I am tired so this entry will be short. Simply a catalog.

I went to brunch this morning with Carlos, Katie, and Leanne. My meal was less than $26, so I can't say if it was worth it or not.

It was hot. I was sweating. I split a cinnamon roll with Carlos, which I later regretted, because it made me feel obese. The peppermint chai tea latte was not that good. Big, heavy cups are cozy, but their size belies the amount of liquid they can contain — they are always very thick.

I slept for most of the day today, somehow. Like, from one until 6 pm. I must have been very sleep-deprived. I am awake now, at 1 am, but I wish I wasn't. I hope I haven't accidentally turned myself nocturnal.

I've been thinking of my classical roots. More "our" than "my," I should say. I like learning about these older civilizations. The roots of everything. When humanity discovers something for the first time, how do they express their knowledge? And not just the Greeks or Mesopotamians. Duchamp, Lotte Reiniger...I can't think of many else, but...they're there, I'm sure. Pioneers, man. I don't know what I'm saying.

I watched "Fantastic Planet" today. Beautiful film. There is so much more to animation and film than Disney. I will preach this till the day I die. It's amazing how much good art uplifts me. Just when I am starting to be sucked into my own solipsistic vortex, receding from the average, typical, contemporary, I'm abruptly pulled into light by the power of good art. I just feel so much happier when I look at good things. Looking at bad things makes me feel bad. Scrolling through tumblr makes me feel bad, most of the time. Not all of the time. Watching bad or average animation makes me feel bad or average. Anyway, there is such wisdom in the past. Paradoxically, to obtain success as a contemporary artist, one must not only look at the work of contemporaries. To do so is so limiting. ANIMATION IS GR8. I will make good work soon.

Uh, idk what else I did all day. Yesterday was Saturday, and...I hung out with Carlos and Katie, and we went to the Soap Factory. The work there was not that good. The curse of the MFA, I think. Except Preston Drum's thing, which was really awesome. He does the painted cardboard replicas of common objects. This time, he made an entire cardboard movie set, complete with a camera and boombox and live-action film. The rest was eh. We also had dinner together. I've been spending all my money on food, and I'm obese. They were a little boring but I think so long as I go into interactions with them with the understanding that I will have to entertain myself on some level, then things are OK. We skyped with Brian for like two hours, too. Memeplex.

Their apartment is insane. Like. I can't even begin to explain. Just so luxurious. More luxurious than Ben's Shanghai apartment. They are so, so, so lucky. But Socrates has helped me realize that virtuousness and individual freedom are unattainable if one is wealthy or lives in luxury. So Brian and I will be the most virtuous when I move to NJ.

I animated a bit yesterday and Friday night. I'm making progress. Adhering to my schedule. Still need to find a programmer, but maybe I'll just do it myself. A shitty little prototype. I want to start making short films again. Pure cinema. Though I do appreciate the interactivity of games. But the artifice of cinema is becoming underappreciated, and maybe I can once again revive that interest. I am living in a wealthy bubble where I am afforded the luxury of being able to pursue useless things.

Oh god, I almost forgot. Yesterday morning, I went on the Allan Kohl architecture tour around Minneapolis. It was...amazing. Changed my life. Opened my eyes to things I'd never noticed before. We went to a funerary chapel modeled after the Hagia Sofia. They brought in Venetian mosaic artists to create the largest mosaic in the Midwest. Absolutely stunning. I'll attach pictures later. Also, Minneapolis has an obelisk-shaped building: the Foshay. Banks that were modeled after fortresses. Neighborhoods with homes, preserved and conserved from the 1800s. My favorite building is the beautiful marble building by Minoru Yamasaki on Nicollet. It has a huge colonnade that surrounds it on all sides, and the white columns contrast with the reflective green windowed walls of the structure. I wish I knew more architecture terms so I could accurately describe the building. I love it. I've waited outside it for the bus. Allan, too, is amazing. He's been here since the 80s and used to teach the Intro to Art History class. He's been giving this tour since the 90s. Only five other students showed up. The rest of the school missed out.