That's Christmas

End of year lists

The end of the year bring a lot of lists...best dressed, worst dressed, year in photos, etc. However, my favorites are the best new bands, best albums or best tracks of the year.

The lists are a little difficult to handle, though. Every individual or magazine has their own agenda when creating their lists. Some deliberately don't pick mainstream albums or bands because they need to maintain their indie street cred. Some are only paying attention to mainstream so they miss out on great indie bands. The Last.fm list may be the most unbiased because it's based on what members actually listened to. Therefore, it could only be biased if the profile of members is skewed in one direction or another....plus I can vouch for a lot of the bands on that list. The Q Magazine list is also pretty good and down the middle of the road (in a good way).

Generally I think I should avoid these lists because they consume a lot of my time - surfing the internet to read about and listen to the bands I didn't already know about. Then I have to weed out the bands that other people think are cool but I'm still not into. But I just can't keep from reading them. I love finding new music. I always feel good if I have the albums or have heard of a lot of the artists, but inevitably I find something new that I love and some that I wonder how they could have ever made the list.

I'll be coming up with my list of favorite's sometime soon. I know you are dying to know.

Climatization

I've gotten used to the fact that "cold" is just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit...so I'm not looking forward to coming back to colder weather in Cincinnati. This article doesn't mention Cincinnati but it's enough to scare me.

I've also gotten used to the fact that hot is only about 80 and that the sun rarely shines. Those things I'm looking forward to changing! (As long as I have air conditioning)

Mexican discoveries

Now that I've lived in London for 2 years and 3.5 months and I'm moving back to Ohio in about 4 months I've finally found 2 good Mexican restaurants in London.

1. Wahaca. Most Mexican restaurants in London are either not authentic/don't have the right spices, or are trying to be too hip. I just want basic, good food. Wahaca is a little on the trendy side compared to your average Mexican box restaurant in Cincinnati, but it's good, authentic enough and not too expensive.

2. My latest discovery is Benito's Hat. This is the real find. Why? Because it's like Chipotle!!!! It's mainly tacos and burritos and you pick what you want in them. The burritos are almost as big as Chipotle and also wrapped in shiny foil. Yum!!! (Bonus is that it's also pretty cheap)

Thanks to Shari for both Mexican finds. I'm definitely going to be hitting these up as much as I can.

How to scare someone

Check out these fake gift boxes...

Let's get one thing straight

I'm okay with the fact that I have an American accent.

It's funny to be in a room full of Europeans introducing themselves. When I introduce myself my accent sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't mind that, although I am definitely aware of it. However, lately I've had a few people refer to my accent as a twang.

Oh no. Let's get one thing straight. Southern people have a twang. I do not have a twang.

Emily Recommends: Christmas Music

I'm on a kick about recommending things.

I already told you what my favorite Christmas songs are...but what about my favorite albums? One would definitely have to be Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album." That will always remind me of my childhood. I also got a good jazzy Christmas album from Starbucks several years back but seem to have lost it. However, my mom gave me another great album last year called "Ring the Bells." All the proceeds from the CD sales go to the African Missions partnerships of Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville. It's the best Christmas album I've heard in awhile and is probably the first one to really point me to the real reason for Christmas. It contains classics as well as some new songs and versions which are outstanding. Go buy it!

Something to think about

Looking for a way to re-define Christmas? Here are some ideas. Another idea would be to buy gifts which help support a cause that matters to you.

Merry Christmas from Paris!

Well, I'm actually back in London now but I had a nice weekend trip to Paris. I went to visit my friend and colleague, Tara, who lives in Paris right now. We had a great time walking around, shopping and eating wonderful French delights.

I was listening to my Christmas music on the way back on the Eurostar. To get you into the Christmas spirit here are my three favorite Christmas songs: Carol of the Bells, O Holy Night and Oh Come oh Come Emmanual. What are yours?

The Midwest

When I first moved here and people asked me where I was from I said, "America." Haha. They usually looked at me and said, "Yeah, I know that much." I didn't realize just how obvious it was. I mean, I know I have an accent, but I didn't really know what else to say. No one here knows where Cincinnati is.

So, now I'm forced to say, "Cincinnati" or "Ohio." Generally I get a blank look back. Some people have a rough idea of where it is (or think they have an idea where it is). I usually just tell them it's on the eastern half of the US and that Chicago is the closest major city that they've probably heard of. Sometimes, just to confuse them, I tell them Cincinnati is considered part of the Midwest.

How can it be considered Midwest if it's on the eastern half? I actually never knew the real answer to this question but made something up about the fact that it used to be considered the West when the modern day West was not yet settled. I honestly though that was probably the answer but kept meaning to look up the real answer. Well, I finally looked it up. I'm glad to know that I was right, at least according to Wikipedia!

How much is life worth?

"It’s hard to know that there is something out there that could help but they’re saying you can’t have it because of cost,” said Ms. Hardy, who now speaks for her husband of 45 years. “What price is life?”

A recent NY Times article asks just this question when describing how the British government decides whether to pay for specific drugs. I'm definitely not prepared to have a full discussion here but it's an interesting question. It's no question your opinion will be based on your underlying values and whether you see medical care as a human right and whether it's the government's job to provide it.

Did you know?

Did you know today is UN Slavery Abolition Day? I didn't...but now you do.

Life in London

Life in London is extremely busy. People are constantly going from place to place and busy with things every night and weekend. However, the results of a recent study also show it's increasingly lonely. They site some reasons such as "the high concentration of unmarried adults, people living on their own, inhabitants who have moved to their current address in the last year and the numbers of people privately renting their accommodation."

London is a very transitory city and I'm sure that contributes to the loneliness. I can't decide if that's a cause or just another symptom of common attitudes and values in the city. Despite having lots of "friends" and social events, the survey results indicate there is an obvious lack of community. I imagine that comes from people looking for fulfillment in all different places and putting themselves first. I'll be the first to admit that I am not completely selfless, but it's hard to feel lonely if you are part of a community that is always looking out for others.

Maybe the busy-ness is even part of the cause because it means you can't take time to develop deep relationships. Or is it an attempt to mask the fact that we are lonely? I obviously don't know the answer but I think it's more complicated than the one sentence they provide in the report.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I am two days late in wishing you Happy Thanksgiving but I was working on Thanksgiving so I am celebrating today. I thought I'd take a quick break from my preparations to say a few things I am thankful for.

I'm thankful that I can't save myself,

for an amazing, loving and supporting family,

for old friends who know everything about me,

for new friends all over the world,

to have a job even if I don't always like it,

for laughter and music,

for the great opportunity of living in London,

and for new opportunities.

Emily recommends: Last.fm

Check out Last.fm. It's like Facebook for music. You start by creating a profile with your favorite songs and artists. Then it keeps track of your top played songs and artists for your friends to see. There is a program available to download so it will keep track of what you've played on iTunes or your iPod so you don't always have to use the website. You can also create playlists, browse artists (similar to the Myspace format) and listen to radio stations based on your favorites.

So, if you like finding new music like I do I highly recommend it. Check it out and add me as a friend! Would you change your listening habits if you knew others were watching? Hopefully not! Music should be all about what you enjoy...but beware, if you have bad taste I will find out.

Emily Recommends: Irish Music

I seem to be on an Irish music streak lately.

Friday night I saw Brian Houston live. Brian is a folk singer from Belfast. I had listened to a CD earlier and enjoyed it. I was also told he gave really great live performances. Even still, I was blown away by how much I loved the show! As with most bands, the CD never matches a live performance. In this case I think his CDs are excellent but the live show was outstanding. I always love when a guitarist uses their pick-up to record and layer various melodies and he did that the best I have ever seen. He also had a great stage presence. His sound is definitely folk but I think the CD has an almost country twang where his live performance had a more bluesy twist. Anyway, I definitely recommend it.

Last night I went to see The Swell Season at Royal Albert Hall. If you haven't heard of them Glen Hansard is the front man for The Frames (an independent Irish band) and has recorded an album with Marketa Irglova. They are also the stars of the movie Once, which is set in Dublin and features their music. The movie is fantastic and I already saw them in concert at The Barbican and loved it! When I saw they were playing at The Royal Albert Hall I just couldn't pass it up. Their music is simple and full of so much emotion. They definitely rank among the best concerts I've seen. I've also been checking out songs from The Frames since and really enjoy them as well.

Opening for The Swell Season was The Hare's Corner. The violinist plays in The Swell Season show and has released his own CD. The music is somehwhat traditional Irish, instrumental music. (I say somewhat because I don't know if I would be a good judge of traditional Irish music) The music was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately my car stereo will never match the Royal Albert Hall but I still recommend it!

So go check out some Irish music.

In case you were wondering

In case you were wondering I'm not going to watch the new season of 24. The last season I saw was just okay, and the season after that my viewing was interrupted by the war between Sky and Virgin Media. I also don't want to watch an ongoing program involving child soldiers. I know child soldiers exist, I've read books about it and I think it is a horrible atrocity. It's not that I want to ignore the bad things that happen in our world but I can't subject myself to watching it every week as entertainment without being sick to my stomach.

Speaking of the tube

Speaking of the tube...sometimes they close down big chunks of the line. Like on Saturday the District Line was closed from Earl's Court to Edgeware Road making our trip to White City pretty much impossible. Of course it's always possible but it would have been a much bigger ordeal than it was worth. So we stayed around Wimbledon to have lunch, shop and see a movie. We saw Body of Lies. I love any spy movie and I enjoyed this but wouldn't buy it. It was a tad bit long and a little on the violent side.

Shopping and the Tube

I wonder how long it would take you to get off at every tube stop in London? I'm not sure why you would, exactly, besides the obvious achievement. Tomorrow I'll add another stop to my list. White City. "What's at White City?" you may ask.

Europe's largest inner city shopping center - Westfield London.

Oh yes. I think I may be setting myself for a day of chaos since the mall has only recently opened, it's a Saturday, and Christmas is approaching. I will have to prepare my mind for the madness. I think I'm ready.

I've also been to Bluewater, which claims to be Europe's premiere destination for shopping and leisure. I don't know about that but it's a giant mall...not in Central London though. Both are substantially bigger than the Centre Court mall in Wimbledon!

The Economics of Thanksgiving

I don't understand why a turkey in London is so expensive.

Kroger is selling turkeys for 29 cents per pound. Meanwhile my turkey is going to cost about 40 pounds (currency, not weight!). The good news is that it's slightly cheaper than last year and the dollar has appreciated lately. And I suppose the Kroger ones are frozen and mine will be fresh.

I know it's down to supply and demand, but still. The economist in me sees the logic but the rest of me is confused.

Talk Radio

I hate talk radio. I never listen to it. However, it seems that all the taxi drivers like to listen to it all day. (I'm not sure if I'd rather listen to the same 10 songs all day or annoying talk radio. Here's where a cord to play your iPod in the car would be key.) The other day I was in a taxi on the way to the airport. It was about 8:30am so the traffic was terrible and it was raining. Meanwhile, there was annoying talk radio going on in the background. Everyone was calling in giving their opinions about what to do about the pirates who captured the oil tanker and were demanding a ransom. First of all, I don't care. Secondly, they were calling in with some pretty ridiculous ideas and then fighting about them.

I'm afraid the British tact is rubbing off on me, though. After about 40 minutes the driver said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked if it was okay if I had the radio on." Despite the fact that I'd been fuming in my head for the last 15 minutes or so I said, "Oh yeah, that's fine." Avoiding confrontation and not wanting to bother others: typical British.

the Thames at night

In case you haven't heard the news, I'll be moving back to Cincinnati in the Spring. There are a combination of reasons, some of which you'll be hearing about in the next few months. At this point I'm trying to think of what I'm looking forward to instead of what I'll miss. But one thing I know I'll miss is the Thames, particularly the Southbank.

I have a thing about cities on rivers, strolling along the river and walking across the bridges. Fortunately this is also one of the things I love about Cincinnati! Last night I spent some time walking along the Thames and got some good pictures.

This one would have been really good if I had a tripod to rest the camera on instead of the bridge railing which is slanted.The Millennium bridgen

What can you do?

Maybe some of you have gone to see Call and Response and you're wondering what you can do. One of my biggest frustrations about learning about any particular cause or crisis is feeling paralyzed over my lack of control and ability to act. I think all we can do is do what's within our control and influence.

First, you can go to their website to get more information and ideas. The main problem with trying to take action is that most websites just suggest donating to their organization. Again, I've found that frustrating because sometimes I want to do more than just give money! However, I've come to that not everyone can quit their job and get a job fighting human trafficking. Also, I've realized that the money organizations raise is directly related to how many victims they can rescue and provide after care for. For example, when Hagar International lost some of their government funding that meant they could care for less women. I point that out to say that your donations really do help!

Next, you can raise awareness! Stop the Traffik is organizing the world's largest chocolate fondue party. Interesting concept. As I've mentioned several times on my blog, much of the cocoa used in in the chocolate we eat is made by trafficked workers on the Ivory Coast. Eating fair trade* chocolate ensures that your chocolate is slave free. By organizing a party you can eat chocolate, have fun (who doesn't like fun and chocolate?), raise awareness about trafficking and raise money for organizations who fight it. Bonus.

*Regardless about what you think about the economics of fair trade, in this case buying fair trade chocolate is like buying slave free sugar back in the days of the African slave trade. It might not be water-tight economics but in some cases we need to think about more than economics!

Announcement

In case the 100 words in the Cincinnati Enquirer whet your appetite for more, my sister Melissa now has a blog! Based on the first post, everything I've read from her, and the fact that she's my sister I highly recommend it.

I remember the first time I realized she was a better writer than me. We were in high school proofreading each others' papers. When I read hers I thought, "Oh boy, we can wrap this up pretty quickly. I'll just take my paper back now!" Her use of words and ability to describe things and create images is amazing! You'll see what I mean when you read her description of life as a free verse poem.

more details

Shout out to my sister Melissa. Did you know she is a published author and editor? Her letter to the editor gives more details on where you can see Call and Response this weekend in Cincinnati.

Election Day

I don't think I'll be staying up tonight to find out the results of the election considering the earliest I would start to know anything is at 1am GMT. I don't think I will lose sleep over it. But I will online first thing when I get up.

In the mean time, for your last dose of polls and predictions, this is an interesting site which uses statistics and other data to compile the results from various polls and create their own predictions. Fortunately I'm not relying on the outcome of the election to save the day.

Restavec Slavery

Cruel irony: Haiti keeps children in slavery and they call it 'rest'

back and forth

The other night I was watching one of my favorite movies, The Bourne Ultimatum. Much of it is set in Europe, and London in particular. Whenever they showed scenes in London I felt all nostalgic and thought, "I love London! How could I ever leave this place?"

Today it is freezing, raining, and extremely windy. It's 4:30pm and dark outside. I wonder to myself, "Why would anyone have settled in this horrible place!?"

Which emotion will win? Obviously they weren't showing rainy scenes in The Bourne Ultimatum.

Call + Response Update

Check out a recent article on Call and Response. It's breaking rules of Hollywood and in some cases beating out major releases with no promotion at all. Either today or next weekend it will be opening in Cincinnati and Columbus so go check it out. Every dollar of your ticket goes to projects sponsored by partner organizations that help victims of slavery! I'm just hoping it makes it to London.

Jazz

I like jazz.

If you're in London and you like jazz, you should go to Ronnie Scott's. If you've already been you probably want want to go again. I do. It had a really cool vibe and the music was awesome. Nothing beats live jazz.

Short on words

I haven't had much interesting to comment on lately so I've been quiet. I'm just thankful I'm not in Ohio at the moment to deal with the onslaught of campaigning. I've voted. That's done.

Now I can concern myself with more interesting things like new music. I've recently purchased the new Snow Patrol and Ray LaMontagne albums and I highly recommend both. I can't stop listening. I just bought tickets to see Ray LaMontagne in Brighton and hope to buy tickets to see Snow Patrol again in London. Speaking of seeing bands for a second time, I'm going to see The Swell Season at the end of November at the Royal Albert Hall. They were so good the first time I couldn't resist!

Also, last Sunday I went to the NFL game at Wembley. It was a great game to watch and interesting to see all the fans in their jerseys. I was actually surprised by how many Bengals fans I saw. I was rooting for the Saints since they were technically the home team and I have to admit, it was nice to root for the team that won!

Sound familiar?

Bengals fans - does this sound familiar? Seriously.

I'm going to the NFL game at Wembley on Sunday. I was planning to wear by Chad Johnson jersey but I'm afraid I'll get laughed out of the stadium! (Even here NFL fans know them as the "bungles"...awesome.) Oh well, I'll wear it anyway. Maybe it will be a good conversation starter.

my civic duty

I sent in my absentee ballot today. I even took photos for the NYTimes Polling Place Photo Project. (Thanks to Melissa for posting the idea) I know every vote counts (or is supposed to), but when the packet tells you the vote must be received within 10 days of election day it makes you wonder. So I wanted to send mine in so it got there for election day. Otherwise it only goes towards part of the "official" count. At least if it gets there on election day I feel like I had a chance at making a difference. Absentees count!

Uploaded

For those of you who haven't yet seen my Grand Canyon pictures I have now updated my website. Fortunately for you there is a limit of 99 photos per page so you are spared...for now.

Chocolate week?

My sister informed me that this is chocolate week in the UK. Honestly, I'm not sure how she discovered this but I don't think it should go un-celebrated! Why not make it a world-wide festival? And while you're at it, enjoy fair trade chocolate to be sure it's slave-free.

more human trafficking news

Police raid a "baby farm" in Nigeria.

Watch for this movie

It's not coming out in Cincinnati or London at the moment, but watch for the movie Call and Response. It's a "Rockumentary" on the issue of human trafficking. On the website you can find out different ways to be involved. You can also read an interview with the creator, Justin Dillon, here. It will be more worth your time and money than Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist which I watched last night.

We made it out alive

Despite all the warning signs, Melissa and I made it out of the Grand Canyon alive. It was amazing! I'm not sure how else to describe it. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done and I might even consider doing it again. The first day downhill was harder than I expected and the hike out was slightly easier than expected, although full of never-ending switchbacks.
I have a new appreciation for how incredible the earth is. From the top of the canyon you can't even see the bottom so it was cool to be down there. It's very lush in places considering that it's the desert. We started in a forest on the North Rim, descended into a desert, walked along a lush creek and ascended back into the desert on the South Rim. We had lots of great adventures and it was nice to get away from the real world.

I'll be posting pictures on my website when I get back to my Mac in London. For now, I'll post a select few of my favorites here. You can also see them on Facebook.Contemplating life from the North RimRibbon FallsAlong the ColoradoAscending towards the South RimAt the TOP!!!!!!!!

Here we go

The Just Roughin It homepage says, "Take a walk on the wild side," across a picture of a rattlesnake. Personally, I am really hoping we don't come across one of those! I'm concentrating on the quote that says, "This is a classic trip that should be on your 'list of things to do in your lifetime.'" Yeah. Here goes nothin'.

Isn't it ironic?

Yesterday revealed why I generally argue against government regulation in our economy. They screw everything up and vote based on what will get them re-elected rather than what is right for the economy. It's ironic that the one time I argued for government intervention ends up illustrating why they shouldn't be involved normally.

The latest viewing and media trends

Interested in the latest viewing and media trends? You can check some out here.

They are from US data...which explains why I don't recognize half of the movies. It's also great to see that Barbie and the Diamond Castle is the third most popular DVD and that The Office Season 4 came in seventh. Something is wrong with that. I'm sure that The Office will pick up in the viewing trends now that it's back on air.

on a lighter note

I'm coming home in 2 days! I'm looking forward to using my parents DVR to watch the new episodes of Dancing with the Stars and The Office....Oh, and I'm also looking forward to seeing my family and friends ;-)

The bailout

Okay, now that I've started commenting on economics I can't stop. The news yesterday was that the bailout is turning out to be a hard sell in Congress. Again today, Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Fed) is testifying that action needs to be taken quickly.

I understand it is important to do the due diligence when passing a plan which involves $700 billion of tax payers money. It seems the hold up is that representatives think the plan is too sweeping and needs more safeguards. Their constituents don't want their tax money going to rescue the Wall Street high rollers. [As I mentioned previously, that's not what this plan will do.] They want to tack on additional regulations such as a salary cap for executives. Last time I checked the salary of executives is not what caused the problem. If they start passing regulations like that they will be taking away the incentives which make our free market work.

Who do I want setting economic policy? Representatives in Congress who, based on their comments in the press, don't appear to not have vast economic understanding. Or Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board who has no special interests in Wall street and who is an expert in macroeconomic policy. No one is perfect and probably no policy is perfect but my vote is with Bernanke.

My book wish list

My recent reading and research has produced quite a list of additional books I'd like to read. The list keeps growing and I can't seem to make enough time to read the books I already have. I thought I'd blog about them for interest's sake. Plus, maybe it can be the start of my Christmas list! [Attention: MOM]

From my research into human trafficking:

"Just Courage" - Gary Haugen. IJM President Gary Haugen describes a journey to freedom from the triviality and fear that can stifle our lives.

"Good News about Injustice" - Gary Haugen. Interspersed with individual stories of specific abuse, this book chronicles the vision behind IJM's work and seeks to tackle tragic injustices with practical insight, answering tough questions regarding the nature of injustice and the Biblical mandate for Christians to confront it.

From my reading of "The Reason for God" by Timothy Keller (but also tied to interest in human trafficking):

"The Nature of True Virtue" - Jonathan Edwards. [Printed in Paul Ramsay, "The Works of Jonathan Edwards: Ethical Writings."] Edwards concludes that only if God is our ultimate good and life center, will we find our heart drawn out not only to people of all families, races, and classes, but to the whole world in general. (From "The Reason for God.")

"For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the end of Slavery." - Rodney Stark.

"A Stone of Hope: Prophetic Religion and the Death of Jim Crow" - David L. Chappell

From reading, "The Roots of Endurance" by John Piper:

"A Practical View of Christianity" - William Wilberforce. The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight, and as might naturally have been expected, the moral system itself also began to whither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment.

*Forgive me if I don't get all the quotes, italics and underlining correct. I can't figure out how to underline on the blogger formatting...I'm sure you get the idea.

Economics lesson

To say something drastic is going on in the economy is an understatement. I don't have much time to follow the news on this as closely as I'd like and my lack of educated posts here probably makes that obvious. I've had a few people ask me for my explanation of what's going on and my opinion as an "economist." (I put that in quotes because my current job has taken me away from pure economics- another reason it is harder for me to follow what is going on).

Thanks to a blog post by SWIND, I don't have to take the time to create my own analysis! I will re-iterate a few of his points here:

- The President does not have as much control over the economy as they claim to, or as people believe they do. Their policies do matter but they can't control the inevitable swings in the economy.

- Tax cuts and the bailouts will not just help the "fat cats" - the bailout is critical to keep the economy going regularly. The companies aren't being saved to go on as usual. If the the bailouts don't happen everyone will be worse off.

- Regulation is probably needed but it depends what the regulation is. Usually in times of financial crisis, ie. The Great Depression, the government responds hastily with regulation and programs to solve that particular problem, ie. The New Deal, but that ends up creating problems in the future that could have been avoided. They need to take a more holistic approach. From a pure economic theory basis, I am opposed to regulation since free markets should regulate themselves. However, that is in the case of assumed"perfect markets" which is only a theoretical idea. (Our catch phrase in grad school was "Just assume it!") The global economy is not perfect so the theoretical idea that markets can regulate themselves perfectly won't hold up either. So, some government regulation is inevitable but needs to be as minimal as possible, very well thought out and analyzed.

There. Now I can go back to commenting about more trivial matters like music, movies, football, and my trip to the Grand Canyon.

A sunny day in London (?)

You just can't predict the weather in London. It's why people are always talking about it.

We've had sunny blue skies for the last 3 days and it's been great! Today I went for a walk with my friend Ruth in Hampstead Heath. One of the best things about London is all the parks. It was a lovely day for my last real training before the Grand Canyon. Plus, now I've been to most of the locations in the film Notting Hill.Rice...it's heavier than it looks!

ps.

I'm wondering why I signed up to go on a trip with a company called "Just Roughin' It." I'm not much of a "roughin' it" kind of girl but I think I'm up for it. Carpe Diem.

That's a lot of rice...

My training is almost over. In 15 days I'll be on my hike in the Grand Canyon. I'm not too worried about the distance given that it's 24 miles in 4 days and I've already hiked 60 miles in less than 24 hours. But, I am worried about having to carry a heavy backpack. One of the ways they suggested to train was to fill a backpack with rice and practice carrying it.

So, I have 8 kilograms of rice in a backpack. That's a lot of rice. When I first put it on I thought to myself, "This is a piece of cake...it doesn't even feel that heavy." About 10 minutes in I began to think, "Ohhh, this is heavy." I probably should have started earlier with the backpack but, oh well.

I was checking out the website for the tour company (Just Roughin' It) again the other day and looked particularly at the difficulty ranking of our trip. It's ranked "moderate" which seems okay until it says "For experienced hikers in excellent physical condition." Hmmm. What exactly is the definition of "excellent physical condition?" How much more in shape can I be in 15 days? I am about to find out.

too similar

You may remember I picked Tottenham Hotspurs as my football team. I picked it for several reasons, one of which was the similarities with the Bengals. They have some really great players and great potential but never quite pull it together...Unfortunately the similarities only get stronger. They lost their first match and are at the bottom of the Premiership.

Maybe I should pick a soccer team who is good. That could solve all our problems. My friend reminded me today that we are only one game behind the Colts. If only it were so simple.

Lost in Austen

I know I've got at least 3 readers who are Jane Austen fans so at least 3 people will find this post interesting.

A network in the UK has a new TV series called Lost in Austen. It's about a modern day girl who walks through her bathroom door and gets stuck in the world of Pride and Prejudice. It's sort of like walking through the wardrobe and also like any time traveling story in seeing how her presence affects the story.

You can see some clips on the website and if you search on You Tube you can see some of the episodes. I watched an episode last night and it was pretty interesting and funny. I found it a little frustrating but still good. It's also hard because I've seen at least three sets of actors acting out the same story so I started to compare them all.

But regardless, for those Jane Austen fans out there it's worth checking out!

T5

I haven't been to an airport in over 2 months! Let me tell you, I didn't miss it.

Today I flew to Newcastle and back for an all day meeting. It was my first experience flying out of the new Terminal 5 in Heathrow. Now that all of the problems are fixed it really is an amazing terminal. It is very big, open, clean and modern. There are the typical [I can't afford to shop in on a regular basis] shops but maybe a few new ones as well. As much as I get tired of walking around airport shops, I still can't resist all the handbags and smelling the perfume.

Maybe if you come to visit me you'll get to experience the new terminal! (hint hint)

US Open

Props to the Brit, Andy Murray, for beating Rafael Nadal and making it to the finals of the US Open! I usually root for Federer but in this case I think I'll be pulling for Murray.

Anticipation

The weather here has been pretty depressing so I was excited for football season to start. Since I moved I haven't had DVR but they are coming to install it tomorrow so I can record what games are available on Sky Sports. I can also record NFL Total Access which is really my only source of football news.

Based on yesterday's game I doubt they are going to be mentioning the Bengals on Total Access, except to mention the Ocho Cinco story again. I didn't see the game but from what I hear it wasn't good. The ESPN week 1 recap said "The Bengals and Lions have the looks of two really bad teams." Plus I suppose Tom Brady's injury steals the show regardless.

Maybe I should use my Sky Sports to watch more soccer/football.

Oh well. I'm still excited to go to the Bengals vs. Browns game when I am home in Cincinnati. I also have tickets to the NFL game at Wembley Stadium in London to see the Saints vs. Chargers.

updated photos

I've updated my Trailwalker photos here. It's been awhile since the event but I was trying to wait for some pictures from my teammates. I never got them so I'll just post mine instead.

2 things

There are two things I've been thinking about but am not sure how to comment on. Their levels of importance are substantially unequal but I'll include them together anyway. I'll start with the most important one*.

One: Chad Johnson changed his name to Ocho Cinco. Awesome. What does that mean for the Bengal's season? Let's just hope they can pull it together!

Two: The choice of Sarah Palin for the Republican VP. Since it's pretty much impossible to get unbiased reporting in the media and since I'm otherwise somewhat uninformed (apathetic) about politics I'm not sure what I think about the choice. I'm interested in any educated opinions of my readers. I'll refrain from further comment for now.

*I hope you pick up on the sarcasm...But just in case you can't I thought I would point it out for you.

A British beach holiday??

This weekend I took a few days off and went to the Isle of Wight.  Since I still have no passport I can't travel but have been needing to get away.  The Isle of Wight is part of the UK so no passport was needed!  The island was pretty and it was relaxing to lay on the beach if only for one day.   The house we stayed in was on a cliff overlooking the sea which was also very nice.  It's good to get out of London but it also makes it really obvious that not everywhere in England is like London.  The surroundings, culture and people are very different outside of the city.

The downfall of any beach vacation in the UK is, of course, the weather.  We had one day of sun so we took full advantage.  The other days we were there it was the usual clouds and rain.  I can assure you, everything you've heard about British weather is true.  I'm not sure if I can bear another fall and winter of gloom.  It's definitely taught me to enjoy the sunny days!

Endurance

I watched the movie "Amazing Grace" again today.  There is no way you can watch that film and not be impacted.  Whenever I watch it I want to go out and change the world! (So it kind of stinks when I have to get up and go to work the next day).  The movie is full of inspirational quotes.  One of my favorites is this:

We're too young to realize that certain things are impossible. So we'll do them anyway!

 The movie does indicate that it's because of Wilberforce's Christianity that he is such a devoted abolitionist.  However, it is not the main focus of the movie.  Watching the movie reminded me that I had a book called, "The Roots of Endurance" by John Piper.  The book looks at the lives of 3 men, including Wilberforce.  I got it out and began reading the introduction.  He wrote that after doing his research he found that underlying everything these men did was their joy in the cross of Christ.  He writes, "They are united in their delight in and devotion to the cross of Christ as the ground of God's righteousness freely imputed to them through faith alone as the root of all righteous endurance."

That was an attitude adjustment for me.  After watching the movie I was so fired up but I found myself saying, "I want to go out and do something." But it's not about me.  It's about Christ and his glory.  That's why we want justice in the world.  

Recently Mark Driscoll wrote on his blog about activists versus contemplatives.  He said when it comes to our spiritual lives people naturally fall into one of these two groups and that we need to work to balance out our weaknesses.  I tend to fall in the activist camp. When I'm passionate about something (stop human trafficking, for example) I want to go out and do something right away.  But I need to make sure my passion is rooted in Christ.

Another great quote from the movie is from John Newton: 

Although my memory is fading I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

Anniversary

Many of you already noticed how I slipped up and wrote "trainers" in my last post.  Uh oh.

This weekend I celebrate my two year anniversary of moving to London.  I'm not sure what to say other than that but I thought you should know.  It's been a "brilliant" two years.  My life has changed in many ways. I'm still amazed the way God threw this curve ball into my life (and keeps throwing them) but I'm enjoying the adventure!

Sporty??

I've been going to a physical therapist- or a physio, as they call them here.  It all started when I was feeling some pain in my heel and went to the internet to self-diagnose.  I was afraid I might have tendonitis in my Achilles tendon.  It turns out I don't have that (that's why you should go to a real doctor and not self-diagnose!) but I do have a lot of tension built up in my leg muscles which is aggravating my tendon.  Apparently it is because I have flat feet so all the mileage I've been doing has put extra tension on my inner leg muscles.  So now I have to wear trainers with inserts as much as possible until my leg gets better.

Yadda. Yadda.  My real question is this: When did I become sporty enough to get a sports related injury and have to go to physical therapy? Something strange has happened.

Lucky

Lucky we're not in the Grand Canyon this week. I'd prefer to not be in the situation the rescued boy scouts were in. I've been concerned with training to hike with a lot of weight on my back, not how to survive flash flooding. My friend also gave me a book she's reading about all the people who've died hiking in the Grand Canyon. Although I'm choosing not to read it at this time I'm told most of them died because they have no common sense. At least I have common sense - and a guide!

More excitement

Today I got a flyer for Papa Johns in my post box! I could barely contain my excitement.  There is Dominos Pizza here but that barely qualifies as American pizza.  I know Papa John's isn't necessarily the best, but I think it's the best chain pizza in America.  I've seen a few around the UK before but nowhere close to where I live.   Now there is one nearby so I can get delivery! Guess what I'm having this week?

I love icing

I love cake.  To be more exact - I love icing.  Cake really just exists to hold up the icing.  Some people shy away from the pieces of cake with too much icing.  I always pick the piece with the most icing!

Today my friend Shari took me to The Hummingbird Bakery which is an American bakery in London famous for their cupcakes.  The red velvet was tempting but I went straight for chocolate with chocolate icing.  Yum!

Role reversal

Awhile ago I posted about my recurring school dreams. This week I had a role reversal within the dream. Instead of being a student I was a teacher! I was late for class, unprepared, no supplies and didn't even know what I was supposed to be teaching. I just can't win!

Jelly Babies

I haven't really thought of anything interesting to say lately. This post won't be terribly fascinating but I thought I'd share my newest favorite "sweet" in the UK. Of course you already know about my love of gummy candies and this is the newest addition to my collection - Jelly Babies. They are also gummy candies but a slightly different texture to gummy bears, gummy worms, and Haribo. Although the name is clearly disturbing (apparently they used to be called Peace Babies), I find these are more juicy and have the best flavor.

My favorite color is red, obviously. Does anyone actually prefer the yellow and green varieties of any fruity candy? Everyone always likes reds the best. They are the first to go and I always end up throwing away the extra yellow ones.

Today's good news

When I did my latest bank transfer I got an exchange rate of £1=$1.89. Woo hoo! That means my dollar is worth more than half of a pound!

Spotlight on: Microfinance

Find out how you can get involved in micro loans and make a difference.

Kylie

Along with Blur and Robbie Williams, you can add her to the list of acts that are huge in the UK but haven't managed to crack the US market.  Kylie Minogue first made her name in the Australian soap opera Neighbours before going on to pursue her music career.  She moved on to become a pop diva - except in America.  Her only hits in America were "Locomotion" and "Can't Get you Out of My Head."

Recently recovered from breast cancer, her latest album X has some pretty good dance pop tracks.  I've gotten much more into dance music since moving here, and have also become a little less of a music snob.  My friend Shari had an extra ticket for Kylie's concert at the O2 last night so I went along.  It was a good show.  (Although when it comes to my favorite pop concerts to date, Justin Timberlake would win that contest.) She had about 8 costume changes and different sets which was different.  I knew about 1/3 of the songs but came home and downloaded a few more afterwards.  Her newest dance tracks are the best, the rest are a little bland.  I recommend downloading "Wow" and "2 Hearts."

Spotlight on: Hagar and IJM

Here is an email update I received from Hagar International:

As many of you know, we have been anticipating an NBC Dateline program featuring Hagar's Aftercare Program for several months. The program was planned as a follow-up to a 2003 raid on Phnom Penh brothels, which was led by International Justice Mission and which NBC Dateline accompanied undercover. Girls rescued at at very young ages have been in Hagar's care ever since. Four girls in Hagar's care were interviewed by NBC's Chris Hansen in January.

NBC has posted a segment that includes Hagar footage on their website. The eight minute clip first highlights another organization in Cambodia, and the last half includes the story of 'our' four girls, and their recovery. Entitled "New Hope for Rescued Girls" the piece includes interviews with Talmage Payne, Hagar Cambodia CEO, and Sue Taylor, Senior Manager of Hagar Children's Programs. As you will see, it is a story of hope and resilience, and we admire the girls's willingness to share their stories. (If the clip doesn't start automatically for you, go to 'Dateline' at the bottom left, and scroll through the options to select 'New Hope for Rescued Girls.')

You can see other footage and read the program transcript elsewhere on NBC Dateline's website. We appreciate the network's attention to this egregious human rights abuse, and we hope it inspires a new level of awareness, concern, and generosity across American viewers.

Hagar's work is made possible by charitable donations, contributed by those who share our passion to serve girls like Tieng, Yau, Loeum, and Tau. These are girls who share the darkest of pasts, but who now face the future with dreams and plans. If you share our passion to serve the exploited, destitute, and rejected, you can make a difference. Donate now to help us restore more broken lives.

********************************

I can't help feeling like the man in the video who felt like he had to do something.

official results are in

The official results for Trailwalker have been posted and we finished 69th out of 295 qualifying teams (not to mention the 502 teams that started)!

Next time think twice

Let me first start out by apologizing for the lack of maturity in this post.

I saw this website advertised on a van this morning: www.ukbarfclub.co.uk. Now that's a club I don't want to join. I think someone should have thought twice about that name! I have since learned that BARF stands for "Bones and Raw Food" which is in reference to a certain type of pet diet.

That got me thinking, "Do they not use the term 'barf' for vomit in the UK?" Naturally that led to a Google search. When I searched "barf" all the listings were for this particular type of pet diet. I then confirmed in an online UK slang dictionary that barf is slang for vomit. Finally, I had my mom do some research to see what came up if she searched from the US and it had similar results to my search in the UK.

So...why would these people ever choose the acronym BARF? Clearly it means vomit so why would you choose to use it for something serious? I suggest you search it on Google. The results are a treasure trove of teenage boy jokes. Here is a sampling of the results:

Barfworld
Barf for Beginners
What is Barf?

This will lead you to many more interesting sites such as:

Barf Tips & Tricks
Genuine Barf Diet
Become a Barf Distributor

Lastly, you may want to add the Barf Blog to your Google Reader blog roll.

trapped

I’ve been without a passport since mid June and I’ll probably be without one until the end of August. I’m feeling trapped by the situation. I wouldn’t have traveled in July, but I had hoped to travel in August. Also, I’m feeling a little homesick right now so combine that with the fact that I couldn’t come home now if I wanted to is making it all worse.

It’s probably all in my head since the chances of my coming home on a whim at this time of the year are low given my work responsibilities anyway. Also, seeing lots of people going on vacation this time of year has me feeling it more. I will just have to hold out for the end of September when I come back to Cincinnati and go hike the Grand Canyon. (I better have my passport back in time for that!)

Climatized

Yesterday it was a high of at least 80 degrees in London. That's what the weather web-site says but I think it must have been hotter. I remember a few weeks ago I was complaining that it was rainy and 60. Now it's finally summer and I've realized I can't take the heat like I used to. I was surprised by the temperature when I walked outside! With no air conditioning or good ventilation to use as an escape I find that once it gets above the lower seventies it's just too hot. I enjoy the heat but I need some air conditioning or a pool to help me cope...I'm just thankful it wasn't this hot last weekend. We were definitely lucky about that.

Another movie recommendation

It's been out for some time now, but if you haven't seen "August Rush" then go rent it today. I remember seeing the previews and thinking it looked good but I was a little worried about how cheesy it might be. However, any cheese that's it in is well worth watching. It's Mr. Holland's Opus-esque, but I think it's better (or maybe it's just because I've gotten tired of Mr. Holland's Opus). It's a touching story and the music is amazing. Anyone who likes music will like this movie. To quote Rich Mullins, "I want to hear some music once again 'cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found." I won't give away the final scene but here is something to catch your interest.

Mamma Mia on the big screen

Last night I saw "Mamma Mia!" the movie version. Not surprisingly, it was great! If you haven't seen the musical or the movie I definitely recommend going to see it. It's silly but fun. Meryl Streep was brilliant. She seemed a little over-dramatic but I suppose that was her character. Pierce Brosnan, on the other hand, should make sure he still has a career as an action hero. Singing is not his forte. In fact, much of the theater started to giggle when he first started singing. It's just a little hard to take him seriously in that context. Richard Gere pulled it off much better in "Chicago." Despite this, it was a great summer movie!

interesting note

One year ago last weekend I ran my first complete 5k (I've done one 5k before but I walked part of it). It's interesting that exactly one year later I walked 100 kilometers. I don't expect to keep up that pace forever.

crazy? I was crazy once...

It's finally over. As many of you know, last weekend I hiked 100 kilometers in 22 hours and 40 minutes. It's strange that you train for something for so long and then it's just over. But trust me, during the last 20 kilometers it felt like it would never be over.

Overall it was definitely worth it. I feel a great sense of accomplishment to have finished it. I would even do it again...if I only had to walk the first 80 kilometers. The last 20 kilometers were about the most painful hours of my life. The race was divided into 10 kilometer chunks and those last chunks seemed to drag on forever. By that point I had serious blisters and my ankles ached every time I took a step. Much of the trail was rocky and uneven so my ankles were constantly having to adjust to maintain balance. Interestingly, the uphill parts were easier than the downhill parts because the impact on my feet wasn't as painful.

502 teams of 4 started the race and although 83% of individuals finished, only 287 complete teams finished. According to the provisional results, we finished in 94th place out of the 287 complete teams. However, they robbed of us our time so I hope that the final results have the correct time. Even so, we finished in at least the top 1/3 of complete teams and even higher if you consider how many teams started. The fastest women's only team finished in 20 hours and 46 minutes so if we were ranked among women only teams we would be even higher! I was very excited when I learned our ranking because we were really just trying to finish it and were shooting for around 24 hours. So to come in less than 24 hours and so well in the rankings was exciting!

At the beginning I couldn't get my mind around just how far we had left to go. Once we had 10ks under our belts it was easier to keep going. Those last 20 kilometers were all in the mind. I don't think any amount of training would have prepared me for that. I originally signed up for this thinking it would be easier than a marathon because it was walking, not running. However, I'm thinking maybe a marathon would be easier. I'll think about it. For now, I'm taking a break from walking and then setting my sights on the Grand Canyon.

I've almost fully recovered now. I won't show you the pictures of my feet underneath the tape. Suffice it to say I had a lot of blisters and I've been limping on my feet the last few days. But now I can put full weight on my feet and the swelling in my ankles is going down. Woo hoo!

Right now I have some pictures on Facebook, but I'll update my website soon. At the top of one of many hillsSunset...and sunrise...finally FINISHED!

Check out this note from the Queen of England. The jokes in it are jokes I hear ALL the time.

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocatio n of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy) .

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour', 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up 'vocabulary').

3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let M*crosoft know on your behalf. The M*crosoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter "u" and the elimination of -ize.

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.

Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

8. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are, pound for pound, the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Com- monwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

new neighbors?

I think I must have new neighbors. I've never heard so much loud conversation out my back windows. It's not just the conversation though...it's the squealing and crying child. That is definitely new and I am not a fan. I will just have to turn my music up louder.

Speaking of Neighbours (notice the spelling)...I bet you were dying to know it's the name of a very popular soap opera here. Not that I am into soap operas at all but I've heard of it. Kylie Minogue used to be on the show before she began her music career. Just FYI.

Clarification

Just to clarify, there is a trail we will be walking on. It's called the South Downs Way. England is unique (vs. the US anyway) in that there are lots of public walking trails all over the place. You can see a map of the trail here. The full trail is 100 miles and we'll be walking 60 of it- from Petersfield to Brighton. Although there is a trail, it's definitely off road and although it's supposedly well marked we still need to make sure we follow it correctly. But, we're hoping the compass is not actually needed or we'll be in trouble...

3 days to go...

I'll be getting up at 4:30 am Saturday to start walking 100 kilometers at 8:30am. When we finish is the million dollar question but we're hoping to finish within 24 to 28 hours. We've got all of our equipment including a survival bag (which hopefully we don't need!) and a compass (which I don't know how to use). We'll be trying to rely on the detailed maps and a GPS instead of the compass. I'll try to post status updates and pictures on Facebook from my cell phone...and I might call you if we need help reading a compass :)

The link on the left doesn't reflect it but we've nearly reached our fund-raising goal. Thanks to those of you who supported us. You can also support me by calling or texting during the hike (especially in the middle of the night) to remind me there is something out there besides the 100 kilometers of trail that stretch ahead of me.

So far the weather on Saturday looks good but please pray that it doesn't rain and that it's not too hot...and pray that we can finish!!

What I'll love about heaven

There's a lot I don't understand about heaven (there is a big understatement!). I know heaven will be amazing for lots of reasons - most importantly that we will be fully restored to our relationship with God and find our fulfillment. But the purpose of this post is not to list all the reasons why heaven will be fabulous.

The main reason on my mind currently is that we will no longer be separated from those we love. I don't know exactly how it will be but when we are all in heaven together I expect we won't have that sense of separation or longing. It's long been one of the things I hate most about life (even more than rain) that people come and go in our lives. I get particularly attached to people so if someone is a close friend for a period of time, then moves away, it is very hard to handle. We still remain friends but it's just not the same. I wish I could be with everyone I love all the time, as impractical as that may be!

This can happen when you're living in the same country but for me the feelings are heightened since moving to London and trying to merge two seemingly different lives. I'm sad by what I'm missing at home but now that I've made friends here it's also hard to think about leaving.

My one comfort is that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we will all be together in heaven.

rain rain

It's July 7th, it's raining and the high temperature today in London is 63. Add that to the list of reasons to move back to America.

Hard Rock Calling

Last Sunday I went to see The Police headline Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park. It was an amazing show! It was their last show in the UK (I'm sure they've said that before) so they were giving it everything they had. Sting's voice is still great and they sounded awesome. KT Tunstall, Starsailor and The Bangles also played. KT Tunstall is great live. I hadn't heard Starsailor before but they were pretty good. And of course, I enjoyed seeing The Bangles play "Walk like an Egyptian" live.The Police!!KT Tunstall

The Bangles

Isn't it ironic

Happy Fourth of July! Yes, I am a little late with my Independence Day post but I hope everyone in America is having a nice long weekend. Please have a barbecue and watch fireworks for me. Last night I went to the British Museum for an American Independence Day celebration. Hm...strike anyone as a little ironic? A fourth of July party at the British Museum. They were having swing dancing and jazz. They also had some basketball and football players outside. Interesting combination. No fireworks, but it was fun.

Wimbledon update

Exciting news for the British at Wimbledon. Andy Murray is now in the quarter finals of Wimbledon. He won an incredible match, fighting back from 2 sets down. Now he faces Rafael Nadal...

Another surprising moment for British tennis was when Chris Eaton qualified for the tournament and had a big win in the first round...he lost but he's cute. Maybe there is some potential for the future.Finally, Venus and Serena Williams are both in the quarter final...maybe it will be an all Williams final?

buy Fairtrade chocolate on July 1st

Today is June 30th and tomorrow is July 1st. Below is an important update from Stop the Traffik:

July 1st is a very important day around the world.

It’s the day when the chocolate industry promised to make sure that no children were being used as slaves on cocoa farms.

It’s the day when we could eat a bar of our favorite chocolate such as a Mars, Kit Kat or Dairy Milk knowing that no child has been used in the harvesting of the cocoa beans that went to make the chocolate we love to eat.

Sadly there will be no celebrations on July 1st.

Industry has failed to keep its original promises.

Today, children as young as 12 are still being used as slaves on cocoa plantations.

Here are the words of one child after being rescued from a farm. “I will tell you how I lost my arm. I tried to escape, but I could not. They caught me and tied me to a papaya tree and they beat me and broke my arm. I used to dream horrible dreams that they were beating me and about many other things: the hard work, my family … I still have these dreams today”.

Although the majority of farmers would not treat children in this way, there are some who do, and there are an estimated 12,000 children trafficked onto cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast into a life of slavery.

In our community, thousands of people are buying chocolate without knowing that these children are suffering for our sweet tooth to make fat profits for an industry that hasn’t delivered on its promises.

In 2001 they said they would certify that farms were slave free. Now they are saying that they are gathering data on some of the areas where cocoa is harvested.

This is not what they promised.

This is not good enough after 7 years of waiting for the freedom, safety and protection of these children.

We get to choose which chocolate bar to buy, at little cost to us when our chocolate is costing some children their lives.

I have to confess, I don't always remember to buy fairtrade chocolate so I thought this would serve as a useful reminder to everyone to try and make a difference.