Goony

Sunday I went to see a theatre matinee. I got there just in time, then found I'd left my wallet at home. That's the kind of goofup I used to make all the time when I was younger, but I thought I'd finally tightened up on stuff like that. The ticket-taker and usher offered to let me in for free, but I didn't feel right about that and I slank home to do laundry instead. I didn't want to get something for nothing, especially since I was in a self-punishing mood over forgetting my wallet, but now I wonder if I didn't commit the greater sin against the performers by turning my back on their show, and against the ticket-taker by turning down her offer.
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This blogpost talks about manga titles the author's stopped reading. It's a meme that's making the rounds on manga-happy nerdblogs, but I realized recently that I've more or less stopped buying manga. The last manga I bought was a volume of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha. Tezuka created manga, but not only did he pioneer it, he continued to find new uses for the form. "Buddha" retells the story of Buddha, obviously, and while I'm not familiar with the full story I find Tezuka's retelling to be gripping. Tezuka knows how to spin a yarn, and the moral seriousness of his tale gives it flavor without being overpowering. The story never slides into boring or banal piety; religious storytellers take note! Once I would have been nonplussed by Tezuka's use of goony-looking cartoony characters in excruciatingly serious tales of spiritual trials, but nowadays it seems perfect to me. Aren't we all kind of goony, and aren't we all involved in serious spiritual trials?