Underworld
I’m re-reading Don Delillo’s Underworld. The first time I read it, I was twenty-two. I liked it yet thought it was overabundantly American. I still think that, but now I also think it’s a masterpiece I can never live without. The…
Unsubtle Dream
I dreamed I was living in a dystopian world in which culture had become suspicious and men were not allowed to read anything unless it was written by a woman. I recently re-devoured Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Often, my dreams…
The Era of TV series
We arrived by elevator on a moon-shy night. Two pretty boys in ripped and burned-out T-shirts led us into an anteroom where a doctor was sliding on medical mittens. She was tugging at the latex with her teeth. We were…
Zwarte Piet / Black Pete
It’s Sinterklaastijd in Holland. Literally this means “The period of Saint Nicolas” – not to be confused with Santa Claus. In reality it’s an excuse for throwing all dietary restrictions out of the window. Children and adults alike are consuming…
Magical thinking
On the ever inspiring TED site, I recently viewed the talk ‘The origins of pleasure’ in which Psychologist Paul Bloom investigates our love of art and wonders why we like an original painting better than a forgery. In his opinion…
Symposium (Jolimont 6)
Or what I took away from the mountain. The evening began with a fire. Under the doubtful eyes of four city men, our sturdy Swiss host constructed a pyramid of twigs. He showed no fear of the rain clouds overhead.…