Back from Shanghai

Shanghai was amazing. The most vibrant, exciting city I've ever been to, with perhaps the notable exception of Rio de Janiero. The entire city is a shopping mall, not even Dubai has embraced consumer culture to the depth and height of the Chinese. It's like they can't arrive at the middle class fast enough. Actually, it was quite terrifying in the implications. If the city keeps changing in the direction its going, it will be exactly like Dubai with nothing cultural behind the glass facades. This time, history is being erased in favor not of the cultural revolution, but a commercial one. I'm so behind now in school. I can see why people don't usually take a week off in graduate school. Not irreparable though (hopefully). I have a mid review full pin up a week from friday, when I'm also teaching a workshop, and then the day before I have a large paper due. So far jet lag not too bad. I guess I'm so wiped these days its completely overriding my ciccadian rythm. I just get loopy rather than sleepy.