Where to start...well, from an airplane, Long Island looks like a lego city..the Statue of Liberty didn't look so large and the suburbs all look the same- go figure...

Once I got off my plane at LaGuardia, I had to pay $13 bucks to get a ride on a bus to JFK. Ten minutes into the ride I was looking around to figure out where we were- we were still in Laguardia...but it took us twice as long in JFK than LaGuardia, not to mention the insanely roundabout way we took to get there! I've actually added JFK to my list of airports I hope I never see again (the first being O'Hare)

I checked my luggage, hung out listening to people's conversations, road the AirTrain and bought a keychain-that was the extent of my trip to New York. Oh, and I've never seen so many Hasidic Jews in my life.

The flights overseas have become increasingly more comfortable than my first trip some seven odd years ago...A personal TV that you can choose what you want to watch, compfier chairs, moderinzed storage bins up top, and actually the flight attendants were incredibly nice people!...A baby cried the whole way...

Once we got to London, we waited for probably about three hours for everyone to arrive, then hopped in our two taxi vans and drove for an hour or so our rooms- which consequently looks like a dungeon..and comes complete with ants!!! But our taxi driver was cool as all get out...

The next couple days are just orientation and beginning classes...i posted some pictures to simulate what I've seen...so, no, I didn't take them

Long Island, NY

Hasidic Jews

Map of London

Gherkin

Double Decker bus!

As for the title of this blog, I wrote it because it's funny and sadly enough, it's sorta true. Yesterday when we were waiting for our professor and her husband to meet us for supper we were standing outside of the ACCENT centre, which is where we have class and play on computers, etc. But anyway, we saw two blonde girls in sorority shirts or something playing Frisbee...not a big deal, unless you're dumb enough to do it in the street. First thought that came to my mind: Did I really leave Iowa City? Traffic in London is horrendous and there's no other way to describe it! The cars are coming from the opposite direction and they seriously don't stop for anything...Well as we were watching these broads I said my comment about leaving Iowa City aloud and my friend Alex responded with, "they must be Americans, no one else is that stupid." So, kiddies...go forth and play Frisbee in the street and support all stereotypes that Americans are stupid!

But anyway...we went to dinner last night at an Indian restaurant, it was pretty good...After that we all went home and were asleep by 930...sleep never felt so good. However, minor problem with the sleeping arrangements: I haven't slept on a bed in 6 months. How does this feel in the morning? It took me about five minutes to scoot off the bed to get up. AWESOME.

We went on a walking tour today of London...starting at 9am and not getting over until 315. My feet hurt!!! We saw briefly Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the East End of London, and some other places. I forgot my cable for my camera otherwise I'd post what I saw and correspond them with my writings appropriately...but I'll do that tomorrow. Anyway...when we were outside Parliament, there were protesters across the street and we asked our guide what they were doing and who they were and she told us that it was Brian Haw. Brian has been sitting outside of Parliament since June 2nd, 2001- never missed a day. He originally started sitting out there because has against the economic sanctions on Iraq and the bombing from the UK and USA. After September 11, 2001, he widened his focus of being against the war and insists the USA and UK created acts of terror on Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, Brian being out there irritated Tony Blair to no end and various authority figures have tried to remove him...he took them to court saying he was exercising his right to free speech. A judge in the High Court agreed with him, and let him stay. In 2005, Parliament passed a law saying that because of terror, no one could protest within a mile of their building. They figured this would get rid of Brian. It hasn't because there has been constant battle between SOCPA and the courts. Some say the law should apply to him because it's a law, but others say it shouldn't because it was passed after he started.

The fact that Brian was going to be thrown out of the square made a lot of people angry and therefore, they have started to gather on Wednesdays to protest their right of free speech. Every person who wants to protest has to have a license...one man deals with these. A couple days before the demonstration, people come down to the police station and apply for a license and state what they will be protesting, where they will be, their name, etc, and then this one man has to do all of the paperwork associated with the licenses. He told people at one point that they could only protest for six hours and they asked how they could protest for longer...he said, if they moved the could...so now when people come in to get their licenses to protest, they get two or three and this poor guy is stuck kicking himself in the pants for ever saying anything...When they protest, they write silly things on their signs. Such as, Bananas are good, Dirty socks smell, There is too much paperwork for (insert name of one man who does all of it for licenses)! Amusing.

There is also a statue of Abraham Lincoln in the square across from Parliament. Why? They liked that he was opposed to the idea of statehood.

We also went to a place called the East End. A lot of immigrants used to (and still do, mostly Bangladeshi) live there. The Huguenots from the Reformation sought solace here, along with other outcasts of society like Jews, Italians, poor city folk. This was also Jack the Ripper's stomping ground. Much of that has been destroyed, though because of the memories. Speaking of which, there is a law that prohibits the demolishment of "listed buildings." That means they are old and to be preserved, and if anything is changed on them (even a window), Parliament should know about it. It's very interesting because one of the most recent places that was about to be demolished was saved by this law is in the East End. It was an old market with numerous identical buildings, and whatever was behind it was taken out...and a new modern building was constructed. So, you have this modern, mega-building with shiny silver and black everything right behind and almost connected to a beige-ish building from the early 19th century. It looks really stupid.

This somewhat deals with my topic for my final paper. In 1877, William Morris founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. I think I am going to write something about how that has affected the laws today, how much was destroyed, his influence, mention of it in his books, modern demolition of buildings, etc. I haven't figured out a focus point or a thesis, but I'll let you know when I find one. Apparently I can go somewhere in London to their office and read all their written materials- new and old. I'm pretty excited about researching this because it's something that I'm really interested in. Since I'm anti-tearing down really pretty pieces of history, I figure this topic suits me well.

As far as poetry goes, who ruined it with meter?

My favourite sign: Humps next 650 meters.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAY:
Even though the Brits drive on the wrong side of the street, they still walk on the right hand side of the sidewalk.

Only Mercedes have hood ornaments.

Have a good one guys!

k

written by  flaminko on May 23, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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k

written by  flaminko on May 24, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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But anyway...the trip to the British Museum was pretty cool yesterday...I've got pictures and descriptions below!

me and Assyrian Bull

Close-up of the Assyrian Bull

Elgin Marbles. These sculptures are in the middle of a bitter custody battle between England and Greece. The Parthenon in Athens was built about 2500 years ago as a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess, Athena. After that it was the church or the Virgin Mary of the Athenians for a thousand years, a mosque, a gunpowder store and then an archaeological ruin. In 1687 when the Parthenon was used as a gunpowder store, there was a huge explosion and it blew the roof off and destroyed a large portion of the remaining sculptures and had been an archaeological ruin ever since. A lot of archaeologists agreed that the sculptures could never be attached, and by 1800 only 50% of the original sculptural decoration remained. Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin (British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which Athens had belonged to for some 350 years) removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself and took them back to Britain to preserve them from future weathering. The Ottoman authorities had full knowledge and gave him full permission to do so. In 1816, the British Museum acquired the sculptures. Greece believes they should have them back, England says they shouldn’t. You can learn more about the debate at: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/gr/grparth.html

There are pieces of the Parthenon in the Louvre, Vatican, Copenhagen, Vienna, Wuerzburg, Palermo, Heidelberg and Munich.

Forepart of a horse from the chariot group surmounting the mausoleum…made in 350 BC. As you can see, not in the best of shape…

The Rosetta Stone, 196 BC. The Rosetta Stone basically helped other people translate Hieroglyphics...the top language is Hieroglyphic, the second is Demotic and the third is classical Greek.

This was made in 2500 BC and it was found at the temple-tower of Ninhursag at Tell al-‘Ubaid. I don’t know how well you can see the picture, but the lion-headed eagle, Imdugud, is holding two deer.

Mummies from 1st century BC/1st century AD

Typical Egyptian grave with grave-items. Yes, the body is real…it was preserved so well because the sand caused rapid natural drying. This is from 3400 BC from around the Nile Valley.

Look at his mouth…I don’t think he died a painless death…

This is from 3000 BC when they started using coffins…you can see that the body wasn’t preserved as well by using coffins. Their early coffins were made from baskets, wood or pottery.

Mummy

Limestone stele, from the grave of Amathus, Cyprus, 5th century BC. It says: Here having met his doom Idagygos of Halicarnassus lies, son of Aristokles servant of Ares. That’s right, I speak Greek now!

Made in Cyprus, 4th century BC. It says: Theudaisios of Euesperides. (Euesperides is a settlement in modern day Libya)

Gravestone of Aurelius Hermia and his wife Aurelia Philematium in Rome.

Crocodile skin suit of Roman parade armour from 3rd or 4th century

American cash register from 1901

Items found in the Sutton Hoo. The Sutton Hoo is a group of burial mounds from the 6th and 7th centuries. Included in these mounds was a ship burial, which means a ship was used as a coffin type holder for the bodies and grave goods.

written by  flaminko on May 25, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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written by Jean Jenkinson on May 26, 2007

This was a comment written to me on my last post. My response is this: who are you? The manuscript police? That's what I thought...find something better to do you bitter old hag.

But, on a more positive note...we went to the Leighton House today and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Spent five hours wandering around...we must have found something interesting...I'll put pictures up later this weekend.

I'm heading home to take a nap!

k

written by  flaminko on May 26, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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today we went to kensington palace...it was quite remarkable!

it's been raining here all day...first time i got to use my umbrella...

but anyway, i need to do some stuff for class...have a good one!

k

written by  flaminko on May 27, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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HA! Because I'm a tourist...

The past few days in class we have read some interesting things...first, we read Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass...both quite strange, but once down to the nitty gritty of them, they made a whole lot more sense. They are mostly critiques of the Victorian Era educational system and parenting ways. We also read the Defence of Guenevere by William Morris, Culture and Anarchy: Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnold, and some other poems not really worth mentioning.

Tomorrow and Thursday we are going to be in Oxford. We'll be checking out the Ashmolean, Kelmscott Manor/Press, Christ Church Cathedral and some other stuff...It's about a two hour drive from London to Oxford...then to get to Kelmscott, we have to travel another hour and a half. I'm going to get to listen to a lot of music...

We are thinking about taking a trip to Ireland for a couple days. We have one thing at 0930 on Friday, 8June, a free weekend, and we are going to try and convince our professor that we've had so much overtime in class that our 'free' class should be that Monday. So, in essence, we would be flying to Dublin on Friday afternoon/evening, staying in a hostel Friday and Saturday and possibly Sunday night, and heading back to London. Plane tickets are about $100, which isn't too shabby...and if we can find a hostel...even better. If not, I'm sure we can all cram in a room! We can trade nights for who gets the bed...

I'm still trying to find a way back to Prague. I proposed to my friend Brendan that he meet me there because he will be finishing up with his training for the National Guard in Utah about the same time- I don't know what he'll say, but it would be really awesome to be there with him. I could show him the ropes of the Czechs =)

Also, I'm taking up a fund....it's called "we want to see Kelsi travel to lots of places while in Europe and deter the cost of food because it's double to triple what it costs in Iowa" fund. So, I'm currently taking donations =)

On another note, expect my grammar to be 'good' (I did that on purpose) within the next few weeks because I've worked it out with my professor that she's going to help me with it. Awesomeness.

Other than that, nothing too new here, I'll post some pictures below from the Dickens House Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (because those were some of the pictures I accidentally deleted) and then from the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms! The Museum was nothing short of amazing...well worth £9...Have I ever told you guys how much I LOVE history??

Have a good one.

<3 kelsi

Dickenses' bathroom

Dickenses' bathroom

my flat from the Dickens House Museum

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

Triton and Neptune

Tipoo's Tiger

The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, 1563

A Gentlemen's Guide to the Restraint of Negroes

3 Reliquary

Close up of the Relics

Me in a crinoline...hot, huh?

Hammersmith Rug by Morris & Co.- 1889

Paintings by Raphael

CHURCHILL MUSEUM

British War Cabinet Room

From a diary of a little British girl

Winston Churchill with his troops

Winston Churchill's hat

September 11, 1940

Some of the many medals Churchill was awarded

Churchill's Nobel Peace Prize

Churchill's Christening Robe- 1874

Churchill's revolver, flask, pocketwatch

Here's my favorite quote from the time we were gone though....

Kelsi: Nosebag is kind of like hell, they're just very versatile words.
Alex: That was a very haughty statement.
Austin: I can't wait to not be around English majors all the time.
Kelsi: We're better than philosophy majors.
Tracey: Yeah, they just sit around and pontificate all day.

Ha.

Since I don't have any pictures to fill up all this white space...I'll talk about feelings. I've decided that this trip is somewhat preparing me for my future. What? Yeah, I know, it sounds a little silly...but it really is. Do you really think I want to walk four more hours? No. Do you really think I want to go to one more museum? No. Do you really think I want to be lost all day or soaking wet from the rain? No. But, I do it anyway. Why? Because I have to. And I'm usually really glad I did it. It does no good to be grouchy or complain because it's not going to change anything...I still have to complete the course, I still have to walk to get home, I'm still gonna have blisters and my shoes/socks/pants are still going to be wet...I guess what I'm saying here is that I actually have to work with a group, shut up about whatever I feel (even though everyone feels the same way) and I have to keep on going-endurance. I can't do what I want, when I want..patience...always...I realize this is very small on a scale compared to what I'll endure during the military, but I guess it's a start, right? It's kind of like a game now...a test of perserverance...see how much I can really take...because once I am bothered by about 20 different things...I'm still not to my breaking point...I'm pushing the limits, not giving in and being more hard-headed than you all ever thought possible...So, when I get home, prepare for a no-nonsense Kelsi...and I suppose this is a caveat to all you slacker/destructive types: Out of my way.

And on that note, my "soaking wet-can't feel my eyes-really have to go potty-have blisters on the backs of my feet" self is going home...have a great day everyone!

k

written by  flaminko on May 31, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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Well, I've got more pictures for you...Sometimes I leave out explanations on the blog that are written with the pictures in my photo album on here...so if you have a question, check out the album or ask me...

Kelmscott Manor- Home of William Morris- built in 1570

A church up the street

A Random sign...pretty funny..it's just like the British to explain things too much

Moo.

Building in Oxford

Some more buildings...to the right you can see the oldest building in Oxford

Who else thinks this building is going to fall over soon?

Welcome to the Ashmolean- Please mock our statues. Thanks and have a great day.

Toll-receipt from ancient Greece

The Egyptian way of mathematics

Hieroglyphic inscriptions of King Inyotef- From 17th Dynasty (1570-1540 BC)

Piano from the 17th century..I think..

Italian Citterns from the 17th century

Assorted marbles and rare stones made into a table...1855

View of a Mill at Zaandam- Claude Monet

Landscape with Trees- Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Powhaten's Mantle- 17th century- Powhaten was Pocahontas' father

The Restaurant de la Sirene, at Asnieres- Vincent Van Gogh

The Mummy and Coffin of Djeddjehutyiuefankh (and no I didn't just bang my hands on the keyboard) This is from 770-712 BC

Christ's College- University of Cambridge- building began in 1439

List of people from the College that died in the First World War...It wasn't uncommon to find these in every single church for many different wars

Memorials for those who parished in a war

This is what they do for fun in England...Play croquet in suits...

Keble College

Exeter College- Oxford University

written by  flaminko on June 1, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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The inside of that forsaken Tate Modern Art Gallery

I have officially been to the worst place in London...The Tate Modern Art Gallery. From the outside one could easily mistake this shoddy brick building for just another dingy hole in the wall on this side of town. Nothing about it stuck out or could catch somebody's eye- except for the fact that there was an ice cream truck...and that's bound to catch everybody's eye..ICE CREAM!!! To put it blatantly, the outside was a foreshadow of what I was actually about to see...Walking in the door there is a decline that you walk down to get to the gallery...Upon first glance I thought I was at the YMCA in downtown Chicago; cement floors, construction workers and their noises, scaffolds, exposed supports. I thought to myself: This IS the museum, right? Everything was in plain black and beige with outlines of sea foam green. If there is one colour I hate...it is undoubtedly sea foam green. From my critique thus far you are probably wondering why I even went...Because if I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have been able to write this =) I really did think it was going to be decent, and I'm trying to see everything I can while I'm here- regardless of whether I want to go or not. Don't get me wrong, not all of the artwork in the building was terrible...but a majority of it was.

Are we so desperate to create and inspire that we can believe an epiphany will arise from two different coloured squares on the wall? or that we are expressing our souls and changing social order from a slash mark in a canvas? What ever happened to talent? You know...the kind where it took someone YEARS to create a masterpiece and when it was completed, every little detail was perfectly in place and perfectly significant of an important issue or feeling. Nowadays, these "artists" paint a canvas the same colour and call it a day. What? My four-year-old niece can do that and no one is putting her "artwork" in a prestigious gallery. Maybe I should find her an agent or something if this is how it's going to be. Matter-of-fact, I'm pretty sure half of the stuff in the gallery is somewhere in my basement in a Memory Box...stuff that I drew in art class in elementary school. I think the term for modern "artists" should now be: No talent ass-clowns. (Thank you Office Space)

These "artists" come with explanations of their art. I wonder, why? Let me answer my own question...because no one can understand it!!!! There is no longer any reason to try and interpret artwork, simply because it can't be interpreted. Modern art is the artists' way of making up a new language or way of thinking that no one understands but yet everyone does and begs to be part of. Loaded statement? You bet! It's some sort of status of your intellectual ability..."If you can't understand Lucio Fontana, then you must be dense. We studied in France and speak French and drink coffee while discussing the newest artists that no one has ever heard of. We make big deals about nothing because we honestly have nothing better to do and are so pompous that we simply MUST come up with someone that can make a squiggly line. Our often-exaggerated respect for artists makes us look like we know what we are talking about and then we can fit in with the art community. We intellectuals feel the shapes in our souls and the colours ricochet throughout our inner core..." and the bullshit continues.

To further my point, I will now show you examples, some of them with what was written in the gallery next to them, and some with my own commentary (which I'm sure you are all dying to hear)

Lucio Fontana- Waiting

In 1959, Fontana began to cut the canvas, with dramatic perfection. These cuts (or tagli) were carefully pre-meditated but executed in an instant. Like the holes, they have the effect of drawing the viewer into space. In some, however, the punctures erupt from the surface carrying the force of the gesture towards the viewer in a way that is at once energetic and threatening. Although these actions have often been seen as violent, Fontana claimed ‘I have constructed, not destroyed.’

You're kidding me...un-freaking-believable

Henri Matisse- The Snail

The Snail is one of the last and largest pieces in Matisse’s final series of works, known as cutouts. Confined to bed through illness, he had assistants paint sheets of paper in gouache which he then cut. The shell of a snail inspired the spiralling arrangement of roughly cut pieces of paper. Compared to his earlier paintings, Matisse believed that he had gained ‘greater completeness and abstraction’ in the cutouts. ‘I have attained a form filtered to its essentials’, he remarked.

"Form filtered to its essentials" what??? You cut out pieces of paper and glued them on a bigger piece of paper..there is nothing extravagent or amazing about what you did!

Robert Mangold- Redwall

Red Wall was one of a series of works inspired by the industrial loft architecture of New York City. Combining painting and sculpture, they were constructed using standard-sized sheets of plywood-backed masonite, fitted together to suggest portions of walls, doorways and windows. They were then painted using a spray gun to create a neutral, uninflected monochrome surface. According to the artist, the choice of colours was intended to evoke ordinary objects, in this case ’brick-red’.

I will evoke an ordinary object, and I guarantee you're not going to like it...I feel so 'brick-red' right now with englightenment...I'm glad I saw this...

Barnett Newman- Adam

From the mid-1940s Newman had been preoccupied with the Jewish myths of Creation. The vertical strips in his paintings may relate to certain traditions that present God and man as a single beam of light. The name Adam, which in the Old Testament was given to the first man, derives from the Hebrew word adamah (earth), but is also close to adom, (red) and dam (blood). The relationship between brown and red in this painting may therefore symbolise man's intimacy with the earth.

Normally in paintings that symbolize or represent traditions dealing with god, there are more than two lines in it...I could be wrong, (which I highly doubt), but this required no talent.

Ellsworth Kelly- Black Square with Blue

Once again, two squares put together...What does this even mean????

Gerhard Richter- Grey

Grey is the epitome of non-statement’, he has observed, ‘it does not trigger off feelings or associations, it is actually neither visible nor invisible... Like no other colour it is suitable for illustrating ‘nothing’.’ Such observations go hand-in-hand with the artist’s frequently expressed resistance to ideologies of any kind.

I like to talk for no reason and put words together that sound good, too.

Dan Flavin- the diagonal of May 25, 1965

This is the worst of them all. A light, that he did not make, screwed at an angle to a wall and called art. I couldn't find the blurb next to his "art" that was in the gallery, but I do know it said that Dan Flavin thought first using a flourescent light was a 'personal breakthrough.' Uh...of what? How could that possibly even be seen as a personal breakthrough??

I hope the next genre of art requires a little bit more talent and little less gullibility.

On a good note though...I saw some Monet and Warhol and some Pablo..and that was neat.

Millenium Bridge

Ciao

k

written by  flaminko on June 2, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah
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