Totally not even kidding when I say that a week spent at home is equal to a week of me gorging on Asian-style home cooking.
My mom keeps telling me that I’m eating her food like some kind of monster or starving person who hasn’t been fed for 10 days, but I keep telling her that it’s just the lack of home cooking in college paired with the proliferation of academic papers that has gotten me so enthusiastic.
Now, preparing to preview Sedaris’s Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls as well as to read S’s year-long honors thesis on Never Let Me Go and Atonement! This is going to be good.
“Heart’s Content” by Brandi Carlile, from the album “Bear Creek.”
Maybe we know how the story ends
Maybe it’s not even about us
We both retreat to opposing sands
And the love lives on without us
So many acoustic summer songs are filling up my playlist right now ~
We are machines, stamped out like bottle caps. It’s an illusion that I - I personally - really exist; I’m just representative of a type.
…Literally spent the entire day eating crunchy snacks and drinking cider + reading the massively entertaining Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) by Philip K. Dick.
Felt around for a pencil, but then realized that I’m free from the need to annotate…for the next week or two, at least.
Mixed drinks and Smoked Chicken Fettuccine with mushrooms, spinach, green onion, chili, and tomato cream for S’s graduation dinner @Caffe Venezia.
So good to spend all day out after being holed up writing papers for so long —
Graduation may be focused on the superficialities and yet, it’s so good to see so many smiling and familiar faces gathered in one place.
Was this how Clarissa Dalloway felt at her dinner party?
mariawashere asked:
Did you end up watching "Cloud Atlas"? What did you think?
Yes! I was able to see it in December.
I’d say that it’s a great movie to watch if you’re willing to put in the work (almost three hours of it)! to sort through / make sense of all the story lines and characters. It’s a truly unique movie, but it also requires some serious suspension of disbelief.
It’s not necessary to have read Mitchell’s novel before viewing the film, but having read the book will help immensely with your understanding. I won’t waste too much breath on the whole film vs. book debate, but I will say that the novel does things with language and word choice that the film simply cannot match as a medium. In addition, it’s important to note that many of the story lines in the film turn out much neater and / or “happier” than they do in the novel.
I did find myself a bit enamored for a week or so with Ben Wilshaw’s performance as the tortured artist Robert Frobisher (heh, heh), but spent some time grimacing at the Korean actress Bae Doona’s “breakout” role in a Western film that featured what I thought was unnecessary nudity.
In any case, you should definitely go see the movie (or read the book)! if you haven’t already. If anything, it’ll certainly make you think. David Michell’s vision is a bit wacko, but part of the fun is deciding whether or not you think it’s a “bad” or a “good” thing.
“Selfmachine” by The Constant, from their album “I Blame Coco.”
I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I’m a self machine…See constellations and stars
And the powers that be
Engaged in a dance
This robotic routine…
Last day of classes in one of my favorite buildings on campus.
“Brave” by Sara Barellies.
I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly
I wanna see you be brave
I haven’t done the whole anatomy-of-my-lunch thing for a while, but here it is, a photo of what I’d like to call Berkeley’s legendary chicken burrito from Sam’s Market.
It’s nothing super-special, but I’ve always have fond memories of it since I was introduced to it by my sister during one of my visits to Berkeley (and even before I became a student here).
Admittedly, it’s taken me 3 years to revisit this place, but their burrito is just as huge as ever and still has an air of mystery / magic about it (it’s literally not listed on the menu - you have to ask for it).
…too much work to complete in the coming weeks, but I feel honored and quite happy to be able to continue work with my Professor / mentor within the English Department this coming summer. I’m also astonished / grateful that he’s offered to add some of his own research funds to my “stipend” (i.e. it’s coming out of his own pocket) when it’s something that’s not even mandatory. Really, this person deserves an award for being a brilliant / kind / generous academic in a department that can often be merciless in more ways than one.
