On another note, I got the November 'Harpers' in the mail the other day, and there is this wonderful article in it by Mark Slouka, titled " Quitting the Paint Factory -- On the virtues of idleness". (the paint factory referred to is industrial, not artistic) As a bonus, it is illustrated by Brad Yeo. His illustrations look like they are wood block prints, but these days who knows, it could be illustrator. Method of construction aside, they are beautifully designed and compelling. Anyway, back to the article -- It basically examines the obsession with work and how even hobbies and leisure activities are measured by ones work.
"Leisure is permissible, we understand, because is costs money; idleness is not, because it doesn't. Leisure is focused; whatever thinking it requires is absorbed by a certain task: sinking that putt, making that cast, watching that flat-screen TV. Idleness is unconstrained, anarchic. Leisure--particularly if it involves some kind of high-priced technology--is as American as a Fourth of July barbecue. Idleness, on the other hand, has a bad attitude. It doesn't shave, it's not a member of the team, it doesn't play well with others. It thinks too much, as my High School coach used to say. So it has to be ostracized. "
