* Helen Benedict: Portraits in Print (Columbia University Press, 1991)
* Joan Didion: Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Washington Square Press, 1991) and The White Album (Simon & Schuster, 1979)
* Oriana Fallaci: Interview with History (Houghton Mifflin, 1977)
* Frances Fitzgerald: Cities on a Hill (Simon & Schuster, 1986)
* Samuel Freedman: Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church (HarperCollins, 1994)
* Pete Hamill: Piecework (Little Brown, 1996)
* LynNell Hancock: Hands to Work: The Stories of Three Families Racing the Welfare Clock (William Morrow, 2002)
* Randolph T. Holhut: The George Seldes Reader (Barricade Books, 1994)
* J. Anthony Lukas: Common Ground (Knopf, 1985)
* William Lutz: The New Doublespeak (Harper Collins, 1996)
* John McPhee: The John McPhee Reader (Vintage, 1976, originally published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
* Jessica Mitford: Poison Penmanship (Knopf, 1979)
* Sylvia Nasar: A Beautiful Mind (Touchstone, 2001)
* Bruce Porter: Blow (St. Martin's Press, 1994)
* Michael Shapiro: Solomon's Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away (Westview Press, 2002)
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Still Standing
Oh listen to me now, I'm gonna say it loud
So you won't be confused by what we talking bout
I've been through the storm,had dirt on my name
I'm still holding on,champion of the game,
They say
Whatever don't kill you make you stronger,
Well I must be the world's strongest woman.
See I done a whole lot of growing
Everything you say i'm already knowing
cause I,
I been up against the ropes,
Everything you going through
I've been there before,
Seen em all come and seen em all go.
You can bet your last that my head wont hit the floor
Never!
I'm still standing,standing standing.
i'm still standing ,standing, standing standing.
I had a lover take his own infront of me,
I asked God why is this happening to me?
But i didnt fold,i held my own,
And now i'm deep in love with who i belong.
This is my life
They say with age comes wisdom
And a white flag i can't give em,
Tryin' to tell you how it's supposed to be
See this is more than just a song to me.
Cause I,
I Been up against the ropes,
Everything you going through
I've been there before,
Seen em all come and seen em all go.
You can bet your last that my head wont hit the floor
Never!
I'm still standing,standing standing.
i'm still standing ,standing, standing standing.
So you won't be confused by what we talking bout
I've been through the storm,had dirt on my name
I'm still holding on,champion of the game,
They say
Whatever don't kill you make you stronger,
Well I must be the world's strongest woman.
See I done a whole lot of growing
Everything you say i'm already knowing
cause I,
I been up against the ropes,
Everything you going through
I've been there before,
Seen em all come and seen em all go.
You can bet your last that my head wont hit the floor
Never!
I'm still standing,standing standing.
i'm still standing ,standing, standing standing.
I had a lover take his own infront of me,
I asked God why is this happening to me?
But i didnt fold,i held my own,
And now i'm deep in love with who i belong.
This is my life
They say with age comes wisdom
And a white flag i can't give em,
Tryin' to tell you how it's supposed to be
See this is more than just a song to me.
Cause I,
I Been up against the ropes,
Everything you going through
I've been there before,
Seen em all come and seen em all go.
You can bet your last that my head wont hit the floor
Never!
I'm still standing,standing standing.
i'm still standing ,standing, standing standing.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
The Past and My Future.
Whenever i write, not only on my blog but also in my diary and journal(yes i do have two),its like i escape to this world-my own world-where everything is peaceful.
Its my escape from the world. My family. My friends. Just everything and everyone really. Its almost like my safe haven.
Its the one thing i know no one can take away from me.
Not my family.
Not my friends.
Not new aquaintances.
No one.
A lot has been taken away from me in my life. Maybe its the reason why i've become so attached to writing. Because its not human;a physical object. Its not going to leave me. And it will never hurt me. Or make me cry.
I've become so tired of crying only to get hurt again.
And the thing is not many people understand that. Actually no one does. Not my best friend, who by the way, knows me better than i know myself. Not my family.
Again no one.
Another thing no one can take away from me is my dreams. Many have criticized. Especially those who are meant to be the closest to me.
I can take criticism but what i can't and will not take is people looking down on my dreams and saying i wont make it.
I'm extremely thankful for those who have encouraged me and taught me some things i needed to know. More than they'll ever know.
Its lethal holding in emotions. Especially when you're sad. Half of the time thats what i do.
Sad, Angry, Disappointed. Name it. Any unhappy emotion i have experienced, i always bury it. I never get rid of it, just bury it.
Deep down in my heart.
And then i convince myself that its all better and move on with life.
The consequence of this is that these emotions have a way of surfacing after a while.
And everything becomes messed up again. Again this isn't seen by anyone. I hide it well.So who understands?
Again no one.
I recently decided i want to go to Columbia University. Its something that was a huge surprise on myself. Its kinda weird because I had no intention of ever going to the States.But now its all i can think about.
Its in New York, a city i have always wanted to visit and now i may have the chance to study there.And the best part is that i wouldn't be alone, my best friend is determined to go to one of the Ivy League schools. And Columbia University is his second choice. I'm excited about it but only one person knows.
Only one.
Sometimes i wonder if i'll ever be able to actually forget the past and move on with the future. Actually not sometimes but all the time.
Forget the pain and tears.
Forget even the joy becuase it always had something bad following it.
I think its hard. Much more than people realize. And for someone to judge your situation without even knowing you or by stereotyping is extremely wrong.
I honestly hate such people. Who judge you according to where your from or your race or even religion.
But the hate i have for these type of people, channels me to work harder.
To prove all of them wrong.
And the one thing that satisfies me the most is seeing the look on people's faces when i surprise them.
It's amazing.
But I in the end am the only one enjoying this victory.
Only me.
Quote for the Day.
"The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society"
Its my escape from the world. My family. My friends. Just everything and everyone really. Its almost like my safe haven.
Its the one thing i know no one can take away from me.
Not my family.
Not my friends.
Not new aquaintances.
No one.
A lot has been taken away from me in my life. Maybe its the reason why i've become so attached to writing. Because its not human;a physical object. Its not going to leave me. And it will never hurt me. Or make me cry.
I've become so tired of crying only to get hurt again.
And the thing is not many people understand that. Actually no one does. Not my best friend, who by the way, knows me better than i know myself. Not my family.
Again no one.
Another thing no one can take away from me is my dreams. Many have criticized. Especially those who are meant to be the closest to me.
I can take criticism but what i can't and will not take is people looking down on my dreams and saying i wont make it.
I'm extremely thankful for those who have encouraged me and taught me some things i needed to know. More than they'll ever know.
Its lethal holding in emotions. Especially when you're sad. Half of the time thats what i do.
Sad, Angry, Disappointed. Name it. Any unhappy emotion i have experienced, i always bury it. I never get rid of it, just bury it.
Deep down in my heart.
And then i convince myself that its all better and move on with life.
The consequence of this is that these emotions have a way of surfacing after a while.
And everything becomes messed up again. Again this isn't seen by anyone. I hide it well.So who understands?
Again no one.
I recently decided i want to go to Columbia University. Its something that was a huge surprise on myself. Its kinda weird because I had no intention of ever going to the States.But now its all i can think about.
Its in New York, a city i have always wanted to visit and now i may have the chance to study there.And the best part is that i wouldn't be alone, my best friend is determined to go to one of the Ivy League schools. And Columbia University is his second choice. I'm excited about it but only one person knows.
Only one.
Sometimes i wonder if i'll ever be able to actually forget the past and move on with the future. Actually not sometimes but all the time.
Forget the pain and tears.
Forget even the joy becuase it always had something bad following it.
I think its hard. Much more than people realize. And for someone to judge your situation without even knowing you or by stereotyping is extremely wrong.
I honestly hate such people. Who judge you according to where your from or your race or even religion.
But the hate i have for these type of people, channels me to work harder.
To prove all of them wrong.
And the one thing that satisfies me the most is seeing the look on people's faces when i surprise them.
It's amazing.
But I in the end am the only one enjoying this victory.
Only me.
Quote for the Day.
"The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society"
Monday, 14 December 2009
The Favourites.
"Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything, creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle, and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild. Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on. But if you're like me, you just keep chasing the storm."
"You know those people who can predict when change is coming in their life? I'm not one of them. Change has a way of just walking up and punching me in the face."
"I'd be the best rich person, seriously. I'd be the perfect combination of frivolous and sensible. Money is so wasted on the wealthy."
"You see I think it's like 90% of life, just knowing the difference."
"Try to be forgiving. It’s the only way. Anger will tear you down. It'll make you less of a person that you want to be. And it will tear apart your soul. The Bible teaches us that he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit can capture a city. He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly."
"I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich."
"So when the bride comes in and she makes her giant, grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. 'Cause even though I think he's an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery...I don't know, he always looks really, really happy."
"Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world and in here is the dream."
"What the schnitzel?"
"Normally I´m opposed to the slaughter of animals, but in John Tuckers case I´ll make an exception."
"When you can live forever, what do you live for?"
"You are my only reason to stay alive. If that's what I am"
These are all quotes from my favourite shows and movies.
I dont think anyone can guess which shows or movies they are from but guess if you can!!!!
"You know those people who can predict when change is coming in their life? I'm not one of them. Change has a way of just walking up and punching me in the face."
"I'd be the best rich person, seriously. I'd be the perfect combination of frivolous and sensible. Money is so wasted on the wealthy."
"You see I think it's like 90% of life, just knowing the difference."
"Try to be forgiving. It’s the only way. Anger will tear you down. It'll make you less of a person that you want to be. And it will tear apart your soul. The Bible teaches us that he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit can capture a city. He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly."
"I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich."
"So when the bride comes in and she makes her giant, grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. 'Cause even though I think he's an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery...I don't know, he always looks really, really happy."
"Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world and in here is the dream."
"What the schnitzel?"
"Normally I´m opposed to the slaughter of animals, but in John Tuckers case I´ll make an exception."
"When you can live forever, what do you live for?"
"You are my only reason to stay alive. If that's what I am"
These are all quotes from my favourite shows and movies.
I dont think anyone can guess which shows or movies they are from but guess if you can!!!!
Friday, 4 December 2009
Love: An Overrated Emotion
"Love is Patient;Love is Kind"
That's the phrase we all know right?But how about some reality?
How about people stop giving this thing called "Love" fancy,sweet meanings and give the real definition?
Like how love is a struggle. Its an emotion that SHOULD NOT and i repeat SHOULD NOT be taken lightly.
I agree that there is the sugar-coated side to love but ever wonder why no one ever speaks about the other side?
You probably don't. Neither did i actually until i realized what exactly i want when i say "I love you" to someone.
I want the person to see me as i really am, i've got flaws and sometimes i even sin.
No one's perfect, and if you find someone who understands that, well, he/she is a keeper!
So here's my view on a type of love. A not-so-sugar-coated-one in format of a poem.
Here goes :)
Love is Persistent, Love is Blind
Love is a disease that makes you ran outta your mind.
Love is Stress, Love is Torture
But soon dies out just like a motor.
Love is Pain, Love is Hatred
Love may be a shame;not wanting to be boasted.
Its short but hopefully, i got the message across.
Dont get me wrong though, i appreciate love when its there, and give credit when its due. But what really does my head in, is when people take love for granted and leave you broken-hearted.
Sometimes, i wonder what's the point in love when you're only gonna get yourself hurt. Amazing don't you think, that there's billions of people in the world yet we STILL have the capability of feeling lonely?
But what's even more strange is the fact that,
Love is universal.
We just see it in different ways;hear it in different music.
Music is related to love dont you think?
I mean if you think about it, music is the great uniter. An incredible force.
Something that people who differ on everything and anything can have in common.
Call me weird or strange but what i look for in a boyfriend second, after personality of course, is their taste in music.
I mean great music MUST be appreciated. Legends like Led Zeppelin,Paul Mcartney,The Beatles, Tracy Chapman etc cannot go unnoticed and i want to share this love i have for music with someone else.
However, i haven't met that person yet.
And for my quote.....
Quote for the Day.
"True love stories never have endings."
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