Month: October 2026

  • Short Story Review: “A Very Safe Place” by Rachel Heng

    (The short story “A Very Safe Place” by Rachel Heng appeared in the October 12th, 2026 Issue of The New Yorker.)

    (Illustration by Vanessa Saba; Source photographs from Getty)

    Rachel Heng’s “A Very Safe Place” is a timely story. Set in Singapore, it confronts the complicated situation of immigration; Its motivations, what constitutes doing the right thing, and the threat of punishment. It also is about a child coming to see the world for what it is, and how disappointing and confusing that can be. All of these are themes and ideas that I applaud in a story – especially one that aims to be as realistic as possible. There is no happy ending here, or nice bow that will wrap everything together. Though sober and stark in its writing, it’s an honesty that is needed when speaking on this subject.

    The story left me feeling melancholic, like there was a dark cloud hanging over all of it. Another way to describe it, is that this story is colored in black in white. Not in a moralistic simplicity, but more for the starkness and complexity of these issues presented. (Like how a black and white movie seems more realistic than color.) The good father who has to make a difficult decision for the safety of his family, a mother whose rigidness keeps her family protected, an immigrant striving for a better life, and a boy slowly coming to understand that the world is filled with complications that aren’t easy to square.

    But, unfortunately, that melancholic started to veer into joylessness as the story neared its end, which made this average length story feel like a trudge. My mind did wander and wonder when this was going to wrap up? That was due to the story playing at one dramatic note of seriousness, with nothing to break the tension, or even to play with fluctuating the tone.

    In the end, “A Very Safe Place” is another good story from Rachel Heng. Where it succeeds most is showing how the boy discovers the larger world he now lives in. Hopefully, this encounter will lead him to a life filled with empathy and compassion, regardless of the consequences.

  • Earworm Wednesday: I Just Never Liked the Song

    I would like to believe that I am not a contrarian. That if I don’t like or enjoy something, it’s because I have a good reason for it.

    In that vein, I have never been a fan of “Waterfalls” by TLC. I have nothing against TLC, I think they’re a solid group. And I fully admit that “Waterfalls” is a good pop-music song, and deserves all the recognition and alcolades it has earned.

    But I just never liked the song. Sorry.

    Yet, “Waterfalls” does have have a hell of a hook in its chorus. When I hear it, like yesterday at Trader Joe’s, it just lodges in my head. Which means I am on day two of humming that song.

  • My Mind Wandered

    So, I was about to sit down and start writing todays blog…

    But then “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young came on my Spotify, which made me wonder about the song and for some reason I thought the song was off the album Harvest. It’s not, it’s off of Harvest Moon, which made me feel silly because I had gone all this time thinking those two albums were one in the same. So I had to start reading up on those albums…

    Then this other crazy thing happened to me, which was after I got done doing all my Neil Young research, and I again sat down to start work on today’s blog, I had this thought that I don’t know enough about Robert Gould Shaw. If you don’t know who he is, he was the commanding officer of the 54th Massachusetts, which was the first African American regiment that fought in the Civil War.

    So, instead of writing a blog about what I was going to write about, I thought I would just tell you what I have been thinking about.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Getting Started, Oh Tottenham, and Bloody Mary Brunch

    (Forgetting her’s the nature of my flight…)

    Boy, do I suck and starting something new. And I also suck at just getting back to good habits. I say this because I have found a way to completely, and in the most air-tight form of rationalization, not go to the gym for a month. Even this morning, I was ready to not go to the gym, and I made sure that I did not go. Do I feel good about this decision? Absolutely not. Will I go to the gym on Monday? Odds are that I will not. Yes, indeed; I have found a way to squander the entire month of September. To a degree, I have impressed myself. You may think that this is easy to do, but it is not. Okay, okay, okay… Tuesday of next week; I’m going to the gym.

    Wow! Tottenham Hotspur sucks this season. Really sucks. They suck in a way I thought was impossible to suck. There was no way they could get worse than last season. No, no, they found a way. And they spent a shit ton of money, and somehow they suck even more! They are at the bottom. Completely at the bottom of the Premiere League table. Sitting at #20, with two points. Incidentally, their two points is equal to as many goals they have scored this season. Just… wow. Now, as a Cubs fan (and the Cubbies did get eliminated from the playoffs recently) I know what it’s like for your team to be at the bottom. And normally I would say that there is only one direction, and that’s up! But in the Premiere League, there is relegation, so we might not have hit bottom yet.

    Saturday, I have brunch plans, which sounds fancy, and a little pretentious… All of that is true. But it also means morning/day drinking in a very socially acceptable way. Happy weekend to all, and to all a good drunken afternoon nap.

  • My Story Won’t Work, But That’s Okay

    I have been working on this one short story, off and on, for like four months now, and the thing just won’t work. I’m on my fourth draft of it, which also means that I am attacking it from yet a new direction. I would like to say that fourth time’s the charm, but at this point, I would just be happy with a glimmer of hope that I am moving in the right direction.

    Which brings me to this question; When should I throw in the towel on this story?

    But as soon as I asked that question, it made more sense to invert the question; Why haven’t I given up on this story?

    Well… I think it’s funny, and original. I think there is a kernel of truth in it, which needs to be shared. And I like working on it, though it does feel laborious at times.

    Now, I do write stories which, I know while writing them, are complete pieces of shit, or when I finish them, confirms they are pieces of shit. I’m not being hard on myself, these things are garbage, but I know the exercise of writing a story is important too, even if no one will ever see it. And sometimes I have to get a story out of my head so I can move on to the next thing.

    Not this story… it keeps poking at me, and won’t let me leave it alone. I hate rewriting, but it keeps pushing me to take another crack at it.