Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Day 151: A Selection of Artisanal Photos For Your Viewing Pleasure

Hello readers! After I got back from Prague, I had a week off because it was a vacation week for my school, so that means I didn't really do all that much. I slept, watched some Netflix, and started two books: American Gods by Neil Gaiman on my Kindle app, since I think it was deeply discounted when I bought it; and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, which was recommended to me by a fellow Swattie and which I had to order in hard copy because so much of it is reliant on text formatting and color, among other elements, so I don't know if it would really be an ideal experience to read it digitally. 

I'm a little over halfway through American Gods, which is excellent. I hadn't read any Neil Gaiman aside from Good Omens, which he cowrote with the late Terry Pratchett, but he's a really enjoyable writer who combines excellent prose with a real knowledge of pacing and world-building--even though there are a lot of characters and events going on at the same time, I never feel confused as to what's happening. Additionally, I am now excited for the Starz adaptation of American Gods that's coming out this year! So all in all, fortuitous timing. House of Leaves is alternately engrossing, terrifying, and frustrating, but I've still got a long way to go in terms of getting through it. 
At a certain point there are pages and pages that look exactly like this. It would be a bit less irritating if three out of the four orientations of text did not comprise solely of lists.
I also went back to the 21er Haus to check out a show I'm hoping to review: Franz West: ARTISTCLUB. It made me think a lot about the role of a curator and the institution in the way that the architecture show I previously saw did, but in a much more successful way. However, the guards did not let me take photos of the show, even without flash, so I am not including any here for obvious reasons.

On the movie side, I snapped out of my not-enjoying-media funk when I saw Hidden Figures in theaters. Like Ben Affleck's Argo, the movie did a really good job of dramatizing events that actually happened in order to create tension--Argo with the diplomats getting onto the flight and into the air, and Hidden Figures with John Glenn's launch. The three leads were all fantastic, and I hope to see Janelle MonĂ¡e in more movies, because I previously only knew her as a musician. The math was, of course, completely over my head, though I did recognize the term "parabola" from high school math, so go me!
Spotted outside the auditorium in the Haydn Kino. I'm so ready!!
I also saw Jackie in theaters last night, which I'm reviewing for BUST. If I'd been able to include it in my main blog's best of 2016 list, it probably would have replaced Zootopia as my second-favorite movie. It was just incredibly well done and so layered, addressing the issues of optics and performance within the Kennedy family in both thematic and formal ways. It is a little gory at some points due to the nature of the assassination of JFK, so be forewarned if you do end up seeing it. 

With no further ado, enjoy a selection of hand-curated (people using curate when they mean picked or organized always makes me laugh, especially when it comes to menus and the like) photographs taken during the last week.
Snapchat made me look like a DreamWorks character or something. I love it.
Snapchat also turned me into a banana?
Little familiar, no? What a classic meme.
Spotted near me: an establishment named "Deb." I was in a hurry, so I didn't get to see what they sold.

In another part of town: "Benjaminis"! Can you tell I miss my brother yet?
Look, ma, I'm nearly home! Somehow!!
When the roommates are away, I will play... with pretending to cook pre-cooked, just-put-in-water-for-two-minutes pasta.
That little light stays on after you turn off the stove to let you know when the stovetop is still hot. Very convenient if you're both klutzy and forgetful like me.
The colander of dreams. Or something. When I poured out the pasta I pretended I was getting a steam facial. Very relaxing.
Last but not least: this really short door!
(As always, if you want to express your love for me with material goods, my Amazon wishlist is here, my main site is here, and if you want to see many, many photographs of me and of Vienna, my Instagram is here. Also please send me good vibes so I get into graduate school with a good stipend! (Please, please, please--the wait is extremely unpleasant!!!))

1 comment:

  1. OMG laughing like crazy! I love this post! I do need to know what they sell at Debs and Benjamin's of course! and so proud that you cooked some pasta... :)
    keep 'em coming babe!

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