Monday 11 July 2011
Cream River: A Poem
Tuesday 28 June 2011
In Ordnung: A Poem
Thursday 23 June 2011
The Alca
The Alca is a tournament between horseriders in full armor, picking a ring off with their lance from a rope suspending it in the air (rather like gauchos in Argentina). The difference here being the weight of centuries-old armor. The exact dates I need to work on...
What I do know is that a few thousand croats (along with some Venetian commanders) went up against a force of some tens of thousands of Ottomans (numbers vary from side to side but the ballpark is the same). It was a hopeless situation for the outnumbered Balkan force until some of the Venetian commanders secretly poisoned the river upstream from the Ottoman camp the night before the battle.
The next day, having informed the rest of their army, the Balkans charged at the depleted Turks to a stunning victory.
At the tournament there is one horse without a rider. It represents the Ottomans.
Monday 20 June 2011
One-Day in London
Arrive Heathrow 9 a.m.
Clear customs and go through to the Heathrow Express. Buy a ticket. Get on one. 10.15 a.m.
10.30 a.m. Arrive at Paddington station. Get on the Tube.
Circle Line to Notting Hill Gate (2 stops)
Walk 2 minutes to my house and drop off your bags.
Go back to Notting Hill Gate and get some breakfast - perhaps a Crussh Smoothie?
Cross the road and wander down Portobello, 11.45 a.m.
Waste some money on shawls etc.
Wander back up Portobello, 12.45 p.m.
Buy Coffee on Notting Hill Gate, 1 p.m.
Get back on the Tube. Circle Line Eastbound to South Kensington (3 stops).
Get out at 1.20 p.m.
Go to Victoria & Albert Museum.
Go to Natural History Museum.
Go to Brompton Oratory.
Skip the Science Museum (another time, when you're not rushed).
Back on the Tube at South Kensington, hopefully 3.20 p.m. if you made quick work of it. Picadilly Line to Knightsbridge (1 stop).
Get out, go inside Harrods, wander around and buy something delightful.
Get back on the Picadilly Line, 4 p.m.
Skip Hyde Park Corner, Green Park, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, and Holborn (all offices at that stop anyway), going straight onto Russell Square & The British Musem (7 stops).
Stay there until it closes. Get on Picadilly Line and change at Leicester Square (3 stops) for the Northern Line, going South to Embankment (2 stops), change back to the Circle Line and go to Westminster (1 stop).
Get out, take a picture, get back in.
Carry on, on, the Circle Line back to Notting Hill Gate (7 stops). 8.00 - 8.30 p.m.
Wander into the quaint backstreets and 'Hillgate Village' and try to visit as many pubs as possible. When they all close, go to the Old Swan at the corner of Notting Hill Gate and Kensington Church Street. When that closes, go home.
Wake up early, go for a jog, see Kensington Palace, jog back.
If you really want to do London, you need 1 month + commitment + stamina + plenty money + me to guide you.
This was designed for Ari Melinger-Cohen, who jhas a one day layover in London today.
Find tube maps at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
Sunday 19 June 2011
This Is My Tiger
Saturday 18 June 2011
Sun in London
Friday 17 June 2011
Taste of London
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Tasting London
We have our tickets booked, and obviously (cliche coming) cannot wait.
Apparently Le Gavroche has a stand. Right now that is my favorite restaurant. Granted, Ihave not been to Alinea in Chicago, but I will. However, I have been to The Gage - a great place opposite the Art Institute on South Michigan (in Chicago, IL) and it is fantastic, as is/was the wine list/sommelier. I went several times.
However, what The Gage was trying to do was haute cuisine pub food (incidentally, pubs are English, not Irish, unless you are in a country that is neither of those two).
So tomorrow I am going to be looking for the best of that English (not Irish) food - savory tastes that only the most unadulterated of palates can truly enjoy. I'll leave the sweets to the pathetic whose parents fed them sherbet and Coca-cola.
I'm a big lad, and I can force a lot of food down me. My brother, to some, looks scrawny (he's built), looks weak (he's strong), or looks meek (he is vicious and tough). I can put it away, but there is a limit.
For him, there is simply none. I can't wait.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
My Constitution
Speech or opinion inciting racial hatred, or hatred towards a particular social group and its individual members, is totally banned
*To clarify, this would be a constitution for a country with recent ethnic genocide and ethnic tensions bubbling, and very much alive, just under the surface. It was done as a university assignment