I can't smell it, feel it, or taste it, but it's officially here now. Happy first day of Autumn everyone. I hope it was grand.

Today Barry Hannah spoke in chapel. He writes. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, therefore making him one of those fancy-pants authors. He wore suspenders, the pages from which he was reading were out of order, and he made light of the fact that quite a few of the people who attended chapel were just studying during it. At one point he used the *b* word. It was hilarious. Afterwards I heard two professors (English/writing profs) discussing how writers write for other writers. I think that's true. And I like it. And I want to be one of them.

I was thumbing through a recent-ish issue of Seventeen magazine the other day. I do this from time to time to see what girls are being told. Then I get really angry and it reminds me why I'm doing what I'm doing. Two adds in particular stood out to me. The first was a Diesel add. I think they were trying to sell shoes...but wow. There's got to be a better way. I don't really want to go into detail here but it is completely inappropriate, semi-pornographic, and makes me so freaking angry I want to hit them in the face.
The other intriguing add was for a Jansport backpack. There is a picture of the backpack and a caption that reads, "Nothing on this page will boost your self-esteem or help you find true love. It will, however, help you carry your stuff." I think in order to fully appreciate it you would have to read a couple of articles and see some more of the magazine. Only in the stark contrast is its true beauty realized.