The Sandman Meets Charles Schulz

This is one of the greatest things I've seen in a long while. It made me laugh real hard.If you've never read The Sandman then you won't get it, but that's an easy remedy: read it! The Sandman is basically awesome and also my favorite comic/graphic novel thing. Also, I just wanted to credit this image by Evan Shaner aka DocShaner of deviantART (since I probably don't have permission to share it here--don't tell!).

I haven't been up to a whole lot, but I've been meaning to blog about this and that. So here's just a bunch of thoughts. I've been listening to a lot of Tori Amos lately--I mean more than I usually do. I borrowed A Piano: The Collection from the SLC Public Library and I've just been listening the discs over and over again in my car. It's been delightful. On a brief side-note, I've realized I am basically the man in "Snow Cherries from France" which is just a beautiful song.

I've also been attempting to catch up on my RadioWest podcasts which has been a somewhat successful venture. Today I listened as Tom Hodgkinson discussed idleness. He argues that the Western addiction to work has resulted in ill health, debt, and anxiety. He proposes that to lead a pleasurable life requires idleness. He of course discusses Oscar Wilde (and many other philosophers including Jesus!), but never used one my favorite Wilde quotes: "It is awfully hard work doing nothing. However, I don't mind hard work when there is no definite object of any kind." They also discussed meditation and the Eastern philosophy of Taoism: being not doing--which is of course immensely complicated and difficult. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and not just because it justified my own idleness. Of course Hodgkinson differentiated somewhat between thoughtful idleness and wasteful laziness. He also made this point--why do we rush around constantly completing tasks and making money? to then enjoy life of course! But do we need to wait until the weekend or until we've made X amount of money to enjoy ourselves--or can we make idle time for ourselves every day to enjoy? I think so. "Isn't it nobler to sit like Job contemplating the world than to scurry around like an ant being busy?"
I also just discovered RadioWest had Alexandra Fuller on the show discussing her book, The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, and I can't even tell you how excited I am to listen to her (again)!

I don't generally watch American Idol but my family goes nuts for that show. Anyway, I caught Adam Lambert performing "Mad World" this week and it was amazing! I actually downloaded his version of the song off iTunes, which I have never done before, but has the awful American Idol cover art, but I can deal with that. He also performed in Wicked at the Panatages Theatre in LA as Fiyero. Anyway, he's probably the best contestant Idol has had on since Kelly Clarkson (maybe ever), and he should definitely win this season.

Currently, I'm reading Little, Big by John Crowley for book club which is an epic fantasy novel, though I found it in the Fiction & Literature section at Barnes & Noble rather than the SciFi / Fantasy area. It was recommended by Harold Bloom. Anyway, so far it's quite unusual and very good. I haven't read a book this dense in a long time--I really have to pay constant attention as I'm reading or I miss a lot. I also need a good dictionary nearby as Crowley's vocabulary is immense. It's going to take a chunk of time to finish it, but I have the highest expectations. I think it's an excellent way to be semi-idle.

I really miss my Will & Grace ever since they stopped playing it on KJZZ. Thank god for YouTube! Anyway, I love this clip which in ten minutes explains pretty much every reason why I love television. Enjoy!