I begin the day with a croissant, a rare bowl of cereal and a bout of blogging. Nearly time to head Jesse-ward for lunch and presentation!
[other ppl present]
Jesse begins with off-the-cuff "thanx!" and summation. He makes some good links with the other speakers, but sounds a little nervous; emphasis is hard to find. Why aren't his slides up yet? Is this the prologue?
He's forcefully informal, with his montage of photos (including a stuffed monkey). Dynamic speaking voice, but a little nervous. Too much time (?) introducing his friends Yang Jiang, etc. Is he making the point that YJ is an egoist?
He plays an audio clip... he speaks of "setting up these ppl as ideals in the classical sense" and a telos of "them vs. the 20th century." Could have spoken much more about that telos.
[other notes. I escape.]
A Walk-About. (or, A Get-Lost-About)
Rather than listen to more talks, I escaped and explored. Dame Bassey in my ears and confidence in my heart, I skipped along to a crude city map. "The Moor." Sounds great! (wander wander) Oh. It's a gritty street market. "The Nether End" said one arrow, and I followed. Though I never found it, I circled around St. Mary's and thru the pedestrian tunnel beneath. (wander wander) Soon I was on Washington and off my map.
I tried to extricate myself but found myself by a large rock on Cemetery Road. "'Cemetery Road,' hm? Maybe there's a picturesque cemetery near." There was! The decrepit Victorian highlight of the day. Dozens of photos (and 1 memento mori) later, I wandered back onto the map. Under a darkening sky, and sweating from a half-dozen wrong turns, I tried to follow the map to the hotel. And failed. 2.25 hours after I'd left, I asked for directions to the rail station. "That simple? Thanx."
Epilogue: a bloke called out to me. How d'you get to the rail station? "Um," I fumbled. "That way. Turn right."
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