Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Done. J'ai fini.

I was instructed by a bemused french instructor that je suis fini means something very different than "I am finished." Anyhow, I totally crushed out on this adorable french grad student who was teaching one of the summer french language courses. I, unfortunately, was not in his section. Mais, j'ai fini mon examen final. Je suis tres contente. Je suis allé au Philadelphia pour une petite vacances avant mon voyage au Paris.

Monday, December 27, 2004

More D and G

One friend who works in the fashion industry can only think of the other D&G as she reads Deleuze and Guattari. Another, upon hearing my description of what D&G are up to, replied,"they're evil formalist kantian bastards!" To which I would append, "on optative drugs!!!" Another deadline has come and gone. Yet, I am still writing this damn paper.

Saturday, December 25, 2004

Xmas come and gone

Winter break started a week ago. And I've been agonizing over a final paper ever since. Christmas has come and (almost) gone. This darn paper is still yet to be done. I am just having a tremendously difficult time dealing with Deleuze and Guattari's Thousand Plateaus, and coming up with something interesting to say in a coherent fashion. I feel like the paper just sort of falls apart towards the end when I get to them and their BwOs and faciality... I guess the form of my essay matches the content of their work. Gah. But tomorrow is the deadline that I have set for myself... no matter what, it is gonna be done. Then, I'll get to kick back, relax, and write my masters paper! Argh. It never ends. The agony.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Finals...


I have many papers to write and have been working for a while now. Thought I'd take a blog break and share with the very few readers that I have left due to my own fault of not updating more frequently with actually intresting posts. Self deprecation aside. I saw National Treasure today. I overcame my resistance to watching Nicholas Cage on the big screen Tuesday night. I tried to watch the 10:30 pm screening, but lo and behold the theater claimed that the screening had sold out! I couldn't believe it... every single seat to this corny action movie based on a conspiracy theory involving the Freemasons and the founding fathers hiding "the greatest treasure trove ever"? 10:30 pm. is a shitty time to try to come up with a plan of what to do on the Upper East Side as most things closed at 11 pm. So, I drowned my sorrows with a bottle of red when I got home.

Ever the one to persevere (in procrastination) I went back to see the film this afternoon... It felt slightly derivative of Indiana Jones films where the "good" treasure hunter is constantly getting hounded by the "bad" treasure hunters. We know the villians are bad because they gratuitously smash antiquities that don't appear valuable - where as the "good" guys just want to find treasure for the betterment of humankind. Hmmm. I couldn't quite clock how the writers wanted to present the relationship between protagonist Ben Gates (Cage) and sidekick Riley Poole (Bartha). Bartha, a NYU graduate I might add, will be in NYC this winter filming an indy film, "Trust the Man," with Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal (via The Kalamazoo Gazette).

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Je suis le chat fracasse


You scored as Drunk Cat. Put down the bottle, Cheech. Sign up for some AA classes and drink a glass of water. Bars are ok once in a while, but you shouldn't be sleeping at them.


Which Absurd Cat are you?
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Old school book ban and burning....

It's being reported in The Birmingham News that a state lawmaker is trying to ban gay books. In summary: "An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries... A bill by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would prohibit the use of public funds for 'the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.' Allen said he filed the bill to protect children from the 'homosexual agenda'... When asked about Tennessee Williams' southern classic 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,' Allen said the play probably couldn't be performed by university theater groups. Allen said no state funds should be used to pay for materials that foster homosexuality. He said that would include nonfiction books that suggest homosexuality is acceptable and fiction novels with gay characters. While that would ban books like 'Heather has Two Mommies,' it could also include classic and popular novels with gay characters such as 'The Color Purple,' 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'Brideshead Revisted'... The bill also would ban materials that recognize or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of Alabama. Allen said that meant books with heterosexual couples committing those acts likely would be banned, too. His bill also would prohibit a teacher from handing out materials or bringing in a classroom speaker who suggested homosexuality was OK, he said. Ken Baker, a board member of Equality Alabama, a gay rights organization, said Allen was 'attempting to become the George Wallace of homosexuality'..." So, if you look at an earlier post of mine on the bible, you'll realize that the senator's ban includes the bible as well! Hot.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Je vais aller au Paris cet hiver...


Hmmm.. better brush up "mon français." I just got tickets to go to Paris over winter break!!! Je suis trés content.