January 2011
14 posts
character sketch - can you guess who it is?
Little Timmy, a boy with rosy cheeks and a lopsided grin, thought he was the rooster of the playground. Shaking his ostritch tuft, he strutted grandly from chicken to chicken, tilting his head with a twinkle in his eye. Standing guard at the tire swing, he offered his gentlemanly services to the princess with blond pigtails. He continued his round, accompanying an elegant lady down a slide, and...
the first bite
“The initial taste may have been a bit too spicy, juicy, or dry, but after a few chews, I realize that the food isn’t so bad (usually).” <—- Read Peter’s Assigned Blog Post #7.
The first bite’s always the most difficult. The first bite’s the bite we put off for so long. The first bite’s the one we avoid every time we decide “nah, I think...
“He sends her a link for a TED talk, one about vulnerability and connection. It’s...”
– SORRY, I’M GUSHING AGAIN. But this deserves it, okay? The last sentence might be the best thing ever.
http://bokononismandbananas.tumblr.com/post/2604091066/hi
annie dillard - inspiration and reflections (1)
Highlight quotes/passages/sentences that especially stood out to me as poetic or philosophical:
· “The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or perchance a palace or temple on the earth, and at length the middle-aged man concludes to build a wood-shed with them.” -Thoreau. (My own reflection - ) If the youth gets together his materials to build a wood-shed,...
the right to judge (reflections on annie dillard)
Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life. I finished it in a daze… “We may fairly ask that a book about writing be, itself, a work of art. And that is what Dillard offers.” - Philadelphia Inquirer
Agreed.
(Sorry, I’ve been gushing so much lately - especially about Lorrie Moore - so I’ll make an attempt to qualify my gushing with a few critical comments.)
I have this...
circus parade (put me in, coach!)
I was rather disappointed about my Corillian Point character… (yes, it’s prettier spelled that way) Some of yours turned out outrageously creative. I’m jealous — Kaya will have to do, although she’s a little too ordinary to my taste.
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The creased fig-tinted lips of a stiff-shouldered old lady widened into the perfect circle of her tea...
marigolds and constellations (neddy's flashback...
To be honest, I’m not too fond of this scene — probably because I’m not too fond of Neddy’s character in The Swimmer. But posting anyway… because Prof. Cross told me to and because I have too many overdue posts. Sorry for being inconsistent about posting, my bursts of creative energy come and go of their own will. > <”
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Going...
“She had to learn not to be afraid of a man, the way, in your childhood, you...”
– Lorrie Moore, You’re Ugly Too.
I tried to restrain myself, but I like this quote way too much. Don’t worry, I’ll get over my Lorrie Moore addiction - the withdrawal symptoms are tough, but I’m going through therapy, one day at a time.
Real posts coming Wednesday. Promise!...
“Perhaps, she thinks, she is being punished: too many babysitters too early...”
– Lorrie Moore, People Like That Are the Only People Here.
I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. I’m going to flood you with Lorrie Moore quotes now.
“I know nothing that is greater than the Appassionata; I’d like to listen...”
– Vladimir Lenin.
WARNING: This is a victim’s testimony, living proof that art is evil. Take heed, friends. [This is precisely what I addressed two posts back. Read my warning or fear for your lives. — And after that, never read again.]
when's truth coming over for dinner?
“They say that “Time assuages” — Time never did assuage — An actual suffering strengthens As sinews do, with age —
Time is a Test of Trouble — But not a Remedy — If such it prove, it prove too There was no Malady —”
Emily Dickinson, 1863.
“Ruefully I noted then that I would possibly look back on those times as an idyll. I vowed to remember the difficulties. I have forgotten them...
writers are evil. (and the best writers are most...
Enlightenment struck me as I was practicing piano, sweating to hold out a particularly gutwrenching chord as long as possible.
artistry = the exploitation of emotions
Think about it. Writers, musicians and artists manipulate the emotions of their victims. And why does it work? Because audiences loooove it. They love to tear up during movies, to feel horribly empty when reading existentialist...
““Don’t fuck with my prose,” he’d been known to say in a...”
– Lorrie Moore strikes again. Vissi d’Arte, from Like Life. This is a humorous, adorable, poignant portrayal of just what Julia and I tried to say (less adeptly). [See the post regarding my story workshop, three posts back.] 