Hello, apologies for the late note. I spent the weekend in airplanes flying from Pittsburgh to Doha, arriving late last night, from the darkness to the glittering city skyline, lights effervescent, blues and greens, illuminating towers and reaching skyscrapers.
After a busy week, trying to wring the last drops from my to-do list, probably the sweat from my brow, I threw clothes into a bag, dug the necessary cables and adapters from the drawer, and headed to the airport. I thought I’d have time to read, write and even get this newsletter out, but the wifi was pretty bad, no surprise up in the air, and sleep and movies seemed to have more appeal. I’ll write about them below.
I’m still settling in on this first day, I’ve been meeting colleagues here at CMU-Qatar and finding my way around my hotel. I’m on the 37th floor, and the view is something else, all the corridors look similar, and occasionally I walk around corners only to find myself where I first started.
Stephan
Teaching & Learning
I’m writing in the evening after spending the afternoon with my students. It was so lovely to meet them in person; we dived straight in, trying out google cardboard, pairing 360 cameras to our phones, and seeing which end of a pole you have to screw into the tripod feet. I don’t even think there’s a lesson plan of sorts at this stage, it is just doing. Sure, we asked questions and talked about the projects we were working on, but to be honest, it didn’t feel like a lesson at all.
But it definitely was a lesson; we worked, talked, and shared. The technology was troublesome, but we just about managed to get it all working. In fact, the troubleshooting was fine, it’s part of figuring it all out. It was a productive session. Some of the students kept hold of the cameras and headed off to film, some literally after the lesson, walking past them on my way back to find my taxi.
It is a beautiful campus by the way, out in Education City, established by the Qatar Foundation. It is fun seeing students wearing CMU t-shirts, Qataris in long white throbe and women in black Hijab. It is a bubbly and active place, lots of laughing and chatting in small groups, others at tables studying.
I have a workshop on Wednesday and another two sessions with the students on projects. There are a few meetings, but I have time to sightsee and visit. More to come this week.
Lost and Found
I watched four films in total, during three flights. First The unbearable weight of massive talent where Nicolas Cage stars as himself, an actor in need of work, spending time with his number one fan and being recruited to spy on his host by the CIA. It’s a likable ruse, and there’s enjoyable chemistry between Cage and The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal. It’s not a great film, but had fun watching it.
Next I caved in and gave Top Gun: Maverick a go, which I probably wouldn’t have if I wasn’t on a flight. I didn’t really get the relationship between the two “grown-ups” but the kids are fun, and the fighter jet footage is amazing and tightly edited to make it tense and spectacular.
The other two films were British, leaning on different traditions in national cinema. Last night in Soho is the latest film by Edgar Wright, where Thomasin McKenzie’s fashion student, moving to London is transported to the 60’s where she shares the nights with her doppleganger, played by Anya Taylor-Joy in a tail of murder, schizophrenia, and all the sordid swinging nightlife. It is part Hammer horror, part psychological drama, with Wright’s signature camera moves and sharp editing. There are notable cameos by Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, and Terence Stamp, stars of 60’s cinema, lending weight to an intriguing mysterious, and quietly brilliant film.
Last of all, I took a chance on an oddity, The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirran, who plodded admirably through true tale of local campaigner Preston Buntan, accused (again) in the 1960s of stealing a portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the national gallery in an apparent ruse to use money from the ransom of the work to fund free television licenses for veterans and the elderly. It’s a fun story, a sort of Ealing-type comedy that tries a little too hard to frame its character’s deed as a clarion call for decency and justice for the ordinary man. There were times that I felt as frustrated as Mirran’s character, coping with this insufferable agitator, but coping somehow with her own grief and need to graft and keep the family together. Broadbent is just so great, it is impossible not to love him.
Thank you
Just a short one this week as I recover from jetlag and get into the week. I’m so pleased to be here, the city is spectacular, new buildings everywhere. The scale of construction that this place has undergone is incredible. There’s still so much to complete before the World Cup takes place in November, seriously, I have no idea how they are going to get it done. I have my doubts.
okay, I’m typing, my fingers are moving but my eyelids are closing.
Apologies, I’ll try and record the audio and add that to the post, if you want to listen, then visit the page online.
Speak to you later.