Firstly:

"Let me not hit up my Facebook like it's a crack pipe, keep the browser closed"

"My cheese monster will never be satisfied by cheddar, only the cheese of accomplishment."

"Let me not be so vain to think I am the sole author of my victories and the victim of my defeats"

"...and God let me enjoy this! Life isn't just a sequence of things waiting to be done"

I sometimes browse the Internet aimlessly. I'm not convinced this is an entirely bad thing - I've picked up a lot of trivia, which sometimes comes in handy. When it doesn't come in handy, it's a handy way to trick people into thinking I'm smart. I'm convinced that's a bad thing. Knowing that the capital of Congo-Kinshasa is Kinshasa is pretty cool, but it isn't as useful as, say, knowing a foreign language, or being a better listener.

Went to the Tate Modern the other day. An extension recently opened which almost doubles the amount of space in the gallery. An exhibition of architecture-inspired art: art made from building materials and art commenting on architecture. A lot of concrete, wood, glass, plastic. Primitive, by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล), a seven-video installation set in the Isan region of north-east Thailand, near the border with Laos, forming the first part of a series which is concluded by Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. A viewing gallery at the top of the extension, from which tourists can see over the river Thames, towards the City and inside the expensive penthouse apartments of neighbouring buildings.

I watched A Touch of Sin (天注定) yesterday, by Jia Zhangke (贾樟柯). Jia is part of the Sixth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, who initially made films outside of the bureaucratic (and censorious) national film industry. He eventually gained the favour of the government, but continued to make fiercely critical work. A Touch of Sin depicts the harsh corruption experienced by four people in different parts of Chinese society, and how they deal with their hopeless positions. The film was never cleared by censors, so it was leaked.

British politics is interesting now. The Labour party has grown by 100,000 members in a week, in response to an attempted internal coup within the Jeremy Corbyn shadow cabinet. He was elected to be leader of the Labour Party last year with 59% of the vote (i.e. a landslide) so this massive gulf has opened up between the party membership and the Parliamentary Labour Party (or PLP). One positive consequence is that constituency Labour Party (CLP) meetings, which decide who will run for MP for each area (constituency) have suddenly become really important. There is almost definitely going to be a leadership election, which Corbyn would win, probably again by a landslide. Anyway. This is only one of the big issues which is occurring right now. The intrigue runs very very deep. There is a lot of temptation for me to spend every waking hour reading articles and hot takes and Wikipedia entries but then I would have no time for anything else. Other interesting things: What's Brexit all about? What's going to happen to UKIP now that Brexit has happened and Farage has quit? What is Prime Minister May going to do? What would happen if Corbyn actually lost? Why is Angela Eagle's website so bad? What's going to happen to TTIP? Will Brexit cause a 'domino effect' of right-wing populism in Europe, or will Euroscepticism down when people realise what it actually entails? Will it find some other political expression?

I read about a Facebook group, called "Memorias de ___", created by Salvadoran emigrants - where former neighbours share memories of their old home, thereby creating a new, imagined place which enables them to process their "residual wounds of dispersal, forced migration, and immigrant ostracism". The article explores what it means to belong, even if that's to a place that only exists in our collective consciousness.

I considered learning more foreign language. I'm good enough at German that I can read newspaper articles and only have to look up a few words each time. I want to find a way to practice my speaking and writing, however. I might have to find an evening class or discussion group! I've tried using flashcards to learn foreign languages (I learned Japanese Hiragana but then gave up, I tried to learn some Chinese characters and then gave up - I still want to learn Chinese). Combined with spaced repetition, they're great for learning individual words or phrases, but they aren't so good for learning interlinked concepts. I found this article on how to ideally format flashcards - I wish I had known about this while I was doing my degree! I'm going to have to use it in future. As with any worthwhile activity, however, I need to make it a regular habit. Fortunately we have a system at hubski to do just that...