°I hear cars and the snow flying around the street
Rather piddling so far, to be sure. I did not, as I had mischievously threatened or promised, wake everyone in the house by running up and down the stairs yelling ‘Snow!’. I did, however, preternaturally wake about ten minutes before it began snowing, and then sleepily wondered what those little puffs of ice falling above me might be, a skylight window being above my bed. Though a housemate was kind enough to sms me that it’s finally (”kind of”) snowing, while an other graciously endured my waking them at 8am as I pointed out their window.
In defense of my childish, Southern Hemisphere fixation on this moment, I have only ever experienced snow as something apart from where I live, a place to travel to, a ski resort or (more recently) during a visit to friends. Snow always seemed spectacular, rather than everyday. That the everyday can include the extraordinary, and the spectacular the mundane - now, that is what I find exciting. To borrow another line from Denise Riley’s “Knowing in the Real World”, there’s no democracy in this experience. Others, for whom snowing has been a commonplace, have been variously encouraging of my enthusiasm or given firm instructions not to be woken when it does, eventually, snow. It’s an experience that can be shared, or not, without any expectation that it should be either, and which is in no way the same experience for everyone. As singular as any snowflake.
So, now I get to open my window, lie in bed, let these snowflakes float down onto my face, fancying that these are the stars I’ve seen from my bed these last few months come drifting down. The forecast is for heavy snow the rest of the day, if this can be believed, so I should possibly close the window. But not for a bit, or until my bedding gets a little too sodden.
[Diplo’s “Big Lost” seems apt and, just for those popping sounds, Hercules & Love Affair’s “True False, Fake Real”.]
Ah, enjoy the snow! Here in NYC, it’s just another humdrum day of “the sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.” (Beckett)
I love the thought of lying in bed with the skylight open, while the snowflakes drift into the room. However, if there is any significant amount of snow, I would highly recommend taking a long walk in it. I still delight in slipping and sliding through snow drifts - and falling.
Have you seen a film called Landscape in the Mist, by Theo Angelopoulus? It has a breathtaking suspended moment of snow falling.
Amie [March 23, 2008 @ 4:51 pm]
I wish snow was as rare for me as it is for you - we’ve received over four meters of it so far and will likely hit four and a half meters before winter is over. Having said that, living in a land of eternal heat and sunshine doesn’t sound especially pleasant either. I’m likely just a curmudgeon.
Craig [March 23, 2008 @ 5:40 pm]
i liked this…and i got the first time
dionysusstoned [March 24, 2008 @ 1:44 am]
Just as well I’m here and not in NY then, Amie - but not averse to the idea. Have been missing sunshine too.
Craig - yes you are, but a lovely one, so is ok. And if I had to shovel, I’d get bored too. But so far, only puffs of snow flying around, yesterday, today also. Unlikely to settle amidst heated rooftops and polluted city centre, but nevertheless still a whole lot of childish fun for me. Though can’t manage to get a decent shot of the snowflakes swirling around with my camera … and they’re quite beautiful.
I’ve not seen the Angelopoulos film - but maybe a small part of it. Two kids running in the snowfall?
Anyway, if you all missed these in the delicuts some time back, I’d certainly recommend Anne Rutherford’s essays, “Precarious Boundaries” and “Cinema and Embodied Affect”, both on his films. And gorgeously written.
s0metim3s [March 24, 2008 @ 3:43 pm]
Dear Angela Mitropoulos,
My name is Darin Robbins and I am a member of the Web Committee of The Green Party Of New York State. In December we began a theory blog called A Green State Of Mind at http://www.journal.gpnys.com. We are in the process of adding blogs to our blogroll, and I recommended s0metim3s. Naturally we would like a reciprocal link so please take a look and let me know what you think. I apologize beforehand for using the comment function to communicate with you, but I could not find a direct E-mail address. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Darin Robbins
Darin Robbins [March 30, 2008 @ 4:23 am]
Darin - this is possibly the first time I’ve been asked whether I’d put someone’s (or, in this case, an organisation’s) blog on the roll before they have done similarly. It’s an interestingly pre-emptive understanding of reciprocity; which isn’t to say that I hold fast to notions of reciprocity (exchange, contractualism, and so on, as should be apparent from some of the discussion here). All the best with the blog.
s0metim3s [March 30, 2008 @ 1:20 pm]
Dear Angela,
One of the pitfalls of working by committee is following the majority opinion that would prefer reciprocal links, though in this case it would be more simultaneous. If it were up to me solely as one of the editors I would add you to our blog in any case. I have been reading s0metim3s regularly for some time (pun not intended), and you and others had inspired me to convince my fellow Greens to start our own blog. On another note, if you ever make it to the U.S., we need your insight to debate Lou Dobbs.
Sincerely,
Darin Robbins
Darin Robbins [March 31, 2008 @ 9:25 am]
ahhh snow, still exciting so wake me up! london is 6degrees right now and its meant to sleet tomorrow so lets try ‘n borrow a car and go see some snow proper to frolic in . . . before spring kicks in properly.
sef [April 5, 2008 @ 5:42 pm]
Finally, this morning … the view out the window
So, an English Breakfast, gambol on Hampstead Heath
and Derek Jarman Sunday.
Followed by the much-less-English pizza, beer and Cloverfield. Which I would not really recommend, except for the part where the head of the Statue of Liberty comes crashing down onto the street, various things blow up, and the monsters win - the post-9/11 narrative could have been interesting, but so wasn’t: what survived the catastrophe/invasion was intimate normativity immortalised by vlog. Speaking of vlogging, and norms, the panel at this should have been called ‘The Not-So-New Gay Overground Tries to Portalise’.
s0metim3s [April 6, 2008 @ 10:00 pm]