A favorites list by One Story Blog:
Top Ten List:
“For Esmé – with Love and Squalor” by JD Salinger
“Silver Water” by Amy Bloom
“The Dead” by James Joyce
“Brownies” by ZZ Packer
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“White Angel” by Michael Cunningham
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
“Emergency” by Denis Johnson
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
“Dance in America” by Lorrie Moore
Long List:
“What You Pawn, I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie
“The School” by Donald Barthelme
“The Dolt” by Donald Barthelme
“I Bought a Little City” by Donald Barthelme
“The Man Who Knew Belle Starr” by Richard Bausch
“Love is Not a Pie” by Amy Bloom
“Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” by Robert Olen Butler
“Why Don’t You Dance?” by Raymond Carver
“Goodbye, My Brother” by John Cheever
“The Swimmer” by John Cheever
“Mother’s Reaction to my Travel Plans” by Lydia Davis
“Aguantando” by Junot Diaz
“When We Were Nearly Young” by Mavis Gallant
“Do Not Disturb” by AM Homes
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
“Work” by Denis Johnson
“The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
“Sexy” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Dungeon Master” by Sam Lipsyte
“Travis B” by Maile Meloy
“People Like That Are the Only People Here” by Lorrie Moore
“Friend of my Youth” by Alice Munro
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by JD Salinger
“Sea Oak” by George Saunders
“Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Prairie daydreams
Am currently reading Middlemarch; being transported back into 19th century Provencal England requires just the right imaginative milieu. Here's what I'm daydreaming about: 
Thursday, June 23, 2011
pita pizza pizzazz
base of pita bread. fresh thyme. olive oil. marinara sauce. mexican 4-cheese. potato. spinach. muenster cheese. smoked gouda cheese. more thyme. more marinara. bake 10 minutes. voila!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Columbia Teacher's College Statement of Purpose
Student-teaching my last semester under the Barnard Education Program has thrown into crisis my ideas of what a high school education is or should be. Teaching 9th grade Writing and 12th grade Government at the Bronx school of Law & Finance, I experienced a radically different school community and culture from what I was used to growing up under a suburban Texas school system. Given full-reign for my own curriculum planning, I was faced with a set of ideological, political, social, and cultural challenges that centered around deep reflection of what the purpose of education should be, what type of knowledge is needed for my students, how curriculum can be tailored to students’ academic as well as cultural backgrounds, and ultimately, what my responsibilities as an educator entail. These questions remain difficult and open-ended to me, questions I’d like to, need to, explore further for myself professionally as a teacher, and personally, as a human being.
Growing up in an upper middle-class suburb of a predominately White and Asian community, I attended one of the top public schools in the district. My high school English curriculum centered around reading canonical texts, all British and American classics that can be humorously categorized as Dead White Male literature. The pre-AP and AP English classes I was in prepared me well to critically analyze, think, and write. Middle school gave me quality and quantity of reading and vocabulary that prepared me for high school; high school gave me a working cultural knowledge of English literature, sophistication of syntax, and expository writing that further pushed my critical thinking abilities. Both have prepared me well for college reading and writing. Both were crucial to my academic success.
Fast-forward to this semester: as I’m choosing texts for my 9th grade writing class, I find that the canon of texts I’ve been schooled in draws blank stares from the students. Not only is the reading level difficult (and often, style antiquated), but also, to them, the literature is personally irrelevant and distant from their lives. I began to question what the purpose of a high school English education is. On a practical level, it’s for literacy and college preparation; but on a personal, cultural level, it’s a whole different story. Practical literacy can be achieved with many types of readings; the curricular texts chosen are for a more subtle purpose: cultural literacy and cultural capital.
Whose culture is it anyway? Having my predominantly Spanish-speaking, working class students be so disconnected with mainstream American culture, and even more from academia, has challenged me to find texts and lessons that can motivate and move them, and what works are stories closer to their own lives. I began to teach poetry and essays written by award-winning student writers who come from rough neighborhoods like theirs. I myself, for the first time, began to explore extensively Latino and African-American literature, texts I’ve rarely come across in high school and college. Students responded enthusiastically to Junot Diaz and Sapphire; we listened to and read the lyrics of Nina Simone and Tupac. I found points and themes of interest (hip-hop, violence, racial issues, gender, machismo) that can be used as doorways into teaching literary expression, writing styles, and narrative structure. I prioritized relevancy first, because these are students who are suspicious and cautious of the power of the white culture industry. I wanted them to realize that their own culture is important and valued, but at the same time, I want them to be able to see the problems of their own culture. Likewise, I wanted them to see the accomplishments of ‘white’ America, but also know its limitations.
My philosophy on an English, History, and Liberal Arts education is a fusion of my own schooling background and my recent experiences as a student-teacher. I found that each socio-economic and racial community, in general, sticks to itself in terms of culture, texts, histories, and stories emphasized. To a certain extent, this fosters cultural pride, confidence, and in-group cohesion. However, this type of narrowing of curriculum also holds the consequences of myopia, and to a certain degree, Essentializing and Otherizing. The upper-middle class community I grew up with lived in a cultural bubble not unlike the working class minority community my current students are a part of. The texts chosen and the themes explored go more into depth about the culture the students live in, but leave out the lives and cultures of others outside of the community bubble. Books like The Catcher In The Rye resonate well with my own high school, but prove hard to relate to (and have been made fun of by) students I teach. I currently struggle with the goal of having different communities learn about each other for a greater understanding and tolerance, but how to reach that understanding when students come from such different worlds?
These are the types of questions I’d like to explore through the Philosophy and Education program. Education should ideally lead to a greater, deeper understanding of the world and its people, the self and others, and finally be the catalyst for social change. I’ve begun my theoretical exploration of Education through the Barnard Education Program, one geared towards social justice, mutli-culturalism and constructivist teaching. Social justice to me means teaching how to critically and reflectively think about power dynamics, inequities, and more importantly, how to change such systemic failings. A multi-cultural education not only means introducing minority texts into the classroom, but also teaching the Canon through a critical and historical lens. Finally, educating through a constructivist lens is to create a democratic classroom in which teachers can learn from students as well; it’s a classroom in which students actively take steps in pursuing their own knowledge to generate deeper, more thoughtful ways of learning rather than regurgitation.
I am deeply interested in the interdisciplinary because fields in the Liberal Arts all connect to each other in fundamental ways of insight. Majoring in English and History and minoring in Psychology and Education, I’ve come to draw connections between themes I otherwise wouldn’t have seen in just one field (For example, all cultures Otherize in order to create in-group cohesion but to the detriment of others. Can Otherizing ever be stopped or is this natural process needed for progress?) The father of all liberal arts branches is Philosophy, a discipline that holds the origins of all the subsequent branches that have stemmed out under its wings. Although I do not have extensive experience in the academic discipline itself, studying under the Columbia Core program (under the course Contemporary Civilizations) has exposed me to the important texts of philosophical thought. My interest in this program stems from both a strong interest in furthering my own philosophical education as well as exploring historical and contemporary views on Education from a Liberal Arts trajectory. I want to learn and reflect on the theoretical grounds for Education so I can begin to ground my own career as an educator with a more coherent personal and political philosophy. This program will provide me with the theoretical backbone to further my career as a reflective and responsible educator.
Growing up in an upper middle-class suburb of a predominately White and Asian community, I attended one of the top public schools in the district. My high school English curriculum centered around reading canonical texts, all British and American classics that can be humorously categorized as Dead White Male literature. The pre-AP and AP English classes I was in prepared me well to critically analyze, think, and write. Middle school gave me quality and quantity of reading and vocabulary that prepared me for high school; high school gave me a working cultural knowledge of English literature, sophistication of syntax, and expository writing that further pushed my critical thinking abilities. Both have prepared me well for college reading and writing. Both were crucial to my academic success.
Fast-forward to this semester: as I’m choosing texts for my 9th grade writing class, I find that the canon of texts I’ve been schooled in draws blank stares from the students. Not only is the reading level difficult (and often, style antiquated), but also, to them, the literature is personally irrelevant and distant from their lives. I began to question what the purpose of a high school English education is. On a practical level, it’s for literacy and college preparation; but on a personal, cultural level, it’s a whole different story. Practical literacy can be achieved with many types of readings; the curricular texts chosen are for a more subtle purpose: cultural literacy and cultural capital.
Whose culture is it anyway? Having my predominantly Spanish-speaking, working class students be so disconnected with mainstream American culture, and even more from academia, has challenged me to find texts and lessons that can motivate and move them, and what works are stories closer to their own lives. I began to teach poetry and essays written by award-winning student writers who come from rough neighborhoods like theirs. I myself, for the first time, began to explore extensively Latino and African-American literature, texts I’ve rarely come across in high school and college. Students responded enthusiastically to Junot Diaz and Sapphire; we listened to and read the lyrics of Nina Simone and Tupac. I found points and themes of interest (hip-hop, violence, racial issues, gender, machismo) that can be used as doorways into teaching literary expression, writing styles, and narrative structure. I prioritized relevancy first, because these are students who are suspicious and cautious of the power of the white culture industry. I wanted them to realize that their own culture is important and valued, but at the same time, I want them to be able to see the problems of their own culture. Likewise, I wanted them to see the accomplishments of ‘white’ America, but also know its limitations.
My philosophy on an English, History, and Liberal Arts education is a fusion of my own schooling background and my recent experiences as a student-teacher. I found that each socio-economic and racial community, in general, sticks to itself in terms of culture, texts, histories, and stories emphasized. To a certain extent, this fosters cultural pride, confidence, and in-group cohesion. However, this type of narrowing of curriculum also holds the consequences of myopia, and to a certain degree, Essentializing and Otherizing. The upper-middle class community I grew up with lived in a cultural bubble not unlike the working class minority community my current students are a part of. The texts chosen and the themes explored go more into depth about the culture the students live in, but leave out the lives and cultures of others outside of the community bubble. Books like The Catcher In The Rye resonate well with my own high school, but prove hard to relate to (and have been made fun of by) students I teach. I currently struggle with the goal of having different communities learn about each other for a greater understanding and tolerance, but how to reach that understanding when students come from such different worlds?
These are the types of questions I’d like to explore through the Philosophy and Education program. Education should ideally lead to a greater, deeper understanding of the world and its people, the self and others, and finally be the catalyst for social change. I’ve begun my theoretical exploration of Education through the Barnard Education Program, one geared towards social justice, mutli-culturalism and constructivist teaching. Social justice to me means teaching how to critically and reflectively think about power dynamics, inequities, and more importantly, how to change such systemic failings. A multi-cultural education not only means introducing minority texts into the classroom, but also teaching the Canon through a critical and historical lens. Finally, educating through a constructivist lens is to create a democratic classroom in which teachers can learn from students as well; it’s a classroom in which students actively take steps in pursuing their own knowledge to generate deeper, more thoughtful ways of learning rather than regurgitation.
I am deeply interested in the interdisciplinary because fields in the Liberal Arts all connect to each other in fundamental ways of insight. Majoring in English and History and minoring in Psychology and Education, I’ve come to draw connections between themes I otherwise wouldn’t have seen in just one field (For example, all cultures Otherize in order to create in-group cohesion but to the detriment of others. Can Otherizing ever be stopped or is this natural process needed for progress?) The father of all liberal arts branches is Philosophy, a discipline that holds the origins of all the subsequent branches that have stemmed out under its wings. Although I do not have extensive experience in the academic discipline itself, studying under the Columbia Core program (under the course Contemporary Civilizations) has exposed me to the important texts of philosophical thought. My interest in this program stems from both a strong interest in furthering my own philosophical education as well as exploring historical and contemporary views on Education from a Liberal Arts trajectory. I want to learn and reflect on the theoretical grounds for Education so I can begin to ground my own career as an educator with a more coherent personal and political philosophy. This program will provide me with the theoretical backbone to further my career as a reflective and responsible educator.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
new apartment ideas
Am now thinking of how to decorate the apartment....what's the best way to create a space for daydreams?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
desire works
"wife is not as good as concubine, concubine is not as good as prostitute, prostitute is not as good as secret affair, secret affair is not as good as the affair you want but can't get" (妻不如妾, 妾不如妓, 妓不如偷, 偷不如偷不著).
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Alice-Tom Waits
Such chilling images...
Alice
It's dreamy weather we're on
You waved your crooked wand
Along an icy pond with a frozen moon
A murder of silhouette crows I saw
And the tears on my face
And the skates on the pond
They spell Alice
I disappear in your name
But you must wait for me
Somewhere across the sea
There's a wreck of a ship
Your hair is like meadow grass on the tide
And the raindrops on my window
And the ice in my drink
Baby all I can think of is Alice
Arithmetic arithmetock
Turn the hands back on the clock
How does the ocean rock the boat?
How did the razor find my throat?
The only strings that hold me here
Are tangled up around the pier
And so a secret kiss
Brings madness with the bliss
And I will think of this
When I'm dead in my grave
Set me adrift and I'm lost over there
And I must be insane
To go skating on your name
And by tracing it twice
I fell through the ice
Of Alice
And so a secret kiss
Brings madness with the bliss
And I will think of this
When I'm dead in my grave
Set me adrift and I'm lost over there
And I must be insane
To go skating on your name
And by tracing it twice
I fell through the ice
Of Alice
There's only Alice
Alice
It's dreamy weather we're on
You waved your crooked wand
Along an icy pond with a frozen moon
A murder of silhouette crows I saw
And the tears on my face
And the skates on the pond
They spell Alice
I disappear in your name
But you must wait for me
Somewhere across the sea
There's a wreck of a ship
Your hair is like meadow grass on the tide
And the raindrops on my window
And the ice in my drink
Baby all I can think of is Alice
Arithmetic arithmetock
Turn the hands back on the clock
How does the ocean rock the boat?
How did the razor find my throat?
The only strings that hold me here
Are tangled up around the pier
And so a secret kiss
Brings madness with the bliss
And I will think of this
When I'm dead in my grave
Set me adrift and I'm lost over there
And I must be insane
To go skating on your name
And by tracing it twice
I fell through the ice
Of Alice
And so a secret kiss
Brings madness with the bliss
And I will think of this
When I'm dead in my grave
Set me adrift and I'm lost over there
And I must be insane
To go skating on your name
And by tracing it twice
I fell through the ice
Of Alice
There's only Alice
Sunday, January 30, 2011
snow days
It's been snow-storming the past couple of days. This means: no school, making marshmallows'mores in my rice cooker and enjoying the beauty of tea with my new clear bodum teacup. 
habitus
My Footbinding history professor came to class with a sack full of shoes. We each get to take home (for rent) an authentic fin de siecle shoe that has possibly been worn more than a hundred years ago!! Being the leading scholar on footbinding, she has come to collect an array of little shoes differing in style and pattern. Our homework is to 'live' with the shoe for a semester, and let it be a part of our lives. I took some pictures just so you can get a sense of the size of things..
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Pamuk, on writing...
"So yes, the real hunger here is not for literature, but for a room where I can be alone and dream. If I can do this, I can invent beautiful dreams about those same crowded places, those family gatherings, school reunions, festival meals and all the people who attend them. I enrich the crowded holiday meals with invented details and make the people themselves even more amusing. In dreams, of course, everything and everyone is interesting, captivating and real. I make the new world from the stuff of the known world. Here we come to the heart of the matter. To write well, I must first be bored to distraction; to be bored to distraction, I must enter into life. It is when I am bombarded with noise, sitting in an office full of ringing phones, surrounded by friends and loved ones on a sunny seashore or at a rainy funeral - in other words, at the very moment when I begin to sense the heart of the scene unfolding around me - that I will suddenly feel as if I'm no longer really there, but watching from the sidelines. I'll begin to daydream. If I'm feeling pessimistic, I can think about how bored I am. Either way, there will be a voice inside me, urging me to "go back to the room and sit down at the table". I have no idea what most people do in such circumstances, but it is this that turns people like me into writers. My guess is that it leads not to poetry but to prose and fiction. This sheds a bit more light on the properties of the medicine I must be sure to take every day. We can see now that its ingredients are boredom, real life and the life of the imagination." -Orhan Pamuk, "The Implied Author"
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
savory muffins!
Muffins for dinner: brocolli, jack cheese, oats. There are infinite possibilities! Next to try: acorn squash and cheddar.
Friday, January 21, 2011
raw butternut salad
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Age of Innocence
In the rotation of crops there was a recognized season for wild oats; but they were not sown more than once. -Edith Wharton
Friday, January 14, 2011
more of mom's oldies
Woman in Love
Carry on till tomorrow
Rhythm of the rain
and Take my breath away: I hate Jessica's voice and cover, but LOVE the Southwest desert beauty background.
Carry on till tomorrow
Rhythm of the rain
and Take my breath away: I hate Jessica's voice and cover, but LOVE the Southwest desert beauty background.
More Bruni!
I wanted to change this blog's background and came across more breathtaking Bruni&room decor pics! 
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