Make me care

Have you seen the Ted talk by Andrew Stanton on what makes a good story? Stanton is the creator of Toy Story and WALL-E. He does drop an F-bomb in the talk, right off bat, but it'll make you laugh.

His basic premise about how to tell a story is to "make me care." We watch, we read, we stay and listen because we care. And we care because there's something there that intriguing, or compelling, or touching. We want to know what happens next."Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty."

Now that's a recipe for sucess if I ever heard one.

More later,

Tammar

A magical way to see yourself

This 14 year old kid's photos are simply magical. The coolest part about them is that they are self portraits! What an amazing way to re-imagine yourself. Each one of these feel like a glimpse into a hidden little world or the start of a novel, don't you think?

See more of them here.

More later,

Tammar

Junot and Me

With whom are you hanging out with, so casually discussing art, literature and meaning of life, you ask? Why, none other than Junot Diaz. Do I look a bit star struck? Naw, not me. He gave an amazing talk last week and was kind enough to hang out afterwards with all of us admirers, staying relaxed and down to earth with everyone.

His talk was full of salty language that he used like a scalple to cut through people's expectations and shyness.

"I won't shame you," he promised a woman as he asked her to stand up in front of everyone (there were maybe 200 people in the room.) She hesitated. "I won't shame you." And he didn't. She had asked him what a couple of Spanish words from his book meant. She couldn't find the definition anywhere. Once she stood up, he said, "could the someone in the audience who knows what those words mean find this woman after my talk and tell her?" It was such a charming way to handle an awkward situation (and one imagines that the words were totally x rated since he had no problem dropping about a hundred f-bombs in an hour.)

It was a great evening and I'm reading his Pulitzer prize winning novel The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao. And it's pretty wow, too.

More later,

Tammar

Survey says part III.

MY NAME: MIRIAM ABBOT-LEVY

What are you listening to right now?  The Story by Brandi Carlile

What time did you get up this morning? 7 am

What are you reading? The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff. We might start running book reviews in the paper. I’m pushing Frank to say yes.
         
What was the last movie you saw?  I can’t remember, isn’t that horrible? Probably something lame with Mo on TV.

What did you eat for breakfast?  Oatmeal with honey and tea.

 
What food do you dislike? Fried food. Tastes great but…you know.

What characteristic do you despise? Meanness.

Favorite item of clothing?  Emmett’s leather jacket.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  Japan

What did you want to be when you were little?  A cooking teacher

How are you today?  I’m fine, thanks.

The first person you spoke to on the phone today:  My mom. She called to ask about Mo.

Summer or winter? Spring Hugs or kisses?  Hugs Chocolate or Vanilla?  Vanilla Coffee or tea?  Tea.

When was the last time you cried? Let’s just say someone’s back in my life that I didn’t expect to see again. He’d make anyone cry.

What did you do last night?  Nothing exciting. It’s a work night, so I went to bed early.

What are you afraid of?  Failing the people I love.

Survey says part II.

Arden was overseas and had spotty internet access. I finally pinned her down when she landed back in the States again. Here are her survey answers.

MY NAME:  ARDEN VOGEL

What time did you get up this morning? 5:27 am, but I think that was yesterday? I'm kind of thrown with jet lag. I haven't really slept in 29 hours.

What are you listening to? New Soul by Yael Naim. She sings in English, French and Hebrew, it's a pretty awesom mix.

Diamonds or pearls?  Pearls, I guess.

What are you reading now?  The Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. Katie started me on the first book. It’s like crack, you read one and you’re addicted.
         
What was the last movie you saw?  The Holiday. Now I’m dying to do a house exchange.

What did you eat for breakfast? Granola, fruit and yogurt.  

 
What food do you dislike? Fishy fish. Anything over-priced.

What characteristic do you despise? Pettiness

Favorite item of clothing? A bright red dress I bought in Italy.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  No brainer, Italy. 

What did you want to be when you were little? A nurse, like my mom.

How are you today? Very excited. Peter’s plane in landing in five hours. We’re spending the weekend together.

The first person you spoke to on the phone today:  My mom. With the time difference between here and Germany, mornings are a great time to catch up.

Summer or winter?  Summer Hugs or kisses?  Hugs Chocolate or Vanilla?  I don’t know, I like them both. Coffee or tea?  Coffee in the morning, tea at night.

When was the last time you cried? The Holiday. Happy endings always make me cry.  What are you afriad of? Car accidents