I am EXTREMELY lucky. Being boonied can sometimes have disadvantages, but being able to essentially play in the woods every day or two is an absolutely worthwhile tradeoff.

More recent morning walk pics

from Greedy Rita, a coin (or these days maybe a gift card); from Cheatin’ Pete, a game; and from Lickerish Lou, licorice (though if a kid isn’t a fan of the black root, Lou will oblige by offering some other candy).
6/end

The sailors took Nick’s admonissions to heart, set themselves on a new course, and have traveled the seas ever since, and anyone who spends Christmas at the beach can expect a present from each: 5/

The sailors asked what they could do to thank Nicholas for saving their lives, and Nicholas said that they could repent of their vices; Greedy Rita could stop hoarding her money, Cheatin’ Pete could play fair when gambling, and Lickerish Lou could limit the number of his amorous partners. 4/

When they arrived in the port of Myra, they went to the cathedral to give thanks for their deliverance, and who did they see but the white-bearded man. It was Nicholas, who had, with God’s help, projected his spirit to the distressed sailors while napping during a church meeting. 3/

They prayed to God for help, and suddenly a white-bearded man appeared who seemed to know his way around a boat. The man helped them get their boat back into deep water, and when they turned to thank him, he had disappeared. 2/

This is such a beautiful piece!

As a teen, I just wanted to sock him in the face every time he was on screen. This sense of smug contempt just permeated from him. I mean, I still wanna sock him, even though I don't sock people anymore

Terrible personing aside, the only Wayne performances I've ever liked were Stagecoach and Wake of the Red Witch; by the time I saw Searchers I had enough familiarity with him strutting like an asshole to think of it as effective stunt-casting.

But jeez, folks who currently have no intention of becoming artists, who would have, in years past, done something themselves and learned to love it? Those are the folks we're losing, and that's a lot of us. And that's heartbreaking. /end

I wasn't going anywhere specific with this thread, just lamenting and feeling sad and upset about it.
I like seeing AI stuff fall on its face. I like seeing it penalized, ostracized. I want people to fear to use it because everyone will call them "sloppy gary" or whatever their name is forever after

Just breaks my heart. And schools, employers, art directors, who encourage it, they infuriate me. They're robbing someone of a future passion.

I ain't a walk-to-school-in-the-snow sort (I mean, *I* am, but I don't think it builds character), so I'm not saying that struggle equals merit, but the work that goes into reaching the goal, finding the answer, connecting dots, etc... they build muscles and it permeate ALL of your output.

Not having to put in the work to do a task means you don't get to see if you like the work. Not learning how to do it means you can't replicate and build on it.

How many folks have become a woodworker because they tried to make a birdhouse for mother's day once? Probably plenty!

I don't know where I'm going with this, except that I don't want to write off the folks who might fall prey to it, because, jeez, it certainly has to be easy to fall prey to it. ESPECIALLY with projects that one might not think of as being "their" art, their field.

It sucks to suck. And most of us, when we start something, we suck. And those of us with a strong capacity for growth (i.e. taste and the ability to, so far as we're able, qualify quality) are often the most keenly aware of just how MUCH we suck. And that sucks.

But in trying to achieve that end result yourself, through labor and learning, you build a skill set. And every project gets easier. They offer challenges, yes, and always will, but those challenges become more precise, and you develop tools to develop tools. It's amazing, it's exciting. It's hard.