L.A. Traffic

I really thought traffic in D.C. was worse. California people talk about it MUCH MORE though.

I am insanely paranoid about traffic myself and I plan my entire life around avoiding rush hour. (Around here it is not such an issue.) So I can relate to their demented chatter.

Narrative Paintings

I think the current narrative paintings (paintings that tell a story) are just part of my normal cycle of change. I see them as a backlash to the work I was doing as a grad student. The current art buzzword for this is “reinventing myself” which I think is pretentious and annoying because my sense of self is stable and not bound up in my art. All it really means is that I get captivated by an idea for a while, and then I get bored with it and move on to something else.

As a grad student I was mostly concerned with developing better technique. I also wanted to avoid the smarmy metaphysics that plagues the school. You know what I mean: artist statments that claim you used blue because it was Tuesday and Tuesday reminds you of Marilyn Monroe and blue was her favorite color– but only for shoes.

The most practical approach to meet these goals was to paint objects- still lifes, human bodies, landscapes. I learned a lot doing it and my thesis project was a series of still lifes.

But right now I am tired of all of that and I crave to use my imagination. Thus: narrative paintings.

Quarantine

I saw this movie tonight on Netflix and I thought it was really good. It was scary and suspenseful, but even better, it was logical. And I thought the acting was convincing and avoided being melodramatic. The quarantine itself raises an interesting ethical dilemma: I was sympathetic to the characters trying to escape the disease but I did not want them to get out of the building to spread the illness. Then it would be just like 28 Days Later! Or the Decameron. Yuck.

Netflix

Netflix has really stepped up their customer service. For a long time, it took about 4 days for me to get a new movie but now that’s down to two and they finally enabled instant viewing for Macintosh. (Not my ancient Mac but that’s another story. 4 years and counting.) Today they randomly sent me an extra movie since one I had ordered might be delayed. Sweet!

Netflix Again

Evidence that our language is always changing: “I saw this movie tonight on Netflix.” That is not a normal sentence but I use it all the time.

Spanish Language News

I got tired of CNN.com’s banal reporting, cheesy writing, and whiny, patronizing obsession with the financial crisis. I hate all those articles that use the first person plural to either blame or exonerate the American people at whim. You know: “We” were doomed by evil, greedy executives or else “we” got ourselves into this mess by purchasing BMW’s with home equity loans on our foreclosed houses and ENOUGH! I can’t take it any more.

So I switched to the Spanish version of the BBC which is a completely different universe of reporting entirely. First, the articles are actually analytical. Second, I learn things I never thought about, such as how hot the Argentine president is. Third, I get to practice my Spanish. It is wonderful.

And that is all I have to say. The End.