tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73123502011-04-21T13:54:22.812-05:00My blog has a new identity. That's because I'm beginning to see what mine is. What I'm after. What I believe in. What I want to say.Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-35635583305214503692009-04-29T11:57:00.002-05:002009-04-29T11:59:31.090-05:00

It should be obvious from the lack of posting, but this blog served me well in a certain time of life, which I am no longer in. I'll leave it up, and feel free to toodle around here, but don't expect any updates. Thanks for visiting and spending a bit of time with a previous version of me! :-)

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-9110011084803945372007-01-29T22:43:00.001-06:002007-01-29T22:43:00.752-06:00

Icicles against sky Originally uploaded by madame valentin. OK, points if you get the reference in my post title. Otherwise, I don't have too much to say, other than that I like the way the angles in this photo play against each other.This was taken during this January's ice storm. It was fun. We were housebound for days. Maybe we didn't need to be, but we were too chicken to even try to

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1169830046779394472007-01-26T10:46:00.000-06:002007-01-26T10:47:26.780-06:00

He's gone mad! Originally uploaded by madame valentin. This is what licking the bowl will do to you.

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1169829928468146192007-01-26T10:44:00.000-06:002007-01-26T10:45:28.543-06:00

Texas, the cookie Originally uploaded by madame valentin. OK, so I obviously have been out of the blogging for a while. I don't know why. I think it could have been the holidays, and also a serious case of the blues. I always hate winter and the short days. But I'm ready to be back.Here is a quick post along with a picture of some of what we did over our Christmas vacation.They were

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1160016396178960062006-10-04T21:40:00.000-05:002006-10-04T21:46:36.273-05:00

Me and Meredith! Originally uploaded by tiffybex. ...you know you are in the presence of a true friend. This picture was taken on a recent visit to Salem, Mass. to visit one of my very best friends. I think you can see that we had a good time, and that we are enjoying each other's company. Jason and I have been reflecting on how few people you can truly let go in front of--the people who

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1159907102568913662006-10-03T15:16:00.000-05:002006-10-03T15:25:02.580-05:00

This article--called Shop Class as Soulcraft--is quite possibly the best and most illuminating I've ever found on the nature of our work economy and also how and why we've embraced the idea of the "knowledge" worker at the expense of the skilled craftsman/laborer. I just finished reading it, and so I'm still digesting it--and will probably have more to say in future posts--but I have this vague

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1159500709429925972006-09-28T17:59:00.000-05:002006-09-30T11:23:33.006-05:00

OK, forgive the retro mindset for a moment. I am coming off a workday in which I have been ignored, insulted and dismissed, rendering me quite angry and feeling quite useless. I am a writer, and I write for an office professionally. Unfortunately, everyone thinks that because they can type that they can write. So I get work yanked out from under me all the time. All I want is a second chance to

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1158090604674571832006-09-12T14:44:00.000-05:002006-09-12T14:50:08.540-05:00

Beautiful Smile Originally uploaded by tiffybex. Look at this smile. Isn't he dreamy? Sigh. We're nearly 4 months married, and I do still feel like we're on our honeymoon. Sometimes I think if we told other people how we felt about each other, we'd make them throw up. 'Cause we're in wuv. It's pretty cool, how he's my favorite person, and I married him, and now we get to spend our lives

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1158015829064936012006-09-11T17:58:00.000-05:002006-09-11T18:04:55.083-05:00

Michelangelo's tomb Originally uploaded by tiffybex. So, September 11th, 5 years later. It's strange, how long ago it seems in a way, and yet how close I can get to it if I really pay attention. Some of the profiles on the New York Times webpage today had me so close to tears, and all the feelings of confusion and pain and utter, utter sadness came back.And of course, this brought along

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1157931817166461162006-09-10T17:23:00.000-05:002006-09-10T18:43:37.226-05:00

Let's establish something that may already be obvious: I have always been a nerd. In grade school, the "cool" kids smelled it right away and found in me their punching bag. I'm talking the works: Tripping me in the hallways, making fun of my non-Guess? jeans, inviting me to parties that didn't exist. The humiliations were daily and, gotta give credit, imaginative. Kindergarten till about 7th

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1157035902251229222006-08-31T09:46:00.000-05:002006-08-31T09:51:42.980-05:00

Windy at Palazzo Pitti Originally uploaded by tiffybex. I've been drawn back to this picture several times, though I'm not sure why. I like it, though it's not like the best picture ever taken, and I'm making a funny smile like I'm afraid my teeth will fall out if I open my lips.I thought maybe it had to do with the fact that this is the first and probably last time that my hair has been

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1156881515578807602006-08-29T14:50:00.000-05:002006-08-29T14:58:35.603-05:00

Last night, Jason and I went to Chuy’s for the opening night of their annual Green Chile Festival, which celebrates all things wonderful about the Hatch native.If you live in Austin (or Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio), you must go and sample some of the items on the menu. Last night’s standouts were these: The Macho Burrito and the Green Chile Brownie.The former was macho in all the right ways:

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1156519293907600892006-08-25T10:16:00.000-05:002006-08-25T10:21:34.106-05:00

In the Rose Garden Originally uploaded by tiffybex. Eventually, I'll post photos besides those from my honeymoon, but right now, they're giving me a lot to write about, think about. Like this one, for example. To me, it represents the rewards of adventure, even if that adventure is a small one. In the Rose Garden below the Piazzale Michelangelo, it began to rain. So Jason and I headed for

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1156460234760328692006-08-24T17:51:00.000-05:002006-08-24T17:57:14.773-05:00

Writing at the Old Stove Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. Here I am scribbling away at The Old Stove, a charming Irish bar in Florence. When inside this bar, one forgets that one is in Italy, until of course you see the lunch menu and see all the panini offered on it.I am fairly looped in this picture (one wouldn't know from the keen look of concentration on my face) but I am

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1155656069633795522006-08-15T10:29:00.000-05:002006-08-15T10:34:29.840-05:00

Jason with Forst Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. (and espresso.) We're nothing if not self-medicators. OK, so this picture is REALLY blurry. Sorry for that. I probably should have learned how to take pictures with my new camera *before* I went to Italy. But alas, there was all that wedding planning and pre-marital sex to be having. Left me little time to figure out how to FOCUS a

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1155328801012615672006-08-11T15:32:00.000-05:002006-08-11T15:40:59.983-05:00

This is a recipe I adapted from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. (Best old-fashioned baking cookbook ever, by the way.) I changed a few things (like adding wheat flour and dark chocolate chips to give it more texture and complexity) but everytime I've made these people really like them. This is my favorite recipe for CCC's, mainly because they balance the sweet with a hint of saltiness (from the

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1155239731896396662006-08-10T14:50:00.000-05:002006-08-10T14:55:31.903-05:00

View from Boboli Gardens Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. Jason says this photo could have been composed better (which is probably true, but that's not the point), but I really like it. It is such a specific picture for me. I knew just how I was feeling, just how it felt to come to the precipice of the gardens and look out over the city. I love the feathery tree in the foreground

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1155154607882398712006-08-09T15:11:00.000-05:002006-08-09T15:16:47.963-05:00

Santa Croce Interior Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. The photo here is really more illustration than the focus of today's entry. It's the interior of the Santa Croce church in Florence, if you're interested, and the photo just has this kind of beautiful but inaccessible atmosphere about it. Which brings me to a potentially upsetting trend that I'm seeing in my students' work. In

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1154965816422599472006-08-07T10:45:00.000-05:002006-08-07T10:50:16.673-05:00

Jason Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. This somewhat blurry photo is of my husband on our honeymoon to Florence. Even though it's not quite in focus, I had to put it up because of the smile and the look on his face. A look he's giving me, his goofy wife who's pointing the camera at him and fumbling with camera buttons. I love him for a look like this. And for many other reasons, and

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1154550140125854732006-08-02T14:58:00.000-05:002006-08-11T09:24:35.970-05:00

As you may have already noticed, I have been making some changes around here. Cleaning up the joint. Trying to figure out what the whole purpose of this blog is for me right now.Probably soon I will rename this blog, and when I do, I'll give you some advance notice. Basically, this became an unfun place to be for me, so I avoided it. Why did that happen?Well, for starters, I'm too fucking wordy.

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1154466112532982652006-08-01T15:57:00.000-05:002006-08-01T16:04:21.746-05:00

reflective bridal Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. Anyone who knows me knows that I recently got married. This picture is from my wonderful photographer, Vanessa Escobedo Barba.I have been married for just about two months, and while we had been living together before, being married is somehow different, though the difference is difficult to pin down. It may have something to do with a

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1154202144293969072006-07-29T14:37:00.000-05:002006-07-29T14:42:24.400-05:00

View from Piazzale Michelangelo Originally uploaded by tiff_hamburger. I am testing out putting photos on my blog. Words are great and all, but even I like to break things up with some visual excitement. Anyway, I took this picture while on my honeymoon in Florence. It was raining off and on the whole day, and it was just about to start raining again when I snapped this one...

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1153878932403815892006-07-25T20:54:00.000-05:002006-07-25T21:13:32.086-05:00

So, I'm teaching this fiction extension class right now, and I have this student--probably in his thirties-- who, thus far, has turned in all of his exercises and his story for workshop unfinished. He expressed this in class--that he has trouble finishing things--and so as I was writing the critique to his (unfinished) story, I began to articulate something of an ars poetica, or at least as that

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1133411854105607652005-11-30T21:57:00.000-06:002005-11-30T22:37:34.150-06:00

...high on Determination. Or at least that's what I have to--need to--believe.And besides, wasn't it I who wrote a few weeks ago that there's no such thing as inspiration? Yeah, I thought that was me. Better put up or shut up, eh?So I haven't been writing these last few weeks, and I know that's an untenable situation. I have been feeling that diffuse sense of unease lately, and I know it has to

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1131484092873045672005-11-08T14:29:00.000-06:002005-11-08T15:08:12.896-06:00

As I was driving to the coffee shop this afternoon, I was struck by the juxtaposition of this scene: A small Asian woman--slim, lithe, very petite--walking an enormous dog. It looked to be a Great Dane in shape, though with the spots and coloring of a Dalmatian, and it was just huge and potent and well-muscled. A strong dog. Its body was at least as high as her ribcage, and its head probably

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1130337296063014702005-10-26T09:12:00.000-05:002005-10-26T09:34:56.103-05:00

Go see 'A History of Violence.' Don't read anything before you go--no reviews. Go in without expectation of what the story is about, and I promise you will be rewarded.I saw it last night, under similar conditions: I didn't really know what it was about, didn't know what people had said about it. And I can't stop thinking about it.Narratively, it is one of the tightest movies I have seen in a

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1130294335009980422005-10-25T21:20:00.000-05:002005-10-25T21:38:55.026-05:00

In my reading pursuits, I usually alternate between contemporary fiction and the classics. (Though I do mix in the nonfiction to keep it interesting, and to keep learning... Read The Emperor of Scent and see if you're not blown away by the insights there into our sense of smell.)Anyway, I'm in a classics phase now, currently reading Middlemarch by George Eliot and finding it amazingly fresh. I am

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1130185891850961732005-10-24T15:15:00.000-05:002005-10-24T15:31:31.856-05:00

....to write a story.Now I remember why I went to get the MFA: Community.Five months out now, and I don't have anyone to share my work with, and so the advance of revision gets stalled at the point where I have no more ideas on how to further the story or polish an ending.As difficult, painful and annoying as workshop could be, I can't express how much I miss that built-in community of readers

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1127859474283567582005-09-27T17:04:00.000-05:002005-09-27T17:17:54.290-05:00

Well, there's the unexpected in life, and then there's the unexpected in art. I suspect, after my writing session today, that the unexpected in art can be just as disjointing and terrifying as the unexpected in life.I was trotting along on this story I've been working on, when suddenly, Bam! The character has an insight about himself that feels totally right, but changes everything he's been

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1127774257236251382005-09-26T17:18:00.000-05:002005-09-26T17:37:37.240-05:00

Remember what I said about feeling helpless in Katrina's wake? Well, I did get to help my friend from New Orleans after all, setting her up in me and my fiance's apartment, helping her to get settled in her new life in Austin. Soon I'll be helping her find a new place to live, which I'm happy to do. Chaos, however, is ever present, and I think of the way people use it as an excuse not to use

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1125513153074441952005-08-31T13:08:00.000-05:002005-08-31T13:32:33.096-05:00

My attention has been so focused on the devastation along the Gulf Coast that I feel like my brain has less than its usual space for writing-related thoughts. Still, I find such great comfort in words--they are like a balm to me, so soothing somehow--and so I have been writing and reading a great deal. By reading the news reports, the posts of people on the New Orleans websites asking about their

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1125428679503226522005-08-30T13:35:00.000-05:002005-08-30T14:04:39.516-05:00

Well, I've talked about it figuratively, saying that it's nice to create order, meaning, in the face of chaos. And now the face of Chaos is here, and her name, for now, is Katrina. And this is, as Sept. 11th was, a great test of my belief in the saving power of art. Because of course you can say it's nice to create order out of chaos when the chaos is small, when it's a lost passport, or a fender

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1125339758122467512005-08-29T13:01:00.000-05:002005-08-29T13:22:38.126-05:00

To stay with the revision thread for a little while longer, I'm thinking of the kinds of writing I do on a daily basis, and how that fits into my schedule. I'm finding that I'm really always writing, some of it just happens to be in my head, and some of it just really uses different parts of my brain/awareness/consciousness.Revising requires such a different kind of energy than does drafting a

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1124397267168792322005-08-18T15:17:00.000-05:002005-08-18T15:34:27.173-05:00

I've been revising today, and as I was re-reading the story, something remarkable happened: I had a Eureka! moment. Praise be to the writing gods.It was a funny thing--I was reading my story out loud, which I don't often do (even though I recommend it to my own students), because I know how something your eyes run right over will jump out and strangle you if you're reading aloud--and while I did

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1124064334140445232005-08-14T18:40:00.000-05:002005-08-14T19:05:34.146-05:00

Here is a writing exercise I did while at the Tin House Writer's Conference. Ron Carlson was my workshop leader, and he told us to write a story using each letter of the alphabet to start the story. He also mandated that one sentence be exactly 100 words and one sentence be one word. This is what came out, and while it is an unedited first draft, I hope to turn it into something that looks more

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1123881663783212512005-08-12T15:56:00.000-05:002005-08-12T16:21:03.790-05:00

A few nights ago, my honey and I went to see that new documentary called Murderball. In case you haven't heard of it, it's about quadriplegics who play rugby at a very high level of competition. I.e. the Paralympics, World Championships, etc.It's a great film, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Was absolutely riveted in fact, and lost myself numerous times in the experiences and personalities portrayed

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1123363858395717652005-08-06T16:16:00.000-05:002005-08-06T16:30:58.423-05:00

So, it's been a while since last I've blogged, and I have to say, I've missed it. Part of it was the fact that I was finishing up my MFA, moving, and now, looking for a job while planning a wedding and trying to keep up with my writing.Still, I'm back now, and I think the first order of business is to discuss how the end of the MFA program seems to me now, a few months out. The first, most

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1091474413799802162004-08-02T14:14:00.000-05:002004-08-02T14:20:13.800-05:00

Here is a flash-fiction story I wrote for a contest where the story had to be exactly 100 words and have a beginning, middle and end. I hope you like it. He was a collector; she was not. For a time, she added to the collection, thinking the gifts would satisfy him, thinking the collection would be finite. Twenty years later, it seemed infinite, rows and rows of model cars clogging almost

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1090336633439283072004-07-20T10:13:00.000-05:002004-07-20T10:21:00.730-05:00

After doing more musing on what I've gotten out of the first year of an MFA program, I've come up with a list of 14 generalities that I think reflect the experience (or at least my experience) pretty accurately. 1. Everyone who goes gets something out of it, but everyone gets something different. No two MFA experiences are the same. 2. At some point in the first year, you will doubt many

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1089846378177508232004-07-14T17:23:00.001-05:002004-07-19T13:52:27.136-05:00

Or at least that's what this recent study has found. I just don't know what to make of this, especially as a person who wants nothing more than for books to remain central in the public's life. Hey, I like entertainment as much as the next person, but why don't people think of books as a primary form of entertainment anymore? Is it because books are hard to read? I don't really think so--

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1087598352188567732004-06-18T17:06:00.000-05:002004-06-18T17:39:12.186-05:00

From the Slate.com discussion I posted yesterday, another excerpt: "You asked about the multicultural novel. OK, here goes. The majority of so-called multicultural novels are nothing but new wine poured into old bottles. What's the great subject of the novel? Marriage, of course. In the West, we've lost that subject. Marriages aren't arranged anymore. Divorce is no longer unthinkable. You can't

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1087505118184600952004-06-17T14:42:00.000-05:002004-06-17T15:45:18.183-05:00

I'll begin by excerpting an exchange between authors Jim Lewis and Jeffery Eugenides found on Slate.com here. The first quote I'm interested comes from Jim Lewis: "Perhaps the problem is this: We were taught, all too readily, to think of literature as progressing within the context of historical forces. Joyce leads to Beckett, Borges leads to Barth, Pynchon begets DeLillo, and so on. But of

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1087417084940159742004-06-16T15:00:00.000-05:002004-06-16T15:18:04.940-05:00

...and you're wondering whether or not to go for it? It's a good question, and one worth asking. I have just finished the first year of a two-year MFA program, and during this summer of writing, I have a lot of time to evaluate what I've gotten out of it, and how far I've come as a writer. Since my revision is actually moving along today and I feel a sense of self-confidence, my opinion of the

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1087315626488722642004-06-15T10:57:00.000-05:002004-06-15T11:07:06.486-05:00

I am in the process of revising a story that I'd like to send out by the end of the month. Revision is almost always a frustrating process (thus, the procrastinatory blog post), but I have recently found a website that gives some really good advice. The author who runs it, Holly Lisle, is a sci-fi and fantasy writer. I have never read any of her work, but the way she talks about writing makes me

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312350.post-1087264063906435432004-06-14T20:35:00.000-05:002004-06-14T20:47:43.906-05:00

First, about the name. I'm a writer, with some writer friends. One of my very best writer friends was talking about publication in a literary journal known as Glimmer Train, but he couldn't remember the name, and so he said something like, "I'll send the story off to Sparkle Boat, or whatever the hell it's called." Since I really enjoy word play, this creative switcheroo really tickled me, and

Tiffany Hamburgernoreply@blogger.com0