Derik Badman's Journal

Reread Matthew Thurber's Art Comic last night. It's a very funny (often laugh out loud) surreal satire of the art world. I've enjoyed it quite a bit, though I wonder how much he is just preaching to the choir. A lot of it seems rather like in jokes about the art world, and the criticism about the commoditization of art is probably not new to anyone who would be reading a comic called "Art Comic" and get enough of the satire to find it amusing.

It's so quiet during my morning walk that even two cars coming down the road simultaneously seems like an excess of noise. Saw a large rabbit in a yard and a cat crouched at a front door staring at a bird feeder and a small sparrow that, accidentally I am sure, landed right in front of me on the sidewalk, quickly realized it's mistake (I was walking and right behind him), and skipped off. On a power line in front of my house, a sparrow sang a lovely song, a succession of three parts, repeated three times before he flew off. I wish I could onomatopoeize the sound.

Today is grocery store (well, co-op) day. We planned out what we hope will cover a week of food/meals (including a night or two of take-out), to minimize trips. Thankfully, Lianne offered to do the shopping. I'm so used to shopping frequently, in amounts that fit in my backpack (so I can walk), that seeing a list that large (and relatively speaking I'm sure it's not that large, since there's only 2 of us, plus some groceries for ██████) makes me anxious. I don't know why.

Still working on my second short story, I'm making daily progress, which feels really good. I actually look forward to that part of my morning now. I'm trying not to be too self-conscious about it, especially in a first draft, just letting the words come out, though with more care than I give to my diction and syntax in this journal.