Silas indulges Mama on her birthday

Who was your college roommate?

So, L. Craig was my dad's fraternity brother and roommate. Paul has advised me not to post any more about this, so you'll have to get the (very brief) story in person.

I listened to the interrogation tape at the Spokesman Review site and tried to imagine this defender of marriage and NRA board member at the old D Chi house chugging a Thunderbird. (The tape is actually more fascinating than you would expect, not that it's unfamiliar to listen to a Republican sidestepping a series of difficult questions).

But L.C. was Student Body President of U of I, described by his friends as "studious" and "awkward with women" in the Idaho Statesman's ridiculously detailed account of his history, in which he consistently replies to reporters: "jiminy!" and "I don't pick up men."

Jiminy. Go Vandals.

omg (lower case, shame)... my blog sucks

First of all, I have to apologize for the AndyRooneyishness of my last post (I've noticed all the cranes lately and I've been wondering, Who is this Paul Allen fellow anyway?) I sound like one of those people who hangs out in Irish bars in Wallingford in my black leather jacket crying into my red hook about that lifechanging Nirvana concert in 1992. STFU!

I really hesitated about starting a blog because I was afraid that it would be too difficult to execute and sustain (says the grant writer!) without having a distinct reason for being. Being right about that does not make me feel better about the fact that it sucks. But does it really suffer from lack of concept?

Funnily (a funny word I've stolen from Paul), I was sure that my ideas about needing a solid conceptual base came from one of my best professors--best because he's one of those people who's in my head all the time (he would hate this blog, and he should, it sucks)--so I googled in search of a quote, and this is what I found (from an interview I did, which makes me a pretty big dork for linking to it, but this post needs a g.d. link):

I'd like to see students get more comfortable with the idea that art needn't serve some a priori identifiable function. Too many students feel a need to justify their work in advance of making it. ... They'd be better off trusting that real innovations create their own, unforeseen function. The idea that you can pre-ordain your work's function often means you want it to function in a therapeutic way: "doing good," correcting some abstract social inequity, etc. Not all art should be about expressing earnest hope for the improvement of the species, though. Ask Baudelaire. Ask Wilde. Anyway, in general I'd say students should concentrate on making real behavioral innovations. Let the audience decide their importance.

David Robbins saves my lazy ass again.

Now that I'm headfirst into this thing without a purpose (and sleeping through most of it... you should read the daily blog in my 4:15am head... fabo!), I will try to concentrate on the very simple behavior of posting every day. Some of it will suck (just warning you all). Otherwise I have to delete the whole g.d. thing and as those of you who know me know, I don't like to throw anything away.