1.16.08 - london update #4

It's my bedtime, so I'm going to make this quick.
1. Theatre here is amazing. I can't get over it. We just saw Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre, and it was so great! I've never been much of a fan of Shakespeare, mostly because I've never seen one that can hold my attention, and let me tell you that we had a really busy day and I was half asleep by the time we sat down, but within 15 minutes of the play starting I was riveted. The acting was amazing; the two leads had such great chemistry; the set was really simple but the way they used the lighting and the revolve worked perfectly with everything. During intermission I mentioned how great the female lead was, and found out that she was Madam Hooch (the flying teacher and Quidditch ref) in the first Harry Potter movie! Also one of the guys was in the recent three Star Wars movies. I don't know which character because I haven't really seen those. Zoe (the female lead) really was fantastic though. I had never read this play before, but I really like it now. I think I'll watch the Emma Thompson movie version when I get home sometime.
2. Today was the longest day EVER. We were gone for 14 hours and we were speed-walking pretty much all of that time. In the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace I stumbled across a little room of some jewels and crowns, and I think I stared for about 20 minutes at this one crown and necklace. I've never been much for huge jewelry in the past, but I think I want to be Queen now. Just so I could go see plays every night and wear a lot of diamonds. And have Faberge eggs lying around my room. (Those things are pretty sweet...)
3. I'm going to see Ewan McGregor in Othello!
4. "Stronger" by Kanye West? My new favorite song. (Completely unrelated, but just thought I'd share.)

Sorry no pictures today... hopefully I'll get some uploaded tomorrow!

1.15.08 - london update #3

I never thought I'd be saying this, but production-wise, Lord of the Rings was the most amazing piece of theatre I have ever seen in my life. Just when I thought the special effects couldn't get any crazier, or the stage couldn't change any more, it did. I followed the plot pretty well the first act, but got kind of confused during the second. I expected to though, because I didn't know the story, and I loved the show so much that it didn't even matter.

We went to St. Paul's this morning. I don't think I've ever climbed that many steps to get to the top (it was around 500), and once we got up there it was raining and 70 mile per hour winds, but it was really cool to get to see the whole city. The cathedral is really beautiful too.

Another highlight of today was the Courtauld Gallery. Kelli and I weren't too excited at first about spending 2-3 hours in an art gallery, but it was AMAZING. There is nothing like being six inches away from a Monet or a Van Gogh. Although I think my favorite painter whose stuff we saw today was Seurat. It was really fascinating though. I'm officially a fan of Impressionism now.

Okay, it's 1:00 in the morning-- after the show tonight, we walked around for about an hour trying to find the Hard Rock Cafe, ended up giving up and going home and eating at KFC, but it was really late. So... good night!

1.14.08 - london update #2

So the jet lag is finally going away, which is nice. We spent the morning at the Museum of London, which was really interesting, then ate lunch there and went to the British Museum in the afternoon. That place was HUGE. It kind of makes me wonder how the British got all this really cool stuff (the Rosetta Stone, some huge Egyptian statues, a whole bunch of Greek statues from the Parthenon, etc.) because there was absolutely nothing in there that had anything to do with Britain. We got done there around 4; we hadn't seen everything but we were all really kind of museum'ed out at that point. Dr. Sandley took us to Leicester Square, where a lot of the theatres are and you can buy half-price tickets. Kelli and I walked around the West End a little bit, went back to the house to change, and came back to get tickets to The Woman in Black. It was really good! It was really scary. I definitely screamed out loud at one part. We had dinner right before the show at a little Greek place, and the "Greek salads" we ordered didn't have any lettuce! It was just tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and a block of Feta on top. Kind of weird, but it wasn't too bad. The hummus was excellent too.

Sandley had planned to take us to Sound of Music tomorrow night, but instead decided to get us tickets to Lord of the Rings: The Musical. Here's something of the conversation we had:

Me: Is it supposed to be good?

Dr. S: Well, I've heard the set is AMAZING!

Me: What about the music?

Dr. S: Mr. O says it sounds like Enya.

Stay tuned for updates on that one. Tomorrow there's a 90% chance of rain so I'm breaking out the rain boots. We're going to St. Paul's, then some kind of art gallery that I can't remember the name of. Then we'll probably hit up the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner because we apparently will have a good discount with these London Passes we're getting, and then it's Lord of the Rings time. Anyways, it's after midnight so I should get to bed. Good night!

1.13.08 - london update #1

Five things I have learned during my roughly 12 hours in the UK so far:

1. Yes, the British indeed use the words "fiver," "tenner," and "quid" to describe their money. I know that people in Nick Hornby books and British movies talk like this, but somehow it still amazes me to hear people use these terms in real life.

2. They get very irritated when groups of 40 American college students don't know the rules. (Standing on an escalator is apparently only permitted in a single-file line on the right so that people who are in a hurry can sprint past you on the left.) One gentleman yelled at us this morning as he was hurtling full-speed toward the mass on the escalator, "Stand on the RIGHT! WALK on the Left! That's how we do it in London."

3. Everything is small here. The houses, the rooms, the beds, the wardrobes, the grocery stores, the clothing stores, the restaurants, the restaurant tables, the people. (Refer to #5).

4. They have changed the five-pence coin sometime since 1970 and mine got rejected today while I was trying to buy two oranges at Tesco. The guy gave me a really funny look and said "Uh, this is a very old five-pence coin. We don't accept these anymore." Seems like a ripoff to me.

5. They dress immensely better here than anywhere I've ever been in the US. Granted, I've never been to New York, so it could just be a big-city thing, but I feel like everyone I pass on the street has just stepped out of a Vogue photoshoot. Whereas most of the people I see in my home country look like they just came from a photoshoot for the "Before" section of one of those L.A. Weight Loss ads.

More to come later. At the top is a picture I took of Buckingham Palace today (Notice the flag is flying, which means the Queen was inside!) Anyways, I haven't slept in 30 hours... so, I'm off to do that. Leave a comment! I miss everybody!

I had a very music-snob moment yesterday. Not that I consider myself a music snob, or even want to. Because I like listening to Taylor Swift as much as (maybe more than) the next person, and I turn up the radio whenever Gwen Stefani gets played, and I think Kelly Clarkson’s new CD is a lyrical masterpiece, and I sing along to Nickelback. And if I entered the world of music-snobdom then I’d probably have to give all that up, or at least not tell anyone I like it—which I just did, so I guess that option’s out. Anyways, what I was going to say about yesterday is that I was in the mall, and I popped into Bath and Body Works because they were having a sale, and this song, “Right Moves” by Josh Ritter, came on. This probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, except I just bought his CD the other day, and I’ve been feeling rather smug that I discovered this amazing folk artist that most people don’t have a clue about. Most people who shop in Bath and Body Works probably don’t, anyway. So I hummed along under my breath as I bought my $1 bottle of soap and felt immensely good about myself. Until I walked out of the store and noticed that I was, in fact, the only person within a five-mile radius who had come shopping without my mom, or my boyfriend, or my sixteen closest girlfriends. I rather enjoy shopping by myself, actually, so it wasn’t a big deal, but it didn’t stop me from realizing that everyone who passed me was probably thinking, “oh that poor girl—she should really get some friends.” I have plenty of friends, thank you very much, I felt like retorting to them; I just don’t feel the need to bring them along to help me shop for my $300 boots like you did. And I listen to better music than you. Take that.


Oh, and here's the song, in the case that your music collection is inferior to mine.


(That was a joke.)

Public Service Announcement

My friend Andrew and I just started Musical Moxie, a multi-author music blog, and all future music will be posted over there. Also, if you want to join with us and share your favorite music with the world, leave a comment over there or drop me an email. Please check it out!

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

In honor of the arrival of Christmas music season, here are five of my favorite essential Christmas albums.

1. Amy Grant - A Christmas Album
Let me first preface this by saying that Amy Grant is the music I grew up on. Christmas in my house is not Christmas if we don't listen to her three Christmas albums over and over again. And up until I gifted Mom with all three of them in CD format a couple years ago, we listened to this one on vinyl. Anyways, the whole album is definitely a classic, but my favorite song from it is this rearrangement of "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Actually, it might be my favorite Christmas song of all time.
Amy Grant - Little Town

2. Celine Dion - These Are the Special Times
I love Celine Dion, and she definitely knows how to do Christmas music. Her version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is phenomenal, but the original stuff on here is great too. "Christmas Eve" is a fun song about being in love on Christmas.
Celine Dion - O Come All Ye Faithful
Celine Dion - Christmas Eve


3. Avalon - Joy
I don't have too much to say about this one. Avalon is great, and this whole CD is one of my most frequently played albums this time of year. I don't know if this cover of David Meece's "We Are the Reason" is considered a Christmas song, but it's on the album and it's gorgeous so here it is.
Avalon - We Are the Reason

4. Relient K - Deck the Halls Bruise Your Hand
Often times during this season I find myself wanting something more upbeat, since most Christmas tunes are so mellow. That's when I pull out my Relient K. The songs range from jazzed up versions of the classics (a cover of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah) to the simply hilarious ("Santa Claus is Thumbin' to Town" -- ode to a hitchhiking Santa).
Relient K - Handel's Messiah (The Hallelujah Chorus)
Relient K - Santa Claus is Thumbin' to Town

5. Point of Grace - A Christmas Story
I just realized that all the albums on my list except one are by Christian artists. That's really because that's the majority of the Christmas music I have... I'm not sure why, but probably because there was a time when Christian music was mostly all I listened to, and I think it only makes sense that these artists really know how to do Christmas music because it's central to the faith. Anyways, Point of Grace is no exception. Their harmonies are beautifully spot-on as these girls' always are and the four original songs on here have become classics to me. Here's one of them.
Point of Grace - When Love Came Down