Allie + Patricia = Super Best Friends Forever!!

i started this blog to share my work and my thoughts on photography.  i hoped it might motivate me to work harder and to think more.  it has.  but it has also become an additional thing to feel guilty about, like unanswered emails.  i think it's because i put too much pressure on myself.  i feel like i have to be profound when i write here, and i never, ever feel profound.  as a result, i don't write in here, and then i feel guilty, and stupid, and nervous about writing again, etc. etc.  the good old vicious cycle thing.

because of this profundity/guilt trap, i'm going to lighten up a bit and make this blog more about sharing,  just plain sharing.... everything.... perhaps a good joke, maybe a great recipe, or the title of a book that really moved me.  it will probably still be largely about art, creativity and photography, because that's what i mostly live and breathe.  but i just can't fake being so studiously serious all the time.  it wears me out.  one of the reasons i love art and photography is because it's fun, and i want this blog to be fun for you and me as well.

to that lofty end, let me start by introducing you to the blog of a young lady i first learned of today, Hyperbole and a Half.  you may already know about her because apparently she has quite a following.  since i don't own a smart phone or i pad, and i'm not on twitter, or very adept at social networking, i tend not to spend much time online and, consequently, i am not all that up to date on internet-ish, you-tubey things.  i do know how to google, so i found out a few things about the fantastic mind behind this blog.  it belongs to a young woman named Allie Brosh.  she has been at it for a few years but hasn't written in awhile because she suffers from depression and went into a bit of a tailspin last year.  it seems recently she has begun to feel better (YAY) and is  returning to her blog.  there may be a book in the works.  one can only hope.  she reminds me of a young Roz Chast (another major hero of mine).

as a sample of her work, i've selected a piece i know you will like, Val, because you're a dog lover and it's about her dog.  i laughed out loud, and i'm a cat person.  here it is:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/07/dog.html

i've only had the opportunity to read a couple of her past posts and can't wait to dive into her archive.

i feel happy.  like when you discover a writer you really, really love and learn that she has written forty-four previous books.  what a treat lies in store for me, and you too, i hope.