"Beiss mein Schorf, Blasenloch."*
I keep meaning to learn other languages. Or at least to become more proficient in the languages I have studied. But I always get hung up on the little mechanical things. Like how all nouns get capitalization in German. How does one designate the difference between that doughnut over there and that Doughnut, which is a proper doughnut and the mother of all doughnuts. What a great lot of confusion there must be in Dusseldorf on matters such as these.
I am a hopeless academic. All this information swimming round in my pate. All this useless information. I know a lot about many things but not enough to do much of anything. And I waste so much time doing everything except gaining practical applicative skills. I read books about art. I watch programs about filmmaking. I buy musical instruments. And shoes. But I am neither a dancer nor a virtuoso and my drawing is charmingly dim-looking at best. I did stop working at one point this afternoon and paint for a while. I made a sad little bird and then a crap piece of wall with a stool in front of it. But it was a practical diversion, at least. Unfortunately, it was probably brought on by my painful stomach more than by classical inspiration. Unless I've misunderstood the concept of "the muse."
I want a haircut.
Oh, and follow-up to the White Stripes maternal commentary of the night before last: I pointed out an issue of Interview magazine to my mom when she was here. The White Stripes were on the cover. I said, "That's who I saw last night." She looked at them and asked, "Are they Asian?" To adhere to standards of correct journalism, I should also mention that she was looking at the cover somewhat sideways and that she also asked whether they were good and wondered about the cast on Meg's arm. But I thought the paragraph was more amusing ending with just her query as to their ethnicity. Feel free to read it that way.
*It means, "Bite my scab, blowhole," although -- and no discredit to the writers of Pete and Pete -- I think the correct translation for "blowhole" is actually der Lunker. But I had to look it up.