There's only one way, and it's the Gothic Way

And I said I wasn't going to have a busy last weekend here at SCT. . . HA!



A superb foreign film (see the CBC review for The Secret in their Eyes), a Mormon Pageant (who knew the fun that could be had at Hill Cumorah?), and a cruise later, and I am one tired Theory Camper.



SCT now enters it final four days of classes, talks, and general intellecutal revelry. Sigh. Though I am looking forward to seeing my home fries is a few days - can't wait for some summer fun with the family!

The crowd at Hill Cumorah anxiously awaits the beginning of the performance: July 17, 2010. I invite you to see more of my pics from the pageant at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=185562&id=557357988&l=dc6308bd0a.

Botanicking

Cet apres-midi, I visited the Cornell Plantations. The herb gardens, arboretum, and flower beds were truly lovely and welcome sensuous distractions from all my reading. I went a little squirrely with my camera and took far too many flower pictures.

For the second time since my arrival in Ithaca, I saw fireflies! At first, I thought I was seeing double or noticing little stars in my field of vision (perhaps the effects of an overheated brain?). But then I realized what I was looking at - tiny flying gems flickering amidst grass and bushes.

Hot 'n' bothered

Rain tonight, at last! What relief, especially after the temperatures hit over 100'F yesterday. . .

I went out this afternoon and took some pics around Ithaca. Here's the front of Cascadilla Hall:

And a view over Cayuga Lake in the late-afternoon haze:Today, for the first time, I encountered Taio Cruz's 2009 (US 2010) hit single "Break Your Heart" and have felt compelled to pen a response to Mr. Cruz. So here goes:



Hey, Taio Cruz & Ludacris:


This hot 'n' bothered Little Red
Riding Hood wants you boys to know -
don't go worrying yourselves
about my tender veins and arteries
'cause my heart is small but strong



I met plenty of you heartbreakers before
weighty with all your 'problems'
and self-titled 'misbehaviours'
But men -



I ain't no shirt, no table cloth, no filmy bubble
I don't tear apart that easy
and certainly don't take no instructions
from wolf pups like you two
so go cut your teeth on chow
chase your own tails, snouts to behinds
'cause I don't fancy pleasing you boys

now or ever

Moving Past Finitude

Thanks to Stephanie, who captured this pic of us hot hikers after our lovely afternoon in the sun at Lucifer Falls, located in Robert H. Treman State Park.

Yesterday, my group and I presented our brief but meaty blurbs on Stephen White and Richard Rorty, finitude and solidarity, and its various (non)manifestations in (non)linguistic forms. The preparation for and execution of that presentation was intellectually engaging, challenging and, as my rhetoric suggests, somewhat violent (ahem).

Today, I plan to enjoy the remarkably cooler weather - sunny but a breezy 21'C. I anticipate the daily hill-climibing will be more tolerable today.

My Ride Away From Home

Here's my little crotch rocket for the next five weeks. She's purple and black and shiny. Her name if Quick 6, and she promises to be a very comfy ride as I attempt to ascend and descend the magnificient hills of Ithaca. But really. . . can anyone seriously ride up the Buffalo Street hill?

The air is thick and humid in Ithaca and I am sweating through, at best, two outfits a day. And apparently my homeland is currently experiencing some rip-roaring weather: tornadoes, earthquakes, floods have seemingly beset Ontario.

This weekend, I will prepare for my upcoming presentation on Stephen White and Richard Rorty. These readings promise a refreshing dive into ontology and finitude.

Happy Father's Day, Scrubbrush!

Ada says,

'Have an awesome (just about)

summer day, daddy-o!'

And here's a pic for you of the Cornell campus. This is the view over the campus (facing westward, towards Cayuga inlet) from A. D. White House, the home-base for the School of Criticism and Theory.

Follow me on Twitter, y'all!

RSS feed of Pettinotes's tweets

. . .because random thoughts R fun.

During her public lecture and seminars held earlier this week, Saidiya Hartman mentioned the Library of Congress' rich collection of images of African Americans ca. 1880s-1900s. The Prints and Photographs Online Catalogue offers much to explore. Here, I have posted "Whose dat?" (ca. 1897, Rudolf Eickemeyer). I have also picked up a copy of Hartman's recent book Lose Your Mother, a historio-autobiographical memoir of her literal and psychic travels into Ghana's legacies of slavery.

New Room, New View. . . Ithaca at last!

Appointed in my tastefully simple room at Cascadilla Hall, I now have the long-awaited pleasure of observing the passings and goings in Collegetown (aka 'C-Town') on the street below my dorm window.

Fact: it took me longer to travel the 350 kms between Kitchener, Ontario and Ithaca, New York than it did to cross the thousands of kms to Auckland, New Zealand.

The moral: US Airways = bad news all round. Next time, I drive.

Cornell and its campus are among the most beautiful university locales I have ever visited. The views from Libe Slope certainly rival the antiquarian charms of Oxford and Cambridge. Herstmonceux Castle and its environs recall a Waterhouse landscape - the soft, rolling hills which cradle the Castle offer a fitting counterpart to Cornell's sublime Gorges, rapids, and crags.

I am here, have attended my first seminar session, and am off to an afternoon talk. I can't say I'm rested. Coffee and tea are helping propel me around campus.

A new pic, here of Cascadilla Hall:

Philadelphia: No fire, no flight

I washed my socks and underwear in the Marriott bathtub. Then ironed my delicates in front of CNN and FOX News. Outside the sealed hotel window (fresh air is fast becoming a distant memory after what has now been 15 hours in transit), Philadelphia swims in a bank of cloud and I am holed up in the 'Airport Marriott' for tonight after my flight to Ithaca was cancelled "due to weather conditions." So proclaimeth my ticket voucher for the re-scheduled flight tomorrow morning, 10am.

Sigh.

Two bland pics to annotate my unanticipated foray into Flyer and Cheese Cream terrain:

The monotoned beauty of my Marriott Suite (King-sized bed, btw) . . . .

'Cause, ya know, I always really did want to see this parking lot at Philadelphia's international airport - whadda ya know?

• Challenge of the Day: No PJs in sight.
• Bonus of the Day: Unexpected visit to a Marriott in a city I've never been to before.
  

Here's to making it to Ithaca BEFORE my classes get underway (on Tuesday morn, to be precise). Fingers crossed.