Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

“You can never tell how you sound over the phone, that evil piece of machinery, and I would stop using one, we all would, if only there weren’t these great distances we need to put between us and the people we need to talk to.”

from An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke

I’ve been a bit off of my blog these last weeks which were Belize beaches > Arkansas (lake, home singing at a wedding) > and now back to New York.  I’m working on my summer paper now.  Cheers.

I’m back in the States, in Arkansas, and spent last weekend at the lake. Apparently there is a demand for ice which was going unmet, hence new automatic, 24 hour ice dispenser machines:

This sign is an ad for an area called Old Belize, which is located on the highway between Belize City and Belmopan.  It does a good job of establishing legitimacy for tourists.

Side note: I got a little sunburned laying at the Old Belize beach yesterday.

I’ve been looking at the signage of Belize City recently, and will post more on that, but I’m particularly intrigued by this hand painted sign:

In my experience in other towns in Belize, you pick your main up at the Post Office, but perhaps here in Belize City there is some type of delivery service.  I’m wondering: what else beside mail would be slid into that slot? Why the exclamation marks?  Am I supposed to be excited about this?  Or has this Harry been receiving mail for another Harry? And if so, why is the Harry so much larger than the Longsworth?

I’m in Belize City now and was walking around my neighborhood when this new house being constructed caught my eye.  After talking to the guys working on the house, I found out it’s a new office for Strukture Architects.

We’re doing paper mache this week at my group’s fourth and final camp for primary school children.  I’m excited to see the design choices that the kids make.  Specifically I’m interested in seeing how they deal with a multi-day project.  The camps have been designed to work on self-esteem, self-expression, and self-awareness through arts and sports.

Also, I carried out six interviews while I was in Cayo, and I’d like to do a few more in Belize City during this week and next.  I’m working on pulling out important bits of the conversations and transcribing them.

Today, I was called “a darling and a bunch of plantains,” when I brought a lunch plate to one of the teacher at the school where my group is working this week.

“an interesting thing happened today in my gchat window… low bandwidth or a message from God?”

via Filardi

I used a Nico Muhly song in a public installation I did last year.  His new album, Mothertonuge, is beautiful.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth, which I just finished reading, is also beautiful.

Additionally: my LastFM profile