Me

g'day, AUSTRALIA.

i think one of the scariest parts about blogging is sitting yourself down and then flipping through the catalog of emotions and experiences, looking for what you think is relevant or noteworthy, both for your own reading pleasure and for that of others. for me, it felt like the catalog i began once i arrived in australia was filled to the brim with a myriad of feelings, from overwhelming excitement to daunting fear. it’s challenging to write this blog itself, because i still don’t know exactly what i want to talk about. i guess i’ll start from the very beginning.

the immersion began from the moment claire and i stepped off of the plane. having been in the air for the past fourteen hours, we headed for the restroom—or rather, the toilets­—and then looked for the exit—or rather, the way out. noticing these disparities between australian and american english, as well as the chilly weather outside of the airport, i arrived at the first of multiple realizations: we’re in a different country. not entirely different, or even very different; but definitely somewhere foreign, somewhere new. somewhere where the weather is at its coldest in july and where i have to look to the right before i cross the road.

almost immediately, i felt a mingled and intense surge of emotions and feelings: excitement, breathlessness, fear, happiness, anticipation.  it’s strange to describe this, because it felt nearly visceral, but everything had a certain glow, a sort of aura of unfamiliarity and newness. i even vaguely recalled feeling this way when i visited england and france, or when i first arrived at USC.

we jumped on the bus (from the left side), fresh from the plane ride and ready for another three hours of travel to canberra (with an accent on the can, in contrary to the manner in which i previously pronounced it) from sydney, which lies to the north. although we were unable to see a lot of sydney because of very high freeway partitions, we noticed some interesting things: houses resembling those i had seen in the british or french countryside; rolling, grassy hills layered with trees; an awkwardly long (but narrow and low ceilinged) tunnel. upon arriving to canberra, we were greeted by a friendly student who drove us to our college (australian for "dormitory"), where we quickly settled in. we rushed to enrol (yes, only one l) in classes, obtain student IDs, and then begin our first weekend in australia.

yeah, so there’s a lot i’ve skimmed over/totally ignored. gotta start somewhere. i’ll elaborate on specific aspects (e.g., canberra itself, what uni is like, etcetera) later. i'm just glad to finally get started.

its ok. 

Rutger Bregman is the Dutch historian who became a global sensation after an appearance at this year’s Davos summit, where he accused attending billionaires of ignoring taxation. Now he has created another viral moment in an extremely uncomfortable interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.

Bregman so riled Carson with his accusations of hypocrisy, critiques of Fox’s conservative agenda, and attacks on Donald Trump that the TV host called him a “moron” and angrily told him: “Go fuck yourself.”

Source

Lot more people around the world are going to watch this now than if it actually aired. Speaking truth to power is the best viral content!

Pikachu’s Vacation (1998)

Old men on grindr: “Want to be my piss slave? Daddy wants to teach you a lesson you dirty slut”

Me:

“Lighten Up” by Ronald Wimberly

Beautifuly written- and drawn.

Unmute