Plagiarism – the worst sin there is, at least in the eyes of writers and other artists. Technically, “plagiarism” refers to “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing it off as one’s own,” according to Google. But I prefer the hidden and truer meaning of the word – “kidnapper.”** Recently, I discovered…
Category: Editorials
Food, Photography of
Photography is pretty simple stuff. You just react to what you see, and take many, many pictures. ~Elliott Erwitt Truth be told, I love photography for many reasons, one being the sense of peace that comes with observing the world around me. Photography forces a photographer to be centered. To photograph means slowing down and…
Remembering the Magic and Wishing for Peace on Earth
I dedicate this post to the children and the parents, everywhere, especially Newtown, Connecticut. Every year, in December, a marvelous thing happens. At least I think it’s wonderful. And not for the reasons you might think. Christmas comes around, bringing with it a sense of magic in the air, some thing that I felt as…
Advice for Food Writers
The buzz not long ago came from the keyboard of Amanda Hesser, a former food writer for The New York Times, who proved with a click of the mouse that controversy gets people reading, Tweeting, Facebooking, and just plain screaming. Or sniffling. Ah yes, that last one. I hate to say, is what almost happened…
The [Fatal] Flaw*: What’s Wrong with [Food] Writing Now
Writing is not about the “me,” it’s about the “not me.” This is always true, even in personal essay and memoir. ~~ Michael Ruhlman Something seems wrong these days with food writing in America. And, to be honest, not just food writing. What is the problem? You’re probably getting ready to hit DELETE. But hold…
When it Comes to Writing, Define Your Terms
There is communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk. ~~ M. F. K. Fisher With every story ever told, there’s usually a beginning, at least in an ideal world. The reader progresses toward a soft plump middle, where the real action occurs, like a jelly doughnut harboring cherry filling….
Becoming a Writer
It’s funny how things work out. You pick up a book in a bookstore or a friend presses you to read something, “Hey, I KNOW you’ll love this.” You read the words on the page and suddenly you’re soaring above your bedroom ceiling, your sorryass childhood forgotten, your past mistakes and your current cares evaporate,…
The Ancient Sin of Gluttony: What’s Really Behind the Shunning of Paula Deen
We need strategies that do not drag us back to the dispositional focus of the Inquisition’s witch-hunts, that propelled the notion of the “Satan Within,” when much good and evil is the product of situational and systemic forces acting on the same ordinary, often good people. ~~ Philip Zimbardo It’s been with a great deal…
Just Exactly What is Worthwhile About Food Writing?
Hot as an oven outside, sweltering with 87% humidity; if it were any hotter, I might consider baking a loaf of crusty bread inside the hood of my black Toyota pickup truck. Instead, I lie in my black leather recliner, sipping icy water, contemplating the nasty, brutish, increasingly egotistical business of food media, especially food…
