I got my head stuck in the cupboard

Batts used to do a hilarious cover of the old Monty Python routine about Mary Queen of Scots ...

Had a nice talk with my old buddy Marjie last night. She's getting out of the business as soon as the right bus comes along. I told her I thought that was a great idea. "I wish you could say that you were sad that I'm getting out." "Honey, can't do that. This is a good thing." ... Perhaps the rising tide of bad industry news (N&O laid off five editors through buyouts today) has shaken me, but I'm finding my compassion fatigue is getting harder to shake off. Another horrible earthquake, in China. Photos of little feet lost amid piles of concrete. Desperate, hungry people looking for the dead. It's beyond numbing. That is the kind of news that once made my blood race in my ears. Not anymore. And I don't think it's became I'm middle-aged, although I'm sure that's a factor. I just think that my art must do more than point and stare. My art should explain, give meaning, shed light. Somehow, even in these dark days of newspaper, I believe that will survive.