Public display of affection

Turns out it was just like entering a pool of cold water. When you put your foot in, it gives you the chills, but once you're in, it's comfortable. I enjoyed discussing the reading with my colleagues. As much as I dreaded having to spend time on them, they were actually making smart points. I felt quite surprised by Freeman's argument that we can have globalization and labor standards at the same time and that the two actually reinforce each other. We take some dichotomies for granted. I'm really looking forward to his lectures tomorrow.
When I was heading back home, a couple was kissing on the metro like there was no tomorrow. And they really annoyed me. I know I've always been that kind of person who believes there are only two people in this world when she is in love. And I don't practice what I preach. But I really don't like to see people all over each other in public. I also don't like daughters and mothers who hold hands, when the former is over ten. Maybe I'm just too irritable of a person.
I've been watching 'Commanding Heights' most of the afternoon. Which means I was not working and I'll wake up early tomorrow to do that. I'm just at the middle of the second episode and I
ll leave the rest for tomorrow or whenever I can get some time for that. I feel pretty panicked about my internship. I was absent for too long and now I need my papers signed and the coordinator won't answer my e-mail. It'll be all right in the end.

La toma

I don't wanna read all that stuff. I would if I had plenty of time and energy and no stress about a hundred other things. But I can't right now, so I can just hope my free rider abilities are sharp.
So this morning we watched 'The Take'. I felt like crying most of the time. I'm probably never going to be a cold-blooded scientist. I'll always have a weakness for people's individual stories and a slightly activist rage. It's about a factory in Argentina being taken over by the workers in order to be transformed into a cooperative, where they would all have equal pay and run the business through participatory democracy. It wasn't the first time this kind of grass-roots movement re-opened factories. Several Argentinian businesses were revived by the workers and now the owners who closed and sell them wanted back in. There were many conditions related to the political environment, the economic pressures and globalization that led to such situations. I think now that Naomi Klein did have a point there, as much as I laugh at activists.
The problem I actually have with activists is that many of them have nice jobs and can afford fair-trade coffee and they are these lucky individuals who have the choice. But I wonder how many of them have actually been on the field, how many know personally people in need for whom they fight. Environmentalists can be just the same. Urban hippies don't impress me much. It's the people who go out into the world, the real one, that I'd wanna learn from.

On tours and contradictions

There's been a lot going on. I had a lovely time on Saturday walking along the bridge and looking at hand-made stuff, watching street performances and sitting in the grass. At the same time, there was a riot in the center, I think because the Magyar Garda was declared illegal. It was an amazing moment of two parallel worlds just a few hundred meters from each other.
Sunday we went on a boat trip to Szentendre. I love love love being on a boat. The town is really cosy. It's called the town of seven churches, but I only got to see four. We tried some spicy local sausages with baked potato and gazed around at souvenirs. The Marzipan Muzeum si a must. They have so many pretty things. Cartoon characters, the Hungarian Parliament, a two meters Michael Jackson and whatever else crossed the manufacturers' head. I did get sun burned, but it was worth getting out of the house.
Today Janos Ladanyi took us on a tour of Budapest's neighbourhoods. We looked at it from the top of Gellert Hill. Then we went to a poor area. I felt pretty embarassed to be walking with a large group looking at people's homes, but as our sociologist guide said, we learn by observing. Then we went through this middle-class garden house neighbourhood and another one of blocks of flats. Last we stopped to look at the center being re-built by pushing the poor out. It seems that Budapest is indeed a segregated city, both in terms of ethnicity and social class, but that this segregation is not spontaneous and natural, but built by planners and decision-makers. I didn't go to the beer garden, I really wanted to work a bit. I did not get to writing yet again, but I did read some.
It was a good day overall. I went on my tour and read articles, I talked to people and got to know some better, I saved money and worked out. I just come from the sauna. I can't make it as long as the hourglass takes, I got the chills like two minutes before and had to get out. I am somewhat exhausted, but I feel that it makes me feel fresh, improves my blood circulation and stamina. This is going to be a great summer.

Somebody stop me because I can't

I've been shopping, shopping, shopping. Spent 3/4 of my scholarship already and I'm facing the perspective of taking a home-made sandwich to school, as I can't afford eating out anymore. All right, I'm exaggerating. But really. I limited myself to buying classical pieces I needed for a while. But I've also been having lunch in the center and today I went crazy earring shopping. It's a lot of fun, I must say. Pretty things make me happy, I'm a sucker for pretty things. Everybody knows I have a sweet tooth and it ain't sugar I'm talking about. But then again, I have to start all kinds of diets.

Summer in the city

I might be addicted to noodle soup. That being said, I can get to more earthly matters. I do use English when I'm in Pest, it's surprising how I even catch myself thinking in languages other than Romanian. When I watch the news online it feels so strange to hear everybody speak my mother language. Anyways.
The first four days of summer school are over and it feels like it was longer than that. On Monday we had the usual introductory stuff, with a reception in the evening (oh, my, I've been eating way too much the last weeks). There were lectures each day and we watched two documentaries so far. 'Life and Debt' was following Jamaica's struggle to cope with the effects of globalization and 'Mardi Gras:Made in China' is more about production relations and worker exploitation.
I enjoy a lot of what we do there. Christy Glass gave a presentation on the Global Development Project, we had Elaine Weiner giving a lecture and talking about her research in the Czech Republic on female workers and managers, yesterday David Ost spoke of class and how much it is a vehicle of mobilization in capitalist societies and today Mahua Sarkar presented her research on Bangladeshi workers in Singapore, a striking example of regulated oppression.
What I don't like is the narrow mindedness, snobbery and hypocrisy we approach such stories with. Sometimes it feels like social science is some new religion and every scholar feels like a chosen one. We look down on those who dare to contradict us. We fail to understand the conditions under which certain situations develop and are hasty to interpret things. But we rarely remember that what we do need to do is make sense of things. And if we are such activists, find ways to approach issues. But it is rather difficult to do the latter, isn't it? Well, then we shouldn't make judgments. Our pity does not help, our being shocked and angry is just so empty if all we do is sit around a table. I'm not saying we cannot have feelings about such issues. We need to be angry and care, but I just hate it when this turns into a parade banner and nothing else and that's what I feel we do at moments in our roundtable discussions.
I don't want to end in this mean tone. Life is beautiful. Budapest is everyday amazing and all its scents and noises and sights make me feel like dancing. All right, that was a bit tacky.

Zic si eu

Nu pot sa spun ca am fost dezamagita de rezultatele de la europarlamentare. Asta pentru ca nici nu am prea avut asteptari. Sunt in continuare mandra de liberali pentru ca au avut in capul listei mai multe femei, si de ele ca nu s-au inghesuit sa se planga, ci au ramas cu ochii pe obiective. Ma irita in continuare ca EBA a primit atatea voturi, dar nu pot sa spun ca nu m-am asteptat. Nu trebuie sa fii geniu ca sa-ti dai seama. Iar romanii, vorba vine, tot romani. Nu-i poti baga pe toti in aceeasi oala, dar atata timp cat OTV-ul face audienta, cum sa nu mearga Gigi la Bruxelles? Sincera sa fiu, poate ca nici nu e atat de rau. Exista o gramada de prosti cu intentii bune. Si daca mezina vrea sa faca pe termen lung cariera in politica, va pune osul la treaba. Mie imi pare rau dupa Alina Mungiu-Pippidi si unul din motivele pentru care bruneta ma scoate din sarite e felul in care partidul si-a tratat un intelectual de valoare ca sa-i puna ei miere pe rana. Tragem linie, facem media, putea sa fie mai rau. Intotdeauna il vom avea pe Vanghelie drept termen de comparatie ;).
Am hotarat sa nu ma mai ating de presa mondena. Dar e aproape imposibil sa nu afli de casatoria fostului prim-ministru (oare acum fetele de la Apaca sunt toate sfasiate de durere? la vremea lui, Roman era un fel de Edward Cullen, nu?) sau de scandaluri de tot felul. Intre Rolland Garros si 'Mith Busters' trebuie sa trec prin tot felul de canale. Totusi, trebuie sa multumesc postului Romantica pentru 'Doctor Quinn'. Fenomenal cat de feminist si progresist poate fi. In copilarie nu observam tenta moralista; dar e o morala a tolerantei, trebuie sa subliniez. Acum ma uit la cate un episod si ma enerveaza toate personajele incuiate la minte, cam cum ma enervez cand citesc ziarul sau ma uit la stiri.
Si ca sa inchei cu putina zanzanie. Mie imi place de Ciutacu, il citesc de vreo 2-3 ani, dar mi se pare fireasca rabufnirea lui Boc. Domnu' primar, jos palaria! Omul nostru crescut la munte a scapat un 'derbedeul dracului', si cred ca i-a picat atat de bine. Eu zic sa nu mai facem pe babele pudice, ce, numai PRM-ul sa se injure la televizor (si sa mearga impreuna la Bruxelles)?

Retrospectiva TIFF 2009

N-am mai reusit sa intru la Anticristul, desi era filmul pe care tineam mortis sa-l vad anul acesta la TIFF. Locatia nu a fost prea inspirat aleasa pentru o premiera, mai ales avand in vedere faptul ca a fost o singura proiectie. Bine, e si vina mea ca nu am luat biletul in avans de frica sa nu ploua. Anul acesta am vazut doar patru filme la festival, ceea ce e foarte putin avand in vedere ca planuiam sa-mi fac un card TIFF si sa ma mut in cinematograf.
Primul a fost 'Barthalo!'. Republica era plin si s-a ras in sala, iar echipa a fost primita cu aplauze prelungite. Atmosfera a fost asa cum imi aminteam eu festivalul in zilele lui bune. Sincera sa fiu, mi-a placut la nebunie, dar nu pot sa argumentez prea obiectiv de ce. Te atasezi repede de personaje, iar tenta de documentar a fost intr-adevar in linia mea de interes. In plus, sunt momente in care esti cu sufletul la gura si momente in care iti vine sa dansezi. Din cele patru, in mod sigur acesta a fost preferatul meu.
Am fost joi la ziua HBO la doua filme, dar inainte am vrut sa vad 'Esti Marlon si esti Brando'. Intr-adevar, e genul de film de la care atunci cand esti, te simti usor dezamagit. Si totusi, cand incepi sa-l povestesti celorlalti, iti dai seama ca povestea de dragoste te-a atins, ca anumite cadre ti-au ramas fixate in minte, ca aceasta alta perspectiva iti schimba oarecum felul de a privi razboiul din Irak, apropiindu-te de nivelul micro, la care oamenii interactioneaza, ii cauta pe cei dragi si asteapta vesti de la ei.
La Victoria am fost la 'Apocalipsa dupa soferi' al lui Alexandru Solomon. Ca o viitoare soferita scarbita, trebuie sa spun ca nu ma pot raporta in nici un fel la tema filmului, desi substratul lui, povestile individuale, mi s-a parut interesant. Am apreciat felul in care Solomon si-a ales personajele, felul in care a legat povestile. Mi se pare chiar munca antropologica ce facea el acolo.
'Australia' a fost primit foarte bine de public, a fost in mod clar mai multa lume in sala si s-a aplaudat si in timpul proiectiei. Australia e tot un fel de documentar, urmarind echipa nationala de fotbal a persoanelor fara adapost la primul campionat mondial la care am fost reprezentati, in Melbourne. Cred ca lumea care era la film era deja in mare parte genul de audienta cu mai putine prejudecati, dar ca totusi felul lor de a privi membrii echipei e acum complet diferit decat daca i-ar fi intalnit doar pe strada. Si trebuia sa ii felicitam ca au batut si echipa regizorilor si actorilor.
Nu am vazut, desi as fi vrut, 'Contesa', 'Cetateanul Havel' si, bineinteles, 'Repo! Opera genetica'. Despre ultimul se scrie ca a fost filmul cult al festivalului de anul acesta. Dar poate saptamana viitoare vor fi cateva proiectii post-festival. Poate la toamna am noroc si merg la Astra un weekend si unul la Verzio. As fi vrut sa ajung anul acesta la Anonimul, dar cred ca sunt limitata de buget si cercul meu social minuscul.