Monday, July 26th, 2010.
Today started out early. I was so tired, apparently jet lag really hit me this time and even after 8+ hours of sleep I just wasn’t feeling it. Jason woke me up with the English Yo Gabba Gabba show, singing some shite about Nap Time and how awesome dreams are. Not the best subject matter for waking someone up, I’d say.
Finally we made our way to the train station, got round trip tickets from Canterbury to London and spent the next nearly 2hrs making our way to Charing Cross station. We found our way through that end of London fairly easily.
First stop was Trafalgar Square: lots of tourists, pigeons and the gigantic Lord Nelson statue. Also included was the National Gallery, where we saw loads of old stuff ranging from Botticelli, an amazing collection of Rembrandt including Belshazzar’s Feast, my personal favourite, and a portrait of Saskia in Arcadian Dress, also a self portrait and Woman Bathing. Good good stuff.
There was a ton of art in that museum. Ridiculous amounts of Italian work. Huge Canaletto’s, a great selection of Constable, the Hogarth Marriage satire series, some Jan Brueghel, Verrochios, Annibale Carraci’s Domine Quo Vadis, a personal highlight. I should have taken notes cause I can’t remember much more now. Will add more later if I remember. Turner’s Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus. A good selection of Manet, Monet and Gauguin (before he turned into a Tahitian Twit). Also a HUGE biggie for me was the portrait of Banastre Tarleton by Reynolds. Oh huzzah.
Once that was done (2hrs!) we needed beer so we walked down Millbank St. and found The Red Lion pub. Pretty friendly though it felt like it was used to serving tourists and not locals. Nonetheless the beer was good and the staff friendly. Inside was very very Victorian in décor which I just loved.
Afterwards we wandered on down and found Downing Street, blocked off, of course, with lots of police guarding it. Would have liked to see Number 10 but it’s the White House of England so that makes sense that we couldn’t get close.
Further on down we came to Big Ben. LOADS of people, got our picture taken by some nice English couple who wanted a shot too for Christmas photos. We then went into Westminster Abbey/Cathedral where I got us a student discount (Score!) and took lots of ninja shots of Poet’s Corner. Extremely beautiful place. Made me cry by the end of it cause as we were leaving they were starting a sermon and the choir was singing. Churches are just cold buildings until filled with the sounds of human voices.
Otherwise we got to see the Oldest Door in England (big laugh there) and original medieval tile flooring in the Chapter House. Saw the effigies of Elizabeth 1 and Mary Queen of Scots. Saw a plaque for Anne of Cleves but I didn’t realize she was buried there. Probably not but who knows.
Afterwards we wandered up towards Parliament and got lots of great touristy shots with the building and the Thames and Big Ben. Next we trekked on down to the Tate Britain which was a LONG walk mind you, feet KILLING us by the time we got there. But it was so so so worth it. I didn’t realize the AMAZING collection of Pre-Raphaelite art they had at the Tate Britain and of course this was the museum that I boohooed in like a baby. We turn a corner and on the wall is Waterhouse’s Lady of Shalott. I was sobbing. It was so amazingly gorgeous I couldn’t stand it. Then in the next room there was an amazing collection of Rosetti’s, Burne-Jones and Ford Maddox Browns. There’s was Mariana, and Ophelia and Jesus in the House of Joseph, The Annuciation and I can't remember anymore right now but I will definitely update when my brain clears a bit.
I was just a soppy mess by the time we left there. Jason was excited about the Francis Bacon room, though it didn’t really have much in it. Still it was cool to see. There was a study by Sargeant for Madame X, which was just gorgeous, lots more Gainsborough and Turner. I just fucking LOVE England’s museums. So jealous.
Well by the time we left we were so tired of walking and I was so hungry and dehydrated it just got a little grump-city by then. We couldn’t decide where to eat so we ended up having cheese & onion pasties in the train station. They were oh my god delicious! I can’t wait to eat more of them! There’s a pasty shop here in Canterbury that I want to try. Yum yum yum.
Once we got back ‘home’ we made our way to the Hobgoblin pub and had a few rounds. The place was pretty crowded, though everyone made their way to the back near the beer garden to smoke. We had a good time there. Will definitely go back for some food again. Had a chat with the girl bartender about how odd it is that we don’t tip here. I tipped her anyway after she said it’s not the typical thing here. I just felt guilty not tipping them!
So the day ended with us chilling out in the front room of the B&B, taking weird pictures and blogging.
Tomorrow is the photoshoot, hopefully, so we’ll see how that goes.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
England: Day 1 7/25/10
From Columbia to Atlanta to London Gatwick = 14hours of airports, airplanes, and luggage. And that’s just the beginning.
I’ll skip all the “Oh flying on planes if fun but uncomfortable” blah blah blah crap and head right to the wonderful awesome that is carrying 80lbs of luggage all over the greater London area. One word will sum that up: LAME.
We finally get to our B&B in Canterbury around 1130am and then waited a bit so the staff could clean our room. I’d had enough sitting so I decided to take a solo walking tour of Canterbury. Jason stayed at the B&B reading some trashy English tabloid which he said was pretty funny.
I wandered around for a bit and then came back. We unpacked some, got clean cause OH MY GOD we felt like we’d been shoved into our luggage and stuffed under the plane with dirty farm animals for ten days.
Then I took Jason to the Wychwood Hobgoblin pub right up the road from our B&B. We both started with the Wychwood Hobgoblin which, of course, is 10x better on draught than it is in a bottle. We ordered our first food in England. Apparently the Hobgoblin pub has a Thai chef so there was a majority of Thai food on the menu. I got chicken satay and veggie spring rolls with a crazy awesome sweet chili sauce. Jason got the Hob Club Sandwich which was just a ham & swiss sandwich but with the always heart healthy addition of two runny fried eggs on top, all served with fries. Not chips. These were plain old crinkle cut French fries.
The food was awesome and we finished the meal with Strongbow Cider on draught. Yet again better than in the bottle.
Apparently the dehydrating effect of flying and jet lag made me the cheapest date in the world because I was completely and utterly SMASHED after that. I was so drunk I could barely talk. It was kind of silly. So we came back to the B&B with the plan to only sleep about 30mins.
We ended up sleeping for almost 2hrs and were awakened by a group of ‘pilgrims’ singing Kyrie Eleason on their way to Canterbury Cathedral.
It was really hard for me to get up and going but once we did we toured the town, making our way along St. Dunstans street toward the Cathedral. That church is huge and old and so beautiful. We saw the pilgrims that woke us up, all carrying flags from the little towns they were from. About 40% of the church is under construction, as they are renovating and restoring the original stonework and medieval stained glass on the south east side. This unfortunately meant we couldn’t see the famous Occuli on the cathedral but it was great to read about the conservation efforts. Made me wish I was a stained glass expert so I could work on it too!
We wandered all over until we were hungry again then decided to drink first. We made our way back to our B&B and right up the road there’s a pub called The Unicorn. We went in and ordered a Kronenburg 1664 and I got a Master Brew, a Kentish ale that was surprisingly like a Newcastle. We sat out back in their beer garden and chatted about the gorgeous weather, stupid pigeons and ancient beers, finishing up with pints of Ringwood and Deuchars IPA.
A note on the beer: I had known in advance the beer wouldn’t be as cold as we are used to it in the States but I didn’t really believe that it’d be room temp. Well let me tell you, it’s pretty damn warm. Not hot, but not cold by any stretch of the imagination. It’s like when you take to long to drink a beer on a hot summer day and it gets all flat and tepid. It tasted fabulous mind you, but I’m just not used to it yet. You can get some beers here ice cold and the tap will say that. Jason’s Kronenburg was frigid and most Guinness taps say Ice Cold on them. Otherwise it’s all warm beer from here on out.
Our last meal of the day was authentic Fish and Chips from an eatery right next to our B&B. It was SO MUCH food it was ridiculous. Next time we’ll only order one and share. We got the cod and it was amazing.
We didn’t really do jack crap on our first day but travel and drink. That’s the best way to start a holiday I guess. more to come soon.
I’ll skip all the “Oh flying on planes if fun but uncomfortable” blah blah blah crap and head right to the wonderful awesome that is carrying 80lbs of luggage all over the greater London area. One word will sum that up: LAME.
We finally get to our B&B in Canterbury around 1130am and then waited a bit so the staff could clean our room. I’d had enough sitting so I decided to take a solo walking tour of Canterbury. Jason stayed at the B&B reading some trashy English tabloid which he said was pretty funny.
I wandered around for a bit and then came back. We unpacked some, got clean cause OH MY GOD we felt like we’d been shoved into our luggage and stuffed under the plane with dirty farm animals for ten days.
Then I took Jason to the Wychwood Hobgoblin pub right up the road from our B&B. We both started with the Wychwood Hobgoblin which, of course, is 10x better on draught than it is in a bottle. We ordered our first food in England. Apparently the Hobgoblin pub has a Thai chef so there was a majority of Thai food on the menu. I got chicken satay and veggie spring rolls with a crazy awesome sweet chili sauce. Jason got the Hob Club Sandwich which was just a ham & swiss sandwich but with the always heart healthy addition of two runny fried eggs on top, all served with fries. Not chips. These were plain old crinkle cut French fries.
The food was awesome and we finished the meal with Strongbow Cider on draught. Yet again better than in the bottle.
Apparently the dehydrating effect of flying and jet lag made me the cheapest date in the world because I was completely and utterly SMASHED after that. I was so drunk I could barely talk. It was kind of silly. So we came back to the B&B with the plan to only sleep about 30mins.
We ended up sleeping for almost 2hrs and were awakened by a group of ‘pilgrims’ singing Kyrie Eleason on their way to Canterbury Cathedral.
It was really hard for me to get up and going but once we did we toured the town, making our way along St. Dunstans street toward the Cathedral. That church is huge and old and so beautiful. We saw the pilgrims that woke us up, all carrying flags from the little towns they were from. About 40% of the church is under construction, as they are renovating and restoring the original stonework and medieval stained glass on the south east side. This unfortunately meant we couldn’t see the famous Occuli on the cathedral but it was great to read about the conservation efforts. Made me wish I was a stained glass expert so I could work on it too!
We wandered all over until we were hungry again then decided to drink first. We made our way back to our B&B and right up the road there’s a pub called The Unicorn. We went in and ordered a Kronenburg 1664 and I got a Master Brew, a Kentish ale that was surprisingly like a Newcastle. We sat out back in their beer garden and chatted about the gorgeous weather, stupid pigeons and ancient beers, finishing up with pints of Ringwood and Deuchars IPA.
A note on the beer: I had known in advance the beer wouldn’t be as cold as we are used to it in the States but I didn’t really believe that it’d be room temp. Well let me tell you, it’s pretty damn warm. Not hot, but not cold by any stretch of the imagination. It’s like when you take to long to drink a beer on a hot summer day and it gets all flat and tepid. It tasted fabulous mind you, but I’m just not used to it yet. You can get some beers here ice cold and the tap will say that. Jason’s Kronenburg was frigid and most Guinness taps say Ice Cold on them. Otherwise it’s all warm beer from here on out.
Our last meal of the day was authentic Fish and Chips from an eatery right next to our B&B. It was SO MUCH food it was ridiculous. Next time we’ll only order one and share. We got the cod and it was amazing.
We didn’t really do jack crap on our first day but travel and drink. That’s the best way to start a holiday I guess. more to come soon.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
a Curious scene at the End
here is proof:
a shine of light in a darkened room
the creep of shadow upon soft skin
frail cloth dragged slowly across the bare floor
a dream:
sky above is classical blue
her form moves freely through wheat fields that extend
into infinity, that place just beyond sight
a glowing heat rises from the ground
and all around, the murmur of nostalgia
awake:
the eyes opened, reveal a dimmer scene
static edges and a haze of dark
hesitation charges the air
then:
bone upon flesh, reaches through the skin
deep tissue melts beneath the chill
a steady pulse strives and aches, bringing one last rush
the blood taints the pallor so desired
yet the thrill of capture soon arrives
a burst of phosphorus
the ancients sigh
a shadow shudders, the room is empty
flesh is for the earth
yet the soul is for eternity
his hunt complete.
the dream whispers
and dissolves
11/26/08 A. Walczesky
a shine of light in a darkened room
the creep of shadow upon soft skin
frail cloth dragged slowly across the bare floor
a dream:
sky above is classical blue
her form moves freely through wheat fields that extend
into infinity, that place just beyond sight
a glowing heat rises from the ground
and all around, the murmur of nostalgia
awake:
the eyes opened, reveal a dimmer scene
static edges and a haze of dark
hesitation charges the air
then:
bone upon flesh, reaches through the skin
deep tissue melts beneath the chill
a steady pulse strives and aches, bringing one last rush
the blood taints the pallor so desired
yet the thrill of capture soon arrives
a burst of phosphorus
the ancients sigh
a shadow shudders, the room is empty
flesh is for the earth
yet the soul is for eternity
his hunt complete.
the dream whispers
and dissolves
11/26/08 A. Walczesky
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Flicker on...Flicker off....
Crickets are so effing loud.
Yet they make good industrial-strength white noise accompaniment to Wumpscut. The front door is propped open by a multi-colored russian lamp and the sounds of babylon fill the aural space of the porch.
Orange blossom incense and citronella candle keep the primitive winged vampires away while providing such a wonderful mixture of scents.
I've got a large glass of unsweetened tulsi tea mixed with Firefly vodka. I'm sure all health benefits typically reaped from the organic goodness of the tulsi are washed away in the tide of the sugary alcohol.
Above the treeline, which is partially obscured by the centuries old hickory trees in the front yard, there is an orange sherbet sunset fading up into a pink cotton candy haze.
In a small harbor of urban seclusion I feel alone and invisible. Pretending there is more nature than man, ignoring the occasional car that drives down my street, the thick drooping power lines dividing the sky in haphazard pop-art cutouts. People in workout clothes walking dogs and between song changes faroff wails of firetrucks.
On the porch, hidden from view. Only the lightning bugs exist in a more random state of motion and existence. Flicker on....flicker off.
Yet they make good industrial-strength white noise accompaniment to Wumpscut. The front door is propped open by a multi-colored russian lamp and the sounds of babylon fill the aural space of the porch.
Orange blossom incense and citronella candle keep the primitive winged vampires away while providing such a wonderful mixture of scents.
I've got a large glass of unsweetened tulsi tea mixed with Firefly vodka. I'm sure all health benefits typically reaped from the organic goodness of the tulsi are washed away in the tide of the sugary alcohol.
Above the treeline, which is partially obscured by the centuries old hickory trees in the front yard, there is an orange sherbet sunset fading up into a pink cotton candy haze.
In a small harbor of urban seclusion I feel alone and invisible. Pretending there is more nature than man, ignoring the occasional car that drives down my street, the thick drooping power lines dividing the sky in haphazard pop-art cutouts. People in workout clothes walking dogs and between song changes faroff wails of firetrucks.
On the porch, hidden from view. Only the lightning bugs exist in a more random state of motion and existence. Flicker on....flicker off.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Dry Thunder
If you consider the heat index it's been well over 105 for nearly 5 days now. Now, yes, this is at the peak of the heat during the middle of the afternoon, but nonetheless, that's hot.
This may sound like I'm complaining. On the contrary. I'm pretty tired of hearing people complain about the heat and it's not even officially summertime yet. This is why A/C was invented and if you can't afford that or yours doesn't work then perhaps living in SC isn't the best place for you, eh?
Right now it's thundering like mad. I remember nearly every summer you could 'look forward' to the endless pounding of a summer thunderstorm. For hours the rain would just pour down and the lightning and thunder would be chaos and fear and great beauty all mixed up. I enjoyed nothing more than reading Nancy Drew books in my den of a bedroom, head right next to the window, listening to the storm rage.
I would feel separate and distant from everyone and everything except the world in my book and the power of Nature outside. I think a lot of us still desire this sort of escape. Obligations and expectations and the money-driven cycle of adulthood seems to keep us from the intensity of wonder that, as adolescents/young adults we experienced nearly every day.
Now it takes sacrifice to indulge. Budgeting out a small parcel of your time to try and vanish, even for just a moment...
This may sound like I'm complaining. On the contrary. I'm pretty tired of hearing people complain about the heat and it's not even officially summertime yet. This is why A/C was invented and if you can't afford that or yours doesn't work then perhaps living in SC isn't the best place for you, eh?
Right now it's thundering like mad. I remember nearly every summer you could 'look forward' to the endless pounding of a summer thunderstorm. For hours the rain would just pour down and the lightning and thunder would be chaos and fear and great beauty all mixed up. I enjoyed nothing more than reading Nancy Drew books in my den of a bedroom, head right next to the window, listening to the storm rage.
I would feel separate and distant from everyone and everything except the world in my book and the power of Nature outside. I think a lot of us still desire this sort of escape. Obligations and expectations and the money-driven cycle of adulthood seems to keep us from the intensity of wonder that, as adolescents/young adults we experienced nearly every day.
Now it takes sacrifice to indulge. Budgeting out a small parcel of your time to try and vanish, even for just a moment...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Ours No More
full with memory, a breathless time
we spent hours here
this room, this space holds the heat
of nostalgia warming the floor
a past collective seething from the walls
illuminating the air
just a lingering spectre of decadence
welling up around the corners
strange how the light fades
a rich liquid glow draining away
we sigh and step back
shattering the hypnosis
the resonance of human prescence
now a dying hum beneathe the dust
spent and failing
alone
we spent hours here
this room, this space holds the heat
of nostalgia warming the floor
a past collective seething from the walls
illuminating the air
just a lingering spectre of decadence
welling up around the corners
strange how the light fades
a rich liquid glow draining away
we sigh and step back
shattering the hypnosis
the resonance of human prescence
now a dying hum beneathe the dust
spent and failing
alone
--written sometime at beginning of 2009.
Friday, June 4, 2010
They Should Have Sent a Poet...
I spent the morning nervously waiting to head off with my mom and sister so I could try on and possibly buy my wedding dress. Finally the time came and we drove down to Bella Vista on Gervais St. where I had an 11 o'clock appointment.
I was strangely nervous. I don't know why. I guess it was because this was something I had never done before and I completely understood the importance of getting a dress that works.
Apparently I was also quite frantic over what type of underwear to wear, but that proved to be a pointless fret as the bridal consultant who helped me let me dress myself. Hooray for southern manners I suppose.
Now I know a lot of women are probably going to be a little aghast at what I'm about to say, but...
after 2 hours and only 10 dresses, I found the one.
I've heard stories about women shopping for months, trying on dozens and dozens of dresses.
I was not going to do that.
I didn't get my hopes up too high that I would find a dress at Bella Vista, and was completely prepared to try a few other places, but well...now I have a dress and it's just wowzers.
The whole time I tried on dresses, I reaffirmed something I had always known about my sense of style: what I love on paper/magazine/runway very seldom looks good on me. It's the ugly stuff that works.
Now don't get me wrong. This dress isn't ugly. It's just not at all what I had in mind. But it's perfect and I just knew it was the one. Besides it made my mama and sister cry. It was the only one that made them cry. So I guess it was a winner.
Well after all that, where I was rather reserved and not emotional at all, I came home.
I wanted to watch a movie and so I put in Contact.
I forgot how much I cry when I watch that film.
Apparently I had a whole bottle of emotions, fueled by stress and worry and it just pretty much exploded all over the pillow on the couch.
There's something about the hope and imaginative abandon that is required to understand our existence: it tears deeply at me.
I think my emotional state these days has quite a razor's edge and it's probably not a good idea to watch such desperately beautiful and poignant films.
So here's some pictures of space to make me happy.
I was strangely nervous. I don't know why. I guess it was because this was something I had never done before and I completely understood the importance of getting a dress that works.
Apparently I was also quite frantic over what type of underwear to wear, but that proved to be a pointless fret as the bridal consultant who helped me let me dress myself. Hooray for southern manners I suppose.
Now I know a lot of women are probably going to be a little aghast at what I'm about to say, but...
after 2 hours and only 10 dresses, I found the one.
I've heard stories about women shopping for months, trying on dozens and dozens of dresses.
I was not going to do that.
I didn't get my hopes up too high that I would find a dress at Bella Vista, and was completely prepared to try a few other places, but well...now I have a dress and it's just wowzers.
The whole time I tried on dresses, I reaffirmed something I had always known about my sense of style: what I love on paper/magazine/runway very seldom looks good on me. It's the ugly stuff that works.
Now don't get me wrong. This dress isn't ugly. It's just not at all what I had in mind. But it's perfect and I just knew it was the one. Besides it made my mama and sister cry. It was the only one that made them cry. So I guess it was a winner.
Well after all that, where I was rather reserved and not emotional at all, I came home.
I wanted to watch a movie and so I put in Contact.
I forgot how much I cry when I watch that film.
Apparently I had a whole bottle of emotions, fueled by stress and worry and it just pretty much exploded all over the pillow on the couch.
There's something about the hope and imaginative abandon that is required to understand our existence: it tears deeply at me.
I think my emotional state these days has quite a razor's edge and it's probably not a good idea to watch such desperately beautiful and poignant films.
So here's some pictures of space to make me happy.
Enjoy! 
The Star, Vega
The Lightning Galaxy
NGC 1672
a barred galaxy in the southern constellation Dorado
The Star, Vega
The Lightning Galaxy
NGC 1672a barred galaxy in the southern constellation Dorado
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