One of today’s most pressing philosophical questions is: a) Do human beings possess free will and the capability to exercise it? My recent readings have allowed me to arrive at a sort of answer,* the short version of which is, No, but effectively yes. It is easy to get depressed by reading neuroscience books like William [...]
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Time moves more swiftly in the fashion industry. By the end of February, we already know what we’ll be wearing all summer; when July rolls around, we’re supposed to be planning our fall wardrobes–not an easy task, thinking of sweaters when it’s 100°F+ outside. In fact, our culture thrives–and suffers–on anticipation, whether it’s consumers doing [...]
A few days ago, my favorite blog The Hairpin ran an article about the basics of cleaning as part of its ongoing series, Ask A Clean Person. While this is a good start, I felt that the author gave short shrift to the two most important (in terms of hygiene) rooms in the house: the kitchen and [...]
Late last wk, I allowed myself to be seduced by Refinery29 into ordering Organic Avenue’s 3-day LOVE* cleanse , a “detoxifying” regimen which consisted of drinking nothing but water, herbal tea, and prescribed juices for 72 hrs. Although Saturday delivery was promised, I didn’t … Continue reading →
Hey gentlefriends, remember this blog? Me neither. So I wish I could claim I’ve been off doing something really exciting and time-consuming and life-changing, like finding a universally flattering hairdo, but really I’ve just been totally engrossed by the most … Continue reading →
Dragon: *burbles happily about a certain gentleman caller* Beloved friend: That’s great Dragon, but aren’t you worried you’re going to have to sleep w/ him soon? Dragon: Um, no. BF: But how do you KNOW? Dragon: B/c I have a … Continue reading →
Emphasis continued. Happy Valentine’s Day, gentlefriends! To me, Valentine’s Day is just another day that isn’t my birthday, but I understand that for some people it inspires a treacly sort of sentimentality. As a nod to the holiday, today’s examples will all treat on the theme of romance. XOXO. Epixeuxis: A word is used both [...]
I’ve been thinking about becoming a vegetarian again. It was a practice I maintained from the ages of 16-19, and then gradually I reintroduced seafood into my diet and then went whole hog (literally) and became carnivorous again. At my house we usually try to buy our poultry from a nearby farm, or at least [...]
Introduction IV. Emphasis “De toute éternité, le Beau est plus rentable que le Bien.”–Amélie Nothomb If Syntax provides the framework for an idea, then Emphasis highlights and beautifies it, adding color and vibrancy to what otherwise might be a bland and monotonous argument. Emphatic devices often augment and complement already-present cadences that the reader instinctively inserts into [...]
Post 3/3 on stylistic devices related to syntax. A. Zeugma I’m awarding the zeugma its own personal section w/i the “Syntax” chapter, as this device has various subtypes, all of which involve different ways of connecting two or more words or clauses with a linking word that is stated only once but implicitly applies to [...]
I’ve been worrying lately, gentlefriends. I think we all have; there is plenty that is worrisome in the world. Lately though, my worries have begun to shape themselves; heretofore vague anxieties have begun to coalesce into a morass of doubt through which all my thoughts must struggle. Worse, I have not found anything particularly comforting [...]
A short short story Nicholas had been taken. Restrained, bundled into a van, and driven away. No one talked about his disappearance, though they may have wondered. Everything else went on as usual, and after a time, they ceased to think about it. Unexpectedly, Nicholas later returned. He wouldn’t speak about what had happened while [...]
A short short story “I love you,” he said. “I love you,” she said. He turned away from the mirror, and finished getting ready for work. 5oo miles away, she did the same.
Post 2/3 discussing the stylistic devices related to syntax. Appositive: One of the few devices we still learn by name in school, it is the use of a noun to modify or provide additional information about another noun. Commas are usually appended to each end of the appositive in a sentence. Disjunctio: A list of [...]
Recently, my friend sent me a short story I had written a six yrs ago. I thought it had been lost forever in the great hard drive meltdown of 2005…but then he sent me an email saying he had read it, and that he thought I should be a writer, and also that “the original [...]
Description: Probably one of the best things about the Bard’s prose is its flexibility and endless applicability. Of course, “Romeo and Juliet” has already been updated, but it occurred to me not too long ago that if Juliet were alive today, she probably would have met Romeo in a bar or at a frat party. [...]
Isocolon: The joining of phrases of nearly identical structure and length (think The Human Centipede, but w/ fused sentences instead of people). Disjunctive Proposition: An offering of two explanations/outcomes, only one of which can be true; the other is necessarily false. NB: Often used to misleadingly narrow the field of discussion. Always be on the lookout [...]
This wasn’t my intention, but I think I’ve adopted the bob as my signature hairstyle. Perhaps it’s the classic elegance the style imparts…or maybe it’s a ploy on the part of my subconscious to make sure I’m never hit on by guys like this.
For the past few wks I’ve been following Cool Running’s Couch-to-5K training program. I hadn’t made any concerted effort to maintain my cardiovascular fitness lvl while in Africa, and was wholly uninspired by other Volunteers who started training for the annual Lucky Star Marathon. While they went off on grueling evening runs, I preferred to slurp [...]
When I was younger, I used to love watching music videos on MTV. Now, if I want to see anything, I’ll just look it up on YouTube. The fact remains though, that I can happily spend hrs tooling around, discovering new bands or comedic talents. It’s thanks to these peregrinations that I’ve discovered the likes of Amy [...]
Read Part I. II. Balance “But you, divine, to the last resonating…you drowned out their shouting with beautiful order….”–Rainer Maria Rilke Balance has several definitions, but the one that usually comes to mind has something to do with harmony and equilibrium. Applied to rhetoric, it also takes on another of its meanings, namely “the power or ability to decide an outcome by throwing one’s strength, influence, support, [...]
Introduction In his chronicle On the Education of an Orator, Quintilian notes that “the art of speaking depends on great labor, constant study, varied exercise, repeated trials, the deepest sagacity, and the readiest judgment.” Writing, of course, is simply speech in print, and the arts of writing and speaking rhetorically have been held in high [...]
Description for video: The tourism industry has exploded in recent years as travel becomes easier and more affordable. People are leaving their native countries in order to experience and explore the larger world. Often, our vacations are as fast-paced as the rest of our lives. Nowadays people prefer to visit several countries. Students studying in [...]
There’s a story that my mom likes to tell. Back before she was saddled w/ a husband and children, she used to keep Dobermans. One day, her dog Diana disappeared. My mom was frantic; she searched the neighborhood on foot. She drove around, looking and shouting herself hoarse. Nothing. A week passed. My mom began [...]
Happy New Year, gentlefriends! I hope everyone’s celebrations were satisfactory and have left some residual warmth lingering in your soul, b/c I am about to shower some pessimism on you. I find that people get annoyingly hopeful at this time of yr. They join the gym and crowd my power yoga class, dust off the forlorn [...]
If you’re like me, you love a good makeover. Many of us do, if the plethora of movies and reality TV shows revolving around this v. concept are any indication. Even Harry Potter takes a break from Quidditch and Voldemort to stage a duckling-to-swan transformation (for a girl of course; makeovers are the provenance of females. [...]
When the holidays roll around, we are absolutely obligated to call our extended family members. Such is the price we pay for living in peace and quiet the rest of the year. As usual, my dad warned us that he was about to call his mother, giving me time to queasily ponder what accusations she [...]
I think it’s safe to say that, in the course of my life so far, I’ve read hundreds of books. Not all of them were of the best quality…especially in my tween years, I had quite an appetite for The Saddle Club and Sweet Valley Twins. This is unfortunate, b/c it seems I wasted some [...]
While I fervently hope that by grad school ambitions will soon be realized, I am more than a little ashamed about not having a job. If anyone asks what I do, I launch into a long, self-conscious explanation about how I just got back from Africa, and I’m getting applications together, and I’ve been sending [...]
Both of whom I discovered on British TV shows. Huh.
This is how I plan to finance my profligate lifestyle. Foolproof, don’t you think?
This morning my dad and I braved the freezing rain to drive to the Soulard Farmer’s Market in St. Louis. I’m going to allow a short pause for you to absorb the irony of the fact that we have to drive out of Missouri farmland and into the city in order to get farm goods. [...]
Years ago–possibly even decades ago–my mom bought a knitting machine. She had never really used it, but that didn’t stop her from touting it to me. Not that it took much persuading, given my general enthusiasm for handicrafts, and my dreams of presiding over a knitwear empire–a lofty goal that would surely be abetted by [...]
Rawr. Don’t worry, this dance video is totally safe for work! I mean, insomuch as it is ever “safe” for you to be dicking around on-line instead of, you know, doing your job (be like me–don’t have one!). But there are no breasts; the only T&A is Tights and Anoraks.
Today instead of going for a run or writing application essays, I did 4/6 of Animal Attraction’s IQ tests w/ Buffy. Out of 20 possible points, she scored 18.
I keep thinking that adulthood is something that will just happen to me, like, developmentally. I’ll stop staying up until 3:30am playing Word Bubbles and start getting up empoweringly early so I can…I don’t know…recycle something. Early. I’ll sit down and begin to pen Statements of Purpose so masterful as to render them the equivalent [...]
Despite all I have seen and read, I still have pages-long lists of movies and books that I’m eager to discover. Sometimes I’m excited by the fact that there is such a vast uncharted territory waiting for my brain to map it…or perhaps waiting to be mapped in my brain. Other times, it seems daunting—so [...]
A strong beginning is often a simple matter, but good endings are notoriously difficult to achieve. It’s the double-edged sword of creating relatable characters: the audience becomes invested in their fate, and wants to feel satisfied by the end. And then again, in a world committed to painstakingly depicting reality an ending is totally artificial; [...]
Believe it or not, I was first alerted to the whole WikiLeak U.S.-embassy debacle by a gentle commenter from the last post, and how fitting that it should be the subject that comes on the heels of “American Die.” Usually I’m not this cognizant of global doings; most of my news comes from my twice-weekly [...]
To be an American in a book (or movie for that matter) by a non-American is to be rude, uncouth, ill-mannered and porcine. We tromp around on delicate cobblestones, squeezing our overfed bulk into small cafés, complaining about the small portion sizes and lack of ketchup. We talk loudly and obnoxiously, simultaneously expecting that everyone [...]
Fortunately for our internal organs, but perhaps less so for our silhouettes, corsets as a de rigeur garment have been out of fashion for nearly a century. I’ve liked them ever since seeing Gone With the Wind at a tender age, but wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing one outside of the Fashion Museum in Bath…until now. [...]
I didn’t tune in last Sunday night to watch The Walking Dead with millions of my fellow Americans, but once I realized the oversight I downloaded the pilot immediately. My mom and I watched it the next morning, sipping coffee, and wincing slightly as zombie brains splattered all over the screen, while the dogs gamboled [...]
As a Missouri resident, and as a member of the Humane Society of the United States, I’ve been the recipient of several letters and emails urging me in the most ardent of terms to vote yes on Proposition B aka the “Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act”, which goes out on the polls tomorrow. Animal welfare [...]
Right now at my house we have two dogs, who present a wonderful example of the variability possible w/i Canis familiaris. Buffy is a 60+ lb. Beauceron, and Joss is a rat terrier w/ the soul of a warrior stuffed into his tiny body. Each morning they receive the same mixture–in different amounts of course–of [...]
For like six minutes in high school, I considered becoming a cheerleader. I know, shocking, right? But some of my friends were on the squad, and I’ve always been flexible…so I thought…why not? Then my innate aversion to mini-skirts and organized sports reasserted itself, and the insanity passed. Since then I’ve contented myself with watching [...]
Maybe you’re not ready to hop on the 100-thing challenge bandwagon, but perhaps you’ve found yourself growing tired of stuffing your closet with fast-fashion the way some people stuff their faces with fast food; you’d like a less wasteful option, one that allows you to feel good about yourself w/o having to fork over large [...]
I adore poetry; I always have. Some credit can go to my mother, who would read to me from a beautifully illustrated book (which, alas, was thrown away, or lost somehow while moving) poems like “The Tiger” by William Blake, “Spanish Johnny” by Willa Cather and “When You are Old” by W.B. Yeats. Today, I [...]
I have discovered a new musical act to love: Garfunkel & Oates, also known as Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci. Riki Lindhome seemed really familiar, but it wasn’t until I read about her that I realized that I recognized her from her guest role as a rabidly devoted grad student on The Big Bang Theory. The [...]
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