or dancing. or singing songs.

More Vonnegut:

(from the intro to Bluebeard)

May I say, too, that much of what I put in this book was inspired by the grotesque prices paid for works of art during the past century. Tremendous concentrations of paper wealth have made it possible for a few persons or institutions to endow certain sorts of human playfulness with inappropriate and hence distressing seriousness. I think not only of the mudpies of art, but of children's games as well - running, jumping, catching, throwing.

Or dancing.

Or singing songs.

he wasn't going to write beethoven's ninth symphony anyway

From Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos:

I say now of Kazakh's untimely death, lest anyone should be moved to tears, "Oh, well - she wasn't going to write Beethoven's Ninth Symphony anyway."

I say the same thing about the death of James Wait: "Oh, well - he wasn't going to write Beethoven's Ninth Symphony anyway."

This wry comment on how little most of us were likely to accomplish in life, no matter how long we lived...

sometimes, you just run dry...

Sometimes, you just run dry...

...and you need to find a way to refill.

you know you are a sellout when...

For those of you who don't know...

Death Cab For Cutie became one of the most popular independent alternative rock bands in America in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By the early 2000s, most music lovers knew who they were, but it was not until 2004 - when they had their choice of signing with just about any major label they wanted to sign with - that they finally signed with a major label. This patience on their part enabled them to make sure they would have complete creative control, despite being on a major label.

on highs. and lows.

I want to kick off this week's post with some humor (swinging you through a "high," if you will).

For years, I have internally debated the worth of analogies in writing. Some writers write great analogies that smoothly convey a picture. Other writers force analogies, and these analogies serve to do nothing but make the writing more clunky (anyone ever read Tom Robbins?). And the tough part is: Sometimes you do not know whether an analogy is good or bad until someone tells you - that is to say, "Sometimes you think an anaology is top-shelf, until someone asks you what bargain basement the analogy came from."