School starts again in less than a month now. I suppose come September I'll regret the fact that I've had enough of summer at this point, and that all I want to do is wear oversized sweaters and watch the Inbetweeners and be pretentious. I'll also regret not working on the notes for my summer reading essay while, um, reading the damn book. I still can't believe how fast things have been going for me this year. I want things to slow down when I'm a sophomore. I want to, if you excuse the cliches, seize the day, grab the world by its balls, etc. etc. etc. I've been saying this for years, and when does it ever actually happen? Oh well. A girl can hope.
Today is the last day I'm seeing my aunt until the end of December. I'm closer to her than I am to any of my other not-immediate family members and I will miss her very much. We played Cleudo earlier tonight--a family tradition for us, Cleudo, among a number of other board games. When I was younger, my aunt made up these complex dressing-up games based on the people of Cleudo. I got to look through my aunt and mother's old wardrobes--a vintage wonderland, hasn't been altered in the slightest since the 70s. I'll miss this place so much during the year. Tomorrow we're going to see my grandparents on my dad's side, so it's all a bit subdued round here. In the afternoon we all drove to Gatwick in my aunt's car, to get the rental car we're having till the end of our stay. A silver Ford, nothing special. We then went back to visit my aunt's house briefly, more or less the same with minor alterations, but she has a really nice house anyway. For some reason my grandparents had old Christmas crackers saved, so we got to have an August Christmas dinner.
On Saturday, we all went to what I've decided must be one of the most fascinating places I've ever been to--Lewes. My aunt's a bit of a fan. It's a carefully eccentric little town, full of people who fancy themselves a bit anarchic and different. So yeah, this adds up to a high street with lots of quaint shops selling books and vintage clothes and funny ornaments. Don't get me wrong, though, it's fun. We got to go into a lot of said shops, also a cheese shop, and ate at a Polish cafe. They also happen to have a castle and a museum. Ignoring the pseudo-quirky nonsense, Lewes is really cool because it has a lot of historical significance, particularly early Norman stuff. Also, in the 13th century they had the Battle of Lewes, which led to the first instance of the English monarchy being forced to give up some of their power. Some call it the "Birth of English Democracy". Amazingly people outside Lewes don't seem to recognize this(I'd never heard of this battle before), but the residents are damn proud of it. The museum and castle were really nice. you could see for miles at the top of the castle, it was wonderful. We watched some two-hour Amy Winehouse tribute on TV that night.
On Friday, we went to this open air history museum, which is one of my favorite places around here. it's a set of actual houses ranging from the 13th to early 20th century, and it's arranged to replicate a village. it's so, so nice. There's a lot of really nice buildings--a Victorian school building, a 17th century toll house, a mill which they actually use, stables, cottages with historically-accurate gardens, market stalls, the lot. it's very scenic, very informative too. They also got a new tiny 19th century church from London. We got to look round the entire museum. Also, I bought a book on the history of Sussex. We listened to Imelda May in the car, and my aunt arrived from work in the evening, and we played board games and watched a weird art show on TV.
And Thursday, we were met with our first day of serious downpour this trip. It rained into the afternoon but we drove into a little local museum. It's a part of this town I'd never been to before, kind of tacky but in the charming seaside resort way that looks like it's 20 years out of date. They had a lot of run of the mill history stuff, but then they also had an impressive collection of vintage dolls and a whole area of fashion over the last century. I think the latter was probably my favorite part of the place, especially a lot of the 70s fashion. 70s&90s were my favorite times for fashion--the 80s are grossly overrated in that respect. (in many respects, actually). Also, one of my mom's friends had a piece of art up in the local artists section which was nice. After that we drove to another beach(I'm a bit of an English beach fanatic, yeah), and it was very cold and windy and gray. Also, they have the world's longest bench there! Another good day.
Good lord, guys, the Inbetweeners is beyond an obsession for me. I don't have the energy in me to write about my love for this show tonight. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to see it on Monday--my mother still has doubts about letting me watch this show, it's gonna be total no-go territory for my classy, booky, Oxbridge grandparents. This is a shame but I'll see it soon. Hey, there's a new series of Shooting Stars! I shall get it on DVD--it shall get me through another autumn.
Not really that much else going on. Reading John Betjeman, listening to Them Crooked Vultures, Imelda May, Gaga, Wild Beasts, Arctic Monkeys. V in 13 days! my friend plans to go dressed as a sheep, if his mother will let him, which is very unlikely. it's been a fortnight and I don't want to leave this country. I want not to feel like a tourist while I'm here. I want it to be home, but it isn't really, and I hate it. I'll try to make it feel normal while I'm here.
Boring post, man. Wow. hey, I wonder how I'll blog next year. I've put very little though into that.
Good night, all.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August Now.
Good God, everyone, it's August. Already! School starts in just over a month. What is this madness?
I'm currently watching Have I Got News For You, still at my grandparents' house. Show of the summer? Maybe? As well as the Inbetweeners and TOWIE? Probably. I've seen this before but I'm only really getting into it now. I'm also way into QI at the moment, I couldn't say why, it just seems to be the cornerstone of my evenings at the moment. I love UK television so much it's pathetic.
Anyway, there have been ups and downs to my time spent in England so far, but overall it's been great. I'm just trying to soak up the atmosphere, the culture, the summer. All the music I'm into, the food, the HMV, the Radiotimes, the unusually and wonderfully warm weather. It's all a lot of fun, and I'd better savor it as much as possible because I haven't got a long time here, have I? August 3rd. Wow.
Today, my mom got a little rental car to last us till Saturday. We're getting a different one for our time after this week. This one is small, and black, and a VW, with a working radio and CD player. Could be a hell of a lot worse, I've found! Like last year's which, if nothing else, was beige. Beige! I know! Like a crime against humanity. In the afternoon we went to a town round here in said new car. Hello, Radio 1! For some reason, I miss you every year. The town we went to is pretty old, and we also went round a small art museum(my mother's choice). Pretty good place, they had a Freida Carlo and Diego Rivera exhibition which was really great. Remarkably, I finally found the John Betjeman book I've been looking for in the gift shop! That was a great twist to the day. We got a drink then walked around the town a bit, found out a fairly well known theater club are doing Sweeney Todd there in September, and I was so incredible disappointed that I'll be back in the States at that point. They had an 11th century church round there, it was amazing, one of the best churches I've ever been into. They even had a guy playing the organ right there, it was an incredible. We walked around the outside, and it turns out some people have houses, right next to the place. We went to Tescos later, came home, had dinner, and watched TV in the night.
I'm currently watching Have I Got News For You, still at my grandparents' house. Show of the summer? Maybe? As well as the Inbetweeners and TOWIE? Probably. I've seen this before but I'm only really getting into it now. I'm also way into QI at the moment, I couldn't say why, it just seems to be the cornerstone of my evenings at the moment. I love UK television so much it's pathetic.
Anyway, there have been ups and downs to my time spent in England so far, but overall it's been great. I'm just trying to soak up the atmosphere, the culture, the summer. All the music I'm into, the food, the HMV, the Radiotimes, the unusually and wonderfully warm weather. It's all a lot of fun, and I'd better savor it as much as possible because I haven't got a long time here, have I? August 3rd. Wow.
Today, my mom got a little rental car to last us till Saturday. We're getting a different one for our time after this week. This one is small, and black, and a VW, with a working radio and CD player. Could be a hell of a lot worse, I've found! Like last year's which, if nothing else, was beige. Beige! I know! Like a crime against humanity. In the afternoon we went to a town round here in said new car. Hello, Radio 1! For some reason, I miss you every year. The town we went to is pretty old, and we also went round a small art museum(my mother's choice). Pretty good place, they had a Freida Carlo and Diego Rivera exhibition which was really great. Remarkably, I finally found the John Betjeman book I've been looking for in the gift shop! That was a great twist to the day. We got a drink then walked around the town a bit, found out a fairly well known theater club are doing Sweeney Todd there in September, and I was so incredible disappointed that I'll be back in the States at that point. They had an 11th century church round there, it was amazing, one of the best churches I've ever been into. They even had a guy playing the organ right there, it was an incredible. We walked around the outside, and it turns out some people have houses, right next to the place. We went to Tescos later, came home, had dinner, and watched TV in the night.
On Tuesday, I went to the beach with my mom, my sister, a couple of my mom's friends, and the sixteen-year-old daughter of one of said friends. They've known each other since they were very young, and I'm dragged along to say hello to them every summer. It's more then sufficiently awkward but I suppose it could be worse. We had picnic by a bowling green, which seems to be the local hangout for the elderly. My sister branded us 'characters'. Also they discussed the time when my mom played George III in a school play, which was news to me. Afterwards, we went down to the beach. I went in the sea. It was typically cold and a much less appealing color than it is on the other side of the Atlantic. Afterwards we got ice cream--how I miss Cornettos--and walked by the coast. This is a very quaint, very old-fashioned seaside town, and it's one I've always liked very much. I'd never live here but an afternoon by the seaside is bliss. I came home listening to Eliza Doolittle, and stayed in for another slow night of TV. A good day.
On Monday my aunt went back to work, and I went to a lake round here that we've been to a couple of times now. It was a fairly hot day, but luckily the place wasn't that busy. We fed the ducks, went for a row on the lake, and got ice cream. (America needs banoffee ice cream desperately). We then walked around a nature reserve a little way down the road from there. I can't say I'm a fan of nature reserves(if one can say such a thing) but at least the weather made that portion of the day bearable. I had a great day, finally had a really good TV schedule that night. God, I love QI so, so much, I love watching it in the evening and must get every single episode on TV right this instant. I laughed so, so much at that episode. Oh, and here's one more funny thing I discovered that day, to do with the show Who Do You Think You Are. I guess it's pretty popular both sides of the pond, but it's a genealogy show where each week they trace the history of a celebrity. They listed the people featured on the show in a magazine, which just happens to include the one celebrity my family think we might be related to. Unfortunately, my mother happens to hate this guy soooo it's a pretty funny coincidence that we might find out for sure whether he's related or not.
And on Sunday, I went to a charity polo game with my mom, sister, and aunt. I suppose this is with a touch of irony but I'm not certain. It raised money for a good charity so I can't complain, though. We got there and walked around the stalls, most of which were pretty typical, but one of them was a 'Silent Auction', where a set of prizes are lined out and you write down a bid and, naturally, the highest wins. Things included football shirts, signed books, et cetera. One of them was a set of things signed by Peter Andre. Yeah. For those of you not familiar with Peter Andre, he's a singer meets reality TV star famous for dating a glamour model and being the dead end of society. He also fell out of the public eye(if you can ever really say he was in it) about five years ago. Now, someone only bid ten pounds for this, so my aunt bid twenty out of sympathy. Unfortunately we've heard nothing yet so I suspect we lost, but it was a very funny moment. Since the place was fairly empty, someone even let us go in the VIP area! Benefits included being behind a white picket fence, sitting on chairs, and being surrounded by people far wealthier and more cultured than yourself. Seriously though, that was a lot of fun. I had fun watching the game, though I can't say polo was really my sort of thing! Overall though that was a different experience, and good fun.
My only additional thing deserving of mention is my interest in the Inbetweeners, which I would say has evolved into a full obsession. I can't wait for the movie in a couple of weeks, also I can't wait to buy it on DVD and watch it back in the States. My mother is surprisingly okay with this, considering some of the language in this show. But yknow, British comedy, censorship or moderation really aren't fashionable things. Although this show probably takes the cake for crudeness, as my mom was speechless for much of the first scene of her first episode the other day! It's an awesome show and I'm loving it, can't believe I never watched it until now! Especially when there's a Mark Corrigan-esque character, wow, it was made for me.
I'm off to a night of yet more comedy TV.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
in which I blog while watching BBC1.
Hey! It's England! And the morning! And the BBC! This is fun! I love BBC in the morning at my grandparents' house. I just ate a croissant. America's croissants aren't nearly as good as those you get in Marks and Spencers, and it's such a shame. My family are discussing whether the thing they can see in the garden is a fox or a flowerpot. I'm watching a cooking show. Could this BE more English?!
I've decided to blog to you intermittently over the course of today, as today is going to be a little bit crazy and rushed. Nevertheless, I'm extremely excited. Jet lag is a wonderful thing, if only because it allows me to get up earlier in the morning and watch crappy TV and go outside when it's cold. This is a great morning. Hey, my grandmother has just presented my mother with three bottles of white wine. Why this is happening at 10 in the morning, I couldn't say.
Anyway, I should back up a few days first.
On Tuesday, I went to Concord in the afternoon with my mother, as she was looking for 'quirky' gifts for some English friends of hers. 11 months she has to buy gifts, and she starts looking literally on the last day. We didn't have very long to look, but she found necklaces in a place we've been to before. I had to get back quickly so I got a drink and we left, when a thunderstorm started. I had a few minutes after getting back, and then in the evening I went to my friend's house. That was a whole lot of fun. It was with some people who I'd only met like once before so it was a bit weird at first, but it got normal pretty quickly. They all swam but I didn't feel like it, so I just sat on the side for that first part of the night and listened to music. After that we went inside and had food, and observed his younger siblings being hilarious(ly awkward). Afterwards we went outside and played Manhunt in the dark and again, Manhunt isn't really my thing but I hung out on the deck for whichever team was convenient at the time. After everyone left I played Animal Crossing for a few minutes. That was a really awesome day.
My family always pack on the last day. it may sound nightmarish, and trust me it is, but since we didn't have to go until the late afternoon this could have been worse. It turned out I couldn't really fit all my clothes in my suitcase, so that was a problem, and there were issues with electronics and what have you, so that took away most of the day, though there was a bit of time after to read. Headed to the airport at about 5 ish. Not too busy and no flight delays, got through security quickly, had dinner, and got on the flight.
It's always fun, hearing English accents on the cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic flights. We got off the ground quickly and were faced with a surprisingly short flight(5 and 3/4 hours. Thank the jet stream). Luckily, I got the good entertainment system this time round so I got to actually choose what I wanted to watch. The first thing I watched was this documentary called the Only Way is Essay, which I've heard loads about. Basically, it follows the lives of a group of 'chavs' in Essex, a place infamous for its poofy-haired, orange-skinned, high-heeled white trash residents. I'm actually from Essex, but I just take that in my stride. The show was brilliant and I can't wait to watch more while I'm here. Unfortunately the Office wasn't on the plane, but THEY ADDED PEEP SHOW TO THE LIST. First year they've done that! It may have taken seven years, but Peep Show has reached that milestone. I also watched 30 Rock(my 2nd time--pretty okayish), Family Guy(getting progressively less clever and funny as time goes by, it seems), the Simpsons(still going strong, if largely ignored, like the opposite of Family Guy), Modern Family(actually not bad), and the Inbetweeners. Oh my god, the Inbetweeners. Everyone in England's been crazy about that show, and this is the first time I've watched it. It's not like comedy genius but, wow, is it addicting. My mind was blown by how awesome Will is...and whoever plays Jay, they're brilliant, that was amazing. But wow, WILL. He's like a young Mark Corrigan, and it's great. Hopefully I can watch more episodes again. The show's like crack. Oh yeah, and my mother accidentally ripped the upholstery off the plastic part of her chair, and there was this god almighty tearing sound throughout the almost-silent cabin.
We had to circle about a bit before landing, Heathrow being insanely busy as always. Getting out of the airport, however, wasn't nearly as bad as it sometimes is. Got our luggage quickly. My grandparents had ordered a taxi for us, so he picked us up and we drove for 90 minutes to get to the house. I listened to Manchester Orchestra and slept for the first time in almost 24 hours. We finally got to my grandparent's house, and I felt dreadful so I forced myself to fall asleep in broad daylight. That afternoon I went down to the corner store, and bought English candy and music magazines. Very interesting to see how things change over the course of a year. We got back and had dinner.
On Friday, we went into the center of town for the afternoon after a slow morning. We're at a tourist-y beach town so naturally we dropped by the beach for a few minutes, which I guess was nice. Then we went food shopping, and went into Boots, where I spotted some lipgloss in every color under the sun, placed with no irony intended among pictures of pouty-lipped women. Then, finally, after 11 months of waiting, I got to back to my favorite store in the entire world...HMV. Oh my god, it's like heaven. Unfortunately I think they're planning to shut down some HMV shops(loss of income, illegal downloading, competition from iTunes, digital generation, you've heard it all before). And I honestly don't know how I'll be able to survive without it in future years. It's like bliss, they have SO many CDs and DVDs and they play awesome music and they have such great deals. I've mentioned the Two CDs for 10 Pounds deal before, and it's great because you can go in there and just buy something you never even considered buying, and you might end up loving it. Also, I got Imelda May's record for three pounds. Three pounds! How about that? Also, the new Kaiser Chiefs album. But looking through the selection, in that moment I just wanted infinite money so I could walk out of that place with twenty CDs--Wild BEasts, Patrick Wolf, Jamie Woon, James Blake, the Horrors, the lot. But two for now will suffice. Oh yes, and my mom bought something by Them Crooked Vultures. Honestly not something I would listen to otherwise, but it's a very slick record. Also I finally found Amlie on DVD! Ahh, the endless list of wonderful things about HMV. One of the things in England I still miss. I think it'd just make being a music fan so much more enjoyable, cause it's something I could do regularly--once a week or something--and I could buy new releases or I could buy old stuff so cheaply, and I would feel like I actually lived in a culture that cares about music. And I mean caring about it in the way that people who are really into music do(not just the godawful pop/emo/shitty gross commercial rock crowds). That would be so, so wonderful. Anyway, enough of HMV for now. In the evening my aunt came by, and I had a great night from then on.
Now, it is currently late in the evening of today. I had a pretty decent day. After that morning I ate lunch outside as a picnic, on these retro picnic mats that are from the actual 70s, and are covered in flowers and swirly patterns and they're just the coolest things. In the afternoon I went shopping at this really cool town near here, mostly to allow my mother to buy gifts for her friends again. So, we went into quirky shops and they had a market, and markets are pretty amazing. We went into furniture shops and I bought stuff at an old-fashioned sweets shop, which I ate secretly in a local cafe. I ended up walking through a lot of the town barefoot. We went swimming at this public pool and it was late so it was really quiet and nice, then in the evening we walked around a park outside. We had curry for dinner and watched trashy TV. The perfect English evening, no?
This is getting pretty ramble-y, so I'll get back to you later in the week. I'll quickly tel you I've been listening to a lot of Arctic Monkeys, Katy B, Them Crooked Vultures, et cetera. Not reading anything terribly interesting at this very second. That's it. Goodnight. Enjoy your summers.
I've decided to blog to you intermittently over the course of today, as today is going to be a little bit crazy and rushed. Nevertheless, I'm extremely excited. Jet lag is a wonderful thing, if only because it allows me to get up earlier in the morning and watch crappy TV and go outside when it's cold. This is a great morning. Hey, my grandmother has just presented my mother with three bottles of white wine. Why this is happening at 10 in the morning, I couldn't say.
Anyway, I should back up a few days first.
On Tuesday, I went to Concord in the afternoon with my mother, as she was looking for 'quirky' gifts for some English friends of hers. 11 months she has to buy gifts, and she starts looking literally on the last day. We didn't have very long to look, but she found necklaces in a place we've been to before. I had to get back quickly so I got a drink and we left, when a thunderstorm started. I had a few minutes after getting back, and then in the evening I went to my friend's house. That was a whole lot of fun. It was with some people who I'd only met like once before so it was a bit weird at first, but it got normal pretty quickly. They all swam but I didn't feel like it, so I just sat on the side for that first part of the night and listened to music. After that we went inside and had food, and observed his younger siblings being hilarious(ly awkward). Afterwards we went outside and played Manhunt in the dark and again, Manhunt isn't really my thing but I hung out on the deck for whichever team was convenient at the time. After everyone left I played Animal Crossing for a few minutes. That was a really awesome day.
My family always pack on the last day. it may sound nightmarish, and trust me it is, but since we didn't have to go until the late afternoon this could have been worse. It turned out I couldn't really fit all my clothes in my suitcase, so that was a problem, and there were issues with electronics and what have you, so that took away most of the day, though there was a bit of time after to read. Headed to the airport at about 5 ish. Not too busy and no flight delays, got through security quickly, had dinner, and got on the flight.
It's always fun, hearing English accents on the cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic flights. We got off the ground quickly and were faced with a surprisingly short flight(5 and 3/4 hours. Thank the jet stream). Luckily, I got the good entertainment system this time round so I got to actually choose what I wanted to watch. The first thing I watched was this documentary called the Only Way is Essay, which I've heard loads about. Basically, it follows the lives of a group of 'chavs' in Essex, a place infamous for its poofy-haired, orange-skinned, high-heeled white trash residents. I'm actually from Essex, but I just take that in my stride. The show was brilliant and I can't wait to watch more while I'm here. Unfortunately the Office wasn't on the plane, but THEY ADDED PEEP SHOW TO THE LIST. First year they've done that! It may have taken seven years, but Peep Show has reached that milestone. I also watched 30 Rock(my 2nd time--pretty okayish), Family Guy(getting progressively less clever and funny as time goes by, it seems), the Simpsons(still going strong, if largely ignored, like the opposite of Family Guy), Modern Family(actually not bad), and the Inbetweeners. Oh my god, the Inbetweeners. Everyone in England's been crazy about that show, and this is the first time I've watched it. It's not like comedy genius but, wow, is it addicting. My mind was blown by how awesome Will is...and whoever plays Jay, they're brilliant, that was amazing. But wow, WILL. He's like a young Mark Corrigan, and it's great. Hopefully I can watch more episodes again. The show's like crack. Oh yeah, and my mother accidentally ripped the upholstery off the plastic part of her chair, and there was this god almighty tearing sound throughout the almost-silent cabin.
We had to circle about a bit before landing, Heathrow being insanely busy as always. Getting out of the airport, however, wasn't nearly as bad as it sometimes is. Got our luggage quickly. My grandparents had ordered a taxi for us, so he picked us up and we drove for 90 minutes to get to the house. I listened to Manchester Orchestra and slept for the first time in almost 24 hours. We finally got to my grandparent's house, and I felt dreadful so I forced myself to fall asleep in broad daylight. That afternoon I went down to the corner store, and bought English candy and music magazines. Very interesting to see how things change over the course of a year. We got back and had dinner.
On Friday, we went into the center of town for the afternoon after a slow morning. We're at a tourist-y beach town so naturally we dropped by the beach for a few minutes, which I guess was nice. Then we went food shopping, and went into Boots, where I spotted some lipgloss in every color under the sun, placed with no irony intended among pictures of pouty-lipped women. Then, finally, after 11 months of waiting, I got to back to my favorite store in the entire world...HMV. Oh my god, it's like heaven. Unfortunately I think they're planning to shut down some HMV shops(loss of income, illegal downloading, competition from iTunes, digital generation, you've heard it all before). And I honestly don't know how I'll be able to survive without it in future years. It's like bliss, they have SO many CDs and DVDs and they play awesome music and they have such great deals. I've mentioned the Two CDs for 10 Pounds deal before, and it's great because you can go in there and just buy something you never even considered buying, and you might end up loving it. Also, I got Imelda May's record for three pounds. Three pounds! How about that? Also, the new Kaiser Chiefs album. But looking through the selection, in that moment I just wanted infinite money so I could walk out of that place with twenty CDs--Wild BEasts, Patrick Wolf, Jamie Woon, James Blake, the Horrors, the lot. But two for now will suffice. Oh yes, and my mom bought something by Them Crooked Vultures. Honestly not something I would listen to otherwise, but it's a very slick record. Also I finally found Amlie on DVD! Ahh, the endless list of wonderful things about HMV. One of the things in England I still miss. I think it'd just make being a music fan so much more enjoyable, cause it's something I could do regularly--once a week or something--and I could buy new releases or I could buy old stuff so cheaply, and I would feel like I actually lived in a culture that cares about music. And I mean caring about it in the way that people who are really into music do(not just the godawful pop/emo/shitty gross commercial rock crowds). That would be so, so wonderful. Anyway, enough of HMV for now. In the evening my aunt came by, and I had a great night from then on.
Now, it is currently late in the evening of today. I had a pretty decent day. After that morning I ate lunch outside as a picnic, on these retro picnic mats that are from the actual 70s, and are covered in flowers and swirly patterns and they're just the coolest things. In the afternoon I went shopping at this really cool town near here, mostly to allow my mother to buy gifts for her friends again. So, we went into quirky shops and they had a market, and markets are pretty amazing. We went into furniture shops and I bought stuff at an old-fashioned sweets shop, which I ate secretly in a local cafe. I ended up walking through a lot of the town barefoot. We went swimming at this public pool and it was late so it was really quiet and nice, then in the evening we walked around a park outside. We had curry for dinner and watched trashy TV. The perfect English evening, no?
This is getting pretty ramble-y, so I'll get back to you later in the week. I'll quickly tel you I've been listening to a lot of Arctic Monkeys, Katy B, Them Crooked Vultures, et cetera. Not reading anything terribly interesting at this very second. That's it. Goodnight. Enjoy your summers.
Monday, July 25, 2011
England in two days.
In the days running up to going to England, I always feel both very excited and slightly sad, as I will be spending the next month away from this place. And when I get back? it's a few days off and then school. School again. In a way this is an end to a part of summer, which is why I don't feel over the moon per se. Don't get me wrong, I love going to England each year, I love seeing everything I miss, but now that I'm cool with this country I miss being here, as well. Also, going to England is always a bit of a business. Luckily I don't have to leave for the airport until late afternoon on Wednesday, but my family always packs at the last minute(myself included), and I've gotten into the habit of waking up at midday this summer, so Wednesday's gonna be pretty stressful. Obviously flights are never fun anyway, but god forbid I get the crappy entertainment system where you can't choose what shows you watch, or if there are delays this year. I have a bunch of stuff left to organize, such as CDs, while I'm still here too. Nevertheless, I'm making a conceited effort to make the best of the upcoming few days, which are gonna be a bit tough.
The best part about flying to england? The obvious: landing. But not just because it's like "THANK CHRIST, IT'S OVER" but because I walk outside and I see signs with different spellings and people with the same accent as me and HMVs and WHSmiths and I walk outside the airport and I feel that cold, smoke-filled English air. Silly stuff like that.
I've made the most of my time here, I think. It's been fun and a great break from a tough school year.
Today, I went to the beach. Had to get up early so I could catch low tide and a walk across to this little island right off shore. It feels like a tropical island because it's so overgrown. Since the weather wasn't very hot, the beach wasn't too crowded. However, we did establish that we were sitting behind a family of Germans(with the best beach umbrellas around, not gonna lie).*The temperature was actually bearable this time, and even the water was fun to be in. Oh yeah, I'm fully aware I'm a lone wolf on this one but I love British beaches. Not when you get an unexpected "heat wave"(anything above like 65 degrees, actually) and the entire country runs to the coast, but when the weather is typical and gray and rainy and you're the only people there because the water is freezing and the sand is wet. I just think it's fun.
Yesterday I went to Borders. Sad that it's closing down I suppose. I know every one's saying that, but I mean it. In the past I actually bought stuff there, books and magazines and all. Society's screwed. I was actually in there that day looking for a specific book...this was the case for, oh, no one else in the crowded store at the time. The response of the average person to Borders closing was not "oh it's a loss of knowledge and the spreading of knowledge and learning and why don't people know the value of the printed word anymore?" which is a contrived but perfectly valid response. No, most people responded with "oh, that's a bit sad. HEY IT'S A SALE LET'S BUY STUFF". So the place was filled with people carrying around trolleys literally grabbing any old thing of the shelves that they may or may not(but probably not) pay any attention to after they get home. "Ooh, flashy cover, and it's ON SALE, I must buy it now." One overhears some shitty conversations too. I'm sorry but if it takes like a 15% discount for you to pick up a fucking book, I think you're pathetic. Where the hell were you guys before? You're the type of person who has all the time in the world to go to a book store, but instead chooses to buy a gimmick like a Kindle and never actually read using it. Jesus Christ. I know I'm like the most illiterate book snob there has even been, but this scene was just a ridiculous demonstration of the stupid things people round here do. I was fuming at the ears by the time I left that place! Luckily, I went out to dinner in the evening and had a slow day. This improved my mood.
Sautrday I made a gooseberry crumble in the morning and went to the mall with some friends in the evening. That was a fun time--I got a book with some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, and also an Airborne Toxic Event CD. Oh yeah, and another raspberry coolata. I pondered the complications of spending the rest of my life on a diet consisting of nothing but blue raspberry coolatas and bagels. The Apple store was as busy and white as ever. also we got the TVs in the food court to play Ellie Goulding. So overall, that was a fun day.
And Friday, the weather was listed as "dangerously hot", or something like that, so I had to stay out of the sun for most of the day. I went school supply shopping for my sister and again went into a book shop. I'm looking for a book--nothing specific, just any book, any collected works--by John Betjeman. No luck so far. I couldn't find anything else in the store either. Why do so many popular books look terrible? Like, the sort of "beach reading" stuff, my god, it looks awful. They didn't have any of the magazines I like either, sadly. Also, I got ice cream that day.
I finished my school reading book but will likely put off note-taking for some weeks yet. It was okay, a bit repetitive though, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. Dammit. I can't analyze books to save my life' I really can't. Hopefully the essay I'll do in September will end up a bit better than last year's Secret Life of Bees disaster. Not even gonna discuss that.
As for music, I've been listening to a lot of Frankmusik, Arctic Monkeys, Hurts, Imelda May, and other such things. The last couple of months haven't been the best for music for me, you had some great things in winter and spring and them it sort of died out. Apart from Patrick Wolf. Haven't a clue why this has happened, it's probably in my head. With new albums from Beirut and Laura Marling, the Killers and Biffy Clyro recording, and new stuff from Arctic Monkeys and Bon Iver and Elbow still in my mind, why should I be complaining? Answer: I shouldn't. I'm just sick and tired of people fusing dubstep and pop and also reading the NME gush about some Oasis-wannabees. This is not new, but it's frustrating. It's just a blip, I'll find something new soon enough. Oh yeah, Imelda May, she's amazing. She did this jazzy cover of Tainted Love, I could listen to it all day.
Off to watch the Office for one of the last times. Speak to you from across the Atlantic next time, everyone.
* In Europe, if you go to a beach in Spain or Greece or wherever, the Germans are famous for being the first there. A British family can get up at the crack of dawn, but there will always by a group of Germans there first. The fact that this has seemingly transcended the Atlantic made me smile.
The best part about flying to england? The obvious: landing. But not just because it's like "THANK CHRIST, IT'S OVER" but because I walk outside and I see signs with different spellings and people with the same accent as me and HMVs and WHSmiths and I walk outside the airport and I feel that cold, smoke-filled English air. Silly stuff like that.
I've made the most of my time here, I think. It's been fun and a great break from a tough school year.
Today, I went to the beach. Had to get up early so I could catch low tide and a walk across to this little island right off shore. It feels like a tropical island because it's so overgrown. Since the weather wasn't very hot, the beach wasn't too crowded. However, we did establish that we were sitting behind a family of Germans(with the best beach umbrellas around, not gonna lie).*The temperature was actually bearable this time, and even the water was fun to be in. Oh yeah, I'm fully aware I'm a lone wolf on this one but I love British beaches. Not when you get an unexpected "heat wave"(anything above like 65 degrees, actually) and the entire country runs to the coast, but when the weather is typical and gray and rainy and you're the only people there because the water is freezing and the sand is wet. I just think it's fun.
Yesterday I went to Borders. Sad that it's closing down I suppose. I know every one's saying that, but I mean it. In the past I actually bought stuff there, books and magazines and all. Society's screwed. I was actually in there that day looking for a specific book...this was the case for, oh, no one else in the crowded store at the time. The response of the average person to Borders closing was not "oh it's a loss of knowledge and the spreading of knowledge and learning and why don't people know the value of the printed word anymore?" which is a contrived but perfectly valid response. No, most people responded with "oh, that's a bit sad. HEY IT'S A SALE LET'S BUY STUFF". So the place was filled with people carrying around trolleys literally grabbing any old thing of the shelves that they may or may not(but probably not) pay any attention to after they get home. "Ooh, flashy cover, and it's ON SALE, I must buy it now." One overhears some shitty conversations too. I'm sorry but if it takes like a 15% discount for you to pick up a fucking book, I think you're pathetic. Where the hell were you guys before? You're the type of person who has all the time in the world to go to a book store, but instead chooses to buy a gimmick like a Kindle and never actually read using it. Jesus Christ. I know I'm like the most illiterate book snob there has even been, but this scene was just a ridiculous demonstration of the stupid things people round here do. I was fuming at the ears by the time I left that place! Luckily, I went out to dinner in the evening and had a slow day. This improved my mood.
Sautrday I made a gooseberry crumble in the morning and went to the mall with some friends in the evening. That was a fun time--I got a book with some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, and also an Airborne Toxic Event CD. Oh yeah, and another raspberry coolata. I pondered the complications of spending the rest of my life on a diet consisting of nothing but blue raspberry coolatas and bagels. The Apple store was as busy and white as ever. also we got the TVs in the food court to play Ellie Goulding. So overall, that was a fun day.
And Friday, the weather was listed as "dangerously hot", or something like that, so I had to stay out of the sun for most of the day. I went school supply shopping for my sister and again went into a book shop. I'm looking for a book--nothing specific, just any book, any collected works--by John Betjeman. No luck so far. I couldn't find anything else in the store either. Why do so many popular books look terrible? Like, the sort of "beach reading" stuff, my god, it looks awful. They didn't have any of the magazines I like either, sadly. Also, I got ice cream that day.
I finished my school reading book but will likely put off note-taking for some weeks yet. It was okay, a bit repetitive though, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. Dammit. I can't analyze books to save my life' I really can't. Hopefully the essay I'll do in September will end up a bit better than last year's Secret Life of Bees disaster. Not even gonna discuss that.
As for music, I've been listening to a lot of Frankmusik, Arctic Monkeys, Hurts, Imelda May, and other such things. The last couple of months haven't been the best for music for me, you had some great things in winter and spring and them it sort of died out. Apart from Patrick Wolf. Haven't a clue why this has happened, it's probably in my head. With new albums from Beirut and Laura Marling, the Killers and Biffy Clyro recording, and new stuff from Arctic Monkeys and Bon Iver and Elbow still in my mind, why should I be complaining? Answer: I shouldn't. I'm just sick and tired of people fusing dubstep and pop and also reading the NME gush about some Oasis-wannabees. This is not new, but it's frustrating. It's just a blip, I'll find something new soon enough. Oh yeah, Imelda May, she's amazing. She did this jazzy cover of Tainted Love, I could listen to it all day.
Off to watch the Office for one of the last times. Speak to you from across the Atlantic next time, everyone.
* In Europe, if you go to a beach in Spain or Greece or wherever, the Germans are famous for being the first there. A British family can get up at the crack of dawn, but there will always by a group of Germans there first. The fact that this has seemingly transcended the Atlantic made me smile.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The summer of the Office, Animal Crossing, Nabokov, Manchester Orchestra, and Blue Raspberry Coolatas.
..and the summer of lengthy titles, it seems.
Hey all.
I've finally gotten round to listening to some people at V. Eminem mostly; I'm excited. Excitement increases with every listen to Love The Way You Lie. It's less than a month now and I cannot wait. Also, I'm going to England in six days. It's gonna be great. There's so much stuff I still miss about being there, but I guess that's to be expected. I'm spending the first week with my grandparents on my mom's side, and I think that's what I'm looking forward to most. Especially board games and Tesco curries and late night TV(Shooting Stars, please?). Ooh, the NME and radio 1 and everything, too. It's kind of surreal, really, going back, as each year I'm more and more used to living in this country instead. It makes it all the more fun, though. How I still, sadly, miss my home land.
So, summer. Que sera sera. In the most great way possible. I really don't miss school at all. I can't remember being this happy through the school year or...in a while. Ha. it's fun. Today, it was about 95 degrees and tomorrow is due to be 100 degrees. Therefore, there wasn't really that much one could comfortably do. The center of town looked dead. My mom got gooseberries so I want to make a gooseberry fool(yum) or a crumble. I went for a walk by a river near here. I listened to Bon Iver's new record again. I don't care if describing it as "endearingly beautiful" is almost sloppy writing, that's the best phrase to sum the record up with. I finished Lolita and loved it. Now I'm onto the summer reading for school. It wouldn't be something I would ever read outside of school but it looks...decent. I suppose. We'll see. it was made into a film which I should see, particularly as I should just watch more films in general. The other day I got into Lord of the Rings again, one of the only film(s) I've ever really liked. I've been into it since the Fellowship of the Ring came out, and I've secretly harbored an obsession with Aragorn ever since. Anyway.
On Wednesday I had my last piano lesson until the very last day of August. A rather strange experience. I've been doing these lessons for more than a year now. I guess I've made progress, and it's been fun. I finally mastered(well, as close to 'mastered' as I am capable of) Habanera. Love that piece. The book I'm working from is more or less just a random collection of classics aimed at my level. The next piece I picked out is by Brahms. There wasn't thought into my picking this piece because, like many pieces in this book, I wasn't familiar with it. However, whoever arranged this has good taste because upon listening to it, I've discovered it's a really wonderful piece. Is it reasonable to develop a liking for a song because you find the notes--the written notes, like if you were to take a picture of the sheet music--more aesthetically pleasing? Is that, loosely, akin to someone liking a poem based on the sound and form of the individual words? That's how I chose this piece and I suppose it's something most people must think about, even those who can't read music, but I'd never thought about it until now. Why am I in such a rambling mood tonight? Gosh.
Oh yes, I think I've mentioned to you the vocal student who's next door while I take my lessons. I'm going to keep you updated with what she sings, I think, because the event's always quite something. Not because she's particularly good, mind, but because she can belt. My god, can she belt. Through sound-proofed walls and all the force my fingers can put on the piano keys, her voice still reaches me. Now for the past few weeks she's been singing this nondescript power ballad about falling apart and that's about as fine and dandy as music like that can get while I'm trying to concentrate, but now she's playing Climb Every Mountain from the Sound of Music(I do not remember this song from this film--I only knows this cause my mother told me). Anyway, she's belting this really tough song and she has a male singing teaching who's kind of aiding her along in this startling, shrill falsetto and I'm just getting this wall of sound that sounds like pseudo opera or something. Just grin and bear it, Naomi. It's a sight. I'll keep you updated, not that you'd care.
In preparation for the inevitable board game marathons that take place with my mother and aunt every summer, I played Monopoly and other games that evening. That's been for the last few nights, now.
On Tuesday I got up fairly early and went into Boston to do about a third of the Freedom Trail. I did some of it last summer. It was another really hot day, so my mom and I had to keep stopping very frequently. Also we're cheap so we only actually went into places that are free. I love the freedom trail, I love the effort that goes into that and is one of several reasons why I think Boston as a city is highly underrated. Boston Common is another of those reasons--eating lunch round there is fun, looking out at the bustling city and what have you. I can't remember exactly the various places we visited, as after a while one meeting house blurs into another, but it was really nice roaming the city. Faneuil Hall is a particularly nice place, and the Granary Burial ground is also fun, though it was slightly unsettling that they were doing renovations there. In a cemetery with loads of famous people buried there. Huh. Oh yes, the last place we went to was Paul Revere's house, a crooked soot-black little building on a cobblestone road around Near Little Italy. It's in a part of Boston I've rarely visited, and far enough along the freedom trail that by that point the number of tourists is fairly slim. I'd have liked to have spent more time there but I was dying in the heat. I got lemonade and walked through Boston Common at Dusk. One of the best days of summer so far.
Monday was a slow day. I looked at CDs but never ended up buying anything. I feel I should start getting into vinyl collecting, but I've no idea where I'd get the music I like on vinyl. Buying vinyl online seems like the best way, but it's also ironic in a way I'm not sure I want to emulate. I also bought a t-shirt. So, yeah. My life.
This summer has been the summer of the office, animal crossing, Nabokov, Manchester Orchestra, and blue raspberry coolatas. I hope it continues this way all the way through to September because it's been great fun so far. Music-wise I'm really trying to get familiar with the V people, like I mentioned, particularly Eminem (not always the easiest to listen to), and Rihanna. Since I'm seeing them on the Sunday and I'm not particularly crazed about either, I've got to try to be as familiar as possible to make it the most fun possible. My mom contacted the friends I'm going there with and they seem excited. Oh god, nighttime headliners at the main stage is bliss. While I am extremely excited for Rihanna and Eminem, my excitement for Arctic Monkeys cannot be placed in words. Parts of myself cannot even fathom the excitement. Also, my God, kaiser Chiefs, wow. And The Script on Sunday, Wombats, Hurts, Katy B, Wolf Gang, Stornoway, Frankmusik, wow. I'll be taking dozens of CDs with me to England, it seems.
The Office obsession continues with a passion. I finally got round to watching the Christmas Special. David's song? One of the funniest things I've ever seen. What happened to Gareth with that episode? And also, Dawn&Tim was absolute perfection. This is definitely, officially, my favorite show. You heard it here first, folks. It's silver for Peep Show. If I'd told my self over the past year that peep Show wasn't my favorite show, I would be speechless. But there you go.
I'm off to watch some V Fest 2010 clips. Bye.
Hey all.
I've finally gotten round to listening to some people at V. Eminem mostly; I'm excited. Excitement increases with every listen to Love The Way You Lie. It's less than a month now and I cannot wait. Also, I'm going to England in six days. It's gonna be great. There's so much stuff I still miss about being there, but I guess that's to be expected. I'm spending the first week with my grandparents on my mom's side, and I think that's what I'm looking forward to most. Especially board games and Tesco curries and late night TV(Shooting Stars, please?). Ooh, the NME and radio 1 and everything, too. It's kind of surreal, really, going back, as each year I'm more and more used to living in this country instead. It makes it all the more fun, though. How I still, sadly, miss my home land.
So, summer. Que sera sera. In the most great way possible. I really don't miss school at all. I can't remember being this happy through the school year or...in a while. Ha. it's fun. Today, it was about 95 degrees and tomorrow is due to be 100 degrees. Therefore, there wasn't really that much one could comfortably do. The center of town looked dead. My mom got gooseberries so I want to make a gooseberry fool(yum) or a crumble. I went for a walk by a river near here. I listened to Bon Iver's new record again. I don't care if describing it as "endearingly beautiful" is almost sloppy writing, that's the best phrase to sum the record up with. I finished Lolita and loved it. Now I'm onto the summer reading for school. It wouldn't be something I would ever read outside of school but it looks...decent. I suppose. We'll see. it was made into a film which I should see, particularly as I should just watch more films in general. The other day I got into Lord of the Rings again, one of the only film(s) I've ever really liked. I've been into it since the Fellowship of the Ring came out, and I've secretly harbored an obsession with Aragorn ever since. Anyway.
On Wednesday I had my last piano lesson until the very last day of August. A rather strange experience. I've been doing these lessons for more than a year now. I guess I've made progress, and it's been fun. I finally mastered(well, as close to 'mastered' as I am capable of) Habanera. Love that piece. The book I'm working from is more or less just a random collection of classics aimed at my level. The next piece I picked out is by Brahms. There wasn't thought into my picking this piece because, like many pieces in this book, I wasn't familiar with it. However, whoever arranged this has good taste because upon listening to it, I've discovered it's a really wonderful piece. Is it reasonable to develop a liking for a song because you find the notes--the written notes, like if you were to take a picture of the sheet music--more aesthetically pleasing? Is that, loosely, akin to someone liking a poem based on the sound and form of the individual words? That's how I chose this piece and I suppose it's something most people must think about, even those who can't read music, but I'd never thought about it until now. Why am I in such a rambling mood tonight? Gosh.
Oh yes, I think I've mentioned to you the vocal student who's next door while I take my lessons. I'm going to keep you updated with what she sings, I think, because the event's always quite something. Not because she's particularly good, mind, but because she can belt. My god, can she belt. Through sound-proofed walls and all the force my fingers can put on the piano keys, her voice still reaches me. Now for the past few weeks she's been singing this nondescript power ballad about falling apart and that's about as fine and dandy as music like that can get while I'm trying to concentrate, but now she's playing Climb Every Mountain from the Sound of Music(I do not remember this song from this film--I only knows this cause my mother told me). Anyway, she's belting this really tough song and she has a male singing teaching who's kind of aiding her along in this startling, shrill falsetto and I'm just getting this wall of sound that sounds like pseudo opera or something. Just grin and bear it, Naomi. It's a sight. I'll keep you updated, not that you'd care.
In preparation for the inevitable board game marathons that take place with my mother and aunt every summer, I played Monopoly and other games that evening. That's been for the last few nights, now.
On Tuesday I got up fairly early and went into Boston to do about a third of the Freedom Trail. I did some of it last summer. It was another really hot day, so my mom and I had to keep stopping very frequently. Also we're cheap so we only actually went into places that are free. I love the freedom trail, I love the effort that goes into that and is one of several reasons why I think Boston as a city is highly underrated. Boston Common is another of those reasons--eating lunch round there is fun, looking out at the bustling city and what have you. I can't remember exactly the various places we visited, as after a while one meeting house blurs into another, but it was really nice roaming the city. Faneuil Hall is a particularly nice place, and the Granary Burial ground is also fun, though it was slightly unsettling that they were doing renovations there. In a cemetery with loads of famous people buried there. Huh. Oh yes, the last place we went to was Paul Revere's house, a crooked soot-black little building on a cobblestone road around Near Little Italy. It's in a part of Boston I've rarely visited, and far enough along the freedom trail that by that point the number of tourists is fairly slim. I'd have liked to have spent more time there but I was dying in the heat. I got lemonade and walked through Boston Common at Dusk. One of the best days of summer so far.
Monday was a slow day. I looked at CDs but never ended up buying anything. I feel I should start getting into vinyl collecting, but I've no idea where I'd get the music I like on vinyl. Buying vinyl online seems like the best way, but it's also ironic in a way I'm not sure I want to emulate. I also bought a t-shirt. So, yeah. My life.
This summer has been the summer of the office, animal crossing, Nabokov, Manchester Orchestra, and blue raspberry coolatas. I hope it continues this way all the way through to September because it's been great fun so far. Music-wise I'm really trying to get familiar with the V people, like I mentioned, particularly Eminem (not always the easiest to listen to), and Rihanna. Since I'm seeing them on the Sunday and I'm not particularly crazed about either, I've got to try to be as familiar as possible to make it the most fun possible. My mom contacted the friends I'm going there with and they seem excited. Oh god, nighttime headliners at the main stage is bliss. While I am extremely excited for Rihanna and Eminem, my excitement for Arctic Monkeys cannot be placed in words. Parts of myself cannot even fathom the excitement. Also, my God, kaiser Chiefs, wow. And The Script on Sunday, Wombats, Hurts, Katy B, Wolf Gang, Stornoway, Frankmusik, wow. I'll be taking dozens of CDs with me to England, it seems.
The Office obsession continues with a passion. I finally got round to watching the Christmas Special. David's song? One of the funniest things I've ever seen. What happened to Gareth with that episode? And also, Dawn&Tim was absolute perfection. This is definitely, officially, my favorite show. You heard it here first, folks. It's silver for Peep Show. If I'd told my self over the past year that peep Show wasn't my favorite show, I would be speechless. But there you go.
I'm off to watch some V Fest 2010 clips. Bye.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
freelove on the freelove freeway.
the title is from an episode of the UK office. It's one of the most well-known bits now, I've discovered, and for good reason. I'd put some research into it if you don't know it already. It. Is. Gold. Also they did a studio version of it with Noel freaking Gallagher.
The Office is my obsession. I've watched all of season 1 multiple times, and I bought season 2 today and I'm already half way through it. And it's hilarious. And I'm preeeetty pissed at the whole Tim&Rachel thing, and Gareth never stops making me laugh. Though I will concede, the story of him methodically working through a set of Top Trump cards to work out the mathematically most successful cards is...both painfully, and laughably, familiar. But I was, what, 8 at the time? I'll cling to that subtle difference because it's one thing to compare your social ability to Mark Corrigan's; it is another entirely to compare it to Gareth Keenan's.
Also I'm gonna give the Office US a go for sure. And would it be two obsessive if I also bought the French, German, Quebecois, Brazilian, Chilean, and Israeli versions? These have all tempted me. Apparently the German one in particular is pretty awesome.
It is odd, having this much time on my hands. Summer's awesome but it feels like I forget everything. Here's what I do--I read, I go on the computer, I write, I play Animal Crossing, I play piano, I watch DVDs. Life of a loser indeed.
I've read a number of books this summer. Currently I'm working on The Pact by Jodi Picoult. This is my 3rd time reading her, I think she's awesome, don't be fooled by the shitty covers and bland synopses and the fact that she's sort of thrown in a heap with Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen. Though her work is currently not getting too much of my attention, but that is probably because I just finished the Great Gatsby and I thought it was absolutely fantastic and everything else looks so bad in comparison. Why do I love the books I'm supposed to like but I can never get my head around Music I'm Supposed To Like? Onto the favorites list this goes, along with The Perks of Being A Wallflower and the Bell jar and The Color Purple and the like. Hmmm. Really though, fucking genius book. I relate to Nick far too much for my own good and I think it raises super interesting questions. I know I'm reading it next year in english but I've been meaning to read it for ages and if it turns out we read it in like May I simply cannot wait that long. I'm excited for the reread only because I see no way, this time round, that I could be the only one enjoying the story. It is not possible. But, then again, I will be a sophomore. When you become a sophomore, I swear your IQ points fly our your ears.
Oh yeah, great news, I'm seeing Kaiser Chiefs in September! Them and the National the week before woohoo, I love start-of-year gigs. Plus, seeing them at V, so all is good. Cannot wait for V, by the way. Eminem oh my god, I will die of joy at Love the Way You Lie. Also, KC will have the moshpit to end all moshpits and the Arctic Monkeys are just amazing in every single way, as I'm sure I've discussed before.
Today my sister had friends round. I've finally fallen victim to that ol' high school habbit of waking up at unreasonable hours so they were there when I woke up and I had to live as a shadow in the house. my mom ordered pizza and I ate it out of sight. God, how about that? So adolescent. Then I went to my piano lesson. The summer hours are great, there's usually this vocal student who belts out the same seven-minute power ballad about 'falling apart' every week and I cannot concentrate. Now we don't clash anymore! I'm trying to play Habanera from Carmen, with little success. I'm doing my 'fun songs' from an easy classics book. My piano teacher thinks I'm mad, thinks my mom's forcing me to play those. I know very little about classical, but I do know that I'd rather be playing that than, say, Keane, y'know? After my lesson I had dinner and watched the Office.
Yesterday, too, was fun. I picked raspberries and made them into raspberry crumble. I've never had raspberry crumble before, but I'm an all-round crumble fan so you can't go wrong. Hoping to make gooseberry fool soon. Oh this just makes me think of England(three weeks!)--my dad's side of the family are throwing a party for his 50th, and my grandparents make the best desserts conceivable. Plus, the whole lot are coming, bar I believe my one cousin in Chicago. I'm actually really excited. It's what's fun about your typical English family. Small and reserved and avoid confrontation like the plague. Runs like a dream.
I've yet to find Amelie on DVD. Or to find somewhere showing Submarine. Haha look at me talking like I know shit about movies. Or 'films' should I say for some indie cred. Now let's go mainstream. Deathly Hallows in less than two weeks, eh? How about that? Who's ready to wish a final fair well to their childhood. Not me. I was 5 when the first movie came out. I don't remember that, but I do very vividly remember seeing the 2nd. I'm not a huge Potter fan, and I was thinking earlier about how fucking ostentatious the whole 2nd half of Hallows is, and yet I'm still excited. Can't wait to talk about it.
On Saturday, I got Swiss bread at a market place in town and went for a walk around the woods. In case you're wondering, no, I do not know how Swiss bread differs from all the other kinds of breads. All I know is that it tastes amazing and they have it shaped as frogs. Sunday was similarly quiet, I went to the Jack Kerouac memorial in Lowell. I've never been before but I kinda love it. I've been meaning to read On The Road for a while, actually. This has given me just motivation. Also we went on a trolly around Lowell and to an art place. It was the 3rd so it was empty.
I love the 4th! I hope I don't somehow offend anyone by saying that, me being a Brit and all. Though I suppose it's all in good fun. On the 3rd I went to the fireworks display at school. I ended up with two friends and an acquaintance. it was funny, seeing so many cars and all the people splayed across the school field and also how different it is to school and how much less I miss school than I thought I would. Don't miss it at all! After all the cars hurried away, it was just me and these couple of friends and the smoke left from the fireworks(which were awesome, by the way) and it was great fun. Friends are the only thing I miss about school. On the actual 4th, I went into town cause it's fun to wander when it's empty, then I went into Boston for the fireworks. They were every bit as awesome as I remember them from last year. I'm an introvert who likes crowds, is that weird? The show was great and I love how you move as one giant group through the streets of Boston and how chaotic it is. Also, I like to listen to Tim Minchin's White Wine In The Sun on the 4th A.) Because it's a Christmas song haha and B.) Because it somehow sounds more beautiful on the 4th than any other day of the year. No idea why.
Such is my life of the last few days. Summer is going swimmingly and I hope to blog again soon!
The Office is my obsession. I've watched all of season 1 multiple times, and I bought season 2 today and I'm already half way through it. And it's hilarious. And I'm preeeetty pissed at the whole Tim&Rachel thing, and Gareth never stops making me laugh. Though I will concede, the story of him methodically working through a set of Top Trump cards to work out the mathematically most successful cards is...both painfully, and laughably, familiar. But I was, what, 8 at the time? I'll cling to that subtle difference because it's one thing to compare your social ability to Mark Corrigan's; it is another entirely to compare it to Gareth Keenan's.
Also I'm gonna give the Office US a go for sure. And would it be two obsessive if I also bought the French, German, Quebecois, Brazilian, Chilean, and Israeli versions? These have all tempted me. Apparently the German one in particular is pretty awesome.
It is odd, having this much time on my hands. Summer's awesome but it feels like I forget everything. Here's what I do--I read, I go on the computer, I write, I play Animal Crossing, I play piano, I watch DVDs. Life of a loser indeed.
I've read a number of books this summer. Currently I'm working on The Pact by Jodi Picoult. This is my 3rd time reading her, I think she's awesome, don't be fooled by the shitty covers and bland synopses and the fact that she's sort of thrown in a heap with Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen. Though her work is currently not getting too much of my attention, but that is probably because I just finished the Great Gatsby and I thought it was absolutely fantastic and everything else looks so bad in comparison. Why do I love the books I'm supposed to like but I can never get my head around Music I'm Supposed To Like? Onto the favorites list this goes, along with The Perks of Being A Wallflower and the Bell jar and The Color Purple and the like. Hmmm. Really though, fucking genius book. I relate to Nick far too much for my own good and I think it raises super interesting questions. I know I'm reading it next year in english but I've been meaning to read it for ages and if it turns out we read it in like May I simply cannot wait that long. I'm excited for the reread only because I see no way, this time round, that I could be the only one enjoying the story. It is not possible. But, then again, I will be a sophomore. When you become a sophomore, I swear your IQ points fly our your ears.
Oh yeah, great news, I'm seeing Kaiser Chiefs in September! Them and the National the week before woohoo, I love start-of-year gigs. Plus, seeing them at V, so all is good. Cannot wait for V, by the way. Eminem oh my god, I will die of joy at Love the Way You Lie. Also, KC will have the moshpit to end all moshpits and the Arctic Monkeys are just amazing in every single way, as I'm sure I've discussed before.
Today my sister had friends round. I've finally fallen victim to that ol' high school habbit of waking up at unreasonable hours so they were there when I woke up and I had to live as a shadow in the house. my mom ordered pizza and I ate it out of sight. God, how about that? So adolescent. Then I went to my piano lesson. The summer hours are great, there's usually this vocal student who belts out the same seven-minute power ballad about 'falling apart' every week and I cannot concentrate. Now we don't clash anymore! I'm trying to play Habanera from Carmen, with little success. I'm doing my 'fun songs' from an easy classics book. My piano teacher thinks I'm mad, thinks my mom's forcing me to play those. I know very little about classical, but I do know that I'd rather be playing that than, say, Keane, y'know? After my lesson I had dinner and watched the Office.
Yesterday, too, was fun. I picked raspberries and made them into raspberry crumble. I've never had raspberry crumble before, but I'm an all-round crumble fan so you can't go wrong. Hoping to make gooseberry fool soon. Oh this just makes me think of England(three weeks!)--my dad's side of the family are throwing a party for his 50th, and my grandparents make the best desserts conceivable. Plus, the whole lot are coming, bar I believe my one cousin in Chicago. I'm actually really excited. It's what's fun about your typical English family. Small and reserved and avoid confrontation like the plague. Runs like a dream.
I've yet to find Amelie on DVD. Or to find somewhere showing Submarine. Haha look at me talking like I know shit about movies. Or 'films' should I say for some indie cred. Now let's go mainstream. Deathly Hallows in less than two weeks, eh? How about that? Who's ready to wish a final fair well to their childhood. Not me. I was 5 when the first movie came out. I don't remember that, but I do very vividly remember seeing the 2nd. I'm not a huge Potter fan, and I was thinking earlier about how fucking ostentatious the whole 2nd half of Hallows is, and yet I'm still excited. Can't wait to talk about it.
On Saturday, I got Swiss bread at a market place in town and went for a walk around the woods. In case you're wondering, no, I do not know how Swiss bread differs from all the other kinds of breads. All I know is that it tastes amazing and they have it shaped as frogs. Sunday was similarly quiet, I went to the Jack Kerouac memorial in Lowell. I've never been before but I kinda love it. I've been meaning to read On The Road for a while, actually. This has given me just motivation. Also we went on a trolly around Lowell and to an art place. It was the 3rd so it was empty.
I love the 4th! I hope I don't somehow offend anyone by saying that, me being a Brit and all. Though I suppose it's all in good fun. On the 3rd I went to the fireworks display at school. I ended up with two friends and an acquaintance. it was funny, seeing so many cars and all the people splayed across the school field and also how different it is to school and how much less I miss school than I thought I would. Don't miss it at all! After all the cars hurried away, it was just me and these couple of friends and the smoke left from the fireworks(which were awesome, by the way) and it was great fun. Friends are the only thing I miss about school. On the actual 4th, I went into town cause it's fun to wander when it's empty, then I went into Boston for the fireworks. They were every bit as awesome as I remember them from last year. I'm an introvert who likes crowds, is that weird? The show was great and I love how you move as one giant group through the streets of Boston and how chaotic it is. Also, I like to listen to Tim Minchin's White Wine In The Sun on the 4th A.) Because it's a Christmas song haha and B.) Because it somehow sounds more beautiful on the 4th than any other day of the year. No idea why.
Such is my life of the last few days. Summer is going swimmingly and I hope to blog again soon!
Friday, July 1, 2011
obligatory summer music post.
Nothing out of the usual today. I got ice cream and new editions of Empire(HP special), the Word, Spin(only cause the Arctic Monkeys are on the cover*), and a bunch of other things. A whole load of new books too. It's been a fun day.
Seeing as I've nothing new to say but feel the need to blog anyway(and I'm already doing this for my music blog so whatever), I thought I'll give you the obligatory list of 'summer songs'. Okay? Woohoo.
1. The City by Patrick Wolf
I've been waiting to show you guys, one way or another, this song for ages. Months. While, when it comes to music I am prone to hyperbole, I think I'm speaking with sense when I say that this might be one of the best pop songs I've ever heard. Apparently his new album, Lupercalia, is full of great pop songs. If I were you, I'd buy the record based on its awesome name alone, but Patrick Wolf is something of a Pop Song Master soooo I'm sure you're in for a treat. It's not released physically in the US yet but I'm gonna get it the moment I go back to the UK.
2. Mornin' by Star Slinger
Trip-tastic hipster electronica, why not. One of the best bands of 2011 so far. Sounds like never ending summer days, heat waves, and friends.
3. Five Years Time by Noah & the Whale
I'd pay more attention to this than their recent work. This song will never leave my Summer Playlist, I reckon. It's just so damn adorable.
4. Crave You by Flight Facilities
Again, this is hipstertastic, but it has tribal drums and sounds like midday heat.
5. With Love by Elbow
This is only an excerpt, you'll have to deal with crappy audio or buy the record if you wanna listen to the whole beautiful song. But, my god, go buy the record because it is soooo good.
6. In the Water by Beat Connection
Yeah, I listen to too much chillwave for my own good. Oh well.
7. Kiss of Life by Friendly Fires
Let's grab some African drums, go to a beach, and dance like Thom Yorke.
8. Pensacola by Manchester Orchestra
Alcohol, dirty malls, pensacola, florida bars. Nothing about this song makes sense or fits in with anything else this band have ever done, but let's drive down a highway and scream the lyrics with the windows down.
9. Hair by Lady Gaga
No matter how many times I listen to this, I'm still not sure what to make of Lady Gaga comparing her freedom to her hair. *shrugs*. But this is an AWESOME pop song, one of the best on the new album. Endless fun here.
10. Let's Stay Together by Al Green
So, er, don't judge me by putting a soul song on this list. It's just...good, okay? Okay I'll leave now.
Hope you enjoy something, as always. I'll post more songs in the future, I'm sure.
Now, to magazines and the Office. night!
*I first wrote 'the Alex Turner' rather than 'the Arctic Monkeys'. Almost certainly a troubling thing to do. I was going to touch on the fact that this is the first time I've seen Alex Turner anywhere with stubble but I'd look even more shallow and like Alex Turner = the Arctic Monkeys for me. This, I'll have you know, is not true 99% of the time but WOAH STUBBLE YAY. Sigh. Sexuality sure is futile.
(Really, read one AM interview and you've read 'em all. I've read so many things dedicated to Alex and his introverted, brooding, socially detached self for a life time. I think it's adorable as much as it is completely contrived. Sigh again at this whole thing.)
Okay. Bye.
Seeing as I've nothing new to say but feel the need to blog anyway(and I'm already doing this for my music blog so whatever), I thought I'll give you the obligatory list of 'summer songs'. Okay? Woohoo.
1. The City by Patrick Wolf
I've been waiting to show you guys, one way or another, this song for ages. Months. While, when it comes to music I am prone to hyperbole, I think I'm speaking with sense when I say that this might be one of the best pop songs I've ever heard. Apparently his new album, Lupercalia, is full of great pop songs. If I were you, I'd buy the record based on its awesome name alone, but Patrick Wolf is something of a Pop Song Master soooo I'm sure you're in for a treat. It's not released physically in the US yet but I'm gonna get it the moment I go back to the UK.
2. Mornin' by Star Slinger
Trip-tastic hipster electronica, why not. One of the best bands of 2011 so far. Sounds like never ending summer days, heat waves, and friends.
3. Five Years Time by Noah & the Whale
I'd pay more attention to this than their recent work. This song will never leave my Summer Playlist, I reckon. It's just so damn adorable.
4. Crave You by Flight Facilities
Again, this is hipstertastic, but it has tribal drums and sounds like midday heat.
5. With Love by Elbow
This is only an excerpt, you'll have to deal with crappy audio or buy the record if you wanna listen to the whole beautiful song. But, my god, go buy the record because it is soooo good.
6. In the Water by Beat Connection
Yeah, I listen to too much chillwave for my own good. Oh well.
7. Kiss of Life by Friendly Fires
Let's grab some African drums, go to a beach, and dance like Thom Yorke.
8. Pensacola by Manchester Orchestra
Alcohol, dirty malls, pensacola, florida bars. Nothing about this song makes sense or fits in with anything else this band have ever done, but let's drive down a highway and scream the lyrics with the windows down.
9. Hair by Lady Gaga
No matter how many times I listen to this, I'm still not sure what to make of Lady Gaga comparing her freedom to her hair. *shrugs*. But this is an AWESOME pop song, one of the best on the new album. Endless fun here.
10. Let's Stay Together by Al Green
So, er, don't judge me by putting a soul song on this list. It's just...good, okay? Okay I'll leave now.
Hope you enjoy something, as always. I'll post more songs in the future, I'm sure.
Now, to magazines and the Office. night!
*I first wrote 'the Alex Turner' rather than 'the Arctic Monkeys'. Almost certainly a troubling thing to do. I was going to touch on the fact that this is the first time I've seen Alex Turner anywhere with stubble but I'd look even more shallow and like Alex Turner = the Arctic Monkeys for me. This, I'll have you know, is not true 99% of the time but WOAH STUBBLE YAY. Sigh. Sexuality sure is futile.
(Really, read one AM interview and you've read 'em all. I've read so many things dedicated to Alex and his introverted, brooding, socially detached self for a life time. I think it's adorable as much as it is completely contrived. Sigh again at this whole thing.)
Okay. Bye.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Small Town America & Niagara Falls.
The first week of vacation has got off to a very good start. The first two days were slow, as expected, slept a lot, had a piano lesson, read, listened to music, tried to hunt down Amelie on DVD but was unsecsessful. Went for walks. It rained a whole lot so it didn't really feel like summer.
Friday morning was a fairly early start, slightly manic packing, desperately hunting down all the CDs I wanted to take. (I have a thing that can only carry 25--having the exactly perfect selection of music is a key element for a good summer). It took forever because Primal Scream were hiding. Anyway, set off about 1:30, drove for a couple of hours, got a snack. Listened to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Manchester Orchestra records, the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, Rihanna, Arctic Monkeys, and Elbow. We drove through western Massachusetts and into New York state. It rained a lot, there were a lot of hills, and at one point we drove through loads and loads of fog so you can barely see ten feet in front of you. Turns out this part of the world is absolutely beautiful, in a very sort of southern England way. Loads of greenery and what have you, rivers and stuff too. So unexpectedly different from where I live, which isn't really that far away. Additionally, it is also for the most part very quiet and rural and...deserted. Like, you drive through some really small, eccentric town centers, where they have decaying chinese takeouts and thrift shops on every corner. Some of the places look like they could've jumped out of like a wild west film, which is mad considering this is the effing northeast, right? That's what I thought. But, y'know, they're kinda fantastic in their wholly eccentric ways. Makes where I live look like a bustling metropolis, whereas I always regarded it as little more than an average(if disgustingly wealthy, bigoted, and ignorant) New England town. Huh. We drove through the evening until we got to where we were staying, a beige four star hotel in some town in western New York state, right next to a loud psuedo Irish bar(which, upon reading their panflet in the hotel room, I discovered is riddled with inaccuracies, mainly concerning the differences between Ireland and Scotland, both culturally and geographically). There's an open pool so the hotel always smelled of chlorine but nevertheless, it was a decent enough stay. As we got to the hotel room, my dad flipped through the tourist brouchure, only to discover that the town's high-security prison is listed as one of its main attractions. I love Small Town America! it gets better, though--we needed to go somewhere for dinner, so my dad finds this place and we go there, and it happens to be literally just across the street from this prison. And the place(the restaurant, not the prison) is awesome, it's small and dark and squalid and it's filled with baseball memorabillia and the waitors perpetuate too many New York stereotypes for their own good. For some reason, it's filled with A.) couples in their fiftes B.) Groups of drunk women in their early forties and C.) Girls in cheap, tacky prom dresses. I don't see how it could be prom for them this late in their year, but whatever. Just imagine living in a place that's literally nowhere, and it's your prom night and the place you go to eat after is across the road from a town prison. Believe me, this place is begging to have a YA written about it. Someone go tell John Green about it, now.
Saturday morning was good enough, breakfast, then out of the door. Same scenery, same music, but a lot of fun. Drove past the finger lakes and to a glass museum somewhere in New York State. It was genuinely amazing--the modern stuff was the best though, it all looked so awesome and I had no idea how much stuff you could do with glass. I mean, one sees those tree-like structures made of translucent glass and you think well 'okay, cool, whatever' but there's a whole other world to it. Someone made a glass structure of the inside of a human torso. Also comical chess sets and what have you. Plus, it was a great moment for me, as a northern european, to discover that while the ancient world, asia, the east, and basically everywhere else were playing with these really groundbreaking artistic techniques with glass, we busied ourselves with making comedy glass drinking glasses, that were structured so that they were virtually impossible to drink out of and made your friends laugh at dinner parties when you spilled your drink everywhere. Ha. On the way home we stopped by this small waterfall, which would've been great had it been a hot day, and walked for ages, then went to a racetrack. We had seafood for dinner in a local town, to the sound of an old folkie doing godawful 60s covers, while my parents exchanged snide remarks about the whole event. Sunday, another early-ish day, set out for Niagara at nine oclock, got there by midday. Obviously, it was spectacular, unlike anything I'd seen before. However, my brain felt like being mildly crazy that day, and was far more interested in the tacky, desserted-looking Canada across the falls. It just looked awesome in a very sort of English seaside resort town way. Like, it was amazing. And so we walked around there a while, and got lunch, and went on the walk around the side of one of them, and walked to the islands and stepped in the water even though we shouldn't have, and then we went on the boat which was infuckingincredible. You disappear completely in the mist, it's a world of white, it's amazing. We walked around that bit for a while, got an ice cream, and watched a movie about the myths about the falls and the various stories of people sending themselves over. For a cheap little 40-minute documentary it was surprisingly interesting. However, my family and I did spend extended amounts of time mocking the family of the 7-year-old boy who fell over the falls. ('Just a normal boating trip on the upper niagara'. WAIT WAIT WAIT JUST A NORMAL TRIP WHO DOES THAT. Also the way the documentary showed it, there was a small 'dangerous waters ahead sign' which I would first argue is a stupid way of advertising there's a fucking huge waterfall ahead. Additionally, the family seemed to go 'oh, dangerous waters ahead, I'm just gonna put my cheap little sailing boat five feet away from it, nothing can possibly go wrong out here!' It's entirely possible that these were not the exact details of the event, but I mean, come on.) We went over to canada. 4th country I've been to, pathetic but what are you gonna do. It's the first time I've been to a country right at a border, beforehand where I've been has been seperated by seas so I find it very odd to just step over a border and that's it. we got stuck in customs or whatever(is 'customs' an applicable term outside an airport?) for ages because everyone there was foreign so there were a thousand and one complications. The town, as I said, was awesomely tacky, and we went to these tourist shops and it's all life size bear toys and English candy and maple syrup and then we saw the falls from that side and they were so, so amazing with a rainbow and everything. and then I went to my first Hard Rock Cafe! it seemed outdated but fun. They played Taio Cruz and the Script inbetween death metal and I think all parties involved were a little confused. I'm going to the original London one this summer, by the way. Then we walked back through the park, and got back really late. Monday was merely a travelling day, though we did stop by one of those towns where it's supposed to be like a quiet 1800s colonial town. Again, small town america. (small town america I know is so hipster, so I dressed hipster to celebrate.) all we did is walk around and get ice cream, and it was weird because the only other people there were a group of loud and irritating mix of Americans, Brits, and French(at first I thought the French were some Brits pronouncing curiously long names of wines with very impressive accents). They were annoying as hell, hence our swift departure.
It's been a very nice few days coming back! Most people are away at the moment so it's nice and quiet. Also, the weather is bearable and for some reason I'm not bored out of my mind this summer, though I'm doing nothing different to last year. I'm listening to Manchester Orchestra's discography a whole lot. I only just got round to buying the first album. My god, there's so much angst there! Makes their recent work look like Owl City in comparison. It's good nonetheless. Don't know why this band stand out from a lot of other guitar bands at the moment, but they do. I think so anyway. Also the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, I love that, I'm gonna get a DVD showing of the Broadway cast doing it. V is now in 50 days--they have almost all the lineup there and it's very exciting. I'm going through the list and it's looking good. More excited for Eminem at the moment, must listen more to new Arctic Monkeys record. I'm getting into Glasvegas. We're in a Glasvegas backlash at the moment(Glasvegas>>>Coldplay. END OF. SHUT UP.), it's a shame. Additionally, Patrick Wolf writes flawless summer music.
Festivals may be hell on earth but I love them anyway. I missed out on most of Glasto, unfortunately. Apparently Beyonce is the first female headliner of Glasto...after 51 years. Hmmm. I missed my beloved Killers' performance at Hard Rock Calling, also. I hope they write a new record soon, six months or so would be lovely. Their tours go on forever.
Sadly, the tickets for Richard III in London this summer seem to be sold out. it has become the big show of the year and it's getting great reviews. However, it's okay because my mom will take me to see another smaller show this summer, she says. Also it's going to Broadway this winter so I get to go see a fucking Broadway show, how about that? I have to be like all the Broadway Kids at school, AKA annoying as hell. I should ditch all adjectives other than 'fabulous', loudly sing songs from Avenue Q at inconvenient times, announce to everyone how Neil Patrick Harris has something to contribute to society. My ego will soar. It sounds like a blast.
The other day I bought Doctor Who(don't know the series--but the Ten/Rose one) and the Office(UK) Season 1 on DVD . Doctor Who is for 5th grade nostalgia. At 11 years old, the Ten/Rose relationship seems groundbreaking and interesting. Also, while I may be behind the entire developed world with the Office(which I'd never actually seen before), I've got to say how hilarious and clever and awesome it is...even though I'm only 5 episodes in. I love it. Especially Gareth. And Tim. But that's mostly just cause how could you not love Martin Freeman? Summer means comedy shows in the early hours of the morning. This and then I'm going back to Peep Show, because not even the most critically acclaimed British comedy of the decade can beat Peep Show for me.*Which is sad, I suppose. oh well. Is the US Office worth it? I have difficulty judging things without bias; this will be one of these instances, I'm afraid. I hear it's very funny too so I suppose I should watch it but I just don't want to become all YOU AMERICANS DON'T UNDERSTAND OUR SENSE OF HUMOR BLAH BLAH BLAH and then I'll feel and look ridiculous after. Just some foresight on the matter.
Oh, one last thing--my report card came in the mail. Six As, two A minus, one B. A- in the sciences, B in gym(haha). Mediocre and what have you. Oh well. I lost two much sleep the past ten months to care.
Slow days, slow summer. Speak to you soon.
* For those who don't know, I would like to point out that as far as critical acclaim for UK comedy shows, Peep Show really is only a little bit behind the Office. Honestly. But of course the Office is massive and Peep Show just goes along its merry way, with its small band of highly dedicated followers. The world is crazy.
Friday morning was a fairly early start, slightly manic packing, desperately hunting down all the CDs I wanted to take. (I have a thing that can only carry 25--having the exactly perfect selection of music is a key element for a good summer). It took forever because Primal Scream were hiding. Anyway, set off about 1:30, drove for a couple of hours, got a snack. Listened to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Manchester Orchestra records, the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, Rihanna, Arctic Monkeys, and Elbow. We drove through western Massachusetts and into New York state. It rained a lot, there were a lot of hills, and at one point we drove through loads and loads of fog so you can barely see ten feet in front of you. Turns out this part of the world is absolutely beautiful, in a very sort of southern England way. Loads of greenery and what have you, rivers and stuff too. So unexpectedly different from where I live, which isn't really that far away. Additionally, it is also for the most part very quiet and rural and...deserted. Like, you drive through some really small, eccentric town centers, where they have decaying chinese takeouts and thrift shops on every corner. Some of the places look like they could've jumped out of like a wild west film, which is mad considering this is the effing northeast, right? That's what I thought. But, y'know, they're kinda fantastic in their wholly eccentric ways. Makes where I live look like a bustling metropolis, whereas I always regarded it as little more than an average(if disgustingly wealthy, bigoted, and ignorant) New England town. Huh. We drove through the evening until we got to where we were staying, a beige four star hotel in some town in western New York state, right next to a loud psuedo Irish bar(which, upon reading their panflet in the hotel room, I discovered is riddled with inaccuracies, mainly concerning the differences between Ireland and Scotland, both culturally and geographically). There's an open pool so the hotel always smelled of chlorine but nevertheless, it was a decent enough stay. As we got to the hotel room, my dad flipped through the tourist brouchure, only to discover that the town's high-security prison is listed as one of its main attractions. I love Small Town America! it gets better, though--we needed to go somewhere for dinner, so my dad finds this place and we go there, and it happens to be literally just across the street from this prison. And the place(the restaurant, not the prison) is awesome, it's small and dark and squalid and it's filled with baseball memorabillia and the waitors perpetuate too many New York stereotypes for their own good. For some reason, it's filled with A.) couples in their fiftes B.) Groups of drunk women in their early forties and C.) Girls in cheap, tacky prom dresses. I don't see how it could be prom for them this late in their year, but whatever. Just imagine living in a place that's literally nowhere, and it's your prom night and the place you go to eat after is across the road from a town prison. Believe me, this place is begging to have a YA written about it. Someone go tell John Green about it, now.
Saturday morning was good enough, breakfast, then out of the door. Same scenery, same music, but a lot of fun. Drove past the finger lakes and to a glass museum somewhere in New York State. It was genuinely amazing--the modern stuff was the best though, it all looked so awesome and I had no idea how much stuff you could do with glass. I mean, one sees those tree-like structures made of translucent glass and you think well 'okay, cool, whatever' but there's a whole other world to it. Someone made a glass structure of the inside of a human torso. Also comical chess sets and what have you. Plus, it was a great moment for me, as a northern european, to discover that while the ancient world, asia, the east, and basically everywhere else were playing with these really groundbreaking artistic techniques with glass, we busied ourselves with making comedy glass drinking glasses, that were structured so that they were virtually impossible to drink out of and made your friends laugh at dinner parties when you spilled your drink everywhere. Ha. On the way home we stopped by this small waterfall, which would've been great had it been a hot day, and walked for ages, then went to a racetrack. We had seafood for dinner in a local town, to the sound of an old folkie doing godawful 60s covers, while my parents exchanged snide remarks about the whole event. Sunday, another early-ish day, set out for Niagara at nine oclock, got there by midday. Obviously, it was spectacular, unlike anything I'd seen before. However, my brain felt like being mildly crazy that day, and was far more interested in the tacky, desserted-looking Canada across the falls. It just looked awesome in a very sort of English seaside resort town way. Like, it was amazing. And so we walked around there a while, and got lunch, and went on the walk around the side of one of them, and walked to the islands and stepped in the water even though we shouldn't have, and then we went on the boat which was infuckingincredible. You disappear completely in the mist, it's a world of white, it's amazing. We walked around that bit for a while, got an ice cream, and watched a movie about the myths about the falls and the various stories of people sending themselves over. For a cheap little 40-minute documentary it was surprisingly interesting. However, my family and I did spend extended amounts of time mocking the family of the 7-year-old boy who fell over the falls. ('Just a normal boating trip on the upper niagara'. WAIT WAIT WAIT JUST A NORMAL TRIP WHO DOES THAT. Also the way the documentary showed it, there was a small 'dangerous waters ahead sign' which I would first argue is a stupid way of advertising there's a fucking huge waterfall ahead. Additionally, the family seemed to go 'oh, dangerous waters ahead, I'm just gonna put my cheap little sailing boat five feet away from it, nothing can possibly go wrong out here!' It's entirely possible that these were not the exact details of the event, but I mean, come on.) We went over to canada. 4th country I've been to, pathetic but what are you gonna do. It's the first time I've been to a country right at a border, beforehand where I've been has been seperated by seas so I find it very odd to just step over a border and that's it. we got stuck in customs or whatever(is 'customs' an applicable term outside an airport?) for ages because everyone there was foreign so there were a thousand and one complications. The town, as I said, was awesomely tacky, and we went to these tourist shops and it's all life size bear toys and English candy and maple syrup and then we saw the falls from that side and they were so, so amazing with a rainbow and everything. and then I went to my first Hard Rock Cafe! it seemed outdated but fun. They played Taio Cruz and the Script inbetween death metal and I think all parties involved were a little confused. I'm going to the original London one this summer, by the way. Then we walked back through the park, and got back really late. Monday was merely a travelling day, though we did stop by one of those towns where it's supposed to be like a quiet 1800s colonial town. Again, small town america. (small town america I know is so hipster, so I dressed hipster to celebrate.) all we did is walk around and get ice cream, and it was weird because the only other people there were a group of loud and irritating mix of Americans, Brits, and French(at first I thought the French were some Brits pronouncing curiously long names of wines with very impressive accents). They were annoying as hell, hence our swift departure.
It's been a very nice few days coming back! Most people are away at the moment so it's nice and quiet. Also, the weather is bearable and for some reason I'm not bored out of my mind this summer, though I'm doing nothing different to last year. I'm listening to Manchester Orchestra's discography a whole lot. I only just got round to buying the first album. My god, there's so much angst there! Makes their recent work look like Owl City in comparison. It's good nonetheless. Don't know why this band stand out from a lot of other guitar bands at the moment, but they do. I think so anyway. Also the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, I love that, I'm gonna get a DVD showing of the Broadway cast doing it. V is now in 50 days--they have almost all the lineup there and it's very exciting. I'm going through the list and it's looking good. More excited for Eminem at the moment, must listen more to new Arctic Monkeys record. I'm getting into Glasvegas. We're in a Glasvegas backlash at the moment(Glasvegas>>>Coldplay. END OF. SHUT UP.), it's a shame. Additionally, Patrick Wolf writes flawless summer music.
Festivals may be hell on earth but I love them anyway. I missed out on most of Glasto, unfortunately. Apparently Beyonce is the first female headliner of Glasto...after 51 years. Hmmm. I missed my beloved Killers' performance at Hard Rock Calling, also. I hope they write a new record soon, six months or so would be lovely. Their tours go on forever.
Sadly, the tickets for Richard III in London this summer seem to be sold out. it has become the big show of the year and it's getting great reviews. However, it's okay because my mom will take me to see another smaller show this summer, she says. Also it's going to Broadway this winter so I get to go see a fucking Broadway show, how about that? I have to be like all the Broadway Kids at school, AKA annoying as hell. I should ditch all adjectives other than 'fabulous', loudly sing songs from Avenue Q at inconvenient times, announce to everyone how Neil Patrick Harris has something to contribute to society. My ego will soar. It sounds like a blast.
The other day I bought Doctor Who(don't know the series--but the Ten/Rose one) and the Office(UK) Season 1 on DVD . Doctor Who is for 5th grade nostalgia. At 11 years old, the Ten/Rose relationship seems groundbreaking and interesting. Also, while I may be behind the entire developed world with the Office(which I'd never actually seen before), I've got to say how hilarious and clever and awesome it is...even though I'm only 5 episodes in. I love it. Especially Gareth. And Tim. But that's mostly just cause how could you not love Martin Freeman? Summer means comedy shows in the early hours of the morning. This and then I'm going back to Peep Show, because not even the most critically acclaimed British comedy of the decade can beat Peep Show for me.*Which is sad, I suppose. oh well. Is the US Office worth it? I have difficulty judging things without bias; this will be one of these instances, I'm afraid. I hear it's very funny too so I suppose I should watch it but I just don't want to become all YOU AMERICANS DON'T UNDERSTAND OUR SENSE OF HUMOR BLAH BLAH BLAH and then I'll feel and look ridiculous after. Just some foresight on the matter.
Oh, one last thing--my report card came in the mail. Six As, two A minus, one B. A- in the sciences, B in gym(haha). Mediocre and what have you. Oh well. I lost two much sleep the past ten months to care.
Slow days, slow summer. Speak to you soon.
* For those who don't know, I would like to point out that as far as critical acclaim for UK comedy shows, Peep Show really is only a little bit behind the Office. Honestly. But of course the Office is massive and Peep Show just goes along its merry way, with its small band of highly dedicated followers. The world is crazy.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Oh. Well, hello there.
Hello there.
Just so you know, I'm not good at the opening post/All About Me thing. Never have, never will be. First off, I'm a pretty boring person. A lot of people say that, but trust me, I am. I mean, really, what do I actually do? Let me think. My name is Naomi. I'm English but I live in Massachusetts now. I'm 14 years old and I'm about to go into 9th grade. High school. I hate school, too; I keep blogs to complain about it, mostly. I also keep a blog to write. I like to write, a lot. Here, journals, at school, whenever I get the chance. Naturally that makes me a reader, too, I suppose. I do the 20th century classics thing mostly. Orwell, JD Salinger, Harper Lee, Twain, all those goodies. And some older ones, like Dickens and Hawthorne. All of those types of people. Your pretty run of the mill listing there. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm absorbing myself in an equally run of the mill music life. I'm 14, okay, what do you expect? I like boys with guitars and synthesizers, mostly. You know...Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Babyshambles, Editors, Elbow(from which this blog gets its stupid name), Florence and the Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Joanna Newsom, Jonsi, Kasabian, Keane, Kings of Leon, the Libertines, MGMT, Paloma Faith, Peter Doherty, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Snow Patrol, , hat sort of thing. oh, and I'm an indie girl; kinda hovering between hipster and not, which is awkward. I often like to write about music, too. I don't like many movies, most I do have Johnny Depp in them, but I have a mad insane relationship owith UK 'telly'. Obsessions include but are not limited to Peep Show(Um. Marry me, Mark Corregon?), Mock The Week, QI, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, would I Lie To You, Doctor Who, That mithcll and Webb look, have I Got News For You. Yes, PANEL SHOWS. oh, I could watch them all day. And I certainly will at one point. I don't have much else going on, you know?
Anyway, that's about me to a t. Not that it matters--no one reads these things and even if you, you'll catch the gist of what I'm about pretty quickly. I'm like a living anti-climax, right? I find it difficult to sound enthusiastic on these things. iIam, of course, it's just tricky.
to be fair, i'm a little distracted right now. I'm super tired. I've had a mad few days. Over the weekend I had a sort of family gathering, all 16 of us, and I was so busy I couldn't have time to go online at all. I love family gatherings, we haven't been totally together for four years. Me and my family went out on Saturday morning and we came back and my cousins C, who is 18, and A, who is 16 came round. I saw A last year. She doesn't seem to change, except somehow I outgrew her this year. C just proved to the world that he did catch the 140 IQ gene that runs in everyone in the family except me by getting a brilliant A level results, and he's off to university for physics. I haven't seen him since he was 15. Now he has a ponytail and army boots and staring eyes. He's scary to be honest. And a total smart Alec too. After one uncle and one aunt arrived and we had dinner and apple crumble(my favorite ever) and first we measured peoples pinky fingers for the sake of it, we had a quiz and a drawing competition and all he drew were dots. No one took it seriously. Also on the downside, our parents decided to have a kids' drawing competition and my sister can be a wordimnotgonnasay sometimes. Attention seeker to the extreme. the fact she can draw better than me doesn't help. By the way, that was just the beginning. Where did this attention seeker Natalie come from? her plan was to make out that she can speak publicly, does crosswords and plays chess regularly, draws the whole time, plays Croquet, and is clever and witty. it's weird, because the real Natalie watches Spongebob and goes on Facebook all day and wakes up at midday. Somehow they didn't notice her crap and she was like the baby again(still is, really) and I looked like the pathetic older sister who can't really do anything. Although, that is sort of the case. Anyway, that made it up and down. That and my grandmother. I like my grandma, really I do, but she is liberal and extroverted to an extreme, which in itself makes you twitch after 15 minutes of convo, but then she has this fascination--no, obsession--with all things education. Colleges, really. My cousins Chris and Alex who came later are 20 and 22. I played croquet with their dad, by the way. I sucked, We lost. But it was fun. Oh yes, I got to go out in a Mini! It was really cool! Anyway, education is all my Grandmother wants to talk about. Alex mentioned something about a phd and she misheard and had a sort of euphoric moment when an extension of education was prosed. he is not, in fact, getting a phd. But all my grandmother cares about is how is school going, where will this lead you, where are you planning on going, etcetera. It's tiring. My 16 year old cousin isn't going down this Science-Math Degree Douchebag route so my grandma's ruled her out entirely. That makes me next in this conveyor belt of unverisites. Which kinda sucks. no, I won't be a scientist. No, i don't know what I'll be. No, i'm not gonna chose between the arts and the sciences. And you quickly lose the will to fight it anymore. She's also very stubborn. While she does now think my sister is heaven on Earth, she still wants me to talk about school and such. I'm tired of all that. I really wish we didn't have to do all of this. Sunday as good, all 16 of us together and we played outside and did a quiz and joined in conversations, but me and my cousin had to escape into the other room for lunch. No one seems to know how fucking annoying the college thing is. i wish everyone, all my cousins, were young again and we didn't have to go through this. *wistful sigh* Wasn't it yesterday I ran around chasing my cousin Alex with an inflatable banana? Now he's getting a computer science degree and has facial hair. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.
Today's been stressful, though. School, I'll have you know, is starting tomorrow and it's all I can think about. High school, even. I missed the orientation and in between having too much to do, we got to look around and get my lock. The place was both simpler and nicer than I expected. I got a great locker, it's on the edge in its row and right by some stairs. the layout is super straightforward and I'm really excited by the freedom of all of it. My schedule for tomorrow reads physical science, then Spanish, then Geometry, then Gym. Which is gonna suck. At least i have study hall instead of gym the other day. First term is gonna be rough. Actually, it's all gonna be rough--I'm, getting used to that. i shan't be making friends, I imagine. I'm just to hope I have classes with people i'm okay with. i'm worried, of course, about homework, waking up(ugh. gonna miss that!), the winter, the nervousness, etcetrera. Also, I have to take the bus this year. The last two years my mum drove me. Can't anymore. That kind of terrified me, and no one's telling me anything about it. So I will DEFINITELY do something wrong tomorrow afternoon, if I make it that far. Busses are too stressful. I can't wait for the day I can actually drive to school. But anyway, I need to supress supress supress. Summer is over. A new year awaits. I'll just pretend I'm not miserable about it! Yaaaay! Welcome to my world!
- Love and kisses and I'll change the layout soon I promise, Naomi
Just so you know, I'm not good at the opening post/All About Me thing. Never have, never will be. First off, I'm a pretty boring person. A lot of people say that, but trust me, I am. I mean, really, what do I actually do? Let me think. My name is Naomi. I'm English but I live in Massachusetts now. I'm 14 years old and I'm about to go into 9th grade. High school. I hate school, too; I keep blogs to complain about it, mostly. I also keep a blog to write. I like to write, a lot. Here, journals, at school, whenever I get the chance. Naturally that makes me a reader, too, I suppose. I do the 20th century classics thing mostly. Orwell, JD Salinger, Harper Lee, Twain, all those goodies. And some older ones, like Dickens and Hawthorne. All of those types of people. Your pretty run of the mill listing there. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm absorbing myself in an equally run of the mill music life. I'm 14, okay, what do you expect? I like boys with guitars and synthesizers, mostly. You know...Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Babyshambles, Editors, Elbow(from which this blog gets its stupid name), Florence and the Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Joanna Newsom, Jonsi, Kasabian, Keane, Kings of Leon, the Libertines, MGMT, Paloma Faith, Peter Doherty, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Snow Patrol, , hat sort of thing. oh, and I'm an indie girl; kinda hovering between hipster and not, which is awkward. I often like to write about music, too. I don't like many movies, most I do have Johnny Depp in them, but I have a mad insane relationship owith UK 'telly'. Obsessions include but are not limited to Peep Show(Um. Marry me, Mark Corregon?), Mock The Week, QI, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, would I Lie To You, Doctor Who, That mithcll and Webb look, have I Got News For You. Yes, PANEL SHOWS. oh, I could watch them all day. And I certainly will at one point. I don't have much else going on, you know?
Anyway, that's about me to a t. Not that it matters--no one reads these things and even if you, you'll catch the gist of what I'm about pretty quickly. I'm like a living anti-climax, right? I find it difficult to sound enthusiastic on these things. iIam, of course, it's just tricky.
to be fair, i'm a little distracted right now. I'm super tired. I've had a mad few days. Over the weekend I had a sort of family gathering, all 16 of us, and I was so busy I couldn't have time to go online at all. I love family gatherings, we haven't been totally together for four years. Me and my family went out on Saturday morning and we came back and my cousins C, who is 18, and A, who is 16 came round. I saw A last year. She doesn't seem to change, except somehow I outgrew her this year. C just proved to the world that he did catch the 140 IQ gene that runs in everyone in the family except me by getting a brilliant A level results, and he's off to university for physics. I haven't seen him since he was 15. Now he has a ponytail and army boots and staring eyes. He's scary to be honest. And a total smart Alec too. After one uncle and one aunt arrived and we had dinner and apple crumble(my favorite ever) and first we measured peoples pinky fingers for the sake of it, we had a quiz and a drawing competition and all he drew were dots. No one took it seriously. Also on the downside, our parents decided to have a kids' drawing competition and my sister can be a wordimnotgonnasay sometimes. Attention seeker to the extreme. the fact she can draw better than me doesn't help. By the way, that was just the beginning. Where did this attention seeker Natalie come from? her plan was to make out that she can speak publicly, does crosswords and plays chess regularly, draws the whole time, plays Croquet, and is clever and witty. it's weird, because the real Natalie watches Spongebob and goes on Facebook all day and wakes up at midday. Somehow they didn't notice her crap and she was like the baby again(still is, really) and I looked like the pathetic older sister who can't really do anything. Although, that is sort of the case. Anyway, that made it up and down. That and my grandmother. I like my grandma, really I do, but she is liberal and extroverted to an extreme, which in itself makes you twitch after 15 minutes of convo, but then she has this fascination--no, obsession--with all things education. Colleges, really. My cousins Chris and Alex who came later are 20 and 22. I played croquet with their dad, by the way. I sucked, We lost. But it was fun. Oh yes, I got to go out in a Mini! It was really cool! Anyway, education is all my Grandmother wants to talk about. Alex mentioned something about a phd and she misheard and had a sort of euphoric moment when an extension of education was prosed. he is not, in fact, getting a phd. But all my grandmother cares about is how is school going, where will this lead you, where are you planning on going, etcetera. It's tiring. My 16 year old cousin isn't going down this Science-Math Degree Douchebag route so my grandma's ruled her out entirely. That makes me next in this conveyor belt of unverisites. Which kinda sucks. no, I won't be a scientist. No, i don't know what I'll be. No, i'm not gonna chose between the arts and the sciences. And you quickly lose the will to fight it anymore. She's also very stubborn. While she does now think my sister is heaven on Earth, she still wants me to talk about school and such. I'm tired of all that. I really wish we didn't have to do all of this. Sunday as good, all 16 of us together and we played outside and did a quiz and joined in conversations, but me and my cousin had to escape into the other room for lunch. No one seems to know how fucking annoying the college thing is. i wish everyone, all my cousins, were young again and we didn't have to go through this. *wistful sigh* Wasn't it yesterday I ran around chasing my cousin Alex with an inflatable banana? Now he's getting a computer science degree and has facial hair. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.
Today's been stressful, though. School, I'll have you know, is starting tomorrow and it's all I can think about. High school, even. I missed the orientation and in between having too much to do, we got to look around and get my lock. The place was both simpler and nicer than I expected. I got a great locker, it's on the edge in its row and right by some stairs. the layout is super straightforward and I'm really excited by the freedom of all of it. My schedule for tomorrow reads physical science, then Spanish, then Geometry, then Gym. Which is gonna suck. At least i have study hall instead of gym the other day. First term is gonna be rough. Actually, it's all gonna be rough--I'm, getting used to that. i shan't be making friends, I imagine. I'm just to hope I have classes with people i'm okay with. i'm worried, of course, about homework, waking up(ugh. gonna miss that!), the winter, the nervousness, etcetrera. Also, I have to take the bus this year. The last two years my mum drove me. Can't anymore. That kind of terrified me, and no one's telling me anything about it. So I will DEFINITELY do something wrong tomorrow afternoon, if I make it that far. Busses are too stressful. I can't wait for the day I can actually drive to school. But anyway, I need to supress supress supress. Summer is over. A new year awaits. I'll just pretend I'm not miserable about it! Yaaaay! Welcome to my world!
- Love and kisses and I'll change the layout soon I promise, Naomi
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