Sorry for the lack of posts recently, but there won't be any more posts until the end of next week because I have 3 papers due next week. Expect a flurry of posts over Easter weekend, I've got lots to cover! But in the mean time, here is this video of the Tower Bridge that I made:
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A ydym yn oes eto?/Are we there yet? (Adventure Weekend in Wales)
Last weekend was Adventure weekend for all of us in the Butler Program, and they took us to Wales for the weekend. The weekend began with a bus trip departing London at 9 am. But the bus was late getting there and we didn't end up leaving until 9:30 am. We were supposed to get to the hotel around 3 pm, but because the driver made a wrong turn (or more like missed the correct one), and we finally arrived at the hotel around 5 pm.
After dinner that night, we had a pub quiz. At dinner we had divided into to teams, but we had not settled on a name for our team. We finally settled on "Spotted Dick" in honor of the desert we all had at dinner the first night here in England. Each round was a certain category, "Entertainment", "Sports & Leisure", "History, Art, & Literature", "Geography","General Knowledge", "Science & Nature", and a picture round. After all the scores were tallied, we came in second behind the IFSA staff, who always drop out before the final sudden-death round, so basically we were in first.
But there was one final round. The way this round worked was the first and second place teams sent two people up and they would answer questions and the last team with someone standing would win. Trouble is there was a 3 way tie for second, and they ran out of questions with 3 teams remaining. What to do? The staff decided that the winner would be decided who could guess the height of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales and right next to the hotel. When all was said and done, Spotted Dick was all of 29 feet off (actual height: 3,560 feet), and were declared winners, taking home the prize of a giant jar of chocolate.
The next day was the main event of Adventure weekend. We had to sign up for either a morning and an afternoon activity (go karts, half day hike, mountain biking, canoeing, high ropes, or low ropes) or do the full day hike to the top of Mount Snowdon. I opted for the full day hike. As I was tying the boots they provided (for which I am very grateful), I found out that we would in fact not be going up Mount Snowdon, because it was living up to its name. There was too much snow. But we did up seeing a lot of sheep during the day:
We did go up Moel Eilio, which was a lower peak in Snowdonia National Park at a mere 2,382 feet. It was painful hiking up the mountain and I am just now recovering from the soreness in my legs. All I can say is that I am thankful we did not do Snowdon. It was a fairly clear day, but on a really clear day you can actually see the Irish coast from the top of Moel Eilio.
An abandoned slate mine:
And Mount Snowdon itself:
That night Butler threw a party for everyone, which was a lot of fun. The main event on Sunday a trip to Llandudno, a beautiful seaside town with an impressive beach. Here are a couple of pictures:
After dinner that night, we had a pub quiz. At dinner we had divided into to teams, but we had not settled on a name for our team. We finally settled on "Spotted Dick" in honor of the desert we all had at dinner the first night here in England. Each round was a certain category, "Entertainment", "Sports & Leisure", "History, Art, & Literature", "Geography","General Knowledge", "Science & Nature", and a picture round. After all the scores were tallied, we came in second behind the IFSA staff, who always drop out before the final sudden-death round, so basically we were in first.
But there was one final round. The way this round worked was the first and second place teams sent two people up and they would answer questions and the last team with someone standing would win. Trouble is there was a 3 way tie for second, and they ran out of questions with 3 teams remaining. What to do? The staff decided that the winner would be decided who could guess the height of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales and right next to the hotel. When all was said and done, Spotted Dick was all of 29 feet off (actual height: 3,560 feet), and were declared winners, taking home the prize of a giant jar of chocolate.
The next day was the main event of Adventure weekend. We had to sign up for either a morning and an afternoon activity (go karts, half day hike, mountain biking, canoeing, high ropes, or low ropes) or do the full day hike to the top of Mount Snowdon. I opted for the full day hike. As I was tying the boots they provided (for which I am very grateful), I found out that we would in fact not be going up Mount Snowdon, because it was living up to its name. There was too much snow. But we did up seeing a lot of sheep during the day:
We did go up Moel Eilio, which was a lower peak in Snowdonia National Park at a mere 2,382 feet. It was painful hiking up the mountain and I am just now recovering from the soreness in my legs. All I can say is that I am thankful we did not do Snowdon. It was a fairly clear day, but on a really clear day you can actually see the Irish coast from the top of Moel Eilio.
An abandoned slate mine:
And Mount Snowdon itself:
That night Butler threw a party for everyone, which was a lot of fun. The main event on Sunday a trip to Llandudno, a beautiful seaside town with an impressive beach. Here are a couple of pictures:
Monday, March 8, 2010
Everything Between Scotland and Wales
After returning from Scotland, it was time to hit the books with two assignments due the following week. Most of the time was filled with sleeping in and doing work, but I did take a break on Tuesday to meet Aubrey for a walking tour of London.
The tour we went on was "Somewhere Else" London, which focused on sites that you might not normally discover on your own. We walked around the South Bank a lot and probably the highlight of the tour was going to the top of the OXO Tower to get a view of the city:
One reason it was the highlight was because we got out of the crappy weather. Everyone wanted to linger inside, but we had to move on. We ended up by the Old Vic (which I will be going to next week) and Waterloo Station.
Aubrey and I then went to try and find the location where they filmed Grimmauld Place in the fifth Harry Potter movie. I had checked imdb.com for filming locations and we went to where it said it was, but couldn't find a house that looked exactly like it, but this one came close:
We then decided to get out of the rain, so we headed into the nearest pub for a drink, where I had the best cider I've ever had and Aubrey had a whiskey and tea, which I want to try at some point.
The following weekend was the London weekend for other IFSA students studying outside of London, so I met up with Madison and went to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's final performance of Twelfth Night. We got front row seats for £5.
Yes, you read that right. Front row seats to the final performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company for only £5.
The show was amazing, but I kept making comparisons to the production we did at F&M. Being involved in a production gets you emotionally invested in it, so it is really hard to judge which is better, but there were parts where I preferred one show over the other. An example of this was the way they did the storm at the beginning of the show. The RSC just had a wave prop sitting in the back corner of the stage, on which they projected a video of waves while flashing the lights. At F&M, we had a much more intense storm where we not only flashed lights, but had thunder sound effects, waving pieces of blue and white cloth to simulate the waves, and the actors playing Sebastian and Viola moved around the stage as if they were being tossed on the waves.
That's all for now. Look for another blog post covering my trip to Wales in the next day or two, but for now, I give you this picture from the trip as a preview:
The tour we went on was "Somewhere Else" London, which focused on sites that you might not normally discover on your own. We walked around the South Bank a lot and probably the highlight of the tour was going to the top of the OXO Tower to get a view of the city:
One reason it was the highlight was because we got out of the crappy weather. Everyone wanted to linger inside, but we had to move on. We ended up by the Old Vic (which I will be going to next week) and Waterloo Station.
Aubrey and I then went to try and find the location where they filmed Grimmauld Place in the fifth Harry Potter movie. I had checked imdb.com for filming locations and we went to where it said it was, but couldn't find a house that looked exactly like it, but this one came close:
We then decided to get out of the rain, so we headed into the nearest pub for a drink, where I had the best cider I've ever had and Aubrey had a whiskey and tea, which I want to try at some point.
The following weekend was the London weekend for other IFSA students studying outside of London, so I met up with Madison and went to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's final performance of Twelfth Night. We got front row seats for £5.
Yes, you read that right. Front row seats to the final performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company for only £5.
The show was amazing, but I kept making comparisons to the production we did at F&M. Being involved in a production gets you emotionally invested in it, so it is really hard to judge which is better, but there were parts where I preferred one show over the other. An example of this was the way they did the storm at the beginning of the show. The RSC just had a wave prop sitting in the back corner of the stage, on which they projected a video of waves while flashing the lights. At F&M, we had a much more intense storm where we not only flashed lights, but had thunder sound effects, waving pieces of blue and white cloth to simulate the waves, and the actors playing Sebastian and Viola moved around the stage as if they were being tossed on the waves.
That's all for now. Look for another blog post covering my trip to Wales in the next day or two, but for now, I give you this picture from the trip as a preview:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Overdosing on Cary Grant and a Dose of Darth (Scotland Days 5&6)
Day 5-Sun. 21 Feb.
Today was the big day for the Glasgow Film Festival with 3 films (all Cary Grant) on the bill, plus a special appearance by James Earl Jones. The Cary Grant films for today were Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby.
Only Angels Have Wings
The first film of the day was Only Angels Have Wings, which stars Cary Grant as the head of an airline flying the mail in South America that flies through a foggy pass. While the program billed as an "adventure yarn." I did not find the film very adventurous and fairly slow moving. Also, like Howard Hawkes, the director of the film, I did not find Jean Arthur's performance satisfactory. Grade B.
His Girl Friday
Better things were to come with the second film of the day, His Girl Friday. A screen adaptation of the stage play, Front Page, this film was an incredibly fast-paced, witty comedy.Cary Grant plays a newspaper editor who will do just about anything to get his best writer to stay and not go off and marry an insurance salesman. The star reporter, played by Rosalind Russell in a fantastic performance, also happens to be his ex-wife. Russell was actually director Howard Hawkes' last choice to play the role. After seeing her performance, you are sure that any doubts Hawkes may have had are completely gone. Grade A.
Then it was time for a break from the films, but not from the Film Festival. The next event was a special appearance by James Earl Jones. He came up to Glasgow from London, where he is currently starring in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, to discuss his film career and take some questions.
The session began with a series of clips from some of his movies. He then did an interview with one of the directors of the Film Fest. When asked about his varied career in television, film, and stage, he said he prefers not to be associated with a certain medium. He then took questions from the audience. I left with a strong desire to go and watch as many of his films as I could. Unfortunately he did not sign autographs, but I did wait outside in an attempt to get one, and I wasn't the only one left disappointed. But on my way out, I did manage to snap this photo:
Bringing Up Baby
It was then off the final film of the day, Bringing Up Baby. Yet another comedy starring Cary Grant, but this time he starred opposite Katherine Hepburn, and again directed by Howard Hawkes. Overall, the movie was very funny, but it relied too much on the same comedic gags, such as people talking over each other so no one knows what is being said. This grew a little old after a while, but it nonetheless was still a very enjoyable movie. Grade B+
Day 6-Mon. 22 Feb.
Today was simply a travel day back to London, starting with a 7:30 am train to the airport. Luckily my hostel was close to the train station so I didn't have to get up way in advance of my train. My plane was delayed getting back because of bad weather at Stansted, which turned out to be very light mix of rain and snow, hardly enough to delay a flight for nearly an hour, especially when the flight itself was just over an hour.
Today was the big day for the Glasgow Film Festival with 3 films (all Cary Grant) on the bill, plus a special appearance by James Earl Jones. The Cary Grant films for today were Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby.
Only Angels Have Wings
The first film of the day was Only Angels Have Wings, which stars Cary Grant as the head of an airline flying the mail in South America that flies through a foggy pass. While the program billed as an "adventure yarn." I did not find the film very adventurous and fairly slow moving. Also, like Howard Hawkes, the director of the film, I did not find Jean Arthur's performance satisfactory. Grade B.
His Girl Friday
Better things were to come with the second film of the day, His Girl Friday. A screen adaptation of the stage play, Front Page, this film was an incredibly fast-paced, witty comedy.Cary Grant plays a newspaper editor who will do just about anything to get his best writer to stay and not go off and marry an insurance salesman. The star reporter, played by Rosalind Russell in a fantastic performance, also happens to be his ex-wife. Russell was actually director Howard Hawkes' last choice to play the role. After seeing her performance, you are sure that any doubts Hawkes may have had are completely gone. Grade A.
Then it was time for a break from the films, but not from the Film Festival. The next event was a special appearance by James Earl Jones. He came up to Glasgow from London, where he is currently starring in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, to discuss his film career and take some questions.
The session began with a series of clips from some of his movies. He then did an interview with one of the directors of the Film Fest. When asked about his varied career in television, film, and stage, he said he prefers not to be associated with a certain medium. He then took questions from the audience. I left with a strong desire to go and watch as many of his films as I could. Unfortunately he did not sign autographs, but I did wait outside in an attempt to get one, and I wasn't the only one left disappointed. But on my way out, I did manage to snap this photo:
Bringing Up BabyIt was then off the final film of the day, Bringing Up Baby. Yet another comedy starring Cary Grant, but this time he starred opposite Katherine Hepburn, and again directed by Howard Hawkes. Overall, the movie was very funny, but it relied too much on the same comedic gags, such as people talking over each other so no one knows what is being said. This grew a little old after a while, but it nonetheless was still a very enjoyable movie. Grade B+
Day 6-Mon. 22 Feb.
Today was simply a travel day back to London, starting with a 7:30 am train to the airport. Luckily my hostel was close to the train station so I didn't have to get up way in advance of my train. My plane was delayed getting back because of bad weather at Stansted, which turned out to be very light mix of rain and snow, hardly enough to delay a flight for nearly an hour, especially when the flight itself was just over an hour.
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