I spent a season in wonderment of composers of musicals. They have to know about so many things: writing music, the effects of different instruments, singing, choreography, storytelling. I went through a phase where I was jealous of visual artists. Because I felt like visual artists could do anything and get away with it. (Sorry […]
Tag: art
(Earth) resident
Today is my last day as a writer in residence in Nebraska City. I don’t want to go I love it here. I love getting up early to write. My favorite hours are the quiet ones when the light changes from grey to white. I’ve learned that at 7:40 every morning the school bus comes […]
Death of the literary genius
I have always had a problem with literary geniuses. Or mostly with people being referred to as literary geniuses. At first I thought it was a gender thing. I was annoyed that most “geniuses” were men. Then I thought, you know, maybe the problem isn’t gender, it’s just pure jealousy. I want to be a […]
Resources
Finite resources: time, money, food, water Infinite resources: beauty, love, creativity, stories, art But somewhere along the line we started treating love like it was money and art like it was food.
How I edit
When I am stuck on a story I go back to the beginning and rewrite the first sentence and try to make it the truest it can be.
Performance anxiety
All month there have been upright pianos sitting out in public spaces around New York City. They do this every year, but this was the first year that I got myself together enough to track one down and play it. When I sat down at one for the first time I was very nervous. I […]
Things that Bilbao and Kansas City have in common: part 2
Some friggin awesome art museums. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art is the long time pride and joy of Kansas City. The original Beaux Art building opened in 1933 with a modest collection of work that has grown significantly over the years. The permanent collection now includes plenty of impressive works ranging from Egyptian artifacts […]
Street art: Lavapiés
I live in Lavapiés. It’s a neighborhood on the south side of Madrid. Historically it has been a neighborhood of gypsies. More recently it has become neighborhood of immigrants and hipsters (funny how those things tend to go together). And it has some awesome street art. Here are some of my finds. Calle Embajadores. Glorieta […]
The Reina Sofia: a good place to spend the night?
I have mixed feelings about museums. I love the concept of public knowledge and art. Brilliant. But sometimes the environment is a bit stifling (read: museums are boring. also. awkward). Everyone moves slowly. Talks quietly. Thinks intellectual thoughts. Oh yes, I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of a world famous Velazquez painting… I also enjoying wondering […]
