Today is my oldest daughter Sarah’s 34th birthday. We went out to her new apartment in Sierra Madre for a birthday celebration. Her two sisters, Liz and Rachael, came plus their boyfriends, Ron and Ariel. Of course, Sarah’s husband, Gregorio, and her two kids, Luna and Nico, were there. Plus, Sarah’s nanny, Bri, and her…
Category: Writing as a Discipline
Movie Review: Love and Friendship
We just came back from seeing the film Love and Friendship, which is based on Jane Austen’s unpublished novella, Lady Susan. This movie has an unbelieveable critics’ rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 99% audience rating. (These numbers are the highest I’ve ever seen for a film.) Needless to say, I was curious…
Award-Winning Student Essay: To Hold a Hand
A student of mine, Lona Tehrani, wrote a superb college essay that deals with the transgender restroom issue that recently has gotten so much press. This essay won a regional Silver Key award from the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest, the oldest and most prestigious art and writing contest for youth in grades 7 –…
Listening to a Sex Therapist Deliver a Talk
I returned home from the orange grove in late afternoon just in time to jump back in the car and head over to the Brentwood Country Club where an adult student of mine was co-hosting a new speaker series called, “Ah-ha Moments.” This particular talk with from Dr. David Schnarch, a psychologist and sex therapist,…
Ramblings from the Orange Grove
It is 7 pm and I am sitting in our Airstream in Ojai. Ray is still out somewhere in the orange grove. Luna is not with us this week because she has been sick. (Nico is not quite ready to be away from mom long enough for us to keep him overnight.) Anyway, we are…
One of Those Days
This has been one of those days. Up by 6 am to meet a student at 6:30 down in my den for 6 hours of work to finish her Senior Honors Thesis for her Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies. I have learned a lot about the history and current status of reproductive rights for women…
Saying Goodbye to One of My Graduating Seniors
I just had my last session with a boy with whom I have worked since he was in middle school. He is graduating from high school in just a few weeks and going off to college. He will be going to school locally so it is highly likely that we will continue to work together…
First Painting Class Ever at the Barnsdall Art Center
Liz, Ray and I went to our art classes tonight at the Barnsdall Art Center in Hollywood. Ray is back in ceramics class and Liz and I are taking acrylic painting. This is quite a stretch for me since I have never painted anything in my life beyond elementary school art class where I don’t…
Last Days of My “Writing Short” Class
10:22 pm. I have been working on the final critiques and line editing for my Story Circle Network “Writing Short” class, which is on writing Flash Fiction and Flash Memoir. The class officially ends on Monday. I had the special treat of meeting three of my students in this class at the Stories of the Heart conference…
Eli Aminpour: Heading to Stanford for a Summer Research Fellowship
I am very pleased to announce that my writing student Eli Aminpour has been awarded the highly competitive Dr. Michael P. Fischbein Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery Research at Stanford University. Eli, a Beverly Hills High School junior, will head to Stanford for 8 weeks this summer to learn research techniques and conduct research projects in…
20 Minutes a Day 