balconies
I walk past compact homes with cute balconies. On each balcony, there's a small circular table kept company by a pair of empty chairs – many little scenes set for conversations outdoors at sunset, a drink in hand, a view of the sleepy street.
bland
The shopping center is cold, clean, and gleaming. It has a vague cologne smell and an atmosphere of emptiness.
curiously
The sunflower peeks into the rear windshield of the SUV.
insightful
Sometimes, the people who understand me best are authors I've never met.
regression
I stay out of the discussion because of the rampant infantilization. The participants generally want to scream their point of view without hearing a bit of disagreement. Disagreement makes them feel bad. In the course of their tantrums, they threaten people's jobs, reputations, and safety.
scurry
When I step out the back entrance of the building at night, a rat immediately scurries past my feet, brushing the tips with its body. It disappears into the shrubs and not through the open door, I think.
toppling
At the gym, a man listens to a comedy podcast while doing yoga. He keeps laughing and falling out of position.
Showing posts with label arguments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arguments. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Week in Seven Words #421
cheerfully
Most of the rooms are in shadow on a rainy day, but the kitchen remains bright and welcoming.
formation
We try building a tall, convoluted slide for marbles, and we finish about a third of it before I leave. The instructions aren't straightforward, and similar pieces have been painted the same color. But I'm surprised to find myself enjoying the project.
intensely
When conducting Beethoven, he looks like he's listening to heavy metal. Head banging, gritted teeth.
nearly
A catastrophic argument is looming like an iceberg on the horizon of our evening. We avoid it by a hand span, and watch it from the corner of our eyes as it looms up beside us before falling away into the night.
purring
A man sits quietly by the bandshell caressing his guitar.
sequester
On the train during rush hour, people dive into pockets of solitude. They fix their eyes on the kneecaps of the person sitting opposite. They play repetitive games on their phone or hunch behind a newspaper. A young woman with a soft face and thin hair stares out the window and croons to the music from her headphones.
undermining
His bottle is tucked into a brown paper bag. As the bus rolls on past big-box stores and ranch-style homes, he sips from the bottle and talks about his court date tomorrow for a drinking-related offense.
Most of the rooms are in shadow on a rainy day, but the kitchen remains bright and welcoming.
formation
We try building a tall, convoluted slide for marbles, and we finish about a third of it before I leave. The instructions aren't straightforward, and similar pieces have been painted the same color. But I'm surprised to find myself enjoying the project.
intensely
When conducting Beethoven, he looks like he's listening to heavy metal. Head banging, gritted teeth.
nearly
A catastrophic argument is looming like an iceberg on the horizon of our evening. We avoid it by a hand span, and watch it from the corner of our eyes as it looms up beside us before falling away into the night.
purring
A man sits quietly by the bandshell caressing his guitar.
sequester
On the train during rush hour, people dive into pockets of solitude. They fix their eyes on the kneecaps of the person sitting opposite. They play repetitive games on their phone or hunch behind a newspaper. A young woman with a soft face and thin hair stares out the window and croons to the music from her headphones.
undermining
His bottle is tucked into a brown paper bag. As the bus rolls on past big-box stores and ranch-style homes, he sips from the bottle and talks about his court date tomorrow for a drinking-related offense.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Week in Seven Words #409
comestibles
The spread of food on the table is her work, what she delivers to the evening. Glistening food, soft, stewy, juicy food, heaps and hills on every platter.
depletion
She doesn't see her birthday as a cause for celebration. She shows me a text on a cracked smartphone screen. It's from her mom, and it conveys disappointment and limp well-wishes.
lingering
A couple of the older kids find the infant activity center fascinating. One of them sits on the floor for a while and spins the transparent sphere that's full of colorful, pebble-like bits of plastic. He doesn't remember, but when he was a baby, he loved doing the same thing.
mastering
An assignment I've taken on becomes much larger and more complex than I had expected. It's anxiety-inducing. But I feel something in me rise up to claim control of the sprawling text and the web of citations.
unobstructed
When I tell him about my problem, his reaction is a relief. He doesn't become violently agitated, dismissive, or contemptuous. He doesn't act as if I've gutted him or as if I need to be pitied. He just listens. He accepts what I'm saying and acknowledges that it's a problem. Although there's no apparent solution, not at present, I feel less alone. It's amazing how powerful it can be when someone sincerely hears you out.
wasted
It's a hydra monster kind of argument. For every spiteful remark or bad idea I chop off, two more spring up.
zookeeper
It's time for him to take care of his reptiles. He sprays them with water, makes sure they're fed. It doesn't matter to him that they're made of plastic or rubber. (In a whisper, an older child asks me, "He does know they're fake, right?")
The spread of food on the table is her work, what she delivers to the evening. Glistening food, soft, stewy, juicy food, heaps and hills on every platter.
depletion
She doesn't see her birthday as a cause for celebration. She shows me a text on a cracked smartphone screen. It's from her mom, and it conveys disappointment and limp well-wishes.
lingering
A couple of the older kids find the infant activity center fascinating. One of them sits on the floor for a while and spins the transparent sphere that's full of colorful, pebble-like bits of plastic. He doesn't remember, but when he was a baby, he loved doing the same thing.
mastering
An assignment I've taken on becomes much larger and more complex than I had expected. It's anxiety-inducing. But I feel something in me rise up to claim control of the sprawling text and the web of citations.
unobstructed
When I tell him about my problem, his reaction is a relief. He doesn't become violently agitated, dismissive, or contemptuous. He doesn't act as if I've gutted him or as if I need to be pitied. He just listens. He accepts what I'm saying and acknowledges that it's a problem. Although there's no apparent solution, not at present, I feel less alone. It's amazing how powerful it can be when someone sincerely hears you out.
wasted
It's a hydra monster kind of argument. For every spiteful remark or bad idea I chop off, two more spring up.
zookeeper
It's time for him to take care of his reptiles. He sprays them with water, makes sure they're fed. It doesn't matter to him that they're made of plastic or rubber. (In a whisper, an older child asks me, "He does know they're fake, right?")
Friday, June 1, 2018
Week in Seven Words #407
agitated
I'm sometimes surprised at how much fear and anxiety people carry around with them, even people who seem to "have it together." It's relatively rare to meet someone who isn't trembling at the edges or clamping down on an emotion that could sweep away their equilibrium. (I'll add that I'm not making these observations from a remote distance, untouched.)
extreme
He's wearing a jacket with the name of a far-right conspiracy website printed on the back. He's plugged into the truth now, is what he thinks.
friction
A town hall, the officials sounding quietly sympathetic, and the constituents sounding completely unconvinced that anyone competent is in charge.
glop
All the restaurants look alike, with the same yogurt parfaits in mini-fridges, pizzas dribbling on waxed paper, and hamburgers the size of a fist.
opponent
Talking to them becomes less complicated when I realize they're not interested in a discussion. They want to figure out if I'm on the right side (their side) of a given issue. If I express a doubt or point out an inaccuracy, it means I'm not on their side. Even if I mostly agree with them, they expect me to share all of their sentiments and use their preferred language. I can't do that, but at least I now understand why I'm being set up as their opponent.
squoosh
Making slime has become a fad among kids. She shows me hypnotic videos of people squeezing, stretching, and poking the viscous substance. Some turn the slime into artistic works of multiple colors and elaborate designs. Most enjoy the gummy, squelchy noises it makes.
waterlogged
It's a soggy evening, like a paper towel that's been soaked in cold water.
I'm sometimes surprised at how much fear and anxiety people carry around with them, even people who seem to "have it together." It's relatively rare to meet someone who isn't trembling at the edges or clamping down on an emotion that could sweep away their equilibrium. (I'll add that I'm not making these observations from a remote distance, untouched.)
extreme
He's wearing a jacket with the name of a far-right conspiracy website printed on the back. He's plugged into the truth now, is what he thinks.
friction
A town hall, the officials sounding quietly sympathetic, and the constituents sounding completely unconvinced that anyone competent is in charge.
glop
All the restaurants look alike, with the same yogurt parfaits in mini-fridges, pizzas dribbling on waxed paper, and hamburgers the size of a fist.
opponent
Talking to them becomes less complicated when I realize they're not interested in a discussion. They want to figure out if I'm on the right side (their side) of a given issue. If I express a doubt or point out an inaccuracy, it means I'm not on their side. Even if I mostly agree with them, they expect me to share all of their sentiments and use their preferred language. I can't do that, but at least I now understand why I'm being set up as their opponent.
squoosh
Making slime has become a fad among kids. She shows me hypnotic videos of people squeezing, stretching, and poking the viscous substance. Some turn the slime into artistic works of multiple colors and elaborate designs. Most enjoy the gummy, squelchy noises it makes.
waterlogged
It's a soggy evening, like a paper towel that's been soaked in cold water.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Week in Seven Words #373
appeased
She deals with the fussy kid by pouring chocolate candies into his hands. His parents won't find out until later.
begging
At the lake's edge, she pleads with her friend on the other end of the line. Her friend has slipped into an inexorable state of mind, and no pleas will move her.
companionable
Sharing a window seat and sipping apple cider with rum on a chilly day.
elephants
Elephants are so weirdly awesome. The configuration of their anatomy, their perceptiveness and intelligence, their size, their apparent emotion. They're fascinating.
gingerly
We're not close; there's no strong love between us. Our hug feels like a tentative touch to a wound.
misanthropically
I swing between having hope in humanity and thinking we're just complete wallowing morons.
trifling
He thinks his words are gold coins; he's pouring them out for us beggars, and we should be grateful. But all he's doing is tossing us some pocket change and bits of lint to go with it.
She deals with the fussy kid by pouring chocolate candies into his hands. His parents won't find out until later.
begging
At the lake's edge, she pleads with her friend on the other end of the line. Her friend has slipped into an inexorable state of mind, and no pleas will move her.
companionable
Sharing a window seat and sipping apple cider with rum on a chilly day.
elephants
Elephants are so weirdly awesome. The configuration of their anatomy, their perceptiveness and intelligence, their size, their apparent emotion. They're fascinating.
gingerly
We're not close; there's no strong love between us. Our hug feels like a tentative touch to a wound.
misanthropically
I swing between having hope in humanity and thinking we're just complete wallowing morons.
trifling
He thinks his words are gold coins; he's pouring them out for us beggars, and we should be grateful. But all he's doing is tossing us some pocket change and bits of lint to go with it.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Week in Seven Words #330
clarification
What at first sounds like the wind crying resolves into choir music broadcast on a radio in a waiting room down the hall.
hamming
She makes short videos of evil twins leaping out of mirrors and people finding an intruder in the closet as they tour their new home. I'm cast in several roles. My favorite is the one where I get stabbed with a plastic pineapple and deliver a monologue for the ages.
meaty
All of the commuters packed, flesh to flesh, turn the subway car into a sausage link.
median
He continues to be fanatic about how normal he is. His way is the one true way of normality.
reactiveness
Waiting for the elevator, stone-faced as a Buckingham Palace guard, while a neighbor and her child scream at each other a few feet away.
spud
Pleasure from a potato's crinkly gold skin.
sway
In her marriage, she's a courtier. Dressed in elegant fabrics that pool on the floor as she bows and scrapes.
What at first sounds like the wind crying resolves into choir music broadcast on a radio in a waiting room down the hall.
hamming
She makes short videos of evil twins leaping out of mirrors and people finding an intruder in the closet as they tour their new home. I'm cast in several roles. My favorite is the one where I get stabbed with a plastic pineapple and deliver a monologue for the ages.
meaty
All of the commuters packed, flesh to flesh, turn the subway car into a sausage link.
median
He continues to be fanatic about how normal he is. His way is the one true way of normality.
reactiveness
Waiting for the elevator, stone-faced as a Buckingham Palace guard, while a neighbor and her child scream at each other a few feet away.
spud
Pleasure from a potato's crinkly gold skin.
sway
In her marriage, she's a courtier. Dressed in elegant fabrics that pool on the floor as she bows and scrapes.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Week in Seven Words #318
branding
She married someone who picks at her like tissue on the bottom of his shoe. With a determined smile, she spins his sullenness as shy charm, his malice as social awkwardness.
chlorosis
Under the fluorescent lights, the fake plants look anemic. So do the people - washed out, moving as if their feet were planted in deep, sucking mud.
diminishing
All the information we've found suggests there's no way the problem will disappear on its own. (Yes it will, he says.) Let's try a treatment. Giving it a try costs almost nothing. (It's unnecessary.) Why? (Because.)
methamphetamine
She gets a hit of anger from the TV news, her round-the-clock drug.
riddles
They're tech-savvy, but that doesn't mean they don't like offline games. Case in point - her scavenger hunt with clues planted among stuffed animals and kitchen appliances.
sequestered
Once people go into the little soundproof room in their mind, it doesn't matter how hard you pound on the door. I forget this, even though I've seen it often and done it myself.
sleeky
PowerPoint, pizza, multi-colored plastic chairs - it's like I'm back in grad school.
She married someone who picks at her like tissue on the bottom of his shoe. With a determined smile, she spins his sullenness as shy charm, his malice as social awkwardness.
chlorosis
Under the fluorescent lights, the fake plants look anemic. So do the people - washed out, moving as if their feet were planted in deep, sucking mud.
diminishing
All the information we've found suggests there's no way the problem will disappear on its own. (Yes it will, he says.) Let's try a treatment. Giving it a try costs almost nothing. (It's unnecessary.) Why? (Because.)
methamphetamine
She gets a hit of anger from the TV news, her round-the-clock drug.
riddles
They're tech-savvy, but that doesn't mean they don't like offline games. Case in point - her scavenger hunt with clues planted among stuffed animals and kitchen appliances.
sequestered
Once people go into the little soundproof room in their mind, it doesn't matter how hard you pound on the door. I forget this, even though I've seen it often and done it myself.
sleeky
PowerPoint, pizza, multi-colored plastic chairs - it's like I'm back in grad school.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Week in Seven Words #295
deflective
When the adults ask him questions about what he values, the boy makes flippant remarks. He doesn't like how they want to sit in judgment over his words and pick apart the things he holds important. He deliberately gives them nothing of value.
depressing
They receive love, or something like it, only when serving their parents' shortsighted and limiting needs.
dibs
A plate of puffy chocolate cake floats around the room. With bits of cake indented and crumbling, we know the kids have gotten to it first.
gifting
They send me a gift card with money from their own account. It's a lovely gift, and it reminds me that they aren't little kids anymore.
lance
A dinner that's more like a joust, the guests having a go at each other across the length of the table. All in good fun, they claim.
sizzle
The delicious crackle of a pan filled with pepper steak and mushrooms.
strive
As I get older, my relationship with my religion becomes more like an invigorating wrestling match. And sometimes like an expedition.
When the adults ask him questions about what he values, the boy makes flippant remarks. He doesn't like how they want to sit in judgment over his words and pick apart the things he holds important. He deliberately gives them nothing of value.
depressing
They receive love, or something like it, only when serving their parents' shortsighted and limiting needs.
dibs
A plate of puffy chocolate cake floats around the room. With bits of cake indented and crumbling, we know the kids have gotten to it first.
gifting
They send me a gift card with money from their own account. It's a lovely gift, and it reminds me that they aren't little kids anymore.
lance
A dinner that's more like a joust, the guests having a go at each other across the length of the table. All in good fun, they claim.
sizzle
The delicious crackle of a pan filled with pepper steak and mushrooms.
strive
As I get older, my relationship with my religion becomes more like an invigorating wrestling match. And sometimes like an expedition.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Week in Seven Words #288
classic
They laugh at the old-fashioned special effects, but are clearly into the story, these kids raised on CGI.
giggly
She practices her song and dance routine with a self-conscious grin, her voice sometimes falling to a whisper as she tries not to laugh.
insensate
One of the useless comments people have made to her, on hearing about her mental illness, is "Just get over it. It's all in your head." Their ignorance is all in their head too.
moviegoer
Most of the time, she lies on the couch with her head on her arms. But as soon as Toto appears, she tenses and starts barking. She rushes to the TV and presses her nose against the other dog, as he runs away from the Cowardly Lion.
obsessive
As he picks his way across the cracked asphalt, he keeps his head submerged in a newspaper. Even when crossing the street.
sylvan
The art in the lobby features women draped in silk and crowned with poppies, leaves, and sunflower petals.
underminer
Instead of trying to refute her arguments, he questions her right to argue. Now she has to use up energy defending herself on a more basic level.
They laugh at the old-fashioned special effects, but are clearly into the story, these kids raised on CGI.
giggly
She practices her song and dance routine with a self-conscious grin, her voice sometimes falling to a whisper as she tries not to laugh.
insensate
One of the useless comments people have made to her, on hearing about her mental illness, is "Just get over it. It's all in your head." Their ignorance is all in their head too.
moviegoer
Most of the time, she lies on the couch with her head on her arms. But as soon as Toto appears, she tenses and starts barking. She rushes to the TV and presses her nose against the other dog, as he runs away from the Cowardly Lion.
obsessive
As he picks his way across the cracked asphalt, he keeps his head submerged in a newspaper. Even when crossing the street.
sylvan
The art in the lobby features women draped in silk and crowned with poppies, leaves, and sunflower petals.
underminer
Instead of trying to refute her arguments, he questions her right to argue. Now she has to use up energy defending herself on a more basic level.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Week in Seven Words #198 and #199
#198
dolls
Before the play, the actors come on stage to finish dressing. They're an all-male cast, and one of them (a noble lady) does a few warm-up sashays in his green gown. Those in masculine costume need help with their buckles and buttons; one actor smiles benignly at the audience as a crew member tries to maneuver his feet into a pair of pinched boots.
dreary
We live with paradoxes every day, and they sometimes seem like cosmic jokes. People who try to impress a rigid order on the world have to first rid themselves of their sense of humor.
gasper
They've taken off the masks to their Sesame Street costumes and puff on cigarettes in the cold air.
peculiar
When the documentary shows parts of a Catholic mass, it occurs to me that for most of the audience, this will be the closest they ever get to watching a mass. It's an alien rite.
spear
Waiting in line outdoors in the brittle sunshine.
tallow
The stage is lit with real candles, hovering in chandeliers that hang on ropes. Throughout the play, candle wax plinks onto the stage.
tumult
He plays, on alternate days, a violent king and a noblewoman falling violently in love.
dolls
Before the play, the actors come on stage to finish dressing. They're an all-male cast, and one of them (a noble lady) does a few warm-up sashays in his green gown. Those in masculine costume need help with their buckles and buttons; one actor smiles benignly at the audience as a crew member tries to maneuver his feet into a pair of pinched boots.
dreary
We live with paradoxes every day, and they sometimes seem like cosmic jokes. People who try to impress a rigid order on the world have to first rid themselves of their sense of humor.
gasper
They've taken off the masks to their Sesame Street costumes and puff on cigarettes in the cold air.
peculiar
When the documentary shows parts of a Catholic mass, it occurs to me that for most of the audience, this will be the closest they ever get to watching a mass. It's an alien rite.
spear
Waiting in line outdoors in the brittle sunshine.
tallow
The stage is lit with real candles, hovering in chandeliers that hang on ropes. Throughout the play, candle wax plinks onto the stage.
tumult
He plays, on alternate days, a violent king and a noblewoman falling violently in love.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Week in Seven Words #194
bibliophile
It's a book store of the kind that's harder to find: cluttered, disorganized and rich with the scent of old books. Except for the wind chimes tingling at the door, it's silent. You can bring yourself to believe this is an entry into a new land, a magical shop on a mundane street.
intergalactic
The bridge at night looks like a grand landing strip for alien spacecraft.
neutrality
I give thanks to those who are buffers. The people who help keep tactless individuals more tactful, who help keep habitual combatants from talking or making eye contact. They're the people who fill the silence with neutral conversation. Thanks in part to them, we can get through a meal without a scene.
obliviousness
She stands at the door and declines the instructor's invitation to join the class. "I can only stick around for a few minutes," she says. For the next half hour, she rustles around in her multiple shopping bags and asks questions that take a while to arrive at the question mark.
prepackaged
The store is bright and bland, all wisdom neatly packaged in new books.
satiated
A pita bursting with meat and hummus and vegetables.
secondhand
Who has read this book before, and what did they think of it? Why did they highlight this passage? Why did they sell it?
It's a book store of the kind that's harder to find: cluttered, disorganized and rich with the scent of old books. Except for the wind chimes tingling at the door, it's silent. You can bring yourself to believe this is an entry into a new land, a magical shop on a mundane street.
intergalactic
The bridge at night looks like a grand landing strip for alien spacecraft.
neutrality
I give thanks to those who are buffers. The people who help keep tactless individuals more tactful, who help keep habitual combatants from talking or making eye contact. They're the people who fill the silence with neutral conversation. Thanks in part to them, we can get through a meal without a scene.
obliviousness
She stands at the door and declines the instructor's invitation to join the class. "I can only stick around for a few minutes," she says. For the next half hour, she rustles around in her multiple shopping bags and asks questions that take a while to arrive at the question mark.
prepackaged
The store is bright and bland, all wisdom neatly packaged in new books.
satiated
A pita bursting with meat and hummus and vegetables.
secondhand
Who has read this book before, and what did they think of it? Why did they highlight this passage? Why did they sell it?
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Week in Seven Words #188
leftovers
Cold chicken, sandwiches, and an easing of tension.
meltdown
It's an episode of self-destruction. Her senses splinter, her mind pursues the dozen sins and slights she thinks are aimed at her. With a single-mindedness, she runs the evening to the ground. Afterwards, her eyes are suspiciously bright, but she can't see that she shares any part of the fault for how badly the evening went.
rawness
The color of the day is burnt umber. That's what I feel in me: low-key anger that crisps and singes and stirs up the ashes. But I'm at peace from time to time as well. The day is one of shocking beauty.
redemption
Most of the notes are breathy and weak. But the last one comes alive and is held to the limit of human breath.
spun sugar
Weaving fragile lies for the children, so that they'll continue to not put a name to what they might suspect.
tenderfoot
He assumes a humble, pious pose and speaks as one who has little experience of the world. Maybe I'm in too cynical a mood to appreciate what he's saying.
waste
Food leaking from aluminum trays. Liquid on the carpet. Little of what matters is salvageable.
Cold chicken, sandwiches, and an easing of tension.
meltdown
It's an episode of self-destruction. Her senses splinter, her mind pursues the dozen sins and slights she thinks are aimed at her. With a single-mindedness, she runs the evening to the ground. Afterwards, her eyes are suspiciously bright, but she can't see that she shares any part of the fault for how badly the evening went.
rawness
The color of the day is burnt umber. That's what I feel in me: low-key anger that crisps and singes and stirs up the ashes. But I'm at peace from time to time as well. The day is one of shocking beauty.
redemption
Most of the notes are breathy and weak. But the last one comes alive and is held to the limit of human breath.
spun sugar
Weaving fragile lies for the children, so that they'll continue to not put a name to what they might suspect.
tenderfoot
He assumes a humble, pious pose and speaks as one who has little experience of the world. Maybe I'm in too cynical a mood to appreciate what he's saying.
waste
Food leaking from aluminum trays. Liquid on the carpet. Little of what matters is salvageable.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Week in Seven Words #186
airless
A lack of productivity is suffocating.
bullish
The cashiers summon customers by waving red flags.
complacently
A number of people think that 'natural' automatically means 'desirable' or 'immutable.'
deadwood
Branches snap and fall, no longer able to bear their own weight.
impositions
An inability to handle uncertainty lies at the heart of so much misery and evil.
rack
Can people change in their essentials? It's hard enough to get rid of a single bad habit. What about five or ten of them? What about the dark, habitual thoughts that choke the life out of the mind?
regressed
In the library, two old men fight over a hat. The owner of the hat allegedly took a newspaper away from the other guy, who retaliated by snatching the hat away and refusing to return it. They argue loudly, the hat-owner shrill and indignant, the hat-snatcher muttering filthy insults.
A lack of productivity is suffocating.
bullish
The cashiers summon customers by waving red flags.
complacently
A number of people think that 'natural' automatically means 'desirable' or 'immutable.'
deadwood
Branches snap and fall, no longer able to bear their own weight.
impositions
An inability to handle uncertainty lies at the heart of so much misery and evil.
rack
Can people change in their essentials? It's hard enough to get rid of a single bad habit. What about five or ten of them? What about the dark, habitual thoughts that choke the life out of the mind?
regressed
In the library, two old men fight over a hat. The owner of the hat allegedly took a newspaper away from the other guy, who retaliated by snatching the hat away and refusing to return it. They argue loudly, the hat-owner shrill and indignant, the hat-snatcher muttering filthy insults.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Week in Seven Words #184 and #185
#184
ambition
He struggles with reading and math but maybe he'll get the life he wants anyway, his photo in Sports Illustrated and a mansion with many sports cars.
embalmed
Old cakes topped with sugared roses wilt in the dull white light.
faultfinding
It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to get done. It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to get done.
nasal
A drippy optician, sniffling while squinting at a computer that doesn't work.
resurrection
She pulls back the moth-eaten curtains and discovers a world that's forgotten she exists.
promotion
They've recruited an unfunny comedian to hand out flyers for their comedy club. People will be sure to come.
whitecaps
Light breaks in waves against my brain.
ambition
He struggles with reading and math but maybe he'll get the life he wants anyway, his photo in Sports Illustrated and a mansion with many sports cars.
embalmed
Old cakes topped with sugared roses wilt in the dull white light.
faultfinding
It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to get done. It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to get done.
nasal
A drippy optician, sniffling while squinting at a computer that doesn't work.
resurrection
She pulls back the moth-eaten curtains and discovers a world that's forgotten she exists.
promotion
They've recruited an unfunny comedian to hand out flyers for their comedy club. People will be sure to come.
whitecaps
Light breaks in waves against my brain.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Week in Seven Words #175
dribbling
For the first time in a while, I watch an NBA game. I like most of it, especially when the scores are close, and it's not clear who'll come out on top. Some of the players act like children though; they could still be adolescent boys. They're also living the life that many adolescent boys fantasize about. In a weird way, it's not an adult life.
engineered
When he asks me to play Legos with him, he's less interested in playing than in showing me what he's built in minute detail, like an architect or engineer explaining his latest work.
expectant
He hangs out in the background, waiting for us to entertain him. He needs some crumbs of attention and entertainment; maybe we'll show him a funny Youtube video.
migrations
In some ways he eats like a grownup. But then, most grownups don't wind up with pieces of avocado on their butt when they're done.
rehearsals
He pushes the plastic car around on the board game of Life, without understanding the milestones.
rut
Every time we drive along this route, we get into the exact same argument. It's like the road has a hold on our minds.
sonant
They giggle at the British accents of cartoon nannies and hounds.
For the first time in a while, I watch an NBA game. I like most of it, especially when the scores are close, and it's not clear who'll come out on top. Some of the players act like children though; they could still be adolescent boys. They're also living the life that many adolescent boys fantasize about. In a weird way, it's not an adult life.
engineered
When he asks me to play Legos with him, he's less interested in playing than in showing me what he's built in minute detail, like an architect or engineer explaining his latest work.
expectant
He hangs out in the background, waiting for us to entertain him. He needs some crumbs of attention and entertainment; maybe we'll show him a funny Youtube video.
migrations
In some ways he eats like a grownup. But then, most grownups don't wind up with pieces of avocado on their butt when they're done.
rehearsals
He pushes the plastic car around on the board game of Life, without understanding the milestones.
rut
Every time we drive along this route, we get into the exact same argument. It's like the road has a hold on our minds.
sonant
They giggle at the British accents of cartoon nannies and hounds.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Week in Seven Words #168
bombarded
I keep hearing that we're living in an evil age, more evil than ever. I'm not convinced. People have always been capable of atrocities and day-to-day cruelty. Now, however, we have the Internet, which can tell us about every crime in every town the world over, giving us the illusion that evil has suddenly exploded everywhere.
compulsion
"Emile! Zola!" he cries, but his dogs have already broken free to chase a squirrel across the grass.
dissolution
While taking photos of flowering trees in the garden, I hear, beyond the shrubs, two people breaking up, their voices low and pained.
icing
Cherry blossoms frosting the rim of the reservoir.
invasive
When does news reporting cross the line into voyeurism?
pedantry
The argument over whether salt was expensive or not in the Middle Ages threatens to disrupt the harmony of the meal.
soaring
Some of the magnolia blossoms stretch towards the darkening sky. Others are captured in lamplight.
I keep hearing that we're living in an evil age, more evil than ever. I'm not convinced. People have always been capable of atrocities and day-to-day cruelty. Now, however, we have the Internet, which can tell us about every crime in every town the world over, giving us the illusion that evil has suddenly exploded everywhere.
compulsion
"Emile! Zola!" he cries, but his dogs have already broken free to chase a squirrel across the grass.
dissolution
While taking photos of flowering trees in the garden, I hear, beyond the shrubs, two people breaking up, their voices low and pained.
icing
Cherry blossoms frosting the rim of the reservoir.
invasive
When does news reporting cross the line into voyeurism?
pedantry
The argument over whether salt was expensive or not in the Middle Ages threatens to disrupt the harmony of the meal.
soaring
Some of the magnolia blossoms stretch towards the darkening sky. Others are captured in lamplight.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Worth Watching: In Her Shoes (2005)
Title: In Her Shoes
Director: Curtis Hanson
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Rose (Toni Collette) and Maggie (Cameron Diaz) are sisters and close friends, but their relationship is strained, because they're both different in ways that heighten their insecurities. Maggie is "the pretty one" who is locked into the role of a bimbo and a flake; Rose is "the smart one," considered plain and bookish and dependable. They've lived with this unhealthy dynamic for years, stuck in their respective roles, and it takes a major falling out between them for their lives to change for the better and for their relationship to grow stronger.
It's their estranged grandmother, Ella (Shirley MacLaine), living it up in a retirement community in Florida, who helps reconcile them.
There's much to enjoy in this movie. There are moving recitations of poems by Elizabeth Bishop and e.e. cummings in scenes that show someone having a moment of breakthrough or connecting with another person in a new and deeper way. The filmmakers take care developing the sisters' relationship and prompt us to think about the way we define ourselves - how is it that we become the people we are, for better or worse, and what changes our self-perceptions?
A chunk of the movie is set in Philadelphia, and it was a treat for me to see Rittenhouse Square, the 30th Street Station, and of course the Art Museum steps, because you can't have a movie set in Philadelphia without someone running up the Art Museum steps. This time with dogs.
I think people who've just heard of this movie in passing assume it's merely fluff, but it's a little deeper than you expect and at times is beautiful. One major aspect of the movie I didn't like was how Rose's job situation is handled - not her need to rediscover herself or change, but the resolution to her work troubles and engagement to the man she winds up dating (and in general, I thought that there's much about the general family relationships, between father, grandmother, and stepmother that remains largely unexplored). As for Maggie, I like how the movie ends for her.
[Updated: 11/16/14]
*All images link back to their source (Flixster Community).
Director: Curtis Hanson
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Rose (Toni Collette) and Maggie (Cameron Diaz) are sisters and close friends, but their relationship is strained, because they're both different in ways that heighten their insecurities. Maggie is "the pretty one" who is locked into the role of a bimbo and a flake; Rose is "the smart one," considered plain and bookish and dependable. They've lived with this unhealthy dynamic for years, stuck in their respective roles, and it takes a major falling out between them for their lives to change for the better and for their relationship to grow stronger.
It's their estranged grandmother, Ella (Shirley MacLaine), living it up in a retirement community in Florida, who helps reconcile them.
There's much to enjoy in this movie. There are moving recitations of poems by Elizabeth Bishop and e.e. cummings in scenes that show someone having a moment of breakthrough or connecting with another person in a new and deeper way. The filmmakers take care developing the sisters' relationship and prompt us to think about the way we define ourselves - how is it that we become the people we are, for better or worse, and what changes our self-perceptions?
A chunk of the movie is set in Philadelphia, and it was a treat for me to see Rittenhouse Square, the 30th Street Station, and of course the Art Museum steps, because you can't have a movie set in Philadelphia without someone running up the Art Museum steps. This time with dogs.
I think people who've just heard of this movie in passing assume it's merely fluff, but it's a little deeper than you expect and at times is beautiful. One major aspect of the movie I didn't like was how Rose's job situation is handled - not her need to rediscover herself or change, but the resolution to her work troubles and engagement to the man she winds up dating (and in general, I thought that there's much about the general family relationships, between father, grandmother, and stepmother that remains largely unexplored). As for Maggie, I like how the movie ends for her.
[Updated: 11/16/14]
*All images link back to their source (Flixster Community).
Friday, August 31, 2012
Worth Watching: Still Walking (2008)
Title: Still Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo)
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Language: Japanese
Rating: Not rated
An elderly wife and husband host their children and grandchildren for the day; the reason behind the family gathering isn't obvious at first, and at least one of the children, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), wishes he didn't have to come at all, to be reminded that his parents consider him a big disappointment because of his career choice and because he married a widowed mother, Yukari (Yui Natsukawa).
But the movie isn't a stormy drama. The members of the Yokoyama family are polite, for the most part; they try not to be confrontational. They mill around the house, cooking together, talking about this and that, teasing each other into laughter and wounding each other with oblique remarks. There are beautiful close-ups of food simmering in pans, of the hands of young children reaching for pink blossoms in sunlit air. But the movie is never self-conscious about its beauty, just as it isn't self-conscious about the quiet moments of pettiness and cruelty that maintain the tension in the film, even if there's nothing earth-shaking going on on the surface.
The director likes to arrive at things sidelong. One of my favorite techniques that he uses is to have a character stand alone listening to other characters talk in a different room. There's a strange feeling of both connection and isolation, of listening in on people who are closer to you than anyone else but in some ways are still strangers.
An eerie moment in the film is when you hear the talk and laughter of the family posing for a photo off-screen, while on screen the camera lingers on a room where the photo of a deceased family member, Junpei, is displayed. Junpei has been dead for a dozen years, but now it feels like he's alive and listening. Memories of the dead are evoked to hold people together or to drive a wedge between them.
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Language: Japanese
Rating: Not rated
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From Wikipedia, Fair use
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An elderly wife and husband host their children and grandchildren for the day; the reason behind the family gathering isn't obvious at first, and at least one of the children, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), wishes he didn't have to come at all, to be reminded that his parents consider him a big disappointment because of his career choice and because he married a widowed mother, Yukari (Yui Natsukawa).
But the movie isn't a stormy drama. The members of the Yokoyama family are polite, for the most part; they try not to be confrontational. They mill around the house, cooking together, talking about this and that, teasing each other into laughter and wounding each other with oblique remarks. There are beautiful close-ups of food simmering in pans, of the hands of young children reaching for pink blossoms in sunlit air. But the movie is never self-conscious about its beauty, just as it isn't self-conscious about the quiet moments of pettiness and cruelty that maintain the tension in the film, even if there's nothing earth-shaking going on on the surface.
The director likes to arrive at things sidelong. One of my favorite techniques that he uses is to have a character stand alone listening to other characters talk in a different room. There's a strange feeling of both connection and isolation, of listening in on people who are closer to you than anyone else but in some ways are still strangers.
An eerie moment in the film is when you hear the talk and laughter of the family posing for a photo off-screen, while on screen the camera lingers on a room where the photo of a deceased family member, Junpei, is displayed. Junpei has been dead for a dozen years, but now it feels like he's alive and listening. Memories of the dead are evoked to hold people together or to drive a wedge between them.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Week in Seven Words #133
floating
I love summer nights, after it's rained earlier and the air is soft and balmy. I could walk for miles on nights like these.
floristic
Blotchy red roses and delicate purple flowers on display along Amsterdam Avenue.
marver
A spell of cathartic writing, where I pour out all the simmering anger and shape it into something useful.
savored
Lunch hour: Shakshouka with haloumi cheese, a corner table, and a good book.
unfathomable
Struck by the number of strangers around me - people I'll never know, who brush up against my life as I brush against theirs when we dodge past each other on a crowded sidewalk.
unresolved
An unspoken "let's pretend it never happened" instead of a spoken "I'm sorry."
zwischenzug
I haven't played chess since childhood but all it takes is a few games and I start to see the connections again between the pieces. Instead of sending them out in disjointed short-sighted moves, I start to get how one can protect another, how they can operate in tandem to pose a threat to and capture opponent pieces. I have fun rediscovering all of this.
I love summer nights, after it's rained earlier and the air is soft and balmy. I could walk for miles on nights like these.
floristic
Blotchy red roses and delicate purple flowers on display along Amsterdam Avenue.
marver
A spell of cathartic writing, where I pour out all the simmering anger and shape it into something useful.
savored
Lunch hour: Shakshouka with haloumi cheese, a corner table, and a good book.
unfathomable
Struck by the number of strangers around me - people I'll never know, who brush up against my life as I brush against theirs when we dodge past each other on a crowded sidewalk.
unresolved
An unspoken "let's pretend it never happened" instead of a spoken "I'm sorry."
zwischenzug
I haven't played chess since childhood but all it takes is a few games and I start to see the connections again between the pieces. Instead of sending them out in disjointed short-sighted moves, I start to get how one can protect another, how they can operate in tandem to pose a threat to and capture opponent pieces. I have fun rediscovering all of this.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Week in Seven Words #126
armed
I find a black and white photo of her tucked inside a book. It was taken decades ago, during her army training. She stands by a tree and holds a gun, the butt of it resting against the ground; she looks at the photographer with a smile that gives away nothing.
captured
She sits alone in her roller-skating gear and with a smile and a little wave snaps a photo of herself out in the bright world.
missed
On a walk in the park I come across a few actors who are yelling things at each other that sound vaguely Shakespearean but don't carry well in the open air. I ask a couple of people who are leaving, "What play is this?" Silently they point to my feet, where I stand on the giant HAMLET written on the pavement in pink chalk. (To thine own clueless self be true.) Speaking of which, Polonius comes out soon after, and you can tell he's an experienced actor. His voice projects, and he speaks his lines well. Too bad he has to die sooner than everyone else.
packing
I'm starting to associate my old apartment with boxes and hamburgers and papers that multiply every time I look the other way.
sapless
I watch eleven and a half minutes (yes I counted) of yet another T.V. show for kids where the characters don't have distinct personalities - they all do the same things and sound alike when they speak. Their misunderstandings are minor and are resolved almost immediately. The message for kids is that if you and your friends are as similar as possible there's less of a chance that you'll be inconvenienced by disagreements, compromises, and independent thoughts.
siesta
In the shade of the beech tree the mallards are napping.
sitting duck
When the car is stuck in traffic, and the frustrated driver is just spoiling for a fight, there you are, captive in the passenger's seat.
I find a black and white photo of her tucked inside a book. It was taken decades ago, during her army training. She stands by a tree and holds a gun, the butt of it resting against the ground; she looks at the photographer with a smile that gives away nothing.
captured
She sits alone in her roller-skating gear and with a smile and a little wave snaps a photo of herself out in the bright world.
missed
On a walk in the park I come across a few actors who are yelling things at each other that sound vaguely Shakespearean but don't carry well in the open air. I ask a couple of people who are leaving, "What play is this?" Silently they point to my feet, where I stand on the giant HAMLET written on the pavement in pink chalk. (To thine own clueless self be true.) Speaking of which, Polonius comes out soon after, and you can tell he's an experienced actor. His voice projects, and he speaks his lines well. Too bad he has to die sooner than everyone else.
packing
I'm starting to associate my old apartment with boxes and hamburgers and papers that multiply every time I look the other way.
sapless
I watch eleven and a half minutes (yes I counted) of yet another T.V. show for kids where the characters don't have distinct personalities - they all do the same things and sound alike when they speak. Their misunderstandings are minor and are resolved almost immediately. The message for kids is that if you and your friends are as similar as possible there's less of a chance that you'll be inconvenienced by disagreements, compromises, and independent thoughts.
siesta
In the shade of the beech tree the mallards are napping.
sitting duck
When the car is stuck in traffic, and the frustrated driver is just spoiling for a fight, there you are, captive in the passenger's seat.
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