Miscellany

Nothing too exciting this week--just a bulleted list of thoughts:

• During my European gov't and politics class, the 7 of us (it's a small class) got into an argument about the protectionist provision in America's economic stimulus bill. My professor made a comment about how America was responsible for peanut butter, and we all stopped fighting and began reminiscing about American peanut butter. Dr. Fosdal observed, rightfully, that the best way to get Americans to band together is to insult peanut butter.
• Public trash cans are nearly non-existent here, particularly in Central London. Even at Tube stations they're hard to find. Last week I had to carry an empty paper cup home from Kensington because I couldn't find anywhere along the way to get rid of it.
• At the Tower of London they were playing film clips of Queen Elizabeth's coronation near the display of the crown jewels. It was certainly beautiful, but the pageantry was almost absurd. The concept of monarchy is just utterly ridiculous to me, and even living here it is difficult for me to get my head around the fact that there is actually royalty still in existence.
• A girl tried to hide from me while I was working last Thursday.
  
• I had a different girl analyzing the lyrics to her favorite rap songs because she wouldn't look at real poetry. This was really the first time I'd ever attempted to teach literary analysis, and although I was working with the world's most reluctant student and a rap song, I really enjoyed it.
  
• I still haven't decided what to say to people who ask me where in the States I'm from. My typical answer is "I go to the University of Pittsburgh but I'm from Michigan," but sometimes that seems unnecessarily complicated, so I just say "Michigan." Sometimes just "Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania." I don't like just saying Pittsburgh because I don't feel like it's true--but I live there for the vast majority of the time, so perhaps it is. I have no idea. It should be fairly insignificant, particularly since the people asking usually are just being polite and don't really care. But it matters a great deal to me because this is the first time I've had to confront the fact that I actually live in Pittsburgh for about 11 months out of the year.
  
• I was not a fan of The Merchant of Venice. What was Shakespeare up to in that play? It's grotesque. And remarkably unfunny for a Shakespearean "comedy." The two storylines seem only sloppily connected. I hated everyone at the end of it, except perhaps Antonio, but he was a bit of an idiot, really. In any event, this play, along with The Taming of the Shrew, has earned the dubious distinction of a Shakespearean play I'd just as soon forget.
• On a brighter note, I saw a brilliant production of A Midsummer Night's Dream yesterday. It was put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was remarkably well-done. I've always enjoyed this play, and this was the first performance of it I'd seen. It was wonderful and hilarious--a fitting choice for my first theatre outing in London.
• There are people who don't like art. Who knew?
  
• The London snow has become the news item everyone loves to hate, much like last summer's gas prices: everyone is sick of hearing about it but brings it up continually anyway.
• I was asked to write a recommendation letter for Dr. Bialostosky, one of my favorite English professors at Pitt. He's up for a teaching award, and I was thoroughly flattered that he chose to ask me for a recommendation. His two undergrad courses have had a profound academic impact on me (even if the volume of reading in Criticism was overwhelming).
• I've heard a lot about the Superbowl riots in Pittsburgh last weekend, and I've seen a lot of pictures. I'm a bit upset that I wasn't there for it, but I also think the extent of the damage is embarrassing. Was it really necessary to break out the library's windows and completely demolish one of the most useful bus stops on campus? At least the Cathedral wasn't damaged.
• Life with the Martins is pretty sweet--I don't have to cook, do dishes, or even do my own laundry. I haven't had it this easy since 6th or 7th grade.
• I've started booking stuff for Ireland, which is both exciting and scary. I plan to book stuff for Normandy tomorrow, which is a bit scarier because getting to all of the things I want to see there is much more complicated than I imagined. But I am confident I will work it out.
• I still haven't really found good coffee here. It's a good thing I like tea.