Michel Foucault

I took it easy this week and will have to continue resting for another week probably.

Even so, it was New Year’s Eve and as always I recorded a little summary of the books I read during the past year.

Schedule

S left on Thursday, so I went there several times to pick up stuff and to meet him. A good last week and a good start of something new!

Reading

I finished Foucault’s History of Sexuality in the last days of 2021, and when I felt I could read a bit more again, I started with:

• Illouz, Eva. 2012. Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation.: Introduction, p. 1-17.

I immediately liked this one, which was recommended by my supervisor.

Articles

In the end-of-year closing of browser tabs (gotta make that end-of-work-week instead) I found these sweet posts:

• Ali Abdaal: Be content to be thought foolish
• Louis Chew:
  • The Spotlight Effect: Why No One Else Remembers What You Did
  • Theodore Roosevelt: Win By Being The Man In The Arena

Film

• Ramen Teh (Eric Khoo, Japan/Singapore, 2018): Uneven start develops into cry fest.

I got sick, probably due to overwork, and ended up at the hospital yesterday, back home now with pills. So this week is totally messed up. But hey, it’s Christmas, and my university actually has official Christmas break from 20 December until 16 January.

On Christmas eve I made Christmas lunch with S and had Christmas dinner with A at Life Berlin (didn’t like the vegan miso ramen, I wish I had taken the tantan as usual!).

And my Christmas gift to myself was delivered from Japanese Amazon:

Schedule

On Tuesday I was invited to participate in an informal PhD group. Otherwise mostly read Foucault (when I was reading) but had to abort.

Film & TV

• Utrikesbyrån:
  • Abiy Ahmed
  • Boris Johnson
  • Xi Jinping
• Sverige: William Spetz ❤️
• En underbar jävla jul 🤦

History of Sexuality

I mainly spent this week reading Michel Foucault: History of Sexuality volume 1 and 2.

• The first one is highly relevant for queer theory, but the second is more of a detailed history of the practices and thoughts of ancient Greece, therefore a fast read.
• I think Foucault is so redundant in his writing, so it’s okay to read him fast, because everything comes back and gets repeated multiple times.
• I remembered everything from volume 2 from when I read it in 2009. (Volume 1 I felt I read in another way now than back in 2008.)

Kanji app

I’m so happy with the simple kanji app that I built myself in Javascript. It is based on the official jōyō kanji list and the English keywords from James Heisig’s Remember the kanji. I did some livestreaming during the week:

As I conclude in one of the breaks: I’m really good! And that means it’s time to move on. From keywords to Japanese words and kanji compunds. Of course I’ve done this the whole time, but I mean in a more structured way: to connect every jōyō kanji with at least one word and thereby a reading.

Schedule

Drinks with S and his friends at Südblock on Thursday. I left early. Bars are not as fun since I stopped drinking alcohol. Plus I wanted to go home to my dear Michel!

Today (Sunday) I started drawing again for the first time since this PhD began. Drawing takes time. And it is soooo great to be at it again! I lift the pen and the hours pass by. My fieldwork will include printing and selling a dōjinshi, so that’s what I’m creating.

Some unexpected errands came up.

Daily walks. The snow is completely gone. Cleaned up and threw away old papers mostly in the weekend, with moral support from A.

Headaches yesterday and today. Must rest.

Film & TV

• På spåret, E04
• Kvarteret Skatan 20 år, 1-2
• Nästan inget