The problem with my week

The problem with spending the better part of a week sitting in a small room with three other people (and one other by WebEx) is that it doesn't really give you anything to blather about unless you feel the need to blather about software set-up.

I don't feel the need to blather about software set-up.

Besides, after a week in a small room I'd like to go outside for a bit and take some photos, or at least as many photos as today's winds will allow. So. Let's see, I guess, what photos I have on me (literally on me. I'm wearing my nerdstick on a lanyard at the moment) that I might be able to fake a blather with.

Ok, this'll do. It's weird, but it's talkable.

What you're seeing here is a photo I took from the bed of the underside of my Ikea chair. If the bed part sounds weird, just remember that I have a fold-out bed (one room apartment, if you'll recall) and when the bed's unfolded it comes nearly out to the chair.

If what's under the chair seems weird, just remember that when the bed's unfolded the stuff under the chair is an easy grab if I'm working on something. In other words, the underside of the chair tends to function like a desk drawer. That is, unless I'm having people over. Then the stuff under the chair gets shoved into the closet. I do have at least a little pride in appearance.

Anyway.

What you're seeing? Well, from bottom right, gesso, masking fluid, and glue. Exciting so far, I imagine. Behind? a bag containing assorted stuff that I use in my mixed media journal. The brown, gesso-edged paper sheets that you might be able to make out are actually the journal itself. It's a mess. It's a mess on purpose. I tend to get caught up in making things look "right", especially when I'm doing things for work, so when I find myself getting too much of a stick up my butt, artistically-speaking (artistic butt-sticks? That's a bit odd. And no doubt some performance artist somewhere has already done a version of it), I get out my journal and make a pointless mess.

I tell myself that I'm trying out techniques, and I suppose that sometimes I am. Really, though, it's more like my version of finger painting. Sometimes literally done with my fingers.

Top left? Um, Terra Stix. I'm a bit of a sucker for the taro, to be honest. Probably as much because of the little purple flecks as the taste. Behind the snack food is a Jenga Xtreme set. I suck at Jenga. That's why I only play myself.

Shall we mention the elephant in the room now? How many of you saw the Portable Atheist (which I'm rereading, by the way) and immediately formed a judgment? How many of you decided that I'm godless and will a) pray for me, or b) shun me? How many of you saw Atheist and have decided that I'm somehow a kindred spirit who's willing to rail against religion?

How many of you stopped having knee-jerk reactions long enough to realise that it's just a book?

I like books. I read lots of books. I need to be better at keeping the bookshelf you see on the sidebar up to date, because I've done a fair amount of reading these past few months that I haven't bothered to list here. I read a lot, and I read a lot of different viewpoints. Do the viewpoints in the above book agree with mine?

Sorry, not saying.

I have beliefs, obviously. Everybody does. But the moment I tell you my beliefs this blog has an agenda, whether I want it to or not. Everything I blathered would be coloured in a way that I wouldn't have meant it to be. That's so not what I want this place for.

The word pointless is in the title, after all. This blog is supposed to be light, pointless, and largely a waste of time.

Generally it succeeds in that, I think you'll agree.

So, for anyone looking for religion or politics, you've come to exactly the wrong place. For anyone looking for weird pictures, pseudophilosophy, pointless whinging, or occasional flights into the completely silly... well, here you are, aren't you?





Come over to my place. We'll sit on the bed, eat taro chips, suck at Jenga, and finger paint with gesso.

And not talk about atheists.