The news

Molly gets the call from Princeton Originally uploaded by jayallen. Okay: yes. The news. This call is the moment I found out that I had been accepted to Princeton's PhD program in architecture. A minute later, I called Enrique to tell him I'd heard from Christine Boyer. "I DID TOO!" he screamed. This is in… Continue reading The news

One image from the best day of my life

SXSW 2007 Originally uploaded by Laughing Squid. I didn't know yet how it would all turn out, but today would be where everything changes. Damn. Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Someone’s life changing moment

Today, I got to change somebody's life. In 1989-90, I spent my senior year of high school in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, which grants 200-300 full scholarships each to young Germans and Americans through the State Department and the German congressional body. I lived in Düsseldorf with a terrific host family I'm still… Continue reading Someone’s life changing moment

Vox Hunt: Couldn’t Get Through It

Book: Show us a book you started reading but never finished. Gravity’s Rainbow (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Thomas Pynchon I've tried. I brought it home for Christmas. I took a class for which it was assigned. I wrote a paper on an excerpt last year. It is Enrique's favorite book: he's read it four times.… Continue reading Vox Hunt: Couldn’t Get Through It

QotD: Ghost Writer

If you could write like one fiction author, who would it be?Submitted by Marilyn. That's easy. Haruki Murakami. I took Japanese classes because I liked his writing so much: how could he write so simply and concretely and yet get to so much depth?  Or James Joyce, who isn't simple at all. Read and post… Continue reading QotD: Ghost Writer

Ivrea’s Carnevale in the New York Times!

In the New York Times: My beloved Ivrea and its crazy orange wars during Carnevale! This year marks the 200th anniversary of the festival. I really miss Ivrea sometimes and would love to go back for Carnevale sometime. To the left are some of my pictures from the last time I attended in 2005. Read… Continue reading Ivrea’s Carnevale in the New York Times!