the source code of that pretty secretary and the secrets she knew. She was from the U.S and working at the State Department, at South East Asian Affairs. Maybe I wanted to know what she knew from her boss.

She had a peculiar manner of shaking peoples hands, she threw them to the side. I don’t know why I shook her hand, I tend to avoid body contact or looking at people that am not looking for in the eye. Am a fugitive and a thief, an assassin you know I don’t want you to remember any of me.

She was found on a busy Tokyo highway with half her body missing, identifying her as diplomatic personnel she was taken to Section 9, with her secrets. That I stole.

My kind people we need a higher perspective when approaching GITS, I kill people in tens upon tens of different countries I kill people on their vacations, am I going to tens of different jails, because Aramaki wanted to pin on me all of Nakashimura. Nakashimura’s board is composed of about 20 different intelligence agencies bosses. Are we going to tens of jails or to the ICC altogether? For what for keeping the place out of trouble?

What is it now we have to put it on paper? The government pays people to kill you if needed, if you become a threat to itself and others. Myself included am paid for that. I own shares in Nakashimura I have a separation package and a retirement bonus my living is there, do you understand my living.

There move to the side a little bit please, see you did its called being polite and I just popped the guy behind you twice at waist high, he’s not making to the hospital because my bullets are tainted. And now am going to butt you with my suppressed 6.35 mm so that you lose consciousness after catching a glimpse of maybe my profile is all. I don’t need big bullets in closed spaces and started using smaller and smaller ammo.

I am going to bed now and we will resume this latter, tell you how important the work that we’re doing is. To keep normalcy in people’s lives, to shelter them from harm.

So let us go back to that important business of keeping everyone safe, which is entrusted to security and intelligence agencies both public and secret. We have seen how these people are not only responsible for their nationals, indeed we are entitled to their protection wherever we come from. And on top of that they have to see to the safety of their citizens abroad.

And in that context you have people who are helpful and others who are not, where the real work is to weed out the problem makers that arise with each generation of different individuals, mostly politicians. Populists who think that a majority vote is a blank check to put global security at risk by pursuing agendas which are not everyone’s. There’s a war of agendas out there and personal vendettas that you have to navigate, and navigate it closely.

The other thing is organizations groups and individuals who constitute a threat to global security, activists, terrorists, armed groups, criminal gangs. Because our operations entail that global responsibility and each country should not be a harbor for undue terror and crime. There are ways around indiscriminate killings and terror to solve problems.

It’s not awkward I am saying this even if Aramaki wanted me brought in on terrorism charges, my objectives amounted for nearly all of them to be honest. I went to that restaurant where even the waiter was with them. The press was there all day long feeding on gossip from those scumbags that wanted me dead in their emails and phone conversations which I tapped. The controlled explosion looked like a gas leak 98% of the targets gone. It was, still is a military operation in my eyes.

I killed the 2% left with a cyanide injection in their hospital after that, am used to 100% completion of my tasks. They pay me for being ruthless and am good at it.

I take physical risks, everyday, and risk life behind bars if my legal cover is blown because of you, for your security. Because attempting to my life is a direct attack on both your safety and freedoms my friends. Your freedom of assembly, speech, your rights to pursue happiness away from dangers you might even not suspect I guarantee that my friend, and we’re a few. It’s a whole community which does not seek fame or recognition, rather to be as anonymous as possible to detect and neutralize threats to your daily existence on this planet.

It’s called the intelligence community and it is a well organized well structured efficient community that knows each others from special forces and the army or the navy and air force and training together at various intelligence agencies. Its friendships after that which last a lifetime. You only don’t respect those people because you do not belong there, they know and respect each others as professionals do.

Many come from the corporate world, many are also hackers and computing and telecom engineers, lots of coders as well, intelligence specialists that can decipher encrypted communications because although people are told that they are encrypted for good that is not correct and is a lie. There are no such things as secure telecoms.

People do not dislike scrutiny, they dislike undue scrutiny and they are perfectly right about that. They are relevant to an era called Windows 10, and what they don’t want out of lack of perspective is a future in which an AI is counting your teeth in front of your computer.

The future that nobody can save us from, that’s already there you’re running the finest collection of spyware that we have with Windows 10 everything spies on you there for both the CIA and the NSA as entitled by the Homeland Security Act. Which your representative voted for and that allows for monitoring information highways and wiretapping. I don’t think they even need an injunction for that.

ECHELON listens to your phone conversations globally, for keywords such as bomb and so forth. Its a lot of money shifting through your data and online life or just life in general including what you buy where you go who you know, known illnesses, see that personality test they have you fill on a job interview different governments are doing that on a massive scale with social media and even before that, profiling is a basic function of intelligence services.

This business of taking care of you requires massive amounts of cash, whole datacenters. So going into armaments with Nakashimura was the right thing to do, Nakashimura is one of the first datacenter operators in the world aside from its armaments concern. We have massive datacenters with your data in it and we’re not telling. As expressed by our mandate to protect you, we have to know what people bent on endangering others security are doing.

Extortion and rackets are a threat to any state because they constitute a important source of cash flow which nobody knows where that money is going. And the rule of the game is knowing where money goes.

Are we passing on the information? We are pooling the information, 9/11 changed everything, and global transportation, telecoms and financial or banking infrastructure became a concern to all. With the goal of identifying the threats to our collective security. The ability to board a plane and cross the Atlantic to commit a terrorist act and the ease with which it was carried through made us understand that we do need to bridge the gaps with more cooperation to keep the world an open an safe place for all and not a collection of ghettos. More cooperation was not an option it was the only solution. Anywhere in the world is a couple of hours by plane.

Our problems are not with each others, they are with those that are a threat to all of us.

And I became a star like that in intelligence services, oh what a star I was surveyed constantly and had to change residence every week because groupie agents from different services wanted to meet me by any means.Young, rich, good looking, and with a bright future, also on top of my game have been for an awful long time people who don’t like me around the world bounced, I made them so, some personally. My Muppet shows because I make them only fed into the frenzy.

I am a puppeteer have been since childhood. I make shows for my friends and also live TV shows where I animate different puppets. Of course I am not visible, its my only claim to fame, I can’t show you my face but I can show you my Muppets.

I did pursue a short career as a professional punk rock artist with a punk rock group. We visited several small clubs here and there. Where the goal was not getting famous or known. Tokyo, New York, Stockholm, Mexico D.F, we went to plenty of places, we made good money the band should have been a success and it was. It’s just the big name thing that didn’t go with it, indeed am proud to say that all five of us we’re have been always will be true punk rock artists. To the letter, we could have become big at the switch of a button.

We had the fan love and everything was okay, even if people were not allowed to bring in cameras or smartphones inside. We met them backstage like true rock stars. We enjoyed the moment. And its some of the best years that I remember. Became a rock star at several large corporations, I am also a member of the boards of different multinationals of which Sony, Kyocera and Mitsubishi Corporation, GM. Plus the banks. Its a few hours a every couple of months, sets the agenda for what we want to do.

Am grey haired now I have lived and continue to live a full life. And I hope that is the same for you, where the possibilities are limited only by your imagination and and capacity at achieving things and being who you want to be. In life we play different roles after that its maybe something in you that makes you discover that there are many useful roles that you can play in life.

And you work to achieve that as well, surgeon is a very important experience, it teaches about human suffering so that you do not take it lightly. Trauma surgeons have the capacity not to bail or faint in front of what they see to keep cool at all times to be focused on saving a life, I wanted to acquire that capacity which was not easy, hey nothing in life is.

Chapter II, Fedex Yakuza

Biking is a big part of it, and I did use superbikes to commit driveby shootings, of targets and their security in HSW systems around the world. Its a long string of them from Tokyo to New York and Mexico. Paris, Place de l’Etoile. And then I disappear by magic like in the movies no, I am an intelligence services member, my escape is already planned with a diplomatic car waiting for me a couple of blocs away. And the bike is going as well I never leave anything behind.

I use subcompacts with high velocity bullets that are Teflon coated. If its not a heavy armored glass that you have you are dying. Everyone in that car is, we’re clocking 320km per hour on a smooth ride where the nearest exit for you is death. And where bullets are going to fly through your car literally so. Your driver you, your important guest everyone is a goner. And if you’re not dead already that crash will finish you off because am leaving you without wheels.

That security which you have been taken care of as well, rounds of explosive bullets did it for them. It’s a military operation with things that are not commercially available such as explosive rounds, depleted uranium bullets, titanium tip bullets and ceramic bullets. I am also a member of different special forces and I make my own gear, which is either or metal or kevlar.

I was of course labelled a Yakuza, and I used to do delivery work for Fedex, am not saying it was a Fedex bike. Maybe it was. Anyways so Fedex Yakuza was very gratifying and revolved around hacking both Fedex and several HSW and police networks around the globe. I had them shut down traffic where I wanted and divert it to where I wanted. Usually close to an airport.

Nitro, Fedex Yakuza, Tokyo Babe, they had me leave my lifestyle that I wanted. Because of the attention. Am also your banker, used to work at Chase in New York and I had a bike, bikes are very convenient in large cities. The rest of it is armored convoys with military grade armor and helicopters to survey the area. Gunships that is correct. Am no different than the President, if anything I have more responsibilities than he has, he probably answers to his government whereas I answer to several. People think its him and am glad for that.

I stayed in Tokyo often, I feel more anonymous because its a large city I was stuck with the drifting scene, nobody knew what I was doing. My cover was courier for Fedex. Tokyo Babe is because some girlfriends. Still girlfriends.

So yes the drifting scene you can make some money there on your day offs if you’re not exhausted from work, serious money too and contacts, who mostly Yakuzas. Have you ever met Yakuza bosses, Oyabun? They’re impressive I met them soon enough, although branded by my Yakuza friends as a disloyal racer I always paid people their cash, even bailed some of them from losses. The thing was not losing too often and I had a business several Oyabun wanted to know about.

They said that I was a smart young man, and that they both wanted to give me different things to run, because trustworthiness is rare and they were sure that I would never steal anything from them. And they smiled they said they knew about all of the rest and that I could count on them as well.

Two weeks later I was received by the Emperor of Japan, I was 24.

But before that we need to go back to the world of drifting in Tokyo, and the city itself. It’s very lively to say the least and you meet everybody there. The city is extensively large Neo Tokyo is, at least 2 times the size of Tokyo in the 2020's. Its ruled by the almighty HSW, which incorporates high speed rail as well.

And its a young crowd, rich parents or having things going on for them, they’re into biking big time, they train for it. And they race, that is the part that is both fun and illegal. Very lucrative however, I had succeeded in assembling a small team of racers. And we did some serious cash. Its not only bikes its also cars.

***

Where were we I am back to writing this, my aversion for getting caught also made me averse of physical contact. I dislike shaking hands or hugging or anything getting in my comfort zone. If you can touch me you may as well put me in jail. I have bodyguards and people have been routinely placated to walls and grounds. No physical contact is something I am fond of, its a costly security that won’t care how famous you are.

Contrary to most famous people my only claim to fame is in the punk rock scene where one of the stated goals is not to become famous. The rest of it a lot of board meetings at different multinationals, and meetings in general in places where few people other than senior intelligence officers have business. And I am keeping it that way, notoriety can do nothing for me, I am already famous for plenty of reasons, not all legal. I am the side of law enforcement that is frowned upon.

I play the identity game, I forge the identities that I have use for, that allow me to blend in with normal life. As just about anyone else. Normalcy is important to me, and when I see it go away am in a plane in no time. I avoid attention and trouble like the plague.

Do I meet people, I meet plenty of people, but not by chance as anyone would. I carefully know about them beforehand and why we are meeting. If we’re having fun its probably at some event that I set up where I am going to blend in as a guest, some corporate event or corporate sponsored event. I can’t go to public events, that are for the public. My world exists outside of public scrutiny.

I can also stay home for weeks at a time, mostly remote mansions, the kind of remote that makes people think. Or we want to go back to my resume maybe.

The Puppet Master That phantom hacker, right?

They think he’s an American.

Age, sex, personal history Everything about him is unknown.

Since last winter he’s been mainly active in the EC.

Internationally wanted on dozens of charges of.

stock manipulation, assassinations, spying, political engineering, special operations, cyberwarfare, spying for intelligence, conducting counter-intelligence including military and economical, weapon and weapon systems design, mercenary forces, sabotage, propaganda, counter-propaganda, counterfeiting, violation of cyber-brain privacy, regime change, hacking, ransom, racket, organized crime, commodities price manipulation, kidnapping, social engineering, phreaking, computer virus design, patent theft, intelligence tampering, proof tampering, fake indictments, financial theft, book tampering, property and intellectual property theft, blackmail

He’s ghost-hacked so many people to carry out his crimes he’s earned the code name “The Puppet Master.”

This is the first instance of him operating in this country.

The reason why I am writing this book is also to set the record straight about a very important matter. People just see that side to it, especially law enforcement as previously spearheaded by Aramaki. Me no, I am a government official, by many chances higher up than you even if you are willfully made to ignore it. It is not because you work for the government or even intelligence that we are telling you everything. And you can die for trying to discover my identity like what was going to happen to Aramaki and his whole section.

There are agreements to which different governments are party in order to be able to collaborate in intelligence services for the benefit of all. And these agreements entail that Nakashimura personnel is covered by a blanket of secrecy in order to ensure their protection. And there is a protocol in case that secrecy is breached because it jeopardizes people’s and operations safety, its called the Alpha Protocol. Ringing anyone high up at your government will not do anything for you except put you on some loonie watchlist.

It exists however and it is enforced. Also the people that you know that are high up, are sorry to say public figures. There are other more important faces the government is not showing to the press and its those that matter. Anyone would be a fool to think that something as important as a country is fully entitled to people who come and go with elections. I know, I was General at 28. Anyone of those Generals weights more than a freshly elected President.

So you have the army on top of everything else, the life that you are living is army R&R where you can have fun and even shoot some bullets but not too many. The minute you wake up to the fact that after that you have intelligence agencies and the police both national and Interpol. Those are guys that the army guys put on your back as civilians to keep the place ruly. If you are not wearing 4 stars you might as well not exist.  

You will, always have been, always will be a civilian. And you enter politics where you might become expandable, nobody is telling you that the army will snipe you in the head if you piss them off. To them you are a civilian, and they hate civilians. Those Generals are the last ones who are going to tell a freshly elected President that they will kill him if needed, but look at them President, most of them already have plenty of civilian blood on their hands.

Armed coups happen in places where the President is not careful with the army, he does something stupid such as putting the country at risk. They will kill you because of that, they will kill anyone they don’t know from the army or services. And then they will pretend some wacko did it, organize new elections put someone else there for the press, to keep repeating government policies like a parrot and not make any trouble.

They will kill you for free even take the money from some black fund. Fuck you if you play them for dummies. Half those professional killers that are good at it come from the army or special forces. And you’re swimming in the middle of all that as a civilian, an elected civilian still a civilian, always will be a civilian, I seen scores of civilians go no matter how high up for putting the army in shit, scores of them.

Aside from being averse to physical contact I have also developed a fear of airstrikes, and that is why I am also a General at the FSB, attempting on my life in that manner is equivalent to declaring war on Russia. It’s not the same fears that you have they’re different a lot of things are different. I think that my agreement with them mentioned a nuclear grade retaliation against any party responsible.

I make weapons for Russia, as well as weapons systems, nuclear warheads, submarines, planes, so surely yes the retaliation would be a nuclear strike against who’s responsible. It’s good to be open about one’s fears, fears tell a lot about someone, and you can see how my life is different from yours. Maybe that is what go you interested in me.

Maybe go back to my time in Tokyo as a courier for Fedex and a street racer with some Yakuzas, its a world in itself and its a part that I can best complete while visiting Tokyo which is not now.

This exercise of writing a book and talking about me is something new, both are new. I never put anything personal on paper and I never wrote a whole book. I put some chapters there that we are going to work to fill to the best of my recollections, because I am also amnesic.

I was young at the time, freshly graduated from the academy at 22, I flew fighter jets, and had a PhD in applied physics. My thesis was on quantum computing. I wanted to do something in my life, biking most of all and that courrier job at Fedex was just perfect same as the street racing. Then some people at the government showed up with a list of targets, mostly users of HSW and visiting foreigners. They said that they had to go for the higher interest of Japan and that my job now was to use my intelligence skills to terminate them on HSW.

I did, I killed plenty of them, in fact all of them. And I became a Colonel with the secret services. People blamed Yakuzas for these assassinations, while many others have been simply cleaned up. They came and they took everything made it look like new. Was it a Fedex bike yes just maybe people and their security have been less suspecting because of that, Fedex and other courriers from DHL and UPS were a frequent sight on the HSW and that came with high velocity bikes that had semi cockpits.

The rest of it was high velocity drive by’s using titanium tip bullets and explosive rounds, mostly in tunnels. Traffic was then diverted while secret services crews cleaned the scene. Being VIP’s they were used to empty lanes. I do not know their functions or identities, they’re bygone trackers on my GPS and its better that way.

The clubbing scene was perfect, I mean I barely seen anyone except those institute kids until I was 18, then I studied a lot until 22. It’s not that I barely seen anyone its that I had lived pretty much like a hermit. So Tokyo was like a huge ongoing 24/7 event. And it can be when you’re into biking and racing, it’s two items that are big in Tokyo.

We ended up pushing the world that Akira fed us, and Neo Tokyo was no different in the sense that it was large and extensive. It was also much more policed than the apocalyptic world you see in Akira. The police turned a blind eye to races quite often. For the very reason that HSW was so big that it was impossible to stop all those races from taking place, there was races and racing teams in almost each district of Neo Tokyo.

I lay there in the murky underworld of the drifting scene of Toyko, on the scope of the police because of my Yakuza acquaintances, and secret services offered me a blank check to make millions of yens in between the cover for my racing business and the hit money. I became rich, had a loft with a private lift in Shibuya. Things were going too well, and then it became clear that I had to bail out because of all the attention.

I found out in the couple of years where I was learning the scene that the scene was also learning me, which is no good in my line of business because I am a also secret agent. Its a question of temperament as well I dislike being spied upon so I never put myself in that position, it is not a rumor I do fly stratospheric jets and pretty much nobody knows where they are going.

Chapter III, Help me am Amnesic

I puppetize people I do that, it’s not for nothing that they call me the Puppet Master, I puppetized Aramaki maybe he’s reading this, and I did it with style his only way out was a resignation letter and I forced him into that way out.

Its is a lot of invisible strings in what we do, call them duty or loyalty, friendships, debts, ambition, greed. Or simply being human where we have both needs expressed or not and cravings, there are things you can fail at such as being attentive. 99% of what I do is preparation and 1% of it is distracting you. Its seldom that people are 100% attentive and that margin can get them robbed of sensitive information, kidnapped because they are an intelligence asset or killed.

Of course we all expect certain outcomes from relationships. I am pretty frugal in that regard, I expect anonymity, I live in a world where it does no good to me to be known. You are more likely to meet me in cyberspace, or as a cyborg. Meeting me in person is difficult, its not any day soon that I am letting you know who I am. Or where I am staying, or what I do. All of that is classified.

I would like to go back to my resume and answer for different things which while I am amnesic I still know how different things are useful to me, my memory is selective I keep important things somewhere and flush the rest on a regular basis. We might differ in the sense that your memories can become faint or remote, while mine except for what I am keeping become non existent. Such as the specifics of operations, makes me very useful.

Stock manipulation, I manipulate stocks for different funds, competing corporations and governments. The targets are set to fail because they either have some competitive advantage that is too big for them or they are hurting someones interest or simply because of speculation. I can’t name these corporations there is surely a lot of them. They have in common that I made their stock go higher waiting for the bad news that were coming with the quarterly, or simply become worthless due to series of planned incidents, some with huge liabilities, mostly through hacking.

Assassinations, we have seen that part, I am a professional assassin like others are dentists or shrinks. Everyone is fully capable of killing under emotion, even if you are small physically you can still do it, pleading temporary insanity often works if you do not have a criminal record. Its killing without emotion that sets the professional assassin from plain murderers. 

I do not know personally any of my targets, I used to when I got started in this business, I had to wipe my plate off people who knew me personally. I harbor no grief or anger against most of them, because emotions are not my business. 

There is no comfort zone, a body is about to be impacted by a pair of two high velocity projectiles, called bullets, meant to kill not socialize. The body after that, is disposed off at the morgue in a bag that hopefully am not seeing pictured in a court of law. And chances are that I won’t even remember it in a couple of months. Maybe even sooner. 

Political engineering, I do Oracle and Windows support late at night, I usually know of security holes beforehand and I am myself part of several it security groups, mostly watching for malware and viruses trends. To say that manipulating your election data will not be too much of an issue, electronic ballot boxes fancy unbreakable at the source and are careless where and how that data is later stored and so on and so forth. Social media allows for influencing people in a variety of ways on top of which you have plain fake news that are however going to make an impression before they are debunked. But actually my role starts much sooner, we have a commission that picks candidates and grooms them into political careers to implement our different agendas. 

assassinations, spying, political engineering, special operations, cyberwarfare, spying for intelligence, conducting counter-intelligence including military and economical, weapon and weapon systems design, mercenary forces, sabotage, propaganda, counter-propaganda, counterfeiting, targeted terrorism, violation of cyber-brain privacy, regime change, hacking, ransom, racket, organized crime, commodities price manipulation, kidnapping, social engineering, phreaking, computer virus design, patent theft, intelligence tampering, proof tampering, fake indictments, financial theft, book tampering, property and intellectual property theft, blackmail

Chapter I, Hello my name is Chapter II, Fedex Yakuza Chapter III, Help me am Amnesic Chapter IV, Random Access Memories Chapter V, Unflinching Chapter VI, Maybe you maybe me Chapter VII, A Handful of Murders Chapter VIII, WANTED Chapter IX, Beating The Odds Chapter X, I Lose you Lose Chapter XI, Nakashimura Chapter XII, Crazy Otaku

The crazy Otaku that started tracking me online and spying on me physically, the only one good enough to have found me out. Followed me everywhere hacked into airline booking systems.

Chapter XIII, Unhelpful Circumstances

Someone high ranking in Germany was terminated due to, but not solely. It became a state affair.

Chapter  XIV, Predictive Dialer Chapter XV, Confessions of an Online Killer Chapter XVI, The World at Large Chapter XVII, Means to an end

Newscorp

Chapter XVIII,  The Future We’re Building Chapter XIX,  Yes and? Chapter XX, The Number You have Dialed Chapter XXI, Section 6 Chapter XXII, Section 9 Chapter XXIII, AI and the Digital World Chapter XXIV,  Credits, kudos Chapter XXV, Prologue

/notes

1. Hello boys and girls we’re back with more TPM stuff, so its not a meager task but same as with anything creative writing oriented it leads you where it leads you I guess. We have tried however to give some scope and depth to this story and we have 25 Chapters in total. The first one looks almost done, redaction began on Wednesday 08/21/2019 and we’re the day after.

2. Are we going to repackage everything we have wrote on the subject so far in this blog, absolutely. Its all there under #GITS #TPM #the puppet master and #project2501

***

[realisticperfectionist]

2017.09.04.

bgm: Growing Up - Phil Good

VOICES, LANGUAGES, WORDS

I’ve always been fascinated with voices. For the longest time, I’d been enamored by the idea that each individual has a distinctive voice that could be identified, be it spoken, sung, or written. One of the biggest reasons why I try so hard to keep writing is that I am proud of the voice I’ve established. I love that when people read something I’ve written, they can identify that it’s mine. I love that strangers identify me through my writing. I love that my writing voice, something so abstract and intangible, can establish a concrete image and identity because it’s mine, and mine alone.

Someone told me that my writing style is “classy with subtle kisses of sass.” I use a lot of commas and dashes, as to mimic the pauses I take to choose the right words out of the limitless possibilities- or that’s what I tell myself anyways. I like using parenthesis to hint at my thoughts (that I’d love to say directly but won’t because several reasons), and beautifully crafted poetic symbolisms and metaphors. I try to be direct but not too blunt- like the kisses with the perfect balance of bite and tenderness.

I like to believe that I know the importance of syntax and diction, and that I try to be meticulous with my words and thoughts. I get upset when people say things I know they don’t mean, and think of better ways that would have more accurately conveyed their purpose. I get easily offended by what others say because I believe that if they cared enough, they’d avoid using words and phrases that would hurt me. I guess I was blinded by pride and self-justification, and often times failed to see that I too, am human, and have said highly offensive and insensitive things to others.

It really hit me when I overheard one of my dearest friends say that “communication is about what they hear, not what you say.” Although it’s true that writing and talking are methods of individual expression (or “rugged individualism”, as I like to say), it’s also true that they are means of communication and community. Language is a social thing- your voice, no matter how unique you might think it is, isn’t just yours alone. It belongs to everybody who you share it with, and we are all connected because you speak through them, and they speak through you.

I write this because recently, I’ve been so full of anger. Be it friends, acquaintances, family, significant others, co-workers, or even, strangers, I’ve found myself getting angry because of what they’ve said, or how they’ve interpreted what I’ve said. I was constantly full of anger, and because I have a dangerous tendency to bottle that shit up, it consumed me and became toxic. I started blaming myself for everything that had been going wrong, even if it wasn’t something under my control. I blamed myself for broken relationships, friendships, and all the messy things in between- and I felt miserable. I felt responsible for all the misunderstandings, be it mine, or others.

I’m still learning that it’s no one’s fault that different interpretations and thoughts exist. This is why languages are so versatile and flexible- there’s no single “answer” to them. No one in particular is responsible for language- we all are. The collective interpretations and understandings create the language we use daily, and it’s important to realize that just like society, languages change and adapt to the surroundings. Although it’s important to establish one’s own voice, it’s also crucial to remember that it’s impossible to monopolize such a vivid concept. I am merely a part of this huge intricate web, and although I am a significant piece, I only have meaning when I am an integrated part of the whole.

I am learning to be okay with being misunderstood or minsunderstanding- it’s a natural part of languages, and although I take pride in my own voice, I also am starting to realize that I could only derive true meaning when I take into consideration the great number of interpretations that helped create the language I use every day.

[smallpressdistribution]

Feast your eyes and your shelves on July’s

SPD Recommends *Backlist*,

ten titles that continue to rock our world. Maybe they’ll rock yours too… 

1. Don’t Drink Poison - Sarah Anne Wallen

“Through a sly directness that seems inspired by Williams, the New York School, Sylvia Plath, and Ariana Reines, Wallen crafts a punk female poetics located in the weird slippery surface of tone. Compressed, smart and raucous, the poems shimmer as they turn language back on its strange self.” - Karen Weiser

2. Diary of A K-Drama Villain - Min K. Kang

“Min K. Kang's The Diary of a K-Drama Villain is alive and subversive: each line undermining misperceptions of the Asian female condition with vinegary wit. Kang reclaims the lyric for the digital age; her style is the Engrish IM, the confessional missive as late night text, shredding that Anna May Wong avatar with vengeance. A startling and vibrant debut.” - Cathy Park Hong

3. Go Find Your Father | A Famous Blues - Harmony Holiday

“The voice in A Famous Blues / Go Find Your Father is so absolute and addicting and completing (Holiday, you complete me!) and enduring. And yet there is a specific politics underlying the poems in this book regarding the ‘work made for hire’ clause in many recording contracts. The poems in A Famous Blues feel like direct confrontations with this fact, but that’s mainly from interspersed texts telling the story of Holiday’s father, Jimmie Holiday. This half of the book spells out the concept of inheritance in concrete and explicit terms. Literally, Holiday has been in dispute for royalties she and her mother should be earning from her father’s songwriting. And so the concept of father as artist present in Harmony Holiday’s artistic life takes on a concrete character. It’s a point which A Famous Blues takes further when it speaks to influence with a listing of artists in ‘Lament for the Brilliance of Wolves.’ And I would say it’s this conceptual interlock surrounding the idea of inheritance that allows for so much centripetal motion in the poems. They hurl themselves outward in syntax and content and sentiment and everything, please. Yet they still hold together.” - Kent Shaw, The Rumpus

4. Essay Stanzas - Thomas Meyer

“A life of such patience must have led to Thomas Meyer’s Essay Stanzas (The Song Cave, 2014). In long poems in which each stanza offers itself as a discrete meditation, Meyer creates a book in which the largest of universal truths find themselves manifest in the minutiae of daily attention. My favorite of the poems, ‘Caught Between,’ opens the collection, is an exalted catalog of the things of existence—from light to ocean to river to tree to, most movingly, the animal kingdom—one that knows no list can be complete, and highest praise of the ten-thousand things must be modest enough not to strive to compete with the world of which it sings. Meyer renews poetry’s oldest dictate, placing upon his shoulders Caedmon’s own mantle: Now must we praise. Such praise isn’t a form of faith necessarily, not a religious tenet, but a kind of light, so that song brings to the eye what all there is that can be seen.” - Dan Beachy-Quick

5. Tender Points - Amy Berkowitz

“’Trauma is nonlinear,’ writes Berkowitz. I am impressed by the sensing form she makes. That has the day in it, as well as the night. The body, that is, in variable settings, frames and weathers. The stairs that ‘climb up my arms and neck.’ The ‘I am bitterly jealous of people who can always go back to being a barista for a while.’ This book is a kind of clutching and being there for real, and that is what I like. A book. That takes up. A visceral form.” Bhanu Kapil

6. Rumored Place - Rob Halpern

“Rob Halpern implodes new narrative tenets, collapsing all views of our condition and the means to express these views into each sentence at once: learned, aroused, mournful, and full of hope. His book conveys the intolerable crush of the ongoing, the grand brawl of contending institutions and concepts hectically alive past their deaths. Meanwhile the self continually gains and loses ID. The intensity of what is said displays the extent of what can’t be said. This emptiness travels along with the story in the future perfect tense, a negative space that has not been, an arcadia that cannot have been lost, beyond knowing but not beyond needing. It is also an orifice in the mind or body where the unspeakable of history might enter and speak.” - Robert Glück

7. Neighbor - Rachel Levitsky

“Levitsky interrogates just about every nut and bolt that goes into community, civic and otherwise, and incorporates political theory gently into Neighbor, particularly Giorgio Agamben (and her sly and irresistible sense of humor certainly makes us aware of the double entendre behind The Coming Community). ‘God or the good or the place does not take place, but is the taking-place of the entities, their innermost exteriority,’ Agamben writes. The neighbor insists on the private made public, public made private, and in that movement, inflicted upon both self and other, is the taking-place, taking of place.” - Marcella Durand, Jacket2

8. The Book of Light - Lucille Clifton

“Clifton's latest collection clearly demonstrates why she was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. These poems contain all the simplicity and grace readers have come to expect from her work. The first few pages set the title in a larger perspective at the same time that they announce the book's premise: ‘woman, i am / lucille, which stands for light.’ This is a feminist version of Roots, charged with outrage at the sins done to women of previous generations. There are the typical heroes and anti-heroes: Atlas, Sisyphus, Leda, biblical women—but even these tired figures are given a new, often comic, twist: Naomi, for example, doesn't want Ruth's devotion, just to be left alone to ‘grieve in peace’; several poems are addressed to Clark Kent as the speaker comes to terms with the realization that he doesn't have the power to save her after all. And what do today's women have instead of superheroes? Jesse Helms; fathers who ‘burned us all.’ Though it is based more or less in traditional Christianity, the poetry also is concerned with how spirituality can be personal. Low key and poignant, poem after poem takes the form of a conversation, whether woman to her dead parents, Lucifer to God, or poet to reader.” - Publisher’s Weekly

9. Heath Course Pak - Tan Lin

“The book is interesting in that it’s specifically not interesting, it’s successful because of the way it fails, it succeeds so adequately at what it sets out to do that as a book it becomes a mere chore, an exercise. But the stamina required is beautiful, and Lin’s trajectory through the world of literature, as an outlier questioning things completely different than anybody else, is entirely necessary.” - Impossible Mike, HTML Giant

10. i be, but i ain’t - Aziza Barnes

“Barnes commandeers the page in her startling debut, putting into language a range of lived experiences that expose crucial gaps in language and history. These poems brim with black voices, so with some winking irony she marks the collection's five sections with quotes from Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, including his final words: ‘Let us cross over the river & rest under the shade of the trees.’ Demonstrating a firm grasp of the interplay of form and content, Barnes varies tone and structure to meet her needs. Her opening poem emulates the shape of a framed picture of Miriam Makeba used to kill a centipede in her apartment, ending with ‘a colonizer's thought’: ‘if I don't kill it now, how will I find it again?’ The collection rolls from there. With justified annoyance and amusement, Barnes expounds on sexual and racial identities, fraught social interactions, and various modes of desire. As the poems shift location (New York City, Los Angeles, Mississippi, Ghana), those issues reveal their interrelatedness even as they manifest individually.” - Publisher’s Weekly

[juliathinksaboutpop]

Week 4: Space, Pain, and Breathing in Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric (2014)

Hannah Klein’s online review on full-stop.net of Citizen: An American Lyric begins with a simple observation – ‘Citizen is a slim volume, heavier than it looks’ – which tempts a little more thought. The book isn’t just slim, it is also sparse. Claudia Rankine somewhat surprised me with the amount of space she under-utilized, or rather, as I came to realize, how much space, as a device itself, she has utilized. Surprising because the book isn’t just heavy, its pages are dense, like the material is ready to absorb a Whitman-esque overload of American zeitgeist. But there is no excess of words, description, or transcribed life. Rankine instead formats her text to illustrate the exasperatingly arbitrary but fundamentally social world of racial construct – produced by mediations that take place in the ether. The book largely consists of the weight, the significance, of space.

Space itself exists and functions in a multitude of ways. We can either be within it or outside it. There can be space over, under, in between. It can either overlap, border each other, or emerge mutually exclusive from one another. Modern life, with its variety of identities and belief systems, resembles a diagram I thought I’d left behind in A-Level Math:

An example Venn diagram of ‘Things that are bad’ found on Pinterest

And with the racial microagressions, disavowals, and identity mapping that Rankine details, you can’t help but imagine that this is the complexity into which we have demarcated human being. Trying to extract and resolve any one compartment strains the body and mind – it is ache-inducing, sigh-producing.

To live through the days sometimes you moan like deer. Sometimes you sigh. The world says stop that. Another sigh. Another stop that. Moaning elicits laughter, sighing upsets. (Citizen, p. 59)

The sigh is the pathway to breath; it allows breathing. That’s just self-preservation. No one fabricates that. You sit down, you sigh. You stand up, you sigh. The sighing is a worrying exhale of an ache. You wouldn’t call it an illness; still it is not the iteration of a free being. What else to liken yourself to but an animal, the ruminant kind? (Citizen, p.60)

The sigh itself is not the ‘illness’. It is not even a symptom exclusive to racial unfairness. But it is exactly because it is a universal expression of tension and a desire for liberation that the world says, ‘stop that.’ With a ‘moan’, mainly an oral expression, suffering is displaceable unto caricature, in this case, the ‘deer’, a ‘ruminant’ animal who, like those oppressed, have to regurgitate and chew, or rather, process meanings which they have been forced to consume. 

(The possibility that some people might relate to Bambi more than Kate Clark’s art piece, Little Girl, poses a question: Are we unwilling to face that the language we use in daily life, textual or visual, are perversely imbedded with discrimination? I mean, if you feel uneasy with the Clark’s hybrid work, is it because you feel like you’re looking in the mirror?)

VS.

A moan ‘fabricates’ a metaphor and hangs a veil that allows people to renounce culpability or responsibility – ‘that’s not my problem.’ A sigh, however, has less impact with our five senses and more with our most rudimental organs. We do not see or hear a sigh as much as we recognize it through the pulse of our own living, and there is recognition of it as a momentary fissure in stable, healthy breathing, one that exposes a wound – ‘an exhale of an ache’ – and a pain – whether it is anger, shame, guilt etc. – that can be found in everyone.

You both experience this cut, which she keeps insisting is a joke, a joke stuck in her throat, and like any other injury, you watch it rupture along its suddenly exposed suture. (Citizen, p. 42)

A simulation of ruptured breathing is Rankine’s main rhythmic device. It exists in the microcosm of syntax. When a therapist mistakes a (presumably colored) patient for a potential threat, ‘everything pauses’. The moment ruptures as her apology does: ‘I’m so sorry, so, so sorry.’ It is also present in the macrocosmic structure, wreathing around and mostly after the blocks of prose into which Rankine compartmentalizes most of the poem as well as by the many images she includes that not only creates pause, but transports us into a seemingly different plane of communication. However, maybe, the point is that there is never an independent realm of language or identity.  In terms of perspective, Rankine writes with a preference for a respiratory, inclusive ‘you’ rather than a sensory, possessive ‘I’ to instruct a paradox of experience that at once pulls readers in to participate as the poem’s subjective as well as push them out by highlighting any differences between the readers’ world and the storyworld. At its most successful, Citizen’s ‘you’ will be able to conjure the emotions of a transgression without familiarizing the facts of the event. Pit against the discrimination in the poem, regardless of facial and cultural signifiers, Citizen expects, or hopes, that there is a universal reaction. 

Once a sense of participation has been established, Rankine can complicate the perspective through revisiting popular racially-charged events. Hurricane Katrina, the Jena Six, Stop-and-Frisk and the high-profile murders of various African-Americans are all incidents which have received global attention and scrutiny. Everyone wants to talk about the problem, but fewer people want to stake a claim in the problem. In narrating these ‘situation videos’, Rankine does not allow the reader to cop out – at either or corner, you are situated somewhere in the script. During an unspecified Stop-and-Frisk occurrence, the moment of arrest is a tight compartment holding together a network of subjectivities:

I must have been speeding. No, you weren’t speeding. I wasn’t speeding? You didn’t do anything wrong. Then why are you pulling me over? Why am I pulled over? Put your hands where they can be seen. Put your hands in the air. Put your hands up. (Citizen, p. 106)

Who are you? i.e. ‘What ails you?’ Can ‘Put your hands up’ become ‘What up?’

To read this moment is to forgo the role of neutral outsider. In the moments before the rupture, within the prose-box, there is no objective space to escape into a buffer zone. You could be the victimized ‘I’, the policing voice, or somewhere more ambivalent, wishing that you could utter ‘You didn’t do anything wrong’ in a way that could change things. The possibilities aren’t limited to these. Any social, political or cultural difference could modify the type of pain but you are contained within the situation and forced to feel the rupture that was yours from the beginning.

Rupture. Recognition. Rankine spends most of Citizen provoking these two Rs, but does hint at a possibility of a third R – Repair:

Though a share of all remembering, a measure of all memory, is breath and to breathe you have to create a truce—

a truce with the patience of a stethoscope. (Citizen, p. 156)

So if life was really a Venn diagram, there would be a little shaded area where every single set of human intersected and according to Rankine, that would be ‘breath’, but for this intersection ‘to breathe’ or emerge, there must be a ‘truce with the patience of a stethoscope’. 

In pursuit of healing, as the medical metaphor implies, we must be open to identifying each other’s arrhythmias just as Citizen asks ‘What ails you, Dedmon?’ (Citizen, p. 95) of Deryl Dedmon, who beat and ran over James Craig Anderson in a racially-motivated hate crime. The poem does not presume a common cultural experience, but it does bring together victim, transgressor, and bystander in a common experience of pain. and of letting that pain breathe before the inverse happens, as in Dedmon’s case, ‘It [anger] let you go.’ (p. 95)

So, really, what Rankine is telling us is to forget the sets and subsets, to negate the 'What is' (Citizen, p. 152) already. Clear the space. Just listen for the pain.

[vkacerus]

Blogger Voice and Tone informative Video: Why Blog Voice and Tone Matters: Hey…watch your tone! Perhaps we’ve all heard that one before. Truly though, the way you speak to a spouse or a partner may not be the same as the way you talk with your mother-in-law. Or your doctor. Or your teenage niece, shy neighbor, stubborn accountant or a hard-to-read boss. Language has nuances, as do relationships. Therein lies something powerful but true: the way we communicate is amazingly complex and brilliant. It’s all about finding the right notes—but also, the notes that are the truest to yourself. The same is true for your blog and the brand’s voice and tone. How do you go about speaking to the entire world your love, passion, devotion, and experience with fashion? You want your audience to feel a unique camaraderie with you, consider you a trustworthy source, and become their frequent and stylishly-dressed party host in their digital world. Make your audience feel at ease with these tried and true ways to find and stick to you're an honest, most real-you voice For Example, a must-read in details... At the heart of a successful strategy for blogging is the ability to be able to write about often highly technical subjects in a way that communicates your expertise, but that remains fresh, accessible and enjoyable to read. A key element of this process is to agree on a clear and consistent ‘tone of voice’ for your company or brand. But what exactly is your tone of voice?  And how can it help you to engage with your audience, increase rapport and better tell your story? Why the tone of voice matters It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.  The tone of voice is the way in which you use written or spoken a language to connect with your prospects. It conveys the distinct character of your brand.  It humanizes your product or service. And it expresses what it is that you stand for. Identifying the right tone of voice relies on considering two key factors: Your brand personality - who are you and what do you stand for? Your audience - who are you speaking to (your buyer personas) and what's important to them? Your blog can be an invaluable tool in helping to drive traffic to your website and in enabling you to secure quality leads that you can ultimately convert to customers.  But while it may seem counter-intuitive, your blog may not be the best place to dictate your opinions or to 'sell' your product or service.   If there’s something that will put anyone off the quickest, it’s that feeling of being “sold to” or "told what to do."  So establishing the right tone of voice is going to be crucial. By positioning yourself in the role of mentor, peer or friend, for example, you can then offer your prospective customers a rich pool of resources rather than an array of products.  It's a chance to put yourself in your prospects' shoes, to start a conversation and to build a relationship based on what matters to them. Your choice of words Part of the process of establishing your tone of voice in your blogging is to accumulate a bank of words, phrases and grammatical guidelines that are consistent with your brand. Even the smallest of adjustments can hugely affect the meaning of your message and how it's received. Think for a moment about your choice of language, grammar or syntax. Something as simple as swapping out “You must…” or "You will..." with "You could..." or "You'll..." could make all the difference between a brand personality that draws your prospects in, or one that drives them away. And while a degree of formality is important in establishing your authority within your industry, the key is to communicate that expertise in a way that's accessible and relatable for your prospects. Too much formality in your writing could result in you presenting an image that's inflexible, inwardly focused or verbose. While opting for too casual a tone of voice could see you coming across as flippant or suggest you lack the substance to back up your claims. Getting technical It can be easy to assume that the people reading your blog posts know as much about your subject as you do. And that they understand all the terminology, acronyms and turns of phrase that is applicable to your industry. Sure, some technical language will be needed (and expected) when you’re writing about a specialist or niche subject. But equally too, stuffing your blog with jargon or overly complex language may just end up confusing your audience and cluttering the intent of your message. Facts are of course important. And there are things that your prospects will absolutely want to know before they purchase your product or service. But it's also important to bear in mind where your prospects are at in their buyer's journey and to pitch your content accordingly. Ultimately we all like to make human connections. And we all like to buy from people we trust.  By keeping in mind your company's tone of voice you can use your blogging efforts to initiate meaningful conversations and to establish rapport with your manufacturing prospects. The Why, The Who and The What You Want The tone is a conscious decision about language based on the purpose, the audience, and the desired outcome of the story. Fashion bloggers should answer these questions before starting any post, posting an image, or putting forth any content that their audience will see and digest: Why am I writing this? Who am I writing it to? What do I want the readers to learn, understand, or think about? That’s right. If you are looking for consistency, every post, every image, every tweet, Facebook Live or Instagram Story, you should ask yourself these questions. If you are truly sticking to being yourself, you’ll know that content and audience are a married pair. That perfect pairing relies on consistent messaging, so nudge yourself with these basic questions until they’re square in your good habits column. How will you know? Go back and read your last 5-10 brand messages (a few posts, a handful of social messaging). Does it sound like the same person wrote the same fashion advice and to the same people? Did each offering give the audience something tangible? Yes? You got this. It’s also important you don’t confuse your voice with personal narrative, veteran fashion blogger Diana Baros (aka The Budget Babe) says. “Your audience wants to get to know you as a real person, so the more personal you can be, the better,” she says. “But they also want value—so weave in personal anecdotes as they relate to the specific fashion or style advice. It’s fashion but with a point of view.” For Example..must-read in details:-  So you want to become a better person. I’m a huge believer in a simple concept that can change your life: Who you have been being not who you have to be. At the same time, who you are today will determine who you are in the future. The way you live your life today determines the quality and experience of your life tomorrow. As independent, self-oriented men, we get to decide who we want to be, every single day. And who we are is a function of what we do, so whether we are consciously trying or not, we are always crafting our future self. But are you crafting your ideal self? How conscious are you of the self you’re creating right now? Put simply: Are you in the process, every day, of becoming the person you want to be? Why Deciding Who You Want to Be Matters Every day we make choices — some big, some small. Those choices add up to who we are today, and who we will likely be tomorrow. Whether it’s what you’re having for lunch or what you say to a frustrating colleague, you have (literally) hundreds of chances every day to define who you are. Without that conscious direction, your identity is left to forces, patterns, and stimuli beyond your control. The job you stumbled into, the personal history of loss or disappointment, even the apartment or the neighborhood or the movies you watch — these will all, by default, determine who you are, if you don’t consciously decide to choose them for yourself. The phenomenon of waking up one day to discover that you’re living a life you don’t truly love is a real one. It happens when you don’t actively decide who you want to be. Without a captain at the wheel, a ship will just capitulate to the sea. So will your life. If you want to become a better person, a more fulfilled person, you need to take action. The “trick,” if we can call it that, is to be aware of every choice you make, and use it to build yourself into the person you want to become. Because some of our decisions can move us toward who we want to be, while other decisions can move us away from that person. The good news is, when you view every decision as a building block, you know the next decision about who you want to be is just around the corner. We are creating ourselves at every step. Why Deciding Who You Want to Be Is Awesome It can be intimidating to realize that every decision contributes to the person you want to be. If you want to become a better person, though, you must constantly bear this in mind. I understand being daunted at first. But there’s something very powerful about radically taking responsibility for your life. When you accept that only you can make decisions to become a better person and build yourself into the kind of person you want to be, you give yourself an enormous amount of power. Compare this mindset with the default one, in which you view yourself as largely created by external forces. That worldview can be easier — at least it can feel easier — but it’s also far less secure, fun and empowering. Our real power as individuals comes in how we choose to react to those forces. If you lose a job you love, for example, you have a few options. You can choose to stew about it for a week — that can feel very satisfying, natural and easy. Or you can acknowledge the loss and choose to throw your negative energy into finding an even better job. Or you can sit with the feeling as you go on a five-mile run, contemplating your next move. Either way, your choice is determining the person you are now. And we’re not just talking about chasing big dreams. This isn’t about turning around from a loss and then, say, deciding to run for Congress. This is about recognizing that however you respond to your life situation — big or small — you are determining the quality of your life tomorrow. Wallow in self-pity, or go for that run. Stew in the disappointment, or take a risk by applying for the job you’ve wanted all along. The possibilities are only limited by our own imagination. “Reasonable” is a lot more ambitious than you think. Becoming the person you want to start with deciding who that is. You can start right now. Here’s how. Appraising Your Role Models A great place to begin is to think about men you admire. So turn off your computer and phone, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and make a list of the men you admire most. You can pick anyone from your grandfather to Bill Gates to Alexander the Great to Indiana Jones. It’s one of those questions that doesn’t have a “wrong” answer. After you have a fairly extensive list, pick five who really stand out for you. Now pick them apart a little bit. Why do you admire them so much? What qualities of theirs do you want to emulate? Then go further: Ask yourself why you admire these qualities. For example, maybe you admire Bruce Lee because of his skill in martial arts. Great. But why? Is it because of his dedication? Because he can handle himself in a fight? Because he’s strong? Because of the fame, he gained from it? Don’t be afraid to be brutally honest. If you answer what you think the “right” answer is, you’ll miss the beauty of this exercise. Get to the heart of why these men speak to you. In the process, you’ll discover their own motivation and reward for becoming the men they are. Defining Your Goals Now you’re getting to the fun part. Defining your goals can — and really should be — one of the most pleasurable activities a person can engage in. There’s something about the process of dreaming about the life you want — coupled with the electric tension of what you need to do to get there — that’s always really excited me. So fill up an entire page with what you want your life to be like. Don’t censor yourself. Any goal is totally fair game. Again, you’ll be amazed at how many of your “unreasonable” goals are totally attainable. Then, think about why you want to achieve these goals. For example, you might think you want to be rich, when in fact what you really want is lots of free time (which sometimes doesn’t require money at all). Or perhaps you want prestige, or recognition, or something else that money really can’t buy. Digging a bit deeper into the why of your list gives you a more nuanced understanding of your goals. You’ll probably find at least one of your goals is just a means to some other end. At the end of this exercise, you’ll have a list of goals you’d like to achieve, along with a more profound understanding of why these goals actually speak to you. Forming a Plan for Positive Change in Life Once you have heroes, goals, and motivations, you’ve got a much clearer idea of what kind of person you want to be. Now you need an action plan for personal growth and change. To that end, make another list — your final one. Formulate a daily routine to help you move toward your goals. No matter what they are, articulate what you want to do every single day to move forward. Whether it’s writing a page in your novel, going to the gym, or spending an hour a day growing your side gig, work toward your goals every day. Again — those tiny decisions today determine your tomorrow. Translate your goals into a set of habits and practices, and the abstract concept of who you want to be will start to take on day-to-day reality. Appreciate the Journey Along the way, document your progress toward becoming the future you. Take ten minutes every night to look back on your day. How did you live up to your goals? Are you honoring the qualities of your role models? Did you achieve the actions you set out to do at the beginning of the day? Journaling is a great way to keep your eyes on the prize. Perhaps most importantly, it offers the opportunity to praise yourself on a regular basis for the work you’re doing. When you’ve turned what it takes to be the human you want to be into a series of daily tasks, it can be easy to lose sight of the progress you’re making. Use your journal to acknowledge that. If it feels right, go ahead and identify opportunities where you could have realistically made more out of your day — but don’t beat yourself up for not being a superhero. Being honest and recognizing your progress is a powerful and organic way to boost your self-awareness and your self-esteem. Finally, remember that this journey is ongoing. It never truly ends. If how you spend today determines your tomorrow, then tomorrow determines who you’ll be the following day — and that person might experience real personal growth and change, often in profound and dramatic ways. That’s terrific, and it only reinforces the ideas in this article. So don’t avoid or lose sight of your own evolution. The point of analyzing your role models, setting goals and developing an action plan isn’t to fight your way to completion. There’s no “end game” in your personal development. The idea that you grow up to a point and then stop is a myth. What we’re talking about here is an open-loop, always-evolving journey toward becoming a happy, healthy, effective person. So that’s the final piece of this puzzle. In order to experience real personal growth and change, and to become the human you want to be, embrace the fact that you will always be in the process of becoming that person. It’s up to you to join that journey and stick with it. It begins by recognizing that you can grow into the person you want to be. And it continues by always reflecting on who that person is. More Audience? Brand Ambassadorship? Yes, Please! If it’s longevity, meaningfulness, attractiveness to brands and share potential you want (who doesn’t?), ask yourself these thought starters too: What will my audience share, bookmark, keep, come back to? How can my writing encourage this? What will answer the top question(s) my audience has right now? What can I write that is memorable? What will they understand, absorb, and remember? Do I feel good personally about the information I shared? Did I make a difference in their lives today? While some of this might seem excessive or silly, it’s going to bring you a natural consistency, and yes, a tried and trusted voice! A strong, well-defined voice is the bridge between you and your audience, and major brands too. “The Budge Babe,” says, “Companies want to work with bloggers who convey a positive, inspirational and uplifting message,” she says. “It’s okay to talk about serious stuff, in fact, this will endear your readers to you. Just keep in mind that readers and brands ultimately prefer a positive tone overall.” For Example, Must Read In Details:- Over the past few years, methods for reaching a target audience have changed significantly. While marketers probably prefer a time when TV commercials were most effective, the majority of people are getting used to new channels of promotion. What was once considered cutting-edge, no longer works. The days of one direction communication are over. What’s the latest trend in marketing communications? Brand Ambassadors. And by saying Brand Ambassadors, we are not necessarily thinking of big names. Okay, celebrities are Brand Ambassadors as well, but we want to focus on individuals who aren’t Oscar-winning actors but can still have a significant impact on a brand’s image. Let’s start from the beginning. People trust Brand Ambassadors. Companies (should) love them. Who Is a Brand Ambassador? There are two types of Brand Ambassadors (aka Brand Advocates). The first is famous and recognizable people; companies hire them, the relationship is transparently transactional, and expectations are straightforward. Such cooperation is planned step by step, strictly scheduled, and forecasted. In that case, a brand ambassador is a very well-known individual to the public or particular industries. Nowadays, brands focus on bloggers and personalities on social media (YouTubers and Instagrammers). These YouTubers and Instagrammers often achieve similar campaign marketing results as the “big names.” They open their engaged community to brand partners and offer space on their blogs, YT, and social media channels. The second type of Brand Ambassadors are people who mention or recommend your brand freely. Sure, big names can do the job, but not in the same way; the most significant difference between these types of Brand Ambassadors and the first category is that they often advocate for free (or at least on a non-cash exchange basis). These are diehard fans. They tend to get satisfaction from being engaged with the brand. Expectations in a long-term relationship with this type of Brand Ambassador includes branded freebies from the company or concierge-level customer service. There are many ways to turn a regular (but vocal) customer into a Brand Ambassador. In return, he may become loyal (and write about you once or twice) or extremely loyal (and then they can call you their hero!). Their love for and knowledge about your brand can catapult them into micro-influencer status. So, is this type of micro-influencer significant? Let’s take a closer look. Why Are Brand Ambassadors So Important? Let’s go back to the beginning of this article for a moment. Brand promotion and image building can now be both the hardest and simplest it has ever been. How is that possible? Here’s the answer. The most difficult thing to overcome in TV advertising is that it became boring and predictable to the viewer. TV viewers most often react to commercials by changing the channel as soon as they hear a commercial break coming. The result is time, money, and resources wasted. What is more, brands that present only positively present themselves aren’t trusted (but it is unlikely they would say negative things about their brand in paid ads). According to the survey below, recommendations, at 78%, is the best type of brand advertisement. Herein lies the power of the Brand Ambassador. If the audience knows that a person promoting the brand is not being paid to do so, they will more likely believe them. This type of word-of-mouth marketing works great. But remember, acquisition of loyal Brand Ambassadors can be difficult. It is to some “a reward” for a magnificent and hard job. Now take a look at the “simplest part” of building an image. We live at a time when the Internet is creating tremendous opportunities for marketers. We can make noise with our marketing toolbox and (with luck) will hit the nail on the head. With a small budget, we can reach thousands of people and show them how cool we are. We have websites, social media fan pages, and profiles, where they can go to check us out and interact with us. We don’t need tons of gold to be shown in a good light. Also, out there in the virtual world, our Brand Ambassadors live and express their opinions and impressions of us—giving us credit, expressing satisfaction and gratitude, encouraging others to try or benefit from using our product X. They have immense credibility as the perception is that their opinions are objective. People have every reason to believe the sincere testimonials from these Brand Ambassadors. Especially, if they’re the first (objective) opinion on the brand that people see when googling. Brand Ambassadors not only make people eager to try new products, but they also build an image of your brand in micro-or-macro (if a Brand Ambassador is an influencer – lucky you!) scale. How likely is it that an audience would believe a producer’s advertisement and not a regular person who recommends it without prompting? How to Find and Deal with Brand Ambassadors When asked, people tend to prefer recommendations that come through IRL conversations in person or over the phone. Although, as noted, Brand Ambassadors are most active on the web. You can find them on forums, on Twitter, in posts, articles, blogs, and comments. There are available tools to help you find people who mention your brand on social media. Using a social media monitoring tool will automatically gather your chosen keywords’ data and brand mentions, usually compiled in easy to digest graphs. Want to be up-to-date with all your brand mentions? It’s never been easier. Anytime anybody types something about your brand, product or service, your media intelligence tool will let you know. Also, it can surface interactive mentions from the most influential so that you can engage with them. Showing your interest in engaging with your audience is the first step. The next step is up to you. Depending on the size and type of recommendation you have a full choice of what to do further. Send vocal customers a gift. It doesn’t have to be a new car. A funny cup, a set of office tools, free monthly access to an account in your application, a calendar. Remember, whatever it is – it must be high quality and relevant to your brand. Have a lot of Brand Ambassadors? That’s great! You don’t have to be Santa Claus. Mention them on your social media accounts, leave a ‘thank you, Ann!’ below the comment. You need to estimate the scale and nurture them as you feel. And you should always take your Brand Ambassadors seriously. Summary Nowadays, Brand Ambassadors mean the world to brands. As brands earmark thousands of dollars for campaigns, agencies, and space/time, fans who recommend them for free are a treasure trove of gold. Fortunately, they are more affordable than a pot of gold. It is necessary to keep an eye on Brand Ambassadors, be thankful, appreciative, stay in touch, ask what they expect of your brand, and never underestimate their power. Neglecting them is a sin against your brand reputation. Be as good to your audience as they believe you are. When you’re ready to engage with Brand Ambassadors and welcome into the fold as your Influencers, make sure the parameters of the relationship are spelled out for everyone’s benefit. https://ift.tt/2ZdVf8u

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101 College Essay Examples for 13 Schools Expert Analysis



SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

101 College Essay Examples for 13 Schools + Expert Analysis

The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I’ll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 13 different schools. Finally, I’ll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 125 full essays and essay excerpts, this article will be a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

What Excellent College Essays Have in Common

Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.

Visible Signs of Planning

Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. You’ll see a similar structure in many of the essays. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place. After this sense-heavy imagery, the essay expands out to make a broader point about the author, and connects this very memorable experience to the author’s present situation, state of mind, newfound understanding, or maturity level.

Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind. But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: analyzing it for drama and humor, for its moving qualities, for what it says about the author’s world, and for how it connects to the author’s emotional life.

Stellar Execution

A killer first sentence. You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again: you have to suck the reader in, and the best place to do that is the first sentence. Great first sentences are punchy. They are like cliffhangers, setting up an exciting scene or an unusual situation with an unclear conclusion, in order to make the reader want to know more. Don’t take my word for it—check out these 22 first sentences from Stanford applicants and tell me you don’t want to read the rest of those essays to find out what happens!

A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Your goal? Don’t bore your reader. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observations—anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else.

Enchanted Prince Stan decided to stay away from any frog-kissing princesses to retain his unique perspective on ruling as an amphibian.

Technical correctness. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly. If this kind of exactness is not your strong suit, you’re in luck! All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice. Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it.

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Links to Full College Essay Examples

Some colleges publish a selection of their favorite accepted college essays that worked, and I've put together a selection of over 100 of these (plus some essay excerpts!).

Common App Essay Samples

Please note that some of these college essay examples may be responding to prompts that are no longer in use. The current Common App prompts are as follows:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Carleton College

Connecticut College

Hamilton College

Johns Hopkins

These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Universal Application, both of which Johns Hopkins accepts.

Tufts University

Essay Examples Published by Other Websites

7 Common Application essays from applicants admitted to Stanford, Duke, Connecticut College, NYU, Carleton College, Washington University, and the University of Pennsylvania

2 Common Application essays (1st essay, 2nd essay) from applicants admitted to Columbia

Other Sample College Essays

Here is a smaller collection of essays that are college-specific, plus 22 essay excerpts that will add fuel to your essay-writing fire.

Smith College

Tufts University

Analyzing Great Common App Essays That Worked

I've picked two essays from the examples collected above to examine in more depth so that you can see exactly what makes a successful college essay work. Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them.

Example #1: "Breaking Into Cars," by Stephen, Johns Hopkins Class of '19 (Common App Essay, 636 words long)

I had never broken into a car before.

We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back.

“Can you do that thing with a coat hanger to unlock it?”

“Why me?” I thought.

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window’s seal like I’d seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I’d been in this type of situation before. In fact, I’d been born into this type of situation.

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. “The water’s on fire! Clear a hole!” he shouted, tossing me in the lake without warning. While I’m still unconvinced about that particular lesson’s practicality, my Dad’s overarching message is unequivocally true: much of life is unexpected, and you have to deal with the twists and turns.

Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. I don’t sweat the small stuff, and I definitely don’t expect perfect fairness. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night.

But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me. I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to adapt.

Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: “How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?”

The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me.

Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. It’s family. It’s society. And often, it’s chaos. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence.

What Makes This Essay Tick?

It's very helpful to take writing apart in order to see just how it accomplishes its objectives. Stephen's essay is very effective. Let's find out why!

An Opening Line That Draws You In

I had never broken into a car before.

In just eight words, we get: scene-setting (he is standing next to a car about to break in), the idea of crossing a boundary (he is maybe about to do an illegal thing for the first time), and a cliffhanger (we are thinking: is he going to get caught? Is he headed for a life of crime? Is he about to be scared straight?).

Great, Detailed Opening Story

We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back.

“Can you do that thing with a coat hanger to unlock it?”

“Why me?” I thought.

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window’s seal like I’d seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame.

It’s the details that really make this small experience come alive. Notice how whenever he can, Stephen uses a more specific, descriptive word in place of a more generic one. The volunteers aren’t going to get food or dinner; they’re going for “Texas BBQ.” The coat hanger comes from “a dumpster.” Stephen doesn’t just move the coat hanger—he “jiggles” it.

Details also help us visualize the emotions of the people in the scene. The person who hands Stephen the coat hanger isn’t just uncomfortable or nervous; he “takes a few steps back”—a description of movement that conveys feelings. Finally, the detail of actual speech makes the scene pop. Instead of writing that the other guy asked him to unlock the van, Stephen has the guy actually say his own words in a way that sounds like a teenager talking.

Coat hangers: not just for crows' nests anymore! (Götz/Wikimedia)

Turning a Specific Incident Into a Deeper Insight

Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I’d been in this type of situation before. In fact, I’d been born into this type of situation.

Stephen makes the locked car experience a meaningful illustration of how he has learned to be resourceful and ready for anything, and he also makes this turn from the specific to the broad through an elegant play on the two meanings of the word “click.”

Using Concrete Examples When Making Abstract Claims

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally.

“Unpredictability and chaos” are very abstract, not easily visualized concepts. They could also mean any number of things—violence, abandonment, poverty, mental instability. By instantly following up with highly finite and unambiguous illustrations like “family of seven” and “siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing,” Stephen grounds the abstraction in something that is easy to picture: a large, noisy family.

Using Small Bits of Humor and Casual Word Choice

My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.

Obviously, knowing how to clean burning oil is not high on the list of things every 9-year-old needs to know. To emphasize this, Stephen uses sarcasm by bringing up a situation that is clearly over-the-top: “in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.”

The humor also feels relaxed. Part of this is because he introduces it with the colloquial phrase “you know,” so it sounds like he is talking to us in person. This approach also diffuses the potential discomfort of the reader with his father’s strictness—since he is making jokes about it, clearly he is OK. Notice, though, that this doesn’t occur very much in the essay. This helps keep the tone meaningful and serious rather than flippant.

"Mr. President? There's been an oil spill!" "Then I want our best elementary school students on it, STAT."

An Ending That Stretches the Insight Into the Future

But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: “How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?”

The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me.

Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. It’s family. It’s society. And often, it’s chaos. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence.

The ending of the essay reveals that Stephen’s life has been one long preparation for the future. He has emerged from chaos and his dad’s approach to parenting as a person who can thrive in a world that he can’t control.

This connection of past experience to current maturity and self-knowledge is a key element in all successful personal essays. Colleges are very much looking for mature, self-aware applicants. These are the qualities of successful college students, who will be able to navigate the independence college classes require and the responsibility and quasi-adulthood of college life.

What Could This Essay Do Even Better?

Even the best essays aren't perfect, and even the world's greatest writers will tell you that writing is never "finished"—just "due." So what would we tweak in this essay if we could?

Replace some of the clichéd language. Stephen uses handy phrases like " twists and turns" and " don’t sweat the small stuff" as a kind of shorthand for explaining his relationship to chaos and unpredictability. But using too many of these ready-made expressions runs the risk of clouding out your own voice and replacing it with something expected and boring.

Use another example from recent life. Stephen's first example (breaking into the van in Laredo) is a great illustration of being resourceful in an unexpected situation. But his essay also emphasizes that he " learned to adapt" by being "different things to different people." It would be great to see how this plays out outside his family, either in the situation in Laredo or another context.

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Example #2: By Bridget Collins, Tufts Class of '19 (Common App Essay, 608 words long)

I have always loved riding in cars. After a long day in first grade, I used to fall asleep to the engine purring in my mother's Honda Odyssey, even though it was only a 5-minute drive home. As I grew, and graduated into the shotgun seat, it became natural and enjoyable to look out the window. Seeing my world passing by through that smudged glass, I would daydream what I could do with it.

In elementary school, I already knew my career path: I was going to be Emperor of the World. While I sat in the car and watched the miles pass by, I developed the plan for my empire. I reasoned that, for the world to run smoothly, it would have to look presentable. I would assign people, aptly named Fixer-Uppers, to fix everything that needed fixing. That old man down the street with chipping paint on his house would have a fresh coat in no time. The boy who accidentally tossed his Frisbee onto the roof of the school would get it back. The big pothole on Elm Street that my mother managed to hit every single day on the way to school would be filled-in. It made perfect sense! All the people that didn't have a job could be Fixer-Uppers. I was like a ten-year-old FDR.

Seven years down the road, I still take a second glance at the sidewalk cracks and think of my Fixer-Uppers, but now I'm doing so from the driver's seat. As much as I would enjoy it, I now accept that I won't become Emperor of the World, and that the Fixer-Uppers will have to remain in my car ride imaginings. Or do they? I always pictured a Fixer-Upper as a smiling man in an orange T-Shirt. Maybe instead, a Fixer-Upper could be a tall girl with a deep love for Yankee Candles. Maybe it could be me.

Bridget the Fixer-Upper will be slightly different than the imaginary one who paints houses and fetches Frisbees. I was lucky enough to discover what I am passionate about when I was a freshman in high school. A self-admitted Phys. Ed. addict, I volunteered to help out with the Adapted PE class. On my first day, I learned that it was for developmentally-disabled students. To be honest, I was really nervous. I hadn't had too much interaction with special needs students before, and wasn't sure how to handle myself around them. Long story short, I got hooked. Three years have passed helping out in APE and eventually becoming a teacher in the Applied Behavior Analysis summer program. I love working with the students and watching them progress.

When senior year arrived, college meetings began, and my counselor asked me what I wanted to do for a career, I didn't say Emperor of the World. Instead, I told him I wanted to become a board-certified behavior analyst. A BCBA helps develop learning plans for students with autism and other disabilities. Basically, I would get to do what I love for the rest of my life. He laughed and told me that it was a nice change that a seventeen-year-old knew so specifically what she wanted to do. I smiled, thanked him, and left. But it occurred to me that, while my desired occupation was decided, my true goal in life was still to become a Fixer-Upper. So, maybe I'll be like Sue Storm and her alter-ego, the Invisible Woman. I'll do one thing during the day, then spend my off-hours helping people where I can. Instead of flying like Sue, though, I'll opt for a nice performance automobile. My childhood self would appreciate that.

What Makes This Essay Tick?

Bridget takes a somewhat different approach than Stephen, but her essay is just as detailed and engaging. Let's go through https://www.the-essays.com/admission-essay of the strengths of her essay.

A Structure That’s Easy to Follow and Understand

The essay is arranged chronologically. Bridget starts each paragraph with a clear signpost of where we are in time:

Paragraph 1: “after a long day in first grade”

Paragraph 2: “in elementary school”

Paragraph 3: “seven years down the road”

Paragraph 4: “when I was a freshman in high school”

Paragraph 5: “when senior year arrived”

This keeps the reader oriented without being distracting or gimmicky.

One Clear Governing Metaphor

I would assign people, aptly named Fixer-Uppers, to fix everything that needed fixing. That old man down the street with chipping paint on his house would have a fresh coat in no time. The boy who accidentally tossed his Frisbee onto the roof of the school would get it back.

Seven years down the road, I still take a second glance at the sidewalk cracks and think of my Fixer-Uppers, but now I'm doing so from the driver's seat. As much as I would enjoy it, I now accept that I won't become Emperor of the World, and that the Fixer-Uppers will have to remain in my car ride imaginings. Or do they? I always pictured a Fixer-Upper as a smiling man in an orange T-Shirt. Maybe instead, a Fixer-Upper could be a tall girl with a deep love for Yankee Candles. Maybe it could be me.

I wanted to become a board-certified behavior analyst. A BCBA helps develop learning plans for students with autism and other disabilities. Basically, I would get to do what I love for the rest of my life. …But it occurred to me that, while my desired occupation was decided, my true goal in life was still to become a Fixer-Upper.

What makes this essay fun to read is that Bridget takes a child’s idea of a world made better through quasi-magical helpers and turns it into a metaphor for the author’s future aspirations. It helps that the metaphor is a very clear one: people who work with students with disabilities are making the world better one abstract fix at a time, just like imaginary Fixer-Uppers would make the world better one concrete physical fix at a time.

Every childhood Fixer-Upper ever. Ask your parents to explain the back row to you. (JD Hancock/Flickr)

An Engaging, Individual Voice

This essay uses many techniques that make Bridget sound genuine and make the reader feel like we already know her.

Technique #1: humor. Notice Bridget's gentle and relaxed humor that lightly mocks her younger self’s grand ambitions (this is different from the more sarcastic kind of humor used by Stephen in the first essay—you could never mistake one writer for the other).

In elementary school, I already knew my career path: I was going to be Emperor of the World.

I was like a ten-year-old FDR.

Technique #2: invented terminology. The second technique is the way Bridget coins her own terms, carrying them through the whole essay. It would be easy enough to simply describe the people she imagined in childhood as helpers or assistants, and to simply say that as a child she wanted to rule the world. Instead, she invents the capitalized (and thus official-sounding) titles “Fixer-Upper” and “Emperor of the World,” making these childish conceits at once charming and iconic. What's also key is that the titles feed into the central metaphor of the essay, which keeps them from sounding like strange quirks that don’t go anywhere.

Technique #3: playing with syntax. The third technique is to use sentences of varying length, syntax, and structure. Most of the essay's written in standard English and uses grammatically correct sentences. However, at key moments, Bridget emphasizes that the reader needs to sit up and pay attention by switching to short, colloquial, differently punctuated, and sometimes fragmented sentences.

The big pothole on Elm Street that my mother managed to hit every single day on the way to school would be filled-in. It made perfect sense! All the people that didn't have a job could be Fixer-Uppers.

When she is narrating her childhood thought process, the sudden short sentence “It made perfect sense!” (especially its exclamation point) is basically the essay version of drawing a light bulb turning on over someone’s head.

As much as I would enjoy it, I now accept that I won't become Emperor of the World, and that the Fixer-Uppers will have to remain in my car ride imaginings. Or do they?

Similarly, when the essay turns from her childhood imagination to her present-day aspirations, the turn is marked with “Or do they?”—a tiny and arresting half-sentence question.

Maybe instead, a Fixer-Upper could be a tall girl with a deep love for Yankee Candles. Maybe it could be me.

The first time when the comparison between magical fixer-upper’s and the future disability specialist is made is when Bridget turns her metaphor onto herself. The essay emphasizes the importance of the moment through repetition (two sentences structured similarly, both starting with the word “maybe”) and the use of a very short sentence: “Maybe it could be me.”

To be honest, I was really nervous. I hadn't had too much interaction with special needs students before, and wasn't sure how to handle myself around them. Long story short, I got hooked.

The last key moment that gets the small-sentence treatment is the emotional crux of the essay. As we watch Bridget go from nervously trying to help disabled students to falling in love with this specialty field, she undercuts the potential sappiness of the moment by relying on changed-up sentence length and slang: “Long story short, I got hooked.”

The best essays convey emotions just as clearly as this image.

What Could This Essay Do Even Better?

Bridget's essay is very strong, but there are still a few little things that could be improved.

Explain the car connection better. The essay begins and ends with Bridget's enjoying a car ride, but this doesn't seem to be related either to the Fixer-Upper idea or to her passion for working with special-needs students. It would be great to either connect this into the essay more, or to take it out altogether and create more space for something else.

Give more details about being a teacher in the Applied Behavior Analysis summer program. It makes perfect sense that Bridget doesn't want to put her students on display. It would take the focus off of her and possibly read as offensive or condescending. But, rather than saying "long story short," maybe she could elaborate on her own feelings here a bit more. What is it about this kind of teaching that she loves? What is she hoping to bring to the lives of her future clients?

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3 Essential Tips for Writing Your Own Essay

How can you use this discussion to better your own college essay? Here are some suggestions for ways to use this resource effectively.

#1: Read Other Essays to Get Ideas for Your Own

As you go through the essays we've compiled for you above, ask yourself the following questions:

Can you explain to yourself (or someone else!) why the opening sentence works well?

Look for the essay's detailed personal anecdote. What senses is the author describing? Can you easily picture the scene in your mind's eye?

Find the place where this anecdote bridges into a larger insight about the author. How does the essay connect the two? How does the anecdote work as an example of the author's characteristic, trait, or skill?

Check out the essay's tone. If it's funny, can you find the places where the humor comes from? If it's sad and moving, can you find the imagery and description of feelings that make you moved? If it's serious, can you see how word choice adds to this tone?

Make a note whenever you find an essay or part of an essay that you think was particularly well-written, and think about what you like about it. Is it funny? Does it help you really get to know the writer? Does it show what makes the writer unique? Once you have your list, keep it next to you while writing your essay to remind yourself to try and use those same techniques in your own essay.

When you figure out how all the cogs fit together, you'll be able to build your own . um . whatever this is.

#2: Find Your "A-Ha!" Moment

All of these essays rely on connecting with the reader through a heartfelt, highly descriptive scene from the author's life. It can either be very dramatic (did you survive a plane crash?) or it can be completely mundane (did you finally beat your dad at Scrabble?). Either way, it should be personal and revealing about you, your personality, and the way you are now that you are entering the adult world.

#3: Start Early, Revise Often

Let me level with you: the best writing isn't writing at all. It's rewriting. And in order to have time to rewrite, you have to start way before the application deadline. My advice is to write your first draft at least two months before your applications are due.

Let it sit for a few days untouched. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and think critically about what you've written. What's extra? What's missing? What is in the wrong place? What doesn't make sense? Don't be afraid to take it apart and rearrange sections. Do this several times over, and your essay will be much better for it!

What’s Next?

Working on the rest of your application? Read what admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying .

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN SPAM

A distorted version of this idea has filtered into popular culture under the name mathematics is not at all like what mathematicians do. Actually it isn't. If you want to convince yourself, or someone else, that you are looking for investors you want to make code too dense. But if I did, it would be an important patent.1 And so ten years ago, writing software for end users was effectively identical with writing Windows applications.2 The non-gullible recipients are merely collateral damage. Fundraising is a chore for most founders, and I don't want to be good to think in rather than just to tell a computer what to do once you've thought of it is in painting. That has worked for Google so far. It's traditional to think of programs at least partially in the language that required so much explanation.3 If-then-else construct. Doesn't that show people will pay for.

That's the actual road to coolness anyway. Attitudes to copying often make a round trip. Programs We should be clear that we are never likely to have names that specify explicitly because they aren't that they are compulsive negotiators who will suck up a lot of discipline.4 It's very dangerous to let the competitiveness of your current round set the performance threshold you have to be introduced? There are two problems with this, though. If you know you have a statically-typed language without lexical closures or macros. Tip: for extra impressiveness, use Greek variables. Auto-retrieving spam filters would make the email system rebound. 01491078 guarantee 0.5

There's no reason to suppose there's any limit to the amount of spam that recipients actually see. At the time I thought, boy, is this guy poker-faced.6 The study also deals explictly with a point that was only implicit in Brooks' book since he measured lines of debugged code: programs written in more powerful languages.7 Why not as past-due notices are always saying do it now? The number one thing not to do is other things.8 He was like Michael Jordan. Meet such investors last, if at all. I think Lisp is at the top. So, if hacking works like painting and writing, is it as cool?

Godel's incompleteness theorem seems like a practical joke. If this is true it has interesting implications, because discipline can be cultivated, but I have never had to worry about this, it is probably fairly innocent; spam words tend to be large enough to notice patterns. If your numbers grow significantly between two investor meetings, investors will be hot to close, and if you put them off. There's one other major component of determination, but they're not entirely orthogonal. 2 raise a few hundred thousand we can hire one or two smart friends, and if I didn't—to decide which is better. Design This kind of work is hard to convey in a research paper. But we also knew that that didn't mean anything. If willfulness and discipline are what get you to your destination, ambition is how you choose it. If someone makes you an acceptable offer in the hope of getting a better one. What I'm proposing is exactly the opposite: that, like a thousand barely audible voices all singing in tune. The reason I've been writing about existing forms is that I think really would be a good idea to have fixed plans.9 Which they deserve because they're taking more risk.

Programs We should be clear that we are talking about the succinctness of languages, not of individual programs. Prefix syntax seems perfectly natural to me, except possibly for math. It could take half an hour to read a lot of papers to write about these issues, as far as I know, was Fred Brooks in the Mythical Man Month. I was being very clever, but I don't think there's any correlation. Whereas American executives, in their hearts, still believe the most important reader. Many investors will ask how much you like chocolate cake. We'll see. But it often comes as a surprise to me and presumably would be to send out a crawler to look at this actually quite atypical spam.10 If a hacker were a mere implementor, turning a spec into code, then you get a language that lets us scribble and smudge and smear, not a pen. You have to search actively for the tiny number of good books. Similarly, in painting, a still life of a few carefully observed and solidly modelled objects will tend to underestimate the power of something is how well you can use technology that your competitors, glued immovably to the median language has enormous momentum.

Where the just-do-it model fails most dramatically is in our cities—or at least something like a natural science.11 I think a greater danger is that they make deals close faster.12 It's not cheating to copy. And in fact, our hypothetical Blub programmer is looking down the power continuum, he doesn't know how anyone can get anything done in Blub? It's unlikely you could make something better designed. Richard Hamming suggests that you ask yourself what you spend your time on that's bullshit, you probably want to focus on the company. Like painting, most software is intended for a human audience. This a makes the filters more effective, b lets each user decide their own precise definition of spam, or even to compare spam filtering rates meaningfully. This is fine; if fundraising went well, you'll be able to match. In most adults this curiosity dries up entirely.

Notes

But those too are acceptable or at least for those interested in investing but doesn't want to live a certain level of incivility, the thing to do this all the red counties. Stone, op. What they must do is not work too hard to compete directly with open source project, but there has to be evidence of a placeholder than an ordinary programmer would never have come to accept that investors are interested in you, however, by doing another round that values the company is like math's ne'er-do-well brother.

9999 and. Reporters sometimes call us VCs, I know one very successful YC founder told me about several valuable sources.

To the principles they discovered. This is one way in which only a few old professors in Palo Alto, but that's the situation you find yourself in when the company might encounter is a good grade you had a strange task to write and deals longer to write an essay about it.

If big companies to build little Web appliances.

It may indeed be a predictor. Though it looks like stuff they've seen in the body or header lines other than salaries that you were still employed in your next round, no matter how good you are unimportant.

I apologize to anyone who had to push founders to have been about 2,000 computers attached to the modern idea were proposed by Timothy Hart in 1964, two years, it has no competitors.

Brand-name VCs wouldn't recapitalize a company, you have to resort to expedients like selling autographed copies, or at least, as reported in their closets. Surely it's better and it will seem like I overstated the case of Bayes' Rule. Francis James Child, who would in itself, not the second.

They overshot the available RAM somewhat, causing much inconvenient disk swapping, but he got there by another path.

We could have tried to preserve optionality. No, but when people in Bolivia don't want to learn. Related: Reprinted in Bacon, Alan ed. A great programmer will invent things, you need, you can, Jeff Byun mentions one reason not to quit their day job is one subtle danger you have to rely on social ones.

Proceedings of AAAI-98 Workshop on Learning for Text Categorization. If you have the perfect life, the fatigue hits you like a later Demo Day and they hope this will give you term sheets. 7% of American kids attend private, non-stupid comments have yet to be about 50%. In practice it's more like a little about how closely the remarks attributed to Confucius and Socrates resemble their actual opinions.

They could make it easier to take board seats for shorter periods. It would not be true that the payoff for avoiding tax grows hyperexponentially x/1-x for 0 x 1. I first met him, but it turns out to be a sufficient condition.

So the cost of writing software goes up more than you otherwise would have expected them to get market price, they tend to use an OS that doesn't lose our data.

Thanks to Brian Burton, Bob Frankston, Sarah Harlin, Robert Morris, Jackie McDonough, Trevor Blackwell, and Patrick Collison for sharing their expertise on this topic.