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Democratic Transitions in the Third World Global Stage: Resurgence of the Public Sphere
Friday October 03 2003 Mogwai played the Metro last night and I feel reassured that my online order to Ticketmaster was well worth the money There was another band, but the name slips me Boas was supposed to open for Mogwai but something must've fell through at the last minute, being that their t-shirts and cd's were For Sale at the front. They played for about 2 hours, maybe a little less, but the over all delivery was pretty tight All in all, it was a good way to end the week--which now culminates with Thursday. Friday always seems to be Day One because that's when I begin working on the next week's readings, assignments, etc. I was happy to have got the first major paper out of the way on Wednesday--looking over it gives me pity for anyone forced to read it. Powershifts: Overconsumptionism and the Age of Reagan. Who would want to read such things? I also continued on with the collection of Latino/Hispanic demographics in the larger Chicago metropolitan area for the Institute. Thursday September 17 2003 Reading the collected works of Mike Davis is probably a privilege in disguise--or it's a waste of time. But it's surely one or the other. I've put away "Prisoners of the American Dream" and begun "City of Quartz", which is no less convoluted then the former. On the other hand, Jeffrey Edward's class is really good irregardless of whether I like his assigned readings or not. The discussions are pretty heavy and the Davis readings help to contextualize everything within a kind of framework. The Mogwai song "Kids Will Be Skeletens" is a terrific song. The entire album "Happy Songs for Happy People" makes for good reading music while I spend time on the 10th Floor Library of Roosevelt University's Auditorium Building in the corner of the Journal/Periodical room. The tables and chairs are somewhat reminiscent of the Great Depression but the selection of scholarly journals is pretty exhaustive and accessible--and as no one seems to ever come in this room it's become my second home. Today I used work time to review many decades of quality Old Left/New Left reporting from the annals of Dissent Journal. From Hannah Arendt to Michael Harrington to Jean Paul Sartre to Marshall Berman, Dissent covers all the bases. Monday September 14 2003 Worked on researching the family structure of Hispanic Americans in the Chicago area using variables available through the 1990 and 2000 Census. Boring stuff . Have two proposals to turn in tomorrow and one book to read. I've skimmed through approximately 25 different books since Friday ranging in subject matter--mostly globalism, postmodernism, deliberative democracy, and Habermas and his critics. I've decided to name this website "The Seventh Kilometer". Two papers proposals are due tomorrow. Friday September 11 2003 Today Johnny Cash died at age 71. It's kind of
sad to know that the world's last real existential hero has passed on.
Anyone who's ever listened to the lyrics behind "The Man in
Black", "I Walk the Line" , or his recent remake of Nine
Inch Nails "Hurt" know that few can affect so many groups of different
people as Johnny Cash did. Johnny Cash represents what America is and not
the "take me out to the ballpark" illusion constructed by too many of our contemporaries.
Wednesday September 9 2003 Just finished putting together a summary
of this weeks Mike Davis readings. Probably worked a little quicker than
it should have but I didn't want to miss The Real World at Matt's house.
Lots of stuff coming up. Interpol is playing here a week from friday
followed by Mogwai a week after that. These two bands are sure not to
dissappoint. In other news two research papers, roughly dissertation size
when combined, are being worked into one so as to count for two different
classes. It will deal in some way with the emergence of a new kind of
"public sphere" within the context of Globalisation. I'm still
gathering sources for it, but I should have a bibliography sheet fine tuned
after 4 hours at the library today. Monday September 7 2003 I was fortunate to be able to meet up with an old
friend yesterday whom I haven't seen in four years. Nice closure to a
power-packed week. Graduate study is going to demand more time than I
might of expected on top of my job at the Roosevelt University Institute of
Metropolitan affairs. (My boss keeps reiterating that it's not a 'blow-off'
job. I remain unconvinced. |
