I'm fascinated by Tropic Thunder, a movie that I haven't seen. Naturally, I'm most fascinated by the re-institution of blackface performance at a remove. Robert Downey Jr. plays an actor who plays a part in blackface, thus removing Downey from playing the part in blackface himself, something which he ultimately does. The idea itself, being at a remove, seems to work for critiquing the blackface in that it critiques Downey's whiteness ultimately? But it also raises the issue of "performing black" -- something Downey seems to do, again, not at Downey. While the use of it in the film may work out well, I'm a little afraid to see what the film opens up in others.

In actual news, I went to the Guggenheim for the first time and saw an exhibit on Louise Bourgeois. We had friends visiting from Tennessee and I think I was the only one of the four of us who enjoyed the exhibit. Unfortunately, the permanent collection was closed because of the renovations. We did see woodcuts by Kadinsky (who knew he did medievally-inspired woodcuts?) that were really beautiful. The next day we went to botanical gardens in the Bronx. I'm definitely going to go back in the spring; there isn't a whole helluva a lot in bloom right now, with the exception of the roses. In the spring, they have an orchid show, so I would like to go to that and then check out the blooming trees on the trails. It will remind me a little bit of our home in Brooktondale, which was like a botanical garden in itself.

I have returned from Denver. And this is what I discovered while I was there. First of all, it is dry. Now this may seem obvious. But I mean dry like the desert. Even inside the hotel with airconditioning going at maximum force, there was a constant need to drink water. And stepping outside made one feel like a shrinking prune. On top of this dryness, I had a runny nose. The runny nose was actually something everyone at the conference had; there was a lot of sniffing in between papers, blowing noses, and drinking water, all at the same time. Going out at night, I discovered that because of the altitude one drink equals 2 or 3 -- especially if it's wine. And they don't tend to serve vegetables. I remember ordering a half chicken -- something that would generally be accompanied by a happy green vegetable and potatoes. Well, this chicken was accompanied by potatoes and fried onion rings. Yes, that was the vegetable. Despite the dryness and my lack of vegetation, I enjoyed Denver, in part because I did a lot of carousing (obviously enhanced by the altitude/alcohol factor) disguised as networking.

Now that I'm back, I'm working on figuring out what/when/where I'll be teaching this fall. I thought I would have the answer to this yesterday, but here I am today with still no certainties. I'm not good at the whole "not knowing" stage of things. I don't seem to get a lot done during it.