thoughts and things

At Alex's recommendation I read Kurt Vonnegut's "A Man Without A Country" the other day. It is a must-read. An earnest, charming, delightful, witty, easy read full of sass and truth. I enjoyed it so much - it only takes about an hour to devour. Vonnegut says,

"If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing your art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."

I think that's funny. And wonderful. And true. I wanted to share it.

I am also reading Jim Orbinski's "An Imperfect Offering," which is a book about his experiences in war-torn countries through Doctors Without Borders. My favorite quote so far is this,

"The thought of giving up is inconceivable."

While we're in the way of quoting people, the other week I stated,

"I don't believe in dinosaurs."

And I don't.

The semester is actually over. I know this because I am sitting at my parent's home in Henderson, Nevada wearing my sweatpants. I just woke up from a four-hour nap and ate some potroast. This is the last time we'll gather in this house because my folks are moving to Kansas City, Missouri (where I was born, incidentally). I have mixed feelings about this... it kind of feels like this:

Lastly, I can't stop watching this video. When the drums come in, tell me how big your head nod was. Seeing Arcade Fire in concert would be a purely religious experience for me.

Happy Christmas, all.