Published in Curious·PinnedHow to Be SurprisedStay open to the wonders of the world — According to George Saunders, a work of art “has to surprise its audience, which it can do only if it has legitimately surprised its creator.” When I read that, I realized I’m not creating art. Not by a long shot. I spend heaps of time bound up, worried, self-flagellating, fighting…Magic7 min read
Apr 14Consuming vs. ProducingIf you’re an artist, focus on the latter — I’ve been gorging myself on content. It’s easy to do. How many times have we heard we need to read if we want to be writers? Am I right? But, it’s also lazy. It’s certainly easier to read another book review or New Yorker short story than it is to…Writing4 min read
Apr 13Mehmet’s presenceVictor left this earth on the last day of June last year. He was alone, or no, not alone. …Death3 min read
Mar 30That sick smellChuck was late, which was okay. I was bracing myself as it was. I found a seat at the bar. Covid had eased, things were opening up. I was shoulder to shoulder with someone on my right. A young bearded bartender with a belly approached. I ordered a mezcal cocktail. …Fiction2 min read
Mar 30PromisesPromises, promises. Is that the same as commitment? If so, this is a word that instills terror. It’s a word that hangs over one like Damocles Blade. This is because, hell, they are so hard to keep. I’m not talking about the little ones, like promising to join my neighbor…Fiction2 min read
Feb 10Trash-Can DreamThe tragedy of René Robert and our appalling apathy — Yesterday, the New York Times reported the death of René Robert on the streets of Paris. This beloved photographer famous for sensitive portraits of Flamenco artists was found near-dead of hypothermia after lying for an entire night on a busy street in Paris, totally ignored by passerby who apparently wrote…Compassion5 min read
Jan 31Cappuccino in a cup, with a spoonWhy is my coffee wet dream so hard to find in this country? — Hello. I have a gripe. It’s been gnawing at me for a while, and was intensified by my recent visit to Rome, Italy, where everywhere you order a cappuccino, it arrives in an attractive ceramic cup on a saucer, with a spoon alongside. The gripe, first and foremost, is as…Food5 min read
Jan 22Open the portalHow writing forces you to engage with the world — I feel better, and I know it’s because I finally broke through the weird, sticky, spiderweb-like material that seems to coat me more deeply with each day that I don’t write. A couple of days ago, I managed to post to my Substack newsletter. It was a paltry attempt, to…Life5 min read
Jan 22Hell, yeahFind what inspires you, and say yes to life — I get depressed sometimes, but like a functional alcoholic who keeps going to work until one day they’re whisked from their home in an ambulance feebly insisting it was their pain meds that pushed their liver to the brink, I do okay. I soldier on — mostly keep the house…Love5 min read
Dec 27, 2021Surprise yourselfAnd know that everything is surprising — I nearly titled this nascent essay something along the lines of Lurching towards Bethlehem, modeled roughly after Joan Didion’s 1968 essay collection titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem, which I in this moment discovered, is modeled (in turn) on the last line of W.B. Yeats’ 1919 poem The Second Coming. Lurching is…Parenting6 min read
