Flipping Pencils

Good Art Makes You Uncomfortable

Why should art make people uncomfortable? That's the question I asked of a man who paints, writes poetry, does needlepoint (believe it or not), loves to talk and has a real job, too. His answer:

Art that doesn't make you uncomfortable says, "It's OK not to look at me if you don't feel like it."

My friend Jim [James Baker Hall], who was my teacher, said if you write a short story, you have to bend the bar.

We joke about, "Whoa, what the fuck does that mean? Bend the bar?"

Kill a Stray Cat, Save 20 Songbirds

You kill feral cats when you have the chance, don't you? That's the question I asked of a woman who loves National Public Radio, her husband, songbirds, shooting and her dogs. She lives on a couple acres in rural Wisconsin. Her answer:

Telling Lies to Get True Information Fast

Do you lie to people to get your research done? That's the question I asked of a man who has written and updated tourist guidebooks about a number of foreign and domestic locations for popular guidebook publishers. His answer:

"Not the Way Our Bodies Were Meant to Be"

Why does it upset you when you see obese women? That's the question I asked of a five-foot seven-inch, 159-pound woman with a body mass index (BMI)* of 24.9, which is within normal range for adults. Her answer: