2 stories

I was at work and a German guy came in with his two kids.  They spoke German to each other.  They ordered a hot chocolate, so I asked if they wanted whipped cream.  When the father asked the kids about whipped cream, they both yelled, "Jaaaaa!"  I laughed and said that even I understood that.  But the father didn't understand me, and thought that I meant to say that I understand German.

***

Сегодня в университете я стояла в коридоре и ждала пока освободиться комната, урок перед нашим задерживался.  Когда наконец почти все вышли, мы стали заходить - в нашем классе много народу, и один парень из предедущего класса не успел выйти и ждал пока мы все зайдем.  Я хотела сесть рядом с дверью, так что ждала рядом с ним.  Он спросил что это за класс, я сказала что История Искусства.  Я спросила его что за класс здесь до нас.  Он сухо ответил Math 536, и на этом мы разошлись.

modernity

I got out of class today and headed to the bus stop.  It was cold and windy, and the bus wasn't there.  I looked around and thought - I'm not going to wait here with everyone else, I'm going to walk to the next bus stop.  The bus caught up to me right as I got to the next stop.  I got on feeling sneaky and competent, feeling like I got away and got ahead, only to realize that I'm right back with all those people who were waiting at the last stop.

So I had to think - in this university, this city, this world, and especially this digital world, is there a way to escape, and way to get away?  Was there ever?  Or will society catch up with you no matter how hard you try to let go of it.  You try to be different, innovative, unique, but you end up in the exact same place as everybody else.  Is there a general tendency to search for an escape, and is it growing?

What about the western artists of the early 20th century, who tried so much to get away from urban cities, away from Paris, and back into land that was unexplored.  What about artists of the 21th century?  It seems that today artists are not trying to get away from reality, but mocking it.  But could it be the same desire to escape, except disguised?  Maybe we still haven't situated ourselves within modernity, but now we are afraid to admit it, so we make fun of it instead, making it look like it doesn't effect us, while in reality we still don't understand it.

we believe in science too

1 cm² blue ≠ 1 m² blue

oh my darling

There are two things I will carry in my pockets at the end
oh, my darling,
you are one of them
the way you look when you have a story to begin,
oh, my darling,
that's the other half

--Basia Bulat