Reflection, Renewal, and Red Underwear

December 20, 2012 At the close of this year—at least in the Gregorian calendar— which is celebrated in Europe and in the Americas, I find myself reflecting on what entering a New Year means to people around the world. As I am at the end of my first year living abroad, the differences and similarities […]

Useless Literary Terms Come Alive

May 17 2012 Synedoche: figure of speech wherein part represents whole, e.g. “crown” stands for “king” or “queen”. Objective Correlative: T.S. Eliot’s literary device, akin to metaphor, where an object or thing represents an emotion or feeling. How do I know such obscure things? Rather than following my dad’s advice to pursue a more practical […]

Repetition Plus Expression Equals Satisfaction

May 10 2012 On a week bookended by a beginning guitar class at McCabe’s Guitar Shop and a painting retreat in Encino, I was buffeted by a key challenge of the reinventing Boomer. The guitar classes were held in a room that does triple duty as concert hall, classroom, and showroom. All manner of stringed […]