Banjos

I'm back in London! I've been back for about 3 weeks now but I don't have a computer at my flat anymore. I spilled Diet Coke on my laptop. It made some sizzling sounds and then died. I haven't taken it to get fixed. I'm not sure that I'm going to get it fixed. I tend to waste time on the computer and there is no time to waste.

Last weekend I got to hear one amazing banjo player and another good banjo player. The first guy was Bela Fleck, arguably the greatest banjo player the world has ever known. In my mind Chris Thile is the greatest mandolin player the world has ever know and Jerry Douglas is the greatest Dobro player the world has ever known. Anyway... Fleck was playing with his band the Flecktones. I don't really appreciate the Flecktones. They have a guy who plays the electric bass, Victor, a horn player (mostly saxophone), and the FutureMan who plays the syntax drumatar. The SD is an instrument that he created. Think of it as a guitar that makes electronic drumming noises when Futureman presses little buttons. In my opinion the Flecktones take away from the Fleck. Thankfully they gave Bela about 10 min. at the end of the show to do his own thing. He played a medley of things including bluegrass, some Bach, and some innovative stuff. Bela doesn't read music. I just smiled the whole time and was really happy. I'm not sure why I liked the banjo so much. I think that I like the plucking/metallic sound that it makes and I like the way that it does sounds when it's contributing to the rhythm of a song. Fleck also seems to be quite a humble performer. He was fun to watch. You could easily see that he loved playing music.

If you are interested in hearing some Fleck, I would recommend the CD Music For Two. It's a classical duet with Bassist Edgar Meyer. I really like the song "The One I Left Behind".


Here's a picture of Fleck and Futureman. Yes, Futureman is dressed as a pirate. This is when Fleck, Victor, and Futureman were doing an old NewGrass Revival Song.










Then Jed came to London on Monday and we saw Boston based Crooked Still play at a little venue in Soho. Their banjo player Greg Liszt was just on the Seeger Session tour with The Boss. He's pretty fun to watch on stage, but their cello player really dominated their music. Their song Mountain Railroad has a good banjo part. I don't' think that Crooked Still will stay around that long. Most if not all of their members are members of other bands and seem to have other interests. Also, while I enjoy their music, it admittedly gets a little old after a while.

Jeremy Bentham

Today Jed and I went on the hunt for Jeremy Bentham. It was a really pretty day for January England so we walked through Regents Park and then over to UCL. Here's a picture. During the summer this pond is filled w. paddle boats.

Bentham is a utilitarian who was instrumental in the founding of UCL in 1826. Back then Oxford and Cambridge were the only real choices for university, but they were only open to the rich and church going. UCL was the first university in England to admit anyone without regard to creed, political, or religious beliefs.

Bentham asked that his body be preserved for all to see. Now he is in a big cabinet in the main building at UCL. He was closed today. Here's a picture of Jed in front of Bentham's "grave". Apparently his head used to be there, but it has since been removed.

I was thinking that it's kinda irreverent to be blogging about him--but I think that it's what he would have wanted.

Finding Nemo

My family and I went the Georgia Aquarium yesterday. It opened just less than a year ago. The main guy behind Home Depot came up with the idea and built the aquarium as his "gift to the people of Georgia". He put up most of the money but also inlisted other major Georgia companies (Wachovia Bank, Southern Power, UPS) to help with the funding. UPS shipped the beluga whales from Taiwan to Georgia. They build special containers for the whales and then flew for 36 hrs. Wow. The belgua whales might have been my favorite part of the aquarium. They really do move like mermaids when they swim. I also liked the jellyfish. I had forgotten that jellyfish are quite basic creatures and really don't have any sort of eyes or face. They are more like sea anemone than cute fish. Well, they aren't fish. Anyway... I wonder what Dr. Dino's theory is on the jellys. :)

Oh yeah! I finished my scarf yesterday. I still have to learn to pearl.

Knitting

I've decided to learn to knit. My mom taught me how to do the basic knit stich a couple of days ago, and I'm about 1/4 of the way through my first scarf. I bought really chunky yarn and huge needles. I'm hoping to finish the scarf before I go up to visit Jed. I also just bought some much thinner green/blue yarn to make another scarf. When you knit the scarf, a stripped pattern automatically appears. I've wanted to use this type of yarn for a while. I really want to make hats, mittens, and socks, but I'm not quite ready for that. Also before I leave my mom has to teach me how to pearl.

I found this really cute yarn store in Islington (North London). I havne't been yet, but from their website it looks like they have really pretty yarn. They also offer classes. Right now it doens't look like the classes gell w. my schedule, but we shall see. Here's a link:

http://www.loop.gb.com/

Home for Christmas!!

I'm back in Atlanta! It's so nice being in warm, sunny weather and being able to see my mom and dad. My sister is in Italy right now and she's flying back from London on Christmas Day. Gross. I'm still jet lagged so I have been up at 6:15 and 7:30 for the past two mornings. Normally when I come home for Christmas break I sleep in. Since I've been up early I've been able to do Christmas shoppign before it gets too packed. I got gifts for my mom in London and GRanada, but I had to get my dad's present in Atlanta. Every year I get my dad a gift certificate to Borders. It's great b/c even though he knows that it's coming he has a huge smile on his face when he opens the envelope and says, "Wow, Claire. This is great"!

Tonight we are going to hear some Baroque Christmas music at an Episcopal Church in town. I'm really looking forward to it. I've been fortunate this Christmas season to see the Nutcracker at the Royal Opera house and the Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall. I loved the Messiah. It's so wonderful to hear the story of the prophesy of Christ, His birth, crucifiction and ressurection told through the singing of Scripture. The ballet dancers at the Nutcracker were incredible. When the men do their leaps they just hover in mid air. So amazing.

Merry Chirstmas!!