Growing up, my neuropsychologist mom taught me that what people said and the thoughts behind their words were often two very different things. As a kid, sometimes this was scary, feeling everyone had a secret interior life. Yet, as I got older I, like her, became fascinated with figuring people [...]
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Michael’s Nugget: “Become an animated TV writer.”
Michael William is originally from Bensonhurst but at an early age his father swallowed his pride and took a job as a house keeper for a wealthy family in Fairfield, CT in order to give his son a shot at a better life. Now Michael lives in Manhattan and [...]
BLOG, Nuggets
Kristen Johnston’s Nugget: “Success makes you more of what you already are.”
I first speak with Kristen Johnston when she calls me from her private number, bypassing the snoopy PR people who usually listen in on such phone calls. Right away, I am captivated by this small act of bravery, an instinct Kristen has to cut to the truth uncensored and raw [...]
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“Crime and Punishment” Storytelling Event in NYC, May 2010
topic: EVENT medium: PHOTO In May 2010, PenTales Storytellers gathered in NYC to share perspectives on “Crime and Punishment.” Stories included Toby Miller’s “Night Point.”
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Viola Hutten brings PenTales to Singapore
Viola recently moved from Manhattan to Singapore to take her interest in Asia beyond the borders of NYC’s Chinatown. Unsurprisingly, she’s taking the East by storm: weekends in Bali, Durian hunting trips, and Burmese temples are all common fare for this adventuress. Beyond traveling the world, Viola is passionate about understanding what motivates [...]
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Natalia’s Nugget: “Take Small Steps.”
Today, Natalia Sylvester shares with us the nuggets of wisdom that keeps her going. She talks of enjoying the comforts of childhood, the importance of reading, and taking small steps to make big ones. Where did she learn all this? She’s got a super star mom, who not only saved [...]
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Dr. Seuss’ Nugget “Life’s a great balancing act”
By PenTales Pundit Elise Nardin, Zurich, Switzerland I love books, especially children’s books. Young audiences are demanding – their attention spans is short. So, within just a few pages, the stories need to convey great messages. I recently visited the kids literature section of a local bookstore in Brooklyn and [...]
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PenTales Newsletter 2012 Update
So, for our first email of 2012, we wanted to take a moment to re-introduce you to PenTales so you know exactly what we’re all about.Here it goes:PenTales is trying hard to build a culture – online and offline – where people stop and ask each [...]
BLOG, Love and Heartbreak
Lori’s Nugget: “Shelve Your Fears”
I met Lori Bizzoco for the first time when she lost her phone and I let her use mine at an uptown New York party. As soon as we started talking, we realized how much we had in common: a thirst for fame, childhood loneliness, partying habits. As I got [...]
Recent Posts
“Virtual Fall” by Jule Treener, Paris
“Impossible but it happened: a leaf Came to rest, plump and green and fresh as breath, After conducting the breeze in that brief Musical catastrophe called “leaf-death”. As through a camera falling from a cliff, We saw what it saw and felt what it felt, Delightful panic, a delicious whiff [...]
“Kings of Vanished Kingdoms” by Mark Fitzpatrick, Paris
topic: BORDERS medium: TEXT as shared at a PenTales event themed “Royalty” Flying home to Ireland, on Saint Stephen’s day, the 26th of December. The country has been covered with snow, temperatures plunging below zero. It covers the landscape, making all white, all redundant, eerie in disuse, like furniture under [...]
“The Joke” by Tracie Pascoe-Lark
topic: LOVE AND HEARTBREAK medium: TEXT/PHOTO Girl walks in to a bar: Mouldy ceiling, sticky floor Broken mic, hormones galore Fluro lights, smoky faces Man in the corner dealing aces. The darkness awakens you. Now they know your name You’ve played the game You’ve built a bed in the sticky nest [...]
“Foreign Affairs” Storytelling Events in Paris
topic: EVENT medium: PHOTO In July 2010, PenTales Storytellers gathered in Paris to share perspectives on “Foreign Affairs.” Stories included “Madam Interpreter” by Olivia Salazar-Winspear, “A Foreign Affair” by Caro, “A Family Affair” by Nadia, and “DAVE” by Josh
Monogamy?! – (what we’ve learned from the PenTales Monogamy submissions) by Aswini Sivaraman
Sure, the word monogamy invites a lot of quotes, right from Oscar Wilde and GB Shaw’s quips to teen celebrities who balk at the concept. And like many weighty terms, monogamy remains a word that eludes those trying to pin it to a clear and universal definition. But then, one [...]
Dreams: PenTales ReTramp Gallery exchanges dreams with Berliners
A rainy Saturday afternoon set the stage for the Pentales Evening at Retramp Gallery. All around the area, bars, galleries, and shops stayed open for the annual 48 Stunden Neukölln arts and culture festival. Many curious faces peered through the large storefront window, wiping atcondensation on the wrong side of [...]
“Money” by Atisha Paulson,
topic: MONEY medium: TEXT Mexican busboys scamper around placating women with French manicures, tattoos and fake tits. The juxtaposition is beyond comprehension and, therefore somehow works. BMWs, Mercedes, Range Rovers come and go as the valets try and look cool in the 88 degree September sun. I want and write [...]
Behind the Story, Damascus
topic: REVOLT medium: video PenTales co-founder Saskia Miller chats with Mexican writer (and PenTales Damascus organizer) Diego Gomez-Pickering about living in Syria during pretty turbulent times.
“You Don’t Always Catch a Shark on Your First Try” A Life Lesson from Sari, NYC
Sari the Shark-Catcher explains that sometimes it takes a few tries before you can earn a preposterously enormous shark…or frog. The more you try, the more you win.