Everyday is a Winding Road

My flight to the States was safe, boring, and all-in-all uneventful. There were three small children that seemed to be competing for how much of the flight they could spend screaming, but it's amazing what you can tune out at 35000 feet (or however high up we were). I have a lot of sympathy for the parents of those children. As bothersome as they may have been for the other passengers, at least the other passengers weren't responsible for trying to calm the poor babies. My heart went out the most to the mum who had just managed to calm her child somewhat...and then we hit a patch of turbulence that upset the poor baby and got him or her started all over again.

Parents of small children are living martyrs, and I think they deserve as much respect and consideration as the richest men and most powerful world leaders.

But yes, I am in the US now and visiting my grandparents. I'll be in Greensboro soon, and then off to school go I. This will be my final post, and this blog will go be "retired" until such time as I fimd myself on another trip of significant length and content. If, for some inexplicable reason, you haven't had enough and you want to continue reading about my thoughts and experiences, please redirect your attention to my more current blog Four Religious Porpoises.

Until nex time: happy hunting, space cowboy!

PLUR!

Warp Factor 6, Engage.

The migration and updating of my blog were successful (although it took like 5-6 hours instead of the "just a few mintues" it was supposed to take). I don't think that should affect readers or comments in any way, but I just wanted to let y'all know.

PLUR!

Prescience, Postart

A few months ago, I started writing a short story (it doesn't have a name yet, but the working title is "London 2012") in which an international paradigm shift is sparked when riots break out at the 2012 London Olympics because of poor logistical planning and a general inability to meet the needs of the millions of tourists and spectators who have come to see the games.

Over the past two months, it seems like there are more and more reports in the papers of "unexpected costs" of Olympic preparations, concerns that preparations won't be finished in time, and Olympic sponsers pulling their funding (Barclay's recently announced their decision to opt out of a 200 million pound Olympic sponsorship that many expected them to follow through with). I really hope I don't end up being right. That would just be creepy.

I went to Heat UK's Evolution party this Saturday. I wasn't too happy about having to wait in line outside the club for more than a half-hour (UK December nights aren't particularly well-known for being warm), but once I got inside and through security, it was great. The music was some of the highest quality House that I've heard since I've been here, and the lights were also really well-done. I don't think I've ever seen something as surreal as dry ice fog drifting through an LED "screen." It was like a green-tinted ephemeral oil slick, swirling and trailing through the air. And then they lit the strobe. Wow.

The siren call of new technology has touched me once again. I think I'm going to switch by blog to the new "beta" version. If I don't post anything else for a while, it's because of technical difficulties. Otherwise I'll try to put something up tomorrow.

PLUR!

Generation Gap

So, I just found out a few days ago that the pop artist Hoku (born Hoku Christian Ho) is the daughter of 1960s and 70s music sensation Don Ho. She sometimes performs in her father's show at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. In addition, she's had a reasonably successful career of her own, her most notable songs being "Not Another Dumb Blonde" (which was featured in the movie Snow Day) and "Perfect Day" (the Legally Blonde theme song). Plus she's seriously beautiful. I wonder what it is about mixed-race people that they can be so much more attractive than someone with "pure" ancestry?

I wish I had a copy of Tiny Bubbles on my computer. I want to listen to it now.

PLUR!

I'm the same boy I used to be

I just heard a sample of Eric Prydz's new single "Proper Education," which follows closely and does a lot of sampling from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In the Wall (part 2)". It twists the driven, militant cynicism of the original song into an easily-accessible up-tempo club anthem, but it does a right good job of it. Besides, sometimes I like up-tempo club anthems. ( :

This is another good mark in my book for Eric Prydz, who's previous work includes the powerful "Call on Me," which samples Steve Winwood's classic hit "Valerie" (actually, the story goes that when Prydz first did this song he used a recorded sample but when Winwood heard the piece he was so impressed with the work Prydz had done that he offered to collaborate with Prydz and rerecord his vocals from "Valerie" for "Call on Me").

I wonder how much the single costs?...

PLUR!

Meanwhile, back in Gotham...

I remembered that I had some corned beef hash in the fridge.

Another meal eaten, another crisis averted.

PLUR!

edit: It is not one of my goals in life to learn how to play Mason Williams's "Classical Gas" before I die. And possibly Darude's "Sandstorm" (although that might just be silly).

Dear Diary

Dear diary,
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum home from work last night. I was on the tube packed into a little corner because the Piccadilly Line is almost always crowded. I wasn't paying much attention to the people around me (except for the young woman sitting down on the other side of the carriage. She reminded me of someone I knew, but I just couldn't remember who!). Then the man standing next to me was acting all fidgety and awkward and was texting something on his phone. I try not to be nosy, but I glanced down just for a moment at his mobile, and he was texting phone sex on the tube! Well, I don't know if that's actually true, but I can't think of too many other scenarios where someone would use phrases like "...been a really bad girl..." and "...with a mouth full of..." (that's all I saw. The posters on the walls of the carriage suddenly got very interesting).

I don't know how I feel about that. On the one hand, I guess people should be allowed to do what they want, as long as it's not hurting any one. On the other hand, though, I want to laugh so hard. Either way, I'm still impressed that his mobile had service so far underground!

Today I am the only research assistant at work (there are normally three of us). Things are pretty quiet right now, so I'm taking a very short break. Today for lunch I ate a Subway sandwich, and it was pretty good and filling, but it didn't have the flavor I wanted. Since I still had a half-hour left for my lunch break (!!!), I decided I would walk around and see what else was around. I stopped at a convenience store and bought a banana and walnut muffin. It was only 59p, and it really hit the spot! Now I feel quite good.

Tonight I will either do laundry or scold myself for not having the motivation to do laundry. I think supper will be pasta, and maybe a scoop of ice cream graham crackers and a chocolate bar if I feel like I've earned it (I usually have).

PLUR!

Crazy People

The McCloud family works for Comic Book Resources, and part of what they do is travel around the country interviewing comic artists. Recently, they've started a series of "Winterviews" that are conducted by their 11-year old daughter Winter and almost totally recorded and edited by their 13-year old daughter Sky.

Back in October they interviewed Jeffrey Rowland, author of my two absolute most favourite webcomics Wigu and OverCompensating, and a general all-around cool guy. You can watch his Winterview here.

Last week the McCloud's released a new interview with R. Stevens, author of the Diesel Sweeties webcomic (which, while not my favorite, is one that I still enjoy from time to time). You can watch it here.

Neither of the Winterviews are awe-inspiring, but it's fun to see grown people trying to figure out how to react to being interviewed by a 11-year old girl. Also, it's well worth the look into the secretive world of self-employed webcomic artists-slash-t-shirt entrepeneurs (it still amazes me that some people make most of their living by selling stuff on the internet).

I don't know if the problem lies with my internet connection or with the server hosting the Winterviews, but when I try to watch one it doesn't always load properly, and even when it does it loads slowly. Be warned, but don't let that stop you from enjoying them!

PLUR!

The Darkness

I think it's a caffeine addiction. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it, but now I'm at a point where I simple can't go through a day without craving some kind of soda or at least a couple cups of tea. I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm in the States.

All is well.

PLUR!

Theiving the Sky (Stealing Someone's Thunder)

Today is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not technically celebrated in the UK, but there are so many Americans around most of the time, that Brits know to make a big deal about it anyway. At least, that's what I've seen.

Regardless, here's a quote from the inimitable Jeffrey Rowland about the holiday of Thanksgiving:
"Holy gosh, how did it get to be Thanksgiving already> For those who don't know, I am half-Cherokee and from rural Oklahoma and therefore consider Thanksgiving to be mostly insulting. I'm thankful for stuff everyday, I don't need a whitewashed version of The American Holocaust and a ritual sacrifice to remind me to be grateful. I'm grateful everytime I look in the mirror and realize I am basically symmetrical."

And I think that's something we should all be thankful for.

PLUR!

Drat!

Well, it turns out the District line is closed between Whitecastle and Earl's Court...and I needed to get to Earl's Court so I could transfer to the right train to get to Hammersmith and the Quaker meeting! I'm going to have to miss today...although I feel bad about it 'cause I missed last week, too (last week I stayed up 'til 4 in the morning talking with Aoife, and simply failed to wake up before noon). If I can find my mp3 player, though, I'm going to put a bunch of "sacred" music on it and go for a walk in the park. It's not quite the same, but maybe it'll still count, eh?

I've been thinking a lot about music recently. What it is, how it's ought to be, the themes and messages it should portray, and other things that go along with it. And frankly, the more I think about it the more I begin to think that nonlyrical music may be the best kind of music. You can create a full range of expression without being limited by the construction of spoken language. Of course, there are a lot of lyrical songs that are also really good, but they just seem to be so few and far between. Too often it just seems like the music of a song is just a vehicle to carry the lyrics, which more often than not simply seem to be little more than mediocre poetry.

Sorry, that's all. I promise. ( :

PLUR!

Through the Week

It is Sunday! That means only one thing: that last week is over!

Actually, that's untrue. It really means lots of things. What I said is just the most relevant at the moment.

This past week was most certainly interesting. I had a presentation for my BLC class that basically ended up with me standing in front of the class scribbling facts about the Redwall books on the whiteboard. In spite of that, my presentation was probably one of the better ones (although I think "fish and chips" wins the grand prize). I also had my first house visits this week. Since the group I'm working with for my internship focuses on childhood stammering, they do a lot of recording of kids talking - both kids who stammer and kids who don't. Since it's not always convenient for the kids and their parents to come into the lab and record, house visit arrangements are made for some of the kids, and I was assigned six to do. Last week I finished three of them. I would have taken out the remaining three this coming week, but I had to reschedule one of them because of a conflict that came up. So instead I'll have finished 5 of the 6 by the end of the week, and have one that's just going to chill 'til early in December. Word.

I was REALLY nervous about my first visit, but it went exceptionally well so I'm really glad for that. I got off at the wrong tube stop and got really lost for my second one, but with the child's mom directing me on the phone (business call?) I managed to find the right address. The third one was an interesting case. The child's mom had completely forgotten that I was coming, and so the whole thing was kind of rushed and cobbled together as though at the last minute. I had a good time at that one, though. The boy I was recording mentioned all sorts of fun stuff like how much he liked magnets, and I couldn't help but think of myself at that age. Man, I wonder what it would be like to be eight again?

This week I've got two more house visits, plus whatever else it is I'm supposed to be doing. Oh, it will probably be more annotating. Fortunately, not the same stuff I've been doing. I finished those, basically, and now Kelsey and I are doing orthographic transcriptions of the monologues. It turns out that when the original recordings were annotated, no one thought to do a "real" transcription along with the phonetic syllable and phonological word annotations! It's been a lot of fun so far. The last one I finished was all about this one kid's holiday to Disney World Paris. It sounded pretty cool.

That's all for now. Breakfast time, then I'm going to try to make it to meeting.

PLUR!

Phase II

Blogger just announced the release of their new version and is looking for beta testers. I may jump on that bandwagon, but I'm not planning to change just yet.

It's always fun to find out that just when you assumed you know where everyone's at, you find out someone you never would have expected is right out there with you. ( : Even in the midst of community there are strangers, and even in the midst of strangers there is community.

Meeting and LAUNDRY tomorrow. Presentation on Monday, and money on Tuesday. Gosh it'll be nice to have money for food again.

PLUR!

here it is (a red balloon)

Well, here ends another day where I've been right in the middle of everything, but gotten nex tto nothing accomplished. I have to say, before I met the internet I thought real-time was on the cutting edge of communications. Now there are times when I'm almost convinced it's not fast enough.

That's probably a bad thing, but I digress.

I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to live next semester when I get back to Guilford College. That's the $64,000 question for the day...

PLUR!

Here I am again

Okie-doke. I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I've been quite busy the past couple weeks. It was a big transition getting into my internship, but I'm finally settled and establishing my new routine. I'm working three days a week (Wed-Fri) for the Speech Development group at UCL, a research group that does a lot of research work on causes and other things related to stuttering, especially in children. So far I haven't done anything terribly exciting at work (I've spent most of my time proofreading transcripts of interviews to make sure the syllabic and phonological word annotations are both accurate, although this past Friday I spent most of the day taking notes on published articles for a talk Pete will be giving this week), but I'm getting to know the local Subway pretty well. A sandwich with jalapeño peppers on it is a poor substitute for Mexican food, but at least it's got a bit of a kick to it. I miss proper chips and salsa, though. There's one other FIE intern working for the same group, but our schedules are different and we only work together about twice a week. Still, it's nice to have company my own age at work sometimes. The only other time I see much of college-aged kids is when I sit lectures (I've got about 12 pages of notes from speech science lectures, and that's just from the past two weeks!), and you can't exactly talk during class!
Last week I went to Parliament and had a verynice tourguide lead me around. I had to go throuugh all sorts of security before they'd even let me into the building (and apparently you can't even get in if you haven't made a prior appointment to do so. Thank goodness for field trips!), but our tour guide was a very nice man named Keith Cameron.

And that drove me absolutely mad. I know there's some politician or small-time celebrity out there named Keith Cameron, but I can't for the life of me remember who it is! It's someone current, I'm about 95% positive about that. The 5% of me that's not certain thinks that it's possible I've mixed up his name with Kirk Cameron, actor and internet evangelist. But if anyone knows anything about a Keith Cameron, please let me know.

Anyway, Keith Cameron was our tour guide, and he took us around Parliament and told us all sorts of neat things about it. All in all it was a pretty cool trip, but I would have preferred to be able to walk around on my own. In addition to the building's "functionality," there was a lot of interesting architecture and statues all over the place that I would have liked to have spent more time looking at.

This weekend (actually today, but since today is Sunday, celebrations started yesterdaay) is the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, also known as Bonfire Night. It's supposed to be a huge festival with lots of celebrating and fireworks and bonfires (hence the name ^_^), and I'm going to see if I can't sniff some out tonight. Some of us tried to last night, but a bunch of stuff came up, and the the mission was not a success. It's okay, though, 'cause I'm still pretty amazed that I'm even in London. I won't be too disappointed if I don't get a chance to experience every single little thing.

Apparently Guilford College budgeted for us to have a Thanksgiving meal, which was really thoughtful of them since the British don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Not celebrating Thanksgiving has some other implications, too, since it means there's no major holiday between Hallowe'en and Christmas! Literally the day after Hallowe'en, I started seeing Christmas ads up all over the place. The "holiday season" is kickin' it into high gear already over here...
I haven't listened to the radio much, but now I'm a little afraid to, because I'm afraid all I might hear will be non-stop Christmas music! I talked to mom last night, and she said that the Magic station is already doing that.
Seriously, how absurd is that? What possible point can there be to starting Christmas music almost two full months before Christmas actually happens? Sheesh...

Well, that's all for now. Now that I've got something resembling a schedule again, I'll try to update more regularly.

PLUR!

Back To Form

I am back from Budapest, and in preparation for my internship (which starts tomorrow).

I really enjoyed my trip to Hungary, even the weather. The sun was bright, and there was a crisp breeze blowing the whole time so it was fairly cool (I wish I'd packed my gloves to go with me!). The city was beautiful. Seeing the city from above and from a distance reminded me a lot of the time I visited San Francisco which, for all it's faults, is an incredibly beautiful city.

So those are a few shots of Budapest, both of them taken in the late morning/early afternoon. ( :
I spent most of the two and a half days I was there exploring the area around where I was staying, so I got pretty familiar with those few public transit routes (Budapest has busses, trams, trains, a metro, "omnibusses," and trolleys. It's a very comprehensive system, even moreso than London!) and some of the sites.

One of my favorite places to visit was the Citadella. It's on top of a small mountain called Gellért Hill, and it's the Hungarian statue of liberty. It was erected by the Russians when they came in in the 50's and liberated Hungary from Nazi occupation. It was built to face Moscow, because it was Russia that had given them their "freedom." Then, when the Berlin Wall fell in '89, the Hungarians got rid of a lot of Soviet monuments, but they liked the idea of the liberty statue so much they decided not to destroy it. Instead, they turned it around 180 degrees so that it faced directly away from Moscow, and that's how it stands today.


On the last day there, I visited a market in an old warehouse. it was kinda cool there. The ground floor and the basement were full of food (ground floor mostly produce and some meat, more meat downstairs, including several fishmongers. Lots of live fish in a basement stink the place up!). The upper level had a little pub-like restaurant in it, and the rest was devoted to tourist-y types of stuff. Little curios and puzzles and souvenirs and T-shirts and stuff like that. I did find something there that was just about perfect for Grandpa Abeyta, but he'll just have to wait 'til Christmas to find out what it is!

The Vaughans also took me out to get an authentic Hungarian goulash one evening. It was absolutely delicious. It's the kind of meal that beef stew wishes it could be. I'm not a huge fan of soup, but I think I could eat goulash for a week (not counting breakfasts, preferably) and not get tired of it.

And that's about all. I'm off to do some gracery shopping in just a bit, and I fully intend to get to bed at a decent hour tonight since I have to get up in the morning for work.

PLUR!

Wishful Thinking

It seems like every website I visit is merchadising these days! What's up with that? However, it's revealed a whole new world of stuff that it would be fun to have. Please pardon the selfish interlude, but....

First Church of Banjo: Cult of Banjulhu t-shirt
Elan and Roy on Teamwork t-shirt
A roleplaying game? That makes fun of roleplaying games? Count me in!
We all like our stuff to be better, don't we?
Gamers are silly
Rock you like a Hadoken
The movie was awful, but the legacy is legendary
I'm a sucker for mythical beasts. ^_^
Perfect for making a political statement when you don't know what to say
The ultimate refreshment
Pretty much anything here, but especially the lime shirt, the vinyl stickers, and the temporary tattoos
And lets not forget Firefly and Serenity themed stuff.


That should be all. Sometimes window-shopping can be fun. ^_^

PLUR!

Well....

I decided to get a digital camera today. I went down to Argos and spent a good long time looking at prices and everything else, and finally settled on a Vivitor ViviCam 4345. It's a 4 mPix camera with the video capture ability. Not top of the line by any means, but it should be more than adequate for my needs.

Fall break is now, and tomorrow is when I leave. I don't really expect to be able to post again 'til Saturday or Sunday, but when I get around to it, I'll let y'all know how my travels were.

PLUR!

Modular

Wow, it's going to be so weird getting used to computing with 2 hands again. I've gotten so used to using the "touchpad" mouse on my laptop that I'm going to have to retrain myself how to use a manual. It's a shame that it's so hard to modify keyboards, otherwise I'd consider switching from Qwerty to Dvorak (which is supposed to be more ergonomic and, once you're proficient at it, faster).

Also, having a USB optical mouse will be useful for the eventual day when I switch to a new system. I like my laptop (we've become very familiar with each other, and in as much as a human and an inanimate object can be, I like to think of us as friends), but I'm certain that I'll be operating on a new computer sometime within the next few years (that's my hope at least!). I'd love to get a Mac because of the good video and music suite they've got, but you just can't beat a PC as a computer "workhorse." Maybe when I do get a new system I'll turn the laptop into a "toy" and play around with it. I've been curious about Linux for a little while.

In more humanitarian news, a few of you probably know this, but others may not. The Hunger Site has been my homepage for 6-8 months, and it's a really cool site. You can click on the link once per day, and they'll register it through a Mercy Corp and America's Second Harvest sponsorship as a donation of 1.1 cups of staple food to a charity working in a third world country. Help feed hungry people through just a few clicks of the mouse. It doesn't get much easier to help out, does it?

I think that's all for now.

PLUR!

Worse, or Better?

So, it struck me...yesterday? This morning? I don't remember when, but it was sometime very recently. Anyway, it struck me that a LOT of people use iTunes. And a LOT of people use Google (and by extension, Gmail). And a LOT of people use Blogger. And there are certain other programs and services that a LOT of people use. And I started to wonder: is this simply a cultural phenomenon, or are these programs and services actually better than their competition?

Honestly, I don't know. I think there are probably elements of both, and there are doubtlessly some unique features or superior interface over competitors, but in the long run I just don't know if I believe they're that much better than the rest.

Of course, take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I'm typing up my speculations on Blogger, just days after having gotten a gmail account, while downloading an iTunes update. Tech-savvy, or hypocrite? We may never know.

PLUR!

Wishful Thinkage

It would be lovely to get this shirt. I especially like the brown American Apparel (no cruelty!) ringer shirt. Too bad it's so expensive! Well, that and international shipping....

Two-thirds done with my Islam and the West term paper....

PLUR!

Local cuisine

There is a restaurant that I pass every day on my way to and from classes called "Little India." This in and of itself (since it's WAY more expensive than I can normally afford) is of little importance, but there's something interesting about this place. The only advertising I've ever seen for it is a sign in the window that simply says, "The owner also eats here." It took me a week or two to notice it, and at least another week to appreciate it, but I think that has to be the best advertisment a restaurant could possibly have.

There's another restaurant that I really like (even though it's too expensive for me) that's a little Italian joint called Il Borgo. Whenever I pass by it, I can't help but think, "Preparare essere assimilato. La resistenza è futile," and smile.


I begin my internship in two weeks, now. Countdown....

PLUR!

Holy Swiss Cheese, Batman!

Goodness! It just struck me that John's birthday is coming up! Unfortunately, I don't have the date written down, so I can't tell exactly when it is, but will someone please give him my fondest birthday wishes?

Thanks!

PLUR!

Punch deck , break ice, jack out.

WOW. I just found out that I share a brithday with William Gibson, inventer of the phrase "cyberspace," and author of Neuromancer and other books.

I'm probably alone in my excitement, but this is big news for me! Neat!

PLUR!

Walking on Sunshine

I had my interview this morning. I've been asked to return on Wednesday for some preliminary training. I begin working in two weeks: October 25.

PLUR!

Mighty Max v. Polly Pocket

Yesterday was an absolute joy. Although we had to get up bright and early in the morning (thank goodness we had sunlight almost all day long!) to meet the bus at 8:00 sharp (the driver and tour guide did not wait for latecomers), the early morning was well worth it. We started out going to Stonehenge, which has been a longtime dream of mine. I can't remember when I first learned about Stonehenge, because I feel like I've known about it forever, and I was extremely excited to be able to go see it with my own eyes, especially after having seen the Georgia Guidestones for the first time this summer. Sadly, the monument was cordoned off, and we couldn't get any closer than maybe 15 yards away from it. I completely understand the rationale behind it, but it was more than a bit disappointing to me. After all, I would have treated the monument reverently and not just screwed around with it like some people might have. Not being able to touch the stones was pretty much my only disappointment of the day, though.
As soon as I can "steal" the pictures of I took off other peoples' cameras, I'll post some of them. I feel like I got some really good shots of the henge.
"Henge" by the way, is an ancient word that roughly translates to "temple," so the name "Stonehenge" is just a fancy way of saying "stone temple." Henges could be made of any material, though, and throughout history there have been smaller stone henges, wooden henges, and earthen henges. I suppose you could say that modern-day churches and worship centers are typically "concrete-henges," but that'd be getting a bit silly, wouldn't it? ^_^
After we spent our hour or so at Stonehenge (I would've liked to have stayed a little longer, but it was windy and cool that morning, so it was nice to be able to get back on the bus), we loaded back up and traveled to Bath.

Bath is a very old city that has been famous for thousands of years for the warm water that seeps out of the ground there. In ancient times it was believed to have healing properties. When the Romans invaded England in the early years AD, they built an elaborate system of baths there (hence the name of the city!), and Bath became a popular resort town amongst battle-weary soldiers on the northern frontier and the elite. When the Romans essentially abandoned England Bath fell into disrepair, as the Angles and Saxons who replaced them weren't terribly keen on bathing (apparently a common idea at the time was that bathing in warm water opened up the pores, and having open pores made one more susceptible to infection. Ironically, Anglo-Saxons considered bathing to be unsanitary!). In the 18th century, Beau Nash revived Bath as a resort and spa town, and helped to bring in a whole new clientele of aristocratic and moneyed individuals to the area (The 1700's saw the beginning of a powerful mercantile tradition in England, resulting in the creation of a fledgling bourgeios middle class that had money, but no aristocratic background). Now Bath is considered a World Heritage Site, and the Roman baths and the restored Nash-era city are protected sites.

After the tours, we were free to explore the city 'til 3:30, and a group of friends and I ate lunch at the Parrot and Rat Bar. I was terribly amused and commented on how it sounded like a pirate bar...then Wes pointed out a sign above one of the windows that said "Pirate Bar." Needless to say, that took the wind out of my sails. *rimshot*
The food was good, though, and relatively cheap if you knew what to get. The tavern offered a 2-meals-for-£7.50 deal, so Elise (a new friend from Marymount. She was standing next to Chelsea when we were taking pictures at Stonehenge, and I accidentally bopped her nose when I turned around once. That's how we met) and I split split that deal and both tried the fish and chips. The fish was pretty tasty, and the chips were curly fries! They tasted pretty good in the tartar (tartare?) sauce that came with it for the fish. I don't think I even used the ketchup on the table. I did play with the mustard a little, though (I know, I know...).
On the way back to the meeting point after lunch, we passed a street vendor in one of the squares selling handmade "roses" 10 for £1, so I bought some for Chelsea, since she'd given me some of her brownie for dessert. On the way back "home," I think everyone on the coach fell asleep.

After meeting this morning, I had an interesting conversation with a man named David. Hammersmith very kindly offers tea and coffee for refreshments after meeting, and I'm fairly sure they're complimentary, although they operate under one of those "donations appreciated and strongly encouraged" systems, kind of like coffee at FBC on Sundays. While I was drinking my cup of tea (complete with saucer!), David and I started talking about all sorts of things. He began by asking me some questions about my impressions of the difference between US and UK portrayals of the US, and from there we talked a bit about politics, spirituality, faith and practice, and the impact that sick family members have had in our lives. He seemed particularly interested in my ideas about things, which I guess was because I'm nearly the only person about my age at the meeting. There are "young" families at the meeting, but the parents are all older than me, and the children all younger (I'm not extremely good at guessing ages, but the oldest youngster at Hammersmith looks to be about 14). Apparently when I was sick last week, a young woman who'd just begun university visited the meeting, but I don't think she was here this week.
The folk at Hammersmith have been nothing but kind to me, though, and I've had some very interesting talks with some members over tea in the past few weeks. I'm glad I found this community to be a part of, even though it's just for a short time.

I've been thinking about lots of things recently, and I've tentatively started writing again. It's amazing how much inspiration for fiction lies in the real world.

Thanks all for now. I have to spend some time reading for class. Tomorrow is my interview. Wish me luck!

PLUR!

Bless your beautiful hide!

Bah, I don't like having to talk about myself. Something always comes up that I do a terrible job of covering, and then I think of the perfect way to describe it a while later, after it's no longer relevant.

In other news, I went to the building that I'll be interviewing for my internship today. I left at 3 pm, and got back about 5:20. It took about 35 minutes in each direction to get there and get back. The building was about three minutes from the Russel Square tube stop. So that's about an hour and 12 minutes accounted for along my trip. Would you like to know what I spent the other hour+ doing?

Well, I'll tell you then.

I was getting lost! It took me an hour to find the right street, and I had to walk down it twice before I found the right building! How embarassing! *laugh*

This evening, on a whim, I went with some friends to see Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. It was a lot of fun to see an American musical being performed by British actors. If I were to judge solely from the accents of the actors, Oregon (the setting of the musical) is apparently a territory in southern Scotland. Or maybe New England. Maybe Oregon used to live in Boston and then moved to Scotland a long time ago so that it's got kind of a weird blend of both accents. Basically, British folk trying to sing American accents was fun to hear. ( :

And tomorrow is The Day. Tomorrow, bright and early in the morning (or, you know, overcast and drizzly and early in the morning, depending on the forecast) I'll be getting on a coach bus and visiting Stonehenge and Bath (but mostly Stonehenge ^_^). I'm so excited!

PLUR!

Excerpt

"Dear Alan,

I am pleased to tell you that FIE has provisionally placed you in an international internship in the Psychology Department at University College London. Your specific tasks and projects will be determined after your site supervisor has met you and assessed your skills, but interns in the past have assisted Dr. Pete Howell in his research project involving the causation of stammering in childhood."


This stands to be the most interesting "job" I've ever had. My interview is on Monday.

PLUR!

Experimenting with pictures

You can't tell because of how bright the picture is, but there are 2 important parts to this picture: 1.) I am standing beneath the stage at the world-famous Globe Theatre. 2.) The logo on my T-shirt (which, unfortunately, is impossible to see) is that of the Modern Skirts.
Wistful thinking, I know, but how cool would it be: "Modern Skirts at the Globe Theatre"?

It's a cool, drizzly evening. I think I'll be staying in with a book and a cup of Earl Grey tonight....

P.L.U.&R.

There's a lot of history in the British Isles. A LOT of history. Also a lot of mythology. My first real exposure to Celtic mythology, though, was a Goergia author named Tom Deitz. Being so "close" to this much mythology has really deepened my appreciation for it, and so I thought it would be cool to e-mail Mr. Deitz. I always get nervous when e-mailing specific people (especially if I have no idea whether the provided e-mail address is still in use).

In-class presentation tomorrow; think tonight will be an early night. Not quite yet, but soon.

P.L.U.&R.

Legendary Fire Escapes

So, this morning I definitely went and did a short tour/workshop/thing at the reconstructed Globe Theater. It was very interesting and a lot of fun, and I asked a friend to take a picture of me in front of the stage (we weren't actually allowed on the stage because we weren't actors). I don't know how the pic will turn out (the background was very bright since the Globe is an open-air theater and the sun was sort of behind the stage), but I hope it's a good one.

It's really interesting the way "Shakespeare era" actors learned their lines. There was very little, if any of the character and plot analysis that goes into so many modern productions, where actors try to feel their characters and understand them and their positions within the play. For one thing, actors were given only their own lines and their cues, rather than then entire play. Instead of doing months-long runs of a play, a company would typically put on a different play every day. And that's EVERY day. Needless to say, there wasn't much to do with this six-week-long rehearsal deal, either. Plays had to be memorized in a matter of days, and rehearsal generally took place on the morning of the actual performance.

That's absolutely ludicrous by today's standards.

...Which means I want to try it now. >_<


I'm going to grab some lunch and probably take a nap. My other class isn't meeting today, so I've got some time to relax, which'll be nice since I was up working so late last night.

P.L.U.&R.!

Starshine

*whew* I am sore from coughing last night. Fortunately, I'm not near as bad as I was yesterday, and I've got a mild curry to eat and some Earl Grey to drink. Mmmm.....

I must have dreamed about her last night or something, 'cause I woke up thinking about Grandma Gladys. Could someone who knows how she's doing get in touch with me, or get in touch with someone who can get in touch with me? I'm going to be out and about today for most of the afternoon (morning and early afternoon for y'all), but I'll have my phone on and will answer it (as long as I'm not on the tube. Understandably, I get not service underground. ^_^). I have a meeting at 6:30 (1:30 EST), though, so I'll have my phone off for that. E-mail works, too, but I likely won't be checking it 'til after my meeting.

P.L.U.&R., mates.

Infusion

Blarg. In a deliciously ironic twist, I think that my least favorite part of getting sick is getting better again. Your nose is just stuffed enough to make breathing hard...but not stuffed enough for drugs to work on it. You cough, but coughing doesn't accomplish anything. You mostly feel okay, but all the fidgety health things make it harder to do the stuff you normally do. I am poositive that given a short amount of time (with luck, by tomorrow), I'll have this jusk kicked, 'cause I ain't enjoying it any more today than I was on Monday.

So, that's the plan. Tomorrow I'll feel better so that I can do stuff again. And it'll be wonderful. ( :

I've found myself a bit of a project to work on when I have some free time to kill, or perhaps it's a series of small projects that add up to equal one normal-sized project. It's nothing terribly complex, but it'll take some time to get it into a form that I like.

So...I was supposed to give a presentation today in Media, but the professor got so enthused talking about British cinema (film studies arose from a strong literary tradition, whereas other forms of media studies are definitely rooted in sociology. Mr. Mottershead is very much an English person rather than a Sociology person), that he lost track of time and my presentation (and one other) got pushed back to next Tuesday. On the one hand, I'm quite appreciative, but on the other, how nice would it be to finally just have this thing off my back, yah? I'm not a big fan lag time between completion and presentation. I guess I'm kinda like my mom in that regard.

There were two things I wish I'd gotten today but didn't; ice cream, and a hug. I guess I'll just have to try again tomorrow. Also, viennetta doesn't count. It's not ice cream, it's dessert. It may seem silly, but to me that's a very important distinction! ( :

That's all for tonight.

P.L.U.&R., mates

I SHOULD be ashamed of it because of the pun

Royal Thai Army
seize Bangkok, declare martial
law; this, a Thai coup

Last week the Royal Thai army took over the capitol, abrogated the constitution, and declared martial law. The Prime Minister was away at the time, giving a speech at a UN function if I remember correctly. Based on what I've been able to find out from the few articles I've seen, the people of Bangkok seem generally to support the coup d'etat, although there's some criticism of their methodologies.

Today we talked about Rupert Murdoch in Media. Although I was fighting just to be able to breathe properly, I do believe it had to be one of the most active classes we've had this year. Partly I think people are getting more comfortable, and also as we move forward into more modern times and current-day media formats, we're more familiar with the material and can comment on it more effectively. On the other hand, it was a class about Rupert Murdoch. Just the name itself is controversial.

I don't know if it was the small dose of caffeine in the decongestant I've been taking, or something more nefarious, but I could not sleep last night. I ended up getting up pretty early in the morning and taking my blanket into the common room and just sitting there, wrapped up, watching TV. I had class at 1, and when I got back about 5 I made some soup and then took a nap. I got up again a little more than an hour ago. I'm going to sleep some more soon. I've got to kick this sinus stuff. Hmm....I think I'll make a crumpet and some tea.

P.L.U.&R., mates.

Dream Of The Shore Near Another World

I shared my Viennetta with some of the 4A girls last night, and with Aishia, and it was a lovely dessert experience. Apparently I'm not the only person with childhood memories of this most unique ice cream, and it was interesting the way that this simple food brought up all sorts of memories and stories. More evidence toward my theory that eating is one of the ultimate social experiences.
Of course, that's also the way I grw up, isn't it? Unless it was a meal in front of the TV or something, mealtimes were when we did the most talking, the most interacting with each other. Meals were also the central aspect of larger family gatherings, too. Holidays, reunions, weddings, funerals - almost all of them have a big planned meal or potluck involved. Plus, cooking can be very rewarding. I, for one, really like being able to create something and then share it with the people I care about. Despite their simplicity, that's one of the disadvantages to TV dinners; you can't really share them (and they're often not worth sharing in the first place). On the other hand, as rewarding as cooking can be, I still despise having to clean up. And because of the condition in which our kitchen usually is, if I do clean stuff up, I usually end up cleaning more than my fair share. That's almost enough to put a person off from cooking altogether. But what's the alternative, eating every meal out? Sheesh, that gets expensive (and a little repetative, since there are only so many restaurants in the area that are cheap enough for me to eat at). Maybe I'd be willing to reconsider that position if there was an Elizabeth's and a Monterey across the street. But that's about all that would make me reconsider.
I don't think I'm the only one who lives by the whole food-social connection. At Hammersmith they're kind enough to serve refreshments (coffee, tea, and biscuits) after meeting, and I had a very nice conversation with a man named Simon over tea today. He told me a little about the history of the meeting (apparently their original meetinghouse was down by the river, but got bombed out during WWII, and the government turned the land into a park. In return, they built them a new meetinghouse on a small plot of land, and that one's been operational since about '55), a little about current events (apparently the company that owns Tesco is petitioning the Hammersmith town council to buy that entire block so they can open a new supermarket, and many of the residents and the meeting members understandably don't like that!), and some things in general.

There was an anti-war protest outside the Labour Convention in Manchester yesterday. I had planned to go to it for a while, but decided not to at the last minute, and I'm kind of glad that I didn't. Apparently things got a little...tense. Mr. Tony Blair was speaking at the conference (understandable, since he's still the Labour leader right now), but his very own sister-in-law was amongst the protesters. She did a short interview on TV, and she had some very forward things to saw about Mr. Blair. Yikes....


This afternoon will probably be mostly for studying for my Islam midterm and watching TV (I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous but TV-watching is part of my homework for my Media class, and I've been neglecting it pretty badly). Later me and Chelsea are gonna go out and find some ice cream. That'll be a nice break.

P.L.U.&R., mates!

Guess what, mom!

So, I just got back from the grocery store (that was an experience, 'cause they were testing the fire alarms while I was shopping), and as I was about to check out, I decided to look at the freezer isle just to see how much ice cream was (I wasn't planning to get any today, but I thought it would be good to know for future reference). And do you know what I saw there?

Vienetta.

Score! ^_^

Good morning, good morning....

Oh man, I feel so chipper this morning! I've been a bit out of sorts the past two days or so, but now that I can breathe freely and the tickle in my throat is almost gone it's an absolute pleasure to be alive. So if I've been acting a little odd or reclusive lately, that's probably why.

Plus, today the sun is shining.

Grocery shopping this afternoon. Hopefully I'll be able to find someone to go with me (as silly as it sounds, I don't like making trips by myself, not even such a short trip to the grocery store!). Today's mission: corned beef hash.

P.L.U.&R., my friends!

Stop Bogarting the silverware....

Oh man, I just came back from Stomp! It was as intensely wonderful to see in real life as it has been to imagine in my mind for the past 6 years. ( :
The day prior to that was pretty slow; Thursdays are my no-class days. I did find out that there's not a patch I can download off the internet to make my particular brand of DVD player play region 2 DVDs...but I also found out that it has a built in region-change option. The only downside is that it can only be activated 5 times, and after that it sets permanently to whatever region it was last on. That means if I'm in the States (region 1), and I accidentally set it to region 2 (Europe and the UK), then I'm stuck.

There was something that happened yesterday that I made a mental note to talk about, but I can't remember what it is now. D'oh!

Oh! I remember now! I went on a field trip to the BBC! It's the biggest news agency in the world, bigger than CNN (the second-biggest news agency) by a third. That's impressive-big, y'all. It was very, very exciting (at least as exciting as a guided tour can be), and put in some strong arguments for going into television, especially post-production. Some people in our group got to check out a dummy studio (I was going to, but we ran out of time!), but even being so close to one made me really want to get involved in post-production. Video editing, sound mixing, it's all good. ^_^


That's all for tonight. I've got an early-morning class tomorrow, and I'm gonna hit the hay, soon.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

More Video Fun

Been cruisin' the "intarwubs" again, and I found this video, Write A Full Page Of Non-Stop Lies. It is twisted, incredibly psychological, and a bit depressing - like all of "sikobabel's" work tends to be - but masterfully crafted and very thought-provoking.

Other "sikobabel" projects include Staring Contest (language), and Prototype.

Here's another interesting find: This is a visual guide to the United States federal government's discretionary budget for 2007. It can, apparently, also be purchased as a 24"x36" poster.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends (I think we all need it just a little bit more now....)

Everyday is a winding road

Got back in and crashed into bed at 3; good thing I didn't have a class 'til 1 in the afternoon. Trash at The End was amazing. It was loud, too, but apparently I'm already half-deaf 'cause it didn't bother me at all. Maybe I'll try to go back next week? We'll see.

How odd...today I've been contacted by some of the people that I didn't really care to hear from, and I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone that I really would have liked to (talked to my dad a couple nights ago, but that's been the most recent, since IMing doesn't technically count). I wish, wish, wish it had been the other way around. Time heals all wounds they say, but that doesn't mean that even after the fact, there ehn't still some deep scars.

On a more positive note, I did manage to get my laundry done today. Tomorrow morning I'm touring the BBC. I think I'm excited, but right now I don't really feel like much. I'm tired, but not sleepy. I kinda feel like I could just sit in the corner and stare at the wall for a few hours and that would be a-okay. Maybe I'll try to hit the sack early tonight.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

Might as well....

Well, I said I would consider putting up some short pieces, so...yeah. This was from a little while ago when I was enthralled with surrealism and lyric prose (I still like lyric prose. The illusion of poetry appeals to me as much as the illusion of dancing). I can't remember what my intentions were, but I think this was supposed to be spoken out loud. The verses had a melody, but I can't remember it.
It's not great, but this was one of the only things I'd written that year that wasn't a research paper. Also, I was working through some confusing events.
Whether it translates well in text or not, there is supposed to be a heavy emphasis on imagery. I borrowed heavily from my (very limited) familiarity of Arabic tales for some of the imagery. Also (nerd alert!) from Trigun and certain fantasy landscape artists (most notably John Avon).

Sorry. That's enough stalling now, I guess.....

"Wherever It Might Lead Me"

I was walking. The sky was night-dark, though the sun shone like a ghost in the sky. A noisy breeze, like the muttering of many voices, flitted among the stones. I was on a stairway, a stairway I had found the previous night, and had been walking upon since dawn. I did not know where the steps beneath my feet would lead. This could be a stairway to paradise, or to damnation, but I would walk this path to Heaven, or Hell, or wherever it might lead me.
Ahead of me I saw a traveler, another person upon the stair. I called out, and she turned to face me. She had the grace of an antelope and was as fair as the moon. Her skin was the color of the desert sands, her hair a raven's feather. A white cloak fell across her shoulders, and her right hand held a staff like that of a wise vizier. Her eyes were green as the River's banks, deep and flourishing.
I came close to her and she looked into my eyes. After many moments, she sang to me.

Tuas Manus, Domine.
In your hands, Lord.
Was the light of your face Too much for man,
That he should cover his eyes And turn away?
How sad he should turn Away from your face
And toward the face of darkness!
For an evil spirit is merely an angel
That has fallen from grace.

En tu corazón, Amor.
In your heart, my Love.
The kindled flame was Too much for man,
And he should be afraid that He will burn away.
How sad that he should be consumed By a wildfire
When what he wishes for is the light Of one thousand candles.
For a woman is merely an angel
That causes the heart ot blaze.

Galad elenath, Ea.
Under the stars, Creator,
The cold light is lovely but Not enough for man,
Who shivers throughout the night and Longs for day.
How sad! The night is filled with cries and tears.
When shall it end?
For the dawn is like an angel
Crowned with the sun's bright rays.

A great silence came to be over the land, and it flowed between us for many minutes. Words came to my lips, and I replied.

I know the Tongues, the words you sing to me.
Your questions have been drawn From my very soul.
They are a siren's song, A woman's perfume,
And have held many in their embrace
Until they have lost their peace.

Yes the night is long, And there is much to despair.
But I say to you, Look to the East!
The dawn is coming,
The dawn is here,
The dawn is already risen!

There is no candle, Nor is there a wildfire,
But what is already in your soul.
They are one and the same,
And know that while a Heart might blaze
It can not be consumed.

Cry out, O questioner, and Receive the answer!
You cannot turn away from your God
And the Divine will always Stand before you.
You are still in His hands!

You are not alone, Not set upon by evil spirits
From every side and from above.
There are no spirits, But those you have called to yourself.
You can escape from them
If you do as I, And I have become
My own angel.

The silence persisited after my song, and my questioner smiled softly. In that moment, a great wind arose with a shout like a distant God. She lifted her hands to the sky and her cloak, white as alabaster, surrounded her and became a shining corona. A great light exploded like a clap of thunder before the eyes, and she was no longer there. I was once again alone on the stairs.
I continued to walk. This could be a path to paradise, or to damnation, but I would follow this path to Heaven, or Hell, or wherever it might lead me.

Fare thee well my bonny lass

Went to the Thames Festival last night with Lauren, Whitney, Jordan, Mikey, Colin, Chelsea, and...I think I'm remembering everyone. Sorry if I left someone out! Oh, and I was there, too. ( :

It was fun, but not too different from most festivals. Some musical acts, TONS of people, lots of overpriced food and novelty consumer goods (running the gamut from handmade jewelry to clothes (also mostly handmade) and African drums), and - most importantly - fireworks! It was really nice to see fireworks. I haven't seen a good display in quite a while, and while this wasn't a spectacular show, it was a lot better than what they did at camp (basically Michael Bridges went out and bought several hudred dollars worth of the Wal-Mart fireworks and set them off outside my Nature hut. I had to spend the entire next morning picking up bits of melted plastic and burnt casing so that none of the campers would get hurt or anything). Also, there were a lot of people out and about selling light-up stuff! Oh man, it was soooo hard to resist buying one of them, but somehow I managed. I think Chelsea helped a lot. She got one of the sparkly light-up wands and let me play with it. ( :
As we were leaving the festival, I did buy a peacock feather, though.

Last night was also the unofficial beginning of the celebrations for Lauren's birthday. Her birthday is actually today, but why not start a day early, especially when there might be fireworks involved. ^_^ Also, happy birthday Lauren!

The night before we played some ridiculous "globetrotter" version of Trivial Pursuit. My team came really close to winning, but like many a game of Munchkin, the underdog made an amazing comeback right at the end of the game and beat us by one. Seriously, though, that game was terrible. A lot of the questions were badly worded, but mostly they were just hard! In just that one game, we had questions covering everything from the lyrics to popular Australian songs, the name of an Argentenian(?) race car driver...after he changed his name, the location of several second-string geographical features, and even obscure languages. Seriously, who knows that an Aboriginal word for a certain type of throwing stick is "woomera"? Yes we are smart (I hope!), but we are NOT omniscient.

Tomorrow I'll be going to get my next installment of food-money, which is good, 'cause I'm almost at the very end of my first. I'm actually proud of myself for the way I've spent (or not spent) my money. I'm doing my best to manage my money, and so far I'm doing a decent job. Of course, I'm also starting to look at traveling, so there's no telling how long my streak will last. *laugh*
I'd love to go to Wales, and I've considered doing that over fall break, but I really wonder if there's enough there for a whole week's worth of activities. I mean, I know some stuff I'm interested, and I have a vague notion of some places I'd like to visit, but I don't think there's a whole lot else there, since I'm not a kayaker or rock climber or anything (which is a pity, since the ocean and mountains will be right there).
I need to drop some eaves on other people to find out what they're doing and maybe use that to inform my fall break decisions. ( :

Well, that's all for now. Class in 20 minutes.

P.L.U.&R, my friends

Wow....

This video is incredible. Not only is it a pretty impressive feat of video and audio editing (all the video and sound clips come from actual footage of George W. Bush's speeches) , but the juxtaposition of the song's original protest against Ireland's Bloody Sunday and the remake's implied references to more current events is quite powerful. And there's something that's just sort of uncanny about those words being spoken by Mr. Bush that makes it even more....I don't know. I don't think it's good, though.

Anyway, the video is worth a watch, if you've got the time and interest. U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as performed by President George W. Bush (edited by Rx and/or The Party Party). You can see it here. For those who are interested, the lyrics are also on that page.

Went back to Camden Town again today, this time with a (mostly) different group. Oh man....I still love it there. I'm going to meeting tomorrow. From what I gathered, Hammersmith Friends Meeting is pretty small, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to make some good acquaintences very easily there. That would be lovely if I could.

That's all for tonight.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

Edit: I've had a little trouble with the video link (it's a poorly-implemented Quicktime video, and it's been skipping and freezing on me), so you can also find it on Google Videos here.

Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells....

Today was an interesting day. Had my meeting with Hadi in the morning, and got the topic for my Islam paper approved...more or less. The thing is, the class is supposed to be about real-world application (especially in comparing the "Islamic World" to the "West"), but I was absolutely enthralled with Sufism ever since I read those two magic words: "mystic brotherhoods." My fascination with the supernatural taints yet another term paper (at least I didn't try to work D&D into this one. That would have made what...three?...if I had).

Most of the afternoon was spent in a muted reverie. No one seemed to be particularly active today, though, so I didn't feel bad about it. I think both of my roommates were even napping. At 6 FIE held a "barbeque" for us, which meant one thing: even if it wasn't very tasty, free drinks and free food! Completely ignoring the mad cow disease scare, I had 2 burgers, and drank a Pepsi and half a snakebite. Lauren drank the rest. Hung out there until maybe 9 o'clock, then moseyed back to the flat with the group. Most of 'em have since gone out again, but I wasn't invited to go to the club (it was a "ladies only" sort of event), and I didn't want to go out on the "Ale Trail" and start drinking or spending money, so I've just kind of settled back in. It's nice, though. There are only a few other people in the flat right now, and most of 'em are either already sleeping or too drunk to be much of a bother. It almost feels like I've got the flat to myself, even though I don't. It would be sweet if I did, though. If I did, I'd probably walk around naked for a while, just because I can. It's not like anyone would see me or anything. After all, the Dutch embassy offices next door should be empty at this time of night.

I don't know why, but the idea of a Dutch embassy makes me smile. ( :

Thats all for now. The closer it gets to midnight, the more I feel like being a bum. ...And from there, it's only 3 easy steps to becoming a full-fledged hobo! *laugh*

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

PS. I've been rolling some ideas around in my head, and I've considered posting a few short "project pieces" soon. They're not much, just some possible story ideas I've been mulling over.

Interlude: A Bit of Culture

You'd think that being in the middle of London, surrounded by all the weight of the history of the English-speaking world, my feeble brain would be awash with passages from the English masters of literature and poetry. Instead, I've got a poem from a besotted American ne'er-do-well stuck in my head. Therefore, I present to you, "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe (1849).

I

Hear the sledges with the bells-
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

II

Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And an in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

III

Hear the loud alarum bells-
Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor,
Now- now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows:
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-
Of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

IV

Hear the tolling of the bells-
Iron Bells!
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people- ah, the people-
They that dwell up in the steeple,
All Alone
And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone-
They are neither man nor woman-
They are neither brute nor human-
They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A paean from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the paean of the bells-
Of the bells:
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the throbbing of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells-
To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells:
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells-
Bells, bells, bells-
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

Kismet

Isn't that just a lovely word? "Kismet" has such a wonderful ring to it, I think. Otherwise, it has no thematic bearing on the content of this post (or, at least, no intentional bearing...)

Today was my no-class day for the week, and I made the best use of it I could. Basically what that amounted to was taking the tube all over the city trying to find stuff (most of which I did successfully!). That was my afternoon. My morning was actually spent trying to find directions. Unfortunately, the guide map I have is NOT of great quality, so I was trying to match up landmarks on it with the more detailed map I'd pulled up on the internet, and it took me the better part of an hour just to find the right section of the city to fond Hammersmith in. Frankly, I was very surprised. It seems like I hear "Hammersmith" this and "Hammersmith" that all the time, so I expected it would be prominently displayed on the map, but I ended up completely ignoring the guide map and just going with my on-line resources after I got frustrated enough.

First stop: Hammersmith Friends Meeting. It was surprisingly easy to get here, and the tube line I was on seemed almost deserted. Actually, I sort of got the impression that all of the Hammersmith/Ravencourt Park area was like that. Although geographically close, the area I found myself in was a far cry from the bustle and glitz around where I'm staying. Granted, Kensington doesn't even appproach the glamour of some of the places we've visited like the Piccadilly Circus and Leicester (pronounced "Lester") Square, but it's still decently classy, especially since we're so close to the palace and everything. The Ravencourt Park area, by comparison, seemed older and tired, less agitated and more comfortable with itself, almost like an aging woman who doesn't bother wearing make-up any more. And maybe because of that, I got the feeling that this part of the city was more real than Kensington, more real than most of the places I've seen.

The meetinghouse was about a 5-10 minute walk from the station, and it was closed since there was no worship today. However, interestingly enough, as I approached the meetinghouse, I met an older woman who was also going to the same place, a member of the "congregation" there (Quaker meetings don't have congregations, per se, but I can't remember what a worship group is called. It might just be a meeting) and asked her some questions. I wish I could remember her name, but it was very hard to hear over the traffic in the background (even in the quiet parts of London, you're never too far from a major thoruoghfare (sp?)). Anyway, she was very nice and we chatted for a few minutes, but I didn't get to find out about the history of the meeting like I'd hoped to (and maybe I'm spoiled like that. After all, New Garden Friends Meeting was right across the street from Guilford, and there was almost always someone working there. Of course it was a semi-programmed meeting, and on the large-ish side (more than 100 members, if I remember correctly), so I guess there'd have to be a secretary or clerk or someone I could ask questions of).

On my way back to the tube station I found a Games Workshop store (it was an accident! I swear!) and I had to pop in for a minute and look around. Warhammer stuff is at least as expensive in England as it is in the States, so I didn't spend much time there after all. They now make a Lord of the Rings tabletop wargame and a Warhammer RPG, too. I thought that was neat. Aside from the two guys working there, I was the only person, and we joked around a little bit, talked about how hard it is not to swordfight with rulers, and played balloon volleyball for a few minutes. My right shoe came untied.

After that I decided to make my way back to the station and catch the tube back to Camden Town. Before I got to the station, I felt really compelled to stop at some bus stop and look at the schedule, and one of the bus routes went from Hammersmith straight to Camden! I waited for about 3 minutes, but then I decided that I wanted to keep moving, so I went to the tube anyway.

30-ish minutes later, I'm back in Camden Town. Since I was by myself (all my friends were at class, so I took this journey on my own) I took a little time to look at some of the stuff that I didn't have a good chance to check out last time I was there. I even looked at a couple of record shops. It was very exciting! I also went back to that place I saw over the weekend that was having the big sale, and got a nice pair of street shoes.
I was really annoyed a few days ago when I realized that my the eye loops on my trainers (in the UK, any kind of running shoes, street shoes, cross-trainers, tennis shoes, or sneakers are called "trainers") were coming out (stupid bad stitching), and trainers are basically worthless without their laces!
Based on what I could puzzle out from the tags and signs, the shoes I got originally retailed at close to 40 pounds, but were on sale for 19.95. Then, through some additional discount I wasn't able to figure out, when the cashier rang them up, they were only 18.40-something. I checked my bank balance a while ago, and it translated into $34.63 or something like that after the exchange rate. Not bad at all for foreign shoes, methinks! Also, I bought some CDs. ( :

I had a 5:00 meeting, so it wasn't too long before I had to get back to Kensington, so back onto the tube go I. Unfortunately, things are running a little slow, and I get back to Glouster (pronounced "GLOSS-ster") Square with only 15 minutes left to get back to the flat, drop off my stuff, and get to my meeting. My left shoe came untied. I did make it to the meeting on time, though.

After that I came back to the flat, made some tortellini for supper, and started cooking my second (and probably last) cobbler. Now I'm trying to talk someone into coming to the grocery store with me to get ice cream. Cobbler is delicious, but cobler + ice cream = amazingness.
It ehn't gonna happen tonight, though. About half the group is at the pub, and those who are still here are mostly planning to stay here for the night. Pity, that. I'll just have to get some tomorrow and re-heat the cobbler.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends!

A bowl of chicken. A BIG bowl of chicken.

High-tech, low-budget. I think it's great how it's often cheaper to purchase bare-bones capability devices and combine 'em instead of dropping a bundle on something that's capable doing it all. My laptop is a lot like that. I can do almost anything that a high-end laptop can do, except that my machine has a bunch of bits and pieces to it, rather than being incorporated into a seamless whole. I'm not going to say that I can do everything better (because I'm sure that's not true), but I will say that there's a certain amount of appeal to having a "modular" unit to work off of. Being able to "pick and choose" also gives a nice feeling of individuality (although, to be fair, it's a totally false sense).


I think I just like building things and taking them apart and learning what they can and can't do in different forms.

Like Transformers! Hoo-ray!

Class as usual today. I have a class in the middle of the day tomorrow, but on Wednesday I hope I'll have an open block of free time in which I can try to find the Quaker meeting that's supposed to be around here somewhere. I'm a little surprised-but-not-surprised that there's only one in this area, and I hope it's not hard to find, 'cause I don't know the bus and tube routes very well, and I don't want to get lost!

I also hope I'll be able to go back to Camden. I hate it, hate it, hate it, but my primary pair of shoes is starting to get torn up. The fabric rings that make up the eyes for the shoelaces are starting to pull out...and a shoe isn't much good without it's laces! In Camden I saw a shoe store...Aldo or something like that....that was having a pretty nice sale, so if they're still doing that, I can get some reasonable stylish shoes for a pretty good price. Twenty pounds is a little expensive for street shoes of you convert it back into dollars, but it's a pretty darn good proce for here. I still think I might

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

I still get carded, part II: nothing to do with nightclubs

So, I got back from Camden a little while ago!

Oh man, it was the most amazing place I've been to yet. Imagine 50000 hippies, goths, punks, and bohemians all mashed together in a single location that vaguely resembles entire blocks worth of Hot Topic and record shops. That's the Camden I visited. And it was glorious.

Today has actually been a very busy day. This morning I went on a walking tour of Kensington, visiting the park, several of the famous (and the most expensive!) streets, and even saw T.S. Elliot's home! I even touched the gate of the fence that surrounded the house, making it the closest I've ever been to someone famous (unless Tracy Hickman's killer breakfast or the "tea and talk" with the Indigo Girls count. But even if they do...it's T.S. Elliot's house!).

I think we're about to all watch V for Vendetta. It's going to be a quiet night in, for once. I think everyone is staying in tonight.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

I still get carded

So, last night we went to the Imperial university pub, and then caught a bus to Picadilly Circus and spent a couple of hours at the Yates in the West End club. Not my favorite place ever, but it was okay. I don't really like going to clubs to drink, or to "mack" on the "babes," so the only thing left to be interested in there is the music. And Yates had okay music, but it wasn't the kind of club I would have chosen to go to if I weren't with a group. A little more hip-hop than I cared for at that time of night. After ten, happy hardcore and trance are king(s). Maybe a dash of futurepop and industrial.
Also, the DJ wasn't great. His transitions were often really abrupt and he'd apparently never heard of crossfading.
Which wouldn't have been such a problem, but he played "popular" stuff and didn't really make any effort to match tempos or even make sure that the songs even sounded similar. For instance, at one point he cut off some hip-hop song (I can't remember the name of it), and cued up Madonna's "Material Girl". No sense whatsoever.

The drinking age in England is 18, not 21. That means that there's no real reason to have the over/under 21 distinction here like there are at some clubs in the States. However, I still got carded at the door. Apparently I don't even look 18 yet. It's a little frustrating of course, but I also think it's quite amusing. Jailbait? You wish. *laugh*

So, at the pub last night I didn't get anything myself 'cause I didn't want to spend any extra money, but I did try a couple of sips of Wes's snakebite. Far more than any other drink I've ever had, this one was tolerable. I don't know what proportion it's in, but if I remember the mix right, it's part lager, part cider, and a shot of blackcurrent. It was very sweet.

More later!

Mixed results

The Cobbler Experiment is complete, and the results are mixed. The cobbler itself was a success (and rather tasty, IMO), but I used too much butter, so the cake-y part isn't crisp like I'd been aiming for. I still have enough ingredients left over to make another one, though. All I'll have to do is get some more fruit. Maybe peaches this time?

What's it like to be you?

This is one of my favorite webcomics. I especially like this episode because of the absolute ridiculousness of it, and also because the question "what's it like to be you" is really intriguing (although Jeffrey doesn't actually ask him "What's it like to be you?", it directly follows the comic in which he does, and I associate the two in my mind, even if I shouldn't). Also, The Poopmonster's response is both very exciting and frightening to me at the same time. To experience life in a manner that is so incredibly different from the norms of other people is something that boggles my mind (even if this particular one is patently absurd ^_^). In what free time I have between classes, homework, cooking, and exploring, I've been marathon-reading Overcompensating.

Had my last class for the week this morning, and it looks like it's going to be a lovely weekend. It's cooled off a bit since, well, yesterday, and I imagine it won't be getting much w armer now that we're getting into the fall months. What's the weather like back in the States? Tomorrow we're going on a guided walking tour of the Kensington area, a sort of "official" introduction to the place we've been living this past week. I have a suspicion that it will be mostly monuments and historical sites. But that's still really cool.

I'm starting to fall in love with this city. I was walking back to the flat after class today, and I realized just how happy I was to be right here, right now. I'm sure that after a month or two more I may not feel the same, but so far....
It's kind of like when you first get into a relationship with someone, and you get really happy and excited and nervous all at the same time whenever you're with them (yes, I still remember that feeling!), only instead of being a person, it's a place, and since you're always together (seein' as though I'm in the city and all...), not quite as intense. But still.

I read what basically amounted to 6 chapters for class last night, and was up later than I wanted to be doing it. However, I got it done, and most of the info was useful to have in class today (although we didn't direct discuss a lot of it). We also watched a portion of a video called "What The Ancients Did For Us" that detailed some of the scientific and other developments that originated out of the "Muslim World," especially from Abbasid dynasty period.

I have 4 new terms to wiki the history of: Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism (I know, I know, I'm a little behind the times on that one...), assassin (the professor hinted at some things that makes it sound like the real-life history of this term could be VERY interesting indeed), and astrolabe. In addition, I'm adding astrolabe to my "official unofficial list of things I'd like to learn how to build, use, and/or do" which currently includes theremins, steam engines, mixing boards, and dancing, guitar, and Esperanto.
(That's just a sample list of the things I could think of off the top of my head)

I went to the grocery store last night (actually, it was for the second time, because I needed some more ingredients), and I looked for apple sauce but didn't see any! I did see apple slices in syrup, as well as several other types of bottled fruit bits, but I wonder if apple sauce might be one of those foods that we take for granted in the States that is less-than-common in other parts of the world. I hope not. If it is, though, I'll have to find some other sweet food to snack on. It won't do at all to fall into a candy habit while I'm here....

Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to bum around for a bit, and thentry my hand at baking. Wish me luck on my first real cobbler attempt!

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

Here there are no guns.

No legal guns, at least. In Britain, there are very strong gun control laws, and people can't even posess firearms. Police don't use them either, unless they've had special training and acquired a special permit. In fact, the only organizations to reguarly use guns of any description consist primarily of the armed forces.

Since I've been here, I've never had more French and Indain food. Curry and baguettes are particularly popular, and are even quite cheap...even when you factor in the US/UK exchange rate!

But that still doesn't discount the necessity for grocery shopping. I'm planning a trip to Sainsbury's (which is a little far - almost a 20 minute walk - but clean, high-quality, fairly cheap, and nicely laid-out) tomorrow, so I will hopefully be set for the next week. Or at least until the weekend.

My classes are going well. Today I e-mailed my media professor the Epic 2015 flash video. Ryan recommended it to me more than a year ago, and it still creeps me out a little whenever I watch it. I'm waiting to hear his (the professor's) impressions. It almost makes me want to bepart of the "Fourth Estate," even though I know that path eventually leads to stagnation and death (lets face it, the advent of the internet has irrevocably changed the press. It will not recover, and will likely lose it's footing in the public mind progressively until print news is a prestige symbol and hobby of the elite and "cultured" (also colleges, IMO)). But I digress.

We had another absolutely beautiful day today, with plenty of sun and moderate temperatures in the 20s (Celcius). Tomorrow will be cooler, I've heard. If I can find someone who's not busy, I think I'll do some exploring (I don't want to go out by myself, especially if I'm going to be traveling far). Otherwise I'll probably just explore the neighborhood and chill in Hyde Park.

That's all for now.
Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends.

edit: So, I didn't realize this until my mom e-mailed me and pointed it out to me, but this post was nominated for "blog of the day." Crazy, huh?

"-or" must now be "-our"

Colour, flavour, valour, savoury....

...or perhaps I'm just a dourk. ( :


Anyway, I'm here now, and doing fine. I think that I've just about worked off the jet lag, and things are going fine. The weather today is absolutely gorgeous, probably around 75 Farenhiet, with plenty of sun. It's early afternoon for me, so I'm thinking abouut snagging something for lunch and then possibly heading to the park. Or perhaps Camden. From what I've heard of it, Camden is going to be VERY exciting, and I'm really looking forward to getting there soon, but perhaps today isn't the best day. I've got another class at 5 pm, and so that limits me somewhat in how far I can go today.

Classes are interesting, or at least a certainly hope they will be! All classes are three hours long, and meet twice a week (except for one that meets only once a week, but runs all semester long), so the academia is pretty intense in that regard. I saty through British Life and Culture (BLC) this morning, and it was actually pretty fascinating. I've definitely never been that interested on a "going-over-the-syllabus" day in any other class I've ever taken. I have homework in that class, though, the "99 pence challenge." By the next time we meet, I'm to have gone out and bought something for less than a pound that I think represents the United Kingdom (extra points for creativity).

On the topic of money...there's no sales tax in the UK! That certainly helps out my meager finances a great deal, let me tell you. If I'd had to pay an additional percentage on everything I bought (much fo which is more expensive than in the States already on account of an unfavorable exchange rate), I'd be far closer to broke than I already am. It's kind of neat and kind fo confusing to compare the dollar and the pound, though. On the one hand, because of the exchange rate, everything I buy here costs - in pounds - between 185-200% of what it would cost in USD. However, if you were to treat the pound the same way you would treat the dollar, prices are typically better. I saw a cheap bottle of shampoo at the grocery store that sold for only 69p. The cheapest bottle of shampoo I ever remember seeing in the States was still 99c. A 500mL individual bottle of water (which, depending on the brand, I've seen anywhere from 69c to $1.70+ in the States) only cost me 49p. Breakfast cereal (I got store-brand Frosted Flakes) was only 94p.

I can feel my tummy starting to get rumbly, and I want to get outside in this lovely weather anyway, so it's time for me to cut out.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends!

Ahoy!

I'm safely in London now! The weather is lovely (although a little gray), and very soon I hope to eat lunch. It is 1:15 local time. I have been up since 7:00 yesterday, Eastern Daylight Time (that's a 5 hour difference, y'all), so I'm pretty beat. Tonight, I will sleep like a baby, methinks.

Peace, love, understanding and respect, my friends!

Prelude

Hiya, all!

This is my very extra-super-duper-mega-amazing travel catalgue weblog, or, as a punster might say, a "travelogue travel-blog".

But I digress.

This is the blog to which I intend to post most of my experiences and reflections about my time in Europe. For updates about how I'm doing and what I'm doing, this'll be the place to go. Come? Eh, it's one of the two....

For now, goodbye, and you'll hear from me again on the "other side"!

Peace, love, understanding and respect, friends.