Modern Art

My friend David arrives today for a weeklong visit from the states. Woo hoo! I'm schlepping out to Heathrow this evening to collect him and bring him back to our humble flat. I'm sure he has a full roster of things he wants to do. Probably lots of museums, which will be great -- my Dave isn't a museum guy so I usually have to go by myself.

Now may be the time to catch up with some intriguing exhibits, like the Tate Modern's newest, which looks really interesting. When I was in my 20s I had a big framed poster of the David Hockney painting, "A Bigger Splash," that lends its name to the show. I think I've already seen the painting in person -- maybe at the Tate, which apparently owns it -- but I'd love to see it again.

Of course, David isn't a fan of modern art, so maybe we won't see that particular show. It's just at the top of my own personal wish list. David is a fan of Leonardo da Vinci and other Italian Renaissance painters of his ilk. I guess I could manage that too.

Yesterday I figured I better get in one last photo wander (although I'll certainly take my camera when I'm out and about with David), so I took a long walk through Kensington and Chelsea all the way to the Thames, and then back up to Sloane Square, where I caught to the tube home. Got good shots, like the one above -- although I really need to learn how to use the manual settings on my camera so I can freeze people without blurring them. I like the blurry effect, the display of motion. But I do it all the time and I suppose it might seem a little amateurish, an obvious indication that I don't entirely know how to control my camera.

Have you seen these people who want to secede from the union because Obama won the presidency? It cracks me up. Go! Please!

Tesco-ization

Yesterday I walked past The North Pole pub on the wonderfully named North Pole Road, and -- it's not a pub anymore. It's closed.

Apparently this happened a couple of months ago. I'd never been to The North Pole -- it's not very close to our flat, and since I only occasionally walk through that neighborhood in North Kensington, I didn't know it had closed. Yesterday the spray-painted protests against Tesco caught my eye, though, so I took some photos and did some research on what it all means.

Turns out grocery giant Tesco intends to open a Tesco Express store in the space. This has prompted protests by local residents who are afraid other neighborhood shops will be driven under by the presence of the behemoth.

Meanwhile, the building's owners have sealed it up with sheet metal to keep out squatters, who have taken to occupying dead pubs in other parts of London.

People always associate pubs with England, and vice versa, but the sad fact is that many, many pubs are closing. The reasons are myriad -- escalating real estate values and corresponding rents, demographic and social changes, and a sharp reduction in alcohol purchases for consumption outside the home (a 44 percent drop since 2001, according to this report). This "pubageddon" has been going on for years.

In just the year and a half that I've lived in England, I've seen several pubs close. The Stinging Nettle, I noticed the other day, has become a Costa coffee shop. Crockers Folly in Maida Vale was boarded up the first time I saw it, as was The Prince of Wales, between Notting Hill and Holland Park. The Cowshed was already closed when we moved here; it has since been torn down.

I hate to see it happen, but I understand why it's happening. Even Dave and I, who like a pint now and then, only go to pubs once every few weeks. I'm more likely to go to Costa, I confess! People just don't drink as much or as often, and when they do, they're likely to do it at home in front of the television. (I have been trying to get Dave to go to Quiz Night on Thursdays at one of our locals, but getting Dave out of the house on a school night is always, understandably, a challenge. We haven't made it to Quiz Night yet.)

Even reportedly prosperous pubs are threatened because their often historic buildings are so much more valuable as residential real estate.

The world changes, you know? But still -- it's too bad. I hate to see everything become blank and bland and fluorescent. If only I could strike the right balance between patronizing my local pubs and protecting my liver!

Monday, Monday

Dave and I went to see a great movie yesterday: "My Brother the Devil," about Arab kids growing up in a tough neighborhood in the London borough of Hackney. The Guardian calls it "muscular and heartfelt," and I would agree. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I won't relate the whole plot -- you can click on the link to the review for that. But I was impressed.

Suddenly there are all these movies we want to see -- we also want to check out "Argo" and "The Master." Why do movies always come in clusters?

Otherwise, yesterday was taken up by routine housework and my weekly sub reports for school. And this morning I had four teachers call in sick. That may not sound like a lot, but for a school the size of ours it's more than is typical at the last minute. What the heck is going on out there?!

(Photo: Graffiti at Trellick Tower.)

Rooster Express, Part 5

I've already noted several times (here, here, here and here) the amusing names and apparently mandatory red-white-and-blue color scheme of chicken joints in London.

These two, which I came across last week in Shepherd's Bush, carry the added benefit of being named after states.

They're not the first state-named chicken joints I've found -- you may remember Carolina Chicken and New Jersey Chicken from those previous posts. I suppose fried chicken is an American invention -- isn't it?

Because I know this is a topic of burning interest to all of you, here are a few more entertaining chicken facades I've encountered over the past several months:

You've got to love Dixy Chicken -- complete with novel spelling.

I wonder how Dallas Chicken differs from Texas Chicken?

These guys abandoned American references and went instead with the name of the local neighborhood.

And this place just looks scary. I'd run!

Pennies for Prunes

I'm waking up to this news about Gen. David Petraeus resigning from the CIA because of his extramarital affair. I'm confused about why that's an offense that demands his resignation. He's not an elected official, and unless the affair somehow compromised national security I can't see how it makes a difference. Seems like there must be more to this story.

Great, Obama already entangled in a new scandal. The guy just can't win!

I got an interesting piece of mail the other day -- a packet from my former employer offering to buy me out of the company pension system. Apparently they're making offers to all their former employees, trying to lighten their pension obligations. They want to pay me a lump sum or a monthly sum for life. Entertaining to think about, but my inclination is to just let that money sit where it is. Supposedly it's guaranteed even if the company goes under, though I do question how many of these pension plans could conceivably be supported by government if things get bad enough.

I did learn that my pension is worth far more than I ever imagined. So that's encouraging. I thought I'd get just enough to buy a jar of prunes and some Depends each month, but it turns out to be far more than that. Maybe I won't starve in my old age.

I went walking again yesterday. We didn't have as much sun as the day before, but it was still nice to get out and about for several hours in the morning.

(Photo: Street art in Finsbury Park, by the artist who also did this.)

Early Morning Phone Fatigue

Here it is almost 7 a.m. and I'm only just starting to write my blog entry. Unheard of!

I've had a crazy morning already. A class assistant called in sick and I could not find a substitute for her. I called ten people (and let me tell you how fun it is to call ten people at 6 a.m.) and none of them could take the job. I exhausted the school's sub list. Well, I've done all I can do -- and there's a teacher in the room, anyway, so it's not like the kids will be running wild.

Did you see Rachel Maddow's post-election show? She went on a terrific monologue in which she basically slapped the Republicans with a reality check, and went on to point out that our opposing parties ought to be able to work together and balance each other's interests in the service of better government. Awesome. I liked it so much I recorded it and you can watch it here.

We are having a refreshing run of sunny(ish) weather, so I seized the opportunity to go walking again yesterday. I'll probably go out today too. I am wearing out the camera!

(Photo: Seven Sisters Road, on Wednesday.)

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Among the weirder pieces of public art I've found -- this giant snail on the side of an apartment building. Wouldn't you love to know the thought process of the person who conceived this project?

At least it's smiling. It's a happy snail.

I don't have much to report. I took a long walk yesterday along Seven Sisters Road, which has a great name and runs a couple of miles through northeast London. It felt good to get outside after a couple of days of indoor hibernation and work, and the weather cooperated with intermittent sunshine. Got some good pictures to which you will no doubt be subjected over the next few days.

I've seen surprisingly little complaining about Obama's victory. One of my evangelical friends (yes, I have a few) wrote unhappily on Facebook that she woke up early yesterday morning and could not get back to sleep, seeing the election results. "I needed to pray," she wrote. "The dream I had when I finally did fall back asleep was all about praying in the spirit prostrate before The Lord. Was a very intense, sad dream, but as I started praying, situations (and people) began to change for the good of others."

I am just fascinated by that. It's so different from the way I think and view the world. I haven't seen this woman, who I knew in high school, for years and years, and I don't mean to belittle her faith. But it's safe to say that I would never dream about praying in the spirit prostrate before The Lord. I suppose I'm going to hell.

She also posted an article lamenting the lost (presumably Republican?) votes of babies who have been aborted since the passage of Roe vs. Wade.

Another high school acquaintance, who at least appears to live in the same universe I do, won election to the Florida Senate as a Republican. I sent her a congratulatory message and wished her good luck. Even though we may not see eye-to-eye politically I can appreciate personally her victory and how happy she must be. She wrote back, "Thank you Steve, I might be Republican but I appreciate anybody who will learn the issues and vote their conscience whether you're a Republican or Democrat. Thanks again for your encouragement." Which I thought was cool. We need to be able to talk to each other and be friends even if we disagree, politically or theologically -- you know?

Anyway, it's fascinating to see how people react. Most everyone I know had a very, very good day yesterday.