Prague is full

If all the statues in the world were to come to life and start attacking people, Prague would be a horrible place to be. The whole city would have to escape to Prague 8. If all the statues in the world were to come to life and carry people to and from their jobs, on the other hand, Prague would be the pefect place to be. Here's me at an old clock.



Today we went to a museum to look at a bunch of art like this:



Aldolph Hoffmeister. To call him a pretty good artist is to resort to language when only thoughts will do. Talking about Adolph Hoffmeister would be like listening to a silent movie, or watching a music video. It doesn't do him justice. I could say that his art was absurd, intense, political, beautiful, retrospective, futuristic, realistic, abstract, anti-facist, pro-totalitiarian, satiric, gloryfying, and loving, in varying combinations of each, but again... words. A typical Hoffmeister work: an abstract blob surrounded by other abstract objects in an abstract world looking at a realistic photo of a man. Only in Prague could you see art like this.

I think I'm getting a cold. The first since I went macrobiotic. Now that I eat white potatoes everyday, maybe I'm not macrobiotic anymore. Guess I am making sacrifices. Sweet potatoes, squash, and all forms of greens (collards, spinach, kale, etc etc) seem to be completely non-existent here. More obscure vegetables, like celery root, are surprisingly common. I'm going to make red lentils, carrot ginger millet, and whole wheat pasta with seitan, vegetables, and beet-tahini sauce tomorrow. This is the sort of thing I'll make in New York, except with almond butter instead of tahini. Unlike some people, I do not find it hilarious when Joe has a reaction.

I haven't had much luck finding a job here. Maybe it's my technique (I just go into stores, go to the person in charge, and ask if there are any openings), but people seem either horrified or angry whenever I inquire about a job. At the Franz Kafka cafe, the woman gave me a frightened expression and shook her head. Most other places say, "No! Ve're fool!" From now on I'm going to have a resume and ask for an application.

Oh, I met that filmmaker guy, and all his fantastic cosmopolitan friends (sweden, italy, new york, and london in the house). I should write a longer entry about them. I was all ready to write them off as a lot more pretentious than me, but it turns out they were only around as pretentious as me. They were actually really good people, and didn't mind that I just sat there and said nothing, like I usually do when I meet new people. My favorites were the Swedes Olga and her boyfriend. Actually, I didnt have a chance to talk to her boyfriend. Just thought I'd mention his existence. I asked Olga if she liked Sweden, and she laughed and said, "No. Everyone there is into being the same. Nobody wants anybody to be more than anybody else. Everyone is jealous. I am eccentric. I love passion, and extremes. Sweden is too bland." (or something to this effect. Dont quote her on it!) Later she talked about how horrible it must be to live in the United States. We're going to see their band on Monday night.

The Londoner invited me to her house for informal figure drawing. You don't have to be a good artist. You just have to not freak out about there being a naked person in the middle of the room. I am not going to that one alone.

Here's Nicole on a bridge with a castle in the background. No, not the bridge, but yes, the castle: