This past week I sort of took it easy and decided to go to the movies... a lot.
On Saturday I went to see A Serious Man at The Electric. This is probably one of the bleakest films the Coen Brothers have ever done. It is even bleaker than No Country for Old Men and that is one of the most bleakest films in recent memory. However, that is not to say that A Serious Man isn't one of the funniest movies released this year. There was one joke, one of the darkest and disturbing jokes I've ever seen that had me belly laughing so hard that people in the audience actually pointed at me. It just was that funny. It also tackles serious questions about faith and if God even is communicating with us or if life is just merely chaos. I thought it was well done without being on a soapbox. Also, like all good art, it leaves the question open rather than didactic and solvable. Discussion is key and this film feels like it is trying to open up a discussion while also being incredibly funny. It also feels like one of their most personal projects in recent memory.
About three hours after A Serious Man, I saw Me and Orson Welles. This movie was dull. It had some interesting things happening such as Christian McKay's performance as Orson Welles but the movie itself was just... boring. It felt like it was trying to be a classical Hollywood film in the sense that it was really trying for that snappy dialogue that served well in films such as The Thin Man and even Welles' Citizen Kane but it just didn't work overall. I was bored and looking at my wristwatch throughout most of the last act.
However, one of the more interesting experiences I had this past week was just within the last 12 hours of this post. My flat mate Adam and I went to see Avatar in Imax 3D. I'm not a big fan of 3D just because it's always felt gimmicky. However, in this film, it works. It works in subtle ways. It does not try and be flashy with the 3D technology except for at the beginning of the film in the first few scenes. The plot itself is somewhat clunky but hey, so is most of Star Wars plot. Essentially it is like Dances with Wolves but with blue aliens. This is not the film you watch because of the plot but because of the visuals. And my God the visuals are astounding. James Cameron really knows how to create a world and an atmosphere which anyone would want to just live in. Lush jungles and vistas as well as an entirely new culture for the screen. This is the kind of film that brings the kid in me to life. The kid in me who read many crappy science fiction novels and hey, I'm planning on going again in a few hours to see it in Imax. I'm sort of a sucker for event films.
I'm also planning on spending the entire day at The Electric on Saturday. I'm planning on watching It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane and possibly but not definitely The Red Shoes. All on 35 mm.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Last Week of Classes
My last week of classes was pretty uneventful. Although, man do British professors like to give out mince pies or treats of some sort or another.
It's nice. The most interesting treat given was in my Cold War Film course. My professor gave us a champagne orange juice mix. Unlike the horrible, awful, no-good mix given at the social during the winter ball, this one at least had some flavor. It wasn't too bad. It wasn't a home run either but hey, I'm not going to turn down a free drink. Personally, I prefer scotch with a touch of water but you can't always get what you want. Though if you go to the off license then you sure as hell can buy it.
Most of my classes consisted of just wrapping up the year and making sure any immediate questions about the papers were answered sooner rather than later.
The most interesting thing which happened during my lectures happened on Friday before my Theatre and Cultural Politics course. Some members of class met up before hand at a pub down in Selly Oak called the Bristol Pear. It was a decent pub and the food wasn't bad either.
It was also somewhat interesting because I went to class with an energy buzz. The sort of energy buzz which is generated by a pint of Guinness, a double Jack and coke and a Bourbon and water. Discussing Angels and America whilst being moderately intoxicated was quite interesting.
Also it was somewhat funny because the first part of lecture was to list off what are some of the perceived notions about Americans. John Warwick was the lecturer. He's also an American. He said that two of us were excluded from discussing this topic. When they brought up the arrogance of calling it the World Series, I had to get involved. I just offhandedly said that we recruit the best from Japan and foreign baseball teams. Warwick stopped class and said that he thought it was pretty obvious who couldn't speak during this activity. The class laughed but it was worth it. I made a bit of a fool of myself again later on when I was able to list off the years Rambo III and Firefox, both terrible films, were released. I quickly explained that I know way too much about films and had to study them, Rambo specifically, in a previous class.
Now it's off to write papers. I have to write 20,000 words by January 12th or something like that. Either way, it's not a lot of time. I've sort of slacked off until now. Mostly because I don't feel the pressure yet. I will and it will get done. It will get done. As fast as humanly possible but when the pressures on, that's when the writer in me comes out.
It's nice. The most interesting treat given was in my Cold War Film course. My professor gave us a champagne orange juice mix. Unlike the horrible, awful, no-good mix given at the social during the winter ball, this one at least had some flavor. It wasn't too bad. It wasn't a home run either but hey, I'm not going to turn down a free drink. Personally, I prefer scotch with a touch of water but you can't always get what you want. Though if you go to the off license then you sure as hell can buy it.
Most of my classes consisted of just wrapping up the year and making sure any immediate questions about the papers were answered sooner rather than later.
The most interesting thing which happened during my lectures happened on Friday before my Theatre and Cultural Politics course. Some members of class met up before hand at a pub down in Selly Oak called the Bristol Pear. It was a decent pub and the food wasn't bad either.
It was also somewhat interesting because I went to class with an energy buzz. The sort of energy buzz which is generated by a pint of Guinness, a double Jack and coke and a Bourbon and water. Discussing Angels and America whilst being moderately intoxicated was quite interesting.
Also it was somewhat funny because the first part of lecture was to list off what are some of the perceived notions about Americans. John Warwick was the lecturer. He's also an American. He said that two of us were excluded from discussing this topic. When they brought up the arrogance of calling it the World Series, I had to get involved. I just offhandedly said that we recruit the best from Japan and foreign baseball teams. Warwick stopped class and said that he thought it was pretty obvious who couldn't speak during this activity. The class laughed but it was worth it. I made a bit of a fool of myself again later on when I was able to list off the years Rambo III and Firefox, both terrible films, were released. I quickly explained that I know way too much about films and had to study them, Rambo specifically, in a previous class.
Now it's off to write papers. I have to write 20,000 words by January 12th or something like that. Either way, it's not a lot of time. I've sort of slacked off until now. Mostly because I don't feel the pressure yet. I will and it will get done. It will get done. As fast as humanly possible but when the pressures on, that's when the writer in me comes out.
The Winter Ball
Last week on Tuesday night we had our Winter Ball. It was a formal event in which we all dressed in suits and ties to eat a three course meal. The ticket for said event cost £25. Was it worth it? I couldn't really say.
A lot of my friends and flat mates were going. I decided I should go as well. There was a slight problem of not owning a suit but I rectified that situation a few weeks before the ball by going out to Bullring (I went to Suits You) and purchasing a very nice Ted Baker single breasted three button suit with three shirts, three ties, a new belt, two pairs of cuff links and a new pair of black dress shoes. They made such a killing on me, and my God was it an arm and a leg and a thigh, that they threw in a travel bag at practically no extra charge. My rationale behind buying such a nice suit was because well, it will come in handy beyond just tonight. Why buy a cheap suit which will get destroyed when I could buy a nice one which I could get dry cleaned and have it on hand for future formal events as well as job interviews and anything of that nature.
Back to the event at hand. We all got dressed in suits and ties and then we went down to the Social. The ticket said "Free Drinks" at the social. What that "Free Drinks" actually entailed, vague though it may be, was one free drink which was a cheap champagne flavored drink mixed with orange juice. It was a terrible, bland disgusting, flavorless and soulless drink. I rectified that situation by going up to the bar and ordering a Rum and Coke just to wash the sickly flavor from my mouth.
We then went down to the coaches which were going to take us to the Aston Villa Football Grounds. We were to have our meal inside of one of the executive suites. It was like a ballroom. Wood floors. A bar at one end of the room and a jazz band at the other. The jazz band was too close to my friend's table. They said it was annoying. I didn't sit there not because I didn't want to but because it just worked out that way. I sat with Sachin (Magic Man) and his flat mates. Sachin is known as Magic Man because he's so good with magic drinks. He has a whole routine with a deck of cards which ends with the card turning into a glass deck. He's really good at sleight of hand. I always keep my wallet in a safe place around him. He's not going to do anything but... just in case he ever wants to pull any tricks. Nah, he's actually a really good guy.
There were five bottles of wine at the center of the table with streamers, party poppers and a "fun box" with party nick knacks. The five bottles though were cheap, disgusting wines which had more in common with vinegar than wine. Again, I had to rectify this situation by going up to the bar and ordering a double jack and coke on the rocks with a lemon wedge. That cost me an arm and a leg but frankly, I would rather pay out money to get a good drink at an event like this than to dress up and drink terrible wine. It also had the added effect of getting my pallet somewhat numbed so I could stomach the bad stuff. My dad once told me that you drink the good stuff first, then you drink the bad stuff.
The first course was a minestrone soup and a roll. The soup itself was actually pretty good. It was a good warm up round until we got to the main course. Turkey with gravy, stuffing in the center, potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce. It wasn't the greatest piece of poultry I've ever had, but then again, this was a mass produced meal. I didn't expect much from it. It was better than I thought it was going to be. The final course was a really good cheese cake. It had a layer of chocolate at the bottom. It was lush.
Afterward they had some announcements from people who got elected into office for our living area. It's Residential Advisers. Entertainment office, treasury and things of that nature. Ho hum stuff.
Throughout the meal I was having a pretty good time. I talked with a girl who was a golf management major. Yes, the University of Birmingham offers that as a major. She wants to own a golf course. I thought that was pretty interesting because you don't really meet that everyday.
After the meal is when fun took a nose dive. We went to get photos as a flat and as friends. It didn't go so well. People bum rushed the photographer and people just got agitated, especially amongst my group that we decided to get out of there.
We went downstairs. There were nine of us. We ordered a taxi. They sent us two. the first took home four leaving five. The second arrived but it wouldn't be able to take us all. Mark got angry with the driver. For a second I thought a fight was going to break out. Thankfully, another group of taxis arrived and took us home.
We all broke up and went to bed.
All in all, I think I had a good time but it was jaded at best. Some people made absolute fools of themselves. One guy, the entertainments officer, Ash, showed up at the venue absolutely battered. He was just a fool with streamers encircling and entwining around him. Most people who were civilized were less than impressed. Rod remarked to me later that he has only ever seen Ash whilst he is drunk. I will say this, it was entertaining to watch however I don't think he should be the one in charge of it.
The emotional drama at the end of the night was... well, it was less than impressive. The jazz band they had wasn't the greatest and they were way too loud throughout most of the night. It should have been a function with quiet music in the background not anything more.
I suppose I could nitpick the hell out of it but that's just what I do. I nitpick the hell out of a lot of things. I enjoyed it but if I had a choice I probably would not want to go again. I don't think I'm going to make the summer ball to be perfectly frank.
A lot of my friends and flat mates were going. I decided I should go as well. There was a slight problem of not owning a suit but I rectified that situation a few weeks before the ball by going out to Bullring (I went to Suits You) and purchasing a very nice Ted Baker single breasted three button suit with three shirts, three ties, a new belt, two pairs of cuff links and a new pair of black dress shoes. They made such a killing on me, and my God was it an arm and a leg and a thigh, that they threw in a travel bag at practically no extra charge. My rationale behind buying such a nice suit was because well, it will come in handy beyond just tonight. Why buy a cheap suit which will get destroyed when I could buy a nice one which I could get dry cleaned and have it on hand for future formal events as well as job interviews and anything of that nature.
Back to the event at hand. We all got dressed in suits and ties and then we went down to the Social. The ticket said "Free Drinks" at the social. What that "Free Drinks" actually entailed, vague though it may be, was one free drink which was a cheap champagne flavored drink mixed with orange juice. It was a terrible, bland disgusting, flavorless and soulless drink. I rectified that situation by going up to the bar and ordering a Rum and Coke just to wash the sickly flavor from my mouth.
We then went down to the coaches which were going to take us to the Aston Villa Football Grounds. We were to have our meal inside of one of the executive suites. It was like a ballroom. Wood floors. A bar at one end of the room and a jazz band at the other. The jazz band was too close to my friend's table. They said it was annoying. I didn't sit there not because I didn't want to but because it just worked out that way. I sat with Sachin (Magic Man) and his flat mates. Sachin is known as Magic Man because he's so good with magic drinks. He has a whole routine with a deck of cards which ends with the card turning into a glass deck. He's really good at sleight of hand. I always keep my wallet in a safe place around him. He's not going to do anything but... just in case he ever wants to pull any tricks. Nah, he's actually a really good guy.
There were five bottles of wine at the center of the table with streamers, party poppers and a "fun box" with party nick knacks. The five bottles though were cheap, disgusting wines which had more in common with vinegar than wine. Again, I had to rectify this situation by going up to the bar and ordering a double jack and coke on the rocks with a lemon wedge. That cost me an arm and a leg but frankly, I would rather pay out money to get a good drink at an event like this than to dress up and drink terrible wine. It also had the added effect of getting my pallet somewhat numbed so I could stomach the bad stuff. My dad once told me that you drink the good stuff first, then you drink the bad stuff.
The first course was a minestrone soup and a roll. The soup itself was actually pretty good. It was a good warm up round until we got to the main course. Turkey with gravy, stuffing in the center, potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce. It wasn't the greatest piece of poultry I've ever had, but then again, this was a mass produced meal. I didn't expect much from it. It was better than I thought it was going to be. The final course was a really good cheese cake. It had a layer of chocolate at the bottom. It was lush.
Afterward they had some announcements from people who got elected into office for our living area. It's Residential Advisers. Entertainment office, treasury and things of that nature. Ho hum stuff.
Throughout the meal I was having a pretty good time. I talked with a girl who was a golf management major. Yes, the University of Birmingham offers that as a major. She wants to own a golf course. I thought that was pretty interesting because you don't really meet that everyday.
After the meal is when fun took a nose dive. We went to get photos as a flat and as friends. It didn't go so well. People bum rushed the photographer and people just got agitated, especially amongst my group that we decided to get out of there.
We went downstairs. There were nine of us. We ordered a taxi. They sent us two. the first took home four leaving five. The second arrived but it wouldn't be able to take us all. Mark got angry with the driver. For a second I thought a fight was going to break out. Thankfully, another group of taxis arrived and took us home.
We all broke up and went to bed.
All in all, I think I had a good time but it was jaded at best. Some people made absolute fools of themselves. One guy, the entertainments officer, Ash, showed up at the venue absolutely battered. He was just a fool with streamers encircling and entwining around him. Most people who were civilized were less than impressed. Rod remarked to me later that he has only ever seen Ash whilst he is drunk. I will say this, it was entertaining to watch however I don't think he should be the one in charge of it.
The emotional drama at the end of the night was... well, it was less than impressive. The jazz band they had wasn't the greatest and they were way too loud throughout most of the night. It should have been a function with quiet music in the background not anything more.
I suppose I could nitpick the hell out of it but that's just what I do. I nitpick the hell out of a lot of things. I enjoyed it but if I had a choice I probably would not want to go again. I don't think I'm going to make the summer ball to be perfectly frank.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Endgame
This past weekend I went down to London to see a play. Endgame by Samuel Beckett. It was a very interesting play but I'll get to that later.
The Friday before I went though was a pretty interesting one. My theatre and cultural politics course was another really interesting one. This time we were discussing the ethics of Hell Houses which are "haunted houses" but they are told from a Christian perspective. So, there would be scenes depicted suicide or abortions or a gay man dying of aids or ravers and afterward they would be dragged down to the fiery pits of Hell by demons. It's all that fire and brimstone crap. The kind of Christianity which is really disgusting. Gandhi once said that "I like your Christ but not your Christians." So true. Another interesting quote came from one of our readings. "Haunted houses are meant to scare the bejesus out of you, while Hell Houses are meant to scare the Jesus into you."
However we were not looking at it from a perspective of good or bad performance. We were actually supposed to be looking at it fairly objectively. We were supposed to be looking at the mechanics of what this sort of theatre was doing. It was a very interesting lecture and the lecturer, John Warwick was another American. He was also asking very tough questions. He told us that all theatre is exclusionary in some form or another. It was hard hitting, blunt and to the point. We were not discussing ethics but mechanics.
Many people in the lecture were a bit thunderstruck by it and sort of either missed the point or tried to make it into an ethical debate. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it. After class, Serafina and I had a pretty lengthy discussion about it. We parted ways because she had to finish work on a project.
Later on that night, my friends from Oakley Court and I grabbed dinner at the pub. Green Man. God, I love that place. I wasn't planning on going but, hey I just can't say no to a good pub meal. I had the grilled lemon chicken with jacket (baked) potatoes and peas. I also had a pint of Guinness with it. I downed the Guinness pretty quickly. That stuff tastes so good. I had another pint. This time it was an ale called Ubu. I do enjoy a good ale. Don't worry, I'm not becoming an alcoholic. I do feel that one can enjoy alcohol responsibly.
The meal was good but I grew weary and headed home. I passed out and woke up that morning pretty early. I had soup for breakfast and killed time before I had to be at the station.
I collected my tickets and I was a little concerned by the way they printed out. I thought I had only purchased a one way ticket. Thankfully I hadn't but still, it was a worry.
The train ride down was uneventful. Although it was sunnier than normal which was a shock. I actually had to put my sunglasses on during the train ride. Once in London I grabbed a tube map and proceeded to head where I needed to go. I got off at Oxford Circus and I went to a Bella Italia for lunch. It's an Italian chain here in the UK. It's sort of like the Olive Garden only it's a lot nicer.
I headed to Embankment station and from there I went across the river Thames via a walkway bridge. I saw the Eye which is a giant sightseeing Ferris wheel. At the base were many street performers as well as a small Christmas market. I walked across another bridge and saw one of the major landmarks of London. Big Ben and Parliament. Big Ben isn't as big as they say. It's a little underwhelming. Old Joe, the clock tower on campus is actually taller than Big Ben.
After exploring around for a little bit, I headed back to try and find where I needed to go for my play. That was a bit trickier. Thankfully I gave myself plenty of time just in case something like this happened. I ended up taking several wrong turns. I broke down and bought a street map. Found where I needed to go and arrived with a 1/2 hour to spare.
Endgame is a play by Samuel Beckett. He is sort of a major figure in the play world. They recently had a showing of Waiting for Godot, his other seminal work which starred Ian McKellen. That play was so successful that they are bringing it back for a limited 10 week run in the spring. Yes, I'm going to buy tickets to see that.
Endgame doesn't really have a plot. It's four characters are living in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic world. Hamm is blind. Clov can barely walk. Nell and Nagg, Hamm's parents, live in waste bins. They more or less looked like demented Oscar the Grouch off of Sesame Street.
I'm fortunate at having seen the play because it was the second to last showing of it. It was a strange play. Intense doesn't even scratch the surface. I was very claustrophobic whilst watching it. I did have killer seats but the Duchess Theatre is a lot smaller than the Old Vic. One of the cooler set ideas was the window curtains, when moved, actually had quite a bit of dust fall from them. The door leading to the unseen kitchen creaked and creaked once open.
It was a one act play lasting only 100 minutes but I felt like I got my money's worth.
After the play, I walked around a bit in the rain and found a nice pub. I had fish and chips which were a lot better this time around as well as a nice good ale. Then I found my way to Euston train station and went home.
All in all it was a pretty good day.
For mementos of my play going experiences I plan on buying the programs of each show I attend.
The Friday before I went though was a pretty interesting one. My theatre and cultural politics course was another really interesting one. This time we were discussing the ethics of Hell Houses which are "haunted houses" but they are told from a Christian perspective. So, there would be scenes depicted suicide or abortions or a gay man dying of aids or ravers and afterward they would be dragged down to the fiery pits of Hell by demons. It's all that fire and brimstone crap. The kind of Christianity which is really disgusting. Gandhi once said that "I like your Christ but not your Christians." So true. Another interesting quote came from one of our readings. "Haunted houses are meant to scare the bejesus out of you, while Hell Houses are meant to scare the Jesus into you."
However we were not looking at it from a perspective of good or bad performance. We were actually supposed to be looking at it fairly objectively. We were supposed to be looking at the mechanics of what this sort of theatre was doing. It was a very interesting lecture and the lecturer, John Warwick was another American. He was also asking very tough questions. He told us that all theatre is exclusionary in some form or another. It was hard hitting, blunt and to the point. We were not discussing ethics but mechanics.
Many people in the lecture were a bit thunderstruck by it and sort of either missed the point or tried to make it into an ethical debate. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it. After class, Serafina and I had a pretty lengthy discussion about it. We parted ways because she had to finish work on a project.
Later on that night, my friends from Oakley Court and I grabbed dinner at the pub. Green Man. God, I love that place. I wasn't planning on going but, hey I just can't say no to a good pub meal. I had the grilled lemon chicken with jacket (baked) potatoes and peas. I also had a pint of Guinness with it. I downed the Guinness pretty quickly. That stuff tastes so good. I had another pint. This time it was an ale called Ubu. I do enjoy a good ale. Don't worry, I'm not becoming an alcoholic. I do feel that one can enjoy alcohol responsibly.
The meal was good but I grew weary and headed home. I passed out and woke up that morning pretty early. I had soup for breakfast and killed time before I had to be at the station.
I collected my tickets and I was a little concerned by the way they printed out. I thought I had only purchased a one way ticket. Thankfully I hadn't but still, it was a worry.
The train ride down was uneventful. Although it was sunnier than normal which was a shock. I actually had to put my sunglasses on during the train ride. Once in London I grabbed a tube map and proceeded to head where I needed to go. I got off at Oxford Circus and I went to a Bella Italia for lunch. It's an Italian chain here in the UK. It's sort of like the Olive Garden only it's a lot nicer.
I headed to Embankment station and from there I went across the river Thames via a walkway bridge. I saw the Eye which is a giant sightseeing Ferris wheel. At the base were many street performers as well as a small Christmas market. I walked across another bridge and saw one of the major landmarks of London. Big Ben and Parliament. Big Ben isn't as big as they say. It's a little underwhelming. Old Joe, the clock tower on campus is actually taller than Big Ben.
After exploring around for a little bit, I headed back to try and find where I needed to go for my play. That was a bit trickier. Thankfully I gave myself plenty of time just in case something like this happened. I ended up taking several wrong turns. I broke down and bought a street map. Found where I needed to go and arrived with a 1/2 hour to spare.
Endgame is a play by Samuel Beckett. He is sort of a major figure in the play world. They recently had a showing of Waiting for Godot, his other seminal work which starred Ian McKellen. That play was so successful that they are bringing it back for a limited 10 week run in the spring. Yes, I'm going to buy tickets to see that.
Endgame doesn't really have a plot. It's four characters are living in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic world. Hamm is blind. Clov can barely walk. Nell and Nagg, Hamm's parents, live in waste bins. They more or less looked like demented Oscar the Grouch off of Sesame Street.
I'm fortunate at having seen the play because it was the second to last showing of it. It was a strange play. Intense doesn't even scratch the surface. I was very claustrophobic whilst watching it. I did have killer seats but the Duchess Theatre is a lot smaller than the Old Vic. One of the cooler set ideas was the window curtains, when moved, actually had quite a bit of dust fall from them. The door leading to the unseen kitchen creaked and creaked once open.
It was a one act play lasting only 100 minutes but I felt like I got my money's worth.
After the play, I walked around a bit in the rain and found a nice pub. I had fish and chips which were a lot better this time around as well as a nice good ale. Then I found my way to Euston train station and went home.
All in all it was a pretty good day.
For mementos of my play going experiences I plan on buying the programs of each show I attend.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Postmodernism Back to Back
I had a pretty interesting Friday lecture in my Theatre and Cultural Politics course. So far that course has been pretty lethargic. None of the topics have been that interesting until last Friday.
We were discussing sort of Postmodern politics with beauty aesthetics and cybernetics. It's a little weird and hard to describe. We had to read Alan Ayckbourn's play Henceforward... which is about a man, his cyborg and a strange meeting to prove that he is a competent father who should be allowed to see his daughter. That's the gist. There's more to it as there always is. It was a pretty solid play. Typical of Ayckbourn in that it is absurdly funny in places.
Back to the discussion though. One of the articles we read involved this woman named Orlan who films her own plastic surgeries and sells them as art. Her face is now a pastiche of what "art" has called the human figure as beautiful. She has the forehead of the Mona Lisa for instance because that is what people have called beautiful. It's really complicated but the discussion it incited was pretty interesting.
At least it was to me and another girl. Saraphina is her name. It's a strange name but she seems pretty cool. what happened was we were discussing this woman and of course everybody is taking the very basic sides of either what she is doing is ethical or horrifying. Discussion wasn't really moving forward. Finally, after having my hand raised for quite a bit, I pulled discussion on another tangent. I asked the class how many were wearing makeup because isn't that changing your figure in some way shape or form? Isn't it changing your body even if it is only temporary? It lead discussion down a more useful tangent than the dialectical good or bad of what this woman was doing. Of course, whether you agree with Orlan or not, she has made a lot of money doing these surgeries so, I don't really think she ultimately cares about her face so much as her pocketbook.
Another little incident that happened in class was a few minutes and a few slides later we were looking at this other performer who had all these hooks in his body which could be moved by the audience members via computer. Yes, it's another ethical dilemma. We didn't spend much time on it but a lot of people in class made grimaces or small comments on how disgusting that was. I decided to say something way out of left field and asked, "What's wrong with a little sadomasochism?" Nobody laughed but Saraphina. Immediately I'm like, I need to talk with her after class. I feel like I made a friend that day.
Today in my thriller course we had an interesting discussion on postmodernism in relation to Paul Auster's New York Trilogy. It's one of my favorite topics. The professor asked who has studied postmodernism and I was the only one who raised their hand. It was a good lecture and I got to show off how much I already knew.
What was the most interesting was how lecture actually ended. It's held in the Richard Shackleton library which is a small room with a big table. It is surrounded by bookshelves. Some of these shelves have glass sliding panels. Literally, at the last moment of class, at the last comment from the lecturer, two of the glass panels fell off and smashed on the ground. It was close to three of us, me being one of them. It actually hit a girl's chair but thankfully she was leaning forward. It missed her by about three inches or so. Nobody screamed, nobody was hurt but everybody was stunned.
It was one hell of a way to end a lecture.
We were discussing sort of Postmodern politics with beauty aesthetics and cybernetics. It's a little weird and hard to describe. We had to read Alan Ayckbourn's play Henceforward... which is about a man, his cyborg and a strange meeting to prove that he is a competent father who should be allowed to see his daughter. That's the gist. There's more to it as there always is. It was a pretty solid play. Typical of Ayckbourn in that it is absurdly funny in places.
Back to the discussion though. One of the articles we read involved this woman named Orlan who films her own plastic surgeries and sells them as art. Her face is now a pastiche of what "art" has called the human figure as beautiful. She has the forehead of the Mona Lisa for instance because that is what people have called beautiful. It's really complicated but the discussion it incited was pretty interesting.
At least it was to me and another girl. Saraphina is her name. It's a strange name but she seems pretty cool. what happened was we were discussing this woman and of course everybody is taking the very basic sides of either what she is doing is ethical or horrifying. Discussion wasn't really moving forward. Finally, after having my hand raised for quite a bit, I pulled discussion on another tangent. I asked the class how many were wearing makeup because isn't that changing your figure in some way shape or form? Isn't it changing your body even if it is only temporary? It lead discussion down a more useful tangent than the dialectical good or bad of what this woman was doing. Of course, whether you agree with Orlan or not, she has made a lot of money doing these surgeries so, I don't really think she ultimately cares about her face so much as her pocketbook.
Another little incident that happened in class was a few minutes and a few slides later we were looking at this other performer who had all these hooks in his body which could be moved by the audience members via computer. Yes, it's another ethical dilemma. We didn't spend much time on it but a lot of people in class made grimaces or small comments on how disgusting that was. I decided to say something way out of left field and asked, "What's wrong with a little sadomasochism?" Nobody laughed but Saraphina. Immediately I'm like, I need to talk with her after class. I feel like I made a friend that day.
Today in my thriller course we had an interesting discussion on postmodernism in relation to Paul Auster's New York Trilogy. It's one of my favorite topics. The professor asked who has studied postmodernism and I was the only one who raised their hand. It was a good lecture and I got to show off how much I already knew.
What was the most interesting was how lecture actually ended. It's held in the Richard Shackleton library which is a small room with a big table. It is surrounded by bookshelves. Some of these shelves have glass sliding panels. Literally, at the last moment of class, at the last comment from the lecturer, two of the glass panels fell off and smashed on the ground. It was close to three of us, me being one of them. It actually hit a girl's chair but thankfully she was leaning forward. It missed her by about three inches or so. Nobody screamed, nobody was hurt but everybody was stunned.
It was one hell of a way to end a lecture.
North by Northwest: The Electric and Cinema in General
About three weeks ago... well, a long time ago... not exactly sure how long ago, I went to see North by Northwest at The Electric in city centre. The Electric is the oldest theatre in the UK. We're talking from like 1909 old.
It is a pretty interesting little cinema in that it is really hard to find. I walked right past it and didn't even know it was there. The seats were quite plush and in the back of the theatre were leather settees. My flatmate Adam and I wish we could have sat there but it was double the ticket price. The seats we sat in were that old red plush cinema seat. The screen was pretty small but the theatre itself was small to begin with. It was probably about the same size as the Bijou.
The cinema was also unique in that there wasn't really a popcorn machine or a soda machine. At least not any that I could see. What they did have behind the counter was a small bar. It looked like it was stocked really well. I took a glancing look at the prices but decided against it.
The lobby was also filled with vintage movie posters. The men's room was downstairs and leading down was one poster after another with Dirty Harry being at front and center towards the bottom.
http://www.theelectric.co.uk/index.htm
There's the link for the cinema's homepage.
As for the film, I loved it. I had seen it before but I had to watch it for class. It was the choice of watching it projected on 35mm or on a DVD. I think I'm going to go with the 35mm.
My flatmate, who had never seen or heard of it before enjoyed it. He and I have gone to see a lot of movies together either at film soc or at the actual cinema. We once did a double feature back to back of Harry Brown and 2012. These two films couldn't have been more different. Harry Brown is essentially like Gran Torino but with Michael Caine. I was blown away by it. It's not the film of the year but it is one of the better British films I have seen in a while. Comically, I feel that if Clint Eastwood brought back his Dirty Harry persona for Gran Torino and Michael Caine just brought back Get Carter, then in 15 years or so I want Bruce Willis to bring back John McClane. Basically I want Die Hard but in the suburbs.
2012 was just an alright movie. I didn't really go to that expecting anything dramatic or uplifting. I just wanted to see ridiculous special effects and everything in between. It was basically just fun for the most part. Although planes taking off and having trouble did wear a bit thin after a while.
Orange, my mobile carrier does a 2 for 1 cinema deal on Wednesdays. You just text film to 241 and they send you a little code which you can go to one movie with a guest and just split the ticket. So instead of paying £4 each you just pay £2. It's a pretty solid deal.
Last weekend we both went and saw Paranormal Activity. I'm sure it is a good film. I'm pretty sure it is but the crowd we saw it with was pretty unruly. They were loud, obnoxious, rude, crude and everything in between. I have a long list of names to call them but I really don't think anybody would really want to hear it. Adam and I were both annoyed to the point where we didn't like the movie. We both sort of had the same conclusion which was that the movie was probably pretty good but we just were so annoyed by the crowd that the experience as a whole just sucked. It is definitely on my re-watch list.
As for cinema in general, I am really digging film soc. I've started to talk with the president of the committee after each show. He even gave me some homework. The assignment, bring in recommendations for the next term's screening list. It's nice to have a say with a committee like that. While all of my choices won't be picked he did say he was really impressed with my list.
We and a few other members got talking for such a long time that we went through two pubs. One closed at 11 and the other one had last call at midnight. Instead of calling it quits right there, we just went back to some Belgian girl's flat and proceeded to have one of those 4 hour long conversations which is a little bit of everything.
Also, we had a Belgian beer little tasting. It felt like a wine tasting but with Belgian beer. I can't even begin to remember all the different beers we tried. She was kind enough to allow us to try them. She didn't really care about us paying her just because her parents had given them to her to remind her of home. She was even kind enough to give me a free bottle to take with me. She said that she would bring some back as long as I paid her. It would so be worth it. One was named Duvel... I can't even remember what all the others were called. The best one though was Grimbergen. I think I'm spelling that right. Anyway, that was the best one because of how good it tasted. It was a phenomenal beer which had so many different flavors. There were hints of chocolate, vanilla, berries, fruit, wood... it just had a little bit of everything.
That's really all I can think of interesting wise that has happened lately... well, that pertains to the topic at hand.
It is a pretty interesting little cinema in that it is really hard to find. I walked right past it and didn't even know it was there. The seats were quite plush and in the back of the theatre were leather settees. My flatmate Adam and I wish we could have sat there but it was double the ticket price. The seats we sat in were that old red plush cinema seat. The screen was pretty small but the theatre itself was small to begin with. It was probably about the same size as the Bijou.
The cinema was also unique in that there wasn't really a popcorn machine or a soda machine. At least not any that I could see. What they did have behind the counter was a small bar. It looked like it was stocked really well. I took a glancing look at the prices but decided against it.
The lobby was also filled with vintage movie posters. The men's room was downstairs and leading down was one poster after another with Dirty Harry being at front and center towards the bottom.
http://www.theelectric.co.uk/index.htm
There's the link for the cinema's homepage.
As for the film, I loved it. I had seen it before but I had to watch it for class. It was the choice of watching it projected on 35mm or on a DVD. I think I'm going to go with the 35mm.
My flatmate, who had never seen or heard of it before enjoyed it. He and I have gone to see a lot of movies together either at film soc or at the actual cinema. We once did a double feature back to back of Harry Brown and 2012. These two films couldn't have been more different. Harry Brown is essentially like Gran Torino but with Michael Caine. I was blown away by it. It's not the film of the year but it is one of the better British films I have seen in a while. Comically, I feel that if Clint Eastwood brought back his Dirty Harry persona for Gran Torino and Michael Caine just brought back Get Carter, then in 15 years or so I want Bruce Willis to bring back John McClane. Basically I want Die Hard but in the suburbs.
2012 was just an alright movie. I didn't really go to that expecting anything dramatic or uplifting. I just wanted to see ridiculous special effects and everything in between. It was basically just fun for the most part. Although planes taking off and having trouble did wear a bit thin after a while.
Orange, my mobile carrier does a 2 for 1 cinema deal on Wednesdays. You just text film to 241 and they send you a little code which you can go to one movie with a guest and just split the ticket. So instead of paying £4 each you just pay £2. It's a pretty solid deal.
Last weekend we both went and saw Paranormal Activity. I'm sure it is a good film. I'm pretty sure it is but the crowd we saw it with was pretty unruly. They were loud, obnoxious, rude, crude and everything in between. I have a long list of names to call them but I really don't think anybody would really want to hear it. Adam and I were both annoyed to the point where we didn't like the movie. We both sort of had the same conclusion which was that the movie was probably pretty good but we just were so annoyed by the crowd that the experience as a whole just sucked. It is definitely on my re-watch list.
As for cinema in general, I am really digging film soc. I've started to talk with the president of the committee after each show. He even gave me some homework. The assignment, bring in recommendations for the next term's screening list. It's nice to have a say with a committee like that. While all of my choices won't be picked he did say he was really impressed with my list.
We and a few other members got talking for such a long time that we went through two pubs. One closed at 11 and the other one had last call at midnight. Instead of calling it quits right there, we just went back to some Belgian girl's flat and proceeded to have one of those 4 hour long conversations which is a little bit of everything.
Also, we had a Belgian beer little tasting. It felt like a wine tasting but with Belgian beer. I can't even begin to remember all the different beers we tried. She was kind enough to allow us to try them. She didn't really care about us paying her just because her parents had given them to her to remind her of home. She was even kind enough to give me a free bottle to take with me. She said that she would bring some back as long as I paid her. It would so be worth it. One was named Duvel... I can't even remember what all the others were called. The best one though was Grimbergen. I think I'm spelling that right. Anyway, that was the best one because of how good it tasted. It was a phenomenal beer which had so many different flavors. There were hints of chocolate, vanilla, berries, fruit, wood... it just had a little bit of everything.
That's really all I can think of interesting wise that has happened lately... well, that pertains to the topic at hand.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Notes from the Underground Wind
I went down to London yesterday. It was my first time. While I technically landed in London at Heathrow it still doesn't really count.
I went down to see a play. Inherit the Wind at the Old Vic. Kevin Spacey was in the lead. I'll get to that later.
I woke up pretty early yesterday to catch a 9:30 train. The night before I had asked my flatmates on advice for traveling around that area. Mostly about the Tube but also about whether or not I should take my backpack. They said "Yeah. Just don't jump any barriers and you should be okay." There was an incident of a man getting shot to death for jumping the barriers with a backpack on. They also figured out which lines I needed to take. The Victoria to Green Park and from there I should take the Jubilee to Waterloo. The Old Vic is down the street from Waterloo.
I woke up, made myself some breakfast. Scrambled eggs, an English Muffin with cream cheese and Heinz baked beans. Beans on toast is also another wonderful meal I've discovered since being in country. Sounds disgusting but it isn't. I digress. I showered, shaved and hurried over to University station. Trained over to New Street and printed off my tickets there and hurried onto the train.
The train ride itself was about an hour and a half. It was a bit cramped but I managed. I just read a book for most of it.
Once I got to Euston station, it was ridiculous. So many people. The underground was flooding with patrons that they decided that people would pay at their stops rather than at their departures. I waited in line though. I bought a day pass just to make things easier on myself. I could ride any underground train I wanted as long as I had that card.
I got to Green Park and walked around. Green Park is located on Piccadilly one of the major thoroughfares in London. It was pretty cool seeing all the building around there right next to Green Park which is essentially like Central Park in NYC. There were also street vendors selling T shirts and oil paintings and everything in between.
I went back to the station only to find out that the Jubilee line was closed for repairs. I checked the map and went to Leicester Square though and walked around there. I took many photos. I want to go back when I'm not so stressed for time. That area had a lot of theatres for musical theatre and plays of that sort. I took photos of the marquees and of everything in between. I also walked around the National Gallery outside. It's free entry but I didn't have time to go in.
I did find a fish and chips shop and finally had fish and chips. It was pricey but I figured it would be. It's London basically add a pound to what you think it should be and that is what you're going to be paying.
Also the underground is hot. I sweated so much in there because of my coat, the number of people in such a small space and all the walking around just to get through the terminals.
After eating and wandering around I finally went to the Old Vic theatre. It's sort of out of the way and the building itself is a bit misleading. It looks small but it isn't. Once inside, and after I had picked up my ticket, I went to one of the bars in the theatre, they have those in theatres and I bought myself a drink. I also purchased a program for £4. It's pricey but it is a good memento.
I had arrived pretty early too. I couldn't remember if the performance was at 2 or 2:30 so I arrived at 1:30 just to be on the safe side. I just found a corner and kept reading my book.
I got my seat too. I was up in the top balcony. Even though I was that high, I didn't mind. There are aspects of theatre which you can see from that high up which you can't see from front and centre stage.
It was a hell of a show. The performances were really good. It started off slightly sluggish, I would chalk that one up the material itself. It's the last 2/3rds of the play that really shined. The challenges, the political undertones and the performances all come into full flower at that point. Also, the stage itself was pretty cool at how the actors brought everything on stage but you couldn't notice it. It was done so subtly.
Kevin Spacey was magnificent in his role but he didn't overplay it. It felt like an ensemble performance not a one man show. Everybody was solid and I felt like I had gotten my money's worth. Even the small performances which could get lost in the shuffle weren't.
Here's the trailer for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs8l8_ChRjg
I walked out of that theatre empowered. I also walked out of that theatre realizing that there is such a life to theatre which you don't really get in movies. Also, you don't get it in high school performances or amateur theatre (usually). Most plays I've been too, I've sat there bored but this one, I finally felt something. I finally felt pulled and sucked into the stage rather than sitting there objectively.
After the show, I wondered around a bit more. I saw some of the sights I had seen in the morning at night just to see if they were different. I went to Burger King and got a double whopper and after that I went another avenue on the underground and walked around some more. I went to Cafe Nero and bought a cafe mocha. Not bad, but not the best coffee I've ever had in the world. It definitely was a step above Starbucks.
I went to the train station and went home. I ran into some of my flat mates as they were on the way to the pub. I joined had a pint and then once we got home, I crashed.
It was a very long but very good day.
I went down to see a play. Inherit the Wind at the Old Vic. Kevin Spacey was in the lead. I'll get to that later.
I woke up pretty early yesterday to catch a 9:30 train. The night before I had asked my flatmates on advice for traveling around that area. Mostly about the Tube but also about whether or not I should take my backpack. They said "Yeah. Just don't jump any barriers and you should be okay." There was an incident of a man getting shot to death for jumping the barriers with a backpack on. They also figured out which lines I needed to take. The Victoria to Green Park and from there I should take the Jubilee to Waterloo. The Old Vic is down the street from Waterloo.
I woke up, made myself some breakfast. Scrambled eggs, an English Muffin with cream cheese and Heinz baked beans. Beans on toast is also another wonderful meal I've discovered since being in country. Sounds disgusting but it isn't. I digress. I showered, shaved and hurried over to University station. Trained over to New Street and printed off my tickets there and hurried onto the train.
The train ride itself was about an hour and a half. It was a bit cramped but I managed. I just read a book for most of it.
Once I got to Euston station, it was ridiculous. So many people. The underground was flooding with patrons that they decided that people would pay at their stops rather than at their departures. I waited in line though. I bought a day pass just to make things easier on myself. I could ride any underground train I wanted as long as I had that card.
I got to Green Park and walked around. Green Park is located on Piccadilly one of the major thoroughfares in London. It was pretty cool seeing all the building around there right next to Green Park which is essentially like Central Park in NYC. There were also street vendors selling T shirts and oil paintings and everything in between.
I went back to the station only to find out that the Jubilee line was closed for repairs. I checked the map and went to Leicester Square though and walked around there. I took many photos. I want to go back when I'm not so stressed for time. That area had a lot of theatres for musical theatre and plays of that sort. I took photos of the marquees and of everything in between. I also walked around the National Gallery outside. It's free entry but I didn't have time to go in.
I did find a fish and chips shop and finally had fish and chips. It was pricey but I figured it would be. It's London basically add a pound to what you think it should be and that is what you're going to be paying.
Also the underground is hot. I sweated so much in there because of my coat, the number of people in such a small space and all the walking around just to get through the terminals.
After eating and wandering around I finally went to the Old Vic theatre. It's sort of out of the way and the building itself is a bit misleading. It looks small but it isn't. Once inside, and after I had picked up my ticket, I went to one of the bars in the theatre, they have those in theatres and I bought myself a drink. I also purchased a program for £4. It's pricey but it is a good memento.
I had arrived pretty early too. I couldn't remember if the performance was at 2 or 2:30 so I arrived at 1:30 just to be on the safe side. I just found a corner and kept reading my book.
I got my seat too. I was up in the top balcony. Even though I was that high, I didn't mind. There are aspects of theatre which you can see from that high up which you can't see from front and centre stage.
It was a hell of a show. The performances were really good. It started off slightly sluggish, I would chalk that one up the material itself. It's the last 2/3rds of the play that really shined. The challenges, the political undertones and the performances all come into full flower at that point. Also, the stage itself was pretty cool at how the actors brought everything on stage but you couldn't notice it. It was done so subtly.
Kevin Spacey was magnificent in his role but he didn't overplay it. It felt like an ensemble performance not a one man show. Everybody was solid and I felt like I had gotten my money's worth. Even the small performances which could get lost in the shuffle weren't.
Here's the trailer for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs8l8_ChRjg
I walked out of that theatre empowered. I also walked out of that theatre realizing that there is such a life to theatre which you don't really get in movies. Also, you don't get it in high school performances or amateur theatre (usually). Most plays I've been too, I've sat there bored but this one, I finally felt something. I finally felt pulled and sucked into the stage rather than sitting there objectively.
After the show, I wondered around a bit more. I saw some of the sights I had seen in the morning at night just to see if they were different. I went to Burger King and got a double whopper and after that I went another avenue on the underground and walked around some more. I went to Cafe Nero and bought a cafe mocha. Not bad, but not the best coffee I've ever had in the world. It definitely was a step above Starbucks.
I went to the train station and went home. I ran into some of my flat mates as they were on the way to the pub. I joined had a pint and then once we got home, I crashed.
It was a very long but very good day.
Stratford-upon-Avon
A couple of Friday's ago, I sacked off a lecture. Don't worry, the professor puts the notes online. We're allowed to miss up to 3 lectures.I wasn't really interested in going to lecture as I'm not even going to write over what she was going to be speaking about. So, I decided it was worth missing this lecture.
I went down to Stratford upon Avon with my friend Victoria. We had planned a trip for reading week, the week where we didn't have class, but those plans had fallen through for sundry reasons. We went down to Stratford on a day trip. It didn't cost much. Just £4.10. We met up at New Street station, walked over to Moor street station which is very vintage and took the train out to Stratford.
The architecture there was much different than Birmingham. There were no tall structures at all. Every building looked like it had been there for well, for several hundreds of years. Lots of thatched roofs.
Everything in this town was Shakespeare this and Shakespeare that. It was great to be there for a day but I could not imagine myself living there.
Before we did any major sightseeing and meandering around, we went to a pub. I opted for a gamon with two eggs on top of it. I also had a true ale whilst there. Hobgoblin. It was pretty good. It's a true ale because the bar maid actually had to pump it out. It wasn't an electric pump. The gamon was a little salty but I didn't mind.
After lunch we walked around. Went to Shakespeare's birthplace. We didn't go inside, just because to merely go in was a tad outrageous just to see a small building. Eleven pounds was not exactly what I had in mind.
We also found a tobacconist and I purchased a Cuban cigar because, well, because here I can. It was a good cigar.
After walking around some more I spotted a sign pointed the direction to Anne Hathaway's cottage. The sign made it look like it was around the corner. A mile or so later it began to rain. We had passed that marker of, we've gotten this far. We're seeing the damn thing. Once there, we checked out the gift shop as a way to get out of the rain. We requested a taxi to pick us up and take us to the station.
I also bought myself a Shakespeare bust for my desk. I like it. It's a bit unnecessary I realize but still, it will be a way to remember the day.
Once we got back on the train to go home, which we caught in the nick of time there was an incident on the train. A young man, about a year younger than I, hadn't purchased a ticket which is a big "No no." It cost him a £20 fine. He off course went off complaining about it, that they were just stealing money from him etc. etc. even though it was obviously his fault. His friends took the piss out of him for this because they had all bought tickets. So, it wasn't that he was in a hurry but that he was just stupid.
That night, Victoria and I went to Nando's. It's a Portuguese chicken place. We split a combo meal consisting of chips, two grilled corn on the cobs and a full medium spiced chicken. That was a tasty tasty meal and reasonably priced. We also had bottomless soft drinks which is a rarity in the UK. They don't have free refills unless it's an American corporation which came in and doesn't realize that they don't have to offer that.
After that, we hung out at her place. Watched the drunken absurdity of her roommates getting ready for a night on the town and then I went home.
It was a pretty long but good day.
I went down to Stratford upon Avon with my friend Victoria. We had planned a trip for reading week, the week where we didn't have class, but those plans had fallen through for sundry reasons. We went down to Stratford on a day trip. It didn't cost much. Just £4.10. We met up at New Street station, walked over to Moor street station which is very vintage and took the train out to Stratford.
The architecture there was much different than Birmingham. There were no tall structures at all. Every building looked like it had been there for well, for several hundreds of years. Lots of thatched roofs.
Everything in this town was Shakespeare this and Shakespeare that. It was great to be there for a day but I could not imagine myself living there.
Before we did any major sightseeing and meandering around, we went to a pub. I opted for a gamon with two eggs on top of it. I also had a true ale whilst there. Hobgoblin. It was pretty good. It's a true ale because the bar maid actually had to pump it out. It wasn't an electric pump. The gamon was a little salty but I didn't mind.
After lunch we walked around. Went to Shakespeare's birthplace. We didn't go inside, just because to merely go in was a tad outrageous just to see a small building. Eleven pounds was not exactly what I had in mind.
We also found a tobacconist and I purchased a Cuban cigar because, well, because here I can. It was a good cigar.
After walking around some more I spotted a sign pointed the direction to Anne Hathaway's cottage. The sign made it look like it was around the corner. A mile or so later it began to rain. We had passed that marker of, we've gotten this far. We're seeing the damn thing. Once there, we checked out the gift shop as a way to get out of the rain. We requested a taxi to pick us up and take us to the station.
I also bought myself a Shakespeare bust for my desk. I like it. It's a bit unnecessary I realize but still, it will be a way to remember the day.
Once we got back on the train to go home, which we caught in the nick of time there was an incident on the train. A young man, about a year younger than I, hadn't purchased a ticket which is a big "No no." It cost him a £20 fine. He off course went off complaining about it, that they were just stealing money from him etc. etc. even though it was obviously his fault. His friends took the piss out of him for this because they had all bought tickets. So, it wasn't that he was in a hurry but that he was just stupid.
That night, Victoria and I went to Nando's. It's a Portuguese chicken place. We split a combo meal consisting of chips, two grilled corn on the cobs and a full medium spiced chicken. That was a tasty tasty meal and reasonably priced. We also had bottomless soft drinks which is a rarity in the UK. They don't have free refills unless it's an American corporation which came in and doesn't realize that they don't have to offer that.
After that, we hung out at her place. Watched the drunken absurdity of her roommates getting ready for a night on the town and then I went home.
It was a pretty long but good day.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Lazy About Blogging
I've kind of been lazy about blogging lately. Mostly because not much has happened in the past few weeks.
I've gone to the movies. I've gone to class. I've cooked for myself. I've bought more books. It's basically become a routine of reading, sleeping and studying. I go to film soc as much as I can.
We hang out in the flat and we all talk but really it's only conversation which is interesting to us.
Basically in the past few weeks not a whole hell of a lot has happened. I wish stuff had happened but seriously nothing.
We had reading week which was essentially a week in which people said they were going to study but... they didn't.
There was Vale fireworks during that week which happened on Guy Fawkes day. Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot.
It's sort of like the 4th of July. They burn effigies of Guy Fawkes. He was an anarchist who tried to blow up Parliament. He came close to. When he was caught, it was right next to the gunpowder. It would have done the job but it was wet. He was trying to light it. Essentially, it's the historical equivalent of getting caught with your pants down. They celebrate by blowing stuff up.
By the way, if he had managed to blow up Parliament, the whole world would be a different place right now. England would have gone into anarchy for a time. There would have been chaos.
Vale fireworks was fun... aside from the rain. The fireworks were set to music. Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Another way to Die (the Bond theme song), Eye of the Tiger and a few others. Star Wars was the closer. It was a good show apart from the soaking rain and the mud. I also was standing next to some jerk who didn't put his umbrella down. I got his run off and the rain on top of it.
There was also a small fair but we didn't go on any of the rides just because it was crowded and again, the rain.
I've gone to the movies. I've gone to class. I've cooked for myself. I've bought more books. It's basically become a routine of reading, sleeping and studying. I go to film soc as much as I can.
We hang out in the flat and we all talk but really it's only conversation which is interesting to us.
Basically in the past few weeks not a whole hell of a lot has happened. I wish stuff had happened but seriously nothing.
We had reading week which was essentially a week in which people said they were going to study but... they didn't.
There was Vale fireworks during that week which happened on Guy Fawkes day. Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot.
It's sort of like the 4th of July. They burn effigies of Guy Fawkes. He was an anarchist who tried to blow up Parliament. He came close to. When he was caught, it was right next to the gunpowder. It would have done the job but it was wet. He was trying to light it. Essentially, it's the historical equivalent of getting caught with your pants down. They celebrate by blowing stuff up.
By the way, if he had managed to blow up Parliament, the whole world would be a different place right now. England would have gone into anarchy for a time. There would have been chaos.
Vale fireworks was fun... aside from the rain. The fireworks were set to music. Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Another way to Die (the Bond theme song), Eye of the Tiger and a few others. Star Wars was the closer. It was a good show apart from the soaking rain and the mud. I also was standing next to some jerk who didn't put his umbrella down. I got his run off and the rain on top of it.
There was also a small fair but we didn't go on any of the rides just because it was crowded and again, the rain.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Jazz Guild, Selly's Sausage and Mobile
On Friday night some of us went down to the Guild, which is essentially the IMU but with a bar in it, to see some live jazz and blues. They were doing an open mic night for any musicians on campus who wanted to play.
Sadly, there wasn't much in the way of live playing but they still kept playing jazz over the stereo system. It was pretty crowded in there anyway and we were just around the corner from where the musicians were playing.
It was a very relaxing night of just cocktails and conversations. It was much better than any of the clubs I've been to. The closest thing to that in Iowa City is the Mill.
The night wore on into conversations and a late night jaunt through the area surrounding Oakley Court which lasted until four.
I woke up the next day around two. We were all going to Selly's Sausage for a brunch. I love that place. I can't speak highly enough of the full English.
This time though, I had the super big breakfast. It was three of everything. One thing I love with the big breakfast that it is so massive and with so many ingredients that it is very easy for them to forget something minor when they put it together. They had forgotten to give me black pudding which I'm okay with. I tried it. It was okay but I'm not going to go out of my way to eat it.
Afterward, Caitlin and I went off to the Bullring via train. I was in search of a phone or as the Brits call it a mobile.
I got a cheap pay as you go plan which I can top up as much as I need. I can get 100 minutes for 10 quid. I don't think I'll be on the phone that much.
I also went to the bookstore while I was in the area. It's not in the Bullring but it is down the way in sort of the shopping district. The previous week, when we were lost trying to find a place to eat, I had noticed this bookstore.
Waterstones. There is a small one on campus. This one though, is massive. It was three floors tall and felt like I was in a huge library. They also have one hell of a deal. Buy 3 and get 2 free.
Did I take advantage of this deal? Hell yeah I did.
I picked up for myself:
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
White Jazz by James Ellroy
I kind of have a problem with buying too many books. I've already bought several others.
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
I guess I'm at a point in which I would rather have a massive library than a massive DVD collection.
Sadly, there wasn't much in the way of live playing but they still kept playing jazz over the stereo system. It was pretty crowded in there anyway and we were just around the corner from where the musicians were playing.
It was a very relaxing night of just cocktails and conversations. It was much better than any of the clubs I've been to. The closest thing to that in Iowa City is the Mill.
The night wore on into conversations and a late night jaunt through the area surrounding Oakley Court which lasted until four.
I woke up the next day around two. We were all going to Selly's Sausage for a brunch. I love that place. I can't speak highly enough of the full English.
This time though, I had the super big breakfast. It was three of everything. One thing I love with the big breakfast that it is so massive and with so many ingredients that it is very easy for them to forget something minor when they put it together. They had forgotten to give me black pudding which I'm okay with. I tried it. It was okay but I'm not going to go out of my way to eat it.
Afterward, Caitlin and I went off to the Bullring via train. I was in search of a phone or as the Brits call it a mobile.
I got a cheap pay as you go plan which I can top up as much as I need. I can get 100 minutes for 10 quid. I don't think I'll be on the phone that much.
I also went to the bookstore while I was in the area. It's not in the Bullring but it is down the way in sort of the shopping district. The previous week, when we were lost trying to find a place to eat, I had noticed this bookstore.
Waterstones. There is a small one on campus. This one though, is massive. It was three floors tall and felt like I was in a huge library. They also have one hell of a deal. Buy 3 and get 2 free.
Did I take advantage of this deal? Hell yeah I did.
I picked up for myself:
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
White Jazz by James Ellroy
I kind of have a problem with buying too many books. I've already bought several others.
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
I guess I'm at a point in which I would rather have a massive library than a massive DVD collection.
Insomnia and Noise Complaints
This past week I had a few nights of restless sleep. One night, I stayed up all night and only passed out for a few hours before a class. I've been exhausted this past week because of it.
Some will say that it has everything to do with missing home or stress about something but those who know me best can tell you I've always had trouble sleeping. Plus the bed being as uncomfortable as it is, it's no surprise that I can't sleep.
What really sucked was the next day our entire flat was brought before the Housing Director or some such title of Pritchatts Park for making too much noise. Her name is Brynda (pronounced Brenda). Apparently, there have been noise complaints made against us for playing loud music at four in the morning. This is completely false. It's actually flat 10 who play the loud music or rave at four in the morning.
What was worse is that during the meeting, she wouldn't even listen to us. Wouldn't see our side. Would start to point out something while we were speaking. There was no communication at all.
Also, the fact that there were only four of us who could attend the meeting didn't exactly help our case.
Kerry, the quiet one in our flat, like really quiet, like never hear a peep quiet hates this woman now. Kerry has even mentioned that yes, a lot of loud music was played during Fresher's week (which even the housing director said they turned a blind eye to) but beyond that, we hadn't made any noise. We didn't host any parties and it may start in our flat but it moves on pretty quickly.
Essentially it was just a talking to. She mentioned that this happens every year and that people do get kicked out of housing. We promised to keep the noise down.
On Wednesday, I came back from hanging out with Victoria (we had to watch a movie for class together) and there were people in our flat making a lot of noise. Raving if you will but, and I checked this... I made sure of it, at 10:59 promptly the music went off. We're allowed to make noise between 8 AM and 11 PM. So, we fell within guidelines.
As I was eating a really late dinner, they all left to go out to the club. At around two or so, Caitlin had come back alone via taxi. She wasn't feeling very well. I stayed up with her, talked with her told her stories and made her some food and tea to calm her down.
At around four, Rod and the people who went out raving came back. Rod was a bit cross with Caitlin and I for being in the kitchen. His concern was noise complaints. We kept it down. He also got most of the ravers out of our kitchen and ushered them over to flat 10 who have yet to actually get a proper meeting in front of Brynda.
They made chips and promptly passed out. The following afternoon, Brynda shows up. She rang the doorbell and let herself in. What disrespect for our property. Even if you have a complaint against us, you can at least show us the courtesy of not waltzing into our kitchen without letting us get the door for you. Also, we are supposed to be given 24 hours notice before any official visits from staff which she failed to do.
I heard this secondhand but apparently, she told us about the noise complaints and that now she officially had names. She also tore down those official university posters which had been defamed with phrases which I will not repeat here. Of course, that happened during Freshers week and by her rationale of turning a blind eye to it, that should be okay. Also, we didn't write on our posters. Flat 10 did.
Rod and Harry, who both did not make any noise and I was there for when they got back from the club, had to go into a personal meeting with her. Essentially it was a stern talking to and sort of a final warning. It's ludicrous.
We all feel that because Harry had called our flat the party flat and had shouted it at the top of his lungs on several occasions, it has given us a bad reputation. We also feel like people are just blaming us because of that. We're not the ones who come home and shout at the top of our lungs, "Oakley Court!!! Wake the F--- UP!!!"
We're actually pretty quiet. Even Harry who was a party fiend during Freshers week has calmed down for the most part.
Some will say that it has everything to do with missing home or stress about something but those who know me best can tell you I've always had trouble sleeping. Plus the bed being as uncomfortable as it is, it's no surprise that I can't sleep.
What really sucked was the next day our entire flat was brought before the Housing Director or some such title of Pritchatts Park for making too much noise. Her name is Brynda (pronounced Brenda). Apparently, there have been noise complaints made against us for playing loud music at four in the morning. This is completely false. It's actually flat 10 who play the loud music or rave at four in the morning.
What was worse is that during the meeting, she wouldn't even listen to us. Wouldn't see our side. Would start to point out something while we were speaking. There was no communication at all.
Also, the fact that there were only four of us who could attend the meeting didn't exactly help our case.
Kerry, the quiet one in our flat, like really quiet, like never hear a peep quiet hates this woman now. Kerry has even mentioned that yes, a lot of loud music was played during Fresher's week (which even the housing director said they turned a blind eye to) but beyond that, we hadn't made any noise. We didn't host any parties and it may start in our flat but it moves on pretty quickly.
Essentially it was just a talking to. She mentioned that this happens every year and that people do get kicked out of housing. We promised to keep the noise down.
On Wednesday, I came back from hanging out with Victoria (we had to watch a movie for class together) and there were people in our flat making a lot of noise. Raving if you will but, and I checked this... I made sure of it, at 10:59 promptly the music went off. We're allowed to make noise between 8 AM and 11 PM. So, we fell within guidelines.
As I was eating a really late dinner, they all left to go out to the club. At around two or so, Caitlin had come back alone via taxi. She wasn't feeling very well. I stayed up with her, talked with her told her stories and made her some food and tea to calm her down.
At around four, Rod and the people who went out raving came back. Rod was a bit cross with Caitlin and I for being in the kitchen. His concern was noise complaints. We kept it down. He also got most of the ravers out of our kitchen and ushered them over to flat 10 who have yet to actually get a proper meeting in front of Brynda.
They made chips and promptly passed out. The following afternoon, Brynda shows up. She rang the doorbell and let herself in. What disrespect for our property. Even if you have a complaint against us, you can at least show us the courtesy of not waltzing into our kitchen without letting us get the door for you. Also, we are supposed to be given 24 hours notice before any official visits from staff which she failed to do.
I heard this secondhand but apparently, she told us about the noise complaints and that now she officially had names. She also tore down those official university posters which had been defamed with phrases which I will not repeat here. Of course, that happened during Freshers week and by her rationale of turning a blind eye to it, that should be okay. Also, we didn't write on our posters. Flat 10 did.
Rod and Harry, who both did not make any noise and I was there for when they got back from the club, had to go into a personal meeting with her. Essentially it was a stern talking to and sort of a final warning. It's ludicrous.
We all feel that because Harry had called our flat the party flat and had shouted it at the top of his lungs on several occasions, it has given us a bad reputation. We also feel like people are just blaming us because of that. We're not the ones who come home and shout at the top of our lungs, "Oakley Court!!! Wake the F--- UP!!!"
We're actually pretty quiet. Even Harry who was a party fiend during Freshers week has calmed down for the most part.
Bella Italia
Last Saturday we all decided to head into City Center to go to lunch and to do some light shopping at the Bullring.
That was a mistake and a half. On a Saturday, that place was jam packed with people going out to eat, doing shopping and all sorts of different things you could think of.
Also, we had that group mentality in which there are eight of us and no one can make up their minds.
After going from one place to the next and seeing one long queue after another, we still couldn't make up our minds.
Mark got royally frustrated and stormed off. We coaxed him back but still, he was quite agitated. Essentially, in a group of eight, we became politicians who know what they want (food in our case) but can't make up their minds to get it. I'm trying to imagine us trying to go to war with some country. We wouldn't be able to make up our minds let alone come up with a strategy to execute said idea.
Finally, we settled on Bella Italia. It was a sort of posh Italian restaurant. The menu was practically all in Italian. To be honest, I can't remember what I had... well, what it was called but I can tell you it was pretty good. It was some sort of noodles, peppers, cheese, chicken and sauce dish.
We had to scrap shopping because of how late it was. So, we decided to head back to Pritchatts Park. Later on we went out to the Green Man pub. That was... fun... too much fun. I'm noticing a pattern with myself here. My Achilles Heel is for pubs.
That was a mistake and a half. On a Saturday, that place was jam packed with people going out to eat, doing shopping and all sorts of different things you could think of.
Also, we had that group mentality in which there are eight of us and no one can make up their minds.
After going from one place to the next and seeing one long queue after another, we still couldn't make up our minds.
Mark got royally frustrated and stormed off. We coaxed him back but still, he was quite agitated. Essentially, in a group of eight, we became politicians who know what they want (food in our case) but can't make up their minds to get it. I'm trying to imagine us trying to go to war with some country. We wouldn't be able to make up our minds let alone come up with a strategy to execute said idea.
Finally, we settled on Bella Italia. It was a sort of posh Italian restaurant. The menu was practically all in Italian. To be honest, I can't remember what I had... well, what it was called but I can tell you it was pretty good. It was some sort of noodles, peppers, cheese, chicken and sauce dish.
We had to scrap shopping because of how late it was. So, we decided to head back to Pritchatts Park. Later on we went out to the Green Man pub. That was... fun... too much fun. I'm noticing a pattern with myself here. My Achilles Heel is for pubs.
Dr. Parnassass
Last week I went out to the cinema Friday night with Victoria. We both don’t really like the club scene. The noise. The flashing lights. All of it. It’s just kind of annoying. Also, people sound like complete idiots at those rave or clubs. Hormones raging and the noise… God, the noise isn’t exactly heavenly.
So, we went with an alternative. The cinema. Also, dinner. We went out to this buffet place called Around the World in 80 Dishes. It had everything you can think of from Italian, Chinese, Indian, as well as what they called Pan-American which was basically hot dogs and little mini hamburgers. Really good food and like all things which are really good, it is really pricy. Way more than I thought it was going to be. I don’t really want to reveal how much it cost here, but let’s just say my heart sank when I saw the check.
The film we saw was The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassass. It was Heath Ledger’s last film and the filmmakers had to use Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to finish the role. It seriously worked quite well because they are only inside fantasy sequences which easily explain why he would take on a different appearance. It was a good film overall but there were some unintentionally funny lines about Heath Ledger’s character coming back to life. Also, the first time we run into Heath Ledger is of him hanging off a bridge with a rope around his neck.
I caught the train back from Five Ways to University Station. I’m becoming a fan of the rail network here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A Typical Class
One notable thing about most of my courses, well, three of them anyway is that they take place not in some randomly assigned classroom, but in the actual professor's classroom. It is interesting for me just because I find it remarkably conducive to classwork.
Instead of being surrounded by small, cramped desks which have been pockmarked by students writing all over them, I'm now in a huge office surrounded by bookshelf after bookshelf of all things ranging from literary theory and criticism, huge anthologies, book and after book or play after play of things I have read, haven't read or want to read.
Essentially, it is like having a class inside of someone's small personal library. I love it.
I know it would be impossible at Iowa to do so. Mostly because there are too many students and the professor's offices at Iowa are so much smaller than the offices here.
Part of the fun is also seeing what professors have read or, at the very least, what the professor's have on their shelf. One noticed that I was looking around her classroom before seminar started and she asked what I was doing. I confessed that I was seeing what it was she had on her shelf and that I love seeing what people are reading, have read or what they are interested in. It's something I've done a lot.
I remember a few months ago having a good conversation with my friend Alex back in Iowa City on what he had on his shelf. He has an interesting collection of books. As do my college professors here and back at home from what I can remember.
Of course, I just have to hope I don't get caught looking at their shelves during the middle of seminar but I just can't help myself.
Instead of being surrounded by small, cramped desks which have been pockmarked by students writing all over them, I'm now in a huge office surrounded by bookshelf after bookshelf of all things ranging from literary theory and criticism, huge anthologies, book and after book or play after play of things I have read, haven't read or want to read.
Essentially, it is like having a class inside of someone's small personal library. I love it.
I know it would be impossible at Iowa to do so. Mostly because there are too many students and the professor's offices at Iowa are so much smaller than the offices here.
Part of the fun is also seeing what professors have read or, at the very least, what the professor's have on their shelf. One noticed that I was looking around her classroom before seminar started and she asked what I was doing. I confessed that I was seeing what it was she had on her shelf and that I love seeing what people are reading, have read or what they are interested in. It's something I've done a lot.
I remember a few months ago having a good conversation with my friend Alex back in Iowa City on what he had on his shelf. He has an interesting collection of books. As do my college professors here and back at home from what I can remember.
Of course, I just have to hope I don't get caught looking at their shelves during the middle of seminar but I just can't help myself.
In Search of a Winter Coat
This past Wednesday, instead of going to the optional film screening for class, I headed into the City Center to go to the Bullring, the massive shopping center in town.
I had been there before and it was again, a little overwhelming. It's a three story shopping center divided into two halves with the bottom floor connecting both halves. There's a huge bull in front of one of the entrances and one of the sides of the building is covered in aluminum discs.
I walked through that building for probably a good hour. I went from one store to the next trying to find a decent coat. I found some. However, there was always something wrong with it. Didn't like the color or didn't like the fabric. Wasn't sure if it would be warm enough or would it even be worth the price.
I took my search out to the streets and I walked around that area in and around the Bullring for about a half hour. I found jewelery shops (yes, I did look through the windows at the watches) and all sorts of different eateries and take aways.
I found a small little outlet mall right next to the Bullring called the Palisades. I felt it was a lost cause. I didn't really see any stores in there either until out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a decent coat.
My search yielded what I was looking for. The store was named Moss. They had proper overcoats, raincoats, trench coats and all the like. Double breasted. Single breasted. Everything. I found what I was looking for, a nice coat made of wool for £90. It's a good coat and it will be one to last for a while.
I actually had to use it today due to the rain. It kept me warm and yes, I realize that this is sort of a pointless blog post which is sort of vain but hey, I feel very Euro with this coat. It's much better than my old one.
I had been there before and it was again, a little overwhelming. It's a three story shopping center divided into two halves with the bottom floor connecting both halves. There's a huge bull in front of one of the entrances and one of the sides of the building is covered in aluminum discs.
I walked through that building for probably a good hour. I went from one store to the next trying to find a decent coat. I found some. However, there was always something wrong with it. Didn't like the color or didn't like the fabric. Wasn't sure if it would be warm enough or would it even be worth the price.
I took my search out to the streets and I walked around that area in and around the Bullring for about a half hour. I found jewelery shops (yes, I did look through the windows at the watches) and all sorts of different eateries and take aways.
I found a small little outlet mall right next to the Bullring called the Palisades. I felt it was a lost cause. I didn't really see any stores in there either until out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a decent coat.
My search yielded what I was looking for. The store was named Moss. They had proper overcoats, raincoats, trench coats and all the like. Double breasted. Single breasted. Everything. I found what I was looking for, a nice coat made of wool for £90. It's a good coat and it will be one to last for a while.
I actually had to use it today due to the rain. It kept me warm and yes, I realize that this is sort of a pointless blog post which is sort of vain but hey, I feel very Euro with this coat. It's much better than my old one.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Film Club
I had mentioned in a previous post that I was going to join the film club. I did. It essentially revolves around a massive crowd of students getting together to watch a film in a lecture theater.
The first one I went to was The Red Shoes by Powell and Pressburger. It is a stunning film and one which I was happy to have seen. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves musicals or just films in general. It deftly mixes stage work and fantasy settings with a sense of majesty as, in the middle of a performance, we enter into these characters visions of what the stage work is doing. It's a marvelous film and one which should not be missed.
I've watched a lot of films since I've been here. Mostly at film club or for class. I don't really have any time or any desire to watch them in any setting other than that.
I've already been to the cinema twice since I've been here.
Last Friday, my friend Victoria and I got together and we went on... I guess you could call it a date though I'm wary to word it as such. It was quite relaxing. We went to The Green Man - I'm becoming a fan of that pub - and had dinner. It was just good conversation. Eventually, we both in a flurry of excitement decided to head to the cinema. I have a feeling that the bottle of wine we shared might have had something to do with it though, that's all relative.
We headed back to University Station and grabbed a train to Fiveways. Her flat is in that area. We found out the showtimes and we weren't left with much due to the lateness of the evening. We decided to go and see Up in 3D. It just got released here. It was a bit strange seeing a film again which I've already seen.... months ago.
I love that movie. It was a lot of fun.
That following Sunday, my flat mates and I all decided to see a film together. We saw Inglourious Basterds. Some of my flat mates had seen it before. Some hadn't. For me, this was my fourth time having seen the film. I love that film.
I've noticed since I've been in this country that part of my journey, one which I didn't expect I'd take but one which has happened nevertheless is a rediscovery of what my passions are. I love film and I love literature. I'm noticing that even more since I've been in this country. Rod, one of my flat mates, describes me as an intellectual. Somebody had called me a geek or a nerd. He corrected them.
That was a wonderful moment for me just because I hadn't ever really thought of myself as such. I mean, I know I'm interested in intellectual pursuits but I hadn't thought of myself in that light. I guess him calling me that has been part of my reawakening to what my drives and pursuits are.
They haven't really changed much now that I think of it, but dammit, they have been strengthened. I still have the same long term goals and desires. Now, everything just seems to be coming into a deeper sense of clarity.
The first one I went to was The Red Shoes by Powell and Pressburger. It is a stunning film and one which I was happy to have seen. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves musicals or just films in general. It deftly mixes stage work and fantasy settings with a sense of majesty as, in the middle of a performance, we enter into these characters visions of what the stage work is doing. It's a marvelous film and one which should not be missed.
I've watched a lot of films since I've been here. Mostly at film club or for class. I don't really have any time or any desire to watch them in any setting other than that.
I've already been to the cinema twice since I've been here.
Last Friday, my friend Victoria and I got together and we went on... I guess you could call it a date though I'm wary to word it as such. It was quite relaxing. We went to The Green Man - I'm becoming a fan of that pub - and had dinner. It was just good conversation. Eventually, we both in a flurry of excitement decided to head to the cinema. I have a feeling that the bottle of wine we shared might have had something to do with it though, that's all relative.
We headed back to University Station and grabbed a train to Fiveways. Her flat is in that area. We found out the showtimes and we weren't left with much due to the lateness of the evening. We decided to go and see Up in 3D. It just got released here. It was a bit strange seeing a film again which I've already seen.... months ago.
I love that movie. It was a lot of fun.
That following Sunday, my flat mates and I all decided to see a film together. We saw Inglourious Basterds. Some of my flat mates had seen it before. Some hadn't. For me, this was my fourth time having seen the film. I love that film.
I've noticed since I've been in this country that part of my journey, one which I didn't expect I'd take but one which has happened nevertheless is a rediscovery of what my passions are. I love film and I love literature. I'm noticing that even more since I've been in this country. Rod, one of my flat mates, describes me as an intellectual. Somebody had called me a geek or a nerd. He corrected them.
That was a wonderful moment for me just because I hadn't ever really thought of myself as such. I mean, I know I'm interested in intellectual pursuits but I hadn't thought of myself in that light. I guess him calling me that has been part of my reawakening to what my drives and pursuits are.
They haven't really changed much now that I think of it, but dammit, they have been strengthened. I still have the same long term goals and desires. Now, everything just seems to be coming into a deeper sense of clarity.
First Week of School
Admittedly, this is a little late.
My first week of school went fine. Finding all of my classes was simple and easy enough. Except for my class at the Selly Oak campus which is about a 50 minute walk from the main campus. I have been given a bus pass for that course. However, I did not realize that there is more than one 44 bus. They all go to the same places but at different times. I got on the 44 going into City Center when I should have gotten a bus heading up Bristol Road, headed towards Selly Oak. I ended up there just the same but it was about 10 minutes later than I needed to be. I was on the bus for about 50 minutes instead of just the normal 10 minute ride between the main campus and Selly Oak.
It could have been worse. While I was late, I still managed to participate in a class of about 60.
The most interesting first class had to be my Cold War and Film course, not so much for the course itself but for what happened afterwards. It was just an introductory day in which we went around the table introduced ourselves, got the syllabus and left.
Afterwards though, I got to talking to one of my classmates, Victoria Lester. We went down to Selly's Sausage for a full English - which is massive I might add - and proceeded to have a five hour conversation which covered a lot of topics. I can't really remember them all. We didn't really plan on having that long of a conversation. It just happened that way.
My other courses are fine. Most of them are small discussion based courses. I enjoy them all and they are all interesting albeit some are more interesting than others. I'm not a big fan of my Voicing Women course mostly due to the fact that it is stuff written in and around Shakespeare's time. It's tough material to read.
I am enjoying my Thriller, Film and Theory course. That is a lot of fun. We are reading stuff ranging from Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes, The Big Sleep and other detective based fiction. Thrillers. Light easy reading which is fun and exciting.
My first week of school went fine. Finding all of my classes was simple and easy enough. Except for my class at the Selly Oak campus which is about a 50 minute walk from the main campus. I have been given a bus pass for that course. However, I did not realize that there is more than one 44 bus. They all go to the same places but at different times. I got on the 44 going into City Center when I should have gotten a bus heading up Bristol Road, headed towards Selly Oak. I ended up there just the same but it was about 10 minutes later than I needed to be. I was on the bus for about 50 minutes instead of just the normal 10 minute ride between the main campus and Selly Oak.
It could have been worse. While I was late, I still managed to participate in a class of about 60.
The most interesting first class had to be my Cold War and Film course, not so much for the course itself but for what happened afterwards. It was just an introductory day in which we went around the table introduced ourselves, got the syllabus and left.
Afterwards though, I got to talking to one of my classmates, Victoria Lester. We went down to Selly's Sausage for a full English - which is massive I might add - and proceeded to have a five hour conversation which covered a lot of topics. I can't really remember them all. We didn't really plan on having that long of a conversation. It just happened that way.
My other courses are fine. Most of them are small discussion based courses. I enjoy them all and they are all interesting albeit some are more interesting than others. I'm not a big fan of my Voicing Women course mostly due to the fact that it is stuff written in and around Shakespeare's time. It's tough material to read.
I am enjoying my Thriller, Film and Theory course. That is a lot of fun. We are reading stuff ranging from Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes, The Big Sleep and other detective based fiction. Thrillers. Light easy reading which is fun and exciting.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Bullring Pub
A week ago, myself and my flat mates all went out to the Bullring. This is a shopping center inside of Birmingham city center. It's huge. One side of it is covered in aluminum discs.
It's like any mall only a lot more compact and a lot more post modern. Some of the stores just blend together. I mean that quite literally. There are some shops which are just what they are... shops. For instance, there was a sports store we went to. Some were on a mission to find retro sports gear for a club night theme.
I was only there to find an alarm clock. I found one for 12 quid. For those of you who don't know, quid is a slang term for pound. It's not amazing. It just does the job.
Also, the Bullring is famous for a statue of a maroon-ish bull statue which stands outside guarding the front entrance. I forgot to take a photo but I have a feeling we are going to go back again.
Mark bought himself a mini table tennis set. It's now been resting on the kitchen table, which is quite small I might add, and will probably be there for the rest of the year. They play that game all the time. Sometimes whilst others are eating. The ball has landed in several peoples plates and it will probably happen again.
That night, we went up to Harbourne to go to a local pub called The Green Man. The food was quite reasonably priced as were the drinks. I found it interesting in that I spent more at the pub than I ever have at the club. It was a very good night to say the least. The food was also quite good too. I had gamon which is a grilled piece of ham with two eggs on top of it. It was a very good meal.
We also played the Pub Quiz. Essentially, everybody chips in £1 and each table is given a sheet. Then questions are asked. General knowledge. Sports. Movies and TV. That sort of thing. We came in second. That's not the first time we've had a pub quiz night. At the Pritchatts Park social, which is the campus sponsored bar for my village, we had one. My flat came in second that night as well. It seems to becoming a streak.
It's like any mall only a lot more compact and a lot more post modern. Some of the stores just blend together. I mean that quite literally. There are some shops which are just what they are... shops. For instance, there was a sports store we went to. Some were on a mission to find retro sports gear for a club night theme.
I was only there to find an alarm clock. I found one for 12 quid. For those of you who don't know, quid is a slang term for pound. It's not amazing. It just does the job.
Also, the Bullring is famous for a statue of a maroon-ish bull statue which stands outside guarding the front entrance. I forgot to take a photo but I have a feeling we are going to go back again.
Mark bought himself a mini table tennis set. It's now been resting on the kitchen table, which is quite small I might add, and will probably be there for the rest of the year. They play that game all the time. Sometimes whilst others are eating. The ball has landed in several peoples plates and it will probably happen again.
That night, we went up to Harbourne to go to a local pub called The Green Man. The food was quite reasonably priced as were the drinks. I found it interesting in that I spent more at the pub than I ever have at the club. It was a very good night to say the least. The food was also quite good too. I had gamon which is a grilled piece of ham with two eggs on top of it. It was a very good meal.
We also played the Pub Quiz. Essentially, everybody chips in £1 and each table is given a sheet. Then questions are asked. General knowledge. Sports. Movies and TV. That sort of thing. We came in second. That's not the first time we've had a pub quiz night. At the Pritchatts Park social, which is the campus sponsored bar for my village, we had one. My flat came in second that night as well. It seems to becoming a streak.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
My Flat Mates
I really like my flat mates. We are all very buddy buddy. We all get along fine. There are plenty of days in which we just sit around and talk for hours on end. There are ten of us. The kitchen, which is the communal area, can get pretty crowded from time to time.
There is Caitlin, she's a year younger than me. She's a French and Drama student. She's sort of like the mother hen of our flat. Basically, if you had a problem or needed a shoulder to cry on, she'd be there to see you through it.
Rod is 22 years old. He worked once he was done with secondary school for four years. He's into political studies and international relations. He loves to party. He can neck back alcohol like none that I've ever seen before. I played a drinking game with him called Centurion. The goal is to drink 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes, one per minute. I got up to 82 before I had to call it quits. Essentially, he's coaching me on how to drink like a Brit. Don't worry, I'm not spending all my money on alcohol. Just some of it.
Adam is an economics major. He's got flaming red hair. He's a nice guy. I had a nice long chat about Harry Potter with him one night after he got back from the club. He drunkenly made himself curry. It was quite amusing but it was still an enthralling conversation.
Laura is studying Italian and Spanish I believe. After a while it is hard to keep majors straight. She's a spitfire. She knows how to banter very well. She doesn't necessarily talk the most, but she knows how to get a good line or two in there. She is very humorous. She's also a very good cook.
Kerry is a quiet one. I haven't had too many conversations with her just because she's usually in her room. She's nice though. She's studying archaeology. The difference between her and the rest of my flat mates is that she doesn't really go for the whole club scene like the rest have. I'm not a big club fan either so I can relate. Also, she can play the violin pretty well. We could hear her playing for hours on end.
Mark is a physics major. Like me, he is also a third year student. Most programs here only last three years but his is a four year program. He is a student mentor which is sort of like an RA but without the power of writing somebody up for drinking in the dorms (which is okay here) or noise complaints. He's a nice guy. A fast talker. He's from London which is probably why. He does have quite the deviant mind though.
Maggie is also an exchange student. She's from Canada. She works out all the time and if memory serves correctly, she is also going to join a triathalon society or something like that. She's pretty nice but I haven't gotten the chance to really get to know her very well. She's very health conscious.
We do have a 24 year old post graduate living with us. His name is Adam and he's studying to become a medic. I talked with him a lot earlier but I don't see him much anymore because of how much work he's doing. His room is literally just tubs and tubs of books. The rooms also aren't very big to begin with. He's pretty much packed in there like a sardine. He's a nice guy though and we get along just fine. He's also not really into the club scene.
Then there is Harry. He's a first year who loves to club and rave like no one I've ever seen. He's nice when he's sober but I'm not really a fan of him when he gets drunk. At one club, he apparently threw up eight times in there. Twice in the toilet and six times on the dance floor either in the corner or in a glass before he got thrown out. While that's kind of impressive that he was able to do that eight times before he got caught, it's also not very flattering. Don't get me wrong though, he is a nice guy and he will be there if any of us gets into trouble. For instance, we all went out to the club Risa. I got lost in the shuffle after a few hours. He found me on the street and we all piled into a cab. If he hadn't found me, I don't really know how I would have gotten home. We have gotten a noise complaint filed against us, in no small part due to him shouting chants on weekdays whilst he's absolutely plastered.
There is Caitlin, she's a year younger than me. She's a French and Drama student. She's sort of like the mother hen of our flat. Basically, if you had a problem or needed a shoulder to cry on, she'd be there to see you through it.
Rod is 22 years old. He worked once he was done with secondary school for four years. He's into political studies and international relations. He loves to party. He can neck back alcohol like none that I've ever seen before. I played a drinking game with him called Centurion. The goal is to drink 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes, one per minute. I got up to 82 before I had to call it quits. Essentially, he's coaching me on how to drink like a Brit. Don't worry, I'm not spending all my money on alcohol. Just some of it.
Adam is an economics major. He's got flaming red hair. He's a nice guy. I had a nice long chat about Harry Potter with him one night after he got back from the club. He drunkenly made himself curry. It was quite amusing but it was still an enthralling conversation.
Laura is studying Italian and Spanish I believe. After a while it is hard to keep majors straight. She's a spitfire. She knows how to banter very well. She doesn't necessarily talk the most, but she knows how to get a good line or two in there. She is very humorous. She's also a very good cook.
Kerry is a quiet one. I haven't had too many conversations with her just because she's usually in her room. She's nice though. She's studying archaeology. The difference between her and the rest of my flat mates is that she doesn't really go for the whole club scene like the rest have. I'm not a big club fan either so I can relate. Also, she can play the violin pretty well. We could hear her playing for hours on end.
Mark is a physics major. Like me, he is also a third year student. Most programs here only last three years but his is a four year program. He is a student mentor which is sort of like an RA but without the power of writing somebody up for drinking in the dorms (which is okay here) or noise complaints. He's a nice guy. A fast talker. He's from London which is probably why. He does have quite the deviant mind though.
Maggie is also an exchange student. She's from Canada. She works out all the time and if memory serves correctly, she is also going to join a triathalon society or something like that. She's pretty nice but I haven't gotten the chance to really get to know her very well. She's very health conscious.
We do have a 24 year old post graduate living with us. His name is Adam and he's studying to become a medic. I talked with him a lot earlier but I don't see him much anymore because of how much work he's doing. His room is literally just tubs and tubs of books. The rooms also aren't very big to begin with. He's pretty much packed in there like a sardine. He's a nice guy though and we get along just fine. He's also not really into the club scene.
Then there is Harry. He's a first year who loves to club and rave like no one I've ever seen. He's nice when he's sober but I'm not really a fan of him when he gets drunk. At one club, he apparently threw up eight times in there. Twice in the toilet and six times on the dance floor either in the corner or in a glass before he got thrown out. While that's kind of impressive that he was able to do that eight times before he got caught, it's also not very flattering. Don't get me wrong though, he is a nice guy and he will be there if any of us gets into trouble. For instance, we all went out to the club Risa. I got lost in the shuffle after a few hours. He found me on the street and we all piled into a cab. If he hadn't found me, I don't really know how I would have gotten home. We have gotten a noise complaint filed against us, in no small part due to him shouting chants on weekdays whilst he's absolutely plastered.
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