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.