I've put more lawmen in the ground then Alabama put cottonseed.
It's been a big weekend. Here's a full report of Oxford and Stratford:
We left pretty early on Wednesday morning after a nice waffle breakfast. I slept on the bus, and shortly we were in Oxford. We began the trip by going on a roof and seeing the whole layout of the town. It was cold and damp, but real pretty. Kinda reminded me of Frederick a little bit. I had some McDonalds to sustain me, and then we walked to Trinity college. My London Literature professor, Ariel-- who is awesome, went there, so he knew the place inside out. They had a neat garden and courtyard. I wish I could have spent longer there. It really seemed like an amazing place. I had just finished a paper about religious reflections of _Beowulf_ in Narnia and Middle Earth, so I was well-read of the history of scholarship. We passed the Eagle and Child, where Dyson, Tolkien, and Lewis had their famous debate on the role of myth and religion one night that led to Lewis' bornagainness.
The group walked to the library. It has this big courtyard and a million signs saying "SILENCE PLEASE". I was dressed quite trash/posh, so I could pass for a student. We went into the humanities hall, where some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. "A little light reading???" They had all these very old editions of Ovid and Virgil and Pliny. It was pretty breathtaking. Very strong smell. Reminds me of something Joss Whedon once wrote:
"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell... musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is... it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be, um... smelly."
Anyway, it was a pretty important moment for me. I had started writing a book a few days before. Yes. A book. No, I won't tell you the title. No, you can't read it. But I've gained a profound appreciation for the lasting importance of literature. These men with silly names wrote these books hundreds and thousands of years ago, but they're still an inexorable part of our culture. They made themselves immortal.
Then I had a beer.
After lunch, we went to Christ Church, aka The Place Where They Eat In The Harry Potter movies. I've got some great pictures, but probably too many to put up on this blog.
GRIFFINDOR!!!
We got back on the bus and went to Stratford-Upon-Avon, home of Billy Shakes. My memory here starts to get fuzzy because we went to so many similar places. I've seen a bunch of nigh-authentic recreations of his home or Anna Hathway's home. I really don't care, honestly. I love Shakespeare more than most people, but there's no wisdom or insight to gain from seeing how crappy his bedroom was or how his estranged wife's family cooked dinner.
That night we saw King Lear. Four hours long. Very, very good. Goneril was hot. I never appreciated how radical the writing is in the scenes where Lears going crazy with Poor Tom. I actually missed the first scene from oversleeping. Whatever. Great show. Good fight scenes. Too long though. Afterwards, the man who played Gloucester came over to our B&B for a beer and some discussion. He had a sweet beard.
The next day, we ran more of the Shakespare gamut. The grave in the church was pretty amazing. But what I liked more was the river splitting the town. There were tons of swans and Canadian geese (on holiday I assume). Plus the statues you see me hugging below. Had lunch at quaint little bistro called Pizza Hut. I ate. A lot. I also bought a rad scarf for 4 pounds, a stuffed hedgehog I've named "Bustle Headrow" for a pound, and a pennywhistle. Spent the afternoon relaxing in a cafe, playing the pennywhistle.
That night we saw Hamlet. Just as good as Lear. Ghost of Hamlet died a faceplant in the aisle right next to us. COMEDY! Musta hurt though. My friend Patrick was talking to this chick named Franny, and I decided to make a play at her. I made some poorly conceived wisecrack about J.D. Salinger that fell short of her comprehension. Disaster. Really a great play though. I was mouthing lines along with the actors a lot. "Country matters."
Got on the bus and went home whilst playing Kevin Bacon.
Yesterday I hung out with Garrett and Kathleen from Frederick. Had a few pints. Met some locals in the redlight district of Soho. O tempora! O mores! It was a great time, and I'm gonna try to do it again tomorrow.
I've got a bunch of papers to write before I leave for Italy on Friday. Plus, Paul Westerberg on Tuesday and Stomp on Wednesday. This should be interesting...
SORTING HAT: Griffindor!!!
BILLY: Stop looking at me, swan!
We left pretty early on Wednesday morning after a nice waffle breakfast. I slept on the bus, and shortly we were in Oxford. We began the trip by going on a roof and seeing the whole layout of the town. It was cold and damp, but real pretty. Kinda reminded me of Frederick a little bit. I had some McDonalds to sustain me, and then we walked to Trinity college. My London Literature professor, Ariel-- who is awesome, went there, so he knew the place inside out. They had a neat garden and courtyard. I wish I could have spent longer there. It really seemed like an amazing place. I had just finished a paper about religious reflections of _Beowulf_ in Narnia and Middle Earth, so I was well-read of the history of scholarship. We passed the Eagle and Child, where Dyson, Tolkien, and Lewis had their famous debate on the role of myth and religion one night that led to Lewis' bornagainness.
The group walked to the library. It has this big courtyard and a million signs saying "SILENCE PLEASE". I was dressed quite trash/posh, so I could pass for a student. We went into the humanities hall, where some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. "A little light reading???" They had all these very old editions of Ovid and Virgil and Pliny. It was pretty breathtaking. Very strong smell. Reminds me of something Joss Whedon once wrote:
"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell... musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is... it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be, um... smelly."
Anyway, it was a pretty important moment for me. I had started writing a book a few days before. Yes. A book. No, I won't tell you the title. No, you can't read it. But I've gained a profound appreciation for the lasting importance of literature. These men with silly names wrote these books hundreds and thousands of years ago, but they're still an inexorable part of our culture. They made themselves immortal.
Then I had a beer.
After lunch, we went to Christ Church, aka The Place Where They Eat In The Harry Potter movies. I've got some great pictures, but probably too many to put up on this blog.
GRIFFINDOR!!!
We got back on the bus and went to Stratford-Upon-Avon, home of Billy Shakes. My memory here starts to get fuzzy because we went to so many similar places. I've seen a bunch of nigh-authentic recreations of his home or Anna Hathway's home. I really don't care, honestly. I love Shakespeare more than most people, but there's no wisdom or insight to gain from seeing how crappy his bedroom was or how his estranged wife's family cooked dinner.
That night we saw King Lear. Four hours long. Very, very good. Goneril was hot. I never appreciated how radical the writing is in the scenes where Lears going crazy with Poor Tom. I actually missed the first scene from oversleeping. Whatever. Great show. Good fight scenes. Too long though. Afterwards, the man who played Gloucester came over to our B&B for a beer and some discussion. He had a sweet beard.
The next day, we ran more of the Shakespare gamut. The grave in the church was pretty amazing. But what I liked more was the river splitting the town. There were tons of swans and Canadian geese (on holiday I assume). Plus the statues you see me hugging below. Had lunch at quaint little bistro called Pizza Hut. I ate. A lot. I also bought a rad scarf for 4 pounds, a stuffed hedgehog I've named "Bustle Headrow" for a pound, and a pennywhistle. Spent the afternoon relaxing in a cafe, playing the pennywhistle.
That night we saw Hamlet. Just as good as Lear. Ghost of Hamlet died a faceplant in the aisle right next to us. COMEDY! Musta hurt though. My friend Patrick was talking to this chick named Franny, and I decided to make a play at her. I made some poorly conceived wisecrack about J.D. Salinger that fell short of her comprehension. Disaster. Really a great play though. I was mouthing lines along with the actors a lot. "Country matters."
Got on the bus and went home whilst playing Kevin Bacon.
Yesterday I hung out with Garrett and Kathleen from Frederick. Had a few pints. Met some locals in the redlight district of Soho. O tempora! O mores! It was a great time, and I'm gonna try to do it again tomorrow.
I've got a bunch of papers to write before I leave for Italy on Friday. Plus, Paul Westerberg on Tuesday and Stomp on Wednesday. This should be interesting...
SORTING HAT: Griffindor!!!
BILLY: Stop looking at me, swan!