Lyle Lovett in a teacup

You may have spotted some of Annie Leibovitz’ stunning Disney photographs in the glossies this month, but this was one I hadn’t yet seen. Beyonce as Alice I get. Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter, got it and love it — wouldn’t he be great?
But Lyle Lovett?
Random. If he’s supposed to be the March Hare, [...]

The bakery window

The assignment: A “Dérive”, a French term that apparently means “a wandering” and was a favourite practice of the Dadaists and Surrealists who would go somewhere, drop all their pretensions and motives for being there and just let the environment inspire them.
Writer’s note: I managed to find myself being inspired in the middle of a [...]

Where they speak your language

“The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature; only then can he see clearly.” – Julian Barnes, author.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a writer’s and editor’s breakfast meeting here in the city. I wanted to do some networking, but I was also interested in seeing what [...]

Bent at 90 degrees

I haven’t much to say today besides complain about the fact that I’ve just started up with a personal trainer and I think she’s slowly torturing me to death. The first day we worked out together I nearly passed out and had to sit bent over with my head between my legs. I told her [...]

The gauntlet

The assignment: Write a self-introduction piece in any style. No rules. Just make it about yourself.
Author’s note: Without guidelines, I had no plan for this piece when I set pen to paper. This is the result of an hour-long freewrite (writing non-stop without thinking) and a few revisions. When I receive the instructor’s feedback, I’ll [...]

A turn to fiction

I’m a writer by nature. There’s no getting around it. If I’m not writing as a journalist, I’m writing in a journal. I’m describing people, places and dreaming up stories to tell. When I don’t write, I get depressed. It’s like a drug and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is my release.
Whether [...]

The gig will soon be up

In less than 48 hours all this buzz about J.J. Abram’s Cloverfield will come to an end and we’ll all know what that thing is and what it’s doing to all those poor New Yorkers (why is it always New York that gets terrorized?). My first instinct and best guess is still that it’s a [...]

Wanted: A well-stocked kitchen

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it:
‘No room! No room!’ they cried out when they saw Alice coming.
‘There’s PLENTY of room!’ said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.
‘Have some wine,’ the March Hare said [...]

Khrystos Razhdaietsia

… means “Christ is born” and is the traditional holiday greeting for Ukrainians celebrating Christmas tomorrow, January 7th. My family had our annual dinner this weekend for the holiday, complete with kutia (sweet grain pudding made of wheat, honey and poppy seeds), borscht (beet soup), herring and perogies. See photos below. All the best to [...]