Competitive Complaining

I don't know what it is, but there is this forming of complaining that begins to take on the quality of bragging. I remember noticing it when I was a kid. Two other kids would be complaining about something their parents made them do (or something like that) and it would turn into a little verbal battle where each was trying to outdo the other. It's like they were in a competition to see who had the most difficult life.

The same things happen with adults. I'm not really sure what they do it for. Maybe people just want acknowledgement. Life can be difficult and most of us don't get that much praise. Maybe some people actually take comfort in feeling like their lives are harder than other peoples. I don't know. It's a weird thing.

Anyway, these are some things that I will never complain about:

cool sketchbook pages

cassette tapes

Jim Woodring

slapstick

indie comics

And I'd also like to wish happy birthday to my pop, who turns sixty-seven today!