Scott McCloud's full o' shit. Penny Arcade is right--it doesn't matter if you're using some new "innovative" art medium. If the art itself sucks, you haven't made any progress. I think a lot of the time those who have no talent seek to hide the fact by trying to create the illusion of being a revolutionary.
I really like white wine. And sake.
I had a strange dream last night. A girl I know was lying on her side, in my old house in Chicago, facing the big chalkboard-sized window in our old living room, and she was drawing me in a sketchbook. Past the window was a great blizzard but that's probably because the only real memory I have of that window is the sight of a great blizzard howling against it.
I need to watch Waking Life several more times. I look back at my dreams and really wish I had tried to turn off the lights or read my watch. Not that I believe in that "dreams and reality are the same" bullshit but that having a better insight to my subconscious would be fascinating. Or something.
Today I went to Sur La Table and spent my 100 dollar gift card. I could spend a lifetime in that place, but the card was really burning a hole in my pocket so I picked out a seven-inch Wuesthof Classic Santoku. The goddamn thing is amazing. It sings on a steel like fucking Narsil or Glamdring or something. I could shave with it. I never knew the real worth of high-end knives until now.
I think that every time I acquire new pants I go through another big change in my life. I bought a pair of brown carpenter pants awhile ago and some black pants with a thousand pockets at Hot Topic and every day I prepare myself a little more for leaving this place on the first of July. I'm giddy with anticipation for the Burgh--the weather, the change of scene, the new people. The people. That's probably the only thing I'm going to miss here. And my gas range (the dorm apartments have electrics). But it's sad that I've met new people this year and I'll be leaving so soon. People like Allison and Alli Harvard and Kara I wish I'd met long before now. I really feel all the judgemental bullshit of high school leaving me--at least the stuff that counts, the stuff that prevents you from meeting people. I have some conservative friends. Gasp. That said, the pants fit well and I am anxious to be beautifully urban in them.
People fascinate me, I realized. I think I get it from my dad--I'm inheriting the natural ability to talk to complete strangers and share stories with them in exchange for their information and kindness. Today at Sur La Table I made a friend who let me check out all the knives before buying the perfect one for my hand size and weight preference. She fed Todd, Julia and I bread with crazy oils and vinegars and proceeded to tell me about the fact that a store was going to open up in Pittsburgh soon that I might be able to find a job at. If I'd been the reclusive vampire bat I was before this year, I wouldn't have learned anything about that unique human being or had any real conversation (and on a practical note, I wouldn't have obtained the resources for the Burgh's store and may have gotten an unsuitable blade).
Things like that happen more and more often. Communication isn't even necessary; sometimes I just learn about people by observing their truly individual quirks or just reading the emotion on strangers' faces. I saw a man in his car on the way to work a few mornings ago who was absolutely chugging this little bottle of orange juice he had at a red light. As silly as it sounds, he was so happy and kind of lost in that moment with no regard for whatever lay ahead in his day. He had so much of his life ahead of him and he and I were connected through our love of orange juice, though he didn't know it. I knew what a good time he was having drinking it. I love observing the expressions on couples' faces at Starbucks; it's why I always sit in the corner facing the rest of the place--I love to peoplewatch. I'm familiar with the feelings they experience when they're smiling so much it hurts but they can't help it. It doesn't matter who they are or what they believe in anymore (unless I'm trying to satirize, I guess). It's just human expression and its subtle familiarities are possibly the only things that really have the power to unify us in this world.
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