Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Day 221: They can't all be peaks

Hello readers!

In contrast to last week's mega-post, not a lot happened this week. Next week will be more exciting to read about because I'll be presenting my research as it stands thus far to my Fulbright compatriots, and I'll get to see what they've been working on as well. I did sit down with Oz Almog for a second meeting--he's always a pleasure to talk to! I'll be following up with the other artists involved in my project before I go, just to get an update on their work--for some of them, it's been six months since we last met in person! (Which seems ridiculous, because how have I been here that long??)

I have a few pieces that are being published or already have been published this week, so keep an eye on that section of my main site. I've got a few books to read for PopMatters, including the newest David Sedaris, an artist profile to write for Whitehot Magazine, and a movie review to finish for Bust. I still get a little thrill every time I see my name in a byline, even though I've been freelancing for years.

Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep consuming media that ends up disappointing me--I start to wonder if watching or reading things I don't like makes me expect to not like the next thing, and so on and so forth. But I can honestly say I haven't read so much for pleasure since high school, even if that pleasure ends with me giving a book a number grade, and it's certainly nice to be able to watch movies and television and justify spending time doing that because it's technically work! And the more television I watch, the better I get at watching television--take that, everyone who says television will kill your brain! It has only made mine stronger.

However, I've also noticed that more and more, I've been delving into these works and trying to disappear into their worlds, like I did when I was a kid. It's becoming increasingly hard to keep up with the new cycle and not feel scared or angry about the country that is my home becoming a place that I don't recognize--a place that doesn't want me to be there and doesn't find me valuable, whether it's because of who I am or the kind of work I want to do. Especially when it comes to reading the David Sedaris--I've been reading his essays for almost ten years, and it's hard not to think about what felt different in 2007-8 when I read him for the first time, and how reading the same writing now makes me feel. I remember laughing, I remember being shocked, I remember where I was when I read a certain story--it's like a time machine, but I don't know if the me that first read David Sedaris could envision the unease and anxiety current me feels.

Photos of the week:
Spotted near my apartment!
"All you should eat"... sounds like both a challenge and a judgment! I'll eat as much as I like!
This giant cup was in an Illy coffee products store (not a cafe), which was far too fancy for me. It was actually a sculpture and not a proper cup.
This was also in the coffee store and was almost a little disturbing. If I want to buy mugs, I don't want them to look like specimens in a lab...

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Day 214: Back to the States for long enough to mess up my body clock!

Hello dear and loyal readers!

So sorry for the extensive delay in this post--I was doing my usual jet-setting type of thing, naturally, and between the flights, conference-ing, and everything else going on during my trip back to Los Angeles, I didn't have much time to sit at the computer and blog. When I did end up sitting at my computer (or lying on my stomach, as the case usually is), I was furious at work for my next couple of pieces. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let's begin.
Me at the Melrose Trading Post, sinking into a partially-inflated America. I don't know how to unpack that unintentional metaphor...
So my application to the Popular Culture Associate/American Culture Association National Conference was successful, which meant that I needed to get myself over to San Diego to present my paper on Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series (nope, not even joking a little. I contain multitudes). My paper, which I wrote for my fan studies class last spring, examines the self-referential nature of the series with regards to its fandom, and how fan interactions become incorporated into the text of the series itself as it continues. (I did it. I managed to write about Yu-Gi-Oh! for academic purposes; I have officially gamed the system and I love media studies, because media studies says these kinds of explorations are worthy of attention and interest.) I was scheduled to present my paper on Friday April 14th, and thanks to a travel grant from the PCA/ACA (for which I applied separately), my plane rides were partially covered.

The first flight was a short one-hour jaunt to Zürich, during which I somehow managed to sleep. The next flight was fifteen hours from Zürich to Los Angeles, during which I slept intermittently and watched some of Westworld, which I'd never gotten into when it aired, but found very fascinating once I got through the first two or so episodes. As you can see in the photo below, I noticed that they used part of the Skirball Center patio as a set in the show, which cracked me up as I used to volunteer there in high school, and I am pretty sure there is no cabana there, as the show portrays it in another appearance.
I've probably stood exactly where these actors are standing and being all cryptic and pseudo-philosophical.
I love the view I get when the plane starts to land over Los Angeles. I always try and spot my house but we don't live close enough to the airport for that to happen.
(Nota bene: don't ever buy Swiss Airlines wifi because even the most expensive package lasts for about twenty minutes of standard email and social media-checking. It's by the megabyte and not by the hour, so it really drains quickly!)

The next two days were a whirl of trying to get on the Los Angeles time zone, as well as eating delicious food and celebrating two Passover seders. My mom and I also went to our favorite Los Angeles flea market, the Melrose Trading Post, and bought a dress, some jewelry, and took the classic sunglasses photos (albeit at the different stand, since the usual stand's owner yelled at us).
I do basically have glasses in this shape, but we didn't want to dawdle at this stand picking other shaped frames.
Rainbow rolls from Ugly Roll Sushi, aka the best sushi I've ever had. It's a little hole in the wall joint, cash only, by my high school, and I swear by it when it's got an A rating (although I don't eat raw fish from places with less than As).
I also made it over to the Third Street Promenade, where I basked in the glow of stores that were open at 8:30 pm on a Sunday evening. (Imagine that, Austria!)
The Santa Monica version of Mariahilferstraße!
I can't wait to show this photo to my students. These are the standard opening hours for the grocery store near me. 
By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was ready to head on down to San Diego for the conference! Unfortunately, Amtrak canceled my train, setting me behind over an hour (and giving me several more gray hairs in the process, no doubt). After waking up before seven in the morning and taking two trains to get to the Amtrak, I was more than a little peeved that they didn't seem to have a contingency plan. They didn't even give us any freebies as an apology! As an American, I demand freebies as an apology! 
I always forget how beautiful Union Station is... and how much I'd like to go back to Olvera Street sometime.
I think I took this as we were pulling into San Diego. New glasses ahoy, because I needed to fix the sat-upon ones back in Los Angeles.
The conference itself was pretty overwhelming at first. Apparently there were something like 3,000 attendees, which certainly is bigger than the other conference I've participated in (the German Conference at Lafayette about a year ago). Still, though, people were really, really friendly, even okay with me slipping into a panel late (quietly, of course), and when it was time on Friday to read my paper and show my slideshow, the attendees were really thoughtful and welcoming to me even as a newbie. Despite my resolve and planning to attend as many panels as I could, I actually spent more time ~networking~ in the Exhibition Hall, where different academic publishers peddled their wares (and in the case of Penguin, offered them for free in exchange for signing up for their email list!). I shouldn't have been surprised that I felt more at home standing around chatting in a room full of books than in a conference hall, even though many of the halls were pretty small, as far as those sorts of things go. I also got to make some great connections with scholars over lunches and dinners, talking about subjects as variable art, what "quality" means, media, superhero media, why Ben Affleck is the best Batman, Judaism, and all that good stuff.
I got one book for free, and managed to restrain myself enough to only buy one book. I'm so proud of myself! Usually I always buy more books than I have time to read...
I also enjoyed walking around San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. San Diego as a whole actually reminds me a bit of Tel Aviv--at least in terms of the beaches and hotels on the water.
I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, okay? Don't judge me, don't shake your head at me, you know you would park it on Market if you had a car...
Because I am me (what a weird statement. Anyway!), I managed to find a museum to visit even in downtown San Diego (most of the museums are in Balboa Park, away from the downtown area). One of the buildings of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is actually located in the San Diego train station complex, literally a few doors down from the station's waiting room. And it was free!!!! It wasn't a super large space (I think the main location down the block is undergoing renovations) but it had both a great exhibition (Dimensions of Black: A Collaboration with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art) and a sublime installation (Jennifer Steinkamp: Madame Curie). The third show didn't make much of an impression on me, but overall it was a great way to kill an hour before the museum closed and I went to wait for my train.
Part of the Dimensions of Black show. Really, really ethereal. I also really liked the Carrie Mae Weems photo they had on display (which didn't photograph well).
Inside the installation. I wish I could have just lain down and watched the animations move...
Overall, it was a good visit back home. Of course, now I'm back in Vienna and I'm super jet-lagged...

Miscellany of the week:
  • I got to review The Handmaid's Tale for PopMatters. Watch it. That's all I'm gonna say here.
  • I took a bunch of photos from the first Seder for my student, who don't really know many (or any) Jews beside me. I hope I get to talk about the holiday and its rituals to at least one of my classes this week!
  • Photos of the week:

Here is the cover of a book I wrote about my fish Oberon for a sixth grade Spanish class project.
Even though these drawings are so bad and should never see the light of day, here I am, posting them on this blog. You're welcome, world!
Seder dessert of Passover-kosher shortcake, fresh whipped cream, and strawberries!
This coffee shop near LACMA transformed itself into what is basically Bernieland. I'm not sure if it's even a coffee shop anymore...
Despite my fiercest wishes and strongest efforts, grad school is not happening this fall. So... please hope for me that I get a good job! I've been getting a few emails asking me to come in and interview, only for them to tell me they would want someone to start before I get home. So I guess that's a good sign?

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Day 200: Berlin calling and Vienna in the springtime

Hello readers! 

(How is it already day 200??!!)

Sorry about the lateness of this post--this week was rather busy, as I was in Berlin for the Fulbright Conference, where over 500 Fulbrighters from various countries in Europe and elsewhere met to participate in panels, discussions, and other activities. I'd been so excited to go, because I couldn't wait to meet other Fulbrighters and learn about their teaching and/or research projects, and while not all of the scheduled parts of the conference were as enjoyable or interesting as I would have wanted them to be, I did end up making some friends with some Germany-based Fulbrighters with whom I walked around the city on various days.

It was lovely to be back in Berlin for a few days in the spring after being there for Christmas--it felt like an entirely different city. Coincidentally, the hotel Fulbright put us up in was a few blocks away from the hotel I'd stayed in for my Christmas visit, so I was, of course, an expert on what to do in that immediate area, and how to take the scenic routes to the main part of Berlin--along the street that borders the embassies, or beside the river past the Bauhus-Archiv and Kulturforum. Another major difference between the trips was that I refused to take another ten-hour bus ride from Vienna to Berlin, so I took a short flight. More expensive, for sure, but it only took about an hour and not ten. I managed to catch a few winks during that flight, which is one of the few actual tangible skills I have noticed I've cultivated as a college student (or, rather: the ability to fall asleep anywhere given a relatively stable temperature and quiet environment). My handwriting might have degraded as a result of me typing more notes and papers, but my napping expertise certainly has grown by leaps and bounds.
Good morning, star shine. My nap went great!
Essentially, the conference activities fell into the following categories: larger assemblies/performances where people spoke to us about how great we were and how important the Fulbright program is; panels where people presented their research and then answered questions; and breakout groups, which we signed up for in advance. My breakout group was, unfortunately, not a really educational experience. While other groups used their time to discuss global politics, diversity within the Fulbright organization, and other topics I would have found interesting, my group, which was supposed to be about communication, essentially amounted to us meditating while standing for a good thirty minutes to clear our minds. It was, I guess, self-communication in that we wrote down a question at the beginning of the session and then waited to see if the answer would come to us after the meditation, but unfortunately, the meditation did not exactly bring me the clarity that would have been ideal. I did manage to clear my mind, which was pretty interesting as I usually have racing thoughts most of the time. The panels were more successful as a whole, because it was really cool to learn about what other people were doing with their grants. There was a Fulbrighter studying solar power in Spain, another grantee doing archeological research in Greece, yet another studying recidivism rates for DUIs in Finland--truly a wide range of projects in many fields!
Fancy evening welcome ceremony. I was hoping they'd give us medals or certificates or something like that. Sadly, we got no fancy tchotchkes, but we did get tote bags and pens!
The entrance hall to the fancy Berlin municipal building! I wanted to roll down the steps like a burrito, but that might have been more than a little painful.
Art installation in Bikini Berlin, the ultimate (only?) hipster mall.
This was a kind of kinetic sound performance with unconventional instruments, like velcro. It was pretty cool in theory, even if it didn't sound that fancy.
One of my roommates snapped this on the return flight because somehow I was seated behind her! Out of deference to her, I made sure not to kick the seat like a baby. I'm so considerate like that.
I went inside KaDeWe, which is basically the Berlin version of Harrod's, and had to try on this lovely fancy dress, because every time they let me try on the designer clothes I have to do it. In person it was a bit lighter, and while I would have definitely worn it to the Oscars or something, the color is a little bit too Statue of Liberty-y.
It's finally spring in Vienna. Of course, now that I have just typed this out, it's probably going to snow tomorrow, because the world loves irony. The sun no longer sets at four pm--now it's between seven and eight, a far more reasonable time. Every year I forget what walking around in springtime sunlight is like after spending so much time bundled up in sweaters during the winter, and so when I went for an afternoon walk around the city I found myself sweating in my jacket and shorts. I made my way over to the banks of the Danube and had a city-related Stendhal Syndrome moment--it was too beautiful to be real, just like much of Vienna was at the beginning of this journey. The trees were blooming along the water, the grass was green, people were lying out in the sun, jogging, biking--it was perfect picnic weather. Perfect weather in general, actually. 
Los Angeles should take a hint about how cities integrate rivers without filling them with concrete...
It's just too pretty. FAKE!
Walking around in the perfect weather did make me feel a little strange, though, because if it's springtime it means I have less than three months left of my grant. It honestly feels like I've been here for not that long, and now that I've gotten through the winter months, I have a sinking feeling that summer will sneak up on me before I know it. People told me that the Fulbright would change my life, and it has in certainly obvious material and physical ways, but I still feel like the same person I was when I left. I guess when I come home I'll feel different, but it's always hard to feel like you should have changed or developed and haven't noticed any real differences aside from the mental changes I've had to make to adjust to living in a foreign country. I will say, though, that when I come back home I'll sound so snobbishly European when I talk about "the states" and "going to university" and all the other tweaks I've gotten used to using in an Austria context... 
Younger than springtime?
Bonus photos of the week:
Spotted at some store in Berlin. Who thought these shoes were remotely allowed or okay?!
YESSICA HAIRCUT. One of Count Olaf's shabbier disguises. 
Thanks for telling me what the bag is for, H&M Berlin... really appreciate it...

I think this is a lamb-shaped cake?
This top combination is painful on the eyes and belongs in the early 2000s.