Arties

I know its been ages (or at least two weeks) since I've written anything, but that's because I wanted this to be a knitting blog...and I just haven't had a free moment to knit a gosh darned thing!

I have temporarily replaced my knitting addiction with an addiction to podcasts because I can indulge in them while working or riding the bus or driving or the many other mindless tasks I do on a daily basis. Escape Pod, the science fiction podcast had a story this last week that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. It was called "Arties aren't Stupid" and it was about a future distopia (ah, but aren't they all?) in which children are genetically engineered to fall into specific, specialized groups. This story focused on the titular "arties" who have an urge to "make", but whose creations are constantly destroyed by the "tinmen". The arties begin to have the ache, as they call it, if there are no supplies around to create with.

I know this ache, I much less delicately call it being creatively constipated. Sometimes, even if it seems like a waste of time, I just have to make something...and then everything starts getting better. I'm sure its a pretty common phenomenon. I should probably state that I don't really consider myself to be a fine artist. I'm pretty comfortable with being a crafter, although I did have a dream last night where I was insisting to someone that I am an artist while he/she (don't remember) assured me that I was just pretentious.

I think that my ache is not so bad at the moment, because even though I'm not knitting or painting, I am working on creating my thesis, for which my WONDERFUL boyfriend taught me how to use autoCAD so I can make some awesome diagrams. Of course I'm thinking of many more ways to use the program for knitting design than for molecular pathway drawing!

Anyway, the story and the podcast in general are wonderful. I also liked it because the arties end up finding and using something that really reminded me of the Spore Creature Creator. I've been wanting to get Spore, but I think it would be way too much of a distraction. I mean, I've hardly had any time to play Rockband 2! My little brother has already beaten it, and I'm still trying to get a sound guy!

MWAH! to everyone!