During my vacation, just days ago, I sat happily in front of my Mac Air, a machine without moving parts so none can break, when the screen went black and the computer spoke to me no more, nor did it listen or react to touch. The worst that can happen is that all is wiped … Continue reading
A while ago I found the book by John Berger again in my little library, “Ways of Seeing.” Written in 1972, it is a series of essays containing a refreshing demystification of the visual arts, particularly oil painting, established in our Western canon. He has helped me understand the huge step that was taken collectively … Continue reading
This is a true story, as everything, by the way, that has been written here. We have a scale in the bathroom that shows weight in a fancy, electronic way. We’ve had it for four years, and now it ran out of battery power. A quick look with the skew driver revealed a dime-sized battery. … Continue reading
The mutual adaptation of tree and lantern, the way they respect each other’s space, is quite remarkable. It teaches us a lesson of civility, right here in Central Park.
Highland Park, Rochester: there are stunning images of loneliness, but also of self-containment, in early spring. This one reminds me of the picture of the Little Prince standing on his little planet, on the book cover of the story by Saint Exupery. The roots of three large trees are about to split the planet apart. … Continue reading
What makes me wonder if I still belong in this century are two articles, just a couple of days apart, one about the 9-month old baby in Pakistan accused of manslaughter (with a picture showing him being fingerprinted by the police), and the other one the plan, by NASA, to redirect an asteroid (by means … Continue reading
Two magnificent phoenixes (if this is the correct plural), each 100 feet long and made from scrap material, one male and the other female, is on exhibit at St. John’s until next January. The sight of the two birds is overwhelming. How is this vision and its realization humanly possible? We were close to tears … Continue reading
Reflections increase in frequency and intensity as we get older. The life we have lived appears as a discontinuous fabric, which we are trying to mend with acts of memory. To me the beautiful phrase “Lost and found times” alludes to this process of creation or re-creation of a person from many pieces. LOST AND … Continue reading
. Walking along the river I saw this man on a bicycle, face entirely covered by bronze paint under the bicycle helmet. It took me a few seconds to realize, Yes, this must be one of those Statue of Liberty people whom we see on 59th Street near Central Park, and he is on his … Continue reading
I discovered Mimesis, by Erich Auerbach, which is THE authoritative examination of the literature of the Western world. Its subtitle is “The Representation of reality in Western literature,” it was first published in 1953, and it runs over 550 pages of the most wonderful interesting prose. A passage of a text he wishes to analyze … Continue reading
One-upmanship among birds — the one on the right holds its beak a tiny bit higher, and carries a leaf. But these conclusions are anthropomorphic; we will never know what is going on in their little brains. For all we know they might just regard the leave as a blemish, not a medal of honor. … Continue reading
My thoughts are going back to my first visits in Greece. I started writing a new novel that has, in its first chapter, the protagonist sitting in a tiny 3rd floor room in Ierapetra, Crete, overlooking the sea, toward Africa. His hands are in pain from blisters that have opened up. He is not fit … Continue reading
Last night, at New Year’s Eve, we were with friends in St. John’s Cathedral at the annual Concert for Peace. It was a beautiful solemn night, with concerts, songs, and a candle-lighting ceremony. But this one hymn, whose text is reprinted below, struck me as remarkable. It is identified on the Program as a Traditional … Continue reading
Tabula Rasa is the state of total erasure (“erasure” comes from lat. “rasa”), enabling a restart, often of memory, but it might also apply to a project, a program. I often find myself in the Tabula Rasa state, experiencing emptiness, experiencing the absence of an object in my inner vision, absence of a driving force … Continue reading
These are odd categories, and what I mean to refer to is fiction that expands into a space which is defined by suburban versus urban life. John Cheever’s short stories are examples of what I call suburban fiction. The stories epitomize suburban alienation — the result of the tension between, on the one hand, the … Continue reading
I bought a quadruplet of little socks for Sophie the dog, to protect her feet from the salt grains which easily invade the spaces between her toes. I realized afterwards that I chose this particular set on impulse, without thinking much. These little socks are made of fabric, with plastic decorations that made the covered … Continue reading
My dog Sophie, in her 16th year, has developed a fear of heights. The depth of the fall she fears is a staggering 11 floors, not counting the basement and sub-basement below it. The moment of fear occurs every time when she steps from the hallway floor into the elevator, and has to cross a … Continue reading
The 41st weekly meeting of the Estonian Nobel Committee for Flash Fiction convened on November 23rd at 9:12 a.m. It resulted in the election of the new chairman, Lembit Valk. The meeting was adjourned at 9:16 a.m.
“In recent months, the extent of mass surveillance has become common knowledge. With a few clicks of the mouse the state can access your mobile device, your e-mail, your social networking and Internet searches. It can follow your political leanings and activities and, in partnership with Internet corporations, it collects and stores your data, and … Continue reading
“The Monkweed — A Seasonal Prediction,” which I wrote more than 30 years ago when I was ill in bed with the flu, is still my most ambitious piece of fiction, though it contains only 9 words, not counting the 20 footnotes. It was initially published in print by The Agent, a British small Zine, … Continue reading
