16 Oct 4702 - The Rainbow of Potsdam
The important part to realize about the World of Potsdam cultural fair is the resemblance to an elementary school book fair. This afternoon's event in Cheel arena right here on Clarkson campus had about as much to do with foreign culture as does a school book fair with literature. This is the one opportunity a year the foreign students get to show off their heritage in a sponsored, regulated fashion. Why isn't this every weekend if Potsdam is such a nexus of global culture? It's a joke.
Far be it from me to oppose a fair such as this taking place here in Potsdam. What I oppose is the notion that these people seem to have that our burg rivals the diversity of DC. What is so uninteresting about the culture that we have that we need to have a diversity fair to explore what we don't have? Where is the French-Canadian table? What about the social dynamic of hockey fans, or student unions, or clubs?
Potsdam's self-knowledge is a foregone conclusion. Everyone thinks they know everything to know about themselves and their surroundings, and no one takes time to give the local culture a second thought. As an outsider, all I can do is analyze the local culture as something new. In my studies, events like a cultural fair throw me off the trail. Who are these people, really? I thought I knew them to be honest enough not to try a stunt like this. Honesty is a slippery virtue indeed.
One night when I was at one of Jules' concerts, he was singing Louis Armstrong, and on the part where he sung "I see all the pretty colors" et. al. he walked up and touched my scarf, which bore the Clarkson colors: green and gold. I realized later that this wasn't an error on his part. This is the rainbow here in Potsdam. You can have your car in any color you like, as long as that color is green or gold. The life of the psyche in this land is at the forefront of life in this land. People's social grace reflects outward charm, while they have inward emptiness. Clarkson hypnotizes at least as much as it teaches, so what are the colors of the rainbow, really?
The pep band actually showed for the women's hockey team tonight. The Lady-Knights finally scored a prime-time game, and received still less support than they deserve, and more than they usually have. Too bad they don't make a bra for that. Moral under-wires. Sadly it was one of the worst games of hockey I have seen. Both Union and Clarkson played well, both fulfilled their strategies. Usually, women's hockey plays more smoothly than men's. There are fewer penalties, less brutality, more skate, more pass. This time, there were many penalties, including twice when Union miscounted their players on ice, and once for a "body-check" that iced one of our players for thirty minutes. I could only see her right skate from where I sat, but it was enough for me to realize that they needed to take her body away from the freezer if they wanted her to live. I could see the life falling out of her and into the floor. Bloodless. Soundless. Motionless. Just heat. Heat and emotion falling away through the ice. Three EM technicians arrived at minute twenty-five about, and turned the player's status into speculation into how well she would recover, rather than speculation of how she would recover. They had her on O2, so she was feelin' fiiiiine on her way out the door. I will keep watch to hear how she does.