First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

Sweet Addiction

The famous “crack” pie, developed by pastry chef Christina Tosi, got its name, because after one bite you’re hooked. I say, bring it on. If you can’t get to Momofuku in NYC, recipe follows.      Continue reading »

For Those Days When You Feel Invisible

Image: Wallflower by Beth Hoeckel (collage made with found paper)

The Magic Button

The thing is
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it,
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it…
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you again.

Sunday by Ellen Bass

Image: Make Everything OK button

They Had Me At Hello

Scattered through the debris of dating, I have two stories of falling in love with men before I’d actually met them. And it’s no coincidence they’re both writers. In his particular way, each was alluringly sensitive and revealing on the page, and yet emotionally inept in person. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Image via Wasted Rita

Jumpstarting the Weekend

Sometimes reading about it is the best you can do. From Granta Magazine #110, Spring 2010.

Our Enduring Instinct for Having Fun

Hoops are thousands of years old, with artifacts dating them back to ancient Egypt and Greece. Originally made out of grapevines and stiff grasses, it was in the 1950’s that they were introduced for $1.58 in plastic. When was the last time you took one for a spin?

Image: Cristóbal Schmal

Mr. Wrong

Image: from the series Mr. Wrong by Chow Hom Lam

Cy Twombly, RIP

Proteus by the great American artist, Cy Twombly, who died today at 83. Times obit here.

Sparkler

Lapis cuff bracelet, $10,000 by James de Givenchy

What Makes a House a Home

At Trader Joe’s today, I bought a jar of roasted red peppers and a can of albacore packed in olive oil, to stick in my kitchen cabinet. I’m not planning on using these any time soon. But knowing they’re near by, is one small way to make myself feel safe. That, and the 20 jumbo rolls of toilet paper I’ve stowed away for the apocalypse

Image: Kitchen Cabinet, 2011, by Jessica Rohrer, from her show at P.P.O.W through July 23.