Evan's Wonder Blog

Posting

2011-12-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

Posting conundrum continues...

There comes a time when perhaps not everyone needs to know every thought as I have it.

If you want to know what I am thinking - call me up. Going low tech- feels more real.

Peace... out.

Posting conundrum

2011-08-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted (somewhat intentionally). I haven't lost my voice as much as I have lost the desire which makes me post. I feel like expressing myself via web might be making me act less in the real world to fix those things that I am posting about. Oddly, the more I was commenting about a topic online, the less I was actually doing to fix the problems I was posting about. The act of posting became my action, so to speak, rather than a call to action that it should be.

I won't be posting for a while. I would rather be acting in the real world than tossing out my ideas to an indifferent public and then leaving the issue for others to solve. Maybe it is my own nature which causes this. In fact, I am sure of it, but since it is the only nature I have, I will have to go with it. I am unlikely at my age to suddenly become someone else or change radically. I can, however, change my activities.

I could certainly post materials that do not require my action in the real world, something that seems rather useless to me. For me, I find that a successful blog would be posting material that is important to others but not so important to me- a paradox which makes doing a blog pretty much pointless. Until I have figured out this conundrum, I think posting will be a secondary concern for me and my posts will be fewer and farther between. Thanks for reading. GO OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD NOW AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL! :-)

Guinea Pig - good eats

2011-06-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Peruvian Travel tips

FOOD

As in all things in life, what you like someone else might hate. So it goes with food. Ever eaten Llama, Alpaca or Guinea pig? If not, your trip to Peru could settle it once and for all.

Someone's real house - food under foot!

I will NOT post a photo of a cooked guinea pig, but instead put a link- CLICK HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

More Machu

2011-05-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

More Peruvian Travel Tips

CUSCO

Cusco city central square with hills behind

ALTITUDE
Cusco city is in the center of Peru at an altitude of about 11K feet. Taking altitude sickness pills helps a lot, but it doesn't make it like you are living back at sea level. One thing that no one told us was that your digestion slows WAY down. Eating lunch is pretty much all you can manage in a day. Dinner was almost impossible to eat. So- eat a decent meal for breakfast, followed by a small meal for lunch and another small meal for dinner (each meal getting smaller as the day goes on).

STREET VENDORS
You may not be prepared for the number and tenacity of the city's street sellers. They are basically everywhere you turn and are pretty insistent. Feel free to say no (obviously) but it appeared to me that the more politely I refused, the more they would press me to buy. In the end, I found that a simple no with no eye contact followed by my complete dismissal of them was the best way to go. It sounds harsh, but there you have it.

Tomorrow... guinea pig (yep, not just a pet anymore- its a MEAL too!)

Machu Picchu Photo blog

2011-05-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Hi All

Looking at changing the direction of the blog a bit. I am hoping to do some photo uploads from my travels for a bit and also write down some tips for travel that I have gained through my many years of travelling abroad.

Tips for Peru

1. Lima is a pretty crowded and dangerous city- See it with a guide and keep your valuables either locked up in your hotel or in a secure bag.
2. The money in Peru is called Sol (plural would be soles). It is currently about 3 Sole to 1 USD.
3. Visiting Machu Picchu is a great thing - Here are some photos from my visit. More to follow on other days.

Paul and I with Machu Picchu below and Huyana Picchu peak behind.

Ollantaytambo Town with locals

More photos later!

Post before a holiday

2011-05-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am going on holiday and won't post for a couple of weeks.. I know that in my absence, things could get a bit dicey, so I have made a decision. Until I return, I leave Stewie in charge. I expect that this will keep all of you in line!

Don't let his gaze fool you. He is most definitely watching YOU!

Take care of yourselves in my absence and look out for the death ray from Stewie!

Want it? Don't need it.

2011-05-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that simply asking for something actually reduces the need for that thing? Maybe better put, knowing that something COULD be yours alleviates your desire for it? I guess it is the classic thing with people. Some guys seem to only want 'the girl they can't have'. The minute they get her, they don't want her anymore. I have noticed in my life that a lot of things that we want, or want to do, are relieved by the mere act of allowing ourselves permission to those things. For example, I notice that if I have chocolate in the house, I am not nearly as chocolate-needy.

Another example of this was when I moved into Paul's place. Initially, I found that I was feeling a bit like I didn't have my own space. I didn't notice it all of the time, just on Sunday evenings when I felt like I needed to fortify myself for the coming work week by some relaxing 'alone time'. After about a month, I told Paul that on Sunday nights I was going to take a long bath (mostly so I could have alone time) and that I needed to just be by myself. The first Sunday, my alone time was very relaxing. The second week, only so-so. On the third week, I found myself calling downstairs to Paul saying that I was bored and lonely and he should come up and talk to me while I was in the bath! So- again, once I granted myself permission, my desire for it waned! I think I just wanted to be able to know that if I needed time to myself I could get it.

Recently, the same thing is happening to me on the internet. I have been a user of the various social networking outlets and a frequent writer in my blog. However, I notice that expressing myself continually on these various 'public' outlets is becoming a bit like my Sunday bath time. Now that I have the ability to tell the world at large my every thought as it passes through my brain, I have come to the realization that I don't really need to or want to anymore.

Plus, there is that 'weight'. The weight I am taking about is the burden of obligation. The weight of feeling as though you HAVE to post something on the blog, or have to check in on FB to see what is happening. Obligating yourself to post pulls some of the joy out of posting your thoughts. And let's face it. Posting your every thought online is actually pretty boring and uninteresting. Sure, checking in on FB when you are at a restaurant is fun, but I certainly don't have an obligation to tell people where I ate tonight.

As far as the Blog, part of me feels as though, the thing that made me want to blog was becoming obscured by my desire to have it well thought out, topical and potentially interesting/funny for those who read it plus the obligation of regular postings (or else you will all abandon me).

AND THERE IT IS.. The fallacy. My millions of adoring fans will be disappointed if I don't post. Hmm... dissecting that last sentence sheds a bit of reality of this. Millions: There is no one reading this- well, not many of you. Adoring: those of you who are reading know me personally, probably and are as likely as not to continue reading my thoughts if they are less often. Disappointed: Well, I can't imagine that people would be craving my every thought on things (if you are, please join stalker's anonymous please).

So - my new take on this blog. I will post when I damn well feel like it. You can come and read my thoughts (which will likely be fairly well thought out and fairly personal but not too personal). Maybe knowing that I won't post every day will actually have the reverse effect and have you wanting more!

Tablet Computers are here to stay

2011-03-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

So, I have an IPad. I love my IPad. I have a rather intense and intimate relationship with it. I am not sure that having had it, I could live my life without it.

Maybe you think I have gone too far and said too much, but I am not sure that is true. It might be the purchase with the single most impact on my life in the last 24 months. I didn't realize that I needed it as much as I did, that it could do what it does or that I could potentially replace SO many different items I have at home with it.

Recently, I have seen various articles on whether or not the IPad will win the so-called tablet-wars and other articles saying that they are glorified iphones. One author said he was unsure why they were popular as no one NEEDED an IPad. I guess his rationale was that if people don't need it, it isn't important. I disagree on both fronts: people need it and it is important for many reasons.

It is a game center; a telephone (video chat in IPad 2 and just voice Skype on the original IPad); a photo repository; a music purchase and delivery system; a book library (and book store); a portable television set; a radio (online streaming is here people, get used to it!), It has become my bank. It is my preferred method for reading magazines and newspapers as they are now video and reading formats delivered in one platform (think Martha Stewart magazine morphed with her show and you get the idea)- simply fabulous!

I can shop from it. I can track my weight and the arrival of my airline flight. I have friends who use it for medical coding. Most importantly, I can use it to vote for my favorite singer and dancer on popular TV reality game shows. Hooray, no more annoying busy signals I used to get calling in!

These are all important features of the IPad. However, there are three main reasons why I believe it will be the gadget that changes the way we all view and deal with computer activity.

First, it is easier to read while on the toilet. Laugh it you want, but if you have one, you know you have checked your email while seated on the porcelain throne. This goes for couch web-surfing too. How many of us have sat watching TV and wondered how old a celebrity was or where Crimea actually is or what is the distance from the earth to the moon? Well, that leads me to item two.

Second, being able to access your applications, data, photos, music and telecommunication needs in one place increases our ability to get things done quickly and easily. If you make it fun and easy, we end up doing it more and more.

Lastly, it is cool. Face it, half of what we do in this world hinges on the coolness of the thing we are doing. I feel so Star Trek - Remember those computers that Piccard used to use to take report? NOW WE HAVE THEM! It is probably a matter of a few years before they become a defacto telephone and communication system, document reader and video display. In fact, all of those components are part of the platform now but they need tweaking before they work the same way as they do for Piccard on TV! It is easier to read from than an iphone and big enough that you can see a video chat without being chained to your desktop. Add the additional features and it is basically the perfect gadget.

Here is an article on some non-Apple tablets. Pick one, your life may never be the same! http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/category/tablets/

One last fry

2011-02-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today, I want to talk about hope. The concept of hope is one of those things that brings up the story of Pandora's Box. I will tell you the story, as I think that few people actually understand that story and what it represents.

There is a version of the Greek myth of Pandora where she has a box or container that holds all of the world's evils. Through a series of events the box is opened and all of the evils in the world come out, except one thing - knowledge of our own future. (This is often incorrectly translated as 'hope' remaining in the box- which makes no sense if you think about it!) If it were hope left in the box, it would infer that hope was one of the evils in the world and that it isn't in the world. Neither would seem to be true. What the original intention of the myth was that perfect knowledge of the future is an evil and since it wasn't let out of the box, humans can still hope.

Anyway, I really love the myth of Pandora's box because to me it seems a myth about what it is to be human. It says, pretty unashamedly, that life could be worse, much worse in some instances. It says that while that is true, you can at least hope for a better tomorrow, hope for things to turn out the way you want.

I have my own little reminder of hope that is similar to Pandora's box- the french fry box. Except, in my box, I am not looking to see what was left inside, what I am looking for is that one escapee from the box, the one that got away. Even when I know there is no fry at the bottom of the bag, I look anyway - See? There is HOPE.

In some ways, it seems we are all searching for that last fry in the bag- the hidden one that we don't really expect to find but hope against hope that it is there. Here is hoping that your next fry encounter gives you an unexpected and hoped-for surprise.

Art. Or something like it

2011-02-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

I can officially say I have seen it all. Lady gaga arrived to the 2011 Grammy Awards in an egg.

I have to say, that part of me wanted to laugh (ok, I did laugh if I am being honest). Still, part of me mentally jumped up and down for joy to see such idiotic spectacle.

I love this sort of thing. Often we forget that pop music is meant to be art. Art, when it is really good art, challenges us, infuriates us, makes us laugh, cry, draw back in horror, or evokes some sort of emotional response. Art exists for its own sake and thank the gods it does.

Lady Gaga clearly understands this. Her arrival in that silly egg shows us clearly that she understands how to puzzle us and make us wonder what the f*ck is happening! I think the latex outfits on her entourage were priceless. I loved, particularly, that Ryan Seacrest thought he was somehow going to get an interview with her but try as he might, he couldn't get her to hatch!

Art has no use - arriving in an egg- WHY? Just to knock us out of our boring lives for just a few minutes. I wouldn't watch the Grammy's typically, but this year I am glad I did. Gaga, I solute you.

You are the only exception

2011-02-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

To my love, my life and my best friend,

Happy Valentine's day.

If you love someone, tell them now. You never know when it will be too late to say it and you never know what your words might inspire.

For Valentine's Day, I reproduce a portion poem from Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia:

My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given..

Yearning for Paris

2011-02-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

Having left London officially 7 months ago, I have to say... I don't miss it. If you read this blog regularly, you know that already. I do, however, miss Paris. I know I posted something about this not long ago (click here to see that posting), but I can't seem to stop thinking about that city. If New York holds the heart of America, Paris holds the heart of the world.

This last month, National Geographic did a piece in their magazine about the catacombs below the left bank of Paris. I mentioned it to Paul and he said, without missing a beat, "Yeah, we will do that the next time we are in Paris." I like this, because, like me, he completely takes for granted that we will be in Paris again soon. We know we will be there again. So, for now, I will have to content myself with thinking of Paris.

View of a fountain in Jardins du Luxenbourg

Anyway, the National Geographic article was fascinating. Whenever I think I want to stop getting that magazine, they come out with something really good in it. For me, that magazine is hit and miss (unlike NOVA, who seem to be able to make anything interesting- honestly, anything. I watched an entire show about volcanoes and it was honestly very, very good!) The article in Nat Geo about the catacombs made it seem so spooky and mysterious- with luck Nova will do a show on it for me!

I just can't wait to go back to Paris to be a proper tourist and see them.

I know it is popular in America to say disparaging things about Paris and some even want to take potshots at their food (remember Freedom Fries?) So, maybe I will do an entire posting in French and see if I get more/less hits from it (English Translation will be included, bien sûr!

Here is a cool map of the catacombs below:

Charlie David is my new FAV person!

2011-02-07T21:14:00.001-08:00

Hi All - I FINALLY got a celebrity to post a message on my blog! See below in the posting from the 6th Feb! What a super nice guy (and not so terrible to look at!) Here is a photo of him.

My last posting was also about him and so, please read that too.

If you want, purchase his books, dvds and watch his TV show called Bump!

Ok - enough, he is going to think I am a stalker!

My (tiny) brush with fame

2011-02-06T21:32:00.001-08:00

Ok, so many of you will recall that I have attempted on multiple occasions to get celebrities to respond to me either via email, twitter, FaceBook or some other form of direct or semi-direct communication. You recall that I posted to Kathy Griffin, Erik Rhodes, and Anderson Cooper and got no where. I also posted a message to Lady Bunny (famous Drag superstar) without any love. I haven't actually given up on Lady Bunny yet. We will see if I can snag her at some other point in time.

So earlier today, I attempted, yet again to get a celebrity to respond to me ... And... HE DID!

Ok, so here is the deal. I saw a posting from Charlie David on FaceBook. I follow him on FB and love to see what he is up to and what projects he has going on. For those of you unenlightened, Charlie David is a 30 year old Canadian actor/writer probably most famous for being the lead actor in the Here!TV show called Dante's Cove. That show was on for only three seasons, but it was great fun. It was a spooky melodrama with lots of shirtless guys. What's not to like, right?

I researched him for this posting and I found out some interesting stuff. First off - his Wiki page didn't have anything about the three books he has written- something I corrected, thank you very much (rather badly, but I got the info on the page!) Secondly, I found out that he was in a great camp movie called Reefer Madness as a dancer- who knew??

Anyway, so, as I said, along with the acting, he is a host of various television shows and has written several books, Boy Midflight, Mulligans (which they also made into a movie with him in it) and Shadowlands, which is his most recent work. He posted on FaceBook that he had narrated it recently as an audiobook for Audible. I posted that I was really appreciative of his efforts and that we need more books like his as ebooks and audible books. He clicked LIKE for my posting.

What? That's as close to a response as I have gotten so far! Can I help it that celebrities are busy? And this guy is super busy. He lives in Montreal and travels all over the world for his show. He hosts a show called Bump! and I believe all his travel is related to that. On his FB page, he is posting from China one day, then Australia the next and then he could end up in Toledo (ok, so I joke a bit!)

Anyway, I am hoping that I can get him to read this page and post something in reply, so it will really count as a response to me (maybe even write it "To my dearest Evan..." hehehe...)

Here's hoping!

=================== Added a few days after this original post!!!!! =======================

To my dearest Evan... I work fast. ;)

Was just sent your link from a friend who helps manage my social media out of Las Vegas. I truly appreciate your support and interest!!

I won't stick up for anyone other than to suggest Erik is likely at the gym, Kathy stewing over a martini and Anderson shopping for grey suits. It's difficult to answer and respond sometimes - especially with so many avenues of communication now!!

At least Carey Grant had the benefit of all his fan mail going to a single studio address and having a few housewives from the Valley ship out responses on his behalf. It's a wonder anyone gets anything done answering blogs, tweets, FB, Myspace, 4Square, email,... yikes!

At any rate you're very kind for your blog post and appreciation. As for Wiki - my goodness - I have no idea who or how that is updated - but I certainly appreciate your valiant efforts on my behalf!!

Wishing you all the best and here's a Super Like just for you. ;)

Charlie (See the comments in this email to see the original posting!)

Random hot guy (and HRC plug)

2011-02-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hey - I know some of my readers come to this site for the eye-candy. :-)

However, now that I have your attention, I wanted to let you know that HRC has put out their 2011 Workplace Equality Index, identifying the good, the bad and the ugly in corporate America (as it relates to equality for the LGBT community). Click the link here-- http://www.hrc.org/cei2011/index.html.

This index is a useful tool as I believe that we don't always have enough information to know how to 'vote with our feet and with our money'.

For example, did you know that AFLAC, Colonial Penn, Northwest Mutual and Liberty Mutual all have the lowest workplace equality scores? You could choose to select from other insurance companies, such as Allstate, Aetna, Hartford Financial Services or New York Life?

They have listings in many categories such as health and beauty (Olay good, Noxzema bad); and Newsstand (BusinessWeek good, Wall Street Journal bad), just to name two.

I think this kind of information is really important in this day and age when we, as Americans, are continually being bombarded with advertisting information. We are guided (or at least, attempted to be guided) into almost every decision we make by big corporate America. The more information we have of this sort, the better we can use our money toward the people whose ideals closer match our own.

Basically the index assesses a company's corporate policiesas they relate to non-discrimination of LGBT individuals, diversity in the workplace, same sex partner benefits (healthcare, family leave, etc), and social responsibility. For a full listing of items in the index, click here. http://issuu.com/humanrightscampaign/docs/hrc-cei-2011-final

One blue eye, one Green... and a pink nose in the middle

2011-02-01T06:24:00.000-08:00

By popular request, I am posting a photo below of Spartacus the wonder cat! We had Spartacus for years and the photos below are of him through out the years.

King of Sheeba

His left eye is blue and his right eye is green. This morning, he spent opening and shutting a bathroom cabinet over and over because he knows it wakes us up. He started this just before 5am. It is amazing how much you can pretend to ignore when the house is cold and you are trying to sleep (and not have to wake up and feed the cat!)

He is a complete beast and we love him, but at 5am, I wanted to tie his paws together and pop him into my bed so that he would shut it!

Zeb Atlas - Singer?

2011-01-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys

I found this online and thought it was for a good laugh. I am not sure this guy can sing, but it is absolutely worth watching through this admittedly awkward remake of Love Hangover by Zeb Atlas and Pearly Gates.

Exactly how do you get arms this big?? I have to say, it is mesmerizing to watch. Please post comments back!

Who is Zeb, you ask? Well, I will leave the description to Wiki.

Zeb Atlas (born Andy Bick on October 15, 1970, in Portland, Oregon^[1]) is an American male bodybuilder, softcore performer, go-go dancer, personal trainer, model and porn actor.

Hmmmm... I notice singer isn't on this list. Perhaps rightly so!

Random posting

2011-01-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

Today, instead of a random hot guy, I am posting a random photo of Newport Beach. I may make this a regular feature. Even though the hot guy thing is fun, it is rather silly!

View over the Newport peninsula

These are two photos from about 4 days ago when the weather was fantastic - Paul took them - Well done P!

View of the southern tip of Catalina Island

Bliss

2011-01-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

I know I do a fair amount of complaining on this blog. I try not to, but some days you finally see that the sound of your voice constantly bitching is actually drowning out the sound of the crashing waves, birds singing and subtle rush of the wind.

Today was one of those days. Typically in Southern California, we have an on shore breeze which combines with our fairly dry atmosphere to keep it from getting too hot. However, there is an occasional switch in the direction of the wind. When this happens, the already dry and warm air rushes from the high desert and gets warmer, faster and dryer on its approach to the sea. These are called Santa Ana winds- which we had today.

Because it was so beautiful today, I decided to walk along the Newport peninsula along the boardwalk. Pictured above, you can see the small plane in the distance on its approach over the sea, something that typically only happens during the Santa Ana wind conditions. We usually take off over the sea from SNA airport. I decided it would be fun for my UK friends to see the beach crossing sign as well. Click on the photo and you can see it in more detail. (Just remember to hit your back button on the browser to get back here!)

View toward my house- which you can see on the bluff.

There is nothing like putting your feet into the ocean water and walking along in the warm sunshine. Even when the water is very cold as it was today, it is fantastic. The arctic water from the north flows down toward the equator, so our water is very VERY cold. I had to get out of the water after a bit. It was just too cold.

I wandered over the sand and listened to the sea and gulls and crashing waves. Not a week ago, I was in London where it was rainy and cold (ok, maybe not quite as cold as our water, but very cold never the less).

I walked out on to the Newport pier and took some photos of the shore from that view point. I include them as well, as I think they are beautiful and show the coast off to advantage. I also took some photos of the surfers on the waves. The waves were a decent size and there were some great surfers on the waves today- I am not sure my smart phone photo captures the action well, but you get the idea.

I was out there for a few hours actually as I lost track of time. I have to say that is a fantastic feeling for someone like me who is always worried about what is happening, when things are ready, where I need to be next.

I am really glad I took the time to relax and walk. I am also glad that I was able to spend that time reminding myself that life is pretty decent, all things considered. Good job, great friends, fantastic hubbie, incredible weather in a beautiful place where it is easy to simply be me. That is something I think we should all remember - to be ourselves, be thankful for what we have and take time to smell the sea air.

Oh! One last thing. As I was walking back from the pier, I came across a man on his knees in front of a woman with a giant basket of red roses. Two men jumped out near them and held up a sign. She was clearly shocked and covered her mouth and cheeks to cover her blushing. You see the photo here, a few minutes later, as they all posed for a photograph. The sign reads 'Will you Marry Me?' I presume she said yes otherwise posing for this photo seems odd.

So it was a great day for many of us today here in Newport!

True Blood

2011-01-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

I guess I can pretend that I wanted to post something about the show... I basically don't but wanted to post this photo.

This is Swedish born actor Alexander Skarsgard. I have enjoyed his character in the show True Blood. I also thought this picture was worth posting.

Click here to see info on the show, True Blood.

Click here to see info on Alexander.

If this is what being a vampire is all about - sign me up!

Alexander is replacing my semi-regular feature of Random Hot Guy. Enjoy!

Two weeks in London

2011-01-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

A regular feature of this blog are my thoughts on various places I visit. Since I live in Southern California and work in London, this frequently places those two different locations in juxtaposition. For the last two weeks, I have been in London and it is the first time I have been back since moving to the OC in beautiful, sunny, Southern California.

Here are my two initial thoughts on it: One: I wasn't wrong to move back to OC. My romantic ideas of London were quickly done away with as the reality of living in that city smacked me in the face with its cold and wet hand. Two: Having said that, things are fun in London and it is much better to visit than it is to live there. I was able to enjoy London more this trip since I approached is as a visiting business man rather than a denizen of a wet, rainy, city fully of crabby inhabitants. (Go ahead, YOU work 'denizen' and 'inhabitant' into the same sentence, I dare you!)

I am going to post some photos of my time in London over the next few days as I am now able to post to the blog and not monkey with the view of the screen on my IPad. I need to figure out how to get the blogger forms to present better on my IPad browser. If I can do that, I will have a much better time keeping my blog up to date as I move around the world. However, as it is, I need to come home, download photos and then use my desktop to write the blog. Technology will catch up with me one day, I feel sure of it.

This time in London, I stayed near Baker Street, a place I didn't really go much when I lived there. Too far, maybe like a whole 1.5 miles, so, naturally, it wasn't my part of London. I can say, now that I have stayed there, that it is a jolly good place and has great access to all of the tube lines that I would want to use. Also, it isn't far from Oxford St. The photos I place below are from that area.

This is a photo that I took at a shop on New Bond Street. This is a very posh location and I loved the hats. I am not sure you can tell in this blurry smartphone photo, but basically they have their merchandise set up on bowler hats. Wikipedia says that these are also called Coke hats - hmmm. Interesting. (Wikipedia article on hats here!) Anyway, I find the hats super cute and SO London. As I was walking last Saturday, I acted just like a tourist, taking photos of Tube signs, shop windows, statues and of course, animals in the park (more on that later - for those of you regular readers, I have more on the St. Jameses park swans!)

This trip, I took some photos of Louis Vuitton store as well - but I am not sure they came out very well. I am not posting those. I also took a video of the window and it came out even worse. So much for my multimedia talents.

Here is a photo I took on Oxford Street - I believe both of these windows below are from Selfridges department store. I didn't feel so stupid taking photos of these two windows because they were so unique and plenty of people were taking snaps!

I can't tell if these are squash raquets or tennis raquets. I love store windows like this -It always makes me wonder who on earth would come up with this and at the same time, I love it too.

The second window is also very cool - the same basic idea- repeating shapes, but I love this other one because the brass instruments were so beautiful. I am a sucker for this kind of thing. Enjoy!

Hooker Movies

2011-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Image by Movieposer.com

I have no idea why, but I wanted to talk today about my slight mini-obsession with Hooker Movies. I know, laugh if you want to, but there are some bloody good movies out there about hookers and hookering... Or is that hooking? Anyway, I remember quite a few that I love.

Butterefield 8 - Elizabeth Taylor, what's not to love?
Belle du jour - Possibly the best of this entire bunch. It is so French and Catherine Deneuve is so amazing in it.
Pretty baby - Basically terrible, if I am being brutally honest, but it is fascinating to think that in Brooke's scene where she pretended to have sex, her mom pulled on her toe to make her look slightly in pain!
Whore - Ok, this one is admittedly terrible. From the name to the casting to the script - TERRIBLE
The owl and the pussycat- Babs spends the first half of the movie in a black see through babydoll nightgown with pink hands cupping her ample bosom. Witty repartee and hooker jokes! Love it.
Own private Idaho - There are less films about male hookers, but this one is pretty decent and fantastically filmed.
Pretty woman - This doesn't count. The hooker part was SO watered down and it was a pretty terrible message to send women, but still, fun and cute, I guess.
Johns - This was another one about male hookers - I loved David Arquette in this. It is a sad film but I love it.
Boy Culture - This one is a good one for people who want to view a movie from the hooker's point of view. Well filmed, good production and interesting story line.
Showgirl - I know this one doesn't technically count, as it was only about strippers, but this is SO terrible and fun that I can't resist including it.!

Don't get me wrong. I am not fascinated especially by real life hookers. I find them terribly sad and it makes me wonder what happens in a person's life to get them to that place- no judgement. Just wonder.

Wiki Films page about Hooker Movies. CLICK HERE!

Back in London

2011-01-15T00:45:00.000-08:00

I am back in London for work. I had a pretty decent week but I am fascinated by the fact that it feels like I never left! Work is work, London is London and the crap weather is still crap!

Get this! My TV tells me pertinent UK info. Such as....

Sunrise: 7:44
Sunset: 3:54
HONEST!!

Less than 11 hours of light and even that light is grey and dark. I am off today to check out the city I haunt seen much of it this week due to the fact that I have been traveling to Somerset, Maidenhead and Eastleigh this week.

Chasing Fame (installment 2)

2011-01-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

Ok - so some of you may recall that I posted something a while ago (actually a couple of posts) about my attempts at getting people who are celebrities to post something on my blog- or at least respond to an email message.

My latest attempt: I sent several messages to Kathy Griffin for New Year's Eve to ask Anderson Cooper various questions. She didn't use any of them. I am so insulted- but since I am not a comedy writer, I suppose I can't be too upset. Plus, when I was watching the show on New Year's Eve, I realized that I needed my questions to be more outrageous than they were. Next year, I will be prepaired. My favorite of the online question she asked Anderson, 'What does Anderson Cooper smell like'. LOVE IT! I also thought is was great when she attempted to undress Anderson. Silly fun!

So- continuing in this vein, I have posted messages to a couple of more celebrities in an attempt to see if I could get them to reply on this blog... More on that next time... Let's hope I get a reply soon... I am feeling like such a looser!

Ummm..Just because...

2011-01-08T09:29:00.001-08:00

Ok, so sue me... I had to post this!

Stop the presses

2011-01-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

As an update to my posting two posts ago: Stop the presses... Johnny Weir is gay! Check out the internet story here http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-weir-book.

I know this is a huge shock to everyone reading this (especially with the photo I have selected for Johnny). The photo on the left is a picture of him at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Someone tossed this ring down to him along with the flower bouquet, complete with a set of white roses shaped into a J. At the time, his trainer was attempting to get it off his head, but he put it back on and smiled.

I have to say I love Johnny Weir. I think the fact that he owns who he is is fantastic!

Welcome out of the closet Johnny - were you ever really in one?

I decided that I wanted to post another photo of him as well and I can't resist the one below. C'mon. Admit it. He is adorable.

Buddhist prayer

2011-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a 1,000 winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sun on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain

When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled light
I am the soft star that shines at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there; I did not die.
Anonymous

The good and the bad of OUT celebrities 2010

2011-01-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

I was reviewing some of the news stories this year and noticed that several people had placed Ricky Martin on their top ten lists for 'most brave' personality of 2010. It got me thinking about celebrities who come out of the closet. (Just so you know, I don't think Ricky should be given much applause for coming out).

Kieron Richardson

So- I wanted to discuss a few of the gay celebs that caught my attention this year. They aren't the most important necessarily as many politicians came out this year that I won't comment on. I just want to talk about some that interested me - and they didn't all impress me. Let's take Mr. Ricky, for example.

I think Ricky Martin coming out of the closet this year was basically an attempt to get us to pay more attention to him. I think that he had his opportunity to come out and was given ample opportunity in the media when he was famous. Did he come out at the height of his popularity? No. Two years in? Three? No. Let me ask another question. When was the last time Ricky produced a hit record? The year was 2000 from his album Sound Loaded. Since that time, well, pretty much nothing doing.

I have to ask what makes a celebrity come out 10 years after his popularity has faded? MONEY. I am sorry to think ill of any homo, but in this case I do. Ricky is not the only case in point this year. Sean Hayes is another. A lead on the most out show in America for years and he decided to demure about his own sexuality. Of course, those of us who had seen him in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss had no doubts. Gay, gay, GAY!

Adam Lambert

I know it is the Advocate's job to praise stars for coming out, but I wish in this instance, they had actually said. WTF? Why are you telling us now?... Oh, right. They already knew why he was coming out now. His career was over and he had nothing else to lose- and besides, maybe he could trade in on it now. Am I being jaded? Well, maybe, but I also think I am right. There are plenty of others too - Lance comes to mind, but I will skip him. I think he had it rough enough with Reichen to belittle him now.

So, with that said, I would like to applaud those who are actually working in their careers still who chose to come out - most of which happened in 2010, but some before. Below is a short list with my witty (such as it is) commentary.

Neil Patrick Harris - Kudos to him. He is an out actor playing a womanizer on a US sitcom. Take that Sean Hayes (who said coming out would type cast him) Coming out didn't type cast Hayes, he did.

John Barrowman - Ok, he is English, which is pretty much half way to gay anyhow, but still. Props to him for owning it.
My Brit buddies will appreciate the next one too - Kieron Richardson. Dancing on Ice never looked so pretty in pink! Youtube it, if you want to see him skating in a flaming pink panther costume.
Adam Lambert - Glambert rocks. 'Nuf said.
Johnathan Groff - For those of you who don't know him, he was on Glee and played the boyfriend of Lea Michele who gives her the tape of her mother singing.

Finally, I wanted to thank an honorary gay this year... Darren Criss for his singing of Teenage Dream and Baby, its cold outside on Glee. His photo appears below. Enjoy!

I know everyone has a journey and not everyone is able to come to terms with their truth as quickly as others. If this offends, feel free to flame me in the comments below. I can take it!

Amusement Park Skulduggery

2011-01-01T23:22:00.001-08:00

Ok - I just couldn't resist this. Recently, I was at Knott's Berry Farm. I got tickets from my sister who got them free for having some work done on her Toyota. It was really nice to get the tickets and we took advantage of the first rain-less day in days to go to the theme park. (Thanks, Sis!)

I should first tell you that I haven't been there in years. I am a Knott's purist. I remember way back when the Knott family actually still owned the park, the restaurant and the jam/jelly company and there was a still Gypsy camp in part of the theme park- yeah, for those of you old-school out there, you remember it too. (photo was too fun to skip)

Anyway, it was a blast to go there, but I was struck with how different everything is since they were bought over by a corporate theme park ownership group- I won't bother with their name, as it is basically unimportant to my comments. For those of you who love old maps of theme parks, etc. This blog posted a cool set of photos. http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2008/04/knotts-berry-farm-map-comparison-post.html

Anyway, we noticed at once that there are a whole lot more things on sale there than used to be. It appears to be more like walking down pretty much any mall in America, where people are standing at booths attempt (mostly unsuccessfully) at engaging you to purchase the latest hand cream, neck massager or jewelery cleaner. In this instance, they were hocking such things as home made headbands with folksie sayings or a grain of rice with your name or a name of a loved one written in teeny-tiny ink. In order to get to a ride, you judiciously avoid eye contact with these junk purveyors to move from attraction to attraction.

But that isn't why I decided to post today- I really decided to post because we were in line for the ride called 'Ghost Rider' which is a wooden roller coaster- a'la Coney Island. As we were waiting for the ride, I looked up and saw a sign that read, basically, California Penal Code 490.6(b) Enforced: Anyone found to be jumping the line may be removed from an amusement park. My IPhone camera was acting up, so I don't have an image to post.

I reproduce penal code 490.6(b) here:

490.6(b) If any person admitted to an amusement park refuses or fails
to follow lawful amusement park rules, after being so informed, then an amusement park employee may request that the person either comply or leave the premises. If the person refuses to leave the premises or comply with lawful park rules, then the person shall be deemed to be intentionally interfering with and obstructing those attempting to carry on a lawful business within the meaning of Section 602.1.However, I decided to look up the penal code and was amazed to find out that not only can you be kicked out, but you can be detained as well.

490.6. (a) A person employed by an amusement park may detain a
person for a reasonable time for the purpose of conducting an
investigation in a reasonable manner whenever the person employed by the amusement park has probable cause to believe the person to be detained is violating lawful amusement park rules.

Not only that - It further states that the knuckle-head employee of Knotts who you pissed off will be held blameless if he/she detains you, as they clearly thought they should.

490.6(c) In any civil action brought by any person resulting from a detention or an arrest by a person employed by an amusement park, it shall be a defense to that action that the amusement park employee detaining or arresting the person had probable cause to believe that the person was not following lawful amusement park rules and that the amusement park employee acted reasonably under all the circumstances.

I guess this doesn't bother me all that much, but I did think it was funny that there are laws that specifically address jumping the line at an amusement park. I guess it just makes me wonder if there are other location specific rules that I don't know about. You can't jump the line at an amusement park, but maybe you can at the line for the men's room in Anaheim Stadium? How about the line at the half yearly sale at Nordstrom's?

Hmmm... maybe in both of those instances if you attempted it, you would be subject to the law of the jungle instead - don't mess with half drunk sports fan or a bargain hunting woman and her half-off jeans. Penal code be damned... those people will tear you limb from limb!

The penal code for your review: http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/490.6.html

Celebrity

2010-12-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my blog entry a while ago was about me having posted on a 'famous' person's blog and asking them to post something on mine- the reply, you can see, didn't happen. However, it appears that the celebrity in question did reply to me in their own blog. I am not posting the question or response as I submitted several and the only one that was answered was the one that provided the best opportunity to reply in a vapid and self serving way. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Honestly, after reading through the blog, I have less and less interest in that person - how sad is that?

Celebrity- Can you name both people in this photo?

Be that as it may. I am going to continue posting on famous people's FB, Blogs, emails, etc until I get someone to post something on this blog. I am going to start with every manner of 'celebrity'. I use this word in the way I believe it was originally intended - celebrated people. In this day and age, when abominations such as Snookie and Bristol the Pistol are considered celebrity, I wonder that anyone has any interest in being famous. There is so little you have to do anymore to be famous- have a low class accent and spew filthy words or simply just being an unwed teen mother will do.

If/when I get an actual celebrity to post onto my blog and reply to me in a way that makes sense and isn't an auto reply of some sort, I will celebrate that person as they deserve.

Dries Roelvink - Alleen Door Jou

2010-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

I thought you all needed some Dutch pop today... Enjoy! This is honestly one of the weirdest videos I have seen... :-)

Degrees of separation

2010-12-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

6 Degrees- Picture from Wikipedia

I am sitting here wondering about 'separation'. The famous degrees of separation (specifically six) that separates one human (anyone) from another. It is a weird concept, but I guess it is basically that everyone knows someone who knows someone else... who knows, say, Prince Charles.

I used to think this was a stupid idea. I know no one. But having returned from London, I am pretty sure I have met people who definitely know friends of Prince Charles. Or.. better yet, the Queen. How many degrees separate this queen from that one? Maybe 3! Also, I work with people from India, so chances are, I know someone who knows someone, etc. who know people who knew Gandhi. Pretty cool stuff.

Recently, I have been contemplating this on the web. It appears that we are all now only 1 degree away from people on the web when you consider Twitter, FaceBook, Blogs and the like.

I am FaceBook 'friends' with Charlie David from Here! tv fame, messaged Margaret Cho repeatedly on FB during her brief stint on Dancing with the Stars. I get emails from a (likely auto-generated) Michael Buble. Granted, none of these are Prince Charles in fame or fortune.

This morning, I posted a comment on a famous person's blog. I won't say who just yet, and he isn't famous to everyone but I am a big fan. I am curious if that person responds on his blog or on mine. If he does, I think I am going to embark on a cyber-gambit- posting on famous people's blogs, websites, twitters, etc. I am fascinated by this direct communication with people you only see in glossy magazines or on TV or DVD.

Celebrity isn't all that it is cracked up to be, but I think there are people that you wish you could know more about; know more about them for real- so much of the stuff you see is fake, the names, the situations, etc. I understand that about half of the Hollywood marriages and relationships aren't real but are only for the media. Sick!

Anyway, I am hoping to see if real people exist out there and we are really only 1 degree away from each other. We will see what happens!

P.s. Donate to http://www.wikipedia.org/ We all use it - I would hate it if we ended up with advertisements on it, wouldn't you?

The time is now

2010-12-20T08:51:00.001-08:00

My mother gave me this poem in a small book many years ago. I cherish it and post it here for you all.

If you are ever going to love me,
Love me now, while i can know
The sweet and tender feelings
Which from true affection flow.

Love me now
While I am living,
Do not wait until I'm gone
And then have it chiseled in marble,
Sweet words on ice-cold stone.

If you have tender thoughts of me
Please tell me now.
If you wait until I am sleeping
Never to awaken,
There will be death between us
And I won't hear you then.

So, if you love me, even a little bit,
Let me know it while I am living
So I can treasure it.

I am unsure who wrote this, but I love it. I guess I am feeling tender hearted this year and wanted to remember my mom during the holiday season.

Peter Blake Eiffel Tower

2010-12-16T10:03:00.001-08:00

Just loving this photo right now! It is how I feel every time I go to Paris. There is a good subject for a blog - why is Paris the best city in the world. I am fairly certain of it. What are your thoughts? Feel free to post back.

Do you love this photo too?

It is by Peter Blake- Check him out on WIki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Blake_(artist)

F-bombs Ahead

2010-12-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

This may be shocking to some - If you are bothered by people using the F word, don't watch this video. I am not sure why seeing little kids saying it is funny to me.. probably because I am an adolescent.

FCK BULLIES by FCKH8.com: DON'T B H8N ON THE HOMOS! from FCKH8.com on Vimeo.

Give money to http://www.fckh8.com/ . I did. :-)

Passages

2010-12-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling whether or not to post the information I am typing out today. It seems that blogs are for more vapid and superficial information, not for things you feel deeply or that are sad. The passing of a friend isn't something that I am terribly comfortable with posting on a website. However, I wanted to comment a bit and just express my sadness.

We had a friend pass away a few weeks ago unexpectedly. She was very ill with cancer and she had been given about six months or so to live. This was shocking and upsetting, but she was so upbeat and determined to live out her last days happily. She was recovering from the last set of procedures she had and also begun to feel better and gain weight.

We were meant to see her on a Saturday but she had to go in for a quick training session related to one of her durable medical equipment items. Unexpectedly, she was admitted to get some issues settled, but nothing related directly to her health. Apparently, she was released from hospital that Monday. She was happy to be home and had both her son and daughter with her. She went for a quick walk with her son and out of the blue, had a stroke and died immediately that day. Very sad.

I dedicate my posting today to our good friend Lyn. We met her many years ago and from what I know of her, she lived every minute of her life with joy, strength, integrity and much, much love. Lyn, you will be very much missed.

Disneyland updates

2010-12-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

Six attractions at the two Disneyland Resort parks will be closed for rehabilitation for at least part of this month.

Most rides will stay open because of high traffic during the holiday season. Crews usually do longer renovation projects in the spring, starting in January, when attendance is lighter.

Most of the closures are for routine maintenance. The schedule is subject to change.

Disneyland:

Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin was closed Sept. 20 and is set to reopen Dec. 17.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: The Fantasyland ride will be open on and off. It closed Monday (Nov. 29), will reopen Friday, shut down again Monday and be back in operation Dec. 11.
Astro Orbiter: Closed Wednesday. Reopening date has yet to be determined.

Disney California Adventure:

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Closed Monday (Nov. 29), reopens Dec. 17.
Two Disney rides are continuing to undergo major makeovers and will reopen next year:
Star Tours in Disneyland was shut down in July so construction could begin to turn the thrill ride into a 3D attraction. See a story about Star Tours’ closure.
Mulholland Madness in Disney California Adventure closed in October and will get a new theme, Goofy’s Sky School. The coaster is set to come back next year. See a story about the Disney roller coaster closure.

Check the schedule on the Disneyland.com website for updates.

New website

2010-11-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, know I have a seemingly endless amount of free time! No matter how much I am doing, I can always create a bit more time to do website junk!

I decided to update my website and do it on my new iMac. May I just say, it was the easiest 5 minutes I ever spent creating a website. They make the software to create it so simple that even I could do something pretty cool. I suspect it is exactly like every other person's website who chose that particular template, but regardless, I like it and hope you do too.

www.evanstmartin.com

Drop comments to me here or there - Thanks!

The Internet: It's great for Porn

2010-11-13T23:01:00.000-08:00

Maybe it is the fact I have been living abroad for a few years and I am returning to the US with changed vision. Maybe it is that I am spending too much time alone these days. You see, I now work mostly out of my home office and don't see people other than my husband and family (with occasional visits to friends, etc). Whatever the reason, I am starting to suspect that I am becoming more and more disconnected from the rest of the world... Am I starting to become one of those shut-ins who believes in aliens, a moon landing hoax and that we are being fed nonsense instead of information on our news programs? Maybe, I am thinking and evaluating things differently than I used to and I am only noticing it now. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

For example, I have growing concern for the information that I find on the Internet - well, through any news media but specifically the Internet. When the Internet was new, everyone knew the stuff on there was likely to be incomplete, skewed or just plain wrong. I remember the good old days where you could post information yourself and then site it as a reference it in high school papers.

These days, the information has gotten better- people are now trusting info on Wiki, for instance. Should we? I am not singling out Wikipedia, however. I am specifically worried about the fact that many of us read the headers of news stories on Yahoo or Google and think we have the information. Even if we bothered to actually read the article, I am not sure that people understand that the information is still often incorrect- and increasingly, wrong for political reasons. So, I have decided that the only reliable thing on the Internet is PORN.

When I was in the UK, I found that the information available to me through standard media was more likely to be free from political slant than it seems to be now that I am back in the US. There was often political commentary in the UK, but they didn't feel free to offer up misinformation in the way some media outlets in the US do (Ehem-FOXNews!). Increasingly, I notice that Yahoo and Google seem to have political agendas as well in what information they choose to put in their 5 or 6 items on their 'home' page.

With porn, I find it freeing that you don't need to distrust what you are seeing. It doesn't need fact checkers, knowledge of current events, or political agenda in order to enjoy that content. I don't think Xtube has an agenda- you know? I am pretty certain there will be some radical feminist telling me that I am wrong- which I totally welcome. However, this assumes that someone other than my friend John reads this blog! At least, he is the only one commenting.. (Ehem-losers!)

I was thinking about the recent Obama trip to India where it was reported in many outlets (even by politicians) that he was spending $200 M per day on it and using approximately 1/3 of navy warships for protection. Idiotic. It apparently costs $190M a day to fund the war in Iraq. What could be happening in India for a week or two that it would cost more than an entire war? Fact checker please!

Porn may be objectionable material to some. Who I am to promote it? But, still, at least, you know what it is when you view it. You aren't watching porn thinking that it is something else. News in the US has become entertainment, or perhaps entertainment is news. There is so much blurring, that I don't think we would be even able to tell. This is why shows like The Colbert Report are popular. Sometimes, however, I wonder if EVERYONE knows it is for fun. Sometimes Colbert himself doesn't seem to notice, either, which is rather disturbing!

Anyway, I am distrustful of entertainment disguised as news. I said earlier that sites like Yahoo and Google provide some news content but they are either knowingly or unknowingly becoming mouthpieces of the right or left, depending on the topic and site. Who is selecting these articles, verifying them? I believe most are recycled from other news outlets, which most certainly have political slant to their journalism. However, it seems that we are happy to accept it from Yahoo without question - in fact, without even reading them!

I don't know which would be worse - if a person is selecting the articles or if somehow there is a technology that selects which articles are likely to be shown to me based on 'popularity' - which I assume means what teenagers and other shut-ins who do nothing but click on links all day are looking at. (Who are YOU looking at)?

Is that honestly how we want things conducted? Do we want the rule of the masses to encroach everywhere? Isn't it bad enough that more people vote to see which star will dance again next week than voted in the most recent election?

Look, I get that not everyone likes porn. BUT- when you seek out porn, you know what you are getting, you know why it was posted and you know how it fits into the rest of the world. As for the 'news', I can't really say that right now.

Wait.. I just thought of something - Naked News... is that porn disguised as news or news disguised as porn?? People, we are in a heap of trouble!

(Come on! French striptease news? I couldn't resist!!)

Footnote: None of the information on this site is fact checked - reader beware!

Low calorie Dairy Base: It does a body... good?

2010-11-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, I was at the gym yesterday and I knew that I hadn't eaten enough that day and my body was in need of some protein. I decided to get a milk smoothie at the club. I usually just ask them to make me my own concoction- low fat milk, vanilla flavored protein powder and a banana. Simple, right? (BTW, they have a build-your-own-smoothie item on the menu, so I know I am not the only one doing this!)

So, I go to the counter and there are three lovely ladies there, one of whom asks what I would like. I tell them that I want a smoothie made of milk, protein and a banana. I then get all three of them telling me that it is just like XX smoothie except it doesn't have strawberries. I tell them I don't want strawberries but this statement is followed by their telling me how great they taste. We have some discussion about that, but finally I say I only want the milk, protein and banana.

They discuss it amongst themselves for a bit and decide perhaps it will be too 'grainy' for me and I should really get the one called XXX. I again, say, no really, just the thing I ordered. I like the grainy quality of it. It is one of the things I like best about it.

I get more discussion and finally, the eldest of the three, decides I am not going to cave to their wishes and asks one of the others to start making my drink. Suddenly, that one remembers that there are no bananas. "How about blueberries",she says with no hint of irony. (I don't know about you, but these two fruit don't seem particularly similar in any way). I say yes to the blueberries. It seemed easier, and those are good for antioxidants, right? I say this just as she is looking under the counter to get the protein. Wait - only strawberry protein powder. Just then, one of the other girls says, 'Oh, we are out of milk too." All three of them look at each other nonplussed. The eldest of them looks annoyed.

They then turn their gaze toward me who is now looking entirely incredulous. In my head, I am saying "How is it even possible that every thing I wanted when I came to the counter is out of stock and not one of them knew it until after all the discussion?" I decide to politely leave and go to Jamba Juice.

At Jamba juice, the conversation is much quicker but no more productive. Here is how it goes:

Clerk: "Welcome to Jamba Juice" (Loudly and to no one in particular, but I suspect it was for me, since I just walked in. I head to the counter.)

Me: "Hi, I haven't been here in years. I think I can create my own smoothie, right?"

Clerk: (Not looking at me) "Yeah."

Me: "Ok, I would like a smoothie made of Low Fat milk, a banana and protein powder." (Finally he looks up).

Clerk: "We don't have milk, we have dairy base or soy milk."

Me: "Dairy base? What on earth is that?"

Clerk: "It is a low calorie non-milk base made from Splenda." (HUH?)

Me: "Splenda? Oh. Yuck, I don't want that. I guess I know why I stopped coming here. Thanks." (Walks out)

These two annoying visits cost me almost 40 minutes of my time and at that point, my body had already robbed by bones of calcium and other vital nutrients. I am sure of it! I decided to go home, where I knew I had some milk. I felt like I could feel my bones getting more brittle as I drove home!

However, this whole thing got me wondering. When was it that corporations decided what was good for me? I don't think any splenda derivative could be beneficial to me in ANY way. I also decided to know more about who ran Jamba Juice.

What I found out didn't make me want to run back to them any time soon.They used to be a nice small company called The Juice Club and I remember that they used to have this fantastic smoothie called 'Papaya Paradise'. It was fab.

When they became Jamba, they eliminated Papaya Paradise from the menu-- foreshadowing the ill tidings ahead. They are now owned by some conglomerate called Services Acquisitions Corp, International. Even the name sounds terrible. They are also some how affiliated with Nestle, another giant company who has had dubious concern over the health of their products in the past (Do you recall the nestle milk scandal in the 1970's?)

Anyway, I guess I have had my last Jamba. Sad how something good can be killed by Corporate America. Milk may do a body good, but for me, a Splenda derivative (which is already derived from Sugar?) does not do THIS body any good!

Change (Chapter 2)

2010-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

I few weeks back, I posted something on my blog about change. The blog wasn't about the change itself but about how those close to me didn't really seem to want me to change to better myself. Fascinating stuff, once you peek inside someone else's motivations.

However, I have canvassed that topic. The petty workings of someone else's mind isn't what I am interested in this week. This post is concerned with the proposed changes themselves. The change, you ask? WORK. I had been thinking about a job change. I had been in discussions for months and then things took a different turn. Instead of taking the job I am dealing with some other personal issues prior to any changes on the job front. Still, while I was contemplating the job change, I found myself thinking through why I go to work, what it means to me, how it fundamentally forms the rest of my life. It is about those thoughts I would like to blog today. My other 'personal' changes are still in the mix and unlikely to show up here. Sorry- you want bleeding heart blogs, go elsewhere!

So: Work. I go to work to make money. LOTS of it, if possible. I am a realist. I know that the work I do is helpful to some people some of the time. Often, it is helpful only to a few people but in those instances, I like to flatter myself that at least it is very important on those occasions. Still, I could find lots of meaningful things to do with my day if I were independently wealthy. Don't believe me? Drop me a boat-load of cash and let me loose!

Since that boat-load has yet to arrive, work I must. I have been working for over 20 years. I have been a bucket washer at a florist (really), a telemarketer (I was terrible) and various other things. Oh! I had a job at Disneyland for 8 hours when I was a teenager. Perhaps I will blog about that another time. Of course, there was also that brief stint as a food server in an old folks home, but the less said there, the better!

As I travel through my career, I remember a few tidbits of advice I got from others.

I remember some advice I got working at UCI. I was working as a brain research assistant and one of the exec doctors there wanted some office supply or other (what it was, has long been forgotten). I found, upon looking for that item, that we had run out of the supply. I was so frustrated and I recall unleashing to this doctor about how I spend my day trying to do my job well and how I seemed the only one willing to order supplies when we ran low, even though it was every one's job to do it. I recall very vividly saying to him. "Why do I bother? Why don't I just act like all of them and just do the least possible I can?"

His reply, I recall with equal clarity. He said, "Because you can't. It isn't who you are." At first, his answer seemed glib and annoying, but he clarified it further by telling me how, I was just following my own way of being and that it was important for me to do a good job. I shouldn't waste any time worrying about how other people conducted themselves at work. I took it in and I find myself understanding that more and more the older I get. Even now, when I find myself thinking how much harder I work than other people, I remember that conversation. I work like this because it is who I am.

Later in my career, I got some interesting advice through an observation that my CFO made in jest. He said, the higher up in his position he gets, the less important work he does for the benefit of fewer people. Now, to me, that sounds like a foolish play on words by some clever person. However, I feel like there are definitely jobs in this world that fit that description. I think there is an entire rung of middle management whose entire job it is to perform menial tasks for their bosses to ensure that their bosses look good to others. Their function isn't much more than that. What a sad statement on someone's career. I don't have a job like this and heaven help me if I ever got one. (I couldn't resist posting the image to the right... good clean fun!)

So, this job that I was interested in will have to wait for a bit to see how things settle with the other circumstances that are in flux right now. You never know what is awaiting around the corner, but I am ready for it. If it isn't that opportunity, it is another one.

The job I need is something that allows me to 'be me' in every way that it is possible to mean that. I also want that job to fit how I want to live my life, how I want to continue being me and I want this job to be a means by which I can accomplish my own goals. If someone has that job, come on and knock on my door. I will answer.

TRON - OMG

2010-10-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

So, those of you who read my postings every day (hahaha) will have read that I was at Disneyland this weekend. While I was there, between dinner and the World of Color show, we wandered around a bit and we stumbled on an entire area of the theme park that was decorated with very high-tech futuristic looking elements. It was celebrating the new version of TRON that is expected out in theaters this fall. TRON. Really. They are doing a sequel.

I don't really know what to say. One part of me is happy that they are attempting to make TRON cool since the original one was dated when it was released. I was enough of a nerd that I liked it but clearly understood even at 15 that this was pretty goofy.

I did a bit of research and found the following: The original movie was released in 1982. The new one is actually called Tron: Legacy... but you have to spell it with spaces in the name. L E G A C Y... See? Much cooler! And, apparently, this movie involves the son of the original character in the movie played by Jeff Bridges. This new character is played by someone named Garrett Hedlund and is listed on wikipedia as a rebellious 27 year old. Huh? Still rebellious at 27? Ummm. Okay.

Maybe this movie suffers from un-coolness as well. I hope not. Anyway, regardless of the film, the decorations at the park were cool. Not only that, but it was clear that everyone was heading toward a specific area in the park and the lights were all very low - dark, in fact, which is weird, now that I think about it. I think it is usually pretty well lit at D-land parks.

If you are familiar with the California Adventure theme park, the central 'hub' area was setup with a TRON stage but nothing much was happening there. Further along, in the area back by the old 'papparatzi' ride, was a stage that had some great music going on and it was listed as a 'dance party'. We noticed that there were gogo boys as well as gogo girls- this is Disneyland after all! It was fun to see the place set up like a futuristic disco. (See photo inset).

They also had a preview area where you could see the TRON movie trailer and some other cool things. We didn't go in, but I hope to get in there at some point to see it. It will likely remind me of that old TRON area of the people mover - I liked it as a kid but ended up feeling a bit sick to my stomach too. With luck, the new TRON film won't leave me feeling queasy. I am sure I will end up seeing it on a plane or on TV- seems like it has to be quite an event to get me to a theater these days. Movies aren't the huge draw they used to be- even if they have s p a c e s in their names! :-)

Disneyland this last weekend

2010-10-27T06:07:00.003-07:00

This last weekend, we went to Disneyland to see 'World of Color' at the California Adventure. I am only now posting about it as we had a hectic weekend and I am only now able to post photos along with the blog entry.

We had a pretty hectic weekend, as I said. We started the day at the Volvo dealership dropping off the car for repairs, which incidentally, cost $1,100 for the checkup and new brakes, etc. We then brought the cat to the vet and then went to an unexpected funeral (aren't most unexpected?). I blogged yesterday about the funeral and some of my observations.

So.. Disneyland. I have to say - it was a blast. It was partially that we had a beautiful evening outside for dinner at the Winery. It was partially that we had almost two hours between the ending of our dinner and the start of the show, so Paul and I got to spend some time just being idle and talking, something we enjoy a lot. It was also just being back in California doing things that are familiar and that have resonance with me in a larger sense. Disneyland is in my DNA. If that makes me childish, so be it.

I got some great photos that evening. The top photo is one of the Disney characters that is on display as you ride the tram into the park from the parking structure. It took me a few tries to get this shot, but I am happy with it! The second photo (to the right) is a shot of the final display of the show title that appears as you are leaving the World of Color theater area.

So, the actual show. I really enjoyed the show. You have to understand how a show like this is likely to be put on by Disney in order to find it enjoyable. If you don't you are likely to think it is just a giant commercial for Disneyland and its products, which it is, but you have to over look that!

The show has some amazing technical elements- somewhat akin to the original 'dancing waters' that used to show at the Disneyland hotel when I was younger. I still remember going there for the first time with my friend Mary's family. They were so adorable- her mom sang along with the final song- The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Honestly! I just loved their family, but I occasionally thought I was with a post-hippie version of the Brady bunch. Anyway, I digress.

The show we saw that evening, as I say, is like the dancing waters, except on it is steroids plus it haselements of the show at Disneyland called Fantasmic! That show has a wall of water that images are displayed on sort of like a water movie screen. You can sort-of see the water wall in the second photo at the bottom of the picture. Like Fantasmic! it includes fire and other special effects that add to the drama.

I enjoyed the show, but Paul was left feeling that we had sat around all evening waiting to see a 26 minute long Disneyland commercial, which of course, we had. I guess I am happy to drink the cool-aid. Paul, not so much (but I think he still had fun!)

Human touch

2010-10-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have been struck recently with the behaviour of individuals when in large groups of people. What I have noticed is the amount of touching that seems necessary for humans. The basic need for touch seems very human. I have been noticing it a lot recently. You will too if you keep it in mind and watch how often someone will touch someone else and in what circumstances.

For example, I was at a funeral on Saturday. It was for the mother of a friend of Paul's. I hadn't met the deceased but I like Paul's friend and I was sorry to hear she had lost her mother. I noticed that everyone was hugging each other- not really surprising, I suppose. Now, maybe it was my distance from the deceased, but it struck me as interesting that the visitors of the funeral, all of them, needed the hug as much as the people they were hugging. Universally, people greeted each other with a hug. It shouldn't have struck me as odd, but I noticed it and found it interesting. Their faces were happy to see each other at this sad event but clearly, something was 'in need' within them that a hug or caress somehow helped. I decided that what I was seeing was that people needed to touch each other so that they could somehow 'confirm' their own safety in the world. I find that things like funerals make us all keenly aware of our own mortality.

I noticed this need to touch also at Disneyland- clearly a much happier event. Hand holding, back patting, hugging, etc are very common. Clearly, this isn't related to mortality - except perhaps those just leaving the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride. It appeared to me, that touch enhanced the joyful experience of being in a place like Disneyland. Touching somehow increases the ability of humans to feel excitement.

I began to wonder if information was somehow being communicated through the skin. We know that humans communicate to each other through pheromones and I wondered if there were a form of tactile communication that happens with people in the same way. Can anxiety be shared across two people at a funeral, lessening the anxiety of one or both? Can joy be transmitted through electrical pulses through touch at Disneyland?

I did a web search on the term 'human touch' and found mostly massage tools but I also found several companies called Human Touch, several social programs using the term and finally music albums too (Bruce Springsteen included!) I was able to sort through all of this and found a website that listed the benefits of touch (specifically massage). I found them illuminating. They are:

Stress Reduction (More touch = less stress)
Increases Brain Power (a study found people who had massages completed math problems quicker)
Increase in salary (reduction in work anxiety and smarter brains = better jobs- one wonders a bit if this is a tenuous link!)
Boost in Immunity

What was most interesting was that it was almost as beneficial to GIVE massage as it was to get one. This isn't all that surprising to me as I believe that any act that people do for others- baking a cake, writing a letter or even giving a compliment are as beneficial to give as they are to receive. I notice it in my own life all of the time. This certainly supports the idea of transmission of information through touch, I think.

I also found a link to a site that describes why some people avoid touch. Without going through too much of it, basically, it said that people who do not like touch are typically damaged in some fundamental way- child or some other physical abuse, compulsive disorder, etc. I found this very interesting. If touching people communicates information to them and if the touch has been used to hurt someone, clearly, a person would avoid that experience again if possible.

I find it interesting that the picture above from the sistine chapel, one of the most iconic images Michelangelo ever created, shows touch as the spark of life from God to humans. Sometimes, I am floored by such simple images that so easily express such a deep human need. Bravo Michelangelo!

Mom's love

2010-10-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

I was at lunch today eating what I like to call 'chickie bowl' near work. It is at a Japanese place near work. There are usually a lot of guys there like me: work shirt, slacks, badge hanging from their front pocket, exhausted by their jobs - you know, corporate drones. I was sitting there eating my meal and reading a book. Up to the seat next to me came a guy who was clearly in his forties with a woman who was most likely his mother. I could tell she was his mom because she reminded him to get napkins and cutlery and she wasn't dressed like a female corporate drone. He sat down and over the course of the next twenty minutes or so, they had stilted conversation as she asked about his job, his car, etc. He reluctantly answered and while he wasn't openly hostile it was clear that he didn't want to be there to speak.

All I could do while he was speaking to her was wish I had my own mom there across the table from me for even half as long as he had his mom.

If you are a mom- know that you are loved, even if your kids don't say it. If you have your mom still, remember to tell her that you love her.

Bullying and H8

2010-10-07T06:44:00.002-07:00

I was watching AC360 earlier this week about an assistant district attorney Shirvell who has been harassing a guy named Chris Armstrong in Michigan, student body president at the University of Michigan. It is an amazing story. Honestly, it is horrifying what has been happening to this poor guy, Chris Armstrong. If you are not familiar with the case it is basically an issue of bullying- both cyber bullying and in person.

Here is a link to the story with video.

This acting assistant DA has been posting a blog focused specifically about this college guy, where he calls him every name in the book. It seems that what this idiot doesn't like a out Armstrong is that he is gay and he has somehow broken campaign promises as a COLLEGE STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT. Did I miss something?

According to CNN, the assistant attorney general has accused the college student of going back on campaign promises, engaging in “flagrant sexual promiscuity,” sexually seducing a “previously conservative [male] student” so much that he “morphed into a proponent of the radical homosexual agenda,” hosting a gay orgy in his dorm room, and trying to recruit first years “to join the homosexual ‘lifestyle.’”

As I have to assume this isn't a DA activity, this is Shirvell's hobby? The controversy is that this da continues to work at the AG office even though the is clearly bullying this guy.

In a related story, there is a Rutger's college student whose room mate posted a video of him and another male student making out on the web. He later killed himself, Tyler Clemente. Apparently, his last FB posting told his friend he was jumping off a bridge and he said sorry. So, so sad.

When I decided to write this posting on my blog, I search for images I can post to this blog and find this one at the top of the page.. Look at the littlest girl's face. Her expression is as sad as I would expect a chid's to look living in a household who would put their kids in these shirts and take a photo of them. It makes this all clear. Our society is killing its gay enhabitants slowly. What a disgrace.

Click here to see a video from Ellen on teen bullying

Changes

2010-10-01T07:58:00.001-07:00

Since returning from the UK, I have been getting my US life back, only to find out that much of it has either disappeared or changed so much that it feels as foreign as my foreign adventure did. The US has changed a bit too. My response to change is to evaluate everything in my world and either keep it or modify it to suit my new life here. BUT, this isn't yet another whiny post about feeling out of place, promise. Now that I have been here for several months, I am feeling more and more at home. This posting is about the change I am contemplating and people's responses to my plans.

The change I am contemplating is what might be called 'life course correction'. I am happy, don't get that wrong. I am not contemplating change out of frustration, sadness or anger. Maybe I have what might be called a growing dissatisfaction. A wanting. A wanting of more, different, new. Sometimes my desire for change turns toward a return to something I remember and love.

In general, we are taught that improving ourselves is a worthy goal. We should try to do the best we can, get the most for our families, get promoted, thinner, healthier. Still, I don't think that everyone feels this way. What fascinates me about this is that my desire to better my life isn't met with universal applause. Honestly, it is bizarre.

My immediate reaction was that it was about jealousy. The people who are nay-sayers are jealous. If they can't have what I have then I shouldn't either. Alternatively, perhaps closely allied with the previous, maybe they believe I am not worth getting what I want. Immediately, my mind goes back to jealousy or low self esteem. They feel that they're not worth a better life so by extension I am not either.

Of course, there is the old stand-by, fear. I think that fear killed more things than it ever saved. I am not a big fan of fear. I had a yoga instructor once who said that fear replaces all other emotions. If you have fear you have no other room for any other emotion. There are other emotions that can share the limelight, but where there is fear, it decimates all other emotions. This is completely consistent with my experience. I refuse to live in a wasteland of fear.

I am not afraid of change. Bring it, bitches! (I mean that in the nicest possible way!)

Pants off Dance off

2010-10-01T07:57:00.001-07:00

I started this post when I was in Vancouver. (Pretend I posted this on the 26th!!)

Ok, so this morning when I got up, Paul and I started watching TV. Up in Vancouver, we haven't got many channels but enough to get by. Well, the show we found this morning deserves a comment. It was a fun, weird and sort-of trashy reality TV show called "Pants off, Dance off". Try Youtube if you want to see some. I won't post video here.

I am not sure what the actual purpose of the show is other than what my mother might have called titillation. Basically, random people go on this show and do a dance striptease to a song that is currently popular. They only go as far as their underwear but even so there is a fair amount of skin. Paul and I joined the program as a twenty something guy was dancing like a bit of a moron without his shirt. Then the pants came off and he was bouncing around the screen in his boxer shorts. It was innocuous really, sort of like watching your teenager or early twenty someone kid bounce around his room. Silly. Not at all sexual, really.

The guy was followed by a young woman dancing around in her bra and panties to "Poker face". We finally gave up watching as a man dressed up as a woman did a rather appalling striptease which got the wig and falsies off as well. In a word, ICK. I knew we were in trouble the second I saw him/her. He was announced with a name like Vivica or some other name of that sort - the kind of name that only strippers and transsexuals have. Anyway, Vivica was the end of our viewing pleasure.

Most of my posts have a point, i know that. I am not sure this one does, except to ask if people think is sort of show could possibly air on a Sunday morning in America. If you think not, let me know why. Rather curious what people think of PODO.

Vancouver

2010-10-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

Visiting Vancouver, is always a great trip. Paul and I try to get to Vancouver Canada as often as we can, but don't always make it up terribly often. The last time we were here was during the Olympics! That trip was fantastic. (Side note, I am using my new Mac to create a photo book of the photos we took during the Olympics and it should be great. The ones I created for Egypt & Israel and the London Elephants were great.).

We went last weekend and it was fantastic. I started to post this blog in Vancouver, but never managed it.

I include a few photos here that are from the Vancouver International Airport-- I think this is possibly the most beautiful airport, but maybe I am biased. I didn't get a photo of the huge round wood carving on the wall (complete with water fountain at its base) that is in the airport near the customs and immigration area. That is simply beautiful. Next time, I will get a photo and post it.

We had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, regardless of weather issues. I am posting this really, to show some pretty images of the airport.

More Minnie

2010-09-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ah, Minneapolis... How do I love thee, let me count the ways. Hmmm, not so easy as I thought. I don't love Minne-innie all that much. It is fine as a place, but I overall, it isn't my cup 'o tea. I had a fair amount of extra time this trip as my meetings were very early in the day and I was there alone. Because of this, I was able to go downtown a couple of times and found that as a 'downtown' it fails to amuse! However, I have two fun photos I felt like posting from my recent trip.

The first is of a department store off the 494 in Bloomington, not terribly far from the Mall of America (see earlier posting on that!) This place is called Herberger's . I went there out of sheer desperation and boredom. As far as I can figure out, it is a cross between a Mervyn's and a Kohl's department store. Clearly, all of these department store names are people's names hence the 's at the end of their names. (I just did some research and I am right!) Mervyn G. Morris, R.G. Bob Herberger and Max Kohl. Check out the wiki on Herberger's here. I can't say I loved it, but I tried on some jeans and almost bought them!

The other fun photo is from my visit to a friend's house to see her new baby, who was completely adorable! Anyway, she made fun of me in my rental car saying that it looked like I was an undercover cop, a pedophile or a mobster. Well, I am none of those things. I guess I should be flattered that she thought the car didn't suit me. It was a Grand Marquis, probably one of the archetype cars for a 'old, fat, white man'. Anyway, in the photo, she said to do a cheesy pose. How did I do? Cheese factor high enough? Get my white shoes! It's a look, what can I say.

I do (not)

2010-09-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about relationships and marriage. In part this is due to a friend of mine who recently decided to split from her husband. It saddens me as much as it puzzles and to some extent angers me. I have been trying to tease out why along with sadness and confusion I would have anger.

What is it to me? Why would I care? I don't live with the guy. I don't have to pick up his stinky socks off the floor or visit with his crazy family. Not that his family is crazy and I have no idea about his socks, but I am trying to picture what it is driving her away from someone she has been with for so long.

I guess the only honest answer to this is that it makes me afraid something like that could happen to me. Divorce is devastating and the havoc it wreaks is colossal and doesn't manifest entirely till years and years after a divorce. I know this first hand from my parent's divorce.

What would happen if I were suddenly faced with the prospect of being alone? I would expect that anyone in a relationship worries about what would happen if the loved one suddenly died. I don't think that I am alone in this. I have certainly contemplated this but somehow the idea of divorce is oddly more upsetting. I guess having your loved one die loving you is less terrifying than having them reject you after years of knowing you. If you think about it, the one person who presumably knows you the best in the world has done all of the analysis, weighed all the options and has determined that you are not worthy of staying with. What a horrible thought.

Through the years, I have realized that my mother and I looked at the world in the same way. Is this how she felt when my dad left? That she was, after 28 years of marriage, being left because she was so thoroughly unworthy of respect and love that he had to leave? Well, honestly, probably not. We all recognize that he is a complete and utter waste of human space. I could expand on this, but decency prevents further elaboration on him. I am fairly certain, that my mother would have come to terms with things and not viewed the divorce as complete rejection. She would probably have determined that his love wasn't worth the price of admission.

The idea of divorce in my own life is pretty scary. Maybe the religious right is trying to help us out. In some ways, maybe this Prop 8 thing is a good deal. Less marriage = less divorce. You can't get married so divorce is off the table. I guess the old way of breaking up should be good enough for anyone, right? Of course, being unofficially rejected isn't any better than a state-sanctioned one, but a valid relationship at least has to be thought through before you do the dumping.

That is another thing about this friends upcoming split. I keep thinking she can't have thought this through. At this point, I don't know what to think. I will have her full story later this month when I see her (which I won't publish here as I am feeling that this post already pushes the boundaries on good taste). Still, I am posting it as these are my thoughts and I think honesty is always a pretty decent place to start, or in this case, end. I hope it will all make more sense to me once I have seen her.

September 11th

2010-09-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's a small, small world!

We had a very full day today. Rather than stay home and deal with the never ending coverage of the 9/11 tragedy, Paul and I had a nice day running around Orange County. Some of you may say that is sticking your head in the sand. I say, I saw 9/11 once. I don't need a repeat. It reverberates in my head each time I get on a plane, which these days, is quite a lot.

California Adventure

If fact, I am on a plane later today off to Minneapolis. So,you can safely say that I recall it and have no fear that I will forget it anytime soon. It seems most of my friends FB posts were about 'Never FORGET' it. Yeah, I am not sure that it is really possible to forget in this society. Terror alerts at 'Amber' and whatnot. Regardless, Paul and I decided to have some fun. The weekend before, we had done the park down in South County. This weekend, I booked a play at South Coast Repertory and we went to Disneyland during the day. The photos I have posted are named below each photo.

13 minute line today!

Since it was a beautiful day, we had a lovely time walking around California Adventure and seeing what new things they have going on in the park. As usual, we HAD to go on Tower of Terror. It seems like a visit to that park isn't complete without it. We love Soaring over California as well, but the line for that one is always at least 25 minutes and we figure that we will have time some other day to see it without a line.

After we went to Disneyland, we decided to try out a burger joint that everyone is talking about - 5 guys burgers and fries. We had to wait in line, but the burgers were really good, even if the restaurant was like eating in the middle of a freeway!

Later that night, we went to South Coast Rep to see a production of 'Misalliance' by George Bernard Shaw. Unlike many productions at SCR, it was a period piece that they performed in a traditional manner. I have seen many outrageous performances at SCR and usually those are the most memorable - where they take a Shakespeare play and set it in 1040's America, etc. Anyway, this play was very good, well acted and produced. The play itself was about 20 minutes too long, as it wanted to bring the plane in and circled the airport one too many times for my liking. The ending was it basically just stopping... rather odd. However, who am I to question Shaw, right?

The SCR is putting on a production about 19th century women and the advent of the vibrator... not sure I will see that one, but it sounds pretty hilarious. Follow this link to check it out. If I see it, I will post something.

Men's room love

2010-09-10T07:54:00.001-07:00

I had a quintessential OC moment last night in the South Coast Plaza bathroom. I left that bathroom elated and laughing! It isn't what you think.

Ok, so here is my story. Paul and I went to go look for suits for me at South Coast Plaza. I am hating all of my suits as they are all out of date and don't really fit me. I think I look dated at work and I simply can't have it! We went to Bloomingdales (too expensive) and Macy's (ugly).

Sadly, no suits suited me. We were on the way out of the mall and we passed Williams Sonoma, purveyor of the $100 Colander and then past Harry Winston (fughet about it!). Maybe it was the waterfall of jewelery or the splash of the food in the mixing bowls, but I suddenly realized that I needed to use the men's room. I left Paul ogling the diamonds in the window and the high cost cookware.

I walked through one of those long coridoors toward the men's room. Walking, I noticed that the walls and floor, even in this weird hallway to the bathroom, was beautiful. So along the immaculate hallway to the bathroom I went and finally came upon the door to the men's room. There was a square block on the wall beckoning me to wave my hand in front of it - as I did this, the door magically opened. I didn't have to touch the door handle - wait! There wasn't even a handle to touch!

Inside, the marbled bathroom was, of course, beautiful and I went to use the 'hyper hygienic non-water using urinal', at least, that is what the plaque on the wall told me. As I was using it, I was able to read about how I was personally saving the world from green house gasses by using this urinal- 40,000 gallons of water per urinal per year! Pictured here is the lovely unit! Never say I don't do my part toward preventing global warming. And look! No handle. I didn't have to use my foot to flush the toilet, as it doesn't flush!

I then washed my hands using the hand activated soap dispenser as well as the hand activated faucet. I then walked over to the hand activated Dyson air blade hand dryer. I must say, the soap smelled lovely and I think it moisturised my skin too. I then waved my hand at the bathroom door and it magically opened again and out I went. I had an entirely no-touch toilet experience!

After having spent years in London using public facilities that were second rate (I am being nice here, please give me credit. Some of those toilets were beyond description.), it was lovely to feel like I had finally emotionally moved back home. It wasn't until I used the men's room at South Coast Plaza that I really understood. I am BACK! I am ready to live the California dream, and please, don't touch.

Minneapolis

2010-08-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

During my visit to MN for work, I did my obligatory visit to the Mall of America. I am there a few times a year and it is always interesting to go to this mall. The first time I was there was about 15 or so years ago when I visited for work. Oddly, on that first trip, I went to the company I now work for, so the trips are very similar - Fly to MN, stay in Bloomington and work then before I go back to the airport, off to Mall of America.

Back in the day, there was a Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in the middle of the mall and there used to be a ton of repetition in the mall stores. The joke at the time was that there were 4 Alpaca rug stores - Does a mall even need one? (Before you laugh, keep in mind that I bought two rugs over the last 15 years at MOA- so.. who am I to ask about Alpaca rug needs? But I digress.

Anyway, this time, I realized that the amusement park is now a Nickelodeon park - with Sponge Bob, Johnny Neutron, etc. I hardly know who they have as their characters, but you get the drift. I decided to wander down into the park and was amazed at the transformation of the park from a slightly sleepy Knotts to this bizarre collection of kiddie rides and what appear to me to be some form of voluntary torture!

A case in point - The Ghostly Gangplank (pictured left) and below. This is a crazy ride (climbing trip?) Is that even safe? People were loading up their children on this 'ride', some as young as like 4 or 5 it appeared! Tiny kids - ick!

Someone on the gang plank! Lucky soul!

I certainly wouldn't go on this thing. If you can't quite tell, you hook yourself up to this harness (similar to those you see on the people painting the Golden Gate Bridge). Then they navigate themselves through this complicated and very high obstacle course-- the fun of it being, I guess, is that if you slip, you could fall to a horrible death. What fun!

Below are some photos of Spongebob's Rock Bottom Plunge. - Another ride I never need to go on! Basically, this is a just a roller coaster but this first plunge looks so dangerous - you are heading face down in that coach.

On the way up!

On the way down!

Thought it would be fun to post these. I don't expect posting them will make anyone want to ride them, but you never know!

Air travel Ugh...

2010-08-30T06:53:00.001-07:00

I fly a lot. Too much, really. This week was no exception, really, except that I had 6 flights during an eight day period and two flights had failed landings. Never had one? I can explain. They aren't fun. I think they are also called 'near misses' if that gives you any idea about it.

Basically on my flight back from MN to California, I was flying Delta and may I just say one thing about that carrier? DELTA BLOWS! It was a flight that took off late. The service was yuckie. The movies were shite and we had tons of turbulence. The journey was almost at a close and I could see beautiful brown hills below me slowly turning into neighborhoods and finally cities. We were just about on the ground when I felt the unmistakable push of acceleration. The engines roared a bit and we went from descending to ascending. I looked out the window, yes, that was the other thing - I was in a window seat with two miseries beside me so I was locked in the whole flight! Anyway, I looked out the window and could see the airport well below us!

After we were again over the Pacific, the captain came on and told us that there was an airplane still on the runway and it wasn't getting out of our way fast enough, so he decided it was better to avoid it and come around. It was all very disconcerting as we flew, now very low over Orange County, in order to circle back to take another run at the landing strip.

It was annoying, not terrifying, but still not something I wanted to do again any time soon. Except, that is exactly what was in store. Four flights later, as we were landing in DFW airport from Montreal, we had another 'near miss' and this time, the annoyed captain told us it was a US Airways plane that was in our way and made us pull back up-- one quick sentence had me hating US Airways nearly as much as Delta! At least this time, Paul was with me and we got to enjoy this new experience together!

There has got to be a better way to get around this world! Paul wants a fractional ownership in a private jet - I wonder where you find out about that... Look out Google, here I come!

Blog refocused

2010-08-16T08:40:00.001-07:00

I am looking at my blog on another screen as I type this - I no longer think my blog is actually 'rants, raves and general wanderings in London Towne' anymore, if it ever was! I am trying to think up a new name for what it is I am writing about and finding little inspiration. Not just a new name, but a new focus and a new way to express myself (dare I say, a new way to be me?) Evan 2010 and beyond? A friend of mine told me she became version 2.0 of herself right after I left for the UK and she is now working on version 2.1. That is what I need - version 2.0 for me and my blog.

So - why am I having such a hard time coming up with a new focus and name? Part of my lack of inspiration has to do with my just getting used to being physically back in the US. There are so many things I have to get done. When you leave a house empty for almost 3 years there are things that need addressing. We did a renovation which addressed a lot of it and now being in the house is fantastic - new paint, doors, a garage you can eat off the floor of- I kid you not- it is BEA-Utilful! But, there are so many little things to take up my time - new keys, some new patio furniture, several new computers and other tech gadgets, etc. So, I have a lot of things to do distracting me from the blog. But I don't think that is why I am lagging a bit.

Maybe it is the sun? It seems I would always rather be outside in such beautiful weather than be inside typing to a pack of faceless, nameless individuals (no offense, but not sure I know everyone who follows my blog - which I love - don't get me wrong.) But somehow, the inducement to type when it is gorgeous outside is helped along by knowing who you are writing to! But it isn't the sun either, I suspect.

I really believe it has to do with the fact that now that I am home, I have all but forgotten that I was ever gone. There are still the odd moments when I feel like a bit of a foreigner here, but I am no longer an outsider. No longer being taken aback by the odd things that happen around me. I don't have the people at Sainsbury's looking at me like I am crazy for wanting popcorn kernels instead of insta-pop microwave ultimate-buttery-goodness packs. I don't have aching shoulders from people slamming into me as I leave the tube at Victoria. And I don't (to my sadness) have a Nando's around the corner to console me when I am in need of some chicken and all you can drink Coke®!

Acclimated already? What did it take - 2 weeks and I am already entirely back into my California roots? There is a saying for this, I think. What is that they say - like a duck to water? Is that appropriate? Am I the duck in this scenario? I am prewired to be at ease in the California sunshine? Is it possible that what I was doing the entire time I was in London was fighting my entire way of being and now I am fitting back into my groove? Is that a good thing? I think it is and I am the duck, that is for sure.

Hey - I like that. I am the duck. Maybe that is what I will call my new blog - Thoughts?

Duck photo courtesy of: http://www.natureartists.com

Prop 8 Hate

2010-08-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

This is the image I was greeted with this morning as I woke up and read my email. Granted, this wasn't a targeted hate email, it was actually from HRC the Human Rights Campaign telling me that this is what the Prop 8 turnover resulted in.

Donate money to these people and I got nothing to say beyond that...

The iMac arrives

2010-08-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello to all the hundreds of readers out in Ethernet-land -- ha. Maybe there are one or two of you. Regardless - let me announce with much pomp and circumstance, the arrival... of... the iMac.

We only got it yesterday afternoon (Sunday) but we have already set it up and understand maybe a whole 20% of what we are looking at on it! We have all of our favorites loaded and are getting used the the delete key working as a backspace key and there being no delete function at all. I sort of remember this from my Apple 2E days in college (a bazillion years ago!)

As you can see, it takes up the entire wall as it is 27" monitor. As I type this, I also realize that the keyboard is also slightly different (where was that pesky " key!?)- something I have gotten pretty adept at since UK keyboards are different from US ones- why not have a third layout, right?

I only really wanted to post about it and brag slightly. I am now practically an entire Apple person- iPad, iPhone, iMac. Check them out. http://www.apple.com - pretty cool. I have to say, they do know how to razzle-dazzle it up. When we plugged in the computer and turned it on, it launched into this really beautiful video-thing where the word "Welcome" showed up in various languages zipping across the screen with what can only be called "high energy advertising music' played loudly in the background. Impressive and super sexy (since I think they want to reward you for having just spent as much as you did on the Mac). Good thinking- immediate reward for those of us who chase sparkly things!

Illusive relaxation

2010-08-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

I remember about 15 years ago, when I first met Paul, we went on a trip to Tahiti. It was glorious. I remember sitting on the beach for a week baking myself in the sun and enjoying the incredible beaches, delicious fruits and happy, interesting people. I actually recall sitting on a beach and recognizing (the Zeds are back in people - US spelling rules!!), actually recognizing that the weird knot in the pit of my stomach was gone. I hadn't even really known it was there until it was mysteriously gone! Whatever worries I had had melted away in the south Pacific sun. Looking back on this now, I suspect this was the initial heroin-like moment in my quest to becoming a full fledged travel-addict. I was hooked!

Over the course of the years, I have noticed that a week's vacation does not afford that sort of release for me anymore. About 10 years ago, I noticed that I needed a two week vacation in order to get the same effect. I had now come to realize that the pit in my stomach wasn't so much a knot but more a spring or coil too tightly wound and it would take two weeks for it to relax into its normal shape. A knot implies something locked into place. The feeling I had displayed more tension than a mere knot.

Sadly, I noticed this during a time when the two week vacation was difficult to get. That term about being 'wound up too tight' seemed an appropriate metaphor for my experience and it never seemed to relax into a normal coil after a holiday unless it was sufficiently long for me to forget the idiots I worked with and the stupid political situations I found myself in. Then I would find that the time it took to tighten back up was shorter and shorter with each passing holiday.

More recently, I have come to almost anticipate the inability to relax even on long holidays. NO matter where we went or how long we were gone, I couldn't get that relaxed feeling again. Was it aging? Was I a yuppie automaton addicted to work? One thing to note however, now that I look back was that I believe even though I have been physically away from my job, I hadn't completely cut away from it. Being able to leave work behind seemed lost to me like the ability to leave work in the office with my lap top where both belonged, like I used to be able to in the old days.

This spring, when we went to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games, even though I was gone a month, I worked the entire time I was away except for 4 days. STUPID ME! Everyone else had assumed I wasn't working, so not only did I return to work not relaxed, but some how penalized by my co-workers for having been gone so long. I can't say I blame them much, but still.

So - today, as Paul and I are running around cleaning the house, getting our new iMac setup (post will be forthcoming on that topic!) and generally doing errands etc, I had to capture this photo of the Spartacus cat who has definitely not lost the desire or ability to relax. As I snapped it, he was in mid-roll to warm the other side of his body. He glanced up at me as this photo snapped. I find it terribly cute and am posting it here as a reminder to all of us who may not always remember how to relax that it is important for us to take time for ourselves.

I hereby promise to relax more. I have a Montreal trip planned, a cruise to the Caribbean, a trip to Vancouver and a few others that are still just banging around my head. Those are all a way off however. I feel a massage coming on~!

Disneyland Passes!

2010-08-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

One of the things I was looking forward to in moving back to the OC was being able to go to Disneyland on a regular basis. Now, I know that for some of you, you have no idea why anyone would want to be at Disneyland often, or maybe even ever. However, if you grew up here, going to Disneyland is like going to lunch or to the mall - just something fun to do that breaks up the monotony of life. PLUS - you get to see Mickey Mouse and go on roller coasters!

So - we bought annual passes for Disneyland and it was done entirely online. My ticket is actually a print out from my computer. I guess that I bring it to Disneyland on the day I want my year to begin and then from that point on, I get to go to there as often as I like for a year. We had an option to select a version of the annual pass where there were black-out dates (when you aren't able to go) but Paul and I never do well with that sort of thing, so we opted to have the ability to go 365 days a year - why do I work if not to allow me to spend it on what I want, right?

Anyway, along with our passes to Disneyland proper, we are also allowed to go into Disney's California Adventure as well- which as I was leaving the US was starting to be my favorite of the two. I understand that there are changes so I am looking forward to seeing what they have done. It takes several years to get an amusement park to hit their stride, so California Adventure is probably getting pretty cool these days.

NOTE: I would like to thank http://www.ineedavacation.com/disneyland/ for the images of the two park maps!

Circle in a World of Squares: Mel Gibson is Now Dating a Man

2010-08-05T21:16:00.001-07:00

Circle in a World of Squares: Mel Gibson is Now Dating a Man. Click through to this link and it will show a funny video!

Huntington Beach Surf Competition

2010-08-05T07:04:00.001-07:00

I passed this on the way by Huntington Beach today. For those of you who don't already know, HB is also known as Surf City. Some misguided people even tried to get the city renamed, but without any success. Now it is just a term that shows up sometimes to entice tourists to spend more money.

I am not sure how often we get one as big as this, perhaps annually, but occasionally there is a really big surfing competition here in So Cal in the Huntington City beach. There are two beaches in HB - the city beach and the state beach. To my way of thinking the better of the two is the City beach, but you may think as you choose. Perhaps in a later blog, I will give my views on which beaches are nicest and why, but not today.

Today, I just wanted to post a photo to the blog to show what it looked like and how beautiful the weather is these days in Southern California. I took the photo from my iPhone through the sunroof of my car passing downtown HB facing the water. Sorry for those of you hoping for beach hotties.. none in this photo!

Begining my Newport Beach Blog

2010-08-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

I thought as a transition from the UK to the US, I would post something that might make the Brits laugh. In my ongoing struggle to understand the English language I am now finding things funny on this side of the pond now that I have returned to the US. Not sure why I didn't notice these things before, but as I am trying to re-acclimate to California I am spending time relaxing and looking around instead of the constant chores I was doing on my previous trips home. In Newport Beach, we have a boardwalk that runs along the water in between the ocean front houses and the sand/beach/ocean. On the boardwalk, occasionally, there are shops, bars and restaurants mixed into the residential areas.

There is a breakfast place on the Newport peninsula boardwalk that has been there forever and I never gave its name a second glance. It is called The Stuft Surfer. It makes me laugh because the English use 'stuffed' in the same way that we use the word 'screwed' - not a very nice connotation for a place to eat lunch or, preferably, breakfast on the beach!

Leaving London - coming full circle

2010-07-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

How do I sum up my time here in the UK? That is a real question. I honestly have no idea. It has been fantastic in so many ways. In others it has been infuriating or exhausting. There have been ups and downs, things to learn and other things to unlearn.

I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. The people I have been fortunate to become friends with through work have been such a joy. I hope to continue to work with them for years to come.

I was trying to find an appropriate way to close out the UK part of this blog as it transitions from a London foreigner-insights blog to a California beach-insider blog (No, honestly... Go with me on this. It'll be great). After thinking it through on the eleven hour flight back home, the metaphor I came up with was a circle, starting a journey at one point and ending back up where things started.

I recall being in an odd euphoria when I first moved to London. It was like a vacation where along with the sight seeing, I had these weird chores to complete - get a bank account, rent a flat, figure out what things I liked to eat, etc. Then after a while, it felt like the never ending business trip. Like a dream you can't wake from. Well, clearly, I have awoken. But over the last few weeks, as I know I am leaving, I have started to feel like a visitor again, a pure tourist. No more chores, no more trying to fit in or avoid making silly mistakes like calling my trousers 'pants'. Oddly, I have enjoyed London a lot ever since I knew I was leaving. Just like I did when I first got here.

So - on my last few weeks, you see below, a slew of postings about my having some fun in London. I am also including an update which I promised a few posts back, about the Black Swan babies! I post photos here of the beautiful baby cygnets as well as their rather remiss and slightly disinterested parents! There are two babies - one behind dad and one at the water's edge. Very cute. I hope they make it to adulthood with those two lackluster parents!

Another thing that I noted during the last week of my London life, was that they announced that they were installing bicycle rentals through out the city. Paul mentioned that he read about it months ago that we were getting one. Sure enough, the week I was leaving, the bicycle holders and associated rental kiosk showed up outside my windows on Rochester Row. I thought that I would miss seeing them, but on the tube coming back from my office on the last evening I was in London, I read that the bicycle programme was going to be 'rolled out' the following day- my last day. Kind of a fitting reminder that while my London life is coming to a close, other things in London are just starting.

The day I was leaving for the plane, I ran around my building and captured this photo. These are bicycles in the London bicycle scheme on THE DAY that they became available. The picture is of bikes that have not yet been ridden. Wonder what state of disrepair they will be in when I return to London in October!

Anyway, with this post, I am closing out the London phase of this blog. I will post occasional London insights as I continue to work with the London office and will return periodically. As I mentioned above, I will continue blogging but now I will focus on California and our foibles, etc. Maybe my British friends will get a kick out of it. I hope you all do. THANKS! Signing off from London.

Last UK day of work

2010-07-29T00:28:00.000-07:00

Ok... So, today was the last day I will be working in the London office as a UK resident!

As I left the Victoria tube station this evening I passed the Apollo theatre. This was the first real show Paul and I ever saw in London. Passing the sign I thought it would be appropriate to include it as a photo on one of the last posts from London.

I had a great night. After work, pretty much all of my co-workers came down for some drinks at a pub at the base of my building. We had a nice time and they had very sweet and kind things to say to me. :-)

Then I dashed off to catch the Bakerloo line to Baker street and had dinner with another friend of mine at Nando's. It was great. She hadn't gotten a close up look at the IPad, so we played with it. Earlier in the day, I had just downloaded an app that allowed a two player game, so we played that. We then had a nice chicken dinner and then off I went home to pack!

Tate Modern and Tate Britian

2010-07-26T16:01:00.034-07:00

A few weeks ago I was bored on the weekend and walked from my flat over to the Tate Modern museum. Paul and I had a fantastic time when we first got to London and we went to this museum. One of the outstanding memories of the visit was this art exhibit which was literally part of the foundation of the museum.

For those of you unfamiliar with the layout of the museum at the time I am speaking of (early 2008) let me set the picture. The Tate Modern Museum is housed in an old factory that is longer than it is wide, but still a very, very large structure. It must be about 8 stories high and the way it used to be set up was that the length of the museum was cut in half - one half was museum space and the other half was an open atrium.

At the bottom of the atrium, used to be a crack - the work of Colombian artist Doris Salcedo. I just found out that it was officially called Shibboleth, nick-named Doris's crack (funny!). Anyway, this crack ran the length of the floor and while at first it seems stupid, I became a bit fan of it. I posted something on it at some point. Possibly it was on my old blog.

Sadly, Doris's crack (still funny) was controversial in a few ways. Some thought it wasn't art. Others, STUPID others, fell in. No lie. Apparently, two or three people injured themselves. The Daily News reported in 2007 that "One young woman had to be dragged out by friends after falling into the crack in the floor but was otherwise unharmed." Now, honestly, take a look at the photo and you tell me - is it even possible to fall INTO this crack- never mind that fall necessitating being 'dragged' out of it? I wonder they allowed the women in this photo so close to the huge gulch!

So, why am I writing about this today? Well, when I went to the Tate Modern, I found the crack had been filled in! Actually, I knew it had been filled in, but this was the first chance I had to get a look at it. Hooray - another triumph for modern media - the death-crack was closed! The Daily Mail performed yet another public service. It was the outrage at public funds being built to support hazardous art projects, I presume, that was the official reason for closing it! In that same article, it says that someone there was quoted to say that 'Art imitates life, but here it is threatening it.' Really?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-486800/Three-visitors-rescued-falling-Tate-Moderns-300-000-trench-artwork.html#ixzz0uhJBHkWB

After the Tate Modern, I went to the Tate Britain near my house. I am happy to say that the museum didn't have any huge changes to it - other than two fighter planes installed as art. I have to say I enjoyed the way they were installed - one was face down, as though in a crash landing. The second was in a position as though it had just crashed - but was gleaming polished silver. Very interesting.

It is the work of Fiona Banner and apparently, these are real fighter planes. Interesting. Here is a BBC article on the subject.

Click here for the BBC article.

Cygnets are happy and healthy

2010-07-26T04:01:00.044-07:00

Those of you who read this regularly (one or perhaps two of you?) will know that I love the swans in this country. I am fascinated by their size, bad attitude and the sheer grace and beauty of them. So, I am happy to announce that the cygnets are back in St. James's park! In May I posted a note about 4 baby swans that were in St. James's park. They were so cute. Then we had this bizarre heat wave in June and part of July and the water in St. James's park got all frothy and almost covered over with algae. Pretty much none of the birds were on the lake and it seems that the swans had disappeared. I had been in the US and so, all I could assume was that something bad happened to the swan babies and the parents left to another lake that wasn't so impossible to swim in. The other option was that the swan family was taken away by the rangers so they would remain safe. On gloomy days, I was sure it was the first option. On other days I hoped for better.

Anyway, I was walking through the park on Saturday and there they were - the whole family. All four of the babies had grown up to teen-age swans (grey, fuzzy and without their proper feathers yet). The first photo is of one of the parents and all four babies. The second photo is the other adult swan in attack position chasing away other birds- so territorial! There is nothing so mean as a cross swan warning you away from her babies!

Not only did the white swans come back, but the black swan couple, who haven't had babies in the last two years have some babies this year. I don't have my camera with me as I write this to upload the photos, but I will do that tomorrow and you will be able to see the beautiful swans.

One last photo - I didn't post this one before as I took it in June right before I went to the US but I can't resist it today - SO CUTE! (and you can already see the algae starting to clog the lake!)

Last week living in London

2010-07-25T03:35:00.006-07:00

Ok, so. Well, what can I say? It is my last week here in London. I am glad to have lived here. It has been difficult and interesting, fun and exciting and occasionally annoying. I prefer Newport Beach but I wouldn't trade having lived here for anything in the world. So many life lessons. So many instances where my expectations, beliefs and occasionally, if I am being honest, my prejudices were challenged. I will return to California a changed person. Hopefully in a good way. I am still pretty petty and small about some things, I am sure, but with luck I will have gained a different perspective on the world.

I certainly understand that one man's trash is another man's treasure. I had an interesting conversation with the guy who cuts my hair. He (I believe) is from Lithuania. He has lived here 17 years and loves it more than he hates it, he says. He told me the other day while he was cutting my hair that Americans are the most lazy people ever. I smiled and asked some questions, but his remarks don't bear repeating. Basically, what I think he said was, because people in the US are so busy, they depend on things going easily, quickly, efficiently, etc. That sort of luxury isn't real, according to him and expecting that life will be like that is wrong and apparently, also bad. I told him, 'Good, you can stay here, and I will go where I can be lazy.'

London Elephants

2010-06-17T13:27:00.013-07:00

So - Trying to keep myself busy whilst Paul is away has been difficult. I have resorted to elephant hunting. Well, you know I don't really mean it. I have been hunting through the city to see the elephant parade.

There is a charity called Elephant Parade which is dedicated to raising money for endangered Asian elephants. The website says that each of the model elephants in London will be the size of an adolescent elephant, and will be decorated by an artist or celebrity to make them look the part for the Elephant Parade itself. The 250 plus model elephants in London will then be auctioned off at Sotheby’s as the Elephant Family charity attempt to raise as much money as possible so that these beautiful and exotic creatures continue to stomp around the globe.

I have been going out on treks through out the evenings and weekends taking photos - boring? Maybe. Still, it keeps me out of trouble. :-) Here are some photos of the ELEPHANTS I HAVE SEEN.

I think the photos are pretty cool and I like that I have so many of them. There are like 250 of them and apparently, over the weekend I am leaving for the US, they will all end up at the Chelsea hospital (where they have the Chelsea garden show) where they will be on display until the 4th of July. However, on the 4th of July, I will be celebrating the triumph of the American Spirit over their British oppressors... (Didn't think you would get through a post without some kind of dump on the UK, did you?) Enjoy the weekend all!

London Sunset

2010-06-15T13:47:00.011-07:00

Yes, it has actually come to that fateful day, when I announce that I am leaving the UK and moving back to the good old USA. I don't think this is a huge shock for anyone who might be reading this - I never made it much of a secret that I wanted to return eventually. My job assignment was only initially for 18 months. Now that I am rounding my 29th month in London, I think I have done pretty well. Time to go!

This is not to say that I am leaving the UK full stop. I am still working for a UK company and will still be here from time to time to take pot shots at this great city and its inhabitants (such as they are).

So, that said, keep looking forward to more shite-slinging at the peculiarities of UK live and particularly that of London life. But as I say this, I reflect back on my recent postings only to find that many of them are happy. Not nearly as much slinging as 2 years ago. What? Have I actually only just learned to live in London just as I am leaving it? Well, one of life's happy jokes, I guess. Life's joke could be worse... I could be staying here! (You didn't actually think I was going to let London off the hook, did you!?)

Check out the photo up top- if you click it, you can read what the bus says... California, here I come! As the sun sets on July 31, I will be winging my way back to my native land. I should be back just in time for the next X Factor season!

Disturbing the peace

2010-06-13T11:19:00.008-07:00

I am now taking the bus to get to our new offices in Paddington. I take the 36 or 436 from the Victoria area to Paddington station. Basically, this route takes me past Victoria station (across from the Wicked & Billy Elliott productions) and up behind Buckingham palace. Then we continue around Hyde park corner, marble arch and up through Edgeware road. We finally take a turn by St. Mary's hospital and then finally Paddington.

The other morning, I was on the 36 double-decker bus and had a view of the street as we came up to the Victoria station. I saw a man by the side entrance who had oddly red lips, blood. Hmmm. He was clearly homeless and had a man close behind him hugging him around his upper arms from behind. No, I was wrong again. It wasn't a man, it was a policeman and the hug was really a way of restraining him. I could see the policeman speaking to him and clearly there was another person inside the door, where I could not see.

The homeless man clearly wanted to get inside and was agitated. I assumed that whoever gave him those red lips was inside still. The mad was talking and he held up his hand like a claw. Again, I assume that he was explaining how the other 'hidden' man had busted his lip. At one point, the man broke down, falling to the ground and was crying. Perhaps I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised how kind the policeman was, comforting him. That was short lived, as the man was quickly agitated again and the policeman had to restrain him from getting inside.

Then the bus was off - and I was left feeling embarrassed that I had seen this odd interchange between these people. I had seen what was probably a pretty terrible day for this one guy and probably a rather exciting day for the policeman. What was that interaction to me? It felt weird to have the image of the two of them, like it didn't belong to me at all and I didn't know what to do with it.

This all happened within the span of about a minute and it was over and we were gone before I could really process it, but I was left with a sinking feeling, like when you hear bad news - but this had nothing to do with me at all. Why did I have to feel anything at all?

When I got to work, I was still feeling weird - not really sad. I am not sure what to call the feeling I had - maybe I was just thoughtful. I mentioned it to someone I work with and she indicated that she thinks that most of the time, whatever is happening on the streets as she walks by is almost SO specific, that she doesn't even process the information, but rather it is white noise on her way to work. In a city like London, I guess I know why people keep their eyes down and just keep moving. It is almost too much of a burden to see some of the stuff you see in this city.

My time living here is coming to a close soon, as I will be only visiting periodically for work. Should I be glad that I won't see as much of this as I drive my big car through the streets of California? I am not sure.

Is English.. English?

2010-06-03T14:52:00.012-07:00

I have been thinking about the English language and how so many different country's speak it-- but so very differently. What is it about accents, speaking in different tongues--when people are speaking your language but with different pronunciation or word choice- are they wrong or are we? Who is to say for sure?

I have a The Blue-Tongued Skink photo to the left- two reasons:

First, I love the word Skink. It is fun to say- Skink, Skank, Skunk. Love it. My lizardy friend is my representation of the different ways in which we speak English. Plus, the word Skink is almost impossible to get into a conversation. Try it sometime.

The second reason for the photo is that all of the other photos I tried to google of tongues were not fit for public consumption! Don't ask.

Ok, back to accents. In England and through out the UK, they all speak English, at least a version of it, that is entirely understandable to each other and mostly to me (in some instances, only if given enough time and they repeat themselves while speaking very slowly). However, those accents seem to mean so much more here than it does at home, or at least, because I don't know what the accents mean, they take on more importance to me than differences in American English. A Bronx NY accent and a Texas accent both carry information about the person, but it seems in the UK, it carries more information about where that person comes from and what their potential in the world will be- necessarily. Am I wrong? I can't tell.

I am working now with a group of Indian nationals and their word choice is occasionally puzzling to me- A typical exchange:

Him: "Today morning, I came to know that I had an error in the program. So, later, because I am knowing this, I took the afternoon to work on the needful."

Me: "HUH? You're working on the what?"

British person next to me: "He SAID 'Whilst he was working this morning, he reviewed the programme and found it to be in error. Due to this fact, he worked through out the day to correct the issue, document the error, create a register of potential future errors, file that registry with the Department of Errors, Omissions and Missteps and then had a cup of tea.'" Perhaps I exaggerate.

So - the Indians all understand each other, the Brits do and us good ol' 'mericans understand each other too. I heard Maya Angelou say that she thought Americans should live and be outside of America a bit so that they would understand how languages bump into each other and mix in cities (such as London.) Maya is occasionally pompous (maybe even mostly pompous) but I love her ability to express herself.

So, I was thinking about this and I have come to believe that I am just getting more familiar with the fact that not everyone speaks the SAME English- which I think is great, really. I think I react to these things because it makes me realise we are not all in the same 'club'. For some reason, that seems worrying to me.

Ok, so here is the real reason why I thought to talk about accents today. Freaky story. I forget a lot that I speak in an accent that is odd to the locals. Case in point: I called the Northampton Taxi service last week in order to get picked up and taken to the train station. I dialed them and a woman 'of a certain age' picked up and when she heard my voice, giggled to me, and told me that she could listen to me talk all afternoon. Kind of weird, but also a bit cute (at first). As I attempted to get a taxi set up, she kept sighing and commenting on how I was speaking. I was "ever so Lahv-lee", she coo'd. Nothing ever really embarrasses me but I was taken aback when she said that my accent was dead sexy- I kid you not. She said she knew that I would be embarrassed but she thought US accents were sexy and even said that my voice was sexy too- OK, time to end THAT conversation. Still, it got me thinking. When I speak to them- it has the same affect as when a Parisian speaks to me? Ohhh, now that is ever so lovely!

BTW- check out the link above - BlueTonguedSkinks.net No, really. I am not making this up!

The Fantasticks

2010-05-31T00:53:00.007-07:00

Unexpectedly my friend Tom suggested we go to see a play on Saturday this last weekend for a matinee. He is a new friend- actually he is our porter and is wonderfully intelligent, fun and interesting. I have known him for the whole time I have lived here and he is a great guy. We haven't gone out before, which is too bad because he is a lot of fun.

He told me that there was a musical that didn't have a lot of buzz in town but it was the longest running show in Broadway- showing for like 30 years or something (meaning it was in the 60's when it first came out, so I was a bit worried it might be dated. It wasn't.) It is where the song called 'Try to remember the kind of September.." comes from. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and we had a great time. Nice way to spend an afternoon!

Then on Sunday I sat around and relaxed. Monday- same thing... What? I am allowed!

Well, actually, I did something on both days, but for whatever reason, I can't recall what it was! Perhaps since I am writing this on Wednesday, I have simply forgotten- or was it the lost weekend? Things that make you go hmmm...

4th plinth

2010-05-30T23:18:00.009-07:00

Paul is obsessed with the 4th plinth. Actually, he isn't but it is fun to say he is and so, I start out my story this way..

Paul is obsessed with the 4th plinth in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Originally, there were four columns (which is what I am told a plinth is) and they each had a statue planned to be built on the top of it. These four columns are at the four corners of the plaza. The one closest to the National Gallery (not the one by St. Martin in the Fields, but the other one across the way) is the fourth one that I am talking about.

Anyway, for whatever reason, the fourth statue was never placed on top of that one plinth and now it is a blank canvas for people to put whatever they think would be interesting. Paul used to joke that there should be a larger than life size statue of Lady Di on the spot, but the Queen would never allow it- and then he would amuse himself with other people who could be up there and other conspiracy theories on why their statues would be blocked. Hardly an obsession, but it was fun to listen to.

Almost 2 1/2 years ago when I got to London, the plinth had this plexy-glass thingie on it that was multicoloured. Here is a picture of it. Rather stupid, if you ask me - uninteresting, not very provocative and just out of place. Little did I know that I would have be grateful to see it instead of the insane and probably equally stupid (however, it WAS provocative) Gormley project. Googling it, I see it is described as "Antony Gormley's One & Other, an astonishing living monument." Astonishing in that it was funded by taxpayer money to place (each hour for months on end) a new human who would stand up there on the plinth and be 'art'. Now, in theory, that sounds fantastic. One can imagine any number of interesting ways in which a person could be art for 1 hour and be interesting, provocative and maybe even a bit shocking.

However, being London, what we got was people up there holding signs saying 'peace in the middle east' or 'save the Leicester lowland duck' or some such rubbish. Some people went naked, not the ones you wanted to see naked, but those other ones. I keep my clothing on for a reason and they should have too. One woman, my favorite really, stood up there in a robe with a push vacuum and stood there pushing it back and forth- some statement, I suppose, on the state of being a woman. I suppose, it could have been an advertisement for a new vacuum - not really sure. However, I found her rather captivating as she would stand there looking contemplative periodically between sweeps of her vacuum.

So, why am I talking about this now? Well, they finished with the people on the plinth ages ago and so it is now time for a new exhibit. This one sounded charming - a huge ship in a bottle. I was there the other day and I was able to get a photo of it - I like it. It was done by an African artist who wanted to convey the quality of a multicultural city that is London by putting Nelson's Ship in a bottle but it has African cloth as the sails- which I know you can't really see in the photo, but trust me - they are there and add a fantasy quality to the boat.

Should you care to see more on the plinth - it has its own website- I do not lie - http://www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth/ Enjoy!

Cygnets are back!

2010-05-28T14:51:00.006-07:00

I am going to attempt to keep up to date with my blog. I have had some interesting changes recently. Paul is back in America and I am starting my transition back to the States as well. I intend to keep my job but do slightly different things and do it from California instead.

This week, I spent in LOVELY Northampton city, where I was working to get my team up and running so that we can build some software. More on that later (its kind of a funny story but you have to wait!)- what I wanted to talk about first, were the cygnets in St. James's park.

St. James's park has new baby swans! (Pictured above) I was wandering through the park two days ago (after having been in Northants all week) and the little grey fuzzy swan-lets were back. Last April, the parks authority were draining the lake in the park and that scared away all of the interesting water fowl, so we had a year where we didn't have any swan babies to see. The black swans stuck around last year, but they never seem to have babies. The year before that, we had only two white baby swans. This year we have four! Let's hope they all make it to maturity.

Ok - about Northants. If you haven't been there, well, don't bother. I had high(ish) hopes. I had been to Northants several times to the train station, which I thought was on the outskirts of town, hence I never saw anything worth seeing of the city. Silly me. There isn't anything worth seeing even in the dead center of town. Ok - maybe one thing. It is pictured here. Its like town hall or something like that.

Since the place closes up like a tired clam every day at 5:30 pm, I really didn't see much. Other than the first day, when I needed to go to Boots and Debenhams to get things for my impromptu stay in Northamton (which they call Northants inexplicably). So, yeah, I didn't have any contact lens fluid or a container for them at night, tooth paste, brush, etc. You get the drill. Also, no clean socks or undies, etc either ( which is why I needed a department store and was surprised to see they had a Debenhams- go figure!)

So, of course, I am racing around town between 5:15 and 5:30 when everything closes to get all of these items - and wouldn't you know it, I get a package of mislabeled undies which said M but were XL - CHARMING! How is that for 'Baggy Pants!' HA!

So needless to say, once I got back to London (after changing my undies) I went to the park and was greeted with lovely swan babies - reconfirming my faith in nature and life in general!

Christmas party

2009-12-09T13:04:00.003-08:00

Last night my company had it's Christmas Party. Over in England, they don't bother being politically correct about Christmas since they don't seem to care about the Muslims and don't even acknowledge the Jews. So, Christmas party it is.

We had it at a place called Rushton Hall, which is a beautiful boutique hotel (once great house) somewhere in Kettering. We had a very nice time. The entire day was spent there on Tuesday for an all day summit with the company. The evening was spent for the party and was the alcohol ever flowing! I name no names, but there were plenty of drunk people. You know who you are. I loved the 'I love you, man!' drunk conversations people were having around 2am as I was going to my room!

Anyway, the day today started early (as it did the day before to get to Kettering in the first place from London) and I was back in London this morning about 9:30. I worked from home since I was so tired and I couldn't face going into work and there was no real reason for me to have to be there.

Today was a long one - either from the work I was doing or from the late night or, probably from both! Now I am on facebook reading what people are up to at the same time I am writing this. Paul is in the other room attempting to get his US job situation sorted out again.

Looking forward to posting again soon.

Back on track

2009-10-25T02:00:00.005-07:00

I am getting back into the game..

I have recently started going back to the gym and I decided to start this blog up again as it seems that it would make sense to do something other than sit on FaceBook all night and weekend days. All FB makes Evan a very dull boy!

So - what has been going on since I stopped writing this blog regularly? - Well, getting a bit out of shape, my job changed a bit as I am now doing software development and only overseeing the consulting business for analytics instead of running that area- a welcome change. The spring turned to fall almost immediately upon my return to the UK. The weather has been surprisingly good and is only now turning more toward a colder wintry kind of weather.

We went to Alexandria and Cairo - a dream since childhood. I have to say, even with having seen the pyramids on TV and photos a million times, it was still amazing and fantastic to see. And Kind Tut's stuff is SUPER cool! I must say, how many years have I been fascinated with that? 30 at least! Maybe more.

We didn't go home for Halloween, which is a total bummer, since I feel like I am missing one of my favorite holidays. I think I am going to get into a routine of doing up a HUGE Halloween party each year when we get back to the US. While we aren't in the US for Halloween, we are going to be in Paris for the weekend. That should be a lot of fun. We need to sort out what we are doing.

Christmas should be interesting, as we aren't doing anything special this year. Not sure what London is like the week of Christmas. Not really looking forward to it.

We have the Olympics to look forward to in February, which I am totally looking forward to. We have some of the best events ever! Men's and Women's short and long ice skating programs and also the opening ceremonies. We pick up the tickets the day before the opening ceremonies - that should be a very LONG line. We will have to see.

I am not only re-starting the blog - I am back in the gym 3 times a week. I need it. Most of the time, my body knows how to keep at about the same weight - I packed on about 10 lbs at some point (between July and September) and I am trying to stem the tide.

Ok - that is probably enough for now - like going back to the gym for the first time, you don't want to do too much too soon!!

Love to all!

Weary traveler

2009-09-23T13:21:00.005-07:00

Its been ages since I posted something - I am back from Egypt and Israel. Click here to see the photos...

CLICK FOR PHOTOS!

And... YES - This is a McDonalds in Alexandria!!

Royal Ascot

2009-06-19T12:07:00.007-07:00

We went to Royal Ascot on Ladies day this week. It was a lot of fun. It started out originally that we were going to go into the Royal Enclosure which at the time, I thought meant that there was an area where (perhaps naively) that we would be milling around in a corral type area with the queen. Well, not so much. Anyway, it started out that we were trying to do that but there was a ton of paperwork to fill out. In the end, it turned out that none of the paperwork got where it was supposed to go - not so very unusual for the UK!

Anyway, at the last minute, my friend J and his partner N got us tickets for the normal area and we decided to go, regardless of wanting to rub shoulders with the queen. Had we known what the Royal Enclosure was then, we might not have fussed so much! Anyway, we got morning suits at this place around the corner, actually right across the street from New Scotland Yard by St. James's Tube station. They got us a morning coat, which are basically tuxedo tails but for events that start before 4pm. Who knew! Anyway, we got them, with striped trousers, grey ties and grey waistcoats and top hats even! We went to Moss Bros (Yes, the very same Moss Bros!) but they were rude - mean and terrible. Who needs them? Plus it was much more expensive too!

We decided before hand that I wanted to show my gratitude to J and T for the tickets so we got Veuve Clicquot champagne (two bottles, if you please!). It ended up being a big hit and I drank as much as anyone else - Paul too, surprisingly. It was divine, dah-ling! Nothing as decadent as daytime drinking!

Photos from Royal Ascot here. John had parked in the center of the race track, which is apparently THE place to be - it was fab. We had an entire picnic which was put together by his lovely mother for the occasion- we had it all-- a real, honest to goodness 'dejeuner sur l'herbe'. We had everyone there and had to slightly move our chairs to allow not one but TWO Rolls Royce motorcars go by! I have to say, it was a scream. Did I mention that we had fantastic food and lots of champagne?

Then we went into the actual area where everyone was watching where the races would be - and saw the royal procession come by in old fashioned horse drawn carriages. Wonderful. The queen wore blue, in case you needed to know. Robbin's egg blue with her traditional 'cake' on her head kind of hat. She is awfully regal. Very impressive.

Then the races started and we watched for a bit and then mingled for more time and looked at people in their various attire. Some of the women looked fantastic and others went the 'hoochie mama' route. Both were fun to gawk at. Check out those photos as there is one hat with a marabou train down her back and the hat itself must have been about 4 foot diameter.

At one point, the queen gave out an award and another time, Princess Anne (who looked lovely and regal in her pale green outfit) congratulated the owner of the horse in the winner's circle. I liked that part the best - I saw exactly 1/2 of one race, but we saw everything else. It is really about the spectacle more than anything else.

Before we left, Paul went into the Royal Enclosure, but in fact, the queen sits in her own box anyway, so she wasn't really in the enclosure but in the Queens Enclosure, which you don't get into unless you are related to her! Oh well, he saw the royal enclosure and can say he was a guest of Her Majesty the Queen at Royal Ascot on Ladies Day. Well done, mate!

We were there for several hours and it was great fun. I highly recommend it. I have to say, all in all, it was a blast! Thanks to J and T for inviting us and to mom for the great lunch!

Too tired

2009-06-14T01:11:00.002-07:00

Too exhausted to write in this damn thing! I will get there.

Highlights -
Trouping of the Colours
Liverpool Trip
Saw Lake District
King's Head Theatre (saw F***ing Men!) Was odd but fun

That's my update - sorry it's so sketchy.

Love to all.

Week in Review

2009-05-16T07:34:00.012-07:00

This week was tough because it was my first week back to full steam after my vacation. It actually was very busy and I ended up in Southampton area twice in a place called Eastleigh. It is about 1 and a half hours from London by train out of the Waterloo station. I was there on Wednesday and Friday.

This weekend, Paul and I went to Hatfield House. It is the ancestral home of Marquess of Salisbury. Apparently, when Elizabeth I was a girl, she lived there (or at least was there in the fields surrounding the house) when she was informed that she was now queen. Pretty cool. Apparently, Queen Lizzy II planted a tree in the place where the original tree was where Eliz I was standing when she heard the news.

The trip is pretty fast from London, about 25 -35 minutes. Not very far once you get to Kings Cross Station. There were some fantastic grounds there - really exceptional. The brochure we got had several routes and walks of the grounds so Paul and I, hardy souls that we are, decided to do the 3.5 mile walk around the whole grounds. VERY cool. We came across a lot of interesting stuff. It made me think how completely amazing it would be to live 100 years ago in a house like that. What luxury.

The house itself is pretty beautiful inside. The current Marquess of Salisbury (Number 7!) and his family still live here in one of the wings and you get to glimpse their part of the home from the tour. I really wondered what it was like to grow up in a museum. Probably a bit stifling. Cool, but maybe a bit much, to be honest. Here is a really cool link showing the house from above - remember, that this is only the house and gardens - not the entire grounds which go on for what seems like forever. Remember our 3.5 mile trek mentioned earlier? Anyway, it was a nice way to spend a slightly rainy but also slightly sunny spring day in England. I am glad we went.

Now I am sitting here listening to the new Kelly Clarkson album. I like several songs. Some aren't inspiring but I like the first 3 or 4 tracks and also one later called If I can't have you - which is cool. Check out her website photo - she looks like a 70's sex bomb... fun lipstick!

Alright, enough shenanigans for now - My spell checker has no idea what word that I just wrote over there... If it is spelled wrong, sue me! Love to all!

Saturday in Paris

2009-05-10T07:03:00.006-07:00

Paul and I were in Paris yesterday - I know, doesn't it sound too jet-set? Well, whatever, it is a day trip but a LONG day. We are exhausted today and the weather is nice here in London, which is too bad because we would love to spend time walking around. But, since we are so tired, that isn't really an option. Between having to get up at like 5am on Saturday to catch the train to Paris and a full day there we are wrecked.

We went there to meet my aunt Clare who has been there since May 1. She is staying at the Hotel Dieu which is right on Ile de la Cite with Notre Dame. Very good location and the hotel seemed pretty nice too - not quite a hostel but inexpensive and lovely. Her room had a skylight that showed the top of Notre Dame. Very cool.

Click here to see some photos of Auntie Clare and also photos of Musee D'Orsay. It is a renovated train station and a absolutely fabulous exhibition space, really something special.

We took an early train to Paris Gare du Nord and walked to the hotel. We met Clare in her hotel and sat in the lobby area and spoke for about an hour - which was nice since it was a bright and nice space to sit in. Then we ate at a restaurant that Clare had become a regular at during her stay, so she introduced us to the waiter as 'the guys from London' so I think he was a bit confused when we weren't British. Funny. We had a nice meal and it was a bit chilly but there was a heater. I am a bit afraid Clare was very cold.

We finished lunch and then we walked about for a bit before Paul and I let Clare go on her way to the hotel. Just as we were saying goodbye, it started to rain, so I think it would have been a natural time to separate anyway. Then we walked to Musee D'Orsay. It rained like cats and dogs on the walk to the museum and also while we waited in line, but otherwise the weather was really nice. By the time we had to go, the weather had gotten really nice again.

Overall, it was really nice, but we didn't get home again until 11pm which was a very long day, given the fact that we are just about recovered from our jet lag coming back from North America. Regardless, I am really glad that we went. It was nice to see Clare and see that she is in good health and all is well. I can report that all is well in Clare-land!

Waiting for Godot

2009-05-08T11:43:00.004-07:00

All I am saying is.. Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, June 21- Two tickets center orchestra. LOVE IT!

http://www.theatreroyalhaymarket.co.uk/

Ok, so London isn't really THAT bad!

Susan Boyle - Britain's got Talent

2009-04-14T13:04:00.008-07:00

We were watching the 2009 season opener of Britain's Got Talent and at the end of the show, came this little maiden-aunt sort of person who seemed very quirky and weird. She was the sort of person you see all the time on these shows where the person opens their mouth to sing and it is a disaster.

She tells the judges she wants to be like Ellen Page - someone I don't know, but the audience laughed as she said it. Apparently, that woman is a great singer...

Then, she opened her mouth and it was FANTASTIC Check out the Susan Boyle audition here! or here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY (Hit F5 when you get there to start the video!)

Lots of surprise. The best part is after the audition, the reaction of the judges and the audience. I liked after everyone said how surprised they were at the quality of her voice, Simon says 'The minute you walked on the stage, I could tell you would be great' - VERY SILLY!

Such is my life-- Watching tv and taking trips. Can't wait to see everyone in CA next week.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-12T13:56:00.007-07:00

This weekend was pretty decent- We still have Monday off of work, so we aren't yet done with the weekend. We got our new cable - SKY. It is basically a DVR with some added channels - which is very welcome. We have been catching up on our movies.
We watched:

Easter Parade - What's not to like?
Wizard of Oz - OK how gay is this list starting to sound?
Spiderwick Chronicals - only got about 1/2 way done with this one - A mix between Jumanji and Bridge to Terabithia - I don't care if I spelled it right - It was TERRIBLthia.
Fantastic 4 - Silver Surfer - decent Sunday afternoon fun.
Spiderman 3 - better than a stick in the eye, slightly.
Several Family Guy episodes - embarassing but funny.
South Park episodes

Oh - I found a photo of the London version of Priscilla Queen of the Desert! Did I mention how much I loved this production? I don't think I posted how great it was. The staging was phenomenal, singers were great and the drag was fantastic! It was fantastic overall- (Ok, the list of my entertainments has just reached a critical mass in gayness...) Be that as it may.. I really enjoyed the play the other night and hope to see it again at some point - I will have to go when Paul isn't around, as I don't think he needs to see any play twice.

Did I mention that I joined Facebook? I think it is pretty stupid, to be honest. But it is ok if I am completely bored and looking to see what people are up to. There are a couple of people to post things that are interesting but I made a mistake of allowing someone I USED to like on my list and he posts CONSTANTLY! All of it very self indulgent and all about himself and his issues... NOT interesting and I am trying to figure out how to either cancel him as a buddy or hide his constant jabbering.

Well, whatever, I get what I deserve signing up for something so stupid.

OC in about a week - Can't wait to see everyone. I am missing a friends Bar mitzvah by 2 days - which is a shame, but it can't be helped. I am sorry to miss it too because I am sure it will be a great party. I sent something, but I suspect my not coming will upset my friends. Something I don't want, but can't really help.

Here is one more fun shot of Priscilla... This is the same theatre that was showing one of the last plays we saw, Spamalot.

Birthday Weekend

2009-04-05T07:19:00.006-07:00

What a lovely weekend I have had. Paul wanted to make sure I had a good birthday so we started out perfectly - I got some cuff links from Storm of London - here is a picture of the Storm website. I tried to find a picture of the cuff links, but they are too cool and trendy to find a picture online! You know it! Then we had dinner at McDonald's! It was great. Love a big mac. (yeah, yeah, say what you want, it was MY birthday, not yours!)

On Saturday, we went to Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral (which isn't great by comparison to the Abbey!) The afternoon was spent at St. James's park where we layed around like slobs- We have some great photos for you to take a look at if you want - GREAT flowers, etc. Later that night, we had all you can eat Chinese food - not great, but certainly plentiful! (Does it sound like I am gorging myself? If so, good!)

Also in the photo book link above, are some shots from Hampstead Heath park - which is a great park north of the center of London where we spent the morning and early afternoon on Sunday- what is great about the park is that it is really hilly and huge! There are great hikes there- Paul and I hiked all over the park and took various photos. The weather was very good - a bit of a cold breeze but otherwise very good.

Paul also got me a Tumi bag, tickets for Priscilla Queen of the Desert that we are going to see on Monday night. I will certainly post something about that show once I have seen it - Can't wait to see it. Looks like a scream!

Mrs. Obama and 'THE HUG'

2009-04-02T12:37:00.008-07:00

Over here in London, we have had a lot of news and speculation about whether or not Michelle Obama 'broke protocol' when she placed her arm around the queen - something apparently that just isn't done. Typically British, people seem to care that a world leader wouldn't somehow have the same peculiarly specific concern over something like this. They kept calling it the 'HUG'. Rather, THE hug.

Besides, it wasn't a real hug - maybe just a one-armed cuddle. Who doesn't want to give Queen Elizabeth II a good squeeze!

I heard all sorts of different opinions about the occurrence but most recently, I guess it was finally decided (after much discussion) that actually the queen placed her hand in the small of Michelle's back and so, Michelle did it back. Apparently, the palace issued a statement that this was just the queen's natural warmth coming through-- since she is apparently a very warm person when not doing her royal duty. So - I guess, this is ok and the people of England are saved the shocking embarrassment of thinking that their Queen was dissed by the First Lady. Since she made the first move, all is well in the land of bangers and mash.

I think the whole thing is hilarious - There were so many papers with so many different outrageous headlines - Paul and I were walking and he came up with a couple of fictitious headlines. I include them here since they made me laugh!

THE DAILY MAIL

'She-man Obama manhandles Royal'

In response to this, the US WORLD NEWS could respond with...

'Sapphic Sovereign Cops First Feel'

Ok - So I don't have enough to do if I am spending time posting this... Tell me something I don't know.

Oslo Norway

2009-03-29T12:16:00.008-07:00

Ok - so, neither of us actually thought it was going to snow 15cm on the day we decided to go to Norway. Sadly, that is exactly what it did. We weren't completely skunked, as we always get out there and go. (This is a photo - NOT of a Smart car - Look behind that - It is the Radhuset (town hall)- it is a very interesting Art Deco-like structure with lots of interesting detail. We have some great photos of the inside of this very cool building.

Photos are here. You will notice that we recently added photos about Leeds as well. I can't recall as I sit here if I already posted something about that visit. It was fun. I will get to that after I write a bit about Norway.

Anyway, we went on Thursday night and there was NOT A DROP OF SNOW OR RAIN! It is a good think we thought it could snow, since we brought all of our snow gear. Anyway, the city of Oslo is very small- much smaller than I had thought it would be. Also, we noticed that for such a small country, they have a great train system. One would ask, why the UK has such run-down, ram-shackled trains... Again, one wonders how they ever managed an empire. (Sorry if that offends!)

Anyway, we tried to see the palace in the middle of the city but it was closed and the snow was really coming down. I have a few photos in the link above if you want to see those. I included the obligatory MacDonald's photo! We also saw the Stortinget (Parliament building) and two great museums. One was the National Gallery (with some world-class paintings and more Edvard Munch that I had ever known he had painted!) There were some fantastic Norwegian painters, by God! We also went into the Historic Museum which housed a lot of Viking stuff.

The second day we went and saw a very old castle called Akershus Slott. Again, we were too early in the season to be allowed inside this one, but it was a great grounds and even though the ground was covered in feet of snow, it was beautiful.

As promised, I mentioned I would speak about Leeds - It was nice. We went up there to see how we liked the city in case we felt like moving up there instead of living in London. While we like it a lot as it felt a bit like Vancouver, I think it would be difficult for Paul to find a job. So... We will be looking in Bristol and also looking in London as well. More news on that later.

Love to all.

Matteson Sausage

2009-03-24T14:55:00.002-07:00

Am I the only one who finds this ad alarming?

CLICK HERE

Freaky....

Love to all... Will post something after I am back from Oslo, Norway - DUDE! It's gonna be cold!

Hampton Court Palace

2009-03-15T10:42:00.012-07:00

We had a great trip to Hampton Court Palace. The weekend weather was great. Sunday was actually better than Saturday. Photos from the trip are here.

Basically, Hampton Court Palace was built by Cardinal Wolsey but then it was taken over by Henry VIII. Basically, they had a falling out over the king wanting to marry Anne Bolin - so, the king arrested him and eventually he died poor, stripped of his property and money. So, Anne got a beautiful new house and a new husband - much good it did her!

They have some great gardens at Hampton Court - like, proper gardens. These are comparable to the palace gardens in Paris and other more civilised countries (did I say that out loud?) Anyway, we had fun with HUGE swans there in the various water ways in the garden. We have a video of one but I am not sure I can get it posted here. If I can, it will appear as a separate blog entry. The massive swans were as ill tempered as swans usually are - I got some photos of Paul with one - you can see one here. Paul was officially Swan chomped - well, almost!

We are planning on going another time when the weather is really nice - not sure when that is likely to be - maybe late June? Hard to say.

Also, we may have a chance to go to Ascot! No news on that yet, as I don't totally want to jinx it and get too excited and then be disappointed later if things don't happen.

I am watching an older version of The Scarlet Pimpernel with Jane Seymour (the actress and not the wife of Henry VIII!) and Anthony Andrews. Earlier I was watching a very interesting version of Wuthering Heights - it had Ralph Fiennes- DREAMY! The rest of the cast was terrible. However, who cares when you can watch either of the Fiennes brothers for 2 whole hours! Lovely!

Enough for today - love to all for a happy week!

Albert Hall Carmen

2009-03-08T13:14:00.009-07:00

Today was the last performance for Bizet's 'Carmen' at the Royal Albert Hall. In the AM, we decided it would be fun to see it. Actually, we have been discussing seeing something at Albert Hall for a while and we found out that today was the last day for 'Carmen' so we decided to get tickets. Our tickets weren't great, to be honest and the staging was a bit odd, which made some of it un-viewable in our seats, but overall it was pretty cool.

What was also interesting was that after Paul booked the tickets, he mentioned that he noticed that it says it was translated into English and this performance would be in English. I choked a bit, to be honest, thinking that Carmen would be performed in English, but since we already had tickets, what the heck, right?

Overall, it was actually terrific. We loved it. The singers were very good and there was something interesting about being able to understand all of the words (more than I typically can understand the French when viewing opera). We had a lot of fun.

The photo here is a picture of the sort of 'ying/yang' shaped stage for 'Carmen'. In the dark patch there is a set of tables and chairs and so, you can tell how high up we are. VERY high up. Still, the sound was fantastic and the production did its best to show an Opera in an 'all around' type format, which couldn't have been easy.

We saw a matinee of 'Carmen' which I think is a great way to see something. A 2:30 on Sunday performance still lets you get home to watch 'Dancing on Ice' and tonight, for a special treat, we have Katie Price on Pierce Morgan's interview show. Should be interesting as hell. That woman is a bit of a freak but I really like her for some reason.

For those of you reading this regularly, the cat is fine. He was pronounced 'Obese' yesterday by our vet. We have new food and we are lucky that Spartacus likes the food. He was a bit traumatised by going in the taxi, but actually, like always, he snapped back into his normal behaviour.

Week in review

2009-03-07T00:31:00.004-08:00

This last week, I didn't have any major upheavals at work - good thing. Also, we didn't do a hell of a lot at home either. We have an appointment set up for the beast to see the vet- something that should prove a bit of a feat given we have no cat carrier and no means of transport! I never took a cat on a taxi wrapped in a towel before. I will let you know how that all goes.

We are taking the cat for the vet visit to keep up his kitty passport - honest to god. (No I am not capitalising it- whatever god energy exists in the world won't give two figs about my blog and if I am showing proper respect!) So there! Anyway, we are doing the kitty passport just in case we end up in some other country that requires his shots - In continental Europe and in North America, it doesn't matter. Just lovely places like England and Ireland and probably some other countries that are rabies free.

Later, we may go to the British Museum with Kelly. She wants to see the Egyptian and Babylon exhibits. We may or may not actually go. We will see how traumatised the beast is!

Bye!

The London Eye

2009-03-01T15:32:00.010-08:00

Paul and I went to the London Eye today - we were saving it for these theoretical people who potentially could come visit us, but basically, since that won't happen we decided to go up ourselves. It turned out to be an ok day. In the morning, we were planning on finally visiting the Westminster Abbey, but it was closed as it was a Sunday - go figure. So, to the London Eye we went.

Photoshare Photos Here.

Knowing that I am afraid of heights doesn't seem to prevent me from perpetually going up on things that either fly me up into the sky or put me a million feet up in the air on something that is on the ground, both of which tend to make me feel a bit uneasy. This was no exception, but it was still fun.

The London Eye is quite substantial, so there is no need to be afraid up there - I was feeling ashamed as the children in the little bubble were at ease looking straight down with their tiny faces pressed against the glass that clearly said 'Do not press up against this glass.' I didn't press up against any glass - but I did enjoy looking out.

At one point, (At the top) I was feeling like it could go bad quickly (it being my state of mind) but once up there, I found I could deal with it well.

The journey only takes 30 minutes and it is really smooth and feels EXTREMELY sturdy, so there was never a feeling of being unsafe. Just that little voice in my head which makes me think things like - what if... What if the mechanism that keeps the bubble so that we always have a floor beneath our feet malfunctions and we all end up having to spend the last 1/2 of the trip negotiating the sides and roof of this thing? What if that kid pushes the wrong button and he goes flying out the door (that says very clearly in English, which the kid probably couldn't read NOT to touch the doors!)? What if the wind gusts up and the whole wheel goes wonkey? On and on my brain goes, regardless of the strict regulation I put on it. and finally my brain says - Why doesn't that lady keep her kid away from that door, for God's sake?

Anyway, neurotic as ever, but clearly survived the London Eye.

Next week we will probably conquer the Westminster Abbey and see Avenue Q! Watch this space for more!

Banqueting House

2009-02-28T12:38:00.006-08:00

Today, Paul and I went to the Banqueting house. This is the last remaining portion of the old Whitehall palace. We got in free as we have an annual pass to the Historic Royal Palaces, an organisation that helps upkeep historic English palaces.

Here is a link to the website. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON BANQUETING HOUSE IN LONDON.

We have loaded photos on the photo share. It was fun, but basically, if I am being brutally honest, it is a room. It should be called the Banqueting room. They do it up pretty well as you get a movie and a free audio guide along with the ticket, but there isn't a heck of a lot to see.

Here is our photoshare so you can see the pictures. Included in this set of photos are some pictures of our quick visit to the new monument just recently erected for the queen mother, Elizabeth I. It was very interesting and pretty well done. It is a bit odd, to my eyes, as she is dressed up in some costume for the Order of the Garter that makes her look like a court jester. But, that is probably just because I have no idea what that costume is. A bit silly to me.

However, the monument is beautiful and it has some interesting friezes, in bronze, I think. They depict her visiting people in London who had lost their homes in the bombing from the Germans during WWI and on the other side, of her when she was older probably at Ascot.

We then walked all the way to Kensington High street and had lunch at the Whole Foods - lovely soup and a delicious roll. Paul had a crepe. It looked lovely. I tried to have a Ginger Beer but it was WAY too much. Too spicy and slightly too tangy too.

Cadbury Chocolate Eyebrows

2009-02-28T12:25:00.002-08:00

This slays me... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJshbIqmdck

Check it out!

God Bless The British

2009-02-24T12:36:00.005-08:00

I have to say there are some things in Britian that I love. One of them is their complete lack of concern for public displays of nudity. (I realise that they don't actually allow public nudity, but I see a lot of nudity on the TV, in ads and it seems a pretty common feature in popular culture). They have various television shows where nudity is pretty common- the best one is called Embarassing Bodies on Chanel 4. If you click that site, you will see a video called 'How to check your balls'. No lie. I highly recommend this video - Hilarious! It isn't sexy - just a rather embarassed young man who is having a doctor give a lesson on how to look for testicular cancer. In these television shows, it is almost never put in a mosaic (that weird camera thing that they add in so you can't see a nipple or hoo hoo). In addition, their advertising seems to have a fair amount of nudity as well. (I won't put in a link- you have seen the ads, I am sure!)

Recently, on the tube, I saw an ad for a magazine - It is pictured here. I have seen this photo for several days and finally I had to ask someone about it. It does catch the eye. I guess there is a movement for women to love their bodies no matter what they look like, which I think is really healthy- and actually, this photo is pretty eye catching.

The woman pictured is called Beth Ditto. She is the lead singer of a band called Gossip. She was apparently voted the sexiest woman of the year in 2007. I am not sure who voted. She is a complete trip. Freaky, but it is a fun ad, if you ask me.

I am not sure what I want to say about her, but I felt like I really wanted her photo on my blog - You go girl! Plus, I felt like I wanted to comment on the interesting attitudes here in the UK toward nakedness. Maybe this is my spirtual home after all! HA!

Paul's Birthday Weekend in York

2009-02-22T12:58:00.015-08:00

This weekend was Paul's birthday. We started the weekend by going up to York to see the city. It is very interesting and a beautiful example of a walled medieval city. From London it takes about 2 hours to get there by train. It was a beautiful day, really nice. Blue skies and low clouds were above us. Lovely. Check out the photo collection here!

We saw Yorkminster, which is a beautiful cathedral in the center of the old city. We were able to get into the minster, the crypts and also we went up into the towers. It was very interesting to go up to the top. We went up a very windy staircase, which was only about 25 inches wide all the way up and curved on itself unbelievably for about 75 feet up. We then came to an area where we walked out onto this small walkway along the side but outside of the roof. We walked across that and then up about another 75 feet or so up a very skinny hallway. A bit scary, honestly, but very fun. The women in front of us was a bit short of breath, so we got a break now and then on the way up while she rested. Because it was so tight, there was no way to pass her and she couldn't go down- only up, up, up. Poor thing. When we got to the top, we had a caged in area where we could take photos. We have photos from inside and the top here. This is a photo of the buttresses... Love that word! Anyway, I feel that this place rivals Notre Dame in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London.

Found a photo of those stairs!! CLICK HERE to see them.

After the trip to the minster, we went around and saw the museums and a fortress on a hill - that was pretty cool. Then we went to a pub and had lunch- it was a very long wait, but the minute we sat down, unlike the people in London, the people we sat near immediately started a conversation with us. Lovely people from the midlands. Was nice to have an interesting conversation with local people - well, sort of locals.

On Sunday, Paul's actual birthday, I gave him his gifts and we ended up taking one of them back - a watch from Storm of London. We exchanged it for something slightly more 'Paul'. The one I picked out was too strange. Lovely, but a bit too adolescent. We had lunch near Harrods at a Spaghetti House and the lasagna was good. Then we picked up some nice desserts for Paul's birthday at Harrods and then walked back home.

We wasted the rest of the day messing around the house - watching tv, Paul got a lot of birthday wishes from people on Facebook. That was nice - thanks to you who said hi to him! The we had chicken for dinner and watched Dancing on Ice - was fun. In a few minutes, they are having the results show. I expect it is either the one we call - the skating cow and the one that reminds me of a guy I work with who I don't really like. We will see which gets the boot!

Bad attitude in the tube

2009-02-18T09:37:00.003-08:00

The other day, I was getting on the tube and they announced that there was a tube closure due to a 'person under a train' on the Jubilee line. Basically, a person either fell or jumped in front of a train and was killed or severely injured. I must say, I should have felt bad but part of me felt like - another stupid person got in the way and messed up mass transit in London.

I should be ashamed, but basically, I have been in London long enough that I am getting harder.

Poor schmuck who fell into the tube. Glad it wasn't the Victoria line. I know, I suck.

Torvill and Dean 25 years

2009-02-15T02:29:00.006-08:00

Last night, Valentine's day evening, we watched a show about Torvill and Dean. Apparently, it was 25 years ago that night that they skated their perfect performance to the Bolero. It was a great show that showed what heroes they are to the UK public. I think everyone in the Western world remembers that performance and considers them incredible skaters, but here in the UK they are still very popular.

Basically, the show was a mini biography about the two skaters with a view that the pinnacle of their skating was that amazing performance in 1984, which apparently got them perfect scores - something that hasn't happened before or since in Ice Dancing (not even with the judges cheat!)

I remember the performance in 1984 and remember it so very clearly. It was fun to see it again and I decided to put a link to the YouTube performance HERE. Give it a watch.

Torvill and Dean host the show called Dancing on Ice that is hugely popular here in the UK and we have been watching it (Sundays on ITV!) Lots of fun.

Give the video a look and if you saw it the first time, you may be amazed that it is just as engrossing as it was the first time I saw it. Hope you like.

Saturday visit to Kew Gardens

2009-02-14T09:33:00.007-08:00

It is early spring in London and we decided that it would be fun to take advantage of our membership to the Historic Palace Conservation group and get into Kew Palace and take a look at the gardens while we were there. The gardens had a special tropical plants exhibit and a bunch of orchids on display too. For the celebration of the 250th year anniversary of the garden and palace, there were a fair number of fun things going on.

We took the District tube line toward Richmond and got off at the second to last stop (for the English reading this - that means the last stop but one). The small town where the gardens and palace are situation is really a sweet town - we got a muffin after our tube ride to celebrate arriving! (Or because we are pigs- you can choose.)

We got there and not only would they not let us into the palace as it was closed, but our supposedly free pass to the garden was suddenly L13 (I am using a US keyboard so I can't make the GBP symbol... if you know the alt character for it, email me and I will be that much smarter!) Anyway, we paid and the garden was really lovely. Because it is still very early spring and today it was slightly under 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So, walking around was a bit cold and the trees were still pretty much without leaves.

We saw the orchid exhibit, the tropical exhibit, desert exhibit and wandered through the gardens. It was lovely. We think it will be much nicer in the full bloom of spring, but it was still nice to get out of central London. Photos of our visit are at my photoshare HERE.
Also, we found this weird metal structure in the middle of the HUGE park and it was what they called a tree-top walkway. It is this metal walkway up in the sky. We were walking on this weird mesh, so you could see below you which was a bit disconcerting, but it was nice otherwise. A 'quick' trip up there was fine. When we got down, there was a peacock sitting in the sun - which you can see a couple of photos of in our photoshare.

This photo is not one of mine, but it gives you an idea of what this place looked like.

When we were done, we came back to Central London and had lunch at a pub - cheeseburger (albeit Stilton cheese) and chips and a delicious Coca-cola. That's life... I am all about the cheeseburger. The week was nice -- and why not have a nice day. I realised it was Valentine's day today - so that is a nice way to spend it. Love to all.