Introduction to Me
Ah -- although I can't find it again, I see that it is recommended that I "introduce myself" to the LJ community-at-large -- I thought that my bio took care of that but anyway here I am.
I'm living in Raleigh NC where I have been since June of 2001 (so I was here in a new space for 9/11, which was not a good time to be w/o friends, I think). I am in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Duke, and need to finish my final project by May of 2008 to get the degree. This is an issue as I meant to finish by last May (2006) but got held up by having to take over the Woman's Club of Raleigh ASID Designer Showhouse 2005 project, and taking incompletes in two courses. The incompletes are made up but there have been final project issues. No professor wanted to advise me for my first proposal, which was related to a set of poetry I am in possession of that was written by a woman while she was a prisoner in Auschwitz. A non-Jewish woman, at that. You'd think that would have a whole lot of interest but there you have it.
On to idea #2 -- Should a state-run art museum be held to a different standard with regard to nude art? We have folks who come into the NC Museum of Art (where I am a docent and volunteer, and now member of the NC State Art Society board, which maintains a fund to purchase art for the Museum) who are highly offended by the nudes. We are talking naked statues mainly, although we have a painting with full frontal male nudity with all genitalia intact (unlike poor Herakles) and teachers/parents have actually asked that we not show any nude art to school groups. However my preliminary research was leading to a conclusion that perhaps the Museum should be held to a different (and more restrictive) standard, and that is not a position I want to promote, so I cancelled that idea (for which I did have a professor, although we had some communications issues so perhaps it is just as well).
On to idea #3, which is the current proposal, a study of late 20th c. and 21st c. visions of dystopia, specifically including those that have been made into movies, i.e., V for Vendetta, Aeon Flux, and now Children of Men. I have an appointment with a professor on Feb. 1 and if this one doesn't pan out I'm not sure what the next move will be, but in order to get on the books for working on the project in the fall I have to file all the paperwork by March 15. So.
Speaking of dystopia, I have always felt that dystopia and SF were pretty synonomous, or rather even that dystopia is within SF, especially if you use the term Speculative Fiction, which is more encompassing than Science Fiction. So while that argument was going to be my original thesis, turns out there are already a bunch of people who have studied that and come to pretty much the same conclusion, so I don't need to spend time proving it.
So anyway, big fan of SF in all forms (have just started reading graphic novels, which I find I really like). Also like cooking, especially Italian food, and wine, especially Italian wine, and travel, especially to Italy. :) Have been hiking in Tuscany and in the Dolomites (with group of women from Poland, and no, I don't speak any Polish). Will be in Italy most of the month of May, for pleasure and for a Duke course abroad.
I'm married, have one child (not a child anymore, but it's really true that your children are your children forever) and one stupid cat. I drive a yellow 2001 Saturn SC2 with license plate ARRAKIS. Belong to a SF meetup and an Italian language meetup. And that's enough for now.
Dinner tonight: Casalinga on Capital Blvd
Last night's wine: George Debouef Pinot Noir