nerd blog post #89
On Thursday nightI saw the movie Harvey Milk. I am not an avid movie goer and I don't usually recommend movies. But see this one. Everyone should.
It has left me, still, enraged about how much more needs to be done for the gay rights movement. Here in France, issues surrounding equal rights seem swept under the carpet. Homelessness is illegal, yet the streets of Paris are littered with men and women who have nowhere to go. Racism is not a problem, yet the "Africans" who moved here three generations ago and have citizenship are still considered Africans, never French, and this racial divide is very evident. And homophobia is hardly a recognized word, but I have gay friends who have been spit on and threatened for holding hands at one of the most liberal universities in the country.
And France is more socially progressive than many countries.
I find it incredible that Harvey Milk was able to do so much in 1978 and that, a whole twenty years later, his very own state restricted the marriage of same-sex couples in the vote of Proposition 8. California's fight for gay rights in the 1970s left it ahead of its time but has now taken ten steps backwards. The Anita Bryants are continuing to stifle love across the world, throwing dirt in the faces of a minority group who has been persecuted time and time again throughout history. Now it's 2009. It is time to, yet again, be big girls and boys and reinvent those terms that are ingrained in our educational systems and cultural psyche. Just as we have pulled away from notions of white supremicy and male superiority, so now we should stop living in a heteronormative world. It is not inclusive and that is not fair.
And that's all I have to say about that for right now.
Soooooooo ....
Paris is great. I have been having a nice week-end and keep reminding myself that this time next week, I'll be here again but with my parents! I am super pumped. I hope they are prepared for all of the fromage they'll be eating and berets they'll be buying. It will be a crazy party.
On Friday afternoon, I snuck into clown school to see an afternoon's performance. Every Friday, the clowns show the teachers what they have been working on all week. They have part of every class to come up with and rehearse what will be shown at the end of the week. For this section, members from other classes are welcome to watch, but only peeps from the school. I was sneaky. It was great to finally see what I had only heard of from the beginning. If you recall, I met a bunch of the clowns (including Raffi) the week-end before clown school even began.
That night, Clown Francine (Canadian) had a little party where we chatted and drank hot wine. She makes really hot wine. It was fun. Oh, and she had good cookies as a treat.
Yesterday, I met up with a British Clown named Charli and we walked all around the Latin Quarter and the Marais. It was nice to get to know her a little bit better and hang during the day. I want to be her friend. I like her. Charli+Hincksi=BFF. I then went to the Canadian bookshop and visited the owner, and my pal, Bryan. I stayed for over an hour and chatted and we had coffee.
In the evening, we went into the common room at Raffi's and had a little party. Just six people, but from five countries! We played a card game called Ligretto, which is the same as Dutch Blitz, a Hincks family klassic. There were too many of us, so there were teams. I had no partner but still won. It got extremely competitive and I worried that I would be shipped off on the first train back to Rennes. Did I mention that I was the winner?
Today, I'm meeting up with German Clown Michael and we are going to the Centre Pompidou, Paris' mod-ren art museum. This is my first time to go to the Pompidou and I'm excited. That urinal artwork is there as well as a temporary exhibit called "La salle vide" or the empty room. As a past employee for College Pro painters and then Lia's mom the house flipper, I know what those look like.
I have heard from Rennes that the strike is still alive and kicking and that they have voted to blockade Master's classes again. Tomorrow is the next big meeting so we'll see what happens. This would make it week 4 of blockade and week 5 of not working. At this rate, I'll have the week off when the parentals are here, which would be groovy.
Peace and love, my friends and family. I hope this finds you all well!
Signing off,
Hincks.
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3 comments:
The movie was great, eh? Glad you're having a wonderful time in Paris.
I oftentimes forget how lucky we are to be surrounded by such "international" or, for the most part, European friends. We talked about how different the dynamic is on Friday night - it has been perspective changing.
Chat this week! I've booked Berlin and Prague.
Enjoy Sunday! Is it beautiful there too?
I love your reflections on Milk. It harkens back to a certain first-year project..."Ok everyone, the game is who can stand on their tip-toes the longest without Murph noticing..."
But back to Milk, it kills me what a phenomenal supporting cast of phenomenal young actors they had in that movie: Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), James Franco (Pinapple Express), Alison Pill (Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway), Joseph Cross (Running with Scissors), Diego Luna (Y tu mamá también), and even Lucas Grabeel (High School Musical 1-3) who finally gets to break from the Disney mold and play a gay character who doesn't have to be in the closet. I think above all, Gus van Sant's coup in this film was the casting.
Have a great week, can't wait to catch up on Skype soon. xo
Hey Emily, its your random second-cousin who is living in Arras for the moment. I was at the Pompidou on Thursday, a lot of famous art and an amazing building. I got an invitation to meet up with your family in Paris this weekend, but I don't have the days off work, so I'll be called your family in Toronto tomorrow to see if its worth it for me to come in after I finish for the day.
Hope your enjoying the sun! (Unless its always sunny in Rennes, but I'm guessing, like Arras, its rains alot :P)
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