Heathrow

The worst type of airline delays are when they make you just sit on the tarmac, either before takeoff or after landing.  At least when you're in the air you have the sense you're getting somewhere, even if you're just in a holding pattern (mostly because people rarely notice when they're circling).  But when you're just sitting there it seems annoying and pointless.

I landed at Heathrow at 10am, and didn't get off the plane until after 10:30.  Passport control and customs were easy, but waiting for my checked bag was another half hour or so.  Combine that with needing to change terminals to get to my bus, I spent over 2 hours trying to leave Heathrow.  I'll let the fact that the bus's first stop was another terminal pass.  But that's really a long time to spend trying to leave an airport.

On a bus

I'm posting this while taking the bus back from Heathrow to Oxford.  One of the cool things about the UK is that they seem to have wifi in most of their buses.  This is the first time I've used it, and I have to say it's pretty cool.

After a whirlwind 10 days in MN, where I got to see a lot of people, including a couple I didn't initially expect to be in town, I'm back in the UK.  It's clearly been snowing quite a bit here, as all the trees along the road are coated in snow.  The roads themselves seem ok, but traffic's going kind of slow.

It's nice to be back and I'm looking forward to seeing people again, but I've already got some things to take care of.  First off, I need to get my application for another student loan in.  I'm going to need to go grocery shopping pretty quick too.  And to top it off, I found out that my left headphone has given out on me, which means I got to listen to my new cds short one headphone, which is not optimal for Led Zeppelin.

I'll see about posting new pics soon, right after I come out of the jet-lag zombie-state.

Interesting Futurama tidbit

An interesting note on what Futurama might have been like (from Wikipedia):

At the time of his death, Hartman was preparing to voice Zapp Brannigan, a character written specifically for him on Groening's second animated series Futurama. After the murder, Futurama's lead character Philip J. Fry was named in Hartman's honor and Billy West took over the role of Brannigan. West later said that he purposefully tweaked Zapp's voice to better match Hartman's intended portrayal.


Now that would have been crazy.  Newsradio and Futurama are pretty much my two favorite sitcoms, and while I love Billy West's Brannigan, it would have been awesome to see what Hartman would have done with it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy T-day to everyone!  I hope you all have a great time and a great meal.  I myself will be very busy today not eating turkey, relaxing and watching football, as I have a lecture, a seminar, a talk to go to (although since it features Phillip Pullman it'll probably be pretty cool), a group meeting for my Design project, and right now I need to got put in some design work before the lecture and seminar so the group meeting goes better.

So for me Thanksgiving Day (observed) will be on Saturday, when a bunch of the people here are getting together for dinner.  It will also be my first attempt at cooking a turkey.  I really hope I don't screw it up.

Moive Madness

I'm always confused by the way international movie releases work.  The first time I studied in England, there were of course a bunch of films that had been out in the US for awhile at that point, or had already left theaters.  But I did see two movies that hadn't been released yet in the States-and indeed didn't come out until a few months after I got back.  I found this to be pretty freaking awesome, as the movies were O Brother, Where Art Thou and Memento, two very cool movies that I got to see before pretty much everybody else (except Erik, of course, because he was there too).

I can report not much has changed in this respect.  Up, which I missed in the States, is still out in theaters here, mostly because it didn't get released until October 9th.  At the same time I've seen two movies I've seen here that haven't come out yet in the US yet, at least not in wide release.  I highly recommend both The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.  Mr. Fox is very well done, with a funky stop-motion animation that fits the style of the film.  It's immediately recognizable as a Wes Anderson flick, and if you've enjoyed his previous films there's a good chance you'll like this one.  I can't remember the Roahl Dahl book all that much, so I didn't have to content with comparing the film to the book, which honestly was kind of nice.  All in all very much the sort of movie I was expecting after seen the trailers and Anderson's previous movies.  Mr. Fox didn't supplant The Royal Tenenbaums as my favorite Wes Anderson movie, but it's nonetheless quite good.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a little less straightforward of a film.  I quite liked it, but I can understand that others might not.  Like most Gilliam movies (who, I found out from IMDB, was born in Minneapolis, MN!) it's quirky and weird, but visually awesome and conceptually quite cool.  It's also Heath Ledger's last movie, which is initially distracting but it goes away faster than you'd think.  His character is replaced during the film by three other actors, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.  You might think this makes no sense, but honestly, it really does.  In fact, the changes was so seamless plot-wise it felt like the decision to change actors was made based on the script, rather than out of necessity.  

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say I really enjoyed The I of Dr. P.  It reminded me most of Mirrormask, albeit with a more tangled bunch of characters dealing with more mysterious (and adult) problems.  However, I suggest giving it a try if you get the chance...at Christmas when it actually goes into limited release in the US.  It's already out of the Oxford theaters.  Hmm, maybe I'll get the chance to see it again.

More Iranian News

There's a very good article in The Times about Arash, the Iranian guy who did my course last year, then got caught up in the post-election protests and now can't go home.  I was just talking to one of the Professors on my course, and they mentioned how much they're hoping he'll get a job soon.

You can check it out here.

Lion vs Deer

For some reason, a young deer decided to literally jump into the lion's den at the National Zoo in DC. Everyone on the video is rooting for the deer-is it wrong that I'm rooting for the lion? Also, much like the Packers Offensive line in the Metrodome, the lion seems distracted by all the cheering.

Who to call

Happy belated Halloween to everyone. I hope you all had fun-I certainly did. Just a quick post with a very nice cover of a classic song. More newsy-type posts soon, as I ramp up my procrastination in the face of my marketing test on Wednesday.

Publishing in Iran

Tonight my program had a seminar entitled Publishing in Iran. It was a presentation given by a former student (an Iranian), who had gone through the course last year. He had been one of three former students who had given a short speech on the first day of our induction on what to expect over the course of the year. He gave a very interesting talk on the Iranian publishing industry, the censorship the government imposes on the industry and how they implement it, and the state of copyright issues in Iran (officially there aren't any, because Iran hasn't signed any of the international copyright treaties). It was a very interesting talk.

He also mentioned that he had been in Iran during the protests after the presidential elections a few months ago. Drinks were served after the talk (which was odd-usually we have drinks before a talk), and I got the chance to ask him what it was like being in Tehran during the protests. It was then that I found out that he had been the doctor (before entering publishing he had studied medicine) who had been standing next to Neda when she was shot and the one who subsequently tried (unsuccessfully) to save her life. Needless to say, I was floored. I paid quite a bit of attention to the Iranian election and subsequent protests, and Neda's death was the most significant event of the demonstrations, other than the obviously fixed election results themselves. I asked him a few more questions about what he thought about the post-election state of Iran, and the feeling in the country during the protests, but the fact that he was involved in such a pivotal moment kind of threw me off my game. An extremely powerful revelation.

Youtube links are here, here and here to give this some context, in case you don't know what I'm talking about. In the first link, Arash is the guy on the right in the white shirt. Wow.

The Pitchforker's Pride is a Fallacy

At 1:30am on Sunday morning, while I was doing some homework (I know), I happened to discover that there was a new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book coming out. The next day. In London, at an event called Hitchcon '09. The book, since Douglas Adams had died in 2001 (one of the saddest days of my life), had been written by Eoin Colfer, with the approval of Adams' widow and publisher. H2G2 was a serious influence on my life, and I knew that I had to go to London the next morning to get the next book. Unfortunately, because I am a lazy bastard (well, technically just lazy), I missed the one panel discussion I really wanted to see, which was a discussion about Douglas by people who had known him. So my day wound up being me buying the new novel, wandering around looking at the various paraphernalia they had laid out, watching a bit of the BBC H2G2 tv show they had running on a loop, going out to get some lunch, and then coming back to have my book signed by Colfer before I returned to Oxford. Altogether an amazing day.

I finished reading the book (And Another Thing...) Monday afternoon, and I can tell you it's good. Unfortunately for all of us, Adams was fantastic. Superb. Amazing. Whatever term you want to use to describe him, he was a step (or several) above good. Colfer has done a fine job with the characters, with the universe, and with the plot (in true Adams' fashion, it makes little or no sense). What Colfer cannot sustain is Adams' brilliance of phrasing, of putting things in such a way that is both unexpected yet perfect. This is not Colfer's fault-he actually achieves this at least a couple of points in the book, but can't sustain it like Adams.

That said, this book is worth the read. Especially if, like me (and Adams, as quoted in The Salmon of Doubt), you've always felt that Mostly Harmless is an uncharacteristically and undeservedly bleak end to the H2G2 series. The characters all return (except Marvin, who's death makes the end of So Long, and Thanks... the best of all the H2G2 novels), and Colfer does an excellent job of name dropping that dedicated fans will enjoy. Things are decidedly more upbeat, and even certain death is faced with the knowledge that things will turn out ok.

I was thrilled to learn about the book, and very happy to meet the author and get it signed. It's just that (without offense to Eoin Colfer), I wish it had been Adams doing the signing.

Views of Oxford from South Park

Yes. That's it's name.

MNF

I really, really wish I could be back in MN for this game. Not that I'm not enjoying myself in Oxford, but damn, this should be epic.

Why I'll Miss the Dome

If you're a Minnesotan baseball fan, you know why the Dome has to go. It's a football field. The sightlines were never meant for baseball. The concourses are too small, the bathrooms are too small, and you have to pee in a trough. But I'm going to miss the Dome. First all, it was home to the only two Minnesota sports championships of the modern age (i.e. not counting the Minneapolis Lakers), the '87 and '91 Twins, one of which ('91) is rated, if not the greatest, then among the greatest World Series ever played. I can't imagine a pair of more dramatic games than game 6 and 7. This was where Puckett and Hrbek (my favorite Twin) played. This is where a fly ball went up but never came down, where David Ortiz (Red Sox/steroids version) hit a massive should-have-been home run that hit a speaker and bounced back into play. This is where a capacity crowd welcomed the '87 Twins back home after defeating the much-favored Tigers in the ALCS. This where Kirby said goodbye, and we said goodbye to Kirby. And this is where, after the last game of the 2006 regular season, the most amazing regular season I've ever seen, I watched the Tigers lose and the Twins clinch the division.

But more than all those moments, the Dome was the ultimate home field advantage. We knew how to take advantage of it and everyone else had to deal. Even after so many years, you could always count on an opposing outfielder losing a ball in the roof several times a season. Back when the field was as hard as a rock, you could bet on the visitors playing bounces wrong. The Baggy in right is tricky is you don't know what you're doing. Add it all up and you get a home field advantage unmatched anywhere else in baseball. Sure, sometimes it cost us too (coughLewFordcough), but it always cost them more.

I'm psyched about the new stadium next year. While I worked downtown over the last year, I would take my lunch break and walk down and look at the progress at least once a week. From everything I've seen and heard, it's going to be fantastic. But it's going to take a while for it to be home. Talk to me after Mauer and Morneau have a couple of world championships under their belts.

An Important Ability

With two days of class under my belt, my favorite moment so far came during my first Editorial Management lecture. The professors had asked us to list attributes that a successful editor would have. After things like "adaptability" and "patience," one of the profs said (half under his breath) "drinking." The prof who was leading the lecture picked up on this, and said yes, the ability to hold your liquor is a good ability for editors to have. So I figure I've got at least one of them.

And Here We Go

Tomorrow I have the first class of my master's course. It's called Editorial Management, which should be interesting. I really have no idea what to expect-I don't know what we're going to be doing, I don't know how the class will be run, and I'm not entirely sure where we're meeting (well, maybe I have some idea). In any case, it should be exciting.

Over the last week I've tried to get things set up in terms of my living space, my registration with the University, and my ability to quickly pick up accents-and not just English. There are slightly over 80 students in my program, and there's a very strong international contingent. So I'm hanging out with people from all over, which is extremely cool.

I've also spent some time walking around the centre of Oxford (I keep calling it downtown, but that's kind of inaccurate), and I'm slowly getting to know my way around in general. So far things have gone pretty well, but I'm looking forward to getting into the actual course itself. I've already had my first project assignment (looking at bookstores) and my first reading assignment (this article on the changing landscape of sales and marketing in the entertainment industry). I'll have class on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, along with Friday mornings, with various additional things on Wednesday mornings. Altogether not too bad of a schedule. We'll see how it goes.

Photos!

I'm now online here in Oxford, so, as promised, some photos.

From the Lake District

I'm currently in the Lake District wrapping up a few days of hiking, getting ready to hopefully return to London on Friday in advance of heading out to Oxford on Saturday, when I can finally give up my hobo-like wanderings and officially move into my room at Brookes. However, it's been an awesome few days, which will be capped off tomorrow by cruising around Windermere. That's right-I'll be on a boat.

Pictures will come later, but I kicked off the week in high gear by doing a 10 mile circuit hike from Grasmere. I expected it to kick my ass a bit, and it did. Of course, that's partially because I was a moron and unintentionally went bushwacking at the beginning and end of the hike, thus making the whole thing a lot more tiring and time-consuming than it had to be. Of course, after hiking that massive loop I had to hike another two miles to the hostel I was staying at, since the two hostels in Grasmere were both booked full and I had to go to Langdale to find one with room. Fortunately, dinner was in between the two, which proved to be pretty necessary since all I had had to eat to that point in the day were two cliff bars. Also, only having one nalgene of water for a 10 mile hike is pushing it. It can be done, but damn was I thirsty when I finally got back into town.

Yesterday was therefore a bit easier-a nice walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water, with some stops at Rydal Hall (which has some kicking formal gardens) and Dove Cottage (where Wordsworth lived for 8 years). Probably about 6 miles all told, but much less climbing, and still some terrific views. Today was a travel day, as I hiked from Langdale over Loughrig Fell to Ambleside, where I'm staying for the next two nights. So all told, a very nice couple of days. Pictures will be up when I am ensconded in my Brookes residence with my own computer.

From London

10 thoughts from my initial travels over the last couple days:

1. Iceland needs more frequent buses from Keflavik to Reykjavik.
2. Sitting in an airport for 10 hours kind of bites, at least after your ipod loses all its juice.
3. Jet lag sucks.
4. I keep running into people-when I keep right, I run into Brits who are trying to keep left. When I remember to keep left, I run into other tourists.
5. London is crowded on Saturdays.
6. London theaters are crowded on Saturdays. At least the ones I want to go to.
7. The Great Hall at the British Museum is astounding.
8. Reading Neverwhere while in London is slighly unnerving.
9. British keyboards are weird.
10. Pubs=Good.

I leave tomorrow for the Lake District, where I have no reservations and no one expecting me. Should be interesting.

Sweet Relief

The British government instituted new rules for applying for visas this year, which meant that I had to show proof, in the form of bank statements (essentially), that I had the funds necessary to study in England. Because of this, I was a little later than I would have liked in getting my visa application submitted. Since my plane tickets say I'm leaving next week, I was getting a little bit nervous that I still didn't have my passport back, since you have to send it in as part of the visa application. But today I got an email from the British Consulate, saying that my visa had been approved and my passport (with the visa in it) is winging its way back to me even as I read. Then there was a giant woosh as I exhaled and 4 of the 6 knots in my back relaxed. Looks like I'm going to leave for Oxford on time.

An end and a beginning

Today was my last day at Rust Consulting, the place I've been working since the end of October. I started as a temp, and then a couple of months ago they decided they liked me enough to hire me on as a regular employee. It was a nice job-I got to work downtown, which meant I got to walk around the skyway system everyday and familiarize myself with a part of Minneapolis I didn't know that well. But the best part was the people-I don't know that I met anyone at Rust that I didn't like-coworker or superior. So it was a little sad to leave. Not really sad, mind you, since I'm incredibly excited for my program to start and psyched to be returning to England, but I am going to miss the people I worked with.

So that was today. Since getting home my time has been entirely dedicated to getting my new laptop up and running. It's a Dell Studio XPS, and it's shiny and very cool. I haven't transfered any of my personal files yet, but I have downloaded several of the programs I use every day (chrome, itunes, skype) and started to configure things to my liking. So in the space of one day I've left my job and received what's going to become my link to the rest of the world. Exciting stuff.