Day 1 of the most amazing january ever.

Woke up at April's house because was playing Scrabble until 3 am. Came home quickly to shower and change, and then headed to the Upper east side to meet up with Mike. Hurray! I haven't seen Mike in a few months, but have been wanting to hang out with him. We went to the Guggenheim Museum to see the Richard Prince exhibit. I have to admit, i wasn't super impressed at first, since the exhibit started off with some photographs that were really blown-out and grainy, and looked like cheap advertising from the late 70s. I did however like his huge canvases covered with paint and words-- although most of the words were really stupid jokes. The idea was cool, and I liked the effect of it-- I just wish that the words would have been more obscured by paint and not as stupid. The best part of the exhibit were the nurse paintings-- Richard Prince has these series of "naughty nurses" that he has done from the covers of those nurse pulp romances that are really interesting and kind of disturbing.



Made me want to paint on a really big canvas. While this exhibit was impressive, I have to say, i think that my favorite exhibit was a smaller on off of the main gallery of collages and photographs from Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. There was some early Dada stuff that I found to be really whimsical and powerful at the same time. I may just be parical because I really like collage as a medium and using current images to create an artistic/political statement. There was one photograph in particular that was of a group of people, men in suits and they were all a little bit blurry-- the picture had an amazing sense of movement to it. Wish I had written down the name of it. Anyway, go to the Guggenheim! It is free on Friday nights.

As for being productive, I filled out my U.S. citizenship application today. I've been thinking about doing it for a while and just haven't done it, mostly because the cost is huge and I have been too busy to take the time to do it. but, i came home this afternoon and sat down to fill it out. It wasn't that difficult to fill out, except for the part that asked you to list all of the places you've traveled since becoming a permanent resident. Considering how I have been a permanent resident since 1988, that was a tad bit difficult, but I think I managed to piece together a fairly accurate list from stamps in the passport. I hesitated over checking the box asking "If the law requires it, are you willing to bear arms on behalf of the United States?" In fact, i haven't yet checked it off. I mean, I don't think that I would actually be expected to bear arms to go fight someone, and neither would most people I know who are citizens. It is just in the oath of allegiance and I know I need to be able to answer yes to that if I want my citizenship, so ultimately I probably will check that box off. but, am I willing to bear arms for the U.S.? Am I willing to bear arms for any country? I don't think so. I mean, I am just a really non-violent person. I guess the easier way to look at it is-- if someone came to take away my home and family, would I fight for it? In that case, the answer it yes, I would fight to defend my home and family. I suppose in a way, that is selfish way to look at it-- if I am in physical danger myself, then I would take up arms, but not in order to defend others in this country or to protect the way of life here. I think another concern is that I am completely unwilling to take up arms unless the cause is a just cause, and I don't trust the people making the decisions. Sigh, hence the citizenship application. At least I could check the "I am not a communist" box without hesitation.

Now I just need to figure out how to get $675 to pay for this application. I am accepting donations.