From Adjunct Teacher to Typewriter

image source: videotron

Not having a job changes you.
You have to think differently when you're finding ways to carve out a life through words. For a long time, I wrote so that I could discover myself. Once I discovered myself, I wrote so that I could discover other people. Then my writing became something I did when I was not teaching. Now that I am not teaching, it is as if I have been catapulted back to that original locus of creativity.

You have to think differently to make money as a writer. You can't think, OK, I make this much money a month, and I need to budget accordingly. No, you have to think, how much do I have to work this month? It's a paradigm shift for me. I feel both exhilarated and terrified.

The first time I made money as a writer was when I was twenty-seven years old. I won one hundred dollars in a poetry contest. I never cashed the cheque. I lost it in a gay bar in New Orleans.

Re: B*tches in Bookshops (a Jay Z/Kanye West parody)

-Performed by La Shea Delaney (@lashea_delaney) & Annabelle Quezada (@annabelleqv) -Director / Producer / Songwriter - Annabelle Quezada

Painting: "Second Theme" by Burgoyne Diller

Burgoyne Diller, "Second Theme"

image: Valerie Carbery Gallery / Burgoyne Diller

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Photograph: "Life is a Book"

Life is a Book

"This book catalogues the lovely art collection of a museum in Munich." — at Washington Square Park.

Image Credit: Lisa Helfrich

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Jesus Was A Slacker

Jesus was not considered Dean's List material in his home country of Palestine. He irked the professors of his day with his youthful sarcasm and basically failed his exam and was kicked out of the synagogue (Luke 4:28-29). He picked up the pieces and eventually became known as a great orator — giving first-rate parables only a Literature professor could love. That's courage.

image source: funny jesus

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Why the Scarecrow is Boss (Even Though He Doesn't Have a Brain)

Did you know that in the original Oz books, the Scarecrow is named the ruler of Oz?

How Can You Talk If You Haven't A Brain?

In the original novels by L. Frank Baum, even though the Scarecrow lacks a brain, he is named Ruler of Oz! Take that Dorothy, and your little dog too. In the classic 1939 MGM movie he gets an honorary degree from the Wizard, and in the 1978 Michael Jackson version, his genius is in the song “You Can’t Win” where he reminds us “to refuel our brains.” I love a guy with no brains.

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image source (GIF): pandawhale

Flappy Bird

Personal History
I played Flappy Bird for the first time last week and scored 14 points after a furious exercise of tapping. Two ladies on the R train were playing Candy Crush. I was playing Flappy Bird. I flapped. I died. I looked up. The ladies were still playing Candy Crush. They were also chatting about the game. How it is so addictive, but they love it. The sweet spot for mobile gaming is that elusive combination of challenge and pleasure. Candy Crush has it. Flappy Bird had it. It's a difficult game. But kind of zany fun. Folks have rejected food and water in the hopes of finding respite for Flappy Bird's flight. Alas, it keeps flapping. Then you hit a pipe. Blam. You're dead.

Simple Rules
The rules are simple. You fly a round-shaped bird creature between pairs of pipes without hitting anything. But then. Flap. You're dead. It's a subtle dexterity that can either spell "Game Over" or a successful pass through yet another Mario Brothers-esque pipe.