Well, it wasn't much of a street market. Some aspects felt like Austin, like the plethora of liberal bumper stickers and several people that looked like they'd be more at home down on The Drag near U.T. than in College Station. But unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of artsy/crafty stuff. One place we did stop at had a sort of artsy vibe to it based on the wall paintings, and it was fun to go outside to the alley and watch old people dance to oldies (especially since we had a French student from Normandy with us who had heard only some of the most famous songs and had his first Mexican food that night at dinner).
After stopping there, most of the others wanted to go to this "café" called The Revolution. I say "café" because it was one of the most dingy, oppressive dives I've ever visited, and they hardly serve coffee there. Set at the base of a creepy abandoned-looking building, there is a courtyard of sorts adjacent to the tiny interior, which is extremely dark and apparently one of the few places in Bryan that still allows indoor smoking. The "art" on the walls was well done, technically, but the mood from it was creepy and dark: entirely suitable for the place, but hardly what I'd call uplifting.
We then proceeded to stand in front of some very loud speakers to listen to one of the most God-awful ensembles I've ever had the displeasure to hear. At first, I was thinking "Oh, it's "indie;" I just need to give it a try." But by the end of the hour, I'd had more than enough of standing amidst the secondhand smoke from every other person in the courtyard, bearing what was basically what I can only describe as a bunch of juveniles enjoying making a lot of very loud, very discordant noise. Even Anna said it was terrible compared to her friend's band, and the French student said "la musique est nulle"-- or in other words, it's awful. Here is just a sample of what I endured; just remember, it was about fifty times louder, too:
At the risk of sounding scathingly patronizing and elitist, I just have to mount the soapbox and say that maybe I just don't fit in with that subculture, but after having worked painstakingly to interpret such composers as Bach, Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven, watching a scruffy, drunkard thrash and stumble around the stage while yelling and pounding an electric keyboard and calling it "art" or "music" is almost like a slap in the face. It could be that I'm a perfectionist, but it just seems that it is often the truly talented who remain hidden while the mediocre are so desperate for attention they will do anything to get into the spotlight, no matter how half-baked it is. I like this quote by Claude Monet:
"Perhaps it's true that I'm very hard on myself, but that's better than exhibiting mediocre work... too few were satisfactory enough to trouble the public with."
Anyway, the girl who drove us insisted that she could take us back, but both Anna and I (who, thankfully, doesn't drink and exhibited good sense) agreed that one of us should drive. Since she doesn't like to drive, it ended up being me. Fortunately, getting back to campus was not overly difficult, and I think it no small coincidence that it was also the Feast of the Guardian Angels; I'm certain one was looking out for me, anyway. I've never had to be a "designated driver," and I don't plan on doing this regularly, but of course I'm much too concerned for my own safety to let that from stopping me if the need arises again. You live and learn.
Speaking of feasts, and on a bit of a more positive note... Since tomorrow is the Feast of St. Francis, St. Mary's held a blessing of the animals today, and since I miss my dog at home an awful lot, I went to the little ceremony this morning to get some canine companionship. It was fun to watch all the dogs interacting and it's amazing how many varieties of a single species there are. I'm so thankful that God gave us these little friends-- our brothers and sisters, as St. Francis would say-- and I can't wait until I can have a dog in my life again.
We then proceeded to stand in front of some very loud speakers to listen to one of the most God-awful ensembles I've ever had the displeasure to hear. At first, I was thinking "Oh, it's "indie;" I just need to give it a try." But by the end of the hour, I'd had more than enough of standing amidst the secondhand smoke from every other person in the courtyard, bearing what was basically what I can only describe as a bunch of juveniles enjoying making a lot of very loud, very discordant noise. Even Anna said it was terrible compared to her friend's band, and the French student said "la musique est nulle"-- or in other words, it's awful. Here is just a sample of what I endured; just remember, it was about fifty times louder, too:
At the risk of sounding scathingly patronizing and elitist, I just have to mount the soapbox and say that maybe I just don't fit in with that subculture, but after having worked painstakingly to interpret such composers as Bach, Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven, watching a scruffy, drunkard thrash and stumble around the stage while yelling and pounding an electric keyboard and calling it "art" or "music" is almost like a slap in the face. It could be that I'm a perfectionist, but it just seems that it is often the truly talented who remain hidden while the mediocre are so desperate for attention they will do anything to get into the spotlight, no matter how half-baked it is. I like this quote by Claude Monet:
"Perhaps it's true that I'm very hard on myself, but that's better than exhibiting mediocre work... too few were satisfactory enough to trouble the public with."
Anyway, the girl who drove us insisted that she could take us back, but both Anna and I (who, thankfully, doesn't drink and exhibited good sense) agreed that one of us should drive. Since she doesn't like to drive, it ended up being me. Fortunately, getting back to campus was not overly difficult, and I think it no small coincidence that it was also the Feast of the Guardian Angels; I'm certain one was looking out for me, anyway. I've never had to be a "designated driver," and I don't plan on doing this regularly, but of course I'm much too concerned for my own safety to let that from stopping me if the need arises again. You live and learn.
Speaking of feasts, and on a bit of a more positive note... Since tomorrow is the Feast of St. Francis, St. Mary's held a blessing of the animals today, and since I miss my dog at home an awful lot, I went to the little ceremony this morning to get some canine companionship. It was fun to watch all the dogs interacting and it's amazing how many varieties of a single species there are. I'm so thankful that God gave us these little friends-- our brothers and sisters, as St. Francis would say-- and I can't wait until I can have a dog in my life again.
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