As I mentioned I was not that inspired for my essay idea for Space and Place, which I presented on Monday. The lecturer liked my idea of “the anthropology of lines”, as represented by bike lanes, parking spaces, etc, but said that it was “huge” – I needed to narrow it down to something doable.
So I decided to switch subject completely and started reading up on glory holes and contacting people who have experience from either side of the hole. I got hold of two informants right away, but it seems I lost one of them already, and the subject is delicate. So we’ll see. There’s so much to do on that divider though, and the hole through it. I really love the concept and how it lets its practitioners completely compartmentalise the experience and maybe their identity. Well, those are the sort of things I hoped to be able to talk to them about. And I’m not in a situation where I can actually visit a hole myself to gather informants …
I’ve finished my essay for Media Activism, which is due on Friday next week. I just want to let S read it, but he’s busy rewriting his own thesis for a journal right now.
A slightly older otaku contacted me (for the Final Project) and we started a conversation on 1970s loli doujinshi.
My Japanese phone number arrived in the mail. I’ve used rental pocket wifi from E-ca on my last Japan trips, but thought I should try out this seemingly smooth service by Mobal this time, although it doesn’t support hotspots which is strange.
Oh, and the “n” key on my Macbook Pro has gone crazy. It writes double n’s or nothing. Sometimes triple. So I’m scheduled for an appointment at the Kudamm Apple Store on Thursday. Maybe this time I can succeed in having the top case replaced.
Another visit to the dentist, and the last one, hopefully, will be next week.
Today we watched the German national championship in track cycling in the Berlin Velodrom!
And I’m falling in love with Second Life, despite it’s so deserted. It is utterly fascinating, both its success and its demise, and the fact that there is no successor. I don’t believe in the VR project that the owners are working on now. I see Second Life as a hit by accident, a one-hit wonder that can’t be replicated. It will remain there like the old hit songs from the eighties. I tried to create an avatar in IMVU but didn’t like its appearance at all, whereas I can spend hours with the one I’m using in SL. Also checked out There.com which has featured in our readings. It’s also still there, despite the website looks like it’s 2003 and demands Flash. Totally surreal. But it didn’t speak to me at all. It felt too American and … normal. The most touching moment tonight was a visit to a dog island where dead pets get a second life. I petted a dog.
Readings
Space and Place
My essay
- Bapst, Don. 2001. “Glory Holes and the Men who use Them.” In Journal of Homosexuality 41 (1), pp. 89–102.
- Nyheter24: På andra sidan ett glory hole: Dennis, 47 (2013)
Japanese
Apps
- Memrise: 53,300 (jōyō kanji, 小6)
- Nextbook 漢字:
- Repeat of 小3 writing level 1–24
Other
Articles
- The Chronicle Review/Charles King: Gin, Sex, Malaria, and the Hunt for Academic Prestige: How the misadventures of Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune, and Gregory Bateson shaped anthropology. (Longread from King’s new book Gods of the Upper Air.)
- The Economist:
- The Guardian:
- Wired:
- How to Teach Artificial Intelligence Some Common Sense (December 2018)
- Coders’ Primal Urge to Kill Inefficiency—Everywhere (April 2019)
- Digg/Joe Veix: Exploring The Digital Ruins Of ‘Second Life’ (2018, non-https!)
- Siegessäule Juli 2019:
- Radical Femme (Maja Bogojević)
- Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution (Edmund White – I missed him in Berlin apparently!)
- Sie sind wieder da! (The Golden Gmilfs)
- Sigrid Grajek: Das Letzte
- Sony Alpha Forums/Peter Kelly reply: To UV Filter or Not to UV Filter?
- Lensrentals/Roger Cicala:
- Law & Crime: Dershowitz Responds After 1997 ‘Statutory Rape Is an Outdated Concept’ Op-Ed Resurfaces
- DN: Don Kulick: ”De är utåtriktade, vi är självupptagna”
Videos
- Matti Haapoja
- Kingtutspro: How To Use Color Grading LUTs – Final Cut Pro X 10.4 Tutorial
- Dan Mace: I FAKED my way into celebrities trailer to make my friend famous
- Svullo: Parkera
- DJ Jazzy Jeff | Tomorrowland Belgium 2018
Film & TV
- Maximilien van Aertryck & Axel Danielson: Ten Meter Tower (2016, 17 min – rewatched, such a brilliant short!)
- Futurama S1, E1–6
Radio
- Sveriges Radio P4 Dokumentär/Björn Lindberg: Micke Dubois, den egensinniga komikern (60 min, stumbled upon on live radio and couldn’t stop listening!)
- Sommar i P1: Jonas Gardell (56 min)
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