“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
We all know what we like to read. Some people gravitate toward literary fiction, while others dig mysteries. That guy over there may not care, as long as he’s reading a good, compelling story. Your girlfriend might be a romance nut, and you might be into steampunk, cyberpunk, or biopunk. I may prefer books with lots
So You Want to Join a Writing Group Part IV: Walk a Mile in My Shoes Read More »
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. And in many ways it is a perfect symbol of our national character. The stories that we feed ourselves, tales of grateful Pilgrims, peaceful Indians, and bountiful tables of turkey and pumpkin pie are completely false. Just as false as the story that hard work, faith, and education will
Thanksgiving Day Gratitude: An American Tradition Read More »
It’s the last Thursday of November, and I’ve signed up for Thanksgiving lunch at Maokong, the major tea-producing area of Taipei located in the rugged foothills southeast of the city. I stuff the direction sheet into my shoulder bag and start the ten-minute jaunt from the Taipei Royalty apartment building at 9:30 to the Liuzhangli
Thanksgiving at Maokong Read More »
People opposed to crass commercialism always complain about the combined Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas triumvirate of holidays that end every year. “Can’t we at least dig all the candy corn out of our teeth before the Butterball turkeys appear in the supermarket freezer section?” they ask. Or they say, “Can’t we at least finish all the Thanksgiving leftovers
The Ghosts of Thanksgivings Past Read More »
When a writer begins spending time with other writers, he learns that there’s a long and intimidating list of writing rules in need of memorization. It goes something like this: Don’t use adverbs, do avoid clichés, don’t switch points of view mid-scene, do only use “said” as a dialogue tag, and—most of all, folks—show, don’t
So You Want to Join a Writing Group Part III: Beware of Hobbyhorses Read More »