The MFA Octopus: Four Questions About Creative Writing
lareviewofbooks: Mark McGurl Frank Conroy © Bruce Davidson 1. Why do people hate creative writing programs so much? Well they don’t really, not everyone, or there wouldn’t be so many of them—hundreds. From modest beginnings in Iowa in the 1930’s, MFA programs have spread out across the land, coast to coast, sinking roots in the soil like an improbably invasive species of corn. Now, leaping the oceans, stalks have begun to sprout in countries all around the world, feeding the insatiable desire to be that mythical thing, a writer. Somebody must think they’re worth founding, funding, attending, teaching at. But partly in reaction to their very numerousness, which runs afoul of traditional ideas about the necessary exclusivity of literary...
Read MorePoetry.com has closed
Poetry.com has closed Lulu shut it down last Thursday. Did you notice?
Read Moregood dog
good dog the dog is dying that’s all we can talk aboutthe dog pees all over the living room floorand so we put plastic down and that’s all wecan talk about dolly was such a good dogwasn’t she but she’s not dead yet it’s all wecan talk about the not-yet-dead dog that isdying and peeing all over the living roomfloor and how good the dog was and howthe dog always came when you called her ohdolly what a good dog you were and she’snot even dead yet you’re not even dead yetare you good dog are you but we still talkabout you like you have gone into the pastquiet like your midnight excursions past thepiece of plastic to push your wet pup noseagainst the sliding glass door and look outat the blue patio at the bats that flit fromlight to light at the edge of...
Read MoreThe very thought of you.
There is so much loveliness in Second Life, but I have a pretty specific aesthetic. I have grown so attached to my mohawk that other hairstyles just don’t look right to me anymore. But when Miss Shippe released her Weep for the World makeup, I had to mix it up a bit. Weep for the World contains eye makeup and lip tint in four combinations: tears and blood, with and without freckles. Credits: Pose: Tea Cup by Olive Juice Skin: Earth Flower by Fashionably Dead (thanks to this blog) Hair: Rainy Day by Fashionably Dead Wings: Nevermore by Scribble Top: Wings Tee by Fishy Strawberry Makeup: Weep for the World by Miss Shippe’s...
Read MoreReview: Bossypants
Bossypants by Tina Fey My rating: 4 of 5 stars Because I am not up on these things, even though I really should be, I had no idea that Tina Fey had written a book. If I had, I would have pre-pre-ordered it as those of us in the librarian cabal are able to do. What? That’s not a thing? I have been lied to! Anyway, I stumbled across the disturbing cover of her not-quite-memoir "Bossypants" three seconds after stepping into a local bookstore, and even though I am trying very (kind of) hard not to buy any new books, I bought it.And I devoured it in less than 24 hours."Bossypants" is a fast, sparkling read, with plenty of LLOLL (legitimate laugh-out-loud in the library) moments. Fey is funny and smart, which everyone already knew, and also...
Read MoreI was just learning to love.
And now, a palate-cleanser in the form of some Second Life prettiness. When Miss Shippe released her cyborgian inserts set, I was pretty psyched. I’ve wanted to make my avatar into a cyborg for a while, but I wasn’t excited about any of the existing options. Sexy cyborg jokes aside, I wanted something that looked attractive and intriguing without being over-the-top. Matching eyes are included! I dress more modestly than most sexy cyborgs, I realize, but you can see one of the excellent details of this tattoo layer on my leg in the full-length shot. Miss Shippe’s Studio also has this set in teal. Go get ‘em. Credits: Cyborgian Inserts, White: Miss Shippe’s Studio Hair: Wot? Hair 015 (Blacks) Skin: Nuuna’s Black...
Read MoreOn villains and vengeance.
Earlier today, I had this half-formed thought that I shared on Twitter: “The danger of basing national pride on the vanquishing of enemies is that it requires an endless supply of enemies to maintain.” “Enemies” is a word I used to make a point. We allow politicians and media to use this word to categorize people — individuals and whole groups — as caricatures that, once extinguished, remove some of the evil from our perilous world. I just started this post and yet I am written out on the topic. I have said it all before. Nothing and everything has changed. We killed one man, and we gave up a hundred freedoms. And it’s not over. The war isn’t over; which war are we on now? The tiny humiliations, the groping and the...
Read MoreOsama bin Laden is dead.
Osama bin Laden is dead. At last, some closure for the families and friends of the victims of 9/11. We still have a long way to go, but this is an important symbol. And now, a little levity.
Read MoreNestcam
The cam was last on Friday, May 4.
Hello What
I am Halsted, a/k/a cygnoir, and I do stuff with words.
My favourite things to do with words are keeping this diary, writing stories, and organising information.
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Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 11 minutes ago - To Be The Best
Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 12 minutes ago - They Fucked Our Asses - Explicit Version
Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 13 minutes ago
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