I do think the creative process can be largely sub-/unconscious, and people can "just do stuff" without being aware of all the influences that are affecting their work.

Teppy - excellent news.

Matt,

I agree with you, but I think that's the role of higher education: to make the implicit explicit. If we (as faculty) aren't here in part to do that, then why the fuck do I have this job?

What we do in the classroom are a series of intellectual exercises - as well as creative.

I wore black trousers and a black-and-white striped shirt, both things I already had, to my mother's funeral. After the funeral, I threw the shirt away.

There would have been enough time between Mom's death and the funeral to go shopping (she died on the Friday night of Labor Day... so not a great weekend for malls and such) but my body image demons were way way too loud, so black trousers and a black shirt and a very nice black and white blazer it was.

I had six meetings today. My brain hurts, you guys.

I'm reminded by the lead singer of Smash Mouth who claimed he didn't listen to other pop music and just "created' the songs. But if you listen to their songs, they are reminiscent of 1960s & 1970s music.

Yeah, that's a ridiculous claim. The singer might be an actual ignoramus but the keyboard player who sampled the Moog synthesizer from an early 70s track for "Walking On The Sun" certainly listened to earlier music. Plus they fucking covered the Monkees "I'm a Believer" and girl group staple "Can't Seem To Make You Mine." Not to mention being a ska influenced band originally.

right? I couldn't believe it.

I remember feeling like a vulture, packing a black jumper to take on my emergency trip home when my dad was in the hospital for organ failure. It was pretty clear that if he survived it was going to be a miracle, but even so. He did die later that week and I was glad I didn't have to worry about shopping in the middle of preparing for the funeral.

That sinkhole vid was incredible!