Articles written by Magda Ess

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About me - Magda Ess

After several years of attending conferences and starting and joining writers' groups, Magda Ess will spend this autumn attending Hollins University. Although her major will be creative writing, her minor will focus on psychology. Ess uses her personal experiences

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Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Struggle in life: 12 of 113

When I finally decided not to kill myself, I had just finished smoking a bowl of marijuana. To be fair, it was a nice day to begin with; I woke up to sunshine and singing birds, took a warm bath, made myself breakfast and lounged around in a kimono robe until noon, when I decided it was prime time to go out back and smoke. M...
Entertainment > Movie Reviews Movie reviews: Repo! The Genetic Opera: 1 of 5

When you get ready to watch an opera and realize that it is directed by the same man responsible for the Saw series, you tend to realize that, just perhaps, you're in for something a little different. And indeed, Repo! The Genetic Opera is more than just a little different; it's in a league all its own. Taking place in a dys...
Politics, News & Issues > US Law & Justice (Other) Should there be a federal law against prostitution?: 4 of 13

For being the world's oldest profession, prostitution sure does catch a lot of flack. The question of "Why?" is certainly reasonable, when one considers that it fulfills two important roles, if not more: the need for sex, and the need to provide for oneself and/or others. When done with proper respect to both parties, it is ...
Politics, News & Issues > Drug Laws & Prevention On salvia becoming the next marijuana?: 1 of 3

To even think for a moment that salvia will replace marijuana is to have a brush with the extremely absurd; it is more or less saying that, at its advent, marijuana was the new cigarette, or cats the new dogs. To be assured, they have their similarities (plants with mind-altering properties), but what is most prominent is th...
Arts & Humanities > American Literature Book reviews: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson: 2 of 5

Written in 1971, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has become the definitive example of Gonzo journalism, a brainchild of self-loathing journalist Hunter S. Thompson. First having written a book on Hell's Angels, Thompson took his second literary venture as an opportunity to explore and expand his writing into a new realm, one ...
Health & Fitness > Prescription & Medication Possible side effects of Effexor XR: 2 of 5

Effexor XR is one of the most commonly-prescribed antidepressants in the United States; used for treating anxiety and, of course, depression, it carries with it a hefty list of side effects and a hit-or-miss chance at working. It is also one of the most frightening medications on the market today, right up next to Prozac. Th...
Health & Fitness > Personality Disorders How to live with antisocial personality disorder: 1 of 2

To have antisocial personality disorder is to be a sociopath: plain and simple. It is a cruel personality disorder, one which wrenches from the victim nearly all empathy and replaces it with an empty hole of contempt and arrogance. It is not something one may escape from; pills will not help, usually not even therapy. People...
Arts & Humanities > Arts & Humanities (Other) Book reviews: When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris: 1 of 2

There is nothing more awkward than sitting in a room full of people, minding your business and quietly reading until you come upon a passage so funny, so embarrassingly relatable that you explode in a sudden burst of laughter; usually so unexpected that heads will turn. Such an embarrassment, though, will seem trivial in the...
Arts & Humanities > Literature (Other) Introduction to the genre of transgressive fiction: 1 of 1

While not the newest trend in literature, transgressive fiction has been recently growing in prominence. A genre of literary fiction focusing on characters confined by society's norms and mores, most transgressive works explore the unusual, sometimes criminal ways said characters free themselves. The protagonists are typical...
Arts & Humanities > American Literature Book reviews: Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk: 1 of 1

Carl Streator is a sad, unlucky man. A journalist who once found his wife and child dead, Streator spends his days drowning in the details of his cases, and his nights, building intricate houses, only to stomp them to pieces upon completion. When his editor, Duncan, comes up with the idea of running a five-part segment on SI...