curi·ous {Old French curios} Drawn to investigate, prick up the ears, ponder for the sake of pondering. Enticed by mysteriously labeled bottles.
vo·luptu·ary {Late Latin volupturius} A lass devoted to the pursuit of pleasure. An unabashed epicurean, hedonist, libertine, sensualist, lotus-eater.
Well, no, no one set a hideous, dangerous judicium Dei task before me, to determine my innocence.
Just a grabby headline. Probably should use an exclamation mark too.
I guess more accurate would be “hit the ground running!” this indeed, I have done,
while also spying into Berliner’s flats on my morning commute.
Now I emerge from a month-long, [...]
There are a handful of jokes in this lil’ essay, but don’t sneeze, or you’ll miss ‘em. Text version here.
At the end of another dense editing day, we walked ourselves like a couple of pups through the twilight. Buds! Clouds! Vintage lingerie! It will be so good, as Whitman says, to finally “loafe and invite my soul.”
75,000 words, 350 pages. That, ladies and gents, is a novel!
We will walk into the sun now, I will buy it a coffee, and begin our new conversation:
is that really what I mean? is that all I have to say on the subject? is there a more lovely way to say it?
It will be longer, [...]
When I said I would take a break after the 50+ Parisian posts, I didn’t mean for weeks! I dropped down the rabbit hole, building myself a new website (tinkerer’s pride!) when I had so-called writer’s block, and burning rubber toward a true first draft of the book, when I got over it. Above, the [...]
We hosted a party this weekend and I was quite impressed by the turnout, given the subzero temperatures and inches of lumpy, slick ice (presumably the result of plummeting temps followed by thaw followed by freeze again?) covering the ground. The path carved below, for example, is not stone but thick, gray ice. Which is [...]
Leave it to the Dutch. In Maastricht one finds the Selexyz Dominicanen bookshop, housed in a 13th century Dominican church repurposed by architects Merkx + Girod. Featuring 14th century ceiling frescoes, and a café situated in the former choir (with a cheeky cruciform reading table), this shop is designed essentially as a giant, walk-in bookcase [...]
edit, edit, walk, edit. beats the pants off holding up the facade of a building all day…
The editing is progressing by sheer force of will, part three of four is nearly chewed through. I am feeling grateful to be getting this behind me, and I can’t wait for the next pass–a chance to refine. This one has been–as far as such things go–fairly tricky, like juggling flaming porcupines. Never again, writing [...]
Counting on my new lucky (?) writer’s cup. Learned today: Je me souviens. I remember.