So… for the last week, we were in London. We’re in Paris now, but have only just arrived. Quite different.

I enjoyed London quite a bit. We went to a huge number of museums – not normally my thing, but the combination of them being 1.) free and 2.) diverse meant that they were a really good, and interesting way to pass the time.

We started off at the National Gallery, which was a good thing, because the organization of their exhibits was excellent. I went in without much context, or understanding about the real evolution of the various works, but left feeling like I had a reasonable idea about how various paintings were thematically or stylistically connected. The only thing that really left me cold was the section that was focused entirely on really old religious iconography, which I simply didn’t have the knowledge to even begin to comprehend.

After the National Gallery, we ended up at the Tate Modern (excellent content, very poorly organized, IMO – no sense of continuity or context – organizing modern art by theme (landscapes?) seems almost the worst way to have organized the various works. After that, off to the British Museum. We ended up focusing solely on the “left” wing (ha-ha), where their Egyptian, Greek and Roman works were kept. We took a quick spin through Korea, but basically, there was so much stuff that by the time we were completely wiped out, we’d still only seen half the museum.

On the last day in London, we went to the Imperial War Museum, and saw the Children in War exhibit, which as expected, was heartbreaking. There was more time, but I couldn’t really bring myself to go look at more of the consequence of war. Very interesting, very informative, and very, very heavy.

In terms of food, we did quite well, I think. We ended up eating at a couple excellent places – Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Cafe was quite good, and the best “bang for the buck” that we had, I believe. I had a really vivid dream about the dessert that evening – a Passionfruit Fool (basically, a yogurt/whipped cream mixture, flavored with passionfruit). Excellent stuff, and I hope that I can find a recipe somewhere to make some attempt at making it when we get home.

Still, the best meal I had in London was the dinner at the Savoy Grill. Started off with a variety of little things, but my starter was a smoked haddock omelette – easily the best egg dish I’ve ever had anywhere. Perfect in every way. The main was a lamb neck, which is kind of strange, but was done really well. The jus was a touch salty, but the meat and vegetables were perfectly done. The dessert was a rice pudding, which was good, but couldn’t hold a candle to Ei-Nyung’s cinnamon-infused creme brulee.

Whew.

Strangely, one of the other best meals I had was from a place called Bang! which you might have guessed was a sausage grill/bar place. Strangely, it was just across the way from the hotel, and looked sort of crap from the outside, but was actually quite elegant on the inside. We got a trio of sausages, mash, and onion gravy. The sausages were delicious, and varied, the mash was perfect, and well-complemented by the gravy. Also one of the cheapest meals we had while there.

Other meals of note, which I’m sure I’ll write about at some point:

Fish & Chips at a place called Rock and Sole Plaice – best fried fish I’ve had – the crust stuck to the fish like glue, and was nice and crispy. The chips were also great – greasy, to be sure, but nicely crispy and well-flavored.

Wagamama – a noodle chain – got a spicy chicken ramen which was largely unremarkable, but some duck gyoza that were delicious. The chocolate cake with a wasabi-infused frosting was also surprising, and quite good.

Yo Sushi was a bit of a letdown, but I should have known that going in. We hadn’t quite gotten adjusted to HOW GODDAMNED EXPENSIVE everything in London was, and looking at the menu, there were only a few things we were willing to gamble $10 for a bite or two on. They had some really excellent cheap dishes, like a chicken katsu curry (for $7), but the pricing was prohibitive to the style of dining they require.

Anyway – after all the museums and the food, what I left London with was a sense of affection – I really rather like the place, and there’s enough that we missed that I certainly wouldn’t mind going back. I could see living here for a year, maybe two, but holy crap is it expensive.

Paris is quite different – a little taller, and a little less like say, New York. There were moments in London, walking down Oxford St., that felt just like walking in midtown Manhattan, and not in a way that I particularly enjoy. Walking down Rue de Rombateau (I’m sure I butchered that), the sense I got was very different. On Monday after Easter, which is a bank holiday here, there was a huge tourist glut, but still, the open cafes and food stands was a welcome and interesting change from the place we’d spent the previous week.

And just for the record, the thing I thought when I walked out of the subway stop in Picadilly Circus was, “Hey, I’ve been here in PGR!” while walking by the Pompidou Centre, I thought, “Man, this looks much better in real life than it did in Midnight Club 2 or Midtown Madness 3.”

Tomorrow, we’ve got a city to explore. Tonight, we wash socks.

Hrm. Day after tomorrow’s the wedding. Programs and other paperwork printed up, collected, and stuffed into envelopes. Gifts for the various participants (save a few we haven’t figured out yet) mostly accounted for. Flowers being taken care of my mom. Wedding music taken care of by a friend of Ei-Nyung’s. Ceremony’s been revised and sent back to the officiant. Location’s set, the food order’s been placed. Right now, I’ve gotta look through iTunes and find a collection of inoffensive dinner music, and stuff to potentially dance to.

Other than that, things seem pretty well set, and orderly.

Why am I getting nervous NOW?

So, picked up my cousin at the airport. On the way home, we decided we’d grab some lunch. We went to Gregoire’s, a place Colin had recommended. I was wearing my Sega jacket. The guy at the register asked me if I worked on the DC, and I told him I worked on Seaman, which he didn’t recognize. Happens a reasonable amount of the time when I’m wearing the jacket, so no big deal.

As we’re waiting for food, he asks us (my cousin and me) if we *both* work in game development. I mention he’s my cousin. The guy at the counter says he’s interested, ’cause his girlfriend’s a game journalist. I figure, what the heck, there aren’t too many of ’em, there’s a good chance I’ll recognize the name. He says, “Jane Pinckard.”

So, I knew Jane Pinckard years and years ago, when I was in Japanese school with her and her sister. We played when we were kids. About seven or eight months ago, I somehow ran into her name on the internet, and found out she was now an editor at 1up.com. At the time, I couldn’t place the name or the face, and e-mailed her, asking why I might know her from way long ago. Weird and stalkery, yeah, I know. But I found out the next day where I knew her from from my mom, and sent her a followup explaining WTF was going on. She didn’t respond, as was expected (yeah, I knew even then that the e-mail I was sending was odd). But then today, we meet her boyfriend at a random restaurant, as the result of a nearly random conversation.

Yes, the links are all there, and they all make a certain amount of sense. But still, it’s a small damn world.

Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.

Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?

Peter Gibbons: Yeah.

Dr. Swanson: Wow, that’s messed up.

Birthday today. Got up really early this morning (6:30) for no particular reason at all. Ei-Nyung made me a wonderful omelette, accompanied by one of the extra pancakes I’d made Tuesday, and frozen. Weird getting up that early, frankly, but made for a nice, leisurely morning experience.

Work was work, whatever, except that mid-day, I got a small, lovely flower arrangement from Ei-Nyung. Really brightens up my desk.

In the evening, we went to Chez Panisse with my mom, which we just got back from. A spectacular meal, all told. I’ll write more about that tomorrow. Joe & Uyen cleaned up the garage, which was … astonishing. I mean, the garage was really full of stuff, and to have created as much space as they did was just a monstrous feat. Truly awesome. 😀

Ei-Nyung did all sorts of things today to make me feel good – she’s really quite the catch! I suppose I’ve known that for many years now, but it’ll be good to finally reel her in for good next month. Bwahahahaa.

So, I spent part of the weekend reading Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, after having seen the movie Friday night. And though I know that like a lot of Alan Moore’s work, I’m going to have to read V slowly, a few times, before I really grasp the depth of what’s going on, I enjoyed the movie more than that from which it came.

Yes, yes, I hear the cries of blasphemy.

There’s a few reasons:

1.) The movie, as James Wolcott puts it, is *engaged*. A friend of mine wondered whether it would hold up, 15 years from now, or be seen as a quaint relic, and to that, I’d say that I don’t care what it’ll be like, 15 years from now, because what it is *now* is so compelling, and so … relevant, that even 15 years from now, I’ll be able to look back on it, and remember the atmosphere of public complacency in the face of evil that I’ll still understand the sentiment that drove it into existance.

2.) Hugo Weaving is extraordinary. That he could deliver the whole “V” monologue near the beginning of the movie and not only make it not seem ridiculous, but a very quick introduction to an extremely charismatic character was an incredible acheivement. Throughout the film, his performance is superb – slight shifts in the direction he’s looking seem to change the expression of the mask he’s wearing – emoting a face that cannot emote.

3.) While the source material is excellent, there are many plotlines that feel … superfluous, in many ways. There are a number of characters that I suppose I just didn’t really “get” – I didn’t see the purpose of their existance in the context of the story. Sure, they illuminate the world itself, but I guess I just felt like the level of complexity was … well, it was too much for something that should be accessible. But I suppose that’s not necessarily the point – Moore’s work isn’t “accessible” – it’s something you really have to put some time into to really “get.” I doubt if I got a lot of the details of The Watchmen until the fourth or fifth time I read it. Didn’t get the genuis of “Fearful Symmetry” until probably the third. Still, the level of complexity in the movie was exactly as it should have been – interesting, yet not explicitly convoluted. There were a few times where I wished they would have left a line out, as it went from a nice reference, to an obvious plot point, but such is life.

Anyway. Blah blah blah. Point being, I thought the movie was *spectacular*.

The arrival of a coroner’s van is never good news. Or rather, it means that the hope for good news has passed. Rumor is that a husband & wife had died, though I don’t know who those might be, as I had always thought that Mrs. Oliver lived alone. RIP, whoever you are.

So, two houses down, facing the house, on the left caught fire. Reports are that the residents of the house behind them heard an explosion, and by the time they looked out the window, the entire rear of the house was alight. Strangely, I didn’t even realize anything was going on until I saw the lights from the fire engines, by which point most of the neighborhood had gathered. Such is the power of Guitar Hero, I suppose.

I hope Mrs. Oliver is ok. She’s a sweet old lady who never seems to remember me. They found her, and took her out on a stretcher. I couldn’t tell whether she was alive or not, but she had clearly been near the fire, as most of her hair had been burned off. Not all, and her face looked ok, so… I hope she’s alright.

V: Saw V for Vendetta last night, and was blown away by how incredible it was. I hadn’t read it before seeing the film (I know, blashphemy), and I think one of the things I really loved about it was how relevant and engaged in the times it is. I started reading it last night, and was really surprised by how much the Wachowskis appear to have updated the content to really fit the current day. Hugo Weaving is absolutely incredible, and Natalie Portman does an excellent, excellent job as well. I loved it – probably the best movie I’ve seen since Memento.

Y: Joined the local YMCA today. I really desperately want a place I can swim regularly, and this looks to fit the bill. I’m pretty psyched, and need to run out this afternoon and pick up some new goggles and some trunks. Woo!

So, I was incredibly frustrated about stuff a couple days ago. I came home from work so wound up, and so incredibly agitated I was having trouble focusing on anything at all. I ended up searching through iTunes, looking for Big Beat – Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim – stuff like that.

I wondered, after a little while, why I was looking for that particular genre of music – I didn’t even find Vegas, the only other Crystal Method album I own, to be particularly exceptional. But there’s something very … I dunno – not really soothing – but sort of comforting about the regularity, the repetition, and the loudness of it all. I suppose maybe the reason is that essentially, the beat tells you what to do – you don’t have to really think about it, or contemplate the meaning of it all, or wonder how it’s going to upend itself from one minute to the next.

boom-chik-a-boom-ba-boom-chika, for six minutes on end, you can just turn your brain off, and feel the beat.

When I’m anything other than mentally beat, I find most Big Beat kind of boring – because there’s really not much to latch onto. But like Gatorade, it only tastes good when you need it.