Diary of a Divan

Glorious news.

reteva@yahoo.com — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 01:36:05 GMT

It is with intense pride that I announce that my thesis paper, From Scrolls to Prints to Moving Pictures: The Development of Iconographic Ghost Imagery in Pre-Modern Japan and its Application to the Contemporary Horror Film, has been accepted for publication in the UC Davis Journal of Undergraduate Research. I can't fully express my feelings at present, but I'm so unbelievably happy that I cried. I could hardly believe it; I honestly thought that I hadn't a snowball's chance in hell. Shows what I know, huh?

Well, here's to the woman with the long, black hair. May she find her peace down the long path of time. Suggestions for appropriate celebratory rites will be greatly appreciated, and thanks to all for their continued love and support.

And now for something completely different.

reteva@yahoo.com — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:16:00 GMT

The Phoenix Hall at the Byodo-in Temple in Kyoto. Pretty fucking gorgeous, ne?

Course loads are in...

reteva@yahoo.com — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 22:02:12 GMT

...and once again I'm left to wonder if I can really do it, again. While I've lucked out in terms of finals (two classes don't have them, one offers a take-home, which leaves only one actual sit-down final to overcome in the end--and tons of time to cram for it), but my workload looks daunting. Professor Burnett, in particular, seems to have gone a bit mad with her reading precis assignments. She wants one per article or chapter, and sometimes we're reading several chapters at a stretch. It boggles the mind. I mean, it's one thing to do that in the seminar but quite another to do it for a lecture. We'll see how that pans out, but I once again foresee very little free time on my horizon. <sigh> I ought to have known.

Anyway. That's the short scoop. Not much else to report until classes get into a real swing, but I can already tell that Stimson is going to run overtime in this class as he did in last quarter's. It makes me wonder if this will really be a twenty monuments class. It's only day one and we're behind! The mind is thoroughly boggled. <wink>

Oh, and my next update may be awhile. I'll probably be sufficiently kerflumuxed for the next few weeks.

A note on my most recent readings.

reteva@yahoo.com — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 18:59:39 GMT

I'm currently midway through Lynne Thornton's Women as Portrayed in Orientalist Painting. This is a book that I was made aware of many years ago when I was living in Paris, and it had been out of print for some time. Once it finally came back into print I snapped up a copy to read. I've always enjoyed those genres of art that feature a romanticized flavor in them: the pre-raphealites, the austrian expressionists, the orientalists, etc. Additionally, the perception of orientalism is very interesting to me (although it generally pertains to the near and middle east rather than to the far east, which is my area of focus), and I plan to one day soon get my hands of Edward Said's criticism of the movement, simply titled Orientalism.

Anyway, the thing about this book that is strange is its construction. It is mainly a French book... originally published in French (although the author is English, and I believe she did her own translations)... and, of course, it was published some time ago. At any rate, the illustrations--while absolutely exquisite--are not linked to the text by means of reference, and the individual sections of the book, though they contain fascinating information, are not really very well organized. There seems to be no thesis, no structure, and no closure. They begin vaguely, ramble languidly, and end rather abruptly. All in all, I had hoped for a little more. Thornton spends a good deal of time describing and analyzing the imagery associated with these paintings, but she never really makes any argument about what such imagery means. I don't think I'll be buying her other book on the subject, The Orientalists: Painter-Travelers. I was interested in it, but I bet I could find something better if I really wanted to pursue the subject.

Later today when I've finished with this book--that's my goal for the afternoon--I intend to take a look at an article written by Terry Teachout, entitled Culture in the Age of Blogging. Appropriate, right? This article was an assigned reading for my Art After Modernism course, but we got so far behind that we never reached the accompanying lecture for it. I felt, though, that the subject sounded very interesting--particularly since I love to blog--and I figure I ought to read it even though I won't have an Art History professor on hand to spend half an hour explaining to me what it means when he could be progressing with the lecture and covering as much material as he could. I'm trying not to be bitter about the whole thing, but we never really made it out of the mid-1980s and when it came time to talk about the New York graffiti art scene the professor did not say a single word about Basquiat. <grrrr>

Well, there it is.

Report on the Pittsburgh Trip

reteva@yahoo.com — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:07:43 GMT

I had a great time at the University of Pittsburgh. I had a nice leisurely lunch with the Professor, who was friendly and helpful. She and I had a very long conversation that covered such topics as the Pitt graduate program, her research, my research, things that I need to do to get into Pitt, my qualifications (which she noted were very, very good) travel, the state of the field of Art History, life in Pittsburgh, life in general, bringing a smile to the mirror in order to meet a smile, and so forth. I really liked the Professor and I feel that I made a very good first impression. The professor asked me to keep in touch, offered to look over my application essay in advance of my application, and generally expressed hope that I would be back in a couple year's time.

The university grad students were equally cool. I was escorted around by a girl from Japan, named Yuki, and a girl from Israel, whose name was beautiful, started with an S, and I cannot remember to save my life. I feel terrible about that because she was so kind to me, and I ought to remember her name. They took me into the Fine Arts Library (which is FIVE stories of nothing but books about art... <slobber>), and the University Library (which has a whole floor dedicated to nothing but East Asian language books). They also showed me the Student Union. Pitt has a very nice union with all kinds of interesting amenities (like a television room). They also have this totally cool building called the Cathedral of Learning. It's mainly offices, but it also has classrooms that are decorated according to various nationalities. There's a Scottish Room, a Greek Room, a Syrian Room, a Norwegian Room, etc.

The campus is located in the heart of Pittsburgh, which sounds like it should be an ugly place but is actually quite lovely. It features monumental European-inspired architecture, beautiful rivers, and charming side streets with restaurants, book shops, and ethnic markets. According to the professor the laws regarding the sale of alcohol are rather ludicrous (alcohol must be purchased from separate state-run stores, but that's pretty common for the East Coast and Midwest states, actually), and she seemed afraid that that might influence my decision, but I think Pittsburgh has the kind of ambiance that I could really enjoy. It reminds me a Sacramento a little.

Part of my visit included the opportunity to join a class on Edo period art. This particular session was conducted inside the Carnegie Museum of Art, where the students were invited to view priceless Japanese woodblock prints by Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Kawase, and Hokkei--at a distance of two micro-inches. Seriously. I had my nose a hair's breadth from Hokusai's Red Fuji, and no matter what happens later on the whole trip was worth it just for that. Everyone was very interested in me and my research. A couple of the students offered me their email, in case I had any further questions about the program. I plan to email those who offered me their emails a thank you message for their hospitality. I'm so lucky to have had a great first experience in my quest to find a good school.

The only things that I have to consider are my language skills, which need to be improved before I could apply to Pitt (although, I already have a plan in place to deal with that and even if I don't go to Pitt I plan to follow through with it regardless). The other thing to consider is that this professor is a Pre-modern specialist. She knows tons about everything up to the Edo period, but she's not into Modern stuff. If I joined the Pitt program I would have to write a pre-Modern dissertation so I need to seriously evaluate where I want to specialize before I apply. If I want to continue to consider Japanese films then I may need to go elsewhere. But that's something that I need to determine either way. I need to decide if I'm into Edo-and-pre or Edo-and-post. Maybe that will be my project for the coming year off.

The rest of this vacation will be spent in relaxation, damnit. I'm happy to report that so far I've gotten an A+ in Japanese Literature and an A for my Honors Thesis. Great news. Now I just have to wait it out on the last two classes. I hope to have an idea by Monday, and I'll let everyone know as I find out. In the meantime, though, I've earned a break. See you all later.

Back in Cincinnati.

reteva@yahoo.com — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 04:22:44 GMT

Let's try this again. I input an entry earlier today, but what with one thing and another (Mom's been working like a fiend all day), I took too long and the entry got dropped. Such is life. Since she's still working away I'll keep this short.

I was relieved to finally be finished with the Winter quarter, and the sudden lifting of pressure (followed, no doubt, by the weird shifts in pressure brought on by an airplane trip) resulted in a pretty major headache. I spent the majority of the trip in various states of sleep. Periodically, I tried to work on a logic problem but that was never a viable answer to a migraine so I never really finished. Heh.

Tomorrow we're setting out early so that I can meet with a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, but today was wasted on episodes of Daria. I love Daria.

And this concludes our broadcast day. More to follow when the computer crush ends.

The Proverbial Fat... the Proverbial Fire.

reteva@yahoo.com — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:45:56 GMT

Well, as I'm sure you can all tell from the comments on my last journal entry, things have really hit the fan. I made the decision to call CPS on my childhood friend, because it was clear that something needed to be done and that she was not going to do it. Her retaliation has involved nasty blog comments, nasty phone messages, and just all around nastiness. She's gone into a tailspin of denial and cover-ups, and her last resort is to accuse her mother--a good, caring woman--of being a vindictive, abusive drunk. As if I haven't known Miss T. for twenty years. As if I didn't spend whole weeks at their house growing up. As if I don't know exactly what Miss T. was like as a parent. Unorthodox, yes. Strict, certainly. Abusive, drunk, and dangerous, no fucking way.

It's very disheartening to see my old friend attempt to turn this whole thing into an issue about herself. It's not about her. It's about the baby. It's about someone hurting a little baby, and those people who actually care about that baby doing what they felt was right to protect him--no matter what happened. I keep praying for those babies. That's all I can do. And I pray for my friend. I pray she wakes up. I pray that one day she'll understand why I felt the need to do what I did--why we all felt that way--and that there are happy endings in the real world, too.

But I know better.

...
I'll still pray, though. Prayer was never meant to be magic, but it is an act of love.

Drama.

reteva@yahoo.com — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 05:06:06 GMT

The friend this entry is about may or may not read my journal. If she does, then she'll know that I know. If not, so it goes.

Her mother called me this afternoon very upset. It seems she had been helping her grandson, L., in the bathroom when she noticed some major bruising on the boy's backside. This boy is four and a half, FYI. Questioning led L. to explain that Daddy had spanked him... with a wire coat hanger. Grandma immediately asked her daughter about this, and the explanation ran along the lines of "Daddy thought L. had eaten all his bubblegum."

Grandma, naturally, wanted to go to the authorities. Her own parents forestalled her with arguments like, "it's none of our business." Cut forward to today when she called me. She'd been trying to get M. to agree to go to WEAVE counseling, but M. was dodging her calls. Eventually, after much drama, M. called and made some kind of half-assed claim about finding a program on the Internet that she and R. were going to participate in. She wouldn't give her mom any details, or let her mom get a confirmation of intent from R., which says to me that the whole thing is straight bullshit. M. doesn't have the slightest intent of doing anything aside from burying her head in the sand and hoping that it doesn't happen again.

But see, this guy already has a record for fighting in bars. He's already been beating M. Now he crossed the line and beat his own son. He'll never go back from that. When will it be too much? I've advised Miss T., M.'s mom, to call the authorities and get someone official in on it. I don't care if the kids get taken, M. has waived her rights by refusing to fight for them.

Anyway, the whole thing has pissed me off and upset me in ways that I can't explain. It's all tied up in drama from my past; a time I try not to think about when I was eight years old and my mother almost died. A time when I had to be the adult, when I had to evade a predator, when I always had to wonder what would have happened if someone had done something to stop it. I can't sit by and do nothing. Something has to be done.

Last day.

reteva@yahoo.com — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 21:11:43 GMT

I've got one more test to take... the listening test in Japanese. I'm a little nervous about it because you never know what Fahy is going to do, but I figure I'll just have to go in and do my best. The good thing here is that when it's over I get a short break. (A break that will undoubtedly be full of studying, but a break nonetheless.) I've got an extra-credit project due for Japanese. It's due Friday, and that should keep me plenty busy, but there's also cramming for lit, art history, and japanese, and making sure that the Crocker Art Cafe project that I've spearheaded is all ready to launch on Sunday.

Fun, fun, fun.
I can't wait until Daddy takes the T-Bird away. I'm all wore out from joyriding.

Peace.

Ima, watashi wa nemui kedo...

reteva@yahoo.com — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:18:46 GMT

I'm ready to go home and take a nap, and it's only 9:20. I was up late last night working on a paper for my Japanese lit class. The professor had moved the deadline on the paper up from Saturday to Tuesday--a major faux pas that I'm going to let him know about in my course evaluation. Anyway, what with the huge list of comments I got from Professor Kim on my thesis, the extra time it took to finish the thesis, and my trip to San Francisco (which I'd planned a month before the Professor changed the deadline and wasn't about to give up), I had a grand total of one evening to work on the paper.

As a result, it's a piece of shit. I mean, it's okay. It does what it's supposed to. It reads well, I guess. It could have been so much better, though, if I'd had the kind of time I needed to make it happen. So, it frustrates me to have to turn this crap in and wonder if it'll be good enough to net the kind of grade I want to maintain my average. I suppose that I have a little room to give--I've done well on everything else this quarter--but I wish I didn't have to wonder.

Bleh.

I did turn in my thesis yesterday--to both of my Professors--and that is a relief. Whatever else happens; the paper is done and I've fulfilled the department requirements for an citation of honor in my official record. That's pretty fucking cool. Also cool, is the fact that I emailed the Japanese art history professor at the University of Pittsburgh yesterday about having a meeting with her next week when I fly back East. She responded immediately with enthusiasm, offering to meet me, to introduce me to the grad students there, and to have me sit in on a class that she was co-teaching on the art of the Edo period.

I'm so conflicted about schools. I don't want to leave California, but I really like this professor at Pitt. She's working on research that's pertinent to my field, and her email made me feel comfortable and welcome. I'll check out the prof. at Berkeley, but his research isn't even close. It's all about Buddhist art from the Medieval period. Not my cup of tea, exactly. But, who knows, maybe he'll be as cool and accommodating as the prof. at Pitt and the decision will be easy for me.

<sigh>
Yeah, right.

Anyway. And now for something completely different. Here's a glimpse at what some of the Calders we looked at looked like: