Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

In the series finale of Mad Men, a frustrated Stan shouts at Peggy: “There’s more to life besides work.” It’s a lie. Well, at least it is within the context of the show. As it follows the careers of advertising executives, Mad Men continuously reaffirms what capitalism ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

In order to start writing more, I have decided to write something on the train every day based on something I heard on the radio during my drive to the BART station. I will transcribe the pieces here, unedited. The purpose is to produce, not polish. The exercise is kind ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

My Nana is not doing well right now and is in the hospital with congestive heart failure. She is my last biological grandparent left (two died before I was born, my maternal grandfather in 1967, my paternal grandmother in 1938). Her life has been a uniquely Californian ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

One of the reasons I wrote Half a Person was to depict the kind of suburban life I knew growing up. The neighborhood street represented a kind of freedom when I was younger - my friends and I ruled the block with our banana-seat bikes. But as I grew older, it became a ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

Before I published Half a Person as an ebook, it was my Master of Fine Arts thesis, a novel called Sliver of Light. As part of the thesis project, I was required to write a statement of influences. Among the works I cite: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

According to the agents Publishers Weekly spoke to for this article on new trends in young adult fiction, dystopian and paranormal novels are dead and agents are looking to sign realistic novels. This is of interest to me because I have been trying to write more ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

Miss Mina Rose de Guzman Belew, born on August 26, 2013 at 6:09 a.m. She is a lovely baby. Brian and I - and her big brother Mateo - are absolutely in love with her.

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

You are in your bathroom, listening to public radio while you dye your hair. The BBC News has wrapped up when you hear the unmistakable strains of American Public Media’s theme music. A Prairie Home Companion is starting! You have to do something, but your gloved hands ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

In a recent essay in the Atlantic, Garance Franke-Ruta tackled the question of why women are becoming more and more educated and yet still are way underrepresented in the top echelons of the business world. Her answer is that the skills that reward you in academia are ( Read more... )

Originally published at Possible Impossibilities. You can comment here or there.

You know how the Second Amendment to the Constitution begins with “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state”? If you’ve ever wondered what the framers of the Constitution thought were the responsibilities of said well-organized militia, ( Read more... )