'We've got a conclusion, and I guess that's something'

[dolorosa_12]

So far, it's been an absolutely wonderful weekend. On Friday evening, Former Housemate D came up to Cambridge to give a seminar paper. She completed her PhD on skaldic poetry in my department in 2012, and from February-April was working on a cultural engagement project that combined her postgraduate research interests with her other main interest, modern poetry. The project had two parts - the first was to provide a group of poets with translations and commentaries of medieval skaldic verse which they then used as a starting point for their own poems, the second involved creating packages of material that could be used to teach poets and other writers (and school students and interested members of the public) how to use kennings and other elements of skaldic verse in their own writing. It produced some very interesting results, including a fabulous series of poetry readings in April. So D's seminar paper was basically summing up the results of the project.

I really miss her. We lived together from June 2010-August 2011, which was her third year of her PhD and my second year, and probably the happiest period of my life. We both worked from home most of the time, and our productivity was severely hampered by the fact that we frequently stopped for tea breaks that would go on for hours. Matthias and I currently have a spare room free in our house, but have decided to forgo finding a housemate since there are very few people with whom we could bear to live. If D decided to return to Cambridge, however, we'd offer her the room in a heartbeat, because she's just that awesome. She's now moved back to London, and I doubt she will move back here. I can't really blame her. If I had the option to live in London, I would do it without a second thought. It's a fantastic city.

D's seminar was followed by dinner in a nearby pub. I hadn't really socialised with any of my friends for ages because I'd been in thesis-writing hermit mode, so it was a fun night. I'm out of the habit of hanging out with large groups, though, and found the whole thing rather draining. In my first and second years, and during my MPhil, I went out at least once a week, and I look back and wonder how I managed it. It's not the alcohol (which in any case I've cut back on severely) so much as the need to be constantly switched on and jumping between several parallel conversations in a loud environment that makes the whole thing so exhausting.

Yesterday I mostly spent at home, as Matthias was working a shift in the library, and today will be similarly spent. We had planned to go to this event at the Botanical Gardens, but the weather is so unpleasant that we decided to give it a miss. However, this afternoon we will both be working in the library, so will have to brave the wind and rain. I'm hoping the weather will keep most of the students away, as we have a huge backlog of books to cover and prepare for circulation, which is difficult to do when the library is at full capacity.

I've got a few ideas for potential posts, but for now I'll just leave you with a link to this wonderful interview with author Kelly Link:

I'm no longer watching television in which middle-aged men figure out how to be men. I'd rather watch shows about teenaged girls figuring out what it means to be a monster. I like coming-of-age stories, ghost stories, horror stories. I love stories about doppelgangers. I didn't realize how much I craved a show that was gothic, over the top, Gormenghast on the CW.

Comments

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

It's always fun hanging out with people you don't see much. :) Too bad she won't move back, that's always a bit hard. I have a friend who I'd love to move back, but her life where she is now is pretty established - her in laws live there, she's involved with her job and the community through her job, and I have a feeling we've changed a bit anyway - she's become involved with things that make me think our life philosophies are now quite different, and so it may be for the best. Still, we had a lot in common, we even talked the exact same way (in a way that drives most people crazy), so I miss her. :/ I wish she'd at least come into town once in a while, but I think when she does it's for very quick visits to see her family, which I completely understand.


I'm no longer watching television in which middle-aged men figure out how to be men.

I like everything you quoted, but especially that first part. When I think about it, in the shows I do like (I don't really follow that many shows anymore, largely because of that very problem), the guys already know they're men, and the women know they're women. I think at one time it actually made sense - I mean, even in the early 90s, middle aged men were (if you want to be serious for a moment) products of a time when roles were way more defined than they were in 1965, even though that was already changing and being questioned. Now, however, we've long since established that, so we don't need nasty and slightly scary neurotic wives who threaten to withhold sex, or men who are too dumb to live.


I haven't watched or read that much teen fantasy, really just Buffy and Harry Potter, but I will agree there's something to be said for them. Yes, Harry's a boy, but he has a female best friend, and the point there isn't so much gender as it is striving for the greater good, and yeah, acknowledging evil within yourself. Both series do really well with that, actually, even if how they handled "broody dark creatures" as I call them* got cringeworthy... but I digress.

*Although I swear someone did call Angel something like that. Maybe Coredlia or Xander.

[dolorosa-12.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't really blame D - London is a lot more fun than Cambridge, especially if you're into the stuff she likes (poetry, art and music). Luckily, the two cities are quite close together, so it's not as if we live on opposite sides of the world (as an Australian living in the UK, this is a surprisingly frequent situation).

I'm not sure I agree with you entirely about the extent to which TV storytelling has changed. The vast majority of critically acclaimed TV shows in the past decade seem to me to have followed the pattern of 'troubled male antihero struggles with masculinity in morally ambiguous way' (e.g. Mad Men, Dexter, House, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and so on). To me, these all fall under the category of 'middle-aged men figuring out how to be men'.

Over the past five years or so, I've found myself much more drawn to shows aimed at children or teenagers, simply because they emphasise friendship, love, family ties and just connection in general as things of value and sources of strength much more than those sort of 'critically acclaimed male antihero' shows. Pretty Little Liars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, that sort of thing.

Buffy remains the original and the best, of course. I have so much love for that show.

even if how they handled "broody dark creatures" as I call them* got cringeworthy... but I digress.

*Although I swear someone did call Angel something like that. Maybe Coredlia or Xander.

I seem to recall Riley calling Angel 'all billowy-coat-master-of-pain' at one point. And Cordelia and Xander were always making snarky comments like that. The writers in general were pretty good at lampshading how ridiculous and tropey Angel's characterisation was.

[heartlines.livejournal.com]

That project looks very interesting - though Skaldic poetry sure seems complicated.
I'm glad you had a good time at the seminar and afterwards :)
Sorry to hear Apple Day didn't work out for you :(

[dolorosa-12.livejournal.com]

Skaldic poetry is extremely complicated - one reason why I'm happier sticking to medieval Irish literature instead of Norse!

Missing Apple Day was a bit of a shame - I love events like that, and Cambridge has a huge number of them, and I feel like I should take more advantage of that. Oh well.