On Saturday I returned to Uptown for the third time, because its just that cool. Actually it wasn’t cool at all, it was FREAKISHLY HOT. In an attempt to satiate my recent craving for a good hike, I had decided to walk the three mile perimeter of Lake Calhoun. The scenery was nice (see above), but the weather was not, and I was definitely, um, “perspiring” rather profusely by the time I was done.

Following my walk/sauna, I grabbed lunch at Panera and wandered for a while. This eventaully led me to Cheapo Records which was music store bliss to my medium-size-town sensibilities. They had an amazing selection of new and used dvds and cds of all genres. I told myself that I wasn’t going to buy anything, but I broke down when I found a copy of The Tain EP by the Decemberists. It’s based loosely on the Irish myth Táin Bó Cúailnge, which is just cool, and it’s some of their darker and richer work to boot. Admittedly it was a bit pricey at $10 for 18:35 of music, I don’t mind supporting independent musicians or music stores. (Right, so after congratulating myself for a rare find, I discover that the Tain is now on iTunes for $5.99. Must be a new addition, it wasn’t there last time a checked).

So after attaining music store nirvana, I headed over to the Lagoon Theater to catch a movie. The Lagoon is one of Uptown’s two theater devoted to independent films, and I’ve been wanting to see something there for a while. I was debating between The Beat that My Heart Skipped and Me and You and Everyone We Know. I ended up seeing the later because I had heard some good things about it. It was enjoyable, though I can’t say I was blown away. It was sort of in the same vein as Lost in Translation or Garden State in that it was a sort of meloncholy comedy about the nature of relationships, but it avoided the twenty-something angst that permeated those films. Maybe it’s because I’m a twenty-something, but I found it harder to identify with the characters in Me and You and Everyone we Know. It did have some very funny parts, though, and it was a pleasant (and blissfully air-conditioned) way to spend an afternoon.

I spent most of Sunday at the office, but I needed a break in the evening, so I decided to go the Oak Street Cinema down the street from where my dorm. They were showing Jean-Luc Goddard’s Masculin, féminin. I was a bit intimidated at seeing a black-and-white French New Wave film from the 1960s, and I admit I was in a bit over my head. As a series of scenes about life and love in 1960s Paris, I enjoyed it, but I’m sure most of the subtleties were lost on me.

I’ve got a presentation this week on Wednesday and a paper due on Friday. Both are essentially done except for polish and practice, and I think they’ll be fine. I don’t really feel like I’ve gotten much done since the big vlab conference a few weeks ago, but I supose that’s to be expected. A lot of that conference focused on what’s going to happen in the future, and I’m not going to be here for most of it.