Strange Day(s)

Today was a funny one.

'Strange Days' is a film that opens Bolter and Grusin's discussion of Remediation and sums up my day nicely.

I did a few of the more mundane things - another application of my ethics, a session at the gym and a quick meet with a friend back from Germany.

Following this I pored over a PhD thesis my Supervisor sent me from one of my potential markers. Larissa sent it my way for the obvious reasons (he's likely to mark me so become familiar with his work and quote him positively), but also for slightly more opaque reasoning (he writes in a similar fashion to me, structurally and in terms of how he uses and addresses content).

I got out my new media pen and paper (stylus and iPad) and attacked his opening chapter. There is some stuff to mine in there, but also a few things to potentially rebut, or at least recycle in a different fashion.

With some reading done and an ever-shifting perspective in hand, I sat down to write. I ended up writing more of an introduction than anything else, which then turned into an amusing ramble about why people don't go to the theatre anymore, which according to my ramble was because it is common courtesy to turn off your mobile phone during a performance.

THERE IS SOMETHING IN THIS, but probably not for now. It felt very good to get it off my chest however and the combination of new direction, alternate reading (that cites many of my sources by happenstance) and a little venting has me in better spirits about not only this project, but the future of my research/career.

I also revisited an earlier paper and found that there is specific reference to the theorist (Denis Diderot) behind the construct (the fourth-wall) I'm investigating. A good find.

All told an oddly productive day, but I'm left feeling the same way I do when learning lines. I know they're in my head somewhere, but for the life of me I can't bring them out. Only writing (time) will tell.