exceptionalism is bad!

I've been listening to PJ Harvey today, which I should really do more often. "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" is such a perfect melancholy song; you should go listen to it right now.

I started reading a book on the subway today, and by the end of the introduction, I knew that it was going to change my life. It's called A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History, and I think it's going to be the book around which I organize my academic career. Thomas Bender is a fucking genius.

(nerdy!)

I was on the subway heading towards the Cloisters, which is still my favorite place in New York. The Treasury has finally been reopened; I saw it for the first time today. I know it's cheesy or whatever, but whenever I go to the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park, I feel like I can breathe, like I can think clearly. For some reason, maybe because the park reminds me strongly of Prague, it's so easy to think about what I want to do with my life, where I want to go from here.

(cheesy!)

In conclusion, there was a homeless dude smoking a blunt on the subway a few nights ago. I have never seen someone enjoy smoking that much. He was smoking for at least five or six stops, he was laying back, smiling and laughing, and when he got up to move to a different car, he stopped on the platform between cars, and holding the door open, he sang-screamed "I feel good! I knew that I would!" and you guys? I believed him.