Scotland Photos

Sunrise in Glasgow

Biker Group, Glasgow

The Tall Ship, Glasgow

[I forgot to find out the name or author of this work of art], Glasgow

Sunset in Glasgow

Sunset in Glasgow II

Statue and Cliffs, Edinburgh

Arthur's Peak and the Ocean

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

Sunset in Edinburgh

Sunset in Edinburgh II

Some Guy

“Wait, you don’t work with Nelson? You’re just some guy?”

I could barely believe it either. I’d been in Glasgow less than twelve hours and had already found my way into a party in someone’s apartment. Most of the party was made up of a group of friends, with an assortment of significant others and coworkers. This last designation constituted the pretense of my entrance to the party.

I’d met Nelson on the street. I’d been walking to a bar the Guardian had said was cheap and cool when the group of drunks ahead of me paused to take a picture. Nelson was the photographer and used his artistic license to demand that I join the photo, which of course I did. I like imagining them looking through the night’s photos and seeing me but not knowing who I am.

I hadn’t expected to be engaged in conversation following the photo, or to be invited to a party with these people as a result. Nelson made me promise to tell the other guests I was a new coworker of his, the old ones being the group with whom I’d just been photographed. We rehearsed my role while shepherding the rest of our office (they’d been drinking since 3 pm; it was nearly 10) to the apartment where the party was to be held.

We were greeted by a line of huggers – most of the people at the party had known each other since college and were good friends. (The fact that I would even be able to start a sentence with ‘we’ on the first of five nights traveling alone in Scotland was a luxury I’d not anticipated.) When I reached each new person in the line there was a pause, as I was of course a new face. I mostly stuck to handshakes so as not to be strange but got a few hugs anyway.

The ruse lasted about an hour and a half. In their friendly inquisitions, Nelson’s friends forced me to make up a background for myself. Apparently I was in Glasgow as a social worker as my first clinical experience for credit in my graduate program back in the US. My school had set up an exchange program because there was greater need in Glasgow than locally, and I was enjoying it so far, having only lived here for a few weeks. My flat was on the east side, and no I hadn’t seen any crime there yet, but I’d be sure to keep my wits about me. I hadn’t been in the office long enough to witness any tension between the psychologists and the social workers (apparently this was a complaint of Nelson’s) and would attempt to stay clear of it should I encounter any.

In an eventual lull in conversation between Nelson and myself and one of his closest friends, he leaned in close and gave me a conspiratorial look.

“Todd, you know Dan here, he told you he’s a social worker?”

“Yeah, told me all about it. Says he likes it so far.”

“See, funny thing is, he’s not. I met him on my way here.”

I was enough of a fixture at that point that they let me stick around, having proven myself friendly and unthreatening (are there people who agree to come to parties on such terms who aren’t?). It was a “bad holiday jumper” party, and having not dressed for it I was without one until one of the hostesses leant me an extra one. I was introduced to of the guys who’d been in the other room, and I asked if he’d been told anything about me, to which he responded, “Oh yeah, I heard. You’re the talk of the party.”

It was 3am by the time I left. In their hospitality they’d ensured that I was drunk, and as such I was inspired to wander back to the hostel, which was about a 45-minute walk. I went to the bathroom to consider my exit, and through a combination of not wanting to make a scene or an imposition (God forbid, right?) and hoping to preserve an air of mystery about my presence that night decided to slip out without saying goodbye or thank you. 

Ambivalism

I've been assigned several manifestos to read this week for my Architectural History & Theory:

- "The Manifesto of Futurist Architecture", Antonio Sant'Elia (1914)
- "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture", Robert Venturi (1965)
- "Junkspace", Rem Koolhaas (2002, republished in the aforementioned Content)

Upon reading and analyzing these the notion of writing a manifesto seems rather quaint, despite the date that the last one was published. Even this is something of an anti-manifesto, a diatribe against the "fallout" from Modernism that never goes so far as to prescribe an alternative. Indeed, both Koolhaas and Venturi are directly responding to the unrealized utopia promised by the era immediately following Sant'Elia's writing.

What I've been observing in this class (and in another on 20th century art) is that this period, roughly 1920-1945, was the last gasp of Movements, and that the full sum of creative work that followed it falls under the vague and enormous umbrella of postmodernism. Broad though that statement is, I think I'm standing on fairly firm ground in making it.

Which leaves us ... where? Here, I guess. Which is everywhere, apparently.

A reading from the art-based class (specifically about painting, but it seems relevant) names the appropriation and combination of various styles Pluralism, and while the author seems to regard this approach as ahistorical and uncritical and its practitioners as dilettantes, to me it seems rather appropriate.

Media today functions like a limitless museum- I'm equally in reach of information about Warhol as I am about Michelangelo. Does the opportunity of Pluralism negate critical engagement? Or is it incumbent upon critics to navigate the field of references laid out by a mixing of styles? Or should I leave my apartment more?

Readings, Watchings, Listenings

I've been taking a lot in recently, largely not for class (sorry, Roger). I'd like someday to distill all this that I've been devouring into something new and stubbornly mine, but until such time as I know how I'll leave a list here.

 - The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway, 1926

 - Superman Comes to the Supermarket, Norman Mailer in Esquire, 1960

 - Annie Hall, Woody Allen, 1977 (movie)

 - Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog on The Atlantic

 - this short story by Tao Lin, 2007

 - Content, Rem Koolhaas, 2004

 - Reflektor, Arcade Fire, 2013 (album)

 - this article about Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City

 - a chapter on Gerhard Richter from Briony Fer's The Infinite Line, 2004

Photos from the Early Goings

Boat Cafe

Street Performer at Tate Modern

Young Girl at Tate Modern

Big Ben, from Trafalgar Square

Regent's Park, Early

The Real Mickey Mouse

Frank and a Stranger

Showtime

The Walkie Talkie

Early Bird Special

Frank on the Thames

SOAS, Brutalism

Two Couples and a Fountain

HMS Belfast and Clouds

Three Surfaces and a Couple Trees

London Skyline from Canary Wharf

Sunset from St. Paul's

Naptime

Murphy's Law

We've had lovely weather here for the past week (at least). I mean real lovely, not just London lovely.

Last night, after a lengthy and stimulating life catch-up with my good friend Jill Brandwein I decided I wanted to catch a London sunrise. I went immediately to bed and set my alarm for 6 am. I got up, narrowly avoided getting drenched, and made it to Primrose Hill just a few minutes after the sun was supposed to. Only it was still dark. It has been all day- the clouds have returned.

Oh well.

Got this photo, which isn't awful. Someday I'll manage to beat the weather.

New Things

Tonight is my last night in the hostel. I'm looking forward to moving into my new digs tomorrow- just in time, in fact, to have a pint (or several) with my predecessor Cassie Ballert. She's in London for the weekend and it'll be good to have an infusion of Michigan into my European adventures.

In other news I've also got a preliminary class schedule going. It's looking like I'll be in the following classes.

Fall:
 - London's Times of Destruction and (Re)Construction
 - The Chapel in Italy, c. 1300-1500: Form, Function, and Decoration
 - Green Futures (taken in The Bartlett School of Planning)
 - History & Theory of Architecture (taken in The Bartlett School of Architecture)

Spring:
 - Skin and Bones: Medeival Bodies in London Museums and Galleries
 - Methodologies of Art History
 - American Geographies: Figuring the West, 1848-1914
 - Modernity Through the Lens: the European Avant-Garde, Utopia, Technology, and Mass Culture

In the interest of full disclosure, I tried to sneak an Architecture studio course in there despite it not being a Humanities course, but I wasn't allowed by UCL. I am, however, very excited to take my Planning and Architecture courses. The latter will focus on a favorite architect of mine, Rem Koolhaas, pictured below with my brother and sister.

Note: Rem Koolhaas is not a member of the Connors family.

In less navel-gazey news, I've been getting a better sense of the interface between America and Europe (or at least their respective sensibilites). American issues with obesity are pretty well known here, well enough at least for a guy I met in a design gallery to inform me that Herman Miller was now making a wider version of the iconic Eames Lounge (have I mentioned that the London Design Festival is this week?) for American markets.

He also told me that upon his visits to US cities he was surprised by how close "posh" (upscale) areas were to more depressed ones. Given this set of charts I saw this week, it's a rather astute observation; it seems that segregation is alive and well in the US, it's just not institutionalized. Obviously race and economics are their own issues, but the wealth gap (chasm?) in the US does often align itself along racial lines. Not that the UK is without its own socioeconomic challenges, but so far it seems that the level of diversity here is much higher (of course, neither Boston nor U of M are known for being terribly diverse- how much of this is culture shock I'm unsure).

Less depressingly, he mentioned that a common trip to the US for Europeans included flying to the east coast and driving to California or Las Vegas. It's interesting, not only because it throws into focus how spacious and geographically varied our country is, but also because this is a trip not many Americans get to do (at least as far as I've been able to observe). Every person to whom I've mentioned driving cross-country has either told me that it was one of the best things they ever did or that it was something they'd always wanted to do. It makes me want to rent a car and drive out into the country here, just for contrast. I don't know if that's legal. More on this later. I should also recommend James Reeves' excellent The Road to Somewhere: an American Memoir here for anyone interested in reading about the nooks and crannies of the US you find when you just get out and drive. After all, isn't that the American dream?

Monuments

Some photos from Week 1

Cities

This week, I've been trying to find myself an apartment to live in, checking out various flats. I've been freaked out, I've thought I've had it figured out, and I've slept in the daytime. Since it seems this song has been right about everything so far, it'll all work out.

Rest Assured This Will Not Last

(Musical accompaniment to this post.)*

I usually avoid talking to strangers when I go to the airport; perhaps it’s a sign of the changes I’m in for in the following year that within minutes of embarking for London I met one to whom I spent at least an hour talking, and that we hugged when I got up to board my flight.

Kathy admittedly did most of the legwork; she initiated the conversation and kept it going beyond the early stalls. While I’d been mildly reluctant at first, I soon found myself thoroughly enjoying her company.

She’s a former teacher and current interfaith chaplain on a pilgrimage to a German spa town to meet with a group of other spiritually-inclined people and to discuss their faiths (and presumably their doubts). We began by talking about our respective travel plans and by the time the announcement came that we are now ready to start boarding Flight VS12 to London Heathrow she had told me what she wants to ask God when she dies.

One of my fears concerning this adventure is that my propensity for shyness might preclude me from taking full advantage of all that will surround me in London. With this as my reminder to connect with more people, think I’ll be okay. 

*Special thanks to Steven Hyden and Charlie Pierce for turning me onto R.E.M. and for the idea for the aforementioned accompaniment, respectively.

About This Blog

I alluded in my last post to the fact that I’ve yet to find a definite direction I want my life to take, and to be honest I hope that this experience helps point me in one.  Thus I will approach this blog as a series of dispatches from a second adolescence, of sorts – height-marks on the Roger M. Jones moulding, hopefully getting taller the longer I've been here. Of course, it's a lot to expect to be transformed by something and almost certainly wrong to plan to be, so I'll also make a concerted effort to let it be what it is.

Before we start, I’ll warn the reader that I’ll be borrowing pretty heavily from two bloggers whose work I read religiously. Charlie Pierce is the first, he a legendary sports and politics writer and fellow Saint John’s High alum. The second, Ta-Nehisi Coates, is a blogger at The Atlantic whose posts this summer about his experience as an ex-pat in France were particularly instructive for me. If in any post in this space I can achieve a fraction of their daily insight I’ll consider myself to have grown tremendously as a writer.

This brings me to another heads-up: I’m going to take this blog seriously. I have often found myself wishing I spent more energy on writing, and I’m tired of not doing it. I hope that this will help me become better. If you've got feedback, hit me. 

Hope you enjoy it.

An Introduction

Hi, I'm Dan.

I'm the lucky recipient of the 2013-14 Roger M. Jones Fellowship, and I'll be studying History of Art at University College London starting in a few weeks. I'm very excited.

I'd like to thank Cassie for her well-wishes and for her excellent stewardship of this blog over the past year- I've enjoyed keeping tabs on her European experience, and have used it as something of a model for my own. (I should mention that the extent of my international travel is a 3-day stay in Quebec in 1999, so I've appreciated the guidance.)

I graduated from UofM in December 2012 after majoring in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and minoring in Art & Design. Like Cassie, I hope to incorporate what I learn as the Jones fellow into my career but haven't yet settled on what that career will be. I do, however, have a strong interest in Product and/or Industrial Design, and I hope to be able to contribute something worthwhile to those fields (or maybe another, as the case may be in 5-10 years) by my combining engineering and art.

I'm looking forward to keeping this blog- I haven't committed to blogging before but I do compulsively write things down in the margins of notebooks and on napkins etc., and will relish the opportunity to attempt to synthesize them into something. I'll have another post before I leave with my intentions and aspirations for this space.

Alright, that's me. Who's reading this?

Cassie signing off

This is my last post for the Roger M. Jones blog so I would like to end with a few goals that I have for the upcoming semester and year...

Syracuse

• Set goals and determine where I want to be in the next 1, 5, and/or 10 years. For me, it doesn't matter if these goals change, but I like to work towards something. It’s also quite odd for a goal to be making goals, but friend recently asked me where I see myself in 5 years and for the first time I couldn't say anything. Because next year will be full of either grad school applications, job interviews, or who knows what, I have to start making decisions about where I would like to see myself.

• Start a discussion group. The one thing that I feel missing from my program is a sort of colloquium where we can come together and discuss ideas and topics relating to Environmental Ethics, pulling from our diverse interests. I’m hoping to start a weekly or bi-weekly meeting where we can sit, eat, and chat.

• Continue writing. Not for school (that happens regardless), but just for myself. I like using journals to reflect on the in-the-moment sights, sounds, and experiences.

• Make the most. With only a few more months in Europe, and no (current) plans of staying or coming back, I want to knock just a few more things off my European bucket list. Part of it will include eating more my favorite German food, the soft pretzel.

• Learn Portuguese. Not proficiently, but take a beginner’s level class and practice it. I’ve always wanted to speak more than two languages and because I’m still at a University, I guess now’s the time.

• Take more pictures. I'm torn on this one, because I don't like to carry around a big camera (i.e. look touristy) and I am much more about experiencing a city than searching for the best shot, but I am pleased with some of my past photos and it's always nice to have something to look back on.

I would also like to mention that I am truly thankful for this experience provided by the Roger M. Jones Fellowship. This year has been challenging; I've taken classes that are neither in my background or native-language, but I've learned a great deal and I’m still progressing.

I’m excited for Dan, the 2013/2014 recipient, to share similar experiences- I wish him all the best.

Cheers,

Cassie

Catching up

This past semester has flown by at a shocking speed. April seemed like such a short time ago. In addition to the pace of the semester, it was also a challenging one- it really pushed me to my limits.

When I got back from my travels in early April, I had the time to evaluate my courses and noticed that I was a few classes shy of finishing the requirements for this degree. So, mustering up the courage, I signed up for a few extra classes and decided to go for it- I’ll be finishing my Master’s in Environmental Ethics next semester.

In comparison to my first semester, where I felt a little off not having homework due twice or three times a week (the lingering effects of getting an Engineering degree), this past semester put me right on track. Instead of homework, I had to give presentations in quite a few classes… almost one every week for the first two months! Although it was rough doing the research and creating presentations, I really enjoyed getting to know a topic intimately and then have the capability to teach it again to my class.

Blood oranges in Sicily

A few examples of my presentations were: The role of the chemist and chemical industry in Manfred Künne’s novel Buna, John Rawls’ Political Liberalism, and an excerpt of David Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature.

Along with that, here’s the list of classes I took:

-Philosophy of Chemistry
-Introduction to Social Ethics*
-Christian Environmental Ethics
-Ethics and Metaphysics
-Conflict Theory, Analysis, and Research
-Davie Hume: of Passions and Morals (Book II and III of Treatise of Human Nature)
-John Rawls, Equality, and Egalitarianism*
-International Relations
-Which Nature do we Want?*
-What Money Can’t Buy, the Moral Limits of the Market*

* denotes classes that met 3 – 5 times

Animal farm

What I love about a semester with a fair amount of classes is that I can see how subjects can become intermingled and how they can build upon one another. This is especially prevalent in such an interdisciplinary program as mine, where we don’t have our own department, per se, but are encouraged to broaden our view and see how topics such as the environment and ethics can also play a part in classes such as International Relations or chemistry. 

One of my favorite classes was the Philosophy of Chemistry; I felt the topic could be discussed to no end. It was interesting to see how social and political factors influence(d) chemists to research particular processes over others. For example, before the 20th century,  rubber was solely produced using rubber trees. However, wartime shortages becoming a reality, countries put a lot of efforts into developing synthetic rubbers. Had there not been a war, such extensive research would have not been necessary until decades later and synthesis would have been very different. 

Siena, Italy

Although classes have officially ended, I am still hard at work with school work. The German semester system leaves much desire for a restful break- I'm now researching and writing a few term papers before their due-dates in October. My current paper discusses whether carbon offsets (like the ones offered when you purchase a plane ticket) encourage 'moral licensing,' or individuals being able to justify if they emit more greenhouse gases :)

Volcanic rainbow rocks

Times in Diyarbakir

I once again managed to find a computer (now from Syracuse, Italy) and can continue with my story of travels in Turkey. Please excuse any typing errors, as this keyboard is a bit different and my computer usage is timed (internet Café).

Starting in Diyarbakir, the main attraction that brought me there was a very old, basalt city wall that still remained intact enough to encompass the downtown area. This is something you normally don't find in Europe, only parts are preserved. I had the luck of staying with a friend of friends and he was kind enough to show me around the city for a day. It wasn't until I arrived that I was able to notice how off the beated track I was- very few people, even the Turkish themselves, visit Diyarbakir, so it was nice to walk along the top of the wall taking in the surroundings.

I had (naively, perhaps) thought that Diyarbakir was a quaint town, because only the inner city was shown on my guide book. But looking from the wall, one can notice the rapid expansion and towering apartment buildings on the horizon. Later, I found this to be the case with a lot of the cities in Turkey- fast and recent growth.

Although through this, I found that within the area of the city walls some of the old trades were still 'protected.' Tucked back behind the old streets, you can still find metal workers and gold smiths, fruit stands and handmade sweets.

Intrepid traveling

In the wake of the death of an single American woman traveler in Istanbul, more people than just my mother were worried about my rash and quick decision to travel to Turkey. Guided by not much more than a cheap plane ticket and loose (or as I like to put it, developing) plans, I went for it anyway.

The one, the only, the Turkish breakfast

Ten days in and typing this blog post from Istanbul, I am absolutely certain that it was a great decision to travel here. Even better was making the decision to arrive in Turkey with nothing more planned than having a place to stay for the first few nights. A day in to having arrived in Istanbul, I met up with a few friends that are living in Turkey to discuss what options I have for traveling within the country... and at the end of the night thoughts of Southeast Turkey were pulsating through my mind.

To give a bit of background to Turkey, it has played quite a large role in history throughout the past thousands of years, harboring both Homer's Troy, Mt. Ararat, where it is said that Noah's ark landed, and may significant sights in between. It has also housed several different empires (Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman) throughout the ages. To say the least, Turkey offers a wide array of cities and historical sites to visit.. too much for a two week trip.

So I had to focus on one area, and Southeast Anatolia was it. I want to mention that it was near the Syrian/Iraqi boarder just to displace concerns of its proximity to these places because all of the cities that I visited were still hours away from any news-worthy happenings and completely safe. What came from my travels instead was wonderful friendships, a new appreciation for kindness of strangers, and insights into a new (for me) country.

Whirling Dervishes

Here was my itinerary (I promise to expand on it in later blog posts):
Istanbul -> Diyarbakir -> Mardin -> Sanliurfa -> Konya -> Goreme -> Istanbul

Morning Balloons over Cappadocia

First stop: Istanbul

Just a quick little blurb on why Turkey is on my list of places to visit:

I can distinctly one spelling quiz in the third grade where we were asked to spell the word 'Constantinople.' I knew it was a city name, but I wanted to know where it located and what significance it had. As I looked up a map of Turkey, searching for where Constantinople was said to be located, I remember being horrendously dismayed that the city was now named Istanbul.

However, I do remember looking at the landscape of the city and still being amazed the strategic placement of its foundations, precariously located on a strait between both Europe and Asia. Already at the age of 9 or 10, I knew I wanted to discover the city and it's long history.

Semester's end

A bit different from the semesters in the States, mine has just ended this past weekend (yes, weekend- there was an exam on Saturday). Also in comparison to the general semester in the States, regular class work and midterms/papers don't exist to keep you on your toes the whole semester...with the exception of a few presentations here and there, it's all very relaxed right until the end, where one exam determines the grade.

Now that I'm officially on break (until April!), I've had some time to reflect on my past semester and tie it together to my overall goals in Environmental Ethics. Having completely no background in philosophical teachings, this semester allowed me to find major themes and direction, along with developing my German (a major goal).

As with this major, this semester was a smattering of different subjects.. some were more focused on Philosophy and Ethics, whereas I used others to simply broaden my vocabulary and terminology (and to boost my confidence in German). For those curious, here's a list of the classes that I took this semester:

-The Normitivity of Nature and Nature of Normitivity
-Ethical Problem Areas at the End of Life
-Physical Geology
-Environmental Philosophy (In English!)
-Environmental Economy
-Discussions on Environmental Ethics
-Societal Structures and Frameworks
-Resource Strategy: Education for Sustainability
-The History of Stuff: Nitrogen

Admittedly, the first few months of the semester were rather difficult and hard to grasp and I had to reassess my learning style; German was still flowing back to me and concentrating on lectures took an extreme amount of effort. Towards the end, luckily, connections within all of my classes started appearing and a foundation started to form. I'm still shaky with identifying specific philosophers and their theories, but that's an undertaking I'm looking to involve myself with next semester. Until then, it's travel time in Turkey and Italy!