another lecture tonight

in the college. this one, the annual one in honor of a graduate who was righteous and honorable. the invited lecturer is meant to deliver an address in the spirit of the alum architect's most honorable work -- saving the lives of a hundred thousand people during the second world war in europe.

this one was not 109 minutes long, but, and this may come as a shocker: it was indeed delivered by a white, privileged, coastal man who spoke at one point during the q&a about the letter p dripping down his leg. white men can say just about anything in p-public.

the talk was a disappointment. he walked us through 26 letters on his ruminations and observations, received ideas about total design. most of which he punctuated with scare quotes. and he offered, only occasionally, slides. real slides. of famous and spectacular buildings.

i'd have preferred that he read flaubert aloud for the hour plus. my mind wandered. and wondered.

off to germany tomorrow evening. somewhere around H--for histrionics--i penned a list of things i needed to find before the trip including P for passport, powerpoint, and program.