Thanks KimC, pathetically, my only goal in life is to be funny. I do all right with people I only see once a year, that's about how much material I have.

Guest, I meant painters and sculptorswhen I said Artist, and much prefer your correct usage. I've seen pretty good movies about other artists--saw Nora last night, about Nora Barnacle and James Joyce, and it wasn't bad. It reassurred my about the way I understood The Dead, which I was unsteady about--in college I got the impression I simply didn't get the story, maybe I did after all.