Escape to Rejected SAT Prompts Island: Redux

Hello!  Good-day to you! 

Two weeks ago, I had to retract “Rejected SAT Writing Prompts” soon after I published it for reasons I won’t get into (the usual suspects: the exchange rate for the Yen, what would Zuckerberg think?, I feared it came before its time, etc.), but now I’d like to put it back up:

Rejected SAT Writing Prompts

Sometimes people commit crimes, but they believe they are justified.  Is lying on your tax return even a crime?

“College should be accessible to everyone.”  Please give an argument for why this is not the case, particularly by providing the names and addresses of students you know who just aren’t ready for college.

The term “heroism” is often thrown around in culture.  Name someone who you think is a hero, and explain how you will slay him or her to gain immortal glory.

Tim Allen is a great actor. Discuss.

            Please rank your writing ability on a scale of 2 (worst) to 12 (best).  No explanation is necessary.

Do you promise to do your homework in college and not cheat or anything?

Please summarize (including characters’ names) one single book you read for class more than two months ago.

All animals have instincts, but humans have also developed a sense of reason.  Under what circumstances is it better to trust your instincts rather than “think” about the “consequences” to your “actions?”

            Marx believed that knowledge is power.  Is this still the case, or are there instances when a powerful weapon is power?

            Technology is improving at a rapid pace, changing our lives.  Does technological innovation always lead to human flourishing?  Whom should we kidnap to stop technology?

We all make choices.  Sometimes, these choices turn out to be regrettable.  What would you do to amend your wrong decisions, assuming that apologizing and admitting them would cost you 10 to life in the slammer?

            In what ways does “experiencing adversity” make for a good college entrance essay?

            Some say the system of public education in America is broken.  How should we fix it?

            There have been many “outlaws” in American culture.  What does this say about Americans’ view of independence?  What do you think a good occupation would be for someone on the lamb, assuming the person is well educated and has a background in writing?

            Public figures’ lives are very public.  If you were a public figure, how much sexting would be too little?

            Do we learn more from our mistakes, or from the times when we watch the members of Jersey Shore make mistakes?

            Our knowledge of impending ecological disaster has never been greater, and yet there has been very little widespread action to fix the situation.  Do you own a habitable spaceship or Post-Apocalyptic bunker that has extra room?

            “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  Specifically where do the tough get going to?  What’s so great about that place?

            Heidegger wrote, “The existential and ontological constitution of the totality of Dasein is grounded in temporality. Accordingly, a primordial mode of temporalizing of ecstatic temporality itself must make the ecstatic project of being in general possible.”  Is this always the case?  Or are there times when a primordial mode of temporalizing of ecstatic temporality itself does not help make the ecstatic project of being in general possible?

            Our culture is surrounded by images and messages that try to convince us to do certain things.  Who is the hottest celebrity and why?

            Imagine someone commits a completely nonviolent crime against your best friend.  How vengeful would you be, and where would you look to find the offender?  If six months have past, is the search over?

            People ask all sorts of questions.  What are some good questions that test intelligence and writing ability?

Last Week’s Training:

Sunday, 10/30: Biked for an hour.  Everything felt fine.

Monday: 3 miles easy, one hour bike, plus calf exercises, hip exercises, 10:00 core, extra stretching, massage.

Tuesday: 5 miles easy on the river, plus same as above.  There’s this one wooded corridor along the river I run through, and all the leaves are still green, which seems weird.  I read in Slate that that was because of global warming, but then the studies the article cited seemed only about halfway-committed to that thesis.

Wednesday: Five miles, plus same extra exercises.

Thursday: 7 miles at Fresh Pond.  Felt OK, left Achilles seems to be coming around.  Plus the usual stuff.  Got Spotify the other day and thinking about how it’s weird that it tries to share all the songs you listen to.  It’s like, a little privacy, please.

Friday: 7 miles at Fresh Pond plus the usual stuff.  Achilles a bit tight but not too bad.

Saturday: 5 miles, a little faster than the past couple days.  Very little extra stuff.  Had another thought: You know how when you’re nibbling on your lunch of a male pig heart, and the woman sitting across from you on the subway says something really wise like, “Please stop making that face at my children,” and you’re like, “Mind your own business, lady.”--?  Isn’t that so annoying?

One bit of news: later this week, I will post an unprecedented second blog post of the week.  It’s taking a bit of time to write, but get ready.  It’s about my take on barefoot running.

SNL clip of the week:

Lil Poundcake
It's worth it if you tend to enjoy the SNL faux-commercials.

In conclusion, I would like to quote at length the Wikipedia entry for the My Little Pony (TV Series) entry.

The Little Ponies of Paradise Estate included:

-Earth Ponies that are brightly colored, talking versions of real horses.

-Pegasus Ponies with feathered wings and capable of sustained flight.

-Unicorns, with horns that grant each of them a unique magic power. They are also able to teleport in a process known as 'winking in and out', though they can't displace solid objects, and thus are limited to winking through open air environments.

-Flutter Ponies are shy but powerful creatures with magic in their gossamer wings. They live in a remote area of Dream Valley known as Flutter Valley.

-Sea Ponies are brightly colored seahorse-like creatures who dwell in the rivers and lakes of Dream Valley. They vanish from the scene after the introduction of the Baby Sea Ponies.

-Baby Sea Ponies are brightly colored seahorse-like creatures who dwell in Dream Valleys's rivers and wear floats that look like aquatic animals

-Spike, a lone baby dragon who lives with the Ponies after being separated from his own kind

-The Bushwoolies, a joyful species of furballs that think alike. They seem to be led by a blue Bushwoolie named Hugster.

-The Furbobs, Cousins of the Bushwoolies. They walk on four legs primarily as opposed to Bushwoolies who seem to walk on the equivalent of two legs.

-Stone Backs, a ferocious looking species that is sort of a dragon/armadillo cross. Sworn Enemies of the Furbobs until Megan helps the Furbobs realize that the two species can overcome their differences with love and understanding.

-The Grundles, a small race of creatures ruled by the Grundle King. They used to live in Grundleland before it was smoozed and now live in Dream Castle.

-Three human children often fly across the Rainbow to join the Little Ponies - siblings Megan, Danny and Molly. The group often say advice on magical matters from the Moochick, a wise but eccentric gnome who lives in the nearby Mushromp, and his rabbit assistant, Habbit.