DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 6, 2023

The Stay Awake (1987) Catholic girls (well, girls in a movie reality sense of the word) having a sleepover at their high school use crucifixes, rosaries, and random crap they find in classrooms to combat a serial killer's demonic ghost. Sure, it ain't great, but how many South African attempts at a Freddy Krueger style slasher flick full of 80's rubber monsters are you gonna get the chance to watch? Um, likely just this one come to think of it. And honestly, that's probably enough.

TIL: Between the Dutch East India Company and the British government, Catholicism was actually outlawed in South Africa until the mid-1800's. However, once the Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived, the Church began to take a foothold the way it always does, by making people less miserable through the establishment of agricultural initiatives, hospitals, and yes, schools. Not sure the school in this movie is what they had in mind though.

Back in high school, I had a very nice teacher tell me that while I obviously had some artistic skill, my true talent lay in writing and I should pursue that. Later, in college, during a weekly painting class critique session (a soul crushing experience for those in the know), my instructor offered his opinion that although I was a competent artist with interesting ideas, he sensed that at heart I was a storyteller and shouldn't abandon that path. And they weren't the only ones. Apparently, the gist of it all was that I should keep picking up a pen, but not necessarily to draw.

The thing is, when it comes to such matters, sometimes it feels like you don't have a choice. In his book Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, Henry Miller explained how "every now and then, especially if there are no visitors for a spell, the watercolor mania comes over me." What he was getting at is that he knew he could write books people wanted to buy, but he HAD to paint. See, even if you're known for something else (even if it's only by a few dozen people who follow you on the internet like myself), the "artsy fartsy" compulsion is a thing you just have to let loose sometimes.

So, I've decided to let it loose for a little bit, and from time to time will be sharing some art, if you want to call it that, that I've created over the years. All that being said, let's just go ahead and start with something weird.

The Long Dark Night Gallery of the Soul #001: For your consideration... an ink sketch from the journal (I have a few) I occasionally use to bleed off negative emotions at the end of some long, late nights. "A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness." - Bernard de Fontenelle