I Suck

     My biggest regret in London: not bringing my camera with me to the Milo Greene concert. Seriously, I took front row to a whole new level. But alas, I made the tragic mistake and now must live with it.
     The show was still JSVBJAKLBJ AMAZING!! In total there were four acts, the final of which being Milo Greene. Since I didn't get photos, I'll attach youtube videos instead of the other artists.
     Leanne Robinson: homegirl cried onstage during this song.
     Echo Tape: I don't think I've ever seen a lead singer so monged out of his mind and a guitarist twitching just a little too much for normalcy. But their music was so electric and full. Indeed.
     Khushi: ok, disclaimer: I, unfortunately, could not find a better video for Khushi. He is absolutely wonderful and is not completely an acoustic artist like youtube thinks he is. He's actually one of the best guitarists I've ever seen and is pretty darn cute too.
     Milo Greene: of course. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to them before, this is the song that made me fall in love with them. Enjoy!

London Love, Kristen

The A-Team

So let's just say that my professors are very....interesting people. There's really no need for preface. Let's just take a look at the lot shall we:


The Sir: Monday morning, still jet lagged from the plane, I walk in to find my "Media & Politics" professor wearing the most English-looking suit I think I will ever see. The Sir was wearing a three piece, pea soup green, tweed suit with a red paisley tie that matched his pocket square. All of this was on top of a blue and white striped shirt with PINK suspenders. To top it all off, he had an overcoat that was the same pea-soup green tweed as his suit and a bowler hat. To his merit, he is one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met and have great esteem for his accomplishments as a teacher and politico.


The Fox: My "London Theatre" teacher is arguably the most entertaining woman that I've ever met. I literally took notes on what this woman was wearing/saying. Here's the list:

-- Pink rolling backpack

--Boots with the fur (mind you, she's nearly 60 years old)

--Ice blue eye makeup and bright red/purple lipstick

--Direct quote: "French men give the best sex." Then she alluded that we should take advantage of that situation if it presented itself
--She also divulged to us that she was thinking about starting to club again....like at real clubs....with her girlfriends....who are also 60 years old.....


The Dude: In a nutshell, my "Culture by Design" teacher is a former-American renegade who "got the hell out of America" with the first chance that he got. Pretty much, he never had any plan for his life and just went with it to see where he would end up. (I actually find this quite admirable.) He has three basic stereotypes about English accents: they are either (1) Fancy. "English accent means you are far fancier than I will ever be," (2) Snooty, "Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?," or (3) Gay.


The Gran: My "European History" professor. Sweetest old thing that you ever did meet who should be knitting by a fireplace instead of dealing with us all day. Earlier today she lectured me on the history of feminine products. I still don't know why, but I love her just the same.


And finally, The Muse: "Art History". Let's just say, she's seen it all, done it all, and painted a crap ton of it all. 


London Love, Kristen

I Even Heard Her Singing In the Abbey

     Ever since I got here, I have been having these minor moments of epiphany everywhere I go. Most likely, this is attributed to the fact that I'm in a foreign country, and I'm fascinated with the novelty of it. Yet, after my recent visit to Westminster Abbey I think that there really is a bigger picture developing behind all of this.

    The abbey itself is absolutely a work of art. It took centuries to construct and is truly the most ornate, intricate, and marvelous piece of gothic style architecture that you will find. But its beauty is not simply limited to its aestheticism.

     Walking around, I heard about all of the great monarchs, saints, and various other noble brits buried there; tales of martyrdom, love, and devout faith were overwhelmingly beautiful and inspiring. I wouldn't be able to tell you how many memorials and statues there are for these nobles for there were dozens, maybe hundreds. But being able to see all of that devotion to God was remarkable.

     As an individual who does not associate with religion, I didn't find myself fascinated with the fact that someone would endure persecution for God or fight for their religion. Rather, I found myself respecting and, at some points, admiring these people for what they have done.

     Throughout the tour, I felt this way and wished that I had such vehemence and ardor for something like these monarchs, priests, and saints. But when I got to the end of the tour, I realized that there was something. At the end of the abbey, there is a section that is essentially an "honorable mention" section filled with people who have given tremendous contributions to England.

     Here, I found mainly novelists, poets, and playwrights. Obviously, there was Shakespeare and Dickens, but also John Keats, Percy Shelly, Dylan Thomas, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Robert Browning, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, etc. These are my favorite writers who have influenced me so, so much in my development as a writer and human being. These people are the reasons why I want to teach literature and writing in schools. I would even dare to say that they are part of the reason why I am in London right now.

     The abbey does bring peace to all who enter it; regardless of religious affiliation, it brings clarity and insight to whatever you need clarity and insight on. This will truly be one of my most treasured moments from this trip.

London Love, Kristen

PS- The altar in the center of the abbey has this quote stitched onto the cloth:

"When the tongues of flame are infolded into the crowned knot of fire, and the fire and the rose are one, all shall be well. All manner of thing shall be well. All shall be well"

Sog, Rad, Puss, & Aud

     It appears that my theory about pubs is indeed plausible. In an earlier entry ("Pubs Are Interesting Places"), I detailed an idea about how pubs are really just book clubs with alcohol and food. Through an adventure that some friends and I went on this past weekend, I have learned this to be partially true because of my new favorite place in London, The Porter House.
     As you might expect, pubs are quite busy on Friday evenings. People come right from work to relax after a hard week at work before going back to their suburban homes. This was the case of four brits from Essex that were seated at the table next to us: Sog, Rad, Puss, and Aud. (disclaimer: these were nicknames given to each other from childhood)
     Due to the close proximities of the pub, my three other friends and I eventually started talking to them. Now, as a college student from America, I was not expecting the conversation to be fruitful or full of any intelligent dialogue. However, I was dreadfully wrong.
    For the next two hours, we talked to these four best friends about a variety of different things. Sog and I discussed a mutual love for the Dropkick Murphy's and had an in depth debate on the development of popular music in the US and UK. With Puss and Aud, I discussed economics, the war in Afghanistan, and how to disarm IEDs (Aud is being deployed on Thursday to do that).
    Yet, the core of my theory is almost entirely preserved with the conversation that I had with Rad. For the last hour that we were at the pub, Rad and I discussed almost everything that strangers do not or should not talk about: American politics, UK politics, religion v. atheism, global preservation, and (my personal favorite) the development of African politics, particularly South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
     This was the most deep, intellectual, and personal conversation I think that I have ever had with a human being. The whole lot of them were extraordinary people and I can't say how grateful I am to have met them. Also, they helped prove my theory that pubs are places of academics. Although we didn't discuss literature, I think the amount of politics, history, and sociology involved upholds my claims.

London Love, Kristen

PS- Sorry this was such a long story. As you could probably tell, I get a little excited about my theories.

Fuerzabruta Pt. II: the Visual

Like I said in my previous post, Fuerzabruta was a mind shattering experience. Luckily, I was able to get some great pictures of the show (about 715 to be exact). Here are some of my favorite ones:

Open of the show with bright lights and a drumline.

"The Pool": two divers hovering over the audience in a suspended pool.

"The Pool": three divers come together and unite.

"The Pool": the suspended pool is lowered down to the audiences level so we can touch it.

"The Bubble": the formation of the bubble.

"The Destruction": the Argentinians break down their home and lifestyle (metaphorically of course).

"The Destruction": a continuation of the previous chaos.

Fuerzabruta

     I have just transcended something that I can't comprehend in the most magnificent way.
     Fuerzabruta.
     This evening we went on the "not so touristy" part of town today called Camden Town. The whole point of going was pretty much to prove that we've never seen anything like it and nothing else is comparable to it. And indeed it was like nothing I've ever seen.
     It held the angsty punk rockers of the London society in addition to the prim and proper hipsters. Literally anything and everything you could find there.
     After exploring Camden Market, we went to the pub that Amy Winehouse is known for getting her start in. Then after a bottle of wine, we went to a show called "Fuerzabruta."
     Now here me when I say this, FUERZABRUTA WAS THE MOST TRANSCENDENTAL EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. Yes, I had three glasses of wine, but that wasn't why I reacted to this experience the way that I have. Fuerzabruta consisted of a whole gang of Argentinian performance artists who played drums, sang, and somehow dropped multiple and extremely sick basses while others literally flew through the auditorium, swam over the audience, ran on treadmills, crashed through walls, smashed boxes on audience members' heads, and the list goes on.
     What's important though is this: even though I have no idea what the movement behind the artistry was, I enjoyed every second and was absolutely mesmerized. The music, the dubstep, the audience, the energy. I literally felt everything flowing through my body and it couldn't have been more euphoric.
Like, I literally can't even tell you. (Also, let us note that I have just returned from this show and am still in a trance after what I've just seen)
     Ah. All right. I feel that this will never be properly put into words so I will just have to leave it at that.

London Love, Kristen

The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On the Plain Because All Of the Snow Is In London

     Upon arrival in London, it was snowing as it had been for nearly two days. I've been here now four days and it hasn't stopped snowing. Now, from someone who hasn't seen quality snow in about two years, I was very excited at first. Yet, snow means that it's below freezing.....all the time.....and I have to walk around the city......all the time. Needless to say, I'm getting over the novelty of snow very quickly.
     Because of this, my picture taking has slacked off quite a bit. But in my defense, if you can't feel the button beneath your finger, you probably shouldn't leave your hands in the cold then. In due time when this weather settles down I will be posting more pictures.
     A brief review of what I've seen/done: Big Ben, snowball fight, Harry Potter Bridge (I don't know what that means but apparently we were on it), Buckingham Palace, St. James' Park, Trafalgar Square, London Eye, and last, but certainly not least, I have learned how to properly navigate Bloomsbury AND the Underground. My days of getting everyone lost are over. I am a geographical savvy citizen of society!!

London Love, Kristen

Pubs Are Interesting Places

     When you walk in to a pub and see nearly 20 people sitting at one table, fifteen at another, and ten at the only other table in the back, you begin to think to yourself, "My, this is a popular place for the masses." After about an hour and two pints of cider later, not a single person has moved or shows any intention of moving; this is when you start to ask yourself, "What the hell are these people talking about for hours? And why do they keep ordering cheese and bread?"
     I drew the necessary conclusions and came to this biased truth: pubs are simply books clubs that you can get drunk at. There can't be anything else worth discussing for that long with that obscene amount of people. Why else would anyone consume so much cheese and bread? I couldn't find any other explanation.
     Yet, this was just one pub, so I figured I shouldn't make it a stereotype without going to another one to verify. The second pub both discredited and supported my theory. Downstairs there were plenty of small groups of various ages, races, and genders talking about a variety of social conversation topics. Upstairs, however, there was another large group (quite intoxicated as well) discussing something very intently and with vehement punctuation.
     So I'm still not sure if my theory is credible or not just yet. If it is though, I might have to go to pubs more often. Intellectual discussions about literature housed in a pub with ample amounts of cheese and bread? Now that's brilliant.

London Love, Kristen

PS- Also, the old men reminiscing their war stories and debating politics from the 1960s is absolutely adorable, and they are slowly becoming my favorite part of London.

The Anti-Settlement

     Ladies and Gentlemen, please believe my earnest and non-exaggerated decree that I am absolutely horrible, unreliable, and develop child like dependencies when it comes to navigating anything. I can AND will get lost anywhere, including Heathrow Airport after relentlessly following unbeknown families.

    Alas, I did eventually find Customs (40 minutes after the landing).

    Anywho, after getting in a minor car accident on the way to the flats, we finally had our first orientation where I received a cell phone via 2006 and carbonated water made from soy beans and lime.

    And now, after 30+ hours of absolutely no sleep, I am exhausted in every sense of the word. Alas again, I cannot sleep because it's three in the afternoon and we are going on more adventures soon. This is my life. These are my choices. Ah well. To deprivation!!

London Love, Kristen

PS- I will become more aware of the incoherency of this post in due time. But for now I just don't have the brain capacity to care :)

New York, I Love You

(written 17.1.2013 @8:10pm, Eastern Time)

Long story short: turbulence and extreme fear of heights/falling makes one hell of a ride to New York. Things got better when my backpack split in half in the middle of the airport.

New York, I love you, but you’re bringing me down.

London Love, Kristen

PS- Took me forever to find a diet coke. Literally thought I was going to die for a minute.

Procrastination: America's Favorite Pastime

There is a tendency in my life that goes as so: the more important that a deadline is in my life, the longer I procrastinate on actually meeting that deadline.

So at 12:30am, I, Kristen Fallon, finally opened my suitcase and actually put something inside of it.

I deemed the accomplishment of this task worthy enough of its own blog entry.

And now, I have finished detailing this account. Good day.

100 Hours & Counting

     This minute marks the beginning of my 100 hour countdown until I leave for one of the most monumental experiences of my life. Frankly, yes, I am terrified. But I am terrified in the most exhilarating way possible.While I dearly love my family, my friends, and the life that I have established in the United States, I am more than ready to finally begin this journey and explore this foreign world on my own.
     Change is never easy, and admittedly, I am afraid of missing out. However, I cannot let these simple and minute fears deter me from taking full advantage of such a wondrous and significant experience. I am so gracious for London, and I truly cannot wait to begin my adventure in that city.
     I titled this blog "For London Love" for the purpose of detailing the many facets of love that someone can feel for a city, a moment, a culture, a history, an enlightenment. This city is going to show me some extraordinary things about the world and myself, and I have never been more ready to learn all of the lessons that London has in store for me.

London Love, Kristen