stole over to the hammer museum this afternoon while i waited for belle (who was reclining in a dentists chair). show was missable but i spent the hour browsing their bookstore. i struck by how many great ideas are contained in any collection of books like that one. i was also reminded of just how important it is that we make things that are totally unnecessary. there have been years, even before the years of gw bush and friends, where mostly conservative folk have had contempt for art that, according to them, has no 'purpose'. they believe that the marketplace, not tax dollars, should fund art. but i would argue that that by definiton is a market. it creates commodities and the exchange of commodities. that is fine as well but its different. it is in the moments when we contemplate unnecessary things that we transcend our daily lives. i believe we, especially americans, need more of this kind of time. and personally, for a believer in truth, reality, and rationality that sort of time is the closest experience i have to magic.