Chivalry and Chaos
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Starving Artist Aesthetic

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The Cat by Melissa Benton Barker

8/27/2017

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​“Anyway,” I said, “a cat’s lifespan is only fifteen years, twenty tops. You’ll be leaving soon.”
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@Gato-Iberico.deviantart.com 
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The Cat is  an interesting short story that follows a protagonist who seems to follow the mundane flow of society, working, and sharing her life with a cat that her late mother has left behind. When she decides that she might like to start dating, she jumps right in. I do not believe it is a story based around love, but one of assertiveness. She wants what she wants, and is not afraid to tell a man it's time for him to leave her space when she wants to be alone. Overall, I found it to be an interesting piece of short fiction, and would recommend it  to anyone who likes cats and assertive women. I also highly recommend checking out the Necessary Fiction website for great literary content. 

​Happy Sunday/Monday,
Cristina
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A Bedtime Story for Adults by Roxane Gay

8/26/2017

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"Once upon a time in a far away place, far away from anything, there lived a man and a woman. His name was Johann and hers was Elise. Johann had white skin and Elise’s was brown. This didn’t matter in the beginning, but over time, it would, first in small ways, tiny little cracks, and then in ways they could no longer ignore..."
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 Roxane Gay's A Bedtime Story for Adults is a wonderful short story about interracial love and the hardships that can arise when racial tensions  are high and families are un-supportive.  It's about the falsehood of fairy tales and  idealizing romance. It's wonderfully sad and utterly honest. I highly recommend  reading it. Roxane Gay is an amazingly skilled writer, whose books discuss so many important issues and topics relevant in our time. I love it.

I hope you will too,
​Cristina
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I tried Mylestone

8/25/2017

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     A few weeks ago I saw a job posting for a writing gig that involved this fairly new website/company named Mylestone. To apply, they ask you to experience the product for yourself, and so, eagerly, I uploaded five or so photos from my Summer in Italy just to see how it would go. It was easy enough. They tell you that it will take about 90 mins or more, depending on internet traffic and other factors, 
for your personal story to be created. They ask if they can text you, so the person writing the story based on your photos can have more to work with , and I said yes. Texting is much more modern than a phone call these days, and so I like that they work this way, it's much more comfortable of an experience overall.  
     A very nice woman name Stephani texted me about thirty minutes later, asking me my name, and a few details about the photos. She asked me about my trip last Summer, and I found her quite easy to  talk to. I even asked he a bit about herself and how she liked her job, and she was kind and honest. Overall, it was a good experience. After we talked for a while she told me that she'd get to work on my story, and we said our farewells.
      About an hour later my story was ready. It was pretty good, and I liked the fact that I could connect my account to Alexa and have it read aloud to me. My main complaint is that she spelled my name wrong, and I can't correct it. They say that you will be able to edit your stories eventually, I just hope I'm able to do it sooner rather than later because I absolutely hate when my name is spelled with an 'H'.
     It's an interesting idea, letting someone write a story about your memories, and I think I would very much like to be a part of it. I recommend trying it at least once.  

​     I've added a button with a link to my story if you're interested. It's called Italian Daze.

Have a lovely Friday,
​Cristina
My Story
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Time Spent Waiting

8/25/2017

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One of my favorite poems from the collection:

The Perks of Being an Author

​​Writing is a terrible profession,
I think I’ll quit and crawl out of my hole,
I’ll go be something easier,
Like a factory worker,
Or a garbage collector,
Or a rocket scientist,
Or a fighter,
Or even a beggar in the streets of Karachi,
Anything that doesn’t involve scribbling down bits of imagination and memory in exchange for,
Six bucks a month,
And a sad groupie.
Find the Book
       Time Spend Waiting is a collection of poetry by a dear friend of mine, Abu Rafique. There are sixty-four poems in all, with no central theme, but many have to do with love, loss, anger, sadness, and happiness. Rafique has self-published five books, all collections of either poetry or short stories of fiction. He does everything from designing his own covers to selecting how his writing is printed, seemingly to want to disorientated the reader by shifting each poem differently, in no consistent pattern. He is an amazing young writer with a long career ahead of him, and this collection of poetry is just the beginning. 
      I've added a link to Amazon where this book can be purchased. I hope you will consider supporting a young artist  with a bright future.

Happy Friday,
Cristina
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The Poisoning by Alexander Chee

8/24/2017

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Image @Tinhouse.com
"Gin to me is home now. I associate it more with love than loneliness."
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     What seems to be an essay that focuses on the various types of Gin, whether or not Vodka martinis are to be considered real martinis compared to the those made with Gin, and using alcohol as an escape, is actually, in my opinion, a declaration of love. Chee  appears to underlie an appreciation and  interest in a man he once worked with, William. "The anatomy of a bad decision made while drinking is difficult to map if the memory is lost to the drinking. This thing between William and me was not a simple matter. " Their love was never acted upon, and so he drowns his sorrows and memories with Gin martinis, but Gin also becomes a tool for new experiences. William, in the end, is not the entire focus, but merely an element relating to Chee's relationship with Gin. 
     
I find it to be quite an interesting essay filled with honesty and heartbreak, and recommend it to anyone intrigued by the various means one uses to forgot or quell an aching heart, or interested in booze travel. I've added a link to the website of Tin House, where the complete essay can be found.

​Bottoms up,
Cristina
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How to Become a Writer by Lorrie Moore

8/23/2017

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"Scowl fiercely. Tell them you're a walking blade."
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      "How to Become a Writer," taken from Lorrie Moore's debut short story collection Self-Help  (1985), is an enjoyable short read that uses the 'How To/Self Help' model in order to  discuss its topic. It's ironic and witty, hilarious and honest, and although it's very specific to one experience, it is, at the same time,  extremely  relatable.
      I highly recommend  reading this piece, and the entire collection if you enjoy her writing as I do, especially if you are an aspiring writer.  I've added the link to a PDF version of  the chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

 Let it inspire you,
Cristina
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A Girl I Knew

8/22/2017

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"At the end of my freshman year of college, back in 1936, I flunked five out of five subjects..."
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I find it quite surprising that I've never read this short story by J.D. Salinger until now. A dear friend told me he was in the middle of reading it again as we chatted, he's  a Salinger enthusiast, and so, realizing that I had never read it, I decided to look it up. You can find anything online these days, even full works by popular writers. I've added a click through button that will lead to a full version of the short story if anyone would like to read it, for the first time or  once again. Although I had not read it yet, I did recognize this particular line: "She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together." I'm not sure where I'd have read it before, but it  intrigues me. Just thought I'd share.    

 Warmly,
​
Cristina
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August Update

8/21/2017

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       It's August 21st. I turned 22 three days ago. It's strange that adulthood seems to be an unnoticeable, intangible  concept. My face looks the same, I feel the same. How do I know that I've aged?  I suppose I'll be able to tell a few years from now. 
    I've added  a poetry page to my website today. It's filled with  old and new poetry, mostly sad and terrible writing, but I figured it would be good to post an example of how one grows over time. One day writing lame depressing poetry, then eventually writing actually decent works. Anyway, It seemed like an interesting way to share how I have sometimes expressed my feelings.
      Also, I'm thinking of reading a short piece of fiction/non-fiction/poetry everyday for the rest of the year. If you have any recommendations, please suggest a work in the comments! It may not work out, but at least I will attempt  to  use my mind  more and more now that school is over. Everyone tells you that life will be different and that the transition is difficult, but you never believe them until you actually experience it.  Sigh. 

 Happy August,
​Cristina

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    Cristina R.

    Artist, Writer, Reader, Gamer, Plant Enthusiast.

    "She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."  -Salinger

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