On the four-and-a-half hour bus ride back from Stratford-upon-Avon, I made a list of my goals for the next year:
1) Learn how to effectively use Photoshop
2) Apply for a job with Americorps to pay off student loans
3) Find a full-time summer job in North Carolina
In my "The Birth of 'COOL'" class, we are discussing post-modernism. Every one seemed to think that post-modernism was this crazy-cool philosophical development that gives them the power to shape their world, but when I ponder post-modernism, I am just overwhelmed with how lonely it all feels. The idea that we communicate through symbols--that was is "true" is basically whatever we all decide is true--that we have no way of really knowing how each person individually is interpreting the symbols, rhetoric, language, world around them--that we will go our whole lives being unknown, being unsure whether we have ever really connected with another person or not--well, that haunts me. One of my classmates said that post-modernism is a philosophical tool that gives you the power to take concepts and experiences from the real world, break them down and transform them, then return back into reality. I guess I have a hard time compartmentalizing my world like that; I don't know how to separate the idea from the reality.
Another idea that I have enjoyed pondering recently is that art is about choice--that the artist's selection is what matters. I've been thinking about my creative process through this lens, and I am excited by the ideas it inspires. So much of the way that I think is less about making new creations and more about finding the connections in others--in picking out what I think matters in the pool of ideas and expression that exists all around me--and using this hodgepodge of thoughts and connections to fuel my existence and give me the energy to go through day, after day, after day. I am a little bit drunk, so I am not sure if this makes sense, but let me summarize in a more concrete way. I am terrible at drawing. Horrible at it! I have no patience for making straight lines, and whenever I color, it ends up looking like muddy crayon soup. However, I have seen some artworks here in London that really inspire me, that--YOU know--move me. I look at Picasso's "Nude Woman in a Red Armchair," and I somehow see myself in that, and I see the complexity of sex, and womanhood, and vulnerability, and life, and personality in that, and then I want to piece it all together, I want to take all of the symbols--me--Picasso's piece--someone else's words--a few parts of other people--and piece it all together, overlap that. I have nothing new to create; I just want to show the overlap of all of these things running through my head. Thus, Photoshop! With Photoshop, I can layer photos and cut out pieces of them and add in quotes and do all sorts of things; I can select what it is that I want to include, and I am creating art by that very selection. Or something. Or maybe Photoshop falls under the category of creating. Ah, brain hurting, too much Kronenburg.
I have a paper due at 3 AM, so I must keep this short (kidding, kidding, too late or that, obviously). I love London. I love being in London. It isn't, to be frank, an exotic experience. They have KFC here! However, I am having this very strange experience here of feeling almost normal. I have been able to leave much of my past behind me in the States, and people here are getting to known me on the basis of who I am at this moment, and it is a strange feeling. It is less complicated here. I feel bolder to do certain things; what frightens me isn't quite so overwhelming when I am able to remove it from the context of all that came before. I am doing well in my classes, meeting nice boys, hanging out with disturbingly well-adjusted people, spending time with one of my best friends, and enjoying the fun of learning about a new place. I know that, when I return to Chapel Hill, my responsibilities and issues will still be there; I know that this is more of a vacation from those things rather than a transformation beyond them. Still, I am getting something from this, even more than just space to breathe and relax. I realize that the entirety of my being is not just what has come before. I am a person of the moment, too, and while I don't need to hide the past, I don't (to be very cliche) have to be entirely defined by it, either. I don't have to give explanations for everything to anyone else or to myself; sometimes, quite refreshingly, the moment can just be the moment. I have no idea what I am going on about here; this is like that time I drunk Facebooked SR that two page message once about how I hoped the Hall would maintain some of its openness or something. Wow, that was forever ago. For. Ev. Urr.
Okay, I have to go finish my paper right now. PS I held an owl on my arm at an apple festival this weekend ITWASSOCOOL. PPS I sign every guestbook here (e.g. at a B&B or museum) with my name and a TAU CROSS. Sometimes, I quote Shakespeare too, mention a few well known hoops that we all have in our lives.
Take care Take care Take care
and tell those rushees how scary I am!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
London London London
I met my first Irish friend and we decided we were soulmates! More details later!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Exciting classes!
Okay, so I've finally had all of my classes except for London experience, which is tomorrow. We are going on a tour of London via the tube.
My classes are wonderful! Well, all except one. I have, basically, a human geography class about global London which is terrible. However, it is worth the sacrifice for... dun dun... THE BIRTH OF COOL. Yes. We talked about everything from Miles Davis to quantum physics, and somehow it all fit together wonderfully. Shakespeare is also phenomenal; it is taught by this hilarious, tiny British woman who lives in the countryside. She has marvelous anecdotes about slugs. Also, my art class takes place solely in museums around town.
After class, I sat in the British museum for an hour. It is a block away from where I live. There is an exhibit on "Living and Dying," which I explored. I sat and watched other people walking through the exhibit. It was fascinating to watch their faces and guess their reactions to the exhibit. There was one man, in particular, who caught my attention because he was just. so. freakin'. old. I wonder what it is like for a very old man to look at an exhibit about life and death. On my way out, I also saw a statue from 800 BC. It was an attendant to the Assyrian god of writing, Nabu. There was an inscription to go with it: "DO NOT TRUST IN ANOTHER GOD." I liked that, even though I'm not sure sure how trustworthy language is, in the end, since it is all just symbols and everything. I figure trusting in muses is probably better than trusting in the god of war or whatever else. Poetry ftw.
More updates later, gators.
My classes are wonderful! Well, all except one. I have, basically, a human geography class about global London which is terrible. However, it is worth the sacrifice for... dun dun... THE BIRTH OF COOL. Yes. We talked about everything from Miles Davis to quantum physics, and somehow it all fit together wonderfully. Shakespeare is also phenomenal; it is taught by this hilarious, tiny British woman who lives in the countryside. She has marvelous anecdotes about slugs. Also, my art class takes place solely in museums around town.
After class, I sat in the British museum for an hour. It is a block away from where I live. There is an exhibit on "Living and Dying," which I explored. I sat and watched other people walking through the exhibit. It was fascinating to watch their faces and guess their reactions to the exhibit. There was one man, in particular, who caught my attention because he was just. so. freakin'. old. I wonder what it is like for a very old man to look at an exhibit about life and death. On my way out, I also saw a statue from 800 BC. It was an attendant to the Assyrian god of writing, Nabu. There was an inscription to go with it: "DO NOT TRUST IN ANOTHER GOD." I liked that, even though I'm not sure sure how trustworthy language is, in the end, since it is all just symbols and everything. I figure trusting in muses is probably better than trusting in the god of war or whatever else. Poetry ftw.
More updates later, gators.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Today I...
Went to Kensington gardens and met Peter Pan!
I also briefly made out with a fellow name Felipe who is from Chile and loves soccer and rum and his country and he is learning English and he says I'm beautilful BAHA.
So I was all HELLO CHILE FRIEND GOOD BYE and I gave him a hug farewell and thought he was giving me a silly hispanic kiss on the cheek but I WAS WRONG. ALAS.
And by ALAS I mean that London is a beautiful city of adventure. Oh and I finally met up with Mairin today and it was wonderful.
Also, I tried to touch a swan and it ATTACKED ME. DOOM!
I also briefly made out with a fellow name Felipe who is from Chile and loves soccer and rum and his country and he is learning English and he says I'm beautilful BAHA.
So I was all HELLO CHILE FRIEND GOOD BYE and I gave him a hug farewell and thought he was giving me a silly hispanic kiss on the cheek but I WAS WRONG. ALAS.
And by ALAS I mean that London is a beautiful city of adventure. Oh and I finally met up with Mairin today and it was wonderful.
Also, I tried to touch a swan and it ATTACKED ME. DOOM!
Monday, September 7, 2009
MESSY GRAMMAR
Today I went on a tour of the British Library. Our tour guide has been working at the library for 30+ years. He personally carried a GUTENBERG BIBLE and original Shakespeare texts from their previous resting places to the new library building. He took them in a taxi cab. I said, I WANT TO DO THAT. He said his arms were shaking a lot. "LOW PROFILE"--that's what he called their taxi cab transport.
British people seem to smile less but frequently make intense, sustained eye contact.
Ford, my frisbee throwing buddy, is my most delightful friend here thus far. My roommate is amusing and nice. There is some guy here that was good friends with Liz B. We found ourselves happily lost today while looking around for theatres, and we ended up in a very fancy building known as The Royal Courts of Justice.
I talked to this eccentric old man in the grocery store. He passionately described to me how air lines are getting cheaper, now, but they also consist of the TRASH OF THE EARTH because these days they just let anyone in! In the olden days, airplanes had class! And the people in Cork are so stingy that they'll pick ashes up off the ground to roll them into cigarettes... and in the US all the rich, trashy, miserly people go to Florida... and soon there's going to be a world war because the whole world is getting trashier and trashier! After a while, I starting getting uncomfortable and tried to escape to buy my mozarella cheese. What a crotchety, potentially dangerous, endearing sort of old man.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to play some pickup frisbee at a park. I discovered a new sport today called "netball." So many of the people playing it had colorful hair. I want colorful hair, goshdarnit. I must learn more about this "netball."
I am listening to Sinead O'Conner. Last night, they played that song IIIII WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODYYY at the pub, and I laughed with glee. That song reminds me of the Hall, most particularly NC and her wild dance moves. When I return, we shall listen to that song together.
I miss St. A's. Life here is exciting and new, but it is also overwhelming and a bit lonely without all of you. Please keep me updated on what's going on with literary/visual projects. I will enjoy having that connection with everyone while I am abroad. It is comforting to know that, when the semester ends, I can return to a safe place inhabited by people I both love and enjoy immensely. Meanwhile, I will push myself to continue adventuring into the unknown!
British people seem to smile less but frequently make intense, sustained eye contact.
Ford, my frisbee throwing buddy, is my most delightful friend here thus far. My roommate is amusing and nice. There is some guy here that was good friends with Liz B. We found ourselves happily lost today while looking around for theatres, and we ended up in a very fancy building known as The Royal Courts of Justice.
I talked to this eccentric old man in the grocery store. He passionately described to me how air lines are getting cheaper, now, but they also consist of the TRASH OF THE EARTH because these days they just let anyone in! In the olden days, airplanes had class! And the people in Cork are so stingy that they'll pick ashes up off the ground to roll them into cigarettes... and in the US all the rich, trashy, miserly people go to Florida... and soon there's going to be a world war because the whole world is getting trashier and trashier! After a while, I starting getting uncomfortable and tried to escape to buy my mozarella cheese. What a crotchety, potentially dangerous, endearing sort of old man.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to play some pickup frisbee at a park. I discovered a new sport today called "netball." So many of the people playing it had colorful hair. I want colorful hair, goshdarnit. I must learn more about this "netball."
I am listening to Sinead O'Conner. Last night, they played that song IIIII WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODYYY at the pub, and I laughed with glee. That song reminds me of the Hall, most particularly NC and her wild dance moves. When I return, we shall listen to that song together.
I miss St. A's. Life here is exciting and new, but it is also overwhelming and a bit lonely without all of you. Please keep me updated on what's going on with literary/visual projects. I will enjoy having that connection with everyone while I am abroad. It is comforting to know that, when the semester ends, I can return to a safe place inhabited by people I both love and enjoy immensely. Meanwhile, I will push myself to continue adventuring into the unknown!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
This looks fun:
I applied for my own amusement:
http://www.oneandother.co.uk/
This summer, sculptor Antony Gormley invites you to help create an astonishing living monument. He is asking the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals, in an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity.
Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, different people will make the Plinth their own. If you’re selected, you can use your time on the plinth as you like – to demonstrate, to perform, or simply to reflect. One & Other is open to anyone and everyone from any corner of the UK. As long as you’re 16 or over and are living, or staying, in the UK, you can apply to be part of this unforgettable artistic experiment. Participants will be picked at random, chosen from the thousands who will enter, to represent the entire population of the UK. The rules are simple: you must stand on the plinth alone, for the whole hour; you can do whatever you want, provided it’s legal; and you can take anything with you that you can carry.
You can play your part in making this idea a reality – either by volunteering yourself, by telling others about it, or by experiencing it online or on the square itself.
One person. One hour.
"Through elevation onto the plinth, and removal from the common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol… In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historical statues to specific individuals, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It could be tragic but it could also be funny."
Antony Gormley
http://www.oneandother.co.uk/
This summer, sculptor Antony Gormley invites you to help create an astonishing living monument. He is asking the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals, in an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity.
Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, different people will make the Plinth their own. If you’re selected, you can use your time on the plinth as you like – to demonstrate, to perform, or simply to reflect. One & Other is open to anyone and everyone from any corner of the UK. As long as you’re 16 or over and are living, or staying, in the UK, you can apply to be part of this unforgettable artistic experiment. Participants will be picked at random, chosen from the thousands who will enter, to represent the entire population of the UK. The rules are simple: you must stand on the plinth alone, for the whole hour; you can do whatever you want, provided it’s legal; and you can take anything with you that you can carry.
You can play your part in making this idea a reality – either by volunteering yourself, by telling others about it, or by experiencing it online or on the square itself.
How to take part
- Register online at oneandother.co.uk, or by post.
- The final draw, for places on the plinth in October, will be on 1 September. Successful applicants are notified by email.
One person. One hour.
One & Other.
"Through elevation onto the plinth, and removal from the common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol… In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historical statues to specific individuals, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It could be tragic but it could also be funny."Antony Gormley
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
CANT STOP BLOGGING !!#!!0101!!>?
ME (9:08:03 PM): oh man
ME (9:08:15 PM): I had dinner with my mom and my brother and my mom's boyfriend tonight
ME (9:08:30 PM): and my mom was saying a prayer for dinner because apparently she does that now that she's dating this guy
ME (9:08:33 PM): and I BURST out laughing
ME (9:08:57 PM): and THEN in the middle of him telling some story I started laughing with a ton of water in my mouth and I ended up spitting it all over the table
ME (9:09:00 PM): ALL OVER
ME (9:09:25 PM): and THEN I made my happy claim of MOST PEOPLE IVE MET FROM ASHEVILLE I REALLLY DONT LIKE EXCEPT FOR LIKE ONE OR TWO PEOPLE AND THEYRE AWESOME
ME (9:09:41 PM): and then my mom freaked out
ME (9:09:56 PM): and I thought it was because her boyfriend was from asheville
ME (9:10:02 PM): and I was all OHGODOHGOD AWKWARD OH GOD
ME (9:10:26 PM): but apparently she was just worried I'd hurt my brother's feelings since he hangs out in western north carolina so much pfaw
FRIEND (9:12:38 PM): LMAO
FRIEND (9:12:54 PM): i hope this is a preview of the epic blog post about your day
ME (9:13:07 PM): oh man
ME (9:13:11 PM): I will just post this conversation
ME (9:08:15 PM): I had dinner with my mom and my brother and my mom's boyfriend tonight
ME (9:08:30 PM): and my mom was saying a prayer for dinner because apparently she does that now that she's dating this guy
ME (9:08:33 PM): and I BURST out laughing
ME (9:08:57 PM): and THEN in the middle of him telling some story I started laughing with a ton of water in my mouth and I ended up spitting it all over the table
ME (9:09:00 PM): ALL OVER
ME (9:09:25 PM): and THEN I made my happy claim of MOST PEOPLE IVE MET FROM ASHEVILLE I REALLLY DONT LIKE EXCEPT FOR LIKE ONE OR TWO PEOPLE AND THEYRE AWESOME
ME (9:09:41 PM): and then my mom freaked out
ME (9:09:56 PM): and I thought it was because her boyfriend was from asheville
ME (9:10:02 PM): and I was all OHGODOHGOD AWKWARD OH GOD
ME (9:10:26 PM): but apparently she was just worried I'd hurt my brother's feelings since he hangs out in western north carolina so much pfaw
FRIEND (9:12:38 PM): LMAO
FRIEND (9:12:54 PM): i hope this is a preview of the epic blog post about your day
ME (9:13:07 PM): oh man
ME (9:13:11 PM): I will just post this conversation
Summer Movies & Shows
Here is a list of what I watched this summer:
City of Lost Children, Brazil, Serenity, Princess Mononoke, Blade Runner, Shaolin Soccer, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Karate Kid, Lawrence of Arabia , Love In the Afternoon, Charade, Steel Magnolias, Casablanca, How to Be, Dirty Dancing, PS I Love You, I Love You, Man, Hitch (didn’t finish), Harry Potter VI, Up, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Secondhand Lions, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, that “documentary” about dragons (didn’t finish), that Swedish movie of Laura’s
Firefly, My So Called Life, Shogun (not all of it)
OH AND MYSTIC PIZZA (+ pizza)
Firefly, My So Called Life, Shogun (not all of it)
OH AND MYSTIC PIZZA (+ pizza)
Poetry
ROSES
You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!
George Eliot 1819-1880
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!
George Eliot 1819-1880
This reminds me of sitting under the rose bushes in front of the Hall and reading a book. There is something satisfying about being surrounded by roses while enjoying a good novel.
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