The Rhine River

Random Notes

A little rant: I have done little but apply for funding since the elections. And I am really tired of it. In particular, the shifts in the exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro have made doing research abroad expensive, almost prohibitive. The same amount of money that I received five years ago does not go nearly as far, being almost 35% less when converted to Euro. Moreover, the price of a plane ticket has gone up. The result: I must either cut down the length of my trips, or worse: turn down funds if they are insufficient. Thanks to America's financial politics, studying Europe is becoming impossible.

Claire found this essay related to memorials and monuments. The extended discussion of the Holocaust in German architecture is quite fascinating. Many plans to restore buildings and create new museums are constantly under the shadow of the genocide. The politics of memory tends to lead to disjunctions that tend to place German architecture more in avant-garde, but that continually force Germans to live with their past. On other notes in German architecture, Berlin is now considering restoring the Palace of the Republic (built by the DDR) rather than rebuilding the Hohenzollern Palace. And Rem Hoolhaas will design the new Ruhr Museum in Essen.

Zid discusses how blogs can be disingenuous: the so-called blogger can be nothing more than a facade..

I was not particularly impressed by the last episode of The Amazing Race. I loved Senegal, but I did not want to hear a bunch of Americans complain about poverty. Live with it. In the category "I would be a millionaire if I could qualify for this show": I knew the author of the poet in less than one second that the clue was given (I thought about making Senghor a dissertation subject at one point).

posted by Nathanael @ 3:53 PM