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.