I did it, you stupid m----r f-----r!

I love Teacher Tom, for many reasons. A new one today is his post on art education, in which he gives the best description of the creative process I've ever read:

"I had no idea if it was even possible to do what I was thinking about doing. Or rather, I had no idea if it was even possible for me to do it.

"It was exciting to finally fire up the circular saw and lay into those books. Would the spinning blade cut properly or just shred the cardboard and paper? Would it be a nice clean cut like I envisioned or would it be a mess? How deeply should I cut? Is it dangerous to be using this tool for this purpose? Will the cut be too wide to hold the hand saw securely? Would I have to resort to glue? What kind of glue? These and dozens of other creative questions and challenges raced through my head even while I was in the process of angling into the tops of those do-it-yourself manuals.

"Everything about getting those bolts installed was a struggle. I cursed and sweat. I regretted that I didn't have a drill press, but only the measly 3/8" hand drill I've been using since I was in college. The paper dust kept getting impacted in the holes, and the holes refused to line up through the entire stack. I had to stop frequently because the pages kept smoking, threatening to burst into flames -- at least that was my fear. Would some scorch marks add or detract from the finished piece? I sweat and I cursed and I nearly gave it up several times. At one point there were tears of frustration in my eyes, and as I tightened down the last of the nuts, cinching the entire thing into a flexed muscle of kinetic energy, I experienced a wave of relief and joy and "I did it, you stupid m----r f-----r!" that can only come from being on the other side of the creative process."

Mother's Day: don't diss your local rapper

Though of course it's not PC, in most hetero households the woman does the majority of all household work, from cleaning and cooking to childcare and running errands, even when she has a full-time paid job outside the house. And most of us don't feel appreciated for it.

Penelope Trunk even proposes that feeling unappreciated in the domestic sphere is a major factor in wives cheating on their spouses.

So, this Mother's Day, don't forget the flowers. Compliment her casserole. And maybe scrub the toilets, too, ok?