Mo Finals, Mo Problems

As nervous as I am about the real world next year, I'm really super psyched that I will no longer have to write 12-15 pages about stuff I'm sick of talking about.

In the next two to three weeks, I will need to finish that paper (which by now is done and ready to be turned in), do a multimedia presentation — which includes a video, audios slideshow, audio standalone, still photos, text, maps, graphs, and interactives, write two essays for Holocaust, write two longer essays for Magical Realism (one of which is due next week, one of which is due during finals), and take a test in Italian.

Grumble grumble grumble grumble.

Amishville USA

I haven't seen my little sister Corinne since August, so going to get her tonight is sort of awesome. The problem here is that she lives in Bumble. And not just any bumble. She goes to Lebanon Valley College in Annville PA, in the heart of the Amish community.

I kid you not. When we decided when to pick her up for Thanksgiving break, we had to take into consideration that Wednesday is Amish meeting (church) night and that there would be mad buggy traffic going to her school. That's how Amish her school is.

I'm making a bet with Corinne that we'll see like 12 carriages tonight. Any takers?

Priorities, Italy. Priorities!

As you all probably know by now, I've been taking Italian this semester to get in touch with my roots and learn a new language — which for me, geek that I am, is actually pretty fun. So far, we've learned a few verbs, the descriptions of people, how to say family members and how to introduce ourselves, count, say where we're from, and talk about sports. Right now we're learning about technology and how to talk about computers.

What I would like to know is how in the first 100 pages of our book we have learned almost nothing about Italian food.

Seriously. I don't know anyone who has gone out of their way to purchase an Italian laptop. They're not really known for their technological advancements. They are world known for their delicious, meat-filled and sauce-smothered pasta and cuisine. So at this point in my Italian class, I can tell you all the members of my family and talk about a football game. But I can't order myself dinner? Whuh?

Lasagna: Now With More Carbs

Naturally, this happens when I leave the UK.

It just came out that food giant Tescos has just started making lasagna sandwiches for their premade food section. Now I don't know how good this would be cold, but you guys! I mean, this is a Friday night drunk food miracle for kids at uni all throughout the UK! I'm mad jealous right now.

Sing Us A Song, Random Piano Man

I'm sort of bummed I'm not in London for this, but apparently there's this artist that's putting pianos all over the cities of London and New York City so that people can just sit down and play.

The whole thing is supposed to encourage creativity, and honestly, the idea is pretty fantastic. Just having the chance to see an amateur busker going for it on a street corner - or see Cyndi Lauper jamming in Time Square, as she supposedly did.

My only fear is the road hazard. I hope no one gets mowed down halfway through like Fur Elise or anything. Like you're driving down the street and whoops! Street musician roadkill.

My Bad, Haiti

I have a (rather obvious) confession to make: I have rarely met a low cut neckline I didn't like. I have very few modest necklines in my wardrobe, and I tend to prefer a good v-neck or scoop to a mock.

That said, I think that immodestly dressed women causing earthquakes is a little bit extreme, Muslim Clerics.

I mean, I guess anything is possible. So if this is true, my bad, Haiti.

Fall Back, British Summer Ahead

Turns out that they do have time changes in Britain. I just didn't realize it because of the name.

Over here, when they "spring ahead" it's called British Summer Time, or Greenwich Daylight Savings Time. Apparently they started doing this in 1916 to save energy or what have you, just like we do in the good old US of A.

Problem is, I didn't realize this and ended up having to call the bosses to let them know that I was running an hour late for work. Ian got a pretty good laugh about it.

You Have A Baby! In a Bar!

So when we went to Bath yesterday, we decided to get some lunch at the local pub, Sam Weller's. We went and sat down in the back and waited (forever) for our food and this guy walked in with this adorable little baby girl. She had this fleece onesie of penguins on, looked totally content, really just cute. Her dad put her down on the table and ordered a ton of food.

When his wife and other daughter (also very young) got there, he put the baby on the floor to roll around and cry a little bit. And it was really just cute to see this guy with his kids.

But there was a baby. In a bar.

Polish Video Games

They can't win a war, but they can play Snake.

Jack The Ripper

So don't worry about me or anything, I'm totally safe and all. But I just talked to Elise and she told me that Hyde Park was all shut down because someone was found dead. She was running and wasn't allowed in the park, and heard a rumor that someone's throat had been slit the night before. Then we found this on the BBC's website.

Police have closed a central London park after a body was found.

Kensington Gardens has been sealed off after the discovery was made by a member of the public at about 0725 GMT on Friday.

Police said the discovery was made by the Round Pond and they are treating the death as unexplained.

Kensington Gardens adjoins Hyde Park and is home to Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Serpentine Gallery.

This park isn't too far from where we live (it's aaaaaaaaaaall the way down Queen's Gate, which is quite a walk as Elise and I discovered yesterday), but geez. Way to ruin a run, punks.

Get Pissed, But No Knives!

I was tooling around my new city (already in love, more about that later) for the last few days and went to dinner with the roommates: Elise, Marin, Allie, Nikki, and Alanna. We decided to get sandwiches and fish and chips, and to enjoy the fact that we're allowed to have a drink. I got some advice from Amanda to go with the cider rather than the Guiness, so I did and was very pleased with results.

We were looking around today for a grapefruit knife for Elise. We found them in the same place as where you can get keys made and get postcards (expect some fun ones soon!). As it turns out, Elise got carded. Apparently there's a law in the UK which prohibits people under the age of 21 from buying any sort of knife.

Now I totally get this, because over here there's a ton of knifing around as the main form of assault with a weapon (the gun laws are WAY strong). But I find it really amusing and interesting. In the US, I could buy a knife but not a drink. In the UK, I can buy a drink but not a knife.

Victor/Victoria

So as some of you may know, Allie and Matt and I were in a chorus concert on Saturday afternoon for our All Campus Choral Ensemble performance. Allie was in the alto section, Matt was a bass, and I was in the tenor and alto sections. According to the teacher, I was mentioned in both sections of the program for singing in two different sections.

So I took a look, and as it turned out, I was listed as two different people. In the Alto section, I was listed as Alexandra Palombo (as I had asked, that's my name). In the tenor section, I was listed as Alex Palumbo - my last name was spelled wrong and it was cut down to Alex to make it look like it was a man singing in the men's section.

I figure that the last name was an honest mistake, - I mean, really, the same person is in the program twice, you would think someone would look above and make sure they were at least consistent if not right - but I don't know about the first name issue. Looking at the program, it felt as if the teacher was trying to deny that there was a woman singing tenor.

Clinton Intervention

So in case you don't know, late night ginger Conan O'Brien and oddly famous Mayor Cory Booker (Newark, NJ) have been having a ridiculous fight because O'Brien made an awesome joke at Newark's expense. It has gotten SO bad that even our Secretary of State took notice.
I didn't like Hilary Clinton much before, but the girl does have a sense of humor.

The Paper Has Two Faces

I was seriously about to hurt someone as of TV News P&E today. I contained myself. Let me explain.

I got my application for London in the week before it was due, with a few pieces coming in from other places (teachers and judicial affairs). I went to OIP and checked to make sure that everything was in order. They said it was, and I was convinced I was fine.

I got an e-mail this afternoon saying that I was missing my academic recommendation, my judicial affairs clearance, and my academic plan.

I pretty much flipped my shit and stormed up to Park to ask them if they still had it. They didn't, called over to OIP, and reassured me that everything was there.

So after three of the most boring hours of my life, I headed up to OIP and made them check my file. Everything was there.

Turns out they didn't realize things were printed front and back, and thought I was missing all the backs.

Disney Needs To Stop With The Remakes

So I was cruising through BBC News as I do daily and came across this little disturbing nugget of information:

Disney is remaking Yellow Submarine. In 3D.

Some remakes can turn out well. I mean, I thought Star Trek was fantastic, and that was Touchstone (I think?). But I really can't see this ending well.

Yellow Submarine was a (trippy and weird) cultural moment that doesn't seem to be easily replicated. And much less by Disney, the maker of all that is family-friendly entertainment. I feel like the drug-induced animation and storyline will be streamlined to make sense for a family, and I don't really think that The Beatles were going for that.

IMs From Last Night

"So a sophomore I've never met sent me a facebook message asking if I called his mother asking for money." - Zack Gidding

(Say Hi To Your Mother For Me!)

Snakes On A Cane

Usually, viral marketing works best for stupid movies and such. More like cult subjects. But when I was flipping channels last night and landed on FOX, this website popped up called "Snakes on a Cane."

Turns out it's just a website with a countdown to the premiere of House. Which...

...good job, marketing. Viral might be the way to go.

I Hate My Bookmarks

So for the last 3 weeks when I go to bookmark stuff, this same link and picture comes up.

Not that it's not funny, but really, when I want to favorite something, I want it to stick. Like the House ads, or the Joe Biden bobblehead that I found for far too much money (but seriously, I want one. Belated birthday gift, people?).

Even The Middle Eastern Media Hates the PA

Appparently the PA isn't a fan of Al Jazeera either.

The satellite news channel was shut down by the Palestinian Authority because the broadcasts were too "unbalanced" against their party. I'm not going to recap the whole incident, rather I'm sending you over to the BBC for the facts.

I will say this though: it's a total shame and offensive against the free press. Al Jazeera is trying to provide a service of non-state sanctioned media (well, sort of, the company is funded by the Emir of Qatar, but it operates out of government oversight from Doha, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington DC). And for a station to be shut down because it's saying something you don't like is sort of ridiculous. I can't stand FOX News, but I wouldn't shut the channel down.

Yes, But Do They Serve Peanuts?

I kid you not, there is now a pets-only exclusive airline. It's called Pet Airways, and I'm insanely amused.

The creators of the airline looked to their own dog, Zoe, for inspiration. Apparently, the little Jack Russell Terrier was too precious for them to not think of when they went on vacation, per their website "Our Story" section.

"...there's one thing Zoe is certainly not, and that's cargo. As we're fond of telling our neighbor Janet, her boxer Samson isn't Samsonite, and she agreed. In fact, we met lots of neighbors, friends and even complete strangers who felt exactly the same way.

So we got to thinking. Maybe Zoe was trying to tell us something. Maybe there was a travel solution that would suit her perfectly, and everyone else out there too. Instead of trying to convince the human airlines to treat pets better, why not start up an airline just for pets? And Pet Airways was born."

See, I have loved all my pets (except maybe Beau), whether they're adorable huge flat coat retrievers, goldfish, or ZZ the Beta.

But this is taking it a little far. I understand wanting to have your dog with you on vacation, especially when you see other people walking their dogs down the beach or playing fetch with a frisbee. But I draw the line at putting them on a plane. I understand road tripping it with Fido in the backseat, but if there's an overhead compartment or security check involved, I think it's gotten a little ridiculous. So shame on you, Pet Airways, for upping the yuppie factor on vacation.