11/16/09: Being bad at travelling is alot like being in a video game. The metro stations here are so many levels, I feel like im in one of those terrible rpg games where you just keep going one level down in the same dungeoun or whatever. Except sometimes in real life, you get to a level where there haven't been any trains in a hundred years and its just one homeless guy in the dark. Also, I have been saved many time while lost by just running into a random metro station out of nowhere. And I just take it back to the station where I started from and try to find out where i am going again. Its kind of like losing a life.
Met some Americans today. They were teaching English, and somehow spoke less Italian than I do even though i speak zero. I wish I didnt say "the worst" so much so that I didn't have to call them worse than the worst. They couldn't understand why I would want to be in Rome just cause. Eh. It was at least nice to talk. Im such a talker in life, and its been really rough not vocalizing anything over this last week.
Some more fashion and lifestyle highlights:
- Those super puffy jackets like the kind Missy Elliot wore in the video are really big here. Its been really nice weather the last few days, but I guess this is there winter, so everyone wears their heavy jacket to show it off.
- Giant noses abound
- Making out for real for real in public is a thing. Except they are really bad at it. So much sucking faces off. The girls do this funny thing where they look up at the sky and refuse to kiss back, presenting their neck like some kind of bird or omg I get to say it "FangBanger"!!! even though that isnt real here.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
More Art, and towards a unified theory of the social optimal wait time
11/14/09: Big day today. First, St. Peter's Bascillica, which is utterly amazing but the problem is there is nothing to do there except look at how gaudy it is. Again with the "they must get bored and just keep adding stuff" theme. Then to the vatican museums, and the Sistine Chapel. Mostly this is just hallway after hallway of religious relics made out of gold and pictures of saints and biblical scenes with heavy handed chiaroscoro. But their modern art collection is pretty tasteful and I spent alot of time there. The sistine chapel (extra lowercase if i could) was pretty disappointing, not just in the "its just a fresco" way, but also in the doesn't really have any kind of emotional impact or gravity whatsoever way. Even "the last judgement", which is supposed to be super dark, is just kind of a mural with a bunch of dudes that aren't interacting with each other. Over it.
-Waiting in line for the Vatican today, I started trying to come up with a unified theory of wait time to cost ratio. What i mean is obviously the museum isn't charging enough money on purpose, because they see their purpose not only as a market force, but also a social good. But undercharging always results in other kinds of cost, most frequently a wait time. ( I waited close to an hour, but I can't imagine how long it is on the last Sunday of the month, when you don't even owe them 14 Euro). So society benefits if entrance is cheaper than a profit maximizing market price, but not really, because all of that good is gobbled up in the wasted time in line. The optimal solution to these problems is probably some kind of straited pricing model, where its a different price each day, or for different times in the day. This way, rich people don't have to wait (there time is more valuable, sorry to say) and poor people can get a "coupon" price, by waiting in line on a cheap day. [Measuring how many more people come on a cheap day is pretty much an economist's wet dream, btw.] I have more, but it gets complicated, i.e., seperate parallel lines and even more complicated things, but I just wanted to give you the heads up, because when I win a Nobel prize in 30 years, its possible its going to be on something like this.
-Amerians. Are. So. Fat.
- I finally remembered to buy a pack of playing cards today. Not sure if I ever made this public, but I am actively trying to collect something. But I always forget to buy them. Doing the postcard thing was a good excuse, maybe I can connect the two and always be on my game.
-The wierd fashion thing in Valencia was this odd haircut that was kind of like a Dreadullet, short all over except dreads in the back, or sometimes even just one dread. The odd thing here is danceclub kids with a mouth peircing, like a labret or one above the mouth. Just a little stud and ball. Except the ball is bright white. Ive seen it maybe a dozen times. It looks like a white head so bad!! I just want to pop it. Ive actually double taked a few times. I get quite a kick out of it.
-Waiting in line for the Vatican today, I started trying to come up with a unified theory of wait time to cost ratio. What i mean is obviously the museum isn't charging enough money on purpose, because they see their purpose not only as a market force, but also a social good. But undercharging always results in other kinds of cost, most frequently a wait time. ( I waited close to an hour, but I can't imagine how long it is on the last Sunday of the month, when you don't even owe them 14 Euro). So society benefits if entrance is cheaper than a profit maximizing market price, but not really, because all of that good is gobbled up in the wasted time in line. The optimal solution to these problems is probably some kind of straited pricing model, where its a different price each day, or for different times in the day. This way, rich people don't have to wait (there time is more valuable, sorry to say) and poor people can get a "coupon" price, by waiting in line on a cheap day. [Measuring how many more people come on a cheap day is pretty much an economist's wet dream, btw.] I have more, but it gets complicated, i.e., seperate parallel lines and even more complicated things, but I just wanted to give you the heads up, because when I win a Nobel prize in 30 years, its possible its going to be on something like this.
-Amerians. Are. So. Fat.
- I finally remembered to buy a pack of playing cards today. Not sure if I ever made this public, but I am actively trying to collect something. But I always forget to buy them. Doing the postcard thing was a good excuse, maybe I can connect the two and always be on my game.
-The wierd fashion thing in Valencia was this odd haircut that was kind of like a Dreadullet, short all over except dreads in the back, or sometimes even just one dread. The odd thing here is danceclub kids with a mouth peircing, like a labret or one above the mouth. Just a little stud and ball. Except the ball is bright white. Ive seen it maybe a dozen times. It looks like a white head so bad!! I just want to pop it. Ive actually double taked a few times. I get quite a kick out of it.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Clean Face
11/13/09: If you ever need to shave in Rome, here's how you do it. You find one of those shady stores owned by a Vietnamese couple where the lady does all the work and the dude just sits in one of those chairs that really shouldn't be able to hold him up (apparently they are everywhere). You know the ones, with the really tall shelves, and there really isn't any reason for the stuff they are selling. Its just kinda a store. Fans and watches in the front, maybe some candy, a broom, cigarettes. Well, if you go all the way into the back room, where they sell bug spray and rugs that look like those saddle blankets you put on a burro and that they try to sell you while you wait in line at the Mexico border, that's where you can buy a razor.
Went to go see American art today, Alexander Calder. I learned that "mobile" was started as a joke, because in french it means both motive and movement. I also figured out that he started making things out of wire because he can't draw or sculpt worth a darn. I get alot of guff about saying that I hate art, but I think all i mean some times is I wish it didn't take itself so seriously. Today the guard got mad at me blowing on a mobile, as if i had BigBadWolf breath and I could knock the thing down. I guess its the same with everything really: politics, music, sports, whatever.
Went to go see American art today, Alexander Calder. I learned that "mobile" was started as a joke, because in french it means both motive and movement. I also figured out that he started making things out of wire because he can't draw or sculpt worth a darn. I get alot of guff about saying that I hate art, but I think all i mean some times is I wish it didn't take itself so seriously. Today the guard got mad at me blowing on a mobile, as if i had BigBadWolf breath and I could knock the thing down. I guess its the same with everything really: politics, music, sports, whatever.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
My kingdom for a girl in flats
11/12/09: Today was a pretty big failure. I tried to find a cigar shop to buy my dad a pipe that he asked for, but google just kept sending me to little cigarette shops that sell lotto tickets. I also can't find a place to buy a razor for the life of me. Supermarkets, pharmacies, corner stores (they dont really have these, just bad versions of them), no one has razors or a bar of soap. To be fair, no day can actually be a failure here. Every time I get lost I stumble upon the most amazing things. Mostly buildings, and statues, and even roads that make America embarresed for being a teenager and not being able to afford nice things yet, but especially the river today. Every other person here must be a stone mason. I guess they just get bored and feel they need to build amazing intricate stone arch bridges every 30m along their river. The people rowing spend half the time in the shade.
- Figured out the economics of graffitti today. They painted over the tags in the underpass outside my flat. It was pretty full when I came. It makes sense that if you are just going to be painted over you don't want to spend alot of time or energy or paint on your work. This is one of those funny things that municipalites will never do: stop painting over graffitti long enough so that your graffitti culture becomes a net good for society instead of a net negative. I saw my first peice of really good street art today (it was on a dorm so it might have been just art), a donkey with wings like a pegasus. It was right near a bunch of buildings with gaudy statues of roman gods with horses, etc. It really made me like the person who drew it, kinda like the people who tagged the coliseum. Maybe this is why European street art is so different in character from American: because they aren't trying to capture turf due to economic longing, but instead trying to take some of their city from its own history. "Who fucking cares about the people who used to live here, I live here NOW!"
- Saw really good girl porn today. A calendar of really handsome priests. Itss kinda like how andy says all male strippers are gay. Or maybe even how some gay boys have a thing about turning straights. I guess it is the inverse of when boys have a power issue fantasy about virgins. It was funny any which way.
- I am glad I didn't come here for a whole month. For someone who is kind of a loner in life, I am terrible at being by myself. For instance, so far I have refused to sit down and eat in public alone. It just rubs me the wrong way. Tonight I might go watch an English language movie just to be around people who don't put the accent of EVERY SINGLE WORD on the penultimate sylable.
- Figured out the economics of graffitti today. They painted over the tags in the underpass outside my flat. It was pretty full when I came. It makes sense that if you are just going to be painted over you don't want to spend alot of time or energy or paint on your work. This is one of those funny things that municipalites will never do: stop painting over graffitti long enough so that your graffitti culture becomes a net good for society instead of a net negative. I saw my first peice of really good street art today (it was on a dorm so it might have been just art), a donkey with wings like a pegasus. It was right near a bunch of buildings with gaudy statues of roman gods with horses, etc. It really made me like the person who drew it, kinda like the people who tagged the coliseum. Maybe this is why European street art is so different in character from American: because they aren't trying to capture turf due to economic longing, but instead trying to take some of their city from its own history. "Who fucking cares about the people who used to live here, I live here NOW!"
- Saw really good girl porn today. A calendar of really handsome priests. Itss kinda like how andy says all male strippers are gay. Or maybe even how some gay boys have a thing about turning straights. I guess it is the inverse of when boys have a power issue fantasy about virgins. It was funny any which way.
- I am glad I didn't come here for a whole month. For someone who is kind of a loner in life, I am terrible at being by myself. For instance, so far I have refused to sit down and eat in public alone. It just rubs me the wrong way. Tonight I might go watch an English language movie just to be around people who don't put the accent of EVERY SINGLE WORD on the penultimate sylable.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
more roma
Got lost today trying to metro to the Coliseum. And walking around, I ran into.... a big round building thing like if you were going to play football and you wanted the vet[I know its the link now but ive never been there so its still the vet forever] to be made out of stone. Yep, just got lucky. I refuse to look at a map once outside or speak to anyone. Not sure why because I love when i meet non-English speakers in the states, but I feel a weird vunerability once people know I DONT KNOW HOW TO TALK. Despite my best efforts, somehow people know. I got an "excusa me" on the metro today, even though I hadn't said a word or interacted with anyone.
things:
-they have this awesome kind of begging here where the person just adopts a praying position with their head down and hands out. Its a mix between those silver people that dont move for hours, zen monks, titheing, and straight begging. Not sure how they would know if you took their can though.
- "prego" means, among other thing, "youre welcome". I guess I always knew this, but what I didnt realize is how awesome a name for tomato sauce it is. If I ever have name something, especially food related, I am totally going with "Youre welcome". 'Oh, you want something tasty, let me save you the thank you trouble, hear is some Youre Welcome.'
-think the high-heels arms race is bad in the u.s.? you got it lucky. Not only are they 2 inches higher here (i would convert it to metric, but I am not really sure how tall 2 inches is. 25 cm?) but they have so many bad streets and cobblestones, etc. They also have a make-up thing going on, but I actually consider it more of a truce than an arms war. Girls as young as 7 have full make up on, and all the old ladies have so so so much, Raquel Welch style. "If we all do it, you can't judge us." No. I still can.
-I stole my dad a giant peice of the coliseum. Not sure why for him. Also not sure if he will a)like it, b) think its funny, 3) scold me for 3a) risky prosecution in a foreign land 3b) descrating monuments, 4) make fun of me for lugging a big rock around.
things:
-they have this awesome kind of begging here where the person just adopts a praying position with their head down and hands out. Its a mix between those silver people that dont move for hours, zen monks, titheing, and straight begging. Not sure how they would know if you took their can though.
- "prego" means, among other thing, "youre welcome". I guess I always knew this, but what I didnt realize is how awesome a name for tomato sauce it is. If I ever have name something, especially food related, I am totally going with "Youre welcome". 'Oh, you want something tasty, let me save you the thank you trouble, hear is some Youre Welcome.'
-think the high-heels arms race is bad in the u.s.? you got it lucky. Not only are they 2 inches higher here (i would convert it to metric, but I am not really sure how tall 2 inches is. 25 cm?) but they have so many bad streets and cobblestones, etc. They also have a make-up thing going on, but I actually consider it more of a truce than an arms war. Girls as young as 7 have full make up on, and all the old ladies have so so so much, Raquel Welch style. "If we all do it, you can't judge us." No. I still can.
-I stole my dad a giant peice of the coliseum. Not sure why for him. Also not sure if he will a)like it, b) think its funny, 3) scold me for 3a) risky prosecution in a foreign land 3b) descrating monuments, 4) make fun of me for lugging a big rock around.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Roma, pt 1
11/10/09: First impressions about Roma:
1. the grafitti is really bad for Europe. It's not America "flag and tag" bad, but it doesn't have sweet monsters and aliens and lazers and stuff like it is supposed to.
2. Remember how the deal with cars in Valencia was that they can park wherever they wanted and it became a parking space? Well here the deal is that scooters drive like I ride a bike but much worse and way faster. If a car is ever in their way, they are allowed to drive against traffic, on the sidewalk, over medians, whatever. And the culture is funny, the cars never honk or argue or get mad, they just accept being cut off by scooters. And by scooter, i mean motorcycle, because that's what they are really.
3. All the girls here dress super tough. Leather jackets, sunglasses (sometimes pushed up onto head), and those boot things that are also high heels. They will totally make eyes at you but I am pretty sure it is in a "im so tough dudes cant make passes at me anyway so i will do what I want" way.
4. Women don't get older here. Ive seen lots of awesome old dudes, with amazing facial hair and canes and sweaters and stuff (what Dane really wants to be) but no old ladies. And middle aged couples are funny, because they guys do the American thing and get a big belly but the women are all super skinny and concerned with fashion, etc.
1. the grafitti is really bad for Europe. It's not America "flag and tag" bad, but it doesn't have sweet monsters and aliens and lazers and stuff like it is supposed to.
2. Remember how the deal with cars in Valencia was that they can park wherever they wanted and it became a parking space? Well here the deal is that scooters drive like I ride a bike but much worse and way faster. If a car is ever in their way, they are allowed to drive against traffic, on the sidewalk, over medians, whatever. And the culture is funny, the cars never honk or argue or get mad, they just accept being cut off by scooters. And by scooter, i mean motorcycle, because that's what they are really.
3. All the girls here dress super tough. Leather jackets, sunglasses (sometimes pushed up onto head), and those boot things that are also high heels. They will totally make eyes at you but I am pretty sure it is in a "im so tough dudes cant make passes at me anyway so i will do what I want" way.
4. Women don't get older here. Ive seen lots of awesome old dudes, with amazing facial hair and canes and sweaters and stuff (what Dane really wants to be) but no old ladies. And middle aged couples are funny, because they guys do the American thing and get a big belly but the women are all super skinny and concerned with fashion, etc.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Austin and Baseball and MT
11/02/09: I never got around to talking about Austin, probably because Magic didn't go as planned. It's really a pretty fantastic place. 60, 000 UT kids and a million bars (all with the rock venue thing going on) and no chain anything. Actually pretty confused about how the economy functions. There is like one bar for every two people and besides yogurt bars and vintage toy stores, there doesn't seem to be much business besides a million alt. country groups (but every bar is full!!!). Anyway, the girls wear pretty dresses and the boys ride pretty bikes so i could probably get by there long term if i had to which is a strange feeling.
Baseball is in a sad state currently but something pretty amazing happened earlier in the series that seemed pretty blogable. Through some kind of cell phone number changing debacle I spent game one at home playing magic online until the 8th inning. Cliff Lee had it wrapped up so i hopped on the bike to get down to South Philly for after parties. Riding through the city while the game was still happening was awesome. There weren't any cars on the roads and as I went through each neighborhood the socio-economic and cultural diversity really got a chance to come through. In fishtown you can actually watch the game because people's doors are open, with a shirtless guy smoking in the doorway with four generations inside huddled around a tv. The runs we scored in the 9th happened as i was passing the bars in NoLibs and ditsy transplant girls from NJ where doing that girl scream thing. Lots of Yankee fans in the richest parts of the city, especially chestnut and walnut. In those projects just north of Washington you could tell they were fans too because they had Daily News fliers on their doors and stuff like that but it was super dark and super quiet. Not sure why but it was creepy. Maybe they don't watch at home? And then ultimately I ended up at the Pope where probably half the people didn't even know sports happened that night and the other half are dudes who wouldn't admit how much they like sports. Not sure I learned any actual lessons or takeaways or whatever but it was refreshing to realize that you can always like learn more about home.
In other news making TIME is still the worst, open bar is code for can't get a drink, and half hour bathroom lines should probably be unconstitutional. Those giant sea creature balloon animals where rad, but besides that shame on you for making me feel like I am bad at partying all of a sudden when clearly I have a few good years left. At least I got in for free which was nice. One of these years I might even have an okay costume.
Baseball is in a sad state currently but something pretty amazing happened earlier in the series that seemed pretty blogable. Through some kind of cell phone number changing debacle I spent game one at home playing magic online until the 8th inning. Cliff Lee had it wrapped up so i hopped on the bike to get down to South Philly for after parties. Riding through the city while the game was still happening was awesome. There weren't any cars on the roads and as I went through each neighborhood the socio-economic and cultural diversity really got a chance to come through. In fishtown you can actually watch the game because people's doors are open, with a shirtless guy smoking in the doorway with four generations inside huddled around a tv. The runs we scored in the 9th happened as i was passing the bars in NoLibs and ditsy transplant girls from NJ where doing that girl scream thing. Lots of Yankee fans in the richest parts of the city, especially chestnut and walnut. In those projects just north of Washington you could tell they were fans too because they had Daily News fliers on their doors and stuff like that but it was super dark and super quiet. Not sure why but it was creepy. Maybe they don't watch at home? And then ultimately I ended up at the Pope where probably half the people didn't even know sports happened that night and the other half are dudes who wouldn't admit how much they like sports. Not sure I learned any actual lessons or takeaways or whatever but it was refreshing to realize that you can always like learn more about home.
In other news making TIME is still the worst, open bar is code for can't get a drink, and half hour bathroom lines should probably be unconstitutional. Those giant sea creature balloon animals where rad, but besides that shame on you for making me feel like I am bad at partying all of a sudden when clearly I have a few good years left. At least I got in for free which was nice. One of these years I might even have an okay costume.
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