Went to the art museum today with my sister and my cousin Jenni. It was pretty cool, until everybody else showed up, crying children and the elderly with younger relatives there to tell them "This is a picture of a prairie." Dr. Pretentious was there staring for long minutes through Black Flies at abstract still life. I was especially moved by the landscapes. I loved all the activity in Dawn of Arcadia, and was nearly choked by Monet's smoky depiction of Waterloo Bridge, hazy foreground with a barely visible industrial skyline.

It's good for the soul, I think. I want to drink in every detail, feel how the bare feet meet the sand of the shore, smell the incense in Spanish monasteries, taste the breeze through autumn poplars.

Everyone should go. It's free on Saturday. Show up early.