Arrgh

You know, sometimes I'm pretty impulsive. For instance, when starting this blog I just pulled a name out of the air and used it. Later, it occurred to me to see if lostinaustin.com was available, and what do you know - someone was already using it (although I just checked it, and it must have changed hands in the last few months). If I had bothered to check beforehand, I could have chosen something I knew was available as a domain name and picked it up.

Well, I've been working on this mural project for something like three months now, and it just occurred to me that I might not be the first one to think of this. Sure enough, it's been done (or at least something pretty similar). A photographer named B.J. Smiley Goins started documenting the murals of Austin years ago, and even published a book. Sigh.

I'm not saying this has been a waste of time by any means, but as a writer I've had the same experience in the past. You have an idea, someone beats you to it, then it's old news, or worse, superfluous. Actually, my original idea for the murals was somewhat different. I was interested in how they were used as advertising by local businesses, sort of advertising as public art. There still may be something to that, but regardless, I've gotten to know the city so much better by doing this that it was worthwhile for that experience alone.